“To the breakaway states, or we’ll drop you off in the city.”
The girl chuffed in disbelief. “Right. I’m supposed to trust you, old man?”
Seriously? Not only was she a teenager, she was a teenager with an attitude. They didn’t have time for this.
“As soon as we leave your room,” her father said, “the door will shut, and your opportunity will vanish. I suggest you come outside and think about your options.” He stood aside, making way for her.
She slunk apprehensively toward them, then hesitated in the doorway.
“We’re in a hurry,” Charity said.
“Fine.” The girl stepped into the hallway.
Charity wasn’t waiting around for her decision. She headed to Enzo. The guard had finally lost consciousness and lay facedown on the ground. Enzo pulled off the extra shirt he wore to give to her father. The pants already sat crumpled on the floor. He looked past Charity, and his head jolted in surprise, incredulous at the new addition.
“My dad wants her to come with us,” Charity said.
“Why?”
She shrugged. What else could she do? “Maybe she’s going to be helpful. She’s a telekinetic.”
Enzo winced and pulled off his extra shirt with too much force. “You did not just tell me we’re breaking out a telekinetic.”
“She’s a kid,” Charity said.
Charity’s father and the girl reached them. They’d clearly heard the conversation. The girl glared at Enzo. “I’m not a telekinetic. They just think I am.”
“Yeah, that’s what they all say.” Enzo tossed the extra clothes at Charity’s father. “And truth serum is only devised to make you give false confessions. She needs to lose her jumpsuit.”
Charity pulled off her blazer. “If you button this up…”
“It’ll look like I’m not wearing pants,” the girl said.
“Miniskirts are in.” Charity thrust the blazer at her.
The girl pursed her lips. “You want me to, like, strip out here in the hallway?”
“Just do it,” Enzo said. “We won’t look.” His phone buzzed. Must have been a message from Callum. Enzo turned and shot the camera perched at the top of the hallway. “We’ve got three minutes max to get out of here.”
The girl didn’t move. “People will notice that I don’t have shoes.”
“Take the guard’s boots.” Charity kneeled beside him. “It won’t be a great outfit, but it’s better than a bright yellow one that screams I’m an escaping prisoner.”
Charity’s father, who had no compunction about undressing in the hallway, had already taken off his jumpsuit and waspulling on his pants. “Her feet won’t matter. We can’t go across the lobby. We have to go down the laundry chute.”
Enzo ignored the guard’s boots and undid his bulletproof vest. “Where’s the laundry chute?”
Her father’s eyebrows raised in question. “You don’t know? Didn’t you look over the building’s plans before you came?”
“Yes,” Enzo said, “But we hadn’t planned on doing laundry here.”
The girl, back turned to them, changed clothes. “So far, this is a great escape. I wonder how long they’ll starve me once we’re all caught.”
Enzo handed Charity the guard’s bulletproof vest. “Put this on.”
“You ought to be the one wearing it,” she said.
He gave a curt shake of his head that said he wasn’t going to argue about it.