Chapter 68
elias pulled a rugged, disconnected laptop from a hidden compartment behind the woodstove that the intruders had somehow missed. we plugged the drive in, praying it wasn't rigged to wipe itself. the screen lit up, prompting us for a thirty-two-character encryption password. panic threatened to choke me. we had the weapon to destroy the syndicate, but we couldn't fire it. i looked at leo, begging him to try and remember anything his parents might have told him. the boy squeezed his eyes shut, his small hands gripping mia's stuffed bear. "my mom used to sing a song," he murmured. "she said if i ever got lost, the song would bring me home." he started reciting the lyrics, a strange, nonsensical poem about stars and numbers. elias's fingers flew across the keyboard, translating the riddle into keystrokes. the screen turned green. access granted.
