The address was in a residential neighborhood, blessedly free of cops. The homes were all identical little brown boxes, and he was sweating and panting as he ran up the driveway of the last one on the street.

The door opened before he could knock. Lennon took a small step back, holding tighter to Maisie.

The woman in front of him was tall, nearly as tall as him, and probably twenty years older. She peered at him over her glasses.

“The kidnapped one,” she said.

“That’s me. She needs—”

“I know, I know,” she said, cutting him off. “Come in.”

He stepped inside the house. It was tiny, and so full of books that it was like they’d taken on a life of their own. Books in every corner, on every surface, stacked so high they blocked out most of the light from the street.

“I took this necklace from a cop,” he said in a rush. “It doesn’t have a tracker, does it?”

“You mean from one of the patrols?” She glanced back at him with an impressed look. “No, it doesn’t have a tracker.”

She led him through the living room, and he held Maisie closer, carefully weaving around the towers of books.

They went down a narrow staircase and into a basement. Medical equipment had been set up in the corner of the room—some machines Lennon couldn’t place—and a tray full of instruments. Two large cabinets were against the wall, shelves labeled with various supplies. There were three cots against the wall, all empty.

“Put her there,” the woman said, pointing to the cot closest to the equipment.

Lennon gently lowered her onto it.

“What’s her name?”

“Maisie—” He cut himself off before he said her last name. He had no idea how much this woman knew, and maybe it was best if they didn’t hear the name Rojas. “And I’m Lennon.”

“You can just call me Doc.”

“Sure.” He watched as she grabbed a long white wand that resembled an ultrasound probe. She slowly scanned it over Maisie’s body and eyed the screen next to her, where Lennon could see the faint outline of a skeleton.

“That’s weird,” she murmured.

“What?”

“I don’t see it.”

“Should you?”

She nodded, pushing her glasses up her nose. “The device splits once it’s inside a body. There should be at least three….” She peered at him. “Do you know where it hit her?”

“It was on her left side. Probably her arm or her side?”

Doc moved the wand up to her left arm. She continued scanning down it. “There’s one.” She grabbed for a metal contraption on the table. It was short and round, like a soda can, but had four scary sharp pieces sticking out the top.

“What is that?” Lennon asked.

She pointed to the sharp pieces. “These will go into her skin. It sends out a signal that brings the pieces of the device close so that I can easily extract them.”

Maisie stirred, her eyes popping open. She took in a sharp breath, her gaze darting around the room.