The Rebel Code

Chapter Twenty-One

My feet hit the stairs and I try my hardest not to run, to sprint to Mo's table. I see Natcha and John downstairs, talking with wide eyes. As madam secretary takes her seat with a television smile, the Cyber Police spread out, moving closer to our not-so-secret hiding spot.

"We're fine, right?" asks Larry quietly. "They can't do anything to us, because we don't exist."

I swallow hard, trying to bury my terror. "Not exactly. If one of them asks for-"

I don't have to explain, because Larry is about to get an up-close and personal demonstration of exactly what I mean. I feel the blood drain from my face as I reach the bottom of the stairs. There's a man there in full Cyber Police getup, smiling politely.

"Sorry, Miss," he says. "I have to see some ID before you can come down here. It's the secretary, you see."

I'm not eighteen. I don't even have one anyway, but my ProtoBand would at least tell him that. My ProtoBand should tell him that I'm a person, a citizen, but it won't. Not right now, it won't.

"Can I see your ProtoBand?" he repeats in a less patient tone. He reaches out to take my wrist and I instinctively yank my hand away. His eyes get wide, and he snatches my wrist, clicking the button on the display.

The time is 8:29.

I see his hand go to his belt, probably not to his gun, but something to restrain me. I don't care. I don't want to be restrained. I grab Larry and hit the ground running. I can't lead them to John, but if I can just get out...

"Jenny!" John shouts, running at me and catching me by the waist. "Jenny, what are you-"

"Freeboot!" a guard shouts, spreading the signal like wildfire in the ballroom. People scream, and a waiter drops a tray of appetizers as two more officers push past him, heading right for us. John gasps and grabs a chair, throwing it powerfully in their general direction. It catches one of the officers in the head, knocking him into a table full of rich guests.

"Run," he says. "We have to get out of here."

Link jumps to his feet. "John, they have all the exits covered."

"Not all the exits."

And just like that, I'm running again. Really, physically running from the law. Mo grabs my arm and follows John out towards the service entrance that leads to the kitchen. Another waiter trips as John pushes past him, leading the way. I can hear screams and shouts from the Cyber Police behind us. They're armed, I know it. I imagine those strange guns unleashing whatever they shoot on us, and my back exploding in electric pain. My lungs ache as I run, shaking from the sudden adrenaline.

John slides on the kitchen's tile floor, knocking over a box of something. A young cook screams and hides behind a steel fridge, and we push through, moving to the exit. I don't know where it goes, but we have to get somewhere besides here. Outside the kitchen is a plain, white hallway, echoing with outside shouts as our pursuers draw closer.

"Atticus," gasps John.

Atticus instantly interprets his request. "Those two doors at the far end of the hall lead to the same place. They'll both take you down to the freight docks where the kitchen receives supplies. Minimal security."

John nods at Link. "We need to split up."

I don't want to split up. I don't want to part with any of my family, but I don't have a choice. We can't waste any time. We run or we die.

Link takes Larry and me through the first door, and John, Mo, and Atticus take the second. I can no longer hear their footsteps as we run down yet another plain service hallway, and I feel suddenly vulnerable without John.