The Secret Citizen (Freedom/Hate Series, Book 3)

by Kyle Andrews

  Tracy was walking through the hall with a cup of Coffite and Marti nearly plowed her down before realizing that Tracy was the person better suited to this job. If Justin was compromised, Marti didn't need to be seen warning him. She still had her outside life and her outside cover. If Justin's was blown, it would do no good to take her's down with it, so she stopped, grabbed Tracy by the arm and said, “You need to stop Justin.”

  To her credit, Tracy didn't respond with a series of stupid questions. She seemed puzzled at first, and then she glanced back at Aaron and Simon who were still next to the safe room. It didn't take her long to figure out that this had something to do with the scanner and that Justin was in danger.

  The last thing that Marti heard from Tracy's lips as she dropped her cup and started running was “Oh, shh—”

  ҂

  Via Watson looked forward to Election Day more than anything else in life. Not that she had much else to take pleasure in. Most of her existence was filing paperwork for residential assignments, in an office that was drably painted and with coworkers who she kinda hated.

  When she went home at night, she went to a drably painted apartment that she shared with a roommate that she kinda hated. She ate drab food. And yeah, there was TV, which provided some amount of escape from her drab life, but she couldn't reach into the TV and touch it. She couldn't smell the smells or talk to those characters. Via wanted color. She wanted spice.

  Election Day was when she got to experience some small amount of that. The streets were decorated with things that sparkled. Over the years, she'd collected some of those decorations when they were going to be thrown away, so she could decorate her apartment. She would listen to the marching band music, which was always played on the radio around Election Day and for that short amount of time, she could touch the sparkles.

  During this time, everyone on the street had something to say. Who they were going to vote for. Why the other guy sucked. Via didn't even care that much about politics. In her opinion, things weren't too bad, so she was more than happy to just keep the people they had, doing the jobs that they were doing. But the streets were alive with chatter and passion. Everyone was a character, including her.

  This year was bigger than ever before. On top of the Election Day celebrations, they were launching the MeID program, which was supposed to be the dawn of a new era for the citizens of the nation. The parties were going to be bigger than ever. The decorations were even more spectacular than normal. It was history in the making and Via wanted to play a part in that history, so she got in line at City Hall before anyone else and camped out overnight, just waiting for the doors to be opened, curfew be damned.

  As the moment was drawing ever nearer, Via's heart began to pound in her chest. With minutes to go, a reporter—a young male who looked as though he'd been molded out of plastic—approached her and asked for an interview.

  “You want to interview me?” she asked, trying not to jump up and down, and failing.

  The reporter smiled his perfect plastic smile and said, “If you wouldn't mind.”

  ҂

  “You were in line last night. Why were you so eager to get out here and vote this morning?” the reporter asked the young lady, Via, on the television.

  Rose was trying to eat her breakfast while others were monitoring the news. At first she didn't care enough to watch but the girl's excitement over being there drew her in. Seeing someone that excited over taking part in a process that was so deeply flawed was hard for her to understand. She had to watch, just to see if the woman was real.

  The clock in the bottom of the screen was counting down to the opening of the polls, but to Rose it was the countdown to Justin signing his life away for whatever length of time would be necessary to bring the government down, which might be a while. If he wanted to back out, now would be the time, but Rose knew better. All she could do was hope for the best and pray for it quickly.

  Ammo was sitting on her right foot, staring at the TV. Every so often, his ears would perk up or his head would tilt. It looked like he was just as interested in the report as she was.

  Via smiled widely at the reporter and said, “I just love this holiday. I love taking part in the process because not everyone in this world has the same rights that we do. We should be thankful for what we have.”

  The way the woman delivered that line made Rose wonder if she even knew what the words meant. It was the classic canned answer. Like when someone asks you how you're doing and you tell them that you're fine, even if you're not.

  The reporter turned to the camera and said, “There you have it. Democracy at work, and the citizens who take pride in their system. We're just minutes away from the opening of the polls and we'll be here all day, covering the festivities, from the celebrations to the speeches, to the final results.”

  Rose had to stop watching before she lost her breakfast.

  Ammo turned and rested his head on her leg.

  ҂

  Every citizen in the city was off of work and making their way to the voting stations to fulfill their civic duties. Whether they were doing it because of national pride or because they didn't want their food rations to be cut because they failed to show up, they were on the streets and sidewalks, getting in Tracy's way.

  Usually, it wouldn't take her too long to get to City Hall. If she caught the right bus and cut through the right alleys, she could be there in a half an hour or so. But this was Election Day, so she couldn't move five feet without bumping into someone and it was starting to piss her off.

  The assignment office was undoubtedly open already. She was hoping that Justin wouldn't be the first one in line, so she might still have some time to catch him before he went in for his assignment. Some people waited hours, and Election Day assignments were always crowded. Those with birthdays close enough to Election Day would push their assignments back as much as possible, just hoping to land an appointment on the right day. It was like having a citywide birthday party in their honor.

