What Are You Willing to Risk?
Page 5
“Don’t get hit!” Cal chimed in with a smile. Then he hit Lawrence on the shoulder, “And no matter what, don’t let Cal get hit either.”
Lawrence rolled his eyes and clicked save for the file. “Whatever Cal. So, are you coming shooting today?”
“Are you gonna go easy on me?”
“Sure.”
The older boy crossed his arms, “Then hell no! I’m not about to get shown up by you deliberately missing.”
Lawrence laughed, “I’ll see you in an hour then. I’ve got to go pick up Destiny. She had to stay late because her class had a team building project today.”
Cal sighed and shook his head, “It’s ironic, isn’t it? How the government wants us to be perfectly compatible amongst out cast peers but hate the guts out of the other casts.”
“Eh,” Lawrence shrugged, “they need the tension to control us. If we don’t have people to hate, we’ll start hating them.” He smiled slyly, “And we wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?”
“No, no of course not!” Cal chuckled, “And Guardian forbid the day an underground rebellion forms, that would be just awful!”
Lawrence nodded with exaggerated sincerity, “Quite awful indeed.” Then he delivered a sharp salute and headed for the door, “I had better see you in an hour!”
As Lawrence walked, his mind wandered back to his dream. His mind constricted at the memory of Mavis, the helplessness they had shared, his inability to…
No! he growled to himself, shoving the image from his mind. That won’t happen. I won’t let someone else get hurt from my lack of acting. Especially not her. He sat down at a bench outside the Destiny’s upper cast school and forced his thoughts to shift back to Doctor Lance’s weapon. Crossing his arms, he leaned back in his seat, a slight tilt to his head as he stared at nothing in particular and commenced brainstorming methods of countering its effects.
The moment he saw her, Lawrence knew something was wrong. He shot from his bench and approached her with caution as he appraised his sister’s mask of furry, “Destiny, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” her answer was curt, and she stormed forward without sparing him a glance.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Lawrence trailed behind in silence for a block then tried again. “Destiny, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Don’t worry about it Lawrence, it doesn’t concern you.”
“But you’re my sister, of course it…”
“That doesn’t mean anything!” Destiny snapped, “Just because we have the same parents that doesn’t mean you’re able to fix my life for me, especially since I don’t want your help. I mean geez Lawrence, you hardly even know me. You’re always too busy with some meeting or project to know what my problems are so don’t you worry about it!”
“But I want to help,” his voice had depleted to a plea, “if you just tell me…”
“Just drop it!” Destiny threw her hands in the air, “You think you can do everything Lawrence. You think you can keep up with that special little school program of yours, save the world, and fix my problems. Well you’ve tried Lawrence, and what has that gotten you?”
“Destiny, calm down.”
“No!” she spun on her heels and jabbed a finger into his chest. “It’s made you nothing but a half-assed brother and a big-headed little boy.”
“Please Destiny, turn it down.”
“And let me tell you something,” she jabbed his chest again, “you’re not perfect Lawrence, so stop acting like it!”
The boy took her by the shoulders, his eyes darting between her and something behind her, “Destiny just calm…”
The girl yanked herself away from him then raised her hand. Then ruff fingers closed around her wrist and a gruff voice said, “Miss, you’re under arrest for disrupting the peace and attempted assault.”
Staring over her shoulder, Destiny’s anger seemed to simmer into open mouthed shock. Lawrence was first to address the Imperial Police, “That’s really not necessary sir. We were just talking.”
“Not optional,” the IP pulled out a metal bracelet and swiftly clamped it around her wrist. Destiny squeaked as it clicked shut and tried to wrench it off. Then the IP pulled a mall trigger from his pocket.
“No!” Destiny shrieked.
