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“You know where this goes,” I said to him. “You know exactly what happens to that kid if we don’t stop it.”
“You know what else?” Ethan said savagely. “I know that bastard Halliwell knows we’re having this conversation, and he’s rubbing his hands together, chortling.”
“He taunted me about Holly,” I said. “He’d show me videos that his people had filmed of her. He’d tell me he was going to ‘collect’ her, to motivate my memory.”
“He’s fucking with you, Shane. Can’t you feel the strings jerking?”
“I see a little girl dying,” I said. “One who doesn’t have to die.”
“Shane—”
“The reason we got shafted the last time was because Wex Boer was dirty,” I said. “My bad. I was the fool who hired the guy. That’s on me. But there’s no Wex Boer here. It’s just our inner circle. If we use it to find Reggie’s cure, who’s going to know?”
“Look, brother. I know you’re in love with Cass, and I swear, I don’t blame you. But I wouldn’t call her inner circle. We’ve known her for, what, twenty-four hours?”
“What she did for us gives her a free pass,” I said. “Straight into the circle.”
We shut up as Red knocked and peeked in the door. “Excuse me,” she said. “But did the doctor say when he would get here?”
“He’s on his way,” Ethan told her.
“Her temperature is almost 104,” she said, her haunted eyes meeting mine. “It’s happening so fast. The last time, it came on slower.”
“We’ll do everything we can,” Ethan assured her.
She nodded silently and turned to go.
“Does she look unconvincing to you?” I asked, a few seconds after she’d left.
“Goddamn it, Shane,” he growled.
“It could have been Holly,” I said. “Just shuffle those cards a little and it could have been Holly, turned into a weapon to beat us with.”
“We’d be exposing Holly to danger too, if we used SmokeScreen, particularly to penetrate Halliwell’s security,” Ethan said. “We’d be exposing the whole fucking world. You know how badly he wants it. And you know what that guy is capable of.”
I nodded, lifting my hands. “Yes, I do,” I said. “He’s rotten to the core. And it’s your call. It always was. You wrote it. You decide. But if you value what Red did for us, that’s the fee she’s asking for. Decide for yourself if you feel like paying it.”
“Fuck you, Shane,” he snarled.
I turned around without replying and headed back toward the TV room. If I couldn’t save Red’s sister, I could at least stand with her while she faced her own worst-case scenario. I would be completely useless, but I’d be there for her. I wouldn’t run and hide.
“Yes,” Ethan said quietly, from behind me.
I froze for a long moment, then turned to look at him. “Yes what?”
“Yes, I’ll use it. We’ll cut through the Coatesworth security with it. And as soon as I am done, I will wipe that motherfucker off the face of the earth.”
“Which one?” I asked. “SmokeScreen? Or Halliwell?”
“Both,” he said, his voice low and savage. “And then it will be over.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll tell Red.”
“I’m doing the search myself, though,” he said sharply. “Cass doesn’t touch the algorithm. I don’t even want her in the room.”
I thought about Red, huddled anxiously over her sister. “That’s fine,” I said. “She’s busy now anyway.”
“Good. Tell Jed and Freya and the Drakes to join me in the war room. We’ll get to work. You just focus on keeping your girlfriend from falling to pieces.”
