“I could find out,” I say, pulling myself from the side of the building and walking a bit closer to the street. My eyes squint a little and my mouth curls into a grin. I’m back to the flirtation that I hate so much, but Gabe smiles back at me.

“How? What do you mean?” he says with a nervous laugh.

“Clearly I’ve been out on the road much longer than you have,” I say. I step up onto one of the raised flowerbeds next to the street, balancing myself on the narrow strip of wood. At this height, I’m only barely taller than Gabe.

“I’m lead scout,” he says. “My job is being out on the road.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t had to sleep out there much, have you?”

His silence answers my question.

“Your job is to lead the soldiers, and make sure we are all safe, and that herds aren’t moving too close to the town, right? But you’re always given the right equipment: a clean gun, food to eat, a vehicle.”

He starts to clench his jaw and I know I’ve hit a nerve. “Are you going to make your point soon?”

I reach the end of the raised flowerbed, spin on my toes, and begin walking the way I had come. “My point is that I’ve had a lot of practice breaking into places. That includes breaking open doors, picking locks, sneaking through rooms, all while being as quiet as a mouse.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I can find out who this Shadowface is for you,” I say. “I don’t even need you to help me.”

He squints his eyes at me and shakes his head. “Remi, I was just confiding in a friend. I’m not trying to get you to find anything out for me.”

I jump from the flowerbed and land inches from Gabe. “How old are you?” I ask.

“Twenty-five, you know that already.”

“Be a man!” I nearly yell. One or two heads in the distance turn to look in our direction, but no one stays interested for very long. Gabe is stone faced as I stare into him. “As lead scout it’s important to know who you’re working for,” I say, whispering now. “If Paxton and the elders are answering to someone else, don’t you think you should know about it?”

His silence is my answer.

“I’m just letting you know that I’m willing to go in and find out for you.”

“Why?” he asks. “What’s in it for you?”

“You’ll let me be a soldier,” I say. “You could use a person like me. I bet I can shoot better than any person here.” I take one step closer to him, my face only inches from his. I can feel his nervousness, or perhaps it’s my own heartbeat pounding away. “Including you.”