Sneak (Swipe Series)

inoculate anyone. All it did was infect us. And now that it’s ‘live,’ we Marked”—she pointed at herself now—“are the ones starting to drop.”
    Tyler’s eyes went wide.
    Peck nodded slowly. “So that’s why Cylis is so intent on pushing the G.U. treaty through Parliament—he knows it’ll never pass once this news leaks.”
    “That’s right,” Erin said.
    “But . . . when will it all happen?” Blake asked.
    “No one knows yet. It could be slow in coming or it could be fast. There’ve only been a few cases of it so far. They’ve contained the outbreaks by assassinating the sick, covering up their tracks with stealth missions by the IMPS . . . but according to reports, it’s probably just a matter of time before every last Marked is . . . well . . .”
    “Wait a second,” Blake interrupted. “Erin . . . wait . . . then . . . but . . . you’re Marked . . . so that means that you . . .”
    Erin shrugged. “Look, let’s not get all weepy about it, all right? One thing at a time. Right now we’re all on the clock.” And she turned back to the tablescreen. “Come on,” she said. “Focus. Let’s run through this plan again.”
    8
    By the end of the day, the IMPS were mobilized and moving out. The Dust could see them as little blinking dots on the fission reactor’s hacked security feed.
    “I guess it’s time,” Peck said.
    Erin nodded. “I guess it is.”
    “Everyone clear on this?” Peck asked. “Rusty, you hold the fort up here. Everyone else, we descend. Meg goes first. When we get in there, Meg, you run straight for any guards left in the vestibule. There shouldn’t be many now, the way they’ve been leaking out these last few hours.
    “When the coast is clear, Erin, we use your Mark at the sign-in desk to call the elevator. Then, Erin, you stay behind and hack computer security.”
    “Just give me five good minutes with it,” Erin said, “and I’ll have Acheron’s security feed as useless as the tycoons who designed it.”
    Peck smiled. “Spoken like true Dust, Erin.” And Erin didn’t even flinch when he said it.
    “Shawn, you stay right with Erin,” Peck continued, “and do whatever you have to do to erase all those Markscan traces she’ll be leaving behind. You’ll cover our tracks all along the way—can you do that?”
    “Dude. Please. I’m the Tech Wiz!”
    “Fine.” Peck rolled his eyes. “Everyone else, we cross the holding room, board the elevator . . . and we hope against hope that it accesses every floor. We need to take that thing all the way to level nine to get Logan and Jo and Eddie. No matter how awful it gets. We take them. And somehow . . . we make it back up.” Peck looked around. “Anyone not crystal clear on this?” he asked.
    The Dust all glanced around at one another. Everyone knew it was hardly a plan at all. Everyone knew the odds of success were slim. But no one spoke up. It was time to move in.

TWELVE

MARKED
    1
    T HE HOLDING ROOM SHOWED THE FIRST fingerprints of the Dust’s plan in full effect. Where before there had been dozens of IMP guards, now there was only one, the coordinator at the sign-in desk.
    “He’s alone,” Erin whispered, peering over Meg’s head and through the grate.
    “Is that surprising?” Blake whispered.
    Peck nodded. “Last time there were more.”
    “Good,” Erin said. “So it’s working. Security’s depleted.”
    “Meg. Will you do the honors?” Blake asked.
    And Meg nodded gleefully. She unscrewed the grate of the air duct in front of her, sliding out on her stomach and falling to the ground below. Erin gave her a little tap on the foot as she did, for good luck.
    The guard never saw it coming. Meg had him clobbered before he even knew what hit him. By the time Erin and the Dust made it out of the air duct, he was sprawled unconscious across the floor.
    “Go, go!” Peck whispered, and Erin ran to the Markscan to call the elevator.
    Except.
    The Markscan flashed red.
    “Call it, already!” Blake whispered, waiting eagerly at the entrance. “We’re here—call it up!”
    “I can’t. I can’t! It’s not working.” Erin was growing frantic.
    “Why isn’t it working?”
    “You’re Marked, aren’t you?” Tyler demanded. “Make it happen !”
    And then Erin looked at the IMP splayed out on the floor. And she saw the Mark tattooed across his face.
    “Of course,” Erin said. “How brilliant . . .”
    “Erin, we’re naked out here! Make this happen before someone sees