Page 24 of The Last Love Story

Still, the terror in my chest lessens as I look around. They aren’t going to kill us. A couple of kids toward the back of the crowd peel off, heading back to their duties, seemingly satisfied that we’re not a threat.

“Who are the Machs?” I ask, watching their retreating backs.

Uri glances after the other kids, something dark in his expression. “Not Lyceum,” he says finally.

Uri and Lena lead Nef and me through a network of massive tunnels. I gape when the shadows give way to the Edison bulbs that spill light around us.

Nef stays close to Uri behind us, and I stick by Lena in an effort to give Nef and Uri some privacy. They have a lot to talk about, I’m sure.

“You said something when you first grabbed me. You thought we were...”

“Machs,” Lena says, keeping her eyes dead ahead.

“Machs. Who are they?”

We leave a circle of light and dip back into shadow, and she’s silent.

“It’s a nod to Machiavelli,” she answers eventually. “Which, in reality, is just a sad attempt to slap an intellectual title on what they really are: terrorists.”

“You thought we were terrorists?” I ask, shivering as the cold seems to seep down to my bones. “Did you not hear both of us lose our minds when we had to put our hands through spiderwebs?”

“With the size of the black widows out here, I don’t blame you,” Lena throws back, half kidding. “But the Machs are recruiting harder these days. We both know the election is going to be a big one.”

“Why have I not heard of them?” I ask, and Lena pulls a flashlight from her belt, handing it to me as we head to a section of tunnel that doesn’t have any lights.

“You haven’t heard their name, maybe,” she replies. “But you’ve heard of them. Their...handiwork. I’m sure you’ve seen it. That yacht that sank off the northern coast? That was them. The fire that blew through that strip of new beach house development in South Texas? Machs. Turn that on,” she says, pointing to the flashlight.

I hadn’t realized I’d stopped moving. I follow the suggestion, letting the light hit the back of Lena’s boots as she forges ahead.

I thought those were accidents. Catastrophic natural disasters are the norm, and it makes sense that a yacht or a line of seafront mansions would be collateral damage the news would showcase. And maybe part of me had hoped one of the countries we’re fighting was responsible.

“Why haven’t I heard of them until now?” I ask, trying to keep the accusation from my voice. After all, I’ve just met this girl, and she had a knife to my throat two minutes ago.

Lena snorts. “Right. Terrorists want people to be scared.Talking about them gives them power. You think President Graves is the type of guy to willingly give away any of his power?”

“Why not work with the Machs?” I ask, feeling like the question is obvious. “You both want to take Graves down. ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend,’ right?”

Lena stops short, and I almost trip in an effort not to run straight into her back. She whips around, grabbing my flashlight and shining it up under her face, which highlights her tight expression. “Are you kidding?”

“Whoa. What is this?” Uri asks, half teasing as he and Nef catch up to us.

“She sounds just like one of them,” Lena practically spits, lowering the light and clicking it off. “She just asked why we don’t join forces with the Machs.”

A wave of defensiveness kicks up in my gut. “I’m not suggesting Lyceum blow things up. I’m actually saying that if anyone can convince the Machs that there is a better way to stop Graves, it would be you.”

Lena lets out a humorless laugh. “Right. Uri, did you hear that? We should just talk to them. Use our words and our feelings. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“I was just asking a question,” I shoot back.

Lena thinks about this, looking to Uri for a second before rolling her shoulders. “You’re new. I shouldn’t take three years of frustration out on you. I just... the questionis so simple. And the answer seems simple too. But it’s not. Every attack the Machs pull off gives President Graves justification to crack down harder on what freedoms we do have left. And we can track the way his policies creep toward dictatorship. The Machs are almost always the catalyst.”

I nod. “I get it. The enemy of your enemy...”

“Is a big pain in our ass. That’s it,” Lena finishes, nodding back. Then she looks over my shoulder to Uri. “We’ve gotta get to the prep room if we’re going to get the pamphlets out.”

For a second, I worry I’ve blown it, that they aren’t going to let me join. Hopefully Nef can stay. She has Uri to vouch for her. I hope they don’t send her away just because she came with me—

“—Hart. Let’s go.” Lena’s voice pulls me back to the present, where Lena, Uri, and Nef all wait for me to catch up.