Contributor (Contributor Trilogy, book 1) (32 page)

"Let's go," Letizia said tersely, the moment Dara finished stuffing her hair up under her cap. Dara nodded and followed Letizia through the maze of access corridors.

Both women kept their heads lowered as they moved. Mal had meticulously combed the work schedules to ensure no one had scheduled routine maintenance along their route, but there was no guarantee the corridors would be deserted. If they ran into any Cores, their cover would most likely be blown. Even a Core sympathetic to a Ballast's need to escape for a while would likely find the rewards for reporting suspicious behavior too tempting to resist.

Things went smoothly, though there was one heart-stopping moment when they exited onto a side path shortly after an Authority strolled by. When they made it to the trash collection zone, Dara took a deep breath of relief, which she immediately regretted, thanks to the nauseating stench. Letizia kept walking with swift, sure steps, swinging up into the cabin of one of the trash removal transports. Dara followed suit.

"Hey, Letizia. Nice night for an assignation," the driver said, giving her a mock leer.

She made a face at him. "Jealous, Ricky?"

He sighed dramatically. "Must you drive the knife deeper? You know I'd marry you—if Cores and Ballasts were allowed to get married."

"Oh, I see. So I'm just a meal ticket for you, then?"

"You make it sound so...so cheap."

The two of them smiled at each other, and it amazed Dara to see her master engaged in such banter.

"Who's this goggling at us?" Ricky asked, jabbing a thumb in Dara's direction.

"This is Dara, my apprentice," Letizia said.

"Nice to meet you, Dara." Ricky offered her his hand.

"N-Nice to meet you," Dara stuttered, taking it.

"You ever need another ride in my chariot, you just let me know. Any friend of Letizia's is a friend of mine."

"Um, thanks."

Letizia and Ricky chatted idly as they left the dome and headed for the wasteland. Dara was sure he would ask more about her or question Letizia about where she was going, but he didn't. Instead, he took them to the appointed spot and then continued to the reprocessing facility with a wave.

"Ricky never asks. None of the chauffeurs ever do," Letizia said, in response to Dara's unasked question.

"Chauffeurs?" Dara echoed.

"That's just a general term we use to describe anyone who shuttles free thinkers from one spot to another. Sometimes they're sanitation Contributors, sometimes delivery Contributors... There's a fairly extensive web."

Head spinning, Dara nodded and decided the rest of her questions could wait. She followed Letizia across the wasteland, paying close attention as her master pointed out the landmarks she used to navigate the seemingly featureless expanse of land. It didn't take long for Dara to understand the system, and she admired it for both its cleverness and its subtlety.

They arrived at a decrepit building, and Letizia led them through the crumbling structure, cautioning Dara to pick her way carefully. It was soon obvious why no one squatted there. Every few seconds a crash or creak rang through the rickety metal spires, and Dara constantly shielded her head, expecting something to come down on it.

At last, Letizia paused in front of a steel door. She placed first her thumb and then her right eye over the biometric scanner, before typing rapidly on a keypad; too rapidly for Dara to see the code.

"The code is a failsafe," Letizia said, as the door's magnetic lock disengaged. "It changes twelve times a day, and there are five different code patterns. They're all literary references."

Dara shook her head in astonishment. "There's no way I could ever remember something like that."

"It's overwhelming at first, but you'll catch on." Letizia shrugged. Keeping her doubts to herself, Dara followed Letizia down a set of steel stairs.

Once again, they stood in a concrete-lined bunker, though this one seemed more formal than the last. Several people milled about, all of them greeting Letizia as they made their way to a central room, which was fitted out like some sort of command outpost. Dara saw at least fifteen people sitting at the banks of monitors, busily typing away. Mal stood in the center of the room, deep in discussion with a gray-haired man of about fifty. As they approached, Mal looked up, relief evident on his face. He said something to the other man, who nodded and walked off.

"You're a little late," Mal told Letizia.

"Ricky had a holdup in sanitation."

He frowned, as if he disapproved greatly of holdups in sanitation. "Come on. The others are waiting for us."

Dara looked from one to the other of them, but no further information was forthcoming, so she kept quiet and followed them into a good-sized room. It looked surprisingly like a conference room in Magnum's headquarters, with a long table equipped to the hilt with the latest in computer technology. Dara gaped openly at it.

"Welcome to command central, Dara," said a familiar voice. She turned and saw a brightly smiling Tasha, Raj standing just behind her.

"I didn't think I'd see you again," Dara blurted. She was looking at Tasha, but she had spoken to Raj.

"I'm hard to get rid of," Tasha joked.

"It's good to see you," Raj told her.

"How's my mother? Is she okay? Has she made any progress? Is she—" The questions poured out of Dara, and Raj held up a hand.

"She's doing well. I've got a full report for you, and we can talk more about her progress another time, but for now we have to get straight to business. I'm sorry." She could see that he truly regretted not being to tell her more.

"Your mother is in very good hands, I can assure you," Mal said. "Thank you for entrusting her to us."

"Thank you for saving her," she said, surprised at this bit of courtesy.

Mal looked at her appraisingly for a long moment, then gestured that they should all sit.

