Chapter Fifteen

August 20X6, Keystone

“It’s okay that we meet without Chloe, right?” I scoot to the edge of my bed so I can see everyone and curl my knees to my chest.

Sophia, Rayelle, Stewart, and I are hanging out after dinner in Rayelle and my dorm room.

“It’s fine,” Stewart says from where he’s perched on top of my desk, playing with the cryptex key fob Garrett and I used in the heist for Quinn’s algorithm. “We were friends before we were assigned this heist and we’ll be friends after. We’re allowed to chill like we always have. If we decide anything about the heist, we’ll fill her in, but there’s nothing in the Keystone code that says we have to include her every minute of our lives.”

“I don’t know if I totally trust her anyway.” Sophia makes a face like she tastes something bad, flipping a page in the old Vogue magazine she checked out from the Vault for makeup inspiration. Propped on her elbows, she’s sprawled next to Rayelle on Rayelle’s bed, her feet in the air. With her hair in a high ponytail, her face for once painted with symmetrical makeup, she reminds me of the carefree teenager I expected to be once I debuted on the Social Stock Exchange as an Influencer. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Now I know that portrait of a sunny life is an illusion we’re spoon-fed by the Corporates to keep us dissatisfied, to keep us buying their version of perfection instead of finding joy in what we’ve already got.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one.” I grit my teeth and muss my rosé-colored hair, still getting used to the wavy tendrils that frame my face. “She made me so mad with all of that Garrett stuff this morning.”

“What did she say?” Rayelle’s head snaps up from the magazine.

“She was saying all this B.S. about Garrett sending her pigeons with messages written in a secret language.” Sophia grunts and screws up her face. “But she was totally lying.” Shutting the magazine, she sits up, crisscrossing her legs and facing me. “Don’t let her get to you, Elisha.”

“I’m trying not to.” I fill my cheeks with air then blow it out. “But to be honest, I’m not sure she was lying. Stewart, toss me that cryptex.” I gesture at him to throw the key fob to me.

He straightens his spine, looking at me like I just asked him to do a striptease, and tosses the key fob up to me.

I catch it and roll the letters on the top to spell out the code T-R-U-S-T-M-E. “Maybe I’m not the only one he sends secret messages to.” I pop the lid open and remove the scroll Garrett hid inside.

“Whaaaat?” Stewart hops off the desk and climbs up the ladder to my bed. When his head appears over the top rung he curls his fingers, signaling me to hand over the note. “You’ve been holding out on us.”

With a crooked smile, I fork over the rolled-up piece of paper.

He hops to the floor and unfurls it.

Sophia and Rayelle scramble off Rayelle’s bed and peer over his shoulder.

I bite back a laugh, knowing there’s no way they can understand the strange language.

Stewart sucks in his breath. “Um. Translation please?”

“It says ‘nothing is as it seems we’re just getting started always say die.’” Barely able to contain the fizzy energy bursting inside me that I can finally share this with someone, I climb down the ladder and join them.

“Always say die.” Stewart looks up from the scroll at me, his eyes bulbous. “That means he’s one of us.”

“Yup.” At least he was one of us. But I keep that part to myself. “I told you he didn’t desert Keystone.” I pretend to dismiss them with a wave. “I would have shown you sooner, but I got called away on my heist.”

Sophia wrinkles her nose. “But it also proves he writes messages to girls in a secret language.”

I sigh, the bravado leaving me. “Exactly.”

“But it says, ‘we’re just getting started,’” Rayelle chirps. Ever the cheerleader, she’s practically jumping up and down. “Maybe that means you and him.”

“Or it could mean as heist partners.” At a loss, I raise my palms to the ceiling. “Or us as a group, like we’re getting started as a team. I wouldn’t read too much into it.” Trust me. I’ve been trying not to read into it for months. Taking the note back from Stewart, I roll it up and stuff it back into the key fob.

“Speaking of heists, you never told us about what you stole.” Stewart studies me with new eyes, like I’m a treasure trove of secrets. “Can you tell us anything?”

“Well…” I rub the back of my neck, deciding how much I should—and can—tell them. “I did get permission from Allard to tell you how I stole the thing I stole, but I can’t tell you what the thing I stole is, if that makes sense.”

“That’s good enough for me.” Stewart grins and bounds up the ladder onto Rayelle’s bed where he props himself up on a pillow. “Story time.”

Rayelle and Sophia clamber up after him, settling among the blankets and giving me the stage.

I climb onto my bunk and sit on the edge of the bed facing them, my legs dangling over the side. They lean forward and their anticipation is contagious. Vibrating with their communal energy, I begin, “I was commissioned to steal something from one of Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.”

They collectively suck in their breath and, beaming, I tell them everything from how I seduced Tyson to breaking into the Time Capsules. They hang on my every word, gasping when it’s appropriate, spurring me on.

