After ten minutes, she still hasn’t responded. I know I heard Kay’s voice. She tried to contact me. I wonder when she’ll try again and if I’ll have enough time before anyone comes back.
“Sunshine?” Kay’s voice is again in my ear. After being called “sweetheart,” “cupcake,” “princess,” and a bunch of other non-flattering things, Kay’s nickname for me lights me up.
“Yes,” I say excitedly, then remember to keep my voice low. “I’m here. I can talk.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you again sooner,” she tells me hurriedly. “Gareth is on lookout, watching for spies, but you never know who’s listening.”
“Tell me—” I stop myself from blurting out questions about Baby and force myself to let Kay talk.
“Are you okay, Amy?” Kay whispers. “Are you surviving that place? Did you talk to Ken?”
“I’m fine,” I say hurriedly. “But I haven’t found Ken yet. I thought I saw him a couple of times, but he disappeared into a part of the prison I couldn’t follow him into.” I rip Jacks’s sketch out of my pack. “Does he have a mole on his left cheek, just below his eye?”
“Looks like a heart?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s him. Funny. I used to tease him about it. It’s good to know he’s alive. I’ve been out of contact with him for months, since before we broke you out. I was worried—about both of you.” She sighs. “All I know is that he was sent to Fort Black to work on his research. But it was good that you didn’t follow him into a restricted area. I don’t want either of you getting into trouble. Dr. Reynolds has spies everywhere.”
At the mention of Dr. Reynolds, my chest goes cold. “Is Dr. Reynolds in charge of Fort Black, too?”
“No, but they’re connected. I don’t know it all—I’m not a researcher. I don’t have the clearance to view medical records. Wait . . .” Kay cuts out, only to return a few seconds later. “False alarm.” She pauses again. “Look, thing are getting worse with Baby. They’ve moved her from the dorm to the lab. Rice says they’re taking too much blood, and she’s developed a heart arrhythmia. He’s really afraid for her life. Rice fears her heart may give out . . . and even if she holds out, she could suffer long-term brain damage.”
Fear, cold as ice, runs through every nerve and vein. “But she’s important to their research,” I protest. “They won’t kill her, will they?”
“Not on purpose. But Rice is concerned. . . . There are so many complications from blood loss—”
“I’ll come back,” I cut her off. “I’ll leave right now.”
“Amy, don’t be stupid. You’ll never get in, and you’ll wind up dead. What good will you be to Baby then?”
“But—”
“No. Just find Ken. He has clearance I don’t. He has access to New Hope research, to New Hope test subjects. I’ve already told you: If you want to get Baby out, Ken can do that. He’s really the only way. You just have to convince him to take Baby as his own subject.”
“Are you sure?”
There’s a long pause. “No. Like I said, I haven’t been able to contact him. Gareth has been hacking the system so I can briefly speak with you. . . . But the researchers are on a different circuit. It’s too risky for me to try.”
I know Kay wants me to search out her brother, but I can’t put all my hope in a man I can’t find.
“Maybe Rice can get Baby,” I try. “He would have the right clearance, and Dr. Reynolds’s trust.”
“I’ve talked to him. A couple of times. The longest conversation lasted about thirty seconds. He used his earpiece to relay information to me when he knew neither of us was being monitored, just like I’m doing for you. Do you know the risk he was taking? I don’t know when we’ll be able to speak again. He’s scared too, Amy. He wanted me to tell you to be strong and patient.”
Be strong and patient. Just like when I was in the Ward. I’m filled with something recently unfamiliar—reassurance. Rice came through for me once. I have to believe he can do it again.
“Find Ken,” Kay says. “He’ll have access to information I don’t. He can give you a better idea of how Baby is, of how to get her out. Do you understand?”
I want to go. I want to be doing something. But she’s right. This is my only option.
“Okay.”
“Just be careful.”
“I will,” I promise.
“If . . . When you find him, he may not trust you. Tell him that you’re my friend. And then tell him this. Tell him ‘Ted doesn’t need you.’ He’ll know what it means. He’ll know I sent you.”
My earpiece goes dead. “Kay?” I whisper. “Kay . . . are you still there?”
After a few long seconds her voice cuts back in. “Gareth is telling me I have to go.”
“Wait . . . what about my mother? What about Adam? Are they safe?”
There’s a long pause, and I thinks she’s cut out, but I hear a sigh and before she’s gone for good, she responds.
“Sunshine, no one is safe.”