02 Seekers by Lynnie Purcell

surprise.
    “Yes. This is different world down here. Caution is key. You never know who is lurking about.”
    “Makes sense,” I said.
    “This is heavenly…Clare, eat a Danish,” Alex said.
    I made a face of disgust and joined her at the cart. I stayed away from the Danish side and picked a muffin instead. “Did you guys learn anything last night?” I asked Jackson.
    He shrugged. “You don’t learn much from one night roaming the streets.”
    “But you still learn a little,” I said.
    His grin was lopsided. “We know there have been more than your usual amount of
    disappearances, but it’s all homeless people, and people who don’t have any families to claim them.”
    “So…no bad guys lurking menacingly in the shadows?” I asked.
    “Plenty of bad guys, but your normal bad guys. Not much I can do about them,” he said.
    “There’s loads you could do!” I argued.
    “Kill them all? Then we would be as bad as those we’re trying to stop.”
    I hesitated. Limits felt a lot different when I wasn’t the one having to do that actual killing. “Are you channeling Daniel today?” I asked.
    “Someone here has to have a conscience,” he said.
    “Thanks,” I replied.
    Jackson went to the front door. “I’m going to go find Margaret. Keep this door locked, and stay here.”
    I sighed. “Yeah, yeah…”
    He looked confused for a moment and said something Daniel never would have as he paused at the door, “I helped you come down here, so you could sit in a room? I’m very disappointed in you, Clare.”
    “You want me to run off?” I asked incredulously.
    “No, but I had hoped you would put up more of a fight,” he said cryptically.
    The door shut and Alex and I were left to exchange confused glances.
    “He brought you down here, so you could get in trouble?” Alex asked.
    “Trouble follows me wherever I go. He understands that…probably more than Daniel does,” I
    said.
    “Daniel has more optimism,” Alex said.
    “I suppose,” I replied.
    I flopped down on the sofa and looked around the room. Golden light streamed in from the
    windows. The fancy furniture captured the light perfectly, settling it around everything with a calm familiarity. A hazy sense of peace enveloped the room, but I had never felt more restless and agitated. Alex picked another pastry off the cart and plopped down next to me as I twitched uncontrollably. If she noticed my agitation, she didn’t mention it. She started talking to me as if we were home, as if everything were normal. It helped a little. It was enough to distract me from the fact that Daniel was definitely not in the hotel anymore.
    Jackson was gone for most of the morning. When he came back, Margaret was with him. Her
    face was impassive, but I could tell something had happened.
    Alex was faster with her questions. “Did you run into a Watcher?”
    “‘Run into’ sounds so lazy,” Jackson corrected. “Margaret tracked one down.”
    “What happened?” I asked.
    “The usual,” Jackson said. “Oh…I bought these for you while I was out.” He pulled two small phones out of his back pocket. “They’re for emergencies only. If you call a number that might be tapped, get rid of the phone immediately.” He held the phones out to us.
    “Wow. I feel like we’re channeling the A-Team right now,” I said as I took mine.
    “I really, really want to make fun of you for that reference,” Alex said, “but, unfortunately, it’s not as outdated as I’d like. I will make fun of you for referencing the TV show.”
    “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard Mr. T pity a fool! And at least I don’t love Walker Texas Ranger…” I said.
    “Chuck Norris could kick Mr. T’s ass any day of the week!” Alex said.
    “How is the data sorting going?” Jackson asked Alex, probably to shut us up.
    “Oh…I forgot about that. Clare distracted me,” Alex admitted.
    “Margaret and I are going back out tonight, and we’d love to not simply wander