  Still, he could only be delayed for so long. If Tracy couldn't get to the office before he was called in, she would be left standing in the middle of a government facility for no reason in particular and that might draw some attention.

  As she pushed her way through the crowded sidewalk, never quite able to build up enough speed to qualify as running, she tried to come up with a plan for the worst case scenario. What if she couldn't catch up to Justin in time? What if he went in there and got himself captured? Was she planning to try her best to get to him and fight for his freedom, or was she going to leave the building as quietly as possible?

  She never allowed herself to acknowledge the answer to the question. Until she needed to make the call, her mission was to find him and stop him from going into that office. That was it.

  Assuming she could get through the crowd.

  ҂

  Justin glanced up at the clock. It was five minutes to eight, which meant that voting would be starting soon. The event would be marked by the chiming of the bells at city hall, then there would be a speech by the Mayor, followed by the first voters being led into the building where they would be entered into the MeID system.

  This wasn't something that Justin just happened to know going into the day. It was plastered all over the room, on posters which outlined the day's events.

  Two more young citizens were called into their assignment meetings. Justin didn't know where he was on the list, so he had no way of knowing whether he would be there for ten more minutes or ten more hours. Each time an employee of the assignment office walked into the room, he held his breath and waited for his name to be called. They would glance at their tablet and look around the room. Everyone was signed in, so names were matched to Civvie pictures. They would walk closer to that person so they could call their name without yelling across the room. Once or twice, they walked toward Justin and he thought that this was finally it, but they would choose someone else and he would be left. Sitting. Waiting.

>   An assignment office employee walked into the room. She stood at the front of the crowd, glanced down at her tablet, and then looked from face to face, squinting as though she couldn't see clearly.

  Justin watched her, waiting for her to choose her next name. He briefly wondered what it must be like to be assigned to the assignment office, but quickly brushed the thought aside as the woman's eyes made their way toward him.

  She looked at him for a moment and squinted a little bit more. She then started to walk in his direction, glancing down at the tablet once more.

  “Nil Halcomb?” she asked as she got closer.

  Justin's hopes deflated as he said, “No, ma'am.”

  ҂

  It took Tracy what felt like an eternity, but she finally made her way across town and was getting closer to the assignment building. Of course, the closer she got, the more dense the crowd became. The assignment building was just down the street from City Hall, so all of those voters who were lining up were now standing between Tracy and Justin. She could see her destination. She could practically yell to Justin and have him hear her right then and there if there hadn't been a roaring crowd between them. She was close, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't push through the sea of people fast enough.

  ҂

  The Underground wasn't like the Garden in many ways. In the Garden, there were moments when something caught the attention of everyone in the building and they all fell silent and watched the news reports. There was a concern shared by the people there.

  In the Underground, most people didn't stop to watch the news. They weren't concerned with what the official reports said because they all knew that whatever they showed on the TV was being displayed through layer after layer of lies. Watching the news was as relevant to them as watching an old sitcom rerun. They'd heard it all before and no matter what shocking twist popped up, it would just be a variation on the long-established formula.

  Old habits died hard for Rose though. She didn't trust the news, but she wanted to know what they were saying. Aaron used to tell her that the lies of the enemy were just as revealing as any truth. When the authorities began to panic, their lies became more desperate. Rose watched the news reports the same way she watched the weather reports—to see what the coming days would bring.

  Now the Mayor was taking the stage. He was on time, which was unusual, but this was a big day and state laws dictated what time the polls would officially open. He could only blather on for so long before people just walked around him to cast their ballot.

  “Good morning,” he said as he stepped in front of the microphone. “Though it goes against my nature, I will try to keep this short.”

  He paused and chuckled at his own joke. It took some time, but eventually the crowd laughed along with him.

  Continuing, he said, “Today is a turning point for our city. This speech will go down in history with the great speeches of the past.”

  Rose couldn't help but roll her eyes. She looked around the room to see the reaction of others, but they were all occupied with other things. This was a big day after all. It was the end of the Civvies, which meant that a lot of people would be forced to stay in hiding for a long time.

  “Today is the day when the people truly become a part of the government process. Not just through casting votes, but by registering for the MeID. Through this new system, the many become the one. The masses become... well, you. What you eat, what you wear, the medical treatment that you receive and so many other aspects of everyday life will be dictated by the very essence of what makes you you. Your DNA. Every illness you've ever had, every bone that's been broken and every genetic high and low will now be factored into how the government provides for you and your family. Even more than that, we will be able to encode new information, accounting for education, workforce reviews and many other elements. Your life, in the palm of your hands.”

