The City Center (The New Agenda Series Book 1)

by Simone Pond

  “We don’t have time today.”

  “This isn’t a request. All ten of you will be at the Arena at noon,” Morray said, turning to leave.

  “And how do you expect that to happen?”

  “Figure it out. There must be some thinking abilities left in at least one of you.”

  “What kind of trial is so important you need Royal Court present? Do we have a defector?”

  “Of course not,” Morray shook his head, stupefied. “An Outsider broke in and he won’t say why. Either way, he’s to be terminated.”

  “Most excellent. Finally, some real action,” the King laughed.

  “He’ll be made an example of to all his people.”

  “We won’t want to miss this. I can assure you, Morray, Royal Court will be present.”

  “Of course you will. You don’t have a choice,” Morray said, exiting the chambers.

  On the flight to the City Center, Morray considered the possible reasons for the Outsider to break in. His outside intel hadn’t sent a warning. He figured the Outsider was working alone, but what was he trying to accomplish? His men scanned the entire Center and its perimeter, and there weren’t any devices or bombs planted. The Outsider wasn’t armed, so he wasn’t there to attack. In fact, he didn’t have anything on his person. There had to be only one logical explanation for him to risk his life coming to the City Center: he was there to relay information. But what? What happened during that three-minute blackout? Did he get to Ava? He only had a few hours before the trial to get his answers. He’d start with Ava. She’d be easier to break.

  The Lie

  A distant chime sounded and Ava’s sleep pod opened. She wasn’t sure if she had dreamed of meeting Joseph and reading Lillian’s story, or if everything had been a program sequence. She felt a book tucked inside her tracksuit. It was real. She still didn’t understand the point in Joseph giving her the book. Maybe there was more to the story, but talking to Joseph was not an option. No doubt Morray already had big plans for the Outsider’s termination—he wouldn’t let an opportunity like this slip by.

  “Day’s agenda,” she requested.

  “Good morning, Miss Rhodes. There is a change in your morning routine. According to reports, all City Center activities are on hold. Trial for the Outsider to be held at the Arena at noon. All residents are required to attend.”

  Ava was relieved about training sessions being canceled, but the news of Joseph’s trial was disheartening. Morray believed all humans—even the Outsiders—were entitled to a trial. But the trial wasn’t for justice; it was to humiliate the defendant prior to their execution. Though Joseph hadn’t caused harm to the City Center or its people, his life would end. She didn’t think such a drastic course was necessary, but what she thought didn’t matter. Nobody questioned Morray’s procedures. He had them in place to maintain strict order.

  Ava got up to prepare for the trial, reminding herself she wasn’t responsible for Joseph’s life. After all, it was his choice to enter the city—she just happened to be there after everyone else ran off. It wasn’t her job to rescue anyone, especially an Outsider.

  “Incoming call, from Planner Dickson,” the assistant announced.

  Ava’s stomach tightened. Why would Planner Dickson call on her? Did they see the footage of her speaking with Joseph? But the system was blocked. Did they know about the book? She took some deep breaths as if preparing for battle, then forced a smile. His hologram appeared.

  “Hello, Planner Dickson.”

  “Good morning, Miss Rhodes,” he said.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “You must know all morning activities are on hold due to the Outsider’s trial. It’s been a rather intense eighteen hours. As part of the protocol, we’re checking on our Successor Candidates to ensure they’re unharmed.” Ava tried not to show too much relief. “Morray can’t risk anything happening this close to Graduation Day. I’m sending over my men to bring you in.”

  “Bring me in, sir?”

  “Yes, Morray has requested all Successor Candidates be taken to the Administrative Building until the trial. For security measures. Be ready in five minutes.”

  Planner Dickson’s hologram disappeared. Ava panicked, wondering why they’d go to the trouble of bringing in the Successors? Something was up. They must know about the book. She’d have to tell Dickson. Her responsibility was to the City Center, not the Outsider. She’d turn it over to the authorities and be done with the whole ordeal. She didn’t need to concern herself with a book from the days before. Whatever happened was history. Things were different now. Far more advanced. She’d be responsible and tell the truth. She set the book on her lounger and waited for the men to arrive.

  “Stream reports,” she instructed.

  The monitor streamed images of Joseph blowing up statues of Morray and holding hostages at gunpoint. The male Info-tainer spoke over the images.

  “We’ve been given the final damage assessment from the brutal and violent acts committed by the Outsider yesterday. What remains is a death toll of seven, while portions of the Garden Sector have been destroyed, which will affect the food supply for the next few days. Many mainframe applications were also destroyed. Fortunately, the Outsider was captured moments before he planned to detonate bombs in the North Sector. Trial for…”

  Ava stopped listening. She knew every word coming from the report was a lie. She was with Joseph up until the hovercrafts flew down to capture him. He hadn’t blown up anything, or taken hostages. He wasn’t even in the North Sector, or armed. Why were they lying? They were going to kill him anyway just for entering the City Center—they didn’t need additional reasons to justify his termination. And if he didn’t kill those seven people, who did? Like always, Ava knew something was erroneous. She didn’t trust Planner Dickson, or his reports. She picked up the book and tucked it back inside the top of her tracksuit. She wasn’t sure what would happen next, but she knew the reports were lying and she needed to know why. What were they trying to hide? Joseph would have the answers. She needed to get to him before the trial. She also needed to delete Lillian’s story from her microchip just in case Dickson did a memory scan. She plugged into the mainframe, using the trick Delilah had taught her, and went back far enough to erase everything from the time the alarm sounded until now. She’d still have the story in her own memory, but they couldn’t access the actual details, they could only wipe them out.

