Swipe

throat. “So then it stands to reason that if a DOME agent wasn’t responsible for the missing equipment and . . . playground tape . . . well, then, only a visitor could have been.”
    “There’ve been no break-ins,” Mr. Arbitor said. “The security record is clean. And it hasn’t been tampered with—I’ve already made sure of that.”
    “You’re right, sir, on both counts. No break-ins. All visitors have been green. Nevertheless . . .” He hesitated. “There was a visitor on the day our equipment went missing . . . She just happened to have clearance.”
    “Go on.”
    “And I believe this person is now directly in harm’s way.”
    “I said, out with it!”
    Johnson flipped the tablet so Mr. Arbitor could see the entrance log. When he said it, he couldn’t bring himself to look Mr. Arbitor in the eyes. “It’s your daughter, sir.”

NINE

DANE HAROLD’S
QUIET ENCORE
    1
    L OGAN AND ERIN ENTERED THE GYMNASIUM just as the Boxing Gloves went on. They had followed Dane to the community center with no signs of trouble, but they’d spent the last few minutes keeping watch on the sidewalk for anything suspicious, just in case. The waiting was silent and awkward. Erin was still angry with Logan for calling DOME, and there was nothing he could do about it.
    “Remember, Logan, whatever they’re planning for Dane tonight, they could just as easily do to you. Part of me thinks we’re walking right into a trap,” she said curtly, and she reached into her pocket and handed Logan two flash pellets and a smoke bomb. “I’m keeping the pepper spray for myself.”
    Logan knew she was right about what they were diving into, but that didn’t make him feel any more comfortable about smuggling tactical espionage weaponry into a community center event. “I get it,” Logan said. “I’ll be careful.”
    Inside, Dane stood center stage with his wailing mitts and swung them in wide circles to get the sound he wanted, punctuating the low drones of one with the fast riffs of the other as he pulled the mitts’ various rings with his fingers. Primo wailing. Logan was impressed.
    The community center was dim inside except for the black lights that glowed from lamps hung haphazardly along the walls, illuminating the nanodust from all the Marks in the crowd and giving the room a crystalline sparkle. Some of the new Pledges even used the trail of dust coming from their wrists to form a kind of ribbon dance to Dane’s music. Logan walked through the shimmering air and wondered what it was doing to him to breathe the stuff.
    “Some crowd!” he shouted to Erin, though it was barely audible over the music.
    “I know.” She frowned. “Easy to hide in.”
    Logan knew Erin was right. Spotting anyone suspicious here would be next to impossible. Half the audience was made up of total strangers, and in the disorienting light and music, everyone looked sinister. Logan saw Hailey halfway across the room, and even she looked like she was up to something.
    “Hailey!” Logan yelled, and she turned to him, smiling without looking directly at him. Logan slid through the crowd until he was at her side. “Cool show,” Logan said. Hailey nodded at the ground.
    “Hey, Erin,” Veronica said. “Logan.”
    Logan hadn’t seen Veronica standing there with Hailey. She didn’t look at him. “Hi, Veronica.” Tom was there too, as was most of the Spokie Middle crowd. Nobody else said hi.
    “How long’s the set?” Logan asked.
    Hailey shrugged.
    “Half an hour,” Tom said. “Then the band with the most support gets an encore.”
    Logan felt his mouth go dry. That was a long time for something to go wrong.
    “Let’s take a loop,” Erin whispered. “See who else is here . . .”
    Logan suddenly noticed Hailey staring at Erin, the way Erin was whispering into Logan’s ear. Hailey looked hurt. Logan pulled away.
    “What’s the matter?” Erin asked.
    “Nothing,” he said. “Let’s go.” And he frowned and shrugged at Hailey before slipping off into the crowd.
    2
    Outside, in the shadows, Tyler and Eddie were flipping cards, taking turns punching each other in the face.
    “If I win this round, I get to bag him.”
    “Two out of three,” Eddie said.
    And Tyler said, “Hey, Blake, whaddo we do once we bag him?”
    Blake had been keeping a lookout for agents or, worse, Logan and his miserly friend Erin. The last thing he wanted was another playground-type disaster. “Knock him out.” Blake shrugged. “Don’t