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“Why does it matter? They're not going anywhere.”

“What do we do with them now?” another boy asked.

They weren't expecting retaliation. With her good arm, Erin flung a taser bean at the oldest boy's face. It stuck to his forehead and glowed lightning blue as it crackled and hissed. He fell to the ground with a dull thud.

“She killed Blake!” the smallest boy yelled, as if it was a game to him. “She killed Blake with her magic beans!”

“Shut up with the
names
!” the older girl said, and she smacked the boy hard before kneeling down to tend to Blake, who had started convulsing. Both smaller boys jumped on Logan now, pinning him to the dirt. He flailed, looking for anything to grab, tugging at their clothes and raking his fingers through the dirt.

Behind him, Logan heard another electric crackle as Erin flicked a second bean toward the girl named Meg. This one stuck to Meg's hand and glowed blue, her arm in spasm while she looked on in horrified fascination.

It was enough to get the two smaller boys' attention. They lessened their weight on Logan, and this gave Erin the chance to shove them off balance and pull Logan to his feet.

Together they sprinted into the shelter of the corn.

8

“They tricked us,” Erin breathed when they were safely hidden in a nearby patch of trees. “The little cheapskates tricked us!”

“It's not the first time,” Logan said, touching the back of his head gingerly.

“Well, excuse me for not being a pro at this,” Erin said. “First week on the job, and all.”

“But it wasn't a failure,” Logan said. He winced at the sharp pain in his head.

“In what way?” Erin asked. “We showed ourselves and got nothing for it. Now they'll
always
be watching for us,
and
we don't know where they're going.”

“Well, you're half right.” Logan smiled. “They'll be watching. And yet . . .”

Erin laughed. “Oh, what, you have some magical clue as to where they're headed? I got news for you, Logan—they could have left that field in a million different directions. At this rate, DOME will find them before we will.”

Logan looked puzzled. “Would that be a bad thing? Isn't your goal just to finish this case and go home?”

Erin shrugged. She honestly didn't know anymore.

“Anyway,” Logan said, “I
do
happen to have a clue as to where they're headed. But it isn't any more magical than those taser beans.” He leaned over and pointed to Erin's tablet. She pulled it out and he took it, calling up the map application. “Last night at the playground, you gave me a tracker—”

“You didn't . . . ,” Erin said, realizing.

Logan nodded. “During the scuffle. I stuck it to the smallest boy's jeans.”

Erin saw the glowing dot moving across the map, and her face grew bright and happy. “Oh, Logan, you're a genius!” she said, and she threw her arms around his neck in a big hug.

Logan didn't mind that the jolt sent his head injury into excruciating throbs. A hug from Erin was worth it.

“Look,” Erin said after several minutes. “They stopped.”

Logan studied the map. “The old stadium,” he said, almost admiringly. “Clever . . .”

“What do you mean?” Erin whispered.

“They went to the old baseball stadium. Spokie's team moved to a new one a few years back, but the old structure's still standing. No one uses it anymore.” Logan smiled. “Until now, that is.”

“You think they're gonna camp out in a baseball stadium?”

“By the looks of it . . . yes.”

“But that's so exposed.”

“Not if no one ever goes there. The place was gutted years ago. It's not even a destination for sightseers.”

Erin groaned as she thought it through. “And it's impossible to bug.”

“Too big,” Logan agreed. “Your powder can't fill a stadium, and there probably isn't enough tape in all of DOME. No security cameras either, I bet. All that's left are the stands . . . and the diamond.”

“Smart little misers,” Erin said.

“I wish you wouldn't call them that.”

“Fine. Stingy skinflints.” Erin smiled. “You like that better?”

“They're people, Erin. They're kids, actually. Like us.”

Erin looked at him like his brain had dropped out and hung from his nose. “Are you kidding? They blindsided us with a rock an hour ago—”

“We were following them—”

“They had us surrounded!”

“They attacked in defense. And so did we.”

“They're out to kidnap you, Logan. They're killers. And they're Markless. They're lower than dirt.”

“No—they're not. They're people just like us.”

“That girl must've clocked you pretty hard in the head,” Erin said. “You're talking nonsense.”

Logan sighed. He knew he wasn't going to win this one, so he changed the subject. “We need a new plan.”

“You think Peck's in there?”

“I doubt it. It's a good hideout for the rest, but Peck wouldn't risk it. He's got to be somewhere . . . deeper.”

Erin cursed. “They didn't lead us to him after all, did they?”

“Not yet. That's my guess, anyway.”

“They will, though.”

“They could. At the very least, we've bought ourselves some time. No way they make a move on me in the next few days. Not in this scenario.”

Erin shrugged. “Let's go home. We know where they'll be. We can figure out a plan tomorrow.”

“At school,” Logan said. “Never thought I'd look forward to it so much.”

“Our last safe haven,” Erin agreed.

The two of them made their way back to Erin's rollerstick.

Logan was grateful for the ride home that night.

9

Hailey had just returned from one of her late walks through Spokie, and she wasn't surprised to find her mother asleep. But she needed someone to talk to. So Hailey knocked gently on the door of her mother's room, waiting for the rustle of covers, already sorry for waking her up, but not knowing what else to do.

“That you, Hailey?” Mrs. Phoenix said, before breaking into a spasm of coughs.

“It's me, Mom,” Hailey whispered, her cheek to the door. “I'm sorry to bother you.”

“Come in,” her mother said kindly.

