Sabrina shifted her feet and was about to try out her plan when she heard Neena’s voice. “Despite his obvious lack of manners, you feel something for that man and you want to protect him, but fighting me isn’t the way to do it. If you listen long enough, I can give you the information you need to take down Watkins tonight.”
Sabrina nearly fell for it, but she wasn’t going to let the woman sweet-talk her into anything. She rose slowly and faced Neena, keeping her body ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. “If you think I’m going to trust you, you’re crazy. Jorge did, and look what happened to him.”
“I helped him. The drug I injected will help his body regain the necessary energy to shift again. He won’t have to wait until tomorrow. By the time he wakes up, he’ll be ready to go.” Neena tilted her head. “You can apologize any time you like, my dear. The sooner you stop planning to attack me, the sooner I can give you the information you need and get out of your hair. Believe me, I have a million other things I’d rather be doing right now than trying to convince people not to kill me. Besides, I’m your best bet at avoiding relocation and isolation for the rest of your life.”
As if she’d take that bait. She didn’t trust Neena, but she did have an idea. “How about you tell me the information you have on Watk
ins and leave? Do it without a fight, and I might consider trusting and using the information you provide.”
Neena shrugged. “If that’s how you want to play it. Just put the safety back on your gun, and I’ll spill the beans.”
Since she could still use the gun to whack Neena upside the head if something happened, she did as she was asked. “Now, tell me what you know.”
Neena moved to the window and sat down on the sill. “Let’s not forget our manners. Say please.”
Sabrina grit her teeth. At this point, she’d do anything to get this woman to leave. “Fine. Please tell me what you know.”
“Better. I’m starting to see why you and Mr. Grouchy-pants over there get along so well.”
She took a deep breath and decided it was best to ignore the comment and press Neena for answers. “I said please; now tell me how I can get Watkins tonight.”
Neena sniffed. “Fine. He’s going to move up the school bombing. He’ll be installing the device himself this evening.”
“What? Why?”
Neena waved a hand. “Some rival nonsense, blah, blah, blah. Basically, Watkins is afraid you’ll share his plans and he’ll have to abort his mission, and this is one he can’t afford to screw up.”
She studied Neena a moment and finally said, “And how do I know you’re telling the truth? Sure, you claim that drugging Jorge will help him, but I have no idea if that’s even possible. The holes in the Feiru Liaison office’s knowledge about the Feiru and their abilities are big enough to drive a train through.”
Neena crossed one leg over another. “I’ll tell you something that might convince you, but I’d suggest that you take a seat first.”
“I prefer to stand.”
Neena shrugged. “Fine, although you might change your mind. You see, I have some bad news for you, my dear. Do you know how that Night-Weaver found you at the market?”
Sabrina frowned. How did Neena know about that? “Jorge said it was because someone saw him with me, and that the Collector woman planned to use me to coerce him again.”
Neena made a buzzing sound with her voice. “Wrong. They were there because Watkins tortured Yolanda until she told them about you and your relationship with the Feiru Liaison office. By decoding your message, he knew about your meeting with Juan Marquez and sent the Night-Weaver and others to capture you.”
Sabrina’s heart skipped a beat. Juan’s name wasn’t common knowledge. “My identity is compromised?” Neena nodded and she forced herself to ask, “What about Yolanda?”
Neena shook her head. “I’m sorry, but she didn’t make it, my dear.”
Somehow Sabrina managed to keep on her feet. Now was not the time to grieve for the woman she’d barely known, but who had continuously risked her life to help Sabrina’s mission. The best thing she could do was finish this damn assignment and make sure Watkins was put into custody to receive justice.
She took a step toward Neena. “I’ve been working for the Feiru Liaison office for a little over five years, and your knowing all of this is too much of a coincidence. Tell me how you got this information and I might start to believe we’re on the same side.”
“Clever girl.” Neena buffed the nails of her right hand against her shirt and looked at them. “First, answer me this: What does your office know about latent abilities?”
“Only rumors, and most of them are from nearly a hundred years ago. Why?”
Neena looked up. “While Salazar’s ability is pretty nifty, I have the rarest ability of them all. In addition to being an elemental wind first-born, I can see snippets of the future.”
“What?”
“You say that a lot for no reason.” Neena uncrossed her leg and stood up. “I told you, I can see bits of the future. While things can always change, I have a pretty good track record of figuring out what will come true or not. And for you, my dear, I think I’ll be right again.”
Sabrina avoided saying “what” again. Her mind was clear enough to fall back on her years of intelligence gathering. In any situation, it came down to asking the right question at the right time.