41
Rook, Domino, Journey, and I come up with a plan. A party at Amery. Somewhere removed where it won’t be discovered for a while. We decide that the cadet training gym would be ideal. There’s plenty of space, a good sound system, and it’s just far enough from the school’s main areas to offer privacy.
We explain the plan to Henry, and he assures us that our trainers will look the other way. He can’t do anything about Amery’s professors, but hopefully they’re busy with other things or we can finish our task before they arrive to break up the fun.
Our scheme includes planting a few disparate rumors so that no one can figure out where they originated.
It begins with Domino and Journey casually asking a few people whether they’ve heard anything about a wild party coming up. We fan the flames. A whisper here. A little gossip there. The hint that there will be plenty of booze.
Everyone’s invited.
The message begins to spread.
Then, the final nail in the proverbial coffin: I find Silver and Hazel. Act like it’s a big secret but I’m choosing to share it with them.
Predictably, everyone is whispering about it by the end of the day.
I text Trinity.
me: You coming to this party everyone’s talking about?
trinity: If I can!
me: You should bring Dire. Rook really wants to see him again. I think we have a bromance on our hands
trinity: Aw. That’s adorable.
Dire mentioned he’d be posted at Amery for the foreseeable future, and he’s been assigned sleeping quarters on the main level, along with several other Extinguishers whose job is to patrol Amery and the surrounding areas.
trinity: Just heard back. He’ll be there.
If we think he’s carrying the key card, we’ll hit him at the party. If not, we’ll use it as a distraction to sneak into his room.
It isn’t the best plan, and we’re kind of winging it, but if we fail, then we’ll have no choice but to wait for the Fog to come through. By then, Edward could be dead.
I’m trying not to dwell on it. He needs us to figure this out and keep it together. I will get him out of that cell. Alive.
While I’m at it, I shoot yet another text to my dad, who’s been ignoring me since our dinner.
When the night of the party arrives, it’s in full swing by eight o’clock. The gym is packed with people, and the speakers are blasting music. Some arrived in their Amery uniforms, but most people opted for their party clothes, happy for a change.
Rook and I are hanging out in the corner where we normally spar, watching as people come and go. Some spill into changing rooms and bathrooms, where I’m sure all kinds of stuff is happening. The alcohol is flowing, and plenty of people are starting to get drunk.
Perfect. This is exactly what we need.
I spot Domino across the room with her friend, Calloway, who she’s been spending more and more time with. She stretches up to whisper something in his ear and then makes her way over on her own. “When is she supposed to come?” she asks.
I check my phone for a text from Trinity, but I haven’t heard from her since this morning. “She said Garret gets off duty at eight and then they’re heading down.”
Domino snorts. “I love how you always say Garret like that, as if it’s allegedly his name.”
“Ugh,” I say. “He’s vile.”
“They should be here soon,” Rook says. “Are we all ready?”
“Are we really poisoning him?” Domino asks, dropping her voice to a whisper.
“Only sort of. It won’t kill him,” I say. “Just . . . knock him out and give him a little headache. That’s all.”
“He deserves worse,” Rook says. “They all do.”
“I know,” Domino says. “I’m just new to this whole causing-trouble thing.”
Rook grins. “Once you start, you’ll find that it’s hard to stop. Just ask Poet.”
I roll my eyes, and Domino snickers. We decide to mingle, trying to look casual until Trinity and Dire arrive.
We squeeze past various pieces of exercise equipment, where people are using the benches as seats, while others make out in corners and against the walls. Everyone is having a great time.
Journey looks over from where she’s chatting with her girlfriend, Skylar, offering us a thumbs-up as she checks the door.
Her eyes widen, and I glance over, spotting a flash of a bloodred uniform through the crowd.
Extinguishers. Several I recognize who have been newly posted at the school and have decided to join the fun.
