Numbers Ascending

by Rebecca Rode

  There was only one thing left to do.

  I cried out. She fell for it, looking over her right shoulder in alarm. She did care.

  I took the moment to reclaim the inside and charged for the straightaway before she realized she’d been duped at her own game. A deep laugh broke from her throat.

  Our proctors scrambled back as we approached the finish line, clearing the track. They looked positively baffled at this development.

  Legacy’s laughter only increased as I flew over the line first. I gasped for breath and slowed, finally looking behind me to see what was so funny. The heiress stood bent over, chest heaving, and laughing so hard she seemed positively out of her mind.

  At my expression, she bowled over and threw herself onto the ground, her laughter an odd mixture of giggling and gulping air.

  “That . . . was . . . fun,” she managed between gasps.

  My legs shook so badly I wondered if I’d join her. Instead, I walked over and offered a hand, still panting. “Good race.”

  Before I knew what was happening, she’d hooked her leg around mine and brought me down.

  Dane’s training kicked in, and I landed lightly, rolling away. Standing was a little harder. My legs had chosen now to betray me. Every other recruit in the gym ran over from the warm-up area, all smiles and congratulations.

  “That was amazing, man,” Lars said, clapping me on the back, although his gaze was on Legacy. She still lay laughing on the track, one knee bent. Her shirt clung to her body, revealing more of her curves than usual and drawing every pair of male eyes in the room. Even the proctors’, I noticed with a frown.

  “That was stupid,” Millian muttered, pulling Legacy to her feet. “What were you guys trying to prove? That you could make yourselves sick before dinnertime?”

  That set Legacy laughing again. Her usual scowls were completely absent, replaced with an untethered joy that seemed so unlike her, so un-Hawking-like I fought to hide a grin. Her bright green held a new light, a shining contrast to her flushed face. She stood and brushed a stray hair back toward her ponytail before placing a hand on her hip, her chest still rising and falling in time with mine.

  As oxygen returned to my brain, the thrill of victory was replaced with shame. Millian was right. Fun as it was, that race was the dumbest thing I could have done today. Now everyone’s eyes were on us. Together. They’d assume our competition meant more than it did.

  Legacy sobered as well. Maybe she was remembering my declaration that we weren’t friends. An early attempt to send a strong message, contradicted by this first test of determination.

  I couldn’t make that mistake again.

  Legacy’s cheeks were bright red now, but it wasn’t from exertion. “Not bad for a . . . Shadows guy.”

  We both knew what she’d been about to say. The fact that she’d avoided outing me in front of our entire recruiting class and two proctors meant something, but I wasn’t sure what.

  “Hey, show-off,” Forehead Guy said, tearing my attention from Legacy. “You aren’t finished yet. Come cool down with some more stretches, or I’ll take points off your standings.”

  “They both need some serious cooling down,” muttered the girl who’d cheered me on.

  I felt Legacy’s eyes on my back as I walked away.

  Twelve

  Legacy

  “Yes, I know who you are, and I still think you should be in bed.” The worker stubbornly folded her arms, keeping her wheeled waste bin within reach. She wore her hair short, like a young boy’s, giving her a youthful look despite the gray strands in her hair. I remembered her from the first day. She’d given me a smile and a wink. There would be no such kindness today.

  I sighed inwardly. To say my interviewing attempts were going poorly was an understatement. This was the fourth worker I’d cornered tonight, and she seemed even less willing to help than the others.

  “I only have a few questions. If it helps, I’ll . . . I’ll clean with you.”

  She snickered. “You? Hawking’s daughter?”

  “I will. If you’ll answer my questions, that is.”

  The woman gave me a skeptical look. “You ever mopped a floor before?”

  “Of course.” I couldn’t think of a specific instance, but surely I’d done it once or twice. “My mother worked here for twenty years. I’m wondering if you knew her.”

