“Trust no one,” I retort. On alert for anything that could get us arrested, I peer at the rows of Bubble Cars on either side of us and check the side mirror for flashing lights. The people in the other cars stare with glazed eyes at whatever reality their windows are displaying. They could care less about us.

“Why don’t you get busy studying that floorplan?” he says. “Unless you want to drive?” Taking his hands off the wheel, he gestures for me to take over.

“Would you watch the road?” I screech. The car veers over a rumble strip, sending my heart into my throat. “I don’t know how to drive.”

He retakes the wheel. “Really? Not even a tractor? They didn’t teach you that on the farm?”

“We had self-driving tractors. Nobody knows how to drive except for old people and Disconnects.”

“Well, I’ll have to teach you someday.”

“No, thank you.”

“Seriously. You need to know how to drive. Old cars don’t have computers—they can’t be tracked—they’re your secret weapon. When we get back to Keystone, we’re having a driving date.”

Butterflies flutter to life in my stomach, but I tell myself it’s because we’re about to break into Simon’s house. Concentrating on the map, I pretend I didn’t hear him. “According to this, the house is programmed to recognize Simon. The alarms only all turn off when he’s present, but each security feature can be deactivated remotely in case of an emergency. Our classmates’ heists were to figure out how to disarm each alarm. Stewart and Liam will be in a van in the woods. They’ll decode the transmissions from our classmates when each security feature is disabled.” I put the map down, trying to comprehend the scope of the plans already in place. “How are they transmitting?”

“Probably through ham radio walkie-talkies. They’ll use radio frequencies and keystone code. Even if someone intercepts the code, we should have the algorithm before they decipher it. Timing is everything. Only one security feature can be down at a time, and only for long enough to get past it. The systems will think it’s a test if they reactivate before the next one turns off. Nicki said if they all go down at once, Simon gets notified.”

“When did she tell you that?”

“After the Stern Grove Festival. She took me to her parents’ penthouse in the city. That’s how the systems worked there, so it’s probably the same for his Menlo Park house, too.”

My heart stalls, and I bite my cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me you went home with her?”

“I didn’t think it was important. It was a way for her to get comfortable with me and to get some intel. We hung out. It was no big deal.”

Hung out or made out? I frown.

“Don’t worry, Ellie. Nothing happened.”