Cinder stood with her hair pinched back in both hands
and the palace blueprint blurring on the netscreen
before her.
She'd been staring at it all day, but her brain
kept running in circles.
"All right.
What if—if the doctor and I could get some
invitations and sneak in as guests ... and then
Jacin could create a diversion ... or, no, if you
created a diversion and Jacin came as one of the
staff ... but, the doctor is so well-known.
Maybe Jacin and I could enter as guests and
the doctor ... but then how would we ... ugh."
She threw her head backhand glowers at the
ship's metal ceiling with its crossed wires
and air ducts.
"Maybe I'm overcomplicating this.
Maybe I should go in alone."
"Yes, because you aren't recognizable at all,"
said Iko, punctuating her statement by pulling
up Cinder's prison photo in the blueprint's corner.
Cinder groaned.
This was never going to work.
"Oh!
Cinder!"
She jolted. "What?"
"This just came across the local newsfeed."
Iko wiped away the blueprint and replaced it with a
map of the Sahara Desert.
A journalist was speaking in the background, and as
they watched, a circle was drawn around some nearby
cities, with lines and arrows connecting them.
A ticker read: WANTED-CRIMINAL CARSWELL THORNE
SPOTTED IN SAHARA TRADING CITY. EVADES CAPTURES.
As the journalist jabbered on, Thorne's prison
photo flashed on the screen, followed by the words,
bright and bold.
ARMED AND DANGEROUS. COMM AUTHORITIES IM-
MEDIATELY WITH ANY INFORMATION.
Cinder's stomach twisted, first with remorse, then
with panic.
It was a false alarm.
Those ... was dead.
Someone must have seen a look-alike and jumped to
conclusions.
It wasn't the first time.
According to the media, Cinder had been spotted multiple
YOU ARE READING
Cress
Teen FictionTheir best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's being force to work for Queen Levana, and she...
