Numb

by Isabelle Carey

  "No," I don't like her idea. "We need to stick together. We shouldn't separate just in case. We can make it. No one's paying much attention because none of these people are expecting us to show up in the middle of the morning commute to work. We have the perfect cover by blending in with the crowd."

  "You're crazy," she acknowledges, although I disagree with her. I'm not crazy, at least I don't think I am. "But this just might work. After all, we haven't been seen yet."

  "Exactly," I agree.

  She takes a deep breath. "All right, let's go."

  We move out of the alley and at once we shuffle right along as one with the crowd. It amazes me how we move as a single unit, like a flock of birds or a school of fish. We walk in the same direction, coordinated as if we all possess the same brain that controls our movements. Or like an invisible force is pulling us along. And once we get close enough to the phones, Charlotte and I will add chaos to the order of the crowd by moving against the flow of traffic. It's fascinating to me, especially since the Purge has yet to take over my mind completely. I suppose I inherited Dr. Cato's, my mother's, scientific mind and a thirst for knowledge that I've probably had all along but the Purge had suppressed it all these years. Now that I have gone a day without taking the Purge, parts of me that were buried before have now been unearthed and I don't think there's no going back to how I used to be. Not completely at any rate.

  Charlotte breaks rank first and pushes her way gently across the crowd. I follow suit, trying to make sure that I don't say "excuse me". We receive a few glances but none that linger. I try to keep walking without pausing and without focusing my gaze on anyone for too long. Nervousness starts to fester inside of my mind. I thought this was a brilliant plan before but now I'm not so sure.

  But we make it without incident. I stand next one of the phone booths, staring at the Utopia River. The flowing water is beautiful and I've never appreciated this before. Jarring pain spills into my mind, lighting my senses on fire. But I ignore the pain. It's a small price to pay to enjoy the picturesque view in front of me.

  "You need to keep your conversation brief," I warn Charlotte. "Conversations of more than five minutes are looked into by the local precinct."

  "Right, cause Purge addicts don't have much to say to each other," Charlotte states, lightly sarcastically.

  "Correct. It becomes suspicious if a phone call lasts for too long."

  "I knew that by the way but thank you for your concern. I guess you forget how talented I am at breaking the law. I know a lot about how things work around here."

  A chuckle bubbles up inside me but it comes out as more of a croak. Charlotte enters the booth and I can hear her pressing buttons, calling her friend Lilly. I don't look at what she's doing because I'm too focused on the beauty of nature. But I can hear every word that's spoken when Lilly answers her phone.

  "Charlotte, thank God," Lilly says in a panicked sort of voice. "I was so worried about you when I heard about Aidan."

  "You know about Aidan?' Charlotte questions.

  "Yes, I do. It's all over the news. The search for him is about as popular as the search for you and your White Agent friend."

  Friend? I've never had a friend before and I don't think of Charlotte as my friend though. She's different than a friend.

  "Did he . . . did he get away?" Charlotte wants to know and I pick up in her tone of voice that she's concerned for this Aidan guy. For the first time, I experience what I'm guessing is jealousy.

  "Yes, he did," Lilly reveals and Charlotte breathes a sigh of relief. "But he's gone. He and Elijah fled in his RV. I don't know where he went and it will be extremely difficult to find him now."

  "I can't imagine how you feel right now," Charlotte expresses sympathy and I gather that Lilly and Aidan were close before the unfortunate monorail encounter with the Amber Army.

  "I'll be okay," Lilly assures her. "Where are you?"

  "Near BioLife with Liam and—"

  "Are you two insane?" Lilly demands. "There's a manhunt going on for the two of you. I'm surprised Zeppelins aren't flying overhead as we speak. You two need to get some place safe. You're too vulnerable out in the open."

  Charlotte hesitates before going through with what she wanted to say. "We can't do that, Lilly. It's now or never. We have to get into BioLife today. We may not have another chance."

