Katlena went straight into the kitchen where she got herself a glass of water, reminding Ami of an urgent need to take care of.
“You know, earlier, I couldn’t go to the bathroom…”
“Up those stairs, there’s the guest bathroom. I better get started here if I want to get any sleep tonight.”
Guest bathroom. In her own apartment, when Ami stepped out of the shower stall, she had to be careful not to stub her toe on the toilet bowl.
When she returned to the lower level, Katlena had taken off her shirt. She was removing the bloody bandage, grimacing at the sight.
Ami hadn’t forgotten about the possible deal and what hinged on it, but she was momentarily distracted. The white tank top that Katlena wore under her uniform was not quite see-through, but revealing enough with Ami’s memory counted in. No matter how complicated things were, she had enjoyed their time together. Nothing had made her feel this good in a long time.
“Were you going to help me or just stand there and stare?” Katlena asked dryly.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were, but that’s okay. I’m sorry too. It’s been an awful day.” She picked up a fresh bandage, perfectly capable of doing the job herself.
“True.” Ami continued her scrutiny a little less abashed, aware of Katlena’s mild smile. They still had only so much time to deal with the more serious issues though. She decided it was time to pay it forward.
“Drago told me he was going to help me, if I spy on you in return—and, if I sleep with him, though he didn’t say that in so many words, more with getting way too close.”
“God, it’s about damn time someone replaced him,” Katlena said with disgust.
“That person being you?”
“I’d prefer that, yes, but anyone could do a better job. He’s giving the IdA a bad name. Contrary to popular belief, this was once an organization whose goal was to improve the lives of people.”
“Improve whose lives?” Ami asked bitterly. “Okay. It’s late, I know, so I won’t get into this now. Your turn.”
Katlena put the supplies back into the cabinet and closed the door, then reconsidered and took out a bottle of Tylenol.
“What difference does it make to you? There’s nothing you or even I could do at the moment. Ami, do you have any idea what it would mean if I told you?”
“So you do know.” Ami’s eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t help it. “How can you be so cruel? This is my child you’re talking about!”
“I know.” Katlena looked as pained as Ami felt. You couldn’t get any painkillers for this kind. “I’m sorry. Ami.” She reached for Ami’s hand, but aborted the movement before actually making contact.
“I need to know she’s okay! That’s everything I’ve worked for in those past years. I couldn’t stand it if…oh God, can’t you tell me that at least?”
“We don’t know,” Katlena said quietly. She was quick to grab Ami by the shoulders and steer her towards the couch. A dark purple, soft fabric. Ami couldn’t care less as she waited for her head to stop spinning.
“What does that mean? I don’t believe you. The IdA must know. They know everything.”
“That’s what I thought.” Katlena sat close beside her. “What you were told was true at the time. Teresa was adopted by a wealthy couple. The check-ups showed she was healthy and happy for years. Then one day, the family disappeared. Nobody knows where they are right now, but they are suspected of becoming allies.”
“That is not possible!” Ami shook her head. “It can’t be true.”
“It’s what your file says. I’m so sorry.”
“Lily might be with people who helped the rebels plan the attack.”
“We don’t know…”
“I might never see her again!”
There was no need to say anything. Katlena’s look told her this was a very likely possibility. Ami let herself fall back, wondering why she hadn’t fainted or dropped dead by now. She’d seen Lily only briefly. She’d never been allowed to hold her. She had promised her though that she wouldn’t give up, no matter how long it would take. It looked like the same people who were responsible for her parents’ death were trying to make sure she’d never get to hold her child.
“Before you do anything, you should think of your own life first. Once you have an identity, everything else will come together.”
“I want to see that file tomorrow.”
Something about Katlena’s choice of words had struck Ami as strange, but she couldn’t follow up on that at the moment. Katlena shook her head.
“Not possible.”
“When are you going to trust me?”
Another question that didn’t need much of an answer. Katlena Cervantes trusted no one. It was probably a smart move when paranoia ruled your work environment.
“Look, I’ve got my own mess to clean up there. What you’re telling me about Drago makes it worse, not that this surprises me at all. I have to look into that, see if there’s any way we can get to him. The rebel attacks are getting more severe. In a few months, or maybe even weeks, the City could be a very dangerous place to be.”
“I see. What happens to my child, or if one of your inspectors puts a perfectly healthy woman doped up in the psych ward, is not really any of your concern.”
“I didn’t say that. Do you really think if Drago finds a way to kick me out, there’ll be anyone who cares about Rivera or Lily? We need to figure this out, but we need a plan for it. I don’t know about you, but my brain requires a few hours of sleep before it can handle that.”
Ami mulled over her words and, when Katlena came out of the bathroom, giving her a questioning look. Ami followed her into the bedroom, too exhausted herself to pay much attention to the surroundings even though that pang of envy didn’t go away completely. She crawled under the covers and, after a moment of hesitation, laid an arm around Katlena’s waist.