  The door slid open and three Officers entered.

  “Miss Rhodes, we’ve been instructed to search your unit,” the head Officer spoke.

  She stood off to the side while the men scanned her internal system. She knew they’d find her dark-market downloads and the tablet, but those were minor offenses so she wasn’t worried. They’d never think to search for something material like the book, especially where it was pressed against her chest. Their minds couldn’t comprehend the concept.

  “Scan’s complete. She’s clean. For the most part. There must have been a glitch when the mainframe went down yesterday. The microchip didn’t hold information from yesterday until this morning,” said one of the men. Ava nodded at his observation, remembering to use that same theory if it came up again.

  “You know, the dark-market is against City Center protocol,” the other Officer said.

  “Yes. I’m sorry. I take full responsibility for any consequences,” Ava said, giving a low curtsy.

  The Officer blushed at her humbling gesture. “I’m sure Planner Dickson will let it slide this time. So close to Graduation Day,” he said with a slight smile. “By the way, I’m voting for you.”

  “Is the Outsider being contained in the Administrative Building too?” she asked, trying to squeeze out some information. If Joseph was in the same building, she might find a way to reach him before his trial.

  “Yes, Miss Rhodes. But we assure you the highest precautions and safety measures have been implemented. You’ll be safe. Please come with us.”

  Ava followe
d the men toward the transporter. She kept her arms folded across her chest to keep the book in place. She couldn’t bring it with her. Her forehead dripped with sweat, but she didn’t want to move her arms.

  “Are you feeling okay?” the head Officer asked, eying Ava.

  “I didn’t get much sleep last night. This terrorist attack is really quite upsetting.”

  The Officer held out a handkerchief. She wanted to take it, but she didn’t want to lose her grip on the book. She leaned her face in his direction, hoping he would pat her forehead. He froze for a second, not sure what to do. The others watched. One of the men finally grabbed the handkerchief and patted Ava’s face.

  “I simply can’t go anywhere like this. Please allow me to take a quick shower.”

  “We don’t have time.”

  “I’ll make haste. This close to the big day, it’s most important I maintain my appearance. We wouldn’t want to upset Morray, would we?” She knew they couldn’t argue. Nobody wanted to upset Morray. Ava hurried to the washroom. She grabbed a robe and wrapped it around the book, and tucked it under the stack of clean ones. She rinsed off, put on a fresh tracksuit, and returned to the Officers. She didn’t know if there would be anymore dwelling searches, but for now the book was safe.

  They arrived at the Administrative Building and one of the Officers escorted Ava down the corridor toward a containment room. The building was headquarters for the Planners, where Morray and Dickson’s team conducted their think-tank meetings and made decisions that would affect and shape the future. She didn’t see any other Successor Candidates in the building, which meant one thing—she was there for interrogation. She didn’t know how much they saw, or what they knew, but they weren’t going to let her off easy. She had disobeyed protocol during a high-level threat. Until she had more information, she’d keep quiet and work out a strategy to get to Joseph.

  She stepped into the containment room and sat down at the glass table facing the observation mirror. They’d be watching every single facial expression and studying every word. She’d have to give the best performance of her life to persuade Morray and Dickson that she had nothing to hide.

  The Window

  Morray entered the Administrative Building. “Open this section,” he ordered the guard standing next to the entrance of the highest-level security wing.

  “Yes, sir.” The guard entered a series of access codes.

  “Forgetting something?”

  “Oh, yes, that’s right, sir.” The guard fumbled with the scanner. “Place your index finger here, and look directly straight ahead.”

  Morray passed the recognition test and entered the wing. He reached the observation room, entered his access code and conducted the scan recognition. He knew access codes were breakable so he took great precaution by having multiple entry checks. He had security measures and firewalls placed throughout the City Center to ensure optimal protection. So how had the Outsider infiltrated his system?

  Inside the observation room, Planner Dickson stood by the window, entering information into his hologram display.

  “Dickson,” Morray said.

  “Chief.”

  “I want you to retire the entry-point guard to Ret-Hav effective immediately.”

  “Yes, sir.” He pulled up the guard’s file. “Done.”

  Morray walked over to the window and observed Ava. She stared straight ahead, maintaining a calm demeanor. She wore a white tracksuit and her hair was pulled up. Though she hadn’t been beautified, Morray was drawn to her. “Did you use DNA replication with this one?” he asked.

  “She’s mostly original coding.”

  “She’s very familiar to me.” Morray stared at Ava for a few minutes, trying to refocus on the matter at hand. Was she, or was she not in contact with the Outsider? She seemed composed—no traces of guilt or defiance.

  “How has she been?” Morray asked.

