Powerless (17 page)

“That’s why we stand in front of you today. The Revolution—this people’s Revolution—will not be relegated to back corner conversations. It’s time that we unequivocally stated that the only solution is for power to return fully to the citizens of the world. It’s time we spoke of good and evil in no uncertain terms.

“The war being waged across our planet is of Revolution against Opposition. Citizens who will not be oppressed clashing with those who would seek to maintain power at the highest echelons of men who do not want to cede what they have taken from you.

“This fight is not about country affiliation or which continent you call home. The Revolution isn’t bounded by borders. We as a people are not limited by our geography, as we were never meant to be limited by our status in life. Presidents Tivy, Agri, and I are bringing this battle out of the dark. The Revolution is a movement that started with you, is driven by you, and we won’t allow your voices to be silenced anymore. You are the Revolution and your time has come.”

The crowd erupted.

“Every citizen deserves stability. The opportunity to learn and to challenge authority without the fear of reprisal. And to that end, the governments of the States, the DCR, and the AF have officially rescinded the ban on the possession of books and will be releasing all of the data gleaned off the infochip so far for every citizen to access. We’ve heard your cries and we won’t allow them to be ignored. Work is already under way to build a formal system of education for all children under the age of ten. But that’s only where we begin. It will be a long road ahead of us, one that we understand is fraught with peril in communities where the Opposition wants to deny you and your children your history. The basic right to education. This is the fight we will not relent on.”

I was listening to the President’s speech, but with only half an ear. I’d heard similar speeches before, even if these citizens hadn’t. I’d been the only one in the room when he’d spoken to me about the importance of the Revolution and his strongly held beliefs. But this time was different. I didn’t need to listen to what he was saying to hear the underlying tone to his words. While he spoke of hope and a fight, I’d never heard him sound more defeated. He wasn’t an overly emotional man, so I doubted anyone would pick apart the inflection to his words the way I could.

I looked to Neveed, watching to see how his General was reacting, and was met with a look of confusion. Neveed was picking up on it, too. Besides myself, there was nobody that knew the President as well as Neveed did. But I’d had that conversation with the President before we’d walked out here—I’d been able to see through what he was telling me. The man in front of me should have been confident, and to everyone else he would appear to be. But Neveed and I had spent enough time at his side to read the telltale wariness of his posture, and the deepening of the wrinkles around his eyes and his mouth. His fingers twitched as he gesticulated instead of holding strong. He was scared.

And it was the only time I’d ever seen him like this.

Then Chen’s voice came over my comm. “Merq, I’ve got Armise. He’s nearly on top of you.”

I took a step back, surprised, even though I shouldn’t have been. “What the fuck does that mean?” I growled out. “I need an exact location.”

“I can’t give you one. He’s blinking in and out. But he’s close. Near the dais, nearly on top of it.”

“What do you mean he’s blinking in and out?”

“He’s transporting in and out of different locations. Only stopping for seconds then moving again.”

“He’s searching for the right spot. And he knows we’re watching him.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as he settles anywhere,” she advised me.

I scanned the surrounding windows and buildings. Searching the crowd.

Neveed caught my eye and whispered into his comm. He was tied into the same feed, so he was hearing everything I was. “Be ready to be on the move.”

I nodded to him.

The President’s speech continued. “You understand the risks better than any of us. The Opposition isn’t contained within one country or one continent. There are those among us today who will use the fear of anarchy to hold you down. Those who oppose the untangling of oppressive rules and regimes because it leaves them vulnerable. Those who will kill to maintain their place at the top. I speak to all of the Opposition fighters now. Take stock of what you’ve been told. Search within yourself for the truth. There is much to fear in the chaos of disorder, but there is more to gain in the rebuilding that follows it.”

I moved closer to the President and gestured for the leaders of Isida’s and Kariabba’s security teams to join me.

“We’ve got a live threat. When I move I’m going to need you to take over point on the President.”

The men nodded their agreement and moved back into position, fanning their teams across the stage so the presidents were covered from all sides.

