by Jaleta Clegg
I kept my mouth shut, playing stupid for him. Lief took my arm and dragged me out of the building, scolding me the entire way. He didn't stop until we were a block away from the building and hidden by shadows.
"What did you really hope to prove?" he demanded, dragging me down the street. "So you could walk away from us. Where are you going to go? Who are you going to talk to besides the police? Or was that your plan all along?"
"I don't trust you." I pulled back from his grip but he wouldn't let go. "You and your people won't give me information. What am I supposed to do? Just play along while you do nothing but talk?"
"I don't know who you think you are—"
"I was sent here to help you start your rebellion and bring in assistance from the Patrol. I can't do that if you won't let me know what your plans are. I can't help if I don't know anything."
"You can't give anything away, either."
A truck rumbled alongside us. The back swung open. Lief pushed me into it. Two men in back grabbed me and shoved me into a corner away from the door. Lief swung in and slammed the doors shut as the truck lurched into motion again. He sat on a box in front of me and glared.
"You were seen talking with a police officer. What did you tell him?"
"Is this where you have your thugs beat me up until I talk?"
Lief frowned. The two men on either side made fists and glared.
"Can we skip this part?" I asked. "It won't prove anything and I really don't like it."
Lief ignored me. He jerked his head at one of the men. The man grabbed my dress front and hauled me close to his fist. He didn't actually hit me.
"What did you tell him?" Lief demanded.
"I told him I was looking for ghosts."
Lief didn't like that answer. He motioned at the man holding me.
The man hesitated. "I don't like hitting women." He shoved me back into my corner without hitting me.
"How do I know you aren't here to stop the rebellion?" Lief demanded.
"You have to trust me."
"Who are you, really? We tried to find out and got the biggest pile of lies I've ever seen."
"Lowell does have a real genius for it, doesn't he?"
Lief slapped me across the face.
"That's one," I said quietly.
"Who are you?" Lief demanded.
"Disia Uvanos. At least that's what my id says."
He slapped me again.
"Two," I said.
"Did the Patrol send you here to help us or not?"
"That depends on what you're trying to do."
He hit me again.
"Three."
I launched myself off the floor and caught Lief in the jaw with my fist. He went flying backwards. The two men with him hesitated. I kept myself ready just in case they decided they didn't mind hitting me.
Lief sat up, shaking his head.
"We can do this easy or hard," I told him. "You trust me or we keep fighting each other. I was sent here to help you bring down the government of Tivor. The Empire wants Tivor and will do whatever is necessary to keep it. They sent me because they knew I had no scruples and would do whatever I had to." I leaned over him. "Hit me again and I'll break something." I sat in the corner. "Now where were we?"
Lief got off the floor.
"You want to know who I am? My name's Dace, although I probably should tell you I changed it right after I got off Tivor. I was born here, I grew up in that orphanage I went to this morning."
The two thugs stared at me. Lief rubbed his chin.
"My mother named me Zeresthina Dasmuller." I may as well give them something to think about. "Her name was Lirondalla Muberretton. Ring any bells?"
Lief's jaw went slack. He stared at me with huge eyes. "That's why they sent you," Lief breathed.
"You trust me now?"
"Why are you really here? To bring in the Patrol and let them take over?"
"If that's what I have to do, yes," I answered.
He and his thugs shifted uneasily.
"They sent you because they think you could lead us? Because they think your mother was the hero of the rebellion? She was the one who started the food riots. We spit on her memory."
I shrugged. It didn't matter to me who they thought she was. "I was sent here because they thought I could get the job done."
I watched his expression change. He stared at me while he thought. His eyes grew cold. "You think you can just take over because of who your mother was? You think we'll just give you whatever you ask for?"
"I'm not stupid, Lief."
"That's debatable."
"Why did Rian contact me and bring me in? Why did you take me to your headquarters? Why did you let me see what I did if you don't trust me?"
"Because Rian is an idealist. She thought you were sent to help us."
"I was sent to help you."
"You were sent so the Patrol would have an excuse to take over. How is that going to be better than the current situation?"
"Tell me what the current situation is. It doesn't look good, from what I saw today."
"Unless you have government connections," Lief said, "you are given barely enough food to survive. And barely enough of anything else. The government controls everything."
"So you sit around and wait for the government to hand you what you need?"
"No! That's why we're fighting against them. That's why we're rebelling."
"So you can be the ones in power? You can be the ones with all the luxuries who dictate who gets what?" I shifted to a more comfortable spot on the hard floor of the truck.
"And what's wrong with that? We deserve something for our suffering."
"Everyone deserves an equal chance," I said harshly. I'd just been through this on Trythia. Start a rebellion, overthrow the government, only so you can take over as the top dog. Didn't anyone believe in equality and opportunity for everyone? Roland and his Federation. Maybe I should join him when I got away from Lowell and the Patrol. I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. It was running from the cold and wet.
Lief shook his head. "Those in power need to be punished for what they've done to us."
"So punish the ones who abuse the power, don't punish everyone. It won't make anything better if you're just another group of tyrants."
