A has been ordering random memory scans for both Kaelen and me for the past year. He says it’s his way of making sure we stay true to the Objective and, in my case, making sure my devious tendencies don’t resurface. The scans never bothered me before. They were supposed to be superfluous. I never had anything to hide before. Now, as Dane mutters a goodbye and Sevan leads me into his suite, I think about all of the things I’ve hidden in the past few days. All of the things that will undoubtedly show up on this scan. The cube drive that was buried in the dirt and that I’ve been stupid enough to carry with me on every stop of this tour. Lyzender’s distraught and heartbroken message vowing to find me. Seeing his face in the Feed footage. My inability to push that face from my mind. These are the kinds of things that should be reported. The kinds of things that threaten the Objective. Yet I deliberately kept them to myself. I chose to disobey. My legs tremble as I make my way farther inside room 702.