“Sir, wait!” Lawrence exclaimed. The IP’s hand clenched into a fist around the trigger and Destiny screamed, convulsing from the surges of electric shocks. Infuriated, Lawrence stepped forward and grabbed the IP by the collar of his black vest, “I am Lawrence Richardson, First Honors rank in the Hassdrin Academy for the Upper Cast. I am a future leader of this nation. This is my sister, Destiny Richardson, also upper cast. Release her or I’ll have you hanging from electric chains with rats gnawing at your toes, while I have my anatomy lesson dissecting your live body,” he lifted the man’s glove enough to reveal two horizontal black bars tattooed to the inside of his wrist, “You won’t last a minute middle class scum.”
Fear crept into the man’s eyes as he opened his fist and appraised Lawrence, “You’ll never get that approved, you have no grounds, I’m just doing my job.”
“As a science experiment,” the boy’s eyes went as dark as death, his tone a flat challenge, “we are always interested in finding new ways to test the limits of human endurance. With First Honors ranking, I have ways to get the test subjects I want, and believe me, I’m damn good at what I do.”
“How do I know you’re even…”
“Look up ID number 504 270 203.”
The IP swallowed then nodded, punching the number into his wrist unit. A few seconds passed as he scanned the information, then the man went pale faced. Visibly shaken he averted his gaze as an act of submission and held the trigger over the bracelet; it beeped twice before snapping open. When the man was gone, Lawrence noticed a crowd had gathered, half the individuals holding up their phones to record the unfolding entertainment. “Seriously, don’t you people have lives?” Lawrence complained, deliberately glaring down each member of the crowd, “If any of you have any sense, get out of here!”
Finally. he turned to his sister, “Are you okay?” She responded with a glare, “What?”
“You know what.”
“No Destiny, I don’t.” The girl narrowed her eyes and resumed walking. Baffled, Lawrence trailed after her, “What the heck is wrong now?”
“You must think you’re so high and mighty. Showing off your status and proving me wrong,” Destiny growled, “but it doesn’t change anything.”
“What are you talking about?” his voice was now tainted with anger. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll just talk to Mavis about it later.”
Lawrence stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her. But, but why can’t you just talk to me?
It was a few paces before Destiny noticed he had stopped. She turned to face him then quickly averted her gaze to the ground, “Look, I’m sorry Lawrence. I just don’t really want to talk right now okay?” He nodded. “Hey,” she met his gaze, offering a half smile, “aren’t we supposed to be somewhere? We are going shooting today, remember?”
*****
As the rest of the group cheered at the distant clanging of a bullet in an aluminum can, Mavis watched Lawrence as he lowered his sniper. His movements were slow and pensive, his expression blank except for the glint of annoyance in his eyes.
“That’s almost perfect!” Cal said as he peered through the pair of binoculars. Mavis nearly laughed watching Lawrence flinch from his words. “I mean, the shot was a little high and to the left but still!” Cal paused then tossed the binoculars at Destiny. He lightly hit Lawrence on the shoulder, “Come on buddy; at least pretend to be excited. I mean I can’t shoot the two fifty-meter range and you’re pushing the kilo like it’s nothing!”
“Ha!” Destiny laughed humorlessly, “Even if it was a perfect shot, he wouldn’t get excited.”
Lawrence ignored her and force
d a smile as he turned to Mavis and held out the gun, “Your turn.”
Mavis took the gun, weighing it awkwardly in her hand. She pulled it up into position and peered through the scope, “So which one is my target?”
“It’s the green one,” Lawrence said, pointing across the range, “a few meters to the right of mine perched on the wooden table.”
Mavis nodded as the small green dot came into view. She could feel her companions’ eyes boring into her, but she tried to ignore them and took a deep breath. Then she slowly pulled the trigger and fired. There was a bang, the distant echo of metal through aluminum, then silence. Mavis continued to peer through the scope as her jaw dropped in disbelief.
“Perfect,” she heard Cal declare, equally astonished, “absolutely dead center bulls eye perfect.” Then a sharp punch brought her back to the present and Mavis broke into a grin. “Why didn’t you tell us you were such a good shot?” Cal exclaimed as Destiny erupted in a buzz of excited chatter. All were ecstatic, except for one.
