Rina translated. "He says that's where he came in when he escaped. The maintenance hatch."Borealis zoomed in. "That's our way in."Daria stood up too. She pointed at the engine room. Then at Borealis's device. Then made an explosion motion with her hands.Borealis nodded. "If we plant the device near the main power core, we can take out their systems for good."Niko stood up. He stared at the map for a long time. Then he pointed at the guard rotation schedule. There is a shift change and a gap between patrols.Rina said "He's worked on supply ships so he knows their patterns."I looked at Niko. "Can you get us past the guards?"He nodded. Once.Mira stood up last. She didn't point at the map. She pointed at me."You lead," she said. "We follow."I looked at her. At her calm eyes and her steady hands."Why?""Because you're still standing. After everything. You're still standing."I didn't know what to say.Elena put her hand on my shoulder. "She's right."The room was quiet.Viktor g

We ran for three weeks after Scotland.Not only from Phoenix. But from everyone. The broadcast had turned half the world against us. The other half was too scared to help. Governments put out warrants. News channels showed our faces. Phoenix offered rewards.We crossed the Channel in a stolen fishing boat. Rotted wood. Leaking hull. The kids were sick the whole way. Maja threw up over the side until there was nothing left. Leo held her hair back. Lars sat between them with his eyes closed.We made landfall in France at dawn. An old dock. No one there. Caiman found a truck. The keys were inside. We drove south.We crossed Spain at night. Back roads. No lights. The kids slept in the back. Elena watched the road behind us. Kenji watched the road ahead.We reached Portugal on the fourth day. Rina knew a man who knew a man who had a boat. A cargo ship headed to Brazil. The captain asked no questions. He took our last money and looked the other way.The crossing took two weeks. The ship smel

The satellite phone rang at three in the morning. I picked it up. A voice I didn't recognize spoke."Turn on the news."The line went dead.I walked to the TV and turned it on. A woman in a blue suit stood in front of a building. Behind her, people in hazmat suits carried stretchers. The headline at the bottom of the screen read: "Biological Attack in Berlin. Dozens Dead. Suspects Identified."Kenji came up behind me. "What is it?"I pointed at the screen. "They're framing us."Elena walked out of the back room. "For what?"I read the headline out loud. "Biological attack. Dozens dead. They have evidence. Fingerprints. DNA. Surveillance footage."Kenji's hand curled into a fist. His eyebrows were raised and his face went wide. His mouth slightly opened. "That's not possible."I looked at him. "We made a mistake. We trusted the wrong people. Younger Evelyn took our blood in Vienna. She gave it to Phoenix. Or they took it from her."Elena's face went pale. "My cousin did this?""Maybe.

The fire was dying that evening. Nobody moved to add wood.We had been in this mining town for three days now. Just hiding. Just waiting. Just watching the road and waiting for Helena to come back with more guards and more helicopters and more lies.But she did not come. Nobody came.That felt worse. Like they forgot about us. Or like they already won. I didn't know if I was wrong to feel that way.I sat on a crate in the middle of the room. My gun was in my lap. My hands were on top of it. My fingers were cold.The fire crackled. A log shifted. Sparks flew up.Kenji's voice came out of the corner. Low and flat."I think we should use it."Elena looked up from her papers. Her eyebrows pulled together."Use what?""The kill switch." Kenji did not move. He did not look at her. His eyes stayed on the wall. "End it. All of it."Elena stared at him. Her mouth opened. Then closed.Caiman turned from the door. His hand was on his rifle. "That would kill us too.""I know.""The kids.""I know

The boat was just there sitting on the dark water. The engine was dead. Caiman had the cover open and his hands inside. He brought his fingers out and black grease came with it.I stood at the front of the boat. The Odyssey was a gray shape far away. Closer than before but still far. I turned to Kenji. “You should have checked it properly before we started the journey. Now we are stuck in the middle of nowhere.” I said with a disappointing look on my face.Kenji stood up from his bent position and turned to look at me. He rolled his eyes upwards showing just the lower part of the pupil in annoyance. “Of course. You could have still checked to confirm. It's not a bad idea if you did. I don't think you remember but let me remind you. Borealis used to do this for us.”He walked past me and sat on a crate near the back. His knife was in his hand. He wasn't cleaning it. He was just holding it.Rina pulled on the oars. Slow and steady. Kael sat across from her watching the water behind them