Burn (17 page)

“Let me guess—it cuts off when the lights first flickered?” I ask, my heart sinking.

“Looks like,” says the guard standing next to Leo.

Kellan shrugs. “That happens all the time. We’re on solar, but sometimes there’s a surge.”

Leo doesn’t take his eyes off the screen. The gray glow of it is reflected in the lenses of his glasses. “That only means that whoever tried to take the scanner knows the system and its idiosyncrasies, or figured it out pretty quickly.”

“Where are all the board members?”

“I checked them out of the building myself,” says Kellan. “They all went back to the residential quarters to get some rest. None of them were in the building.” His gaze swings to the two Core agents. “So that leaves these guys.”

Kellan’s finger moves to his trigger, and Graham and Sung step back. “Hey, hey, we didn’t—” Sung begins, then starts to cough. As he doubles over, Kellan follows the movement with his gun, like he’s about to shoot Sung in the head. And I don’t know why I do it, but I skip forward and stand between him and Kellan.

Our eyes meet, and Kellan’s are brimming with questions and betrayal and fear. “Don’t,” I say, quietly enough so that only he can hear. “Ask them to bring the scanner up from the basement, and let’s check everyone again. These guys nearly died trying to keep the Sicarii from getting the scanner. If they tried to steal it, we’ll figure it out. But for now, be cool, okay?”

He stares at me, his nostrils flared, the tiniest tremble in his hands, which freaks me out, as do my mother’s wide eyes, which I can see over Kellan’s shoulder. I can tell she wants to say something, but she knows that one nervous twitch might cause Kellan to accidentally put a bullet in my chest. But after a few seconds, Kellan lowers his weapon. He jabs a finger at the Core agents and then to a group of guards by the door. “Go over there, and don’t do anything to make us shoot you.”

“Like existing?” Graham mutters.

“Thanks, man,” Sung says quietly as he passes me.

Two more guards emerge from the elevators, and one’s carrying the scanner. Both look spooked. Kellan accepts the scanner as they reach him. “Any sign of an intruder?”

One of the guards, who can’t be older than midtwenties but has seriously receding hair, shakes his head. “I was there only a few seconds after the alarm went off, but there was no sign of anyone.”

“I’m telling you, we saw someone running down the infirmary hallway,” Graham says loudly, his voice pure frustration.

I turn to Kellan. “Is there an exit down that hallway? Could someone access it from the outside—or escape that way?”

Kellan uses his sleeve to wipe sweat from his brow. “Yeah. There are exits in every hallway. And they all have surveillance cams, but I guess that won’t help us.”

“We should make sure everyone’s accounted for at the dorm,” says one of the guards.

“Don’t forget the H2 in the garage,” says another.

“Or maybe not. The H2 could be anywhere on the grounds, seeing as our wise leaders granted them status,” snaps Kellan, glaring at Graham and Sung like they’re responsible for all of it. “I’m calling Angus.” He slides his phone from his belt and puts it to his ear as he walks away.

“We need to make sure Lavin and Congers know about this,” Sung says to Graham.

Graham’s staring at Kellan’s back. Just as he opens his mouth to reply, Kellan pivots around and comes back to us.

“Let me guess,” Graham says. “You’re going straight to the garage to scan our agents.”

“No,” Kellan replies. I swear, he looks a shade paler than he did a moment ago. “We’re going to the residential suites. Angus wants us to scan The Fifty first. The alarm was just for this building, and he said it can’t be heard all the way down at the residential building, so everyone’s still in their suites.”

“Scanning the board members and the factory workers makes sense,” Leo says, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “Whoever tried to steal the scanner knew exactly how to hack the system, and how to get away without being seen. Considering the Core just got here and they’ve been held in the garage for nearly that whole time, they’re a little less likely as suspects.”

Kellan orders a small group of guards to go to the garage and make sure the Core are all accounted for, and then to keep them there until they can be scanned again. After letting the guard scan her, my mother announces that she’s going to check the morgue to see if anything’s been tampered with, and accepts a weapon from Kellan with gratitude. She looks haunted, as if the dead Sicarii could somehow be responsible for the attempted theft. Oddly enough, Leo volunteers to go with her. Part of me wonders if he wants to see George’s body, to say good-bye, to convince himself that George was long gone even before his body was perforated . . . or maybe he just needs a mom right now, and mine is the closest he’ll get. I don’t know. But Mom agrees to take him and tells me she’ll see me later. As for me, I’m eager to make sure Christina’s all right before I get back to work on bringing the satellite system online, so I go with Kellan. He tries to order Graham and Sung to go to the garage under escort, but Graham smiles and shakes his head.

