The Girl Who Dared to Endure

by Bella Forrest

  I looked down at Alisha, and then began to roll her over. She was gasping for air like a fish that had been taken from water. I quickly cut her net out and removed it, my hands practiced from having done it five times already today. I hoped it ultimately proved unnecessary, and that Alisha had no knowledge of her husband’s activities, but we couldn’t take the chance. In fact, the orders we had all agreed upon were taking the legacy spies and all their family members. I already had several rooms and babysitters ready for the youngest members—anyone under fifteen—as they couldn’t be held accountable for the actions of their parents. But the adults would be detained in the bottommost cells below—where the expulsion chambers were.

  Well, for the first time in a long time, the cells in the Citadel would be teeming with people who actually deserved to be there. I looked up as the secondary team of Knights entered and motioned one of the two men over to carry Alisha. I was still too winded to do it, and besides, it was good to be the boss.

  I let him help me up, and then hobbled over to the door. I was halfway there when Quess said, Strum and Lacey have reported in. All clear. But, Liana, Lacey reported that her target attacked her, and she was forced to kill him in self-defense. Dreyfuss is dead.

  40

  Anger snapped through me, making my skin tight and hot over my muscles. I didn’t believe for a single second that Lacey had killed Dreyfuss in self-defense. She had been too eager about going, which told me only one thing: Lacey had gotten revenge for Ambrose’s death.

  I’d be happy for her, if it weren’t so shortsighted. It was going to look mighty damned convenient to Sage and Scipio that he was killed when every other legacy we had grabbed so far had been taken alive. Not to mention the fact that his place in the entire conspiracy made him an essential live target, as he might be the only one who knew where the kidnapped women were being kept.

  Thanks for the update, Quess, I thought before disconnecting the line. Cornelius, contact Lacey right now.

  One moment, Champion.

  I used the pause to move away from the others, not wanting my Knights to see anything of the exchange.

  It was an accident, her voice buzzed in my ear. My jaw tightened at the irritated quality of her voice.

  An accident? I transmitted, knowing my incredulity would come through loud and clear on her end. I thought it was self-defense. If you’re going to feed me a story, Lacey, then you should make sure it is a consistent one.

  Look, I don’t really have time for this, and neither do you. You can go ahead and feel free to perform an autopsy and investigate the scene later if you don’t believe me.

  Oh, I will, I promised her, my fury making me go ice cold. And if I find out you murdered him, I will drag your ass before Scipio myself.

  You try that, and Strum will release the evidence of you tampering with—

  That argument won’t hold weight when you hand over Tony, I interrupted her, folding my arms over my chest. Because I assume that’s how you were able to alter Scipio’s memories. Tony’s creative, right? Can manage any directive you give him, and help you cover your tracks by having Scipio sanction your operations and moves?

  That was war, Lacey seethed. I did what I had to do to survive, and—

  You’re just as guilty as these legacies of influencing Scipio, I said coldly. Which is why I expect you to bring Tony to the meeting today and surrender him. I’m still going to do my investigation, and if I find out you murdered Dreyfuss, I will come after you with everything I can. Not because you killed the rat bastard, but because you put our entire plan—the plan the three of us agreed to—at risk to get your revenge. If Sage and Scipio refuse to accept our story without him, it’s on your head.

  I ended the transmission before she could reply, knowing that she would just continue to defend herself and her actions. And in a way, I could understand. After all, a fragment of my anger was coming from resentment about not getting to confront Dreyfuss myself. I wanted my moment alone with him. I wanted to demand satisfaction. But the bulk of it was that she had put our ability to find those women at risk. There was every chance he hadn’t shared their location with any of the other legacies, and now they were likely trapped, alone, and starving—possibly in various stages of pregnancy.

  I was sickened to think of what would happen if any of the others didn’t know where they were. I doubted Sadie would tell us, even if she knew. If anything, she might hold it back out of spite.

