Page 117 of Silver Elite

At first, I take that to mean she’sdefinitelyone of us. But then I test that theory by asking,“Is Lyddie De Velde an operative?”and get the same generic rejoinder.

“We cannot divulge the identities of our operatives.”

I try Bryce and receive the identical answer. I’m certain both those women are not Modified, especially since I’ve been in Lyddie’s mind and she showed no reaction to the psychic intrusion. Unless, like me,she’s mastered the ability to hide the physical shock, but I don’t know many Mods who can actually do that.

In the afternoon, we run another mock op on the base. I’m paired with Bryce, which means for sure we’ll score 100 percent. She’s good, and she’sfast.We have one minute to scale a wall, plant an explosive on a second-floor window ledge, and reach the safe zone before the charge goes off.

We nail it. Bryce even smiles at me in exuberance after we finish. That’s how much we nailed this op.

And yet at dinner, when our daily results come in, Bryce scores 100.

I score 80.

Eighty! For doing the same thing.

I growl out loud and Kaine laughs at me. “All right,” he relents, “I’m starting to think maybe it’s a thing.”

“I told you it was a thing.”

I’m still fuming about it in the showers later. Iknowthis is Cross’s doing. And I know I need to fix it before I lose more time. Only a month remains of the Program.

I open a path and reach out to Declan again.“I’m not going to make it into Silver Block, let alone Elite. Captain hates me.”

“Adrienne won’t be pleased,”is the response.

“But I have an idea. Can you get me schematics for the officers’ quarters? All I know is it’s a separate building somewhere on the base.”

“See what I can do.”

He contacts me as I’m sliding into bed, projecting a blueprint into my mind. It’s a quick flash, and I make him do it again so I can try to memorize it.

“Thanks, I got it.”

Now comes the hard part.

Chapter 27

In the morning, I pull Kaine aside on our way to the mess hall. “Hey, today in Tech, can you create some sort of distraction?”

Although his eyes sparkle with intrigue and his mouth lifts in a grin, he doesn’t make it easy for me. “Sorry, cowgirl,” he says in an overly stern tone, “but I don’t do anything without knowing why.”

Sighing, I lean in close and tell him. His smile widens.

“Your wish is my command.”

It’s a challenge to keep from laughing when I watch Kaine in action later. While we all gather around a table listening to Lieutenant Hirai prattle on about the intricacies of a voice-operated surveillance drone, Kaine winks at me, then deliberately bumps into Anson.

Excellent choice. Anson has the shortest fuse of anyone I’ve ever met. I think the guy just waits for an opportunity to blow up and hurt somebody.

“Sorry,” Kaine tells Anson. “I tripped trying to get a better look at the drone.” He claps the guy on the shoulder.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” Anson snarls. He shoves Kaine, because violence is coded into his DNA, sending Kaine stumbling backward.

The scuffle succeeds in diverting attention from the unlocked supply cage behind Hirai. I begin inching my way toward it.

Kaine feigns bewilderment. “Whoa, calm down. I didn’t mean anything by it. Just my way of saying sorry.”

He good-naturedly smacks Anson’s arm, but since there’s nothing good about Anson’s nature, he gets directly in Kaine’s face.

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