Lawrence stood just outside the group with his hands in his pockets. Mavis wanted to laugh at the boyish way he rocked back on his heels and watched her. Then her eyes met his and her stomach churned. “Shit,” Mavis giggled slightly to cover her apprehension, “I think I just made an enemy.”
“No really?” Destiny joked, “I think you made a whole bunch of enemies just now.”
“Ha, ha,” Mavis turned back to Destiny, “hey! That’s not fair! You can’t hate me if you haven’t put in the time to be as good as me.”
“Bullshit!” Cal responded with a grin, “fair or not, I hate on anyone I damn well please! And your talented ass is what I happen to be hating on today.”
Mavis laughed until her gaze fell back on Lawrence. Then she offered him an apologetic shrug and averted her gaze to the ground. Noticing the gesture, Cal glanced over his shoulder and said, “Hey Lawrence, stop giving the poor girl a death glare. You’re making her feel guilty.”
The younger boy blinked, his expression momentarily wavering with concern, “Am I?” Then he looked directly at Mavis and continued, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” There was a moment of silence as Mavis racked her brain for a response. As she opened her mouth to speak, Lawrence straightened and said, “Well, I’m gonna have to head out. I have a meeting with the Council today. He presented a superficial smile then stepped forward and wrapped one arm around Mavis, “Congratulations on the shot.” At the last sentence the girl involuntarily let out a half laugh half whimper. Lawrence pulled away from her and his tone softened, “Hey, are you okay?”
“Of course,” Mavis feigned a small chuckle, “I’m fine.”
The boy appraised her for a moment then nodded, “Okay, I’ll see you guys later.”
*****
Lawrence was the first to enter the rebel conference room. He took his usual seat at the side of the oval shaped arrangement of ten chairs, two for each of the five counties in Hassdrin. Sitting hunched over, he placed his elbows on his knees and stared at his phone, not daring to open the message from Mavis. As the door slid open behind him, he straightened and turned to see the Admiral from Marrer County.
“Why if it isn’t my favorite delinquent,” the man said sardonically, taking the seat across from the boy.
Lawrence gave him a curt nod, “Like I want to see you too, Steve Perry.”
“That’s Admiral Perry to you.”
Lawrence smirked, “You can’t already be mad at me, you just got here.”
“Wipe the smugness from your face boy or I’m going to have you kicked off the council today,” Perry sneered as he took the farthest seat from Lawrence.
“Empty threats.”
Perry opened his mouth to retort then shut it again as the door slid open and two of the other council members came in. Lawrence grinned at the admiral’s glare then his phone vibrated, Two more texts from Mavis. Shit.
The boy sighed and slipped the phone into his back pocket. He stared at his hands, now big and awkward and empty. I’m such a coward. I can’t even look at a text. I’m a liar, pretending to be better than I really am. Pathetic. Useless.
Abhorring his train of thought, his mind returned to a few hours earlier when he had been infuriated with his sister. It amazed him at how Destiny could brush off her frustrations in favor of gossiping with Mavis about how wonderful and interesting Stripes could be. Grimacing at the new equally distasteful train, Lawrence sucked in his gut and chastised himself for not exercising more.
Maybe I’m even inferior to him… Then he shook his head, mentally smacking himself for the callowness of his own thoughts. What difference does a stupid six pack make? Get over yourself idiot.
The boy straightened in his seat as Grant Stone, head of the rebel council and a Five Star General from Capitol County, stood. “It seems we are all here. Welcome everyone to the 36th Council Session of the year 3089. Before we begin with the agenda, are there any issues to be brought to the Council’s attention?”
Lawrence immediately stood, nearly knocking over his chair, “A complication with my last assignment sir, there was an invasion at the dinner party before Doctor Lance was able to make his announcement.”
“So, you weren’t able to get the information,” Admiral Perry cut in.
“On the contrary,” Lawrence glared at him, “I have it by other means…”
“And why couldn’t you use these other means in the first place?”
