“What do you think Nathan found out?” Jace asked.

My hands were light on the airship controls as I guided us along the flight path back to Edgewood. But the excitement and anxiety in my mind made it very difficult to focus on the mechanics of flying. I had more important things to think about.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “Maybe they found out something new about Helping Hands. Or maybe it’s not about the mission at all. Could be something that happened in Edgewood while we were gone.”

The truth was, we didn’t know much. Nelson hadn’t given us any pertinent information over the call. She’d just said Nathan wanted to discuss the new intel in person. Which did nothing to put my mind at ease.

“Well, it’s just like him to keep us in suspense,” Jace said, tossing me an apple as I flew.

I took one hand off of the controls to grab it.

“Just in case we’re going out on a new mission sooner than expected,” he said, taking a sizable bite out of his own apple.

I smiled at him. There’d been a short lull in activity after the mission at Smally, and I’d forgotten how it felt to go one hundred miles an hour all the time. Now I was starting to remember. When you were dealing with Little John, things changed quickly—and you had to change with them or be left behind.

It took two hours to get from Ironfield to Edgewood, and those two hours were full of Jace and me asking questions to which we didn’t have the answers. We mostly passed the time by focusing on the flight controls as much as we could. By the time we finally began our approach, I was glad to be returning to Edgewood so we could hear what the team had discovered in our absence. I was also worried about Nathan ending our mission so abruptly. Had they detected a government trap set for us at one of our next stops? Or had they determined that the mission was too dangerous to continue?

Then again, maybe we didn’t need to continue exploring the empty towns. We had gotten a lot of really important information from the hermit woman, and we probably weren’t going to find better evidence than first-person testimony. I switched off the stealth mode and pulled down on the controls, and we began our short descent into Edgewood. I was thrilled to see the shiny tarmac beneath us, and took the ship down slowly, the way Alexy had taught me—and the way Jace had helped me perfect. It was a piece of cake to land on something flat and solid again. Once we were safely hovering over the tarmac, I was able to glide into the hangar around the bustling action of the flight crew. Pilots and mechanics were walking around the hangar and inspecting airships, and a few of those airships were on and hovering while the mechanics worked. It could’ve been standard maintenance, but I wondered if it was more than that. Was the fleet actually being prepared for something?

Maybe whatever Nathan had to share with us was really big, and he was already readying all of his teams for the next step.

I maneuvered the airship into its usual slot and switched off the ignition, bringing us down onto its landing gear. Jace popped the airship hatch, but before we had time to stand from our seats, Rio’s pale face appeared in the open space.

“Back so soon?” he asked with a smile.

Jace and I exited and met him out in the hangar, leaving the mini-airship behind us as we walked away.

“Why are there so many people in here?” Jace asked Rio over my head.

“Orders from Nathan,” Rio replied. His smile at our arrival had been replaced with a tension that reflected the busyness of the hangar. “We need to make sure all the ships are in good working order. Make any repairs we need to. Stuff like that.”

I looked around the hangar one more time. If they were making repairs and it was all hands on deck, then Henry’s team was probably in here. But I didn’t see him before we reached the side entrance and exited the hangar out into Edgewood’s main street.

I’d always felt peaceful in Edgewood—or, if not peaceful, at least safe. This had been a place where I’d been able to let down my guard and feel less afraid of being chased or tracked. But it felt different today, with all the sudden activity. There was new information to be had, and it looked like plans were already underway for something big.

We walked quickly to the tech building together, Edgewood bustling all around us. Many teams were traveling to and from their respective bases together.

What could Nathan have learned that was necessitating so much action?

I followed Rio into the tech building, with Jace right behind me, and though we immediately saw many familiar faces inside, none of them looked up or greeted us when we entered. Instead, we were walking into pandemonium.

The room was dimly lit, and at least a dozen people were typing furiously at a long row of computers. An eerie blue glow emanated from the computers, lighting their faces ominously. I saw Nelson and Gabby seated among them. They didn’t even seem to notice that we had walked in.

Nathan was seated at a separate computer in front of the largest screen in the room. It towered over us, long lines of code scrolling quickly along. A short, dark-skinned man was sitting beside him and reading the code through thick glasses. I didn’t recall seeing him before, but his positioning made him look important. Was that Sy, the lead tech?

There were also people pressed against the sides of the room. Another dozen or so, drinking coffee and whispering to each other, or just silently watching the screens from the sidelines. Jackie, Ant, Abe, Cloyd, and Kory stood in a group amid this group of spectators. Rio walked past us to stand beside Alexy and Zion on the other end. Alexy smiled and waved when she saw me, but her attention quickly returned to the screens.

