The Girl Who Dared to Stand

by Bella Forrest

  About, for example, why the hell he was answering a call meant for my brother.

  “Your brother is fine,” Mercury assured me, but that did nothing to calm my stomach.

  “Then why isn’t he answering? How are you answering? What is going on?”

  I turned and rested my back against the pen, keeping an eye out for any movement from Hands on graveyard shift.

  “First, tell me what went wrong.”

  I grated my teeth together. “Maddox got captured. We got new nets, but things went wrong in the net room when there were people there. People you said wouldn’t be there.”

  There was a pause before he replied, “We didn’t know they’d be working late. They weren’t supposed to be, but apparently there’s been a few problems with some of the nets being produced recently, and so they were ordered to stay late to inspect them.”

  I frowned. Learning that the nets we had just stolen might be faulty did not give me a lot of confidence, or leave me with a desire to keep my new net in, but it did explain why they had believed my lie. The question hung on the tip of my tongue, but I realized it didn’t matter right now. Alex and Maddox did.

  “What is going on with Maddox?” I demanded. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about my brother. Where is he? What’s wrong?”

  “I knew they’d taken a prisoner, but even I wasn’t told it was Maddox—that’s how tight-lipped the Inquisitors are being. Once they run her DNA and realize she’s Cali’s child, they’ll take her to the Citadel.”

  He didn’t need to finish for me to understand the conclusion. After all, I had firsthand experience with what they were doing to those with ranks of one down there. I could only imagine that an undoc—a true undoc—would get bumped to the front of the line.

  There was only one problem with that: Maddox wasn’t just Cali’s child. She was Devon’s daughter as well. Or at least, I very much suspected she was.

  What would happen to her when they found that out? Would they let Devon know? What would he do?

  What would happen if he went to go get her? Trying to free her from the Citadel was one thing, but from the Champion himself? I shuddered at the thought. We needed to get ahead of this and get Maddox out as soon as possible.

  “Will they run a comparison to find out who her father is?” I asked.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Because… I think Devon Alexander is her father.”

  “You think what?” I could feel his confusion buzzing through the net as if it were bleeding out of him. “Why would you think that?”

  “Mercury, who was Cali married to?”

  “No one. I checked.”

  “Then the records have been altered. Which would make sense—she was serving as his Lieutenant when they were married.”

  “The council would never allow that.”

  “They would if they didn’t know,” I said, trying to keep my temper in check. We were wasting time, and while my new ID would mean I wasn’t in danger of getting caught, sitting around in the middle of a pigpen having a clandestine conversation with a member of IT while trying to subvert the will of Scipio was not a great start for my new net or false ID. “Look, forget about the records and just listen to me. If I’m right, and if Devon is Maddox’s father, he’ll want to meet with her before they do anything, won’t he?”

  “Okay, whoa, slow down. We do not know enough about Devon’s personality to know that. But I see what you’re getting at: you want to reach out to him to see if he will get her out. Well, here’s the thing—he can just do what we’re doing for you and your friends and replace her net if he really wants to keep her alive. Do you think I just invented that move?”

  “You didn’t?” I blinked, surprised. And then I focused on what he was saying. “You mean there are all sorts of people changing out their nets with new IDs?”

  “No, not all sorts of people, but it does happen, especially in the black market. The Inquisition tries to crack down on it, which is why it was risky to get you to a buyer—too much attention. Stealing the nets was a better alternative, as it would be unexpected, and we wouldn’t have to pay through our noses. Look, we’re getting off track here. If you want to save Maddox, you’ll have to do it when she’s getting transferred to the Citadel. The Core is in lockdown, and I don’t think there’s enough time between here and eternity to create the codes to get you back in here. In the open, however… I imagine you could come up with something. I’ll update you as soon as I find out what’s going on, but it’s going to take some time. Besides, they have twenty-four hours before they’re required to hand Maddox over to the Knights. They’ll probably want to use it to try to interrogate her.”

  Tomorrow. Twenty-four hours for Maddox to be imprisoned. “They’ll question her?” I asked.

  “Yes. They might even torture her, but… I don’t know. If she is Devon’s daughter, like you think she is, and they discover it and tell him, maybe he’ll intercede. I honestly don’t know, but I promise I will help you get her back.”

  I exhaled. I didn’t have any better options, and I was going to need Mercury’s help to find out when Maddox was being transferred. “Then you better keep in touch. Now, how did you intercept this net, and is my brother all right?”

  “Relax. I figured you would net him first, so I set an alert and just shunted the net over to me. He’s fine, although it’s already known that you and Grey were behind this. They facial-scanned the videos. Which means you are going to have to be very careful tonight.”

  “Tonight?” I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What happens tonight?”

  “The group who wanted the meet contacted me to tell me the time and place. I was hoping you’d be back sooner… It’s in two hours, in Cogstown.”

  “Cogstown?” I asked, my eyebrows drawing together. “Where in Cogstown?”

  I had already dismissed the idea of it being in Roark’s apartment, so when Mercury said, “C19,” I couldn’t help but feel shocked. They actually had picked to meet there. But why?

