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However, I didn’t believe much in luck, which meant backing up what we could in case things went wrong was the smart play.
Larkwood had no cell reception, which meant the only way to get data out was to use the official network. Security was too good for that, so getting the drive physically out was the only immediate way to get anything we found to the world.
So I grabbed the most damning information—the videos in the discipline files. Why? Because they typically showed the punishments Larkwood put down and few things showed just how painful life here could be more than that.
The computer’s fan grew louder, a sign it had to work to capacity, and it gave me a chance to turn and find Deacon standing behind me, his gaze on the guard.
“You sure you’re up for this?” I asked.
He frowned as if he didn’t understand my question.
I nodded at the guard. “Standing beside Hera is one thing—going up against people who were your colleagues is another. Are you sure you’re ready to do that? That you want to actually have to face them down? Can you do what we need in order to win?”
“The guards were never my colleagues,” Deacon said. “They were always very clear that I wasn’t one of them, that I wasn’t human, that I didn’t belong. If you think we had some friendly relationship, rethink it. The guards here are far from my friends.”
It wasn’t just Deacon’s words that hit me but his tone. As a guard, he’d always seemed unfeeling, as if he didn’t give a damn about the world. That was a far cry from his tone right now, from the way he looked at me, from the pain in his words.
Maybe things were a lot less clear than they seemed to be, less easy to categorize. Deacon was a guard, but he was also a prisoner in his own way, just like us.
I went to respond, but the beep of the computer signaled it had finished. I unhooked the USB cord and slipped the drive into my backpack.
Deacon took his radio from his belt, the one tuned into the same channel as the others. “Videos transferred. Where is everyone?”
Kit answered first, his voice as careful as ever, as though this were just like any other day. “We have everyone secured and interviews done. As soon as I hear the alarms, I will head to the front.”
“Got copies of most of the files,” Knox said. “Headed to meeting point two.”
“We’re here and waiting,” Brax answered, which meant everyone was where they needed to be.
“Guess that means it’s time,” I said as I rose from the chair. We’d planned, we’d suffered, we’d sacrificed, and it all came down to this.
One way or another, everything would change after tonight.
Chapter Eighteen
Hera
The North Tower was every bit as intimidating as it had been before. I’d have thought coming here again would make it feel less scary, as if since I’d survived it once, it no longer posed a threat.
The truth was a far cry from that.
This place was terrifying. Even alone as I was, in an area that didn’t seem to get much traffic, every shadow reached for me. I’d lain low for as long as I could, to give Wade time to get to security before I made my move, before I drew the attention of the Warden.
Now it was time, though. The only good thing was that I seemed to have a skill causing a commotion and drawing the ire of Larkwood. It took one last deep breath to try to relax. This was it. Larkwood was a dragon and I was ready to kick it.
I clapped my hands and sent a wave of power at the pipe and sprinkler that ran along the ceiling. It broke, water pouring down into the room and setting off an alarm that would no doubt call every last guard here.
And I was ready for whatever they wanted to throw at me.
* * * *
Brax
Standing beside Bowen reminded me of just how weird the man was. He was what would be considered a low-level shade, but I’d gotten a glimpse of what he could actually do, so I knew better than to underestimate him.
“Everything’s on track,” he said as he leaned against the door frame, staring out into the yard.
“You don’t need to sound so surprised.”
