She pulled up a map of Astoria on Google Maps and looked for green and blue, parks and water. But Astoria Park was too crowded, too close. She zoomed out and zoomed out some more. Found the answer she was maybe looking for:

The airport.

It was a sort of wasteland out there.

Marshes and swamps by a weedy highway with exits like entrails leading god knew where. It was the sort of urban landscape that made her uneasy. Because how did those tires end up there on that hill? What about that roll of toilet paper and the chip bags and upturned metal shopping cart? The presence of human touches like that in uninhabitable places was oddly terrifying to her.

She studied the area around the airport more closely. Found a park with water access. She could picture what it looked like from the road when they’d drive out that way—the way tall, tan, stalky plants grew along the shoreline. And how across that bay there lived whole other neighborhoods she’d never been to. Bayside, she’d heard of. Pomonok sounded made up.

Out there, they could sink the device into some mud and walk away and never speak of it again. Then years would pass, and when they were older and crossed paths, they’d still carry the weight of a secret together, like a bone-deep bruise, but they’d take it to their graves because they would have no other choice.

Was it watching her now?

She powered down her computer.

She checked her phone—Julian: Maybe I’ll just keep it a little while longer?—then turned it off.

She went to the bookshelf in the den area adjacent to her room where there was a bunch of her father’s old maps. He used to want to show them to her—explain how they worked, how you used to have to figure out how to get places—but she was never interested. Now, she found one of New York City and then the detail of Queens. She found the small park by the water she’d seen on Google. It seemed near enough to the expressway that it wouldn’t take too long to do the round trip.

She sat down at her desk with a pen and paper and drew up a plan. Then wrote out two more copies. She’d give one to Marwan while Eli still had the device. Then give one to Eli when Marwan had the device. By this time tomorrow night, they’d be free.

She went downstairs to say good night, and her mother kissed her on the forehead and said, “I’m heading up now, too.”

Eden said, “I’m just gonna get some water,” and her mother drifted up the stairs.