The Girl Who Dared to Stand

by Bella Forrest

  “He was honest with us.”

  I sighed. “He might’ve been, but—”

  “He could help us figure out a way to put Scipio inside the Core.”

  “Maybe so,” I replied, fighting through my irritation at him interrupting me yet again. “But I want to meet him face-to-face. Hell, that information is much better given face-to-face—we can’t exactly trust netting one hundred percent.”

  “You’re being paranoid.”

  I looked at him, deciding how I wanted to feel about that statement. “Maybe I am, but you guys put me in charge. If I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell someone something, then I’m not going to. I’m going to do everything I can to keep us safe, and if that means questioning the intentions and motivations of our allies, or even doubting them, I’m going to do it. Better paranoid than dead.”

  Quess opened his mouth and then shut it, and I mentally patted myself on the back for being able to recover so quickly from the scrambler. Now that my skull was free from the fiery brand, I was able to think more clearly than before. Clearly enough to get past Quess’s arguments, at least for the moment. I watched him closely while he thought about it, and then smiled when I saw approval shining in his eyes.

  “You know what, you’re totally right.”

  I reared back in surprise, and then shot him a sardonic look. “Thanks, I guess?”

  “No problem. So… what are you going to tell everyone?”

  “The truth. They need to know what’s going on. They need to have a say.” Quess gave me a sidelong look, a smile tugging at his lips. “What?”

  “Nothing, I’m just digging this take-charge Liana. She’s really hot.” I flushed, and Quess seemed to take it as an invitation to step closer. “So, are you and Grey serious, or…”

  “Quess!” I exclaimed with a laugh, pushing him back a few feet. He stumbled, a wide grin on his face.

  “What?!” he exclaimed good-naturedly, trying for innocent and failing miserably. “I can’t help myself; strength in a woman is definitely on my lists of turn-ons.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re never going to get one if you keep coming on to them like that. It’s stronger than goat cheese.”

  “Goat cheese is delicious,” he said.

  “And your pick-up lines are gross,” I retorted. I paused, and then added, “Besides, you probably shouldn’t do it. It’s rude to Grey.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure why I added that last part, and as soon as I said it, I could hear Quess’s reaction building. My initial instinct was to shut it down before he got to it, but a part of me resisted, eager to hear someone else’s thoughts on this.

  “I can’t believe you’d say that after what he said yesterday,” Quess said. “He was pretty rude himself.”

  I flushed and shook my head, already resisting the pain that the memory brought. “Look, I’m not sure what his issue was, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean it,” I said. It was something I’d been telling myself since yesterday, and it felt good to say it out loud. It didn’t mean I entirely believed it, but it was a good start, and it kept hope alive. I didn’t want things between Grey and me to sour. I had sort of hoped…

  Well, it didn’t matter what I hoped. I had to keep us moving forward, and that meant my personal drama with Grey couldn’t be a factor. Besides, it wouldn’t look good to the others if I was constantly fighting with him.

  But the wedge this whole leadership thing had put between us was uncomfortable, and needed to be resolved. I just hoped it could be sooner rather than later.

  “Well, the rest of us are pretty sure he didn’t mean it, too,” Quess stated, and I gave him a surprised look. “Oh yeah, we talked about it. It’s kind of hard not to gossip and speculate when you have such a small group.”

  “Great,” I muttered. It was the opposite of great, but there was nothing I could do. “What’s the consensus on why he was acting like that?”

  “Well, Maddox and I think it’s just because he has anti-traditional leadership structures. I mean… it’s sort of in his profile that he doesn’t do well with command figures, so…”

  I considered that, trying to decide whether I agreed or not. I shook my head. “Yeah, I’m not sure what file you read that from, but frankly, I don’t think it was about that.” I stopped, realizing that I was actually talking about it. With Quess, of all people. Not that he was a bad person to talk to, but these things were normally reserved for Zoe. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

  “So you said. But it seems like you need to.”

  I met his gaze with a wry smile. “Yes, but the person I need to talk to about it is Grey, so let’s just leave it there for now.”

  Quess gave me a smile and nodded. “All right. What say I round everyone up? Want to hold the meeting in the main room?”

  I folded my arms across my chest, considering the question. “No,” I said, the corners of my lips quirking up. “We’ll hold it in Lionel’s office.”

  Quess’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You really want to include Old Scipio?”

  I nodded. “I think we should. We have to bring everyone up to speed on the meeting, and discuss what our next moves are going to be.”

  “All right! Let’s go get everyone assembled.”

  I smiled at the enthusiasm in his voice, and watched as he slid into the vent. As I waited for him to move farther in, the smile evaporated. I thought of Grey and his weird behavior yesterday, and hoped that he had gotten over his agitation. Because I was not super excited about a repeat of last night.

  “Greetings, Liana!” Scipio chirped brightly as I slid in through the vent. “I’m glad to see you again, and—” He paused, smiling when Tian slipped out of the vent behind me. “You’ve brought new friends! Hello.”

  Tian looked up from where she had landed on her hands and knees, and her blue eyes immediately rounded. She quickly moved backward. “He’s a monster!” she shrieked, half-turning to throw herself back into the vent.