  But there was nothing I could do about it now. Dreyfuss was dead, and I had a council meeting in just under an hour. I could figure out a way to locate the women later; start by questioning the prisoners, and work from there. For any of this to work, I had to make it to the council meeting—and I was already at risk of being late, considering I needed to shower and change.

  But then again, today was the one day that I could afford to be a little late. Especially when I had such a good excuse.

  I tried not to gulp as the familiar white dome of the Council Room loomed closer. I was already five minutes late, and I could feel the pressure accumulating. Still, I somehow managed to keep my entire demeanor cool and confident, if not for me, then for the contingent of Knights that was sweeping down the path behind me, Dylan bringing up the rear.

  To ensure that every member of the council would come in person, I had sent a request for a security briefing last night, notifying the council that the issues I had to discuss needed to be delivered in a private, closed-off session. Cornelius and Jasper had both assured me of the protocol, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the council would actually show up. They hadn’t last time. But then again, this was my first time exercising that little bit of authority. Maybe they’d show up just because they were curious.

  No, scratch that. I was worried about what would happen if I arrived, and Sadie and Plancett were missing. If they had somehow been tipped off about all the arrests going down, they would be making their escape even now—going to some unknown fallback position to regroup and plan their next move. If that happened, not only would I be unable to arrest them, I would also be facing an attack from any forces Lacey still had in play.

  The only source of comfort I had was the sound of Quess updating me with every legacy spy arrested in one of the three other departments, my group still going even now, when the council was supposed to begin. So far, they had grabbed eighteen of the twenty-one people remaining. The final three groups were just checking in now, as it had taken Lacey’s and Strum’s people more time to relay the messages.

  Teams 13 and 31 have checked in, Quess reported. Just waiting on 28. How are you doing?

  “I’m almost there,” I said out loud, my head aching slightly from all the activity on the net. “Dylan and her team of Knights will be standing at the ready outside, to make the arrests, and I’ll notify you when I want you to send them in.”

  How are Jasper and Rose doing? he asked, and I glanced over my shoulder at Dylan, who was carrying two modified hard drives and their external batteries. It would keep the AIs alive for twenty-four hours, thanks to Quess’s ingenuity. However, I doubted we would need them that long. I studied the boxes closely and watched for the blinking lights that told me they were receiving a steady power supply.

  They seem fine.

  And Dylan has no idea what she’s holding?

  I smiled. We hadn’t told anyone about the AI fragments, but in order to explain why we needed the hard drives, we had convinced her that all of Sadie’s files were on them both. She had bought it hook, line, and sinker. Not a clue.

  Although, I was starting to feel a little bad about leaving her in the dark so much. She had certainly proved herself through and through. Still, I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone until I was certain that Sadie and Plancett were in the Council Room, and that we had secured every legacy.

  Just got the final report in. We got ‘em all, Liana, including Dr. Smiley, the guy in IT. Dinah helped us cover our tracks in and out, so I don’t think Sadie has any idea t
hat we got them. You should be good to go for your dramatic reveal.

  I smiled at his joke but felt a grim sense of satisfaction as we crossed the final manmade stream via a wooden bridge, our footsteps making heavy clomping noises as we walked across. Dr. Smiley, their plastic surgeon, had been the man accompanying Baldy in the Medica the day we killed Devon—Plain-Face, I had called him. I hadn’t suspected him of being their surgeon, but then again, I had only ever seen him once. That’s it, then. And it all comes down to this. Wish me luck.

  Good luck, he replied.

  I moved around one of the fountains, barely glancing at the insignias from the departments engraved on each column, and headed for the massive door. I paused just in front of it and glanced toward Dylan. “Be ready for my call,” I told her.

  She nodded. “We’ll be here.”

  I turned away and slipped through the door, now seven minutes late. I walked around the middle table and to the door, pushing it in and entering the circular chamber.

  My eyes immediately darted over to Sadie’s position, and I saw, to my imminent relief, that she was sitting there, a displeased scowl on her face. They all were; Lacey and Strum had even beaten me here, and Scipio’s holographic projection was represented as sitting, one cheek resting on his fist in abject boredom.

