فصل 46

CHAPTER 46

“What do you mean you work for the Right Arm?” Thomas asked. It made no sense.

“What do you mean what do I mean?” the man said, despite the gun at his head. “I work for the freaking Right Arm. Why’s that so hard to understand?” Thomas pulled the gun away and sat back, confused. “Then why would you be out capturing Immunes?” “Because we want to,” he said, eyeing the lowered weapon. “You ain’t got no business knowin’ nothing else.” “Shoot him and move on to the next one,” someone in the crowd called out.

Thomas leaned back in, pressed the gun against the man’s temple again. “You’re awfully brave considering I’m the one with the gun. I’ll count to three one more time. Tell me why the Right Arm would want Immunes or I’ll just have to assume you’re lying. One.” “You know I ain’t lying, kid.”

“Two.”

“You ain’t gonna kill me. I can see it in your eyes.”

The man had called his bluff. There was no way Thomas could just shoot some stranger in the head. He sighed, pulled the gun away. “If you work for the Right Arm, then we’re supposed to be on the same side. Just tell us what’s going on.” The guy sat up, slowly, and so did his three friends, the bloody-faced man groaning with the effort.

“If you want answers,” one said, “then you’ll have to ask the boss. We seriously don’t know anything.” “Yeah,” added the man next to Thomas. “We’re nobodies.”

Brenda stepped closer with her Launcher. “And how do we get to this boss of yours?” The man shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Minho groaned and snatched the gun from Thomas’s hands. “I’ve had enough of this klunk.” He pointed the weapon at the man’s foot. “Fine, we won’t kill you, but your toe’s gonna be smarting something real awful in three seconds if you don’t start talking. One.” “I’m telling you, we don’t know nothin’.” The guy’s face was pinched in anger.

“Fine,” Minho replied. He fired the gun.

Thomas watched in shock as the man grabbed his foot, wailing in agony. Minho had shot him right in the pinkie toe—that part of the shoe and the toe itself were completely gone, replaced by a bleeding wound.

“How could you do that?” the guard next to him on the ground yelled as she moved to help her friend. She pulled a wad of napkins from her pants and pressed them against his foot.

Thomas was shocked that Minho had actually done it, but he had to respect the guy. Thomas couldn’t have pulled the trigger, and if they didn’t get answers now, they never would. He looked over at Brenda, and her shrug showed that she agreed. Teresa was watching from a distance, her face unreadable.

Minho kept at it. “Okay, while she’s working on that poor foot of his, someone better start talking. Tell us what’s going on or we’re going to lose another toe.” He waved the pistol at the lady, then the other two guys. “Why are you kidnapping people for the Right Arm?” “We told you, we don’t know anything,” the woman answered. “They pay us and we do what they ask.” “And you?” Minho asked, pointing the gun at one of the men. “You wanna say something—save a toe or two?” He held up his hands. “I swear on the life of my mom I don’t know anything. But …” He seemed to regret that last part immediately. His gaze shot to his friends and his face paled.

“But what? Spill it—I know you’re hiding something.”

“Nothing.”

“Do we really need to keep playing this game?” Minho moved the gun directly up against the man’s foot. “I’m done counting.” “Stop!” the guard yelled. “Okay, listen. We could take a couple of you back with us to ask them yourselves. I don’t know if they’ll let you talk to the one in charge, but they might. I’m not getting my toe shot off for no good reason.” “All right, then,” Minho said, taking a step back and gesturing for the guy to stand up. “See, that wasn’t so bad. Let’s go visit this boss of yours. Me, you, and my friends.” The room burst into a rush of voices. No one wanted to be left behind and no one was going to be quiet about it.

The woman who’d brought in the water stood up and started yelling. The crowd went silent. “You people are a lot safer here! Just trust me on that one. If all of us tried to make it to where we’d need to go, I can guarantee half wouldn’t get there. If these guys want to see the boss, then let them risk their necks. A gun and a Launcher aren’t going to do a bit of good out there. But in here we have a locked door and no windows.” When she finished, another chorus of complaints filled the room. The woman turned to Minho and Thomas and spoke over the noise. “Listen, it’s dangerous out there. I wouldn’t take more than a couple of people. The more you have, the more likely you’ll be seen.” She paused and scanned the room. “And I’d go soon if I were you. From the looks of it, these people are only going to get antsier. Pretty soon there’ll be no way to hold them off. And out there …” She pursed her lips together tightly, then continued. “There are Cranks everywhere. They’re killing anything that moves.”