  She shoved a mop into my hands and motioned to the dirty water in the bucket next to the waste bin. I wrinkled my nose. Neuromen created the most advanced technology in the country, yet this poor woman was forced to scrub floors like some medieval maidservant.

  The worker folded her arms again, watching me carefully. She didn’t mean for me to work alongside her. She wanted me to do it for her.

  Cringing, I plunged the mop into the water and splattered it onto the floor. Then I began to scrub. The mop was heavier than it looked.

  The woman looked amused, but her expression faded quickly. “Doctor Hawking was a good soul. So kind to me and the others.”

  I nodded. “She was kind to everyone.”

  “That she was. Volunteered to participate in her last experiment, I did.”

  I nearly dropped the mop. “Really?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  But that didn’t make sense. According to Virgil, Mom had attempted the update on herself before the project even went to human trials. “What did she have you doing?”

  She looked surprised. “You don’t know? She programmed our implants with something new. Or at least she was supposed to. Mine didn’t work.”

  I frowned. “It didn’t work, or you didn’t notice a difference?”

  “Not sure. All I know is that some people didn’t like it, and she tried to reverse it, but that didn’t work either. Director Virgil sent them all off for treatment and I haven’t seen them since. Your mama was pretty upset.”

  The information came faster than I could process it. “So the update didn’t work for you, and that was a good thing?”

  “Maybe, maybe not. They’re free, and I’m still here.”

  I wasn’t sure whether she meant the test subjects were released from Virgil’s service or dead. I didn’t dare ask. “Then Mom’s update backfired, and she was sad about it.”

  “Very. Kind woman, your mother. Scrubbed her lab spotless before she left every night so I wouldn’t have to. You missed a spot by the corner.”

  I followed her gaze to a dirt stain and attacked it. This was definitely harder than it looked. “You said Virgil sent those test subjects away, but he swears he didn’t know anything about the project until after the explosion.”

  The woman snickered. “He swears a lot of things. The question you should be asking is why Virgil didn’t conduct an investigation afterward.”

  The mop froze in my hands. “He didn’t?”

  “Nope. Just cleared the rubble and rebuilt, all hush-hush. Expected them to come looking for me and anyone else involved, but they didn’t question nobody.”

  I let that sink in. Hadn’t Virgil mentioned bringing experts in to detect explosives and chemicals? Either he or this woman was lying, and I couldn’t think of a single reason why the janitor would mislead me about this.

  Mom always said that lies were like ants—a single one meant hundreds of others lurked out of sight.

  I should have been excited to get my first real lead, but all I felt was a sinking sensation in my stomach. Publicly, Virgil had blamed the explosion on Mom’s negligence. It was his lies that had ignited the slander and gossip about my family over the past year. He’d lied to my face.

  My grip on the mop was so tight I could have snapped it in two. “There’s a white wall in the garden with a camera trained on it. Is it significant?”

  “I’d say so. Used to be Virgil’s office before they built the new wing. It’s sealed off now. Put the camera on it because some fool tried to get in there a few weeks ago, but it’s been empty for years. Even if he succeeded, he would’ve been disappointed.
”

  So much for that lead. “Last question. Do you know what caused my mom’s explosion?”

  She hesitated, then shook her head. “Nothing related to her project, I imagine. Wasn’t a flammable thing in sight. No chemicals, no powder. Still can’t figure out how it happened. And I think we’re done here.”

  I looked down at the floor. A centimeter of dirty water covered the once-white floor, turning it a sickly gray. "Sorry. I’m not very experienced.”

  “Didn’t expect you to be. Just wanted to see if you’d do it. But we’re done because you’ve already stayed too long.” She gestured to a distant light blinking down the hall. A camera.

  I’d nearly forgotten. “Thank you.”

  “Your mama was a good woman. That’s the only reason I agreed to this conversation. Be smart, all right? Not all of them can be trusted.” She yanked the mop from me, and with a practiced hand began to soak up the puddle of dirty water I’d spread around the shiny white floor.

