When they arrived in Sydney, a black van came to pick them up at the airport. They all squished into the van with about five hundred pounds of extra equipment, including all of Sterling’s tech gear and the hoverboard. Sophia chattered on for most of the trip on the best way to subdue an assailant with a knife, mostly for Arena’s benefit, she guessed. Yates was quiet, his gray eyes dissecting everyone in the van. Sterling typed into his netbook, humming a song she did not recognize.

  The van took them to a townhouse on the west side of the city. Sophia and Arena were sent to one of the three bedrooms, and Sterling and Yates each chose the other two. Arena dropped her bag in her room, and then walked down the hall and stopped in Sterling’s doorway, watching him set up some sort of satellite antenna. He completely focused on the task, unaware of her presence. She leaned against the door for some time, watching him work. Strength, his own strength, exuded from him. This was the first time he seemed to be at peace--doing what he knew best.

  Arena wanted to be like that. Everyone in the Misfits had their strength, but she didn’t know what her talent was yet. She didn’t know quite how she fit into the group or how her talents could best suit them. They kept mentioning physical ability, but she felt a bit late in learning self-defense. There wasn’t always going to be a hoverboard around for her to fly.

  Maybe it was that she could pass herself off as a foreigner? Lorna and even Nate were way beyond her in languages, but she could pass for a native Japanese person, despite her half-Hawaiian side. Everyone always said she looked just like her mother. She would have to start learning some other languages, maybe Korean and other Asian languages.

  Or maybe she hadn’t learned what she was really good at yet? Maybe she would find that out in formal CIA training. Covert ops? Pretending to be other people? Research like Sterling? Something more administrative? There were so many directions, and they all looked a bit overwhelming.

  Sterling’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. “If you’re going to just stand there, you might as well give me a hand,” he said dryly. She walked over to him and he handed her a cord. “Loop that over the top of the antenna for me?” She jumped up to get it to slip over the top. It landed, but her foot caught a case on the way back down. She stumbled backwards and fell over the arm of the sofa, feet over head. “Maybe I should have brought the shorter antenna?” he said, and then he started laughing.

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  “I don’t think either of us are going to win any basketball trophies,” she said sarcastically, trying to turn herself upright. He walked over and pulled her up by her hands. They were warm, and he gripped her hands for a moment before letting them go. He turned away. “I think I’m almost set up. I sent Yates a message about you staying with me while they went to the point where it looks like the data originated. He hasn’t responded yet.” He was still looking away from her and his tone was odd. He sat down, back toward her, and began to type. After a moment, she turned and left the room.

  Yates was down in the kitchen area, and he looked up when Arena came down the stairs.

  “You told Sterling you wanted to stand down on this mission?” Yates said. “Are you sure?”

  “You and Sophia don’t need me, and I’d probably be a hindrance,” she said. “It might work better if I stayed here. You all can move faster without me, and you don’t need me to ride the hoverboard for you. I can help Sterling--he can track the data, and I can track you, Sophia, and the location.”

  Yates regarded her for a moment. “I can’t say I disagree with that plan. It is logical. I just wondered if Sterling had other reasons for wanting you to stay behind.”

  “It wasn’t his idea,” she said. “It was mine. I don’t think I’m ready to do this yet. I think he agrees, though.”

  “Very well,” Yates folded his arms. “You will run comms with Anita, tracking visuals. Sterling will follow the data. Hopefully, we can find a point of origin.”

  Arena felt a little more relaxed after that. She was not only afraid that something else would happen to her, but she might be a liability, like she was at the hotel. And Sterling wouldn’t worry quite so much.

  Her stomach growled. She got up to make herself a sandwich from the cooler of food they had brought with them. She found herself staring at the sandwich, missing her meals with Nate and Lorna, hoping they were okay. She missed Lorna’s laughter and bright outfits, and Nate’s wry humor and goofy grin. Arena realized she didn’t really miss anyone at UCLA, which seemed odd. Of course, she had Sophia right there with her, but there wasn’t anyone else at school that she really wanted to be around. Perhaps she had found her calling.

  They had to get Nate and Lorna back. They had to find some trace of them.

  Her handheld went off with a message in Absolute Imperium. Hopeful, she logged in, but it was another cryptic message. “Don’t bother coming to the dance, darlin. Your skills are outmatched and your style is outclassed. Go back to the baby pool before you drown.” Arena frowned. She immediately forwarded it to Anita, who was online.

  “She sent you this?” Renata wrote back. “I will see where it came from, if I can. Go tell the others.”