I search for a familiar head of dark hair. Dire stands with one arm propped on a wall so he can loom over a petite blonde who’s peering up at him with bright-blue eyes. Dire has to be almost thirty. Way too old for any of Amery’s students. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s a pig in this regard, too.
He reaches out and runs a finger across the girl’s cheek before settling a large hand on her hip. At least he did us a favor by arriving in his uniform.
I scan the crowd, wondering where Trinity is, but I still don’t see her.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. She isn’t who we need.
Rook appears beside me, his jaw clenching. “I should go and talk to him,” he whispers under his breath.
He approaches Dire, who now has his nose buried in the curve of the blonde’s throat, while his hand has slipped to her bare thigh.
Rook claps him on the shoulder as a friendly gesture, then offers Dire the bottle in his hand.
I watch as Rook leans in, and I know he’s telling Dire that it’s a special vintage he saved just for him.
Something he claims came from the Wastes.
Really, he picked it up at a corner store and just poured it into a plain glass bottle before dissolving a few sedatives into it.
Predictably, Dire grins and accepts it, popping the cork and taking a long swig while the girl he was talking to slips away.
Dire hands the bottle back, and I watch Rook fake a sip.
They pass the bottle between them a few times, then Rook retrieves it and says something else before turning around and heading toward me.
He grabs my hand and pulls me into one of the bathrooms, where he dumps the rest down the sink and tosses the empty bottle.
“Okay, step one worked?” I ask.
“I think so,” Rook says.
I offer him a grim look. “Now we wait?”
He checks the time. “Shouldn’t be more than ten or fifteen minutes.”
“Perfect,” I say. We return to the party, where we keep an eye on Dire.
He’s with a different girl now, leering over her like a complete jackass.
I wonder about Trinity’s whereabouts again, and more importantly, why she spends any time around this guy. I fire off a text, but I don’t receive a reply.
“I think it’s working,” Rook says in a low voice.
Dire shakes his head and rubs his eyes just as he stumbles a step, using the wall to catch himself. A moment later, he pushes himself upright and tries to resume his conversation, but it’s obvious he’s struggling.
Another head shake, and he’s forced to lean against the wall.
That’s when Rook makes his way over. I follow on his heels.
“You okay?” he asks, gripping Dire’s shoulder.
“I dunno,” Dire says, clutching his stomach. “I feel like shit all of a sudden.”
“Can’t hold your liquor, Captain?” he mocks, and Dire frowns.
“Fuck you,” he bites out as Rook takes him by the arm.
“Let’s find a place for you to lie down.”
Rook jerks his chin, and I scan the room to ensure none of Dire’s Extinguisher friends have noticed anything. They all appear occupied as Rook drags a stumbling Dire into the bathroom.
We head down a narrow hall lined with individual shower rooms on either side, pick one, and shove Dire in. Rook practically tosses him against the wall, where he groans as he smacks the tile and then slides to the floor, his eyelids fluttering, his limbs sagging, and his skin flushed.
I slam the door and lock it as Rook fumbles through his pockets, drawing out three different key cards.
“We’ll take them all,” Rook says.
Then we search the rest of his pockets and scatter all his belongings around the room, stealing a few things to make it look a little less like we were solely after his keys.
The plan is to return the cards after we’ve found Edward, but hopefully this will cover us in case someone finds him before we can make it back.
Just as we’re finishing up, the music cuts off outside, and I hear a raised voice. Someone has come to break up the party.
“Let’s go,” I hiss.
Rook slides the shower curtain closed, concealing Dire’s giant body. Then we leave, shutting the door behind us and exiting the gym, hiding ourselves among everyone frantically clearing out.
“Everyone return to their rooms!” the dean is shouting. “We will find out who is responsible for this, and they will be punished accordingly.”
We skirt past her and through the school, taking a staircase down to the tunnels. My heart is pounding, and my skin is covered in a sheen of sweat.
But we did it.
Time to rescue Edward.
I hope.