“It’ll be a bullet for the next one of you who tries that!” One of the armed policemen shouted.
Two policemen lifted Faye and dragged her out. The others were escorted behind. They were marched out of the apartment and outside where a police vehicle was parked, waiting for them.
Anja was pushed into the armed vehicle and restrained, the others were too. The doors slammed behind them, plunging them into darkness.
Chapter Thirteen
Fear muzzled them for a long time, all rocking back and forth with each pause and turn of the police van. At last, Faye broke the silence,
“I told you this would happen,” she snapped at Kano, still twitching from the taser. “You take on other people’s problems and try to fix them. Not everything can be sorted out by sticking together!”
Everyone stared at Faye. She tugged at her restraints, her eyes wild.
“I would rather help others and suffer the consequences, than never help at all,” Kano’s deep voice cut through Faye’s snarling.
Saskia glared in Faye’s direction and hissed, “Don’t you dare blame him. This is my fault. My dad’s looking for me, not you. He’ll let you guys go when he has me.”
The truth of Saskia’s words sank into the group and they all fell silent.
Anja remembered something Mrs Dorsin used to always say to her. “We use anger to distract ourselves from how much we’re hurting.”
At last, the police van stuttered to a stop and the doors flung open, light pouring in. Anja had no idea where they were but she was sure by the quick drive that they were still in Okland. They were unshackled and dragged out one by one.
Saskia was crying.
So was Miles.
Kano’s expression was blank.
Faye looked furious.
Anja glanced around her and saw the government building looming over them. It was a huge menacing structure, with small windows dotting the outside. Like most buildings in Okland, it was a dull white.
She was quickly separated from her friends and taken through the building and down some steps into an investigation room. The walls and floor were made out of shiny metal. Anja was roughly shoved into the chair.
And that was where she stayed for what felt like hours until the door opened and Jabez Atgas entered.
“Anja Scravers, we meet again.” He tilted his head in polite greeting as he sat down on the other side of the table.
Anja froze, her mouth unable to form words.
“You went off-grid a few weeks ago,” Jabez continued. “May I ask where you’ve been?”
“Um.” Anja didn’t know how to reply. “I went looking for my brother.”
“Yes, Rufus. Right?”
Oh shit. This isn’t about Saskia at all.
Anja nodded, a fire flaring in her chest. “Do you know where he is?” She made sure to be careful with her tone. The last thing she wanted to do was accuse the president’s son of anything.
Silence followed her question. Then he coughed, his eyes flicking to the camera on the wall. “I don’t.”
Anja’s voice left her. He’s lying.
He lifted his chin higher into the air, “I’ve talked to my mother and convinced her to offer you your job back. And if I were you, I’d accept it.”
This caught Anja off guard. Her hands began to shake under the table. She quickly clamped them together.
He waited for a response.
Anja realised at that moment that this wasn’t an offer, it was more a command. She either took the job or returned to Kettleton, leaving her friends behind. Anja had one choice, so she said, “I’ll take it.” They want to keep an eye on me. She couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going to happen to my friends?” Hope welled up inside her. Maybe they can walk away from this.
“They’re not going to be so lucky. Faye Jiang will be held, we believe she’s been robbing the citizens of Okland for a while now. Kano Moore has no family and since he was hiding a missing person his internship has been terminated, so he will be sent away from Okland to find work. Miles Connor will be sent back to his family. He won’t be allowed to return to the city again.” Anja didn’t think it could get any worse for her friends until he added, “And Saskia Davis will be returned to her father.”
“No! You can’t.” Her voice broke. “You don’t know what kind of man he is.”
Jabez just shook his head, “It’s out of my control. I’ve told the guard in the cells to let you say goodbye to them, but be quick.” He looked behind his shoulder at the door. “I need to go. But please don’t do anything you’ll regret.” It wasn’t a threat, but a plea. And then he was gone.
A guard who had been posted outside her door came in. The relief of being free barely registered beneath the anxiety filling every part of her body. Anja slowly walked out of the room, knowing that what awaited her was better than what was waiting for her friends when they left their cells.
* * *
The next hour was a blur. She was given instructions on her new job and questioned even more, but this time it was outside the interrogation room and with a coffee in her hand. Anja asked more questions about her brother and her friends, but she got no real answers.
There were more rooms in the building than Anja could count. She tried to remember the way they were taking her but after corridor after long corridor, it got too confusing, and she gave up. She was led to a room at the back of the building, where a tour guide waited for her.
“Your room here is only temporary. Once you find an apartment in Okland you can move out and do your work from there,” the guide said after she’d shown Anja where she would be staying. Her room was small and only contained a bed, a dresser and a desk. The room had slanting walls and black and white patterned wallpaper.
Anja was led to another room, a huge open area with desks everywhere. People were bustling around with papers in their hands and stress lines marking their faces.
“We don’t have any spare desks at the moment,” said her guide, “but from what Jabez Atgas said, you prefer to work on your own anyway, so he made sure you had a desk in your room.”
