Charles stared ahead in complete shock. Albert motioned Charles, Harriet, and Nik toward the shed.

“She’s coming out. She may be on our side, but you better hide yourselves just in case,” Albert said.

The three of them hid beside the shed just as the door opened. Mrs. Germain came out, rubbing her wrists. She glanced at Albert and Poe, then her eyes fell on Marie’s dad. She tucked some hair behind her ears and walked into her house. Harriet walked over to Sophie as soon as she came out and gave her a hug. Sophie shuddered before she began to cry.

Billy walked out, holding the camera and the chip blocker. His eyes fell on Charles and he let a huge grin fill his face. “Hey Charles. I know you’re mad, but I was confident it would work. And it did! I just had to make them aware-”

Charles cut Billy off by grabbing the front of his shirt and pushing him up against the shed. “That was stupid, rash, and could have gotten us all killed.”

“Yes it would have. But it also could have saved us all. And it did! Mrs. Germain is now sympathetic toward us! We never could have imagined that when we first started this meeting!”

“Never do that again. Understand? I need to know I can trust you,” Charles said through gritted teeth.

“You can, Charles. These were desperate times, and it worked. It worked! I mean, can you imagine what would have happened if it didn’t?” Billy paused, then his eyes went really wide. His breathing turned shallow, and his face was swiftly losing color. “Oh Macbeth, why did you let me in that shed?” Charles let go of the front of Billy’s shirt, a realization dawning on his face. Billy gripped his knees, his breathing coming in swift and shallow. He braced himself against the shed. Billy gave a nervous laugh through his shallow breathing. “Murphy’s law, what is happening to me?”

Charles let out a quiet groan before kneading his forehead with his palm. “You just went through a highly stressful situation. We all knew this was insane, your body is finally catching up with the rest of us.”

“Then why,” Billy took a shallow breath, “am I f-” another shallow breath, “freaking out?” Billy stared at his trembling hands.

Charles dug his hand into his pockets before pulling out his keys and tossing them to Harriet. “Everyone get back to the car. Billy and I will meet you there. Then we’ll go on to the old bagel shop.”

Billy was taking shallow quick breaths, his entire body shaking. “We’re safe, right? Totally safe? Who am I kidding, we’re in the Germain’s backyard. We’re not safe. We’ve never been safe.”

Charles put a strong hand on his shoulder. “Let me bore you with some scientific facts to help calm you down.” They went back inside the shed, where Charles set him down on the chair and instructed him to put his head between his knees.

Albert quietly followed Harriet. They paused as they heard Mrs. Germain’s car pulling out of the driveway. There was a deep fear that Mrs. Germain was still going to betray them, but Albert had to force himself not to believe it. Mrs. Germain sounded genuine in the shed. She wanted to do everything she could to help Sophie.

The group made it back to the car. Harriet unlocked it and they all squished inside.

“What happened to Billy?” Sophie asked.

“Probably a panic attack,” Marie’s dad said.

“He’ll be fine,” Nik said. Sophie gave a nod.

Now that they were so close to their goal, Albert was afraid something terrible would happen. They were the only car on the street. All of them were in the car, certainly any police car would see them and deem them suspicious.

It was seven minutes before they spotted Charles and Billy walking toward them. Albert scooted so they could fit inside. Billy looked pale, exhausted, but not as terrified.

“You okay?” Albert asked.

“A deep night’s sleep will do him good,” Charles said as Harriet drove a little bit more down the street to the old bagel shop. Mrs. Germain was just pulling up.

“Vlad? Do you want to go get it?” Charles asked as he sunk down to hide from her view.

Marie’s dad nodded. Since Albert was sitting closest to the door, he got out. Mrs. Germain got out of her car and pulled out two large boxes. Harriet took out the keys and handed them to Vlad.

“I wasn’t sure if you had a way to transport these,” Mrs. Germain said.

“Yeah, thanks. We’ll just put them in the trunk,” Marie’s dad said as he opened it.

He helped Mrs. Germain put the two boxes in the back. “This one is the forgetting formula. This one is straight syrophil. I figured you could use both.”

“This is…” Marie’s dad became overwhelmed. “Thank you.”

Mrs. Germain nodded, a far off look in her eyes. “I never wanted Marie to die, I just didn’t want our girls to be friends. But Marie’s... maybe I was wrong about her.”

Marie’s dad smiled, then motioned to the car. “Come with us. We can take you back and hide you. You won’t be safe at the S.E.A. anymore after what you did.”

Mrs. Germain looked at the car, specifically at Sophie who was looking out the back window. There was a hopeful look in her eyes before a dark realization came to her and she shook her head.

