It occurred to him suddenly that if he died in here, he’d likely made things worse for the people inside the walls with that video. He’d been so focused on crafting a narrative for people to follow that he hadn’t considered that. Death hadn’t seemed like a real threat at the time. Even when Maisie had warned him about the north, it hadn’t quite sunk in.

Try thinking about someone besides yourself every once in a while, Lennon, Caroline had said to him a few weeks ago, with an eye-roll. Just to mix things up.

The building was surprisingly empty on the inside, with some chairs and a table in one corner, and boxes stacked in another. The floors were bare concrete, and their footsteps echoed in the emptiness as they walked to a room at the back of the building.

The door was open, and an older woman, probably in her fifties, sat at the desk. Her brown-gray hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she was writing on a tablet with a stylus. Her intense concentration made Lennon a little nervous.

The girl who had greeted them with a gun stepped forward. She stood a little straighter when she talked to the woman.

“Why are you bringing me people from East Spencer, Anna?” the woman asked. She kept writing.

“Because they’re not from East Spencer. That one”—she pointed at Maisie—“claims to be Maisie Rojas, and the dude says he’s from the other side of the wall.”

The woman’s head snapped up. She looked from Maisie to Lennon.

“We thought you’d want to decide on these two for yourself, Val,” Anna said.

Beside him, Maisie took in a quick breath at the name Val. The woman who ran the whole territory.

“Maisie Rojas,” she repeated. Lennon almost laughed. He’d thought that the shocked look on her face was because of him.

Maisie took a small step forward. “I’m sorry to just barge in. I would have contacted you first, but I didn’t know how.”

“Dr. Lopez knows how.” Val stood, and Lennon noted the weapons strapped to her body. A huge knife in a leather holster at her hip. A gun in a shoulder holster. Another knife strapped to her leg, which he only caught a brief glimpse of before she stood. The people in this territory were prepared for the worst. He didn’t love it.

“Lopez doesn’t know I’m here,” Maisie said.

Val eyed her suspiciously. Lennon wondered how long it would take for news of Lopez’s death to spread to the north. Maybe it already had, and Val was about to catch Maisie in a lie.

“No, I can’t imagine that he’d approve this,” Val finally said. She jerked her head at Anna. “Take their handcuffs off, will ya, Anna? And then give us a moment?”

Anna hurried forward, unlocking Lennon’s first, and then Maisie’s. He noticed her wince as Anna pulled hers off. Val seemed to have noticed it too. Anna walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind her.