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Thorne flushed with disbelief "But--she’scustomer! You can’t just keep her from me"

"Each man for hiaze back toward Cinder, his fear easing more and more into revulsion "Get on your way now, and I won’t comm the police If they come around, I’ll tell them I haven’t seen you since you dropped off the ship last year But if you stay here er, I’ll comm themthan Cinder heard a hover down the street Her heart skipped at the sight of a white eency hover--this one without the red cross on its side--but it disappeared down another street She spun back toward Alak "We don’t have anywhere else to go We need that ship!"

He stepped back froain, his body frairl," he said, his tone deter down to herto help you out because Carswell’s been a good customer of mine, and I don’t rat out my customers But it’s no favor to you I wouldn’t blink twice before sending you off to rot It’s the best your kind deserve Now get away froe my mind"

Desperation welled inside Cinder She clenched her fists as a surge of electricity lashed out, blinding her White-hot pain flared up fro her skull, but it was blessedly brief and left bright spots sparking in her vision

Panting, she reeled back the burning energy, just in ti in Thorne’s arainst the wall, dizzy "Oh stars--is he dead?"

Thorne groaned fro a heart attack!"

"It’s not a heart attack," she murmured "He’ll … he’ll be fine" She said it asto believe these accidental flares of her Lunar gift weren’t dangerous, that she wasn’t beco the terror to society that everyone believed her to be

"Aces, he weighs a ton"

Cinder grabbed Alak’s feet and together they dragged hi An office to their left had two netscreens--one with a security feed showing the warehouse’s exterior, just as the door closed behind thite-clad fugitives and the unconscious man The other screen showed a muted news anchor

"He ood taste in jewelry" Thorne held up Alak’s hand by the thu with a silver-plated band around his wrist--a miniature portwatch

"Would you focus?" Cinder hauled Thorne to his feet Turning, she scanned the th of the city block, filled with dozens of spaceships, large and so ships, podships, personal fliers, raceships, ferries, cruisers

"Which one is it?"

"Hey, look, there was another jailbreak"

Cinder glanced at the netscreen, which noed the chair to a crowd of journalists On the bottom of the screen scrolled the words: LUNAR ESCAPES FROM NEW BEIJING PRISON, CONSIDERED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

"This is great!" said Thorne, nearly knocking her over with a slap on her back "They’re not going to worry about us if they have a Lunar to track down"

Cinder dragged her attention away frorin fell

"Wait You’re Lunar?"

"You’re a cri on her heels, she stalked into the warehouse "Where’s this ship?"

"Hold on there, little traitor Breaking out of jail is one thing, but assisting a psychotic Lunar is a bit out of ue"

Cinder rounded on him "First, I’m not psychotic And second, if it wasn’t foryour portscreen, so you owe ed as my accomplice You look like an idiot in that picture, by the way"

Thorne followed her gesture to the screen His own jail picture was blown up beside hers

"I think I look pretty good…"

"Thorne Captain Please"

He blinked at her, a touch of set out of here"

Cinder sighed in relief, following Thorne as he marched into the maze of ships "I hope it’s not one in theup "The roof opens"

Cinder glanced up at the sea "That’s convenient"

"And there she is"

Cinder followed Thorne’s gesture His ship was larger than she’d expected--o ship Cinder pulled up her retina scanner and downloaded the ship’s blueprint, speechless at everything it could claiine room and a fully stocked dock with two satellite podships took up the underbelly, while the alley kitchen, six crew quarters, and a shared washroom

She rounded to the main entry hatch and saw that the seal of the American Republic had been hastily painted over with the silhouette of a lounging naked lady

"Nice touch"

"Thanks Did itcouldfaintly ier than I expected"