The Twenty Seven

Chapter 21

"We should probably call in and let everyone know what's going on," Nes says, standing up from the couch. "The Nine will miss their Prim and best Sclab."

Nic jumps up before she can leave. "I'll go with you." When she gives him a scrutinizing look, he just shrugs. "It'd be nice to make sure things are going alright back home."

"Fine. But don't interrupt me."

Eira gives Ty a look, motioning after them with her head. "Hey, Eira, how about we go look something up in the library?" Ty asks, standing and grabbing her arm. "There's so much you should know before we go back."

"Alright?" Eira responds, not offering much resistance as she lets the other girl pull her into the basement.

Sam and Ic can't help but laugh when they're the only ones left in the room. "Do you think Ty's gonna tell her everything?" Sam asks.

"Oh, I doubt she'll look at us the same."

There's a few minutes of awkward silence before Sam breaks it. "So, you're a Sclab. Congrats."

"Thank you. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it--"

"Come on, that was your dream since you were a kid. I'm not surprised you're Prim."

There's a light dusting of pink across Ic's cheeks. "Thanks." He looks away, not meeting Sam's eyes. "I really didn't stop looking for you."

"So I've realized. What did they say about me, back home?"

"They weren't really sure what happened. The Adda messed up; you were missed. There were a lot of theories floating around school, too. Some thought you ran off because you didn't want to go through training even though you'd already signed up for it. Others thought you met a girl and fell in love." The two of them share a small smile at that. "The official verdict was you went out in the woods for a run, slipped, and died in the river."

"But you didn't believe that?"

"I didn't believe much of anything for a little while. It just seemed wrong that you would die from something so simple. And that's when the Adda showed up."

Sam sighs, rubbing his arm. "How'd they contact you? They can't make it to Crann."

"I got a message. It was just a letter in the mail addressed to me. They told me to meet them in Iraq." At Sam's incredulous look, Ic continues. "I know. That should have been a warning sign. But they told me they knew the truth about you."

"How'd you even manage to get there? Trainees aren't allowed out."

"I snuck out. Took my dad's key card." He bats at Sam's arm. "Don't look at me like that. You'd have done the same thing."

"That's wrong. I would have fallen apart. I wouldn't have made it as far as you have."

---

When Nes and Nic make their way to the study, Nic stares at Nes as she sits down at the desk. "Can I help you?"

"You're really just gonna make the call?"

She folds her hands on the desk, biting her cheek so she doesn't say something she'd regret. "And what else would you have me do?"

Nic rolls his eyes. "Come on. I saw how worried you were that I was mole."

"Because you're a Sclab. Speaking of which--" She picks up the phone, but Nic reaches over and puts it back down.

"Listen to me for a sec. We're not kids any more. Whatever you still hold against me--"

Nes raises her chin, looking him in the eye. "I don't hold anything against you. I have nothing to hold against you. We're professionals."