Emily was slowly losing her mind.
Granted, it wasn't all her fault.
Everything about the Senator Crane situation was setting off every alarm inside her head. The sirens had been wailing in her ears for days now. She couldn't stop the theories and conspiracies and thoughts. Her mind was a dangerous whirlpool; churning and spitting out different ideas at the speed of sound.
After Holly's funeral, she and the team returned to headquarters in Oregon. Everyone spent the next couple of days wallowing in their own grief and sadness. It was sickening. They were poisoning The Acropolis with their pitiful auras and downcast demeanors. Emily was determined not to fall into a pit. If she did that, she feared not being able to climb back out. So, she kept herself busy.
She spent most of her time in The Watchtower and her room—which looked more like a detective's evidence wall than a bedroom. Newspaper clippings, online articles, and whatever other pieces of information she could find on Crane and the Primes who abducted him were pinned to two of her four walls. She currently stood in the middle of her room with her arms crossed over her violet tank top.
Empty cups of green tea cluttered her desk. Dirty clothes were strewn across the floor. The room was shrouded in darkness, with only a few straggling rays of light shining through the gaps in the curtains draped over her window. Her bed was the only part of the room that didn't look like a hurricane had run through it—and that was only because she hadn't slept in a few days.
"What is the through-line?" she muttered to herself while staring at all the evidence she had gathered.
None of it made sense.
Why would those rogue Primes capture Crane instead of killing him on the spot? They hadn't accomplished anything. They hadn't even kept hold of the senator for longer than a day, as Crane's security detail managed to rescue him.
Emily still wasn't sure about that piece of information either. Despite scouring the net for hours, she couldn't find a detailed report on the recovery mission. Even the interviews Crane's PR representative gave were extremely vague. It was almost as if they were withholding something.
Something they didn't want the public to know.
She couldn't help but feel the entire thing was off. Something sinister was lurking beneath the surface and Senator Crane was at the base of it. His brilliant smile invaded her mind. She scowled.
In one swift motion, she grabbed a discarded arrowhead from the ground and chucked it at the wall. The tip sunk into one of her pictures of the senator, nailing him right in the forehead.
"What are you up to?"
A knock sounded on her door. The sound rattled her out of focus. Her entire body stiffened as her eyes cut to the door.
"Emily? You up?"
Shit.
It was Kai.
Emily lifted her arm and took a whiff. She instantly regretted it. Tears sprung in her eyes as she gagged on the rancid smell assaulting her nostrils. A shower was desperately needed. And judging by her appearance in the mirror on the other side of her room, her hair could use some treatment as well.
Her stomach twisted into a knot.
I can't let her see me like this.
"Emily, open up!"
"Just a minute!" she yelled back. Cursing under her breath, she dashed over to her closet and searched for anything clean. She yanked a black hoodie off its hanger and pulled it on over her shirt, which was stained with mandarin chicken sauce. Gross. With a sigh, she walked over to her door and opened it.
Standing before her was a rather concerned-looking Kai and a dumbfounded Andre.
She smiled weakly at both of them while trying to hide her pigsty of a room with her door. "Anything I can help you with?"
"Yeah," Andre replied while covering his nose. "You can take a shower."
She flipped him off.
"We haven't seen you in a few days," Kai said, her tone soft but stern like a mother's. "We were starting to worry."
"You mean 'we' as in 'you'?" She rolled her eyes. "Look, guys, I'm fine. Honestly. I've just been working on something. It's not a big—"
"Working on what?" Andre stepped into the doorway and attempted to peek into her room.
Emily's eyes widened as her instincts took over. She immediately intercepted his path. Pressing two hands to his wide chest, she struggled to keep him at bay. "It's a real mess in there. Trust me, you don't want to see it."
He tilted his head at her, his dark eyes dimming with uncertainty. "I can handle a mess. Have you seen Archie's lab?"
Touché.
"Emily," Kai said, her gaze narrowed. "What's going on?"
"Nothing is going on," she insisted. Her cheeks warmed as she felt anger beginning to replace her embarrassment. "Look, can you guys just go already? I'm really busy—"
Kai ignored her and pushed the door open. Before Emily could react, she stepped inside. Andre followed suit. Hanging her head, Emily walked in after them.
"What...is...this?" Kai pointed at her evidence board. "What are you doing?"
Emily sneered at the girl. "I told you not to come in."
Andre peered around the room, his metal hand rubbing the top of his head. "This is kind of creepy. Like stalker level creepy."
"I'm not stalking anyone."
"That wasn't my point." He faced her, disappointment scrawled upon his stony face.
"What is your point then, Andre?"
He pursed his lips. "This isn't healthy. You're driving yourself crazy." He gestured at her, causing her to scoff at him. "I mean, look at you. You look like you haven't slept in days."
