The city was far too hushed for Marie’s liking as she hid vials in strategic places, keeping a mental list of where they were. She had come back at four in the morning after having spent all night awake, and she still couldn’t fall asleep. Charles and Alice had been packing things, talking quietly. Marie sat on the floor, hugging her legs, trying to force herself to go to sleep, but she couldn’t. The early dawn light trickled through the still hushed city.

“Marie?” her dad asked as he sat down next to her. “We’ll need to travel later today. You sure you don’t need to sleep?”

“I can’t. I’m-” Marie stopped. She must have been hallucinating. It was the only reason why she imagined Fred Rogers walking past the apartment. “That’s him!”

Edgar turned and they watched as Mr. Rogers passed the apartment, heading toward the war memorial park. Alice put a hand on Marie’s shoulder as she tried to get a better look. “Stay here, just in case.”

“He’s harmless,” Marie said.

“Even still, someone might be following him,” Alice said.

Marie gave a grim nod. They waited until Mr. Rogers walked back the way he came, unaware the entire underground watched him from the back of their apartment.

“Who’s going after the message?” Charles asked.

“I will,” Alice said. “Keep an eye out. I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

Charles hesitated before he nodded. Alice walked out the door and slipped toward the war memorial park. It was silent in the apartment. Marie kept staring out the window, waiting. The fear she felt was just as potent as it had seconds after Billy and Edgar ran into the hideout. She didn’t know why it took Mr. Rogers so long to get the message. Was it good news? When it came down to it, she didn’t want to leave the city again. Charles was either looking at his watch or staring out the window. Marie’s dad started to pace. Tom leaned against a counter, staring at nothing. Even Billy was quiet.

Alice came back, her nose glued to a newspaper. It wasn’t the usual newspaper printed by the S.E.A. Charles opened the door as she walked in, her eyes wide.

“What is it?” Charles asked.

Alice looked up, her eyes still wide as she raised the paper. “This was under the bench. I don’t believe it. I simply don’t believe it.”

On the cover was a picture of President Arnold in handcuffs, in the process of being put in the back of a police car. Marie’s jaw dropped. “It worked?”

Alice gave Charles another long stare before she returned to the paper. Charles was slack jawed. “They arrested President Arnold?”

Tom went behind Alice, reading the article as quickly as he could. “Whoa,” was all he could say.

“That’s Mr. Wayne!” Billy said, pointing to the man who was putting President Arnold in the car. Edgar nodded his approval.

“It’s here. It’s all here. The hobos being members of the underground, President Arnold discovering a way to wipe their memories, having a database of everyone’s songs they’ve sung so he can keep control, the secret basement being used for torture.” Alice flipped through the paper, then she let out a gasp. Tom winced and looked away.

“What? What is it?” Charles asked, grabbing the other side of the paper. His eyes went wide. “Oh Macbeth. It’s Albert.”

“Is he okay?” Marie demanded, running to Alice’s side. Alice moved the paper away, wincing.

“Marie, it’s a picture of what he looks like, and he doesn’t look good,” Alice said.

“I need to see it,” Marie said. “I need to make sure he’s all right.”

Alice sighed. “I know you do, but I need to make sure you’re ready.”

Marie pursed her lips before grabbing the paper and looking at the picture. The rest of the group crowded around to see it. Her dad placed a hand over her shoulder as she gave a shudder. He was unconscious on a hospital bed, one side of his face swollen, his nose taped, and a cast on his arm.

“He’ll recover,” Charles said, his eyes skimming over the article. “It’ll be a bit before he’s back to normal, but he’ll recover. They got to him in time.”

Hot tears fell down Marie’s cheeks as she covered her mouth. Albert was going to live, but she still couldn’t get that picture out of her mind. He was close to dying. Way too close. Marie’s dad held her, rubbing her shoulder. “I’m certain they’ll let us visit him. You can see him for yourself.”

Marie nodded, trying to dry the tears.

“And my dad?” Sophie asked. Marie knew that tone. She was trying to act like she didn’t care, but she did. Deeply.

Tom didn’t glance up from the paper. “Arrested. That’s all the paper says.”

Sophie nodded, looking down. “Yeah, I figured as much. Probably one of the first.”

Marie stood by her best friend, giving her a side hug and placing her head on her shoulder.

“This is surreal,” Alice said, flipping through the newspaper. “Everything I’ve known for ages but had to keep secret, now every single person in Musical Land is reading these exact same words. They know. Everyone knows now.”

“Does this mean we can finally leave?” Marie asked. “Does this mean I can go home?”

