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“WHERE DO YOU THINK you’re going?” Don seized Connor by the arm, restraining him. “Our orders were to disable the node-tracking system. We don’t know where Megan’s gone.”
Connor’s face contorted, but Don overrode his protest. “We can’t afford to waste time in a blind search, trusting dumb luck to find her.”
Aubrey put a hand on Connor’s arm, hoping to calm him.
“Megan’s already survived a lot,” she said, not going into the details. I almost killed her—but Connor doesn’t need to know that part. “She can handle herself.”
“There’s also twenty Trackers waiting just outside the Citadel.” Don dropped his grip. “Listen, Connor, I don’t plan on leaving without her, but we need to be smart about this. Did she say anything about what she’s up to?”
Connor took a deep breath, running a nervous hand through his hair. His initial panic had ebbed, and he seemed calmer. “We didn’t have much time to talk. It was mostly about how she doesn’t remember anything before . . .”
His voice trailed off, and then his eyes widened.
“Megan used to be a bodyguard for the Givers.” He looked at his companions with growing excitement. “She said her first memories began as a Tracker. The medical facility is on the top floor. What if she went there?”
Don said nothing. Aubrey knew he was turning over the variables in his mind.
“Garr’s counting on us to rendezvous with his team,” she said, hesitant to interrupt. “They’re hitting the armory first, then the conference room.”
Don glanced at her, nodding. “And they’ll have no choice but to storm the room, with or without us.”
He turned to Connor. “Garr’s counting on us. Sorry, kid, but we’re sticking to the Colonel’s plan. If all goes well, we can find your sister later.”
Connor shook his head, the emphatic gesture tempered by his wide grin. “The medical facility is beside to the conference room. There’s a door between the two—we can sneak through one to get to the other.”
Don glanced at Aubrey, thinking hard, and then poked a thick finger into Connor’s chest. “The Givers, and then Darcy. That’s the order of our priorities. If we run into Megan along the way, fine. But if not, we stick to Garr’s strategy. Got it?”
“Got it.” Connor pointed confidently down the hallway to their right. “The stairway to the medical facility is that way. It’s not far.”
Aubrey glanced through the open door behind her. The viewscreens were unchanged—sentries still encircled the Citadel. “Assuming this works, what about all those Trackers downstairs?”
“One thing at a time.” Don motioned for Connor to lead the way. “Let’s hope Garr’s team is waiting upstairs. I don’t like the idea of facing the Givers with nothing but my bare hands.”
Connor jogged to the next stairwell, stepping lightly to mask his footsteps. The spidery lines on the floor gave Aubrey a queasy feeling, and she was relieved when she set foot on the spiral staircase.
A heavy lump in her jacket smacked against her thigh as they ascended. Aubrey cupped one hand over her pocket, securing the handgun before it gave her a nasty bruise.