“There’s no time,” Warner says. “They know we’re here, and they’ve obviously had ample opportunity to prepare for our arrival. Unfortunately, our parents aren’t idiots; they know we’re here to save Ella. Our presence has almost certainly inspired them to begin the transfer if they haven’t done so already. The three of us together are inefficient. Easy targets.”
“But one of us has to stay with you,” Nazeera says. “You need us within close proximity if you’re going to use stealth to get around.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“No way,” Nazeera says flatly. “Listen, I know this compound, so I’ll be okay on my own. But Kenji doesn’t know this place well enough. The entire footprint measures out to about a hundred and twenty acres of land—which means you can easily get lost if you don’t know where to look. You two stick together. Kenji will lend you his stealth, and you can be his guide. I’ll go alone.”
“What?” I say, panicked. “No, no way—”
“Warner’s not wrong,” Nazeera says, cutting me off. “The three of us, as a group, really do make for an easier target. There are too many variables. Besides, I have something I need to do, and the sooner I can get to a computer, the smoother things will go for you both. It’s probably best if I tackle that on my own.”
“Wait, what?”
“What are you planning?” Warner asks.
“I’m going to trick the systems into thinking that your family and Ella’s are linked,” she says to Warner. “There’s protocol for this sort of thing already in place within The Reestablishment, so if I can create the necessary profiles and authorizations, the database will recognize you as a member of the Sommers family. You’ll be granted easy access to most of the high-security rooms throughout the compound. But it’s not foolproof. The system does a self-scan for anomalies every hour. If it’s able to see through my bullshit, you’ll be locked out and reported. But until then—you’ll be able to more easily search the buildings for Ella.”
“Nazeera,” Warner says, sounding unusually impressed. “That’s . . . great.”
“Better than great,” I add. “That’s amazing.”
“Thanks,” she says. “But I should get going. The sooner I start flying, the sooner I can get started, which hopefully means that by the time you reach base, I’ll have made something happen.”
“But what if you get caught?” I ask. “What if you can’t do it? How will we find you?”
“You won’t.”
“But— Nazeera—”
“We’re at war, Kishimoto,” she says, a slight smile in her voice. “We don’t have time to be sentimental.”
“That’s not funny. I hate that joke. I hate it so much.”
“Nazeera is going to be fine,” Warner says. “You obviously don’t know her well if you think she’s easily captured.”
“She literally just woke up! After being shot! In the chest! She nearly died!”
“That was a fluke,” Warner and Nazeera say at the same time.
“But—”
“Hey,” Nazeera says, her voice suddenly close. “I have a feeling I’m about four months away from falling madly in love with you, so please don’t get yourself killed, okay?”
I’m about to respond when I feel a sudden rush of air. I hear her launching up, into the sky, and even though I know I won’t see her, I crane my neck as if to watch her go.
And just like that—
She’s gone.
My heart is pounding in my chest, blood rushing to my head. I feel confused: terrified, excited, hopeful, horrified. All the best and worst things always seem to happen to me at the same time.
It’s not fair.
“Fucking hell,” I say out loud.
“Come on,” Warner says. “Let’s move out.”
ELLA
