Joan Undone

Chapter 2

It's hard to know how long I've been asleep, since the Bunker is underground, but I leap out of bed like I'm late. There's always something I should be doing.

I allow myself a brief shower before going into the main room of the Bunker. It's crowded now, and the smell of pizza makes my stomach growl. I grab a slice from a nearby table and join Harriet, Mason, Marie, Justus, Nic, and Kat, who are looking at 3D blueprints on a holo tablet.

"You got the blueprints to the Evolved police station?" I ask Marie, impressed.

She gives me a grin that transforms her plain face into something beautiful. "First, I tried to break into Crew's server, but it was more secure than Strand's. Then I tried getting the blueprints from the source. Hacking the Evolved police servers wasn't a challenge. Their security software is a joke."

"Now, we can use these blueprints as proof that their station can be compromised—even by lowly Throwbacks," Harriet says, resting her head on Mason's shoulder.

"They'll think this information was obtained by Crew and his team," Nic adds. "That way, we can keep our team's reputation above such crimes."

"If they only knew," I reply, exchanging a wry smile with Nic.

"We have to make this information public," Justus interjects, his voice a little too loud.

He has a funny look on his face that I can't label, but Mason releases a bark of laughter that he tries to cover up with a cough.

"That's where Justus comes in," Kat says. "I think he should finally accept one of the many invitations to speak on video about his experience as an Evolved raised by Throwbacks."

Justus nods in agreement. "Instead of giving them the story they're looking for, I'll redirect the conversation to warn the Evolved police of the upcoming attack. It'll also be a great chance to get some awareness out there about our team and what we're trying to achieve beyond taking down Crew. We can link the chaos in Seattle to a need to have a national conversation about Throwback rights."

"Brilliant, Justus," I say, and the warmth returns to Justus's eyes.

"It was Kat's idea."

"This trick is only going to work once," Kat says before I can respond. "So, we need to go big. I think you should accept an interview on First Morning Light with Tressa."

"She's sneaky," Harriet says after a pause. "She plays the airhead for her talk show, but she's smarter than she looks."

"But think of the reach! The audience for her show hits both ends of the Throwback rights spectrum," Kat says, her eyes alight.

"That's true," Marie agrees. "Her average audience size is seventy-five million people."

"But she's a member of Citizens for an Evolved America," Nic counters. "She won't want a pro-Throwback agenda on her show."

"That's the best part! It's streamed live," Kat says. "Tressa won't know what's happening until it's too late."

"That makes it risky for our message, too, if Tressa gets the upper hand in the conversation," Harriet counters.

I weigh the various arguments in my head. "What do you think, Justus? Can you do it?"

His face is set, determined. "I know I can."

"You got this, buddy," Mason agrees.

"That's enough for me. Contact her," I say.

Tressa responds to Justus's acceptance to appear on her show in record time. She pings his phone within three minutes of his acceptance message, giving him the details of when and where he should show up for the live streaming.