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to DOME’s headquarters), but their house was dusty enough that a bit of surveillance powder was always a possibility. So Hailey and her mom had long ago decided that their mother-daughter conversations were best kept as vague as possible, and it was a rule they’d yet to break.
    “Thanks, Mom.” Hailey said, smiling just slightly. “Hey, I’m
    starting a new sculpture tonight.”
    “Oh yeah? That’s great! It’s been a little while.”
    “Yeah,” Hailey said. “Figured it’s time to get back into it.”
    Hailey was a gifted artist, particularly with sculpture. She could turn garbage into anything, and this was good, since in Hailey’s neighborhood, garbage was just about all she had to work with.
    “Any idea what you’re going to make?”
    “Yes.” Hailey winked. “But you’ll just have to wait and see.”
    “I’m very proud of you,” Mrs. Phoenix said, unable to say more for fear of who might be listening. “You’re doing just great. I want you to know that.”
    “I’m not sure I am, Mom.” Hailey sighed. “My team’s down for
    the count, and I still don’t see a way not to lose.”
    “You’ll find it,” Mrs. Phoenix said.
    But Hailey shook her head. She no longer believed that was
    true. And in her frustration, Hailey decided finally to break her own household rule. “DOME’s winning,” she said. Then she
    laughed, and her mom watched wide-eyed as Hailey leaned far
    back and said loudly into the powdery air, “You hear that, DOME?
    You’re winning.”
    Mrs. Phoenix couldn’t stop coughing after that.
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    Three
    The Setup
    1
    The smell in the stable was strong and
    natural, a far cry from the smells of Slog Row, where the Dust used to live. Jo opened the doors, and Blake scrunched his nose as he and the others filed in.
    “This it?” Eddie asked, shuffling through the straw stalks on
    the ground.
    “This is it.” Jo nodded. “Welcome to our new home.”
    Already Tyler had made his way onto the upper beams of the
    enclosure, tiptoeing across one of them with his arms out. “New game!” he called, faltering a little and waving his arms wildly to keep his balance.
    “So, what? We all just pick a horse and bunk up?” Eddie walked to a stallion at the stable’s end and waved his hands in its face.
    “Pretty much,” Jo said. “The livestock’ll throw off any heat
    detectors or satellite pictures, and their noise should distract long-range mic surveillance from picking up any of your lousy snoring.”
    Behind all of this, Tyler quietly lost his footing and fell into a pile of hay.
    “You all right?” Blake asked without much concern.
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    Sneak
    “I won.” Tyler groaned.
    “Let’s just try not to kill ourselves before DOME gets the
    chance, hm?” Jo said, checking to make sure Tyler was okay. “You’ll ruin everyone’s fun.”
    “Speaking of which.” Eddie pointed to the door as it swung
    open. “Whaddo you suppose we do with him ?”
    Meg walked into the stable, dragging by his feet a man who lay slack and splayed on the ground. His head rested sideways, bounc-ing a little as it slid across the dirt. His arms followed behind, stretching up and over his head, and for the moment he was dead-weight. Knocked out. Harmless.
    That would change, of course. The DOME badge on his
    shoulder promised it.
    Blake closed his eyes and composed himself. “I give Mr. DOME
    Agent here another hour before he comes to. Tops.” He sighed.
    “There’s a stream down past the corn field. Have you seen it?”
    Meg nodded.
    “Put him in faceup.”
    Eddie took hold of the man’s hands, and he and Meg turned to
    head out the door.
    “And hey—” Blake called after them, “make sure he floats
    before you let go.”
    “Whoa, whoa, what happened here?” Dane asked, eyebrows
    raised as he entered the barn.
    “Another scout,” Blake said.
    “He make it all the way to the farm?”
    “No, they still don’t know