He lets the words marinate, and Rayelle leans over, whispering, “It’s really bad if you get caught. It happened to a team two years ago, and they’re still in jail.”
Unless you’re Garrett and just won a get-out-of-jail-free card... If he gets caught, his partner will probably have to take the fall… I swallow hard, beginning to sweat. But, at the same time, my insides leap in anticipation.
“In years past, the heists have been small, mostly involving stealing treasures to add to the Vault, but this year is different. Your mission will be integral to preserving the truth.” He paces back and forth across the stage. “Each of the ten teams will be asked to steal a piece of the overall puzzle, and, when combined, the information will be of great significance to the Disconnect movement. For your own safety, you’re not to discuss your heist with the other teams—the less you know about the overall heist, the better.
“Each team will be assigned a master thief who will oversee your plan. They’re the only ones who will know your strategy and what it is you’re after.” He comes to a stop, and his eyes go to Garrett. “And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Our champion will choose his partner. When the announcement is made, I’d like his partner to come to the stage.”
He motions Garrett forward, and I look to his parents. Their expressions remain unchanged, though they must be bursting with pride in their son.
Garrett stands. It’s weird seeing him dressed like a normal guy, in dark fitted jeans and a thin black T-shirt that shows off the definition in his lean arms. Hands casually shoved in his pockets, he moves next to Robie, scanning the room until he finds me. A slight smile forms on his lips.
Shrinking in my seat, I stare at his toes.
“Are you ready to choose?” Robie asks.
“Yeah,” Garrett says, like the announcement he’s about to make is no big deal.
“Who will it be, then?”
The air is heavy with silence as Garrett waits, letting the anticipation build.
My heart pounds in my ears. He’s taking so long I check his face to see what his deal is.
As soon as our eyes meet, he speaks. “I choose Elisha DeWitt.”
Rayelle gasps and tries shoving me to my feet, but I can’t move. The blood drains from my face as the room erupts in chaos.
“Excellent choice,” Robie says, smiling. “Elisha, please join us.”
Knowing I don’t have a choice, I force my wooden legs to move toward the stage. It’s like I’m swimming upstream, faces floating by in a sea. Chloe’s steely eyes stare me down as I stumble up the steps and take my place next to Garrett, hyperaware of the whispers in the crowd.
“Glad you dressed up. Are you hoping hobo is our cover identity?” Garrett mutters under his breath.
“What about you? All black? It’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?” I say through clenched teeth. “Or would you prefer I wear a tutu and a tiara like your girlfriend?”
“No. Baggy suits you,” he replies. “Besides. It wasn’t an essay question.”
I glare at him. “So sorry, I’m usually a girl of few words, but for some reason you Exorcist them out of me.”
“What an excellent day for an exorcism.”
Annoyed that I get all tingly at his use of the old movie quote, I press my lips together. Robie steps between us. “Master thief Abignail will be your advisor. This is your assignment.” He hands Garrett a packet. “Find a quiet place to digest it, and then I trust you’ll dispose of it correctly.”
“Thank you,” Garrett says. Taking the packet in one hand and gripping my arm with the other, he drags me away as Robie calls Kyran to the stage.
The last thing I hear before Garrett leads me into the passageway at the back of the fireplace we left through yesterday is the announcement that Kyran is to be partnered with Rayelle.
Chapter Twenty-One
January 2, 20X6, Keystone
Once we’re outside, I wiggle free of his grasp.
“Why did you pick me? You could have chosen anyone.”
“I thought you could use a mentor.”
He smiles down at me, his stormy gray-green eyes cleverly hiding the truth.
“Lucky me.” I frown. “Can I refuse to be your partner?”
“Nope. You don’t have a choice. I won, remember?”
“And you’ll never let me forget it.” Turning my back on him, I stomp down a trail, wanting to put as much space between us as possible.
“Come on, Ellie.” He easily catches up to me. “You’re the only person at Keystone who’s competition for me.”
I squelch the lightning bolt that shoots through me. “There you go with the compliments again.”
“Nah. I like to keep my rivals close is all.”
“So Chloe is your rival?” Coming to a halt, I stare up at him.
His lips purse. “Jealous isn’t your color, Ellie.”
“What do you see in her, anyway?”
“Oh, she’s really talented. She has the ability to—”
“Stop.” I cover my ears. “Never mind. I don’t want to know what you two practice in private.”
He laughs. “You have to admit: we’ll make a great team. With my looks and your…well, my charm, we’ll be unstoppable.” He elbows me, his mouth twitching like he’s showing me how to smile.
Ignoring the pounding in my chest that tells me he’s right, I shake my head. “I’m not admitting anything.”
“Now that we’re partners, we need to work on loosening you up. Let that hair down. Bottling up your emotions isn’t healthy.” He tugs on my stubby ponytail. “But first things first. Do you want to know what this says?” He holds up the packet.
“Yes.” Snatching it from his hands, I take off running and climb a nearby tree.
