Poppy shrugs. “She thinks you’re a bad influence.”
That makes me snicker. How amIa bad influence? All I’ve ever done is save this girl from being paralyzed by violet bells and getting eaten by a ridgehowler. Don’t get me wrong, I do understand Fiona’s protectiveness. This is her only child, and the wards aren’t safe for Mods. But I also don’t blame Poppy for being desperate to break out of the high walls Fiona has erected around her.
“Ready to head back?” Declan asks me.
I notice Poppy’s disappointment. “You can’t stay?” she says.
As much as I’d love to free her from being trapped in the shadows of overprotective Fiona, I’m on a mission, and can’t socialize. “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “We’re here on official business.”
“All right, well, come find me later if you can.”
“I will,” I promise.
Declan and I make the long trek back across the labyrinthian corridors that make up Bramble Base. We enter one of the briefing rooms a few minutes later to everyone sitting around, looking bored.
“Do we have the meeting coordinates yet?” I ask Adrienne.
“No,” she says tersely.
“He’s playing games with us.” Teriq’s eyes flash with irritation. “Kallister was right.”
Her posture goes rigid. “It’s still early. He has time.” But she must be worried, because she reaches for her comm. “Evlynne, do you copy?”
“I’m here,” is the response.
“Is there anything unusual on your end?”
“Negative. Radar’s clear. No activity at all. Nothing moving in or out as far as I can tell.”
“Could be a setup,” Teriq says, shaking his head.
Declan glances at Adrienne. “Should we abort?”
“No, we’re still on standby for now.” She pauses. “But if we don’t hear from them in the next thirty minutes, we’ll call it—”
She barely finishes that sentence when the explosion rocks the bunker.
Chapter 54
A deafening boom echoes through the bunker. The overhead lights flicker, briefly plunging the room into darkness, only to flicker back on a second later.
“What the hell was that?” Mako says, and everyone springs to action, grabbing their weapons.
The walls creak, dust floating down from the ceiling as if it might collapse at any second.
“That didn’t come from inside,” Declan says, his tone sharp.
“Check the security feed.”
Teriq and Adrienne fly out of the room. I hurry after them to the main control station where the surveillance room is located. Others are already there, studying the blinking screens that monitor everything above us.
“There’s too much smoke,” the man at the workstation says.
I peer at the screen. He’s right. It’s too unclear. But there are flashes of movement. Dark figures darting across the ground. The clarity is shit.
“We’ve got company,” Declan says grimly.
Teriq scans the cameras. He clicks a few buttons, and a map flickers to life on the holoscreen.
