Page 1668 - Enders_Game_Full_Book

Who would have imagined that she would ever think of Battle School as her era of freedom and happiness? It certainly hadn't seemed that way at the time.
To be fair, her captivity was not painful. As long as Achilles was in Hyderabad, she had the run of the base, though she was never unobserved. She could go to the library and do research-though one of her guards had to thumb the ID pad, verifying that she had logged on as herself, with all the restrictions that implied, before she could access the nets. She could run through the dusty countryside that was used for military maneuvers-and sometimes could almost forget the other footfalls keeping syncopated rhythm with her own. She could eat what she wanted, sleep when she wanted. There were times when she almost forgot she wasn't free. There were far more times when, knowing she was not free, she almost decided to stop hoping that her captivity would ever end.
It was Bean's messages that kept her hope alive. She could not answer him, and therefore stopped thinking of his messages as actual communications. Instead they were something deeper than mere attempts at making contact. They were proof that she had not been forgotten. They were proof that Petra Arkanian, Battle School brat, still had a friend who respected her and cared for her enough to refuse to give up. Each message was a cool kiss to her fevered brow.
And then one day Achilles came to her and told her he was going on a trip.
She assumed at once that this meant she would be confined to her room, locked down and under guard, until Achilles returned.
"No locks this time," said Achilles. "You're coming with me."
"So it's someplace inside India?"
"In one sense yes," said Achilles. "In another, no."
"I'm not interested in your games," she said, yawning. "I'm not going."
"Oh, you won't want to miss this," said Achilles. "And even if you did, it wouldn't matter, because I need you, so you'll be there."
" What can you possibly need me for?"
"Oh, well, when you put it that way, I suppose I should be more precise. I need you to see what takes place at the meeting."
"Why? Unless there's a successful assassination attempt, there's nothing I want to see you do." "The meeting," said Achilles, "is in Islamabad."
Petra had no smart reply to that. The capital of Pakistan. It was unthinkable. What possible business could Achilles have there? And why would he bring her?