The Fall

by Laura Liddell Nolen

  I knew where Adam was. I knew exactly where.

  “You don’t know what you’re dealing with. None of you. I’ve been wrong all along. Adam never actually escaped.” I turned to Mars, struggling to make sense. It was like stepping out into the freezing air in the middle of a hailstorm. “It’s not upgraded tech in the biosphere. It’s not a fun, easy alternative to the hydro. It’s not rain.”

  She gave me a look halfway between confusion and condescension, until suddenly, understanding set in. Her face went white, and although she was speaking, her lips didn’t move. “Oh, no,” she whispered. “Oh, no. Oh, no.”

  Nineteen

  In a flash, Mars was on top of Charles.

  Even seeing it happen, I wasn’t sure how she did it. But the gun was in her hands, and her face was ablaze with fear and fury.

  She was gone from the room before the rest of us got our act together. I ran after her, shouting. “Stop! Just stop! Mars. We have to think this through.”

  But she barely slowed down. “I have to get to them. I have to make sure they’re okay.”

  “We should have a plan. Mars, please. He is waiting for us.”

  “I’m sorry, Char,” she called over her shoulder. “I am. But I have to get to my children.”

  I clenched my jaw in frustration. We needed Mars. Not that I blamed her, but I couldn’t join her. Not yet. We had to be smart about this. Anything less, and we didn’t stand a chance.

  I sprinted back into the comms room, fighting a wave of fear and helplessness. But I steeled my spine and squared my shoulders.

  “So Adam’s here,” said Eren. His voice was intense. Powerful. I’m not sure why that surprised me. “On this Ark.”

  “He’s not,” said Charles. His calmness was infuriating. “He can’t be. It’s been weeks. They secured every system as soon as the city blew up. If he were here, we’d know.”

  I gave him a look. “Oh, like how you knew when he drugged you?”

  “Come, Ms. Turner. We both know that was you. Or one of your associates. Adam returned to the North American Ark. His Lieutenant is covering for him.”

  I shook my head. We didn’t have time for this. I had to switch gears. “Where is my father?” We could use him—and whatever was left of his resources—in the coming fight.

  “Your father?”

  “You know, the guy I got here with?”

  He gave me a blank look. “Ms. Turner, the only guy you got here with is your husband.”

  I suppressed the urge to scream. “He was locked up with me for weeks! Surely someone in your position had access to the prisoner manifest.”

  But Charles just stood there. “I certainly did.” He turned to Eren. “Her father was never here.”

  My lips felt numb. “No, he was there. In the cell.” Eren put a hand on my arm, trying to calm me. Oddly enough, it was comforting. I jerked away. “No, don’t do that! You have to believe me.”

  “Char,” Eren said gently. “You were drugged for five years. It would be normal, at this point, if you—”

  “Don’t do that.” I clamped down on my throat, pressing against the rising knot at its base. It wouldn’t help anyone if I broke down now.

  “Did you see her father on the hopper?” Charles asked Eren, who answered with a sharp shake of his head. “Well,” he pressed. “Have you seen him at all? Have you seen Adam since you got here?”

  “I never saw the hopper,” said Eren. “I was drugged before we got there.” He touched the band on his arm subconsciously. “The goal was to turn Adam over to you. To this Ark. I’m sure he was here.”

  “You have to believe me,” I said, lowering my voice again. “He is here. And so is my dad. I can’t even fly a hopper, Eren.”

  “This is preposterous,” said Charles. “A hopper doesn’t hold four people, Ambassador. She probably engaged the autopilot.”

  The room went hazy as I bit back tears. I couldn’t afford this. We could not afford this. Adam was coming. Adam was here. What was the play? Think, Char.

