He opened his mouth to speak, but a knock at the door stopped him. The metal clanged as the door swung open. Bailen poked his head in. He quickly found Dad, ignoring that I was even present.

  “It’s time. Harlow’s loophole is activated.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  “You let him leave the protection of the Hive so you could use him as bait?” I grit my teeth to avoid yelling all the awful thoughts spiraling in my head.

  Bailen’s gaze briefly caught mine before shooting to the floor as he closed the door. I wished Bailen could put his jealousy aside.

  “Don’t do this.” The chances of this ending badly for someone I cared about were incredibly high. “There’s got to be another way. Something less risky.” The desperate words flew out of my mouth faster than I could think them.

  “I’m afraid we’re out of time.” Dad stood from the chair and crossed the room to the door. “If we don’t track down whoever is responsible, this could have dire consequences for the whole world.”

  “What about dire consequences for the people we care about?” I spat back. “Someone else is going to die, and I’m going to blame you.” The words had to have stung my dad, because even I felt how heavy they were dangling out there. I wasn’t sorry I said them. He needed to hear the blunt, honest truth.

  Dad paused and lowered his head. Maybe he was having second thoughts about this conversation. He pulled open the door but didn’t turn to face me. “After everything that happened to Jake, no matter what, I love you. Keeping you safe is all I care about.” He closed the door behind him without another word.

  And that was exactly what I was afraid of.

  Thirteen

  After taking a few minutes to let the shock drain out of me, I stomped down the hall into the Hive’s main computer room. Bailen was at a terminal typing away. The big screen along the back wall was powered on. A large map of the city displayed a single red dot, which I assumed represented Harlow’s current location. Jeremy and Dad sat on either side of Bailen, pointing at lines of code and monitoring data that was already being collected. Mr. Overland was inputting parameters on a few computers off to the side.

  Ava was at the next set of computers, running some code of her own, and Peyton sat in the chair next to her, but her focus was glued to the projected map. The rest of the room was a complete mess. Boxes everywhere, half hooked up computers, wires draping over tables like they’d been abandoned mid-setup. The Hive had never been perfect, but this wasn’t anywhere near its full operational capacity.

  Lydia stood next to Peyton but looked up when I entered the room. I shook my head to tell her not to ask, but she was already making her way across the room toward me. Probably to tell me how wrong I was to not tell my dad.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  I blinked in surprise, not expecting that question. “Why?”

  “Because you look like you’ve seen a ghost, and I’m not talking about the coding geniuses in this room.”

  I half laughed but knew she was picking up on the unrest of the room. “I just don’t think this is the right way to track down the source of the loophole. I think it’s putting Harlow in unnecessary danger.”

  “I’m worried about him too, but we all know if anyone is going to figure this thing out, it’s the people in this room.”

  I shrugged because, while she was right, I didn’t like how they were going about things. But the time to argue with them had passed. The red dot on the map was on the move. “How do we know his tracker is being exploited right now?” I wanted to ensure this really was as airtight as Dad and Bailen said it was.

  Bailen opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it as though suddenly remembering he was still mad at me.

  Jeremy came to my rescue instead. “We hacked into his tracker and are able to watch his brain waves using the tracker’s health monitoring capability. Right now, it’s like Harlow’s sleepwalking. He’s not fully conscious but not fully asleep either.”

  The answer surprised me. Maybe they really had thought through a lot of the details about how it all would work. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t keep asking questions to ensure nothing had been overlooked.

  “Let’s see where he goes,” Dad added.

  “What are the likely candidates?” Jeremy asked.

  “I’m sending over some data now.” Mr. Overland didn’t look up from his computer but kept typing.

  Bailen flipped to a new window with a chat screen from his dad. “Based on our data, there are a couple of old authority hideouts: the authority station and Global Tracking Systems.” Several blue dots appeared on the projected map ahead of where Harlow was headed.

  Ava moved around the computers and picked up a laser pointer from the edge of the table. “There are a couple of other safe houses and off-grid authority buildings in these two quadrants.” She circled a couple areas on the map with the laser.

  “How do you know that?” I wondered how she had access to what appeared to be secret information. Only Lydia seemed to register my question. Everyone else was busy with their tasks.

  “I used to work for the authorities.” Ava said it so matter of fact, like it wasn’t a big deal.

  I opened my mouth to ask one of the many questions forming in my mind, but Bailen cut me off.

  “We don’t have time to debate her past.”

  His words stung more than I expected. I wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t seem to care about her past, or if it was something he knew and had chosen to keep from me. Or because he was more focused on using Harlow as bait than looking for flaws in his hastily constructed plan. Regardless, the divide between us was now a chasm. I could no longer see him on the other side.

  “Ava, bring me the coordinates. I’ll get them added to our database,” Bailen replied in his natural tone, demonstrating his ease in talking to anyone but me.

  Ava handed him a scrap of paper with some coordinates on it. The new dots appeared on the screen one at a time as Bailen entered them into the computer.

  “He’s turning. That knocks out a couple of possible locations.” Jeremy typed some commands into his computer.

