The sheer magnitude of the DOE under Justin’s time as the shadow-leader made her nauseous. Under Justin, the Unequal weren’t disappeared and then killed. They were given the option of working for the DOE instead of dying.
It would take weeks for her to track down every Unequal who’d made the choice. An organization as large as the Department had whole rooms full of data to go over. Simply finding the location where Justin had stored his plans had taken eight hours. Once boxes started arriving at the hospital, Rue wondered whether every Unequal who ever lived was planning on residing there. After she was informed they were full of files, she nearly collapsed under the weight of the job ahead.
After another six hours, she found the files detailing what exactly happened to the disappeared.
Two hours into her research, Rue threw up into the nearest wastebasket and then waded back in. She couldn’t focus on the dead. She couldn’t save them. Her goal had to remain focused on the ones Justin had determined were too important to kill and who were too strong-willed to accept his ultimatum.
She had no proof such people existed, but holding onto hope kept her from killing Justin with her bare hands.
“Rue?”
Bruno’s voice made her jump and the pile scattered across the floor.
“Sorry. I didn’t know you were sleeping.”
“I wasn’t. Lost in thought, I guess.” She glanced down at the papers. Unwilling to muster the energy, she left them where they’d fallen. “What do you need?”
He broke into a wide smile. “On the job for less than a week and you’re already acting the part of a leader.”
Rue shook her head. Pushing herself away from the chair, she stooped to pick up the papers. “Don’t even consider foisting all this off on me.”
“I don’t have to. Look at you. You’re dog tired and hard at work figuring out how to set everything right. You accepted the role without anyone having to foist off anything.”
Looking down at the sheaf in her hands, she had to admit he was right. If she didn’t already have the mindset of a leader, she would’ve left the mess. It wasn’t her job to clean the papers up. It wasn’t her job to clean any of this up. Except she had to.
“You know I’m right.” He held one hand out to her and she accepted his help rising from the floor. “This can wait. I’ll make you a deal. If you go find yourself a room of your own and sleep for a day, I’ll find a janitor to come make your piles tidy again.”
She opened her mouth to argue.
“Deal?” he said again, putting a tad of force behind the word.
To her surprise, she laughed. “Fine. But I want this all in the exact order it was before you made me drop it.”
The big man joined in her laughter. As the jocularity ebbed, Rue noticed he hadn’t stopped holding her hand. She should probably pull away. Touching a friend was one thing. The length of time was putting this way past the touch of a friend.
But, as shocking as it seemed, touching Bruno didn’t bother her. He was the most stable man she’d ever encountered and while stability might not be the best reason to start a relationship, it was a beginning.
As he pulled her from the room, she paused to give her uncle one last look.
“He’ll be fine. I have a lovely young woman coming to sit with him.”
“But—”
“But nothing. She knows how to find you if she needs you.” He chucked Rue under the chin. “And so you’re aware, I told her if she bothers you and she doesn’t really need you, she’ll be looking for a new dream job.”
Rue smiled softly. She hadn’t been taken care of since her mother. It was nice to not have to worry about herself for a change. A little letting go was fine. It was part of taking control of her own life. But she would never let anyone try to make her equal again.
THE END
~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed reading Unequal, please consider reading B.E.’s other dystopian novel, Blink of an I.
Dear Reader,
It means a lot to me that you took the time to read my book. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would take another short moment to write a brief review, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
- B.E.
Unequal Page 27