by P. L. Camery
Yet as he stormed out into the streets of Democris anger continued to gnaw at his gut. But I also can’t sit around and wait for them to decide what I do, isn’t that what we are fighting for? The right to choose? The right to decide our own destiny?
Without another thought, Lawrence pulled his phone from his pocket and punched in Cal’s contact. When his friend answered the boy said, “My lab, now.”
A few minutes later Cal came charging into laboratory three, panting as if he had sprinted the whole way. He took a breath then demanded, “So what was so important you had to call me from hustling up a couple hundred dollars in pool?”
“The council doesn’t like to be reasoned with.”
“Old news,” Cal gave a dismissive wave.
“Well let me finish!” Lawrence snapped, “So instead of listening to me… They- they sacked me. Basically, told me I’m untrustworthy, that I create disunity, and kicked me off.”
Cal’s jaw dropped, “Shit… I mean true, you’re a man of action not a procrastinating diplomat- but still- shit!”
Lawrence laughed bitterly, “No, they want action, just not my plan of action.”
“I’m guessing Perry’s form of wasted effort?”
The younger boy nodded, “He’s got them wrapped around his little finger. But we aren’t going to sit here and let the asshole admiral run the show, are we?”
Cal grinned, “Oh? You have something in mind?”
“A solo run, with you as backup of course, but I’d rather have to ask the rebel council for forgiveness than permission. The way I see things, our biggest concern is the Lance’s insanity gas, the one that gets in your head and makes you confess…”
“Yeah I remember,” The older boy said impatiently, “So what are we going to do about it?”
“Well we need more information on this thing; we’ve exhausted what we can safely get by hacking. So, I say we make a trip to the good doctor’s lab, maybe collect a sample or two, and take any private files or documents we can find.”
Caleb nodded, “And blow up the lab while we’re at it!”
Lawrence laughed, “We will see, at any rate I want to be far away from there before any bomb goes off.”
“No duh!” Cal smacked his friend in the shoulder, “It’s not like I’m just going to run in there with a bomb strapped to my back. Maybe I’m a rare breed, but I actually value my life.”
Lawrence shook his head and smiled, “In that case time to get working, I want to have everything, maps, pass codes, schedules, all that jazz ready and memorized before we head out.”
“Which would be?”
“Whenever the opportunity arises.”
*****
When Mavis met with Destiny at a bench in the South Plaza, she was surprised by the grim look on her friend’s face. “Is something wrong?” Mavis asked as she approached.
“What? Oh, hi Mavis,” she offered a halfhearted smile, “And oh, it’s nothing. So how are you doing?” The girl stood.
“Woah, hold up,” Mavis pushed her friend back down, “You aren’t getting out of this that easily.”
Destiny looked up, feigning confusion. When Mavis crossed her arms, the latter sighed and said, “Your boyfriend got himself in trouble again.”
“What happened? Is he okay?” Mavis instantly demanded.
“Yeah no he’s fine,” Destiny’s tone shifted to a bitter snap, “Just making a fool of himself and getting kicked off the council.”
“What? But why? Does it have to do with Seeks?” Her blood boiled at the thought of the commander and the utter uselessness of her mission.
“No, I’m sure they would have kicked I’m off regardless.”
“What do you mean?” Mavis questioned.
“I mean they shouldn’t have let him on the council in the first place and they realized that.”
“Why are you saying this Destiny? He’s your own brother…”
“I don’t trust him Mavis,” the girl snapped. “I mean I trust him with my life, but I don’t trust his judgment and I don’t see how you can put so much stock in him. My opinion, you were better off with Stripes.”
“He’s a good person and…”
Destiny huffed, “He’s a selfish boy Mavis. Sometimes I think this is all a game to him, one that he has to control.”
“Where is all of this coming from?” Mavis asked, weary, “You have no reason…”
“He does things the way he wants, often regardless of the consequences or the effects on other people. He’ll flake on you or lie to you if it serves his purpose. That’s his job isn’t it? Working both sides. The council sees that and although they won’t say it to his face they don’t trust him either, it’s too exhausting to try and keep track of him and his loyalties.”
“Well you don’t seem to be telling him anything! And besides, you’re wrong. To me he’s the most honest and trustworthy person I know.”
“That’s because his job hasn’t given him reason to turn on you yet.”
“And even if it did, he wouldn’t.”
Destiny shrugged and said coldly, “I learned my lesson after our parents died, he retreats to work, he becomes single minded, and if you don’t agree with his views, you’re not worth his time.”
The girls glared at each other. Finally, Mavis spoke, “Whatever, regardless I’m going to the lab to see how he’s handling the situation.”
When she got to Lawrence’s lab, Mavis was annoyed that Destiny had followed her. But rather than acknowledge the girl, she said nothing and entered the room.
Immediately upon entrance, Cal looked up from the maps he’d been analyzing and said, “Well what do know, the pretty ladies are here!” The boy sat himself up on the table and patted his legs, “Come on in girls, there’s plenty of room on my lap for both of you.”
“Sweet but I’ll have to decline,” Mavis countered, “my boyfriend would get jealous- where is he by the way.”