"Letizia tells me you wanted to meet with me," Mal began.

"Yes, I did. Did she tell you why?"

"She said you wanted to help." Mal's face was unreadable.

"I do," Dara said firmly. "And did she also tell you that I'm going to be Andersen's assistant?"

Judging by Mal's reaction, Letizia had not. Tasha gasped and Raj started, and Dara realized that this information was far more significant than she had known.

"It had to be her decision, Mal, and you know it," Letizia growled.

His lips pressed together in a rigid line, Mal turned back to Dara and looked at her with renewed interest.

"I want to inform on Andersen," Dara blurted.

"Mal, you can't—" Raj began, but Mal shot him a look.

"Do you have any idea what you'd be getting yourself into?" Mal asked.

Now Dara stood on shakier ground, but who was he to talk to her like he would a child? "I know it'll be dangerous, but that's not going to stop me."

"If Andersen finds out about you, he will utterly destroy you and everyone you care about."

She couldn't help herself, she flinched. "So you want to just pass up an opportunity like this? Letizia isn't going to be able to keep as close an eye on him, you know. He promoted her. She'll have thirty Contributors reporting to her."

Letizia's fixed her stony expression on Mal, and it didn't slip even as he rounded on her. "You should have told me that! It could change everything."

"Dara, listen," Raj said. His attempt at using a calm voice was belied by the underlying tension in his tone. "Magnum and all other Job Creators have an extensive network of secret prisons. They know about us, and when they catch one of us, that person literally disappears. We don't really know what goes on within those prisons, but it has to be brutal. Some of our cells have been exposed, and we know the Job Creators had to be acting on information gained from captives, captives that used to be extremely loyal to us."

She shuddered, and she knew he saw.

"They'll take your father there as well," Tasha added quietly.

"Not if you get to him first," Dara insisted.

"We would try to rescue him, I give you my word," Mal confirmed. "But I cannot orchestrate miracles. If you're serious about this, you have to understand the risks."

She closed her eyes for a moment, willing her breathing to calm. Thinking about her mother gave her the strength to harden her heart, and she opened her eyes and steadily met his gaze. "I want to do this," she said, conviction ringing clearly in every syllable she spoke.

"You need some time to think this through. You didn't know about the risks—" Raj said, but Dara cut him off.

"I had some idea. I didn't think this would be a picnic. All of you are taking those same risks, and I want to do my part," she said heatedly. He looked unhappy, but didn't protest any further.

"I don't need any more time to think about this," Dara insisted, directing her attention back to Mal. "I've done nothing but think about it for weeks."

Mal nodded. "It's your risk to take. If you're sure it's what you want, we'd welcome your help."

"I'm sure."

"Then we'll start you out slow. We'll ask you to keep your ear to the ground, let us know if Andersen says anything strange or if he seems particularly interested in someone."

"If you ever want out, all you need to do is say so," Tasha added. "There will be no pressure."

"That's our policy," Raj confirmed, eyeing Mal. "Everyone who's here is here because they want to be. We don't believe in coercing anyone."

"Okay," Dara said, relieved. It was good to know there was a way out. "So when do I start?"

"That's up to you," Mal said. "Go home, get ready for your Assignment Ceremony. If you decide you want to help, just start passing information along to Letizia. She can funnel it to me, for the time being. If you decide you want to become more involved, we'll make permanent arrangements. If you don't provide any information, we'll assume you want no part of this, and that will be the end."

"All right. But, either way, I want you to promise me that if you find the slightest indication that my father and I are under any suspicion—"

"We'll try to extract you both," Mal said.

"I want you to extract my father first, then me."

"Done."

"We'll need to leave soon," Letizia said, her face strained.

"Is there anything more I need to know?" Dara asked Mal.

He shook his head. "That's enough for now. This isn't an open exchange of information. The less you know, the less you can give up if you're caught. If you become active, I'll arrange another meeting in a few weeks, and we'll take it from there."

"Fine," Dara said, rising from the table.

"You're also welcome to read with us. We're not just about the heavy stuff," Tasha whispered.

"Thanks," Dara said, offering her a smile, which Tasha returned.

"Maybe we'll meet again," Mal said.

"Count on it," Dara told him.

His face inscrutable as ever, he nodded and left. Letizia beckoned for Dara to follow, and they headed out through central command.

"Dara!" Raj called from behind them. They paused, and he jogged to catch up. "Just...just be careful."

"Thanks, I will. And thank you for everything you're doing for my mom."

He handed her a chip. "This is the report. The chip is designed to erase itself once the information has been accessed, but you should incinerate it just to be safe."

"I will," she promised. She slid it into her deepest pocket.

"See you," he said, his eyes troubled.

"Take care of yourself," she replied, then she turned and followed Letizia. Somehow, heading out into the wasteland seemed far less scary than returning to the Magnum dome.

Chapter 41

The crowd at the Assignment Ceremony astonished Dara. Though she had known every Contributor attended the ceremony, the thought had always been something of an abstract to her. But now, seeing the rows upon rows of round tables with their pristine, white cloths, overwhelmed Dara. When she saw that not only Ballasts attended, but also the Creators themselves, she understood the significance of the affair.