“More importantly, how does it help us?” I pressed.
Crow finished the last bite of his pie and stood. “If you’re done, let’s go downstairs.”
We had almost finished. I pushed the rest of the delicious pie into my mouth and picked up the glass of water to take with me.
“Leave the plates,” Crow said, leaving his own dirty plate on the table and picking up the monitor along with its peripherals. “Bachelor life dictates that I deal with those later.”
Everyone chuckled.
So, Crow wasn’t married and lived alone. I wondered if he had any family here at all, any friends or familiar faces who survived. Or was he like Hayden who had no one?
We left our plates stacked on the table, following Crow outof the kitchen and through a side door. The staircase was steep and narrow, descending into cool, dry air and the faint hum of electronics. At the bottom, Crow unlocked another reinforced door and led us into a windowless room lined with cables and more blinking monitors. His real lair, I realized.
A tangle of wires and old computer parts littered the worktable. Armchairs with sunken cushions and a battered sofa completed the strange little den. We sank into seats while Crow plugged in his monitor and booted up the fortress map.
Then Crow lowered himself into a chair and swiveled to face us. “Ever since I became involved in assisting the ‘outreach’ department, I’ve wondered about one thing,” he began. “What is the real purpose of it? I think it’s the most relevant question for all of us.”
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. We’d all wondered about it since we arrived here, Miranda included.
“If we’re to dream about a safe future,” Crow continued, “we obviously first need to know the reality of our current situation. Otherwise, it’ll remain a dream.”
“And how can this map help us?” I repeated my question.
“Intel, my dear. The fortress is full of information. It’s the hub of all departments and activities in Fairwell. The tricky part isaccessingthat intel.” He pressed something on his keyboard and his screen zoomed in on a particular section of the plan. It looked like one of the turrets. Crow’s dark eyes fixed firmly on me.
“As I believe you already know,” he said, “Mr. Arthur Springs is the head of outreach. If the intel is anywhere to be found, it’s in his office.” He zoomed in further still on the turret, on what appeared to be its top floor.
I swallowed. “But… how would we ever access that information? Those turrets are like fortresses in their own right. Nobody gets access to them unless they’re invited…” My voice trailed off as an unnerving smile tugged at the corner of Crow’s lips.
“Exactly,” he said.
My insides knotted.
“Tani, you’re the mentee of the Princess of Outreach. If anyone’s the key to daddy’s castle, it’s her.”
“Yeah, but I?—”
“Calm your horses,” Crow said. “Obviously, it’s something we need to think about. But I believe we’ve never had such an interesting alignment of stars. When Hayden was under her wing, I wasn’t in the picture. So, all I ask is that you hear me out. There’s no guarantee we’ll get a situation like this again.”
I drank from my water, my hands suddenly feeling jittery. Crow hadn’t even made any concrete suggestion yet, and I already felt flooded with nerves.
Even the thought of seeing Anna again shook me.
Hayden moved in, settling beside me with a quiet composure. He didn’t say anything—just sat there, his focus somewhere between me and the room. I wasn’t sure what was going on behind that calm exterior, but somehow, his presence made it easier to steady myself.
“Kid,” Crow said, softer. “I know the kind of thing you must have gone through, and nobody here wants to put any undue pressure on you. If I do suggest anything, you can be sure I will have thought it through thoroughly, and we wouldn’t do anything in which you’d be alone.”
I managed to nod, though my heart palpitated like I was already running. “Wh-What exactly are you thinking?” I asked.
FORTY-FOUR
Crow saidhe wanted the rest of the night to mull over my question. “No one’s kicking you out,” he added, “but go get some rest, all of you. It’s been a hell of a night.” He waved off any worries about work—apparently, he did most of his job remotely from home.
It was so late the sky was already paling, the edges of sunrise just brushing the horizon. We dragged ourselves upstairs to the two spare bedrooms, grateful for the simple luxury of space and silence. Rosalie, Robert, and Nico ducked into one room; Jessie, Hayden, and I took the other. Our room didn’t have a bedframe, but Crow threw us spare blankets and cushions from the sofa.
Jessie, already half-asleep, curled up in one corner and tugged a blanket over her head. I set up a nest on the floor, barely able to keep my eyes open, but sleep refused to come.
My only concrete solace was that we’d bought some time, and maybe, Crow would be able to figure out a way to extend it. Beyond that, it was a maze of questions and unknowns.
