Rebellion (11 page)

I nod in recognition of the thanks and lean back so I'm standing normally in front of her desk, and wait for her to gather her emotions. Finally she says, louder than before, “Mr. Hunter! What a lovely surprise to see you again. We'd feared the worst. How can I be of assistance to you?”

I harden my tone. “I'm here to see the mayor. I'm sure he knows why.”

She pushes up from the chair, but before she can go any farther than two steps from her desk, Mayor St. James himself opens his office door. As his wife did, he stares for a few seconds, before nodding. “Mr. Hunter. Rumor had it you died in the Outlands.”

“Well, you know what they say about rumors, Mayor. They're carried by haters, spread by fools, and believed by idiots.”

“Indeed.” His eyes narrow. “Why don't you join me? We have much to discuss.”

“Without question.”

I follow him into his office and he takes the seat at his desk. “Shut the door. There's no need for more rumors to be spread. Is there?” He says it like a man accustomed to giving orders and having them instantly obeyed. I guess he'll just have to be disappointed.

“Fact is different from rumor, Mayor. I own my words and I don't care who hears them.” Still, I shut the door, then drop the rifles and walkie on his desk—to show just how easy it was for me to get in here. And, hopefully, to show him I'm not afraid to do what needs to be done. I take the seat across from him before being offered it. I'm done taking orders from this man.

That doesn't mean being here doesn't make my skin crawl. I'm just not going to let him get away with what he's done. If there's one thing I learned from Evie, it's that this man is nothing more than flesh and blood. No more important than any one person and a lot less important than he thinks he is.

Evie stood up to him when she didn't even know who he was. Who
she
was. And she'd won. Because she had—has—something I lost somewhere in all this. Confidence. To stand up for the things she believes in, even if that means getting hurt, or worse, in the process.

The memories of everything the mayor's done to my family make me falter a little when I speak, but if Evie can do it, I can. I'll just have to channel her when I stumble. And I know I'm going to have to channel a lot of her to get what I want.

He leans forward over his desk. “I'm not going to beat around the bush, Mr. Hunter. We both know why you're here and we both know how it can be resolved. Let's get to the point, shall we?”

“Yes. Let's.” I lean back in my seat, forcing my muscles to relax and be a direct contrast to the tension coming off him.

“I want my son back, Mr. Hunter. You want your family safe. I think we can both get our way,
if
you tell me what I want to know.”

“Where Asher is?” I smile. “I don't know where he is. And if I did, I wouldn't tell a snake like you.”

“Watch your tongue! You're here, sitting in front of me, only because I allow it. Keep that in mind.”

I slowly stand and lean closer to him, lowering my voice. “I'm here because
I
choose to be here.” I eye the weapons on his desk to punctuate my meaning. “And nothing you or your goons can do can keep me from being here. What
you
should keep in mind is that you're not laid out on the floor for what you did to my mom because I choose not to be like you.”

He tilts his head and leans back in his chair. “I see your time in the Outlands has not done you any favors. And with age has not come wisdom. You're turning more and more into your father every day, aren't you?”

For a moment I see nothing but a red blur across my vision. I bang both of my fists against his desk, startling him into pushing his chair farther from me. “Do
not
speak of my father. You have no right to even
think
about him. I know what really happened to him and so do you. And yes, there is one thing my time in the Outlands has taught me.” I slide my shotgun around and point it at him. “Survival is all about who has the best weapons. Where's yours,
Mayor
?”

He licks his lips. “Now, now. I understand you're angry, but there's no reason to resort to violence.”

“Tell that to my mom.”

“I admit I was hasty, and regret losing my temper in such a violent way. But you must understand how it feels to lose someone you love. I'm just looking for my son. That's all.”

“So you beat an innocent woman and child?”

“It was wrong of me.”

“And then take away their only means of survival?”

“It was a hasty decision made in the heat of the moment.” He spreads his hands in front of him. “I'm sure you can understand that.”

“No, actually. No, I can't.”

“Mr. Hunter … Gavin. Please. Put your weapon away and let's talk. Gentleman to gentleman. I just want to know where my son is.”

“If you're a gentleman, I'd rather not be one. Thanks.” But I put my gun down and sit. “I told you. I don't know where he is.”

He narrows his eyes. “I think you're lying.”

“And I think you're an asshole.”

“Name calling is so passé.” Pink flares in his cheeks, but his words are smooth and without a hint of emotion. “Until and unless you tell me where they are, the restrictions remain.”

“They?”

“H-him.” His voice cracks before he clears his throat. “Asher. My son.”

I blink as I realize something I should have known from the beginning. “You're not looking for Asher at all, are you? You want Evie.” I shake my head. “You're such a bastard. You don't even care about your own son. He's just a means to an end like everyone else here.”

For the first time in a long time, I feel bad for Asher. While I've had to deal without my dad, at least I had one once. Asher's had to deal with having one that doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself.

I lean forward. “What do you want with Evie? You've wanted to ‘help' her since you met her. Why? And why are you willing to have your reputation damaged by beating a woman to get to her?”

“As much as it pains me to work with someone like you, here's my deal. You tell me where my son and that girl of yours is, and I'll release the restrictions on your family and give them full protection. I can even move them into Rushlake as citizens with full access and more money than they could ever dream of. They'll never run out of food. Never worry about whether their house will survive the next rain shower. Never worry about electricity or water. They'll be welcomed into Rushlake with open arms, and fortunes will be tossed at their feet. They will be like royalty.” He pauses and it's obvious he's letting all that sink into my head. “If you don't tell me … well … there's no telling what will happen to them, is there?”

