Barb froze, her expression a mix of fear, disbelief, and anger. “Are you serious? Why didn’t you…?”

Amy cut her off. “They told me not to say anything about it. Alex was going to check…”

“Still nothing official,” Alex interrupted, “but command knows that something’s up, and has put us all on alert for unusual events. Like what just happened to you.”

“What did they say when you told them about the attack?” Amy asked him.

“The same as Mark: skepticism. But it wasn’t total, because I was told not to make it public until it was confirmed by higher-ups.”

“Fake news,” Robinson said. “That’s what they said would be the official position if it got out before then.”

“Maybe even after,” Amy grumbled.

“I’m inclined to agree with them,” Alex said, surprising her.

“Are you crazy?” Barb exploded. “This needs to be all over the Internet. Let people make up their own minds!”

Amy looked seriously at Alex. “I’m surprised it isn’t already. We weren’t the only ones to see it.”

“The Howards and the hiker,” he said. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Why?” she asked suspiciously, and recalling Harvey’s docility in the store instantly guessed the answer. “They got to them.” Her palms began to sweat, and she pulled her hand out of his. “Did they get to you, too?”

“No one got to me,” Alex said calmly.

“He didn’t say you were wrong about the others,” Barb pointed out to her.

“Ed told me,” Alex said bluntly, “and I believe him.”