CYPHER: A Dystopian Novel

by Barbara Winkes

  “We all have a personal story here, obviously. What’s yours? You’ve been working for the IdA for years. Looking the other way was part of your job. I’m not judging you, Chief, just stating the facts. Then all hell breaks loose, and we find a surprising ally in you.”

  That wasn’t so hard to answer. “I learned a few facts lately that my boss wasn’t very adamant sharing. I know it sounds bad, but even as an inspector, my clearance level wasn’t worth much.”

  “Just that? You changed everything because of some new information?”

  “You ask that like you already know more.”

  They left the room together, and she locked up behind them.

  “Like I said, I’m curious. I expect us to be working more closely together and I wonder… maybe you’d like to come over to my place for dinner.”

  “I think we’ll both be very busy in the upcoming weeks.”

  “Still, a person’s got to eat.”

  “You know, there is a story, actually. You are hoping for changes. I understand that. Part of why I had to keep a low profile in the IdA, my life, really, because there used to be certain…biases. Of course, we only now learn how much of that was Drago’s fabrication.”

  “A lesbian chief of the IdA. That’s different. To be clear, I mean no disrespect. A little personal disappointment maybe.”

  His frank words had made Katlena cringe, not that they weren’t true, but it had never before been safe to say them out loud in this building.

  “If you’re not too disappointed, you may come over for dinner to my house. I might have enough for two.”

  They shared a smile. After working with the likes of Drago and Hale for so long, Katlena had almost forgotten that there were some reliable men left out there.

  * * * *

  Ami hadn’t meant to overhear the conversation. Lily was sleeping soundly. There was nothing to do for her, and she was bored out of her mind. She’d been wandering the hallways without aim, only stopping when she heard Trenton talking with another man she didn’t know, and Katlena’s name.

  “That would be a shame,” the other man said. “How reliable is this information?”

  “Extremely reliable, I’m afraid,” Trenton said, his tone grave, regretful. “My source has been working closely with Cervantes, and they have nothing to gain from badmouthing her.”

  “That changes everything.”

  “I know.”

  Ami stepped closer to sneak a peek through the door left ajar, but the other man had his back turned to her.

  “We had high hopes for her. How is that possible? She already started the process. What is her agenda, Paul?”

  “Hell if I know.” Trenton shrugged. “What I do know is that we have to get some answers from her yesterday. Looks like she did one hell of a job fooling us all.”

  “I still find it hard to believe.”

  “Her name is on that protocol. She sat in on those interrogations with Drago, she signed off on what happened to the suspects. I’m going to send Paulson and Vargas today.”

  “You’re going to tell them?”

  “Why not?” Trenton asked. “The City is infested with double and triple agents. It has to stop.”

  “I agree.”

  As they turned to the door, Ami spun around and quickly made her way across the hall, back to her room. What now? She needed to find a way to warn Katlena. That was the imperative. She didn’t want to think about what she’d just heard, or how much of it could possibly be true. Sure, Katlena hadn’t known half about the damage done by the IdA, but that didn’t mean she was still protecting the system, or condoning cruelty, now, or before. It had to be a mistake. She didn’t want to waste any more time.

  She understood it a little bit better now. The IdA, the cypher program, it was a sinking ship. Maybe there was nothing left worth saving, and negotiations wouldn’t save either of them in the end.

  She went to Jean Davidson’s room and knocked. There was no answer. The door was locked.

  Ami was determined to leave, but she wouldn’t go without Lily. It was a good thing she was fairly good at picking locks.

  Lily was still asleep. She didn’t even wake up when Ami put shoes and a coat on her. She’d find a phone on the outside, notify Katlena right away. This revolution could go on without either of them. It might take more years before stability returned to the City. Ami wasn’t willing to wait that long, after all the years wasted. She wanted a life now. She lifted Lily up into her arms and carried her, back along the hallway, to the back door. Ami had a fleeting thought for the clothes she’d bought only days ago, with Katlena’s money. Katlena wouldn’t mind her leaving them if it meant that she could keep her out of prison.

  There was no more time.

  * * * *

  Katlena had spent a fairly interesting rest of the evening with Noelle’s brother, talking change for the greater good, rebel camps, the IdA, truth and fiction. It was long after midnight when he left, making her realize how much she’d missed human company, not just co-workers, but friendly people to talk to. She was feeling hopeful.

  * * * *

  Ami made it as far as the back door, only to realize it was locked. Lily was shifting in her arms, her eyelids fluttering. She was about to wake up. Leaving through the front door was riskier, but she couldn’t waste time trying to get this lock open. Once more, she was aware of the dilemma. She couldn’t leave Lily behind. At the same time, Katlena depended on her.

  In the hallway, two members of the group she’d met earlier passed her by. Her heart was pounding, but they didn’t seem to pay attention. Lily was her daughter, after all, and everyone had seen her with Ami before. All she had to do is to make it look normal.

  Easier said than done. Her hands were shaking. She opened the door and peeked outside. It was too early in the morning to tell a story about how she had wanted to go outside and play with Lily, but unfortunately, it was already light. She had to be quick, and find a phone soon. Maybe Trenton had already given the order.

