of Defense. Right off, she ordered inspections on any place with the kind of air-filtration system she knows you need to survive. I thought we’d have more time. I mean, there’s about fifty facilities like this in the Sector, and there’s no way she’d know this is the only one the Resistance has access to.” He shook his head. “But I saw it.”
“When will it happen?”
“I don’t know.” He ran a hand roughly through his hair. “It felt like a short-term vision, like it might happen in the next few days.” He looked back up at me.
I felt a fresh wave of panic. They were coming for me. The horrifying reality of the situation settled in, clearing away some of my remaining cloudiness and exhaustion.
“I was gonna send a com,” Adrien said, “but I was afraid any communications would get intercepted and decrypted. I didn’t wanna accidentally
Another cold realization swept through me. “But wait. Where are we going?” I asked. “If the Foundation isn’t ready yet, this lab’s the only place we have access to with air I can breathe. What happens when my biosuit runs out of oxygen in twelve hours?”
“We’re going to a beta site nearby. They have a few spare oxy tanks there. It’ll buy us some time to figure out the rest.”
He held out an arm to help me stand and then pulled the heavy padded suit up to my waist. There were three separate layers to it, and it smelled strongly of plastic and stale air.
“It’s dangerous, I know,” he continued. “But we don’t have a choice. If we move fast enough, maybe we can get out of here safely. Maybe we can change the vision.” His jaw tensed for a moment. “Otherwise what’s the point of seeing the future?” I wasn’t sure if he was talking more to me or to himself.
“Have you ever done it? Changed something you’ve seen?”
He didn’t answer me, just lifted up the top half of the suit. “Here, fit your arms in.”
I shrugged my arms into the heavy sleeves of the suit and sat down again to rest while Adrien clipped one of the compressed oxygen packs onto the belt at my hip and hooked it up. He fit the thick helmet with a see- through face mask over my head, adjusting it so the edges were firmly aligned with the body of the suit. The whir of precious air circulating through the mask filled my ears. He reached for the suit’s forearm panel to run a quick diagnostic that would check for tears or leaks, and that’s when I saw it: the red alarm light began flashing silently in the corner.
I gasped and looked over at Adrien. We both knew what it meant.
The Inspector was already here.
Chapter 2
ADRIEN’S FINGERS MET my fumbling ones as we attached the other tank to my waist.
“How do we get out of here?” he asked.
“If they came down the main elevator, we follow the escape route I’ve practiced.” My voice was low and muted through the mask. There was a microphone option for normal speech, but I wasn’t sure how loud it would be, so I didn’t switch it on. “Head to the west end of the complex and take the stairs.” I’d memorized the lab schematics and drilled the best escape routes. The lab had three exits—two elevators and one set of stairs. The stairs were closest and the best option for getting out unnoticed. “As long as no one sees us, we’ll be fine.”
Adrien nodded. The diagnostic clicked in my ear, and I looked down at the readout panel on my forearm. All systems clear. At least that was one piece of good news. I also felt steadier on my feet. The adrenaline pumping through my body was briefly giving me strength. I took a deep breath and pushed my gloved finger against the button that released the sliding door to the adjacent room in the laboratory.
Voices sounded from another room nearby, but the lab was empty. The room was all clean lines and antiseptic lab tables covered with equipment. The smooth, burnished metal floors glinted. I paused to listen, but, within the echoing space, it was impossible to tell how close the voices were.
I ducked low and crept behind one of the laboratory tables, careful not to knock into any of the test tubes in my bulky suit. Adrien shut the door to the hidden room behind us. It looked like every other chrome-lined panel that formed the wall. But before Adrien could slide a table in front of it to complete the illusion, the click of boot heels and voices from the hall echoed louder. Adrien dropped down beside me.
My heart thumped wildly, and I instinctively put my hand to my heart monitor. I was glad the Rez had disabled it months ago; otherwise it would have been beeping loudly to signal my rapid heartbeat.
The room only had one exit. In my emergency evacuation plans, I’d always taken for granted the flashing alarm in the alcove would go off in time to make it clear of this room. Before I could even try to think what to do next, the voices were in the room with us.
Adrien huddled with me behind the black-topped table, eyes flicking around and mouth pursed tightly. I didn’t know what he was looking for. To get to the stairs, we first had to get out of this room and past the doorway, right where it sounded like the Inspector was standing. Panic bubbled up inside me.
“What is it you say you study here, again?” The Inspector’s clipped tones echoed off the chrome walls of the spotless lab. There was a moment’s silence before Milton’s voice piped up.
“We study viral pathogens, such as Flu 216 and its various permutations. Also,” Milton continued, his voice shaky and high-pitched, “we’re doing some innovative research into the application of nanotechnology to viral pathogens. The Cabinet of Medical Technology is very interested in our progress.”
“I see,” said the Inspector, his boots thudding as he stepped further into the room and closer to the table we hid behind. “And have you noticed anything … anomalous?”
“N-no, sir,” Milton said. I squeezed my eyes shut. Milton was a painfully bad liar. He was younger than most others at the lab, but he was a genius, the top viral tech. Like most researchers, he didn’t have the emotion- numbing V-chip installed. Which was a problem right now.
Usually Veri, our other Rez insider, was the one who handled communicating with officials on behalf of the lab. She was far more skilled in the art of subversion and misdirection. But she must not be here yet, and Milton stumbled over every other word.
Footsteps came closer. Sweat beaded on my forehead and dripped down my face beneath the mask. I looked frantically at Adrien.
“What’s this?” The Inspector paused near the false wall to my hidden room and tapped the paneling. Had Adrien not shut the door completely? I cringed at the hollow ping of the Inspector’s knuckles on the chrome and my heartbeat sped up even more. He was close enough that I could see the tip of his shiny black boot.
I wanted to crawl around the other side of the table, but Adrien sensed my panic and shook his head. His eyes darted in every direction. We both knew the crinkling noise my suit would make. There was no way we could sneak out of the room unnoticed.
A hiss sounded. The Inspector had found the small catch that opened the hidden door. In our haste, Adrien must have forgotten to replace the cover. He leaned in and whispered frantically in my ear. “Knock him out with your telek, like you did with the Chancellor that time.”
“But—”
“Anomalous contraband.” The Inspector’s voice came from inside the small alcove. I heard the sound of papers being ripped off the walls.
I tried to listen, to see if there was any buzzing in my ears, any whisper of power left that I could try to harness. But all I could hear were Milton’s weak excuses. He backed away from the other man, moving closer to us. “I didn’t know that was there,” he said. “I swear I’ve never seen that room before!”
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried again to draw on my power. None of this was going according to plan. No one was ever supposed to find the hidden room. I had to disable the Inspector if any of us were going to make it out of here alive.
I closed my eyes and tried to call on my telek. Moments earlier, my power had nearly consumed me. Now, no matter how much I strained, it wouldn’t come. The beast was gone.
I shook my head frantically at Adrien. He seemed to understand and tugged me forward while the Inspector was busy looking through the things in my alcove. But we weren’t fast enough. As soon as we rounded the corner
