The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Prisoner

Sam surveyed the group of kids following Raveena toward him and the others. As he looked them over, he realized one of them was the aerokinetic girl they'd saved from Scorpion.

"Wow, you...actually found kids," Eric said, sounding surprised.

"Well, things didn't go exactly as planned," Raveena admitted. She rubbed her arm. "I went to areas that were most crowded and just started warning people that if they had powers, they might be in danger."

"And?" Sam asked.

"Uh, police started coming toward me, for one thing. But it was pretty easy to hide in the crowd," Raveena said. "Unfortunately, we have a much bigger problem: SCI."

The Newmans strolled toward them. "SCI?" Charles asked.

Raveena nodded. "There are agents all over the place, and they're asking a lot of questions. I saw them talking to kids, too." She glanced at the four altered she'd brought with her. "I think they're trying to find altered to take into custody."

"We have to stop them—" Eric started.

"We have to get out of here," Veronica cut him off, looking up from where she still sat next to Summer. "Come on. Can you honestly tell me you could go fight right now?"

Eric's shoulders sagged. "I guess not," he muttered.

"We have no idea how many kids in Tyche Point are altered," Beth said. "Or which ones. We can't do anything for them right now, we can only take the kids who volunteered to come." Her attention shifted to the kids who'd arrived with Raveena. "Which I assume is why they're here?"

"They are. They found me in the crowd, and we were able to get out." Raveena reached into her backpack. "But you're wrong about one thing: we do know who the altered are. I found the list at Delta Labs."

Beth folded her arms. "List?"

Raveena pulled out a folder and held it up. "Names and powers. Hundreds of them, at least."

Sam and the others stared at her in stunned silence. Hundreds? What had caused so many people to get powers? Were they all teenagers, too?

"We're lucky Scorpion didn't get their hands on that," Charles said. "Good work, Raveena. Now, it sounds like we should get going before we run into more trouble."

"Raveena, could you and a couple of others come help us secure Malcolm before we drive off?" Beth asked. "The last thing we need after all this is him trying to escape."

Raveena nodded. After a few moments of tense silence, Sam took a step forward. "I'll help, too," he offered, despite his nerves. He couldn't help being curious if Malcolm would have anything to say about what had happened.

Veronica climbed to her feet. "I'll come."

"You sure?" Sam asked her. "You don't have to. I'll be okay."

"I'm sure. Come on."

"I'll help you guys," Eric said, joining Sam, Veronica, and Raveena as they began to follow the Newmans. "The more the better, right?"

"Keep as much of a distance as you can," Charles warned as they walked up to the RV. "We're just going to handcuff him for the three-hour drive. Our crew will be able to move him directly to a cell when we reach the ship"

"And remember, he likes to talk," Beth added. "Don't let him get in your head. It's not just his powers we have to worry about."

Charles opened the door. Sam immediately began scanning the space inside for anything he could throw around if he had to, despite the pounding in his skull that threatened to worsen at the slightest provocation.

The group slowly entered the RV.

"What, afraid I might try to run?" Malcolm sat up on the bench he'd been lying on. "You have nothing to worry about. This is the nicest living situation I've had in months."

"I hope you're just as excited about the cell we're putting you in." Charles held up the handcuffs. "Now, we can't have you causing problems during the drive."

Malcolm laughed. "Fair enough." He extended his arm toward Charles with his palm up. "Probably don't want me near any windows, right?"

His willingness to be held prisoner made Sam nervous. As if he could sense fear, Malcolm's gaze moved to Sam while the cuff clicked into place around his wrist. "Get anything interesting from Delta?" The smug smile didn't leave his lips. "Maybe some of their experiment data?"

"We're not putting up with this right now." Charles fastened the second cuff to a bar on the wall.

"Right, my apologies. You all have bigger problems to deal with," Malcolm said. "So sorry to hear about your town, by the way."

Veronica glared at him. "Yeah, right. You would have taken that fragment in a heartbeat if you knew how."

"Ouch." Malcolm lifted an eyebrow. "I mean, I certainly would have, but that doesn't mean I would have reveled in the destruction of your homes."

Charles backed away and rejoined the rest of the group.

Malcolm lazily tugged on the cuffs, and the chain clinked against the bar. "Besides, what I would or wouldn't have done doesn't matter, anyway." He grinned. "Because you got the fragment, didn't you?"

Eric's hand moved to his pocket. "How—?"

"You're so easy to read." Malcolm's gaze flickered to the nearest window. "And you talk louder than you realize."

"Come on," Beth said. "We need to get going."

The others began to file out of the vehicle. Veronica first, then Eric.

"Someday soon you'll have no choice but to come to me for information," Malcolm called after them. "And believe me, I look forward to sharing."

Sam threw one last glance back as the Newmans stepped out. Beth hovered right outside the door and watched Sam, concern lingering in her gaze.

"You seem to be having more fun holding everything you know over our heads than sharing it," Sam told Malcolm.

"Insightful." Malcolm chuckled.

Before Malcolm could say anything else, Sam stepped out of the RV and pulled the door closed behind him.