Keeping my promise to Allard, I leave out the bits about Garrett and Kyran, though my stomach twists that I can’t tell Rayelle Kyran went AWOL. I should be the one to break it to her that he’s up to no good, but part of me is relieved I don’t have to destroy her fantasy. Yet. If anyone knows what it’s like to have your crush turn out to be a traitor, it’s me, and I tell myself I’m sparing her tears. She should enjoy her daydreams while she can.

“You are legit,” Sophia says when I finish, her eyes shining and unblinking. “I’m so glad you’re on our team.”

“Right?” Rayelle hugs a pillow to her chest. “I feel so much better about going to Stanford knowing you’re with us.”

I flush. “Thanks…” Would they feel the same way if they knew they were teamed up with an ex-Influencer being used as bait to lure a hitman hired to kidnap her because she might be able to help make the Super Brain a reality? Probably not. I swallow hard, my throat aching to tell them. But I can’t. It’s better if they don’t know everything…right? In my heart, I’m not sure.

“So, you were in Pittsburgh?” Stewart arches an eyebrow. “Interesting.”

Remembering Stewart was working the Crypt-desk the night of my heist, my mouth forms a tiny “o” as realization dawns.

“Might you be leaving a little part out?” Stewart cocks his head. “What happens at the Crypt-desk is supposed to stay at the Crypt-desk, but I’ll spill my secret if you spill yours.” If he had a mustache, he’d be twirling it. “I happen to know that our friend Garrett was working on a special project in Pittsburgh around that same time. You didn’t happen to run into him, did you?”

“I knew you saw him!” Rayelle claps her hands.

My face gets impossibly hot, and wincing, I squeeze my eyes shut. “I did run into him, actually,” I quietly admit. Technically, I didn’t tell them Garrett was there, they guessed— Allard can’t blame for that, right? And now that they know, it’s my duty to warn them. “And up until that night I thought he was on our side.” Opening one eye, I dare a peek at them.

They sit rapt. Rayelle’s hand is over her mouth while Sophia’s lips are parted. Stewart shakes his head like he didn’t hear me right.

With a heavy sigh, I lean forward and rest my elbows on my thighs. “He was waiting for me in the elevator after I stole ‘the thing.’” Unable to handle their stares, I watch my hands. “He was being really sweet and charming, and he offered to walk me to the cable cars so I could catch the Hyperloop back here.” I give them the same edited version of the night I gave Allard. “I let him come with me, but when he hugged me goodbye, he stole the thing that I stole from me.” My sinuses stuff and I blink to keep the burning tears from overflowing. “I feel like such an idiot. He tricked me.”

“What? No.” Rayelle presses her hand to her chest, her eyes glassy. “Not Garrett. He wouldn’t do that to you without a good reason.”

I can feel my hurt emanating from her, and I’m again relieved I don’t have to tell her about Kyran. It would shatter her.

“And you’re not an idiot.” Sophia’s eyes bore into mine like she can drill the belief into me. “He was your partner. You’re supposed to trust him beyond everyone. He’s an ass for breaking that promise.” She scoots to the edge of the bunk, climbs down the ladder, and crosses the room to my bed before climbing up to join me and giving me a hug.

“He’s serious ass.” Stewart licks his lips. “No one is immune.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Thank you.” The tension in my jaw releases and as Stewart and Rayelle crawl onto my bunk, my heart expands with gratitude that these are my friends.

The four of us sit in a line, resting our backs against the wall. Sandwiched between Sophia and Stewart, I drop my head to Stewart’s shoulder.

“Chloe did say Garrett is at Stanford—and he is. He told me that, too,” I say thickly, after a minute. “I hate to admit it, but maybe she has been in contact with him. Maybe she’s secretly working with him.”

“We’ll probably see him there, then.” Rayelle thoughtfully taps her finger against her lower lip. “It’s good we know this. That way we can keep an eye on them both.”

“Yeah. Allard says she doesn’t know who he’s working for.” I chew my lip. “And all I know is, trust no one.”

“But you can trust us. Promise.” Stewart pats my hair.

“Always say die.” I give him a weak smile. But we all felt we could trust Garrett… Will I ever be able to trust even myself? My stomach churns.

“Are we going to try to steal ‘the thing’ back from him?” Stewart looks down his nose at me.

My breath catches in my throat. “Allard told me not to.”

“But…” Stewart prompts.

I pick my head up off his shoulder. “But I can’t let him get away with this. If he still has it, I’m getting it back. I have to.” My words come out in a rush.

Rayelle sits up and leans toward me over Sophia. “And we’re here to help. Whatever you need. We’ll get it back with you.”

“And we’re going to start with making you look fabulous,” Sophia says with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Looking gorgeous is the best revenge.”

“Do you think he’ll recognize you and Chloe?” Rayelle scrunches up her face. “Or be able to tell you apart?”

“If he can’t, that could make things interesting.” Stewart folds his hands in prayer over his mouth. “But he’s smart, and he knows you both pretty well. He’ll be hard to fool.”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to fool him.” I shake my head, my heart rate ticking up in anticipation. “But that’s okay. I want him to know exactly who’s coming for him.”