“Serious.” He winked.
She rolled her eyes.
He smirked. “I’ll be right back,” he said and opened the door. She watched his retreating back until he vanished inside the building.
There was a tug on her sleeve.
“Is Da mad at me?” Lily asked.
Janet turned her head to look at her baby sister. “Why would you think that?”
“He looked mad. Rylie was crying.”
“They just miss you so much, that’s all. You know when Ma takes away your video games, and you’re filled with all these feelings, and those feelings feel so bad that you can’t contain them so you cry out? Da and Rylie are filled with those feelings. They can’t contain how much they miss you.”
“I don’t like it when Ma takes away my games.”
“Then you can understand how they’re feeling.”
“I miss them too.”
Janet curled her arm around Lily’s shoulders and drew her tight against her side. “So do I.”
“I wish Uncle Zeph took them on the trip with us.”
“Maybe next time.”
The front door of the hovercraft opened and Zeph climbed back in, shutting it behind him. “We’re all set,” he said.
Mr. Heartface exited to unpack the few items they’d brought with them.
“Is it safe?” Janet asked.
“You’ll need to follow me in and keep your heads down. There are cameras throughout the foyer, but I’ve hacked into their database and put us on file under names of other residents here. As long as no one suspects that we don’t belong, no one will ever know we’re here.”
Janet sat forward. “Wait, we’re staying here? Have you looked at us? They’ll know immediately that we don’t belong. Shouldn’t we be going somewhere underground?”
“We do belong. It’s all about confidence. Where did yours go all of the sudden?” he teased. “Iamdecoding their security. Our images will never show up on any scans.”
“But—”
“You might not realize this, but my kind has the equivalent power of demi-gods to humans. The only thing that lets humans destroy Cyborgs is the man-suit and organic material they put us in.”
Janet humphed. “But we’re all over the media, you said so yourself.” She’d rather hole up in a remote place than a bustling one right in the middle of a city. She’d never been in a place where so many people gathered together. EPED agents could be anywhere. “Someone’s bound to notice us.”
“It’s okay,” Lily’s said, her voice breaking through Janet’s rising panic.
“What?”
“Uncle Zeph said earlier that he’d keep us safe. So it’s going to be okay.”
She’s comfortingme. Janet scrunched her face and hugged Lily tight, allowing the comfort to have its power over her. “I love you,” she murmured.
“Love you back.”
“You girls ready?”
Swallowing nervously, she nodded and padded Lily’s hair down. “We’re ready.”
