But they’d loosened up a bit lately. They’d even agreed to some audio recordings, which Lennon had lobbied hard for.

The airspace above the quarantine zone had been restricted for years, but they could make an exception. It was an emergency.

Of course, he would need to talk to someone in here about this plan, which was a problem. But he could try to maintain enough distance not to catch anything and just yell for help.

It was a solid plan. It could work.

“RUNNER!”

Lennon whirled around at the sound of the voice.

“RUNNER FROM THE NORTH!”

He spotted the source of the voice—a man stood on the roof of the gas station, holding a megaphone.

A rumbling noise sounded from behind him, and he turned to see three people on motorcycles zooming his way.

He stumbled backward, holding his hands up in the air. He wasn’t sure why. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

The motorcycles all stopped about twenty yards away. Lennon slowly lowered his hands. None of the riders wore helmets, but they all had on black masks that covered the bottom half of their faces.

He tried to think of what his dad would do in this situation. His unflappable father, who could cheerfully converse with people who were screaming at him. He’d once waved at a person who’d thrown an egg in his face at a campaign stop and quipped, “I prefer them scrambled!”

His father would say to be polite and friendly. No one ever regretted being too nice, son.

Lennon doubted that was true, but he begrudgingly had to admit that it was good advice. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

“Uh…hi?” he yelled. “I—”

He cut himself off at the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned.

Four men were charging straight toward him.

“No, no, no!” he yelled, putting his hands out in front of him. “Stop! Please! Just stay there!”

The men did not stop.

They came at him faster.

He turned and ran.

MAISIE

“WHERE DID HE go?” Maisie asked. Camera eight showed nothing but blue sky.

“Hold on,” Elise said. “He veered north, and he was already pretty close to the neutral zone. If he crossed into Spencer territory, we’ve lost him.”

Maisie waited while Elise clicked her keyboard. Over the speakers, “It’s Raining Men” played. Hadley ran back into the room.

Maisie’s phone rang, and she looked down at the screen. Declan. She tapped to answer.

“Hey. I’m already in the comms tower. Elise is pulling him up on the cameras.”

“Where is he?” Declan asked. He was panting, like he was running.

“Last saw him near the neutral zone.”

“I’m headed that way now. I need an exact location.”

“We’re getting it.” Maisie gave Elise a pleading look. The image on the screens changed. The man hit the ground hard, the parachute covering his body as he rolled.

“Got him!” Maisie said. “Just landed outside Neutral Zone Station One.”

“That’s going to leave a mark,” Hadley said with a wince.