We stared at each other in amazement. Brodie took the notebook from me and turned over the pages one at a time. She even held them up to the light to see if any words were etched onto the paper.
'You're sure this is important?' she asked skeptically.
'Absolutely. The man dragged it out of his pocket with his dying breath and forced it on me.'
'Then it's important. Let's head back to the car.'
We returned to the vehicle and spent the next half an hour examining the book from front to back. At the same time, the streets grew busier. People strode past on their way to work. A street cleaning machine zoomed down the road. A café owner set out tables and chairs onto the sidewalk.
Brodie finally slid the book down between the seats. 'This is a dead-end,' she said. 'At least for now.'
'What do you suggest?'
She thought for a moment. 'What about Cygnus Industries? We could go back to see what we can find.'
I raised an eyebrow. 'To see what we can find?' I said. She'd seemed so sensible until now: not like a crazy person at all. 'You mean, like bad guys with guns and psycho doctors? You might have superpowers, but—'
'I don't have superpowers—' she began. 'Well, technically I do, but that's beside the point. Cygnus Industries is probably the safest place for us right now.'
'How do you figure that?'
'They're probably turning the city upside down looking for us,' Brodie explained. 'Cygnus Industries is the last place they'd expect us to go.'
It made sense. 'Okay,' I said. 'But you're Batman if the bad guys turn up.'
She smirked. 'Okay, boy wonder.'
We drove across town to Cygnus Industries. Taking care to park some way down the block, we cautiously approached the address. The body and the damaged car were long gone, of course. All that remained was some broken glass on the road. We strolled past and into the main lobby. The place was older but clean and well maintained. We made straight for the elevators and got to the floor in one piece.
The door to Cygnus Industries had been broken open. Obviously, the guys who attacked our contact didn't bother knocking. A zigzag of police tape was strung across the front. No sound came from within. We eased our way between the police tape and closed the door behind us.
'Wow,' said Brodie.
Wow, indeed. Imagine a fairly typical office with filing cabinets, desks, computers, and partitions. Now imagine it has been turned upside down and every file and piece of paper taken. Desks were upturned. Computers smashed. Even the water dispenser had been pulled off the wall.
We methodically searched every filing cabinet and desk for papers, but nothing had been left behind. A smaller room led off the primary office. It probably belonged to the manager because all it contained was a desk and a wardrobe. We searched the drawers of the desk, but they were empty too.
I tried plugging in one of the computers, but it gave me a blue screen.
'Oh boy,' I groaned. 'This place has been stripped clean.'
'Wait a minute,' Brodie said. 'Did you hear that?'
We froze. Listening hard, I heard the distant sound of the elevator, as if the doors were closing. Brodie and I exchanged glances. There were frighteningly few places to hide: the desk in the manager's office could only fit half a body under it. Other than that, there was the wardrobe, so we scooted into it. The door slightly ajar, I peered out to see if anyone entered. At the same time, I couldn't help but notice how close I was to Brodie. Her face was only a few inches away.
She whispered. 'Keep your mind on the job.'
I averted my eyes. Good thing it was dark because I was turning red. The front door to the office creaked open. There was a shuffle of feet. Someone cleared their throat. I heard the drawer of a filing cabinet as it was eased open. Then more footsteps.
A figure came into view. It was a kid a couple of years younger than me. He was of Asian appearance. Maybe fourteen or fifteen, he had black hair and a round face. A bit overweight. He seemed to be doing precisely the same search we'd just completed.
I caught Brodie's eye. The whole thing was bizarre. To make matters worse, it was only a matter of time before he opened the wardrobe to find—us!
A horrible thought went through my mind. It was terrible, but I couldn't help it.
No! That's awful! Don't even think about it!
I imagined myself leaping out of the wardrobe and scaring the daylights out of the kid. A smile creased my lips.
Brodie glanced at me in the dim light, frowned, and I shook my head.
Don't worry about it—I'm one of the good guys.
The kid froze. At first, I thought he'd heard us in the wardrobe. Then there was a yell, and he ran for the door. I heard a scuffle and spotted two men tackling him to the ground.
My stomach turned over as one punched the kid in the stomach, and he rolled up like an injured bug. They dragged him into the office and threw him on the manager's desk. One held him down while the other one rounded the desk. He had his back to us. He was so close we could have reached out and tweaked his ear.
'Now you'll tell us everything you know about The Agency,' the man began.
'Please!' the kid gasped. 'I don't know anything—'
'You'll speak or—'
That's as far as he got. Brodie shoved the door open and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned in astonishment.
'Surprise,' she said.