Burn by Sarah Fine and Walter Jury

to drop this bomb. “George scanned orange when he came to take the scanner from me at the Walmart.”
    Some of the blood drains from Congers’s face. “They’ve infiltrated both sides. They must have been watching us already. And when they discovered the existence of the scanner, they moved quickly to intercept it, using what they’d already learned about who was connected to whom. Somehow, they knew of our movements tonight.”
    â€œWe don’t know how many of them might be here,” Race says to him. “Or whether there are already more within our ranks.”
    â€œI think I know how many there are,” I say quietly. “My dad scaled up the technology and was scanning the planet using a satellite.” I tell them about the population counter and the anomalies—along with the question mark that indicated Dad didn’t know what they were. “There were fourteen, but when I checked it again yesterday morning, there were only twelve.”
    â€œBecause George and Willetts were killed,” Leo says. “They probably got George in Chicago—that’s why there were signs of a struggle in his room.”
    I remember being on the phone with George on Tuesday morning. I remember hearing someone bang at his door. My hand is sweating in Christina’s grip. “If they were in Chicago . . . that’s where all The Fifty were meeting.”
    My mom pushes herself off the wall. “If there are twelve Sicarii on this planet and we know they’re after the scanner, we need to protect it.”
    â€œWe need to do a lot more than that,” Race says. “We need to scan our people.”
    â€œAnd ours,” Mom adds. “We also need a controlled environment. Defensible but contained, so that we can establish security and maintain it. Black Box Enterprises.”
    â€œYou’re not suggesting we invite the Core into our weapons factory,” I say quietly.
    â€œWhat if I am, Tate? After all you’ve heard tonight, surely you understand we have to work together. Black Box is a self-sufficient fortress. It’s invisible to satellites, unlike official government agencies. And it has highly advanced perimeter defenses. It would allow us to prevent infiltration while we plan how to eliminate the Sicarii scout force, and, if possible, prevent the mass invasion they’re trying to facilitate.” Her brown eyes are intense and commanding. “There is no better place than Black Box.”
    Race and Congers don’t disagree, but it’s not like I expect them to suggest we head to the Pentagon or Quantico. This is like killing two birds with one stone for them. They can maybe defend against the Sicarii, but also learn all the secrets of The Fifty.
    â€œWe also need immediate access to Frederick Archer’s lab,” Congers says. “We know he must have the wreckage we’ve been looking for. If there ever was a defense system to protect against Sicarii invasion, even if it simply alerts us to their presence and gives us a chance to fight, we need to find a way to make it work. We believe the technology can be weaponized.” He looks down at the scanner as if it’s going to tell him the answer. And part of me wonders if it can, in the right hands.
    â€œWe know Dad had at least one scanner satellite in orbit,” I said. “I could take a look at his stuff and—”
    â€œOur team will investigate,” says Congers. “And I hope you’ve heard enough now to cooperate.”
    â€œIf you’d told me all of this earlier, instead of having your son beat on me, asshole, maybe I would have cooperated
then.
”
    Congers merely stares at me, unapologetic. But he only started playing nice when he knew the Sicarii had gotten to the H2, and his decision to keep me in the dark has cost us valuable time.
    Race clears his throat, looking at my mom first, then me. “We’ve all lost