Where were you guys???

Paris 🙃 :upside down smiley:

The group chat was abuzz all through first period. Freya felt the texts buzzing against her thigh, but she couldn’t check them. She had to wait until she was in Mr. McCallahan’s class to respond. Halfway through the period, Mr. McCallahan just sort of trailed off and asked them to read chapter nine in their textbooks.

Phones emerged while Mr. McCallahan pretended to read something on his desk, but his eyes never moved. He stared through everything, gazing into the void.

Freya knew exactly how he felt. She watched him suffer, wondering if maybe she ought to recommend Dr. Garbuglio. Maybe more than that. He’d been getting worse all semester. Maybe he needed to hold the Starball.

Freya anticipated the feeling of aversion, but it didn’t come. The Starball had a good idea now of what she would and wouldn’t do. Did it trust her now? It was maddening. The orb that could facilitate the most beautiful, meaningful communication of her life had never said a thing to her.

When she asked it for things it was no better than praying. It might be no smarter than a toaster, just a machine that did exactly this and no more. She worried at the thought until she couldn’t bear wondering what was happening in the group chat. She took out her phone and read carefully through the backscroll.

Dan hadn’t even hinted that anything had gone down with them. She liked that. It was something just for them. She wondered if he’d told Cameron. Thinking about it, she would have told Betty and, if it had been a year ago, probably Jane, too.

It dawned on Freya that Dan had likely told his mother they’d had sex. Her cheeks were suddenly aflame. She couldn’t understand why that made her feel so embarrassed. She’d heavily implied it to Lassa, and that hadn’t bothered her at all.

Everyone was getting exasperated with Dan’s evasions, and she could tell he enjoyed it. She’d seen less of this side of him since they’d gotten closer, the harlequin on hiatus. Freya remembered the way he’d made Claire cry at Brad’s house. When the shine wore off, she suspected he would revert to being a little more of an asshole.

She typed into her phone.

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay.

She reconsidered before sending it. She struggled for an entry point in the conversation, and she was sure quoting Frost wasn’t it. She felt like she needed to participate, though, or people would start to think she was upset. Sighing, she deleted her lines.

We went cross country skiing! It was really fun.

At once, the conversation turned into questions about snow and where everyone wanted to ski that winter. Everyone pressed them for pictures and seemed surprised neither of them had taken any. That was another thing she liked about Dan. He didn’t stop every five seconds to post a picture of something. There was no lens standing between him and being alive.

Freya could do without seeing pictures of every single calorie Riley Halstead ate, and as much as she warmed up to Jennette, Freya was already sick of seeing her dumb smushed-face cat in awkward poses. She glanced up at the clock just as the bell put second period out of its misery.

Freya took a last look at Mr. McCallahan, telling herself she would ask Dr. Garbuglio what to do about him on Thursday. She added it to the list of things she wanted to talk about. She still couldn’t believe she looked forward to talking with a psychiatrist.

As Freya walked through the hall towards her next class, someone called out her name. She wheeled with her fists balled, remembering Jane chasing her down the hall. It was Radomir. His face was in much better shape, and he had an urgent look.

“May I talk with you?” Radomir asked.

“Sure Rad. You look so much better!”

Radomir ignored the compliment completely and leaned in close to her, speaking with his voice low.

“Men came to talk with my father. At first, he thought they were police asking about the coward, but they wanted to know about your mother. He told them nothing and asked that I warn you both. He thinks they were government men.”

“Oh, shit,” Freya breathed. “Did they say why?”

“No, though it must be about Hiidenkirnu. They were very unhappy my father would not answer their questions. They tried to pressure him, and he laughed. He had to deal with the StB back when Czech Republic was Czechoslovakia. These suits are clowns to him. Do you know what this might be about?”

Freya nodded.

“Do not tell me,” Radomir cautioned her. “I cannot tell what I do not know. But warn your mother, please. And let me know if you need my help.”

“I will. Thank you, Rad.”

Freya reached out and put her hand on Radomir’s shoulder. She gave him a serious nod, which he returned. She remembered him standing in the cafeteria with gross chunks of gelatin clinging to his neck.

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I saw nothing.

“You’re a real friend Radomir. Thank you, I’m sorry your dad got dragged into this,” she said.

“Ничего страшного,” Radomir said, looking touched.

“I hope not,” Freya replied.

In her pocket, the Starball burned hot.

* * *

All through third period and lunch, Freya grappled for what to do. She wanted to tell Dan about the new development, but he was strangely absent from the group chat, and she was afraid of texting him directly. She felt certain her line was being monitored.

There was every likelihood her phone was patient zero for the Ø process. Could they figure that out? Karhu had said the process had vanished. Was that the Starball figuring out how to evade detection, or did it already have the data it needed? Human Serum Albumin, Cytomegalovirus, and that opioid milk peptide thing.

It all added up to something, but she needed Lassa to make an informed decision. She’d texted Lassa “CALL ME” in all caps, planning to ask her to call from another phone or come to Grayson, but there had been no reply.

