Elite (Citizen Saga, Book 1) (4 page)

My gaze landed on the clothing the children wore. Noticing, belatedly, that the rips were self made, the wear purposeful, but the items clean and of good quality.

I'd been a fool to think Zhang Yong would remain impartial. His wife's illness,
dependency
, was costly. Replicas you could purchase on the black market at a considerably lower price than rations. It seemed insane, but nothing about Wánměi made any sense. Zhang Yong's wife could not survive on replicas. Even if she wanted to. Not now. He'd have to pay top dollar to the Overseers and go through legitimate channels to meet her requirements.

The rest of the family passed with replicas, by the looks of those bright, intelligent eyes. But the cost of one ration quota was significant enough for a Citizen living in
Muhgah Keekee
. Even if he managed to earn a dollar or two offering computer services to the immoral Citizens among us.

I flicked my gaze back to the computer, following the power cords and Ethernet wires and looked for a modem. If he had one, it was well out of sight.

My eyes landed on Zhang Yong. His smile had turned rueful.

"It has been a while, Citizen Yeh," I remarked.

"Too long, Lena," he purposely replied, omitting the formal and correct address.

"I fear so," I agreed with a soft smile.

"You have something for me?" he asked, still conversing in
Wáitaměi
.

It should have been an instant alarm. We'd always talked in
Anglisc
before. He was warning me. He had been right from the moment I stepped through the door.

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "I merely wished to ensure you were all well."

He nodded, that tranquil smile returning to his lips. The light in his eyes glinting. His message had been received and he knew it.

"We have prospered, Citizen," he said. "Wánměi treats us well."

I don't think I could have been more disappointed. Or defeated, right then. Zhang Yong had been my contact for all things technical for over eight years. I'd watched his children appear and grow. I'd eaten at his tiny table.

It took everything in me not to show any emotion at all.

"Then I shall bid you a good day, Citizen," I murmured.

"Be well, Lena," he offered, the smile slipping. "Wánměi above all others."

Oh, damn.

"Wánměi leads the way," I managed to say.

I left without another word. At the doorway the daughter looked up into my eyes, an awareness and knowledge there that shouldn't have existed on a thirteen year old child.

"I like your hair," she whispered, proving just how young she truly was.

"Thank you," I said, not sure what else I could offer a family who had obviously fallen under Overseer scrutiny. "Take care," I added, and then turned my back and walked down the stairs.

I'd made it to the end of
Olive Grove
when I heard them. I spun and watched in horror as the sPol drones swarmed into the street down by the Yeh building. Red lights flashed. Electronic beeps announced their arrival. The ominous sound of heavy boots thumping up a rickety stairwell met my ears.

I stood still for too long. Waiting. Watching when I shouldn't. Telling myself they were safe, I hadn't left them compromised at all. There was nothing to lead the Cardinals to them. Other than the fact they lived off-grid, obviously weren't taking their rations, and had just entertained a Citizen who currently held the stolen Wántel files on her person.

No. They would be replica dosed. They'd pass a test. And there was no reason for the sPol to suspect I was connected with the break-in.

Unless my blocks had failed.

Besides, something else was going on. Something that had filled Zhang Yong's coffers. And I had the disheartening feeling that something was "politically correct."

I turned and started to walk away, thinking my time was really up now.

But within two steps I knew it had already passed. When an iPol drone shouted, "You there! Identify!"

My lids closed, as my heartbeat raced, and sweat beaded on my brow. Then with a heavy heart I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned to face my destiny, discarding the contact lenses I'd been wearing in one swift, undetectable move.

My defiant eyes met the red glow of a drone, no more than three feet away.

"Prepare for eScan," it announced, raising its right arm, fingers stretched to cup my chin.

I smiled.

I was betting it wasn't pretty.

"Oh, this should be interesting," I muttered under my breath. Unsure how I felt about the Honourable about to be iRec'd.

She'd led me on a merry goose chase, and I disliked being fooled. I was sure she'd been in her residence when I arrived at Parnell Rise. I was sure the concierge had given her the heads up, sometime after I left the foyer and ascended in the lift to her top floor. And I was sure her Shiloh unit was somehow lying when it told me at her front door that she had been gone for several hours.

Si didn't make mistakes, and he had her at those Parnell Rise apartments since she'd stumbled there from Wántel. Or at least, he hadn't seen her leave and he'd been watching like a hawk.

A Citizen had left twenty minutes before I arrived, but not Selena Carstairs, so how she doctored her Shiloh is anyone's guess.

And then I'd gotten lucky. Fuming, unreasonably off balance, I'd paced in the park across the street from her home, only to see her slip out a side entrance and hasten away through the shadows. So, I followed.

She took three taxis, one bus, and then a lengthy time on foot. Somewhere in all of that Si advised that Honourable Selena Carstairs was showing up at home in Parnell Rise, her Shiloh unit back online.

