What Are You Willing to Risk?

by P. L. Camery

  The moment he saw her he broke into a grin, “Mavis!” He ignored the complaints and teasing of his buddies and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her small form off the ground.

  “Hey Roland,” she responded smiling into his chest.

  He returned her to the ground, speaking in an excited rush, “What did you think of the game? Did I play well? Did you like how I…”

  He was interrupted by a deliberate cough and the sound of foot tapping. Roland peered around his friend, “Oh, hey baby. Did you see the game?”

  Kara gave him an exaggerated smile and stepped in front of Mavis to attach herself to his side, “Yes, and I think you were wonderful Roland dear! Your winning streak this season is amazing.”

  “You meant his team’s winning streak,” Mavis’s tone took on a cold edge.

  Kara ignored her and continued speaking, her hand grazing down Roland’s chest, “You had my heart pounding there when you were cornered. I thought they were going to hurt you baby.” Kara pouted, and Mavis rolled her eyes.

  Roland smiled at his girlfriend and gave her a squeeze, “You don’t have to worry about me. I know what I’m doing.”

  “I hope so. We wouldn’t want to hurt that pretty face now,” she reached up and kissed him, “would we?”

  Mavis almost growled but managed to suppress the urge and took a step back to escape. Roland straightened, “Mavis wait. I- um, I- well me and the boys were going to have a victory party later and I was wondering if you wanted to…”

  “But Roland,” Kara drew out his name and tugged at his uniform, “You promised we could have some alone time after the game.”

  “Wait, no I didn’t,” he gave her a baffled look.

  “Well not in so many words, but,” she bit her lip, “I was hoping…”

  Roland glanced back up at Mavis, his eyes pained and hesitant, “But Kara, I just invited…”

  “Don’t worry Roland,” Mavis snapped. “Go with her.”

  “But…” Roland began, only to be cut off by another kiss.

  “Come on honey, Mavis doesn’t mind.”

  “She’s right,” the rebel girl said, “she’s your girlfriend, spend some time with her Roland.” The boy stared at her, his gaze begging for approval. In response she shook her head and turned away from him.

  *****

  Lost in her annoyance, Mavis clenched her hands into fists and glared at the ground. She’d navigated back to the streets of Democris, but now that she was here, she had nothing to do, nowhere to go, no way to distract from thinking about that stupid, infuriating, weak-minded….

  “Cadet Cruz!” Mavis jolted at the sudden boom from behind her. She spun around, and then had to suppress a groan at the sight of Admiral Steve Perry. She tried to ignore the permanent glare plastered into his features as he approached her, but she couldn’t help scanning her memory for faults in her recent conduct.

  “Yes sir,” Mavis kept her face blank as she delivered a salute.

  To her surprise, there was a slight shift in his appearance; he seemed to stiffen, as if uncomfortable. “Look Cruz, I have an assignment for you,” his tone, though still authoritative, shifted down a few notches and Mavis noticed a decided lack of eye contact as he spoke. “Now I don’t want a word of this to any of the other officers or soldiers. It’s a simple observational task that we don’t have time to get approved. But important; very important. Do you understand?”

  Mavis appraised him for a moment, unsure of how to respond. An off records assignment?

  “Am I clear!” The old man said in a low growled. Mavis shook herself from her thoughts, nodding. “Good.”

  The premise of this mission, he told her, was to infiltrate an upper cast social gathering, a dance at which there was a scheduled announcement the admiral believed would be important. Mavis was given an ID identifying her as a transfer from the Gildon County Institute for The Upper Cast, and within the hour she was outfitted in a formal long sleeve black dress, fumbling with her new surveillance earrings as she was driven to Odric Hall. She bypassed the outer security check without much issue. However, on the inner check the guard stopped her.

  “Gildon County?” The grey uniformed man asked as he returned her card, “There are no upper castmen registered from Gildon County.”

  “Well, check the list and you’ll find me there,” Mavis snapped, tapping the screen of his tablet with exaggerated impatience.

