I received a new visitor, my old friend I came to this place with. She was glowing, explaining her new life to me, complete with husband and beautiful home in a gated part of the city. She is expecting a child. She did a good job showing her excitement, but I thought I saw some death behind her eyes.
—The diary of Megan Jean
Sleeping on the floor made the aches and pains Mia had been ignoring set in. She thought about the bed in Flo’s house. It was so luxurious and comforting. The feeling of dread came. It was no longer Flo’s house. Flo was dead. Mia pushed herself up; the sun was setting, flooding the room with a golden hue. Even though her brief sleep hadn’t been comfortable, it had supplied Mia with a clear head. She grabbed her phone and opened the door before heading down the steps. Frank and Alex were busy in the kitchen. Mia was certain her mother and sister were still asleep.
“That wasn’t much of a nap,” Alex said. “Are you still set on looking for Andrew?”
Frank gave him a slight elbow. Alex wasn’t supposed to mention Mia’s initial plans.
“I’m selfish,” Mia said.
“No,” Alex said. “You’re not selfish at all.”
“It’s okay,” Mia said. “I’m aware of it. I’m part of something big, something good people lost their lives over, and my biggest concern is finding a boy.”
Frank and Alex gave each other confused glances.
“I mean,” Alex said, “he’s more than some boy.”
“But he is capable of taking care of himself, just like I am,” Mia said. “I don’t want to stop.”
“Asking for help doesn’t make you selfish,” Frank said.
“I was putting finding Andrew over stopping the Registry,” Mia said. “I’m sure he didn’t falter. I want to stick with the plan. We have less than two weeks until Grant’s wedding. I want to make sure that the Registry is stopped before then.”
“You can’t do that by yourself,” Frank said.
“That’s why I am asking for your help,” Mia said. “We were supposed to make it to the capital by tomorrow, but I’m sure Andrew, Carter, and Zack will be there by the wedding date. If they’re not we’ll forge ahead anyway. Flo will not have died for nothing. I know it’s a lot to ask. But will you help me?”
“With whatever we can,” Frank said.
Mia saw Frank put his hand on Alex’s.
“Thank you,” Mia said.
“We want to help too,” Corinna said.
Mia whipped her head to the side. In the former dining room her sister and mother were sitting cross-legged on the floor. Mia had been so determined to speak that she hadn’t noticed them.
“It’s too dangerous for you,” Mia said. “Frank and Alex both did time in service. They’re trained in something.”
“You can train us,” Corinna said.
She rose to her feet. “I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Mia said. “And we need a backup plan in place, just in case Andrew doesn’t show up with the codes. I can’t strategize and train you at the same time.”
“We’re not staying behind,” Mia’s mother said. “You have our help, whether you want it or not.”
Mia wanted to fight with them, but she knew it would be a waste of time. She nodded her head, telling herself it was a false agreement.
“We should leave right away,” Mia said. “You said your new home was closer to the capital?”
“We need a few hours to pack up the rest of our belongings,” Frank said. “And then we should all get some real sleep before driving.”
“As soon as possible,” Mia said.
“I hate to break your momentum,” Frank said, “but this is a big undertaking, the biggest undertaking. You want to head in with two men who have been out of service for years and untrained women?”
“First, stop thinking gender matters,” Mia said. “Second, if at any point any of you decide this is too dangerous you can back out. I need the location of your new home.”
“It doesn’t have an address,” Frank said. “Privacy and all.”
“Is there any way I can pass on the location?”
“I mean,” Frank said, “I can give you the longitude and latitude, but that won’t help the average person.”
“I don’t want a barrage of people there,” Alex said.
“Trust me,” Mia said. “We only need one person to meet us there.”
Alex gave Frank a nod and he opened a few drawers in the kitchen until he found a pen and paper. He wrote the coordinates down and handed them to Mia.
“Thank you,” Mia said. “Remember, any of you can back out whenever you want.”
Mia walked toward the door. She didn’t want anyone near her when she made this call.
“Who is that girl and what did she do with my daughter?” Mia heard her mother ask. Mia was being the girl she wanted to be. One who cared about the bigger picture and the world around her more than herself or an individual.
There was a slight chill to the air and Mia wrapped Alex’s shirt tighter around herself. The sweatpants Frank had lent her were double-knotted and still slipped down her waist. She made it to the fence and took a seat.
Mia typed in the number she’d spent weeks staring at, knowing it by heart at this point. The smartest, bravest, most experienced person Mia had ever met was on the receiving end. As expected it went to voice mail.
“It’s Mia,” she said. “I could use . . . I need your help. It’s for a crazy plan, it might not work, but it has a better shot if I have you by my side. The coordinates are forty-seven degrees, thirty-two minutes, forty-eight point seven three eight seconds north, and one hundred thirteen degrees, forty-nine minutes, forty-five point six four five seconds west. I don’t know what that means, but I’m assuming you do. I’ll be there tomorrow and for the next week or so. Please come.”
Mia hung up the phone, knowing if she continued the message she would ramble on with too much information. Riley had taught her better than that.