But he really needed to get out of here. He’d thought the situation was bad before, but it was downright dire now. He did not want to be here if Dr. Lopez was dead and Mr. Musclehead was ready to start a turf war.

“If he goes up there and takes the shipments by force, even more Lopezes might want to join him,” Hadley said. “They’re pissed about the situation.”

“I know.” Maisie turned her attention to Lennon. “Declan asked about you. I told him you took off and I didn’t know where you were.”

“What’d he say?” Lennon asked.

“To lock you up when I found you. Listen.” She sighed. “You’re not going to make it to the northern gate.”

His stomach fell to his feet. He’d been expecting it, but still, the words hit him like a smack to the face.

“There’s no one who can take you. We actually talked about it at the meeting—”

“Before the shooting,” Hadley added.

“—and Beto said there was no team to send. You’re welcome to go by yourself, but I don’t recommend it.”

Relief coursed through his veins. At least she wasn’t going to lock him up, like Declan wanted. He still had a chance. “I can go by myself.”

“When Maisie says she doesn’t recommend it, she means you will definitely die if you go by yourself,” Hadley clarified.

He gave Hadley an exasperated look. “Contrary to what you both seem to think, I am fully capable of taking care of myself.”

“Yeah, you haven’t even fainted once today,” Maisie said dryly.

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Nope. And seems like you’re going to be here for the next several decades, so I have plenty of time to give you shit about it.”

“One, I’m going to that gate, so, no, you don’t; and two, if I stay, isn’t it certain that I’ll get sick? And possibly die?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Maisie said. “You’re not going to die. Do you have any serious health conditions?”

“No.”

“You are probably going to get sick, yes,” she said. “The virus will likely shut down an organ or two, and you’ll get new ones like the rest of us. Half of my organs are artificial, and look at me. I’m doing great.”

“Same,” Hadley said.

He swallowed. He couldn’t really argue with that. It was common knowledge that the residents of the quarantine zone had adapted to live with the virus. Their technology kept them alive. But they couldn’t be released into the general population because they were still contagious and millions of people would die when exposed to the virus for the first time. And there was no way to know how the virus would mutate again once it had the chance to infect millions of new people.

But he was young and healthy, and Maisie was right.

“We actually don’t know how long your immunity will last,” Maisie said. “Maybe you won’t catch it at all. I have badass antibodies.”