  The man shook his head, “That list is a prop, props can be manipulated, the true list,” he pointed at his temple, “is in here, memorized several days in advanced. If anyone else was approved for attendance I would have been notified personally.”

  For a moment she could only stare at him. “Excuse me?” she asked, “What is this some kind of a joke?”

  The soldier’s expression darkened, “Mam, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  “No!” she struggled for an air of upper cast petulance as her heart rate picked up, “I want you to look at that list and check me in.”

  “I’m calling security.” He glared, bringing his wrist unit to his mouth.

  “Just check the damn list!” Mavis demanded, reaching up to stop in his wrist. In an instant he was gripping her arm, twisting it so her palm faced upwards.

  “Let go of me!” Mavis growled through gritted teeth.

  “Mam…”

  “Mavis?” Both the soldier and the girl turned at the young male voice. For a moment Mavis didn’t recognize him, his usual t-shirt and jeans abandoned for a crisp black school uniform, still out of place with his suited male peers and no doubt meant to advertise an authoritative appearance. Mavis had to struggle not to roll her eyes.

  Lawrence’s surprised look gave way to a congenial smile as the boy took a step forward, “I’m so glad you could make it!” Then he grimaced, as if barely noticing the ruff hand on her arm. “Is that really necessary Jakob? If she says no, you shouldn’t force her to bed anyways.”

  The guard blinked in puzzlement, “Wh-what? No! I…”

  Lawrence waved his hand in dismissal, “Never mind, that was a poorly executed joke.”

  “Oh, no Mr. Richardson…”

  Mavis moaned internally, Oh my, Mr. Richardson? Seriously? Can you be any more pompous?

  “…I was just about to escort this young lady out. She wasn’t on the original list and…”

  “Of course, she isn’t on the list,” the boy interrupted, “we weren’t sure whether or not she was to grace us with her presence. Mavis is a very important figure in Gildon County. She so rarely has time for her social responsibilities,” he met her gaze, his eyes flashing a question, “In fact, she came as little surprise to all of us.”

  “A pleasant surprise I hope,” Mavis pulled her arm free but kept her eyes glued Lawrence. She made a mental note to reassess what she knew, or rather didn’t know, about this introverted rebel agent.

  Lawrence smiled, then took a step forward and wrapped one arm around her waist. Mavis nearly pulled away; startled by the gesture, but her eye caught the guard’s weary expression and she chose to play along. “I can take it from here Jakob.” Before the man could protest, Lawrence led Mavis into the buzzing crowd.

  As soon as they were a safely embedded in the throng of socialites, Lawrence dropped his hand and turned to her, “I’m sure you have your own agenda. I’ll leave you to it.”

  “Wait,” Mavis grabbed his arm, making him face her again, “hold on.” She released her grip and and placed her hands on her hips, “Explain.”

  The boy gave her a quizzical stare, “Explain what?”

  “One,” Mavis began, counting off on her fingers, “what are you doing here? This is my mission not yours. Two, why did you interfere with the guard over there? You’re not some all-important big-shot you know, and you could have gotten us both kicked out and then there’d be no one here to carry out the mission. And three, where did this come from?” She ran her fingers down his chest, appr
aising the uniform, “You’re stupid for trying to stand out, but it does look sharp.”

  Lawrence took an uncomfortable step backwards and clasped his hands behind his back. “Uh, thanks- I suppose,” his tone had morphed to uncertain as he averted his gaze to the floor, “I wore the uniform because I didn’t feel comfortable in my suit.”

  “Right,” Mavis drew out the word and rolled her eyes.