“The boy got lost in his work,” Cal joked, using his thumb to motion towards the primary computer, “good luck getting him outta there.”
“I thought he got sacked,” Destiny said, giving Mavis a smug look, “Don’t tell me they gave him an assignment already.”
“Um- well, not exactly…”
“Is that so?”
Mavis ignored the girl’s I-told-you-so demeanor as she walked over to the boy engulfed in his three computer screens.
“Lawrence?” He made no motion. “Lawrence.” The continued lack of response sparked irritation as Mavis remembered what Destiny had said. But she subdued the emotion and pressed herself against him from behind, rubbing her hands up his chest.
For a moment the boy went stone still in surprise. Then he abandoned his work, closed his eyes, and squeezed her arms to him, “Hey baby, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I noticed.”
Lawrence spun around and met her gaze, concern painted on his features, “Were you waiting long? I’m sorry I was…”
Mavis cut him off by covering his mouth with her own. He slid his arms around her, pulling her close as they kissed. “It’s alright Lawrence, I forgive you this time.” The boy smiled, brushing his fingers down her cheek.
“Um, there’s other people in the room to you know!” Mavis felt a feral growl building in response to Destiny’s outburst.
Lawrence looked up, not catching the ice in her tone, and joked, “Hey this is my room. So- if you guys don’t mind,” he pointed, “the door is that way.”
“Ha, ha,” Cal responded, “I’m sure you two would love the privacy, but in case you’ve forgotten, there’s work to be done.”
“Work that you shouldn’t even be doing,” Destiny put in.
“You know what Destiny,” Mavis snapped, “You obviously don’t want to be here so leave.”
There was a moment of silence where Lawrence glanced from the girl in his arms to his sister. Finally, he said to Cal, “I think we’ve miss
ed something here.”
“It’s nothing,” Mavis snapped, “just a little sibling betrayal.”
“Oh, I hardly call speaking my mind a betrayal!” Destiny countered. “But while we’re on the topic of traitors what about him!” She pointed at Lawrence. “He is deliberately going against the council.”
“In his defense,” Cal said as placed his hands on his hips, “It’s not just him. We are all going against the council. And we are acting in the best interest of Democris.”
“Mmhm. Sure.”
“Destiny you don’t even know what the plan is,” Lawrence countered, “you have no right to judge.”
“Okay,” his sister responded, “then tell me.”
Glaring at Destiny, Lawrence outlined his idea with small interjections from Cal. Then they finished, Mavis nodded, “Seems like a good plan. But you should have called me over the moment you came up with this. How many days do we have to prepare?”
“Wait, we? Since when are you coming?”
“Since right now.”
“And I’m coming too,” Destiny cut in.
“No, you’re not,” Mavis and Lawrence said in unison.
“You can’t stop me,” Destiny countered, “unless you want me to tell the council how you’ve been fooling around on the job, and that’s why the murder of Seeks failed.”
Lawrence took a step closer, his fists clenched and itching to punch, “Why are you being like this?”
“Because,” her eyes were dark when she responded to him, “I don’t want Cal and Mavis to turn out like Mom and Dad.”
*****
At the end of lecture, Mavis’s professor announced that the midterm scores were ready- as promised- and they could retrieve their tests from his tablet at the front of the room.
Rather than push her way forward, Mavis hung back, waiting for the crowd to disperse. But when she saw him, she strung her backpack over a shoulder, hugged her tablet tightly to her, and began to press her way into the throng. Only a few students in, she was halted as a pudgy hand clasped on her shoulder.
“What’s the hurry Miss Cruz,” the Dean of the university asked coldly, “obtaining it earlier will not change the score.”
“Yes sir,” Mavis murmured, shrugging to keep her tone free of frustration.
“How have your classes been going Miss Cruz?”
“Fine, thank you.” As she looked around, Mavis spotted a click of upper cast girls shooting death glares at her, whispering amongst each other. Her head tilted slightly in puzzlement, but when she returned her gaze to the Dean, she realized the source of their rage was envy. She her muscles stiffened, wanting desperately to shrug the fat hand from her shoulder. The bastard, she thought to herself, he knows what he’s doing, and I don’t have time for this.
“I’m glad to hear it,” the Dean responded smoothly, “You’re one of our best second cast students Miss Cruz. I’m very interested in your progression.”
Yeah in the end of it! Mavis risked another glance and saw the whispering had become frantic and charged as the girls sent rapid fire messages on their phones. A knot formed in her gut as more girls and a few boys joined the group, she was becoming massively out numbered. As they discussed and assembled, she made mental notes of who to take out first if a fight was unavoidable.
“Mavis,” the girl snapped her head back at the sound of her professor’s gentle voice, “Your tablet please.”
Mavis handed her professor the device and he pressed his own to it. When the transfer was complete, he returned it to her with the screen displaying the title “History 3C” accompanied by individual question scores and a B- circled on the top right corner.
“Very good Miss Cruz,” the Dean patted her shoulder feigning exaggerated admiration.
Oh, shut up you ridiculous conniving two faced asshole!
“But of course,” he continued, “I believe you’re scoring better than many of your upper cast peers, I’m sincerely impressed.”
