Page 61 of Ravage

"Except there's fucking pineapple on that pizza," Theo grumbles, raising an eyebrow at me.

I laugh at him, shrugging. The three of us are standing in front of the food, waiting for the last stragglers to arrive. "Pineapple belongs on pizza, Theo. Deal with it."

He scrunches up his nose in disgust. "You're lucky I adore you."

"Aw, thanks," I taunt. "It's my trauma that makes me cute."

I nearly burst out laughing as his face falls, his eyes narrowing incredulously at me. Grey reaches across me to grab a cube of cheese, popping it into his mouth.

"Food is food," he says happily. "I'd preferyousprawled out on the buffet, but this is good too."

Shaking my head, I look over my shoulder as I hear the library door. A few people are already sitting at the table, waiting patiently, while others are standing, talking among themselves.

Damon is leaning against the far wall, chatting with Byrone and Jillian, and when he senses me watching, his eyes snap over to me without pausing conversation. I offer a smile before checking to see if the remaining members have arrived.

"I think that's everyone," I say to Grey, nodding my head toward Leighton as he approaches the group. "Leave the cheese alone."

When he thinks I'm not looking, he grabs a few more pieces in the palm of his hand before leading us over to the table. The two men sit on either side of me as others begin to take their seats as well.

Jillian gives me a warm nod as she passes by which I return before the room falls silent. I've been told she was an important part of my rescue and I'm so thankful for her skills—it's obvious why Damon respects her and Byrone so much.

With everyone seated, Damon stands at attention at the end of the table.

"Thank you for attending on short notice," he begins. "As you are aware, things have escalated quickly."

A few people look in my direction, but I'm not bothered by it this time.

"Despite our efforts, it appears the facility was determined to recommence experimentation. I expect some form of retaliation from Arthur, but at present, he's been rather quiet."

Grey nods on Damon's right, throwing a cube of cheese into his mouth. "We're going to continue on with the usual operations, but everyone needs to be on guard."

"Where does that leave Operation Clown?" Byrone asks, his voice loud and clear.

The weird names for their missions trigger flashbacks for me, remembering the earlier days when I was in the dark about all this. Did the whole society know about the secrets below? Or were they just acting on instructions back then?

"Keep trying to decrypt the firewall," Damon directs him. "I suspect their IT people would be on high alert now. Maybe we can use their panic as leverage."

"Possibly," Byrone replies, but doesn't sound confident. "At present we're still only able to see what they are feeding us, along with the minimal control we have at turning the cameras on and off."

"Why don't we just fuck with them?" Grey offers. "Start turning them off at random times—make them think we are on the move."

Damon nods slowly. "That's not a bad idea. If we make it known that we are trying to get in, they will scramble to stop us. Eventually, they might let their guard down enough when they realize nothing is happening and we can use that opportunity to sneak in. In the meantime, work behind the scenes to ascertain what we are dealing with."

"What should we be looking out for?" Jillian asks.

"We need a camera in Arthur's office," he shoots back. "It's our blind spot."

"Can't we sneak one in?" I question.

Heads turn to look at me, but I'm focused on Damon. "Can we get more equipment and plant it?"

I suspect Damon knows what I'm hinting at. If Dr. Smith was willing to bring in cells for us, maybe we can ask him for help again.

"That's not a bad idea," Byrone agrees. "We would be able to set the system up separately from the Lilydale feed. We wouldn't have to worry about them cutting off access, and we would have flexibility to place them where we like."

Grey beams at me—like I've just solved the problem of world peace. "I think we should do it. Especially since we've destroyed their equipment downstairs, we can only assume that they are planning something. It would put us two steps ahead."

"I'll look into it," Damon answers. "The tricky part will be getting them placed without being seen. But perhaps we can turnoff their access to the feeds temporarily to give us time. How long does it normally take them to get control back?"

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