It just got crazier after that.

Who the hell was this woman to play tricks on Wánměi's system like this? Was it a game to her? A bored Elite with nothing to challenge her in life? She was bold, rash. Reckless.

And what had she wanted in a dilapidated building in Citizen zoned
Muhgah Keekee
?

I'd sat outside, unable to get in undetected, and waited. Playing over that iPol scene she'd watched from the shadows down the street. People didn't pay attention to Cardinal drones. But she did. As though it meant something. As though it moved her. But how did it move her? In which way? Pro Wánměi? Or anti Chew-wen.

And now this. Her own iRec-oning. How ironic.

I held my breath as she offered the most wicked looking smile to the drone. Something in me shifted. Something unidentifiable. Something... strange. My breath left me in a rush as she stepped forward, and I found myself leaning closer, almost out of the shadowed alcove I was using as cover. My fists clenched, my lips pressed in a thin line, my eyes boring into the eScanner that had risen from the iPol's arm.

I was actually praying she passed, and I couldn't figure out why.

It had to be the file she'd stolen. If she failed an iRec scan, she'd be arrested. And then how would I get the codes?

I licked my lips as the laser rolled over her eyeball. I found myself wondering what colour her eyes were. The shots we'd taken in the rain on that rooftop didn't identify her eye colour. I was going with blue, what with that white hair, but what shade?

Who the fuck cares? What was wrong with me?

A grunt of incredulity sounded out from the back of my throat just as the eScanner beeped acceptance. Miraculously my body released its tension, which didn't make any sense at all.

"Honourable Selena Carstairs," Shiloh announced through the drone's communicator. "No warrants. Highest regards."

Highest regards. I snorted softly, leaning back in the shadows again. She'd receive that greeting due to her relationship to General Chew-wen. How convenient.

"Forgiveness, Honourable Selena Carstairs," the drone intoned. "We were expecting someone else."

I frowned. They didn't usually make mistakes. One thing to be said for Cardinal efficiency, they rarely pulled someone over who didn't deserve it.

"An honest mistake, Cardinal," the Elite replied, directing her response to the Cardinal controlling the drone, and not the iPol unit itself.

Only Elites could get away with that. The rest of us had to talk to the robot.

"May I enquire as to your reasons for visiting
Muhgah Keekee
this morning?" the Cardinal asked through the drone's communicator.

"I lost my way," she replied, with a coy smile the operator would be able to see through the camera lens mounted at eye level on the drone.

"May I escort you back to Parnell Rise," the Cardinal pushed. I was getting the impression he didn't believe her.

And so was she. Quick, this one. Not drugged. Definitely not complacent. But was she Wánměi minded? I could tell from here she was superior, but then being an Elite she would need to be. Even in their own social structure one had to fight to stay on top, or get swallowed by the whole.

"No need. I believe I am near a charity I volunteer at," she smoothly replied. "I'll spend the day there helping those less fortunate."

How sweet.

The drone hesitated. The Cardinal clearly checking to see what charity organisations were located nearby.

"I shall accompany you, Honourable Selena Carstairs. These streets are not safe for one such as yourself."

Did that sound like a threat to the Elite as well?

I watched as she swallowed imperceptibly, the smile never leaving her beautiful, but pale face.

The world stopped.

I'm not sure why I did it. There is no way to explain my actions other than to call them for what they were.

Reckless.

Utterly, unbelievably, undeniably reckless.

Oh, yeah. This Elite was going to be the death of me. It was official now. I was totally screwed.

"Stand down, drone," a Cardinal said as he strode across the street with purpose towards us. He came from out of nowhere. My attention fully on the iPol unit before me and the increasing sensation the Cardinal controlling it was suspicious of something.

I wasn't sure which option was better. A drone I could possibly trick if need be. Or an actual human being: A Cardinal in person.

My eyes flicked over his uniform, noting the regulatory wear, but something seemed off. I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it was the slightly longer cut to his hair. I'd never met a Cardinal with anything less than military grade hair styling. General Chew-wen's son, Wang Chao, had always been the height of Cardinal correctness. But as he was the only Cardinal I had any personal, close-up experience with, maybe I wasn't as knowledgable as I thought.

The Cardinal came to a halt beside us and offered the clack of heels they effected as greeting.

I blinked, trapped by his stunning blue eyes. The deep, bottomless blue of the ocean. A place I had never seen, but dreamed existed. A colour I had fantasied about.

I shook myself out of the moment and turned my attention back to the drone. Forcing myself to behave as a model Citizen would.

The drone was by far the better choice. But he was needed elsewhere. Plus, as an Honourable, I was socially above a Cardinal who controlled a drone. Not necessarily above the Cardinal to my side, who would make a better escort for my status, but senior to the drone in any case.