“Merq, the shields just went down,” Chen said calmly in my ear. My head snapped to Neveed and we caught eyes, my fear reflected in his eyes. Without the shields none of them were protected anymore.

“Fix it,” I ordered Chen.

“I can’t get them back up,” Chen said with a huff of frustration.

I didn’t know where to go—Armise was here, but I didn’t have a location. And it wasn’t lost on me that Armise’s presence could be used to mask us from a more imminent threat. A decoy, even if not the shooter himself.

“I’m not so bold as to demand your trust or your loyalty.” The President swept his hands to encompass Isida and Kariabba. “None of us are. That can only be earned. One battle at a time, one freedom at a time. We begin with truth. We begin with education. And we begin with a promise that we won’t stop fighting until every citizen has access to the basic services of food, water, shelter, education, and safety. No refugee will be turned away from our borders. No Opposition forces will be allowed to gain a foothold on our soil.

“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering where the United Union and the People’s Republic of Singapore stand in all of this. I cannot answer that question for you, because it is your right as citizens of those countries to decide where you stand. Who you fight for and to what end.”

I shivered with the President’s words. He’d just made a threat against the Opposition. A plea direct to the citizens in those countries to rise up against their government.

“What’s going on, Chen?”

I had my hand on my pistol, and I drew it from the holster. Fuck how it would appear in the press, I had to be ready to fire.

“Armise is still going in and out. Truthfully, I’m not sure if he is doing any transporting at all or if their hack is fucking with my systems.”

I considered that. Transporting that many times with so little time in between trips would be beyond excruciating. Chen’s latter assertion had to be correct. There was no way Armise would be able to get a shot off if his body was racked with pain.

“Merq, I’m coming to you,” Simion stated.

“No you’re not, Simion,” Neveed ordered angrily. “Stay in position. That’s an order.”

I studied Neveed for a heartbeat. There was no reason he should be keeping Simion off the platform at this point. Unless there was a reason he needed him to stay alive.

“Fuck that,” Simion stated. “I’m on the move.”

I had no choice for the moment but to ignore whatever power struggle was happening between Neveed and Simion. My only goal was to keep the President alive, and right now, I had to be clear-headed. Try to be one step ahead of Armise.

“Chen, where is he?” I gritted out, my eyes never leaving the crowd and the surrounding buildings.

The President paused, and my attention went back to him when Chen didn’t immediately answer.

He shook his head and took a deep breath. “This journey won’t be easy. Territorial lines will be redrawn. Elections will be held. But I will not lie to you. Friends and family will lose their lives in the struggle. The three of us stand before you now instead of in front of a screen because we will not ask you to give anything we won’t risk ourselves. We not only fight for you, we fight with you. If that means we give our lives then so be it. We would rather die for what is right than live for what is wrong.”

“Chen,” I nearly shouted, to make myself heard above the cries of the crowd. “Where is he? Where the fuck is Armise?”

I could feel the President’s speech building to a crescendo, as if his words had been designed with his death in mind. My heart thudded, pulse thundering my ears. I had to move, to do something, but there was nowhere for me to go. No discernible battlefront.

“Neveed, get him out of here,” I ordered over the comm. “Now. Chen, programme their chips to take them to one of the President’s safe houses. I don’t give a shit which one.”

Neveed started to move towards the President, but Chen’s voice stopped him cold.

“He can’t, Merq. The transporters are down now, too.”

“Fuck,” I swore out loud.

Then Chen’s voice came again. “I’ve got him! Northeast corner of the plaza. Tenth floor of the building to your right. Go, I’ll feed you more details as you move.”

I locked eyes with Neveed, hoping that he understood how difficult it was for me to leave the President’s side, to leave him so vulnerable. I didn’t trust anyone to protect him the way I could, but I had to go with the most likely possibility. I had to eliminate that threat. And at this second, that threat was Armise Darcan.

I couldn’t hesitate. Not on this. Armise was more deadly than I would ever be.

