The Gender Game 5 (The Gender Fall)(16)

“She’s fine,” I assured everyone. “She’s resting. However, I’ve decided to send Owen and Amber into The Green, hopefully to convince the Liberators to switch sides, but, more importantly, to bring back Dr. Tierney and medical supplies.”

Owen gave me a grateful look, a smile curling at the corners of his lips, and I nodded in acknowledgement. Ms. Dale leaned forward, her face impassive.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked.

I shot a glance at Amber, who raised an eyebrow at me. “Amber made some good points earlier, and I think it might be our best chance. However, before you two go”—I fixed Amber and Owen with a look—“would you mind staying for this meeting? Your insight would be helpful, and I have something to talk about with both of you afterward.”

“Of course,” said Owen, nodding. “We don’t want to leave you in the lurch.” Amber raised one eyebrow, but nodded.

“Good,” I replied.

“Not good,” contradicted Ms. Dale. I gave her a questioning look, but her focus was on Owen and Amber. “Not that I doubt you made good points to Mr. Croft here, but I just want to be clear—you’re going to the Facility?”

“Oh, no.”

“Not even remotely.”

Amber and Owen exchanged chagrined looks as they spoke over each other, and Amber waved a hand, indicating Owen should take the lead. Owen met Ms. Dale’s gaze with an earnest smile, before explaining they’d be going to their home base, hidden on the Patrian side of The Green.

“Amber and I talked about this, and we figure Desmond will be paying closer attention to the Facility than our base—because it looks like she kicked the Liberators out of it and gave the Matrians full control—and all the research for the boys is based there.”

Ms. Dale met his gaze, then leaned back in the chair. “In that case, I’m satisfied,” she said with a nod, though her eyes were still cold, probably at the thought of the poor boys’ plight.

I felt myself smile at Ms. Dale, shaking my head in amusement. That woman was like a bloodhound when it came to finding flaws in plans, and I was once again impressed she had thought to ask that question. I hadn’t thought of it until Amber had brought it up herself—I’d had no idea the Liberators even had another base. Then again, most of my time with the Liberators had been spent either in convalescence or training the boys. It hadn’t left a lot of room for talking.

“All right,” I said, settling back into the chair with a slight stretch and letting its back serve as support for my head. I was eager to move on to the next topic. “Thomas—what do we know about Tim?”

Thomas’ head jerked up, his mouth dropping open and then snapping shut. I had caught him off guard, it seemed. He smoothed the front of his shirt, collecting himself, and then leaned forward. “Well, it’s been chaotic with the move and the palace, but I’ve finally had a chance to hack one of the handhelds we collected from the Matrian wardens after their attack on Ashabee’s estate. I’ve gotten just a smattering of information—they’re using a sophisticated data encryption key I haven’t seen before, but I’ve been slowly deciphering the messages. A lot of it is fragmented, but even then… so far, there hasn’t been any description of a captured male fitting Mr. Bates’ description.”

I felt disappointed but unsurprised. It hadn’t seemed likely that answers would just fall in our laps, but still, it would’ve been… nice. “Keep monitoring it,” I said, and Thomas nodded. “What else have you found?”

Thomas leaned forward, excitement shining in his dark eyes. “Well, I’ve got good news and bad news—which would you prefer?”

I gave him a look from beneath my heavy eyelids, but it was Amber who answered. “Bad news,” she said sweetly. Everyone looked at her, and she gave a little shrug. “I like getting the bad stuff over and done with first—makes the good news all the more delectable.”

I refrained from sighing. “You heard the lady,” I muttered. “Give us the bad.”

“Well, I have no idea where the Matrians are holing up. A general call was sent to retreat to a location after the bombing at the palace, but they’re referring to the location by a code name, which is meaningless to us. Any chance we had of sabotaging their retreat or taking out a supply line is out, until I crack the code or they slip up.”

“That might be for the best,” replied Ms. Dale. “The people in this room are the best-trained operatives we have at the moment. I’m working with the recruits day and night, but they are nowhere near ready. Attempting a major offensive right now would be more than risky.”