[Contributor 02] - Infiltrator (2013)

by Nicole Ciacchella

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “No, not really. But that’s all right.”

  He nodded. He wasn’t okay either, and he didn’t need to say it for her to know it. “Did you…did you hear anything about…”

  She cut him off, her heart aching at his tentative words, at the mixture of hope and fear in his voice. “I brought this back for us.” She held the memory stick up to show him. “Give me a sec to get the unsecured tablet.”

  “Okay.” He waited until she left for the hiding space, but out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of him picking the memory stick up, cradling it as if it were the most precious object he’d ever held. It made the lump in her throat grow so large, so hard, that she could barely swallow.

  They huddled over the tablet together, and Dara told him about the cookies and the summary Raj had given her. Relief was apparent in her father’s eyes, but there was pain there too, and she saw how much it hurt him not to be with his wife in her time of need.

  The details of the report supported what Raj had told her. Leona seemed to have settled into her new life, and it sounded like the environment was much better for her. She was receiving the kind of round the clock care that Dara and Joshua had been unable to provide, and she appeared to be making good progress as a result. It sounded as if she was happier, more confident in her own abilities now that she had an occupational therapist working with her, someone to help her gain back some of the independence she had lost.

  “Do you think we’ll ever see her again?” Joshua asked, wiping his eyes.

  “I might be able to,” Dara said in a soft voice, uncertain if the words would hurt him even more.

  “If you can, you should.” He swallowed hard.

  “I wish you could go too. Maybe I could arrange it.”

  “Maybe.” He squeezed her hand. “The important thing is that she’s somewhere safe and she’s getting the care she needs. It’s more than I could have hoped for, and I’m grateful for it.”

  They sat quietly, holding hands, for several minutes, then Joshua took a shuddering breath and made a visible effort to collect himself.

  “What did they say about Andersen’s plans?” he asked.

  “They recognized that it was big news, of course. I’ve agreed to continue to keep an eye on him, and I’ve also agreed to go through training.”

  “Training?” He frowned, drawing his brows together.

  “I know. I’m not sure I necessarily trust them either, but it does make sense for me to learn more. They want me to study old books they’ve rescued, information they preserved from the old networks that existed before the Great Famine. They also want to teach me how to respond if I’m compromised.”

  “That’s good.” His brow smoothed, and she knew the thought made him breathe more easily. It did the same for her. Feeling so unprepared for how to deal with the possible consequences had been one of the worst things about her decision.

  “I’ll have to spend more time away,” she told him, a note of caution in her voice.

  “I realize that. Dara, if you need to use me as a cover story, I want you to do it. Let me do that much at least. Please.” His gaze beseeching, he stared at her, and her protest died on her lips.

  “All right,” she said, sighing.

  “I’m keeping my eyes open too. Anything I see or hear that sounds like it might be of value, I’ll pass along to you, so you can get it to them.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to do it. I’m…I’m ashamed to admit this, but I’m not sure I can do anything more, not just yet. I know your mother’s safe, but I still have you to think about. I don’t know what I’d be able to do if something went wrong, but I have to be here with you, have to know I’ll be around to do whatever I can if something does happen to you.”

  The words made her shudder, though she tried to conceal it from her father. She hated the idea of him being at risk, hated to think that something horrible could happen to him because of her actions.

  “We’ll look out for each other,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “Always.” His voice was fierce, and he planted a firm kiss on the top of her head. “I hope you know I’d sacrifice anything for you, Dara. Anything.”

  “I know, Dad.” Closing her eyes, she fought against the urge to weep. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, hoped it with every last fiber of her being.

  Chapter 15

  The next week was mostly uneventful. Andersen didn’t ambush her with any other surprise encounters with Jonathan, and he was so busy that he didn’t have much time to make her life miserable. He worked her as hard as he always had, but it was far more bearable because he either left her alone to get done what she needed to get done, or she only had to sit next to him at meetings, taking notes.

  As his meeting with Creator Hartley drew nearer, though, Andersen became nastier.

  “Care to explain to me why Head of Logistics Gonzales was unaware of the change in scheduling of the conference call?” he demanded, his frigid voice cutting through the air, drawing the attention of several engineering staff.

  Confused, Dara sorted through her messages, finding the one she sought. “I don’t know, sir. This is the message I sent him.” She pointed at it, but Andersen didn’t so much as spare it a glance.

  “Because of your incompetence, the head of logistics wasted an hour of his time.”

  She bit back a protest. “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

  “I advise you to make certain it doesn’t.”

  He stalked away, his words sending a chill through her. She hunched over her terminal, trying to ignore the staring eyes of her colleagues. Much as she hated being berated by Andersen, his reaction told her there was more to this whole project, and it increased her determination to find out what was going on.

