I look at Piper. Now that I know she’s Vale’s daughter I can’t unsee it. It’s subtler in Eames. With his tanned skin and dark hair, he must resemble his father. “Now what? Do we just stay here?” asks Piper.
“We’ll wait a few minutes—let Vale and Ratiofrustration get farther away. Then, I’m going to end this.”
“End this?” asks Piper. “How?”
I playfully pat her on the head. “Stylishly.”
She swats at me, but not with any real heat.
“I’ve got a plan,” I say. Well, I’m concocting a plan.
I close my eyes, imagining the building laid out like a chessboard. It’s what Prefect would do.
I’m out one rook—but I do have two new pieces to consider. Consul is a sneaky little bishop, sliding her way into the game without me even realizing she was there. As for Eames… well, he’s another knight. Same as me. Vale isqueen. She has Corey, a rook if ever I’ve seen one. He’ll blast through enemies so long as they’re in front of him. As for Carla… pawn. Definitely a pawn. But pawns have potential to be more.
“Okay,” I say. “Here’s the plan: Carla.”
Consul, Eames, and Piper stare at me.
“I truly hope that was just the title of the plan and not its entirety,” says Consul.
I ignore her. “She doesn’t know what Vale’s up to, right? She’s a believer—she and Bud are actually hacktivists, right? That’s the vibe I got. Vale is the one who’s in this for the money.”
A flicker of regret crosses Eames’s face. “I never got the chance to tell Aunt Carla what Mom’s really up to. She’s—she’s our godmother, actually. My mom’s old college roommate. She doesn’t deserve what’s coming.”
“Well, to be fair she didn’t protest when Vale murdered a security guard,” I say.
Eames shifts on his feet. “I, uh, sort of made it look like a kidnapping when we ran away.”
I blink. “You what?”
“I had to throw them off the trail,” Eames says. “To give us time to get to an ISD field office.”
“So Carla thinks you’ve been kidnapped and delivered to the feds, which is why she was okay with this terrible plan.” I press my fingertips to my forehead, trying to stave off an inevitable headache. “All right. So we tell her.”
Consul raises an eyebrow. “How?”
“We still have a radio,” says Eames, pulling it from his pocket. “They’re using these to communicate, right?”
I forgot I gave that to him. “Well,” I say. “That has… potential.” I take a moment to consider. “All right. I take the radio, lure Carla away from the others—”
“We,” says Eames firmly.
I look at him. “Eames, I don’t know…”
His gaze meets mine and he doesn’t look away. “This isn’t your fight,” he says quietly. “I’m not letting you do this alone.” He directs his next words at Consul. “You’ll stay here and protect Piper. Got that?”
“That is my job,” she agrees. “I still don’t think your being here is coincidence,” she says to me. “But I think we have sufficient evidence to conclude you aren’t working with Vale.”
“What gave it away?” I ask dryly. “The broken nose, the drugging, or the multiple fights?”
She doesn’t deign to reply.
“Hey.” It’s Piper who speaks up. She steps closer to Eames. “I want to help, too.”
I feel for the kid, I really do. It’s hard sitting in one place while everyone else takes risks.
I rest a hand on her shoulder. “You are helping, just by not being caught. So long as you’re hiding, your mom has to keep searching.”
