CYPHER: A Dystopian Novel

by Barbara Winkes

  Ami closed her suitcase, wondering what had happened to the laptop. Apparently, she’d been lucky. If Paul Trenton was in charge of the people overseeing the IdA, then she had nothing to fear, right?

  When Noelle’s clothes were ready, she put them in one of the bags from the store and put them on top of her own in the duffel bag. She’d never given much thought to how it’d actually work if she moved out of here. Ami assumed it would be okay to leave the key in the guard’s mailbox.

  “You going somewhere?” He had appeared behind her.

  Ami spun around, her heart hammering. The mailboxes were down one flight of stairs, the light always broken. The dark and narrow steps reminded her uncomfortably of the IdA archives.

  “I’m leaving,” she said, her voice higher that she would have liked.

  “Where are you going? Where did those clothes come from? 51308, you could get into trouble for that. I don’t know if I’m supposed to let you go like that.” The numbers came over the young guard’s lips too easily.

  “Don’t call me that. My name is Cynthia, all paid for.” With trembling hands, she produced documentation of her new identity. “I have a new place to live too.”

  “Wow. Congratulations.” He seemed genuine about it, and yet Ami couldn’t look at him, too embarrassed about the one memory that would always define their relationship.

  The first few months of cypher existence had been horrible, as she struggled against the realization of what she’d given up. She’d seen him every day after the long hours at Shelton’s. Every day, jibes from Mary and Peggy, wondering if she might get fired and what would become of her after that, and what would become of Lily. There was the question of how long she could actually do this without losing her mind. It was not so much about the work, but being in that constant nether land between hope and fear. That was before she’d formed a tentative friendship with Cara, and Ami had felt so alone.

  He’d smile at her whenever she walked past him. After a little while, she’d look forward to these little moments, fairly disappointed whenever she missed him.

  When it happened, it was quick, dirty and desperate, an utterly sobering experience. Ami didn’t blame him. She’d wanted some—any—human connection badly. He hadn’t been trained for this kind of situation and seemed to be strangely fascinated by the people in black and white. She’d been looking for respect in the wrong place. Like now, she hadn’t looked at him when she got off the desk and to her feet, straightening her clothes and walked out of his office. He hadn’t made any attempt to hold her back.

  It could have been so much worse. She could have become pregnant. She would have been forced to marry him, with special permission from the IdA, or get thrown out of the program altogether.

  Upstairs in her apartment, Ami sat in the shower until the water turned cold, overwhelmed by shame. She had sworn not to let anyone who had power over her, touch her, ever again. Better yet, swear off sex altogether. Abstinence had seemed like a good idea all of a sudden.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I can leave the keys with you?”

  “Sure. You need any help? You know that you’re not supposed to take anything the government gave you…”

  “No worries.” She gave him a wry smile. In the five years he’d worked here, it didn’t seem like he’d understood much. “I wouldn’t want anything from that apartment. I think the government won’t mind though if I sneak out a few pairs of pantyhose?”

  He blushed. “Surely not. Good luck… 51… Cynthia.”

  * * * *

  Katlena made a quick detour to Evidence to sign out Ami’s laptop. She still had a couple of officers keeping tabs on Drago, just in case. Insa had come in to get her last check; she was determined, saying that she wouldn’t come back to work under anyone else, but she didn’t seem the type to engage in terrorist acts.

  The search for Jenkins and the mystery woman had absolute priority. Katlena still wasn’t sure about the role Paul Trenton played in all this. He had endorsed her against Drago, but he had also made offers to Ami behind her back, to get her out. Did he think it was better not to have them be together, too many secrets that could be told?

  It came back to the same philosophy. She couldn’t really trust anyone until proven otherwise. Ami had kept things from Katlena too, for a while, but her omissions had been made in the face of the threat of unemployment and homelessness, of never seeing her daughter again. She had stayed. Last night…if you completely submitted to someone and they kept you safe, trust came with that.

