Before this chapter, let me apologize that it's slightly shorter than normal. I didn't want to give away too much for the next chapter, so I had to stop it where I did. I'll make it up, though…I always do!

chyp: Thanx for the comments, as usual. I was surprised that your review was more than 3 words this time 'round. Ha, I'm wearin' you down, dude! And no problem about your story idea.

quillsandbolts: I saw that you reviewed my previous stories! Thanx a lot! It means a lot that even my earlier stories are still gettin' hits on 'em! Nothing goes unnoticed!

He left her in a hurry and jogged to the Student Center. As he opened the door, Lina walked out at the same time. He faked a smile and continued on, while she glared at him. She left the Student Center and met Stephanie on her way.

"Hey there, Steph," she said, trying her best to feign a weak smile.

"Hey, girl," Stephanie said. "You feeling any better?"

"A little," Lina said.

"Listen," Stephanie told her, "I broke up with him last week. I didn't wanna be involved with somebody who spreads gossip. I might be next, you know? Anyway, he wants me to go to dinner with him tomorrow to 'talk.' I don't think I should even go. Then he tried to rush off so that I couldn't say no. Girl, that's one of the oldest tricks in the book."

"No, you should go," Lina suggested both her eyes and Stephanie's turning green. "Go and meet him at Lil's. Hear him out. He'll only discredit himself more and more by trying to talk about things that aren't real."

"What was that?" Stephanie asked, her eyes now normal again. "Oh, yeah, I'll probably go just to hear what he has to say. I need to mail some things. I'll see you around, girl."

"Bye," Lina said as they parted ways.

Rich had been waiting for a week for this day to come. It was finally Saturday, and luckily for him, James and Matthew had gone to a movie, leaving their room empty. He grabbed his bag and pulled out a long, thin metal object and easily picked the lock of their door. He slithered inside quickly and looked around. The room looked like half of a disaster area; Wesley always kept his half nice and neat, while Matthew threw things everywhere. That didn't sound right to Rich. If three of them were supposed to be in the same room, why was there only two of everything? Two beds, two desks, two chairs, two closets… Oh well, he thought. They all seemed to hang out in that room anyway.

He searched around for a good place to put his insurance policy, a homemade bomb. He had gotten the instructions off the internet. It was a small room; he wondered where he could hide it. It wasn't a large bomb, but it wasn't exactly small, either. He decided against overly obvious places. In fact, just about everywhere seemed overly obvious. He finally saw a hanging plant in the center of the room and planted the bomb inside. No one would ever look inside a plant for a bomb, he figured. When he was done, he sneaked out of the room and back to his car, where he called Bryan and Mike.

"It's all set up," he said. "Now let's do it."

"We're all done here," Wesley said to his co-worker, Terrance. "You lockin' up tonight?"

"Yeah, I got it," Terrance said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't stay out too late. We got the early shift tomorrow morning."

"I know," Wesley said. "I gotta go. I have dinner plans."

"With Stephanie, right?" Terrance asked. "I thought y'all broke up. That's what I heard."

"Who told you?" Wesley asked.

"You know Lina?" Terrance asked. "I heard it from her during lunch yesterday. She was telling some of her friends and I just happened to overhear it."

"What!" Wesley exclaimed before quickly calming down. "Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow."

It was already dark outside, even though it was just half past six in the evening. Wesley walked out of the Student Center, headed to Lil's, the dining hall. He was on his way when someone jumped him from behind. His assailant immediately grabbed his hands, pulling them behind his back. Another held him still while securing his hands with handcuffs. The first one pulled a thick cloth from his jacket pocket, intending to gag Wesley. As he reached around Wesley's face, Wesley thrashed out with his right leg, catching one of the attackers in the stomach. The one he hit grunted and doubled over; the wind had been knocked out of him. He tried to break free of his handcuffs, but they kept his hands fastened behind his back, preventing him from using his power. The other two easily tacked him to the ground, eventually gagged him, and dragged him back to their car.

"Don't worry," one of the men, Bryan, said. "We just need your help with something."

"If I were you," another, Mike, added, "I'd stop struggling and be still."

"I got a short temper," the third, Rich, said, "and one bad move on your part might make me set off the bomb that I hid in your dorm room."

Wesley stopped struggling. The two men who were holding him down in the backseat eased their grips. Wesley looked forward, making surreptitious glances at them when they drove under streetlights. He was surprised to find that one of them was the same man he had helped with the package a week ago. They didn't seem to be Oxford students, though. Then it became clear to him; somehow, some way, his powers had been exposed and he had a feeling that they were going to make the most of it.

What are them thugs gonna do with Wesley? You'll have to stick around to find out. Also, is Lina shady, or is she shady? Either way you look at it, that bitch is shady!