Taken (Erin Bowman)

to overlook it altogether. I’ve reached the Hairpin.
    It is slow going. The earth beneath my feet is loose from the previous night’s rain and I progress with careful steps. At the base of the cliff, where the decline meets the forest plane, I notice a footprint in the moist earth. It is identical to the markings my boots create.
    My heart rate quickens. The Order must be nearby.
    I stick to the shadows for the rest of the day. I walk on pine needles when possible. I pause often. I hear nothing but the sounds of the forest—wind between branches and birdsong—until later that evening.
    It’s past nightfall, as I am setting up my hammock, when I make out the voices. I should stay put, keep a safe distance, and yet I can’t help but wonder who the voices belong to and what they are discussing. I repack my gear, and with the bag on my shoulder, I steal toward the conversation.
    The terrain has grown rockier this side of the Hairpin, and it offers plenty of coverage. I dart from boulder to tree to boulder, staying out of sight. Ahead, through the branches, I can make out the faint glow of a fire. As I edge closer, I realize it’s a camp. An Order camp. There are perhaps two dozen of them, sitting around a central fire pit that casts warm light upon their faces. Some have their backs to me, but the man who appears in charge is fully visible. His hair is shaved so closely to his head, I wonder if any ever grew there at all.
    “I want to be very, very clear about what we are doing here and how we are going to do it,” he says. “Operation Ferret is perhaps one of the most critical assignments our division has ever been tasked with. It is imperative we don’t screw this up.”
    Operation Ferret: the folder Emma and I had discovered back in Union Central. It must be the mission Frank has been planning since he heard Harvey was spotted in the forest.
    The man pauses dramatically and looks over his team. I follow his gaze and recognize Septum and Craw in the firelight. They look nervous. This must be what they’d consider their first big mission.
    “Mount Martyr is our final destination,” the man continues. “We suspect it, or at least one of the neighboring mountain ranges, to not only be the location of Maldoon but his headquarters for the entire Rebel movement. Do not underestimate this man. He is ruthless and far more cunning than he appears. Our mission is to bring him back to Taem. Alive . It is crucial that he is brought back in one piece.”
    I picture Harvey, his frail frame and dark eyes. I can see his piercing gaze as clearly as if he stood before me. I have to tail this group. Or get to Harvey first. I need to get answers from him before Frank does.
    The man folds his arms over the red triangle on his chest and continues. “Tomorrow morning, we start a trek that will take us to the base of Mount Martyr, and from there, the retrieval of Maldoon begins. Follow orders, and I am confident this operation will be a success.”
    The man then points to a few individuals, and asks them to join him in his tent. I adjust the pack on my back, ready to retreat and set up camp from a safe distance when a twig snaps behind me.
    I spin to face nothing but dark shadows and silhouetted trees.
    Another snap.
    This time I see the figure: tall, dark, pointing a gun at me. It is a smaller model, like the one Frank had. “Stay right there,” he orders, walking into the extended glow of firelight. It’s Blaine. He drops the weapon to his side as soon as he recognizes me.
    “Gray! What are you doing here?” he whispers.
    “What are you doing here?”
    “I’m on this mission. First big one and a chance to catch Harvey, no less,” he says proudly.
    This is better than I could have planned it. I can fill Blaine in, tell him about Frank. I can get him to help me capture Harvey before the Order does. My chances for success have always been slim, but with Blaine, I feel more sure.
    Before I am able to get out another word, a figure is approaching us.
    “Blaine? Your watch is up. I came to relieve—” The man sees me and freezes. “What the devil? Where did he come from?”
    “It’s okay, Liam,” Blaine says. “This is my brother, Gray.”
    Liam eyes me suspiciously. “How did he get here?”
    “He . . .” Blaine pauses and looks at me, puzzled. “How did you get here?”
    This is clearly the wrong thing to say, because Liam draws his gun and points it at us both. “Toward camp,” he orders, motioning