Project HALO

Chapter 51

Flashes of last night invade every part of me.

How Katia betrayed us, how Phantom came running after the explosion only to find Frank unconscious and me unable to move, how Frank was pulled away and rushed to the hospital, how they looked at me when we came back to the factory. How they still look at me. I can't bear this disappointment. It's overwhelming and devastating all at once. I have to clamp my mouth shut to hold everything inside, to stop myself from breaking even further.

I can't remember going to sleep, but I wake up in my bed, rested against several pillows with two covers tucked around me, and something hard and white preventing me from moving my left arm smoothly. I glance down and see a supporting bandage wrapped tightly around my forearm. I try to feel if I'm hurting anywhere else, but there's no specific place. It's just everywhere, both on the inside and the outside, and it's the kind of hurt that never quite goes away.

"Hello?" I croak, my throat so scratchy I can't say anything else. My sight goes in and out of focus as I scan the room. As if he's been waiting, Mikey steps inside.

"Charlie!" Mikey says, his face bright and his grin big. "You're awake."

He sits down at the edge of my bed. For a moment, we stare at each other, neither of us knowing what to say or where to begin.

I open my mouth to ask what's happened while I was asleep, but Mikey throws himself over me, his long arms folding me into a big hug. He leans his head against my shoulder, and as I hug him back, everything bubbles to the surface. The memories crush into my head, ramming down on my brain like an ax.

My cheeks heat up, and I start crying.

I don't know what else to do with all of this shit building up inside. I hope the images from last night will disappear with the angry and frustrated tears.

They don't.

"Charlie," Mikey starts, but his voice fades into nothing. He clears his voice, and I pull away, wiping the wetness from my cheeks. "I'm sorry," he says.

"It's not your fault," I say, fiddling with my nails to keep my mind occupied.

"It isn't your fault, either," Mikey says, his voice louder now. Stricter.

I want to believe him, but I can't. My chest tightens with all the things I want to say and the things I will never say. I shake my head and drag a hand through my hair. It's greasy and knotty.

"How is..." I swallow. "Is he..."

I can't even finish the sentence without a rush of emotion blocking my throat.

"He's in the hospital," Mikey says, and I let a tiny, tiny spark of hope flare up at the center of my chest. When I remember the flash drive in my pocket, my hope grows even brighter. With the flash drive and the files on my chip, I have everything I need to free myself from this hell.

But when I slide my hand into my pocket, it's empty. Both pockets are completely empty. I sit up and throw my covers off to search the bed, but Mikey puts a calm hand on my shoulder to stop me.

A playful grin curls his lips. "Looking for this?"

"You fucker." I sigh when I see the flash drive between his fingers. "What about Regina? The virus? They blew up the lab, so it's destroyed, right?"

Mikey puts up a brave face as he shakes his head. "She moved the virus to their headquarters earlier that day. She was planning this. No one has seen her since yesterday, but there's rumors she's in a hospital."

I sink back onto my bed and rub my eyes with my knuckles. "So we still have to destroy the fucking virus." I sigh. "How about the other Phantoms, are they okay?"

"Yes, but we haven't seen Katia." Mikey stares at the ceiling as his eyes glaze over. A pang of aftershock and rage shoots through my core.

"You don't know?" I ask through a tight jaw.

Mikey frowns. "What do you mean?"

Fuck. They don't know.

"Nothing," I say, far from ready to be able to tell Mikey about Katia's role without working myself up about it. We have enough to worry about. Regina is alive and the virus is too, which means the threat is still there. At least we have the flash drive, so my head won't be in danger anymore.

"As soon as we have time, we're getting these fucking files out of my head," I continue before Mikey can ask more about Katia. "And Magic Mikey better be at my service."

"Oh, certainly. That'll be 500 bucks, though." He chuckles, but his smile quickly falters and something serious settles over his features. The kind of seriousness he masks himself with when he's about to tell me something I'm not going to like.

"Charlie, I have to—" he begins, but is interrupted by the door opening. He quickly hides the flash drive away in his pocket, and we both turn our heads to see who's entering the room.

The sight makes every single muscle in my body turn to stone. I grab onto Mikey's arm and squeeze it so hard he flinches.

Will walks toward us, but my eyes are fixed on the person behind her.

"Charlie," Will says, a polite smile on her face but hatred in her eyes. "I want you to meet Phantom's biggest sponsor."

His stark blue eyes land on mine, his presence as commanding as ever.

He's the man I hate and the man who hates me.

My father.