  “I apologize for my tardiness,” I said, coming to a stop in front of them and offering a respectful nod of my head that was only directed to about half of the group in attendance. “I assure you, it has everything to do with my security briefing, but I believe that is last on the agenda.”

  “Indeed,” Scipio said, leaning forward slightly. “Please take your seat.”

  I hurried to the door just under the carving of my department, opened it, and climbed up the tight stairwell to the seating area above. Dropping into my chair, I tapped the screen on the terminal, and then gave Scipio a pleasant smile. “Ready when you are.”

  There were thirteen items on the list, and since my request was the last one in, we wound up going through the other twelve first, most of which were departmental jurisdiction issues. There were only two that I cared about, but just like in the previous session, Sadie requested an extension on the vote to dissolve the expulsion chambers. I voted yes, only this time, there was a savage pleasure in doing it. Sadie’s insistence on delaying the vote only meant those chambers would still be in use when she was arrested. If the trial went quickly, Sadie would be executed for her crimes in one of them.

  And it would be all her fault.

  The second to last issue was Sadie’s report on the malfunctioning assistants. Lacey had triggered her quarters to reset the night before last—when I had given her the virus—and Sadie was reporting her findings to the council. With any luck, it would be the last report she gave.

  “It’s my opinion that the glitch in the assistants is due to a software update that proved to be faulty. We have corrected the problem with Scipio’s assistance, and will be sending a new update to the council server within a few hours.”

  I sat up a little straighter as I realized my security briefing was next and tried to prepare myself mentally.

  “Will the update damage or change our assistants in any way?” Sage asked.

  “No,” Sadie replied with a soft shake of her head. “The patch will just keep the program from ever reading that their council member has died before they actually have. That’s all.”

  “We thank you for your thoroughness,” Scipio intoned formally. “I trust this issue is now resolved?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I yield the floor to the next item of business.”

  “Which is Champion Castell’s security briefing,” Scipio said, turning his glowing blue gaze toward me.

  I smiled and stood up from my chair, surreptitiously wiping my suddenly sweaty palms on the sides of my hips. “Thank you, Lord Scipio,” I said, while simultaneously transmitting, Enter the room in five seconds, to Dylan. “Let me begin by ordering the arrests of CEO Sadie Monroe and Head Farmer Emmanuel Plancett.”

  41

  I could’ve dropped a pin in the silence that followed my statement, and the sound would’ve been louder than any bell or klaxon. I watched Sadie’s face as her jaw dropped, her eyes widening in shock, and felt that savage pleasure again. We’ve caught her unaware. Quess was right: she had no idea we were coming. We’ve got her. I shifted my gaze to Plancett to confirm, and sure enough, his eyes were practically bulging out of his skull, and I feared one good slap to the back of his head would pop them right out. We got you too, you rat bastard.

  Suddenly the doors pushed open, and Dylan strode in with the contingent of Knights, jerking Sadie’s gaze toward them. Any blood that remained in her face drained completely out, but I could see her already looking around, her eyes calculating. “This is preposterous,” she sputtered. “I am a loyal—”

  “Yes, but loyal to whom?” I interrupted, unable to keep the smugness out of my voice. “Because I have evidence that proves that it hasn’t been to the Tower. And it certainly hasn’t been to Scipio. In fact, you and your family come from a long line of dissidents who have been slowly subverting Scipio’s coding for the last two hundred years.”

  “That’s insane,” Sadie said, standing up and taking a step back as Dylan threw open her door, hard enough to make the wood reverberate. “Lord Scipio, I’m innocent. This is clearly an attempt to—do not touch me!” She recoiled from Dylan as if she were a rust hawk and thrust her wrist up. “Scipio knows the truth! He blesses me with a ten because of my service!”

