We had to assume the phantom ship was real and coming for us. We had to assume it was powerful and fast. We had three hours, possibly less. Better to assume Boudicca was underestimating than overestimating. Dag was right that we didn’t know what this ship was capable of.

They will try to stop us, Adam had said, time and again as we were making our plans, his eyes shining with feverish excitement. They will use tricks and lies we won’t predict. But they won’t win. I can see their every move before they make it. I will know every wicked thought before it even enters their minds.

The hidden ship didn’t change our mission. Homestead was on its way, and we had to control House of Wisdom before it arrived. We needed time to make it ours: to give Malachi a chance to insert his takeover program into the computer system, to test the air filtration system for remnants of the virus, to locate the bridge and fire up the engines, to create a safe place for the family—if not the whole ship, then at least a level or two, enough to welcome them aboard.

We had intended to leave the hostages aboard the shuttle, out of the way and under guard, while we worked. They were our leverage for keeping SPEC away. We still needed that leverage, but we could no longer afford to spare even one or two of our team to remain aboard the shuttle. All hands needed to be working, not babysitting.

Adam had sent me in his place. He trusted me to adapt. To recognize the weapons we had when we needed them most, and deploy them ruthlessly. I had to change the plan. The dried blood on the dead woman’s clothing looked like a chasm into which no light could penetrate. I reached up thoughtlessly before remembering that I could not rub my eyes.

I said, “Panya. Henke. Put the passengers into suits.”

There was a brief silence.

Panya spoke first, “But Adam said—”

I interrupted her. “Bring Bhattacharya over first. Keep a gun on his friend and he’ll do anything you say.”

“Zahra,” Panya said, “we should talk about this. This isn’t Adam’s plan.”

“I thought we were going to let them go,” Malachi said.

“I thought we were going to kill them,” said Henke.

And Boudicca asked, “What are you going to do when you get them over there?”