He held her gaze. “I knew that, yes. The camp we’re talking about, the ones who planted the bomb, aren’t our people as you know. They’re with Drago. Noelle and I haven’t spoken in years, but God, I hope she is safe.”
“You’re proving my point though, Ami,” Trenton cut in. “Since it’s unsure where Drago gets all his information from, it’s not safe to go back to the City, even with backup.”
Ami wondered about Noelle who had worked closely with Katlena. She had been privy to some IdA secrets after Drago was out. She wasn’t going to voice her suspicion though, with Noelle’s brother in the room.
“I’ve had five years experience of blending in and being nothing more than a shadow. I think I’ll be okay.”
“I think we should give Chief Cervantes the benefit of the doubt,” Raymond agreed. “She is willing to work towards the society that all of us envisioned, which is more than can be said for a lot of people currently applying for the job. So let’s do this. Marya has about the same height and stature and she’s going to kick his ass. Ami never has to go near him.”
Ami shrugged. “Fine with me.”
“Are you thinking of your daughter… at all?” Trenton shook his head in a frustrated gesture.
“All the time,” Ami said. “I would hate for her to think that her mother was a coward.”
* * * *
How could she have ever thought that at one point, he would just hand over the IdA to her? The picture was becoming painfully clear. Drago had allowed women to go to a certain clearance level, but only to control them, only if he had something over them. Noelle’s brother who was fighting the system. No matter how loyal she was, her family history would always be with her.
Katlena had always been so careful, dating men a few times when she really didn’t want to, but office parties required her to bring someone. Once she’d formed the thought that she could do Drago’s job, and better than him, there had been no more than two women she’d seen.
In a way, she’d been just as trapped as Ami. She thought wryly it was no wonder they’d been practically tearing each others’ clothes off the first night together. Her mind wandered to the other nights they’d shared, realizing moments later that she was crying. There wasn’t much of a chance that she’d see Ami ever again.
* * * *
They went back to the City the same way they had come, through the tunnels. Kenneth explained that the underground maze had been built at the same time buildings in the City rose, as a way out in times exactly like the ones they were dealing with. Not many people knew about them as this was meant to be a secret for a few chosen, not even including the current IdA leaders. The Committee knew though, and their cohorts outside of the City, Raymond and his people.
Ami didn’t care much for the history lesson. She prayed that Trenton was wrong when he’d tried to plant doubts in her mind. Drago’s men might have gone for Katlena, but breaking him out of prison, and having both of them in the same place would require more time, especially if there was still fighting going on.
“You’re brave to come back here,” Kenneth said when he noticed that she didn’t pay much attention to facts and numbers.
“No. Just desperate enough. You met Katlena. Do you really think she signed off on torturing people?”
He chose his words with caution. “In systems like this, people don’t always have a choice.”
“Drago would still be the chief if she hadn’t filed the complaint on my behalf.”
“True. He’s not likely to forget that either.”
“No.” It wasn’t cold down here, but a shiver skittered across her spine nonetheless. There was no doubt Drago was out for retribution.
“Let’s see what we can do to help and worry about all else when we’re back. How does that sound?”
Ami gave him a grateful smile. “Wonderful.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The psych ward wasn’t Katlena Cervantes’ favorite place to visit. For her career in the IdA, it was important that she went through the motions and became familiar with all aspects of City government, and especially the Cypher program. She’d attended meetings of cyphers with Organizational Affairs, always in the company of an IdA inspector. Once she was an inspector herself, she’d be on her own representing the IdA and making sure the cypher present wouldn’t pull a knife on the OA officer. It had happened just days ago. Cyphers were to be handled with caution. Many of them were mentally unstable.
Here in the psych ward, she was secretly shocked about how many of them were women, and how young they were on average. There was one patient in particular who had caught her eye.
She had exchanged a few words with Caroline Rivera on her last visit, and Drago chided her for it.
“They are telling a lot of lies, everything to get you on their side. Truth is, she and her husband worked to overthrow the system. She plays mentally ill to stay out of prison and the work force.”
“She doesn’t seem to be—”
“Crazy? Don’t be fooled, Cervantes. Some of them are brilliant manipulators, milking the system for all that it’s worth. We’re done here for today,” Drago cut her off. “You did great, Cervantes. If you pass that exam for Inspector, you can envision a move up to my floor soon.”
“Thanks, Chief,” she said, flustered with the praise, and at the same time, annoyed that he hadn’t let her finish. Working for Drago would not be easy, but that was the only way up. “About Mrs. Rivera…”
“Just sign these forms here that confirm the visit, I’ll finish the report later. You can head back to the department. I just need to finish a few things here. Again, good job. The IdA needs your kind.”
* * * *
She cried bitter tears alone with nothing but the memories. For sure, she’d always had good intentions, but they had been cut short at many times. There was no saying what had happened every time Drago had wanted to “finish things” without her, but she had at times signed papers without checking. Katlena remembered coming back to the psych ward and finding Rivera in a near-psychotic state, drugged up and lethargic at another time.