  I caught her by the waist, not wanting her panic to slow down the train of people, and moved her to the side. Or, at least, I tried to—but she wasn’t making it easy.

  “Let me go!” she screamed, her legs kicking violently. “He’s going to kill us!”

  From over her shoulder, I could see Scipio’s eyes widening in mortification. He opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly shook my head. “Tian, he’s not going to kill us,” I told her calmly. “He’s just a holographic representation. He can’t actually touch you. Here, look.”

  I stood and quickly moved toward Scipio. “May I?” I asked, and he gave me a surprised nod. I turned partially, to make sure Tian could see, and then slowly passed my hand through his arm, disrupting the strands of light. Tian stared at us mutinously at first, her jaw set and arms folded across her chest, but as my hand went through, her expression changed from confusion to surprise, then to awe.

  “That’s amazing!” she said. “You didn’t tell me he was a ghost!” She immediately raced up to him, her small feet loud even on the carpet, but pulled up short. “Pow pow!” she screamed shrilly, punching her tiny fists through his thigh.

  Scipio watched this with no small amount of amusement, and then waved a hand. Immediately, a dozen or so bubbles floated around them. They shimmered in the lights, their colors changing from gold to blue to purple to green to red, and Tian’s face reflected the lights as she stared up at one. Her finger stretched out, and to my surprise, instead of passing right through, her finger appeared to make the bubble pop. It released a poof of confetti, and Tian clapped her hands together, her face growing more and more excited. She began running around, popping the different bubbles as fast as she could.

  “If nothing else comes from us finding him,” Quess said as he exited the hole, “then at least we know who can babysit Tian if we’re all away.”

  I smiled. “Oh yeah, he’s got those duties for life, knowing her.”

  “Speaking of which, Ghost could be a really good name for you,
” Quess said, directly addressing Scipio’s hologram.

  Scipio opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a loud rattle from the vent as Zoe slid out—and immediately bounced to her feet. “Holy cow,” she said, her eyes large as she took Scipio in. “Is that…”

  “Greetings, I am…” He paused as Eric slid out behind her, followed by Maddox and then Grey. “You certainly have a lot of friends.”

  “That means you have friends now too, Ghost!” Quess exclaimed as he moved past Scipio.

  Scipio rolled his eyes. “Actually, I have settled on an alternative name, and it is not Ghost. Or Bob.” He met my gaze, his blue eyes sparking almost white with excitement, and I realized he was nervous. He wanted us to like what he had chosen.

  “I’m sure whatever it is will be fine,” I said encouragingly, and he beamed at me. From the corner of my eye, I caught movement, and tilted my head better to see Grey shaking his head, although I couldn’t tell what it was about. His face was partially hidden behind his blond hair, and he wasn’t saying anything.

  I kept my mouth shut and turned back to Scipio. Now was not the time to start calling Grey out.

  “In honor of my maker, Lionel Scipio, I have decided to rename myself Leo.”

  He looked around expectantly, and Quess was the first one to have an opinion.

  “I like it,” he declared. “It’s cool, edgy, maybe a little rebellious—basically kind of like you, minus the edgy parts.”

  Leo’s lips flickered in an uncertain smile. “I think that was a compliment, so I’m going to take it as one.”

  “It is,” Maddox said. I looked over to where she was leaning on the wall next to the vent, studying the computer program. “I’m Maddox.”

  “And this is Tian, Zoe, and Eric. Tian, Zoe, and Eric, this is Sci…” I paused, my eyes sliding over to the glowing figure in the middle of the room, who was watching me intently, and smiled. “Leo.”

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he said formally. “Would you like to have a seat?”

  He gestured to the sofas, and they shuffled over to sit down on them. I remained standing by the desk, and Grey took up a position opposite me, leaning against the bookcase.

  “So how’d the meeting go?” he asked gruffly, not even waiting until everyone was settled.

  I gave him a hard look, some of the feelings from yesterday returning, and then began filling everyone in on the meeting. “Well, he’s going to help us out with the nets, and he’s gonna leave us a few ration cards for food, but… we need to start figuring out what we’re going to do about the Paragon,” I said bluntly. “And what our plan is going forward.”

  “Oh, and—we might’ve made some new friends,” Quess added. “Mercury said there’s a group that made contact with him and wants to meet Liana. They’re saying they can help us, so…”

  “With what?” Grey demanded. “Who are they?”

  “We don’t know,” I said. “Neither does Mercury, but he thinks it’s a good idea, and so do I.”

  “I don’t know…” Zoe said, trailing off and cocking her head. “The timing is a little—”

  “It’s because my face is all over the place inside. Grey’s too. Mercury seems to think that they’re another undoc group who might want me to join because I can fight. It’s a commodity among undocs, apparently.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Grey said bitterly, crossing his arms. “Especially when they need people to break in and steal things.”

  “Actually, that’s not what I’m talking about,” Zoe said, shaking her head. “You mentioned some sort of secret group who wanted to murder Leo. Now, only a few days after you keep Leo from dying, a mysterious group of people wants to reach out to you? And you’re just going to overlook that as coincidence?”

  I swallowed. “Do you think they somehow know Leo is alive? How would they?”