It's tempting. For a second. To never have to worry about my family. To never have to get up at dawn to hunt and spend the day shivering in a tree as I wait for something big enough to wander by, only to never see anything. For my brother to grow up never having to hunt, to regain some of the innocence he lost. For my mom to never have to sew until her fingers bleed to make just a little extra that month. But as tempting as it is, I can't. I won't be responsible for what would happen if I told him where Elysium is.

“I don't know where they are. And I can take care of my family just fine without your help.”

“Then our business is concluded.” He stands and walks to the door, opening it. “Good-bye, Mr. Hunter.”

I laugh and start to walk out the door, but pause just as I reach him. “Actually, there
is
just one more thing I have to do before I leave.” I punch him as hard as I can in the exact same location he hit my mom. He flies into the door, then falls to the ground, out cold. “
Now
our business is concluded.”

 

C
HAPTER
N
INE

Our little fish has found a hidey hole to wait us out. It seems we need to draw her out. The only way to do that is with bait.

—
M
OTHER'S JOURNAL

Evie

The next morning, my birth mother Evangeline is the one to wake me.

“What are you doing here?” I mumble into the blanket I'd balled into a pillow. It took me forever to fall asleep last night with all the adrenaline and worry pumping through my veins. I feel like I didn't get any sleep at all.

“Father sent her,” Nadia's clipped accent tells me from my doorway. She lifts a Slate. “And this.”

I push myself up and see Evangeline's smiling face and Nadia's annoyed one blur together when my eyes cross from exhaustion. I rub my eyes with the backs of my hands until they're two separate people again.

Father may have sent her, but I have a feeling that since she's filled to bursting with news, there probably wouldn't have been any stopping her regardless.

I slide my legs off the cot and push out of it to walk toward the washbasin and splash the freezing water onto my face. The water does a decent job of waking me up, but what I'd really like is a giant cup of coffee.

I yelp when my hair is yanked back so hard it hurts. I twist around to glare at Evangeline. “What are you
doing
?”

“Just trying to get your hair under control.” She smiles and holds up a hairbrush. “You can't lead the rebellion with messy hair!”

“Give me that!” I wrench the brush from her hands. “I'm quite capable of brushing my own hair. And I'm not
leading
a rebellion, I'm
failing
at even starting one.”

Evangeline backs away. The smile that had seemed a part of her face when she came in falls from her lips, and she nods. “I'll just wait until you're done getting dressed.”

She leaves the room with Nadia sticking to her like glue. I can't say I blame her. I suppose for someone who's lived for so long in constant fear of Mother finding them, Evangeline is a threat. It's a bit worrisome for me, too. Evangeline isn't exactly the stealthiest person I've known in my life. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Enforcers followed right behind her and she didn't even know it.

When Evangeline does finally tell me her news, there isn't much to tell. It seems the commercial itself created more of a stir than the announcement that flashed across everyone's screens, but people are talking about that, too. Especially since the doctor in question has gone missing. Well, missing for them. Of course, I know exactly where he is.

So far there's no word from the Palace Wing about any of it. I can't help but wonder why. Is it just another ploy? Mother's way of saying, “Nice try, but I'm so not worried about what you're doing that I'm not even going to acknowledge that it happened”?

That would make sense. If I were her I'd just ignore it and wait for everything to die down before doing anything else. Maybe, if I'm thinking like Mother, I might kill the Enforcer who dropped her orders.

No,
my mind argues with me. There aren't many Enforcers left. And hardly anyone is qualifying these days to become one. That being the case, I would ignore it and punish the Enforcer for her blunder, but then move on as quickly as possible.

But then that leads to an interesting question for me. Did she see the orders flash onto the Slates? If not, her people had to have. They
had
to have told her. Of course, there's no way to tell without Mother making a move, which she probably won't. Unless she thinks it'll garner her the best benefit. If that's the case, then a swift strike to the people who breached her system and the person who's responsible for the integrity of the computer mainframe would be ideal. Which might be another reason Father told Evangeline how to get here.

Ugh! I press the heels of my hands against my eyes. Thinking like Mother is exhausting! I just want to know what my next move should be. Clearly I need something bigger and better than just the Enforcer orders. It's caused a stir, but I need to cast real doubt. I need to prove that Mother is behind everything that's wrong in this city. Since Dr. Friar is her closest and most trusted friend, it seems most logical to sift through his files as the doctor recommended.

Evangeline seems to want to say something else when I tell her what I'm doing and that I wish to do it alone, but she just nods and slinks away like a chastised dog. Guilt pinches me, but I don't know what to do about it. She may be my birth mom, but I don't feel any kind of connection between us. If I really try to feel something, the only thing I muster is anger. Anger that she gave me up to Mother so easily. That she let Mother do what she did. That the reason I don't feel anything for her is basically her fault altogether and forcing herself on me so we can try to recapture something we lost when
she
gave me up is only making it worse.

I shove the guilt and anger away when I slip into Asher's dugout. He's still asleep, but I'm in just a sour enough mood that I don't care. I plop onto his cot and he grunts.

“Hey! I'm sleeping here.” He opens suspiciously clear eyes and grins.

I shove his shoulder. “No, you're not. How long have you been awake?”

He shrugs, then yawns and stretches his body across the cot.

I narrow my eyes at his shirtless chest. A little because he looks like he's gained some muscle mass since the shooting, but mostly because he's completely healed. There's not even a bruise or a scar. “Looking good.”

He grins. “Of course I do. Was there ever any doubt?”

I shove him again. “Come on. I need your help going through Dr. Friar's cubes.”

He stands and pulls a shirt over his head. “How are we supposed to do that? There's no computers young enough.”

“Father sent Evangeline with two data screens. They're off grid.”