  But I couldn’t think. The memory of being drugged, of sliding into nothingness, crowded into my mind. I could not be helpless again. I blocked it out, but it persisted. What can I possibly, possibly do to stop him? My cheeks were hot, and I struggled to keep my temper. We had to be strong. We had to—

  In a blur, the cube-like chair at Charles’ desk hit his enormous shield. The crash and immediate cascade of shattered glass filled the room, jolting us out of our skins. I was nearly as shocked as the others in spite of the fact that I was the one who’d thrown the chair, but I did not pause to survey my handiwork. I did not glance at Eren. There was a time when we had cared about each other openly, but that was long ago, and everything had changed since then. He would never love me again after what I was about to do.

  I seized what clarity I could instead. This is done now, I thought, scanning the broken glass, but I’m about to do worse. Forward, Char.

  I grabbed the biggest, longest shard I could and threw myself at Charles. “Don’t do that,” I repeated, my voice strong now. “My dad is here. They both are. I’m not crazy.” I raised the edge of the glass to his throat.

  Charles lifted his hands. The shock running through my mind played out over his face. It was far from the first time I’d held a weapon, but it was the first time I’d threatened someone’s life and meant it. A twinge of regret slipped through me, and I almost dropped the glass.

  So I tightened my grip. Forward. A thin line of blood appeared at my wrist, sliding out from the fresh cut across my palm, but I felt no pain. Not yet. The smallest drop landed on his perfectly white collar and feathered into a bright, even circle.

  “Easy, Charlotte,” he said, using my name for the first time. His eyes went to Eren. “A little help, please? Your assistance will be recorded.”

  I did not turn back to my husband. I couldn’t possibly fight them both.

  And besides. If Eren were against me, I’d already lost.

  “You listen to me, Charles Eiffel,” I said, my voice level. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, but I can tell you one thing. This is your fight now. And you’re going to help me win it.”

  He was angling toward the desk, casually trying to lean against it, but I pressed into him with my bad arm, keeping the glass at his jugular, and he backed away again. “A friend in need…” he began in a placating tone.

  “Is a friend trying to stop a psychopath from blowing up and killing us all in a fiery wreck,” I cut in. “So sit down.”

  To my everlasting shock, Eren turned the cube-chair-thing upright, crunching the glass beneath his boots into the carpet in the process, and offered it to Charles. “Please,” he said firmly.

  Charles sat.

  In the silence that followed, I turned back to Eren. For the briefest of moments, he held my gaze, searching me. His eyes were impossibly blue. “I’m with you,” he said simply. “You don’t have to look so surprised.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “This wasn’t going anywhere without you, you know.”

  He took in my stance: the weapon, the grip on Charles. The look in my eyes. “Agree to disagree,” he said lightly. “What do we do now?”

  “Talk to An. We have something she needs.” I waved my bad arm at Charles, then frowned at the desk. “It must be fingerprint-locked.”

  “It is,” Eren said, studying the panel. “But we have the fingerprints.” He gestured for Charles to come near. “Call her up,” he told him. “Throw the comm holo to another shield. Don’t try anything clever.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Charles said, tapping a couple of places and eyeing the edge of my glass. “You should turn yourselves in, you know. Best thing for everyone. You haven’t done anything that cannot be forgiven eventually.”

  “Oh, give me a minute,” I said.

  “Think of your family, Charlotte,” he said sternly.

  I suppressed the sudden urge to laugh and moved him closer to the panel. “Think of your Ark, Charles
.”

  An appeared quickly, as though she’d been standing in a control room. She was a bright, clear-cut holo on the shield nearest us, and I straightened involuntarily. She was imposing even when translucent. “Charles,” she said, taking in the scene with calculating eyes. If she drew any conclusions, she revealed nothing. “Everests.”

  In response, I moved Charles front and center.

  “Your Imperial Highness,” said Charles.

  “You’ve been awfully busy lately,” I said, my voice hard, “so I’ll keep it short. Adam is here. But I suspect you knew that, even if the EuroArk refuses to believe it.” The holo glitched slightly, giving the impression of a blink, but An was immobile, so I continued. “By rights, you should have been my ally. We want exactly the same thing.”

  “I have allies, Char. I warned them not to be so foolish with you. Others may underestimate you, but I never have.”

