“We have a distraction?” Tristan asked.

“Yes,” Ashley said. “It’s all about projecting the right image and asking the right people. They respect the powerful and naturally noble, and they respect fear.”

“Good enough,” Tristan said. “Who’s handling this? Staying hidden, doing something to signal our guy, get back without drawing alarm.”

“I’ll go,” Vista said.

“I’ll go too,” I said.

“You’re sure?” Tristan asked.

“Sure enough.”

Kenzie was a kid, as useful as it would be, and we needed her to stay behind to tell the group what the guards could see and where they were. Tristan needed to stay to keep an eye on the knives he’d made. He prepped two more while we negotiated. When push came to shove, they’d stay in a place nobody and no cameras were watching and swap out, turning the weapons we’d given over into water. No evidence.

Theo would stay because he was too big and didn’t trust his stealth ability. Sveta was captured. Rain had a limp.

We wanted at least three, and Ashley did have some capabilities, she made a lot of noise, but if we were careful and kept her power use small, that would minimize the effect.

Three of us.

Kenzie bid me to bend down. I did, keeling with some use of my flight for stability.

The wicked multi-pronged thing appeared in her hand. She looked around to make sure the coast was clear, then extended it into my head. I could feel it, a glimmer of sensation, a blorb sort of feeling in the fluids of my eye, a sting of a tickle in cavities at the back.

Then my vision distorted, like I was looking through an inch of water, and clarified. I could see images and text. Outlines visible through walls, highlighting guards, cameras, and power lines. The field of view of each camera was plainly visible, and as I looked at a camera, I could see a crosshair focus on it. Staring at it for what I guessed to be two seconds snapped my view so I was looking through it.

Text at my peripheral vision remained as clear as day despite the fact I wasn’t focusing on it.

Candy, telling me she was working with me on this.

Telling me she’d relay Kenzie’s messages that couldn’t be conveyed through the camera.

Rain and Theo joining us, Vista, Ashley and I retreated to the area where the private eating partitions were set up during mealtime. For the time being, everything had been taken down and folded up. Despite space being a premium, people didn’t move mattresses or things into the large empty room.

We didn’t enter either, but that was because our destination was another wall, putting us close to the hallway with the least guards.

A flash of blue marked my peripheral vision, and I looked. I saw the distant silhouette. Armstrong. Another—Natalie.