  Several dots on the map went gray. Lydia and I watched as Jeremy and Bailen adjusted the map to the changing conditions.

  “His vitals are still strong.” Dad input more commands into his computer. “Right in range with what we’d expect from someone under the tracker influence.” He paused, realizing that wasn’t a good enough explanation, and added, “There’s no indication anything will change from this state.”

  “Let me know if you need me to look at the failsafe code,” Mr. Overland said to Dad.

  Dad gave a slight nod. His reluctance to share more made me think they were up to something, but they weren’t ready to share with the rest of us. I swallowed hard and hoped it was something that would protect Harlow.

  Lydia put her arm around my shoulder and pulled me toward her. I was glad she was by my side. There was no way I could do any of this without her. Especially if things took a turn for the worse.

  When the map was down to about a dozen locations, the tension in my shoulders released. I sat in a nearby desk chair. Maybe nothing bad would happen to Harlow. Maybe it really was a routine plan.

  Despite feeling a little better, my guard was still up, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I made sure to check on Ava more frequently after the bomb she dropped, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary with her. That didn’t make me worry any less, since I’d handed over the most important message from Jake less than an hour earlier. I hoped I wouldn’t regret that decision or trusting Peyton’s judgement.

  As Harlow’s red dot turned another corner and two more spots grayed out on the map, my breath caught in my throat. In the bottom right-hand corner of my vision was a blinking box with “S.I.R.E.” inside. I backed away from Lydia, who was also watching the map, and moved into a desk chair on the edge of the room. I sat at the computer to make it look like I was checking on something, but if anyone looked close enough, they’d see the computer wasn’t even plugged in.

  Panic welled as dread washed over me. Not only was S.I.R.E. watching, but they’d reached me in the Hive. Sure, the Hive was still being reconstructed, but it was lined with material designed to block tracker signals. How was this message getting through? Maybe the Ghosts had missed a section when rebuilding and there was a hole in the coverage. Either that or S.I.R.E. was eight steps ahead of us and I’d have to be faster.

  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then blinked twice while thinking about the message. It popped up instantly.

  S.I.R.E.: Who is watching who?

  My breathing quickened as terror gripped my insides. How could S.I.R.E. possibly know what we were up to? I whirled around in the chair so my back was to the map and all I could see was an empty wall. If S.I.R.E. was watching through my eyes or my tracker, I didn’t want to give them any more information than I already had.

  Before I could think of something witty to respond with, another message appeared like a stream of consciousness app.

  S.I.R.E.: If any of your friends interfere with my plans, I’ll make sure they’re next.

  My mind spun like a pottery wheel. My brain felt like collapsed clay on the spinning table. How was I going to stop this from ending badly for everyone I cared about?

  K.W.: What about me?

  S.I.R.E.: Keep your friends out of my way and everything will be fine.

  I risked a glance back at the map. Only three dots were left, Global Tracking Systems and two underground authority prisons. I sucked in a long breath, knowing what I had to do if I was going to protect Harlow. I surveyed the room. Everyone was head down in a computer except Peyton, who was hyper-focused on the map.

  I shot up from my chair, but Lydia blocked my path.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” She held her hand in front of my face as if that would stop me. “You’re up to something aren’t you?” whispered close to my ear so no one else would hear.

  My eyes widened. I should have known she could read me like a fortune. “Lydia, I have to do something.”

  “If you go, I’m telling them your secrets.”

  I examined her expression. There was no bluff there. She’d expose me if I left. My gaze darted, but everyone was oblivious to us, occupied by their current tasks. I weighed the options in my mind over and over again. Each time I came to the same conclusion.

  “Tell them if you must, but I have to stop this.” It was all clear to me now. This mysterious contact never said I couldn’t stop them. They said to keep my friends out of the way. I intended to use that ambiguity against them. I looked once more at the map. Two dots left, but it didn’t matter anymore. I knew exactly where Harlow was headed. “I’m sorry,” I said to Lydia, making sure my tone conveyed the full message to her—that I couldn’t let Harlow go through this again, the pain of losing control. I was going to put a stop to this, and I’d do it alone if I had to.

  I bolted around Lydia and down the long, narrow hallway toward the trap door. I raced up the steps, letting the trap door slam shut behind me. Two long strides put me in front of the bike. I smashed on my helmet, mounted the flying crotchrocket, and kick-started it with one swift movement. Revving the engine, I peeled out from the barn, the wind whipping past me. Then I was in the air and headed right for Global Tracking Systems.

  My mind buzzed with whatever S.I.R.E. could possibly want there. But the more questions that flooded my head, the more I could tell what they were after. There was only one thing in that building that might help with the loophole: the server I overloaded when I brought down the tracker network. While the network had remained dormant, a part of me always questioned if I really had seen a light in that server box. Everything in my gut told me that thing was allowing access to the network in some way. Allowing someone to access the switches in people’s trackers and mind-control them just like they had with Harlow.

  Maybe the connection was sleeping or playing dead, but someone was trying to use Harlow to wake it up. I couldn’t let that happen.

