What were the chances that he was followed? She felt a cold pit growing in her stomach. They didn’t have much fighting power in the room, and any help they could get was a long way away.

“I was sneaky about it,” he said. “Took the bus, left my phone behind, then I lucked out and found a new jacket. You know, a disguise.”

“And you weren’t followed?” Emily asked.

Jacob shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think so. It took a bunch of luck to get here. I heard someone talking about you, and they moved to this building, and I slipped in behind them. I don’t have anything the Clowns could track me with, I don’t think.”

Emily shifted within her blankets and then let her head thump back against the rear of her chair. “Do you have any idea who the Clowns really are?”

“No? Not really. They’re bad news, though, I know that much.” He sat up, then with a grunt got to his feet and looked around. “So, uh, I’m guessing I can’t sleep here, right?”

Emily sighed as she slid out of her blankets. “No, you can’t,” she said. “Athena, can you keep an eye on him? If he tries anything stupid, tell Teddy to eat him.”

“Yes, Big Sister Emily,” Athena said.

With a pat against her pant leg to make sure her phone was still there, Emily walked to the door and then out of the room. She was still in her socks, which got her feet cold on the tiled floor of the corridor, but it wasn’t too bad.

She made sure there wasn’t anyone around, then made her way to the end of the corridor where a little window overlooked the street out front.

Thumbing her way through her contacts, Emily found herself standing there with her finger hovering over the call button to a rather familiar number.

Could Melanie help at all?

She pressed the back button. The Hero was nice, but she had told Emily to forget all about the Cabal.

Another name and number came up, this one a number that Emily was even more hesitant to call.

She weighed the very few options she had, then pressed dial.

The phone rang twice before someone picked up.

“Hello,” a man’s voice said over the line.

“Mister Handshake?” Emily asked.

“Ah, hello,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to call me. How are you doing this evening?”

“I’m well, thank you. Look, I . . . there’s something I want to ask you about, but I’m not sure how safe it would be to ask at all.”