Jace and I made our way toward Jackie’s group, and Cloyd looked up at us as we approached. We briefly made eye contact, but then he was walking away. He went up to a coffee pot in the corner of the room and poured himself a cup. Then he stood there and sipped his hot brew, keeping his distance.

If Jace noticed, he didn’t say anything.

The team offered us cursory smiles and nods as we approached, which seemed odd to me. I thought they would have been full of questions for us after our mission or would at least provide some answers about why it had been abruptly interrupted, but they were more focused on the screens above us. Could they read code all of a sudden? It still looked like gibberish to me.

“What’s this spectator sport?” Jace whispered to Kory, who was standing nearest to us.

Kory looked tired but excited. His eyes sparkled despite the puffy dark bags underneath.

“Artemis is about to self-destruct,” Kory said.

My eyes widened. The virus that was in the government systems was self-destructing? Had I heard him incorrectly? Didn’t we need that virus to continue to search? Surely we weren’t throwing away more than a decade’s worth of planning and technological research when we were so close to finding out more.

“But why?” Jace asked.

Kory looked at Jace in slight disbelief. “You really want me explaining this tech stuff to you? Wouldn’t you rather hear it from Nathan?”

Kory was almost as technologically illiterate as Jace. Growing up in caves for most of your life would definitely do that to a person. But we didn’t have another option if we wanted the information right now. Nelson and Gabby were indisposed. And we could always get a more detailed account later.

Jace and I nodded simultaneously. We wanted at least some information now.

Kory sighed.

“Okay, so as I understand it, the virus wasn’t as well hidden in the system as they wanted it to be. They’ve been working in shifts to code around it. Kind of like providing it with a cocoon.”

I understood that much so far. Nathan had already made it apparent to us that the more Artemis was used, the more likely it was to be discovered. I knew it wasn’t undetectable.

“But they were able to do some re-engineering from Edgewood,” Kory continued. “So the new plan is to drop bugs in the systems we now have access to—like satellites, communication logs, the archives, and personnel files—and then get the main virus out of there. That way we should still be able to go back and look in the system without triggering any security alarms.”

Okay, they couldn’t work in shifts to protect the virus forever. That part made sense. But why was this process drawing such a crowd?

Jackie leaned over to whisper the answer to this unspoken question.

“They’re about to make the virus self-destruct. And if it’s not done perfectly, it’s going to leave remnants of code all over the system, tripping a ton of security alerts all at once, which would make Artemis visible to the government. Sy and Nathan are in charge of making sure that doesn’t happen. The other techs are planting the permanent bugs.”

Oh. Now it made sense. Suddenly my heart was aflutter with the same anxiety and anticipation that the room seemed filled with upon our entrance. But was this why they had brought us back?

“Nathan called us for a meeting, and when we got here this was going on,” Jackie added. “I think it’s taking longer than they thought it would. So we’re waiting for them to finish.”

Just then, Nathan’s voice sounded out over the clacking of keyboards and the soft din of whispers. “All right, team, stay on its trail. Bugs in place. Virus detonation set to begin,” he said.

There was a slight whoosh as the room sucked in and held its breath together.

“Okay, Sy,” he continued. “Count us down.”

The man with glasses had been staring at the code the whole time Kory had been speaking, looking as though he was able to read it like a legible language. His shoulders were riding high with tension now, and he clasped his hands together.

“Three… two…” his voice rang out, clear and sharp.

Nelson and Gabby continued to type furiously beside the other techs. It all seemed to be coming down to this.

“One,” Sy said.

A staticky zipping sound filled the room, and the screens all went black at once. My eyes bugged. What had happened?

“Generator!” Nathan yelled. “The systems are overloaded! Everything went under!”

A few people in the back of the room jumped up and took off down a hall that led to the power closet, and I did some quick mental calculations. The systems hadn’t been able to handle everything the techs were doing, I guessed, and the power had gone out. The people currently running down the hall were on their way to the backup generator. With that on, they’d be able to get the systems back up… and figure out whether their operation had been a success or a failure.

Sy’s arms were still crossed. He was shifting nervously on his feet.

“How long have they been working like this?” Jace asked.

“Nelson and Gabby have been gone all morning,” Jackie replied. “They weren’t at breakfast this morning. So I’m assuming for hours.”

“What are all of the techs doing?” I asked. I mostly understood what was happening, but I didn’t know why it took such a large crew all at once.