Hailey opened the door a crack and poked her head around it. “Pretty bad tonight, huh?”

“Just need a new pair of lungs is all.” Mrs. Phoenix smiled and sat up under the covers.

“I just wanted to show you . . . I guess I couldn't wait 'til morning. You remember those bottles you brought me?” Hailey pushed the door open with her foot and carried something into the room proudly. “I finished.”

Mrs. Phoenix rubbed her eyes and squinted through the dark room. What she saw delighted her, and immediately she waved Hailey in as she covered her mouth and worked her way through another coughing spell. “Hailey,” she managed to say. “It's beautiful!”

What Hailey brought into the room was an intricate sculpture about twelve inches tall. She set it on the table by her mother's bed for them both to admire.

“It's a plant!” Mrs. Phoenix said, and Hailey smiled.

“They freshen the air.”

“How perfect!” Her mother laughed, and she coughed a little as she did. “I feel better already.”

“Careful with the petals, though,” Hailey warned. “I sanded them down as much as I could, but a few are still pretty sharp.” Out of a twisting tangle of springs and fabric, shards of bottle glass glistened on the ends of metal twigs.

“We'll put it in the kitchen. It'll get the most sunlight there,” Mrs. Phoenix joked. They laughed, and then both were still for a moment. “But that's not why you came in here, is it?”

Hailey frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You're upset. I can tell.”

“I am not!” Hailey protested.

“Suit yourself,” her mother said, leaning back. “It's a great sculpture. And you're right—I'm sure it couldn't have waited until morning.” Mrs. Phoenix winked at her daughter.

Hailey sighed. “All right,” she said, finally. “You win. That's not why I came in here . . . I am upset.”

Mrs. Phoenix smiled patiently. Hailey rolled her eyes.

“It's Logan and this new girl, Erin. She's messing everything up.”

“What about Dane?” Mrs. Phoenix asked. Hailey and her mom had grown pretty close since Hailey's father had passed away; there wasn't anything in Hailey's life that Mrs. Phoenix didn't learn about during their nightly chats at dinner.

“We had fun this afternoon, playing those wailing mitts after school. And it was good to see his house. But I just . . . I'm afraid he's gonna end up . . . getting hurt.”

“Because of everything between you and Logan.”

“Yeah, sure, I guess. Me and Logan, me and Dane, Logan and the new girl . . . it's all getting complicated pretty fast.”

Mrs. Phoenix nodded. “Have you tried being up-front with Logan? Up-front with Dane? About what's really going on?”

“How can I be?” Hailey shrugged. “If I tell Logan, he'll tell Erin, and then she'll come after me . . . if I tell Dane, he'll tell Logan, and then Logan'll tell Erin, and then—”

“I get it.” Mrs. Phoenix smiled.

“But Logan has a good sense of things, I think. Today he even agreed to . . . well . . . sort of take me on a date.”

“That's great!” Mrs. Phoenix said.

“Yeah. If Erin doesn't ruin everything first. And if everything doesn't get too awful with Dane.”

Mrs. Phoenix smiled encouragingly. “I'm sure it'll all work out.”

“How do you know?” Hailey said.

“Because you're better at this than you think.”

Hailey smiled and kissed her mom on the forehead. “Take care of that cough,” she said.

“Leave the plant.”

“It won't actually freshen the air.”

“Leave it anyway.”

So Hailey did, and she left her mom's room feeling much better, as always, than she had going in.

But this relief lasted just long enough for Hailey to walk from her mother's bedroom down to the kitchen. It lasted no longer than that.

Because when Hailey entered the kitchen, she saw it glow with more than the starlight that shone through its grimy windows.

She saw it glow with fire.

A note was burning in the sink.

10

Despite his headache, Logan felt good when he got home that night. He wasn't crazy or paranoid. He'd been right all along. Someone
was
watching him, following him. His worst fears had come true, and finally, he was facing them. He and Erin had Peck in hiding, Peck's gang was running scared . . . and better still, he had a partner in all of it.

Not just any partner, either. Erin. Erin was smart. She was funny. She was brave—much more so than Logan, in fact. She was better than he was at so many things. He could see it. Clearly. For his sake, he hoped it wasn't quite so obvious to her.

It was with these happy thoughts that Logan snuck up the stairs outside his house to the seventh floor. He turned the key and opened the door and switched on the light. He was on top of the world.

And it was then that Logan saw—on his bed, hands folded neatly and eyes trained straight ahead—his father. No smile. No scowl. No expression at all.

“Hi there,” Mr. Langly said, totally flat. “How ya been, Logan?”

EIGHT
LOGAN'S MANY FRIENDS

1

G
ROUNDED. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT, COMPLETELY
, utterly grounded. Not just a little bit. Not just “no parties.” Not just “no television on weekends.” Not just “home by dinner.” Logan was allowed to go to school. His father would escort him. And Logan was allowed to come home. His father would be waiting when the final bell rang.

He could forget about spending time with Erin. He could forget about going on the date he'd arranged with Hailey. He could forget about everything.

“Bummer,” Erin said. “Guess we'll be doing all our planning at lunch. And in class.” Logan frowned, but Erin quickly shrugged it off. “Maybe it's for the best. School's probably safer than my apartment would have been, anyway. Peck's friends don't exactly seem like the learning type, and Peck wouldn't come anywhere near such a public place.”

Logan nodded. Erin had a point. This wasn't a total dead end.