  The woman’s words consumed my thoughts on my way back to the dorms.

  That angry inner core burned bright with a red heat. I’d been right to come. Mom’s death grew more suspicious all the time. But if her death wasn’t related to the project itself, what was the cause? If Virgil was behind it, why stage a violent explosion that destroyed a huge chunk of his own enterprise? Dad had said the reconstruction alone had nearly put them under financially, not to mention the resulting months of lost work.

  Distant laughter pulled me up short. The power restriction hadn’t taken effect yet. By the sound of things, the candidates’ common area was full tonight.

  Curious, I made my way to the door and peered in. The lounge boasted a long table, a dozen haphazardly scattered chairs, and four sofas over which several recruits were draped. A couple embraced in the corner, oblivious to the laughter and chatter around them. Millian sat on one of the sofas. Her hands moved animatedly as she talked to another girl.

  It stung that she hadn’t invited me along. I tried to remind myself that I didn’t care, that I’d pushed her and everyone else away for a reason. But it still hurt.

  “The princess has arrived,” an unfamiliar girl said with a smirk. She wore her dark hair in two thick braids. “Thought you’d be sleeping off your cute little race this afternoon.”

  I caught sight of Kole. He sat on the farthest sofa from the door, arms sprawled across the back of the sofa. A girl perched at his side. She could easily be a model with her long reddish-brown hair and tiny figure. She wore an easy smile and shiny lip gloss to go with it. She leaned over to say something close to his ear. Kole laughed in response. When he caught my gaze, the laughter stopped and he quickly looked away.

  “He doesn’t seem tired, though,” the girl continued, still blocking my entrance. “Gotta love a guy with endurance. Is that sweat on your shirt, or did you spill your dinner?”

  I looked down to find a dirty wet spot on my T-shirt. I’d managed to mop myself along with the floor.

  Millian appeared at my side before I could answer. “Hey, I know you. Aren’t you the one who keeps getting demoted? Zen or something?”

  “Zen-NAY,” Zenye corrected. “And I’ve been held back because of health problems. Not that it’s any of your business.”

  “And my roommate isn’t any of yours, so you can leave her alone.” Millian took my arm and pulled me inside before I could react.

  I tried to hide my surprise. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t get any ideas. This doesn’t mean I like you or anything. It just means I dislike her more. I can’t stand fake, and she’s as fake as it gets.” Her grin softened the words.

  I found myself smiling back. We had that in common, at least. “Why didn’t you tell me about this get-together?”

  “You disappeared. Where did you go, anyway?”

  “Oh. I was . . . walking around.”

  Kole’s eyes flicked to me again, then back to the redhead like they’d never left her.

  Millian followed my gaze and pressed her lips together in disapproval. “I’d avoid that one if I were you. He keeps staring when you aren’t looking. Oh, and stay away from that creepy guy in the corner too. I’ve heard things. Everyone else is decent, from what I can tell.”

  “So we just stand around and . . . talk?”

  She coughed to cover a laugh. “You look terrified. Is your social anxiety that bad?”

  I was used to parties and fake conversation, but this wasn’t a political reception at the Block. This was real life. No guards, no cameras. Just kids my age living normal life as I’d never known it. “It’s not that. I’ve just never done this before.”

  “Well, get used to it, because this is officially your new social life. Go pick somebody and talk to them. Simple.” She crossed the room to chat with a boy whose medium-brown features reminded me of Alex. He slouched when she arrived, his eyes darting around. I wasn’t the only one who found this get-together baffling.

  I swept the room. Everyone was already engaged in conversation except the corner guy Millian had mentioned. He looked up at my gaze, grinned, and stood.

  Oops.

  He made his way over and placed himself close enough that I took a step backward. “Hi.”

  His pale eyes reminded me distinctly of Derik. It made me shiver, but I managed to hide the emotion. “I’m Legacy.”

  “I know.”

