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High alone.
    Pocketing the van’s keys, I checked my watch. Minutes to spare. I was getting good at this time-management thing. And to think it had once been one of my biggest flaws.
    As I climbed out, I caught sight of Wirenut sitting on a bench under a tree. I’d been thinking about him nonstop since yesterday’s meeting. He’d been distant last night when I showed him around my lab. I’d seen him this morning at breakfast and wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t know what to say. He’d seemedso lost in thought that I figured he needed space. And from his comment at the meeting, he obviously didn’t want David and me knowing about his business.
    But now, as I approached Wirenut, all my hesitation disappeared. I wanted to be whatever I could for him. A friend, a sounding board, someone he could yell at if need be.
    “Hey.” I took the wooden bench across from his. “Did your last class get out early?”
    “I’m skipping.”
    “Oh.”
    I’d never skipped a class in my whole life. I was probably the only person on the planet who actually looked forward to class. Well, except for gym. But then, what nerd did look forward to gym?
    “You’re sitting right outside the school. Aren’t you worried about getting caught? TL will be really upset if you get in trouble for skipping. Maybe you should go back in.”
    “There’s only one like it in the whole world,” Wirenut mumbled, apparently unfazed by the fact he might get caught cutting. “My dad told me that right before he allowed me to touch the double-bladed, lion-engraved sword. It was one of many unusual weapons he collected.”
    Unsure of how to respond, I simply sat and listened.
    “The cops never found that sword. My testimony put my uncle on death row. I never saw him again. Case closed.”
    “Testimony?”
    Wirenut squeezed his eyes shut, and my heart clinched at thepain evident on his face. “Twelve years ago,” he whispered, “I watched my uncle use that same sword to kill my entire family.”
    My mouth fell open as his words ricocheted through my brain. Twelve years ago he would’ve been five years old. I’d been nearly the same age when I lost my parents. “Oh, Wirenut.” I reached across the bench and gripped his forearm.
    He sat frozen, his eyes tightly shut. I could only imagine the horrible, gory scenes flashing through his mind. Images no person, let alone a five-year-old, should ever experience.
    Wirenut shook his head, fighting the emotion. I moved beside him and wrapped my arms tightly around him. We stayed that way for a few long minutes, our heads touching as I held him. With all my mental energy, I willed away his horrible memories.
    Sometime later he stirred, and I sat back, giving him space.
    “I was too young. I couldn’t help. How could I have helped? It was impossible.” He wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to himself, staring at the grass beneath our feet. I didn’t know what to say anyway.
    Wirenut brought his gaze over to mine. “Don’t you think it’s weird that my first mission has something to do with my past? Do you think TL knew that when he recruited me?”
    Shrugging, I moved back over to my bench. “I doubt it. The neurotoxin was just stolen. But I don’t know. It’s possible. TL seems to know everything about everybody. I’ve learned, though, that there’s a purpose for the things he does. He wouldn’t keep information private unless he had a good reason to do so.”
    “Maybe there’s no stolen neurotoxin. Maybe this is a test to see how I perform under emotional stress. More of my training.” Wirenut was talking to himself again, and so I quietly listened.
    “No,” he said, answering himself. “TL wouldn’t stoop to that level. There’re other ways to prove my mental stability. Or are there? Challenging someone with their worst fear is the ultimate test.” He blew out a breath. “A test I’m not ready for.”
    The bell rang, and students piled out from the high school. Idly, I watched