“Sorry, John. Can’t let you two go out there alone. You’re government assets now.”

I snort. “Oh, we are?”

“You are.”

I’m not going to waste time arguing about this. They can come if they want. I start towards the docks, Sam next to me, and Walker and her agents fanned out around us like bodyguards. As usual, I get a lot of stares from the soldiers milling around. Some of them look like they want to help, but I’m sure they’re under orders not to get involved with us. Agent Walker and what’s left of her splinter group of ex-MogPro agents are all the help the government’s willing to grant us at this point. At least they upgraded their weapons, the agents having traded in their usual standard-issue handguns for some heavy-duty assault rifles.

“Hey! John Smith from Mars! Wait up!”

I turn in time to see Daniela squeeze her gangly body through a group of soldiers and trot towards us. The agents surrounding us immediately raise their rifles and, seeing this, Daniela skids to a stop a few yards away and puts her hands up. She eyes the FBI agents with a cocky grin.

“It’s all right, calm down,” I tell Walker and her bunch, waving Daniela over. “She’s one of us.”

Walker raises an eyebrow. “You mean . . . ?”

“A human Garde,” I say, keeping my voice low. “One of the people Setrákus Ra wants turned over to him.”

Walker sizes up Daniela. “Great,” she says dryly.

Daniela just amps up the wattage on that smirk. “You guys heading off on an adventure or something? Can I come?”

I frown at how lightly she’s taking this and exchange a look with Sam.

“Did you find your mom?” Sam asks her, and Daniela’s smile falters a bit.

“She’s not here, and she never checked in with the Red Cross,” Daniela replies, shrugging like it’s no big deal. Even though she tries to keep her tone light, her voice is shaky and I can tell she expects the worst. “Probably got out of the city some other way. I’m sure she’s all right.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Sam replies, forcing a smile.

“We’re on our way to confront a rogue Garde,” I tell her bluntly. Walker gives me a look, but I see no reason to lie. All hands on deck.

“Whoa. You guys, like, go rogue?”

I think about Five and how he turned on us and I think about Setrákus Ra and the uncountable horrible acts he’s committed. He used to be a Garde too, maybe even something higher than that, if Crayton’s letter to Ella can be believed. Then, I look at Daniela and consider her and the other humans with new Legacies who we haven’t met yet. Will they all fight for good? Or will some of them turn out like Five and Setrákus Ra?