Freak by Francine Pascal Page A

could—”
    Gaia never finished her sentence because at that moment, one of the guitars on stage let out a screech that pierced the eardrums of everyone in the room. Jake didn’t hear a word of what she’d said.
    A few moments later, Jake had a soda in his hand and he grabbed Gaia’s wrist with the other. As they wove their way back through the crowd, Gaia saw Ed recognize them from out of the corner of her eye. And when Jake plopped down into a chair near the stage, Sam noticed them, too.
    Gaia looked back through the bar toward the door, past dozens and dozens of heads that were bopping up and down to the music. She looked at Jake, whose eyes were trained on the stage. There was no way to make a fast escape. If she got up and bolted, either Jake or Ed or Sam would catch up to her before she even made it halfway to the door. Or all of them would. There was no doubt about it. Gaia was trapped.
    Swallowing against her dry throat, she sank down as low as possible in her chair, rested her elbow on the table and shielded her face with her hand. This night was about to get interesting.
    To: Y
    From: X22
    Subject: Damage control
    Have contacted our agent within the CIA. Agent is in position to neutralize the prisoners before you can be compromised. Agent awaits your orders.
    To: X22
    From: Y
    Subject: Re: Damage control
    Negative. Neutralization is too dangerous. We must proceed carefully at this juncture.
    My transfer to the new location is complete. Safe house secure. It’s time to go on the offensive. Put together a team and take the girl.

the bomb
    â€œYuri, my uncle, your beloved Katia’s father, is very much alive, Tom,” Natasha said firmly. “And he’s here.”
    Lost-Puppy-Dog Style
    ED STOOD NEAR THE WALL, BEHIND the area where the tables and chairs were set up, but in front of the crowd that was packed in behind them. Next to him, Kai bounced up and down, screaming and cheering—singing along to words that Ed couldn’t remotely understand. The audience, for the most part, seemed to be enjoying the piercingly loud, repetitive set that the Dust Magnets were putting forth, but to Ed, it was torture. Every once in a while, if he could manage it without being obvious, he would press his fingertips into his ears to dull the noise and catch a bit of a reprieve.
    Of course, he wasn’t the only person in the room feeling tortured. Gaia was clearly ready and willing to be sucked into the ninth ring of hell. Every few seconds she seemed to be sinking a little bit lower in her chair until her knees were practically touching the ground. Jake, God bless him, was sitting slightly in front of her, watching the band, so he had yet to notice his date’s—was it a date?—obvious distress.
    At the same time, Sam was getting his stares in, lost-puppy-dog style. While his friends shouted and laughed to one another across the table, Sam sat back, eyeing Gaia, all droopy and sad.
    Who is that guy? his look read. Why is she here with him and not me?
    Ed had heard those thoughts in his own head more times than he cared to remember. He recognized his lost-puppy-dog expression. When it came to Gaia, he invented the lost-puppy-dog face. Seeing it on someone else only made him realize how pathetic he’d been for the past year. Why hadn’t somebody smacked him upside the head and told him to snap the hell out of it?
    Suddenly, Ed was struck with an idea. No one had done that for him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do it for someone else. It would be like philanthropy on a Saturday night. It might make the agony of this evening worthwhile.
    â€œI’ll be right back!” he shouted in Kai’s ear. She smiled and nodded, continuing to bounce.
    Ed made his way along the front of the crowd and over to Sam’s table. He pulled a free chair from the next table, turned it around, and straddled it right at Sam’s elbow.
    â€œWhat’s up, man?” Ed