No Return (The Internal Defense Series)

by Zoe Cannon

  A little of the tension drained from Ryann’s shoulders. She shot Becca a shy smile before looking away again. “I’ve done what I can. I’d like to do more.”

  “That’s what we’re here for,” said Becca. “What happened when the Enforcers came for you?”

  A shudder—real, not faked—ran through Ryann. “I almost slept through it. I didn’t hear them come in. I woke up when they started banging on my parents’ bedroom door. I didn’t know what was going on at first, until I heard them ask where I was. I managed to make it out the window while my parents tried to convince them I wasn’t home.”

  Something thick and heavy lodged itself in Becca’s stomach.

  Ryann was lying.

  She was doing it well. Well enough that no one but a trained evaluator would have picked up on it. But that was worse, in a way, because unless she was a naturally skilled liar—and the girl in front of her looked like anything but—it meant someone had taught her.

  She didn’t allow her feelings to show on her face. “How did you stay in hiding for so long without your contact’s help?”

  “I used to go through my parents’ files, to try and figure out which places Surveillance wasn’t watching. In case I ever needed to run.” A faint flicker of a wistful smile. “Sophie used to say I was paranoid.”

  Becca waited for Ryann to continue, feeling sicker by the second.

  After a moment, Ryann kept going. “There’s this place downtown. Mostly full of squatters. Someone reported it as a dissident hideout once, so Surveillance put in cameras, even sent in undercover agents, but they never found a single dissident. After a couple of years, someone complained about all the money they were wasting, so they took the cameras down and the agents out, and the building hasn’t been watched since. I stayed there until I thought it was safe to let Liam know I was okay.”

  She sounded convincing. Anyone else would have believed her.

  But she was still lying.

  Ryann stole a nervous glance at Becca, then at Kara. “Is that what you wanted to know?”

  Becca nodded. “You’re doing fine.”

  A little of the anxiety left Ryann’s face. Good thing she couldn’t see through Becca’s lies the way Becca could see through hers.

  Kara gave Becca a questioning look. Becca ignored her. Not yet. She would finish the evaluation. She would let Ryann have these few minutes, this last chance.

  Give me something, she urged, as if Ryann could hear her unspoken words. Give me a way to save you.

  Her voice remained even, revealing nothing. “Why did you start working with us?” Motivation—the next step in an evaluation, after getting the easy questions out of the way.

  Give me something.

  Ryann hung her head, letting her hair fall into her face. “I wasn’t going to at first,” she admitted. “I was going to join Internal like my parents. But after I saved Sophie, she showed me things. Evidence. I never would have planned to work for them if I had known what they…” She gave a quick shrug, hunching her shoulders even further as she did. “So I started passing Li— my contact bits of information from my parents’ files.”

  “You could have walked away,” Becca pointed out.

  Ryann shook her head emphatically. “People were dying. Innocent people. I couldn’t walk away from that. I saved Sophie, but more people like her were being arrested all the time, for no good reason, and my parents were helping…” Pain crossed her face. “My parents—my dad—always taught me that everyone has a responsibility to make the world a better place. It’s why he joined Internal. I guess I…” She hesitated, biting her lip. “Maybe it doesn’t make sense, but I guess I started helping you because I still wanted to be like him.”

  All the traces of dishonesty had vanished from Ryann’s voice. She meant every word of what she had said. Becca had no doubt of it.

  But something still wasn’t right. There was something off, something that didn’t quite… For a moment, Becca searched for words, then gave up. She didn’t know how to describe it, not even to herself. Inwardly, she frowned, calling to mind memories of past evaluations, seeing if she could remember anything similar. She couldn’t.

  “Do you have—” she began.

  But Kara spoke over her. “What’s the real reason?”

  Becca shot Kara a sharp glare. Evaluations required subtlety—this one more than most. If Kara gave any hint to Ryann that they suspected her, this would all be over.

