“We’re here.”
“Yes.”
“Are you in a lot of pain?” he asks, looking concerned.
“Only a little.” I lie.
He nods, understanding. “Ready?” he asks.
“Of course not—but let’s do it anyway.”
“Okay. Ron, I’m really sorry for what happened back there with Brooke.”
“I don’t want to talk about that,” I whisper.
I can’t imagine spending what could possibly be my last moments on earth talking about Brooke and the things Phoenix and she did together.
“The Letting facility?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, wishing he would force me to talk about Brooke, wishing he would prove there was nothing to talk about.
I am light-headed, woozy, in immense pain, and incredibly sad. Top form to go into battle with my enemy.
The motorbike rolls ahead, but it is no longer exciting. It is incredibly scary to feel so open and exposed. Only three stop lights and we are spotted. It’s terrifying, but it’s also fortunate. If I’m clever, I can get us almost immediate access to Farnsworth.
Vehicles with flashing lights surround us. Slowly we get off the bike, both of us with our hands in the air. I wince when I lift my left arm. Officers with helmets on their heads and masks over their faces point guns at us. If I wanted to die, this would be the easiest way to accomplish my goal. But, I don’t. It’s not that I’m afraid of death. It’s that I’m afraid to leave the girls without me.
“I am Veronica Billings,” I shout so everyone on the street can hear. “I am the last remaining O.” People begin to crowd around us and the officers look over their shoulders, uneasily. “Anyone who kills me kills Principal Leader Farnsworth directly.” Murmurs are heard. I repeat myself. “I am Veronica Billings. The last remaining O. I need to go to Principal Leader Farnsworth, now!”
“Who’s that?” someone from the growing crowd asks. He points to Phoenix.
“The only person Principal Leader Farnsworth wants in his custody more than me,” I shout. “Take us to Farnsworth, or you will be directly responsible for killing him.”
I point at each person in the crowd for emphasis. There is murmuring and confusion among the officers. Phoenix and I stare hard at them, wondering if this is the end for us. My eyes dart from officer to officer, waiting. What I just did was a giant gamble. Finally, one summons us to a car and I exhale. We slide into the back seat, and with sirens blasting, the car moves ahead to take us to the Letting facility. Phoenix leans over toward me.
“Man, you’ve got balls,” he whispers, smiling.
I smile back. Why not? What do we have left to lose?
****
We make it to the Letting facility in record time. Quickly, we are pulled from the back of the car and led into the facility. Someone grabs my injured arm, and I very nearly scream. I bite my knuckle, trying to make the pain pass. Although we are moved along hurriedly, we are not handcuffed or manhandled. Frankly, the officers do not seem to know what to make of us. Friend or foe?
We are brought into a large white room with white cabinets on all the walls. “Wait here,” one guard instructs, closing the doors behind us. No sooner do the doors close, I start rummaging through the cabinets.
“What are you doing?” Phoenix whispers.
“Looking for supplies. And ideas.” Cabinet after cabinet is filled with bandages and cotton balls. Finally, the last cabinet has alcohol. I pour some directly on my cut.
“Uh,” I cry, gritting my teeth. I close my eyes and wait for the burn to pass. When I open them, I see my arm is still bleeding. “I can’t be bleeding when he comes to me. He’ll freak at the loss.”
“What can we do?” Phoenix asks.
“Stitch me up if we can find the supplies.”
Phoenix looks at me, his eyes soft, feeling my pain.
“I know it won’t be fun,” I tell him. “But we have to do something.” At that, Phoenix starts rummaging through desk drawers.
“Glue,” he announces, holding up a small bottle.
“We’re going to glue me shut?” I ask, my eyes wide.
“You have a better idea?” He unscrews the cap. “It’s not regular glue. It’s incredibly strong. I saw someone mend a cut with it once—”
“Was that someone Brooke?”
“Yes,” he admits, quietly.
“Thanks. I’ll bleed.”
Phoenix just stares at me long and hard.