  They’d narrowed down the location of what was possibly a rebel cell in a nice, family-oriented neighborhood close to the City border. While security was always higher around here, Katlena was aware they couldn’t barge in with a SWAT team when people were pushing strollers and walking their dogs on the other side of the streets. There were kids on bikes and elderly people.

  There was no time to evacuate.

  “They don’t expect us,” she said. “We’ll have to surprise them, that is all. I’ll go in.”

  “Sure, you’ll go,” Hale said, irritated. “Jenkins pulls a gun on you, and the IdA needs a new leader. Again.”

  He still annoyed the hell out of her, but he had one thing going for him—being an excellent shooter. With Noelle busy on the undercover operation, Katlena needed him, much as she hated it.

  “He doesn’t know me. We need to determine identity, and see if the child is there.”

  “What difference does that make?”

  Katlena glared at him.

  Hale shrugged. “Fine, if you want to play it that way. I just think Drago would have done things differently.”

  “Drago was a little too comfortable behind his desk,” she said sharply. “Can we do this?” She was aware of the other colleagues in the van watching them with curiosity. Katlena thought Hale was nothing but a nuisance, if one with excellent aim. If it wasn’t for his skills, she wouldn’t have let him come here. She couldn’t let him challenge her authority any longer.

  “We’ll place the teams as discussed. Once we’ve got positive ID, Jenkins is to be arrested, the child will be in the care of the IdA until we have all the paperwork to return her to her mother.”

  Finally, he didn’t oppose her but nodded.

  “Okay then,” Katlena said. “Let’s go.”

  * * * *

  It was still early when Ami arrived at Katlena’s place. She felt strange sitting around idly, the memories of less smart decisions still swirling in her mind. She was wearing colors other than black and white, and she still had a bit of money in her purse. It was an exhilarating feeling. Maybe she could go out for a bit, then make a beeline for the IdA and get some more work done, take Katlena home after that.

  It would all be better. Maybe Trenton’s spies had been needed when Drago was still in charge of the IdA, but Katlena would provide more transparency and accountability. Life in the City would improve, and probably Katlena was right: It was better to stay and change things from the inside. They had the chance to do so. Ami wouldn’t leave Lily behind, or any other cypher struggling to make ends meet. She was feeling hopeful.

  “Ami, wait.”

  She almost didn’t recognize the woman with the scarf and sunglasses, looking elegant in her long coat. Cara had never cared about her appearance so much when she was staying in her Cypher Id apartment all day.

  “Cara,” she said. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t go.”

  “Couldn’t or didn’t want to? Come on, Ami!” The urgency in her voice was unmistakable. “Paul sent me to talk to you. He knows where Lily is. They are working on getting her out before all hell breaks loose. You should come too. Right now.”

  “I can’t…it’s too soon. Are you sure?” Ami didn’t know what to say. Frankly, she didn’t want to hear it. If Trenton and Cara were close to the people Lily had been living with…had the IdA been infiltrated by allies all of the time? Had she spied for them, had they used Cara as a cover? Her head was spinning.

  �
�Ami, who do you care about more, Lily or Chief Cervantes? Because at some point, you might have to make a decision.” Her expression softened. “I’m sorry. For the time being, she might be the best choice, but even she can’t clean up the mess that the IdA has become. With or without you. Imagine, we could reunite you with Lily in a matter of days!”

  Ami wasn’t convinced, too much had been promised to her that was now falling apart. “I don’t know. You kept me hanging on for years, having me write reports I dreaded. I stayed up all night trying to figure out how to word them, so I wouldn’t cause anyone trouble! I was afraid for you, Cara! When they took you to the hospital, was that all fake too?”

  Cara shook her head. “It was part of the mission, but those drugs were for real.”

  “Katlena gave me the $20,000 that I needed to get out of those stupid clothes. She put her career on the line to help me, and she’s going to help me get Lily as well. I’m sorry. You’ll have to tell Mr. Trenton that I’m not leaving the City.” Ami was fairly surprised to realize how clear these conclusions had become. They obviously needed Trenton’s voice on the Committee, still, but she didn’t feel intimidated by him anymore, or obliged. The Committee had used her from the start. They owed her, not the other way around. There was one more thing she had to know.