  Ignoring Becca’s look, Kara smiled at Ryann. The smile looked… wrong. It reminded Becca of the way Jake had looked at her when he had confronted her in the halls of the reeducation center. When he had told her he wanted to help her the way Internal had helped him.

  With the unnatural smile still spread across her face, Kara placed her hand over Ryann’s. Another comforting gesture. But when Ryann tried to pull away, Kara didn’t let her.

  “I’m sure that’s the story you tell yourself,” she said as she locked eyes with Ryann. “But it’s not the actual reason, is it? Tell me why you really became a dissident.” She said the word dissident the way someone from Internal might have.

  Ryann sat frozen, staring down at Kara’s hand on top of hers. “I… I…”

  “Tell me.” Kara’s voice dripped with artificial kindness. “Let me help you.”

  “I told you!” Ryann shrieked the words as she leapt from her seat.

  The food court went silent as all eyes shot to them.

  Ryann wrapped her arms around herself, oblivious to the attention she had attracted. Oblivious to everything but Kara. “Don’t,” she whimpered. “Please don’t. I told you. I told you.”

  Kara didn’t take her eyes from Ryann. She gripped the table as hard as Ryann had a moment ago. Her jaw was clenched, her breathing ragged. She didn’t say anything else.

  And then Becca understood what Kara had done.

  She had baited Ryann. Everything she had said, everything she had done, had been calculated to get a response from someone who had gone through reeducation.

  And it had worked.

  Finally, Ryann seemed to notice the silence that filled the room. The tables of people watching her with their forks halfway to their mouths. The Enforcers, hands on their weapons as they evaluated the potential threat.

  She sagged back into her chair, shaking so hard the table rattled. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”

  From across the table, Kara gave Becca a grim nod. Her eyes asked a silent question.

  Becca answered with a nod of her own. She had seen enough.

  Ryann had been in reeducation.

  Ryann was working with Internal.

  Ryann’s stammered apologies turned into excuses. “It’s been hard, these past few weeks. Living on the run. Never sure when they’re going to find me. I… I get nervous.” She raised her head to give Becca an imploring look. “But I can still do what you need me to do.”

  Don’t think about it. Just get it done.

  “It’s okay,” Becca said gently. “We’ve heard enough. We believe you’re the right person for this assignment.” Her stomach roiled. Don’t think about it. “But we shouldn’t talk about the rest here. Come with us—we can discuss the details in private.” She offered Ryann her hand.

  Ryann looked at Becca’s outstretched hand. She didn’t take it. The hope in her eyes winked out, leaving her face a bleak mask of fear and resignation.

  “You can stop pretending now,” she said in a small voice. She didn’t look at Becca. “I know why you’re here.”

  Becca barely kept herself from reacting. Next to Ryann, Kara stiffened.

  “I know you came here to figure out whether I’ve been spying for Internal,” Ryann continued. “And I know you’re about to take me someplace to k-kill me.”

  “We’re not—” Becca began.

  “I was in reeducation.”

  The quiet admission froze the words on Becca’s tongue.

  “Internal sent me back to spy on you. And I… I did
it. I said I’d give them whatever they wanted. I told them about Liam. I told them about…” A strangled whimper. “I told them about Sophie.” She shook harder. “And I’m not the only one. There are others.”

  With effort, Becca kept her voice neutral. “Why are you telling us this?”

  “If I’m dead anyway, it doesn’t matter what I say, does it? So I can do what I’ve wanted to do since they sent me back.” Her eyes, bright with terror and determination, locked with Becca’s. “I can help you stop them.” She swallowed. “If you still want to kill me, I understand. I deserve everything you’d do to me. But… but let me do this first.”

  Becca studied Ryann’s posture, the tilt of her head, the movements of her mouth. She replayed the girl’s words in her mind, analyzing every nuance.

  Either Ryann was lying very, very well… better than anyone Becca had ever met…

  Or she wasn’t lying.

  Becca sank back into her seat. “What exactly are you offering to do?”

