Three only paid attention during one part of the tour: The bit about the Briefcase Room.

The Handler had shown Three the Briefcase Room right after Three's meltdown. Still sniffling a bit, Three asked, "So, the briefcases can take you anywhere?"

"Any time, any place," confirmed the Handler.

That night, Three was given her own bedroom in the uppermost story of the Commission. It was a nice room, complete with its own little bathroom, but Three wasn't going to be using it.

Since Three's family wasn't going to be rescuing her, she'd save herself.

All she had to do was go down a couple flights of stairs and slip into the Briefcase Room, which was monitored by an attendant, but that wouldn't be a problem. She knew that, one rumor later, she'd easily be able to get her hands on a Briefcase.

Unlike the rest of the Commission, its top story seemed to be devoid of people, excluding Three. She left her room and tiptoed down the empty hallway with no interference.

Three had almost reached the stairs when Lila came out of one of the rooms—Apparently, she had a bedroom on this floor, too. Her pajamas had cupcakes all over them, but she still looked plenty threatening. "Where do you think you're going?" She said.

Three debated whether she should come up with a lie or make a run for it, but settled for the third and most fun option. She smiled at Lila. "I heard a rumor—"

"—That you became loyal to the Handler," Lila finished for her.

A terrible feeling, like ice was coursing through her veins, overcame Three. So this is what it feels like.

She shook all over, as the chill of the Rumor took hold of her. No, no, no, no, this shouldn't be working. Lila doesn't have powers, I have powers. My brothers have powers. One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. I'm Three— No, the Handler says I'm Rose, yes, that's right- The convulsions stopped as abruptly as they'd begun.

Rose stood there shivering, wondering why she was standing in the hallway with the Handler's daughter. For the life of her, she suddenly couldn't remember.

"Wait, I'm sorry," Rose said apologetically. "What were we talking about?"

Lila's dark eyes widened with excitement, as though Christmas had come early, but she spoke casually. "You were cold, and wanted another blanket?"

Rose blinked. "Oh. Right."

"I just remembered— I actually have an extra one in my room. Let's go." Lila started backtracking down the hall. "...Um, how are you feeling, by the way?"

"I'm... fine..." Rose said confusedly. "Just cold."

"Good, good…" Lila slipped into her bedroom for a moment before returning with the promised blanket. As she pushed it into Rose's arms, she said hurriedly, "There you go. Better be off to bed now; got to be up early for training."

"Right," Rose said, still feeling rather dazed.

Lila started edging back into her room. "See you tomorrow, then…"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Rose returned to her own bedroom.

She was surprised to realize that she was starting to feel enthusiastic about training here and anxious to prove that she'd been worth recruiting. Since she was stuck here, she might as well make the most of it, right?

Rose had thought about running away, but she was now of the opinion that that was a bad idea. In fact, Rose had a strange and inexplicable feeling that she'd already tried and it hadn't worked out. But of course that was silly.

How could she even think of betraying the Handler, anyway? The Handler had said it herself: They could help each other.

She just hoped that her siblings would be okay without her. Did they miss her? Rose imagined what their upcoming 12th birthday would be like without her— Would they celebrate it, even, if she wasn't there? What names was Grace going to give them?

Rose tried to picture how her sister and brothers would look as they aged, but drew a blank. She was sorry that she was going to miss witnessing all that, but she somehow couldn't muster the desire to go home to them anymore. And it wasn't like she was particularly devoted to her father, Reginald. He was the kind of man to shame you for having weak bones if you broke an arm.

Rose shivered again, and for a moment, her sense of resolve cracked. But Rose shook it off and reminded herself that she had a new home and a new purpose.

If it all didn't work out, maybe she'd revisit the whole 'escaping' idea.