“Wait a minute,” Paco said. Brooke turned back. “If I need somebody to help me with my schoolwork, you know, my math and English and stuff, think you can find somebody to help me?”
“I’m pretty sure I can.” She smiled. “Tell you what. If I can’t find someone, I’ll tutor you myself. Deal?” She held out her hand.
Paco hesitated, then he took it. “Okay. Sure. Deal.”
Brooke turned away, but again his voice stopped her. “I see you in a big hurry, but I got another question.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“Uh, how can I get in touch with you if I need to? You know, about the tutoring and stuff if I change my mind about school?”
“Just leave a message at the desk inside headquarters telling me how I can reach you.”
He hesitated before answering. “Okay. I’ll do that. So, you going off-duty, huh? You leaving kind of early today, huh?”
“You got it.” She stared at him. “I already said that. You gotta stay focused, my young friend.” She patted his arm. “You’re too young for memory lapses.” She smiled. “I’m gonna be looking for that message from you, so make it soon. Don’t disappoint—”
A tremendous blast shook the area, slamming Brooke to the ground. Before she could assess her injuries, a second explosion scattered debris into the air, then a plume of flames shot up.
Brooke tried to look around, but thick dust hanging in the air almost blinded her. She squinted her eyes shut against flying shrapnel. More fragments, some lightweight, but others large enough to make her wince, pelted her back.
Her own deep cough echoed that of other people spread on the ground.
It seemed to take forever for the rumbling to fade.
