“Daddy, HELP me!” she screamed through tears, clutching her father’s arm before she crumpled onto the floor. “You have to arrest them!”
Her finger was pointed directly at us.
Chapter Nine
All I could do was stare dumbfounded at Leisel’s crumpled figure on the floor. Her hands were covering her face and she appeared to be inconsolable. I could see a bruise on her face and wondered who gave it to her. Did the assassin find out about the switch? Did he find her?
“Leisel! What are you doing?” Jack demanded, a stunned expression on his face.
President Holt nailed Jack with a deadly look. The threat was obvious. Jack stopped talking.
Everyone in the room was looking from her to me. Guards grabbed Jack and me, twisting our arms behind our backs and cuffed us. Jack’s mother walked directly toward me and ripped off my veil and the wig went with it. I was exposed.
“Who the hell is this?” she asked angrily.
I didn’t know what to say. Would Leisel stand up for me? Would the President?
“Daddy! They hurt me!” Leisel whaled, still pointing at us. “Jack decided that he doesn’t love me anymore, and that he wanted her. So he hit me and put me in a closet.”
She was sobbing so hard she couldn’t go on. Her hands came up to cover her face. Somewhere in my confused thoughts, it registered that Leisel said they hurt me. I knew I didn’t give her the bruise, so why was she including me in the blame?
“Someone get a doctor!” the President appealed to the crowd. “My Leisel is hurt. Get a doctor!” With wild eyes, he looked from one person to the other beseeching someone to get help. Finally, someone ran out of the room.
“Jack! What is going on?” his mother asked in a low threatening voice. His father looked to be in shock.
“It’s not what it looks like mom. She planned this whole thing,” he said, looking at Leisel.
“HE’S LYING!” Leisel spat out through her tears. “He’s been hiding that…that… urchin in his room for days - ever since his bachelor party. Remember Daddy, I went to the party? Jack and I made plans that night to be together… I know it was wrong. I shouldn’t have planned to meet him when we weren’t even married. But when I went to his apartment that night, he sent me away. I thought he was up to something. And then… this morning…” Leisel broke down sobbing again.
“Take a deep breath my baby and tell Daddy what he did,” the President asked his daughter softly. His tone of voice was in complete disagreement with the murderous look he was giving Jack.
“He hit me Daddy! He told me he didn’t love me and never has. He said he loved that urchin girl. So he hit me and… I don’t remember much after that. I woke up in the closet and couldn’t get out. He had put a chair up against the door, but I just kept jiggling the door until the chair finally fell. And then I came straight here.” Leisel choked, sobbed, and gasped on her words.
“LEISEL, YOU LYING LITTLE B,” Jack began, but his mother slapped him across his face cutting off the rest of his words.
His mouth gaped open and his eyes grew wider as he stared at his mother. An angry red welt was beginning to appear along his cheek.
“How could you Jack! How could you do this to us? To her!” Jack’s mother said through angry tears.
“Mom I swear to you! I’m the one being betrayed,” Jack said with conviction. Anyone within hearing distance could hear the desperation of Jack’s words. They came from somewhere deep inside him. “It wasn’t my idea. She gave me no choice.”
Tears were welling up in his eyes as he looked at his parents. I was stunned to see this side of Jack Kenner. He no longer resembled the powerful man who would one day become President. Now he looked like a boy appealing to his parents to help him.
“I thought you loved me,” Leisel sobbed hysterically, “but you were just using me. Daddy, he told me he planned on making changes in the Dome once he became President.” Leisel grabbed her father by the lapels of his jacket, hanging onto him desperately. “He said he wanted to change everything. He wants to break the Treaty with the urchins. He wants to stop the Cull. He wants to change our entire society. I told him it would never work. I told him we need to have strict rules in the Pit so that their population doesn’t get out of control, but he thinks he knows better.”
My mind was trying to make sense of what she was saying. She told me she wanted those changes too. She told me she wanted to make the Dome a better place to live. I understood now that she manipulated me into doing what she wanted. I played her game unknowingly. Whatever made me believe I was anything more than an urchin to her? Whatever led me to believe I could trust a bourge.
