Abandon (31 page)

“Trek—”

“Doesn’t have a fraction of what he needs to do this,” Irv interrupted. He brandished one of his tech tools at me. “And your voice will do a lot, but not enough. You need me, Jag.”

“I know that,” I said quietly. “I’ve always needed you.”
What I couldn’t say was still heard. Irv nodded slightly, acknowledging my nonverbal apology. I shouldn’t have taken him with me on the mission into the Goodgrounds, not when he was scheduled to infiltrate the Association.

I cleared my throat. “So, you been down here all this time, or what?”

“About seven or eight months,” he said casually. “Jeffries appointed me Director after his promotion.”

I choked. “Director?”

“Tech like this doesn’t go unnoticed. Someone had to authorize the production schedule. Turns out Jeffries wanted Rancho Port to be known for something. We thought it would be the tech.” He pushed his glasses up so I could see his eyes. “Sorry about the capsule, brother-man.”

I choked. “You knew about that?”

“We got you out as fast as we could.”

“We?”

“The Insiders. Xander and I coordinated the escape, the day after I took command of the city.” He heaved a sigh and replaced his glasses. “Not everything went according to plan.”

“Xander died.”

“And you got caught,” he said. “But at least you were out of that capsule. Jeffries had been promoted, and I got Rancho Port.” He kept working on his tech, welding this or sparking that.

I wish he’d look at me again. “What’s going on here?”

“Stick around, and you’ll see for yourself.”

“I heard all your people are asleep.”

“You heard?” Irv paused in his welding.

“I’ve got a mind reader on staff.” I leaned back and chewed on my thumbnail.

“Where’s the rest of your ‘staff’?” Irvine asked.

“I sent a team to Grande to check on Laurel Woods, who manages an underground—”

“I know who Laurel Woods is,” Irv said. “We’ve been working together for months.”

A flash of annoyance shot through me. As the cracking leader, I should’ve known all this. If Irv was a Director, why hadn’t he notified Indy—who had been leading the Resistance while I’d been detained—two months ago?

“Great,” I said, my voice hollow. “We’ll send word to them when we launch the attack, yeah?”

I wasn’t really asking, but Irv said, “Yeah,” anyway. He finished working on his gadget and set it in a row of identical weapons. “My people wake up between four and six,” Irv said, grinning. “The night show is fantastic.”

*   *   *

Irv never was a liar. The night show was spectacular. The people slowly got up, at all different times. Some went jogging. Some
slept in. Some made breakfast, and some stood on balconies and sipped coffee.

Near nine, most people left their apartments and went to work. By work I mean that they went to different buildings and performed jobs like making soap and sewing clothes. Some worked in the fields, preparing the ground for planting. Some collected water, some canned food, some fiddled with tech like Irv.

I stood in Irv’s monitoring room with Vi, Raine, Gunner, Thane, and Isaacs, watching. Their emotions blended with mine, but it didn’t matter, because we were all feeling the exact same thing.

Shock.

Sure, I’d imagined what a free society might look like. It wasn’t this. In my dreams, there was unrest. Disease. Destruction.

But this society, these people, operated almost like the brainwashed. Irv hung out in the back of the monitoring room, his arms crossed. Several minutes into the whole they-all-perform-a-job-they’re-good-at thing, he spoke.

“So, what do you think?”

What do I think?
I thought.
What do I think?

Truth was, I didn’t know what to think.

“It’s unbelievable,” Raine said. “Do you tell them all which jobs to do?”

“At first I did,” Irv said. “I matched everyone with a job I thought they’d be good at, based on their Citizen profiles.”

“And then?” Gunn asked.

“Then I let them pick,” he said. “People are more productive when they’re working a job they like. Some kept the same job, but as I interviewed each person, some adjustments were made. Most jobs have been filled, and those that aren’t get done on a rotational basis.”

“Wow,” I said, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say. I turned to Irv. “So what do you need us to do?”

*   *   *

The next five days were a whirlwind of activity as I oversaw what Irv had planned and, with Raine, carried out interviews with possible Resistance recruits. Gunn and Vi were assigned to gather as much tech as possible, as per their technopathic abilities, and I didn’t get to see my girlfriend very much.

