Hypnotic Interrogation

Bonawa rushed to the circus fence, which had already been torn down by force. Fire had swept through the entire circus, and somehow all the performing animals had gotten loose.

Bonawa looked around, then yanked a blanket off the back of an elephant running past. The trainer had been using it as a seat cushion.

There was no telling how long the blanket had gone unwashed. Bonawa endured the smell, poured a bucket of water over it, then draped the soaked blanket around himself and charged into the flames.

He ran blindly beneath the blanket. Suddenly, he slammed into something, and the force of the collision knocked him flat on his back.

He pulled the blanket off his head, crouched low, and peered out with a hand over his nose and mouth.

Only then did he see that the circus was full of people. The fire inside had already been put out.

"Whose kid is this? How did he get in?"

The man Bonawa had run into spoke with a frown. Clown makeup covered his face.

Bonawa tossed the wet blanket aside, dusted off his hands, and stood up.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm with the organization too. I sent off the gawkers outside, but the boss had better hurry. I saw someone go into the city to fetch the guards."

He clapped the man on the shoulder as though they were old friends, then craned his neck to look past the crowd.

Many people lay on the ground inside the ring. Some wore circus makeup; others were the people who had rushed in earlier to fight the fire.

Mondy and Moka sat back-to-back in the middle of the crowd. The circus director Bonawa had seen earlier was questioning them.

"Team Leader Mondy, leader of Shadow Intelligence's Third Team,