“You’ve talked to Jabez?”
“Yeah, he asked me to show you around. Nice guy. Anyway, if you need anything come find me and ask.” She turned and left before Anja could ask her name.
Anja walked off in the opposite direction, heading for the stairs.
* * *
The dark, damp corridor loomed around her. She was under the government building where the prison cells were located.
A guard was stationed at the bottom of the basement steps, right next to the first cell in the corridor.
“Anja Scravers.” That was all she had to say. The guard nodded and scanned his ID card against the door’s sensor. The door opened, revealing a small, bare cell, where Faye crouched in the corner.
“Why did it have to be you?” snapped Faye.
“Thanks for the warm welcome.” Anja swore as her eyes adjusted, noticing the fresh bruises on Faye’s cheek and nose. “What the hell happened to your face?”
“Punched a guard,” said Faye. “He fought back.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“At least I did something.”
Anja just rolled her eyes.
“I knew this would happen,” Faye said bitterly. “I warned Kano the moment Miles and Saskia moved in.”
“Well,” Anja said, “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.”
Anja sighed and turned away.
“Good riddance,” Faye muttered as Anja left. The guard closed the cell door and escorted her to the next cell along.
Inside the next cell was Saskia. She was still crying, her eyes were puffy and red. But at least she didn’t look bruised like Faye. Saskia’s words were almost inaudible through her staggered breaths, but Anja thought she caught her name somewhere in the jumble.
“I— I can’t go back,” Saskia sobbed, “I’m so— scared.”
Anja rushed to her friend
’s side. She hugged Saskia, murmuring soothing things that she didn’t believe. Anja spent the time she had calming Saskia down and reassuring her that everything would be fine. Even if neither of them believed it.
Right before she left, Saskia asked her for one favour,
“Please don’t tell Miles about this,” she indicated to her tears, “he’ll just worry.”
Anja pulled her into one final hug before she stood and left.
The guard took her to the next cell, passing a few empty ones on the way.
Miles was in this one. He had stopped crying. Anja was thankful for that, she didn’t think she could handle more tears without shedding some herself. When she entered, Miles didn’t miss a beat. “Is she okay?” It was obvious who he was talking about.
Anja just smiled and nodded, not managing to lie.
Miles seemed to relax a bit, but his face was still pained. “Why aren’t you locked up?”
“They’ve given me my old job back.” Anja fiddled with her sleeve, unable to look him in the eyes. She thought he’d be mad but he just smiled.
“Good. Now you can find your brother.”
“Miles, I can’t…”
He chuckled, cutting her off, “If you don’t take the job then I will, and I definitely won’t do it right.”
She couldn’t help but smile, Miles was trying so hard to cheer her up.
“They’re just trying to keep an eye on me.”
“Now you’re just being paranoid. They came looking for us because of Saskia, not you. It’ll all work out at some point, we just need to be patient.”
The guard appeared around the door and told her she had to go.
She struggled to speak, she didn’t want to leave him. When she’d needed a friend Miles had been there for her. When Rufus went missing he’d dropped everything and tried to help her.
If the positions were reversed, would Miles just walk out on me?
“Bye, Miles.” The words almost got stuck in her throat.
“Bye, An-ja.” He pronounced her name wrong, giving her a small smile.
He was still grinning as the guard shut the door.
She held her breath as she entered the final cell. Kano looked up. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, her heart pounding. His voice, usually so strong and steady, seemed weaker as he spoke.
“I’m so sorry that I couldn’t help you find your brother. We failed.”
“Please don’t say that, you know it’s not true.” Anja went to sit across from him. She tried to speak, but she didn’t know what to say, nothing seemed right in this situation. Kano looked as if he were in the same position. “We’ll sort this out.”
“We?” Kano repeated, “You sure you don’t want to forget about us and move on?” Anja looked at him, horrified, before she realised he was joking. She hesitated, a lump rising in her throat.
“I doubt they’ll let me see you again,” she said softly.
“But that doesn’t mean I won’t see you again,” Kano added. His smile didn’t reach his eyes, reminding Anja powerfully of the situation they were stuck in. Her heart felt as if it had stopped.
The cell door opened. The guard was back, ready to escort her out of the cell.
She stood up. This time her voice completely failed her, so she walked out, unable to look back.
Anja knew exactly what she had to do. They hadn’t left her when she’d needed them and she wouldn’t leave them either. She didn’t know how, or when, but she was going to get her friends out of those cells, whatever it took.
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning, she checked her email. Her inbox had already been bombarded with security work. She knew they were trying to keep her busy until she either revealed new information to them or they figured out what to do with her. Anja didn’t care, it just gave her more opportunities to come up with a plan to help her friends and find her brother.
They weren’t even hiding the fact that they didn’t trust her, because they hadn’t allowed her to have her computer or phone back, instead, she got an old government laptop that had taken her hours to make even half usable. While working Anja had discovered some software that meant someone in the government was monitoring what she was doing. She couldn’t even remove it without them knowing.