  My hand was cold against the glass. I shifted my grip, shoving my sleeve between my skin and the blade, and returned it to Charles’ throat. “Well, I don’t have allies,” I said. “When you destroyed the Remnant, you destroyed everything.”

  “We’re moving on Adam,” said Eren. “Tell Shan to help us.”

  She laughed, a quick, mirthless grunt. “Release Mr. Eiffel, Char.”

  “Give me a way to decouple Adam from the life support system on my Ark, and he’s all yours,” I said.

  “It cannot be done,” she said. “Any attempt will trigger the failswitch.” There was a pause, and her eyes found mine through the holo. “I am sorry.”

  “Remove Eren’s k-band, then.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that either,” she said. “It’s been slaved to Adam for some time now. He left my channel open, but I suspect that even that will be closed soon.” I gritted my teeth, trying to figure out my next move, and An spoke again. “It seems we are of no use to each other.”

  An was never one to respond to weakness, but it wasn’t my style anyway. “You’re wrong about that,” I said. “I intend to end this, one way or another. And I won’t let him hurt my Ark, so I suggest you start looking for ways to disable the failswitch. Pretty please. You can look me up when you’re ready to play nice.”

  The steel in her voice cut through the holo. “I’m not playing at all, Char. This was never a game for me.” There was a pause, but her voice did not soften. “I regret that it had to end this way.”

  A sense of dread worked its way through my skull as her meaning set in. “Wait! An. You don’t mean that.”

  Beside me, Eren paled. “Please, An,” he began. “It hasn’t come to that yet.”

  “What do you mean?” said Charles.

  “She’s planning to nuke the Ark,” I said quietly.

  “Impossible,” he said. “She’d never.”

  “She would. It’s the only way to ensure that Adam is dead.”

  Adam was a threat to her ship, and An would do anything for her ship.

  She’d have no qualms about blowing up another Ark.

  I was more certain of that than my own name. And when Adam died, so would the North American Ark. She’d kill us all and plant the settlement herself. It was the only way to protect her people.

  “We have weapons of our own!” said Charles. “You’ll never get away with it.”

  “I can assure you that mine are still greater, and certainly sufficient for the task. As I said, I do regret it.”

  “An—” Eren began, but her mind was made up.

  “Imperial out,” she said, executing what might have been a millionth of a bow.

  “What about Shan?” I said quietly.

  She blinked. “What about him?”

  “You’d kill him, too?”

  A shadow of hesitation crossed her face as she guessed at my meaning. “I have little patience for hypotheticals, Ms. Turner.”

  “He’s here, An. I saw him.”

  “He…” An looked at something out of the frame of the holo. “Get Captain Hui on the comm.” She turned back to us, eyes narrowed.

  “Oh, we’ll wait,” I said. “A captain, is it? Tell him I said congrats on the promotion.”

  “He wouldn’t leave without my permission,” she said.

  I raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

  The holo blipped as a man’s uniform-clad shoulder crossed the scanner. I could tell from his posture that he hadn’t brought the Imperial the news she wanted.

  An, on the other hand, did not change. Not outwardly, at least. But there was something diminished in her eyes, her speech.

  “He doesn’t have to die,” I told her.

  She gave me a dismissive glance. “Such things are beyond you.”

  “I can save him.”

  There was a pause as she considered my words. “Exactly what are you suggesting?”

  “Give me time. I will take care of Adam myself.” My tone had more confidence than my heart.

  “I don’t believe you. You’d never destroy your own Ark.”

  “My family is here,” I said softly. “An. Don’t do it. Give me time to take care of it. There is no risk to you.”

  “But that is where you are wrong, Charlotte.”

  “He’s threatened them,” Charles explained. “There was a time when he thought you might reach out to An, before you came here. But surely—”

  “Well, I didn’t.” I turned to An. “Give us a week.”

  She laughed coldly. “He contacted me again this morning. An hour.”

  I smiled. If we were negotiating, I’d already won. She was agreeing to give me a chance in spite of herself. “Think of Shan. Three days.”

  There was a pause. “Three hours.”

