Free Gravity (The Taking) by Melissa West

over the last twenty-four hours. I don’t want to believe him, but there’s too much evidence. The rising number of Latents. The attacks. Zeus walking off the stage. And it’s only going to get worse. I can feel it deep in my gut, that horrible feeling we’re all programmed with. It warns us, and right now mine is screaming at me to do something. I can’t just hope this goes away. We have to stop it before it starts. I don’t know if Jackson overestimates the Ancients or underestimates us, but I do know they have abilities and advanced technology far beyond anything we’ve even considered. Jackson said this wouldn’t be a war; it’d be the complete wipeout of humankind. I won’t let that happen.
    “I’m in,” I say. Then I turn to Gretchen, answering her question before she can ask it. “Early Op training stuff. Jackson was brought up early, too.”
    “That’s great,” she says, and I know she means it. Gretchen is nothing if not sincere.
    I watch Jackson walk away and feel as though a weight has been lifted from my chest. I’ve made my decision, and I know, in my gut, it’s the right thing to do. Now all I have to do is get home before my parents do, sneak into Dad’s office, and steal his master key to Parliament headquarters.
    …
    Exactly three hours later and I’m pacing my house, jumping at the tiniest of sounds. I need Parliament’s master key. I know exactly where the key is kept in Dad’s office; I just need to quit stalling and get it over with. But if I’m caught, death would be a mild punishment.
    I check my phone for the twelve zillionth time. It’s nearing five thirty, which means by now my parents are en route home. I step around the stairs to the transfer door that leads to our training room. Dad’s office is right beside that door, invisible to an average onlooker. He had it designed to blend seamlessly with the wall so only those he trusted most would be able to get inside.
    Trust…I’m one of those people he trusts. And I’m about to betray him. My mind flashes to Dad’s name on the target list. I have no choice. I will help Jackson find a way to stop this.
    I rake my hand over the left side of where I know the door to be. A second passes, and then the door slides open. Inside, the office is eerily quiet. A large desk sits against the back wall, Dad’s favorite chair behind it. Other than the desk, bookshelves line the right wall and a filing system, full of old Engineer records, lines the left. It seems obvious to house the master keys in the filing system, but this is Dad’s office, which means nothing is as it seems.
    I step over to the bookshelf closest to his desk and pull out the first book on the third row. Inside is a tiny keypad. I type in the code 5-12-12-14 , a combination of Mom’s and my birthdays. A click-click-click sounds through the filing system as one by one the drawers and cabinets are unlocked.
    I have just started for the third cabinet to the right when the front door announces my parents’ arrival. I race forward and slide the cabinet open but can’t remember which keycard is for Parliament. Is it the gold one or the green one? I replay my dad’s voice in my head. “The Engineers produce red, the Chemists grow green, and Parliament controls the…” I pull the gold keycard off its hook, close the cabinet door, and return Dad’s secret book to the bookshelf.
    I’m about to slide out the door just as my mom calls my name. I cringe. It sounds like she’s in the kitchen. But what about Dad? I edge to the doorframe and peek out. Dad is in the foyer, reading a message or something on his phone. His head snaps up, and I lean away from view, my body tensing.
    I strain my ears to listen for any movement. After several painful seconds, I hear Dad’s heavy footsteps walk from the foyer to the kitchen. I release a long breath, edge to the door again, and peek out. It’s clear. Yes! I slip out. The door shuts automatically behind me.
    I tiptoe away from