gave it a squeeze. “If you’re too tired, I can tell them to come back later.”
“No, I’ll see them,” Amanda said grimly. “After all, this might be my last chance.”
CHAPTER FOUR
N oa frowned up at the metal gate blocking the fire road. “So are you going to explain what we’re doing here?”
“Hang on, I just want to make sure this is the right place.” Peter shifted his backpack as he walked the length of the gate, examining it. His expression was equal parts excitement and nerves; Noa hadn’t seen him this keyed up since they’d infiltrated the secret lab in Rhode Island.
Based on how that had turned out, there was a good chance she wasn’t going to like whatever happened next.
Daisy and Teo stood silently beside the car. Noa sensed that something in the group had shifted in the past twenty-four hours, but she had no idea what, and no one seemed inclined to share. Last night, she’d crashed hard. The others had let her sleep through the night and a good chunk of the morning. She awoke feeling refreshed for a change, almost normal.
But she couldn’t repress the sense that while she’d been asleep, they’d all decided something. There were a lot of covert glances being exchanged when they thought she wasn’t looking. Growing up in foster homes and on the streets, Noa had come by her intuition the hard way. And their behavior was setting off all sorts of alarm bells in her head.
Peter had insisted on driving. As they headed northwest for more than an hour, he refused to discuss their destination, or why they were going there.
City limits vanished quickly in Colorado; all the cheery red brick buildings were abruptly replaced by a relentless march of evergreen trees. They’d ascended the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, climbing high enough for the altitude to make her light-headed. It was a glorious day outside, sunny and warm. Behind the metal gate, a large field of golden grass waved back and forth like shifting sand dunes, bookended by lumpy-looking green hills.
It looked eerily like the landscape in the dream she’d been having right before they fled Arkansas. Despite the peaceful surroundings, Noa felt a sense of foreboding.
“Okay, we’re close!” Peter called out exuberantly.
“Close to what?” Noa demanded.
He squinted at a small GPS device and muttered, “Well, within a mile or so. Probably.”
“A mile from what?” Noa’s eyes narrowed; she was officially done with all this secrecy. “What exactly are we looking for, Peter?”
His grin faltered. Avoiding her eyes, he said, “Do you remember Loki?”
“Loki?” The name was so unexpected, it took her a second to process it. “The hacker from /ALLIANCE/?”
“Yeah.” Peter looked even more discomfited as he continued, “I think he’s somewhere close by.”
“So?” Noa asked, stupefied.
“So I bet he can help us find the decryption key for the drives.”
Noa groaned. “God, Peter. You dragged us out here because some hacker offered to help?”
“Well . . .” Peter’s voice dropped as he continued, “He didn’t exactly offer.”
“Why do we need a GPS to find him?” Teo asked doubtfully. “Did he give you coordinates or something?”
Noa stared at the device in his hand. Slowly, she said, “You told me that Loki wouldn’t have anything to do with us after bricking the server.”
“That’s true,” Peter said, the telltale flush spreading up his neck again. “But I figure that maybe, once we explain everything—”
“Does he even know we’re coming?”
A long pause, then Peter said, “No.”
“So how did you find him?” Her eyes narrowed. “Did he get in touch on The Quad?”
“Not exactly,” Peter hedged. “I, um . . . I built a back door into /ALLIANCE/.”
“You what ?”
“What’s a back door?” Teo asked.
“Just what it sounds like,” Noa said as she stared down Peter, who looked like he was hoping a hole in the ground would suddenly appear. “It’s a way
“No, I’ll see them,” Amanda said grimly. “After all, this might be my last chance.”
CHAPTER FOUR
N oa frowned up at the metal gate blocking the fire road. “So are you going to explain what we’re doing here?”
“Hang on, I just want to make sure this is the right place.” Peter shifted his backpack as he walked the length of the gate, examining it. His expression was equal parts excitement and nerves; Noa hadn’t seen him this keyed up since they’d infiltrated the secret lab in Rhode Island.
Based on how that had turned out, there was a good chance she wasn’t going to like whatever happened next.
Daisy and Teo stood silently beside the car. Noa sensed that something in the group had shifted in the past twenty-four hours, but she had no idea what, and no one seemed inclined to share. Last night, she’d crashed hard. The others had let her sleep through the night and a good chunk of the morning. She awoke feeling refreshed for a change, almost normal.
But she couldn’t repress the sense that while she’d been asleep, they’d all decided something. There were a lot of covert glances being exchanged when they thought she wasn’t looking. Growing up in foster homes and on the streets, Noa had come by her intuition the hard way. And their behavior was setting off all sorts of alarm bells in her head.
Peter had insisted on driving. As they headed northwest for more than an hour, he refused to discuss their destination, or why they were going there.
City limits vanished quickly in Colorado; all the cheery red brick buildings were abruptly replaced by a relentless march of evergreen trees. They’d ascended the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, climbing high enough for the altitude to make her light-headed. It was a glorious day outside, sunny and warm. Behind the metal gate, a large field of golden grass waved back and forth like shifting sand dunes, bookended by lumpy-looking green hills.
It looked eerily like the landscape in the dream she’d been having right before they fled Arkansas. Despite the peaceful surroundings, Noa felt a sense of foreboding.
“Okay, we’re close!” Peter called out exuberantly.
“Close to what?” Noa demanded.
He squinted at a small GPS device and muttered, “Well, within a mile or so. Probably.”
“A mile from what?” Noa’s eyes narrowed; she was officially done with all this secrecy. “What exactly are we looking for, Peter?”
His grin faltered. Avoiding her eyes, he said, “Do you remember Loki?”
“Loki?” The name was so unexpected, it took her a second to process it. “The hacker from /ALLIANCE/?”
“Yeah.” Peter looked even more discomfited as he continued, “I think he’s somewhere close by.”
“So?” Noa asked, stupefied.
“So I bet he can help us find the decryption key for the drives.”
Noa groaned. “God, Peter. You dragged us out here because some hacker offered to help?”
“Well . . .” Peter’s voice dropped as he continued, “He didn’t exactly offer.”
“Why do we need a GPS to find him?” Teo asked doubtfully. “Did he give you coordinates or something?”
Noa stared at the device in his hand. Slowly, she said, “You told me that Loki wouldn’t have anything to do with us after bricking the server.”
“That’s true,” Peter said, the telltale flush spreading up his neck again. “But I figure that maybe, once we explain everything—”
“Does he even know we’re coming?”
A long pause, then Peter said, “No.”
“So how did you find him?” Her eyes narrowed. “Did he get in touch on The Quad?”
“Not exactly,” Peter hedged. “I, um . . . I built a back door into /ALLIANCE/.”
“You what ?”
“What’s a back door?” Teo asked.
“Just what it sounds like,” Noa said as she stared down Peter, who looked like he was hoping a hole in the ground would suddenly appear. “It’s a way
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