Flip (The Slip Trilogy Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

tats and clip-ons?” Harrison guesses.
    “The piercings are real,” Benson says. “Couldn’t risk them falling out and giving me away. They’ll close up after I take them out.”
    “When will that be?”
    “When this is over.”
    “So never?”
    “Don’t be so optimistic,” Benson says, but he manages a grin.
    Harrison smiles wryly, and then says, “I have to go after her.”
    “Yes,” Benson agrees. “But not alone. And not until you’ve received Minda’s famous punk-rocker makeover.”
    “There’s a theme?”
    “Sort of. It’s all part of the plan to end this.”
    End this . Those two words seem to melt the final icicles of panic in his chest. It’s something he and his hoverball teammates used to say during a timeout when they were in the midst of a particularly close game. Let’s end this. And then they always did. They fought harder, they wanted to win more, they refused to lose. He likes hearing the same determination on his brother’s lips.
    “Okay,” Harrison says. “Whatever the plan is—I’m in. But after I find Destiny.”
     
    ~~~
     
    The Reorganized United States of America- Most Wanted List
     
    1. Benson Kelly- known as the Saint Louis Slip.
    2. Jarrod- suspected alias, real name unknown- founder and leader of the terrorist organization, the Lifers.
    3. Harrison Kelly, brother of Benson Kelly.
    4. Janice Kelly, mother of Benson Kelly.
    5. Simon Marchant- Digger from Canada with suspected ties to the Lifers.
    6. Minda Kapoor- ex-Pop Con Hunter with suspected ties to the Lifers.
    7. Chet Phillips- alias ‘Wire’, suspected of malicious hacking and cyber-warfare.
    8. Checker Ogiso- ties to the Kelly family and Lifers.
    9. Guillermo Rodriguez (nickname ‘Rod’) and Gonzo Garcia- Jumpers from Mexico with ties to the Kelly family and Lifers.
    10. Geoffrey Harris- brother of previous member of Most Wanted List, Lucy Harris (deceased), with ties to the Kelly family and Lifers.
     
    ***If you have any information on the whereabouts or activities of the individuals on the above list, please speak ‘Most Wanted Tips’ into your holo-screen to be connected to a law enforcement agent. Substantial rewards apply for verified information leading to an arrest or termination. False claims, especially those determined to purposely mislead law enforcement, are punishable by up to ten years in prison.

Chapter Seven
     
    A lthough he only showered a few hours earlier, Benson feels as if it’s been days. Looking at himself in the mirror, he barely recognizes himself. It’s not just because of the extreme changes wrought by Minda’s design; no, the boy looking back at him is barely a shade of his former self. Despite their vivid blueness, his eyes carry a shadowy darkness that only one who’s suffered a great loss can carry. His lips are pressed tighter, his jaw perpetually tightened, his teeth grinding against each other.
    He sees a stranger.
    “Who are you?” he says to himself. He raises a hand to his face, just to make sure he actually feels his own touch—that he’s not too numb. His cheek twitches.
    He knows change is necessary, more for him than anyone else. Although he can feel unshed tears behind his eyes, his ever-present companion, he no longer needs to release them. The grief is there, yeah, but he’s managed to wall it in, hold it at bay. For now. Hopefully for long enough for him to do what he has to do.
    “I can’t waste it. I can’t waste her sacrifice. It has to mean something.”
    He’s dimly aware that he’s talking to himself again, and he wonders whether this is the first stage of going crazy. Is this what happened to his mother all those years ago when she thought she’d lost him? Did she have these same thoughts? Did she realize she was going crazy, but didn’t have the strength or will or desire to stop it? Is it even possible to stop it, and if so, would he?
    None of that matters, he realizes. All that matters is that he honors Luce by making a difference in