Chapter 24
“That can’t be,” says Eames. “She—she was protecting us.”
“She’s the mole,” I say. “But she wants to keep her position in ISD. That’s why she waited until there were no witnesses to hand over Piper.
She had to keep up that loyal handler act in front of me and Nonna.
Now, Vale can just hit her over the head and Consul will pretend that she was found and overpowered. ”
And the bad guys win.
Eames sinks into the couch, head in his hands. “She’s gone,” he says, sounding lost. “I failed her.”
No, he didn’t. I did. I failed them both.
“Who’s Nonna?” asks Eames suddenly.
It takes a few moments for the words to register. I turn to look at him. He is still on the couch, shoulder slouching. “What?”
“Nonna,” he repeats. “You said ‘Nonna.’”
Oh. I’ve slipped—and I know it. I should be terrified, but I can’t muster up the energy. “I meant the old lady in the apartment.”
What if Consul went after her? What if she wanted to ensure that she left no witnesses behind?
I leave the apartment without a word. There’s no time to explain anything, not anymore. I hear Eames rise to his feet and follow me.
I bang on Nonna’s door. “Come on,” I mutter, shifting back and forth on my feet. I’ll break open the door if I have to. There must be a fire axe around here somewhere.
I can’t leave without knowing if she’s alive or not.
My fist slams into the wood again and again. “Open up!” I call. “Please, it’s me! If you can—”
A shadow covers the peephole, then the door opens.
Nonna stands there, one hand clutching her rolling pin and the other holding the door. “Augusta,” she says, startled. “Eames.”
I breathe. It’s all I can do. If I focus on my breathing, I won’t throw myself into her arms.
“Are you all right?” asks Nonna worriedly. I must look pretty bad. “Come in.”
Her apartment is wrecked. The closet doors are open, the sofa overturned, things strewn about. A hasty search has thrown her life into disarray, but at least Vale and the others haven’t harmed her.
“It was Consul,” says Eames. He looks every bit as wretched as I feel. “She’s the traitor. She handed Piper over to my mom.”
If it were anyone else, I’d expect them to look confused or protest. But for all her years, Nonna is as sharp as ever. Anger flares behind her eyes. “She was supposed to protect that girl.”
“Well, she didn’t,” I say.
“I don’t know what to do,” says Eames. He looks at me, his face cracked open wide with despair. “What do we do?”
I wish I knew. I would give anything for the answers.
“She’ll be leaving now,” I say. “I don’t know how. Vale must have some escape planned.”
“What about you?” asks Nonna, her gaze flashing to Eames. “She wouldn’t leave without her son.”
“She would,” he says heavily. “Aunt Connie was probably the one who told Mom that I sold her out. That I was willing to testify against her. She’ll hate me, I’m sure. But Piper’s still her little girl.”
Nonna gestures at her sliding glass door. “There are hundreds of cops out there. You’re telling me Vale is going to take her daughter into that?”
“No,” says Eames. “She’ll have another way out. She always has another way out.”
“Too bad we don’t know what it is,” I say.
I’m out of ideas. I’m out of weapons and energy and drive.
Vale won.
A headache throbs behind my broken nose. I close my eyes, trying to push back the pain and fatigue. I sink to the floor, my back to the wall. I let Carla’s backpack rest beside me.
“Augusta?” Eames’s voice is nearer than I expect. I open my eyes and find him crouching in front of me.
“I don’t know what to do,” I say. “I’m sorry.” My voice breaks on the second word and the kitchen blurs. “I’m so sorry.”
I’m not just apologizing to Eames. I’m apologizing to everyone I’ve failed.
There’s no one stopping Hannah Vale from taking Piper.
Vale will vanish—she’s good at that. Maybe she’ll even activate the fire system just to ensure no witnesses can identify her.
She’ll sell her hacks. And then some very bad people will be able to shut down power and water and sewer and communications.
Vulnerable people will suffer. People will die.
I am not a hero. I should never have tried to be one.
Something stings my eyes and it’s only then that I realize I’m crying. I scrub a hand under my visor, wiping away my tears.
“Augusta,” says Nonna.
A warm hand falls on the back of my neck. Her skin is worn and soft and so familiar that it makes my throat ache. “It’ll be all right,” says Nonna quietly.
“It won’t be, but thanks.” I rub at my eyes.
Nonna clears her throat. She plucks a tissue from a box on the table and hands it to me. “How’s she going to get out of the building?”
Eames rocks back and forth on his heels. “Mom’s paranoid. She’s always got an escape planned. We lived off the grid in some rich guy’s apocalypse bunker. There were all these underground tunnels. We could’ve survived a nuclear blast in there.”
I sit up straighter. Something in his words sparks an old memory.
Tunnels.
“Oh my god,” I breathe. “Tunnels.” I thump my fist against the floor. “The Portland Underground.”
Nonna gets it immediately. “Oh.”
“What?” says Eames, confused.
“The Portland Underground,” I say. “Or you might know them as the Shanghai tunnels. They were built over a century ago for smuggling, opium, gambling dens, that sort of thing. Now some of them are preserved for tourists. I visited them when I was nine. Businesses in older buildings lock the entrances or cover them up, so people can’t use them to break in.
This place used to be a hotel, right? I bet you anything there’s an entrance in the basement. ” Even as I speak, I know I’m right.
“That’s her way out,” I say. “She’ll have a way to get into the tunnels. With the blackout, all the tours will be shut down. She can make her way out of the area unseen.”
Prefect and his ISD team will never find her. Prefect isn’t a Portland local; he won’t know about the Underground. It’ll never occur to him to cover those tunnel entrances.
Which means I have to do it.
I push myself to my feet. They ache in protest and every muscle in my back is threatening to seize. But excitement burns away my pain and exhaustion.
“They’re headed back to the basement,” I say.
Eames takes a step toward me, his expression torn between longing and hesitation. It hurts to hope, I know. To get so close to the thing you want and then have it yanked away. “I’m coming with you.”
“You can’t,” I say. “The stairs will be covered, I’m sure.
But I have another way down—and there’s a weight limit.
” I flick Matthew’s ringware from my thumb and hold it out to Eames.
“This will unlock any door in the building. But only one at a time. While I’m down there, you find us a place to hide after I get Piper. ”
Eames takes a breath. “Are you sure you’ll be able to get her?”
For the first time in a while, I feel a surge of hope. “They won’t see me coming.”
“What can I do?” asks Nonna.
“You stay here,” I say. “Sorry, but that’s what I need from you. We already have one hostage to deal with. I don’t need another.”
Nonna’s lips press tight.
“Consul knows who you are,” I say. “If she thinks you know who she’s working for, she’ll kill you. I don’t doubt that.”
Some of Nonna’s disapproval ebbs away. “I understand.”
I begin to turn away, but then I hesitate. “Actually, there’s one more thing.”
Nonna blinks. “What?”
“Is your vacuum charged?” I ask.