Haru stared, then laughed and shook his head. “Are you serious? Are you crazy? We brought that thing here so we could interrogate and dissect it, and now you want to make a deal with it? I was with you before, Kira, but this has gone too far.” He pointed his rifle at her chest. Xochi and Marcus pointed their guns at him, and Jayden and the other three pointed their guns back. Kira stood in the middle, breathing slowly, trying desperately to stay calm. Her head swam with the morphine.

“Samm is innocent,” said Kira. “The group we met on the island was coming to East Meadow to offer us a truce. Peace, Haru.”

“How do you know this?”

“He told us.”

Haru looked around, as if to ask if he was the only one who hadn’t lost his mind.

“It’s true,” said Marcus.

“He tried to kill us,” said Haru, turning his gun on Marcus. “They took our scout, shot Gabe in the face, and chased us off the island with a squad full of rifles, and all of a sudden that means they wanted peace? That’s not the kind of peace I want any part of.”

“He’s an ally,” Kira insisted. “He can help us rebuild.”

Haru shook his head, as if the world had gone mad. “Damn plague babies—do you have any idea what we lost the last time we trusted the Partials?” He gestured angrily toward the city. “Every one of the houses out there used to be filled. Every building was still standing—every school was full of children. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the population died, Kira: If that happened again, we’d have two people left. Two, on the entire island. We will never rebuild anything.”

“They’re dying,” Kira insisted, “just like we are. If we work together, we can save us both—”

“I don’t want to save us both!” Haru shouted. “I want to save my child and murder every Partial on Earth!”

“Saving your child is why we’re here!” Kira said, raising her voice. “You can guard him all night if you want but the Senate is going to kill him in the morning, and we don’t have a cure yet. If I go with him, we can find one.”

Haru stared at her, rage and confusion warring in his eyes. “I’m not letting you take it.”

“She named her, Haru.” Kira felt her voice crack and forced herself to stay firm. “Your baby has a name: Arwen Sato. Your daughter is Arwen Sato.” She glanced at Jayden. “Your niece is Arwen Sato.” She looked back at Haru, drilling into him with her eyes. “We can save her.”

“Not in time,” said Haru. His eyes were wet, his face red, his teeth bared.

“No.” It was Jayden. He moved his arm, swinging his rifle around from Marcus to Haru. “Kira’s right. Put down your gun.”

“Are you crazy?”