The Secretary raises his brows, waiting.

It can activate sleepers.

Dormant biochips?

Exactly.

I watch the angry red hue drain from the Secretary’s temples. He’s pleased with this news.

LeGru hesitates, like he’s uncertain. These scans are considerably more painful, possibly risky.

As long as he survives, use it. The more painful the better after what he’s put us through.

And the girl?

The Secretary pauses, randomly shuffling V-files on his desk. His cheek twitches. He finally leans back in his chair, his expression grim. Try it on him first. I’ll use the standard scan on her again. At least for now.

LeGru stands and walks in front of the Secretary so I can’t see either of their mouths anymore. I need to go anyway before someone comes looking for me. It would be hard to explain why I’m hanging down here on the end of a rope. I scale back up the wall, put the ladder where I found it, then slip quietly down the stairs. It goes so smoothly, I feel like now I’m the one who has orchestrated everything flawlessly. When I return, Hap is just starting down the hallway looking for me. He’s a Bot of few words. Scowls are more his specialty.

I hold my hand up. “No need to thank me. I took care of him,” I say. “Biggest cockroach I ever saw. We won’t say anything to the others. No need to spoil their dessert.”

Hap remains silent. Just as I thought. Some things are so timeless even a nugget-head can grasp it.

Yeah, flawless.

I join the others, hardly missing a beat, taking the raspberry tart that Raine offers to me on a delicate china plate, letting my fingers linger on hers a few seconds longer than I should, maybe bolstered by my success on the roof. I laugh at Carlo’s joke like I was never out of the room, and compliment Dorian on the tart when she returns for dishes. Carlo tells another story about his family being detained while on safari in Namibia. I sit back like I’m listening but my thoughts return to the dark shadows where I dangled from the rooftop. Tonight. LeGru is going down tonight. To the tunnels? Could he possibly lead me straight to Karden? Could I forgo searching the Secretary’s office for the exact location and let LeGru do my work for me? It would save time and time is running out. This might be a certain pathway to Karden and his freedom—if that’s who they were talking about.

I’m also hearing LeGru’s words over and over again. And the girl? Could the Secretary be so coldhearted that he’d hurt Raine to get information? He did hesitate. What was that I saw on his face? Concern? Earlier when he talked about her proficiency at fencing I was surprised that there was even genuine pride in his voice. Maybe on some twisted level he does care about her, but even considering hurting his own daughter for money makes him a ruthless bastard. He’s only holding off for now. He drilled into Raine that Non-pacts were animals. If only she knew who the real animal was.

Vina’s shrill laugh at one of Brita’s stories jerks me back to the conversation and I laugh too like I heard the whole story. I grab one of the tea napkins from the table and step away from the others for a moment, pretending I’m looking out at the sweeping view of the Commons and beyond. When Raine comes over a minute later to look out with me, she maintains her distance, knowing that Shane and Vina watch our backs. I drop the napkin on the table in front of us—the code for my iScroll quickly scrawled on the corner. “Just in case,” I whisper. Her fingers curl around it and she slides it into her pocket.

She loudly points out a few sights in the distance and then whispers, “Tonight?”

I don’t know how long following LeGru will take. “I’ll try,” I whisper. “But I might be late.”

Seeing Red

I wait outside the Tudor Apartments for almost an hour before LeGru appears. Xavier calls me twice, but I don’t answer. Let him think our meeting is running late. I don’t want him to catch on to my plans or he might try to stop me. Sure, they want me to find where Karden is being kept, but I think a personal vendetta that Xavier has nursed makes him think he’s the one who needs to actually go get him, no matter the cost to himself. But I’m more than a pair of eyes that can see in the dark, more than someone who can read lips and find out secrets, more than an “in” to get information for them. I have plenty of stakes of my own now. The clock is ticking—not just for Karden, but maybe for Raine too.

As I follow LeGru down Beacon, hiding in the shadows of the Commons, my iScroll alerts me to another call. This time Percel makes a worried appearance.

“It’s an emergency, sir. I am told to alert you at all costs.”

I duck behind a tree. If I lose LeGru now, I may not get any other chance.

“Who is it?” I say, my first thought rushing to Miesha. Has she taken a turn for the worse? Emergency calls are never good.

It’s Carver, Percel informs me, and connects us.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him.

“Nothing,” Carver says. “I just need news. What happened tonight?”

“You have to call now?” I ask. “I told you that when I—”

“Listen to me, you—” He stops, recomposing himself into his usual cool. He even manages a smile. “I’m sorry if this is an inconvenient time for you, but this is a team operation. And for now at least, I’m the head of that team. If I say I need news, I need news. Did you find anything?”

“No. Not yet. I found the Secretary’s office. Tomorrow night I go back. I’ll try to find something then. I have to go.” I sign off before he can answer and I tell Percel no more emergency calls. My lesson for Carver: If you want things done just your way, do it yourself. Like me. Any other time I might feel guilty for dismissing him—he’s been the most pleasant and level-headed member of the so-called team—but right now I don’t have time to worry about it.