"Once we make it to the compound we will start interrogations, Christian is going to want to speak with him himself," says Daniel from the driver's seat of our van.

Anna and Asher had been taken by the helicopter to the nearest hospital, which meant we needed to make it to the compound another way. It's a bit crowded, seeing as we are ten people in an eight-seater vehicle, but we made do.

Daniel's right about one thing though, Christian would be dying to get his hands on the President. He wasn't able to come on the mission himself, he said he had important things he had to do at the compound, ad so he sent Danie in his place. I ignored how strange it was that, whenever we seemed to need him, he disappeared, and just brush it off at it being his position at the compound. As director he must have things going on constantly, and so I let it go.

"I refuse to be taken against my will," says Khan from the back, where we've tied him up along with his bodyguard, who still refuses to say a word. Unlike his employer, who doesn't seem to want to shut up.

"If you are going to be taking me anywhere, I suggest you take me back to the Mar, that way you people can see that you are making a grave mistake."

He keeps trying to convince us that he is innocent, that he had nothing to do with the killings, but his words mean nothing to us.

"I didn't see a black string," said Anna, lying on the floor of the helicopter as tears of blood ran down her cheeks. "I didn't manage to find it before he... before..."

That was all she managed to get out before another sob wracked her frame. She didn't even manage to get a good look at her attacker before he rendered her Gift useless, but she said he was wearing that strange suit that all the reports said he had on during the time of the murders. For some reason, he decided to spare her. She said he could have killed her if he wanted to, she had nowhere to go, he could have just pulled off one of his gloves and touch her skin, and that would be the end of it. But instead he took out a knife, faster than she could react, and did something far worse than killing her.

"You heard your friend. He had special gear and a knife, does it look like I have any of those?"

The president is dressed in a gray suit, similar to the one his bodyguard is wearing, only three shades lighter and covered in dust. I look at him, trying to tell if he is being truthful or not.

"You could have hidden them before we got to the factory, got rid of the knife you used to torture our friend." Snaps Kalen, looking over his shoulder to stare daggers at the president. The front of Kalen's shirt is soaked in Anna's blood, and the sheer amount of it makes me want to throw up.

At Kalen's words the man doesn't shrink back in fear, instead it makes him sit a little bit taller.

"I keep telling you, I don't know what happened to that poor girl, but I had nothing to do with it. Take me to the Mar and I can prove to you that I am innocent!"

I try to block out the persistent little voice that keeps telling me that we've made a mistake, but eventually its whispers get to be too much. I start to doubt myself. What if Khan is telling the truth, what if we got the wrong man?

"Daniel," I say, pulling against my seat belt to whisper in my mentors' ear.

"What if he's telling the truth? What if he isn't who we've been looking for? Shouldn't we let him try to defend himself?"

Daniel doesn't take his eyes off the road, but I don't miss the way he clenches his jaw, grinding his teeth together. Okay, so my mentor isn't in the right state of mind right now and is too mad to listen to what I'm telling him, but the voice in my head is screaming at me to convince him, and so I continue.

"We should at least see the proof that he's talking about, what if we are focusing on the wrong person, and we are letting the real threat get away?" I sigh when he says nothing, so I try one last desperate attempt to get him to listen to me

"More people could get hurt, and it would be our fault."

Silence follows my words, and I lean back in my chair, defeated, crossing my arms over my chest as I stare out the window. But, to both my surprise and delight Daniel turns the van around and starts driving in the direction of the Mar. I hear the President exhale behind me, letting out the breath he had been holding throughout our exchange. I turn around and stare at him dead in the eye, letting him know without words that if he was lying to us, there would be serious consequences.

Once at the President's fortress of a house we are greeted by twenty or more armed guards, one of whom stands in front of our van and holds out a hand, stopping our advance. She makes Daniel roll down his window, and our mentor takes his sweet time obeying her request. When the security guard finally sees who is sitting in the driver's seat, moving her gaze to the interior of the van, I can pinpoint the exact moment she finds her boss and one of her colleagues tied up in the back, because she steps back from the window and holds a gun to Daniels head, a scowl pestered to her face. She's quite intimidating this woman, with a miniature scar over her chin and a muscular build, but I can't help thinking that Alexa with her quiet no-nonsense attitude and her pencil skirts, is way more terrifying. I once caught her killing a fly by pinning it to the wall with a pencil. The memory makes me smile despite our situation.

"Get out of the vehicle sir," she says, and I watch anxiously as more guards start to surround the van. I fidget in my seat, stealing a glance at the President, who for some reason doesn't seem pleased by the situation.