  Eye roll. “Human beings usually have a name bestowed on them at birth. Unless you’re telling me you’re an exception.”

  He stared at me, something unsettling in his gaze. “Thanks for the education, princess.”

  “I could just look up your name, you know.”

  “But you won’t because names don’t matter. Only simple-minded people care about such things. We both want something different from the conversation, don’t we?” He looked me up and down in a way that made me take another step back.

  “I want nothing from this conversation, to be honest.” Creepy guy, indeed. I looked around the room for a distraction, but there was none.

  “I watched your boyfriend’s little broadcast last year. He said you’ve experienced all kinds of things.”

  My chest seized. I had no desire to discuss what Derik had said about me. “Ex-boyfriend, and this conversation is done. I’ll see you around.”

  I tried to step around him, but he blocked my escape. “Don’t deny it. We both know you aren’t as innocent as you pretend to be.”

  “Leave me alone,” I hissed and pushed past him toward the door. The room swayed, my thoughts a raging fire.

  This was why I didn’t attend parties. It was also why I didn’t have friends, and it was most certainly why I didn’t have boyfriends anymore. Stupid, stupid.

  I wasn’t normal, nor would I ever be. Hadn’t years of public school already taught me that much? I had just a few days to crack the mystery of Mom’s death before I ended up alone in some dumb office, just like the fates had always decreed. I had to stay focused and stop dreaming about belonging anywhere else. I was a Hawking. I would do what was required, no matter how hard it hurt.

  I turned my back on the group and left.

  Thirteen

  Kole

  I watched Legacy storm out in anger. She’d been gone less than five seconds before Lars reclaimed his chair in the corner and returned to whatever game he’d been playing. His expression was that of nonchalance, but I noted the tightness in his shoulders.

  “Are you in there?” The redhead sitting practically in my lap waved her hand in my face.

  I resisted the urge to snap at her and tried to smile. “Yeah, sorry. I think my roommate just got rejected. I’d better go talk to him. Excuse me.”

  She actually stuck her lip out and pouted as I rose to my feet. I exhaled and crossed the room to Lars. “What did you say to her?”

  He shot a dirty look at the doorway. “Doesn’t matter.”

  “She looked upset. I think it matters.”

  “And you care because . . . ?”


  “We aren’t kids anymore. We’re all coworkers advancing in our careers. Every person in this room deserves respect, even Legacy.”

  Lars slowly stood and got right in my face. “Interesting that you’re lecturing me right now, roomie.”

  “Just don’t be a jackass and we’re good.”

  “And stay away from her, right? Because she’s yours even though you won’t make a move on her.”

  “Legacy Hawking belongs to nobody, least of all me. You’ll be disappointed if you think she’s here looking for love.” The thought of Lars being a candidate for love at all angered me more than the expression on Legacy’s face as she’d left, though I didn’t dare consider why.

  He snorted. “Nobody here is looking for love. You think that redhead over there cares where you stand on political issues or what your favorite transport model is? She just thought you were hot during your run this afternoon. That’s it.”

  “Lars, I mean it. Stay away from Legacy.”

  “Or what, you’ll strangle me in my sleep?” He stepped forward, forcing me to retreat a few centimeters. “I wonder if anyone here even knows you’re a Firebrand. It might change Redhead’s opinion of you if she knew. Maybe we should find out.”

  “Hey, Lars,” said a girl with two thick braids over her shoulder, stopping at my side. “Some of the guys are having a Mars tournament. They heard you’re a decent player and invited you to join in. That is, if you have the cash.” She nodded toward a group congregating near the door.

  Lars scowled. I doubted he had much cash at all, but the girl had read him correctly. “I’ve already beaten all my friends, but I’ll come if they’re up to the challenge.”

  The girl’s eyes widened in mock worship. “I’m sure that will be something to watch.”

  Lars leaned in to stab me in the chest with his finger. “Mind your own business from now on.”