Marjorie pressed a large button on top of her desk, which caused bright lights to flicker and a loud siren to sound. "Security! There's been a break-in and something incredibly valuable was stolen! Scour the premises and find the thief at all costs!" She shouted her orders into a microphone hidden in the succulent on her desk.
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I grabbed Atlas's arm and tugged him towards the open window. "Come on! We have to go while Marjorie is distracted!" I said through our cerebral link.
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"I'll go get Marisa. You guys run," Katrina said. She dashed out of the room before Marjorie could stop her.
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Atlas didn't move, he stood there frozen with a haunted expression on his face.
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Tugged on his arm again, this time with much more force, but he still didn't budge. "Come on, pal. We need to leave! Now!"
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"I'm sorry I let him get away with the map," Atlas replied through the link. He sounded so broken.
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"I don't care about that; I care about you."
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He met my gaze for the first time.
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"Listen, security will be here any minute. We're in big trouble if they catch us. Do you want to get arrested?
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He shook his head.
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"Then we have to go."
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He gave a firm nod, then followed me out the window.
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Thank God! I was worried I was going to have to throw him over my shoulder and carry him out.
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"Come back here, or I'll make your lives hell!" Aunt Marjorie shouted.
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We didn't stop running.
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"She's already made my life hell," Atlas said through our cerebral link.
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"Then I guess it can't get any worse," I replied.
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"Unfortunately, there's always more to lose."
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We scaled the fence once more. This time, the climb wasn't nearly so perilous. I was running on pure adrenaline. I escorted Atlas to a darkened alleyway near Sydney Harbor. "I sent a message to Katrina, the girls will meet us here soon," I said.
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Atlas didn't respond; he just stared out at the sea with a solemn expression.
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I tried to lighten the mood. "Do you wanna hear a joke?"
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"Absolutely not."
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Okay, then.
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We stood in awkward silence for several minutes. Eventually, Atlas signed. "I'm so sorry about the map. I should've fought back harder."
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I rolled my eyes. "I already told you, I don't care about that."
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"I did! Now I've ruined any chance of finding the Annihilation Code."
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"That was never your burden to bear. You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."
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"You sound just like Patch."
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I didn't know what to say, so I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
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He pulled away from me. "They're going to kill him, and it's my fault."
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"It's not all your fault. It's not your fault Patch was kidnapped and held hostage. They forced you to make an impossible choice."
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"It was all for nothing, we lost the map and Patch is going to die!" Atlas kicked over a trash can in anger, disturbing a family of cockatoos feasting on the refuse.
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A local cleaning bot whirred by. It paused when it caught sight of the mess. We covered our faces, so the bot couldn't identify us and report us to Bionic Corp. The cleaning bot quickly swept up the fallen garbage and reoriented the bin to an upright position. "All better." The tiny robot said in its adorable voice.
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Atlas stared down at the trashcan. "I feel like nothing I do has an impact."
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"You totally make an impact. You somehow made me into a slightly less awful human being. That's no small feat. You should be proud."
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"I didn't change you, you changed all by yourself."
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"Yeah, but I would probably still be an asshole if we never crossed paths. Going on this crazy mission changed me for the better."
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The faintest of smiles tugged at his lips before his face fell back into its previous distraught emotion.
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We dove into the shadows when we heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
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"You're going to need a better hiding place than that. Bionic Corp's soldiers have night vision, you know," Katrina remarked.
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"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," I said.
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Marisa ran up to Atlas and threw her arms around him. "Oh my God, are you okay?"
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He shook his head.
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"It's been a rough night for all of us," I said.
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"What took you guys so long?" Atlas asked.
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"The whole party erupted into chaos after you guys left. It took ages to push through the crowd and find Marisa," Katrina said.
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"And you changed shoes, apparently. You weren't wearing those boots earlier," I said, gesturing to her sleek leather boots.
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"Duh, it's impossible to run in heels. Everyone knows that, Chase."
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Clouds rolled in over the horizon and thunder crackled in the distance.
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"Looks like a nasty storm is on its way. We should probably head... Wait, where are we going from here?" I asked.
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"Back to Ikigai II, Patch has a safe house on the north side of the island. We'll regroup there." Atlas signed.
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Marisa raised an eyebrow. "Patch got another safe house? Why didn't he tell me?"
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Atlas gave an apathetic shrug. "There are a lot of things he doesn't tell you."
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Marisa shot him a piercing stare. "I guess I have two family members that lie to me."