"Mr. President," says Daniel from the front of the van, still looking directly at the security guard. "You can tell your security team to stand down, or you can allow them to take you in and arrest us. If you choose the latter I can assure you that every compound in the United States will be at your doorstep in less than an hour, and if you even think about running," he finishes, glancing at him through his rearview mirror, "we will hunt you down."

I watch as Khan swallows, his Adams apple bobbing up and down with the movement.

"Sabine," he calls out from inside the van, making the guard pause -let them through, we have some... unfinished business to attend to."

Sabine does as she's told, moving away from the van and giving Daniel space to maneuver, allowing us to enter the Mar. I stare up at the giant white building, feeling anticipation coursing through my bloodstream.

"You made the right choice," says Daniel, directing himself at Khan. "Now let's hope you didn't just sign your death sentence"

The President's face turns a deep shade of red, nearly purple, and he stares at my mentor with such hate that I'm surprised Daniel doesn't even flinch when he meets his gaze head-on.

"Listen here," growls Khan through clenched teeth, "I don't know who you think you are, or why you think you have the authority to speak to me in such a manner, but if anyone has signed their death sentence, it isn't me."

I hold my breath, looking between Khan and my mentor. I don't know what has come over him. What is he thinking, talking to the most powerful man in the world like that? Even if we do find more evidence that proves that Khan is guilty, he still has the entire council working under his command. If anything, the only thing we will accomplish is to start another war, because I find it hard to convince a board of one hundred seventy-five people that swore their loyalty to the council, to believe our story. After all, it's even hard for me to believe.

We park the van outside the entrance of the Mar, and Daniel and Kalen both grab hold of the President, pulling him out of the vehicle, while Jack and Dean pull the bodyguard out after him. Laura and Adam follow their leader and teammate, and I scoot out behind them as we start to enter the large white building.

I stare, awestruck as we enter the most protected place in the entire world. Up close it's even bigger than I thought it was. The old building is beautiful, with architecture that you practically don't see anymore, connected to a sleek tower made of glass and metal. The tower seems to reach for the heavens, and it reminds me of the Empire State Building, one of the only old buildings that managed to survive until our time, but more modern looking. I wonder if this is what Cassie, Jay, and Xavier felt when they came here for the first time. Speaking of which, I wonder where they are now. I open my TekPad and send a message to the three of them.

"We caught the president; we are at the Mar."

We make our way up a large flight of stairs, as the President guides us through his home. He may be our prime suspect, but he is the only one that knows how to get around the place. He leads us through a large set of wooden doors, waiting for Daniel to push them open, seeing as he can't do it with his hands tied behind his back, and steps into the room, which turns out to be a large office.

A "U" shaped table greets us as we step through the double doors, probably being where the president holds small gatherings with the higher council members. Giant glass panels are lining the walls, and a holographic projector on the floor. Those are probably used for when he needs to have conferences with the leaders from other countries, the people under his command.

Daniel forces the president into one of the chairs, and the guard is placed across from him. Daniel remains standing, as he towers over Khan dangerously.

"Well, where is this proof you were so keens on showing us?"

The President stares at Daniel, and he moves his arms up and down before raising an eyebrow at him.

"For that, I'm afraid you will need to untie me."

Daniel doesn't look pleased, but he complies with the Presidents wishes and takes off the metal cuffs that were secured firmly around his wrists. The president rubs at the red skin, massaging the bruises that are already starting to form on his wrists. He starts to get up from his chair, but Kalen steps towards him menacingly, a blue flame enveloping his right hand. The president's eyes go wide, and he raises his hands in surrender, getting up slower than before, watching his movements.

"I need to get to my computer to show you," he says, and I don't miss the slight quiver in his voice.

I snort. This, this is the strongest man in the world? The man who rules over all of us, and he is afraid of a teenager? Granted, Kalen is way more powerful than most kids our age, but considering the fame, Khan got for his Gift I doubt Kalen would be a match for him.

Kalen backs off but follows closely behind Khan as he makes his way to the front of the "U" shaped table. He pushes several buttons and steps back, waiting as a large screen emerges from a hidden panel in the wood. Once the computer has been turned on he starts to type away at the keys, the sound of them clicking the only noise in the room, as Khan watches us nervously out of the corner of his eye. He looks at the screen in determination, the blue light reflecting off his brown eyes. When he finally finds what he's looking for his shoulders seem to relax, as the weight of his stress is taken off of them, heaving a sigh of relief as he waves us towards the screen. I crowd behind my mentor and team A, trying to see whatever it is that Khan believes will prove his innocence.

Staring back at us from the computer is a message.

One I've seen before.