Page 160 of Rattle the Cage

“Of course, thanks for inviting me.” Watching Chrissy run ahead, I wondered if my Freaks were watching the little one just as closely.

They were protective of the innocent, doing everything in their power to remove bad actors. And I knew they’d do anything to protect a child, especially one as close to me as Chrissy.

Lola took in my outfit and laughed. “So what, you’re goldilocks? Where are your three bears?”

Shaking my head, I laughed. “Very funny. They’re busy tonight.”

“Mm. Aren’t they always?” Lola lifted her eyebrows. “You know, at some point, I’m gonna have to meet them.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Brushing her off, I tried not to think about how strange it would be. Lola was a chill person. But the Feverpoint Freaks were exactly that: three feral lesbians who hid away in an abandoned amusement park, killing off intruders.

A little bit of an alternative lifestyle.

As we moved down the street, I took in the vibes of Valemont. By the end of the weekend, the cobwebs, hay bales, and skeletons would be taken down and winter would be ready to take hold.

But for tonight, everything was perfectly spooky. Purple, green, and orange lights lit up front porches and driveways as kids screamed in terror at moving decorations and dads who hid in lawn chairs.

At each house, Lola and I stood at the curb and watched as Chrissy ran to the door, said her lines, and ran back with more candy.

“How’s the apartment?” I asked as we moved between houses.

Lola groaned, staring off into the distance as Chrissy walked up to another stoop. “It’s fine. Carl won’t come fix the peep hole because it’s ‘not an emergency’.”

“Dickhead.” Muttering under my breath, I tried to make sure the swell of kids zipping around didn’t hear me.

Smirking, Lola raised her eyebrows. “And how are your roommates? I see you’re struggling to walk straight.”

My jaw dropped, tossing an elbow into her rib. “You bitch.” There was no doubt that my face had flushed red at her observation. “They’re good. Almost all is forgiven.”

“Good. I hope they made it up to you.” Lola nodded before leaning down and telling Chrissy how to ask one house for the king-sized candy bar. Once she took off, Lola’s face dropped. “And what’s going on with your little investigation?”

“Ugh.” My hands flopped into the pillowy folds of my gingham dress. “Dead ends.”

“Really?”

“Yep.” A cool rush of air hit my legs, the thin stockings I wore barely doing anything to keep me warm. “We need to get into that compound.”

“No kidding.” Lola scoffed. “Drones?”

Shaking my head, I sighed. “Nope, too obvious. We can’t figure it out. The place is more locked up than Fort-fucking-Knox.”

After a second of walking, I picked up my thoughts in a hushed voice. “So far, the best idea is getting a bug inside. But none of us can think of a way to get the tech inside without flagging it to The Messenger’s security.”

Stopping, Lola grabbed my hand and shrugged. “What if I could help?”

My mind rushed to understand how.

Before I could, Lola squeezed my hands. “Let me pass off something with a bug in it. They wouldn’t suspect that a follower would try and sneak technology in. I’ll pose as one of his acolytes and hand it off to Rubin at a sermon.”

My mouth fell open, but no words came out.

Lola pursed her lips, certain. “We can make him bring it into the compound himself.”

78

TESS

“No.” I shook my head.