She turned away from Andre and Kai, her jaw clenched tight and her nails digging into her palms. They didn't understand. No one did. Crane was up to something and they needed to find out what that something was before it was too late. Their deadline was coming up soon, and she would be damned if she was going to work for him if Atlas got shut down.
"Emily." Kai walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have to stop this."
Her eyes burning with fury, she spun on her heel and stuck a finger in the girl's face. "Holly died because of those rogues. No one except me is doing anything to figure out why."
Kai furrowed her brows. "They were trying to get rid of Senator Crane—"
"If that was the case, why is he dead? How did they let him escape? It doesn't add up. You know it. We all know it. So why isn't anyone doing anything?"
"What are we meant to do?" Kai shook her head. "Are we supposed to publically accuse the man of...what are you even accusing him of?"
Andre nodded slowly at Emily. "You think he planned it." He paused. "You don't really believe that, do you?"
She said nothing.
Kai gawked at her. "Please tell me you don't think Crane planned his own abduction. People died during that rally, Emily. Holly died during that rally. Archie was paralyzed. You can't possibly think Crane was behind it all. I know you don't like him, but don't let your disdain for the man cloud your judgment."
"Oh, spare me. You don't know the things this man has done," she replied, her voice low. She gestured at one of the reports tacked on her wall with her chin. "He's been accused of bribery, solicitation, and using intimidation tactics against his enemies in the past. He keeps everything about his life a secret."
"Well, he is a public figure, Em."
"Exactly! So why is it that there's basically nothing about his life anywhere!? No mention of any kids, a wife. Nothing!"
Andre and Kai exchanged a wary glance. Emily simply glared at them while placing her hands on her hips.
"Okay," Kai said after a period of tense silence. "Okay. Say you're right. Say Crane really did plan the entire thing. How would you even go about proving that? You can't just make a claim like that without backing it up."
Emily bit down on her lip and averted her gaze to her window. She had thought about that already. In fact, she even had a plan. But she knew it sounded crazy. And if it sounded crazy to her, she could only imagine what it would sound like to them.
"You don't even have a plan do you," Andre said.
She glared at him. "I do have a plan," she blurted out. She froze. A few curses rang off inside her head as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"You do?"
Kai frowned at her. She crossed her arms and inched closer to Emily. Their chests were nearly touching as they silently challenged each other.
"What's your plan then?" she asked.
Emily huffed and shook her head. "Forget it."
"No. Tell me."
She glanced at Andre, who responded with a shrug of his massive shoulders. Sighing, she raked her fingers through her knotted hair. "Crane is in Portland for his campaign tour. He's going to be staying at a hotel in the city. He'll likely have some sort of personal laptop or briefcase or something on him. If I can get inside the hotel and into his room, I'll be able to figure out what he's been doing."
Kai laughed, a dry, unimpressed sound that pierced Emily's ears. "You can't be serious. Please tell me you aren't serious."
Emily waved her off and faced her door. "I knew you wouldn't understand. You always see the best in everyone. That's why you can't accept the fact that Crane isn't the perfect poster boy for America that everyone else sees him as." She glanced at the girl over her shoulder. "But I expected better from you. I thought you'd see my side of things. But who am I kidding? You're a sheep just like the rest of them."
Kai jabbed a finger at her, her sea-colored irises alight with anger. "Careful, Emily."
"I think you both should leave," she snapped. "You've overstayed your welcome."
"No, we need to talk about this—"
"I said leave!"
With a shake of his head, Andre brushed past her on his way out. Before walking out, he cast her a pitiful look. "I hope you find what you're looking for." He continued down the hall, his steps echoing in her ears.
Kai remained in the center of her room wearing a shocked expression. "Emily, don't do this."
"Kai," Emily started. She walked up to the girl. They locked eyes for a few moments. Emily's stomach fluttered, but she was determined not to crumble. She had to stay strong. She was onto something and she wouldn't let anyone stop her progress. Not even her. Her stare dropped to the floor. "Get out of my room."
Kai opened her mouth to say something but seemingly decided against it. Kissing her teeth, she shook her head at the girl and left without another word.
Scowling, Emily slammed her door shut behind her.
She stood in front of her evidence board, her head racing with a million different thoughts. Part of her was angry with herself for how she treated Kai and Andre. Another part of her was livid with them for making her feel like she was crazy. She wasn't. They were the crazy ones.
Right?
She shook her head. She was right. And if they couldn't see that, then that was their problem.
After a few more minutes of studying her board in the darkness of her room, an idea illuminated the murky depths of her mind. A smile replaced her scowl.
If they weren't going to believe her, she knew someone who would.
#
"Let me get this straight," Danai said while she sat on a compact ball of swirling air. "You want to sneak into a senator's hotel room and go through his stuff?"