  The boy spoke slowly in a voice that was near but not quite indifferent, “It’s my school uniform. As for why I’m here, I’m high ranking in the Hassdrin Academy for the Upper Cast, so I was actually invited.” His eyes met hers as if to say, unlike you. “And as for Jakob?” He glanced back over his shoulder at the guard, “He’s really not too bad of a guy. And making friends does have its perks,” he returned his gaze to her and smiled, “like being able to help my more ungrateful friends.” He began to walk away, and Mavis followed as he headed to the edge of the hall. There were rows of tables lined up around the perimeter, stacked high with food that looked delicious, but based off the behavior of the guests, seemed more for imaging than for eating. “You hungry?” Mavis shook her head and he shrugged, picking up a plate. The boy shoved a drink into her hand and began piling his platter. “It’s a wonder I don’t get fat with all the food I eat at these events,” he spoke, mostly to himself, “I’m going to have to do sit-ups when I get home.”

  “You’re upper cast,” Mavis retorted, a bitter edge in her tone, “you’re valued for your mind. No one cares if you’re fat or not.”

  He ignored her and led her to a table near the entrance to a dance floor. The music was loud enough to drown out their conversation but not so loud that they would need to shout. Mavis glanced inside at the flashing lights and upbeat rhythms, briefly wondering if the boy before her could dance. “Now, what are you doing here?” The sound of his voice made her snap her head back around as Lawrence popped a pastry into his mouth, watching her.

  Mavis considered some snappy ambiguous remark but rejected the idea. I suppose he was honest with me… “Just a small surveillance task.”

  She was surprised to see his face darken, “Those stupid assholes! The council knows I’m here. Was it really necessary to send a babysitter?”

  “Hey! I’m no babysitter!” Mavis was taken aback. “And besides, you aren’t on mission, our superiors can’t assume…”

  “I’m always on mission,” Lawrence cut in. “And assigning extra people is a hazard. In such a small program, individuals are noticed.”

  Mavis threw up her hands in defense, “Okay, well don’t blame me. I don’t know what’s going through their heads.”

  Lawrence jabbed his fork into a meatball and sighed, “And they can’t even plan far enough ahead to secure proper identification? Pathetic! What I don’t understand is how they approved it. I’ve gone to every single council meeting since,” he stopped mid-sentence; “this wasn’t approved was it?” Mavis said nothing, and Lawrence moaned, “Oh great, now I have to worry about our own people are backdooring us.”

  He ate in silence for a few minutes, concentrating on spearing his food, and Mavis took a sip of her drink as she scanned the crowd. Noting the clicky, uptight appearance of these individuals, she knew none would converse with her unless she were introduced. One of the nearest girls made eye contact and sneered at her. Mavis sighed and went back to watching Lawrence, maybe he’s right and this is a bad idea…

  Mavis straightened as Lawrence swerved around the table and offered her his hand, “I presume you don’t want to spend the whole night staring at people. Would you like to meet some of my friends?”

  The girl stared at him, “I don’t want to miss the special announcement.”

  Lawrence laughed, “I don’t know if that’s possible. Doctor Lance likes to make his accomplishments known. I’m pretty sure you’ll hear it from anywhere.”

  “Still, I don’t know if I should meet people who may or may not see me again.”

  Lawrence shrugged, “True enough.” He retracted his hand and leaned one elbow against the table.

  “We could,” Mavis began, “go dance for a bit.”

  “Oh,” the boy dropped his gaze, “I guess, but…”

  “Great!” The girl grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out to the center of the room. There were more people chatting with one another, video messaging and snapping pictures instead of dancing, but the crowd was large enough that they would go virtually unnoticed. Mavis could feel the sounds vibrating around her and grinned as she immediately began bouncing to the beat. But when she turned around, she was alarmed to see Lawrence hunched and glancing about like a trapped animal. “What’s wrong?” she yelled over the music.

  “I- I’m not very good at dancing,” he confessed to her shoes.

  Mavis rolled her eyes and laughed, “Just stop thinking about it and you’ll be fine.” When he only stared at her the girl shook her head and slipped her hands into his. He stiffened at the contact but followed her lead, “See, you’ve got this special agent.” Lawrence offered a half smile, extricated his hands, and concentrated on mirroring her movements. Mavis giggled at his stiff attempts and in one swift motion he ran his fingers through his hair and he backed away from her, rigid with embarrassment. “No, don’t stop,” Mavis shook his arm, “you were doing well.”

