Page 61 of Dark Chains: First Link
Mattie cast him an understanding smile. "I know it's hard, but once we're free, you'll be able to see Anita whenever you want. It's a short-term sacrifice for long-term benefits."
Petrov looked at her, and for a moment, the sardonic mask he wore like a second skin slipped enough to reveal the vulnerability underneath. He looked tired and older than his years, and profoundly sad.
"From your mouth to God's ears,devochka." He rose from the chair and stretched, his back producing a series of cracks. "I'm going to bed. We have a lab to run in the morning, and I need at least a few hours of sleep to maintain what remains of my charming personality."
"And vodka," Dimitri added.
"Vodka is merely the social lubricant that allows my deeper qualities to emerge." Petrov picked up his notepad and tucked it under his arm. "Good night, everyone."
"One moment." Number One lifted a finger. "The notes you are taking are a hazard, too. If the lab gets searched and someone finds your notebook, our plans are all written in there."
Petrov looked down his nose at him. "Do you really think I'm that careless or stupid? I write in code that only I understand. Even Dimitri can't decipher my notes."
"That's true," Dimitri confirmed. "He's the code master. We have another code that we use to communicate between just the two of us."
"Can I see it?" Number One asked.
If the collective couldn't decipher it using their combined processing power, it wasn't likely that anyone else on the island could.
Reluctantly, Petrov handed over the yellow pad.
The hive mind scanned the writing that looked like mathematical notations combined with unintelligible scribbles, and after a few minutes, decided that Petrov was right.
"That's fascinating." Number One handed back the notebook. "Once we are free, can you show us how you create these codes?"
Petrov grinned. "If I do, you will know my secret."
Number One mirrored the broad smile. "You forget that we can enter your brain and pick it up from there."
The smile evaporated from the scientist's face. "Right. I did forget. But that means any other immortal can do that as well. I need to destroy this thing."
"Not necessarily," Number One said. "We can keep it safe for you."
Petrov looked at the notebook as if it were a precious heirloom he was reluctant to part with. "What if I need to take notes while you are not here?"
"You'll have to memorize them until we meet with them again, and since we see them every day, that shouldn't be a problem." Dimitri took it from him and handed it to Number One. "Take good care of this."
“We will." Number One tucked the notebook under his arm.
Petrov cast one last look at it, then turned on his heel and left the room. A moment later, the sound of his door closing down thehall was followed by the familiar clink of a bottle being retrieved from wherever he kept his supply.
Number One checked the time. Thirty-five minutes past three.
"We need to leave," he said. "The phone has to be back before Losham wakes up."
Dimitri nodded. "Be careful out there."
"Naturally." Number One rose, and the other seven followed, unfolding from the beds and the floor where they'd been sitting.
They filed out of the room and down the hallway, their footsteps silent on the tiled floor.
As they stepped out into the warm, humid air, the collective's background processes shifted from the debrief to the task of returning the phone without getting caught, but threading through the tactical processing were Yaaf's persistent and impossible to fully compartmentalize thoughts about Sullha.
The way her eyes had brightened, the armor dropping, the real person emerging from behind the walls she'd built to survive.
Unlike Anita, who couldn't be told because she interacted with immortals, Sullha was deliberately isolated from them. He could tell her about the escape, and no one would pick it up from her head.
How would she react? Would she be overjoyed that the life she'd endured for nineteen years was about to change? Or would she be too scared to want to escape?
