Grace looks at each of them, a little bit frightened. “Why’s Argent missing? What happened to him?”
And then from behind them. “Who’s Argent? Is he really dead? Did Connor kill him?”
They turn to see Kele, who, in these reeling moments, had been forgotten.
Lev and Elina’s logic could not calm Connor down, but apparently the fearful look on Kele’s face does the trick.
“No, he’s not, and no, I didn’t,” Connor tells him, his voice a little more under control. “Wherever he is, I’m sure he’s fine.”
Kele seems only half-convinced, and that worries Lev. He knows the kid is a bit of a loose cannon. While Lev’s presence here is “unofficially” known, no one knows that the infamous Akron AWOL is here as well. Kele had promised to keep his presence here a secret, but could he still, now that the secret looms so large?
“So what do we do?” Lev asks Elina, knowing what she’ll say—or at least hoping.
“You’ll stay in our care, of course,” Elina says.
Lev releases his breath. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding it.
“Like hell we will!” snaps Connor.
Lev grabs his shoulder to keep him from storming away. “It’s the smart thing to do. No one out there knows we’re here. We can lie low until we’re out of the news.”
“We’ll never be out of the news, Lev! You know that.”
“But it won’t always be the big story like it is today. Give it a few weeks. And maybe by then we can keep under the radar. Taking off now is the stupidest thing we could possibly do.”
“While we’re sitting here, kids from the Graveyard are being unwound!”
“And how much will it crush their spirit if you’re caught?” Lev points out. “As long as you’re free, they have hope.”
“Cowards hide!” says Connor.
“But warriors lie in wait,” Elina says. “The only difference is whether you’re motivated by fear or purpose.”
That shuts Connor up, at least for the moment. Elina is always good at choking people on food for thought. His eyes burn for a moment more; then Connor drops into a dining room chair, resigned. He looks at his knuckles—Roland’s knuckles—which are bleeding and raw. It must hurt, but he seems to draw some satisfaction from the pain.
“They think we’re with Risa,” Connor says. “I wish we were that lucky.”
“If she’s sees the report,” Lev points out, “then she’ll know that you’re still alive—so that’s a good thing.”
Connor throws him a quick and mildly disgusted glance. “Your ability to see the bright side of everything makes me sick.”
The news has gone on to the clapper attack of the week, and Pivane turns off the TV. “How long can we realistically keep Connor’s presence here a secret?”
Lev notices that Kele has taken on a growing look of silent guilt, so Lev asks him point-blank. “Who did you tell, Kele?”
“No one,” he says, and when Lev doesn’t look away, Kele tells the truth. “Just Nova. But she promised not to tell, and I trust her.” Then he adds, “I figured he was safe, since it’s the Juvenile Authority that’s after him, and Connor’s not juvenile anymore, right?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Chal explains. “His so-called crimes happened when he was under their jurisdiction, which means they can chase him into old age.”
Pivane begins pacing, Elina rubs her forehead, as if getting a headache, and Kele looks miserable and forlorn like his dog just died. Lev can already see this beginning to cascade like a rock slide.
“If word does get out,” Chal says, “and the Juvenile Authority calls for us to give him and Lev over, we can refuse. I can make a case for political asylum—and without an extradition treaty, there’s nothing the Juvenile Authority can do.”
Elina shakes her head. “They’ll put pressure on the Tribal Council and the council will give in, like they always do.”
“But it will buy time—and I can keep throwing up roadblocks to stall things.”
And then Grace chimes in. “You know what’s better than roadblocks?” she says. “Detours!”