He’s after me in a flash, catching me around the waist before I fully get my footing and dragging me to the ground. Not letting me go, he yanks on a branch, and a door I had no idea existed opens in the base of the tree.
“Convenient,” I say, resisting the urge to relax against his chest. “You only won because you know all of Keystone’s secrets.”
“Even I don’t know all of its secrets,” he says, hustling us into the safe room. Closing the door, he plunges us into darkness. I hear him fumbling with something metal-sounding, and a lantern that sits in the middle of a small table illuminates his face. “I admit knowing the tunnels helped with transportation, but my real victory was getting you to steal the battery for me.”
Unable to deny the truth, I drop the subject. “What is this place?” I run my fingers along the smooth grains of the hollowed-out tree interior.
“A hideout. Disconnects pride themselves on being able to disappear.”
“Is this one of the hideout locations you learned about for winning the Quest?”
“No. This one is only level-one classified. Everyone can access this. Level-one hideouts exist all over the forest and the world. You just have to know how to recognize the signs.”
“I haven’t learned them yet.”
“They’re not something you’re taught. They’re something you figure out. But don’t worry—I’ll show you the ropes.”
“Lucky me…” Reluctantly, I hand over the documents.
He rips open the envelope, spreading its contents on the table. Curious, I nestle close to him, peering over his shoulder. We fall silent in concentration, squinting to read the papers in the dim light.
Target: Nicki Simon, 17-year-old socialite and Influencer—runs the popular San Francisco Society blog “Confessions of an Haute Hacker.”
Background: Only daughter of Collette Simon, reigning queen of the San Francisco Charity Circuit, and James Simon, CEO of Simon Technologies/creator of Quinn, Artificial Intelligence Cognitive technology. Quinn resides in nearly every household on earth, and the world adores
her. Every Quinn has a unique personality she adapted from her family. She has learned her family’s beliefs and filters information so it is in line with their opinions and worldviews in order to keep everyone happy and free from conflict. But all Quinns have one thing in common: their knowledge base.
Simon feeds Quinn daily updates, giving him supreme control over information. Unbeknownst to the general public, he has earned trillions planting information from anyone who wants their message ingrained as truth. He employs a top-notch team of coders who encrypt the channels that supply information to Quinn, but a backdoor key/algorithm that can control every device does exist. It is a powerful tool that, in our hands, is imperative to preserving the truth.
Recognizing Simon’s name, the tree seemingly twists around me. My parents were integral in influencing the world into accepting Quinn into their homes in the first place and are still on Simon’s payroll. But I’ve never met James and Collette in person. I’ve only seen their feet when I was a nine-year-old hiding under my parents’ dinner table. Will they remember I existed? Quietly fighting for air, I try to keep from passing out, lest Garrett have to revive me. But then, I didn’t know they had a daughter, so maybe I was off their radar, too. Allard wouldn’t put me in danger. I probably won’t have contact with Simon. Clutching the tiger’s eye, I call upon its powers to calm me. My heart rate slows as my lungs expand.
I keep reading.
Simon is about to launch a Quinn update that will have her convince the public “mind uploads” to provide a permanent backup to their “mind files”—memories, personality—are a good idea. Quinn will insist everyone go to their nearest upload center immediately. This is the first step in getting people to enter their data into the Super Brain. It will put their brain information into the AI, making it smarter, and later, will ease society’s entry into the Simulation. If we have the backdoor algorithm, we can take Quinn offline and shut down Simon’s propaganda feed forever. But we have to do it before Simon launches his update.
Mission: The key/algorithm is not stored digitally. Simon is nervous about it being hacked and falling into the wrong hands, so he keeps it on a hard drive physically locked in a medieval jewelry box at his Menlo Park home. The key to the box is a ring Nicki wears at all times. Your mission is to steal the ring. Once you’ve obtained it, transmit your completion to your advisor and await further instruction.
Contact: Faye Connolly is living undercover in Silicon Valley society. She will introduce you to Nicki.
Garrett’s eyes are on fire. “This is going to be wild.”
My mouth refuses to close. “Have you lost your mind? How are we supposed to get close to Nicki and stay off the grid? Silicon Valley is the most connected place in the world!”
“The same way people have been hiding in plain sight for centuries. We’ll change our appearances, our names. I’m sure you’re no stranger to the term ‘alias.’”
My stomach tightens, and I wonder if he knows.
“It’s simple social engineering,” he continues without missing a beat. “And the facial-recognition cameras are easy to fool.”
“No, they’re not. The technology just keeps getting better and better. This is so not a good idea.” I want to shake sense into him. “And since you’ve got this all figured out, how are we going to get the ring if she wears it all the time? We can’t just steal it off her finger—she’ll notice it’s gone immediately, and then her dad will change the location of the algorithm.”
“Not if we convince her she lost it. Then maybe she’ll be afraid to tell her dad. Especially if she loses it doing something he wouldn’t approve of.” A slow smile lights up his face.
“Like what? We don’t even know this girl. How do we get her to do anything?”
“We don’t know her yet. We will. And I’m very convincing.”