He forgot his lesson. He slapped me. I wasn't ready for it. I fell to the side.
I sat up, rubbing my jaw. "You shouldn't have done that."
"You know nothing of what we're trying to accomplish here," he said. "You come in from outside and try to dictate to us. Just like all of the others."
I stood, balancing against the swaying of the truck.
"You aren't going to change anything," I said. "Just the people at the top of the heap. That's what my mother was rebelling against."
"Your mother was as corrupt as anyone in the government. She betrayed the rebellion. She sold them out."
"That isn't true," I said, hoping it wasn't but I didn't really know.
"She was a spy for the government all along. She caused most of the people to starve. For years."
"I was here for the food riots," I reminded him. "I grew up here."
"Pampered and spoiled, no doubt."
"Beaten and starved in the orphanage."
"You're full of lies. Just like your mother."
I snarled and lunged at him. His thugs were paying more attention than I thought. One of them caught me by the collar of my dress. He yanked me back, tossing me into the corner. I landed hard.
"We'll use you, like your mother used us," Lief said. "And then we'll watch you die. Like we watched her die."
"You aren't old enough to have watched that." I gathered myself to jump at him again.
"Have you heard of vids? Her execution was recorded. She wasn't killed by the government, she was killed by her own people. For her lies."
He kicked me, knocking me off balance. I sprawled on the floor of the truck.
"Watch her," Lief told the thugs.
The truck slowed, lurching around a corner, before crawling to a stop. The back door was opened. Lief jumped out. I heard his voice fade as he walked away, talking to whoever had opened the door.
I sat, leaning against the side of the truck. I sniffled again, wiping my nose on my sleeve.
I could have pulled out my blaster and shot my way out of the truck but it wouldn't accomplish anything. I had to survive for three months, until Lowell brought in the Patrol. I had no other way out. Even if I could get into the port, I doubted the personnel at the small Patrol base would be much help. Lowell had sent me here to cause trouble. I wasn't really necessary. The whole planet was poised on the brink of violence and anarchy. From what I'd seen so far, Tivor was falling fast.
The door was jerked open. The thugs grabbed me by the armpits and hauled me out of the truck. They set me on the floor of a warehouse. The truck was parked inside, the doors all shut. I heard rain drumming on the roof. Something dripped in a corner.
Rian stood in front of me, surrounded by a group I hadn't seen before. She didn't look happy.
"Who were you trying to contact?" she demanded. "You were seen talking with a police operative. What did you tell him?"
"That I was looking for ghosts."
The thug behind me shoved me. I stumbled. The other one caught me and yanked me back to my feet.
"You're a liar. The government planted you on us. You're bringing in the Patrol so they can crush us." She stepped closer. "But we will rise, again and again, until we are finally free of their oppression."
She was a fanatic. She wasn't going to listen to reason. I had to try anyway.
"You want to become the oppressors?" I asked.
She slapped me. I made an abortive attempt to hit her back. My thug yanked me up by the back of my dress and shook me.
"Lief told us what you said," Rian continued as if I'd done nothing. "You claim your mother was Lirondalla Muberretton, the leader of the resistance twenty years ago. She was a spy, a traitor to the true cause. She betrayed those who trusted her. Like mother, like daughter." She spit at me then turned on her heel. She marched away. The others followed.
"Lock her up, tie her securely," Lief ordered the thugs.
I was dragged off in a different direction.
The room they took me to was small and cold and damp. The thugs tied my hands in front of me. They shoved me to the floor then tied my ankles together. Then they left. I heard the lock click behind them.
A security light outside glimmered through the one small window. I scooted into the small patch of yellow light on the floor and examined the knots on my wrists.
I used my teeth to bite the knots loose. The rope tasted awful. I wriggled my wrists out of the loops. The knots on my ankles were even easier.
They hadn't searched me, I still had all of the equipment Lowell had given me. The lock on the door was old and took seconds to pick. I stood, tucking the lockpicks back into my boot before I eased the door open a crack.
The warehouse was mostly dark. The two thugs played cards next to a handlight not far away. I started to open the door and then thought better of it.
What was I trying to prove? That I could escape any time I wanted? Where would I go? Who would I contact? The police? As soon as they realized who I really was, I doubted they'd track me down just to talk again. I had nowhere to go, no way of getting help. I had to convince the rebellion leaders they could trust me.
Walking out earlier was stupid, I realized that now. But I couldn't just sit back and play their game either. I'd never been trained to play games of intrigue, I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea what I should do next.
What would Tayvis have done? He had been trained. I doubted he would have ended up locked in a barren room in a warehouse. But thinking about him wasn't helping. I sniffed again and wiped my nose. Tayvis was dead. He wasn't going to come through the door to rescue me ever again. I was on my own.
I sat down in the driest corner and felt sorry for myself. I shivered and wondered if they were going to feed me.
I fell into a light doze after a long while. I was startled out of it when the door opened. I blinked at Rian's angry face.
"Why was the door unlocked?" she demanded, turning back to my thugs. "And you were given orders to tie her securely."
"They did," I said.