By the end of the fifth day my nerves were frayed. “Well?” I snapped at a possible recruit. I took a deep breath as Raine pinned me with a glare.

We needed people to manage communications, people to help transport the tech, people to bring and prep food. The list went on and on. We’d fulfilled nearly all the assignments and sent the willing recruits to Thane for further instruction.

I let Raine finish the interview with the man and extend the invitation for him to join us on the tech transportation team. Our plan was to leave at nightfall, with a midnight stop-off in Grande. We’d make it to Freedom by daybreak.

After the man had his instructions and left, Raine put her head down on the silver table and closed her eyes. We hadn’t slept much over the past few days, and I didn’t even have the energy to breathe. Good thing it was an involuntary action.

I would’ve fallen asleep if an alarm hadn’t shrieked. Outside the door the communications hub went wild with flashing lights. A couple of engineers rushed into the room to receive the message.

I didn’t care. The world could come to an end, and I’d be fine. At least then I’d get to sleep.

Vi entered the room, and shook my shoulder. “Jag, wake up. This is important.”

I opened one eye to look at her.

“Darke has left Freedom. So has Zenn. Intelligence says Zenn will be back in the morning, but Darke won’t be back until tomorrow night.”

The thrill of opportunity shot through me, breaking through my exhaustion. “Nice,” I said.

“We’re leaving early,” Vi added.

“Define ‘early,’ ” I said.

“One hour.”

My groan mimicked Raine’s.

*   *   *

One hour later I was on my hoverboard, face braced against the wind that howled through the sky. It began to pour, and my hair was slicked to my forehead within seconds. Water weighed down my clothes, and the driving rain made talking without a cache impossible.

Maybe for the first time, I wished I had an implant. I pulled my jacket tighter and endured the silence within myself. We hit the outskirts of Grande just as the rain tapered off. Laurel sent her team into the sky before I could say anything.

“Take the lead,” I told her, as if that was the plan the whole time. She smiled sweetly, looking very much like Vi. “How’s Saffediene?” I asked in an attempt to regain my leadership role.

“She woke up the first day,” Laurel said. “She’s made a nice recovery. Irv had just sent a shipment of medical supplies, so that helped.”

“How come you didn’t tell us Irvine was Director of Rancho Port?” I asked, looking over her shoulder as if something more interesting was happening behind her. “Indy’s been looking for him for almost a year.”

“I didn’t know Irvine was lost,” Laurel said.

“Right. Don’t people bring
news
when they come through your underground?” I let my board rise as I inserted a new charge pack, unwilling to continue this conversation if Laurel was going to lie to me.

Laurel matched my ascension. “Plenty of news travels through the underground. My daughter’s sacrifice for one. My older daughter’s death.” Her voice chilled like the wind. “But sorry, I didn’t know his status was in question.”

“I didn’t know he was a Director either,” I said.

“Maybe you should take that up with him.”

“Maybe I will,” I said, just to be spiteful. She knew how to make her words hurt; that comment about Ty’s death unsettled me. I’d been close with her; she’d taught me subtle mind control and sacrificed everything to get me the best voice coaches.

Laurel flew away, settling into a conversation with Thane. Vi joined me. “What did you say to her?”

“Nothing,” I muttered.

“You made her mad,” Vi said.

“How can you tell?”

“I’ve seen that look many times,” she said. “Trust me, she’s upset.”

“Sorry,” I said automatically.

Vi laughed. “I don’t care. I like anyone who can make my mom mad.”

*   *   *

“He’s there,” Vi said, confirming Zenn’s presence in the city of Freedom. The barrier was down, and I itched to get inside and see how much damage Isaacs and his team had done.

My patience won out, and I sent Trek, Starr, and Saffediene in first. All were former Citizens of Freedom, all were well versed in playing both sides. They could get a read on the situation and communicate with the Resistance before we flew in and announced our presence.

I watched the trio fly toward the ocean, as per our plan. They’d come in over the water as if they didn’t know the barrier was down, find Zenn, and cache us his coordinates and status.

Five minutes became ten, and Raine sighed. Next to her, Irvine whispered something that made her smile. He handed her a tech gadget, and together they watched something on the minuscule screen.