Maybe they already had her. Maybe they were inside her house, wondering why there was a machine gun in their foyer and a pistol in the ottoman. When the call came to pull her out of Mr. Manzinni’s class, Freya wasn’t surprised.

Lynn looked like she’d had just enough about all this. Her hair was a mess, and there were white streaks of antiperspirant in the armpits of her blouse. Her posture was stiff. She was angry but unbroken.

“The meeting with Hiidenkirnu didn’t go well,” Lynn said as if the words tasted sour in her mouth. Freya could tell right away Lassa had done something Lynn told her not to.

“What did she tell them?” Freya asked.

“Nothing, and that’s the problem. They brought in scientists for this meeting. Lassa couldn’t adequately explain her unauthorized research. I had to give them a lot to keep them from pressing charges. We turned over Lassa’s phone, her personal email accounts, everything. I’d warned her not to bring up the sleepwalking, but she got carried away talking with one of their scientists, and it slipped out. The Hiidenkirnu lawyer pounced on it. She’s at Northern Light Hospital now, under observation.”

Freya drew her head back from the words. It was the same mental hospital she’d been afraid they’d lock her up in.

“Is she committed?” Freya asked.

“It’s voluntary. I agreed to it as part of the negotiation. From Hiidenkirnu’s perspective, this is ideal. They don’t want her vanishing again. Being able to claim she’s mentally unwell gives them aegis if this blows up on them. This thing would be a big issue for them if it became public.”

“Radomir just warned me some men in suits questioned his father about Lassa. Dymek thinks they’re FBI.”

Lynn took a deep breath at the new development.

“I really, really hope that’s not the case. It would mean Hiidenkirnu is lying to me about trying to keep this contained.”

“Why would they get involved?” Freya pressed.

“I can only speculate. Maybe they think she’s working for the Russians.”

“She would never do that,” Freya said immediately, and Lynn nodded. Lassa wasn’t shy with her opinions about Russia.

“Most likely they’re private security hired by Hiidenkirnu. As soon as it became clear we were turning over Lassa’s phone records and personal email accounts, Karhu disclosed his relationship with Lassa. He was trying to recuse himself, but I’m sure he’s going to have to resign.”

“Did you know about that?” Freya asked.

“No. Did you?” Lynn’s eyes were hard, her voice as bitter as aspirin.

What had she expected? She knew what Lassa was.

“I figured it out a few days ago when he came over to the house to check on the router. You could tell he’d been there before. I didn’t know before that,” Freya explained. She needed Lynn on her side.

“Very sharp,” Lynn said. “Is there anything you can tell me about what’s going on?”

Freya froze up, unsure what was wise to tell Lynn.

“I think she’s just losing it. She’d been sleepwalking. She said the ideas were just coming to her out of nowhere, and she was afraid she’d had a stroke or something. I don’t think she’s involved in any kind of spying. When our internet was out, she was trying to figure out the problem. She wouldn’t need to lie about that with me,” Freya said.

Lynn nodded.

“That’s helpful. Can I ask you something? Is there anyone else?”

“You knew about Paul, right?”

Lynn nodded. “I didn’t like him.”

“I didn’t either. I don’t think Lassa even liked him. She’s really cagey about everything. She didn’t tell me about you two either. She’s not trying to hurt you, she’s just…you know. She’s Lassa. Pieces are missing.”

Lynn drew back holding her chin in her hand as she absorbed what Freya had said.

“What about Malcolm Lewis?” Lynn asked.

“Nothing new since he texted me the gun. How have they not caught him yet?”

“If he stays out of sight and doesn’t use a credit card or a cell phone tied to his name, there’s not much they can do. The fact they haven’t picked him up yet means he probably left town.”

Freya realized in that moment that all this time she’d been expecting Lassa to take care of the Malcolm situation. When she imagined herself holding the rifle or staging the ambush, it wasn’t real. At the back of her mind, it was always a problem her mother would solve. Violence was her domain. Now, Freya was on her own.

“If anyone comes to talk with you, say nothing and call me, okay? Don’t talk to them without me present.”

“I know,” Freya said. It was the wrong thing to say. Lynn’s suddenly blazed.

“I just need to reiterate it because it’s absolutely critical. Say nothing.”

“I said I won’t,” Freya said.

Lynn looked surprised, like a pawn had just stepped sideways. She expected Freya to fold under any pressure, but Freya wasn’t intimidated by Lynn. The intensity behind Lynn’s voice was fear. She was in trouble, too, if this all came unraveled. At last, Lynn ran her hand from her forehead to the back of her scalp, trying to sweep all the tension behind her. She seemed exhausted and the day was barely halfway through.

“Are you okay at home alone?” Lynn asked. “I could stay over if you’re worried.”

Freya was surprised by the offer. She didn’t expect Lynn to worry about her like that. It was a weird step-mothery vibe.

Someone with a gun is threatening to kill you, she reminded herself. It was normal for anyone to be concerned.

“That’s okay. Thank you. I’ll have someone with me,” Freya said. She could tell Lynn thought otherwise, but she didn’t insist. They parted, but neither was satisfied. Freya got a note from the office so she wouldn’t get in trouble being late for fifth period.

The next two periods felt like two years.