1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 361
she pulled herself out of the window, she found David staring
at her with wide eyes. “What?” she asked.
“You’re just so . . . good at all this. So confident. It
makes me nervous just being inside city limits.”
She grinned. “This is no big deal. Everyone does it.”
Still, Tally was happy to impress David with her burglary
skills. In the last few weeks he’d taught her how to
build a fire, scale a fish, pitch a tent, and read a contour
map. It was nice to be the competent one for a change.
They crept back to the greenbelt and reached the river
before the sky had even shown a sliver of pink. Zooming
past the white water and onto the vein of ore, they sighted
the ruins just as the sky was beginning to change.
On the hike down, Tally asked, “Tomorrow night, then?”
“No point in waiting.”
“No.” And there was every reason to attempt the rescue
soon. It had been more than two weeks since the invasion
of the Smoke.
David cleared his throat. “So, how many Specials do
you think will be in there?”
“When I was there, a lot. But that was during the day. I
assume they have to sleep sometime.”
“So it’ll be empty at night.”
“I doubt that. But maybe just a few guards.” She didn’t
say more. Even one Special would be more than a match
for a pair of uglies. No amount of surprise would make
up for the cruel pretties’ superior strength and reflexes.