Will saw them first while I rummaged through a stack of paper and notebooks on a desk made of real wood. “RGs,” he hissed. RGs were members of the Republic Guard who were armed with high-tech gear. Feared and loathed in equal measure, they protected the republic’s border and what was left of its infrastructure. But there wasn’t enough time to wonder why the RGs were here. Their arrival was never a good thing. There was a dead body and spent ammunition and two kids old enough to be saboteurs. We had to flee before we were trapped. The lights danced across the open doorway. Will and I huddled in the back of the small room that served as Kai’s father’s office. There was a second door that led into a bath, and from there into Kai’s bedroom. We tiptoed to the bathroom. Outside we could hear the guards’ electronic communications. They spoke in clipped military language, most of which I couldn’t understand, but I clearly heard them say we were cornered in the building.
