Sneak (Swipe Series)

“Over here is the exercise station. They have weights, courts for ball games, a lane for racing . . .”
    And Logan couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re really gonna be set down here, aren’t we?” he said. “Once Lily is with us. We’ll really have everything we need.”
    Peck smiled, but something about it was a little sad. “Maybe,” he said. And then he nodded. “Yeah. Maybe that’s true.”
    2
    It was a dreary day back in New Chicago. The underpass was cold and wet with a wintry rain. Two weeks had passed since Logan had been chased off by DOME, and the huddle as a whole was in high spirits. Nearly everyone had moved into the abandoned buildings along the sidewalk by the underpass, brushing off rubble from old beds, sweeping the floors clean of broken plaster and glass, making real homes for themselves.
    And it was all thanks to Andrew. His deal with DOME had granted the entire huddle immunity, and as long as its members agreed to stay within the Ruined Sector, they could now do nearly anything they wanted.
    No one but Andrew had known the terms of his deal with DOME. Everyone had come to assume that Andrew was simply a masterful negotiator. And no one had questioned why he’d been given the largest, nicest brownstone still standing along the lakefront.
    It was only Bridget who held out, who had remained in her old spot by a pillar of the overpass. She alone knew the full story of Andrew selling out a fellow Markless. And so she stayed put, reading the books in her library and listening to her shortwave radio alone.
    “Sitting out here in the cold won’t bring him back,” Andrew said, walking up to her.
    Bridget looked up, resting the book she had been reading on her lap.
    “And it’s certainly not proving anything to me. My conscience is free and clear.”
    “I’m glad,” Bridget said. “You know, if you were anyone else, I might actually take this opportunity to suggest that maybe, just maybe , you should try for once to treat others the way you would have them treat you.” She stared at him. “But honestly, right now, you’re not worth the effort.” And she looked back down at her book.
    “Listen,” Andrew said. “That guy was the worst kind of skinflint out there. I’ve seen the type. He thinks he’s bigger than the system. He thinks the rules don’t apply to him. He expects others to fall in line and pay the price for his actions.
    “Now, maybe those cute little freckles of his were enough to sucker you into forgetting all that—but the tightwad got what was coming to him. He’d asked for it. And after everything he put us through? All this immunity is the least he could have done for us. We were owed it. And it doesn’t do anyone any good for you to reject it like this.”
    Andrew paused, waiting for Bridget to respond. She didn’t.
    “Please, Bridget. It’s raining. You’re gonna catch pneumonia.”
    More silence.
    “You done?” she asked.
    Andrew sighed.
    “Logan didn’t get us into this mess, Andrew. DOME did. And Logan’s the first person I’ve ever met—the first one—who’s decided to stand up to them. Who’s trying to do something about it. Sure, Peck’s been goin’ around for years, pullin’ kids out and protecting flunkees. But even he never had the guts to stand his ground and fight.
    “Logan is different. He’s onto something bigger than you or me or any of this. If you can’t see that, then there’s nothing for us to talk about.” Bridget turned her back to Andrew. He slinked away. And she went back to listening to the faint, comforting chatter of the shortwave radio beside her.
    3
    The next day, Logan and Peck and the rest of the Dust were brainstorming next steps, and for the first time in weeks, they were actually looking forward to them.
    “What do you think she’ll be like now? Think she’ll be the same?” Hailey asked.
    “I don’t know,” Logan said. “She’ll be eighteen. Last time I saw her was on her thirteenth birthday. A lot can happen in five years, I guess.”
    “Sure.”
    “But she used to be . . . well . . . she was always very quiet. She was smart, much smarter than me, though she didn’t brag about it. Never showed off. She has brown hair, or at least she did, and it’s shoulder length, or at least it was . . . and she was athletic. Tall.” Logan laughed. “I wonder if she’s still taller than me.”
    “Think you’ll recognize her?” Hailey asked hesitantly.
    “Yeah.” Logan smiled. “I