“I guess it was a really big virus. They’re all coding together to keep it hidden. I’m not technologically advanced enough to really understand,” she replied.

I knew that feeling.

“Generator up!” a voice yelled from the hallway.

All eyes turned back to the blank screens.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Nathan said in a low and tense voice.

I watched the big screen and waited for something—anything—to happen.

Then the screens all came back on at once. The light in the room got brighter. But no one released their breath.

The codes reappeared on the main screen. Sy turned his eyes to the screen, and for a long time there was silence.

“Success,” he finally said quietly.

The room erupted. Nathan grabbed Sy roughly and pulled him into a bear hug, and Nelson and Gabby stood and high-fived. All of the techs were standing now, smiling and hooting and hugging each other. Jackie leapt into Ant’s arms in joy, and Abe rushed over and hugged Kory and Jace simultaneously. I watched, somewhat dumbfounded. It was a strange scene to be introduced to so quickly.

Kory turned to me and held up his hand for a high-five, his smile huge and contagious.

“Well done, team. Well done,” Nathan said over the noise. He was shaking hands with the techs individually by leaning over the row of computers. Gabby shook his hand so enthusiastically that it looked like Nathan’s shoulder was being pumped up and down. “Now let’s get some well-needed rest. I’ll need you guys refreshed and ready for the next mission very soon.”

The tech team began gathering their things and filing out of the room, but I noticed Sy lingering at the main screen, still reading code.

Nelson and Gabby walked back to greet us, and Jace and I were finally able to hug and greet all the members of Team Hood. Alexy and Zion soon joined us.

“So glad you two are back safe!” Gabby said enthusiastically.

“Heard you guys had a close call,” Ant added.

I was overwhelmed to be among everyone again. Just yesterday I had felt like Jace and I might never make it back to Edgewood alive. Now we were surrounded by all of our friends, following a series of successful missions. But the abrupt ending in Ironfield still plagued me. What were we about to find out? What was being planned?

Nathan strode confidently toward us, his usual bravado and swagger in full force.

“Robin, Jace,” he began. “We’re so glad to have you back safely. Now, we have a lot to talk about. Let’s head back to my office.”

We walked together down the hallway and into Nathan’s large, brightly lit office. Nathan took a seat at the head of his desk, and the rest of us filed in and sat in a semicircle around him.

“Thanks for coming back on short notice,” he started, speaking directly to Jace and me. Then he turned his attention to the entire group. “By now you all know that we’ve been working diligently to find out more about Helping Hands. We know that they’re privately funded and registered as a nonprofit organization. And we know that they are involved with vocational and rehabilitation programs in the Ministry’s detention centers.”

He paused here, and the room was completely silent for a moment. Then he continued.

“And now Robin and Jace have found promotional materials in an abandoned factory that show us how Helping Hands was involved in Millville.”

“We also have information from Ironfield,” I said suddenly. I wanted that information to be public.

“Go ahead,” Nathan said.

“We found a woman who had been left behind. She saw Helping Hands on the ground. She even spoke to a volunteer,” I said. “Apparently on top of providing food, they were also doing home inspections for possible repairs.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “What do you think about that?” he asked me.

“Well, this woman wasn’t able to receive any assistance without registering. I think maybe the inspections were actually a confirmation of how many people were in each registered home,” I said.

I had been thinking about that since we saw the poster in Millville. Why else would it be so important to register? It seemed like Helping Hands wanted an exact headcount before cities were emptied. Besides, building “inspections” didn’t really make sense. All of the lodgings were in need of repairs. Why go into all of them individually to make that assessment?

Nathan nodded. “Did this woman see the rounding up of townspeople?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, she just said she saw cargo trucks going into the city and then leaving the city. No one was there when she got back.”

“Well, we have more information on Helping Hands through Artemis now,” Nathan said. “As well as through her human counterpart, Aurora.”

Aurora. Once again in awe, I remembered Nathan and Corona’s government plant. She’d been an invaluable resource for Little John, and I knew that any information gathered from her had meant danger for both her and Little John. If Aurora’s association with Little John was ever discovered or compromised, it could give the government a direct line into Edgewood as well as all of the other bases. It would probably also lead to Aurora’s execution for treason. Anything that she was transmitting to us had to be very important to offset that risk.

“What do we know?” Jace asked.

“I was waiting for you two to return to brief everyone on this,” Nathan said, “so now I can tell you all at once. We know the town Helping Hands is in currently. And we need to start planning now, because two of you are going to allow yourselves to be captured there.”