Joan Undone

Chapter 36

The week leading up to our attack of the Chrysalis is marked with a frantic energy that reminds me of a swimmer I saw at the beach once, who was fighting a riptide that was trying to pull him under. A Life robot manning that stretch of beach went into the churning ocean to rescue him, but my parents took me away before I saw if he had been saved.

Even if I wisely keep my drowning metaphors to myself, the rest of my team knows that this is hardly a smoothly planned operation. In spite of Marie's relentless work, our technical infrastructure is not what it once was.

Sun keeps pushing the lawyers forward on selecting a case. They decide to represent a woman named Ciara Ramschild, a fifty-year-old Throwback who was working as a nanny for three Evolved children. One of the children pushed her down the stairs, and she became paralyzed from the waist down. The police picked her up for panhandling, and she's scheduled to be retired next month. Our lawyer, Mr. Fairchild, thinks we have a shot at getting the case to the State Supreme Court, but it will take time.

Sleep is rare for all of us, but especially me, because there is work to do to prepare for our big day that I don't share with anyone, even Harriet. I have choices to make that might make them all hate me.

The night before the raid of the Chrysalis, the Bunker is bursting with almost every member of our team, going over plans and getting everything ready. In spite of the action, everyone speaks in low, hushed tones. I need to do something to raise the spirits of my team before tomorrow's showdown with Crew.

I'm thinking over what to say to energize everyone when Jo enters the Bunker with Elizabeth and Sacajawea at her heels. Since the headache that Strand sent her way, she's stayed holed up in Aft's safe house, but she emerged for a task that only she could perform.

Jo confronted Crew, and used his guilt to our advantage.

"Did he believe you?" I ask.

Jo's face is impassive as she replies. "You were right. His guilt blinded him. He was so relieved that my forgiveness was within reach that he was sloppy. There is no other explanation for why he left me alone in his office, unsupervised. I downloaded the virus Marie created onto his tablet."

"By tomorrow morning, his entire security system will be almost completely corrupted. He won't be able to keep us out of the Chrysalis," Marie says.

"It's perfect timing," Elizabeth says. "Crew has called for a mandatory all-hands meeting tomorrow at nine in the morning at my urging. I used the intel Mav gave us about the blueprints his friend saw. I told Crew we need to find a new home base, because the Chrysalis is compromised."

"Stroke of genius, Elizabeth," Harriet says with a nod. "If he's heard any rumors of what we're planning, he will have no idea you're part of it, and it will give him the sense that he has more time than he does."

Elizabeth is glowing with her knowledge. "It's the perfect chance to strike, and to be sure that all of the key players of Crew's rebellion are in one place."

Next to her, Sacajawea is hollow-cheeked and pale, but her relief is palpable.

"Thanks to you two, Crew's reign of terror is almost at an end," I say. "I know that these weeks have been awful, but when we take our city back tomorrow, it will be worth it."

"The Evolved will be forced to acknowledge that Throwbacks were critical in ending this threat. It will be proof that a peaceful solution to the tension between us is within reach," Sun says.

Relieved murmurs spread around the packed Bunker. Even Marie, who is the only person more sleep-deprived than I am, smiles.

"So what's left to do tonight, boss?" Nic asks, and I'm relieved to see warmth in his eyes.