Marie smiled as she shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rogers. I’m Marie Curie.”

Mr. Rogers gave her another kind, somehow quiet smile that somehow made her problems a bit lighter. “It has been amazing getting to know you better, Marie.” He glanced out the window before standing up. “Get back to your friends. I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you,” Marie said.

“Give Edgar my regards.”

Marie nodded, already resolving to do whatever she had to in order to regain Billy’s trust. “Thank you for listening to me.”

Mr. Rogers smiled. “You’re welcome. You know, there’s a lot of hurt and scared people here. I’m no expert, but I’d like to think all that hurt and anger stems from people who simply want to be understood. We at the S.E.A. have not understood you and other scientists, and instead of trying to communicate, we’ve labeled you as dangerous. I think I’m beginning to understand you, Marie Curie, and I like you just the way you are.”

Marie didn’t expect the tears to come, but they did. She wiped them away. “Thank you.” She had so much more to say, but she didn’t have the skills to eloquently tell him everything she thought. She hoped he got the sincerity behind the two words she spoke. Mr. Rogers smiled, and it seemed like he did. Even though her clothes were still damp, and even though she had only met him an hour ago, she stood up and gave him a hug. Maybe a hug could also make up for her lack of speaking eloquently. She closed her eyes and couldn’t help but repeat herself. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see what I can do at the S.E.A.” Mr. Rogers glanced out the window again. “Do you need an umbrella?”

It was still raining. Not as bad, but it would still soak her. “Yes, that would be nice.”

Mr. Rogers gave her an umbrella before he sent her on her way. Marie’s soul felt light. She left their problems in capable hands. She would wait for more instructions on when they would meet with the other members of the S.E.A.

The smile never disappeared the entire way to the apartment. Her dad hugged her the moment she stepped inside. “I’m alright. I’m okay.” Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Everyone was in the main room. It was almost midnight, but no one looked like they were going to bed.

“I told him everything,” Marie said.

“Everything?” Charles asked, sounding hesitant.

“Not your names or the address here. Those are still private. But he’s a good man. He’s going to help us. Edgar knows how to pick good people for friends.”

“Thank you.”

Marie heard Edgar right behind her, and she couldn’t help but let out a little gasp of surprise, but not in fear. “Did anyone tell you you’re way too good at sneaking up on people.”

Edgar gave a small smile. “Yes, I’m told that. Often. Usually by way of screaming.”

Marie snorted. She didn’t realize how much of a sense of humor Edgar had. “He’s going to talk to the Junior Officials that Billy, Edgar, and Albert were under.” Marie swallowed, trying not to imagine Albert right now. “Mr. Rogers thinks they’re good people too. They’re going to try and get a group together to meet with us. So everyone brainstorm ideas of how to overthrow President Arnold’s power if part of our group had S.E.A. members in it.”

“And the army?” Harriet asked.

Marie chewed on her lip as she thought. “I don’t know. We don’t know who’s leading it. But maybe figuring out the leader should be our priority.”

Instinctively, everyone turned to Charles. Charles was folding his arms, staring at the ground, his brows furrowed in thought. He glanced up at everyone before he looked back down at the ground, rubbing his chin. “Alice? Harriet? Why don’t one of you take over as leader?”

There was a beat of silence. “Sorry?” Alice asked.

“Come on, you know I never wanted to be the leader of the underground. It just sort of happened,” Charles said.

“I chose Alice to be the leader,” Harriet said.

“I… but I…” Alice said.

“Alice would have gotten it if she didn’t quit right before I got my job.” Charles turned his attention to Alice, his face serious. “After what happened this morning, I need a little time away from leadership positions.”

There was a pause, then Alice glanced at everyone, calculating something before straightening her back. “Marie’s right. Right now, our top priority is discovering who is leading the army headed this way. Harriet?”

“I could cross the wall tonight. The knockout gas will get me, but I should be fine by morning,” Harriet said.

Alice winced. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll plan on going to the safe house and disconnecting all the cameras before I go in for supplies,” Harriet said.

“There’s a bridge we always cross about a mile out of the wall. They will most likely make that trek,” Marie said.

“Good to know. I’ll stay in the shadows and see who’s leading the group,” Harriet said.

“If it’s Josef, try and get someone to sneak you back to the clearing and use the machine to warn us,” Alice said.

“And if it’s Sam?” Harriet asked.

Alice rubbed the back of her neck. “Thoughts?”

“If it’s Sam, then it’s true and they’ve overthrown Josef,” Charles said. “They aren’t a threat. They can either return to the clearing, or wait in the safe house.”

“They can’t be waiting too long,” Harriet said. “It’s an army, and the safe house food only has so much.”

“Well, if everything goes as planned, we’ll be buddies with the guys who know how to turn off the knockout gas,” Charles said.

“Unless it’s Josef and he manages to catch you and force you to lead us along,” Marie’s dad mumbled.

Harriet smirked. “A possibility, but I assure you, Vlad, it’s not likely.”

Marie’s dad nodded, absently touching the bandage over his nose. “Yeah, I can believe that.”

“You have your cell phone?” Charles asked.

“Yes,” Harriet said.

“It should still work just outside the wall,” Charles said. “We’ll keep you in touch with what’s going on here.”

“And if my cell doesn’t work?” Harriet asked.

Alice nodded. “Then either get back to the clearing and use the message thing we have, or find another way we can keep in touch.”

Harriet nodded, then smiled. “I like this plan a lot better.”

Alice gave Marie a side hug. “Agreed.”

Harriet gave them all hugs before she slipped out the door. Alice straightened. “We should all get some rest. We’ve had a long day.”

Marie watched as the group dispersed. Billy wasn’t talking too much, but was at least listening to Edgar. Charles walked over to them. Edgar wished Billy a good night before leaving for one of the bedrooms. Billy watched Charles approach fear in his face.

“Billy, I know saying I’m sorry isn’t going to magically erase what happened, but I just want you to know that I am. What I did was not only wrong, but also illegal. There was no excuse for it. When this is all over, I plan on telling… whatever government is in charge about what I did. Whatever fine or jail time, I’ll comply. My medical license will be revoked at the very least, so if you want the chip back in your head tonight, you can get Alice to put it in.”

Billy seemed to relax just a bit, but there was still caution in his voice. “I understand why the chip shouldn’t be in my head right now, so I’ll wait. And… and probably get someone else entirely to put the chip in my head. Maybe someone outside the underground?”

Charles nodded. “I understand. Should we get out of this, I can recommend some good medical professionals who would be happy to put the chip back in. Good night, Billy.”

“Good night.”

Charles left, and Billy turned to see Marie. He didn’t look too surprised. Another spike of panic hit Marie as she stood by Billy. Again, she wasn’t sure what she should say, but knew she had to say something. She about opened her mouth when Billy looked away. “I’m really exhausted, Marie.”

Marie cleared her throat. “Of course.”

“Can we talk later?” Billy asked.

“Yeah. Tomorrow?”

Billy walked past her, not looking at her. “Later.”

Marie stared at the floor, not able to talk. Still feeling the wave of shame crash into her again and again. Billy, after all, had every right to still be angry at her.