need a technician to know about me.” She leaned back in her seat, away from the bracelet, and studied him for a long moment. Alex wondered what she saw when she looked at him—just an idealistic kid? A foolish man? Or an actual leader making a bold choice? He’d like to think of himself as the latter, but he couldn’t entirely blame someone for believing something else.
“I’ll give you a year,” she said finally. “But I want it in writing that if I work for the BPI—as a language consultant, meaning no cage, no medical testing, nothing like that—for one year, I get immunity from any prosecution involving my . . . evolutionary status.
Permanent
immunity.”
“Five years,” he said. “And the agreement is null if you kill or hurt anyone.”
“Two years is my absolute ceiling,” she insisted, “and I can defend myself if attacked.”
“Ms. Frederick—”
“Lindy.”
“Lindy, how do I know you can even stop this person”—he gestured at the Chicago file, now on the seat between them—“within two years?”
“Because,” she said patiently, “he’s my brother.”
Chapter 6
After dropping that little bombshell, Rosalind Frederick wouldn’t give him any more details until she had the signed agreement from the attorney general. Alex tried and tried, even going so far as to point out that more innocent people might die before the paperwork went through, but Lindy just gave him a hard look and shook her head. She agreed to put on the tracking bracelet as a show of good faith, but she wasn’t giving out any information without the paperwork in hand.
Even with Alex’s new pull, getting the AG out of bed to draft a deal that would address laws that hadn’t yet been put into effect would take some time. While they were waiting Alex had the driver take them to the Cincinnati FBI office, where the technician who designed the bracelet was waiting to put it on.
In a rare stroke of good luck, Noelle Liang was the star engineer at the Chicago FBI office; she had been loaned to the bracelet project and flown in specially to help with its “installation.” A tall, slightly gangly Chinese American woman in her midtwenties, she was a Chicago native and had deep roots there. Chase Eddy had actually crossed paths with her before, at a seminar in D.C. He’d hit on her; she’d pointed out that her girlfriend probably wouldn’t approve, and they’d struck up a casual friendship. Chase trusted her, which meant that Alex did, too. He was relieved that she’d be nearby and available for consultation during the case.
The Cincinnati lab was a meager building. The cleaning service had come and gone, but the night security guard walked them downstairs to the lab, where Noelle was the only occupant. Chase walked in with them and introduced Noelle, who wore a miniskirt and a T-shirt with the periodic table underneath her white lab coat. It was nearly three in the morning, but she looked peppy and excited, like a little kid about to debut a new stock car. She shook Lindy’s hand enthusiastically, but Alex didn’t miss the little gleam of “I want to study you” in her eyes, and he doubted Lindy did, either. “Love this clandestine nighttime shit,” she said, leading them to a lab table with two stools, a bright light, and a set of tools that looked more appropriate for a watchmaker than an FBI lab tech. Noelle climbed on one stool and motioned for Lindy to take the other. “You’ve got my bracelet?” she asked Alex.
He handed it over. “You made the modification I asked for, right?”
She gave him a look of mock injury. “Of course I did.”
“Modification?” Lindy said pointedly.
“Yeah.” Noelle picked up the bracelet and flipped it over with one hand, pushing her purple-streaked hair behind her ear with the other. There was a small metal square on the back, roughly the size of a nickel. “This is the casing for the tracking device.” She pointed to an indentation where a second casing had
“I’ll give you a year,” she said finally. “But I want it in writing that if I work for the BPI—as a language consultant, meaning no cage, no medical testing, nothing like that—for one year, I get immunity from any prosecution involving my . . . evolutionary status.
Permanent
immunity.”
“Five years,” he said. “And the agreement is null if you kill or hurt anyone.”
“Two years is my absolute ceiling,” she insisted, “and I can defend myself if attacked.”
“Ms. Frederick—”
“Lindy.”
“Lindy, how do I know you can even stop this person”—he gestured at the Chicago file, now on the seat between them—“within two years?”
“Because,” she said patiently, “he’s my brother.”
Chapter 6
After dropping that little bombshell, Rosalind Frederick wouldn’t give him any more details until she had the signed agreement from the attorney general. Alex tried and tried, even going so far as to point out that more innocent people might die before the paperwork went through, but Lindy just gave him a hard look and shook her head. She agreed to put on the tracking bracelet as a show of good faith, but she wasn’t giving out any information without the paperwork in hand.
Even with Alex’s new pull, getting the AG out of bed to draft a deal that would address laws that hadn’t yet been put into effect would take some time. While they were waiting Alex had the driver take them to the Cincinnati FBI office, where the technician who designed the bracelet was waiting to put it on.
In a rare stroke of good luck, Noelle Liang was the star engineer at the Chicago FBI office; she had been loaned to the bracelet project and flown in specially to help with its “installation.” A tall, slightly gangly Chinese American woman in her midtwenties, she was a Chicago native and had deep roots there. Chase Eddy had actually crossed paths with her before, at a seminar in D.C. He’d hit on her; she’d pointed out that her girlfriend probably wouldn’t approve, and they’d struck up a casual friendship. Chase trusted her, which meant that Alex did, too. He was relieved that she’d be nearby and available for consultation during the case.
The Cincinnati lab was a meager building. The cleaning service had come and gone, but the night security guard walked them downstairs to the lab, where Noelle was the only occupant. Chase walked in with them and introduced Noelle, who wore a miniskirt and a T-shirt with the periodic table underneath her white lab coat. It was nearly three in the morning, but she looked peppy and excited, like a little kid about to debut a new stock car. She shook Lindy’s hand enthusiastically, but Alex didn’t miss the little gleam of “I want to study you” in her eyes, and he doubted Lindy did, either. “Love this clandestine nighttime shit,” she said, leading them to a lab table with two stools, a bright light, and a set of tools that looked more appropriate for a watchmaker than an FBI lab tech. Noelle climbed on one stool and motioned for Lindy to take the other. “You’ve got my bracelet?” she asked Alex.
He handed it over. “You made the modification I asked for, right?”
She gave him a look of mock injury. “Of course I did.”
“Modification?” Lindy said pointedly.
“Yeah.” Noelle picked up the bracelet and flipped it over with one hand, pushing her purple-streaked hair behind her ear with the other. There was a small metal square on the back, roughly the size of a nickel. “This is the casing for the tracking device.” She pointed to an indentation where a second casing had
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