He felt lost, unable to understand where she was guiding him, yet also felt the destination would be a trap. “I don’t understand the relevance of the question. I’m here to share my speculations, which admittedly, is just a hunch. If I had proof, we’d be having a different conversation. I believe my partner is shirking her duty and has become sympathetic to the rebellion.”
Dr. Rhetta dropped her gaze and mulled over his words.
“It is relevant because I need to know if you have been taken in by her. I need to know that your loyalties lie with the State, even if it meant putting Freya to death.”
Nausea nearly overtook him at the thought, but he swallowed hard and proceeded. “I would prefer to not be Freya’s executioner or take part in her arrest or questioning, but I would agree with the tactics. If that were your choice, I wouldn’t object or do anything to sabotage your efforts.”
Dr. Rhetta pursed her lips thoughtfully and nodded. “Very well, Lewis. I appreciate your diligence to your mission and flagging this concern. I needed to ensure your compliance in this mission as I have some information which could shed some light on the situation for you.”
A sick feeling settled in his gut; his skin blanched. He had known from the beginning there was something odd about this mission, something didn’t calculate, and now it was coming to a head. He decided it best to sit down to hear the news.
“I hope you can appreciate that the State can’t always afford to be forthcoming, even with the military. You have gone into this mission under false pretenses.”
Lewis blinked rapidly yet held his tongue. He knew all departments inside the State operated on a need-to-know basis.
“Why don’t you tell me why you think you are here, knowing now that your goal isn’t what I originally presented?”
He was afraid to speak, but knew refusing to answer would be worse, and so he proceeded. “I think Freya has a profile to become a spy. She should’ve gone into the military all along. I think there is something special about her, something special to the State and in particular, this mission.”
He rubbed his face. If he said too much, he would appear disloyal for questioning the State, yet too little, and he would look like an imbecile. “I have wondered if Freya was paired with Colin just so she could end up here, right now. I know Colin didn’t want to leave her, so I can’t think of another reason he would have been on the spacecraft.”
Dr. Rhetta wore a partial smirk on her face, as though his answer impressed her. “Lewis, you don’t yet have the level of clearance for me to divulge the intricate details of this mission, but I will confirm that you are correct. We pulled some strings to get Freya on this mission. It is so much larger than Freya catching her former partner’s parents.”
Lewis’ skin hummed with electricity.
She shifted slightly in her seat. “You were misinformed when we told you that you had to seduce Freya to keep her from being swayed by the rebellion; your mission was to deliver her to the rebellion. You may not see it now, but, by seducing her, you pushed her further in their direction—which was our intent. We need her to become a spy so deeply entrenched that every member of the rebellion trusts her.”
His head circled in a heavy fog. “You insisted I seduce her just to push her away from the State?”
She gave a curt nod. “Well, it served two functions; it also distracted you. I wanted to give you an impossible task, something you would fixate on and it would keep you from noticing her deception. Most personnel would be so wrapped up in their own ego, dreaming of promotion and reveling in the opportunity to sleep with an attractive young woman that they lose focus.”
He pressed his eyes tightly closed. It was humiliating to know they selected him because they assumed he was an imbecile.
Dr. Rhetta raised an eyebrow. “Congratulations are in order. We never expected you to succeed, and we certainly didn’t expect you to notice Freya’s misdeeds. I’m even more surprised to see you report them. I must admit, Lewis, we are impressed.”
He had done it, impressed them, yet he had never felt so low. “What should I do now?”
She gave a slight shrug. “You pretend you believe her. You pretend that the mission is going exactly as we want it to; constantly reassure her that everything is on track. Try to glean any information you can about her activities with the rebellion, but never so much that she knows you are onto her.”
Lewis stood from his seat, knowing the meeting was over. There was nothing more to say or do.
“Lewis, I know this mission has stirred up a great deal of frustration in you. You need to stay focused on the long term. This is a big win for the State, and we won’t forget the role you have played.”
Lewis stood and nodded to her. “Thank you.”
He exited the clinic and headed toward his civil duty. He should feel excited his promotion was within reach, yet he couldn’t shake the feeling he was still playing their pawn. There was even more to this mission, and he didn’t know if he would like the answers if he found them.
Chapter 19
1 Month Later
Lewis
Every day seemed to span into an eternity. He often found himself looking for justifications for Freya, hoping she would come around. She may be confused, but she was no rebel.
As he returned to their apartment from his civil duty, he walked into the bedroom where he found Freya sitting on their bed, changed and ready to head to the exercise facility. Her expression looked happy and excited, yet she was so tense, especially behind her smile. He stepped toward the closet to change.
