24.

Waiting

I steel myself, bracing for Cillian Gant’s reaction. I’ve just reported what happened over the past twenty-four hours, starting with the ambush. This is the version Astrid and I worked on last night as we waited for our rescue party to arrive. I’m pretty sure I’ve stuck to the script, weaving in just enough true details for the story to sound plausible.

Unless the RTC scanner is broken, Gant couldn’t have heard our conversation in the tunnel last night. Why, then, does he look like he’s about to reach through the screen to rip off my head?

“First you make me wait for your transmission,” he hisses though clenched teeth, “and then you deliver this pathetic tale of incompetence! You had one mission! One…!”

He slams his fist down on the console, making me jump. “Mission! Deliver Miss Blake to the Aletheians. And what did you do?”

Fragging psycho. I avert my eyes, hoping he mistakes my hatred for fear.

 “You let her escape and got captured yourself!”

“You’re right sir,” I say. “There’s no excuse for my failure.”

“It’s too late for apologies. All actions must have consequences.”

“But I deserve another chance!” When I stare into those cold gray eyes, I know right away I’ve let my mask slip. The bastard’s just caught a glimpse of my true feelings.

When he speaks again, his voice is as low and menacing as a ripper’s growl. “Are you thinking for yourself again, young brother? Have you forgotten where that path leads?”

Before I can reassure him I meant no disrespect, the screen flickers to a scene straight out of my nightmares. The girl lying on a cement floor must be my sister, even though it’s too dark to know for sure. Her legs are tucked into her chest and she’s twitching and whimpering like a wounded animal.

“Her greatest fear is being attacked by monsters,” Gant taunts off-screen. “Common phobia for a girl her age. Right now, she thinks five shadow rippers are tearing her apart.”

“No!” I lurch forward. “Stop this! Please!”

“Right now?” Gant reappears on the screen, palms raised in a gesture of helplessness. “I’m afraid that’s beyond my control. She still has thirty minutes left in this dream cycle. Given her young age, that’s the limit. Any longer and she’d probably never wake up.”

“You promised not to hurt her!” I cry. “That was the deal!”

“Correct. That was the deal, until you broke it by trying to deceive me.”

“No I didn’t!” I draw in a long breath, trying not to hyperventilate. Stay calm. He’ll only gain strength from your panic. “I swear I’m telling the truth, sir. I’d never lie to you.”

“Then let me get this straight.” Gant laces his fingers together. “I’m supposed to believe that you and Miss Blake were trapped during an ambush. Then, when the terrorists closed in, they captured you while letting the Prime Founder’s daughter escape. Do you think I’m a fool?”

“No, sir. Give me another chance.” How do I get this monster to tell me where he’s taken my sister? “Please. I won’t fail you again. Just don’t hurt her.”

“It’s too late for that, but she only has…” Gant checks his time stamp, earthworm lips wriggling into a smile. “Twenty-one minutes to go. She has a strong mind, Wil. She may even emerge without any permanent damage.”

“Where –” I clench my fists at my sides, imagining I’m crushing his windpipe. “Where have you taken her?”

“Somewhere safe and secure.”

So he’s moved her from Ag Set Three. But where? How do I get him to reveal where he’s taken her?

 “What you just showed me could’ve been recorded earlier. How do I know she’s still alive?”

He answers me with a cruel laugh. “You don’t.”

“Then...” I force myself to meet his gaze. “I need proof. And your word that she won’t be harmed again.”

The corners of his mouth twitch. “You’re in no position to make demands, brother. How would you like me to unleash real rippers into her cell?”

“I can’t control your actions, sir,” I answer, holding my voice steady. “But I can control mine. So I feel I should warn you…”

Gant’s eyes narrow, daring me to continue.

I swallow the boulder in my throat and press on. “Hurting my sister won’t force my cooperation. It will do the opposite. Right now, the Aletheians think I’m on their side. They think I’m going to betray Astrid in exchange for my freedom. I’m a link you can’t replace.”

