Jaclyn shook her head, and pulled her phone out of her pocket. “That’s not what interests me. What I want to know is why he’s even bothering? What do we know about him?”

“Well,” I paused, mouth partway open, wondering if I should even say it. “I’m pretty sure he’s a client of my dad’s. My dad had a client who was a superhero, and who needed therapy after quitting. Adam's girlfriend got killed by the mob, and he went on some kind of rampage, killing anyone remotely associated, I guess. Agent Lim got him into therapy. I don’t know why he actually stopped killing and went through with it, but he did say nice things about my dad when I talked to him once.”

Fingers already tapping out something on the screen of her phone, Jaclyn said, “His codename?”

“Dark Cloak.”

She stopped and looked up at me. “That guy? I heard about him.” Then she started tapping away again.

Light from her phone played across her face. We’d turned down the lights to make it easier to see the monitor.

“I’m checking him in the government databases we’ve got access to.” Jaclyn continued tapping.

“Which database?” I considered doing the same from my computer.

Not looking up, she said, “All of them.”

She tapped a few more times. “Internet speed feels slow, but I’m sending you all of what I’ve found in a document. It’s not much more than you’ve told me, but there are a few little wrinkles that we’re all going to love.”

She looked up from the screen, not tapping anymore. “The biggie? The girlfriend’s not dead. The Feds know where she lives, and they think she’s got the same powers he had. They’re not sure.

“Better yet, their experts on faerie think that his powers changed or now come from another source since about the time that his girlfriend got ‘killed’.”

Samita had been watching intently as Jaclyn talked. Nodding, she said, “So he lost the favor of whatever group of faeries had empowered him and they gave his abilities to her? And then he allied himself to the Unseelie Court.”

She shook her head. “Dangerous.”

Next to her, Rod pushed himself away from the wall he’d been leaning against. “Not so bad. Technically, I’m part of the Unseelie Court when I’m a troll. They never bug me.”

Samita quirked her mouth to one side. “Of course they never bug you. You’re a troll.”

“Only part time. Besides, there are tougher creatures out there than trolls.” Responding to the obvious unspoken question we all probably had, he held up his hands and said, “A lot of things. Too many to name. The important thing to understand here is that the Seelie Court will mess with people if they’re impolite or sometimes just for fun. The Unseelie Court will fuck with humans on general principle. So yeah, Samita’s kind of right, but I don’t think of them as dangerous so much as maliciously whimsical.”

Rachel gave a short laugh, leaning against my desk. “How does that make them ‘not so bad?’ To me it makes them sound terrifying all the way around.”

Travis' laugh ended in a grunt, “No kidding. But seriously Rod, what do you think is going on?"

Rod didn't say anything at first, brow furrowing as he said, “Honestly? It feels planned to me. Don’t ask me what the plan is, but there’s no punchline. That’s why I don’t think it’s the Unseelie Court. There’s not much reason to laugh even if your sense of humor is pretty twisted.”

Nodding, Jaclyn said, “Does it feel like anyone you know?”

Shaking his head, Rod said, “No.”

“No one?”

Rod shrugged again. “That’s what I said. I didn't spend long in faerie before my mom and I got rescued. I don't know many people on that side of things.”

From over on the other side of the room, Cassie stood up, stretching her arms in front of herself once she stood up. “You know, we could ask the guy what he’s about. Sure, he might not answer, but he might squirm in entertaining ways. Plus, get Daniel in range, and game over. We know what’s going on.”

Haley, sitting next to Camille, a row ahead of Cassie, said, “That’s a good idea. I mean, maybe not asking him straight out, but asking something that will make him think about it and having Daniel listen in? Then we might find out without him even knowing.”

Daniel nodded, unfolding his legs, and stretching them out. “I’d go for that. It won’t be long before supper. He’s got to eat. It wouldn’t take much to find him in the dining hall, and I think Nick should ask the questions.”

I thought about it. He was right. Adam had already talked to me a couple times. It was like he was trying to make some connection.

Of course, it could be that he liked my dad. I’d been told that Dad was a good therapist. On the other hand, it could just as easily be the connection to Grandpa or Isaac Lim. On a more negative note, I could be vulnerable to something Adam could do in a way no one else was. Maybe that was paranoid, but it wasn't impossible.

Cassie laughed. “You don’t think you can trust me to be subtle?”