Swipe

outfield.” Tyler had never seen a game of baseball before. He assumed it went something like how he was describing it. Meg ran from first to second base and actually appeared to laugh.
    Jo hopped onto the field from the lower stands and walked toward Blake, who was watching the game from behind home plate.
    “She’s coming out of her shell,” Blake said.
    “A little bit,” Jo agreed, distractedly.
    “Peck was right about her. She just . . . needed awhile. She’s a good kid, Jo. Look at her. She’ll be fine.”
    “She’s autistic, Blake. And it’s severe. You can’t fix that with patience.”
    Blake shrugged. “No. But you can have patience with it.”
    Jo handed him a bag of chips for lunch.
    “We can’t stay here, can we?” Blake asked.
    “I’m amazed you risked coming back at all.”
    “I bought us some time, left the tracker I’d found on Tyler back in the woods.” He frowned. “The kids were going crazy in the cornfields, Jo. None of them slept last night. They needed to play. To be somewhere they know, even for a little while. Who knows what’s next for us.” He shrugged. “I figured an hour here couldn’t hurt.”
    But Jo’s thoughts were somewhere else.
    “How’s Dane?” Blake asked.
    “With Peck. And our contact. He’s fine.”
    Blake nodded.
    “I assume you haven’t heard.” Her voice was shaky, but Blake ignored that.
    “Heard what?” He pointed to Tyler and Eddie. “Boys’ new game . . . this one’s a doozy.” In the outfield, Eddie smacked Tyler repeatedly in the legs with his bat. Meg laughed and jumped at their side.
    “Blake, I was just at the Row for supplies—”
    “Thank you, Jo. I really don’t know what we’d do without—”
    But immediately Jo began sobbing into her hands, and Blake realized their conversation had nothing to do with the supplies, or Dane, or anything else Blake could have predicted.
    “What’s going on?”
    Between breaths Jo said, “DOME. The Row. Blake—they’re cleaning up!”
    “Cleaning up? What do you mean, cleaning up?”
    She wiped her nose on her sleeve and coughed into her hands. “I heard it from Mama Hayes. After last night, DOME says there’s probable cause to sweep out the whole block. They insist they’re just looking for us, but it’s obvious—everyone’s gotta go.”
    “Because of Dane. Because of the scene at Fulmart.”
    “Dane . . . Peck . . . Meg and the frying pan . . . all of it. They’re fed up. We all knew DOME’s been looking for this excuse a long time. Now they have it.”
    “But this is our fight. No one on the Row had anything to do with it!”
    “I know.” Then Jo cried too hard to keep talking.
    “Maybe if we got Dane from the warehouse, twisted his arm into making a statement—”
    “No.” Jo sniffled. “It’s too late.”
    “They can’t do this. We can stop them—”
    “We can’t, Blake. It’s done.”
    “How? How is it done?”
    “DOME’s there now , Blake. Some of the girls from the Row were arrested this morning just for walking down the street. Mama Hayes said DOME agents were laughing, harassing them, bragging about what they were about to do all along the Row. How this was just a preview. And they were rough. People are going to die.”
    “Are the rest of them fleeing? Are they getting out of there?”
    “Most haven’t heard. Mama Hayes just happened to be there as it was going on . . . I ran into her right after.”
    “Then we have to tell the rest! Sneak them out before DOME can make the full sweep!”
    “Where would we bring them if they knew?”
    “We’ll bring them here!”
    “Oh, come on, Blake! We can’t hide everyone in here—we’d all be sitting ducks!”
    “I’m going.”
    “You can’t, Blake. DOME wants us more than anything. We’re the pretense for the whole thing! If they bagged you they could justify everything they’re doing!”
    Blake cursed under his breath. “I have to help them.”
    “You can’t. Please, think of the Dust. Tyler, Eddie, Peck. Think of me—”
    “I have to help. I have to try.”
    “You’re gonna choose them over us?”
    “I’m not choosing anyone.”
    “Then why risk it?”
    “Because they’re people , Joanne!”
    “It’s suicide. Blake, they have Logan and Erin with them to point any of us out. It’ll take them two seconds to recognize you. If they see you, you’re dead. They’re not playing games with us.”
    “And what do you think they’ll do with all the rest of the Markless? Huh?