Just in case Anne-Jade knew where her brother had gone, I searched for her on level four. She slumped in her chair in the ISF office in Quad A4, staring at nothing that I could see. No one else worked at the other desks. An odd silence filled the room.
Not wanting to scare her, I called her name before jumping down from the vent. Anne-Jade waved me over half-heartily. Utter defeat looked at me through her eyes. I almost stepped back as my heart lurched in my chest.
“Did something happen to Logan?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
Unsure if I should be relieved or not, I asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Come on, Trell. You don’t need me to explain it.”
“Did Hank take him?”
She straightened and for a brief second the old Anne-Jade frowned at me. “How did you know Hank’s involved?”
“He tried to recruit me to his cause.”
She slouched back. “You should have signed up. They’re in charge now, you’d have saved yourself a lot of trouble.” A wry smile twisted. “Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to. Trouble is exactly what you crave. I just want peace.”
Anger flared. I banged a fist on her desk. “I wanted peace, too. And you know what happened while I sat around mooning over our state of affairs. I don’t crave trouble. It’s just one of those unfortunate side effects when I finally decided to take action.” I leaned in close to her—almost nose to nose. “If Hank has Logan, then I know exactly where he’s being held. Are you going to sit around moping or are you going to help me?”
“It’s too late.”
“That’s such a load of crap. It’s never too late.”
A spark of ire flashed. “What more proof do you need? My brother’s dead body? Would that convince you it’s too late?”
“No. Not Logan’s. Not Riley’s. Not mine or yours. They haven’t won, Anne-Jade. They just think they did. Which gives us the advantage.”
She laughed. “You’re insane.”
“That’s certainly debatable. But give me another chance.”
“Another chance to do what?”
“Prove to you it isn’t too late.”
She snagged her lower lip with her teeth and chewed. “I don’t have any resources. They took everything.”
“Everything?”
She nodded.
“You mean you don’t have a few loyal lieutenants who would take a risk for you?”
“Well…”
I sensed a small victory. “And you didn’t keep a few weapons hidden away just in case?”
“I might have.”
“Might? When will you know?”
Anne-Jade huffed in annoyance. “All right. I’ll make you a deal. If you rescue Logan and get him to a safe location, I’ll help you.”
“I accept.” I shook her hand, sealing the deal.
I turned on my listening device and hailed Riley, informing him of Logan’s disappearance and my plans to rescue him. He had given me another device and receiver. They worked on a specific frequency so it was very difficult for Hank and the Outsiders to pick it up.