She spent the day working with only a few breaks for food. Her eyes were blurry from lack of sleep. But at last her inbox was empty. She set her alarm and then fell onto her bed.
When she woke, she was so tired that her eyes refused to open. She felt even more exhausted than she had before she’d slept. Coffee wasn’t enough to keep her awake, but the idea of finding her brother spurred her onward. Anja wasn’t going to waste this time sleeping. She got out her assigned laptop and used her access to the government’s database to search for anything that could have a connection to Rufus.
* * *
The building had a cafeteria for the government employees, but Anja had been avoiding it since her unexpected arrival the day before. She’d spent every minute working or brainstorming ideas to find Rufus and save her friends. But finally, hunger took over and she headed to the ground floor, through corridor after corridor, until she arrived in the dome-shaped cafeteria.
The room was filled with glossy black tables and foldable chairs. The serving window was built into the wall, joining the cafeteria and kitchens. Government employees were scattered around the room, holding steel trays piled with food.
Anja cautiously made her way to the serving window. The food was like nothing she’d had before, a seafood buffet, filled with shrimp, scallops and oysters. Once she collected the food she moved to a table on the outskirts of the dome, sitting by herself.
Anja ate slowly. She was only halfway through her food when she was interrupted by the tour guide who’d shown her around. The woman sat down opposite her and smiled.
“Scravers? Right?” she asked, tucking her straight hair behind her ears. “I work in HR, I’ve been dealing with your… case.”
Anja nodded, sitting up straighter, “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Katie,” she said, digging into the mound of salad that filled her plate. “I have a seafood allergy, so Tuesdays pretty much suck for me.” They didn’t talk as they ate, Anja had nothing to say. But she did appreciate the company the woman provided, however briefly.
“Can I ask you something?” she said at last.
Katie stopped eating and nodded.
“How long do you think my friends will be held here?”
She thought for a second before replying. “Well, most of the lower-level cells are only occupied by the same person for a few days, but that isn’t a set rule, it just takes a while to sort out the paperwork.” She leaned forward, lowering her voice, “I heard that there’s a teenage boy who’s been down there for over two weeks. Poor kid. Don’t know what he did to deserve that. Those cells are creepy.”
Anja froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. Katie didn’t notice her reaction and went back to eating.
Her mind was frantically scrambling to do the maths.
Two weeks… That would mean the boy had arrived here around the time Rufus disappeared!
She couldn’t ignore the feeling in her gut, promising her that she was right.
He can’t be here. Why would he be here of all places? She shoved the thought aside, unable to think with the woman in front of her. She didn’t want to hope if it would turn out to be nothing.
But if it’s him…
Anja kept eating, her mind buzzing with hope.
Her eyes wandered and she noticed a greasy-haired boy enter the room, a pack of rough-looking guards following him.
Carl?!
He was so wildly out of place, and his presence was so unexpected, that Anja almost didn’t recognize him. She wanted to shrivel up and hide—or, perhaps, to throw her tray across the room. Her table guest looked at her, then turned to see what she was glaring at.
“You know him?” she asked, turning back towards Anja.
“Sadly. We used to work together before I moved here.”
“The guy’s a douche, everyone here knows it. He’s always trying to chat up the interns.”
By the uniform Carl was wearing it was clear that he was a low-level guard. To her relief, he seemed too busy bantering with his friends to look around the room.
“I have to go,” she said, pushing her tray toward Katie. “Want the rest?”
Katie raised her eyebrows.
“Oh yeah,” Anja muttered. “Allergies. Sorry.” She rose to her feet and hurried away, emptying her tray into the rubbish bin. She kept her eyes low as she hurried out the room before Carl could see her.
Back in her room, Anja sat at her desk, staring at her computer. An email had popped up in her absence, requesting that she secure a work computer in the main office.
URGENT, the email was labelled. Level Three security access.
She was so exhausted that she could happily have laid her head down on the desk and slept. Anja debated whether or not she could get away with ignoring the email. But that one particular phrase jumped out at her, making her pause. Level three, that might let me…
She opened a program that allowed her remote access to the networked computers and entered the access code in the email. In a matter of moments, her screen had morphed into someone else’s workstation, with an array of unfamiliar icons and files. The job was simple and didn’t take long to complete. When she was about to log out, she hesitated, then opened the search bar and typed in two words.
Rufus Scravers.
The computer sifted through its files, working through years of data. Then, at last, it presented a single result. It was an article by Rufus, marked ‘classified’.
Her hands shook as she downloaded the file onto her laptop. She opened the file and viewed the one document inside.
Kettleton Newspaper.
Title: The Truth about the War by Rufus Scravers.
Her heart pounded and her hands became sweaty. She could hardly see the words thanks to her blurry eyes. She wiped the tears away and read the article.
One Wish, One Choice Page 10