  I landed on the roof of the building but, unlike last time, the roof was dark and no authority guards were anywhere to be found. The building had been abandoned shortly after that night we all snuck in and shut off the tracker connections to every living person on the planet.

  It was on this roof I saw a side of Bailen I had never wanted to see, the warrior within. The guy who would stop at nothing to end the tracker network. As much as I’d hated that side of him, he’d done what was necessary to protect me. At the time, it had scared me, but now I’d give anything for that Bailen, just some small part of him. At least Bailen had done what he thought was best for me, even if it was when he’d been at his worst. I’d take the worst of Bailen now over being iced out completely. Then I wouldn’t have to do the right thing by myself.

  I cut the engine on the bike and sat unmoving for what felt like an eternity as I tried to slow my breathing. I could do this. Even though I knew where to find Harlow, in the back of my mind I had no idea how to stop him. No way to snap him out of the mind-controlled state. Whoever controlled him wouldn’t stop until they had what they wanted. Maybe I’d just destroy the server and go from there. It wasn’t a solid plan, but it was a start.

  I climbed off the bike and hung my helmet from the handlebars. It was a few short strides to the stairwell door. I reached for the handle and held the cool metal in my hand, pausing to take a few deep breaths. When I’d mustered up all the courage I could, I yanked the door open, the electronic lock long since deactivated. I stepped into the dark stairwell.

  None of the lights activated, long detached from the authority tracker network. The door banged shut behind me and I jumped. Total darkness enveloped me. My breaths were all I could hear. I should have brought a toolkit with me, but my impromptu actions had left little time for preparations. I reached for the button on my watch and activated the small light. It wasn’t nearly enough to illuminate the whole way, but it let me see a few steps in front of me, enough to slowly creep down the stairs to the tenth floor.

  When I finally reached the landing, I allowed myself a few moments to calm my pounding heart. The last time I was here, Bailen and I were nearly killed by an explosion that ripped through the air vent we’d used to avoid the authorities guarding Rufus Scurry’s office. Afterward, I’d spent weeks in the hospital recovering from an abdominal wound. The scar still hurt when the weather got bad.

  But there were no guards for me to avoid this time, and likely no booby traps left to spring. Just me and Harlow… and whoever had control of him. I opened the door and bolted down the hall, briefly pausing at the crossway to get my bearings, then turned right down another hallway. I instantly recognized the hall leading up to Scurry’s office. Rounding the corner, I stopped in front of a wooden door. It had been left cracked open, a gold plaque with the initials R.S. etched into it still firmly affixed.

  I pushed the door open, revealing the office inside in complete disarray. Papers were strewn across the floor like fall leaves in a yard. The floor to ceiling screen along the back wall was blank, the computer running the fake city view shut down or broken. The L-shaped desk had open books and additional papers scattered across the surface, and half the drawers lay open with the contents bulging out.

  I faced the wall with the glass trophy cases, where most had been broken or knocked over. One case sat slightly ajar, as if it had been left that way for the last six months, untouched from the time Bailen cracked the code on it. We’d entered the brains of Global Tracking Systems and I’d helped him find the satellite server to shut down the tracker network. The case creaked as I pulled it all the way open and stepped into the server room. This time it was quiet and dark. No vibrating floor, no overhead lights, no hum of processing computers.

  Dim red emergency lighting lit every fifth row or so, but otherwise the floor was abandoned, at least at first glance. I sucked in a deep breath as I prepared myself for what I would find. The quiet darkness had a somewhat calming peace to it. A prickle moved up my spine, reminding me to remain alert, to not let my guard down.

  Many of the server casings were empty where rows of boxes once sat. The equipment had long since been seized by the government as part of a bigger investigation that led to the decommissioning of the authorities, but some of it remained. If I was a gambler, I’d bet money one important item probably still sat untouched.

  I stepped down the aisle where the box had been located. I stopped before proceeding past the line of empty casings. A dark shadow of a person who resembled Harlow’s form stood completely still, staring into the housing. The exact place where I had thought I’d seen a light blink back on for a brief moment so many months ago. Where I’d sighed in relief before the world came crashing down around me.

  Had it been the right decision? Was it my right to decide the greater good for everyone else? Some people may have thought the conveniences and benefits outweighed the bad. Who was I to decide for them? I had less clarity on those questions than ever before.

  “Harlow?” I called quietly, afraid I might spook him even though I knew he likely wasn’t in full control of his actions.

  The shadow stood still for a moment. But as I was about to inch toward the figure, he turned and stepped out of the shadows. The red light lit up his face, void of any expression. The shell of a person I knew so well. A ghost holding the machine I’d never forget.

  Fourteen

  “Harlow, hand me the box.” I swallowed hard and held out my hand. “Please. Let me help you.” Though I pleaded with him, I knew it was in vain. He’d told me when it happened, he was aware but unable to act. There was no way S.I.R.E. would let him hand that box over to me. It was too important.

  “I thought I told you not to interfere.” It was Harlow’s voice, but it was robotic and emotionless. Hollow.

 

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