A CHANGE IN SCHEDULING: $46.96
A chill ran down my spine. What we were seeing was impossible. The WiFi was supposed to be blocked, but a red dot blinked ominously on the map. The layout of Butchers & Rog’s central tower, previously blank, filled in with an elaborately detailed blueprint.
“Um, how could the schedule change?” Henri asked. “We’re in a Squelch—there’s no WiFi.”
“Maybe the room is not sealed,” Margot said darkly.
Kel’s face twisted into an expression of both horror and admiration. “It’s not the room. We triggered something inside the program,” she said, taking the Pad back. “It’s a snare.”
“Does Rog know we’re here, or not?” Margot asked sharply.
“Not yet. Not until we open that door,” Kel said, looking over at the crack of the door, flush and sealed in the wall. I felt as if the very air outside was poison, threatening to seep in.
“Who would have access to a Pad’s programing?” Henri asked.
“Who do you think?” Margot said.
“But isn’t this Placement exactly what we want?” Henri asked. “We could use it to get that book everyone talks about. This could change everything. We could broadcast it. We could do Placements of it!”
“Oh, Henri,” Margot said, as if Henri’s simplicity was almost too sad for her. “There is no such book. It cannot be.”
I didn’t truly believe it existed, either, but hearing Margot say it cut me to the quick. It felt as if she wanted me to feel like everything was hopeless.
Kel examined the Pad more closely. “He isn’t tracking us specifically. This trap wasn’t meant for us. It has been there all along—it would have tripped up any Placer who typed his name. Rog wants to flush out anyone foolish enough to search for him.”
“Good,” Margot said with relief. “Then we destroy the Pad.”
“What? Why?” Henri cried.
“So it doesn’t uplink when we open the door!” I could almost hear the word dummy at the end of her sentence. “If we destroy it, everything can go back to normal.”
I can’t, I thought. But maybe normal for her meant a world before I joined the team.
Kel’s head shook ever so slightly as she mulled this idea over in her head.
Kel tipped the Pad toward me. “This is where he wants us to go,” she said, indicating a large, curved office that was tagged as Silas Rog’s. “The layout shows us exactly how to get there—shows us the surrounding floors, all in great detail.” Kel flipped it around, showing me one floor and then the next. “He wants us to bring him chocolates.”
I almost laughed out loud, despite how desolate I felt. Margot leaned into the wall and slid down to a seated position. She hid her face in her hands. “This is insane. Why would we walk into a trap?”
“Because we know it’s a trap,” Henri said, as if this was our ace in the hole.
“Henri, you are just saying words,” Margot fumed.
Margot was right. Rog would be waiting for us. As much as I wanted to face him, it would be absurd to hand him the advantage.
“Henri’s right,” Kel said.
Henri could not suppress his broad grin.
“Knowing it’s a trap is our advantage,” Kel went on. “Silas Rog is brilliant and horrible, but he loves to deceive and manipulate so much he won’t think we can do the same.”
My skin felt warm. A spark of hope ignited in my gut. The word sounded in my mind, almost like I couldn’t control it. Hope. It was my voice in there, but also Sam’s, my mother’s and my father’s. Was Saretha in there, too?
Kel knelt down to her bag. It was sitting, zipped and crisp, waiting for her next Placement. She checked her gear. She meant to go. I felt terrible for how I had treated her—pushing her away, stealing when I knew it would hurt her. How could I let her know how sorry I was?
“This is suicide,” Margot said, arms crossed.
“No. This is war,” Kel said fiercely as she moved on to check my bag.
Margot shook her head. Henri cleared his throat. Kel made sure my grapple hook and sleep gas were secured, and that I had chocolates and a way to light them.
“Maybe that book is real,” Kel said, like she wanted to believe. I desperately wanted to believe it, too. “That central building is a fortress. He has to be protecting something in there. Getting inside is half the battle.”
“What are we doing?” Henri asked, puzzled.
“We’re going to deliver chocolates,” Kel said, zipping my bag closed. I always liked how carefully she spoke, enunciating each syllable.
“I won’t do it,” Margot said, tightening her crossed arms and glaring at me.
“I don’t want you to,” Kel shot back, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. Margot’s mouth dropped open.
“Henri, you and I will do the Placement and act as a distraction, so Speth can get to whatever it is Rog does not want her to find.”