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If they’d thought about that in all of their planning, it didn’t show on their faces And the fact that Dr Gray didn’t try to refute me seemed to lend some credence to the possibility

"You absolutely cannot just release the inforent Ambrosia, I’ the widespread panic it’ll induce in the population"

"True," Senator Cruz said "I’d rather not see people start tearing each other apart to get to natural water supplies But I agree with Alice that we need evidence; not for the public, but for our foreign allies"

The buzz that h the roo theroups to drive out to the water treat it all His hand gave a painful jerk as he lifted it to rub the back of his neck, and I wondered if he felt it, too, the slow unraveling The train that had been so clearly under our care had jumped the tracks entirely When he looked at me, there was a silent plea in it, a desperation I had never seen in him before

I couldn’t stand it--it pushedin his power to help us Toto push hi ed? In that moment he could have backed out of the room and I wasn’t sure anyone but me would have noticed

"Well," he said finally, "I have some intel for you, if you’d like it"

Alice rolled her eyes "I’ive the world a sense of who these kids are, but you’re really just setting them up to be pitied" Cole tucked his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, his voice growing louder as the din around hier, is fear Go ahead and release all that intel on Ambrosia, see where that lands this country when people start rioting over the last few fresh, untainted water sources Or, you can show the an ar about?" Alice demanded

"You all sahat happened at Kansas HQ today," Cole said "But what the news didn’t tell you is that there are reports that it was Reds, not a military unit, that attacked the to back the else, Cole now had the reins of the conversation back in his hand He was guiding the conversation now, not letting it happen around him "My trusted source says that there’s a camp of Reds not too far froo and docu, the caive it to you for Amplify, on the condition it’s used in conjunction with the actual camp hit"

"Where did this information come from?" Liam asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion

"A trusted source," he repeated

His brother rolled his eyes Alice, though--Cole had read her right It was like a cat that had spotted athe floorboards She wanted this story, and she wasn’t going to run the risk of so it first

"Okay, what about this," she began "We send out five teams to the water treatroup out to assess the situation there Snap solancing at o," Lia his brother to refuse Cole crossed his ar for a lifeline

He doesn’t want Lia to do with how Liam may or may not have been able to handle himself, or if he trusted hio," I said "I think--"

"He just said tould be enough," Lia back to his brother "Unless you think I’ up on your precious littleup in a rueful sht, it’s settled Nowsoasoline level at now?"

Dr Gray returned to her seat, finally, eyes fixed on her hands in her lap as Senator Cruz asked her so cao out to the water treat theo with

I didn’t stay around to watch the stiff conversation between Cole and Lia soh the Ranch, back to the empty computer room I sat back down at Nico’s computer station and switched on the news livestream

"--obviously this is terrible if it’s true and the president will have a considerable a to do--" This was the last one still running; the others had been switched off, one by one A pattern had formed: a news station would show the kids’ interviews, the conversation between the talking heads would swing dangerously toward the this is true cao dark This station seeuest commentator as a devil’s advocate instead of a so-called expert "--but what if these children haven’t been coached, and this isn’t some ploy for attention or notoriety from parents? If they have been reraer? Our focus should be on returning them to their camps before it’s too late"