Three Alphas, Three Mates

Chapter 40 - Michael

I think about that for a moment, but no matter how I look at it, there's no part of me that could ever suspect Onai. Or Krys for that matter. If anyone should be distrusted, it's Ethel! That boy's a snake! ...Or maybe just a weasel... A rat? I don't know.

I look back at what Michael's doing.

He writes 'Crazy Coach Lady/Disappointed Soccer Mom?' above Ethel's name. Then 'The Dawn Pack' beside Bloodmoon. 'Suzie' and 'Mr. Olcan' go underneath Carson, and 'Juliet' goes beside Suzie.

Then Michael looks at me. 'What are the names of the ally packs they told you about today?' He hovers his pencil over some empty space, phone in the other hand.

I clear my throat. 'Um... the names of the packs?'

He nods. 'Yeah, the supposed allies. Who are they?'

I scratch the back of my neck. "Er."

He's silent.

I look away. "Can I rain check on that? I forgot."

"Mia," He says exasperatedly.

"Hey! It's a lot of information." I point at the paper. 'And look, you can't even remember names either so you have no room to talk.'

"...Hm." He rubs his chin, thoughtfully. 'I guess you're right. I can't remember shit.'

I smile smugly. It always feels nice to knock Michael off his high horse, even for a second. But before I know it, he's already climbed back on. "So here's what we'll do." He writes 'Allies' in big letters. "How many were there again?"

"Two," I say confidently. That I know.

"Alright then." Beside Allies he writes a second entry, 'Allies 2.'

"Oh," I say dramatically. "How creative."

He shoves me, lightly. Then he stares down at his handiwork for awhile. His eyes trace every name and connection, every crossing. Every circle that means suspect, and every square that means potential source of information.

He picks up his phone and texts me. It must be another thing he doesn't want the betas to hear. 'You're sure Onai said mindlink was like the mall surveillance room?' he asks.

I nod. Then I text back. 'Why?'

He doesn't respond immediately. His eyes scan the paper again and again and I know he's seeing something I don't. He's a calculus man after all. If there's one thing he's good at, it's finding sense where there is none.

Finally, he gestures towards the paper. 'Well, if he was telling the truth, this Is mindlink.'

He hands me the paper, but I'm still not getting it.

He points at the names one by one before texting, 'Each one of them is one of the monitors.'

"Okay. I figured that much," I say. "But how does drawing all of this help us?"

"It answers two important questions," he says. Then he starts to text again. "(1) who you need to ask to get the right information and (2) who you need to ask to not get caught."

All I see is a jumbled mess, but believe me, I'm trying. I get it enough. This person's connected to that person. That person has ties to this person, but how does that tell me anything? I wish he'd stop speaking in riddles and just give me a flat answer.

Sensing my confusion, he decides to elaborate. "Okay, for example," he says out loud. "If you we're looking at this paper, what might you also notice in this room?"