“You ready to go?”
Her back stiffened. “That depends. Do you want to talk now, or after we exercise?”
Without flinching, he stepped out of his jumpsuit. “Do you have information?”
“Yes.” She held her shoulders high, which only accentuated the awkwardness of her pose.
“After we exercise.” He stepped into his exercise clothing. “We need to keep up appearances until we’re extracted.”
“Of course,” she replied, and let out a heavy sigh.
She’s just hanging on by a thread. Dr. Rhetta said Freya must think I believe her.
He turned directly to her, softening his gaze. “Don’t look so disappointed. I can’t do anything with the information tonight anyway. Let’s go and have a good workout and then you can tell me everything.”
They headed to the exercise facility, and without haste began their run. Freya ran harder than usual, so much so he had to periodically remind her to slow down. It seemed she spent their entire workout trying to free herself from him.
They walked into their apartment and grabbed their meals, heading inside the bedroom. “So, what did Ursa say?”
Freya sat with her legs crossed under her as she dove into her meal. “It’s not what she said—it’s what she did. She brought me down to the common room and arranged a meeting with someone.”
Lewis dropped his fork and stared at her, his jaw falling slack.
“He wanted to recruit me, told me about their plans and such,” she added.
Lewis heard a ringing in his ears as the shock rippled through him. “Are you messing with me right now?”
“No. Why would I do that?”
Something wasn’t adding up. This was too much too soon.
“Ursa just introduced you to someone in the rebellion, just like that.”
Freya’s face flushed, and she looked as though she was about to crack. “Just like what? How did you expect this to happen?”
“Well, I expected Ursa to tell you more before just arranging a meeting. I don’t get how she could skip from a few snide comments about the State to recruit you for the rebellion.”
He heard the words come tumbling out of his mouth and he knew he needed to get control of himself. He had to pretend he believed Freya, no matter what. He had to keep it together. Both their futures depended on it.
“I did too, honestly. I mean, she has said little things against the State here and there
for a while, but nothing about the rebellion. Of course, every time she said anything negative, I’ve always jumped in with how much I hated Victor for taking Colin away. I think maybe she just thought I was ready to hear it, or that she trusted me enough now. Maybe she asked for him to meet me a long time ago, and it just took this long to arrange it.”
He listened to her intensely, focusing on numbing any stress coursing through him. “So, the words rebellion never left her lips, and then bam, she introduces you to their leader?”
She took a deep breath and he could tell she was struggling to maintain her demeanor. “I don’t know that he was the leader. It kind of made sense to me at the time, hearing what he had to say. I think that is just how they do it—at least, that is what he made it sound like.”
Lewis didn’t know what to think. There were parts of what she said that sounded genuine, but nothing added up. “What did he say? How did he make it sound like this is the normal way they do things?”
Freya explained how the rebellion operates—how they told her they operate, at least. How they speak to people, one at a time, to explain that a new democratic government was needed when the colony world opened. Their intentions were not hostile or threatening, more peaceful in nature. It was all a load of crap. He just wasn’t certain if Freya believed it or not.
“There was no talk about assassinations, or an attack on the dome, or anything like that?”
“No.”
Freya was a lot of things, but a skilled liar wasn’t one of her strengths. Part of him wanted her arrested for treason, but part of him knew there was more to Freya, to this mission, than the State was letting on. Whatever this mission truly was, it was so much bigger than her, than him, than any mission or promotion in his future. He needed to up his game and ensure they both made it through to their extractions.
“I’m surprised, and I’m not surprised often. I wonder if we have targeted the wrong group. I hate to think our Intel was bad.” He got off the bed and peered out the window, his mind racing. “I just can’t believe it. There are people out there trying to kill us all, and we just wasted all that time to track down a bunch of people who want to peacefully enlighten our society.”
He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Freya was too smart to fall for the bullshit story Ursa fed her.
She has to be on their side now.
The mere thought of the woman he once thought of as perfect crossing over to the rebellion made his blood boil. Not just because he knew he would lose her, but because he had hand delivered her, all for a promotion. He cursed and kicked the wall, unable to contain his emotions.
Why her? Why did the State have to do this to her and take her from me?
Freya started to cry on the bed behind him, and he knew he had to pull it together. He may lose her, but there was no chance he would let himself lose his promotion too.
“Oh, Freya, no.” He came over beside her, ready to play his part. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get mad.” He squatted down in front of her, so they were eye-level, placing his hands on her knees. “This is not your fault—you did amazing. Most people fail at their first mission. You got the information. It’s not your fault, it wasn’t the information we were after.”