“Treason!” the word escaped through the President’s tight lips. “You’re telling me he spoke treason to you?”
“Yes, Daddy. I don’t think he ever loved me. I think he just wanted to be President,” Leisel whaled.
I watched the President slowly get up and walk toward Jack, his eyes never leaving Jack’s face. I was afraid that this might be it for us, or at least for Jack. The President looked mad enough to kill. I wished I could move my terrified limbs. I wished I were brave enough to turn to the cameras and tell my Dad I loved him. Tell Reyes I was sorry. Tell Summer to take care of them both for me. But all I could do was watch the President come closer.
“The fabric of our nation was founded on Democracy and Freedom for all. And you would seek to destroy that and replace it with Communism?” His face was red and his eyes looked wild. “Who do you think destroyed our Nation and sent us into this Dome? Who do you think sent the bombs? Communists!” the President spat.
His entire body was shaking with anger and spittle was flying out of his mouth and running down his chin. His face was completely red and he looked insane. I saw him glance at one of the cameras out of the corner of his eye and his disposition changed slightly. He smoothed back his hair and straightened his well-decorated military tunic.
“Apparently, I have been so busy worrying about unseen enemies outside the Dome that I didn’t notice the enemies we have inside. You, Jack Kenner, will be put on trial for treason. If you are found guilty, you will be executed according to our laws. And if you are found guilty, I fully intend to hunt down all of your supporters.” The President gave Jack’s parents a menacing look.
Three armed Domers rushed into the room, adding even more chaos to the already dramatic scene. The media people had to scramble to get out of their way.
“Mr. President, we need to get you out of here, Sir. There’s a riot starting in the Pit,” one of the Domers said.
At this news, the President dragged his eyes away from Jack and looked at me for the first time. His murderous look was still there, but there was something else too. Something in the way he was clenching his jaw and drawing his lips into a sneer that made me think he hated me even more than he hated Jack.
“Get Leisel to safety,” the President instructed the guards. Then he turned and looked directly into a camera. “Mobilize the guards and lockdown the Pit. If they persist in this little demonstration, stop their ventilation system until they do.” Now the President turned his attention back to us. “This is not the first time that I regret the fact that we don’t have a prison inside the Dome. Remand them to Jack’s apartment and call the Council for an emergency meeting,” the President ordered and strode out of the room.
The Domer behind me tightened my cuffs and shoved me back out into the main Reception area. The guests were going crazy. Everyone had witnessed what just went on in the Registry on the giant television behind the Altar and now they were seeing the two of us being marched out in front of them for real. The guard behind me kept shoving me forward, but with every other step he trampled the train of the dress impeding my progress. At one point, I heard it rip and my first inclination was to worry that I might be punished for the dress being destroyed. But then I remembered I was doomed anyway. There was no doubt in my mind I would be killed for what I had done. And somehow, I found solace in
the thought that I would never have to worry about ruining a uniform ever again.
Jack was in front of me fighting the guards every inch of the way. Obviously he was angry and I didn’t blame him. The woman he thought loved him just betrayed him and if Leisel was able to convince everyone of his treason, then he was every bit as doomed as I was.
We were thrown into an elevator together with a few guards, our hands still cuffed behind our backs. I couldn’t help but wonder why they were treating us so nicely. If we were in the Pit, we would have been beaten to death by now, but no one had hit me even once.
The elevator doors opened and we were shoved out. The guards remained behind us, pushing us down the hall every inch of the way. The dress kept dragging me down. For something that looked as light as air the first time I saw it, it was turning out to be a chain around my ankles. At last, we arrived at Jack’s apartment and the guards roughly threw us inside. One guard stepped in and unlocked our cuffs, and then left. As soon as we were alone, Jack turned on me.
“Did you know about this?” he demanded in an accusing tone.
