From around the table, he received mainly poker-faced stares, coupled with a few head shakes. “Good. You are all dismissed. If anyone needs me, I will be retiring to my lab for the rest of the day.”
The sound of chairs screeching across the floor resounded throughout the dining hall. Kara stood up last, eventually falling in line behind the others.
“Ms. Topper, may I see you for a minute?” Victor called out to her.
A chill inched its way up her back. “Yes, of course,” she said meekly before turning around to walk back to the table. A host of possible topics swirled around in her head, even though in her heart she already knew what their topic of conversation would be. When she reached the table, she looked Victor in the eyes and reached for a chair.
“There’s no need to sit,” Victor said. “This shouldn’t take but a minute.” She nodded, pushing the chair in. It struck the table with a loud bang that sounded like a crash of thunder in the empty room. “You were very close to Celaine, were you not?” he asked, confirming her suspicions.
“Yes, we grew quite close.”
“Surely she must have said something to you about leaving? About her plans?”
Her eyes widened as she muddled through the thoughts in her head. “No, she didn’t,” she said, a lie that was only obvious to her. “I mean, we were close in a lot of ways, but I honestly don’t think she wanted me to know what she was doing; she didn’t want to put me in that kind of position—to have to choose between betraying her trust or yours. She wouldn’t have done that to me.”
“And who would you have betrayed had you known of her plans, Ms. Topper? Her or me?”
“My allegiance is to The Epicenter, the cause and what it stands for.”
He looked into her eyes like he was searching for confirmation of the truth that was buried somewhere deep within her brain. They stood staring at each other, neither refusing to back down until Victor finally broke the overwhelming silence. “Have you heard from Ms. Stevens or Mr. Grant at all since they left?”
“No. I haven’t heard from either of them.”
He searched her face, which remained unmoved, devoid of any emotion. “Very well. You are excused.” She nodded and turned to walk out the door, but he spoke again when she was just short of reaching the doorway. “Oh, Ms. Topper,” he called. She hesitated and stopped in her tracks without turning around. “Over the years I’ve become a lot of things, a doctor, a scientist, a businessman of sorts, but there’s one thing I’ve never become and that’s a fool. Do you think I’m a fool, Ms. Topper?”
“No, sir.”
“Good. I just wanted to make sure that we are all on the same page here.” He smiled at her as she turned back to face him, which made her skin crawl. “Thank you for your time.”
He watched as she left the room, his eyes turning as cold as the steel grafted to his skin.
*****
Kara walked past the sitting room where she noticed Cameron hunched over on the sofa. The television was on, but he wasn’t looking at it. Instead, he stared blankly at the wall next to the screen, his body rocking back and forth just enough to be perceptible. He didn’t look up, didn’t acknowledge her when she stepped directly in front of him. To her, it was as though he was a shell, a body whose soul had left long ago—a zombie without the bite.
“Hey,” she said without receiving a response. She sat down beside him, but he still didn’t stir. “Look, you need to quit being so hard on yourself. It was an honest mistake. In time, Victor will forgive you, and—”
“What do you know of Victor?” he said, suddenly snapping out of his trance. “Nothing. You know nothing of him. Not what he thinks or what he believes. When you screw up, in his eyes, that’s all you are—a screw-up. A person who can’t be redeemed.”
“Well, then, we’re both screw-ups. I was the closest one to Celaine and should have seen what she was planning, but I didn’t. If I’d only pried more information out of her, maybe I could have stopped her and Ian.” She settled into the couch and watched him, gauging him and his state of mind. “I know that Victor doesn’t believe me, that he thinks I’m a liar, but, Cameron, I swear I knew nothing of it until it was happening. By then, it was too late to do anything but react like you did.” Kara turned toward him and rested her hand on his. At first, he seemed startled by her gesture, but soon the hardened, troubled visage he’d carried melted away. “What you did was noble,” she began again, sensing him coming around. “In fact, I think it was quite brave, if you ask me. If I were Victor, I’d be thanking you, not shunning you. It’s wrong, the way he’s been treating you, Cameron. I just wanted you to know that.”
His eyes remained transfixed on her hand situated on top of his, and it was a while before he answered her. “Thank you, Kara.”
“Anytime.” She let go of his hand and stood up to walk away, only to pause midstride. “Listen, I know I haven’t always been the best of friends to you over the years, but I’m here for you. Whenever you need someone to talk to, don’t think you’re alone. You know where to find me.” He nodded at her and smiled, the first he’d smiled in quite some time.
Kara turned to walk away again as her lips curved upward into a smile of her own.
Chapter Twenty
Time
I stood on the roof of the bed and breakfast deep in thought. Before me, the sun was steadily setting, turning even the modest of buildings into dark mountains on the horizon; mountains bathed in the reds, oranges and purples of the evening sky. Brooks’ announcement from hours earlier replayed in my head. There was a bounty on our heads, which I would wager even the most loyal of rebels was considering at this moment. Marshall would be the only barrier preventing them from taking it; their respect for him would be their only deterrent and our one saving grace. But even the most stalwart of followers has their price.