“Oh, use your brain Perry,” Lawrence snapped, “Because they are riskier and could draw attention. Now the point is…”
“Well I for one,” it was the councilwoman from Rodric County, who spoke, “would like to know what these means are and why we are employing them.” There was a murmur of agreement in the room.
Lawrence stared at them, “But that’s not the point! The point is it was rebel troops that were attacking.”
“Impossible,” Grant said, “we didn’t authorize any invasion.”
“My point exactly!” Lawrence replied, “Which is why we need to organize an investigation of each County’s troops to see who…”
“So, you want us to set up a full-scale investigation over a hunch?” Perry interrupted.
“It’s not a hunch! I saw…”
“We know what you think you saw boy,” Perry countered. “But are you right?”
Lawrence opened his mouth to argue but another councilman spoke up, “He’s right, child. Do you have proof those were rebel soldiers you saw?”
His mind immediately went to Mavis. But he thought of the phone in his pocket, the unanswered texts, and he dismissed the idea. “They were dressed in rebel uniforms. Plus, why would the government sabotage its own function?”
“To blame us,” Perry said.
Lawrence nearly growled, “And why are you, good Admiral, so keen to deny it was rebel soldiers.”
“Why are you so keen to blame the rebels?” the Admiral countered, “Perhaps it was your doing young uppercastman.”
“Enough!” Grant bellowed. “We’ll get nothing done arguing amongst ourselves. Special Agent Richardson, you said you have the information Doctor Lance would have presented?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Good, then send me a full report after the meeting.” Lawrence nodded and took his seat. “Commander Fera,” a middle-aged woman representing Jalbac County stood, “I want you to organize an inspection of the troops,” Lawrence smiled to himself and made note of Perry’s furious glower, “We don’t need a full-scale investigation, but check and make sure all our men are accounted for.” The woman bowed and retook her seat. “Now, to our main topic, what is the rebellion’s next move?”
There was a silence as Grant glanced from face to face. When he saw no one was going to speak, Lawrence said, “We need start discussing, seriously discussing, plans to break away, secede from Hassdrin.” Immediately there was uproar of disapproval.
“Oh, not this again, that was never the goal,
” one councilman said.
“We want change not separation,” agreed another, “We can’t survive on our own.”
“Yes, we can!” Lawrence exclaimed, “Just listen. We’ve had demonstrations, distributed propaganda clips, disrupted inter-county trade, raided government buildings, done everything in the textbook and they still won’t listen to us. We have their attention enough to see us as a threat to the system but not enough to make a difference, not enough to get us the individual right to think and act freely. We have support but not enough to change Hassdrin, there are too many people content with things the way they are.”
“So, you say we must break away.” Grant concluded.
“But how would we begin such a feet?” Perry sneered, “Do you expect us to forgo centuries of modernization to create a truly clean slate?”
“Where would we even go?”
“What’s to say the Guardian won’t turn around and invade us?”
“Then we’d all be in one place to be tried and executed.”
Lawrence tried to argue, “But we are rebels, if we accept the status quo what’s the point, they will have already won if we don’t act!”
“It’s impossible.”
“Your plan would destroy us boy!”
“But we can’t win a war in defense!” Lawrence reasoned, “Its basic military tactics.”
“We aren’t at war.”
“We want revolution not destruction.”
“There has to be a better way.”
“Well do any of you have better ideas?” Lawrence yelled over the crowd. “I can’t be the only one here expected to think!” A hush overtook the council members.
Finally, Perry spoke up, “I disagree with Agent Richardson.”
“As do many of us,” one of them said, causing Lawrence to cross his arms and glare at the floor.
“Though the government is aware of us,” Perry continued, “we do not yet have their attention.” Lawrence rolled his eyes. “If we did, they would listen to us; listen to our demands for change. What we need now is more protests, more propaganda, and more violence. When they are afraid of us then they will listen to us.” The council exchanged weary glances, considering the pros of this idea.