“Fine,” I cede, as I feel another droplet of blood run down my arm. “I need to save all the blood I can. Glue my arm shut.”
Phoenix squeezes a thin trail of glue along my incision and pinches the skin closed. The process is painful and smells horrible, but the glue seems to be keeping my wound closed.
“Ronnie,” Phoenix begins, his hands holding my arm together. “I wish you’d let me explain about Brooke.”
“I don’t want to hear explanations.” I am exasperated. “I want to forget it. But I can’t. Because I can’t get the image of you and her out of my brain. Ugh.” I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head, trying to rid myself of the image I’ve conjured. “See? This is why I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to spend what could be my last free moments on this earth talking about Brooke. That would be what she wanted us to do.”
“I understand, but you need to know—”
“Just stop.” I cover my ears with my hands. “Oh, where are they? It’s taking too long. This isn’t good. It has to mean Farnsworth himself is on his way.”
“That is precisely what it means,” Farnsworth informs us, rolling into the room. Grace is behind him, pushing his chair. She does not acknowledge me. Farnsworth looks gravely ill. He is much paler than the last time I saw him, and his lips are rimmed in blue. His hair looks stringy, and his body seems to be constantly quivering. Despite it all, he rolls his chair right up to Phoenix.
“Do you know the worst part about being me?” Farnsworth asks Phoenix. “Huh? Do you? It’s that I can’t hit you. Because, well, I’m stuck in this.” He raises his hands slowly, motioning to his wheelchair. “And I could injure myself. Seriously. And even lovely Veronica’s blood couldn’t save me if I started to hemorrhage. So no matter what I’m feeling, I can’t throw a punch to your gut.”
I look from Farnsworth to Phoenix and back.
“But do you know the best part about being me? Do you Phoenix, leader of the Peaceful Revolution?” Farnsworth asks, smiling as he speaks. “The best part of being me is even though I can’t punch you in the gut, I can order someone else to.”
With that, Farnsworth nods his head, and one of his bodyguards steps forward and punches Phoenix hard, in the abdomen.
“Phoenix!” I try to rush to his side. The other of Farnsworth’s bodyguards holds me.
“Oh how sweet,” Farnsworth hisses. “You two seem to be getting along so nicely. Too bad I’m going to have you locked away in the Letting facility, Veronica. And too bad I’m going to have you killed, Phoenix.”
I look at Phoenix, desperately.
“Well, there’s no time like the present.” Farnsworth snaps his bony white fingers. With that, my bodyguard pushes me forward, and Phoenix’s guard drags him to his feet. We head to the door.
“Ron.” Phoenix turns and looks at me. That one look tells me everything I need to know.
“Me too,” I cry. “They can never have what’s in our hearts.”
Phoenix smiles as they push him out the door ahead of me. Despite it all, my heart feels fuller and stronger than ever. “Wait!” I turn to Farnsworth. “Wait.”
“I hope you’re not going to grovel, Veronica. It would be so beneath you.”
“Listen to me, Farnsworth. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
“Very cute, Veronica, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“You have an enemy, Farnsworth. Bigger than you could possibly imagine. And you and your empire will be taken down without our help.”
&nbs
p; “What makes you think I would believe that?” Farnsworth asks. “They are desperate words spoken by a desperate girl because I am going to kill her boyfriend.”
“They’re not,” I protest.
“Listen to her, Farnsworth,” Phoenix warns, struggling against his bodyguard. “She’s talking about a rebel who is gaining strength and power by the second. He’s already amassed large groups from the city to march into the New World. They’re on their way. And you’re going to need all the help you can get. You’re going to need someone who understands the way he thinks and can anticipate his next move.”
“And that someone is you?” Farnsworth asks Phoenix.
“Not just me. Both me and Veronica.”
“So, you’re going to help me now?” Farnsworth watches Phoenix and me uneasily.
“Yes. We’ll help you in exchange for his freedom,” I negotiate, pointing to Phoenix.
