Black pavement, cracked glass, blood splatters across his lap. Abel caught the snippets, but couldn’t piece them together. Someone was heaving him out of the twisted car by the shoulders. Sharp air stung his lungs, and the sound of gunfire pierced his ears. People were yelling.

Evie and Wes.

Were they alive?

Abel opened his mouth to call their names, but nothing came out. His captor was wrenching him out with rough hands, roaring something unintelligible at the top of his lungs. Bullets whizzed by. They were in the midst of a shootout, and his brother and sister were somewhere in the crossfire.

“Let… go…” Abel moaned.

Despite the hazy blur over his eyes and looming pain in his body, he shoved back. He shoved with all his might—anything to make sure the others were okay. He had failed once—he couldn’t afford to fail again when the opportunity arose. Not when he’d made the promise to Dad.

“Stay down, kid!” the man barked.

Next thing Abel knew, the man jolted him to the ground. The back of his head bounced off the road.

***

Abel opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a soft, blue light illuminating a low ceiling. He became aware of close walls in a windowless, featureless room. It was hardly more than a closet, just wide enough for the bed he lay on and the floor lamp in the corner—which sourced the blue glow. He also became aware of the dull ache radiating through his body every time he drew a breath. One injury on his chest, a cut, perhaps, gave a sharp sting each time. He winced.

But on the upside, the fog was clearing from his brain.

He pushed himself to his elbows. Every movement hurt, but at least he could move. His arms and hands were bandaged. A swath of sturdier bandages crossed his chest, as he’d suspected—but other than that, he seemed all right. No casts or broken bones as far as he could see.

The room was empty. No strange, gun-toting men in black coats, but also no Wes and Evie. Panic rose in his throat like bile and he forced it down with a gulp. There wasn’t time to lose it. He had to find them.

Abel eased himself onto the floor, testing his legs to see if they would hold him. They did, at least for now. A single doorway with chipping paint stood, imposing, across from the bed. Abel tottered to it, pressing his ear against it to listen. Nothing. He tested the knob. Unlocked. Keeping his movements slow, he swung the door open.

On the other side, the light was still dim, but the setting opened into a larger, wider room with other doorways branching off it. On the opposite wall was a wide couch, upon which sat an almost equally wide man wearing unkempt black clothing. His broad shoulders seemed to take up most of the room. Something in his posture, no matter how brawny, was crumpled and subdued. There were bags under his eyes. He stared at his empty hands, wringing gloved fingers.

He glanced up when Abel opened the door.

“Ah, you’re awake,” the man said, springing to his feet. “Don’t worry, I’m here to protect you. Your father sent me.”

Abel hung back in the doorway. “How… how do I know that?”

The man smiled. “His name is Lance Martell, originally dispatched to border security on the outer Earthian Defenses, but reassigned in secret, which is something he told you a long time ago, isn’t it? He asked you not to tell anyone else. You sent him an email last night asking for help. He dispatched a team to retrieve you.”

“Okay,” Abel said, after a pause. “Where is he?”

“He was with your brother, but now he’s out.”

“Wesley? Is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine,” the man said. “He got banged up quite a bit when the car flipped, but they managed to bandage him up and remove the tracker. You all had quite the near-death experience back there. You’re lucky you weren’t hurt more seriously.”

“What about Evie?”

The man paused. “She… got taken. But she’s alive, as far as we know. Her escort was shot, and the enemy’s men got to her before we did. I’m sorry. We’re doing everything we can to get her back again—everybody’s on the case.”

Abel didn’t know what to say. Instead, he emerged into the room—shuffling and supporting himself on the doorknob. The large man crossed over and helped him to the couch, where they sat together. Abel put his face in his hands. He allowed himself to breathe for a moment, to think. The man waited in silence.

“Thank you,” Abel said at last, “for getting me and Wes out of there. But I need to talk to my dad right away. Can you take me to him?”

“He’s not here,” the man said. “But he should be back by daybreak. He expressly said how much he wanted to speak with you and your brother.”

“So who are you? Do you work with my dad? Do you know what all this secrecy is about, and the reassignment? Do you know why those men were after us?”

The man held up his hands. “One at a time. My name is Samir Haines, and I do work with your father. He and I were reassigned to the same project at the same time, about two years ago.”

“What reassignment? What have you been doing all this time?”

“That’s a long story.”

“Tell me. I have the right to know. Does it have anything to do with the people who came to kill my mother?”

Samir quieted, deep lines forming at the corners of his mouth. “I didn’t know she was missing until this morning. I’m sorry.”

“Does it have to do with why she ran?” Abel repeated.

“Yes. It does.”

“How?”

“Because… the people who are after you want to kill your father, and me, and everyone who was reassigned. This is their way of drawing your father out of hiding, and I’m afraid it’s working. We thought you were far enough removed from us to be safe, but… I guess not. Everything is just too well-calculated. Whoever is doing this has thought things out completely.”

“What are you talking about? Who… who would want my family dead? What are you guys doing out in space that would make someone want to do this?”

Samir heaved a sigh. “Remember when Apex Genetics released a statement saying they had been hacked and robbed, and now a huge project had been compromised?”

“Yeah…? I guess? I didn’t follow it too closely. A lot of those stories come out all the time.”

“I understand,” Samir said. “But to put it simply, your father and I are working undercover to investigate Apex Genetics from the inside. We believe they lied about the break-in and actually released information and products themselves.”

Abel furrowed his brow. “Why would they do that?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. Right now, we have reason to believe they’re trying to run some kind of cartel out of their own warehouses. It could be the whole company, it could be just a few. They don’t crack easily. We’ve been at this for years now.”

“Is it dangerous?”

Samir spread his hands. “Look at us. You tell me.”

Abel ground his teeth. “If they’re behind this, then I’ll do everything I can to help you figure it out. I want my sister and mom back.”

“Not sure what your dad will say to that, but this isn’t the first time things like this have happened… so we’re glad to have you on our side.”

“Good. Now where’s my brother?”