Charles glanced up from the newspaper. “I don’t know, Marie. The truth is there, but people might not believe it. President Arnold’s hate ran deep.”

“There’s a note on the back page,” Alice said. She straightened the pages so everyone could see the note written in black marker.

We had quite the eventful evening, but I apologize just the same for breaking my promise. I hope I can make it up to you. Meet at this park at five pm with the cure for the hobos. It is time they got back what was rightfully theirs.

“And we’re certain this man is trustworthy?” Charles asked.

“One hundred percent,” Marie said. Edgar nodded in agreement.

Alice gave a small laugh. “Well, we better gather up the vials again.”

“Is there any news about Nik?” Tom asked.

Alice shook her head as she handed the paper to Tom. “I didn’t see anything, but you can read more if you want.”

Tom nodded as he took the paper. Marie let out a deep breath, feeling the truth of it settle. President Arnold was arrested. The secrets were out there. She doubted things were going to be okay. There was still a lot they had to do to gain the trust of the citizens of Musical Land, but she was willing to work for it. Nothing would be the same again, and she was okay with that.

Marie saw movement and looked up in time to see Alice had grabbed Charles and kissed him hard. Marie couldn’t help but stare, completely confused. Charles wrapped his arms around her, kissing her right back. A small part of her knew she should give them privacy, but honestly, they were the ones kissing in front of a large group of people.

“Am I the only one confused?” Sophie asked out of the corner of her mouth to Marie.

“I…” Marie honestly didn’t know what to say.

Billy was beaming. “I told you. The sexual tension between these two crackled any time they were together!”

Marie and Sophie stared at Billy. “Every time?” Sophie asked.

Billy shook his head at the girls as Charles and Alice continued to kiss. “See? Aren’t you glad you didn’t get rid of us folks who understand human nature?”

***

Abe was closing his eyes, trying to do something to entertain himself. Being strapped to a bed was driving him insane.

The door handle jiggled. “Mr. Wayne, come with me. This room was marked off limits,” a female voice said.

“By President Arnold?”

“Yes.”

The door opened and two people walked in. One was a man, Mr. Wayne, who looked like he worked in security, the other a medical professional. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Abe. Abe himself stared at them, blinking a few times.

The woman reacted first, rushing to Abe’s side, eyeing the monitor he was hooked up to before she picked up the folder beside his bed, flipping through the notes. Mr. Wayne began undoing the straps around Abe’s wrists. He winced as he saw Abe’s wrist. “Macbeth. Florence?”

Florence dropped the notes when she saw the state of Abe’s wrist. She tenderly held it and pulled out some wipes as Mr. Wayne quickly moved to the other strap.

“How off limits was this room?” Mr. Wayne asked.

Florence had tears in her eyes. “If-you-want-to-keep-your-job-do-not-enter kind of off limits.”

Abe gave a tiny wince as Florence began cleaning his wrist.

“What’s your name, son?” Mr. Wayne asked.

“Abe.”

“Abe what.”

Abe gave a shrug, knowing it was weird to not know his own last name. “I don’t know. They said the underground did this to me. I’ve lost my memories.”

“Murphy’s law,” Mr. Wayne said as he finished undoing the strap on his other wrist before moving to the one on his chest. “President Arnold was sadistic!”

“You’re in luck, Abe. What happened to you happened to a lot of other people, and if our sources are good, you’ll remember who you are before dinner tonight,” Florence said.

“Abe.” Mr. Wayne’s brows furrowed. “Why does that sound so familiar?”

Florence shrugged. “He doesn’t have much more information here except his first name.”

The man snapped his fingers. “Abe Lincoln. You’re the kid that died!”

Abe blinked a few times. “Sorry?”

“Earlier this summer. You should have been interning with one of us, but you died. The S.E.A. was in a frenzy trying to figure out if you faked it or not. Clearly you did. We should contact your parents immediately. Florence?”

Florence nodded as she grabbed her walkie-talkie. “Assistance in room 709. Another hobo victim. His family needs to be contacted. Come gather what information you can.” Florence returned her walkie-talkie. “Do you need to get back to guarding Albert, Mr. Wayne?”

Mr. Wayne checked his watch as he backed away toward the door. “Yeah, just in case. You can never be too careful with the state the government is in right now.”

Abe should have felt relief. He was going to figure out who he was. It was a strange feeling. He was excited in a muted way. Something might go wrong. He felt that way with everything. Was he always such a pessimist? Surely this was an example of something going right in his life.