“I told you to trust me,” Atlas whispers.

“Why are you wet?” I ask, stepping back to look at him.

“I had to take an alternate exit.”

“He got shot in the process,” Stacks adds from the corner of the room. “I had to pull his sorry self out of the water. Now that you’re here, maybe he’ll let someone patch up that arm.”

I assure Stacks that he will.

I have Atlas use his phone to send a message to Rose, then together we sit on the floor, my head on his shoulder, as we wait for her to respond.

More Stewards arrive. There are some tears, but there is laughter and pride at what has been accomplished. One by one they stumble off to their sleeping quarters, but we wait. Atlas with the phone in his hand. I with my head on his shoulder, willing Rose to make contact.

Finally, his phone rings, and Atlas passes it to me so I can answer.

“Are you okay?” I ask first.

“I’m fine. Dad isn’t himself. He was so distracted most of the time he barely remembered I was there.”

“Did you find where Isaac and Atticus are being held?”

The long pause conveys the answer before she says, “I thought I had, but no.”

I shake my head, and the air seems to go out of Atlas. Despair floods his face as he closes his eyes and leans his head back against the wall. And there is nothing I can do to help him.

Rose keeps talking. “Dad doesn’t have any paper files in his office, but he forgot to shut down his computer. You were right. He knows what happened to Isaac. I found his message to the mayor. He said he understood why Isaac couldn’t be released until the Marshals were positive the flag on his ID was flawed. He then requested authorization to visit the Unity Center to check the progress of the inquiry. His request was denied, and there wasn’t any information about where the center is located.”

Damn. “But if he’s asking to visit, then Isaac has to be in the city. Right?” And if the people we met tonight start asking enough questions, they won’t be able to hide it for long.

Atlas’s eyes open.

“Don’t give up hope,” I say. “Isaac is alive, and we’re going to find him.” We can still find them both.

The truth is out there, I think as the sun comes up. We just have to wait for it to take hold.

Twenty

We assemble in the morning to watch the news for signs that our efforts are taking effect. Atlas stands close to me—his eyes glued on the screen.

There is nothing in the first news report.

Stacks changes channels. Index brings doughnuts, then returns to her efforts of ferrying Stewards who missed the lockdown out of town. Halfway through the next news report my father stumbles into the room with Dewey at his side.

The anchor discusses the weather, sports, the start of the Grant Park summer concert series. Finally there is a story about a strange power surge at Navy Pier last night.