Stepping into the Barn, Lacey felt the same as the time she’d gone to a service at Rede’s synagogue: a bumbling trespasser in a sacred space. It should have felt like home. Instead, self-consciousness engulfed her. She paused for a moment. The echoes of her footsteps in this space were foreign to her ears.

Rivet followed Lacey, taking their cues from her movements. They were the only two inside the building. The faint sound of waves against the hull was the only indication of the Torpedo’s presence, manned by Wrench and docked in front of the ramp.

The fairy lights were off. In the moonlight that streamed through the window, Lacey could barely make out the team’s bedrolls. They had been folded and stacked against the wall.

Lacey’s pulse increased. She had expected to find the team safe and asleep. Instead, they were…she couldn’t even guess where.

Off to her left, a shadow moved.

Lacey dropped to a crouch, heart in her throat. Her eyes strained through the dark, searching for abnormalities. Behind her, Rivet ducked down as well, craning their neck to check every corner of the Barn.

Within seconds, Lacey spotted it: the lid to one of the food lock boxes was ever so slightly ajar. The crew knew better than that. Rats would get in if they didn’t lock their stuff up.

Lacey caught Rivet’s eye and jerked her head toward the box.

Rivet pulled their pistol and aimed. Lacey didn’t want to draw her weapon yet, but her mounting sense of dread warned her that she might have to.

“Who’s there?” Rivet called.

Silence.

Then, from inside the box, a thin voice said: “Lacey?”

Rivet’s eyes went wide. They looked at Lacey, waiting for a cue.

They wouldn’t get one. Lacey couldn’t muster a coherent thought, let alone direct someone else. She just sat frozen and slack-jawed. It had been so long since she’d heard that voice. She’d been worried that she would forget what it sounded like. Hearing it, though, sent a burst of relief flooding through her chest.

Lacey managed to gather herself enough to say: “Yeah, it’s me.”

The lock box’s lid slowly opened. A tiny silhouette climbed out, knocking aside a few oatmeal packets on the way, and took a hesitant step toward Lacey.

“Who are you?” Rivet demanded. They held their pistol half-raised, clearly unsure what to do.

“She’s a friend,” Lacey said. She gestured for Rivet to put down their weapon. “Rivet, this is Mimi.”

Tears misted Mimi’s glasses, but she didn’t wipe them away. Both her hands clutched a notebook tight enough that her knuckles went white. She squeezed it rhythmically as if to reassure herself.

“You’re alive,” Mimi said. For the first time, she tore her eyes away from Lacey to look at Rivet. “Who…?”

Lacey bit her lip. “Yes. I know. I’m sorry.” She floundered, searching for words. “I owe you an explanation.”

Mimi swayed a little, emotions warring on her face. Finally, she lurched to her knees and wrapped her arms around Lacey.

Lacey hugged her back on instinct. The feel of her friend so close to her made Lacey’s breath catch. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed Mimi. Her, and all the rest.

Mimi’s arms fell away. She took a couple steps backward and closed the lid of the lock box without turning away from the newcomers. Eyes on Lacey, Mimi sat on the box and tucked her knees up to her chin.

Moving seemed to bring Mimi back to herself. The conflict in her eyes eased just a little, replaced with anxiety. “You can explain, but I don’t have much time,” she said. “Bad stuff is happening.”

Rivet and Lacey exchanged a look. “Things aren’t going great for us either,” said Rivet.

Mimi’s eyebrows lifted. “Who are you?”

“Right. Explanation.” Lacey sat cross-legged on the floor. “It might take a while, so bear with me.”

Mimi did, in fact, bear with her. The look of concentration didn’t leave her face, even through the parts Lacey struggled to summarize. Rivet chimed in to provide details Lacey had left out. They also did a better job at explaining their profession than when they’d introduced themself to Lacey. She gave them a subtle thumbs up, to which Rivet just rolled their eyes.

When the two finished, Mimi didn’t comment. Instead, she launched right into an account of what had happened over the past couple days.

When she mentioned Shay, their newfound ally, Rivet made an odd little noise. Lacey threw them an inquisitive look. They ignored her.

As Mimi talked, the pieces started to fall together. Lacey grimaced. If she’d been thinking, she would have seen this coming. Of course Drew had connections who knew what he’d been investigating. Of course this whole mess would come back to bite the crew in the ass, even if Lacey was gone. Of course she'd ruined things with her own cowardice yet again.

“I’m not sure when exactly, but they said they’d be back in the morning,” Mimi said, by way of conclusion. She gestured toward the window. “We’ve got a few hours left before sunrise.”

“We can-” Lacey started, but was cut off by Wrench hissing into the Barn. The sound of her voice made all three of them jump.

“We’ve got company!” Wrench’s disembodied voice drifted from the Swill Torpedo, backlit by the moon. It bumped gently against the ramp. “Speedboats at nine o’clock, heading right for us.”

“You guys didn’t borrow a motorboat from someone else, did you?” Rivet asked.

Mimi shook her head.

Rivet swore.

“We’ve got to move.” Lacey had already stood. “If anyone sees us here, we’re screwed.”

Mimi crossed her arms. “No way am I leaving. I told everyone I’d be waiting here.”

Lacey bit back a sound of exasperation. “Look, there’s a very small number of people with speedboats who have a reason to come here in the middle of the night. If you wait here for the crew to pick you up in the morning, they’ll just find a corpse.”

Mimi’s expression sent a pang of guilt through Lacey. Moments later, her friend's pained look changed to resolve. “If they find my corpse, at least I won’t have disappeared and left them wondering what happened.”

Each word landed like a blow to the face. Lacey closed her eyes against the sting.

Rivet swore again, much more colorfully this time. “We don’t have time for this.” They took Mimi’s wrist in one hand, Lacey’s in the other, and started dragging them both toward the Torpedo.

“Wait!” Mimi dug in her heels. “I can’t leave!”

“You have to,” Rivet grunted. Mimi was no match for Rivet’s size and strength. “We can all beat each other up after we escape the guys who’re trying to kill us.”

Mimi slapped weakly at Rivet’s wrist. “At least let me get something. Please.”

Her tone made Rivet pause. They stared at Mimi for a long moment before releasing her.

Mimi darted toward the armoire. She pulled out a handheld Ham radio transceiver and stuffed it into her jacket next to her notebook. With a defeated expression, she jogged back to the boat. “I just want them to be able to contact me,” she said. “Just in case.”

Rivet nodded once. They didn’t say anything, but Lacey knew their mannerisms well enough to recognize respect.

The three climbed onto the Torpedo and into the cockpit. Wrench looked Mimi up and down, then turned back toward the control panel. She didn’t bother to introduce herself.

“They’re getting closer," said Wrench. "Can’t see us yet ‘cause of the pylons, but we only have a couple minutes to get out without them seeing.”

Lacey turned to Mimi. “You said you were at Ronan’s, before?”

Mimi’s eyes went wide. “Yes. If we go there…”

Lacey nodded along. They might arrive before the crew left. Even if not, they would likely head right back to Ronan once they discovered Mimi was missing. It was their best bet.

“Don’t bother explaining. I'll get us there,” Wrench said. She turned the ignition. The boat rumbled to life.

Lacey murmured instructions over Wrench’s shoulder, guiding them through the wreckage of the shore and away from the boats that rapidly approached the Barn.