“Guide me, Chen,” I ordered as I took off in a dead sprint towards the building to my left.

“Enter the door in front of you. Ten metres.”

I barrelled through the steel door, letting it slam behind me. I didn’t give a shit if Armise knew I was coming. He had to have known that as soon he’d stayed anywhere I would be on him.

“Take the stairs to your left.”

Ten fucking floors. I cursed myself for not having had the forethought to carry a transport chip with me, even though it wouldn’t have done any good with the capability down. I huffed up the stairs, floor by floor, dread building with each step. I couldn’t see what was happening in the plaza, I could only go by what I heard over my comm and from the crowd.

I could hear the President continuing his speech, the crowd growing more fervent as each second passed, with each footfall that brought me closer and closer to Armise and his death.

Armise would die today before the President would.

My breath came in great gasps of effort, but I wouldn’t stop. Wouldn’t slow.

The President’s voice filtered through each window that I passed, each opening to the square indicating one more floor as I ran.

“Peace… Community… Love… Together…”

I passed by the landing for the ninth floor and Chen’s voice was back in my head. “To your right when you exit on the tenth floor. I can’t pinpoint exactly. But it looks like he’s set up in a room that will be to your left about halfway down the hallway.”

I pushed through the door, metal banging on metal, hinges screeching. I was met with a group of citizens that were wide-eyed at my sudden appearance.

“Move!” I yelled, pushing through them.

There were sworn oaths thrown back at me, but I didn’t care. The President was coming to the final lines of his speech, the roar of the crowd at near uncontrollable levels.

I threw open each door as I went, clearing the rooms one by one.

“I need a better location,” I swore at Chen.

“Merq,” Chen’s voice broke. “Merq, he’s still. Completely fucking still.”

My blood went cold. There was only one thing that meant. Armise was set up for his shot.

“You’re on top of his signal now.”

I came to the third door and found the handle locked. I threw my left shoulder against the door, barrelled against it, putting all my strength into breaking it down. I was frantic, heartbeat ricocheting, wiping all thought away except getting through that door. I wouldn’t fail. Not for that man. Not for my father.

I hit at it again and again, until I could feel the violence of my desperation reverberating in my bones.

I would break my shoulder to get in there, crack my compromised ribs, leave my skin torn and bloodied on the floor if I had to claw through the metal with my fingernails.

The President wouldn’t die.

Wensen couldn’t die.

I heard the displacement of air, the damning pop of a sonicrifle, then the agonising wail of chaos from the plaza. But I couldn’t stop.

“Don’t fucking do it, Armise!” I screamed through the door, banging on the metal. “If you ever gave a shit about me, then don’t!”

But there wasn’t any answer.

I felt the crack in my shoulder, searing pain rocking through me in waves. I brought my body back to come at the door again, but before I could move forward the lock on the door clicked open and Armise’s massive frame filled the doorway.

He dropped to his knees, curling his fingers behind his head and staring at me. Silver-blue eyes cold. Unapologetic.

Behind him I could see the sonicrifle set in the window, and the madness that filled the square. And I didn’t have to change my position to see the President. Armise had set himself up in the perfect place.

The President lay on the dais unmoving, his eyes open, unblinking. His body whole, but irreparably broken. Neveed hunched over his prone form while security teams surrounded them in a circle. But there was nothing left to protect.

He was already dead.

The plaza was emptying, citizens running for their lives, even though the threat was never—had never been—any of them.

I pointed my rifle at Armise and put my finger on the trigger.

“Why?”

One word, choked out. It was the only thing I could think to ask.

Armise, silent, dropped his eyes to the floor.

“He’s dead, Merq,” Simion’s rough voice came over the comm. “The President is dead.”

I thought I knew what cold felt like. What pain felt like. But if this was being human, then I didn’t want to live.

“I’ve got Armise,” I answered Simion, not allowing my rifle to move out of position. My finger curled, putting pressure on the trigger. It would only take a fraction of a movement to set the world right again. To do to Armise just as he had done to the only father I’d ever known.