When asking questions, she’d always hit a wall.
Maybe it was all her fault. At some point she simply stopped questioning, trusting that her time would come. For all the good that had done her.
She should have been more careful. She should have seen this coming. Giving in to anger and frustration, not yet fear, she yanked at the rope, feeling it cut deeper into her wrists. It gave, just a little bit. It wasn’t enough yet. When Drago came here, she wanted to be able to hit him. Where it hurt.
* * * *
“Do you need to take a break?”
“No,” Ami gasped. “I’m fine.”
He gave her a wry smile, and she halted, leaning against the wall. “It didn’t seem that long the first time.”
“That’s because we’re taking another way. You don’t want to get out in the middle of a street only to have your head blown off the next moment.”
Ami winced at the imagery. It was true, they could hear explosions in the distance. She thought of her safe, boring life, working until midnight every day at Shelton’s, getting up at four-thirty the next morning. She had craved a change. She’d never imagined it would be this drastic, not just for her, but for all the people in the City. Unwittingly, she wondered what they were doing at the moment, Shelton, Mary and Peggy, and the OA officer who’d thought she had it too good in life.
“We go directly to the IdA?”
“I don’t think Drago’s still anywhere near that building. We’ll find a safe—well, remotely safe place where we have reception. When we know how far Paul and Marya are, we can proceed.”
Maybe she was crazy. Just to think of Drago and the scene in the archives made her freeze, sick with the memory and the idea of what could have happened. She’d been lucky, though, that Katlena had been there. That was why she had to be here, to do the same for her.
* * * *
“Well, well,
wonders never cease. The cypher slut is the mother to my grandchild, and she’s willing to risk her pathetic little life for the woman who betrayed me. That’s tragic.”
Drago laughed out loud. The corners of the other man’s mouth lifted just slightly. He was embarrassed.
“Now you found her,” he said anyway.
“Indeed, I did.”
“You’re going to pay her off, or what?”
That seemed to amuse the former IdA chief even more.
“Pay her? Not likely. You know as well as I do that she’s got to disappear before those romantic fools with the Committee can paint her a hero in the fight against the system. Cervantes too, but why rush things? The City’s at our feet. I intend to take my time with her. She’ll regret putting you in charge of this silly little undercover op yet, Raymond.”
Noelle exchanged a quick look with Adam Shelton. She didn’t trust him. The businessman was bored enough with shuffling his millions around to get involved with Drago’s delusions of grandeur, but she could see he was worried. Shelton liked the power he’d been given. The thought of murder, Noelle could tell, made him queasy. Not to mention what exactly Drago was intending.
Would Trenton really send Ami Moore right into this mess in order to save Katlena?
They had no backup plan, just Hale, who had probably opened Drago’s cell door himself. The only person who could possibly halt the chain of events was Noelle. As long as Drago trusted her.
“Where is Katlena?” she asked.
“Oh, not far from here.” Drago smiled. “We’ll all go see her once 51308 is here.”
* * * *
It had to be night, Katlena reasoned, not that it made a difference to her in the complete darkness of her prison. She flexed her fingers, trying to get some feeling back into them. Eventually, she had managed to slip her wrists out of the rope, stubbornly believing it could be of some help the next time some jerk opened the door. Never mind the fact that she was feeling light-headed and had no weapon whatsoever. There had to be a way. She steadied herself against the wall, cringing at the feel of dust and grime and God knew what else under her fingers, then she slowly got up.
The nothingness around her started to spin, and she was on her knees, her palm scraping against the rough stone of the wall. She couldn’t lose it, not yet. Without a doubt, there would be negotiations at some point. As long as it was unclear if anyone would take a chance on her, she had to assume she was on her own. Drago wanted his revenge. For a moment, Katlena wished she had chosen any other career than rising through the ranks at the IdA, that Ami had never signed her life away, and they could have met anyway…The fantasy calmed her, distracting her from the pain. She tried to get up again, and this time, she stayed on her feet. Progress.
* * * *
“What the—”
“What’s wrong?” Noelle asked nervously. Adam Shelton handed her the binoculars. She could see right away what he meant. The woman approaching the cabin was wearing a hood, strands of hair escaping from underneath. She was wrapped in a coat that seemed big for her petite frame. Though there were enough similarities not to cause suspicion at a quick glance, this woman was not Ami Moore. Noelle inwardly cursed. This was not a good time to play games with Drago, when he had the upper hand. Now that he knew Ami was the mother of his granddaughter, he wouldn’t stop until he had gotten hold of the girl, and Ami was out of the picture.
“What the hell are they thinking?” Shelton started pacing. “What are we going to tell him? He knows her. He knows they’re trying to fool him.”
“It’s not good,” she agreed.
“Not good?” He raked a hand through his hair. “Hell, I thought this was some righteous operation, that Inspector Cervantes was trying to kick him out of the IdA under false pretenses. I didn’t want her, or Ms. Moore to get killed!”
