- Luke slowly turns around and recognizes the man with the gun as Jen's dad. But this guy is in no mood for meet and greets.
- With the gun still pointed at him, Luke introduces himself as a friend of Jen's and asks where she is.
- The gun gets lowered at this question but Jen's father doesn't soften up and asks how Luke knows about Jen.
- Luke admits how he's also a third child and that he discovered Jen due to his Sherlock Holmes-type detective skills.
- Mr. Talbot takes a seat and learns that Jen taught Luke to disable the alarm and asks what else they talked about.
- Naturally, Luke mentions the rally and how he was too scared to go.
- So why didn't he stop Jen? Because nothing and no one could have stopped Jen.
- This isn't news to Mr. Talbot.
- Luke continues to ask about Jen until her father confesses that she's dead.
- Wait, what?
- She was shot at the rally along with all forty other kids who showed up.
- Mr. Talbot doesn't understand how Jen could be so stupid, trying to go up against the Population Police.
- Knowing Jen as well as he did, Luke says that she knew the risks (and likelihood of success) but did it anyway.
- She didn't want to die. She just wanted to live out of the shadows.
- Luke tries to hold onto those words as if it'll help him hold on to Jen.
- But ready or not, Mr. Talbot is going to drop a bomb on Luke. Since the rally, the Government has cracked down on the secret chat room and will be able to track Luke's login back to the Talbots' house.
- It won't be long until they're searching high and low for other third children in the area.
- And according to Jen's dad, "it wouldn't take them long to find [him]" (27.60).
- So, Mr. Talbot offers Luke a solution: let him get Luke a fake I.D.
- How will he be able to do this? Turns out Mr. Talbot works for the Population Police.
- Dun-dun-duuuuuun!