The Girl Who Dared to Think 7: The Girl Who Dared to Fight

“Fine,” I grated out, angrier with myself that I couldn’t convince them. “Wake Liam up, and let’s get going. I’ll call Dinah while we’re on the move.”

“Now that sounds like a sensible plan I can get behind,” Quess said with a smile, and I could tell he was trying to cheer everyone up and keep us all optimistic.

But I was far from that as I moved to gather more of the things we would need. I was terrified at what would become of us after everything was said and done, confused by how willing they were to sacrifice their lives for this, and in a very small part of my heart, relieved that they weren’t going to leave me, even if I wanted them to.

It wasn’t enough, but it was something. And something had to be enough, at least for today.





34





I had Quess exchange my net for the IT one I’d taken from Lidecher before we left the apartment so I could contact Dinah. Our plan was relatively simple: we’d stop by a nearby armory to get as much ammunition for the lancer as we could carry, as well as lash harnesses for Quess and Eric, and then exit through the lashway using Lionel’s code. We’d scale the Citadel, cross the roof of the central chamber to the Core, and enter through whatever hatch Dinah told us to.

If I could reach her. Since Quess had put the net in, I’d tried to contact her twice, only to have her reject the calls. We were speeding toward the first destination of our plan—the armory—through halls that would haunt me to my dying days. The signs of battle here were even worse than what I had seen on the upper floors, and I couldn’t walk twenty feet without seeing another crimson-clad body lying on the floor.

Maddox had the people still loyal to us scouting the halls ahead, so we moved with relative ease through the corridors, but it was still unnerving. My stomach shriveled up whenever my eyes found another body, and it performed somersaults when my ears picked up the sounds of fighting coming from an adjacent hall.

And it only grew worse the longer it took me to get ahold of Dinah. Because I didn’t just need her help getting into the Core; I needed her help finding a way to sneak up on Sage. Whatever—wherever—this integration chamber was, I was betting there was only one door in, and it would be heavily guarded. If I tried a frontal assault, we’d lose immediately.

But if Dinah didn’t call me back, then a frontal assault was all we were going to have.

I was beginning to grow concerned when she hadn’t called by the time we got to the armory, but I pushed it back and focused on scavenging whatever we could from the picked-over remains of the room. Whoever had broken in had been in a hurry, so there were lots of little items scattered on the floor that we could use, and the spare lash harnesses were mostly untouched.

I helped Quess and Eric get their harnesses on while Maddox, Tian, and Liam quickly set out to pick up whatever we could use, as their harnesses were already on. By the time both men were suited up, the others had managed to get quite a bit of ammunition for the lancer, as well as extra lash ends, masks, a few flash grenades, and some spare bottles of water that had been tucked back in a cabinet.

Oh, and still no return call from Dinah.

We exited the room quickly and headed for the lashway, a large door that opened right out to the side of the Citadel. They were all sealed right now, but we were armed with Lionel’s code, so they wouldn’t be for long. I’d use that code all the way to the Core if I had to, though I knew that Sadie and the rest of IT were going to figure out that we were using it, and then figure out where we were heading, and mount a defense against us. If that happened, and we didn’t hear from Dinah, then we’d be dead in the water.

I tried netting her again as we walked, but after a few seconds of buzzing in my skull, the call immediately died, telling me she had rejected it again. She had to be physically rejecting the calls; if she were dead, the net would refuse to even establish a connection. Was she in trouble? Had Sadie figured out that she was spying on them and gone after her? Why wasn’t she picking up?

My anticipation grew as we approached the curved wall at the end of the hall, the oval-shaped opening that normally stood open now closed tight. I approached the security keypad next to it and tapped in Lionel’s code, eyeing both sides of the hall as I did so. There was a half-second delay as I waited for the code to be accepted, thoroughly convinced that Sadie had already figured out we were coming this way and set up some sort of trap on the other side, but then the two halves of the door split, swinging to the side and revealing the dimly lit shadows of the spires and twisting architecture outside, and nothing else.

I approached the edge, leaned out to make sure there were no sentinels perched outside, lying in wait, and then backed away to let the others exit the Citadel before me. Maddox went first, to ensure that we were alone, and once she gave the all-clear, I began waving everyone out. Tian went next, the young girl sprinting down the hall with her own lash line a blur in her hand. She threw it just before she leapt out over the void, connecting with a gargoyle that jutted out a few feet to the right of Maddox, and then reeled her line in, flying upward until she reached it and then scrambling onto the grotesque thing.

I waited until she was situated to give the signal for the next person, Liam, and had just urged him forward when my net began to buzz, startling me.

I took a quick look at my indicator, and to my surprise, it identified the caller as Alex Castell, my twin brother who had left only two days ago with the Patrians. For several seconds, I stared at it, confused at how my brother could even be there. And then I realized it wasn’t him. We’d taken Alex’s net when he left, so he had no way to net me.

Which meant that it was either Dinah, doing something to cover her tracks, or it was a trap of some kind. I considered for half a moment that it was a trap, but if so, it was a highly specific one, considering they were calling me on Lidecher’s net. They would’ve had to know I had it, and I doubted Lacey’s people had let Lidecher out of their sight long enough for him to call and warn IT that I had his net.

But even if they had, it was worth the risk of picking up to find out. I needed Dinah’s help that badly.

I tapped the indicator, accepting the call, and was relieved to hear Dinah’s voice on the other line, even if it was rife with anger.

’Bout damn time you picked up, she said gruffly. I’ve got problems—big ones. Some of Sadie’s goons figured out I was trying to hack into Scipio’s data stream, and she sent a hit squad out after me. I barely got out alive, and I’m hiding. I need help!

You and me both, I thought at her as I watched Liam sail through the opening. His technique was sloppy, but his form was good. My quarters have fallen, and Sage has damn near everything he needs to kill Scipio and replace him with Kurt. We need a way into the Core, and for you to find us a sneaky way to get into the integration room where all the power is being directed to. Please tell me you can help us.

There was a pause on her end, which I used to motion for Eric to go, and then she said, Liana, all I want to do is get out of here. What you’re asking… It’s a lot. They could find me while I’m working on it, and I guarantee they aren’t going to wait for the expulsion chambers to come back online before getting rid of me. They came into my department with their pulse shields out. If we hadn’t been preparing for something like that, there would’ve been a lot more death than there was. I barely got out of there alive, and I know they’re going to be chasing me. So, no, I don’t think I can help you this time.