  “No, I wasn’t,” was the monotone response.

  “Really you were!” Lawrence eyed her, and Mavis continued, “What? You aren’t calling me a liar are you?” When the boy shook his head, Mavis intertwined her fingers again with his. He still watched her, but she was pleased to see him relaxing, a small smile regaining control of his features.

  Then there was a massive boom, and everyone froze.

  In the echo of the dance floor it seemed to come from everywhere. The building shook, and everything went dark. In the next instant Mavis felt warm arms encircle her tightly. The unexpected wave of security coupled with adrenaline flooded over her as she clung to the suddenly comforting figure. When the dim glow of the emergency lighting kicked in, she could see Lawrence peering in the direction of the blast. He took her by the hand and ran, seemingly oblivious to the cacophony of people scrambling to get the other way. Once they were along the edge of the room they could see a swarm of armed soldiers spill in from a gaping hole blown into the far wall. Rebel soldiers.

  Dumbfounded, Mavis could only stare. Lawrence was the first to regain his senses. His face twisted into fury as he spun and grabbed Mavis by the shoulders, ramming her into the wall. Mavis gasped from the sudden jarring and hardly had a chance to take a breath before Lawrence spoke, “You knew about this didn’t you?”

  “No I…”

  “I don’t believe you!” Lawrence growled, “They wouldn’t keep us both in the dark. You knew about it and didn’t tell me! Remind me never to trust you.”

  His words stung. “No! Lawrence, really, I was assigned to listen to the announcement,” she pushed him off of her, her anger fuming, “nothing else!”

  “Well obviously not,” he sneered, “because that’s not going happen anymore is it?”

  Mavis threw up her hands, “Whatever!” She turned to follow the crowd out but noticed Lawrence did not follow. “Where are you going?” Her eyes widened as he approached the line of fire, “Do you have a death wish? Get back here right now!”

  “Damage control,” he called back to her before turning to the swarming soldiers, “Hey you! Rebel scum!”

  What is he, crazy?

  “Get out of here! You’re wasting your time. Leave now, before you get yourselves killed!”

  Mavis caught up to him and pulled him under one of the dinner tables, “What is wrong with you?”

  “Wrong with me?” the boy sneered in an indignant whisper, “They are wasting precious supplies and manpower on a useless assault and you ask what’s wrong with me?”

  “Just leave it alone,” Mavis said, “You aren’t in charge here.”

  �
��Oh and I suppose you are? But wait I forgot, you’re in league with them.”

  “I didn’t know a thing about this,” Mavis swept her hand in the direction of the chaos, “but I’m sure our superiors have their reasons.”

  “Like what?” Lawrence’s voice oozed skepticism, “We didn’t even get the information we wanted and look at this mess!”

  “But I’m sure they have good reason for this,” Mavis was nearly yelling now, “And just because you’re too narrow minded to understand it doesn’t mean it’s not there!”

  “Oh?” Lawrence crossed his arms, “Enlighten me.”

  “No! Even if I did know I wouldn’t owe you any explications.”

  Lawrence threw up his hands then moved to crawl from under the table. Mavis growled, “Where are you going now?”

  “Away,” he said, “because obviously I don’t belong here.”

  “Lawrence…”

  Lawrence glared at her. “I regret helping you today.”

  Mavis flinched, then chastised herself, whatever, who cares what he thinks about me? But from the depths of her mind a subconscious voice responded, I do.

  *****

  After leaving Mavis it took Lawrence nearly an hour to extricate himself from the chaos. A part of him, the majority actually, felt guilty about leaving Mavis behind, but whatever. He had to commit to his decision and besides, she obviously made it clear she could take care of herself. But still, he wished he at least knew she was safe. But that would have to wait. Now he was angry, now he needed to focus. Knowing Perry’s personal address from the rebel computer records, Lawrence decided to make a visit to the good admiral. If anyone would have the audacity to act so independently of the council, it’s the jerk who criticizes me for doing so.