  “What made them choose there?”

  “I think it was meant as a peace offering. It’s familiar terrain, right?”

  “Right.” I hesitated, my mind whirling. How did they know that though? “I want to bring Grey.” I had promised him that he got to go with me, and I knew he’d want to be there. Especially after what had happened with Maddox. In fact, I’d be surprised if all of them didn’t try to come with me.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Look, Grey’s very recognizable to the Cogs. It would be too dangerous, especially if you were with him. You’re kind of the most famous pair of criminals to roam the Tower, so to speak. Bring an escort, of course. Don’t meet them alone, but… bringing Grey is a bad idea. These people seem very powerful, Liana. And I don’t think they’d bat an eye at killing someone to protect their identities.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. I didn’t like agreeing with Mercury, but he was right on all counts. We’d just been identified breaking into the Core. Once that got out, people were going to be terrified. The Knights were going to have their hands full keeping people from panicking, dreading that some sort of dissident had gotten close to their precious Scipio. Even I was in danger moving around right now. But with Grey at my side… it’d be inviting attention.

  He really wasn’t going to like hearing that.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’ll take someone else. But why are we even having this meeting? Once they find out that I’ve been up to something tonight, won’t they just walk away? I’m a risky investment right now.”

  “That depends on who they are and what they want,” Mercury replied. “But better to give them the chance to say no face-to-face. Besides, what are you going to do in the meantime?”

  He was right. Again.

  “Fine. I’ll get up there and let you know how it goes. How do you want to contact us about Maddox?”

  “The pad I sent down also acts as an anchor point when it’s connected to a power so
urce. It creates a network with a wireless connection that only I can access, and allows me to transmit to your individual nets.”

  I took a moment to absorb what he had just said. “Did you just have a stroke or go insane? Also, why didn’t you do this for Cali and the others?”

  “I never had to,” Mercury said stiffly. “They knew how to keep a low profile. But since you’re public enemy number one and have your back against the wall, you need to be able to get in direct contact with me without risking attention. This is the best way to provide that, but I have to tell you, turn it on only when you have to. The Tower is searching through different frequencies looking for you, and the anchor will give one, if you’re not careful.” He sighed, a sound of long, tonal sweeps that were low. “So tell Quess that the pad is an anchor. He’ll know what to do.”

  “Okay. Is there anything else?”

  “No. Good luck, Liana.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, shutting off the net. I made my way back inside, taking time to replace the brace Zoe had made, and returned to the main room. I stopped when I came into the sleeping area, and took a knee next to Tian’s bed, peering under Maddox’s hammock to find her. The girl was lying on her side facing the wall, Commander Cuddles under her chin. Her breathing was deep and even, so I crept by, not wanting to wake her up if I didn’t have to.

  “How’d it go?” Grey asked as soon as I re-entered, looking up from where he was working on Quess’s neck, replacing the net under Zoe’s sharp eyes. Quess was holding a broken bit of mirror in one hand, Zoe another, giving Quess a clear view of what Grey was doing. And given the sweat beading on Grey’s brow, it wasn’t easy.

  “We can’t do anything about Maddox right now,” I said. “The Inquisition is holding her for twenty-four hours before transferring her to the Citadel. Mercury thinks our best bet is to wait for them to move her, and grab her then. We have to come up with a plan to get her away from them.”

  “What happens to her in the meantime?” Zoe asked gravely, keeping her eyes on Grey’s hands. “What are they going to do to her?”

  “We should be going after her now, not waiting!” Quess added, wincing as Grey did something behind his neck, just out of my range of vision. There was the sharp tink of something hard hitting metal—I guessed the old net being dropped into the bin—and I watched Grey relax for a moment, clearly relieved.

  I hesitated at Quess’s passionate tone, hating myself for having to give him bad news. “Quess, Mercury says that there’s no way he can get us in right now. The Core is locked up tight.”

  “Yeah, but we have Leo. He can help us get in, I know it.”

  My thoughts scattered at his declaration, and I stared at him. “You want to take Leo into the Core?”

  “Why not? If it helps us get Doxy back, then we should use him.”

  I rocked back on my heels, thinking. It was an interesting idea, but it had a huge problem—namely that Leo was untested. And I wasn’t sure that the Core was the right place to test him.

  “Quess…”

  “We shouldn’t do that,” Zoe said, interrupting me. “First of all, you can’t just volunteer Leo like that. He may be a computer, but he has feelings and should have a say in what he does or does not do. Secondly, I do not think we should try to get back into the Core at all. If they’ve stepped up security, then that means more manpower. Leo might be able to navigate the computers, but you’ll never escape the Eyes.”

  I nodded in agreement as Zoe spoke. Hers were also good points that I hadn’t fully considered. It was just too bad that when they stacked up next to my own reservations, it all pointed to Maddox being stuck in the Core for a whole day. A prospect so awful and terrifying that it made my skin crawl.

  I hoped she would forgive me someday. I hoped she would understand. But either way, I was getting her out. Facing her anger was far better than letting her remain in custody. Father or not, we had no idea what Devon would do once he got his hands on her, and if our best chance at getting her out meant waiting, then we would wait.

