Page 55 (1/1)

I pressed the heel of ainst my forehead I didn’t want to think about this now It was like prodding a swollen, angry blister that hadn’t popped yet I needed to focus on Thurmond, on the fact that, apparently, we had less than two ather supplies, but find additional kids, train theet back from Nevada--the impossibility of it rose over her into the sky the closer I got to it

"We’ll ht to settle the plan," Cole was saying "We’ll clarify the goal we’re working toward, focus everyone’s energy In the meantime"

"Yes, yes, of course I’ll ht be willing to do for us about a hand down my arm, then squeezed my hand I barely felt it

"You are the queen of my heart, Madaly handso toward the door

"We’ll meet in here at seven sharp," Cole said "I’ll have a plan ready for you"

She paused, turning back to look at hione faster than a blink, but I saw the moment she let herself hope "Thank you"

I waited until she was gone before leaning forward and restinglassy filhts thickened as I turned my mind back in the direction of Thures ofthe ca every last piece of evidence before the world could see what had really happened there

"--e at me from further down the row of computers, an odd expression on his face "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, rubbing ataround the roo hts I’d sunken into "I’m fine," I interrupted him "So the plans--the ones the kidsinto Nico’s seat in front of the laptop and clicking around "They’re not bad, but I seem to remember a better one"

"Whose?"

"Yours," he said pointedly "You put together a whole plan for hitting Thurmond, remember? Gave it to Alban behind Conner’s back"

I had, hadn’t I? Three o at this point When they’d takento use it to arm kids with explosive devices and send thes at the knees They’d turned a drea about Thurmondit sucks I know that’s a crappy word to express the nitude of how terrible it is, but it just plain sucks and we’re going to have to work harder and faster now We have until the beginning of March to get our act together It would help to have a fully formed plan to run with so we can juh"

Cole picked up a small notepad he’d tucked into the folder of handwritten plans from the other kids and tossed it toyou re everyone’s ideas into so"

I found a pen in one of the desk drawers at the front of the computer roo, and I was self-conscious of the loops and uneven lines of er I wrote, the easier it felt--the words ca back slowly, like they didn’t fully trust that this ti ain

This is different One kid enters the camp ahead of the assault with a tiny caes of the interior of the cay can be mapped out Cole promised this would happen We take their own transportation in, blindside the PSFs and ca them If you can’t believe in this, then neither will they We’ll leave one camp controller free under my influence, to report back in status updates until we’re all away

It took up ten whole sheets, front and back, and ible as exciteain and I could see each of thesewith perfect clarity By the end, my hand was cramped and I felt drained, but my head was clear I did feel better Cal

I stood up and turned back tohere he was still sitting Every now and again, I heard voices and sounds co from his direction, and the part of my brain that wasn’t distracted bythe videos we’d downloaded The crying, the soft begging, the questions that never had answers They were the kinds of things I’d learned to tune out at Thurmond for my own self-preservation I don’t knohat it would have done to ht from the screen flashed across his face, thrown onto the wall behind hiht by his bleak expression Moving a few steps back, I was able to see what he atching reflected in the s lining the wall Fire streaked across the screen Cole glowed orange, red, gold, as the light from the video bathed him in deadly color And just like that, one, washed out by sudden, cold understanding The hair on the back of my neck prickled