“Ronnie,” Phoenix mutters under his breath. “No. What are you doing? I don’t care about me—”
“He’ll never let me go, Phoenix. Never. I am the only one who can keep him alive.” I turn to Farnsworth. “You let Phoenix go. We’ll tell you how to squash this rebel leader who will stop at nothing to overthrow you. He works with a small girl. She was once one of mine.” The thought of Lulu makes me very sad. “Together they have the capability to move masses. Don’t believe us?” I ask Farnsworth who’s been eyeing us skeptically this whole time. “Ask someone you trust.” Farnsworth calls Grace over, and she whispers something into his ear. Farnsworth looks up at us.
“It seems you speak the truth.” Farnsworth’s lips are pursed together.
I look at her, wondering if Grace really has heard something, or if she is simply on our side.
“Apparently I’ve been kept in the dark because I have been feeling so ill lately. And no one seems to know why.” Farnsworth looks over his shoulder at his nurse. “I am peeved I have been out of the loop, but it seems they have all been waiting for the blood of the great Veronica Billings to save me, now, as it did once before. Way back then, when…well, before all this trouble started.” Farnsworth closes his eyes for a moment. “When it was just you and me at the waterfront. Veronica, do you remember that?” He opens his eyes. Whole seconds tick by. “Veronica? I’m waiting for your answer. Do you remember that?”
“Of course I do, sir,” I whisper, my eyes glued to the floor. I can feel Phoenix’s stare.
“Can you promise me, Veronica,” Farnsworth asks, “that if I spare his life, and we work together, can you promise me you and I will make it back to that waterfront together?”
My eyes dart to Phoenix. That is the exact promise we made each other. I look down at Farnsworth sitting there. He is pale and frail, and I almost feel sorry for him. But then I remember who he is, what he’s done, and what he wants to do to us and my girls.
“No sir,” I say. “I can’t promise you that. But I can promise without us, you will be dead within three days.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Obviously, this is not what Farnsworth wanted to hear. I am certain of it as we stand here staring at him, waiting for him to decide our ultimate fate. My bodyguard grips my arm tighter, and I wince.
“Okay, Veronica.” Farnsworth stares at me while he speaks. “You two work with me to help protect my world from the attack of this…all-powerful rebel, and in exchange, you win his freedom.”
“My girls too,” I demand, standing tall before him.
“Negotiating after the terms have already been agreed to, Veronica? You know I can’t give up the girls. They’re the last of the O’s.”
“They’re so tiny, they have nothing to offer. You will do much better with me. I will stay here with you, as your personal donor. And I will live in your house with you…”
Farnsworth’s eyes dart up at me.
“Together but separately,” I explain.
He nods. He’s disappointed, but he knows he’ll do no better.
“In return, after we have helped you stop this rebel attack, you let Phoenix and all three girls go free. Those are the terms. If you want my blood, this is the only way to get it.”
“It’s not the only way,” he counters. “I could force you.”
“You could, but I know the reason you are feeling so terrible. And I know how to fix it. And if you force me, I will never divulge the secret.”
Everyone in the room starts and begins to mumble. I’m certain I hear my bodyguard mumble the word, “treason.”
“Push me, Farnsworth. Torture me. This will only grow uglier and uglier. The rebel is talking massive killing sprees. We need this to stop now. Let us help you stop the rebels, and let me help you feel better. After your world is under your control once again, you can enlist people of the New World for the Couplings. Most won’t say no, they’ll be so grateful their perfect worlds haven’t been destroyed, and their children haven’t been hurt, they’ll come willingly. Then you can ensure matches that will begin to rebuild the O’s. But you can’t do that until everything is under control.”
I can feel the disappointment in Phoenix’s stare. “This is the best scenario. For everyone,” I explain, looking directly at Phoenix. Phoenix offers me a small pained smile, but I know he agrees.
“Where do we start?” Farnsworth asks.
“At the end,” I say.