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Atlas showed no reaction to her comment. His face remained stiff and emotionless. "I don't have time for this," He signed and stomped towards Ikigai II.
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"Atlas, wait up!" I jogged after him. I'm so glad I'm an only child. I'm not cut out for dealing with sibling drama, and I love being the center of attention.
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Lightning flashed in the distance as we trudged back to Ikigai II. Big drops of rain pounded the surrounding ground. Within seconds, we were soaked to the bone.
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Lucky for us, the Ikigai II customs agents were slacking tonight. They seemed as perturbed to be stuck in the rain as we were, so they didn't ask too many questions. We made it safely onto the island without much of a hassle. It's about damn time something went right for us tonight.
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Marisa hugged herself tightly and shivered.
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Atlas slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. It probably didn't help, considering it was completely soaked. It's the thought that counts.
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On our walk to the safe house, we passed by the boardwalk.
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"Atlas, look! Your Hovercycle is still here!" I exclaimed. It was parked exactly where we left it. It hadn't moved an inch.
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Atlas knelt beside the Hovercycle and examined it. "Someone stole the brake pads."
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"What? Why?"
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"People will steal and sell anything they can find around here. I'm surprised they didn't steal more."
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"At least it's still here, right?"
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Atlas wasn't listening. "I got a parking ticket, too." He gestured to a soggy piece of paper taped to the handlebars.
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"That sucks," I said honestly.
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Atlas frowned. "It's just the terrible cherry on the crappy sundae that is my life."
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I grabbed the Hovercycle by the handle and pushed it toward the safe house. It was the least I could do to help him.
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"Thank you," he signed. A soft smile spread across his lips, as he grabbed the other handle and helped me push.
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Together, we wheeled the Hovercycle to the safe house. Atlas stashed it in the alley beside the building. Then he led us up a secret flight of stairs to the upstairs apartment.
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The safe house reeked of musk and decomposing sewage. I pinched my nose and coughed.
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Katrina stifled a gag.
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This safe house is even more dilapidated than the previous one. The ugliest wallpaper I'd ever seen lined the walls. The color was somewhere between chartreuse and mustard yellow. Rats, cockroaches, and fungus seemed to have formed their own ecosystem within the walls. The old, worn couch in the center of the room had large holes with springs and stuffing sticking out. The light fixtures were missing, and the windows were boarded up. The only light came from a small lamp on an end table that looked like it had been knocked over one too many times. Something sticky had melted into the carpet, and my shoe was now stuck to it. Gross!
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"It may not be pretty, but it's safe for now," Atlas signed.
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Katrina somersaulted onto the broken couch. "So, now what."
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We all stared down at the ground. No one answered. What could we do? Maybe I can take Atlas back to New Sacramento with me. He can forge a new life there, he's already changed his identity once, what's one more time?
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I shifted my gaze to Atlas. He wrapped his arms around himself and watched the raindrops trickle down the windowsill. The lost and broken look in his eyes broke my heart. There had to be something I could do to help him. But what?
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"What happened at the party? You guys have been acting differently ever since. I want to know what happened," Marisa said.
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Atlas sighed. "Everything was going according to plan until Marjorie returned to her office earlier than expected. He tried to hide, but she found us. She started to interrogate us."
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"That's when I got dragged in," Katrina said. "Those security guys are faster than I thought they'd be."
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"What happened next?"
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No one answered. Atlas refused to make eye contact.
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Eventually, I spoke up. "We saw Patch."
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Marisa gasped. "What? Where was he? Is he okay?"
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I don't know where he was. She showed us live video footage of him in some kind of interrogation room. He's in rough shape. It looks like he took a beating."
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Marisa buried her face in her hands. "Do you know how he got captured?"
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"Um..." I twiddled my thumbs as I debated how much I wanted to tell her.
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"Please don't tell her. It'll break her heart," Atlas said through our cerebral link.
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"She deserves to know the truth," I responded.
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I let out a long, deep breath. "Patch was kidnapped by Bionic Corp while he was trying to flee the island."
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"No. That can't be right. Patch would never leave without telling us!"
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"I'm sorry," I said.
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Marisa turned to Atlas. "Tell him he's wrong! Patch would never do such a thing!"
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Atlas stared at her long and hard before finally giving in. "Marisa. He's telling the truth. Patch heard that Bionic Corp was coming after him, he got scared and made a run for it."
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"There must be some sort of misunderstanding!" She protested.