“You’re insulting her,” a male voice said hissed from behind. Both individuals turned as Roland continued, “Mavis could be the top of this class, we both know why she isn’t sir,” the boy slurred the word sir as he glared at the Dean, “So leave her alone.”
“I’m sorry I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Dean responded with the falsest of smiles.
Mavis shot him a look, shut up you’re making it worse! But Roland ignored it and hissed in a low voice, “It’s cause you’re afraid she’s capable of more than she should be. But she’s no traitor, she’s playing your game, so don’t put her on display like she’s an animal and smile in her face while you’re setting up a mob to lynch her.” He said the last part loud enough for the upper cast group to hear and they jumped in surprise, followed by embarrassed glances.
“You’d better hold your tongue General Stone,” the Dean hissed, “being military does not make you exempt.”
“Actually,” Roland retorted, hooking an arm around Mavis, “it kind of does.”
As he led her out of the room, his hand dangled casually near the gun at his hip. Mavis noted with some relief that this was enough to keep the mob at bay. When they were well within the hallway, she put her tablet away and turned to him. “You know you just gave me a death sentence, right?”
“What?” he asked astonished, “those kids back there were going to murder you, I just saved…”
“No Roland,” Mavis snapped, “they may have come after me but if I played it right it would have been a one-time thing. You’ve turned it into lasting hatred.”
“No, I didn’t! The Dean was setting you up before I even got there.”
She knew he was partly right but didn’t want to admit it so rolled her eyes, “Whatever.”
He was silent for a moment before saying, “I’m just trying to help you Mavis.”
“Well I don’t need your help,” the girl hissed.
“That’s a fine thing to say,” the boy was growling now “to someone with the capacity to hurt you.”
She turned to him, eyes narrowing, “What could you possibly mean by that?”
“I know a little more about your boyfriend,” he slurred the word in disgust, “than you realize.” A chill ran down her spine, no, Lawrence.
“Leave him out of this.”
Roland took a few steps closer, causing her to back away into the wall. “In fact, I know a few facts that could get him in a whole lot of trouble,” he placed a hand on either side of her head on the wall, caging her in, “could get him arrested as well as kicked out of that prestigious little program of his.”
“What do you want,” Mavis growled with such menace the boy relocated his hands to his pockets and looked away.
“Nothing, I- I just want a little recognition. I’m not your enemy here.”
“Well you sure don’t act like my friend.”
His face contorted with frustration. “And you think he’s any better? He wouldn’t honestly risk a real relationship Mavis. You’re a play thing to him, a toy that’s all.”
“And I was a vaguely interesting concept to you; I don’t feel any worse off.”
“How can you even say that? If I had known you wanted me, I would have dumped Kara in a…”
“Shut up,” Mavis cut in, “I don’t want to hear it Roland, you were never going to leave her, and you know it. You like having her on your arm, you like that she’s attractive and such a political fanatic that it masks your own moderate views, you like that your father approves of her, so don’t try to guilt trip me when you and I both know that even though you like me more I was always way too far from your comfort zone.” Though she had been ranting, she realized in watching him, her accusations were all true. How did she ever think he could appreciate her for herself?
Roland opened his mouth to rebuttal then but bit his lips together and stared off, shaking his head. “Okay, fine,” he finally said, “maybe you’re right. I’m sorry, it’s not what
I intended to do. But that was then, and I can change. Give me a chance to…” Mavis threw up her hands, grunting in frustration and turned to leave but he caught her by the shoulders and kept her in place, “Please, just listen. Can you just let me be your safety net? When he messes up, when he breaks your heart, I’ll be here for you. I’ll wait for you.”
“Let go of me.” Mavis sneered as she jerked free of his arms, sickened by the proposal. She shoved him back and stormed down the hall without another word.
By the time Roland got to the bar he felt drained, as if his body had been emptied of blood, guts, and muscle and nothing but a mere skeleton remained of who he was. He felt as if he would collapse at the slightest prodding, so he let himself fall into the bar stool and ordered a drink. When the florescent green substance arrived, he could only stare as small bubbles rose to the surface and popped. He felt his phone vibrating with messages and notifications, but he didn’t have the energy to each for it.
He still had two hours before he was supposed to meet with Kara, two damn hours with nothing to do. He knew he should have met with his commanding officer, debriefed about the afternoon’s incident with the Dean. But at the thought of facing the stern man he immediately gripped his glass and chugged the alcoholic beverage. Nearly choking on the last few drops he coughed, then stiffened as a hand clapped him three times in the back.
“Get this man another drink,” the male stranger said as Roland turned in time to see him waving down the bartender, “it looks like he needs it.” The boy gave him an easy smile, “Sorry for intruding, I can see you’re having a lovely time sulking,” he sat in the adjacent stool, “but my buddy stood me up to catch up on some work, can you believe it? I mean sure, we are all entitled to freedom of entertainment and all that, but work? Now if he were finally taking his beautiful girlfriend to bed, I’d understand but work!” The boy shook his head in indignation then offered his hand, “I’m Caleb by the way, Caleb Short.”
“Roland Stone,” Roland murmured, noting the single bar on the boy’s wrist as they shook, upper cast.