His fists were clenched at his sides and I could feel his anger permeating off of him. I stood under the glare of his accusing eyes and it occurred to me that this was the first time anyone had spoken to me since the fiasco began. All morning, people had been talking all around me, but no one had actually spoken to me. So far I had been an outsider… a participant in the event, but not actually a prominent player. I realized I liked the anonymity. It made my role less important. I didn’t want Jack to take away that small shred of comfort. I didn’t want him to talk to me. So I went into his bedroom and returned to my safe little spot on the floor beside the bed.
He didn’t follow me, for which I was grateful. The dress still felt like a dead weight wrapped around my legs, so I gathered it up and tucked the train behind my back. It made a nice cushion against the hard wall. I leaned back on it, smoothing out the front of the skirt. I wondered if they would give me something else to wear when they executed me or if I would have to die in this dress. I wished I had my own clothes. If I was going to die, I wanted it to be as me and not as some wannabe bourge.
I hadn’t thought too much about Reyes until now. I wondered if he saw the wedding. Of course he had. The entire Dome saw it. I tried to imagine what it must have looked like on television. Could he tell the entire wedding was a sham? Or did he think that I betrayed him? I tried to remember how much Summer knew before we were separated. She would have told Reyes that I went with Jack to see Leisel, but then I never returned to the Pit. It must have been a shock to see me on television standing where Leisel should’ve been beside Jack Kenner.
I heard Jack get up off the sofa and he came into the bedroom. How long had we been in the apartment? An hour? More? I sank lower on the floor, hoping he wouldn’t see me. No luck. He walked around the bed and sat on the floor next to me.
“We have about thirty minutes of privacy,” he said.
“I don’t understand. What happens in thirty minutes?” I asked, even though I wasn’t really interested in having a private moment with him.
“I was eight years old the first time I hacked into the mainframe,” Jack held up his computer tablet for me to see. “There are hidden cameras everywhere, even in this room. Usually they’re not turned on in private homes, but I’m guessing they’ve turned on mine now. Anyway, I learned a long time ago how to super-impose a different feed over what the camera was supposed to be recording. That’s how I got us to Leisel’s apartment this morning without being caught. Right now, if anyone is watching or listening, they’ll see us as we were thirty minutes ago, not as we are now. Privacy,” he said with satisfaction.
“Why do we need privacy?” I asked suspiciously.
“Because I want to know if you’re in on this with Leisel or not,” he said directly.
His clear blue eyes that I once thought were beautiful seemed cold and calculating right now. I had a sudden irrational urge to lean forward and claw those eyes out.
“The only reason I find myself facing certain death is because I got caught between two crazy bourge bent on destroying each other. And you want to know if this is my fault?” I asked incredulously. My anger was so intense that I couldn’t care less about who he was and whether or not he had any power left.
“I’m sorry. If you weren’t in on it with her, then you have every reason to be upset,” he said, raking a hand through his hair. He studied me with his blue eyes and I leaned back further against the wall hoping to somehow evade them. I didn’t trust him. “I want you to know that I’ve never lied to you. Your presence in all of this was… unexpected. I completely misread Leisel. I thought I had her under control.”
“What? Had her under control?” I repeated. “That’s not exactly a declaration of love toward your fiancée.”
“I never loved Leisel,” he said matter-of-factly.
“So she was right? You were just marrying her so you could become President?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah, I was,” Jack laughed derisively. “But it sounds so seedy when you say it.”
“Were you the one that gave her the bruise? Did you lock her in the closet after I left?” I questioned. All this time I thought it was Leisel who betrayed Jack, but now…
“No!” Jack shook his head. “I didn’t touch her. I don’t know who did that to her. I just want you to know Leisel is the one who betrayed you, not me. I think she planned the whole thing out the moment she met you. You’re both the same height.”
“I’m confused. Why do you care if I believe you betrayed me or not? Why are you so intent on making sure I know Leisel is the guilty one? You’re not exactly innocent in all of this,” I said.
“I don’t know. Last confession? Unfortunately neither one of us has much longer to live,” he shrugged. He finally dropped his gaze from my face and looked at my hand resting in my lap. I still had the ring on. It looked shiny resting against the white dress. A sad look came over his face. “I’m guilty of a lot of things, but being a traitor isn’t one of them. The true traitor is Damien Holt,” he said bitterly.