  “Some sort of program or device in the office?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t know! It just seems very suspicious, even for coincidence.”

  “Does anyone really think a clandestine group could exist after hundreds of years?” Maddox asked.

  I frowned. I had wondered the same thing myself, and even speculated that Scipio 2.0 was being controlled, but there was no proof one way or another.

  “I don’t know,” I replied out loud. “Leo, you were around during the time of Prometheus. Do you have any information that could help us?”

  “Me?” Leo asked, looking around. “I have the reports that were filed by the security department on those they had arrested, but that doesn’t exactly give us a clear picture on whether the group survived three centuries.”

  “Yes, but you could run a probability model,” Quess pointed out, shifting slightly in his seat so he could rest an ankle on his knee. “Unless that was part of 2.0’s programming, and not yours.”

  “No… I can, but it would be off by a factor of three to seven percent without more recent data.”

  “It’s fine,” Quess said. “Run the numbers and tell me what they say.”

  Leo looked up for a moment, and then back down. “There is a better than average chance of it, based on information available to me. But that doesn’t mean much.”

  “So it’s possible that Liana’s meeting with a secret group that wants to destroy Leo and overthrow the Tower?” Grey asked, folding his arms over his chest. “And we’re all okay with that?”

  “Well, Leo said he needs more recent data, so let’s not jump right to the fact that they’re a secret group,” Zoe said. Her expression was thoughtful. “But even if they were, would that be such a bad thing?” Everyone turned their heads toward her at once, and her back straightened. “I’m just saying that maybe it would be a good idea to meet with them and see what they want and what they are about. Knowing what they want could tell us how best to deal with them.”

  I loved my best friend—she could be so awesomely practical when she needed to be.

  “I’m not sure I agree with Zoe,” Maddox said. “Knowledge is power, yes, but we have no idea what they want from us, which puts them in a position of power over us. We can’t be sure they won’t take advantage of our desperation, either, or make us do things based only on a promise. It doesn’t matter if they are undocs or something else; we need to make sure what we’re doing with them is something that helps us, not hurts us. I don’t see any benefit to us in meeting with them right now.”

  No one said anything for a long moment, and I could see several of them nodding their heads in agreement.

  Only Eric and Grey remained still, and it was Eric who spoke first. Although, from the angry look in Grey’s eyes, it wouldn’t be long before he said something.

  “Those are all very good points,” he said carefully, looking around. “And I think there is a good reason for going, and a good reason for not going. But I honestly believe that Liana should be the one to decide. After all, she’s the one they mentioned by name. It’ll be her life in danger if she goes.”

  Silence met his remark, but I realized that wasn’t quite true. “Not so,” I said. “They know I have companions. They’d come after you too.”

  “But it’s you they would get first,” Eric replied. “It really should be your choice.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Grey muttered, loud enough to be heard. I looked over at him and arched an eyebrow.

  “What was that?” I asked, and he paused in the process of running a hand over his face, removed it, and met my gaze head on. “I said I can’t believe this. I seriously cannot believe they are willing to just send you in there.”

  “That’s not what we said.” Zoe bristled, climbing up to her own two feet. “And I happen to agree with Eric—it’s not our place to decide. It’s hers.”

  “It’s a decision that affects all of us,” Grey railed. “What if it’s a trap? She knows where we are. If the Knights catch her and question her, we’ll all be sunk. Not to mention, she isn’t the most diplomatic individual. No offense.”

 
“Hey, offense taken.” The way that Grey was talking about me was making me angry again, and slightly nauseous. “You don’t trust that I’ll be able to smell a Knight trap coming, is that it? I used to be one, y’know. I’m quite familiar with their tactics—at least, more familiar than all of you.”

  Grey’s eyebrows drew closer together as he glowered at me. “That really isn’t the point,” he said, his voice lethal. “You were only a Squire before all this went down, Liana. I very much doubt—”

  “Everyone except Grey, please get out.”

  I wasn’t sure the words had come from me, but when everyone on the sofa turned to look at me, I realized they had. I had delivered them politely enough, but even still, I felt like the rest of the group needed some sort of resolution, so I added: “Thank you all for your input. I will consider it all and let you know what my decision is. However, I need a moment to talk to Grey, and I think it should happen in private.”

  Grey crossed his arms, his glare intensifying while the group exchanged a flurry of glances and then stood, quickly heading to the vent and away from the drama. I waited patiently, holding Grey’s glare. He looked angry, but I was livid. I wanted to know what was going on with him and why he was acting this way.

  And I was going to get my answer, whether he liked it or not.

  10

  Grey and I remained silent until everyone else had left, and even longer, until the telltale rattle of metal had faded some, indicating everyone was drawing farther away. Leo disappeared, while I continued to stare at Grey, angry and frustrated by his behavior. It wasn’t helpful—if anything, it was just putting him at odds with the remaining group. We needed to be able to work together if we were going to survive, and he was making that more difficult.

  Not to mention, his intemperance had prevented me from bringing up what I really wanted to address: what our long-term plan was going to be. And while it wasn’t something that needed to be decided today, it would’ve been nice to discuss it. We needed a plan.