The moon broke through the clouds momentarily, illuminating me where I hung. It was risky beyond belief, but I was attempting a reconnaissance mission during dinner, while the wardens would be on the lookout for students.

But maybe the fact that so many of us had been made complacent with their drugs had made them lazy. If there was one plus side to our situation, it was that.

It was our most planned mission to date, with very specific duties, times, and places, since we needed to be as radio silent as possible. Deep within enemy territory, we couldn't risk the slightest noise sounding an alarm. But noise was the least of my worries; I was running late according to the time display on the watch I'd borrowed from Eddie. I hoped to God that everyone was where they needed to be. This mission would only work if all lookouts were in place.

As the clouds obscured the moon again, I rappelled the rest of the way and pried the target window open. I made too much noise and I released my line from the harness, and lunged inside. Robert pulled the line up and out of sight, as I closed the window.

The sound of heavy footsteps coming down the hallway momentarily turned me into a panicked deer, frozen in place. Move, Dummy! A deep voice that I recognized startled me into moving and I shimmied under the hideous skirted sofa against the wall, careful that no part of me was sticking out.

Light spilled into the room as the door was opened, and I bit the back of my hand to keep from squealing aloud. I'd only just made it. I simultaneously held my breath while reminding myself to breathe, as Corbis clomped to his desk. "Thanks for the update," he said to his phone. "I'm pleased with how fast this is going. See you tomorrow. Oh, and tell your men not to bother me unless it's important, I've got a conference call."

A conference call. It was the most convenient bit of luck. Perhaps I'd learn what I needed without actually having to go through the man's things, or worse, having to do this again.

"Greetings, Headmaster Corbis!" a hearty laugh filled the room through the speakers of the computer on Corbis' desk.

"Latham," Corbis acknowledged the other man. "Corbis. Hell, I'll be glad when I don't have to use that blubbering idiot's name anymore."

What the flaming dojo from hell? Corbis wasn't Corbis? Then who was he? I didn't like this. I'd been listening for less than a minute and already my mind was spinning!

"P-p-please! The k-k-kids! I w-w-won't let you g-g-get away with this!" Latham laughed as he imitated the real Corbis's crying. "Who you gonna tell, Old man? The maggots?"

My blood ran cold; my God! They killed him?

I was suddenly very aware of how dangerously close I was to the lion. I'd climbed right into its den! If I so much as sneezed, I'd be dead. The thought made my chest tighten and I fought to keep my breathing steady and quiet. 

"Anyway," Latham sighed with a sickening mirth. "We're ready over here, Tannen. Just say the word."

"Things are moving quite quickly here, if it continues at this pace, we'll be ready in a week's, maybe two weeks', time. I told you it would be easy, Latham! They're spoiled brats, too self involved to notice, and too emotionally stunted to question anything around them."

"You're sure that'll be enough? You're sure none of them will get in our way?" Latham's skepticism seemed to annoy Corbis—Tannen—whoever.

"Half these kids aren't aware that they're trapped on campus. They probably don't even know that we've blocked all communication outside of the campus grounds. The ones that might be smart enough to figure out something's going on have decided that this is time off to party, instead of doing work, so they don't even notice the increased security. No one's even brought up the sedated students!"

Oh we noticed, I wanted to snap at the man in the Headmaster's chair. But it wouldn't do me or any of my peers any good, so I chomped my teeth down on my bottom lip to hold my anger back. Dammit Kellen, why didn't you listen to me?

"To get in our way, they'd have to notice or care that something was wrong," Tannen scoffed. "Trust me, in a week's time they'll all be so burned out they won't know how to get in our way. Or how to save themselves. Then we can get started with testing."

Testing?!

"You know we'll need to detox them first, if we're to get accurate results."

"Yes, yes." Tannen seemed less than bothered by the details, "That's your end of this Latham. I just want to see those bastards pay for taking him away from me. He was such a bright star."

"Then it's a good thing you have me. It was my life's work they killed too. I want to see them suffer just as much as you do, Tannen. Just give us the word and we'll move the equipment in."

Equipment?

Under the sofa, I was shaking so hard, I was sure he could see. They were going to experiment on us. Oh Crap!

Tannen's next words, breaking through my thoughts, were like an ice bath.

"The lives of their vacuous children for my prodigy brother. "

The words echoed in my mind long after Corbis had left his office and me in the darkness. When my phone lit with the greenlight for me to move out, I did quickly. Once out of the stifling room, I sent a message to all my operatives.

Abort.

-.-

Cold air sliced through my throat and burned my lungs as I pelted across the quad and into residence. I was in such a rush that I rammed my whole body into Katia's door instead of pounding on it frantically like a normal person would.

"What the hell?" Katia opened the door and eyed me as I got off the floor. I yanked her out of the room, giving her no time to question, and held fast to her arm as I dragged her at a running pace behind me. "If this is payback for kidnapping you, Nicole..."

