by Tracy Lawson
8:55 PM
Careen’s pulse pounded in her head and her stomach churned; her fight-or-flight reflexes were in overdrive. She’d been too shocked to even think about refusing Tommy’s kiss, and now she was confused. That Atari guy works for Madalyn. If the members of the Resistance are all in prison, how is Tommy here? She gazed around, even more confused, as they stepped out of the elevator into a room that looked like some kind of art gallery and smelled of popcorn.
Atari, fingers pressed to his nose, disappeared down one of the hallways.
“Where are we?” She was afraid to speak above a whisper.
“Atari’s place.”
She bit her lip and clutched at the Link on her wrist. Tommy noticed the gesture and smiled. “Nice left hook, by the way. You should follow up a knockout punch like that with an ice pack.” He gestured to one of the black leather sofas. “Have a seat. I’ll get one.”
She stayed on her feet and edged toward the elevator, but he was back, ice pack in hand, before she got up the nerve to press the Down button and flee.
This had to be another, albeit more elaborate, test of her loyalty. But how did Tommy fit in? Was he on CSD, doing Madalyn’s bidding under Atari’s supervision? Until now, it had been too dark to see his face clearly. Once I get a good look at him, I’ll be able to tell if he’s been dosed.
She kept a wary eye on her surroundings as Tommy led her down a hallway, fearful that Atari might be lurking around any corner. Tommy opened the door and gestured her into a spacious bedroom. The furniture was glossy-white and streamlined, with navy bedding and chrome accessories. It was different, but every bit as expensive-looking as her rooms at PeopleCam. She sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled the desk chair over to face her, took her hand, and gently laid the ice pack on it. She looked into his eyes for the first time. They were clear. Just as she remembered, his left eye, a tiny bit more heavy-lidded, hinted at a playful wink.
“Better?”
She nodded. “Why are we here?”
“Atari’s place is also a Resistance safe house. You remember Atari from the day we broke into the OCSD, right? He’s kind of a jerk. You can’t pay attention to anything he says, okay?”
She nodded again, studying his face. Okay, so even if he hasn’t dosed, maybe it’s some kind of test for him, too. She didn’t want to get him in trouble; could she get him to give her a clue or a sign?
“Where is everyone?”
“Not here. But they’re fine.”
“How did you get here?”
“I’m here to find you. Danni brought me.”
“Danni?”
“Yeah. She’s been organizing the CXD thing. It’s totally gone viral.”
So Danni’s organizing the hoards of protesters who want to kill me. Why am I not surprised?
He removed the ice pack and sandwiched her cold hand between his own. “I’m so sorry about everything. I wish I’d never agreed to go to OP-439 with Wes.”
She touched his lips to silence him and shook her head, fearful he’d say something incriminating. He leaned in, and she moved her fingers to brush his cheek. If this is part of the test, I’m going to fail. When their lips were so close that no surveillance camera would be able to tell she was speaking, she whispered, “Are they watching us?”
There was a sharp knock on the door, and she pulled away.
Atari shouted from the hallway, “Debriefing. Kitchen. Half an hour.”
Tommy rolled his eyes, and Careen took the opportunity to change the subject. “Do I have time to take a shower?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Do you have any clothes I could borrow? Something more comfortable?” Something I can run in if I have to.
“Sure. I’ll go raid Wardrobe and see what I can find. There are towels, extra toothbrushes, and anything else you need in the bathroom.” He rolled the chair back to the desk on his way out.
Chapter 56
8:59 PM
Atari stalked away as soon as the elevator doors opened, pinching his nostrils to contain the blood flow. He was loath to let Careen see how much she’d hurt him.
Even though the primary objective had been achieved, the mission felt tainted. He should be enjoying the rush from having outsmarted Madalyn. He peered at his face in his bathroom mirror. His nose was definitely crooked. He wet a washcloth at the sink and dabbed at the blood. Getting socked by a girl was humiliating—especially after all he’d done for her.
One thing he knew for sure: he wasn’t willing to forego the thrill he knew he’d experience when the Link went live, nationwide.
He’d just pulled a roll of gauze out of his first aid kit when his phone rang.
Every breath you take . . .
He answered, and Madalyn’s voice shrilled in his ear.
“Where is she? How did she get away?”
“Madam Director, I explained to you the system wasn’t ready.” He couldn’t breathe through his nose, and his voice sounded thick even to his own ears.
“Are you crying?”
“No. I just have a bit of a cold. Anyway, it crashed when I brought it online. I’ll need time to make the necessary adjustments. Right now it’s impossible to pinpoint her location.”
“Well, she can’t get far. Once you fix the Link, it will be easy to track her down. How long before it’s ready?”
“There’s no way to estimate until I assess the extent of the problem.”
“There was a plot to help her escape. We have one of the conspirators in custody.”
“Interesting. Well, no one could’ve foreseen that. We might never find her. Until the Link goes live, of course.”
“Hmm. I imagine the five-million-dollar reward would spur you to give it your best effort.”
“Madam Director, it’s not a matter of money.”
