Meta (Book 3): Rise of The Circle Read Free Page B

fractured elbow, he's okay. There's something else though ... he doesn't know about what happened with Midnight."
    "Why didn't you tell him?"
    "Because if he knew what actually happened, he'd never let me go back to work for The Agency. The only reason he's even letting me come back, I think, is because he doesn't know what else to do with me, and he's too busy to think about anything else. It's really a mess out there right now."
    "Yeah, I've noticed that," I say before hearing a sound toward the front of the house. It's the doorknob on the front door being slowly turned. My powers aren't back to what they were before all of this, so I didn't hear anyone walking up to the house.
    "Expecting company?" I ask Sarah, readying myself for whatever is on the other side of the door. If it's Alpha Team, I can't imagine they'd use the front door.
    The door swings open suddenly and reveals Halpern standing in the doorway, his hand on his unclipped gun holster. He sees me and smiles before putting the clip back in place to secure his weapon.
    "Losing your edge, huh? You're not someone I ever expected to be able to sneak up on," Halpern says to me with a smile on his face.
    "Well it's been awhile since I've suited up, in case you haven't noticed."
    "Oh no, believe me, I've noticed. The Bay View City wing of The Agency might be shattered into splinters currently, but I don't think there's a person in this city that doesn't know what Alpha Team has been doing to the metas they find," Halpern says.
    "I only turned these on for protection," I say.
    "From Sarah?" Halpern asks with a chuckle. "Sorry, honey, no offense." The look on Sarah's face says she doesn't appreciate the apology. "As nice as it's been catching up, we really don't have time for chitchat, unfortunately. We're just here to grab a few things, and then we're gone."
    "You can't leave here. This city is your home, both of you," I say.
    "This city isn't home to anyone other than Alpha Team. There's no way to stop them right now, and I'm not waiting around here to find out what else they're capable of."
    "So you're just giving up?"
    "Just giving up? No, kid. But you've got to realize that there are some battles you just can't win. This is one of them for The Agency. We'll find a way to deal with this eventually, I promise you that, but right now there's not much any of us can do waiting around Bay View City to see what they've got planned next."
    "So where are you going then?"
    "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, but we're both going to places where we can continue to fight the good fight. There's still a lot of good The Agency can do, and this little war is far from over if we have anything to say about it."
    "You said you're both going to places , as in plural."
    "Very perceptive, kid. That old guy you hang around with must be rubbing off on you. Don't think that's going to mean you get any more clues from me, though. You know as well as either of us that the less you know the better it's likely going to be for everyone involved."
    "Well that old guy I've been hanging around with hasn't been seen since Silver Island, so you don't have to worry about that anymore," I say to Halpern, knowing that it's not entirely true, since I just found out that Sarah has actually seen him since then.
    "I'm sorry to hear that, but he's been through worse before. I'm sure he's fine. It'll take more than four or five of the most powerful metas the world's ever seen to put him down," Halpern says, waiting for a reaction before continuing. "That was supposed to be a joke. Guess it wasn't a very funny one.
    "In all seriousness, though, kid, I'm sure the old guy's fine. He's probably just laying low for a little bit, just like most of us are. It's a dangerous place out there for anyone who hasn't picked these Alpha maniacs as the side they're going to throw down with if push comes to shove."
    "And what about you? Who are you going to side with if it comes to that?" I ask.
    "Me? I'm going to stay on the