As fragile their alliance was, it seemed like the only thing that kept her from going insane. She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter Ten
Katlena woke some time during the early morning, comforted by the warmth of Ami snuggled against her back. There wasn’t anything else comforting in her life at this point. She had always thought it would be a given she’d replace Drago, in the matter of a year or two. She’d always been careful, showing ambition but not crossing lines unnecessarily. Hale kept himself out of the race just fine.
Then there was Paul Trenton. The man had been inexplicably nervous when she visited him. Katlena had never met Trenton before, and in spite of the facts that led her to him, he seemed like a decent man. She didn’t think he had willingly caused the death of three members of his family and another innocent bystander, but he knew something.
Katlena caught a glance at the clock on the nightstand. She couldn’t help the sigh. She should be up in about fifteen minutes. There wasn’t much slack she could cut herself—half an hour at the very best.
She turned to look the woman next to her. Ami was hardly ever this calm and relaxed in her waking hours. That was something they had in common. They constantly had to look over their shoulders. They couldn’t wait another year or two for changes, Katlena thought. She couldn’t wait that long to do the right thing. She had to look into the options they had to make Ami a full citizen again, and then come clean to her. She’d also lean a little harder on Trenton. To solve these horrible murders would give her career the necessary boost, and if she could understand all of the connections, she might be able to keep the rebels out of the City too.
Against all odds and sensibility, she fell asleep again.
In her dream, Katlena walked along the halls of a cypher building. At the end of the corridor, the front door was damaged, torn off its hinges. She stepped inside the barren apartment. There was no carpet or wallpaper, the wall and floor covered in graffiti.
Names. Underneath them, the same sentence was written over and over again.
C
aroline Rivera. Not a number. Stanley Marks. Dinah Webber. Anne Bowman. Teresa Rodriguez.
Not a number.
Marisa Weston. Brad Melville. NOT A NUMBER!!! The bright bold letters made the place even more claustrophobic. She felt like the walls were closing in on her. Katlena read more names, all of them cypher files she had handled at one point.
Searching for one in particular.
The names crowded her, seeming to scream accusations in her face. Can’t you see? she wanted to say. We helped make you get a life when you couldn’t.
What life?
Shut Up. Go Away.
She came to the single window where the letters in red were dissolving, bleeding down the glass.
No!
Before her eyes though, the letters changed into a sequence of numbers.
51—I get it. I get it. Stop!
What dripped to the floor was real blood.
Katlena woke up shivering, realizing that she had pushed the covers away in her sleep. Ami had taken advantage: all that was visible of her were strands of wavy chestnut colored hair. Her presence inevitably reminded Katlena of the dream which did away with the calming effect. She slipped out of bed and into the bathroom, getting ready for work. She’d let Ami sleep a little while longer while trying to figure out how much truth at a time she could throw at her.
Hearing about her daughter had been a shock, one that Ami wasn’t over yet. Before Katlena tackled the subject of her identity, she needed to be able to offer options, all the while keeping Drago off her back. She had to inquire about Caroline Rivera, whether she wanted to or not.
* * * *
By the time Ami was dressed, Katlena had coffee and croissants ready. It wasn’t like they had a lot of time for a leisurely breakfast, but it would be another long day. She thought it couldn’t harm to ease them into it. The longing on Ami’s face was almost painful to watch, and Katlena guessed a nice breakfast in an apartment she’d never be able to afford, was the least of it.
She’d checked her bank account early this morning. She had some savings. She didn’t want to get Ami’s hopes up too high.
“I’ll never get her back, will I?”
“I don’t know,” Katlena said. “We’ll start looking, and I swear we’ll get some answers. I’ll suggest an undercover op in the rebel camp to Drago today.”
“Who is going to do that?” Ami didn’t need to finish the question. She shook her head vehemently. “You got hurt yesterday!”
“Nobody cares, Ami.” Katlena kept her tone calm and patient. “I wish I could stay closer to Drago, find out what he’s up to, but at the same time, a success here could help me get where he is. I’ll talk to Noelle. She’ll be with me on this.”
“Create a better world, if you don’t die first. It’s not fair!”
“The definition of ‘fair’ has become very relative lately.”
“Well screw you then,” Ami’s words were unexpectedly harsh, rattling her. “It would have been kinder of you to leave me in the holding cell. I could have gotten used to the idea of falling out of the program, because that’s where I’m heading anyway, but no, you had to give me hope that I could lead a normal life again, with my daughter.” There was one thing she omitted, but it was in the room too. Ami must have sensed denial was futile.
“I can’t lose you now!”
“I’m not going to die,” Katlena said firmly, for a moment fooling herself into thinking that she had intended a comforting embrace to ease Ami’s mind. Then her lips were on Ami’s, and Ami held on to her, hands latching onto her hips in a tight grip. Their kiss lasted long enough for her to hope this could be one moment to throw all caution in the wind, forget about all the problems pressing in on them. One night had not nearly been enough. She ran her hand underneath the hem of Ami’s shirt, up her back and down again, but Ami stopped her before she could go any further.
“I can’t,” she said breathlessly. “I would never forgive myself.”
“For wasting time?”
Ami blushed hotly. She didn’t try to argue.