  Ryann drew in her breath sharply. Hope sparked in her eyes. “I can help you find the others,” she said. “There are code words. Things they taught us to say so we could recognize each other. If someone gives the right response, it means they’re one of us.”

  “And you’re willing to give us the code?”

  Ryann hesitated. “It’s not that easy. They told us to always check back with Internal after someone gives us the code words. To make sure no one is… well… doing what you’re trying to do. If you find any spies that way, you’d have to keep them out of contact with everyone—and Internal would notice if they all started disappearing one by one.” She shook her head. “You need to make sure Internal doesn’t get suspicious until you can get rid of them all at once. Which means…”

  “Which means you need to be the one to test them,” Becca finished.

  And that meant…

  It meant giving her everyone.

  No one in the resistance had that kind of access. Not Meri, with her sprawling network. Not Becca herself. If she gave a self-admitted spy the names and locations of every resistance member, she might as well march down to 117 and turn herself in right now.

  Ryann pushed on before Becca could stop her. “I know what it would mean for you give me that kind of access. And I’ve already shown I can’t be trusted. I know that. There’s nothing I can do to prove I won’t turn you all over to Internal. But I can at least prove I want to stop the other spies.”

  Against her better judgment, Becca listened.

  “I know one of the others already.” Ryann’s desperate words tumbled over each other. “I… I kept files. Everything he passed to Internal. All his plans for earning the resistance’s trust. I wanted to give it all to Liam—I almost did, a couple of times—but…” Her jaw worked. She blinked rapidly a couple of times before continuing. “But it would have meant telling him what I did, and then either he would have killed me or Internal would have. That doesn’t matter now—either you two are going to kill me, or Internal will once they found out I helped you.” She drew a ragged breath. “I’ll give you the files. You can have your people in Surveillance look at them—the stuff in there should match up with whatever they have on him.”

  It wasn’t enough. Not to justify what Ryann was asking for.

  But…

  She’s telling the truth.

  Probably.

  She could save the resistance.

  Or hand every last one of Becca’s people over to Internal.

  Ryann waited for Becca’s answer, trembling.

  Becca shook her head. “I’m sorry.” She moved to stand beside Ryann, blocking her escape in case she tried to run.

  “It’s…” Ryann’s voice broke. It took her a moment to find it again. “It’s okay. I’ll go with you.” She tried to smile; the expression crumbled halfway through. “I knew it was going to happen eventually anyway. I just didn’t know whether it would be you or them.” She stood unsteadily, bracing herself against the table. “Just look at the file, okay? After? I’ll tell you where to find it. Just… just stop them. Please.”

  Becca took a deep breath. Another. Another.

  Do what you have to do.

  “Becca.”

  Becca jumped at the sound of Kara’s voice. She had almost forgotten Kara was there.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” asked Kara. “Alone?”

  Becca looked from her to Ryann. Right now it looked like Ryann was using all her strength just to stay upright, but it was only a short distance to the doors. Even a few seconds of inattention and they could lose her.

  “I’m not going to run,” Ryann promised. She gave a short laugh that sounded almost like a sob. “Where would I go? Either you’d find me or Internal would.”

  “It won’t take long.” Kara’s voice held too much urgency for Becca to ignore.

  Without taking her eyes off Ryann, Becca pulled Kara a few steps back from the table, over to a large fake column. The Enforcers gave them a brief glance, then looked away, returning their attention to a man at the entrance who was fumbling for his ID.

  Kara kept her eyes on the trembling Ryann as she spoke, pitching her voice too low for the girl to hear. “You’re making a mistake.”

  “You think I should hand every member of the resistance over to a spy?”

  “I don’t think you have a choice.” Kara wrenched her gaze from Ryann to lock eyes with Becca. “You’re not going to find the other spies fast enough without her. Look how much time it took to figure out that she was working against us. You really think you can find nine more before Internal makes their move?” Kara shook her head. “I’m not saying hand her a list of names right this second. But at least look at the file she mentioned. See if it checks out.”

