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

I leaned out past the corner again, taking in the two men. They didn’t seem to have moved at all, past whatever they were fiddling with on the wall, and I seized the opportunity and motioned for Maddox to go. The tall girl quickly began to walk, stepping lightly on her feet and keeping her pace moderate, so as not to draw attention. I kept my eyes on the two men the entire time, gun at the ready, but noticed when Maddox entered my field of vision, and tracked her progress.

As soon as she was across, I waited five seconds, and then waved Quess forward. The two men continued to work, oblivious to our presence, and I couldn’t help but thank whatever lucky stars were shining on us that we were finally catching a break.

Once Quess was safely across, I waved for Eric to follow. The large man padded up next to me and was starting to move past me when one of the men in the hall stood up and tossed something down in disgust. I quickly reached out and pulled Eric back behind me, before ducking around the corner, praying the man hadn’t seen anything.

“This is so stupid, Toby. We should be in central command helping them out, not running around checking the secondary systems!”

The man squatting next to him hadn’t moved, but I could hear his answer, delivered in a slow and deliberate voice. “It’s not our job,” he said simply. “Now come here and help me with this.”

“No! And have you seen Scipio’s levels? They are downright erratic!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s to be expected, considering he’s under attack right now,” Toby replied, his voice far more cool and collected than I would expect, given the nature of their conversation.

“Yeah, about that,” the other man blurted out, still clearly needing to vent. “Can you tell me how a girl from the Knights learned how to program intelli-viruses? Because I accessed her server file, and there is nothing there that indicates any proficiency in—”

“Don’t have to be a programmer to have a vision,” Toby replied, punctuated by a heavy clank. “Look, kid, I know you’re scared, but don’t be. IT Department has the greatest minds in the Tower, and they are working nonstop to save Scipio. They did it last Requiem Day, and they’ll do it this time, too.”

“Yeah, but all the people trapped in the rest of the shell—”

“Will probably die,” Toby said with a heavy sigh. “But the important thing here is that you won’t. IT won’t. And neither will Scipio. Now come here and help me inspect this plasma manifold. I know it’s not as exciting as central command, but…”

There was a rustle of fabric, and I chanced a quick look to see the man squatting down again, his attention on the secondary systems they were working on. I hesitated, and then moved forward, pulling Eric along with me. It was a gamble for both of us to cross at the same time, but I was willing to take the chance.

We moved at a quick jog, and I kept my eye on the two men, searching for any sign of them turning to see us, but they remained facing straight ahead. As soon as we disappeared around the corner, I let go of Eric and began moving toward the next intersection. It was disconcerting knowing that I had left Eyes behind us—Eyes who, at any moment, could finish and come this way—so my urge was to get through the hall as quickly as possible.

The next intersection was still and silent, but that did little to reassure me.

It wasn’t until we were at the hatch in the third intersection that I began to feel like we would actually get in without anyone noticing. But at that moment, the two men from earlier emerged from the hall two intersections down.





37





The two men were looking down at a pad as they crossed the intersection, but all it would take was one of them noticing the splash of crimson our uniforms made against the gray walls, and we’d be sunk.

I was torn between moving and remaining perfectly still. Either way was a risk, but I felt strongly that movement would only draw more attention to us. For several long seconds, all I could hear over the pounding of my own heart were the faint sounds of their voices and footsteps. I watched them closely, searching for any sign that they were going to look over at us.

But they didn’t. Whatever conversation they were having was apparently engaging enough to keep their focus on the pad, and they disappeared down the adjacent hall within a few seconds. I closed my eyes in relief, then twisted my head around to check on my friends and saw that they had followed my lead and remained still as well. Blowing out a deep breath to steady my nerves, I motioned for Quess to keep working.

Within a minute, he had pried the security keypad from its mount in the hatch and connected several thin electrical wires coming from the pad to several exposed metal nubs inside. He tapped a few things on Dinah’s pad, and a moment later the security light on the keypad turned from red to green, and the hatch popped open.

Quess grabbed it and pulled, revealing the bright white-blue glow of the energy stream inside. He remained in the hall to disconnect the pad and reattach the keypad, but I didn’t wait for him to finish; I was already motioning for Maddox to approach the glowing portal. The tall girl hesitated for a second, and then stepped over the half wall, lifting one leg up and stepping down to straddle it. I watched as she shifted her weight and found her footing on the rungs that ran down the side of the shaft, waited for her to disappear, and then gave her a five-second count.

As soon as the five seconds expired, I gave Eric a look that told him it was his turn, and he nodded slowly and followed after Maddox. His movements were stiff and wooden, but he made an effort to move at a reasonable pace, so that was something. More than I expected, all things considered.

My heart began to ache as I thought about Zoe, but I pushed it aside and took a quick look back down the hall, making sure the coast was clear. “Quess?” I said, pitching my voice soft and low. “You almost finished?”

There was a click from behind the open hatch a second before I finished my question, and then Quess stepped around it and moved toward the portal, tucking the pad and wires into his pocket. “All set,” he replied, throwing a leg over the half wall. “Just pull it closed behind you, and they’ll never know it was open.”

“Perfect,” I murmured, turning around to scan the hall one more time. To be honest, this was all beginning to feel a little too easy, and I couldn’t help but suspect it was part of an elaborate trap set up by Sadie or Sage. There weren’t any signs of anything sinister, but still, I felt the tingle of awareness that told me to keep moving, just in case.

I turned to see if Quess was out of the way—he was—then quickly went through the hatch after them. I climbed down a few rungs on the inside before reaching out into the hall to pull the door closed behind me, feeling that each second it took was a second too long, giving our enemies the chance to attack and stop us.

But the door closed without any sign of attack, and the green light on the inside of the hatch clicked to red as soon as it sealed, just like Quess had said it would. I exhaled, and then took a quick glance over my shoulder, flinching at the bright glow of the beam being sent down the shaft. The energy ray crackled with power, flowing from a point at the top of the shaft to a port in the bottom, feeding the machines that housed Scipio. The heat in the room was dry and stifling, and each breath I took felt like it was somehow lacking in oxygen, making me almost lightheaded. I closed my eyes against the glow, turned around to face the ladder, and took a moment to collect myself.