“It’s always a matter of money. Produce Careen Catecher and the five million dollars is yours. No questions asked.”
9:08 PM
As soon as the door closed behind Tommy, Careen searched the drawers in the nightstand, dresser, and desk for evidence to suggest he was being drugged or kept there against his will. She gasped when she found his gun in the bottom desk drawer. The thrill that ran through her body at the sight of a weapon turned instantly to dread. If Tommy was armed, he was here in this strange place of his own volition. He couldn’t be trusted any more than Atari.
She closed the drawer and hurried back to her spot on the edge of the bed. Moments later, he returned carrying a stack of sweaters, jeans, and leggings.
“These okay?” When she nodded, he set them on the bed beside her.
“Thank you.” She stood and slid her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest. His lips brushed her hair as he wrapped her in the embrace she recalled so well. His arms had been the safest place in the world. Until now. She gently pulled away and chose a sweater and leggings. As soon as she was inside the bathroom, she locked the door and turned on the shower, gripping the edge of the countertop as she tried to control her panic. I have to act like I don’t suspect. I have to pass the test—whatever it is.
She shed her clothes and stood under the steamy spray for as long as she dared. She rushed as she dressed, tugging the leggings and sweater on over her damp skin. The half hour was nearly up.
Tommy was lying on the bed reading when she emerged. He’d never seemed interested in books before. She tried to not stare as she towel-dried her hair.
He looked up and closed his book. “You want socks?” She nodded, and he grabbed a pair out of a dresser drawer and tossed them to her. “Come on, I’m sure Atari’s dying to tell you how brilliant he is.” She padded down the hall after him to the kitchen and watched as he rummaged around in the well-stocked refrigerator.
She had to convince him she didn’t suspect anything. “Are you going to make one of your famous peanut butter and pickle sandwiches?”
He laughed. “I actually enjoy peanut butter and pickle, especially when it’s not my only option.
You want turkey?” She nodded. Tommy layered the sliced turkey, lettuce, and tomato, and finished the sandwiches with a drizzle of Italian dressing. “Another Essential Services life hack. I like it this way better than with mayo.”
They carried their plates into the dining area, and the simple act of sharing a meal with him seemed so right and so normal that she almost let her guard down. Her trepidation returned stronger than ever when Atari joined them at their table. Purple bruises had erupted under both his eyes. He’d stuffed both his nostrils with gauze and stabilized his nose with a strip of first aid tape. He reached across the table and took Careen’s arm. His long, tapering fingers felt like spider’s legs as they caressed her Link, but she resisted the urge to pull away, afraid to antagonize him further.
“You’re the one who Linked me, right?”
He nodded.
“Can you really use the Link to find missing children?”
“Yes.”
She bit her lip. “So when is the QM coming for me?”
“They’re not. Yours isn’t turned on.”
“But it is! The light has been flashing the whole time.”
“That’s just for show.”
Careen looked at Tommy, who nodded.
Atari continued. “When things light up, people believe they’re working. The system’s not online yet, and besides, I’m the only one who knows how to work it.”
“Wait. How—”
“Would I go to all that trouble to extract you if I were just going to turn you in again? That makes no sense at all. Don’t you want to hear about the rescue?”
None of this makes any sense. But she nodded, and he continued.
“We went with a variation on my stock plan: create a diversion and set off an explosion. But we needed a catalyst big enough to get you to explode, and in this case, Tommy assured me he knew just what to do.” He paused, folded his arms, and leered at her.
“Excuse me?”
Tommy shot Atari an exasperated look before he turned to Careen. “It wasn’t all that hard to convince her to help.”
“Who?”
“Your mom, of course.” He laughed. “Nobody on earth makes you as mad as she does.”
“You know my mom?”
“Yeah. She was part of the plan. The setup was pretty simple. Kevin arranged for the broadcast and wrote the script. Pete Sheridan was in on it, too, but the Academy Award goes to your mom.”
Careen’s eyes filled with tears. The conspiracy was farther-reaching than she’d imagined. It was more like her mother to act without thinking than to engage in calculated treachery, and knowing she was part of the test devastated Careen more than all the accumulated hurt and neglect from her childhood. In the studio, she’d hoped that, just for a moment, her mom had been on her side. She covered her face with her hands. She could check her childhood home off her list of possible refuges.
Atari continued. “Once you were loose in the building, I correctly anticipated that Madalyn would insist I use the Link to locate you. All it took was a little sleight of hand and some split-second timing to lead the QM and Madalyn on a wild goose chase after the wrong van.”
“Wait—what? I thought they were chasing us!”
“So did they. We were driving a QM van, which made it unlikely we’d be stopped and searched. We started out in their convoy, in pursuit of the fugitive. Then, when everyone was looking the other way, I turned a corner and came back here. You know the rest.” He touched the tape across the bridge of his nose.
“No, I don’t! If they thought they were chasing me, who—”
“Jezz was the decoy driver.”
“What?”
“That was the one part of the plan we couldn’t control. Once she was in the van, we couldn’t intervene.”
Tommy put a protective arm around Careen. “That’s enough for now.”