Then there was the matter of what Ian and I should do. Because of Marshall’s hospitality, the rebels had targets on their backs solely due to their association with us. We were putting them in harm’s way even more than they already were. But if we left, where would we go? How far could we run, or should we even run at all? Even if we weren’t caught with the rebels, would they still be punished regardless? In my head, I already knew the answers to those questions. No matter how far we ran, who helped us run, or where we ended up, Brooks was going to do what he already had set in his mind to do. Yet, I couldn’t get the faces of Drake, Jill, Brad, and the other rebels out of my head. I couldn’t be responsible for another death, either directly or indirectly.
The sound of footsteps behind me caused me to turn my head just enough to catch a glimpse of their maker. Ian had woken up and had probably guessed where I was after he couldn’t find me. Lately, just being in his presence made my pulse quicken, and the same was true now, except this time every beat was followed by an overwhelming sadness as though its essence was contained within the blood pumped through my body. I didn’t know what to say, wasn’t sure how to greet him without somehow hurting him again. So I stayed where I was, looking out toward the horizon, and decided to let him speak first.
His footsteps drew nearer until they stopped right next to me. In my peripheral vision, I could see him looking out upon the same view of the setting sun as me. At that moment, I would have killed to know what was going on inside his head, to know how I could mend things and repair them back to where they were before without leaving a permanent mar on our relationship.
Ian placed his hand on the concrete ledge mere inches away from mine, and it was all I could do to keep from grabbing onto it. “When I woke up and couldn’t find you, I figured you were probably up here,” he said, putting a thankful end to the miserable silence between us.
“You know me too well.” For the first time since he appeared on the roof, I took my gaze completely away from the view of the world and looked directly into his eyes.
“I wish I knew you better,” he said. “Just when I think I may have you all figured out, when I think I
know exactly what you’re thinking, how you’re feeling, what you desire, something happens that makes me realize that I actually have no idea at all. And it frustrates the hell out of me.” He ran his hand through his thick hair, pushing it away from his face as he turned his gaze toward the city and the steadily setting sun. “It’s odd how something so beautiful can exist in a world that embraces such evil.”
“It exists to give us hope,” I said. “Without little reminders that beauty still exists in this world, we would be inclined to give up and let evil reign, but these small yet meaningful reminders keep us charging forward. They give us a reason to fight for the next day.”
“I never had anything worth fighting for, not a single thing, until I met you. That’s how I know with certainty what my feelings for you truly are. Celaine, I know I love you. There’s no other explanation for it; I wouldn’t want there to be because I don’t want to love anyone else but you. And it kills me to think that you may feel nothing for me or that you will never think of me the same way. Because, to me, you are the only beauty that still exists in this world, and the only hope I have for myself.”
My eyes began to water, the tears falling shortly thereafter. “Ian, I—”
“Please. Don’t.” He wiped a tear away from my cheek, allowing his hand to linger on my face. “Look, I’m sorry I got upset with you earlier.”
“It’s okay, Ian.” I placed my hand over his to keep it against my skin. “You have every right to be upset with me.” He moved to speak, but I beat him to it. “I just can’t—I can’t tell you what you want to hear right now.”
“I know,” he whispered, bringing his face closer to mine. “I’ve laid everything out on the table for you, and I honestly don’t want you to say anything right now. All I ask is that you digest it, take it all in. Then, when you know without a doubt what or who it is your heart really wants, then you can give me an answer. No matter what that answer may be.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Now, how much time do you think you’ll need? A week? Two weeks?”
“What?” I asked, my voice cracking.
Ian laughed. “Wow, you should have seen the look on your face. You were positively terrified.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Okay, since next week is too soon for an answer, how about before my eightieth birthday, then?”
“I think I can manage that. Although I’m beginning to question how much time we have left to make any kind of meaningful decisions.”
“What do you mean?”
“Brooks made an announcement while you were sleeping.”
“An announcement? What kind of announcement? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I thought you should rest. Besides, it didn’t last long, just enough for Brooks to declare us traitors to our country and issue a bounty on our heads.”
“A bounty? Christ, Celaine, you didn’t think that was important enough to wake me up?” He threw his hands up in the air and slammed them back down on the concrete ledge.
“And then what? What would we have done? Would we have stayed? Left in broad daylight?”
“What kind of bounty are we talking about here?”
“Oh, not much,” I said, sarcastically. “Just complete amnesty for anyone who turns us in—and then there was the promise of financial security thrown in there, too.”
“Shit.” Ian’s eyes widened. “You don’t really believe there isn’t anyone down there seriously considering this bounty right now, do you?”
“Of course not. I know there are at least a few of them down there, but do you believe Brooks would keep his word and just hand one of his detractors a get-out-of-jail-free card?”