Emily frowned. Out of everyone in the compound, she thought Danai would've been the one to be on board with her plan. It seemed like she had been proven wrong yet again.
"If you think it's stupid, I'll just do it myself."
The girl grinned and stood up from her wind ball. Her silver dreads bounced against her shoulders as she walked up to Emily. "I think it's brilliant."
"You do?"
"Course I do!" Danai draped an arm over her shoulder. "It's genius, actually. Crane is definitely hiding something. I can't believe the others haven't seen it yet."
"That's what I've been saying," Emily exclaimed. She smiled at Danai. The two of them held each other's gaze for a few seconds before the latter coughed awkwardly.
"So, when were you planning on doing this?" she asked. "Crane won't be here forever. It's best we move quickly."
Emily nodded. "I was actually planning on going after sundown. Knowing how busy he is, I doubt he'll be in his room until later tonight."
"Good idea." Danai clapped her hands together. "Alright then. Let's convene in the hangar in a few hours."
Emily could barely contain her excitement. Not only had the girl not made her feel like she was losing her mind, but she was also on board with her plan. Why couldn't Kai be more like Danai?
She was strong, opinionated, and was never scared to put everything on the line. The two of them were nearly a perfect match.
"I'll see you later, okay?" Danai said, her voice pulling Emily out her thoughts.
Swallowing hard, Emily nodded. "See ya'." She watched the girl walk away from her. She wet her lips, her eyes glued to Danai's retreating figure.
Maybe she had been going after the wrong person this whole time. Kai was too weak. Too soft. She wasn't willing to put the work in to defeat Crane. And Emily couldn't have that. The man needed to be taken down—for all of their sakes. If Kai wasn't willing to help her with that, then maybe she should direct her efforts elsewhere.
With a smile, she closed the door to her bedroom and headed to her bathroom to take a shower.
#
Sneaking into Senator Crane's hotel building was easier than they thought it would be. They already knew going through the front door would bring too much attention. They were superhumans known worldwide after all. So, instead of entering the normal way, they took to the skies.
Emily was beginning to think bringing Danai along was destiny. She wouldn't have been able to do it without her, considering she could fly and all.
After the two of them landed on the hotel's roof, they entered the building through the unmanned door near the infinity pool. Luckily, no one was outside at that time of night. Then again, it was the middle of fall. No one in their right mind would be going for a swim.
Sneaking into the hotel had been the easy part. Finding Crane's room was when things got tricky.
Since they hadn't consulted the concierge's desk for information on the man's hotel room number, they had to find it the old-fashioned way. There was only one floor he could have been on. That was the penthouse level, and there were only a few rooms there. That made their job easier.
All that was left for them to do was find which one Crane was staying in.
The two of them sneaked through the carpeted halls, keeping their heads down and their eyes low. They stopped by every door they passed. Emily pressed her ear to the metal, listening to the vibrating soundwaves lurking inside. She managed to eliminate most of the rooms as not belonging to Crane.
Eventually, they were left with one last penthouse to check.
"You think this is it?" Danai asked while adjusting the hood of her windbreaker.
"It better be," Emily grumbled. "We've been gone for about an hour know. I don't need the others asking questions about where we are."
"You think your little girlfriend told them?"
She scowled at her. "Kai isn't my girlfriend."
"Oh, really? Could've fooled me."
Emily rolled her eyes and pushed past her. "C'mon. We're wasting time." She tiptoed up to the door before placing her ear next to it. She shut her eyes and focused on the sounds inside the room.
The soundwaves reached her eardrum, amplifying by the second. She heard the sound of a laptop humming, a television playing a news channel, and a few other noises she couldn't distinguish. But there was no one inside. She knew that much.
This had to be Crane's room. It had to be.
"This the one?" Danai asked.
"We're about to find out."
"How are we going to get inside without breaking the door?"
Emily grinned and cracked her knuckles. Though, she wasn't sure why she did. It wasn't like she was going to be needing her hands. "Watch and learn." She knelt in front of the electronic locking mechanism guarding the door. A small, keyhole stood before her. Forming a tight 'O' with her lips, she blew a stream of concentrated air into the opening.
The noise sounded like a high-pitched train whistle as it left her mouth. Behind her, Kai clamped her hands on her ears.
After a few more seconds of blowing, a click sounded. The light on the lock turned from red to green. Emily's smile widened. She had been perfecting that particular skill for over a year. But she had never tried it on an electrical lock.
"You could've warned a girl before you try to burst her eardrums," Danai complained while rubbing her temples.
"Sorry about that," Emily said. "Didn't think it'd be that loud."
"Yeah, yeah."
Taking a deep breath, she gripped the door handle, twisted it, and pushed the door open slowly.