The Sunshine Boy and the Weaver King

Chapter Twelve

"Hey, handsome."

Anthony looked up to see Mia standing a couple feet away, grinning smugly at him. 

"Found ya," she said, walking over to plop onto the bench next to him. 

Anthony darted a quick glance around at the passing students, then said, "Should we really be seen together?"

"Damn, you right," she said. "Two Asians and at least one is a Muslim. Maybe we planted some bombs. We should totally split and hide the evidence."

He frowned. "That's... not what I meant."

"And it was also a joke," she smacked his shoulder and flashed a smile. "Chill. I'm not that uptight."

He leaned back a little warily, until his back touched the back of the bench. "How did you know I'd be here?"

"I took a sample of the dirt from your footprints and found out that there was a type of clay from this town," she said. "Noting your physical appearance and style, as well as the fact that Burke approached you directly and didn't involve your parents, I figured you had to be in college, or at least old enough to attend. And I'm Asian, too, dude. I know how parents be. You totally had to be in college. From there it was just a gamble of where you'd be on campus."

Anthony blinked. "You... took a sample of dirt from my footprints?"

She waited a couple seconds, then laughed, throwing her head back, shoulders shaking. "No, dude, I'm kidding. I followed you." She sighed happily. "When you left Burke's, I slid from shadow to shadow until you reached Campton."

"Keep your voice down," he said, glancing around again. "We're on a...," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "we're on a no powers campus."

"I know," she replied easily. "But I was thinking. If we're supposed to be defending each other on the battlefield, we need to get to know each other. No personal questions, that's fine. But we should at least have a team name."

"A team name," he said flatly. 

"You're a lot more paranoid here than you are at Burke's," she observed. "Faker."

"I'm--" he pressed his lips together. "We don't need a team name. We need to be able to work together on the field, and it doesn't take liking each other to do that."

"It'd help, though," she said. "I was thinking Suicide Squad-esque nicknames. You feel?"

"I do not feel," he said.

"But that's plagiarism," she continued, "so, like, maybe Suicide Sibs?"

Anthony shut his eyes. "Is this really necessary? I have another class in thirty minutes."

"You're right, it's lame." She frowned, shaking her head. "We aren't siblings. Our skin tones are too different. We'll never pass."

"Mia," Anthony said, "please. Please tell me you did not come all the way here to pin me down and ask me about team names."

She paused, then smiled wryly. "Is it so bad if I did?" At Anthony's expression, she lifted her hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll cut to the chase. Burke's spying on us."

Anthony's eyebrows shot up. His immediate response was to be surprised, but then logic stamped that out. Next came the worrying that Burke planted something on them to be overhearing his conversation. He suddenly felt the urge to dig out his phone. 

She leaned in a little closer. "It makes sense. I know it does. But I also know how weird and secretive he is. About catching those villains. That house. Dude's obsessed. He'll sacrifice us in a heartbeat to get to the creepmiester. you know it, I know it. You and I are going to die two stupid, criminal teenagers, and he is going to take the glory."

Anthony blinked. "Yeah. I know. Not that he was spying on us, but that we're going to die. I'm not-- I'm not saying that I'm okay with it, I'm just--"

"Shh," Mia said. "It's okay. I getcha. Now, here's the next part of what I came to say. He chose us for a reason. I don't know about your past, but mine is pretty terrible. The biggest part I can remember is that my parents had this creepy job that made them never be home. I grew up with an ugly Dwayne Johnson as my nanny, breathing cigarette smoke and weed and all that ish. I'm betting that your childhood wasn't all that great either."

Anthony paused. Thought. Bit his lip. "You think he's targetted us because of our parents."

"My parents worked for the Weaver," Mia said, eyes bright and hard. "And then they tried to leave. Now they're dead."

Anthony swallowed hard. This was pointing towards things he didn't even want to begin to think about. "How are you still alive?"

She gave him an odd look. "I can hide in shadows."

"Right." His throat was dry. 

"I never knew my parents' real names," Mia said quietly. "Did you know yours?"

Anthony paused, then shook his head, even as his pulse beat in his ears and his mind screamed she could be lying she could be lying she could be lying. 

"We need to find out who they were," she said lowly. "Because I think what Burke wants has only ever been about drawing the Weaver out and destroying him-- not because he's a good man or because he's got a superiority complex." She smiled, glittering in anticipation. "It's one of two things. One, it's personal. Two, he's working for him."

Anthony's mind was spinning. "And you think our parents..."

"Burke must know the Weaver," Mia said. "He must. There's no way he doesn't. People don't go crazy for no reason. If he knew the Weaver, he knew who worked for him. He knew my parents. He might have known yours. What if he's just trying to kill us to get revenge? Show everyone you can never really leave."

"I never said my parents worked for the Weaver," Anthony said. "And Burke said he wanted the Weaver dead out of self-preservation." 

"You didn't have to." Mia leaned back again. "I saw the look on your face when I said it. And also, maybe he's saving himself by offering us up? Who knows."

"Together, Burke thinks we can kill the Weaver," he said slowly, going over everything she told him. How did Burke plan on them being dead by the end of it? Maybe he thought Weaver's henchmen would hunt them down either way. Or the FBI would get them. 

"No, he doesn't," Mia said. "The Weaver is never, ever going to die. It's not in the cards."

"This is a lot of information to process," said Anthony. 

"We need to break into his house," said Mia at the same time. 

Anthony blinked, his mouth dropping open before he could stop himself. "You... We... No."

First she said that Burke was spying on them. And then she said that Burke might be working for the Weaver or in possession of a deranged revenge plot. And now she was saying their parents were involved and to find out more, they had to break into Burke's un-breakable-into house. 

"I need time to process this," he continued, picking up his backpack and gripping his phone in his other hand. "How can I contact you?"

She grinned. "You won't need to. I'll stop by tomorrow, same time, same place. Work for you?"

Anthony checked the time on his phone and frowned. "I have class this time tomorrow. Stop by in the morning. Ten."

"Okay," she nodded. 

One night to go over his options. That was enough, right?