“I know. There are a lot of other things to consider at the moment. Sit and eat. I’m afraid there will be some overtime today.”
Ami walked to the table, pulling out a chair for herself. Before she sat down, she turned to Katlena again.
“I feel so bad. Before, there was never a time when I stopped thinking of ways to get Lily back. No one else mattered, and now…I want you,” she whispered. “God, I can barely understand myself. I hate the people you work for. I believe you want to make a difference, but I’m not even sure you can. Still…I can’t help it.”
Tell me about it.
Katlena took her hand, holding it in hers for a moment. “There’ll be time. After we get some answers.”
“We?”
“You’re my intern. I decide where you can’t and can go. This morning we’ll pay a visit to Rivera and Trenton. I’m going to need you to take notes.”
Maybe she had imagined it, but Ami looked worried at that. There were more worrisome things to come.
* * * *
“I have nothing to say to you, Inspector,” Caroline Rivera told her. Her slurred speech was a dead giveaway. Hale had not only ordered her to be committed, but to be drugged up as well. He’d probably exaggerated the cypher’s violent tendencies to the doctors. It didn’t take more than that. Since the first cypher had pulled a knife on an Organizational Affairs officer, everyone was cautious. This wasn’t right though. Katlena felt helpless anger. How could she ever change anything if her authority was constantly undermined? She was beginning to understand why Drago expected her to be easy. He was counting on her ambition and had opened doors for her, but he wanted her to keep her mouth shut in return. Something had to happen. Maybe today.
“Your ex-husband…”
“Oh yeah.” 16439 laughed bitterly. “Those family ties got me arrested ten years ago. I was interrogated, held against my will, and your criminal organization took my license. Sure I’d go and help him blow up your boss’s family. Why don’t you stop and think for a moment? See, for me, it’s all over, but you’re doing the same shit to young girls like Ami, and that’s not right.”
“51308 doesn’t have any ties to people who have handled explosives,” Katlena returned. “In fact, she’s doing an internship with the IdA. People can get out if they are willing.”
This wasn’t good. She hadn’t come here to be questioned.
“Sure. Will she get out and get her child back?” After a moment of tense silence, Caroline Rivera added, “That’s what I thought. One thing I learned about the IdA is that you guys can never be trusted to keep a promise. When I got out of prison, I wasn’t allowed to work. Not that I was able to at the time. They said they’d leave me alone.”
“Nobody has bothered you in a long time. People have been killed.”
“I didn’t kill them,” Rivera shouted.
“I’m sure you didn’t. But you might have heard something, anything, from the people who provided you with amazing amounts of booze and cigarettes for example.”
“It’s a long way from a few extra bottles of wine to TNT. You guys must be desperate.”
“Children died in the attack,” Katlena reminded her. “There’s no way in hell to justify that.”
Rivera held her gaze unflinching. “I agree. I can’t help you though. I haven’t spoken to my ex-husband since before my arrest, that was ten years ago. Maybe he’s enjoying the fresh mountain air in the rebel camp. I wouldn’t know, and I don’t care.”
“You’ll still have to face charges regarding your pantry.”
“What are you gonna do? Lock me up? Drug me? Keep me from working?” She gave a bitter laugh. “Oh wait.”
“I know Ami is a friend of yours,” Katlena said. “I’ll try to push this through quickly, so you can go home. You might have to have a few hours of therapy, show some cooperation.”
“Terms like home or friends have become very relative lately. Thank
you though, Inspector.”
“You’re welcome.”
Katlena got up. There was nothing more to learn here.
* * * *
Out of the blue, Paul Trenton had gone on a business trip earlier this morning, which was suspicious in itself. There was nothing they could do about it, so Katlena decided to go to the department to gather some information and also approach the idea of an undercover operation to Drago. She’d have to involve Noelle somehow.
Also, she had promised Ami some information. She’d done this wrong right from the start, Katlena reflected. She should have given her the copy of her file to read. What more damage could be done? It had been five years since Teresa’s adoption. To the girl, if they ever found her, Ami would be a stranger, and she probably was aware of that. She needed closure before anything else.
At the department, there was a crying woman sitting at Noelle’s desk. It only took Katlena a moment to recognize her. She and her husband had been in front of Katlena’s car the day of the attack. She remembered talking to them briefly. They hadn’t been injured and were allowed to go after being questioned. The IdA didn’t have a file on either of them.
“This is Inspector Cervantes,” Noelle said. “I’d like you to repeat to her what you just told me.”
The woman raised tear-filled eyes to Katlena. “I am so scared. I overheard a conversation this morning. I think my husband has something to do with the attack.”
Katlena shared a relieved look with Noelle. Finally, they were moving forward.
* * * *
Lisa Jenkins had thought that her husband Brian had an affair when she heard him talking to the woman on the phone, about an apartment they shared near the city limits. That was why she hadn’t hung up but kept listening in on the conversation, and eventually learned that the arrangement was far from being a romantic one.
“They talked about a mission and something about TNT being used. I don’t know what to do! I can’t go back there and look him in the eye.”
CYPHER: A Dystopian Novel Page 10