Behind the Walls. NOVEL By Claire Darcy.

72. Hypothetically Speaking.

ACE.

I decided that we should vote on the plan. I didn't want to be leading us into something that people would disagree with. I wasn't that brave. Marcus and Leon didn't want to vote.

We voted. Josh, Tyler and I all voted yes. Rowan said no, and Axel and Frankie agreed with him. We all turned to Dallas. Though not an Elite, we knew his say was extremely valuable in this plan.

"It's risky," he said, "But that's always the case. And it requires a lot of preparation. But Ace, if you think it will work..."

"It will," I said firmly, "At dawn the day after the funeral, everyone will be free. I'll make sure of it."

Dallas gave me a sharp nod. "Let's do it."

...

For a number of hours, everyone knuckled down and worked. Some were planning the funeral, others preparing for the escape. I glanced up from my holographic screen that I'd been studying the data from the failed mission. I offered Tyler the maps his group had been trying to get but hadn't when they abandoned the gadget. He humbly accepted. Everyone was working together in small groups or individually, focusing on whatever they were best at.

It was a pretty good distraction from the pain at hand.

After a while, I stopped what I was doing and walked quietly over to Rowan. He was sprawled out on the kitchen bench, fiddling with tiny metal pieces and a collection of strange power sources, three old books open around him. He was engrossed in one of them, glasses perched on his nose.

"Hey, Rowan?" I asked quietly. He jumped, ripping the glasses off and shoving them in his pocket. He knocked one of the books off the bench.

"What's up?" he asked, a faint blush sneaking into his cheeks. I could tease him about the glasses later.

"I just wanted to know why you voted against me. Against my plan."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then got up and walked towards Josh's walk-in wardrobe, glancing quickly at the others. He stepped inside and closed the door in my face, opening it a few moments later.

"Could you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?"

"Okay, good."

Rowan grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, then closed the door behind us. He flicked the dim light on and turned to me, crossing his arms.

"You want to make a bomb to blow up part of the wall, great; that makes sense. When in doubt, blow stuff up. But the only sort of bomb you could create from the supplies here and for the type of controlled destruction you're wanting, you'd need a ridiculously high electrical charge to power it."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, thank you, Master Rowan, for that insightful and astonishingly smart observation. That doesn't answer my question."

Rowan stepped closer, and I stepped back against the door. He looked down at me with a serious look in his eyes. "No source from this Academy can provide that kind of power," he said.

I glanced away from his stare. I had hoped he wouldn't pick up on it. "We'll figure something out. I'll find some way to charge it."

"I know you will, Ace, and that's the problem," he said with a sigh. He hung his head. "I'm not dumb, Ace. I know what you're planning, and I can't let you do this."

"I'll do what it takes to get my people to freedom," I said sternly. I pulled the door open, not able to stand the temptation of Rowan's lips any longer. "Now if you don't mind, I have an escape to plan."