The Escape by Teyla Branton

backgrounds, and were currently dissecting the rest of the information from the stolen thumb drive. Stella was half Japanese and half Italian, the Japanese side considerably more prominent, and the third great-aunt and fifth great-aunt of our two newest Unbounded. She was also the most incredibly beautiful woman I had ever personally known. That her beauty was enhanced by nanites she, as a technopath, used to constantly adjust her appearance was nothing short of miraculous.
    “The infirmary is ready,” she said.
    “I’m going to need an assistant.” Dimitri walked beside the gurney, his hand under the blanket near Keene’s wound. “Cort?”
    “Of course.” His scientific ability to decipher patterns at the atomic level made him the best choice, regardless of his relationship to Keene.
    “I’ll come, too.” This from Ritter, and his concern for Keene surprised me.
    “Ava’s on her way,” Stella told us as we squeezed into the elevator. “She called Tenika so we can talk about where to go from here. We have to figure out what the Emporium is planning. I can’t believe Patrick Mann is Unbounded. How did we miss that?”
    “Because Washington has been under Tenika’s group,” Dimitri said, “and they don’t have a sensing Unbounded.”
    “But still.” Stella shook her head.
    “We’ll have to take him out,” Jace said. For once no one corrected him.
    The elevator opened on the second floor, where Dimitri, Ritter, and Cort wheeled Keene into the hallway. I started to follow, but Stella put her hand on my arm. “Let them go. You’re upset, and I think Keene will do better if you aren’t there telegraphing your worry.”
    Jace nodded. “She’s right. They’ll let us know when the surgery is over.”
    I had my shield up, so I didn’t think my feelings would bother Keene or anyone else, but there was nothing I could do in the infirmary that the others couldn’t do better. “Okay, fine.”
    We rode down to the first floor and headed to the conference room. “I just heard from your brother,” Stella said to us, seating herself at the long table in front of four computers. One was a laptop, two were personal computers, and the fourth was a hard drive hooked up to a large new monitor on the wall, a state-of-the-art gift from a local mortal ally. The computers were linked so Stella could interface with them all at once using the neural headset.
    “Oh, what did Chris have to say?” Jace sat beside her but almost immediately bounced up again to pace. Energy seeped from him like steam from a pressure cooker. He’d need to work off some of that energy tonight or his combat ability would drive him insane. Normally I’d take him up to the gym on the fourth floor and spar with him, but I felt exhausted. Besides, I wanted to think about what I’d learned tonight and what it meant for the Renegades. Sinking onto the nearest chair opposite Stella, I upped my absorption rate. Unbounded didn’t need to eat, but I seemed to be craving something.
    “He was just reporting on the refurbishing of the safe house.” Stella glanced at her computers longingly but sat back in her chair and folded her arms over her stomach. “Actually, I think he called to make sure you two got out of the hotel safely.”
    Jace laughed. “Sounds like our big brother.”
    “Anyway, now that Benito’s back on his feet,” Stella continued, “they’re moving right along, especially in mapping the underground tunnels. The more Chris tells me about it, the more I’m sure this will be a good move for all of us.”
    I hoped so. After our last safe house had been compromised, we’d made a pact to create someplace safe for Chris’s two young children. The house in San Diego was one Ava and the others had abandoned over fifty years ago when the Emporium had stepped up activity in the area. Now, with modern technology and surveillance methods, we’d all agreed it was our best option for a permanent residence. The Emporium might