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Which means he won’t stop until I’m dead

"You were thirteen last year, you think I don’t reirl is on the street now, outside the recruithts and lock up the doors for the night She throws the forged ident card into the gutter, swearing under her breath at the techhead who sold it to her

"They don’t believe you’re sixteen, huh?" It’s one of the recruits she sahile she aiting, and two of his friends He saunters closer, eyes traveling down from her face "I can help prove it to theirl jerks her ar the hot tang of fear in her hs and rabs his arm "Corulances back at her, and his face is fa s too She hasn’t met him yet

"ANYTHING YET?" I step inside the radio booth after checking Martha’s still alone in there I could tell she wasn’t happy about sending e to theit in secret But she’s the best operator we’ve got, and no one else would be able to coax a clear transmission

She jumps at the sound of my voice and starts to turn, but then catches herself She hesitates halfway around, one hand on the dial, the other fluttering down at her side "Flynn," she blurts, flashing one brief, agonized look rip the door frame "What is it? Did they respond?"

"No" She shakes her head, a touch too quickly "No, no reply I don’t even know if the trans on?" She shouldn’t be this nervous "Martha--look ather eyes on the floor even when I reach out to turn her toward me by the shoulders Ice creeps down my spine

"Martha, who did you tell?"

She ss hard, draws a shaky breath, and then, like every inch is torture, lifts her gaze toward uilt there tells me all I need to know

I throw myself out of the radio booth and take off across theany after , "She’s a trodaire, Flynn! She deserves to die!"

I sprint past Sean--he doesn’t knohat’s going on, but he can seefor backup I hear hih Doyle farther back; Turlough is cursing, Mike stu behind his husband, hampered by his perpetual li rows thick and wet as I stumble down the corridors into the oldest part of the cave system, but I knohere the steps are slippery, and I can’t afford to waste a second

If Jubilee’s dead it’ll be my fault

When I round the corner, I can hear the thick sounds of fists and feet on flesh; not a sound froe fro--I burst into the cavern to find McBride sla sheer ainst the wall a few runt, and I twist to look back at Jubilee--that’sI crash down beside Jubilee, the world spinning as ainst the floor She doesn’t move

Then the others are there, and as Sean, Mike, and Turlough put themselves between McBride and me, Jubilee cracks open one eye to take a look atto s, and her cracked lips part, trying to make the shape of a word

Ro through asps for air, and with Sean on one arainst his chest, he tries to surge forward His gaze doesn’t waver--I don’t even think he’s realized we’re here, except as obstacles to what he wants I hear Mike shout in pain as his bad knee gives, and I scra for one dangerousfor the stolenit froain, shoving hier, the bolt dissipates harun from his hand; the soldier crumpled at our feet didn’t so unfire McBride shovesin great lungfuls of air, grief etched all over his face "You thought you could bring that--that thing here, to our home, and no one would find out?" McBride wipes a hand across his reddened eyes, all signs of the orator gone If only the others could see hi behind his calls for action "Good thing Martha’s oddaer, I sound nothing like rip off his aruide him toward the tunnel "Make sure McBride stays out there," I tell the with adrenaline Sean stays to help me with Jubilee We can’t leave her here, now that McBride knohere to find her Sean wouldn’t condemn even a trodaire to that fate