Page 71 of Convergence

“Your stories were on track and cleared you three of charges other than arson. Mr. Monroe, your public defender reached out to the school and let them know you were not guilty of the other charges, and the school has dropped their case against you,” Agent Allen said, and Everett’s hand tightened in mine. “Not to mention, they’re facing their own charges.”

“Thank you, sir,” Everett said to one man in the room with us. I had been so excited to get back to my guys that I hadn’t even noticed who was in the room with us. I looked around now and saw a few police officers, a few people dressed similarly to Agent Allen, and a few people who dressed more casually. Three of the cops in the room had been with us the past few days.

“We had apprehended Miss Rossi before we brought you three in. Our own investigators substantiated your contributions in analyzing the samples and the data you provided. Your identification of the bacteria led to her arrest, and she is awaiting trial for her crimes. Gerald Hoffmann remains at large, though Miss Rossi alleges he does not have possession of the bacteria,” Agent Allen continued.

My heart was soaring. We were free. We helped. Daisy was behind bars.

We werefree.

“What’s the next step?” Nate asked, his palm was sweaty in mine. He was still nervous. I squeezed him.

“You three are free to go. Your research was recovered and is in evidence. We will handle creating a cure for it if they release it. We may contact you about the investigation, but you are free to go home. Again, Hoffmann is still at large, and I suggest you be aware of your surroundings until we apprehend him,” Agent Allen said with a smile on his face, despite his warning.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice catching.

“I hope to see good things from you three,” he said, and people around us murmured their agreements.

We left the meeting room escorted by one cop who brought us to the lobby and returned our belongings to us. It was only the guys’ wallets and the backpack with spare clothes and a first aid kit that Easton had given us. The news was playing, and the cop pointed it out to us while he turned the volume up with a remote that was behind the front desk. “Take a look at that,” he said good-naturedly.

It was a national news station playing the latest update to our story. The same pictures of us that had been showing on news stations across the country for a week now had the word “Innocent” over them. The screen flashed to a mug shot of Daisy and had information about her arrest playing. But we turned to each other instead of watching. Tears fell freely from my eyes as I reached up to them. They enclosed me in their arms, and we all embraced while laughing and crying our relief. They smelled like unwashed boys and nervous sweat, but I breathed them in, nonetheless.

“Fucking hell, that was the scariest thing to ever happen to me,” Nate said, while kissing the top of my head.

“No kidding,” Everett scoffed and was the first to break away.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said, and looked at the doors. I could hear the din of reporters outside the doors, but I wanted to leave more than anything.

“Yes, ma’am,” Everett said, and we headed towards the doors as a unit. We opened the doors, and a blast of cold air and noise met us as people started shouting to us. Reporters and cameras crowded us, but we clutched each other’s hands and pushed to the street where a few cabs were slowly driving by. Nate waved one down and we quickly got in and shut the door.

The driver looked at us with a furrowed brow, like he was wary of picking us up outside the police station. He must have recognized us. “We’re innocent. It’s all over the news,” I said.

Nate squeezed my knee.

The cab driver’s brow relaxed, and he nodded in understanding. “Alright, so where are you headed?”

I paused. Wherewerewe going? I looked to Nate, whose open mouth and raised eyebrows told me he also didn’t know.

“Airport, please,” Everett told the driver.

“Airport? Why?” Nate asked.

Everett smirked at us with his signature cool smirk. “I’m taking you both home.”

“Breaking News on the Truman College attack in Cleveland. Three previous suspects have been cleared of charges. New York City police and federal investigators on the case report Evangeline Reid, Nathaniel Gibson, and Everett Monroe are not guilty of the suspected act of terrorism. Francesca Rossi, who Reid identified as Daisy in her speech to Cleveland Police dash cam, has been arrested for possession of the illness-causing bacteria. A Gerald Hoffman remains at large….”

“… Real culprit was apprehended with aid from the trio of college students previously suspected of the crime….”

“… No harm has come of the fire in Cleveland and the college dropped their charge against Monroe….”

We booked the first available flight out of New York to Tennessee. During our wait for the flight, we paid for a lounge pass to use a shower and eat at a buffet. We had been fed at the jail, but it hadn’t been good food. I was starving for our first meal as free people. We were each freshly showered and wearing clothes we had bought in the shops at the airport. I couldn’t stand another day in the same clothes. Everett and I were getting started on the buffet we had splurged for when Nate joined us. His wet hair was slicked back into a bun, and he was wearing a t-shirt boasting “I love New York.”

I laughed and Everett tsked.

“What? I’ve never been here before,” Nate defended, rubbing his belly and looking over my head at the food on the buffet.

“We didn’t tour the place, we were fucking locked up,” Everett scolded.

“Yeah, well, I’m never coming back here so I grabbed a souvenir,” Nate said and grabbed a plate and started filling it high with food. “‘I got arrested in New York and all I got was this t-shirt’ was sold out.”

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