said something very, very interesting. Something he thought too valuable to treat lightly.”
I’m almost afraid to repeat the statement since it landed me in a cell the first time, but Frank’s voice is so reassuring. He almost reminds me of my mother, calm and concerned.
“I’m a twin,” I say. “I’m eighteen and I wasn’t Heisted.”
Frank leans forward and points at me. “Exactly.”
“What does it mean?”
“You tell me,” he says. “I find it incredibly fascinating. Not lock-you-in-the-prison fascinating, but this means something. If we can figure out how or why you escaped the Heist, we may have the slightest chance of saving the rest of your people.”
I could easily tell him what I read in Carter’s notebook, but I’m caught wondering how Marco and Frank already know so much about the Heist.
“And if you don’t know what it means, that’s fine, too,” Frank says in my silence. “We can figure it out together. I’m extremely busy, but I promise you that Claysoot remains one of my top priorities. You are important, Gray—to unraveling this mystery. I can feel it. You can stay in Taem, right here in Union Central, even. You and Emma. It’s really the very least I can do if you are going to help me crack this. What do you say?”
What can I say? There is nowhere else for Emma and me to go. I picture Carter behind the Wall, longing to be reunited with her daughter. This is a chance to make that possible. Maybe I am the key to figuring everything out and ending Harvey’s project. I’d be both selfish and dense to not see this through.
“We’ll stay,” I say. “And thank you.”
Frank smiles, lines again racing over his cheeks. “The unHeisted boy, staying right here in Union Central. I feel honored to be in the presence of such mystery and hope.”
When he mentions the Heist, I get that feeling again, the sense that he knows more than I ever shared.
“About the Heist . . . If Emma and I are the first climbers to be saved, how do you know so much about the Heist?”
“I told you much of the Laicos Project still continues, running as though on autopilot. We know boys are Heisted at eighteen because they end up on our training field in the dead of night, claiming as much. Poof, and there they are, as though they’ve sprouted from the grass like dandelions.”
My face must look shocked because Frank chuckles.
“I don’t understand it, either,” he says. “It’s as much a mystery to you as it is to us. Maybe your unique situation will shed some light on things.”
I nod, baffled, and then freeze. The thought hits me like a punch in the stomach.
“Wait? Here? The Heisted boys appear here?”
“Weathersby you said, right?” Frank flips through some papers he’s pulled from his desk. He finds what he is looking for and winks at me. “Blaine. He’ll be in the cafeteria this time of day. Breakfast.”
I almost forget to breathe. Frank motions for me to stand and places a hand on my shoulder. His palm is warm, reassuring. He is shorter than me and raises his eyes to meet mine before saying, “Come. Let’s go find your brother.”
FOURTEEN
FRANK LEADS. WE PASS THROUGH a series of corridors and he has to unlock several of the doors as we progress, but does so by swiping his wrist before a plain, silver box. The hallways are impressive, adorned with radiant lights and a plush floor comprised of the Franconian Order’s triangular emblem. It repeats itself in several shades of red, edges lining up to form an intricate pattern.
When we arrive at a towering set of double doors that I suspect to be concealing the dining hall from view, there is a subtle beep and Frank puts one hand to his ear. His fingers pinch a small device that rests wrapped about his earlobe. He raises one finger toward me, motioning for me to wait, and paces the hall. He hmmms and ahhhs a few times, nodding curtly. I realize he must be talking to someone, and through that tiny object. He speaks just once, at the tail end of the conversation.
“Get a team together immediately. If this is true, we may get fantastically lucky. I want them sent out first thing tomorrow, at the latest. And, Evan, round up the necessities for a meeting. I’ll join shortly.”
The device beeps a second time and Frank lowers his hand. “My apologies,” he says.
I point at his ear. “What is