Swipe

in the wooden underbelly of the playground castle’s main turret. Meg should have swung gently on the swing, bound to its chains by her hands (but not noticeably), the lone, visible, unintimidating guest of the park, kicking innocently at the ground. And Eddie should have been lying in the sandbox, ten feet away, keeping an eye on her for sudden movements or signs of trouble.
    Instead the scene looked remarkably like a jungle gym filled with children at play, which Blake supposed is what it was.
    “Guys!” he shout-whispered. “Back to your positions!” He looked at his watch and figured they had about twenty minutes before Logan arrived, if they were lucky.
    Jo was far off, hidden, poised to protect Peck and to ensure his escape to safety should anything go wrong. The last thing Blake wanted was for her to have to risk that just to help him calm down the rest of the Dust. That was supposed to be Blake’s job.
    “I’m serious!” he whispered. “ This second! ”
    Eddie grabbed the lower rungs of the slide’s ladder and called up to Blake. “Having some trouble with Meg over here. Could probably use your help.”
    “I can see that,” Blake said. “She’s not on the swing. What’s the matter?”
    “She’s playing with a mouse she found in the cedar chips. Says she’ll only cooperate if we let her keep it for a pet.”
    “So then we keep it. Big deal.”
    “But it’s dead!”
    Blake shook his head and went down the slide, landing on the ground and walking swiftly into the wooden castle. “What is the matter with her?”
    Eddie shrugged.
    “Well, tie ’er up or something! We can’t have her acting out on us. Last thing we need is to chase the little beggar down while we’re prepping an ambush—”
    An explosion behind him cut Blake off midsentence.
    “Tyler, knock it off!” he hissed.
    “Make me, tightwad,” said a voice from somewhere behind the wooden wall.
    “I will, ya little cheapskate! Just see what happens if you make me come over there—”
    But Tyler already wasn’t listening. He yelled over to Meg, who must have been with him, “Okay, okay. New game! Get this—”
    “No bottle rocket games!” Blake said at the top of his whisper. “We’re here to rendezvous with the target. You can play your stupid miser rocket games another time.”
    “You just know you’re gonna lose.”
    “Whatever, Tyler.”
    “You know it’s true.”
    Blake emerged from the castle and strode over to where Tyler was leaning down to the ground, readying another rocket. And that’s when he saw motion at the edge of the park.
    “Shut up! Get down! I see someone.” The playfulness across the park left like air sucked from a balloon. It was suddenly dead silent, each member of the Dust perfectly coordinated. In the corner of his eye, Blake even saw Meg freeze and kneel to the ground, cooperating entirely, aside from the dead mouse she held in her hand.
    Blake realized they didn’t have the luxury of returning to their assigned places. Slowly, he led the four of them out of the playground area and into the shadow of a nearby cluster of trees.
    “That’s him,” Blake whispered. “He took the bait.”
    Eddie squinted into the distance. “Wait a second,” he said. “Something’s not right.”
    “What’s not right? That’s definitely him.”
    “Yeah. Fine,” Eddie said. “But he isn’t alone.”
    Blake focused on the shadows and cursed under his breath.
    Eddie was right. Logan wasn’t alone. He’d brought the girl with him.
    8
    “Keep your voice down,” Erin said, as though she knew what she was doing. “They could be here any minute.”
    “Erin, we should not be here. Please, let’s go home before it’s too late.”
    “Not a chance.” Erin frowned. “We have one shot at this.” Logan shook his head desperately while Erin said, “Let me ask you something. Peck’s not a dumb guy. Why do you think he would have left you that note tonight?”
    “What kind of question is that? You know as well as I do.”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “Because he’s a sociopath, that’s why. He kidnaps kids.”
    “That’s not my question. The guy broke into your room after sundown and left a burning note on your desk. A self-destructing message for your eyes only. What could have possibly led him to believe you were going to do anything it said?”
    “Was he wrong? I’m here, aren’t I?”
    “Yeah, but you’re here ’cause of me. That couldn’t have been his plan. His request wasn’t