Among the Enemy

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Matthias put on his headphones and switched on his radio as soon as he woke up the next morning. At first all he heard was the rustle of papers, presumably as the commander moved them across his desk. He was just ready to give up and go down for breakfast when a sharp voice burst through his headphones: "Commander, my report!"

"Go ahead," the commander said.

"We are ninety-five percent done with Project Exchange," the voice said.

"Very good," the commander said. "When do you anticipate completion of the project?"

"Next week."

"Wonderful," the commander said. "Carry on."

Matthias kept listening, but that was all. He wrote down Project Exchange 95 % done — finish expected next week on a scrap of paper and handed it to Nina in the cafeteria a few minutes later when she handed him a bowl of Cream of Wheat. He knew what a dangerous thing he was doing. If the bug was found — if he was caught — he'd probably have no chance to pass along stored-up information to Nina. So he'd have to tell her everything as he learned it.

He had nothing new to report by lunchtime, but Nina surprised him by slipping a note into his hand along with a mug of cider.

That's very bad news, the note said, when Matthias had a chance to read it back in his room after lunch. The "very" was underlined six times. We have to hurry. Keep listening!!!!

Matthias put his headphones back on immediately, but it was frustrating to sit around straining to hear silence. And it was maddening not to know what Nina, Trey, and the mysterious "others" were hurrying to do.

Samuel, am I doing the right thing? You didn't believe in getting involved in politics. Is this politics? All I want is to get that food to the starving people. What if there's something bad in Nina's plan?

Once, when he'd first met Nina, she had risked her life because she thought that was the only way to save Matthias's — Matthias's and Percy's and Alia's. But just because Nina was trustworthy then, was she still trustworthy now?

God, why isn't life as simple as Samuel always made me think it was?

The headphones crackled to life.

"Sir?" This was a young voice. "Officer Jason Barstow reporting to demonstrate the test for Project Authenticity."

"Of course. Come in." The commander practically purred.

There was a thud, as if something heavy had been placed on the desk.

"Gotta protect your furniture." It was the young voice again — Officer Barstow's.

"I appreciate that," the commander said, an edge of sarcasm in his tone.

"Now, these cards both look absolutely identical, correct? Both absolutely authentic?" Officer Barstow asked.

"Yes," the commander said. Several others must have come in to watch the demonstration with him because an echo came through the headphones: "Yes… Yes… Yes… Yes…"

"If you had to guess, which one would you say is fake?" Officer Barstow asked.

A long silence followed. Finally the commander said doubtfully, "This one?"

"Other opinions?" Officer Barstow asked.

Are they looking atl.D. cards? Matthias wondered. The commander said he was in charge of the identification program. ..

The others in the commander's office made their choices quickly.

'Ah, so everyone agrees with the commander," Officer Barstow said. "Let's see."

Matthias heard a sizzling sound, then a string of "ooh's" and "aah's."

"So we were all wrong," the commander said, a steely tone in his voice. "Try it again on different cards. Ones I know are fake or real."

Matthias could picture the commander reaching into his own drawer, throwing down a pile of identity cards on his desk, like a challenge.

More sizzling.

"Yes," the commander said. "That's correct. It works. It works perfectly."

He sounded like he was grinning. A burst of applause roared out of Matthias's headphones so loudly that Matthias had to pull them away from his ears. But he still heard Officer Barstow's final words: "It's absolutely fool' proof."