  "Charlotte, listen to yourself. Stop being so . . ." And the phone starts breaking up. I hear a brief interlude of static before Lilly's voice comes through the receiver cleanly again. ". . . You are always rushing into things without considering the . . ." And the phone does it again but it sounded like Lilly was lecturing Charlotte on the same character trait that I pointed out earlier.

  "Lilly?" Charlotte calls. "Lilly, you're breaking up."

  ". . . on my way to get you guys. Can you meet me somewhere secluded by the river? We need to—"

  And with that, the call ends with a click and a swearword issues from Charlotte's mouth.

  I finally face her. "So, I guess Lilly helping us is out of the question?" I ask quietly.

  Charlotte nods. "Yep," she breathes sadly. "Maybe we shouldn't—"

  "No, we're doing it," I stop her from even thinking about giving up.

  "Will your plan work without help?"

  "Perhaps, with some improvising."

  "But you're not good at improvising, are you?"

  "It's never too late for me to learn." And I grab her forcibly. Clutching her wrists tightly, I press them together and force her arms behind her back. This catches her off guard and she starts struggling madly but I'm too strong for her.

  "Liam, what the heck are you doing?"

  "Improvising." And I start dragging her towards the imposing structure up the street—BioLife.

  Charlotte stops resisting when she realizes that she can't break free from the hold I have on her. "I hope this is a part of your plan," she mutters angrily.

  "It is," I confirm. "So, keep struggling."

  Charlotte continues to squirm like a baited worm on a hook. "Are you going to tell me what your brilliant plan is?"

  "No," I retort. "It's better this way. More realistic."

  "If you say so," she grumbles. I can tell that she doesn't like my plan so far but she'll appreciate it soon. If it works.

  I march her right up to the entrance of BioLife and now she's really starting to thrash about. "Um, Liam."

  "Just keep it up," I instruct her. "You're doing great."

  "I really hope you know what you're doing."

  "Do you trust me?"

  "Yes," she answers faster than I expected.

  "Well then, act like it and stop wondering what I'm doing. I've got this."

  We enter the building. BioLife. This was our destination even before we knew it. Everything that has happened to Charlotte and me so far has led to this moment. And now, we're two criminals waltzing right into the very place with perhaps the most security other than the Core or the headquarters for the White Agency.

  We traverse the wide lobby, heading straight for the guards at the security checkpoints. There are four of them total and I spot a few more by the elevators. Other than the guards, a few BioLife employees pass by from time to time, either alone or in pairs. There's a desk where visitors check-in before gaining access to the facility beyond this lobby. Three women sit behind the desk and they are processing information for a cluster of kids about the same age as Charlotte and me. A few adults stand among the teenagers and I assume they're teachers. I ignore them and return my undivided attention to the guards at the checkpoints.

  One of them spies the two of us approaching and she taps the guy standing next to her. They step forward to head us off. If they've recognized me yet, they definitely don't show it.

  "I'm White Agent Liam Cato," I introduce myself.

  "We know who you are," the woman guard says, paying no attention to Charlotte, who's barely recognizable behind the makeup and glasses. "And we have special orders to call for yo
ur colleagues to take you in for the crimes you have committed against this nation."

  "I'm aware of that," I lie so easily. "I want you to call the agency because I've managed to capture Charlotte Tatum when everyone has concluded that I'm helping her."

  Charlotte goes rigid within my grasp.

  "I don't see Charlotte Tatum anywhere," the male guard points out.

  "She's Charlotte Tatum." I jerk my head towards Charlotte.

  Both of their eyes cut towards her. They stare at her for a long time before the woman says, "She's not Charlotte Tatum."

  "Yes, she is," I insist but I keep my voice low and steady so it doesn't sound like I'm insisting. "She's wearing a disguise. Call it in so we can put her in jail where she belongs for murdering Representative Emerson in cold blood."

  Charlotte starts trying to break free again, as if on cue. She's playing her part well and she doesn't even know it.

  "If we call it in and she's not Charlotte Tatum, then you will be the one going to jail."

