Broken leg? But I’ll live? Wait. “Let me clarify. These responses are precoded responses. I’m talking to a program, aren’t I? Julian is dead.”

Like he would have thought to program a response to that. He couldn’t have.

Sir Galahad stepped forward and held out his palms. “I’m not dead. I’m sorry if you thought that. So sorry. I’ve been waiting for days to hear from you.”

“A friend told me you died.”

“It must have been a hospital mix-up. I can imagine who arranged for that. And I’m surprised that I survived. As soon as I woke up, I refused an IV and meds. Too much could be tampered with. We both know who’s responsible for my accident.”

Julian had suspected it was Nebulous 2.0 all along. “You believe the hit-and-run was deliberate.”

“Yes. I tried to warn you.”

“I got the QR code, but if there was a hidden message, more details, I didn’t see those in time.”

“You didn’t read the message inside the message.”

“By the time I looked, it was gone.”

“I couldn’t risk leaving it up.”

“What about now? Isn’t it a risk being here—and now?”

“We never told Nebulous 2.0 about our gaming habits. If I’d left the QR code up too long, he might have learned that much.”

Or had he already? Was she actually talking to Julian? It sounded like him. “How do I know it’s really you? He could have discovered the QR code and known about Knights Alliance. After all, he knew you would be at the carnival trying to contact me, hence the hit-and-run.”

“Good point.”

“Well?” Mackenzie held her breath.

“Critical Alliance.”

Relief whooshed through her. He remembered. They had always had a secret code between them—nothing too cryptic. Just a phrase that only they would know in case they needed to confirm their identities. She could only trust that Nebulous 2.0 didn’t also know. Though she believed she spoke with Julian, she would look for tells.

“What more was on the message, Julian? I’m desperate. Things are bad. I think Nebulous 2.0 killed Rowan by tampering with his pacemaker. Last night, he hacked into Nora’s car. Please help me.”

“Don’t worry. I only left you instructions to meet me here. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters. I’ve been waiting since I woke up in the hospital and could get on a computer.”

“Can we back up? How did you know about his plans?”

Sir Galahad bounced around. Jumped high. Flicked his sword back and forth. Julian must have been typing or hesitant to share. Then, finally, the reply popped up. “I intercepted an encrypted message. Someone is trying to offload tech—classified drone technology—and destroy the facility where the tech is developed. I recognized his signature.”

“It didn’t take much for you to connect the dots and know it was Hanstech.”