“You said we were granted official status. That means I’m not your prisoner. And I’m going with you, seeing as one of your people probably tried to steal the scanner.”

Kellan’s mouth is a tight, flat line as he switches on the scanner and waves it over all of us. When Graham arches an eyebrow, Kellan impatiently passes it over his own arm and scans blue. “Where were you guys before you entered the atrium?” Kellan asks me. “Everyone else went back to their quarters.”

“At least, you hope so,” says Sung.

“We were in the meeting room,” I say. “Dr. Ackerman was with us when the lights first flickered. He can vouch for us.”

“And can you vouch for him?” asks Graham.

We enter the crisp night air and walk toward the dorms of The Fifty, which is maybe a quarter mile away. The sky is clear, stars above us and lit defense stations glowing bright all along the rim of the crater. The guards inside are watching for the ships that could come at any time, ready to use all available firepower to protect us—but we may have an enemy within the compound, too. “I don’t know Dr. Ackerman, but I can tell you that he was with us during the first flicker of the lights. He left after that.”

Kellan’s pace quickens, and a few of us stutter-step to keep up. My head is a little foggy. The jolts of fear and menace keep clearing the cobwebs, but I’m so tired that it doesn’t take long for them to regenerate. I won’t be able to go without sleep much longer. “Is the dorm building on the same circuit system as the main building?” I ask as Kellan breaks into a jog.

Next to me, Sung takes a wheezing breath, not yet fully recovered from the smoke inhalation. I’m wondering if he should have stayed in the infirmary. Graham is grim and silent as he takes smooth strides, but he’s sweating in the cool mountain air, and by the tension in his arms, I can tell he’s hurting. Why did they leave the infirmary? Did they really see someone running down the hall? Did they want to steal the scanner, or are they feeling as protective of it as I am?

When we reach the dorms, all is quiet. A few windows are lit, but most are dark.

“Is there a guard on duty?”

“At the front desk,” Kellan says, yanking the door open and marching through a large entryway toward what resembles the lobby of a very swanky hotel. “But the first-floor hallway has another exit. Someone could come down the stairwell and exit that way without being seen by the guard.”

Sung runs his hand over his buzzed black hair. “If they have the same seven-minute gap in surveillance feeds that you had in the main building, we might be screwed.”

Graham curses. “We came here because it was supposed to be this technological fortress, but you guys can’t even manage basic surveillance.”

Kellan lifts his chin. “Can you? Those Sicarii got two of your people, and you led one of them right to our doorstep.”

Graham’s mouth twists, and I’m betting he’s about to remind Kellan that they got George, too, but Sung nudges his arm, and he simmers down, thank God. “What’s your plan? Are you going door-to-door?” asks Sung as we enter the lobby.

Kellan motions for the guard at the front desk to stay where she is. Then he looks around, and his posture sags a little. “I guess.”

There’s a brief flash of sympathy in Graham’s eyes. He’s used to being weighed and measured—and found wanting. “It’s a place to start,” he says to Kellan. “Let’s get it done. We have the scanner now, and we can dissect this tomorrow, after we rule out the obvious. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

From Kellan’s expression, I can tell that he wouldn’t perceive finding a traitor among The Fifty to be “lucky.”

A hallway to my left has a metal plate on it that reads:

BISHOP
BELAY
BEARDEN
ARCHER
ALEXANDER
ACKERMAN
ABE

I guess my family suite is down there—as is Brayton’s, Rufus’s, and Dr. Ackerman’s. Sung and Graham stare at the nameplate while Kellan questions the guard at the attendant’s desk.

The elevator in the lobby dings. “Tate!” comes a shriek as the doors open.

My head swings around so fast that I’m dizzy. “Christina?” My heart hammering, I watch her emerge with two guards on either side of her. One of them has a gun aimed at her head.

I stride toward her, my hands up. “She’s with—”

“Caught her near the stairwell a minute after you called, Kellan,” says the guard with long brown hair pulled into a tight knot at the base of her neck. “She won’t say who she is, and none of us recognize her.”

