Maisie made a face at Hadley, even though she kind of understood. She knew the voice that Lopez used when he meant business.

“I don’t know,” she said. “This Queso guy could be laying a trap.”

“How could it be a trap?”

“I don’t know! He lives in Spencer territory!”

“I really don’t think that he passed along tips about queso to me on the off chance that a Lopez might one day sneak up north and he could use that to his advantage,” Hadley said.

She sighed. “Fine. Feel him out, I guess. But don’t pass along too much information if you’re even a little bit unsure about him.”

“Got it. I’ll radio him now.” Hadley bounced out of the room.

“Wait, can I listen?” Elise called after her.

“Yeah, but you can’t say anything! It’ll freak him out!”

Elise stood and followed Hadley out of the room, pulling her oxygen tank with her.

“I’ll call about those maps,” Lennon said, reaching for the phone again.

Maisie moved in front of it. “Wait.”

He drew back, looking at her curiously.

“I need you to understand what it means, crossing into Spencer territory. I’m going to give you an opportunity to change your mind.”

“I’m not going to change my mind.”

“Just listen, okay?”

“Okay.”

“First, you have to get across the border. That won’t be a problem on our side—I’m sure the border patrol is still licking their wounds after we grabbed you—but I really don’t know what to expect on the Spencer side. It looks barren out there, but we see drones sometimes. They monitor the area.”

“Avoid drones, got it. What else?”

“It’s thirty miles from the border to the northern gate. I think I can grab us a vehicle, but chances are we won’t make it the whole way with it.”

“Because of charging issues, or because it’s too conspicuous?”

“The latter. I doubt we can just cruise down the road the whole way there. We’re going to have to do a lot of walking, I think.”

“Got it. Ready to walk. What else?”

“Well, just the fact that we are strictly prohibited from entering Spencer territory, and they will definitely try to kill us.”

“People keep trying to kill or kidnap me everywhere I go lately, so that’s not much of a change.”

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips. “You’re such a pain in the ass, you know that?”

“I’ve been told.”

She held her hands up. “Okay. I just needed to be straight with you. The stories I’ve heard about Spencer territory are really fucking grim.”

His smile faded. “Yeah. We heard them too, on the outside.”

“And yet, here you are, being a pain in my ass about wanting to go up there.”

“I have to try.”

“Why?”

He cocked his head, his expression a little bewildered. “How would you feel, if you suddenly had to leave your home? Your friends? Your family? Everything you have?”