CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Coughing and hacking, I staggered away from the case, my eyes watering from the gas. I could barely see anything and tried to rub the gas out of my eyes, but that just made my eyes tear up even more.
“Charles?” said Fingerprints, who I heard somewhere nearby, also hacking and coughing. “Charles, are you there? What happened—”
Something hard and heavy slammed into the back of my head and I fell to my knees. I heard Fingerprints fall nearby and then felt a couple of strong hands snap heavy manacles around my wrists. Still hacking, I struggled to break free, but that just earned me another slam to the back of the head that left me even dizzier than before.
“Nice try, kid,” said Red Tide’s voice, which sounded strangely distant now for some reason, “but you didn’t think I