Kellan switches on the scanner, and Christina winces as her skin flashes red. His broad shoulders tense as he realizes she’s H2. “What the hell are you doing in this building?”

“She’s my girlfriend,” I snap, shoving past the guards, beyond caring whether they aim at me. “Step away from her.”

Christina looks like she wants to reach for me but is afraid to move. “I was in Leo’s suite and kept hearing people coming back from the meeting. I was coming down to see if you were in your room,” she says to me in a broken voice.

“Is she some undercover Core agent?” the female guard asks.

I want to hit something. “Did you hear what I just said? She goes to my high school. She, like two-thirds of the population of this planet, is H2 and a
civilian.
Not every H2 is Core, and you know that.”

“She’s not one of ours,” says Graham.

“We’re wasting time,” I say to Kellan. “I’m taking her to my suite, and you’re checking each one, right?”

Kellan seems to note the edge in my voice. He’s still regarding Christina with suspicion, but the guards are holstering their weapons. “Yeah.”

He stalks toward the hallway, and I offer Christina my hand. Wearily, she takes it. We follow the others down the hall, reaching the Bishop suite first. I’m tempted to walk right by and let them handle it, but it’s clear they’ve already hit a snag. Kellan is banging his fist against the door. “Mr. Bishop, just for a minute. We’ve had a security breach, and I need only a moment of your time.”

“I can see the Core agents out there, boy,” shouts Rufus from the other side. He must have his face pressed to the peephole. “If you think I’m coming out, you’re insane.” This is followed by a long string of threatening and colorful curses.

“Mr. Bishop, we need everyone’s cooperation—”

“If you think those aliens are cooperating with you, you’re even more stupid than the rest of your family!” Rufus shouts.

Kellan’s cheeks darken. “Sir,” he says, his voice turning gravelly. “I’m going to have to order—”

More curses. Kellan looks helpless. Purely out of impatience, I snatch the scanner from his hand and wave it over the door. Despite the barrier, it flashes blue. The thing can scan through walls and doors.

Sung’s dark eyebrow arches as he notes the device’s capability. “Good to know,” he says.

I nod and hand the scanner back to Kellan as Rufus shouts, “You think the scanner protects you? Those H2 don’t need to scan orange to do damage.”

“Neither do you,” Graham calls.

“It’s all you’re going to get tonight, dude,” I say to Kellan. “Just do your scanning, and we’ll sort the rest tomorrow.”

He moves away from Rufus’s door as Brayton Alexander emerges from his room at the end of the hall. “What’s going on?” he asks, smoothing his rumpled blond hair across the top of his head.

“Someone tried to steal the scanner, Mr. Alexander,” says Kellan.

Brayton’s eyes go wide, and then he scowls. He closes his eyes as Kellan scans him blue. His cheeks still look sunken with fatigue, and I swear there are new streaks of gray in his pale hair, though that may be the light. “Obviously the thieves didn’t succeed,” he says in a tight voice. “And equally obvious, it needs to be guarded more closely.”

“Agreed.” I tuck Christina a little tighter to my side. “I’m betting they’ll try again,” I say. “Speaking of, Brayton, you must know the security and surveillance systems of this compound pretty well, right?”

I look to Graham and Sung, who said they saw someone running down the infirmary hall. Graham shrugs and looks at the floor as he mutters, “It was dark, and the guy was moving fast.”

Brayton leans back against the wall, his face pinched with anger. “I do know the system well.” He leans forward and glares at Kellan, the circles under his eyes making him look like a ghoul. “But I don’t appreciate being under suspicion, especially since we both know the surveillance cameras would have detected any intruder.”

Kellan stands his ground. “That’s what we’re talking about, Mr. Alexander. They were hacked.”

Brayton blinks at him. “What?” He pushes himself off the wall. “I can take a look if you’d like.”

“We’re just trying to scan everyone in the building right now,” says Kellan. “Then I’m reporting to Angus.”

Brayton slumps a little. “Tomorrow, then,” he says quietly, and Kellan nods.

I’m about to remind them that we might not have a tomorrow because the scout ships could come for the scanner at any time, but Christina leans on me like she agrees with them, and my own fatigue is making me feel so heavy that I’m about to sink to the floor. And suddenly, I realize I’m not holding Christina up—it’s the other way around.