“Did you go deaf since I last saw you?”
Sammy’s eyes flick my way, and I give him a tiny headshake. Bree has absolutely no desire to talk about what happened in that factory. I know it as surely as if she said it to me. Maybe someday she’ll be able to go into detail, but for now—just as I’ve buried the tragedy of Blaine in my core—she only wants to move forward.
As Bree picks the locks of my cuffed wrists with a bent bit of metal, Sammy rattles off details Elijah shared with him before we made it to the house.
Frank is moving forward with his plans as though nothing has changed. Sunder Day is tomorrow and he is still pretending that I’m in his custody. “The illusion of order precipitates order itself,” he’s been saying to his closest advisors. At least that’s what Harvey’s relayed.
“Has anyone heard from Emma?” I ask.
“Yes, my clairvoyant connection to her has been quite strong lately,” Sammy says. Then, more seriously: “We haven’t been in touch with September yet, but Elijah said something about trying tonight. So maybe soon?”
Meaning Harvey leaked my transport information to the team, but never mentioned how Emma joined us in Bone Harbor. I feel the left lock click and the metal cuff swings open. I roll my freed wrist, but the knot of discomfort in my stomach only intensifies. Bree grabs my other arm, and as she goes to work on the lock, I share my fears about Emma’s motives.
Sammy shakes his head. “She wouldn’t cross us like that. I know her.”
“You knew her Forgery,” Bree points out, “and that thing was ruthless.”
“But why?” Sammy continues. “What can she truly gain from this?”
“Could she—?” Bree cuts off and swears. “Maybe she’s still a Forgery.”
“She’s not,” I insist. “I checked her eyes. And you killed her one model.”
“Maybe you saw what you wanted because of who she is, what she means to you. Maybe—”
“Dammit, Bree, I’m not that blind. This is her.”
Sammy rubs his knuckles with a thumb. “Then what the hell is she after?”
“I have no idea. She must know something we don’t.”
“Sounds like one hell of a secret,” Bree says.
Sammy rambles off a few theories, none of which make much sense, but he’s already been betrayed by Emma’s Forgery, and I don’t think he has it in him to withstand it again. He loves her, even after everything, and he wants her to be a person worthy of that.
The second cuff clicks open, and I massage my wrist.
“I’m still dropping the files tomorrow, right?” Clipper says.
“Absolutely,” I answer.
This doesn’t change a thing. Clipper needs to deliver the virus-bearing thumb drive, and the Order recruiting event tomorrow—part of Rally activities and open to any citizen thirteen and up—is the perfect opportunity. It will get him inside Union Central, in plain sight, without raising any suspicions. Harvey will retrieve it from the predetermined drop point and go immediately to work. All while the rest of us get into position downtown.
The Rebels and Expats will make a stand—in Taem, in other domed cities, in exposed and underprivileged towns. Harvey’s virus will see to the Forgeries once the alarm is tripped. And the three of us—me, Sammy, Bree? We’ll be camped out with Frank in our sights, waiting. First clean shot any of us have, we take.
“I don’t know, guys,” Bree says. “It’s possible Harvey and Emma are working together. Maybe it’s not the smartest idea to have Clipper deliver the drive. The Expat-Rebel strikes will still happen, and we can still be looking to take that shot at Frank. But we don’t have to tweak the alarms. Especially when there’s no proof the fail-safe won’t work in the Forgeries’ favor.”
“I’m going in,” Clipper insists. “Harvey’s good. I’ve seen it.”
“The same way Gray saw that Emma is?” she counters.
“Sometimes I think you’re too proud to ever admit you might be wrong.”
“Clip, you can rub this in my face if I am. Actually, I hope it comes to that. Because I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“So we just give up because you’ve got a feeling?”
“No, we make the decision as a team.”
“Team!” he erupts. “Team? You’re the only person who’s still bent on hating Harvey. The team decided what to do days ago, so join or back down.”
“Elijah’s right upstairs,” Sammy says. “We could have him weigh in.”
“Nothing changes,” I say firmly. “The fail-safe could give us an incredible advantage, and we’re not backing down just because Emma’s got us on edge. I don’t care what Elijah has to say about it.”
“Then I hope someone has maps,” Bree mutters. “We should review tomorrow’s route.”
Beneath the city’s dome, Rebels prepare for the coordinated strike. The same should be happening in Haven and Lode and Radix. Gears are already in motion. The fail-safe will be the unexpected component. A surprise cog.