Page 187 of The Company

“Who’s Cy?”

“Tony, I mean. Our brother, Tony. Number Five. We all have nicknames that relate to a method of killing. Tony was Cy for cyanide. That’s his calling card if he needs to kill people on the fly. Like, not authorized. He poisons them with cyanide.”

Sick. And James said his poison was something with tet in it. Tetro something. Pufferfish poison. “Wait. You said you’re not an assassin.”

“I’m not.”

“But you said we all have nicknames. And I asked you what your code was and you acted like I was stupid.”

He raises his hands. “I lied, OK? We’re not allowed to talk about it. Not even to you.”

“So you are an assassin?”

“No. I told you, I’m the control.”

“So Control is your code name?”

“I can’t say, Harper. I can’t say.”

“So do you know what my code is?”

“You don’t have a code. You’re a girl.”

“Nicola is a girl too, and she obviously has a code. What’s her number?”

“Two. She’s Number Two.”

“So if she’s a girl, and she’s an assassin, and she has a code, then why don’t you think I have a code?”

He eyes me sadly. It makes my heart skip, this look. It says so much without words, I have to gulp down some air before I forget to breathe. “Because if you do have a code, Harper, then you’re part of the game too. And that means we’re all in a lot more danger than I originally thought.”