OUT OF MIND² ━━ Bellamy Blake

𝐕𝐈: Crime, Crime, Crime!

"I, uh, just wanted to ask," begins Lyra anxiously, not exactly what she wants to say. She fiddles with her thumbs nervously, but Raven only gives her an encouraging smile. "This City of Light thing, you're really happy, right? So it was, uh. . . it was worth it?"

"Of course it is. I — " begins Raven enthusiastically. She looks like she has something else to say, then tilts her head with a frown. "You used to go by Jupiter-Franko, didn't you?"

"Not officially," says Lyra. "But now it's just Jupiter for my dad. Why?"

     It takes a moment for Raven to respond. Her brow is creased, and then she shakes her head, even though Lyra hasn't said anything. "I get it. Key to everything. But Franko doesn't necessarily mean — "

     "Lyra! We've been looking for you everywhere!"

Whirling around, Lyra finds herself face-to-face with Nate and Kane. Kane, the one who'd shouted her name, is frowning at her.

"Where the hell have you been? Pike's detail is getting bolder. Octavia caught them collecting soil and water samples just an hour ago. We aren't sure what they're up too, but they were willing to kill a Grounder kid to keep it quiet."

Horrified, Lyra's eyes widen. "I'm sorry, sir. I was in engineering, and then the med-bay — "

"Never mind all that," he says quickly, haphazardly scanning the hall for any eavesdroppers. "Pike's out of office right now and that means we need to move while we still have time. Did you build the bug?"

      "Yeah. Spent all night on it."

     Digging around in the pocket of her bomber jacket, it takes Lyra a moment to produce the bug she'd worked on last night. It's a flattened spherical shape, patched together from spare radio and walkie-talkie pieces she's hoping won't be missed. Since Pike's Chancellor now, he'll have full authority to bench her if finds even the smallest reason too.

      Kane takes it, then frowns. "What's that?"

     "Oh, uh, nothing," says Lyra quickly. She'd accidentally taken the chip out too. Before him or Nate can ask her anything, she shoves it back into her pocket. "OK. Let's go."

They start down the corridor. Before they round the corner, Lyra looks at Raven again.

The mechanic's brows are knit in confusion. For the first time all morning, she doesn't look happy, but instead some sort of confused. She looks like she might be talking to someone, but Lyra doesn't see anyone else there.

     "This is just like that time we broke into Dante's office," she whispers to Nate, starting to grin a little.

     "You're a bad influence on me," he retorts, but she can him trying not to grin back.

A guard passes by, someone else Lyra doesn't know by name, and Kane's features darken slightly. "You both need to step aside if someone answers."

"I told you," Nate mutters from the corner of his mouth as the corridor ceases and they find themselves standing at a thick metal slab that is the door, a keypad gleaming an electric blue just beside it. "No one's home."