“What does President Holt have to do with this? I thought this was between you and Leisel?” I asked and instantly regretted my question. I really didn’t care. Whatever issues there were between Jack and the President was for them to sort out. I was already dealing with the backlash of getting caught between two bourge. I had learned my lesson.
“When Leisel told you I wanted change in the Dome, she wasn’t lying. I talked about it with her a little to see how she would react, but she doesn’t know the entire story. You see, my family heads up a secret organization called Liberty. Our goal is to restore democracy to our government.”
“Restore it?” I asked in confusion. “We have a democratic government.”
“No we don’t. Holt and his buddies have revised our history so much that most people don’t know the truth. But the Kenners know the truth. We have evidence.”
“What truth? What evidence?” I asked. I had to admit my curiosity was aroused. If I was going to be executed because of a secret organization trying to take control away from the President, I wanted to at least know whom they were.
“Where do I begin? Well… probably at the beginning of the Dome’s history.” He gave me a roguish smile. The smile made him almost seem human, but I wished he would change out of his military uniform. He looked like someone I should be afraid of. “My great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather – give or take a few greats – was Theodore Kenner, Vice President of our nation before the bombs. He entered the Dome as part of President Taylor’s entourage when the bombs were launched. General Edward Holt was also part of that entourage.” Jack emphasized the word General and paused to look at me, to see if I understood what he was saying.
I couldn’t remember ever hearing about a President Taylor. The Holt family had always held the title of President.
“So the Holt family wasn’t in line for the
Presidency?” I asked, confused.
“Actually in a democratic government there’s no such thing as being in line for the Presidency. In a democracy, the People choose a leader through an election process and, once elected, the leader is expected to represent the People. But the Holt’s don’t operate that way. What we have under the Holt regime is a dictatorship, which gets passed along from generation to generation to only the males in that family.”
“How did Edward Holt become President then? Was he elected?” I asked.
“No. My family has kept evidence all these years that implicates Edward Holt murdered President Taylor and her husband.” He smiled at my look of surprise. There had never been a woman President in the Dome. “My ancestor, Vice President Kenner, kept a written journal and video clips of his life in the Dome, which the Kenner family has kept all these years. Every Kenner has read the journal and watched the videos and we continue to share it with others who want to know the truth. The video that made the most impact on me shows civilians from the Valley climbing their way up the mountain to the open hangar doors where military vehicles were still coming into the Dome. They tried to fight their way in with them, but soldiers were pushing them back and then used machine guns to stop them. It was General Holt who had ordered the soldiers to do it, but President Taylor called a halt to it. In the video, you can see bodies everywhere, rivers of blood flowing down the mountain, but still the people kept coming to the Dome. They had no choice. In the video you can see the first of the bombs flying overhead on their way to the major cities.” Jack paused a moment and I noticed his eyes were bright with unshed tears. “No human being with a soul could turn those people away and President Taylor didn’t. She told the guards to let them through.
That caused a huge rift between President Taylor and General Holt. His cold-hearted behaviour bothered Taylor so much that she started looking into Holt’s military career and during her investigation she discovered that Holt had betrayed her – big time! It’s complicated, but I’ll try and explain it. In order to launch a nuclear warhead, two people are required to enter secret codes into a computer that controls the bombs. This is a safety precaution to make sure that a bomb never accidentally gets launched. The two people who held those codes were President Taylor, the leader of our nation, and General Edward Holt, the leader of our military. President Taylor reluctantly agreed to launch the warheads after General Holt informed her that both Russia and Korea had launched at us. But General Holt had lied to her. No one had launched. When she punched in her secret code and activated the warheads, she started World War Three. Countries sent their warheads in retaliation against us, not as an offensive strike. Then our Allies launched in our defence, then their enemies launched in their defence… and on and on it went until the Earth was destroyed.
Sunset Rising Page 9