Atari cleared his throat and stood up. “Well, duty calls.”
Chapter 57
10:12 PM
As soon as he was gone, Careen drew a shuddering breath.
“Your mom agreed to the plan. She said to tell you she owed you one.” Tommy stood and extended his hand to her, but she sat unmoving, stunned. Everyone’s against me. What does Madalyn have planned for me next?
“Come on. You could use a good night’s sleep. I’ll clear out and give you some space.”
She wanted him with her, hoping his presence would keep Atari away. “Would you stay with me and just … stay?”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you want.”
With actions calculated to seem helpless and acquiescent, she leaned against him and yawned as they crossed the foyer and headed down the hall.
Atari stuck his head out the door of Command Central and caught Tommy’s eye as they passed, so he left Careen at the bedroom door. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
He dashed back to Command Central. “What? What’s happened?”
“The QM took Jezz straight to prison. No word beyond that. I’m working on getting more information, and while I’m working on it, you keep an eye on Million Dollar Baby in there. She’s pretty confused, and that was a lot to take in. I see why Mitch wasn’t keen on extracting her.”
“Screw Mitch. Careen is fine, now that she’s away from Madalyn.”
“If you say so, bro. She’s your responsibility.”
Tommy headed back down the hall, opened the door a crack, and peeked inside. The bedside lamp cast a soft glow, throwing the corners of the room into deep shadow. He could hear her brushing her teeth.
When she was finished, she stood silhouetted in the bathroom door, waiflike and fragile in the leggings and loose black sweater. He was glad she hadn’t sent him away.
“Sleepy?”
“A little.” She turned off the bathroom light and joined him. “Do you remember when we were escaping from the OCSD, and you asked me if I trusted you?”
His heart sank. “I said I’d never let anything bad happen to you.” He gently touched the scar on her cheek with his fingertips. “Maybe I was being sappy. And unrealistic.”
Tears sparkled in her eyes as she looked up at him, and she laid her cheek against the palm of his hand. “I trust you. This wasn’t your fault.”
She’s the only one who doesn’t blame me, and I’ve hurt her so badly. He pulled her up on tiptoe, and she shuddered as he folded her into his arms. His lips played over hers, and though they’d been apart nearly as long as they’d been together, the kiss was anything but awkward. It took about two seconds before he forgot his invitation to stay didn’t include picking up where they’d left off back at their secret cabin in BG-098. He tightened his hold on her and she winced.
“What’s the matter?”
She shook her head, lips pressed together, staring up at him like she was trying to memorize him. “Your hair’s getting really long.” Shivers radiated down his spine as she ran both hands through the golden strands.
His hand slid under her sweater, seeking the curve of her breast. She tensed up and turned her back, and he kicked himself for moving too fast. He realized why she’d held him off as she lifted her sweater over her head, revealing a mass of half-healed bruises and abrasions on her pale skin.
“Oh wow! Why didn’t you say something? I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“It’s not as bad as yours were during that awful combat training. Most of them don’t hurt any more, but my ribs are still pretty sore.”
He brushed his fingers over the marks on her back, crisscrossed by her bra straps. Oh God, is that a boot print? He kissed a green-and-yellow-tinged bruise on her shoulder. “I’m afraid to touch you now.”
She turned around to face him, clutching the sweater over her heart. “You could never hurt me the way they did.”
His blood ran cold as he considered. “Did they … I mean, you don’t have to tell me, but did they … were you …”
She shook her head with the tiniest of smiles. “No, not like that.”
He sighed and relaxed, but she seemed to tense up again. Anxious to do the right thing, he whispered, “That doesn’t mean we … I mean, we don’t have to—”
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “I can’t. Not yet.”
He drew back the covers and helped her settle against the pillows, leaving the lamp burning, just like she preferred. He slid in beside her, kissed her softly on the cheek, and stroked her hair until her eyes fluttered closed and she drifted off. He’d never get enough of watching her—her breathing slow and steady, her cheeks flushed and warm. So often in sleep she was clutched by night terrors, but now she looked as relaxed as he’d ever seen her, asleep or awake. It reinforced his view that he, and not Atari, was more attuned to her present state of mind. Satisfied, he brushed a wisp of hair off her face and settled onto his pillow.
10:15 PM
On the far side of the safe house, Atari scrolled through the day’s news feed on his tablet.
“Children over the age of two and under the age of eighteen, whose last names begin with A through L, must report to the designated Distribution Center in their quadrant to receive their Cerberean Link on Monday morning. Those whose last names begin with M through Z may report beginning at one p.m.”
“What the … ?” Atari paused the broadcast, leaving Sheila Roth frozen, her mouth gaping open like a fish. He dialed Madalyn Davies’s line.
“What’s going on? PeopleCam’s announced that nationwide distribution of the Link begins next week. How can that be? I just told you it’s nowhere near ready for a full rollout!”
“We’ve got to move forward. The protests against the Link are more widespread than ever. Better to get the Linking over and done with, even if the system’s not operational yet. We’ve rehired all the workers and told them to report to the Distribution Centers first thing on Monday.”