  That was all I needed to hear. I wasn’t going to make it any longer than that, anyway. “Deal. Everest out.” I reached for the switch to terminate the feed.

  Charles shifted in his seat, ending the brief moment of concentration I’d summoned. “Well, that went well,” he said sarcastically.

  Eren put a hand on the far side of my waist and gave me a squeeze. When we were halfway to an embrace, he pressed forward, into my shoulder, and blocked Charles from the desk. “Get away from the comms, Mr. Eiffel.”

  Charles removed his hands, a guarded look on his face.

  “What was that? Who were you trying to call?” I asked. “The Council?”

  “The gendarmes, actually,” said Charles, still maddeningly calm. “It seems our little experiment has run its course.”

  “Experiment?” Eren frowned.

  “She’s a tough nut to crack,” said Charles. “The usual drugs weren’t working. We decided it was better to follow her around for awhile instead. See if we couldn’t learn more by observation.”

  His words sank in slowly. “What are you talking about?” I said.

  “When your inevitable escape attempt took place, we sent the bare minimum of soldiers. We told them to let you go,” Charles said scornfully. “You must think pretty highly of yourself if you thought you could outrun an entire Ark.”

  “Oh, you’d be surprised,” said Eren.

  Charles ignored him. “It has proved a fruitful plan. We never dreamed you had allies in the biosphere.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “As much as I like you, Ms. Turner, I can’t say I’m looking forward to the next step. It will not be pleasant.”

  “You could have just asked me, you know. No one ever thinks of that.” My mind reeled, but I met his eye, suppressing a chill. “Did I give you anything useful?” I asked, angry now. “Any information you might want to act on? Like, I don’t know, the imminent destruction of your entire ship?”

  “Suffice it to say, you do not disappoint.” He gave Eren an appraising glance. “We couldn’t wake him up ourselves, so we decided to let you have a crack at it. We didn’t count on him being so much trouble, though. He hasn’t let his eyes off you since he woke up. I had hoped to follow you a bit longer, but c’est la vie.”

  That explained why Charles had tried to discredit me t
o Eren. Charles lifted his hands. “But no matter. Now we can question you both. The gendarmes will be here any minute.” Instinctively, I took a step to the right, angling myself between Charles and Eren.

  “No, they won’t,” I said, my voice like steel. Back home, that was the first thing people said to Kingston when they found him rifling through their stuff. Me, they rarely caught. But Kingston was bigger, and slower. And a whole lot scarier. Anyway, it was almost never true. “You haven’t called them yet.”

  “You should surrender, both of you,” said Charles.

  He still didn’t get it. Perhaps the horror of our years under Adam’s control had passed like a distant nightmare for the rest of the world. They’d escaped easily and gone on their way. They didn’t know what we’d been through. Maybe I was a fool to blame them.

  It occurred to me that we were going about this all wrong.

  “I can’t make them believe me. I can’t make them chase Adam,” I said evenly. “But I bet they’ll chase me.” I tossed the glass shard aside. It went dark as it hit the carpet. “He’s out there. Either we defeat him, or it’s all over anyway. For everyone.” It was no great loss to be discovered, I reasoned, fighting the heaviness in my heart. Where I was going, there was no coming back. Adam was one move from checkmate. “Alert the gendarmes. Tell them we’ll be in the biosphere. And if you want this Ark to survive, you’ll tell them Adam never left, and he’ll destroy a lot more than a city next time.”

  Charles looked at me as though for the first time. “Go in peace, Charlotte Turner.”

  I nodded.

  “You sure you want to let him call the police?” said Eren.

  “Yeah,” I said. I’d finished hiding a long time ago. “Send them. Send them all.”

  Twenty

  The woods were cool and dark, and the scent of the pines coursed through me as I caught my breath in the shadows. The wind was picking up. In comparison to the dry, circulated air of the ship, the forest felt almost damp.

  Or maybe that was the gathering storm.

  We’d be too exposed if we went through the field directly in front of the house, but I wanted to case it before I just ran right in. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see anything. No lights were on, and the front door was shut.