1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 393
bounce.” Probably. Unless the jacket pulled her one way
and the bracelets the other. Or Tally’s and Shay’s combined
weight was too much for the lifters.
“So give me the bracelets, silly.”
Tally shook her head. “No time to stop.”
“Guess not. Our Special friends are going to be royally
pissed.” Shay clung tighter.
They were almost at the river, with no sign of pursuit
behind them. The nanotech glue must have been
putting up quite a fight. But Special Circumstances had
other hovercars—the three they’d seen leave earlier, at
least—and regular wardens had them too.
Tally wondered if Special Circumstances would call for
help from the wardens, or whether they’d keep the whole
situation a secret. What would the wardens think of the
underground prison? Did the regular city government
know what the Specials had done to the Smoke, or to Az?
Water flashed below her, and Tally dropped the swatch
of orange cloth as they turned. It fluttered away, down
toward the river. The current would take it back toward the
city, in the opposite direction of their escape route.
Tally and David had agreed to rendezvous upriver, a
long way past the ruins, where he had found a cave years
before. Because its entrance was covered by a waterfall, it
would shelter them from heat sensors. From there, they
could hike back to the ruins to retrieve the rest of their
equipment, and then . . .