  He said these things with such joy and passion, and yet the crowd didn't run for the hills. It must have come across as a good thing to some people, but these ideas were terrifying to Rose. The idea of a person's DNA dictating every element of their lives led her down all sorts of roads, all of which led to those considered weak or inferior being bred out of existence.

  On the TV screen, the Mayor smiled and said, “Everything changes today. Right now. Ladies, gentlemen and those to be determined, welcome to the future.”

  The crowd erupted into cheers while goosebumps formed on Rose's arms.

  ҂

  Via swallowed hard. This was it. Not only was the party about to begin, but she was the first one in line for this new system that would change the world. She would be on all of the news reports. She might even be in history books. At the very least, she would be able to tell people that she was the first in line for years to come. That made her kinda like a celebrity, in a way.

  The Mayor's speech was over. To be honest, Via hadn't really listened to what he was saying because she was worried that someone was going to try to cut in front of her. It was bad enough that they had more than one registration table, but there was no way that she was going to let anyone cross that threshold before she did.

  Once the applause died down, a guard made his way to the front door of City Hall and moved a barricade out of the way. The time had come. Via didn't wait for the official go-ahead before she started moving toward the door. If the barricade was gone, she was allowed inside. At least, she assumed so.

  Others were right on her heels. As soon as they entered the building, those people would be able to rush to the other registration tables. If the person helping them register was faster than Via's person, her story would be ruined. But what could she do, except head to the first table that she saw and hope for the best?

  She nearly slipped on the tile floor as she hurried toward the table. Her shoes were old, with worn bottoms that didn't provide much traction. Even with the slip, she didn't allow herself to slow down. Nothing was going to stop her.

  “Good morning,” the woman sitting behind the table said to her as she approached.

  Via meant to smile, but she wasn't sure whether or not the smile actually reached her face. She was too busy holding out her Civvie to notice whether she even acknowledged the woman's existence.

  The woman took her card and swiped it. It was done. She glanced to the other tables and confirmed that she was the first to sign in. Once she knew for sure, Via smiled and jumped up and down. She turned toward the woman behind the table and said, “It is a good morning.”

  ҂

  The people in the waiting area stopped to watch the Mayor's speech on the news. Even the assignment office workers stopped, as though this were such an important event that it couldn't be missed.

  Justin listened to the speech, but his eyes were on the other people in the room. As soon as the speech was over, the office workers nodded to each other. It was a sign to start taking Civvies and scanning new assignees into the MeID system. The new era in the history of the city, the state and country had begun, yet it felt strangely similar to the old era.

  One of the workers looked down at her tablet and then turned to the people waiting to be called. She looked from face to face until her eyes finally locked on Justin's and she started to move toward him.

  “Justin Becker?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma'am,” he replied.

  With a smile, she said, “Come with me.”

  Justin nodded and got to his feet. He glanced back at the TV as he followed the woman. The doors were opening. Voting was about to begin.

  He was led to a small office, not far from the waiting area. Once inside, the door was closed behind him and he was left alone with a middle-aged man who looked as though he were drowning in work.

  “Good morning,” Justin said to the man.

  The man didn't respond at first. He straightened some papers on his desk and then pulled out a MeID scanner.

  Finally making eye contact with Justin, the man said, “Hello. Please... umm... Be
ar with me. This is a new system.”

  Justin smiled and said, “I'm not in any hurry, sir. Take your time.”

  “I'll need your Civvie.”

  Justin nodded and pulled his Civvie out of his pocket. He handed it to the man, who scanned the card into his computer. All of Justin's information appeared on the screen.

  Confirming that the picture on his screen matched Justin, the man said, “Okay. Now we'll get you scanned into the new system...”

  ҂

  Tracy had started shoving people out of her way as she tried to get to the assignment building. Most of them yelled at her and called her all sorts of nasty names, but she didn't care. She didn't stick around long enough to hear what those names were.

  When she reached the assignment building, she let out a sigh of relief. She was there. Now all she needed to do was calmly walk into the waiting area, find Justin and get him out of there. How hard could that be?

  The Mayor's speech was over. The cheers had died down. City Hall had been opened to voters. Any second now, the first citizen would sign up to have every ounce of personal information handed over to the government. Even being on the same street as those scanners made Tracy feel sick. She wanted to get out of there as fast as humanly possible.

  When she entered the building, Tracy had to pass through a security checkpoint. If she'd been carrying as many weapons as she would have liked, she probably would have raised some alarm. However, she didn't have any weapons. She didn't have any copies of the Secret Citizen on her. She was completely clean and able to walk through security without any problem at all, but she felt as though she had the word 'FREEDOM' written on her forehead and being around government officials made her nervous.

  She walked into the waiting room and started looking from face to face, hoping to find Justin, but with each stranger's face she saw, the reality grew sharper and sharper that Justin wasn't there. He was already in one of those offices.