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“Paul told me to come up here and switch with you.” It was a random name. I had to hand it to Matias…he never got tripped up under pressure.

“What?” The guy stepped closer to Matias. “Who the hell is Paul?”

Whelp, nice try…

Jim shot out from around the corner, stunner already in hand, and fired. The electrical pulse shot out and zapped the guard, who shuddered for a moment and then fell to the ground in a heap. We all turned the corner and came to join Matias while Blondie took her position as lookout, monitoring the hall we just came from.

Wes grabbed the man’s keycard and took off his tab while Jim grabbed his duct tape and started taping the guard up. I ran behind the desk and watched the TV screen. The black and white images showed pictures of several rows of cells, but the hallways looked quiet. I grabbed the mouse and shifted my attention to the computer monitor. The guard was apparently bored because he was in the middle of a virtual game of Stallion. I clicked out of the game and started rummaging through the files.

Matias came over to stand by my side, hand on the desk as he leaned in close to look at the screen. “Anything?”

“Nope,” I muttered as I scanned file titles.

“Any day now, Telvian,” Blondie groaned from her lookout point.

I ignored her. I needed to find the prisoner manifest. Knowing what cell Jacob was in would significantly shorten our time in this place and reduce the number of other inmates who would see us.

Wes and Jim finished tying up the guard and dragged the body behind the desk, tucking him under my feet. It was incredibly annoying since I was still trying to figure the computer out. Ialmost snapped at them to back off, but I bit my tongue instead and focused on the task at hand.

“Let’s go, de la Puente.” It was Wes. Gone were the gentle tones, all replaced by a bite that felt like a stab to the heart. I was de la Puente now, not Mara. Justde la Puente…another member of the team. Another soldier he was responsible for and needed to order around. It hurt. But despite how much it hurt, it also made me bitter.

“You’re not helping,Calvernon,” I snapped back, emphasizing his last name. The energy shifted, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught Blondie eyeing us while Jim shifted uncomfortably. Matias, as he always did, remained calm, placing a tender hand on the small of my back.

Feeling the gentle pressure, I inhaled deeply, and then sighed, letting go of the frustration. Then I doubled down, searching for the manifest, clicking on several more folders until finally, I found it.

“Here it is!” I said a little too loudly. Blondie shushed me, but no one else dared to tell me to be quiet. I scanned the document.

“Which one is he?”

My eyes scanned name after name, column after column of Telvians whose lives were thrown away in the tower, never to be remembered again. And the thought occurred to me…how many of these people really deserved to be here? How many of these people were just District 3 citizens who spoke an ill word about the Telvian Council or refused to follow an unjust command from a REG officer? How many of these people were Dissenters?

And suddenly, I wanted to save them all. To open every cell and give each person a chance at freedom. But I couldn’t. The chaos would only draw more attention to the tower and the twenty or thirty soldiers at the chokepoint across the land bridge would be on all of us. Plus, there was no way these people could escape the way we came. There weren’t enough harnesses, andthe desperation would only lead to fighting. And that broke my heart even more. “There’re so many of them,” I whispered under my breath as I scanned each one.

Matias’s voice was in my ear, soothing. “I know, Mara. But stay focused. Where’s Jacob?”

I took another deep breath and continued to scan, trying my best to squelch the sorrow I felt for each of these forgotten souls. I scrolled down, bringing up the last page of the document, and read through the last three columns of names.

“We’re going to get our asses caught,” Blondie whisper-yelled. “This is taking too much freaking time!”

My jaw dropped, my heart sinking into the pit of my stomach as it roiled. “Oh my god,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“What is it?” Matias asked. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s…he’s not here.” The words left my lips as despair filled me. All of this…we had done all of this to discover that he wasn’t here.

“What do you mean,he’s not here?” Wes snapped.

“I mean, he’s nothere,” I spat back through gritted teeth. “As in, he’snoton the manifest. He’s not in this effing cellblock.”

“That’s impossible,” Matias began. “Maybe you just missed his name or something.”

“I didn’t miss his name,” I shot back. “He’s not here.”

“Then where is he?” Wes said hotly, brows furrowed as his eyes bored into mine.

“I don’t know!” I didnotlike this attitude from him. He was starting to remind me of the Wes I first met back at the rebel camp, and Isodid not wantthatguy invited to this party.

Jim stepped forward, putting himself between us. “Whoa, chill out! Someone’s going to hear you guys.”