  “Please tell me you had nothing to do with the bomb.”

  Cara’s answer was an impatient sigh. “The rebels aren’t the murderers, you know. You might have escaped the cypher life, but there are tens of thousands in the City still living like that. Is Cervantes going to change all their lives? Will she even try?”

  “Why me?” Ami was growing impatient too. “Why do you guys want me so badly? I was so afraid you’d think I betrayed you, but frankly, you left out a lot of truth too. I’m not obliged to anybody. I wish you good luck, but please, leave me alone.”

  She turned to walk away, but Cara grabbed her arm. “Don’t be so callous about it. Our people tell us that Drago and his associates have something planned. It could happen soon. We might disagree on certain things, but I don’t want you in the middle of that when a lot more people could get hurt.”

  “You know something,” Ami said, feeling all cold inside. She needed to contact Katlena.

  “This is all I know. Be careful, Ami,” Cara said before she spun around and walked away.

  Ami used most of her remaining money for a cab ride to the IdA building.

  * * * *

  The officers had come in through the back at her signal. It took Katlena two minutes to determine there was no one in the house but Brad Jenkins and the little girl who looked on with wide, frightened eyes.

  “You’re making a big mistake!” Jenkins yelled. “You can’t stop it! Terry, honey, everything will be okay.”

  Terry. Teresa. That’s what the Davidsons had named Lily, Ami’s daughter.

  “Sweetie.” Katlena gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile, while the officers brought Jenkins to the unmarked car. Lily was wearing her strawberry-blonde hair in pigtails, and a light blue dress with a butterfly on it. She seemed healthy even if, at the moment, still shell-shocked.

  “Please come with me. You’re safe. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

  The pieces were falling into place. Jenkins was the only relevant suspect arrested, and Katlena was quite sure he’d turn on others before he’d take the fall and be charged with murder in four cases. As for Lily…she could only imagine it would be a bit of a shock for both mother and daughter. Lily had gone by the name of Teresa, had lived with the Davidsons for five years. Ami’s concept of her was that of a newborn baby she had been forced to give away.

  Katlena realized, somewhere in between excitement and trepidation, that this little girl might become part of her own life too.

  “Teresa?”

  “Can my mommy come too? She’ll be back soon.”

  “Where is your mommy?”

  Lily-Teresa regarded her with suspicion. Katlena couldn’t blame her.

  “It’s fine. We’ll call her and have her come.” That didn’t seem to do much. “Honey, I need you to come with me. We’ll figure out everything else. Mr. Jenkins did a bad thing. We needed to find him to ask him questions, so there won’t be more people getting hurt.”

  “Did mommy do something bad too?”

  “No, Teresa, she didn’t.”

  “Are you going to take me away?” the girl asked fearfully, her eyes welling up with tears. Katlena’s attempt at reassurance had failed. Oh boy.

  “First of all, you can’t stay here, but we’ll have your mom come and get you.” Katlena cringed a little over the half-lie. She reached out her hand, and after a long moment, gauging Katlena’s credibility, Teresa took it.

  So far so good.

  She chose to bring Lily in her own car. Katlena had considered safety issues as well as the fact that the girl, who had seemed to be rather comfortable alone in the house with Jenkins, would not completely freak out. She had left a surveillance team as the Davidsons were likely to show up within the next couple of hours. There had been no record of either of them working in the City. Their wealth had carried them a long way.

  Lily sat in the backseat, her posture cautious and curious at the same time. She was wearing a pout that told the family resemblance to her biological mother in no uncertain terms. Katlena found herself smiling. Ami had waited years for this moment to come. It would finally come true. The Davidsons might fight in court, but they had acted against the law when they disappeared with the girl in the first place. They had been very careful. Too bad for them that Jenkins had been less careful. Katlena assumed that he hadn’t been with the group for long. It all seemed too easy, and that was something that had her worried. If Jenkins had been set up, for what reason?