I fold my arms. “Ugh. I feel sorry for her already.”
He laughs. “Listen, don’t freak out on me, Ellie. We’re going to figure out every detail, think of every possible thing that could go wrong. This isn’t happening tomorrow. When we walk into San Francisco, we’re going to be prepared. I won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
Except exist.
But I don’t say that out loud. “Okay, okay.” I take a calming breath. “Okay.”
He holds up the papers. “Have you memorized these?”
“Target Nicki Simon, daughter of Collette and James—”
“Good.” He drops the packet on the dirt floor. Striking a match, he lights the pages on fire. They flare up and, in a flash, are gone.
“See you at Abignail’s in the morning?” he asks.
“You want to wait until tomorrow?” I sputter. “I thought we were going to be prepared. How are we getting to Silicon Valley? Where will we stay? What if we get caught? We should get to work right away.”
“It’s one of our only free days all year,” he says, “and freedom isn’t something I waste. Neither should you. Enjoy it while you can.”
“Don’t want to keep Chloe waiting, huh?”
Raising an eyebrow, he doesn’t dignify me with a response.
“Whatever the master says.” I sigh. “It’s your Initiation Heist, not mine. I’m just your lowly assistant. Do what you want.”
“That’s my plan.” Extinguishing the lantern, he drapes an arm over my shoulder and guides me to the door.
My spine goes rigid at the same time my skin warms to his touch. Sweat pools on my back.
“Relax, Ellie. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re with me.”
“You’re what I’m afraid of.”
“Maybe we need to do some trust exercises, then. Let’s plan on it.” Giving me a quick squeeze, he opens the door. “See you tomorrow, partner.” White light briefly slices the room in two as he disappears into the forest, leaving me in the dark, my stomach flip-flopping with dread.
And excitement.
…
“I can’t believe he picked you!” Rayelle yells when she sees me, her voice echoing across the Acropolis. She’s waiting among the stone columns and marble statues with Stewart and Sophia.
“I can.” Stewart grins. “He’s a smart guy. Of course he picked the best.”
“Did you see the look on Chloe’s face?” Sophia asks as they huddle around me. Today she’s transformed herself into Chloe, having gone so far as to pad her uniform to give her curves where none usually exist. She knits her eyebrows together, her lip trembling before affecting a haughty stare, in a perfect Chloe imitation. I squint to make sure it’s Sophia I’m standing next to. “She was pissed. It was fantastic.”
“Is your heist really hard?” Rayelle asks.
“She’s not allowed to talk about it,” Stewart silences her.
“But maybe you’ll go undercover as his girlfriend,” Rayelle says.
“I hope not.” My traitor heart thumps at the possibility, and I pretend I hadn’t considered that myself. “But knowing him, he’ll purposely make me as uncomfortable as possible, so maybe.”
“That would be so much fun.” Rayelle sighs.
“What about you? Who did you guys end up with?” I ask. “As his highness was dragging me out through the fireplace, I thought I heard you were paired with Kyran?”
She flushes bright red. “Somehow my dream came true, though he doesn’t say much… I’m not sure how he feels about me being his partner, but I’m so excited we’re going to San Francisco together—”
Stewart claps his hand over her mouth. “Shhh. We’re not supposed to talk about it. He’s going to hate being your partner if you slip like that during the heist.”
He lowers his hand, and she bites her lip.
“Is everyone going to San Francisco?” I whisper.
They all nod.
“I’m sure Ophelia and I will have a fabulous time,” Sophia says, breaking
the silence.
“Garrett’s cousin?” I ask.
“Yeah. She’s not so bad,” she says. “It could be worse. I could have ended up with—”
“Liam.” Stewart groans, raising his hand. “I win.”
“At least we know we’ll have friends nearby,” Rayelle says.
“Yeah. Thank God for you guys,” Stewart says. “I’ll feel a lot better knowing you’re close. No matter what, if any of you needs help, send out a signal, and I’ll come running.” He puts a hand in the center of the circle.
“Me, too,” Sophia says, placing her hand on top of his.
“I’m in.” Rayelle joins the pile.
They look to me expectantly, and I hesitate.
“Goonies always say live,” Stewart says.
“No!” My eyes widen, and all three of them bust up laughing.
“She passed,” Sophia says.
“We think the quote changed sometime during the Positivity Movement of the 20Y0s,” Stewart says.
“Goonies never say die,” Rayelle and Sophia say at the same time.
“I can’t believe you guys know that movie,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s ancient.”
“Stewart told us you were a fan,” Sophia says. “Which is a weird coincidence because we’ve seen it dozens of times.”
In awe that I’ve found my tribe, I smile and add my hand to the pile.
“Always say die, never say live.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
January 2, 20X6, Keystone
Exiting the Acropolis, I tell Rayelle, Stewart, and Sophia I have secret heist research to do and promise to meet them for dinner. We part ways, and I go straight to my secret library. With Garrett and the heist demanding my full attention, I’m eager to get to the end of my journal. I’m ready to move on.
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