“I’m so sorry…” I said, rubbing her back in comfort.
“It’s not your problem,” she chuckled. “But…if you can find a way to take down the Commission, I would sleep easier.”
“Then, you’ll help?” I felt the hope rise in my chest.
“As much as I’m able.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I somehow managed to get through Monday at school without the butterflies tying my stomach into a knot. I was nervous, but also exhilarated. I would finally be able to do research inside the Commission and its workings. I just had to remember to take it as slow while quickly planning the rebellion. I didn’t want to tip Dana off.
When the last bell rang, I packed up my books and slowly made my way to the front of the school. My father had been called by someone on Dana’s staff and told that I would carpool with Clark after school every day, so I had to meet Clark in the southern parking lot.
I said goodbye to Becca and the others as they walked to the buses, telling them that I had an afterschool club now. Becca and I shared a private look as she walked away. I had told her of my plan to infiltrate the Commission of the People. She had told me that if I needed her for anything to text her about a study session for An Angel Without Wings. That was our secret code.
“Hey, stranger,” a voice said next to me. I jumped and turned, spotting Devon.
“Hey!” I greeted with a smile.
“I miss hanging out with you at Archangel,” he play-pouted. “I guess the Commish Kids have a pretty tight leash on you, huh?”
“You have no idea…” I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, I think I do,” he chuckled. “Melissa and I dated for a few months in freshman year.”
“No…” I blinked in disbelief.
“Yep,” he nodded. He rolled his eyes. “The Commission and its secrets…She was always wanting to be in my life and telling me to be careful because of this or because of that…she drove me nuts!”
I laughed and nodded. “She’s like that.”
“Yeah, some people like Melissa are meant to be in the Commission…or at least in government,” he joked. “But people like you and Clark…you just don’t do well in that environment.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean, look at Clark. He seems to be afraid of his own shadow. He never looks at girls, you’re the only girl he’s shown any interest in at all, but I know there’s nothing going on…and you used to be a little shy, but you could have some fun once you loosened up. Now it seems like you’re always worried someone is going to attack you, too. You just…” he shook his head and laughed. “This sounds really offensive, I’m sorry. This is not what I came here to talk to you about,” he chuckled.
I laughed it off as well. I wasn’t offended, but I realized I was going to have to be careful about the emotions I showed if people were noticing something was different about the way I was acting.
“What I came here to talk to you about is that my band will be doing some songs in Archangel two weeks after the Halloween party. I wanted to know if you can stick around with the commoners that night.”
“You’re in a band?”
He chuckled again. “You would know that if you hung around with us a little more,” he teased. “Yeah, we’re doing some of our songs and I want you and the other girls near the stage front. You know, give us support.”
“That sounds awesome,” I said. “I’d love to! I’ll talk to Clark and see what I have to do so that I don’t have to go to the balcony.”
“Great. And we should dance together at the Halloween party.”
I felt a little awkward. More than a little. Jill was the one who really liked Devon, and Becca was in love with Jill, but it seemed like Devon was interested in me when I was interested in my angel back home.
It was not a situation I could have ever been prepared for.
“That sounds great,” I agreed with a weaker smile.
“Great!”
“Hey, Devon,” I said quickly, grabbing his attention. “You know, you should really ask Jill to dance with you more often.”
Devon smiled.
“Between you and me, she doesn’t have very good rhythm.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I laughed. “But, she really likes you…”
“She does?” He put his hands in his pockets nervously. “I mean…I like her, too, but…”
“But what?” I asked, trying to keep a grin so that he would talk to me honestly.
“I just never really thought about her like that…” he said with a nervous chuckle. He took a deep breath and puffed his cheeks out as he exhaled in a nervous action. “Thanks for telling me,” he murmured.
“Sure.” I could tell that the conversation was dead. “So, you owe me a dance at the Halloween party.”
“Or two,” he grinned. “Great! And remember it’s a costume party, so you better dress up.”
“For me, every Friday at Archangel is like Halloween,” I chuckled.
“I like Fridays,” he nodded with a larger grin. I laughed off the compliment. “Alright, hopefully, I’ll see you sooner than Friday, but I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay,” I nodded, waving to him as he walked away.
“Popular,” another familiar voice said, and I jumped once again to see Clark walking toward me.
“Clark, I didn’t see you…”
“How could you? Devon was flirting with you,” he smiled suggestively.
“Just a little,” I shrugged it off.
“Do you like him?” Clark asked, looking at me seriously.
“No,” I shook my head. “Not like that.”
“Maybe you should just tell him that, then,” Clark nodded. “Best to let people know what you’re thinking right away so that they don’t assume anything.”
“Maybe…” I said, trying to avoid the subject. I took a deep breath.
“Are you ready?” he asked. I nodded, trying to keep my stomach still. “Alright, follow me.”
Clark started walking along the front of the building, leading me to the side parking lot. There were a few cars, all belonging to teachers, but we started toward one black car where a man in a simple suit and sunglasses stood, waiting for us.
My stomach jumped nervously, making it difficult to breathe.
