The Girl in the City (7 page)

As she steeled herself to knock, a shadow moved beneath the door. The handle turned, and the door swung open to reveal Isaac. He wasn’t wearing his hat, and Leah was surprised to see he was bald.

Isaac smiled at Leah, but the look quickly turned to concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… sorry. I don’t know what else to do. My father…” Leah’s voiced cracked, and she stopped talking, afraid that if she said even one more word, she’d start crying and might never be able to stop.

Isaac took a step forward and looked down the hallway towards the stairs to reception. “We shouldn’t stay out here. Come in.”

Leah let Isaac guide her into the tiny room. It was smaller than even her bedroom. There was just enough room for a narrow bed, a tiny sink with an equally tiny cupboard above it, and a battered wooden table with two mismatched chairs sitting at it. A black, leather-bound book, the edges of its pages gold, sat open on the table. And beside the book, Isaac’s hat.

Isaac led Leah over to one of the chairs, and she sat down. “Let me get you a drink.” He walked across the room, found a reasonably clean glass from the cupboard, and filled it with water. He gave the drink to Leah and sat down opposite her.

Isaac hooked a thin ribbon into the book to mark his place and closed it. “Now,” he said. “Tell me everything.”

And Leah did.

After Leah had finished telling Isaac her story, he sat without speaking for several minutes. Leah sipped at her water and rubbed a sleeve across her face to dry it. Isaac was staring at the table. He moved occasionally to scratch his beard or shift position in his chair, but otherwise he just sat there. An empty, defeated feeling washed over Leah. He didn’t believe her. She
was
an idiot, after all.

She was about to stand up to leave when Isaac let out a long, slow breath. “Children should not have to experience such things.”

Indignation flared inside Leah, burning away the disappointment. She wanted to tell him she wasn’t a child, that people should stop calling her that, but she kept quiet. In the silence, she heard footsteps approaching the room, and a quiet knock on the door.

Isaac looked across the table at her, his face serious. “Do you trust me, Leah?”

Leah considered the question, really thought about it, and found that she did, although she couldn’t have said why. She nodded.

“Good,” said Isaac, and he stood and went to the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s Katherine,” said a woman’s voice.

Isaac opened the door, and the woman with the scar walked into the room.

Leah pushed herself to her feet and dragged the chair around so that it was between her and the woman. She looked desperately around for a way out. Her only option was the window, but it was closed, and even if she somehow got through it, she’d never make it down to ground level in one piece.

As the woman, Katherine, came into the room and closed the door, Isaac walked towards Leah. He raised his hands out in front of him. “Don’t worry, little one. She’s not here to hurt you.”

Leah replied by grabbing the chair and holding it out like she was a circus trainer warding off a lion.

“He’s right,” said Katherine. “We’re on your side. I could have explained, if you hadn’t been so keen to get away from me.” The woman’s voice was warm and soft, and she sounded sincere, but Leah still didn’t trust her.

“Please, Leah,” said Isaac. “Just give me a couple of minutes to explain, and then you can choose if you want to stay or go.”

Leah glanced towards the window, then back at Isaac. “Okay, but stay over there.” She gestured towards the side of the room, away from the door.

“No problem,” said Katherine. She and Isaac moved out of the way, giving Leah a clear path to the door if she needed it.

“Do you know who TRACE are, Leah?” said Isaac.

“They’re terrorists.”

“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” said Isaac. “TRACE believe that Transport have too much power, that they’re abusing that power and that they’re hurting ordinary people. TRACE are trying to stop them.”

“Transport provide us with food. They protect us from the Wild Ones,” said Leah.

“Transport
control
the food. They trade with people like me so that they can restrict access to the things people like you need. It gives them power. And those you call the Wild Ones are not as dangerous as you’ve been led to believe.”

“They’re cannibals!” said Leah.

“Perhaps… perhaps not.”

Leah wasn’t convinced. She’d been in the rural zone. She’d almost been caught by a pack of Wild Ones. They’d certainly seemed dangerous. “TRACE kill people.”

A sad look passed over Isaac’s face. “That is true, sometimes. But only if they have to.”

“Transport kill a lot more,” said Katherine.

Leah thought of the man in the alley, his lifeless eyes and the pool of blood spreading around him.

“But TRACE shot down a Transport airbus,” said Leah.

“No,” said Katherine, “they didn’t. An airbus was shot down, but TRACE weren’t responsible.”

Leah was dubious, but she lowered the chair to the ground.

“TRACE are not the bad guys, Leah,” said Katherine.

Leah looked at the woman. Her skin was tanned and leathery, as though she’d spent a lifetime living outside. The scar on her face gave her a permanent scowl, and her eyes were fierce, strong, burning with passion.

“You’re both part of TRACE,” said Leah.

Isaac smiled, a glimmer of pride in his eyes. “Yes, we are. You’re a clever girl, Leah.”

“Was the man who gave me the bag a member of TRACE as well?” Leah asked.

“Yes,” said Katherine. She swallowed and blinked a couple of times. “His name was Luke. He was trying to get to me, but Transport found him.”

“But why did they shoot him? Why do they want a stupid circuit board so badly?”

“It’s a data storage module,” said Katherine. “It contains information that Transport doesn’t want us to have.”

“What information?”

Katherine looked across at Isaac. He nodded.

“Transport are planning something,” she said. “Something really bad. The information on that module will allow TRACE to stop them.”