  "That seems to be my fate anyways. You can scan her if you find it necessary. Vectors don't lie."

  They know I'm right and so they lead the two of us over to one of the checkpoints.

  "No," Charlotte repeats over and over again, thrashing about so violently that I nearly lose my hold on her.

  Together, with the two guards, I push Charlotte through a checkpoint where the scanner works this time, unlike when she last visited BioLife. At once, the scanner starts beeping loudly, drawing apathetic glances from everyone present. The group of students stares at us, especially a girl with shimmering red hair and pale green eyes. Then, a mechanical voice sounds very loudly: "Public enemy number one—Charlotte Tatum. Public enemy number one . . . ."

  "It is her," the woman guard says flatly.

  "As I told you it was." I take charge of the situation then, glad that the voice stopped screaming after the sixth time it declared that Charlotte was public enemy number one. Everyone around us carry on with what they were doing before the interruption, although the students continue to stare as they are being led away by their teachers and an escort wearing a blue lab coat. "Now, we must get Charlotte to a secure room until help arrives to take her away. I require credentials so that I can access the elevators and security doors here in case she tries to escape."

  "You are public enemy number two," the male guard points out, while the female guard heads straight for the nearest phone to alert the authorities. Charlotte and I have less than five minutes before we're in a heap of trouble. "That won't be necessary."

  My plan is on the verge of collapsing and I can't let it. "I am still a White Agent and you are required by law to provide necessary assistance to any agent." This is a lie, of course, but hopefully he doesn't know that.

  He stares at me blankly for a long while. The female guard hangs up the phone. Precious time is ticking away steadily. Charlotte and I need to reach my mother's office now.

  "Very well then, Agent Cato," he gives in to my request. "You have captured Charlotte Tatum and you definitely don't seem to be helping her." He instructs one of the women at the desk to give me access to BioLife security terminals and I hand her my ID.

  I watch her closely as she swipes my ID. A blue light confirms that new credentials are downloaded from the computer. This is all I need and now I need a way to separate Charlotte and me from these guards.

  The woman returns my ID and we walk through the checkpoint again to the blaring alerts that Charlotte Tatum's vector has been detected. We move across the lobby and towards a corridor to the right of the elevators where more guards stand sentinel. They eye us, hands on their weapons.

  Then, a disembodied voice suddenly comes through over loudspeakers I didn't know existed inside of BioLife:

  "Attention all security personnel. We have a code three that requires immediate response. A group of kids are defacing the walls along E wing. I repeat: A group of kids are defacing the walls along E wing. Code three."

  Hearing the voice was unexpected to say the least, as was a group of kids defacing walls. But it just might be the distraction Charlotte and I need.

  The guards move into action immediately and I release Charlotte. She turns to face me, enraged. But her features soften when she looks at me. In an instant, she makes the connection that this was my plan all along, other than the students vandalizing walls.

  "Elevators. Now." I mouth.

  We dart straight to the elevators, which are no longer being watched closely now the guards previously there have vacated them. I watch as one of the guards who escorted us a few seconds ago stare after the others as they rush away to deal with a new threat. I swipe my ID at the reader near the middle elevator, willing him not to face us. The doors open and Charlotte rushes inside. I don't follow her.

  "Liam, what are you doing?" She asks me.

  "I'm not going with you," I tell her, holding the elevator doors open by blocking their path. The guard still has his back turned to us.

  "Why not?"

  "I have to stay down here and make sure no one finds you until you obtain what we've come here for." She opens her mouth to speak but I stop her. "Don't argue, Charlotte. Cops, agents, and soldiers will be here any moment now, so you have to go. Make sure you try to avoid all cameras, even though you don't look like yourself right now." I give her my ID of credentials. "Take this. You're going to need it to get into my mother's office. Luckily, there are no cameras in there."

  "I can't use this," Charlotte points out. "It's wired to respond to you, not me."

  "I know but White Agents can use other agent's credentials in time of need," I inform her. "Each agent has a code that every agent knows because we follow a universal system."