“It will be too dangerous for you. If it is true you are fighting against both Josef and President Arnold, then I consider myself one of your ranks. But President Arnold-” Mrs. Germain paused and shook her head, “Ambrose will not rest until he finds me. It would be more dangerous for you.”

Marie’s dad frowned. “We can offer you protection.”

A fake smile crossed her face. “No, not from Ambrose. You must have been in a very desperate situation to come to me directly, but the best I can do is keep up appearances to give you time.”

“Madeline, you’re not safe. They could torture you for this,” Marie’s dad said.

“No, they won’t. Not me. Of that I’m sure,” she said.

Marie’s dad shook his head. “And you didn’t think President Arnold would wipe Sophie’s memories either.”

This time a small but genuinely sad smile flitted across her face. “Well, if they do torture me, it might be the final push Ambrose needs to flip over to your side.” Mrs. Germain chewed on her lip as she looked at Sophie. “To our side.”

Marie’s dad looked conflicted. Mrs. Germain dropped her gaze from Sophie. “I can give you a couple days to get Marie on her feet, but as soon as you can, keep moving around through your safe homes. Nowhere is safe for the underground anymore in Musical Land.”

“They will arrest you the minute they realize what you’ve done.”

Mrs. Germain nodded. “I know the people I work with. They’ll make an example of me. So they’ll at least wait until nine am on Monday morning. Probably be the first item of their agenda. Make a big song and dance about it.” Marie’s dad winced. “It’ll be awkward, but hey, what can you do?” Marie’s dad still hesitated, looking torn. Mrs. Germain shook her head. “Go, Vlad. Your daughter needs you.”

Marie’s dad glanced down at the boxes in his trunk before he shut it. “Thank you, Madeline. For my daughter.”

Mrs. Germain nodded before she got in her car. Marie’s dad got into the back of the car. He gave a sigh, folding his arms. Charles nodded.

“Alright. Mission accomplished. Albert, take Billy home with you. I don’t trust him on his own. Harriet, Edgar, we’re only doing one drop off before we head back to headquarters. I’d rather park closer to Albert’s house than anyone else.”

Albert glanced at Billy who was already asleep, head drooped down toward his chest and emanating soft snores.

“That’s close enough for me,” Harriet said. Poe nodded.

Albert’s mind started to whirl. He couldn’t believe that actually worked. True, they still had to return to the safehouse, but they had pulled it off.

The car pulled in as close to the alleyway as Charles dared. Albert got out and waved quietly to Poe and Harriet as they disappeared into the early morning. It was still dark enough that they would have some cover for another twenty or so minutes. Charles tried to wake Billy up, but Billy was barely there. He was responding quietly to weird questions no one was asking. Charles grabbed him and helped him over to Albert who had the door to his apartment open.

“You going to be okay?” Charles asked as he draped Billy’s arm over Albert’s shoulder.

“My mom’s a light sleeper, but we should make it into my room with enough time,” Albert said.

“You’re mother’s a lovely woman,” Billy mumbled before he started snoring again. Charles gave a firm nod.

“See you next week,” Charles said.

“Take care of Marie,” Albert said before he helped Billy into the apartment complex. Billy was mumbling things, saying how he was perfectly awake.

“Just stay quiet. You’re doing great,” Albert said as he grabbed Billy’s waist and helped him up the stairs.

“I could have slept in the streets. They’re comfortable enough,” Billy mumbled. “Puffy cloud road. Puffy puffy.”

“No idea what you’re saying.”

Billy snorted softly as Albert opened the door to his apartment. He led Billy straight to his bedroom. Billy collapsed on the ground and was completely out. Albert winced. He heard his parents shuffling in their room.

“Albert?” came his mother’s whisper.

Albert cursed as he threw some blankets over Billy to hide the fact that Billy was fully clothed, shoes and all. He stuck a pillow under him. Albert had time to kick off his shoes and dive under his covers before his mother opened the door to his room.

“Albert? I thought you were spending the night at Billy’s?” she said.

“No,” Albert said, trying to sound like he had just woken up instead of desperately wanting sleep. “It was a bit of a mix up. We’re sleeping here.”

“Oh, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said.

“Yeah, we were trying to be quiet. Can we talk about this later,” Albert said, not really wanting to have a conversation right now.

His mother glanced at Billy’s sleeping form. “Oh, sorry. Yes, we’ll talk later. Love you.”

Albert was pretty sure he said he loved her back, but he was already losing himself to the sleep he so desperately needed. The adrenaline was gone, and he was asleep before he heard his bedroom door close again.