Gant’s reaction reminds me of a snake poised to strike: eyes fixed, head cocked to one side and frozen. I’m about to check the console to see if the vid feed’s been broken when he reaches up to remove his glasses.

“So disappointing.” He inspects one lens as if it’s a window to my soul. “Still trying to think for yourself.”

“I just need to know she’s okay. Just show me she’s still alive and I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Oh, she’s alive,” he taunts. “But I wouldn’t count on that lasting. Guests of the Crypts aren’t exactly known for their... longevity.”

The Crypts! My heart sinks. That’s the Prime Enforcer’s personal interrogation wing, located somewhere in the dark bowels of the Citadel. How in flames and ashes am I supposed to rescue my sister from there?

“Why are you doing this?” I say. “She’s just a child.”

“I’m not doing anything to her, Wil. You are! Defy me and you hurt her. Disappoint me and you hurt her. Fail me…” He gives me the kind of smile that belongs on a rotting corpse. “Well, you get the idea. I don’t think she’ll survive another one of your failures.”

I lower my head, taking a moment to process this bad news. There’s no way I’m rescuing my sister from the Crypts. She may as well be imprisoned on the moon.

“And if I deliver Astrid to the Aletheians?”

“Then…” He checks his glasses one last time before slipping them back on. “I’ll keep my word and release your sister. I’ll even forgive your recent insubordination. Consider this another chance, Wil.” His eyes bore into mine. “Your final chance.”

I force out a thank you, trying not to choke on the words as I promise he won’t be disappointed.

“I’m sure your sister will appreciate that news. When will you make contact with the Aletheians again?”

“Within a week,” I reply, thinking of the activated coin transmitter. What did Thea say? That an Aletheian named Rogue would come for us.

Hopefully, they're already on their way.

*

Where are those bleeding Aletheians?

Five days have passed since Astrid activated the coin transmitter – five days and still no word from Rogue. I’m starting to feel on edge, and I can tell from Astrid’s tense body language that I’m not the only one. What if they never got the signal? Then there’s another bleaker possibility: since we returned, the Enforcers have stepped up their raids on suspected Aletheian positions. Liv, Thea and Cael could have been injured or killed.

I need to start thinking up a plan B. Problem is, I can’t see any way out of York without the help of the Aletheians.

“Hey, Wilmington! The Commander wants to see you.”

I glance up to see Dax, wearing his trademark crooked grin. I’m in the rec room, sprawled out on the weight bench and Vin is grunting somewhere to my right. He’s the one who dragged me here at the crack of dawn, insisting I needed to start the day by venting some steam.

“Now?” I ask, pulling myself upright.

Dax yawns and rubs sleep from his eyes. “You still have time for breakfast. Sorry to interrupt your morning grunting session, but you’d better get moving.” He turns to Vin and clears his throat. “That includes you, Vineland! The boss wants to brief all newbies. Wouldn’t make him wait.”

Once he’s gone, Vin drops his free weights to the floor with a loud crash and turns to give me a “what-the-frag” look. “I’m supposed to take orders from someone who never shaves and wears his hair like that?”

I shrug. “May not look the part, but technically, he does outrank us.”

“Whatever. For the record, I don’t like him.”

“Give it time. He may grow on you.”

Vin frowns. “Yeah. Like a fungus.”

He’s got a point. I haven’t figured Dax out yet, and probably never will. One moment he comes across as pretty decent, and the next, he acts like a total idiot. Then again, it’s not like I plan on being around long enough to learn all the nuances of his personality.

I’m debating whether or not I have time for a shower when Astrid barges into the rec room, looking frazzled.

“I’ve got a headache,” she announces in a strained voice. Back in the tunnel, we came up with this sentence to signify an emergency, but I don’t need the cue; one look at her face and I know something bad just happened. Something really bad.

Vin gives me a puzzled look, but I don’t have time to explain. “I’ll meet you at the Commander’s office, okay?”

He frowns to let me know he resents being kept in the dark again.

“You can go to the canteen,” Astrid suggests with a forced smile. “Brenne and Ferro are waiting for you.”