  "But I'm not a White Agent."

  "I know. That's why you need to type in an override code into whatever panel you have to swipe my card. It's W9LL91M dash 31TO. Just remember my name but substitute any of the I's for nines, the A's for ones , and the C for three. Got it?"

  She nods, her eyes starting to tear up. "You're going to be in serious trouble. You can't do this. Come with me!"

  It hurts me that she's begging me to accompany her and I almost give in. But it's best for me not to go too. If I stay, she can escape and she will have a fighting chance if I can convince Ramos and whoever that I have not been helping Charlotte Tatum and that she got the best of me during this current confusion by escaping and seizing my ID.

  "I hope you have the drive with you," I say. The guard hasn't turned yet. Any moment now . . . .

  She pulls a tiny device out of her sock. It doesn't look like the contraption she brought over to my penthouse. "Aidan gave me this," she tells me. "I transferred the data from the bigger drive to this. It's much easier to carry around and I can use it to upload the new data as well."

  "Good," I acknowledge, stepping back and allowing the doors to finally close. As they are shutting, I add, "Her office is on the topmost floor. Good luck."

  "Liam . . ."

  And she disappears from sight the moment the doors kiss. I half-expect her to open them again, but she's smarter than that. She knows this is for the best. This was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I'm already regretting the decision as I turn away from the elevator and move closer to the guard just as he's turning around to deal with us. The last view I had of Charlotte was her sad and tear-stained face and if I never see her again, I won't remember her like that. I will cherish the time we spent together last night and this morning. I will cherish her smiles and her kiss.

  I already hear sirens outside as I shuffle back across the lobby. They've arrived faster than expected. I need to throw them off, to allow Charlotte enough time. The guard faces me then and he doesn't see Charlotte.

  "Where is she?" He questions immediately.

  I point at the exit. "She escaped," I tell him. "We must catch her."

  But before he can comprehend enough to follow me to the doors, cops storm inside, weapons drawn. I put up my hands and face th
em with the most apathetic of glances. They rush over to surround me, as more cops flood the place. There are two White Agents, whom I don't recognize, among the newcomers. One is female and the other male, as is generally the case with White Agent partnerships.

  The male agent steps towards me and the female agent stays back, her blond hair swinging behind her in a ponytail and her golden eyes locked onto me in an unusual stare. Her eyes shine bright and I note at once that she's Purge-free. "Where's Charlotte Tatum, Agent Cato?" The male agent asks me.

  He knows me but then again, I am public enemy number two. Everyone could probably recognize my face now.

  "She escaped. There was a diversion. I think she planned it. The guards rushed off to respond to the situation and she managed to get away from me. She has fled the building."

  "Impossible," the agent says. "She hasn't left BioLife. We surrounded the entire place after receiving the phone call that you two were here, as well as the entire city block. Someone would have seen her leave. Now, where is she?"

  I need another lie but I can't concoct another one fast enough. There's too much pressure and my head is exploding with intense pain as my concern for Charlotte intensifies. I can't give her location away though. They will eventually find out where she is but I have to make it harder for them. I have to give her more time.

  "Charlotte is cleverer than we give her credit for. She has eluded capture for so long and I found out today firsthand how intelligent she is. She has escaped BioLife, whether or not you think it's possible."

  The agent falls silent and then he dishes out orders. "You three, head for the security room and monitor every camera feed until we find her. The rest of you fan out and check every nook and cranny of this place." He looks at me. "I need for you to stay with me, Agent Cato. Agent Ramos will be here soon and if you won't answer to me, you will answer to him and the Amber Army. The cavalry shall arrive soon and Charlotte Tatum will have nowhere to hide. Today, we will have her at last."

  The team breaks apart, with each cop following the agent's orders without question. I put my hands down and watch as the agent's partner addresses him. "Agent Riggs, I'll take care of Agent Cato. I'll get him to give up Charlotte by taking him outside and showing him the gravity of the situation. He needs to see just how many cops are outside."