"Thank you, Cardinal iPol," I said with just the right hint of Elite superiority. "I believe I shall be adequately protected with this Cardinal by my side."

"As you wish, Honourable Selena Carstairs," the Cardinal drone replied impassively. "Wánměi above all others."

"Wánměi leads the way," both the Cardinal beside me and I said in unison.

I waited for the drone to depart, returning to the chaos up by the Yeh household. Thankfully, they hadn't been hauled out onto the street. But the fact the sPol were still in attendance was disconcerting. Right now, though, I didn't have time to consider why.

I had my own problems.

"You know," I said conversationally. "I've changed my mind. I have a slight headache forming. I think I shall return home. In which case, your services are most assuredly not required."

"I wouldn't think of abandoning you, Honourable," the Cardinal advised, most annoyingly.

I gritted my teeth, but refused to show a reaction.

"Your vehicle then?" I asked, looking about the place.

He hesitated, which was odd. Cardinals prided themselves on their quick and efficient responses. Always prepared for any outcome.

And then his answer explained why.

"I am on foot, Honourable. But I shall hail a limousine for your use."

I held his stunning blue eyes and raised an eyebrow. "A Cardinal on foot. How revolutionary."

I'm not sure why I used that particular word. A slip of the tongue. An obvious mistake. I couldn't take it back, so I stood my ground, effecting a haughty look on my face.

"What would an Elite know of revolutions?" the Cardinal asked softly.

So, two could slip up, it seemed.

"You do not consider yourself an Elite, Cardinal...?" I left the sentence open. Hoping he'd identify himself by name.

He didn't. Another mistake.

"I am Cardinal first and foremost, Honourable."

"I see," I remarked, starting to walk towards the Rap-Trans station, thinking a train would scare a Cardinal off.

"A limousine, Honourable?" the Cardinal attempted.

"I prefer utilising the Rapid Transit system," I explained.

His own dark eyebrows rose, a twist to his lips which was uncomfortably attractive.

"Even with a headache forming?" he queried politely.

Oh, snap.

"I never back down from a challenge," I tried, lifting my chin and keeping my eyes resolutely forward and off that smirking,
striking
, façade.

He was large framed, like all Cardinals. But not as well polished. Stubble coated his jaw. He could have been coming off night shift, that would explain the slightly rumpled sheen to his attire, the mess of his spiked hair. It looked as though someone had run their fingers through it. For a brief moment I pictured doing that myself.

A shudder, not altogether unpleasant, ran through me, and I banished the image from my mind.

From the side of my eye I continued my appraisal. He was wide across the chest, the sleeves of his cream uniform stretched over muscles. My gaze trailed over the stubble, wondering if it was rough to touch. His jaw was square, his skin tanned, but not as dark as a
D'Awan
. He may have had some
Wáikěinese
ancestry, though, we're all a conglomerate of nationalities in Wánměi, but I thought perhaps it was buried deep enough not to show. His stride was lengthier than mine, I had to take two steps to his one to keep up. His hips lean, his legs long, his shoes... scuffed.

My eyes flicked back up to his face, he was watching me silently, aware I was checking him out. I think I may have blushed; an unusual occurrence for me.

I didn't like unfiltered reactions, so I smiled sweetly and said, "Your shoes are unpolished, Cardinal. I fear you may corrupt me."

It was a blatant flirtation. Anything to move the attention from my pinking cheeks.

His lips twitched and he turned his attention to the Rap-Trans station we'd just arrived at. People rushed to get out of the Cardinal's way, despite their heads still being down over their vid-screens. I wondered if the Cardinal system directed them through subliminal messages on their cellphones. It seemed logical. Not much made a Citizen's attention broaden past their screens.

But I had a feeling it wasn't just that. Because as much as I hated to admit it, this man,
this Cardinal
, had a presence that seemed dangerous, above and beyond that of the Cardinal name.

I'm not sure what it was, but my natural instinct of self-preservation was telling me to escape as quickly as I could.

"Truly, Cardinal. There is no need to accompany me further," I semi repeated. "This line has a station next to my abode. I will be safe on board the Elite section."

I hated using the part of the trains reserved for Elite passengers. It was redundant usually. Elites preferred taxis and limousines, to buses and trains any day. But still the service provided a locked carriage just for their use. Complete with luxuriously upholstered loungers, soft music and personal snack bars.

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you," he remarked, then turned those compelling eyes directly on me. "You cannot escape me that easily."

And OK. I was officially in trouble. But I didn't know exactly why.

Did they suspect? Were they waiting for me to break down and confess? They'd be waiting a while. My lips were sealed. But despite my bravado the flash-drive in my pocket was burning a hole. The need to check its presence with my fingertips was excruciating, and potentially suicidal. I had to trust they didn't know, hadn't made the connection between Lena Carr and Selena Carstairs. Hadn't connected either identities with Wántel's break in last night.

