Prodigy by Marie Lu Page A

space
     is between the doorknob and the top of the door frame too. I think back to when we
     were still standing out in the corridor, picturing how much space is between the door
     frame’s top edge and the ceiling. It must’ve been a little less than two feet.
    Okay. Now all my details are in place. I settle back against the wall, close my eyes,
     and wait.
    Twelve minutes drag by.
    Then, farther down the hall outside, I hear a dog’s bark.
    My eyes pop open.
Ollie.

I’d recognize that bark anywhere—my dog is still alive.
Alive, by some miracle.
Joy and confusion wash over me. What the hell is he doing here? I press an ear against
     the door and listen. Several more seconds of silence. Then, I hear the bark again.
    My white shepherd is here.
    Now thoughts are racing through my mind. The only reason why Ollie would be here is
     because he’s with a patrol—the patrol that’s hunting me down. And there’s only one
     soldier who’d think to use my own dog to sniff me out: Thomas. The Hacker’s words
     come back to me. Razor wanted “the right soldiers” to capture me. He had a specific
     patrol in mind.
    Of course the patrol—the
person
—Razor had in mind would be Thomas.
    Thomas must’ve been assigned by Commander Jameson to track me down. He’s using Ollie
     to help. But of all the patrols I’d prefer to be arrested by, Thomas’s ranks last
     on the list. My hands start to shake. I don’t want to see my brother’s murderer again.
    Ollie’s barking grows steadily louder. With it come the first sounds of footsteps
     and voices. I hear Thomas’s voice out in the corridor, shouting to his soldiers. I
     hold my breath and remind myself of the numbers I’d calculated.
    They’re right outside the door. Their voices have gone quiet, replaced by clicks (safety
     on loaded guns, sounds like some M-series, some standard-issue rifles).
    The following seems to happen in slow motion. The door creaks open and light spills
     in. Immediately I make a small jump and step one leg up—my foot lands silently on
     the doorknob as the door swings toward me. As the soldiers enter the room with their
     guns drawn, I reach up and grab the top of the door frame by using the doorknob as
     a step. I pull myself up. Without a sound, I perch on top of the open door like a
     cat.
    They don’t see me. They probably can’t see anything except the darkness in here. I
     count them all in a flash. Thomas leads the group with Ollie at his side (to my surprise,
     Thomas doesn’t have his gun drawn), and behind him are a cluster of four soldiers.
     There are more soldiers outside the room, but I can’t tell how many.
    “She’s in here,” one of them says, with a hand pressed to his ear. “She hasn’t had
     a chance to board any airships yet. Commander DeSoto just confirmed one of his men
     saw her enter.”
    Thomas says nothing. I watch him turn to observe the dark room. Then his gaze wanders
     up the door.
    We lock eyes.
    I leap down and knock him to the ground. In a moment of blind rage, I actually want
     to break his neck with my bare hands. It’d be so easy.
    The other soldiers clamor for their guns, but in the chaos I hear Thomas choke out
     an order. “Don’t fire! Don’t fire!” He grabs my arm. I almost manage to break free
     and dart through the soldiers and out the doorway, but a second soldier shoves me
     down. They’re all on me now, a whirlwind of uniforms seizing my arms and dragging
     me to my feet. Thomas keeps shouting at his men to be careful.
    Razor was right about Thomas. He’ll want to keep me alive for Commander Jameson.
    Finally, they cuff my hands and push me so hard against the floor that I can’t move.
     I hear Thomas’s voice overhead. “Good to see you again, Ms. Iparis.” His voice shakes.
     “You’re under arrest for assaulting Republic soldiers, for creating a disturbance
     in Batalla Hall, and for abandoning your post. You have the right to remain silent.
     Anything you say can and