  “Actually, he grants you a ten because your predecessor some two or three generations ago ripped out his emotional core and replaced it with a program that ensured that those in the upper echelons of power would remain there—no matter what—while those who weren’t privileged enough to earn those positions would fall faster and faster in rank. But we’ll get to that.” I looked over at where Dylan and Sadie were eyeing each other warily. “Dylan, restrain CEO Monroe. Gag her if she can’t remain quiet. I have quite a lot to go through, and it’ll go faster without interruptions.”

  “I stand with Sadie in that this is preposterous!” Plancett declared, finally breaking out of his shock. I glanced at him to see that another Knight was already placing the cuffs on his wrists.

  “Can’t you see what’s happening?” Sadie shouted, and I looked over to see that Dylan had grabbed her and pressed her over the desk, holding her still so she could restrain the struggling woman. “This is nothing short of a coup! The new Champion is trying to institute a regime change in our departments so that she can—”

  Her shouting quickly became muted as Dylan pressed a metal muffler over her jaw, molding the pliable material against her mouth and cutting off the cries.

  “That’s better,” I said, pressing a finger in my ear. “Now—”

  “Champion Castell, explain yourself,” Scipio interrupted, his voice an ice-cold vice that promised death should my answers not satisfy him. “CEO Monroe has my endorsement as—”

  “You’ll forgive me, Lord Scipio, if your endorsement can’t possibly hold much weight in this issue,” I interjected softly. “CEO Monroe’s family is part of a centuries-old terrorist cell, bent on controlling you for their own purposes. And they have been succeeding, sir. Your opinion is suspect, because you are lacking the important elements of your code that you need to make your own determination.”

  Scipio froze for several long seconds, his face locked in an impassive mask. “I show no degradation of my systems,” he said, sneering. “And you are not qualified to make such determinations on my coding.”

  “And yet I have evidence, taken from Sadie Monroe’s terminal,” I said, trying to maintain my calm. “As well as several parts of your missing code. Parts that Sadie and her family stole.”

  “And Plancett?” Sage asked, finally breaking his silence. “What is his role in this little melodrama?”

  “Conspiracy. Sadie was purchasing Plancett’s loyalty and voting power on t
he council, in exchange for making it more difficult for his workers’ ranks to drop and supplying him with ration cards.” I paused and tapped on my screen. Sure enough, the file containing all of the pertinent evidence was sitting there waiting for me, sent by Cornelius right after I started speaking. “On the council server, you will each find a message with files recovered from Sadie’s terminal. Included among them are messages between her and Plancett, discussing issues like this. The messages were encrypted, but thanks to the bits of Scipio’s code we recovered, we were able to decrypt them.”

  I watched Sage lean forward and tap on the screen, his eyes scanning through his messages. “There are hundreds of files in this,” he said. “Thousands. How did you recover them?”

  “I broke into her quarters,” I admitted. “We knew that she had parts of Scipio’s code stored in there and had reason to believe she was planning to use those parts against him.”

  Sage cocked his head at me for a second, and then his eyes narrowed. “Your quarters resetting. You did that?”

  I hesitated. I hadn’t expected anyone to figure that part out, but Sage was smarter than most. “Yes. It was necessary to cover our movements. You see, Sadie isn’t alone in this. She is part of a massive family, half of whom have been infiltrating departments all over. The other half are living as undocs, and soldiers in her war against the Tower. If they had caught on to what I was trying to do, they would’ve tried harder to kill me and everyone working with me to keep it secret. I have evidence that they did it before, twenty-five years ago. I also have evidence that Sadie was responsible for the sentinel that attacked the contestants in the Tourney, killing Min-Ha Kim and my mother, Holly Castell.”

  Sage frowned, his bushy brows drawing together. “That is a very long list of some rather serious allegations. And it does nothing to answer Scipio’s question. How are you or any of your people qualified to identify Scipio’s coding? For that matter, what happened twenty-five years ago that bears any relevance to this matter? I’m sorry, but before I can sign off on you arresting the heads of two different departments, I’m going to need to see this evidence.”