easy. I’ve been learning that. I’ve been learning a lot more. > I can help you. I should do that for you. You’re doing what you can for me. (Even if you’re not doing it with my permission.) > Reply if you get this, if you’re on the run and alone. Or reply if you’re in custody, being run by our friends on Gitmo, looking for a way to make the pain stop. If they’ve got you, you’ll do what they tell you. I know that. I’ll take that risk. > For you, M1k3y.
“Wooooah,” Liam breathed. “Duuuuude.” I wanted to smack him. I turned to say something awful and cutting to him, but he was staring at me with eyes as big as saucers, looking like he wanted to drop to his knees and worship me. “Can I just say,” Nate said, “can I just say that it is the biggest honor of my entire life to help you? Can I just say that?” I was blushing now. There was nothing for it. These two were totally star-struck, even though I wasn’t any kind of star, not in my own mind at least. “Can you guys — ” I swallowed. “Can I have some privacy here?” They slunk out of the room like bad puppies and I felt like a tool. I typed fast.
CORY DOCTOROW · 264
>I got away, Zeb. And I’m on the run. I need all the help I can get. I want to end this now.
I remembered to take Masha’s phone out of my pocket and tickle it to keep it from going to sleep. They let me use the shower, gave me a change of clothes, a new backpack with half their earthquake kit in it — energy bars, medicine, hot and cold packs, and an old sleeping-bag. They even slipped a spare XBox Universal already loaded with ParanoidXBox on it into there. That was a nice touch. I had to draw the line at a flaregun. I kept on checking my email to see if Zeb had replied. I answered the fan mail. I answered the mail from the press. I deleted the hate mail. I was half-expecting to see something from Masha, but chances were she was halfway to LA by now, her fingers hurt, and in no position to type. I tickled her phone again. They encouraged me to take a nap and for a brief, shameful moment, I got all paranoid like maybe these guys were thinking