  “Agreeable.”

  “What about her non-verbal cues?”

  “Clean. She believes she’s here for her protection.”

  “What about her most recent activity?”

  “We scrubbed her microchip. Data is missing from the time of the blackout yesterday, but we’re experiencing glitches throughout the city. We’ll keep working on it. In her dwelling unit we found some activity on her 2D tablet. Minor video conferencing.”

  “Who was she video conferencing?”

  “The same mid-level female she met for lunch. Delilah Seven.”

  “Anything seem unusual in their conversation?”

  “We could only retrieve a few segments, but what we heard was harmless. She also has some dark-market downloads. A few classic movies. But other than that, she’s clean.”

  “I’m intrigued with her interest for this Delilah. Why is she spending time with a lower rank? She’s a Successor Candidate. Has she no regard for social mores?” He pulled up her chart on the display monitor. “She’s a perplexing individual. Her scores are the highest, she wins every challenge, yet she doesn’t seem to follow the rules.”

  “I would assume she maintains contact with the mid-rank so she can obtain files from the dark-market. We know how women are about their movies,” Dickson said.

  “No matter how much coding manipulation and reprogramming we do, we can’t seem to remove the more menial human desires. That dark-market is an interesting beast.”

  “Would you like me to begin the next phase of interrogation?” Dickson asked.

  Morray walked to the observation window. He studied Ava. She was a beautiful specimen. But there was something underneath her flawless design. Something behind her eyes. A deeper awareness. Would a regular interrogation do any good? He had seen her scores. She was quite strategic. He’d have to work around her training. As much as he wanted to keep her from stress, he had to be sure she was clean. That meant something more intense than interrogation.

  “In your opinion, Dickson, do you think she interacted with the prisoner during the blackout?”

  “It’s hard to say.”

  “It’s your job to say something.”

  “I don’t see how someone of her social standing would risk her entire future by engaging with a known terrorist. To what purpose would that serve? She knows better.”

  “Is that a yes, or a no?”

  “No.”

  “Well, Dickson, I have a feeling there is something more to Miss Rhodes.” Morray continued observing Ava.

  “Do you want us to keep her in containment?”

  “Yes. Just a bit longer. What’s the status with the Outsider?”

  “He’s in containment across the hall. Still not talking. Not even at the highest levels of interrogation.”

  “Sedate him.”

  “What do you plan to do, sir?”

  “Put them in the same room and monitor their behavior.”

  “Chief, with all due respect, the trial is less than three hours away. Miss Rhodes needs to be presentable for the people.”

  “Just get the Outsider into sleep-like state and bring him into the room.”

  “As you wish, sir.” Planner Dickson exited the observation room.

  Morray relaxed in the lounger and focused on Ava. She readjusted her hair a couple of times in the mirror. In all his years administering the City Center, he had never seen such a powerful life force. Not in any of the previous generations. Somehow he had failed to notice the intricate details of Ava Rhodes. She had something special. Something he wanted all to himself.

  The Escape

  The door to Ava’s containment room slid open and Planner Dickson entered. Ava stood up, assuming it was time to be released, but realized the game was just getting started. Two guards escorted in a very sluggish and sedated Joseph and set him down in a chair. A test, she thought. Morray wanted to see how she’d react to the Outsider. He must have scanned the South Sector feed from the day before and saw her defiant act of not retreating to her dwelling unit as ordered. She wasn’t sure if he knew about her contact with
the Outsider. Joseph said he had blocked the mainframe, but she still questioned his level of technology. And even if it did work, Morray was a smart man—he could put the two of them together during that time frame. She knew he was behind the mirror studying her reactions. If she didn’t pass this test, she could be accused of treason.

  “I’m confused, Planner Dickson. Is this not the terrorist?” She stumbled backwards.

  “Just a few minutes, Miss Rhodes.”

  “Please tell me what’s happening.” Ava tried to appear panicked. “How is this for my protection?”

  Planner Dickson left the room. She looked at Joseph. His head drooped forward from the heavy doses of sedation. She didn’t feel an ounce of fear, but she needed to convey that she did. She pressed her back against the observation mirror, concealing her facial responses from Morray and whoever else was in the observation room scrutinizing her nonverbal cues. She went through the logical stages of threat she had learned in combat training. First she should appear startled. After recognizing the threat, she’d need to assess the situation. She stepped away from the mirror and studied Joseph. Finally, she’d need to command presence. She assumed a warrior stance.

  “Why are you leaving me alone with the Outsider?” she called out toward the observation mirror, keeping her focus on Joseph.

  She had to convince Morray there was no previous contact, and that she perceived the situation to pose imminent danger. If she couldn’t manipulate Morray into believing she had never encountered Joseph, she’d end up attending her own trial. Morray had zero tolerance for traitors. She held her defensive stance—sweat dripped down her back.

  “Guards! Dickson! Someone, I demand you get back in here and remove this terrorist!”

  After a few minutes, the door slid open and Morray entered the room. “Remove the Outsider.”

  Ava stood at attention and lowered her head, avoiding eye contact. “Are you, umm, are you the Creator? Chief Morray?” Her voice trembled.