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never admitted it, not even to herself, but she enjoyed those moments and how they made her feel. Sydney liked the times when she and Jack fell into those comfortable silences, simply content to be in each other’s presence.
    “No,” she finally answered. “But this falling in love business is a scary thing, isn’t it?”
    “It can be, but you won’t know until you try. As for his past, you need to leave it there and stay focused on the present. Give Jack a chance. If it makes you feel better, ask him about Anna so you’ll be able to put that episode behind you.”
    “He probably won’t want anything to do with me after what happened back there. I still can’t believe I did that.”
    “Don’t beat yourself up over it. We all lose our tempers sometimes, even you, Sydney.” Bella gave Sydney’s arm a little squeeze.
    “Thanks, Bella. You’re a good friend.”
    Bella smiled. “Thank you.”
    “Are you scared? About the planned attack against the Cyrellians?”
     
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    “A little bit, but some things are worth fighting for. You know what I mean?”
    “Yeah,” Sydney agreed, realizing that statement applied to way more than just their plans for the Cyrellians.
     

Chapter Four
    Jack surveyed the mass of people in the room. “If there aren’t any other questions, we can adjourn for the night. Each group will meet up at midnight to head to the city. It’s an in and out mission, and if it’s successful we’ll be back to camp at 0800.” No one raised their hand and he was relieved. The meeting had been long and drawn out because of all the details they’d had to go over. The first mission to upload pictures into the city’s main computer servers and transmit them to every person’s system had been a success. Unfortunately, the three-person team had come back to camp as two, one of them being captured.
    Now, they’d not only have to destroy their targeted areas, they’d need to rescue their comrade if it was possible. The Cyrellians would be expecting something to happen and the city would probably be more heavily guarded, making the task ahead of them more difficult. Jack hoped people in the city who saw those pictures might offer some assistance to their resistance.
    “Meeting adjourned.”
    Bennett approached as soon as the crowd began to break up in little groups.
    “Great meeting. However, there are some concerns I wished to bring up.” Jack frowned, wondering why Bennett waited until now to say something instead of during the meeting. “I thought we agreed on what has to be done.”
    “We have, but not on who’s going to take the lead on this project.”
    “Hasn’t that been decided? We’re both in charge.”
    Bennett pursed his lips and shook his bald head. “You and I both know that won’t work out. Someone has to call the commands and I nominate myself to be that person.”
    Jack raised a brow. “Oh?”

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    “Yes. Just as many people from my group are in on this mission as there are in yours, so I don’t see why not.”
    “Considering this is the plan I’ve devised, and the fact I have more knowledge of the area in question, it would make sense I be in charge of this team. Out of deference to you and the other leaders, however, I made sure the teams had two experienced go-to people, so everyone felt comfortable in their groups. You agreed to this system earlier.
    So what seems to be the issue now?” Jack had known Bennett would be a problem when they met. It wasn’t that Bennett wasn’t as dedicated as any of the others, but Jack could tell he wasn’t used to being second in anything.
    “I wouldn’t mind going along with the plan if you hadn’t been so distracted these past couple days. You seem more wrapped up in your personal problems than in perpetrating a successful attack against the Cyrellians.” Jack wanted to protest and call the guy a liar, but he couldn’t. He had been distracted. This situation with Sydney was getting out of hand. Ever since the day