The man walked to the back door, opening it for both of us. I climbed into the backseat and put on my seatbelt, trying to ignore the nervous shaking of my hands. Clark sat next to me, also putting on his seatbelt as the driver got in, adjusted the mirrors, and pulled out of the parking lot.
I was nauseous, almost light-headed. I had so much adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was sure I would go orbital at any moment.
“Since this is the first day of this, we will be getting you clearance first,” Clark explained. “My mother told me to show you around the Commission building before showing you more of the basement levels.”
“That basement?”
“Where we’ve been having the meetings,” Clark elaborated. “During the day, most of the regular workers are upstairs. Dana even has an office up there…not that he’s ever there…” He added the last part under his breath.
“Dana’s at the Commission today, though,” I asked slowly.
“He’s always there,” Clark nodded. “He breezes in and out without anyone noticing. I told you that he leaves the Commission at least once a day, but he always seems to be down in the basement of the Commission, also,” he explained. “So, we’ll get you a clearance card and chips and then I’ll show you around.”
“Okay…” I nodded, my voice shaking. I cleared my throat, trying to pass off the nervousness when Clark smiled thinly.
“It will be alright,” he assured. “I’ll show you around.”
I glanced at the driver and then at Clark again. I could not tell if the driver was looking at us due to his glasses. It seemed as though everyone on Dana’s security staff wore sunglasses. Clark looked at the driver as well and took a deep
breath, slowly letting it.
“…do you have a lot of homework?” Clark asked. That answered my silent question. Obviously, we could not talk about our plans in front of anyone on Dana’s staff, but I wasn’t sure if I could ask Clark other questions, such as what to do if I ran into Dana. Rather than risk it, we spent the car ride talking about homework and reports, as well as decisions for university and so on. It was nice to have a distracting conversation.
When we pulled into the gates of the Commission, I felt my stomach tighten and my breath catch. I grabbed my backpack and moved toward the door before it was opened for me by the driver.
As soon as my foot hit the pavement, I felt a strong sense of finality, even more so than the night I first stepped inside the Commission meeting room. Even as I was in the Commission trying to be accepting of the new part of my life, the feeling that I could fight was still present in the dark corners of my mind. Now, walking into the den of the lion, I understood that it was the final step. This was the last point where I could back down and decide that not to fight against the overpowering force that was the Commission of the People. Or, I could fight and hope against all else that my will was stronger than Dana’s influence.
Was I really strong enough to do this? Was this even the right thing to do? What would happen if I succeeded? Would the peace of America completely fall and return to the chaos of pre-Second Revolution United States? Or would everyone stay peaceful, working toward equality without the Commission of the People?
What would happen if I lost?
The sound of the car door closing surprised me out of my stupor. Clark stepped up next to me.
“Just take a deep breath,” he suggested. I obeyed, closing my eyes as I exhaled and forcing my heartbeat to slow the spread of adrenaline.
A valet ran out and grabbed the keys from the driver. The man who had driven us walked to the lobby door, leading us silently. I willed my feet to follow, falling into step behind Clark.
The automatic door slid quietly aside. The woman at the reception desk flashed an impossibly white smile and stood.
“Hey, Clark,” she greeted in her shrill voice.
“Hello, Cassie,” he nodded, his voice nervous as he approached the desk. “This is Lily Sandover.” He motioned to me. “Mr. Christenson has given her clearance and she needs to finalize everything.”
“Oh, right,” Cassie nodded, rummaging behind her desk as the driver moved to the corner of the desk, running a card over a device before pressing his palm to the screen next to it. He looked to the ground and stepped around the back of the desk. Cassie pulled my attention away from what the driver was doing.
“Here is it,” she said, grabbing a folder and opening it on the counter. She handed me a card in a plastic sleeve attached to an expandable lanyard. “Here is your clearance card. It’s best to keep it attached to a belt, or your belt loops,” she advised. She grabbed two devices on her desk and placed them next to the folder, hitting a few keys on her computer. One of the devices was a large flat screen and the other had ten, small round metal pads meant for my fingertips.
“Okay,” she nodded, motioning. “Fingertips first. Place your fingers here and press down as hard as you can until I tell you to stop,” Cassie instructed. I did as I was told and then followed her instructions as my hand prints were also recorded.
“We already have your face, profile, and retinal scans…” she mused, glancing through the file. “Okay, give me just a moment.”
She fiddled with something behind the counter as I turned to Clark, who tried to smile reassuringly. I looked to our driver and saw him standing to the side of the desk, his hands folded in front of him and his head bent, eyes still covered, waiting for us.
“Okay,” Cassie said, turning away from her computer and grabbing a plastic tub filled with cell phones. Each cell phone had a rubber band, securing a piece of paper with typed names. I saw one with my name on it, and my hands went to my pocket, feeling the outline of my cell phone.
“Can I have your cell phone please?” she smiled. I hesitantly pulled out my phone. She took it, transferred the name and rubber band and handed me the one from the tub.
“You can pick up your phone when you leave,” she nodded. “This will be your phone while you are on Commission property.”