With frustratingly shaky hands, I found my keys and struggled with them before Katia ripped them from me and turned them in the lock. I shoved her in ahead of me, and we tumbled into the room as she angrily protested. Picking myself up, I found myself faced with Kellen and Jackson armed with sneers and utterly useless weapons.

"Are you brandishing a shower curtain rod?" Katia asked Jackson, unimpressed as she stood.

I tore the pillow from Kellen's hands, noting absently that he was wearing what appeared to be only sheets that he quickly held in place with one hand. Who the hell sleeps right after dinner? 

As I hugged the pillow to my chest, Katia eyed me warily. "I almost got bludgeoned with a curtain rod and smothered with a pillow thanks to your insanity."

"Seriously, Nicole! What's with giving us heart attacks?" Jackson lowered the curtain rod, though he looked like he still wanted to hit me with it just for freaking him out. But as they took in my appearance, the annoyance seemed to dissolve.

"Cole?" Kellen ventured cautiously. "What's up?"

Instead of answering him, I checked my phone, remembering that I was not the only one who had to make it back to residence safely. When I received home-safe check-ins from everyone, I relaxed a bit. "Thank God!" I sat and buried my face in Kellen's pillow before peeking up at him. "I did some recon tonight... on Corbis."

"What?!"

The anger and intensity of the word would have made me flinch in any normal circumstance, but I'd been expecting it. 

"What were you thinking, Nic?" Jackson burst.

"What if you'd gotten caught?" Kellen's worry was annoying, as if I'd think only of myself at a time like this.

Katia seemed to see through to that part of me and interjected. "What if you'd gotten someone else caught?"

"There's a reason we told everyone to stay low key, toe the line, keep your damn head down!" Jackson's worry, akin to that he had for his sister, made me flush, and I felt sorry for putting him through it.

"But I didn't get caught, and neither did anyone else. Do you want to know, or not?"

Kellen closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose and uttered a strained "Yes".

"Corbis isn't Corbis. He killed the real Headmaster."

Jackson snorted loudly, his shoulders shaking with laughter. Kellen slowly opened his eyes to peer at me carefully. They thought I'd gone crazy.

"That's a good one, Nicole. I'm going back to my room." Katia rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Maybe I can still catch the end of—"

"Trust me, in a week's time they'll all be so burned out they won't know how to get in our way. Or how to save themselves." I recited Tannen's words in a whisper, a whole new shudder running through me as I mimicked his tone. "Then we can get started with testing. The lives of their vacuous children for my prodigy brother."

The words hung in the air for a moment, and then I was filling the silence almost compulsively.

"I don't know exactly what kind of testing they're talking about. I was planning on searching his office when he wasn't there, but, let's face it, it's not like his exact plans would be in that desk. All I know is we have about a week, maybe two."

I watched my words sink in. One by one, realization and worry began to seep onto their expression. Jackson, eyes wide, sat on the couch, bouncing and fidgeting incessantly. Kellen chewed his lip as he began to pace the room, his hands clasped against the back of his head. Katia pressed a hand to her mouth, only to remove it every once in a while when she attempted to say something.

"I love me a good video game plot," Jackson's hands flexed around an imaginary controller, and his voice shook. "But I don't know how to beat this boss. I'm out... I don't want to play this game."

"Neither do I, Jacks, but at this point, it's either we play or we d—"

The clock in Kellen's bedroom cut me off when it chimed, and we all jumped, startled.

"It's curfew in twenty minutes," Kellen sighed. "You guys should get back to your rooms."

"We should..." Katia grabbed my wrist as if it were a lifeline. She shook her head and from the hint of calculation I saw through her worry, I thought she might say something more useful than go to bed. "We should pretend to be drugged and avoid getting drugged." 

"That won't make this go away! We need to do more than that!" I turned to Jackson and Kellen looking for some support, but Kellen was already halfway into his bedroom.

What was happening? Why were they sweeping this aside as if I'd simply made it all up?

Jackson stood and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry." His tone was soft and scared. "We'll figure this out. We need to make sure everyone's safe, so maybe pretending to be drugged is the best option."

Had I officially entered an alternate universe where I was the only one with brains? Perhaps, I thought, as I threw my hands up in frustration, all three of them had gotten detentions earlier today that I was unaware of and were still laggy. That had to be it.

As I gaped at him, Katia pulled me from their dorm, "Nicole, we'll get detentions if we're not in our own rooms."

She had a point. A damn good one and as she fretted that she wouldn't be able to sleep all night, I followed her out.

"Cole." Kellen stopped me just outside the door. "Please keep this quiet."

I squashed his head between my narrowing eyelids, my expression stony. "Fine. But this isn't over. I'll be here first thing in the morning."