He reached out and gently put his hand on her face, sliding it down to her neck. He leaned in and kissed her gently. “Let’s go to bed. We will sort this out in the morning.”
She nodded and kissed him back, then pulled away. “What do we do in the morning? What do we do tomorrow?”
“I will report in and wait for further instructions. I’m not the one who makes the call. They may decide that we need to probe deeper. This is not the threat we were looking for, but we may need more information. Or they could decide this was a waste of time, and they could extract us.”
“What happens if we are extracted? What comes next?”
He spoke calmly but wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I can’t say for sure. We will probably have a time of debriefing, living in the underground tunnels. Then we will be assessed and sent on our next mission.”
He didn’t know what the State had in mind for either of them, so he spoke of normal practices he had observed in previous missions to improvise.
“Would they extract us immediately? You don’t think this could be our last night here?”
She looked sad as she asked, a simple gesture which pulled at his heartstrings.
Does she genuinely have affection for me?
He realized then he was struggling with objectivity. His feelings for Freya were tainting his judgment. He had to regain his focus. The mission comes first, always.
“I don’t know. It might be.” He frowned, genuine remorse setting in. “I will still see you. I can’t guarantee they will send us on another mission together, but we will be together until then.”
He leaned in and kissed her again, but this time she didn’t pull away. He didn’t know if this was to be their last night together, but it felt like their end. It was time to say goodbye to the only woman he could have ever loved, if he were capable of such emotions.
She seemed to get lost in their lovemaking in a way she hadn’t in the weeks leading up to tonight. He let himself get lost in her also, knowing this would all be over soon.
They lay together with their bodies intertwined, Freya falling fast asleep. He lay awake with so much running through his mind. When Freya seemed to be heavily asleep, he got up, unable to bear the thought of waking up next to her.
He headed into the underground walkway, using different access into the military underground to kill some time boxing before his ritualistic meeting with Dr. Rhetta. Once their time drew near, he headed back into the underground walkway and made his way to the clinic.
“Good morning, Lewis.”
He took a seat across from her. “Good morning.”
She squinted and observed him for a moment before responding. “You have a strange cloud around you.”
Lewis shook his head, blowing out air. “I feel that the rebellion has got through to Freya. I thought she was too compliant, and I’m frustrated. I know you wanted her to be introduced to the rebellion, but I can’t help feeling disappointed in her.”
Dr. Rhetta looked victorious. “What has she done?”
Lewis shook his head. “Fed me a line of bullshit. She claims Ursa brought her to the common room last night and introduced her to a member of the rebellion.”
“And you doubt her story?”
“Yes! According to this man she met, the rebellion’s plans are to lie low and peacefully enlighten our society, one person at a time,” he couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice, “to make us all realize that when the colony world opens, it will be time for a democratic government to rule us.”
Dr. Rhetta laughed. “I can see your frustration. Freya is most definitely on their side. Well done, Lewis. The State is in your debt.”
The State is in my debt.
He had waited his entire life to hear those words. Now, he wasn’t certain it had been worth it.
“How is involving her in the rebellion a good thing?”
“Lewis, you have successfully completed your mission. When the time is right, those questions will be answered. Right now, we need to focus on our plan to extract Freya and take care of Ursa and this friend she introduced to Freya.”
“Are we killing them? Drugging them? Taking them in for questioning?”
Dr. Rhetta pursed her lips. “I feel questioning is always appropriate. It seems like such a waste not to. They may crack and tell us what their actual plans are, but even if they don’t, I personally get satisfaction out of knowing that vile scum suffered before they died.”
His core tightened at the thought of torturing those involved, especially Freya. “And Freya? Is she being arrested also?”
He held his breath.
“No. Freya doesn’t know it, but her mission is far from over. She is going to deeply infiltrate the rebellion, which will lead to their demis
e. She must believe that we believe her.”
His mind spun. How could Freya destroy the rebellion if she joined them? He wanted this mission to end. A simple life of training new recruits suddenly held its appeal compared to the mind games of constantly living with such high-stakes and no information.
He gave a light nod and brought his attention back to Dr. Rhetta. “Tonight, Freya will go to Ursa’s place. What would you have me do?”
Dr. Rhetta picked up her tablet and typed into it. “I am ordering Ursa’s evening meal to be drugged. We won’t need you any further. You may return to the central military hub at once.”
His skin blanched as he stood. It was over, all of it. He would probably never see Freya again, and if he did, they could be on opposing sides of the war.
Conspired: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The State Series Book 6) Page 12