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"There's not. He left us to save himself."
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"Why would Bionic Corp let you call Patch?" Marisa asked.
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"They gave me an ultimatum, hand over the map, or they'd kill Patch in twenty-four hours," Atlas signed.
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"And then Vindicator swooped in and stole the map," Marisa finished.
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Atlas froze. "Wait, how did you know Vindicator stole the map?"
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She looked like a deer in headlights. "Oh, Katrina told me."
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Katrina shot her a puzzled look. "No, I didn't."
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Atlas slammed his fists on the counter. "Marisa, what did you do?"
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"I was the one who turned off the lights, and I was the one who messed with everyone's Holowatches! Is that what you wanted to hear?"
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My jaw fell open. "Why would you do that?"
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"Because Vindicator promised me, he'd rescue Patch if I did one simple favor for him."
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"Did you forget the part where he wants me dead!"
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"Of course not, but I did what I had to protect Patch! I thought you'd understand that. Besides, finding the Annihilation Code was never your responsibility in the first place!"
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"Well, thanks to you, we lost the map, and Bionic Corp is going to kill Patch tomorrow!" Atlas stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door.
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"I'm going to go talk to him," I said.
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"Go ahead, it seems like you're the only person he'll talk to these days." Marisa rubbed the heel of her palm against her chest.
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I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, and let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Um, okay. I think I'm going to go now, bye."
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I knew I'd find him on the roof. Every time we used our cerebral link, our connection grew stronger. I could sense his emotions, so intensely they felt like my own. Now I know why Atlas was hesitant to form a link with anyone. They are a powerful and overwhelming thing. Knowing what I know now, I can't believe he agreed to form one with me.
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I found Atlas curled up under an umbrella on the rooftop. He was furiously scribbling something on an ancient Holopad with one hand. With his other hand, he shoveled Flamin' Hot Cheetos into his mouth using chopsticks.
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This was the sight of a man in desperation if I'd ever seen one. I tried to make my voice sound as gentle as possible. "Um, hey buddy, what are you doing?"
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His cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'm just working on an art project."
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I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "In the pouring rain?"
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He nodded.
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"What are you sketching?"
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"It's nothing." He leaned away from me, hiding the drawing from view.
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I snatched the picture from his hands.
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"Give it back!" He tried to yank it out of my hands, but I wrestled it away from him.
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I held the drawing up to the light and studied it. I recognized the shape immediately. "You're trying to recreate the map."
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He tried to pry it from me again, this time I released my grip. "I saw it! I saw the last piece of the map!"
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"Yeah, for a split second."
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"I remember what it looked like! I can recreate it from memory! If we hurry, we still have a chance to find the map before Vindicator does."
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I rolled my eyes and let out a long, exasperated sigh. "This is what Marisa was talking about! You need to let things go!"
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"Do you want me to let Patch die? Because that's what will happen if I do nothing!"
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"Of course not, but I don't want you to die doing something stupid!"
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"You can't stop me!"
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"I know." I massaged my aching temples. "Once you set your mind to something, no one can stop you, but I'm sure Patch wouldn't want you to die trying to save him."
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"I can't sit here and do nothing. I have to go."
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I sighed. "Then I'm going with you. I won't let you do this alone. If we go down, we go down together.
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He threw his arms around me in a tight hug.
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I returned his embrace, gently patting him on the back. "Now, let's go kick some ass!"
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We heard the sound of rustling coming from behind a potted fern.
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Atlas crept towards it with knives drawn.
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We peered through the branches to catch the sight of Katrina and Marisa eavesdropping.
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I placed my hands on my hips. "What the hell, guys? Don't you know eavesdropping is rude? Did no one teach you manners growing up?"
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"We're coming with you," Marisa said.
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Atlas shot daggers in her direction. "No."
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"If you want to pull off this heist, you're going to need a hacker."
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Atlas tightened his lips into a firm line.
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I folded my arms across my chest. "How do we know we can trust you? You've helped Vindicator before."
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"I know you have no reason to trust me, but you won't find another hacker in time to save Patch."
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Atlas and I shot each other a questioning look.
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"What do you think?" Atlas asked through our link, so only I could hear.
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I raised my shoulders in a half shrug. "I think she has a point. Our options are limited at the moment. I believe she cares about Patch and will do what it takes to save him."
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Atlas nodded.
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We turned our attention back to the girls. "Okay, you're in."
ns3.21.33.186da2
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