***
Everyone is gathered and waiting in the meeting room in the Professor’s quarters when Blythe and I arrive. The Professor is at the head of the table, his characteristically messy brown hair like a bird’s nest around his head, his clothing rumpled and unkempt. Jenica sits at his right side in a fresh, black flight suit, her hands folded on the table. Gage is at the foot of the table, slouching with one foot resting on the opposite thigh. As Blythe and I take our seats, I am acutely aware of the fact that Olivia’s chair, across from Jenica, is empty. A cold fist knots in my stomach as I notice the video panels pulled up on either side of the professor, each depicting scenes from Stonehead. I blink and look away from the one showing Olivia’s battered and bruised face.
Once we’re all seated, Jenica stands and begins the meeting. “I trust that you all have seen this footage. It’s been all over the news since Olivia was captured at Stonehead.” Everyone nods silently and she continues. “Olivia—and the others imprisoned at Stonehead—are scheduled for execution at 9:00 o’clock a.m. eastern time. That only gives us a few hours and a very narrow window of opportunity. Our last attack was well-planned, but we did not anticipate that our EMP would be targeted.”
My gaze swivels to Gage as I realize that no one has explained yet how things went wrong at Stonehead. Agata’s EMP was supposed to knock out the MPs weapons, but it’s obvious from the footage that this is not what happened.
“They knew about Agata,” Gage says in answer to my unspoken question. “I don’t know how, but they did. They had some kind of device, something that emitted a high-pitched frequency that only Agata could hear. It rendered her unable to