Page 73 of Sunflower

Looking between George and Callum as they focused on the bug, I asked, “Not much time? How come?”

“Whoever’s listening will know it’s being jammed,” George explained, watching Callum’s eyes glaze over as he read the bug. “We’re on the clock now to find out who this guy is. Callum thinks he should be able to trace it back to this Agent, but to do that he needed to be able to speak freely, hence the jammer.”

I frowned. “But we have the hair. Why can’t you read that? Wouldn’t it be a better trace element, being straight from the source?” I held a finger up to George to let me finish my thought. “Also, I thought you’d dump the bug somewhere inside so we could talk with the jammer out here. And can I just point out how fucking similar your jammer is to the fucking Agent’s?” Ilooked pointedly at Callum, who ignored me, which was fine considering he had other things he needed to focus on. “I swear to God my theory’s right.”

“What hair?” George asked at the same time that Callum growled.

“I still can’t get a fucking read,” Callum spat. He threw the bug and scarf down and angrily picked up some fries to shove into his mouth. “It’s the polaroid all over again.”

“What hair?” George repeated when Callum sat back and crossed his arms while he glared at the bug.

“The Agent’s hair,” I said, keeping my eyes on Callum even when I picked up a fry. “Could you not get your scryer?”

“Boomerang is coming,” George answered, bouncing his eyes between Callum and me. “She’s been delayed because of family stuff, but she’s on her way.” He took a bite of his burger. “How the hell did you end up getting this guy’s hair?”

“You’ll like Boomerang,” Callum said absently, still frowning at the bug in annoyance. “She met her wife through the agency.”

“And she’ll be able to track the Agent with his hair?” I asked, ignoring George’s question.

“Yes,” George responded. “About this hair…”

“I can’t read the hair until Boomerang has used it,” Callum said. “The fewer people who touch it, the better result she’ll have.”

“Then wouldn’t it have been better to, I don’t know,wait for her to get hereso you could do all this at the same time?” I glared at the two men in front of me and threw my hands in the air. “If we’re on such a time crunch now, wouldn’t it be quicker to have both of you working on things together?”

“She’s honestly not that far away,” George said, impatience seeping through his tone. “Can someone please tell me about this goddamn hair?!”

“It wasn’t me who grabbed it,” I said, sighing. I cleaned my hands before grabbing a smaller baggie out of my pocket that held my inside out glove and the hair in question. “It’s definitely the Agent’s, though.” Tapping at the baggie, I pushed it towards George. “These two guys came out of nowhere and somehow got it for me and said I’d need it tonight. They had a message for you, actually. You probably know them from work, because they literally disappeared in front of me. Had to be powered.”

“They disappeared?” George raised an eyebrow at me before placing a fry into his mouth. “I don’t know anyone with invisibility,” he muttered, then frowned. “They had a message for me?”

“Yeah.” I sat back and took a small bite of my burger before I answered. “They said to tell you thatPolo and Cinthy say hi.You know them, right?” I looked at George expectantly as I took another bite from my burger, this time a bigger one.

George’s eyes widened and sat back, poleaxed. His hands dropped to his lap. “Can’t be.” His eyes shifted from side to side but weren’t focusing on anything, then they turned black as he started using his ability.

Even though it still creeped me out seeing George do his devil eye thing, I shrugged and took another bite. As much as I envied Callum for choosing his burger, I couldn’t complain about my own. It was delicious.

Callum grunted in frustration, then took a bite of his burger, before wiping his hands clean to pick up the bug again. “There has to be a way to get what I need…”

I picked up my drink to take a mouthful, and when I put it down I glanced at Callum to see his eyes unfocused again and some ketchup on the corner of his mouth. Absently, I placed my palm against his jawline, swiping at the ketchup before I withdrew my thumb and licked it.

Just as I was about to take another bite, Callum grabbed my hand. “Wait. Do that again.”

“What?” I put my burger down before I lost control of it. “Sorry. You had ketchup—”

“Doesn’t matter.” He placed my palm in the same spot. “Just touch my face again.”

“Okay…” I shrugged, letting him manhandle my hand to his cheek, before I grabbed a couple of fries with the other one. At least these I could eat with only one hand.

“Holy fuck,” Callum breathed, his eyes rapidly vibrating back and forth. “George, the Agent’s name is Leland Buckner.”

“What?” I asked, dropping my fries and my mouth. “But I thought you couldn’t read—”

“His name is Leland Buckner,” Callum repeated firmly. “And, holy shit, George, does he have a hard on for you.” His eyes cleared and gazed at me with adoration. “You were right,mo lus na gréine.He used to work for our agency until he was dishonorably discharged.”

“How…?” My brow furrowed as I looked at Callum, then over at George, who had the strangest expression on his face, his eyes now back to normal.

“I don’t know,” Callum admitted. “But I can see so much of his past now… He was wearing gloves before, and I couldn’t read through them. But now I can.” He shifted to look at George with his own confusion clear on his face. “Are my powers growing again? I thought—”

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