****
Within minutes, the girls have been released to Grace’s care, and I know they’ll be fine with her. We are all transported by limousine to Farnsworth’s house. The ride is quick, but I can see the sorrow in Phoenix’s eyes when he looks at me. We jump out of the limo, and Grace hustles the exhausted, but giggling girls off to the kitchen for something she calls “ice cream sundaes,” while Phoenix, Farnsworth, and I make our way to Farnsworth’s conference room. The three of us huddle around a table while his bodyguards wait by the door.
“Ask them to step outside,” I tell Farnsworth, and he nods to them.
They obey. I feel my heart racing.
“Your enemy is named Gunnar,” Phoenix begins. “He is ruthless. For a period of time, he was my partner. We wanted to lead a peaceful revolution.”
“Peaceful?” Farnsworth asks.
“Yes.” Phoenix looks Farnsworth steadily in the eyes. “It was never our intention to kill you. We didn’t want to rule the New World. We only wanted equality for those of us left back in the city.”
“I see.” Farnsworth shifts slightly in his seat. “But now he does want to rule the New World.”
“Yes.”
“And to do that, he plans to kill me.”
“Yes,” Phoenix nods, solemnly.
“So how do we stop this murderous rebel then?” Under his calm exterior, Farnsworth is clearly terrified.
“You have to speak to the people of the New World. Tell them there is danger approaching. Explain they must rally together to stop these rebels, or there will be certain death for men, women, and children.”
“I see,” Farnsworth utters. “What next?”
“Next, we get your word out to the people in the city. Tell them you have seen the error of your ways, and you want equality for all.”
“But tell me, Phoenix. If I were to do that, how would we keep the New World running?”
“You’ll have to find a way that doesn’t involve blood as your primary commodity. Find another form of commerce.”
“But it will never work,” Farnsworth blurts. “Blood is all they know. It keeps them young and healthy.”
“Appeal to their sense of decency,” Phoenix offers. “Tell them they are killing children to stay youthful. Explain to them that once a world existed where blood was given to one another out of generosity and only when it was a matter of life and death. Explain we can get back to that world, one where everyone is equal.”
“But they don’t want a world where everyone is equal,” I say, quietly. Phoenix and Farnsworth turn to me. Suddenly, what Grace had said to me makes complete sense.
“Above all,
just remember who you are,” Grace said the first time she helped me prep for dinner with Farnsworth. Now I remember who I am, or at least who I had been for the past seven years: a Leader.
“What are you saying?” Phoenix asks.
“They don’t want it, Phoenix. They want to live in their bubble where they, and the people they love, stay young and beautiful forever. Above all, they don’t want to think about anything they may have done wrong.”
“So? We can’t appeal to their sense of decency then?” Phoenix asks.
“Eventually, yes,” I explain. “But not now when we’re on borrowed time. The only chance we have to rally them immediately is to threaten to spill their blood.”
“But we said peaceful change,” Farnsworth interjects and Phoenix nods along.
“I know. And it will be. I’m not talking about the blood in their veins. I’m talking about the blood in mine.”
“I don’t follow you,” Farnsworth states.
“Well, the first thing you have to do is abdicate.” I stare directly at Farnsworth. “To me. They are a nation of children. And no one leads groups of children better than me.”
I see the glimmer of understanding in Phoenix’s eyes. “But I can’t do it alone.”
“Raven,” Phoenix deduces.
“Raven,” I repeat.
“What?” Farnsworth asks, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Both Phoenix and I remain stoic, and slowly, Farnsworth realizes we’re serious.
“Abdicate? Why would I do that?” Farnsworth asks, scoffing. I look him dead in the eyes.
“Because you want to survive.”
****
We find Raven sitting on a counter in Farnsworth’s kitchen. She has an enormous bowl of something in her hand, and chocolate smeared across her face. As soon as we walk in, she knows why we’ve come.
“You want me to help rally the people of the Inferno to fight in a peaceful opposition against Gunnar’s coup,” she rattles off, putting her bowl down on the counter.
The Letting Page 23