“There are some…people who…think we should just bomb the whole quarantine zone.”

They both stared at him. Hadley’s lips parted.

“They want to bomb us?” Maisie repeated.

“What did we ever do to them?” Hadley exclaimed.

“It’s a fringe idea. Or it was.” He winced. “It’s starting to go mainstream lately. There are some people who think that if the Howard family gets elected again, they may be able to get Congress to support it.”

“Can they just do that?” Maisie asked. “Just kill us all?”

“I mean, we do have US history books in here,” Hadley said. “They’ve bombed a lot of people throughout the years.”

“Crap, that’s a good point,” Maisie said.

“My dad would never, if he won the election,” Lennon said quickly.

“Oh, his dad would never,” Maisie said dryly. “I feel so much better about everyone wanting to murder us now.”

“But, listen. Here’s the thing. They’re going to have satellite photos of what just happened in here. The US government, I mean. They will know that someone just bombed the south.”

“So?” Maisie asked.

“So it will strengthen their argument that this is a dangerous war zone that needs to be controlled. Especially now that Dr. Lopez has died. They don’t usually release information to the general public about what goes on in here, but if President Howard wants support to bomb you guys, he will do it this time. I need you to understand how truly screwed you might be now.”

He saw Maisie draw in a slow breath.

“I get dropped in here, then there’s a bloody turf war, and the world-famous doctor everyone is counting on for the cure is killed? The people who want to bomb the zone have worked themselves into a frenzy out there, I can guarantee it, and they only know about the first thing so far.”

“I mean…” Maisie threw her hands up. “Frankly, Lennon, we have no idea if you’re full of shit or just exaggerating to get us to help you. We have no way to confirm this.”

“Actually…” Hadley bit her lip. “I think maybe we do.”

MAISIE

“YOU WANT ME to what?” Elise gaped at them through Maisie’s laptop screen.

“I want you to bring up an American news station,” Maisie repeated. They were all sitting around her kitchen table, talking to Elise on her screen. “You can do it, right? And stream it to my laptop?”

“I can, but I won’t. Do you know what happened to the last person who accessed American internet without permission?” Elise coughed. “Only Lopez can authorize that.”

“Well, he’s dead,” Hadley said flatly.

Elise flushed. “I’m sorry, I just…”

Hadley sighed, pushing a hand through her hair. “No, I’m sorry. It’s been a really bad twenty-four hours.”

“What happened to the last person?” Lennon asked.

“Lopez sent some guys to kick his ass,” Maisie said. “Then they threw him out of his house, seized everything he owned, and sent him to do a five-year stint cleaning up after the border patrol. It’s a job with a high turnover rate.”