  She spent several evenings poring over the many notes she had from the presentation, as well as what project paperwork she had access to, but nothing stood out. Using her burner memory stick, she made notes and drew up flow charts, trying to determine who might benefit the most if Magnum approved the project. It was obvious that both Andersen and Magnum stood to gain a lot, but something nagged at her, some detail she knew was missing. Despite her exhaustive search, nothing in the materials she had helped her tease out what it was. She told herself to be patient. Andersen might tip his hand in a way that would give her a better idea of what was going on. In the meantime, all she could do was continue to observe and gather whatever information she could.

  It didn’t surprise her when Creator Hartley summoned Andersen up to the Creator level for a closed-door meeting. Every pair of eyes in engineering seemed to follow him as he strolled to the Creator lift. His face betrayed nothing, but she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes as he basked in the attention.

  Rumors flew around engineering, and the grapevine spread to other departments as well. Joshua told her that accounting was abuzz with whispers about a revolutionary new project that would provide Magnum with an unbeatable edge, though no one seemed to have any details.

  “It’s strange that people know so much,” Dara said to Letizia at their next covert meeting.

  “It’s intentional,” Letizia said, the words crisp. “No one knows enough for it to be dangerous, but they have a hint of something to keep them talking. Don’t forget, the Creators like the Contributors to think they’re on the cutting edge at all times, and rumors like these are good for morale without any expense to Magnum.”

  “What if they spread outside of the dome, though?”

  “They will. They always do. Haven’t you ever noticed how rumors about other Creators and their domes are constant hot topics of conversation? Part of the game is making the competition nervous.”

  Dara nodded. Letizia was right. Magnum had nothing to lose by letting it slip that they had something big in the works, provided that no important details followed. It gave Magnum a psychological edge over its competiti
on and created a sense of anticipation in the Creators that depended on Magnum, instilling confidence that Magnum was pulling its weight and giving them an edge as well.

  “Heard any more about Jasmine Shah?” Letizia asked.

  “No. She seems to have gone to ground. My dad said Javier has really thrown himself into his work, and people are taking notice.”

  “Andersen’s one of them, no doubt.” Letizia frowned. “What I can’t decide is if he’s drawing Andersen’s attention on purpose.”

  It seemed like a crazy thing to do, but then Javier wasn’t what Dara would call timid. “It’s becoming more obvious that something is going on with his sister. I’m seeing more posts on the networks, and they’re not as veiled anymore. Someone even went so far as to ask how her stay in the med center was.”

  “I’ve seen similar posts. Whatever she has, it must be serious.”

  “Raj will figure that out.” Dara rubbed her forehead. “Letizia, when you hacked into Javier’s systems and discovered that he’d stolen my plans, did you notice anything else?”

  “If I had, don’t you think I would have shared that?” Her former master’s voice was sharp, and the rebuke made Dara frown.

  “I wasn’t accusing you of holding anything back,” she said, honing the edges of her own words.

  “I know, I know.” Letizia sighed and tugged her hands through her hair. “I’ve been asking myself that question over and over again. I’m worried that I was so concerned about what Javier was doing to you that I might have missed something. For all I know, the evidence could have been right in front of my eyes and I overlooked it.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. There are only so many things anyone can juggle.”

  “I’m thinking about leaving.”

  The abrupt change in topic stunned her, but not as much as Letizia’s announcement had. “What?”

  “I’m thinking about leaving the dome. I’m tired, Dara. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this. I want to be here for you, help you out however I can, but it’s wearing on me, and I’m afraid I’m getting sloppy.”

  Forgetting her own worries, Dara focused her attention on Letizia and was surprised that she hadn’t noticed the signs of strain. Bluish circles darkened the skin under Letizia’s eyes, though she could see that her former master had tried hard to conceal them. A faint line was beginning to appear between Letizia’s brows, and she was pale, washed out.

  “If you need to leave, you should do it,” Dara said, afraid for her friend. “You’ve been doing this for such a long time. No one would blame you.”

  “I might blame myself.” She gave Dara a tight smile.

  “I’m not your responsibility. I appreciate you looking out for me, but it’s not your duty.”

  “It is, though. I dragged you into this. I can’t abandon you while you’re in the thick of it. First we need to figure out what’s going on with this project. Once we know, then I can think about what I should do next.”

  Dara tried arguing, but it was fruitless. Letizia’s stubborn streak was a mile wide, and Dara was powerless against it, but the knowledge did nothing to dispel her guilt and worry.

  Chapter 16

  Andersen gave no indication of how he felt about his meeting with the Creators, nor did he say anything more about the project. Dara doubted he’d gotten what he wanted, but whatever he’d been offered must have been enough to placate him, because she saw no discernible change in his behavior. Wondering if Andersen and the Creators had made any alterations to the plans, she tried to access them to see if she could discern something new, but access had been restricted. This wasn’t entirely surprising, given the impact of the project, but it still didn’t sit right with her.