  “Quess, you have to accept the fact that we are not going to be able to go after her right now,” I said softly. Quess looked at me, his eyes burning blue coals. “Be angry with me, but realize this: we will only get one chance, either way, to get Maddox out. Which one do you think we’ll succeed at—assaulting the Core directly to get her, or going in during the transfer between the Core and the Citadel?”

  His frown deepened, and then he emitted an irritated sound. “Fine, we’ll wait. But we still have to figure out a way we’re going to get her during the transfer.” Behind him, Grey straightened his back and took a step back.

  “It’s done,” he said quietly, dropping his tools on a tray by the workstation with a metallic clatter.

  “I know,” I responded to Quess. “I’m hoping that you, Grey, and Zoe can work on that while I go to that meeting with the mystery group.” Everyone looked up at me, and I shifted my weight, suddenly uncomfortable at the looks in their eyes. “Mercury told me that they called. I don’t have a lot of time to get to them—I have to be there in two hours.”

  “You’re going, after all this? Maddox needs us—”

  “Nice try, but you’re not going without me. We talked about this, and you promised—”

  “Is nobody even going to wonder at the coincidence of all this? What are the odds—”

  Everyone spoke on top of each other in response to my statement, making all of their arguments difficult to follow. They didn’t show any sign of stopping, so I straightened my back and sucked in a lungful of air.

  “Shut up, all of you,” I snapped, my voice bearing the command with confidence and power. “Grey, we are currently the most infamous couple in the Tower. Going with you is the fastest way of being recognized, especially after tonight. I’m not sure if our raid of the Core has been publicized yet, but it will be soon, and they clocked our faces. You can’t go. Not if you want to keep me safe.”

  I turned to Zoe and nodded. “Yes, it’s weird that the mystery group chose now. Or, rather, they chose a few hours ago, which was when we started our mission. Sometimes things are a coincidence.”

  I fixed Quess with a pointed look. “I am not forgetting about Maddox, but you’re forgetting that these people could be potential allies. Which means it might not be too much to ask for their help in retrieving her.”

  I took a breath and smoothed my hands over my clothes, trying to still the slight tremor that had built up while I had been speaking to my friends. I hadn’t meant to go off on them, but it riled me up that they had just started ranting at me without asking any questions. I did not like feeling like I was under attack.

  “Look, this is inconvenient timing, I’ll admit. I am going to do everything in my power to turn it into a positive, but I can’t do that from here. This meeting is important, and if you really think about it, there is no reason why I can’t go right now. As awful as that makes me sound.”

  Grey didn’t say anything, and neither did anyone else, and I waited, holding my breath. I wasn’t sure how they were going to react to what I’d just said, and I was a little worried they would get angry.

  Thankfully, I had excellent taste in friends.

  “Sorry,” Zoe said, her mouth twisting. “You’re right. I am being paranoid. You should go.”

  “Do you really think they could help Maddox?” Quess asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I won’t be able to find out if I don’t try.”

  He nodded, and I looked at Grey.

  “How are you doing with all this?” I asked, and he stared at me, his face pensive.

  “I don’t like the idea of you going without me,” he said finally. “But you’re right. It’s too risky to go together. As it is, you probably shouldn’t even be heading out, but I get it. Just… you can’t go alone.”

  “She won’t be,” Eric said, crossing his arms. “You, Zoe, and Quess can brainstorm ideas on how to get Maddox away from the Inquisitors and the Knights so
we have something ready for when the exchange happens. I’ll keep Liana safe.”

  I smiled at Eric, grateful that he had volunteered himself, and looked at Grey. “Are you going to be okay?”

  He shook his head. “Not even remotely.”

  I stared at him, uncertain how to respond, and then he smiled. “But I guess it’s going to be something I get used to, seeing as we’re an infamous couple now.”

  We shared a smile, and then I reached for him, needing to borrow some of that endless reservoir of strength he seemed to be able to provide me with. He hugged me tightly, his arms around my shoulders, and I leaned into him, allowing myself to relax a little. We rocked back and forth, just holding each other, and I let my fears dissipate for a few seconds, content to just stand there forever.

  “So… does this mean the meeting is over?” Quess asked, breaking the moment between us, and I flushed and took a quick step back.

  “Oh my God, I did not just do that,” I said, slightly mortified that I had just hugged Grey so intimately in the middle of a meeting. Not something a good leader would do, I was guessing, but… a good girlfriend, on the other hand?

  Aced it, if Grey’s smile was any indication.

  “Yeah, you did,” Quess said flatly, looking on the verge of tearing me apart. A moment later, he opened his arms. “Can I have a hug too?”

  I smirked and moved over to him, giving him a hug. I wouldn’t have done it if he had asked with that same cocky attitude he had when he was being… him, but he hadn’t, not this time. He looked vulnerable when he asked, and I couldn’t resist.

  We kept it brief, however, and as soon as it was over, I looked around. “We’re going to get through this, guys. Just don’t give up.”

  I turned to Eric. “We gotta go if we’re going. Get your net and ID, and I’ll meet you at the hatch.”