“But, what if my parents call?” I asked. “How will I be able to tell them I’m on my way home?”
“Oh, it’s still your phone,” Cassie assured. “It’s just a device that is friendlier to the machine frequencies in the building,” she explained.
I glanced down at the smart phone, suspicious.
“What do you mean?”
“There are jamming signals in some parts of the building,” Cassie explained kindly. “This phone can work around those signals. It’s just for privacy so that no one can use their phone to spy on the Commission. So, don’t lose that phone.”
“What if I do?”
“We shut it down,” she shrugged. “If we feel it’s necessary, we can also activate self-destruct.”
Oh, well, okay then… I blinked at the phone.
Cassie turned back to her computer and hit a few keys before grabbing a tiny plastic bag and dropping three microchips in it. She sealed the bag and placed it in a larger pouch, showing it to me.
“You’ll need these later, so I’m going to hand them to Mark for safe keeping.” She turned to the driver and extended the pouch to him, which he took with both hands.
“Alright,” she nodded to the card in my hand. “That would get you just about anywhere. It will take about ten to twelve hours before all the electronic locks recognize your hand and finger prints, so just stick with Clark today,” she winked.
“Okay.”
“Alright,” Cassie repeated, giving Clark his Commission cell phone as he set his other one on the counter. “Mark will check your bags and then you’ll be set.”
“Thank you, Cassie,” Clark said, pocketing his phone and ushering me to the side of the desk. Cassie walked to Mark and stood next to him as we approached.
“Check them,” Cassie ordered.
Clark handed over his backpack and Mark looked through it thoroughly. Even though I was sure that I didn’t have anything in my possession that could get me into trouble, I was nervous. Once Mark finished looking through the backpack, he quickly patted down Clark, much to my surprise. The security was tighter than when my family came to the Saturday Commission meetings.
My bag was checked, as was my purse, and—to my complete shock and discomfort—I was also patted down by Mark.
Once we were both cleared, Mark led us to the elevators.
“Are you alright?” Clark asked. I guessed my spooked expression was worse than I thought.
“Uh, yeah,” I said. “Just a little surprised.”
“Sorry, sometimes the security is a little tighter. They randomly pick days to thoroughly check everyone,” he explained. “I guess today is one of those days.”
The elevator doors opened and Mark ushered us in.
“Four, Mark,” Clark said simply. Mark stepped in after us and pressed the button for level four.
“Floors one and two are call centers,” Clark explained. “They’re all grunt workers, more or less—bunch of people in cubicles. Level three is conference rooms and a kitchen. Level four is where my mom’s office is, which is where we’re going,” Clark nodded. “Most of the Commission-Only staff have their offices on the fourth floor.”
“Commission-Only?”
“The people who don’t hold any other office,” Clark elaborated. “Your father, for example, is Chief Regulator for the Western Region and he’s also in the Commission. My mom is Advisor of the Commission, and that’s it. She’s Commission-Only. Your father’s not.”
Once on the fourth floor, Mark stepped out, bowing his head as we passed.
“We’ll be right back,” Clark told him. I followed Clark quickly and, when we rounded the corner, I leaned over to him.
“He’s creepy…”
“No, he’s not so bad,” Clark assured with a small smile. I was about to ask more when he stopped and knocked on the door with the nameplate that read Danielle J. Markus. He opened the door slowly without waiting for an answer.
When I saw the elaborate, immaculately-kept office of Clark’s mother, I was surprised and confused. The office was bright and beautiful with large windows that let in sunlight and gave the room a warm, inviting atmosphere. The office was a stark contrast with the offices I had seen in the lower levels of the Commission. The homey atmosphere unsettled me more.
It was all a façade for the sinister Commission of the People.
“Oh, Clark, you brought Lily,” she smiled, standing up and walking around her desk. “How are you today, dear?”
“I’m well, thank you, Mrs. Markus.”
“I’m so thrilled that Clark will finally have someone his age to talk to while he’s here,” Mrs. Markus said lightly, looking at her son as he looked at his feet. “I’m sure he’s been really bored stuck here with no one to talk to.”
“The other kids, like Melissa, they don’t come here?” I asked. I was pretty sure that it was just Clark, since Dana had developed an obsession with him, but I figured that at least some of the children of the other advisors would also be around the Commission from time to time.
“No,” Mrs. Markus shook her head. “Melissa is involved in hunter-jumper activities after school, so she’s a busy girl.”
“What’s that?”
“Horseback riding,” Mrs. Markus clarified. She turned to Clark. “Are you giving her a tour?”
“A short one,” Clark nodded. “I’m showing her around up here before we go downstairs.”
“Okay, I should be down around five,” she said. “Lily, if you ever need anything, you can just come up to my office before five. I’ll be in my other office after that, if you need me. Don’t be shy.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Markus.” I forced myself to smile. I wasn’t sure if I was angry at her for not noticing what her son was enduring, or if I felt sorry for her for being so disillusioned about Dana and the Commission. She acted as though nothing was out of the ordinary, and it was sickening.
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