She whirled back around to face me.
"They tied me up and locked me in, just like you told them to." I stepped closer to her. "I could have walked out of here at any time."
"You thought we might trust you because you didn't? It isn't going to work."
"Rian, I've told you who I am, why I'm here. I'm only here to help, but you have to tell me what you want from me."
I saw the hesitation in her eyes. She wanted to trust me. Footsteps echoed across the floor behind her. She stepped away.
"Search her," Rian snapped at the thugs. "Thoroughly."
They yanked me out of the room and shoved me face first at the wall. One of the thugs planted his hand in my back, keeping my face squashed against the wall, while the other thug searched me. He ran his hands up my legs and found my secret pockets. One by one, the gadgets Lowell had given me were taken out of hiding and piled on the floor behind me. He found my blaster and the com and the lockpicks in my boot. He shifted higher and found the belt hidden around my waist. And the other set of lockpicks under it. I winced as he ripped the tape free.
I was hoping they'd miss the lockpicks inside my wrist but they didn't. I was patted down head to toe to make sure they hadn't missed anything. They turned me back to face the room, shoving my back against the wall. One of the thugs kept his hand on my shoulder, holding me in place.
A man had joined Rian. He was thin, like everyone I'd seen so far. He was clean shaven, his medium brown hair neatly trimmed. His clothes were much better quality. He stared at me.
"Why did you bring her into this?" he asked Rian. His voice was clipped and cold.
"She's the Patrol agent Mennis was waiting for," she answered.
The man stirred through my gadgets with his foot. He frowned. "She's what she says. Keep her out of sight for now. And don't let her contact anyone." He turned away.
"Her mother is Lirondalla Muberretton." Rian shot me an unreadable glance.
The man stopped, pausing before deliberately turning back to face us. He stepped close to me, studying my face. I smelled the faint scent of an expensive cologne.
"Then she might prove more useful than I believed." He turned away again, dismissing me. "Events are beginning to move," he told Rian. "You must be ready to act quickly."
"Yes, sir," she said, ducking her head.
He walked away from us, shoes clicking on the warehouse floor.
"Bring her," Rian told the thugs. One grabbed me by the arm, the other gathered my things.
"Who is he?" I asked. I tried to dig in my feet, but the thug just lifted me higher and dragged me after Rian.
"You're only trading one set of dictators for another," I said.
"That's what he thinks," Rian said. "We use the tools we're given." Her tone let me know that I was just another of those tools.
We went through a set of doors and into a new section of the warehouse. The windows here had been blacked out. Lights were strung overhead, a temporary addition to the room. A few people played cards in a corner. Others were using equipment in a far room. I only caught a glimpse as my thug dragged me down a new hallway.
"In there," Rian told the thug, waving at a dark doorway. "Tie her better this time."
The thug dragged me in. This time he tied my hands behind me and added a gag. He left me lying on the cold plascrete floor. The door shut behind him. I heard the lock click into place.
I closed my eyes, sagging in defeat.
Chapter 7
The ship moved into orbit, sleek and dangerous. A shuttle drifted from it, its trajectory taking it down to the planet.
Lowell tightened his belt. He hated
shuttle landings. They always left the viewscreens on in the passenger compartment on Patrol shuttles. As if he enjoyed watching the fire of reentry sweep over the ship as it plunged through the atmosphere. He hated it. He always had. It was too much of a reminder of just how fragile the shuttle was. He preferred the smaller ships, the ones without viewports in the lounge area. He could ignore the reentry. He could pretend it wasn't happening. He sighed, staring at the flames dancing outside as they dropped into the atmosphere of Tivor.
"Something wrong, sir?" Paltronis asked from her seat across the aisle. They were the only two passengers on the shuttle.
"Nothing more than usual."
"Which, lately, is quite bad."
He didn't answer her. She knew almost as much as he did. The fires faded in the viewscreen. The surface of the planet was revealed, a mottled brown and green with wide oceans of gray blue. They plunged into a cloud layer and the view was obscured.
"Late autumn," Lowell said. "I hear it can be quite unpleasant."
Paltronis didn't answer. She was monitoring the planet's datanet, what there was of one.
The shuttle broke free of the clouds. They passed over a mountain range, white peaks looming high into the sky. The shuttle dropped rapidly on the other side.
Lowell shifted in his seat. He tugged his collar. An admiral's stars gleamed there this time. High enough rank that he could give orders but not so high that he got nothing done for all the saluting. He glanced over at Paltronis. She had her eyes closed, focused on the earpiece she held against one side of her head. Her blond hair barely covered it. She wore a silver uniform, match to his. He'd made her wear her real rank of commander with pips denoting her as his personal aide. She was one of the few people he fully trusted.
The shuttle banked, turning hard to port. It was dropping quickly. Lowell wondered if it would hurt his image to be sick. He swallowed and his ears popped. They landed abruptly, with a heavy thump. The viewscreen opaqued.
One of the pilots opened the door to the cockpit. "Sorry about the landing, sir. Their beacons are off. Only the Patrol standby beacon is still broadcasting."