  A few feet away, Ryann lowered her head into her hands, her shoulders shaking with what might have been tears. Don’t think about it. “Just letting her walk out of here is a risk. She could go straight to Internal and tell them about this conversation.”

  Kara’s face tightened. “You keep talking about risk. First in the meetings, and now here. Everything is too much of a risk for you. But do you really think doing nothing is any safer?”

  “I’m only following your father’s advice. Something I should have done from the beginning.”

  “And look how well it worked out for him!” Kara raised a hand, stopping herself only inches from hitting the column. It took her another few seconds to get herself under control. “You invited me in because I can see things you can’t. This is one of them. You’re so afraid of taking another risk like the liberation that you’re not looking at the facts. So look at them now.” She spoke her next words precisely, deliberately. “How hard have you all been looking for possible spies? How much has all that work gotten you? And how much more time do we have?”

  The questions hit Becca like tiny bombs, exploding one by one.

  I can’t risk it. I can’t give the entire resistance to a spy.

  But if she did nothing, and the spies destroyed the resistance, would she be able to look the others in the eye and tell them she had done everything in her power to protect them?

  I can’t do this. I can’t. I can’t.

  She crossed the few steps to the table and placed a hand on Ryann’s shoulder. The girl froze under her touch. Becca wasn’t even sure she was breathing.

  Jameson would already have taken her out to the clearing and shot her. Quickly. Quietly. Like Raleigh Dalcourt executing a dissident.

  Jameson was dead.

  “Bring me the file,” she said in her hardest voice.

  Slowly, hesitantly, Ryann raised her head.

  Becca turned away. She didn’t want to see the relief in Ryann’s eyes.

  “Bring me the file,” Becca repeated. “Then we’ll talk.”

  Chapter Eight

  Meri sat rigidly on the edge of Becca’s couch, arms folded across her chest. “Absolutely not.”

  Becca walked over to the couch, but didn’t s
it. “You said the information in the file checked out.”

  Meri’s nod was as stiff as her back. “It checked out.”

  “Then she told us the truth.”

  “She told us the truth about this other spy. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t lying about everything else.” Meri spoke the words like they cost her something. She stared at the far wall with red-rimmed eyes. “Believe me, Becca, I want to trust her. I know what we’ll have to do otherwise. But what she’s asking for… what you’re asking for… you know how impossible it is.”

  Of course I know. Do you think I want this? Do you think I want to risk everything—everyone— Becca smothered the rising panic. She didn’t speak again until she knew Meri would hear only confidence in her voice. “I evaluated her. Everything I saw indicated that she was telling the truth.”

  “Evaluations aren’t foolproof,” Meri reminded her. “Especially if someone is trained in how to beat them.” She gave Becca a pointed look. “You should know that better than most.”

  Becca crossed her own arms to mirror Meri’s. “How many other potential spies have you found?”

  “I’m still looking. So are the others.”

  “We’re running out of time. We don’t know how long we have before Internal acts. It could be tomorrow.” All her subtle attempts to elicit information from Vivian had fallen flat, and she knew that if she tried Vivian’s files again she would only run up against the same problem as last time—but with less of an excuse if Vivian caught her.

  “And if we hand this girl the entire resistance, and she turns around and gives the names to Internal, how much time will we have then? This is my network on the line, Becca. Even assuming she’s telling the truth, what if she’s interrogated? There’s a reason none of us has that kind of knowledge.”

  “She won’t have access to everyone. Not at first.”

  “No, she won’t have access to anyone else’s network, will she? Only mine.” Meri’s lips pinched like she had bitten down on something sour.

  “And I’m sorry to ask you to risk them.” Becca didn’t soften her voice. “But it makes the most sense for you to be the one to work with her. Your network is the most likely to have been infiltrated—it’s the largest, and it’s where we’ve found the only two spies we know about so far.” The second spy, a boy Ryann’s age, had turned out to belong to Meri’s network along with Ryann, although the two didn’t have any contacts in common.