But this Cardinal left me feeling off centre. As though I was hanging on by my fingertips and about to spin off into the ether, out of control. The sooner I sold the files the better. I just needed to decode them. Somehow.

I frowned down at the platform as the train pulled into the station behind the glass security doors. Shiloh announced the arrival and end station destination, then as the doors opened with an electronic hiss, she warned, "Mind the platform gap."

I jerked my head up at the familiar instruction to find the Cardinal indicating I should precede him through the doors into the Elite compartment. As expected it was empty. But definitely not unobserved. My eyes tracked the location of the Cardinal security cameras, automatically picking the seat with only one camera trained on it.

That could change, but if I gave them no reason to, the camera lenses would remain where they were.

The Cardinal watched as I moved to my chosen lounger, that perpetual smirk gracing his curved lips.

"I always choose that side as well," he remarked, sitting opposite me in a chair that was covered by two cameras at least. He didn't seem to care, but why would he?

"I have no preference," I replied, moving forward as though to stand. "Would you like to swap?"

Please don't.

"That is kind," he answered with a small bow of his head. "I do hate travelling backwards."

Blast.

"But I wouldn't think of taking a lady's seat," he added, just as my butt lifted off said seat.

I sat down too quickly and he actually laughed. It was suppressed immediately. Cut off as quickly as it began. But he'd laughed.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was unlike any Cardinal I had ever met. And though I tended to avoid them as much as possible, only suffering Wang Chao's company when I had to, I had been in the presence of enough Cardinals when my father was alive to know their general demeanour did not tend to stretch to that of humorous.

There was something altogether unsettling about this man.

"Would you care for a drink?" the Cardinal asked.

"No, thank you."

"Something to eat, perhaps?"

"I'm not hungry."

"A cigarette?"

You never turned down a cigarette when offered one. They were too expensive to decline, and as part of our daily rations, it was expected you'd accept the offer to expedite your test.

"Thank you," I replied, thinking anything but.

He shook out a cigarette from a pack he'd pulled from his pocket. I absently noted it was Tyger Menthol. How apt. A Cardinal carrying the most exalted of cigarette brands. As per Wánměi doctrine.

I placed it between my lips and leaned forward for him to light it, watching as his eyes darkened. I couldn't tell if it was at the sight of my lips wrapped around the cigarette butt, or that he disliked cigarettes. Even obedient Cardinals would have opinions. Despite the Overseers efforts to remove all necessity to think for ourselves, we are still human at our cores.

Sentience is a given.

I forced myself to inhale the smoke, feeling my lungs baulk at the action. I managed to exhale without coughing, but my eyes did well with tears. I blinked, aware the Cardinal was watching me.

Aware he'd know I didn't smoke daily.

Tan was right. I'd spent too many weeks relying on replicas. There was no doubt I'd be in a tailspin as soon as I dosed up. The celebration was looking more and more ominous now.

"This damn headache," I offered as an excuse. "I do believe it is worsening."

"What brought it on, do you think?" he asked, exhaling his own trail of smoke without any issues.

"I'm sure I don't know," I managed, rolling the cigarette between my fingers, delaying the inevitable.

"Perhaps the shock of losing your way in a place such as
Muhgah Keekee
," he offered. And when my eyes met his, he purposely inhaled on his cigarette again.

He was playing with me. A spider with a fly.

I had the distinct feeling he knew. Who I really was. What I did to keep boredom at bay. Where I was last night.

"You're right, of course," I replied sweetly. Waving my hands around as though brushing my embarrassment away, and in the process letting the cigarette fly from my fingertips.

I swear he smothered another laugh.

"Would you like a replacement?" he asked instead, not bothering to pick up the discarded one. Below our class.

Thankfully, accepting the first offered cigarette was considered compulsory, but declining the second acceptable enough.

"I'm sure I'll survive," I said softly.

"Will you though?" he asked, and the artificially cooled air in the carriage chilled by several more degrees. "I hazard you had doubts last night," he added, so quietly I had to strain to hear.

My eyes darted around the section of train we were in. Still alone. Apart from the immobile cameras and no doubt strategically placed microphones.

Oh, no. This was bad.

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked, noting my voice sounded as strained as I was feeling.

"You know what I mean, Elite. Don't make me voice it here."

"I'm sure I don't." I licked my lips. "What
is
your name, Cardinal?" I demanded in a stronger voice.

"Where is it?" he said instead.

I shook my head, jumped when Shiloh blessedly announced my station stop, and stood immediately to my feet, losing my balance with the change in speed of the train. I stumbled as it began to brake; the Cardinal gliding to his feet and catching me before I fell. The move would have looked innocent on the cameras. Even as he placed an arm around my waist to further steady me and pulled me gently into his body, his head tipping down until his mouth was just at my ear.