CHAPTER 40

FADE TO BLACK

     When I turned Stevie's phone on, I knew I wouldn't have much time. The last time we powered it up, it took the Suits less than five minutes to find us. It got me wondering how many Suits were actually out there, even though we never saw more than five of them.

     I quickly reread the instructions on the ham wrapper and took a deep breath. The old man sitting next to me must have noticed my stress because he put his paper on his lap and smiled with ease. "You look worried. Is everything OK?" I wanted to tell him how scared I was, but there really wasn't any time for that.

     "Oh yeah, everything's just great." I tried to smile back but my face felt like it was etched in stone.

     He looked at me with raised eyebrows and picked his paper back up. I hadn't sold him on that at all. Oh, well. I had to focus.

     I closed my eyes, took another deep breath, and turned on the phone. My heart was racing as I scrolled to the LightYear app. The sun was behind me so I held up the phone just above the bench and pointed the viewfinder directly into its rays.

     My hands were shaking uncontrollably, making it nearly impossible to switch the camera to PANO mode. I was able to hold my index finger steady enough to tap the button, and the Fusion meter started to go up . . . slowly . . . like snails running up a peanut butter hill. It would be hours at this pace. I didn't have that kind of time.

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