His use of past tense irritated Noelle. “Well, welcome to reality, Adam. People got killed already.” She hesitated, wondering if he was freaked out enough so it would be safe to break her cover and try to win him as an ally. Noelle waited.
Adam Shelton shook his head and stormed out of the room. Noelle took another look at the woman posing as Ami and decided the Committee wouldn’t be crazy enough to send an untrained civilian. That woman most likely could take care of herself.
She had to find Katlena.
* * * *
A drop of cold sweat was running down her spine, but she held herself upright, eyes straight ahead as Drago held the gun to her temple. He chuckled.
“That would be too easy, wouldn’t it, Cervantes?”
“You tell me,” she said, her voice level even though her heart was racing. She took a deep breath when he put the gun back into its holster.
“Oh, don’t worry, there’s quite a bit I have to tell you. Look at you, a prisoner of your own ambition. That’s almost poetic, isn’t it? It’s too bad you chose the wrong side. You were in for a brilliant future, once upon a time.”
“There was no side. Just a boss who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.”
He leaned down, his face very close to hers. “You were supposed to be loyal.”
“I would have been, if you’d deserved that loyalty.”
She readied herself for the blow, but still cried out when it came. He hadn’t yet realized that she was out of the restraints. If only she could get to that gun…
“You just…prove my point.”
“Too bad, but nobody cares. You don’t even know enough to be of much value to anyone at this point, still, I wish I could take more time with you.”
She couldn’t suppress the shudder. Drago laughed. “You know, earlier I thought making you a cypher would be sufficient punishment. Turns out you’re not just a nuisance, Cervantes, to my chagrin I had to realize that you’re crazy too. Fortunately, we have those institutions. Well, as the chief, it’s my obligation to check on patients from time to time. I promise I won’t forget you.”
Look who’s crazy now. Wisely, Katlena didn’t say those words out loud.
“You didn’t have your guys bring me here to tell me that.”
“True. Before I lock you up for the next years to come, I want to make sure you understand what you have done, and how it impacted the people you love. There should be no doubt. As we speak, Ms. Moore is on her way here.”
She flinched, but caught herself.
“Nice try, Drago. She’s been out for weeks. We both know she’s not so stupid as to come back here when the City’s on fire.”
“What if she came back for you?”
He had to be bluffing. The Committee considered Ami important for some reason, always had as the sealed addendum showed. There was no way they’d let her walk back here. Katlena stifled a smile. She wouldn’t put it past Ami to try…but it was impossible.
“You have to do better than that.”
“In fact, she’s here now.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you want, Cervantes. She has something that is dear to me, so she offered herself in exchange for you.” He frowned. “Quite suicidal, that girl, but it’s her problem, not mine. Of course neither of you will get out of here, though I intend to make you live longer.”
It wasn’t anything Katlena intended to reward with an answer, though she was worried. If Ami had gone on this mission all by herself, there was little chance to save her. The scene in the archives was still vivid to her. Drago had planned his revenge ever since that moment. She couldn’t let him carry it out.
“That is very considerate of you,” Katlena said before she shrugged off the rope.
* * * *
“Marya has reached the target destination,” Kenneth told her. Minutes ago, they had left the tunnels through the basement of the one-story house on the outskirts of town. Ami guessed it qualified as remotely safe. “Backup’s in place. Should be quick.”
“They’ll be coming right here?”
She hadn’t asked for the first time. His look at her was slig
htly indulgent.
“That’s what we said, remember?”
“I don’t know,” she said miserably. “It doesn’t feel right. Shouldn’t we be there?”
“No, we shouldn’t, because the people on the front line are safer if we aren’t. They need someone who can coordinate, which is what we’re doing. Believe me, no one wants you anywhere near Drago.”
“Except himself.”
“I’m afraid so. Don’t worry too much. It’s best for Katlena to know that you’re not anywhere near this.”
“I feel like I’m letting her down,” Ami admitted.
“You aren’t. If she gets out of this alive, she’s going to need you. Remember that.”
Ami could admit that he had a point. Either way, she was afraid of the outcome.
* * * *
On a good day, she might have been able to take him on, but the lack of food and blood loss made this day anything but.
Katlena saw the look on Drago’s face, and his finger tightening around the trigger, and she knew that this time he meant it. Her only hope was that he had lied after all and Ami was somewhere safe where she could start over with her daughter. There was no time for seeing her life pass her by as a shot rang out, Drago’s eyes widening and a red stain blossoming on his shirt. His finger twitched. Another shot rang out, and then another from farther away. Katlena stumbled to her feet, picking up Drago’s gun as she went. She made it as far as the doorway when a masked man stepped in her way.
“Just don’t,” she warned. “Look at me and tell me if you think I have anything to lose!”
“Chief Cervantes.” To her surprise, the voice was female. “No worries. We’re here for you.” She pulled off her mask, brushing the auburn hair out of her face.
“Are you? The last time that didn’t work out so well for me.”
“I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right. The Committee sent us. We’ll still need a chief, after all.”
Katlena carefully lowered the gun, realizing her hands were shaking. She didn’t like the woman’s sympathetic look.
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