I paced. Back and forth, back and forth. My doubts escalated as more time passed. Maybe Zenn was already gone. Maybe he’d hurt Trek and Starr—but Saffediene? I didn’t believe he’d hurt her. She’d said they’d kissed. Zenn doesn’t kiss just anyone. She’d meant something to him, and I wasn’t above admitting that’s why I sent her with Trek and Starr.

“Jag,” Gunn said. “They’ve got him. Western Blocks.”

50
.
Before I could call or wave to Trek and Starr, a fierce pain coursed through my body. Hot and crackling, it felt like I’d touched a live techtricity portal.

I slipped off my hoverboard, free-falling, before another layer of pain added to the sparks still flowing through my muscles. This time the ache was dull, and came from my legs.

The ground beneath me felt damp and cold. But nothing was as bad as seeing Trek and Starr lean into my line of sight, their faces filled with anger. Trek’s mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying through layer upon layer of my pain.

Starr stepped aside, and the real torture began.

Saffediene came into view, her eyes filled with worry but her mouth set in determination. She bent down until her lips met my cheek. Tears coated her lashes.

“What have you learned, Zenn?” she asked in a whisper, her mouth next to my ear. I remembered how that mouth felt against mine, and the agony inside me doubled.

“Free or functioning?” she pleaded, desperate for an answer I couldn’t give.

I didn’t answer—and not because my voice had stopped working. Because, despite my decision to rerecord the transmissions, I still didn’t know.

51
.
“Let’s fly,” I said, dashing to my hovercraft and leaping on board. The others followed me into the sky, and we lifted over the towering wall.

I landed next to Trek, who stood a few paces away from a fallen Zenn, holding Starr’s hand. Trek had no emotions to speak of, nothing for me to use to form an opinion of the situation.

Saffediene knelt next to Zenn, weeping into his chest. Her genuine sadness rose into the air, painting the scene in muted colors. Everyone else stayed back, ready for me to take the lead.

So I did.

I moved forward and put my hand on Saffediene’s back. She stood, wiped her tears, and retreated to Raine’s side.

I looked down at Zenn. The old familiar feelings of betrayal and disgust resurfaced. Zenn looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept in days and eaten in longer. He wore the same dirty jeans, the same handed-down jacket as he had when I’d last seen him.

He didn’t look like a Director of anything.

Zenn pleaded with his eyes. His mouth moved. No sound came out. Vi dropped to his side and stroked an errant piece of hair off his forehead. “He said he destroyed the transmissions he made.”

She spoke with tenderness; her touch broadcasted her love for him. I understood it, really I did, but her adoration of him still sliced through me.

“He left the remains in Rise One,” she said. I waved my hand, indicating for someone—anyone—to go check. With regret, I realized that Zenn used to be my number two. He would’ve gone to check for me. And if not him, then Indy.

As it was, Raine nudged Gunn and they left to confirm conditions in Rise One.

“He was going to fly back to Arrow Falls,” Vi continued. “To make new transmissions that would gradually awaken
the people.” She looked at me with those beautiful, changeable eyes that were filled with tears for her “sweet, wonderful Zenn.” “They have a meeting tonight, after Darke returns from Castledale.”

“Zenn doesn’t need to go to Arrow Falls,” I said, refusing to let Vi’s emotion for Zenn infect me. I knew she loved me; I wouldn’t be threatened by her lingering attachment to Zenn.

“Irvine has recording equipment,” I said. “If Zenn is serious, he can make new transmissions, right here, right now.” I motioned Irv forward. “Isn’t that right, Irvine?”

“Sure thing, boss-man.”

I knelt next to Zenn and looked him straight in the eye. “Well, Zenn. It’s time to find out who you really play for.”

52
.
The fury in Jag’s eyes unnerved me. He looked mad enough to kill me. Or at least mad enough to try.

I already felt dead inside. First from the gentle way Saffediene had begged me to answer her question. I detected forgiveness in her voice, like I could salvage my relationship with her, even if I thought functionality should prevail over freedom.

Then when Vi acted as intermediate between me and Jag, I died a little more. Seeing her show emotion because of me reminded me of all we’d been through together. That history
doesn’t go away overnight, and it doesn’t vanish simply because we fall in love with other people.