  What could she be missing? New domes could lead to population expansion due to the increase in capacity, which would be welcome news to everyone, regardless of which dome they lived in. After all, the Creators had been promising since the inception of the domes that the limited capacity was meant to be a temporary situation. Their ultimate goal was to expand the human population and devise ways to solve the environmental problems that plagued the Earth. It would be a boon for the Creators to be able to tell everyone that their promise of improving living conditions for all would be realized. Like anyone else, Dara was eager for that to happen. So why all the secrecy?

  Telling herself she was making something out of nothing, she returned her attention to the work Andersen had left her. The project details were too important to risk them being leaked, which was why the Creators had locked them down. There was nothing more to it than that.

  “I understand you had a very productive day off,” Andersen remarked the day after his meeting, as he paused at Dara’s desk.

  Folding her hands in her lap to conceal her sweaty palms, she raised her eyes to his, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart. “I did, thank you.”

  “Creator Hartley finds your fitness numbers impressive. Between those, your testing scores, and the reports I’ve sent her, she was very complimentary about your work and remarked on your potential.”

  “Thank you, sir. It’s my pleasure and my duty to contribute to Magnum’s success.” She wondered if he could tell she was parroting the words. His praise made her sit at attention, every nerve in her body tingling. It wasn’t like him to praise her. Did he suspect she’d manipulated her fitness numbers?

  “As it is for us all. Creator Hartley was pleased to note that I take my mentorship of you so seriously.”

  That was it, then. He wasn’t really complimenting her, he was letting her know that both he and the Creators were keeping an eye on her. She recognized the implied threat: she’d better not slip lest she cast doubt on him and his abilities. Did he care at all whether or not she had fudged her numbers? As long as those numbers reflected well on him, what did it matter if they were fiction?

  “I’m honored to have you as my mentor.” She forced herself to say the words, knowing it was what he expected to hear.

  “Yes, you are. See to it that you continue with your productive weekends. Some Contributors have a tendency toward laziness on their free days, and laziness is one flaw I will not tolerate.” Andersen’s eyes flicked around engineering, pausing every now and then on certain Contributors, and Dara felt a sick sensation in her stomach. He was keeping watch on them, just as she had been told.

  “Laziness is unacceptably wasteful. Productivity is my goal at all times.”

  If he noticed that the words sounded stiff, he said nothing about it. Giving her a chilly smile, he said, “See that you have those reports to me in an hour.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Focusing her concentration on the reports was all but impossible. Andersen couldn’t know as much as he seemed to about the other Contributors unless he had informants, and it made her wonder how extensive his personal spy network was. With crystal clarity she understood why Letizia had never befriended anyone else in engineering. Had Dara not reminded her of herself, Letizia probably wouldn’t have befriended her either. It was safer not to trust anyone.

  Andersen had made it clear that he intended to monitor how Dara spent her free time, which meant she’d have to make sure she could prove that she’d been spending it productively. Adding this task to the endless list of her responsibilities was onerous. How would she manage everything? Her training with the Free Thinkers would absorb almost every minute of her free time.

  Stupid, Dara, it was stupid. Letting out a small sigh, she cursed herself for allowing her numbers to become remarkable. Had she kept within more average parameters, she would never have garnered this extra attention from the Creators and, by extension, from Andersen. Average was what she needed to be, all but invisible, and instead she had aimed a giant spotlight on herself.

  Then again, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. She suspected Andersen wouldn’t have been content with an average assistant, because he wasn’t content to perform at expected levels himself. He wanted to stand out above
everyone else. Hadn’t he chosen Letizia as his assistant, and hadn’t her excellence bolstered his reputation? Producing a second extraordinary assistant would allow him to reap even greater benefits.

  It might stretch Dara to the breaking point to take on all the extra work, but the irony was that it might make Andersen suspect her less. Fatigue would be chalked up to her diligent study and exercise regime. Renowned for the long hours he put in, he would likely be pleased to see her following his example.

  It was a reassuring thought, but not one that could give her any real comfort. She’d thought she’d suffered a great deal of strain when she’d been trying to keep up with the other apprentices while also caring for her mother, but something told her that experience might seem like a walk in the park in comparison.

  Chapter 17

  Another free day of extreme fitness seemed like it would be too suspicious, so Dara decided that she would instead pretend to devote her time to study. It meant she could look forward to forfeiting sleep and reading a lot of dull, dry Magnum propaganda once she was finished with the Free Thinkers.

  When she mentioned this to Raj, not bothering to hide her tiredness, he said, “Don’t worry about that. We’ll give you devices you can use, have the hackers set up algorithms to make it appear as if you’re moving through the material and switching from one source to another.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that. But I’ll still need to know the information, in case Andersen decides to give me a pop quiz.”

  “Would he really do that?”

  “He would really do that.”

  He frowned. “I’ll talk to Mal about it, see what I can come up with. We must have an abbreviated version or something else we can give you.”

  “I’ll take whatever help I can get.”

  “Did you find anything else out?”

  “No. I didn’t go to the Creators meeting with Andersen, and he hasn’t said a word to me. I did notice that the project is now on lockdown, though. Even I don’t have access to any of it anymore.”