“Stop them doing what?”

Katherine hesitated.

“Tell me,” said Leah. “If you don’t, I won’t tell you where I’ve hidden the circuit board—the storage module.”

“Go on,” said Isaac. “She should know.”

Katherine took a deep breath. “Transport are going to destroy the City. They’re going to kill everyone in it.”

Leah felt her legs crumple. It was a strange sensation. They suddenly felt alien to her, uncontrollable. She stumbled. And then Katherine’s arms were around Leah, catching her just before she hit the floor. Isaac pulled over a chair, and Katherine helped Leah sit down. Isaac took the glass of water from the table and held it up to Leah’s mouth. “Drink.”

Leah took a few sips and tried to make sense of what she’d been told. “I… don’t understand.”

The look on Isaac’s face told her he didn’t, either, at least on some level. “They’re scared of TRACE. We’re becoming too strong; we’re making too much progress. Transport are losing this war, and they’re leaving the city, but they don’t want us to have it instead. They’d rather destroy it than let it fall into our hands.”

Leah stared at the water in her glass. She could see small eddies circling through it. She imagined tiny creatures riding the currents, oblivious of the world around them, and wished she was one of them. “How? How will they destroy an entire city?”

“With a bomb,” said Katherine.

Leah looked out of the window. The streets and buildings of the City stretched out before her. She pictured it being torn apart by an explosion, and a bitter taste filled her mouth.

“And they’re going to do it tonight,” said Isaac.

Leah’s heart stuttered. “Tonight?”

“Yes,” said Katherine, “that’s why we need that storage module. If we can get it in time, we can block the detonation and stop the bombing. We can save the City, Leah. You just need to take us to the module.”

Leah struggled to breathe. Her chest was tight, and she could feel the horror threading its way through her body. “But what about my dad?”

“We can help him,” said Katherine. “TRACE know where Transport are holding him, and we can get him out. But only if we stop the bombing first.”

Isaac reached across the table and placed his hands over Leah’s. “I know this is scary. You didn’t ask to be part of this, but you are, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. But we can save lives, Leah. The lives of everyone in this city—that includes your father.”

Leah looked into Isaac’s eyes. There was kindness there, behind the fear that she’d refuse to help. “You’ll get my dad back?”

“Yes,” said Isaac. “I promise.”

Leah turned away. “No. I want you to get my dad first. Then I’ll take you to the circuit board.”

“There isn’t time, Leah,” said Katherine. “If we don’t get that information soon, we won’t have time to stop the bomb.”

Leah knotted her hands together and looked Katherine directly in the eyes. “Then you’d better go and get my dad right now.”

Katherine looked at Isaac, but he just shrugged. She glared at him, then nodded. “Okay,” she said, “but you need to bring the storage module here to us.”

Leah shook her head. “I’ll take you to it, once I have my dad back.”

“At least meet us somewhere near where you’ve hidden it. We can’t waste time traipsing across the city to get it.”

Leah considered the request. It seemed reasonable enough, if she was careful. “Okay, bring him to the corner of Hawk and Fourth Street. I’ll be waiting for you there.”

“Okay, give me three hours,” said Katherine. “But I can’t promise anything.”

“Then neither can I,” said Leah. She held Katherine’s gaze despite the churning in her stomach. She didn’t
think
she’d keep the circuit board if they couldn’t get her dad back. After all, she didn’t really want everyone in the city to die.

“I’m going with you,” said Isaac, looking at Leah.

Leah started to protest, but the look in his eyes said she’d pushed her luck far enough already. She nodded.

Without saying another word, Katherine turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Leah and Isaac stood on the street corner, waiting for Katherine. Scattered sounds of fighting drifted across the city, sporadic gunfire and a couple of explosions. It was getting late, and the temperature was beginning to drop. Leah wished she’d picked up a jacket from home, but Isaac had insisted they stay at the inn for as long as possible. He didn’t want them to risk running into Transport.

An old man walked past with a battered old pushchair containing a loaf of bread and some tinned food. He moved slowly, his feet shuffling noisily across the ground. His back was so bent he had to look out of the top of his eyes to see where he was going. Leah hoped he didn’t have to go far. He’d be an easy target if anyone decided they deserved his food more than he did. She watched him shuffle along the street and around a corner.

Isaac nudged her shoulder. “Here they are.”

Leah’s heart leapt, and she whirled around. Moments later, it broke as she saw the bruises on her father’s face. One eye was swollen almost completely shut, and the other hadn’t fared much better. His bottom lip was puffy and cut, and his long hair was matted with blood. He was limping slightly, favoring his right leg. Leah ran down the street to her father, tears pouring down her face. He knelt down and held his arms open. Leah hurled herself at him and he smiled, then flinched as the split in his lip opened up. He smiled again as Leah clutched at him and wept into his shoulder.

“Oh, Dad,” she said, her voice muffled. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, L. I’ll be fine.” Her father’s voice was rough, dry, and raw. Leah squeezed him tighter, and he hissed. “Careful. I’m a bit fragile at the moment.”

Leah loosened her grip. She was desperate not to hurt her father but she didn’t want to let go now she’d got him back. “I’m s–sorry,” she said, her voice hitching.

Her father stroked the back of her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Katherine rested her hand on Leah’s shoulder. “Far be it for me to break up the family reunion, but we’re running out of time. We need that storage module.”