Broken Walls

23. Half Truths

Circle me and the needle moves gracefully
Back and forth, if my heart was a compass you'd be North
Risk it all cause I'll catch you if you fall
Wherever you go, if my heart was a house you'd be home

- Owl City.  

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Shawn stared at Lucas, his body tense and unmoving. Lucas didn't just call Shawn "Agent." He couldn't have. The air around him grew thick and inhibiting, his lungs struggling to draw it in. "Excuse me?" Shawn asked.

Lucas stepped out onto the small porch and closed the door behind him, plunging both of them into the moonlit night. Silence blared in Shawn's ears, weighing him down in its foreign quiet. He swore everything in the world was holding its breath to hear what Lucas was going to say.

"I think you heard me, Agent Mendes."

"I don't know what you're—"

"I'm pretty sure you do." Lucas sighed. "They've certainly trained you well. I'll give them that."

Shawn swallowed, but said nothing. How did this man know who he was? No one should have known. Not only did the Institute cover themselves well, Shawn wasn't even graduated yet. He wouldn't have been on any of the rosters. As far as the Institute was concerned, he didn't exist. Even though Shawn couldn't yet see him, he could feel Lucas's eyes on him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he was alert, watching every word that might make its way out of his mouth.

"I wasn't sure when Karla first mentioned you ... I recognized your name, and thought maybe ... but when I saw you—when I saw the unmistakable resemblance of Manuel Mendes, well, then, I knew for sure. And knowing your mother, I knew you would be one of them. Karen would never allow a son of hers not to pledge."

Shawn swallowed. "You know my parents?" His eyes adjusted to the dim light and he saw Lucas lean against the railing and cross his arms over his chest. Shawn couldn't get used to the quiet. It unsettled him more in this situation than it normally would. He couldn't think. Without the noise of the city, every little thing was magnified. Laughter floated out from inside and Shawn prayed none of them came out here. He couldn't have his cover blown. Not yet. Not when he was so close to figuring out who was after Camila.

"Knew. Back when we went through the Institute together." Lucas's eyes met Shawn's, and Shawn raised his brows. "I'm retired. Have been for some time, but I still have contacts."

Shawn still didn't speak. One of the first rules they were taught was that if the interrogator could get nothing out of them, they couldn't prove anything. So he stayed silent.

Lucas stepped across the porch toward him, moving into a patch of moonlight. His eyes were kind but stern. An enigma Shawn couldn't understand. How could he be both benign and demanding at the same time? Lucas leaned forward. "I know you won't talk, Agent. The code is as ingrained in my mind as it is yours, but know this: I know what you're after, and she can't give it to you. Camila knows nothing. We made sure she knew nothing." He paused. "That girl is—"