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Eddie frowned. “He was about to kill you, and you’re worried about his Miranda rights?”
“No, I’m worried about you and your friends!”
“Me and my friends just saved your life.”
“Probably after you endangered it in the first place!” I said angrily.
“I understand. Believe me, I do. This has been intense. But you’re better off having me as an ally than a pissed-off enemy.”
I seethed inwardly.
“Say I work with you. What do I have to do?”
“Nothing right now. Just do your normal thing – see Pollari, go to your job. Act normal.” He reached in his jacket pocket, brought out a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote down something. “Take these numbers and memorize them, then flush the paper down the toilet.”
He handed me the slip of paper. There were two phone numbers on it.
“One’s to a burner I keep on me. The other’s to the command center. It’s set up as a 24-hour answering service for a doctor’s office. If it’s an emergency and you can’t reach me, text them or leave a message saying you’re having a medical emergency, and they’ll get back to you immediately. Do not put either number in your contact list. Do not ever identify yourself by name in a text, and do not ever address me by my name. Never mention anything about the other number other than they’re a doctor’s office. Any time you call or text me or call the other number, immediately delete the record of it in your phone. Any competent hacker could get it out, but the Riders don’t have anybody remotely that good.”
“Don’t you need my number?” I asked. “To know it’s me?”
“We already have it.”
Duh. Of course you do.
Suddenly there was a vibrating BRBRRR, and something lit up under the dresser.
“That yours?” Eddie asked me.
“No.”
“Must be Roach’s. Must’ve dropped it when I tased him.” Eddie bent over, reached under the dresser, pulled out a scuffed-up iPhone, and looked at it. “Aha.”
“What do you mean, ‘aha’?” I asked.
He held up the phone so I could see.
The word ‘LOU’ was on the cracked screen.
“Oh God,” I breathed out.
26
Jack
Lou and I sat around in silence for two minutes. I finally got impatient and called again.
The phone rang five times, then went to voicemail.
I hung up without bothering to leave a message.
“Huh,” Lou said, as though he were only mildly interested in the whole situation.
“Fuck,” I hissed, then turned to Lou. “You think he’s… questioning her?”
“Not really.”
“So you think something happened to him?”