“Right. See you in a few” He wipes the sweat off his face and arms, then slams the towel into a waste basket and leaves without another word. Damn. Not this again.

I turn to Astrid and mouth “What?” but she just shakes her head. Something’s definitely wrong; if she looked any paler, she’d need a blood transfusion.

I follow her into the hallway, speed-walking in silence down the stairs leading to sub-level D. When we reach the catacombs, she glances around to confirm we’re alone and then breaks into a jog. Minutes later, we’re back inside the generator room. She zigzags through the obstacle course of scalding pipes and machinery like she’s done this a thousand times, then waits impatiently for me by the generator core.

“We’re clear,” I say once I’ve checked the RTC scanner. When I glance up at Astrid again, I don’t like what I see. She’s crying, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“What happened?”

She backs away when I reach for her hand, shoulders heaving in silent sobs.

“Tell me, Astrid. It’ll be okay.”

“No.” She blinks away tears. “No it won’t! Gant just seized control of Founder’s City.”

Her words hit me like a lightning stick. “How –” Suddenly, it’s hard to breath.

“It doesn’t matter! Don’t you understand?” She rubs her eyes, looking like she’s trying to scour away reality. “The monster’s taken over!”

“We don’t know that. The High Founders won’t just accept Gant’s power grab. They’ll fight him.”

She shakes her head, lips pressed into a grim line. “No they won’t. The Council met him with open arms. It’s not like they had a choice. Once his army of Enforcers swept through Founder’s City, no one dared to stand up to him. They’ve already declared him the new Prime Founder.”

“How do you know all this?” I ask, hoping against all odds she’s gotten false information.

“Ferro.”

My heart sinks when she names her source. Ferro may be a lot of unpleasant things, but he’s no liar.

“His parents told him through the Link before Gant blocked all transmissions to York. They wanted to evacuate him, but he refused.”

“So is your dad…?”

She sniffs. “I have no idea. He could have escaped, but –”

“Then we’ll find him. Maybe the Aletheians will help us.”

“The Aletheians?” She stares at me like I’m a crazy person. “The Aletheians are done, Wil! Don’t you get that? Why do you think they haven’t come for us yet? Thea. Liv. Cael. They’re all either captured or dead!”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“Yes we do. Do the math! Gant has over a half-million Enforcers. How do you fight numbers like that?”

“I… I don’t know.”

She wipes away a fresh stream of tears. “I was going to use the Aletheians to get to my father. I thought if we could warn him, he’d still have time to stop Gant. Then we could rescue your sister. But I’m too late.” She fights off another sob. “Dad may be dead already.”

I stare at this girl I’ve come to admire for her strength, wondering what to do next. I’m so used to seeing her in command that I don’t know how to react. What if her spirit’s broken? How will I fight Gant without her? There’s just no way...

Fortunately, my body knows what to do even if my brain doesn’t. I close the distance between us and hug her tightly, feeling her body stiffen and then relax as she buries her face against my chest. My fingers fan through her hair and I draw her closer, pressing my lips to the top of her head. She smells like lavender and tears.

“It’ll be all right,” I promise. “We’ll find a way.”

“But how?” She pulls away to meet my gaze and that’s when I see it: that defiant flash of blue I’ve grown to love. She’s not ready to give up. Not even close.

“I don’t know. We’ll –”

The generator room door explodes inward before I can finish my thought, flooding the room with light. Through the glare, I see the silhouettes of at least a dozen Enforcers rushing in. They surround us with their weapons drawn, boots pounding out an executioner’s drumroll.

It’s over. I hold my breath and brace for the first blow, but the Enforcers stop advancing.

Agonizing seconds pass before one figure saunters forward, like a High Founder taking a leisurely stroll. He’s less than a dozen feet away when I hear Astrid cursing under her breath.

She must recognize him too, because he’s looking right at her.

“Sorry, Sunshine,” Dax drawls, sounding like he’s anything but. “Tough break. Looks like the two of you are under arrest.”

***

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