Lacey hadn’t necessarily expected a good reaction from her friends. She’d be mad in their situation, too. The yelling, crying, maybe a couple punches — she was prepared for that. She’d even told Rivet and Wrench what to expect, just to make sure no one was caught by surprise.

Privately, there was some sliver of her that hoped her friends would be happy. Maybe they’d be mad at first, but they’d simmer down. They’d come at her with fists raised, then collapse into a hug. Maybe the tears would melt from rage to relief. Lacey could hope.

Only none of that happened. Lacey gave Rede a hesitant wave, bracing for a slew of insults or for her to storm off to the other side of the platform. Instead, Rede’s face went completely blank. Her eyes dropped to her feet and her shoulders slumped as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

Next to Rede, the rest of the crew did some variation of the same. They stared in incomprehension, emotions warring on their faces, and didn’t say a word. Even Thanh, who Lacey had fully expected to try to break her kneecaps, stayed silent.

There was one face Lacey didn’t recognize: a very young-looking girl with blonde curls and a pistol in her waistband. She bounced on the balls of her feet, eyes wide. “Oh my god, you’re Lacey!” Her hands clenched and unclenched, clearly trying to hold herself back — from what, Lacey didn’t know. “Holy shit. I thought you were dead!”

This must be the Shay that Mimi had talked about. Lacey had to admit, her description was spot on.

Mimi was the one to step in. “Guys, I know this is a lot.”

“No shit,” Thanh muttered.

“I was surprised, too,” Mimi continued. “There’s a lot happening. How about we go inside?”

After a moment of lag, Inna nodded. “Sure. Yeah. Let’s talk.” He took a wobbly step toward the MAX car.

Rivet and Lacey stepped aside to let the crew pass. They filed in one by one, watching Lacey out of the corners of their eyes as if she were an exotic animal. Wrench, who sat on the floor with one leg stretched out in front of her, glared in borderline hostility as Lacey’s old teammates sat down on the repurposed benches.

“Nice to see you all again,” said Ronan drily. He leaned against the back wall of the car with his arms crossed. His dull skin and tense shoulders betrayed his exhaustion. “I’m guessing you heard what happened?”

Mara nodded. “We were at the police station when we heard.”

“One of them got shot,” Shay chimed in.

“Yeah, we’re aware.” Ronan rubbed his forehead.

“Before you ask, it wasn’t us,” said Rivet. “At least, not on purpose. Probably.”

Thanh jabbed an accusatory finger at Rivet. “Who the fuck are you?”

Rivet bristled. Lacey put a hand on their bicep to steady them.

The gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Rede followed it with her eyes, focus zeroing in on Lacey’s hand. She stared at it, unblinking. If Rede kept her eyes fixed like that much longer, Lacey was convinced her hand would go up in flames.

“How about I do the explaining,” Wrench said. It was phrased like a question, but her tone made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate any arguments.

The crew exchanged a glance — the type Lacey would have been included in, before all this — and nodded.

Ronan cleared his throat. “Gotta go check on our guest.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the second car where Four-Stroke had taken Ducky.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The others got the message. They stayed quiet as Ronan let himself out.

Wrench kept her story short and to the point. She started off with Drew’s discovery and ended with the firefight. The shootout had ended just a little while earlier with only minor injuries on Ronan’s end. Pained grunts and uncomfortable shifting in seats punctuated Wrench’s narrative. At the mention of Drew’s camera, Shay cut off what might have been a whimper, biting her lip and sitting military-straight in her seat. The others cast her concerned glances, which she ignored.

“Mimi told us what happened to you all,” Lacey said. It felt oddly anticlimactic, given that this was the first time she’d spoken. She hoped her voice didn’t sound different. If it did, Lacey realized, there would be no way for her to tell. She powered on: “I’m glad you guys are safe.”

“So are we,” said Mara. Her tone was impossible to decipher.

“We also heard about you,” Lacey said, nodding to Shay. “Thank you for keeping them safe.”

Shay shrugged one shoulder, trying to hide her flush. “It’s no biggie. Just what friends do, you know?”

A half-smile flickered across Rede’s lips. It disappeared before anyone else noticed.

A long silence passed.

“Gonna be honest,” said Thanh, “I kinda want to knock your teeth out.”

“I don’t blame you.” Lacey stuffed her hands in her pockets. There was too much she wanted to say. It felt like everything would come out in a jumble if she tried to say it all, so she kept it simple. “I put you through a lot. Knowing the right thing to do is hard, and I didn’t do it right.” That didn’t seem like enough. “I put myself in the position to not do it right. I really backed myself into a corner. I wasn’t ready to be in charge of everything, but I wanted to be, and I knew you guys wanted me to be, too, so I got stuck. I should’ve caught myself.”

“We should’ve caught it, too,” Rede said. Her voice was soft and her eyes didn’t leave the floor, but at least she was talking now. Lacey’s heart fluttered. She tried her best not to stare.

As she cast around for something else to look at, Lacey realized for the first time that Rede was wearing her old red jacket. She was fiddling with the sleeves, tugging at the zipper and the buttons. It was a little too big for her, but the color looked beautiful against her hair.

“I thought you were dead,” said Thanh.

The singular pronoun caught Lacey by surprise. She hesitated. “Didn’t all of you?”

“Not all of us,” said Mimi quietly.

“I really pushed for us to forget you.” Thanh spoke all in a rush, bouncing her knee so fast it blurred. “Not everyone wanted to, but — it hurt to have you gone. A lot. I told everyone not to look for you. It, uh. It hurt for everyone to keep looking, too. Almost more than you just being gone.” Her eyes were wide, like a child waiting for a scolding.

Pain flared in Lacey’s chest. She forced herself to speak. “I’m not mad at you. I would’ve done the same. Honestly, it’s what I…” She trailed off. Maybe not the best idea to say she’d wanted her friends to forget her. After all, it seemed like some of them had never given up hope. There was no reason to be crueler than she already had been. “It’s what I would’ve told you, as advice,” Lacey finished.

Thanh’s posture relaxed a little. She crossed her arms and let her legs fall open, a cartoonish and futile display of surliness. Lacey hid a smile. It hadn’t been so long that she’d forgotten how to read her friends, at least.

A metallic thud from the next car over made everyone jump. Rivet grabbed Lacey’s arm even as their respective free hands went to their weapons.

“That’ll be Ducky,” Wrench said tonelessly. She hadn’t even twitched. “Probably trying to escape.”

“Bad move,” said Shay.

Wrench smirked. “He’s never been the brightest bulb.”

“Gotta admire the balls, though,” said Rivet. They let go of Lacey’s arm. “Takes a special kind of stupid to order a hit on some cops over a camera you’ve never even seen.”

Shay cleared her throat and tugged on her curls. Her expression made it clear she was mustering her courage.

“Here,” said Mimi. Shay blinked in confusion at being cut off. She watched as Mimi dug the camera out from under her coat and handed it over. “It’s all yours.”

Shay accepted the camera like a sacrament, cradling it in her arms as if it would break at the slightest touch. Her hair fell across her face as she looked down at it. Lacey couldn’t make out Shay’s expression, but she could practically feel the raw emotion seeping out of her.

“Ducky knows about it,” said Lacey. “The sabotage ring, the cops, everything.”

“He knows,” Shay echoed. Lacey doubted she really knew what she was saying.

Wrench swung her good leg onto the floor with a wince. “Well, now that we all know who we should be focusing on, let’s finish up the feelings shit later.” She waved off Rivet’s offer of help and lifted her injured leg off the bench. “What do you say we pay Ducky a visit?”