  She could be completely overreacting, but if Katlena was suspected of being a true believer in the old system, it would be hard for her to prove her innocence. Better not let it come to that.

  It always looked so easy in the movies, but the truth was, Ami had no idea how to short-circuit a car. She had no idea where they were, because they had come in the dead of night, and she hadn’t gone further than the backyard. She could be about to make a big mistake. If Trenton was right and there was still the danger of fights erupting, it could mean that she’d put Lily and herself right in the middle of it.

  The day when she’d seen the car bomb go off was still vivid in her memory.

  Ami pushed those disturbing thoughts aside. Find a phone. Make sure Katlena was safe. They could start over somewhere, anywhere, away from the City, Drago, the rebels and the Committee. Far away from Jean Davidson, who, as it seemed, had no intention of giving Lily up again.

  “Ami!”

  She didn’t turn around at the sound of the voice.

  “Ami, wait! Where are you going?”

  Ami tried to walk faster, but it was hard carrying Lily that way.

  “I’m going for a walk, Cara. I’m sorry, but I need to be by myself for a moment.”

  “It’s too dangerous out there. Ami! Will you stop for a moment!”

  She knew she shouldn’t have, but for the sake of the woman she still considered a friend, Ami halted her steps.

  “What are you doing?” Cara asked, concerned. “You’re not even wearing a coat! Where were you going?”

  Ami saw no point in pretending. “Away?”

  “Why?”

  “Can’t you see? I was never in this for politics. I don’t like to be used by either side. I want us to be free.”

  “You and Lily? Or you and Katlena? I know what you’re thinking, but we made a mistake with her that was almost fatal. She signed off on the torture of prisoners.”

  “How do you know?” Ami was freezing, and Lily wa
s growing infinitely heavier in her arms. She didn’t have the time or energy for this discussion.

  “I told you, I didn’t just pretend. I was in that institution for real. For all the good she might be doing now, her name showed up quite often on certain papers.” Cara looked sympathetic, but that wasn’t any comfort for Ami.

  “Why don’t you just let me take my walk then, Cara? I have a lot to think about.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t.”

  Ami walked on, aware of the rustling of leaves behind her. This would not be easy.

  “No, I mean, I’m really sorry,” Cara said behind her. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”

  The sting of the needle in her thigh came as a shock. Ami nearly dropped Lily, but then she was taken out of her arms. She wanted to hold on, but within moments, her hands grew numb and her vision blacked out.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Waking up to gunfire could never be a good thing, but when Katlena turned on the TV, she knew that the world as she knew it was about to end. A frantic TV reporter spoke about a rebel militia. Katlena had tried to have the press lay low about this particular group until they knew exactly what they were dealing with. It was something she now regretted. She had wanted to be sure about the numbers of Drago’s unholy union. With him playing both groups masterfully, he had found an audience. They didn’t care about peaceful reforms and changes. They were in it for the power. The reporter was talking about rebels and allies who had tricked the City officials into thinking they could negotiate the terms of change. Katlena couldn’t believe that Kenneth Raymond was behind this.

  She quickly dressed, foregoing shower and breakfast in the light of the turn of events. Katlena had taken control once and she was determined to do it again. She owed it to the people of the City, the employees of the IdA, most of all Noelle and her partner who were in even more danger. The gunfire sounded louder. How could this have happened overnight?

  Katlena gave herself the answer. Drago had, as usual, someone on the inside. He had timed the attack with the day negotiations with the real rebels had been made.

  At least Ami and Lily were safe outside the City limits.

  When this was over, Katlena swore, she’d out herself and get them. Let someone else have the job, if there was still an IdA.

  She never made it outside her front door.

  * * * *

  “Whatever you think it is you’re doing, stop it. You’re not going to get away with it.” Even with the indignity of her hands tied and her words muffled by the cloth over her head, Katlena had to try.

  “Under which law? You know Drago’s gonna reinstall everything you screwed up.” The other officer laughed. “Just shut up.” He kicked her, hard, knocking the breath out of her. There went her chances of bribing or threatening them with anything.

  Katlena tried to focus though the lack of air made it hard to think clearly. One thing she knew for sure: Drago still had some use for her. He didn’t have much regard for a human life. If he’d wanted her dead, she would be already. Come to think of it, the alternatives could be worse. She’d shown him up more than once. He might want retribution which was likely to be worse than the quick bullet she’d escaped. That would be between him and her though. She just hoped his motivation wasn’t even more evil than that. It couldn’t be. The Committee had resources, and their safe houses were sound. There was no way that Drago could get to them except if…

  No. Ami was safe. For the moment, she had to worry about herself.

  The ride was bumpy. Obviously road maintenance was not an area the City had been spending much on, another area she should have known more about. There was still the sound of occasional gunfire. The dimension of this attack, probably planned as long as Trenton had sought to make his own idea come to pass, began to register with her. Drago must have had his followers trained and recruited largely outside of the City. This was where the explosives in the earlier attack came from. The bastard had members of his own family killed, so he could blame the rebels, or maybe just to have them out of the way.