“Why wouldn’t he? What’s one rebel—a handful of them, even? If he gets us out of the deal, that’s all he cares about. Not to mention, he has to live up to his promise because the public will catch wind if he reneges, and then he’ll have even more of a headache to deal with. Plus, if he’s shown giving amnesty to a rebel who has jumped ship and is now siding with him, then he’ll come up smelling like a rose all the way around. He’ll gain more support and the rebels will lose the momentum they desperately need.”
“Maybe we should leave,” I said. “If we did, we’d be taking away the carrot that our presence is all but dangling in front of their faces.”
Ian nodded. “It’s something to think about. How much of a danger do you think our being here is to them?”
“Brooks knows we’re a danger to him even without being backed by a group, but with one—”
“We’re pretty much unstoppable,” Ian said, finishing my thought.
The door to the rooftop creaked open, prompting Ian and I both to whip our heads in its direction. At the top of the stairwell stood Drake. “Marshall wishes to speak with the two of you,” he said meekly.
“Tell him we’ll be right down,” Ian called back to him.
Drake nodded and took a step back within the confines of the stairwell, then made his way downstairs, leaving us alone on the rooftop again.
“Maybe this won’t be a decision we’ll have to make,” Ian said. “It kind of sounds like Marshall has already decided it for us.”
“I think what he wants to talk about has more to do with him than us.”
“Depending on what he says, I think we need to start coming up with alternate plans of our own.”
*****
“All I’m saying is we need to consider Brooks’ offer,” Max said, unmoved by the unspoken disgust written on the faces of the others in the room.
“Have you completely lost your mind?” Jill asked. “Listen to yourself, Max, you’re basically telling us that we should abandon Marshall and everyone else and run to Brooks with our tails tucked between our legs.”
“No, what’s crazy is failing to see when you’ve been beaten. With the sheer numbers we lost at the address and the delay in communication between our groups, there’s no way we’re going to rebuild. Marshall is kidding himself if he thinks otherwise.” Max paced the cracked concrete floor of the basement, occasionally stealing glances up at the decaying wooden staircase to ensure that the five of them were still alone. “Crazy is getting yourself killed for no reason, when you could have had everything you’ve ever wanted if you would have just abandoned your pride.”
“Everything we’ve ever wanted?” Jarvis, the oldest rebel in their group, repeated. “If everything you’ve ever wanted for yourself was to be under Brooks’ thumb for the rest of your life, then I guess that deal of his does sound pretty tempting, but for me, everything I’ve ever wanted was stolen from me by Brooks and his men, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to kiss his ass now.”
“I agree,” Tyson, another long-term rebel, said. “Though it is tempting, I don’t trust the man to hold up his end of the deal, not to mention I have serious problems with turning Celaine and Ian over to Brooks after they saved our lives the other night. Sorry, man, but I’m out, too.”
“Well?” Max asked. “What about you, Carl? Are you abandoning me here, too?”
“You know I respect you and everything we’ve been through,” Carl said. “You’re like a brother to me. But when that guy—Ian—burst into the warehouse to pull us out of the fire without any consideration for his own safety, when he could have just as easily turned around and left us there to die, I just can’t lead him to the slaughter like that.”
“Fine,” Max said, fuming, his feet falling heavily against the concrete. “Suit yourselves.” He threw his hands up in an exaggerated gesture and slumped down in an empty chair. “When they come for us, and they will; when they murder your friends in cold blood and burn this place to the ground to get to those two, don’t come running to me. Because the last thing you’ll hear before they shoot and kill you, too, is me saying I told you so.”
Chapter Twenty-One
A Reason to Fight
We followed Drake down a flight of stairs to Marshall’s room hidden away on the first floor. When we reached his room, we fo
und the door ajar as if inviting us to walk in. After exchanging glances with each other, we decided it best—if not polite—to knock on the door’s wooden exterior anyway.
“Come in, please,” Marshall said from somewhere inside the room.
Drake excused himself as Ian opened the door and stepped inside the room. I walked in shortly behind him, taking in the familiar sight of the drab, beige wallpaper and the same stock image photographs of the Capitol that were in our room. The only difference between the two was the size. Marshall’s room was significantly smaller than any of the other rooms—a fact that strangely made me respect him even more. I closed the door behind me, sensing the importance of the meeting and the confidential nature of the words that would be spoken in this room.
Marshall rolled his chair back just enough to turn around to face us and not much more as there was only a three-foot space between the foot of the twin bed in his room and the desk itself. “I’d tell you to have a seat, but as you can see that’s really not an option,” he said with the same comforting smile he always seemed to have stretched across his face. Ian and I situated ourselves in the room, finding a spot where we could stand next to each other so that we could both face him as he spoke. “I know you’ve had a rough couple of days, and I apologize for ruining what little peace you may have found this evening, but there are a few things I feel you should know.”
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