My three parents glanced at each other before they all gave me a nod and some contrite smiles. “Yeah, we’re good,” Dad said.
“Good,” I said, staring at Mom and Dad. “You all need to understand that nothing will change the fact that you are my parents. You raised me and loved me, and turned me into the person I am. But I can also grow to love Gabriella. That’s fine as well. It will never negate what and who you all are to me. Don’t ever think, for a second, that I’m not telling the truth.”
That seemed to defuse whatever tension might have still been in the room. Mom looked at Gabriella and reached across the table. Gabriella was hesitant at first before reaching over and taking her hand.
“Thank you for letting us have a daughter. Thank you for giving us such a wonderful woman to raise.”
Gabriella’s eyes were glossy with unshed tears. “And thank you all for taking such good care of my baby. I couldn’t have asked for better people to take care of her.”
“Oh shit, here we go,” I muttered, wiping my eyes. “Okay, okay, we gotta be done, or I’m gonna screw up my mascara for the rest of the day.”
105
NICO
The townspeople hadn’t stayed gone for long. I sat, watching the camera feed from the gate. More cars were pulling in on the side of the road every minute. There had to be close to a hundred people outside the gate. The camera had no audio, but I could see the mouths and lips of the townsfolk moving as they yelled and cursed at the guards. No doubt telling us to get out or go away.
I’d even called the sheriff’s department to complain about them. I’d reminded them that the Lorenzo pack was one of the biggest donors every year to the department’s fundraising project. All that got me was a disinterested promise to look into the problem. I tossed my phone onto the bed in frustration.
Since I’d spoken to Donatello, I kept checking the news every hour or so, waiting on the surprise he’d promised. So far, I’d seen even more celebrities coming out in support of the shifter cause, as well as a few politicians. It was surprising but not exactly what I’d been hoping for. I wanted a bombshell, something that would really push the royals back on their heels.
I was in the living room with Luis, watching a live feed of an entire pack of bear shifters getting loaded onto a big transportbus. They were only allowing them one backpack or small bag each. Another shot looked like a big convoy of cars lined up outside one of the FEMA holding facilities. My chest ached with anger as I watched thousands of shifters being rounded up.
I clicked the remote to turn the TV off. “I can’t take any more of this,” I said. “It’s almost the cut-off day for us to turn ourselves in. I’m worried it’s gonna get really bad by that point.”
Luis mulled over my words. He looked up at the ceiling, bouncing his knee nervously. It was strange enough that I stopped and watched him.
After what felt like an eternity, Luis looked back at me. “I have an idea. You probably aren’t gonna like it though.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but I’ve kinda become the spokesperson for bad and dangerous ideas. Out with it.”
“So, you know that hacking into government programs is bad, right?”
I sighed. “Yeah, usually the kind ofbadthat gets you ten to fifteen years in prison.”
Luis winced. “Right, butonlyif you get caught.”
He wouldn’t have brought this up unless he already had a fully formed plan. This was always how he worked. “What’s the deal?” I asked. “Spit it out. I can tell you’re dying to run it by me.”
He smiled and leaned forward like a conspirator about to reveal the secrets of the world. “Here’s the thing. The software that pack gave us—the one that broke in and got the video of the royals’ tests?”
“I do remember that. What about it?”
“Well, I think I can use that to access these FEMA camps. It’s powerful stuff, and I think I can break through to the local utilities. We shut off the water and electricity to the camps. If they can’t provide sanitary locations or heat and air, they’d have to let them go back to their homes, at least until they figured outthe problem. I think we could keep them chasing their tails for at least two or three days.”
It was dangerous. Right now, we’d toed the line when it came to abiding by the law. Sure, we’d traveled with fake IDs, but for the most part, we’d been good little boys and girls when it came to the police and government. If we attacked these facilities all over the country, we’d be committing a federal crime. In Luis’s defense, though, it would probably cause them to release most of those they’d already taken in.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
Luis held up his phone. “Can you imagine what kind of outcry there will be when all these celebrities, musicians, and athletes find out we’re being held in camps that have no running water? No heat or air? How much hell will they raise then?” He winked at me, a shit-eating grin on his face.
I let the idea bounce around for a few seconds. The political elite was already on their heels with the protests that were starting online. There were several massive in-person protests planned, led by the actress Reese Lloyd. If there was one thing politicians were more scared of than a disease, it was pissing off their constituents. I winked back at Luis. “You know, you can be a genius sometimes.’
Luis shrugged. “I try. Not everyone can be born like this, you know.” Changing the subject, he said, “Have you heard anything from Donatello?”
My smile died on my lips. “No. He said to be ready for something big, but so far, I haven’t seen anything. I’m gonna call him now. Maybe he’ll like our plan as much as we do.”
I dialed our billionaire guardian angel, but the phone went to voicemail. A minute later, I received a text.