  That day at the IdA might have been just a distraction. Today, they were trying to take the City. Noelle was probably at a campfire somewhere out in the woods, or in the midst of the chaos, and Katlena herself…She shifted, wincing when the rope cut into the skin of her wrists. It looked like she was not going to take control of anything, anytime soon.

  * * * *

  For a split-second, it seemed normal to wake up in her bed, in her room. It didn’t take Ami long to remember how she got here, which was all but normal. She bolted upright, fighting the instant nausea enough to get up on shaky legs.

  Of course they had locked her in. Ami leaned against the door, trying to get a handle on the rising panic. There was no clock in the room. She had failed to warn Katlena, and now Trenton and Cara had taken Lily away from her.

  “You can’t do this. You’ve got to let me out!” She was aware of the hysterical note in her voice. To Ami’s surprise, somebody must have been waiting for her to wake up and panic, because a key was turned in the lock.

  Trenton, looking worried, stepped inside. Ami decided that he had reason to be worried.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled. “You made big words about injustice and the need for change, and this is how you treat me? Cara drugged me! You can’t do this. I’m not a number anymore, I don’t answer to you. I’m out of here. I’ll take Lily with me.”

  “You can’t. Not now.”

  “Watch me.”

  “Ami, listen to me for a second! Ms. Webber’s identity has been returned to her.”

  That made her pause. Without proper ID, it wouldn’t help her much that she was outside of the City. The nightmare was starting all over again.

  “Who did that? It’s not legal.”

  “Chief Cervantes did.” Her utter confusion and disappointment must have been showing on her face, because he hurried to add, “She gave Caroline your original papers. They’re here.”

  “Since when?”

  “They’re in a safe place,” he said, evading the question. “Ami, you don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “I understand that you thought she was best for the job and changed your mind in a heartbeat, based on a paper that accused her of one thing or another. What’s your plan? To lock her up like you did with me?”

  “Well, we were going to ask her about that piece of paper first, but we can’t. Drago’s men got to her first.”

  “What?” Ami was barely aware that she had raised her voice again. “What is wrong with this guy, I thought he was in prison! This can’t be…it’s—” The nausea threatened once more to overwhelm her, just like the tears pressing behind her eyes and the feeling of helplessness. She knew first-hand what Drago was capable of.

  “Yes, it’s bad. I’m sure Cervantes would have preferred coming here to be questioned.”

  “What are you going do about it?” Ami demanded.

  “It’s even worse than you think. There’s fighting within the City going on. They will have taken prisoners on each side.”

  Ami sank back on the edge of the bed.

  “If that’s the case, you’re going to negotiate on her behalf, right?”

  Paul sat next to her. Even though she was still angry, Ami didn’t feel unsafe with him. She didn’t like his silence either. The events of the past day had been unfolding at a pace she could hardly follow anymore. She knew it couldn’t mean anything good.

  “You want to question her, fine. If anything, Katlena was a little naïve about the things going on inside of the IdA. Cara said…” The thought gave her a headache bad enough to make her dizzy. “Damn it, I don’t believe all this. You thought she was good enough to run this place! You’re going to bail her out, aren’t you?”

  “Ami, there might be others to think of first when it comes to trading prisoners.”

  Ami jumped to her feet again. “Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea—Go
d, I don’t even expect you to understand, but I thought that Cara would. You’re no better than any of them. You’re…giving up on her.”

  She felt very much like giving up too.

  “We’ll see what we can do,” he promised.

  Ami looked up at him, her vision of the man next to her blurry. “What about me?”

  “It’s even more important that you’re safe.”

  “Sure. You have a weird way of trying to make that happen.” The irony didn’t quite come through. In fact, he could just leave the door open, because Ami didn’t think she was going to do anything but curl up and cry.

  “Okay, fine, you’ve had your moment. Could you get your act together and listen, just for a moment?”

  Ami flinched, staring at him in surprise. Trenton had never before raised his voice at her. “Excuse me?”

  “There are more lives on the line than you think of. We can’t afford to have someone babysit you, so, yes, the method was a bit harsh, but it was necessary. We need you here. For all we know, Drago already got to that sealed addend—”

  “Not that again.”

  “Yes, that again. I can assure you, this is much bigger than the admittedly endearing love story you two had going on. I understand where you’re coming from, Ami. We have all waited a long time. We need to be patient a little while longer.”

  “Drago tried to rape me. I find it hard to be patient, given the circumstances.”

  “It’s not that we wish her any harm.”

  Cold comfort, Ami thought.

  “I mean it. If there’s any way possible, we’ll try to get her out, if only to find out about that evidence.”

  “Speaking of which. I want to see it.”

  “Not a chance.”

  Ami shook her head. “My act is very much together, thank you. You were playing this game with me for years, now you’ve decided for some reason that somehow I’m important. Fine. If it gets me out of here at some point, with my daughter, I don’t mind playing along, but I think I deserve a little more than your constant evasions and excuses.” Her growing resolve made her feel a little better. There had to be something that she could do from here. If she mattered that much to the group, it could give her—and Katlena—some leverage.