“Yah, he can join the club. I don’t imagine that’ll change soon.” I listened to the sizzle of the oil in the pan as the two spiders danced around, dodging exploding kernels. “It’s good to see you again.”

She shrugged again and watched the spiders play. “You too.”

“What’s been happening out there while I was sleeping?”

“Violence. Death. War. The usual.” That was Talulah. She smiled at Jeneta before taking a seat at the small table in the corner of the kitchen. “Glad to see you made it out of there.”

“Thanks to you and Jeneta.”

“Does this mean I can get a raise?”

I snorted. “I’ll see what I can do. Any word from McGinley or Vanguard?”

They looked at one another. Jeneta’s face went blank.

“Vanguard, or someone speaking in their name, issued an ultimatum last night,” said Talulah. “If the world doesn’t grant full legal equality and protection to magic-users and inhumans, they’ll make the atom bomb look like a cap gun.”

“Not any time soon, they won’t,” I said. “I shredded the Gateway Project’s magic before Kiyoko shot me. Even if she siphoned the knowledge from my head, they don’t have the ability to put it back together.”

Jeneta’s eyes were wide. “You got shot?”

“I got better. I’m assuming Babs fixed me back up, or maybe Kiyoko swiped some healing magic from the hospital. I guess it’s harder to scan someone’s brain if he’s dead.”

“So you think the threat is a bluff?” asked Talulah.

“A bluff doesn’t make sense. Assuming McGinley and his crew are behind this, they know damn well nobody’s going to give in to their demands. The only reason to put this out there is as the groundwork for their next move, to make sure Vanguard takes the blame.” McGinley and Potts didn’t want equality. They wanted an attack so horrific it would unite most of the world against people like us. “We’ve missed something. I’ve missed something.”

I stood up and rubbed my eyes. I’d lost my glasses, and the charred spots floating across my vision like tiny stormclouds were both distracting and destined to give me a headache before too long. “Talulah, can you run a search to see if the numbers six, five, and three mean anything?”

“It’s one of my project numbers. The International Alert System. Why?”

I closed my eyes and gently thumped my head against the wall. My chest felt as if I’d been put through an industrial press. My body wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. “Because I’m a damn fool. A blind, arrogant fool.”

Talulah moved closer. “Isaac?”

“I thought they meant to use Gateway.” My words sounded distant. My pulse drummed in my ears. “We need to wake everyone up right now.”