  Hopefully, for the girl’s sake, he would talk.

  All of a sudden, the vehicle in front of her stopped. Katlena brought her car to a halt inches from its bumper. She immediately released her seatbelt to turn and check on Lily who had started to cry, but wasn’t bodily harmed.

  “Sorry for that, Honey,” she said, reaching over the seat to ruffle the girl’s hair. “I’ll be sure to give Uncle Hale a piece of my mind for that.”

  “I want my mommy,” Lily sniffed and cried harder.

  Oh no.

  If it wasn’t for the little passenger in the backseat, Katlena would already be outside investigating the situation that struck her as suspicious, an unsettling reminder of the day of the explosion.

  “Soon, I promise.”

  In front of her, Hale exited the car. Katlena put her hand on her weapon just in case. She still wasn’t sure where he stood. She didn’t think he would openly attack her, but for sure, his loyalty to the new chief of the IdA remained questionable. She had Ami’s daughter with her.

  Hale confirmed briefly with the officers in the car in front of his, Marks and Allen, then turned to walk towards her, gesturing to something ahead. Katlena opened the door with one hand, aware that Lily was ducking behind the front seat. Living with rebels, or even just allies, would have taught her caution. At this moment, Katlena was grateful for that.

  “What’s up over there?”

  “You should see for yourself.” He seemed to sense her hesitation and added, “No rebels hiding in the bushes as far as we can see, but she should still stay inside. Go take a look. I’ll stay here.”

  “What is it?” she asked again, more impatient.

  “They sent us a message.”

  Katlena would have preferred to have Noelle with her, at least someone she trusted to be on her side. These days, it was hard to determine who was the enemy anyway, separate the rebel activists from the militant ones, the IdA from Drago’s clique.

  She stood in front of the display, disturbed not so much by the sight of it, but by what it meant. Someone had rammed a wooden stick into the ground, attached to it, like a flag, a half-burned piece of cloth. It would have been non-descript if it wasn’t for the stitched-in numbers
24309 still visible. Reading them gave her a chill. She remembered those numbers. 24309 had been found dead in a back alley a few weeks before Drago assigned Katlena to oversee Ami’s meetings with Organizational Affairs. Her murderer had never been found.

  Katlena shook her head in frustration. No matter how the cypher idea might have gotten out of hand, if this program was destroyed, what would happen to the people in it? She wondered if the rebels had formulated a plan for that, the resulting confusion with everyone reclaiming their identities at once, the three-year-clause notwithstanding. It would be chaos.

  She needed the opposite: more IdA personnel, less cypher raids and surveillance, but a skilled staff that would help her shape laws and regulations that were just and actually benefited the people. An armed conflict was the worst that could happen at this time.

  “That’s pretty bold,” Officer Marks said. “What do you think they’re meaning to say?”

  “Whatever they’re meaning to say,” Katlena said darkly, “if it involves killing innocent people, I’m not willing to listen. We protect our citizens, cyphers or not.”

  She ripped the stick out of the earth and tossed it aside. “Let’s move on.”

  * * * *

  Katlena had given orders to interrupt Jenkins’ interrogation and notify her the moment the Davidsons were arrested. Before she went in, she contacted the in-house social worker. Katlena instructed her to stay with Lily until the legal aspects of where she was going to live, were solved, hot chocolate from the vending machine included. She also called Ami, but couldn’t reach her. Katlena tried to push her worries and irritation aside, with moderate success. Ami was passionate in many ways she loved, but she was also too damn stubborn. Katlena hoped she had at least done the clothes shopping and moved her things over to Katlena’s apartment. They’d go from there. With a sigh, Katlena admitted to herself she should cut Ami some slack for not taking the way out that Trenton and Rivera had offered her. What a mastermind, controlling and organizing the less violent segment of the rebel groups while sitting on the Committee that oversaw the IdA. While she had her reservations and certainly disagreed with some of the means, Katlena was hopeful that they had similar ideas on how to change society, if not when it came to Ami’s place in this process.