The Letting (29 page)

“And that someone is you?” Farnsworth asks Phoenix.

“Not just me. Both me and Veronica.”

“So, you’re going to help me now?” Farnsworth watches Phoenix and me uneasily.

“Yes. We’ll help you in exchange for his freedom,” I negotiate, pointing to Phoenix.

“Ronnie,” Phoenix mutters under his breath. “No. What are you doing? I don’t care about me—”

“He’ll never let me go, Phoenix. Never. I am the only one who can keep him alive.” I turn to Farnsworth. “You let Phoenix go. We’ll tell you how to squash this rebel leader who will stop at nothing to overthrow you. He works with a small girl. She was once one of mine.” The thought of Lulu makes me very sad. “Together they have the capability to move masses. Don’t believe us?” I ask Farnsworth who’s been eyeing us skeptically this whole time. “Ask someone you trust.” Farnsworth calls Grace over, and she whispers something into his ear. Farnsworth looks up at us.

“It seems you speak the truth.” Farnsworth’s lips are pursed together.

I look at her, wondering if Grace really has heard something, or if she is simply on our side.

“Apparently I’ve been kept in the dark because I have been feeling so ill lately. And no one seems to know why.” Farnsworth looks over his shoulder at his nurse. “I am peeved I have been out of the loop, but it seems they have all been waiting for the blood of the great Veronica Billings to save me, now, as it did once before. Way back then, when…well, before all this trouble started.” Farnsworth closes his eyes for a moment. “When it was just you and me at the waterfront. Veronica, do you remember that?” He opens his eyes. Whole seconds tick by. “Veronica? I’m waiting for your answer. Do you remember that?”

“Of course I do, sir,” I whisper, my eyes glued to the floor. I can feel Phoenix’s stare.

“Can you promise me, Veronica,” Farnsworth asks, “that if I spare his life, and we work together, can you promise me you and I will make it back to that waterfront together?”

My eyes dart to Phoenix. That is the exact promise we made each other. I look down at Farnsworth sitting there. He is pale and frail, and I almost feel sorry for him. But then I remember who he is, what he’s done, and what he wants to do to us and my girls.

“No sir,” I say. “I can’t promise you that. But I can promise without us, you will be dead within three days.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Obviously, this is not what Farnsworth wanted to hear. I am certain of it as we stand here staring at him, waiting for him to decide our ultimate fate. My bodyguard grips my arm tighter, and I wince.

“Okay, Veronica.” Farnsworth stares at me while he speaks. “You two work with me to help protect my world from the attack of this…all-powerful rebel, and in exchange, you win his freedom.”

“My girls too,” I demand, standing tall before him.

“Negotiating after the terms have already been agreed to, Veronica? You know I can’t give up the girls. They’re the last of the O’s.”

“They’re so tiny, they have nothing to offer. You will do much better with me. I will stay here with you, as your personal donor. And I will live in your house with you…”

Farnsworth’s eyes dart up at me.

“Together but separately,” I explain.

He nods. He’s disappointed, but he knows he’ll do no better.

“In return, after we have helped you stop this rebel attack, you let Phoenix and all three girls go free. Those are the terms. If you want my blood, this is the only way to get it.”

“It’s not the only way,” he counters. “I could force you.”

“You could, but I know the reason you are feeling so terrible. And I know how to fix it. And if you force me, I will never divulge the secret.”

Everyone in the room starts and begins to mumble. I’m certain I hear my bodyguard mumble the word, “treason.”

“Push me, Farnsworth. Torture me. This will only grow uglier and uglier. The rebel is talking massive killing sprees. We need this to stop now. Let us help you stop the rebels, and let me help you feel better. After your world is under your control once again, you can enlist people of the New World for the Couplings. Most won’t say no, they’ll be so grateful their perfect worlds haven’t been destroyed, and their children haven’t been hurt, they’ll come willingly. Then you can ensure matches that will begin to rebuild the O’s. But you can’t do that until everything is under control.”

I can feel the disappointment in Phoenix’s stare. “This is the best scenario. For everyone,” I explain, looking directly at Phoenix. Phoenix offers me a small pained smile, but I know he agrees.

“Where do we start?” Farnsworth asks.

“At the end,” I say.

****

Within minutes, the girls have been released to Grace’s care, and I know they’ll be fine with her. We are all transported by limousine to Farnsworth’s house. The ride is quick, but I can see the sorrow in Phoenix’s eyes when he looks at me. We jump out of the limo, and Grace hustles the exhausted, but giggling girls off to the kitchen for something she calls “ice cream sundaes,” while Phoenix, Farnsworth, and I make our way to Farnsworth’s conference room. The three of us huddle around a table while his bodyguards wait by the door.

“Ask them to step outside,” I tell Farnsworth, and he nods to them.

They obey. I feel my heart racing.

“Your enemy is named Gunnar,” Phoenix begins. “He is ruthless. For a period of time, he was my partner. We wanted to lead a peaceful revolution.”

“Peaceful?” Farnsworth asks.

“Yes.” Phoenix looks Farnsworth steadily in the eyes. “It was never our intention to kill you. We didn’t want to rule the New World. We only wanted equality for those of us left back in the city.”

“I see.” Farnsworth shifts slightly in his seat. “But now he does want to rule the New World.”

“Yes.”

“And to do that, he plans to kill me.”

“Yes,” Phoenix nods, solemnly.

“So how do we stop this murderous rebel then?” Under his calm exterior, Farnsworth is clearly terrified.

“You have to speak to the people of the New World. Tell them there is danger approaching. Explain they must rally together to stop these rebels, or there will be certain death for men, women, and children.”

“I see,” Farnsworth utters. “What next?”

“Next, we get your word out to the people in the city. Tell them you have seen the error of your ways, and you want equality for all.”

“But tell me, Phoenix. If I were to do that, how would we keep the New World running?”

“You’ll have to find a way that doesn’t involve blood as your primary commodity. Find another form of commerce.”

“But it will never work,” Farnsworth blurts. “Blood is all they know. It keeps them young and healthy.”

“Appeal to their sense of decency,” Phoenix offers. “Tell them they are killing children to stay youthful. Explain to them that once a world existed where blood was given to one another out of generosity and only when it was a matter of life and death. Explain we can get back to that world, one where everyone is equal.”

“But they don’t want a world where everyone is equal,” I say, quietly. Phoenix and Farnsworth turn to me. Suddenly, what Grace had said to me makes complete sense.

“Above all, just remember who you are,” Grace said the first time she helped me prep for dinner with Farnsworth. Now I remember who I am, or at least who I had been for the past seven years: a Leader.

“What are you saying?” Phoenix asks.

“They don’t want it, Phoenix. They want to live in their bubble where they, and the people they love, stay young and beautiful forever. Above all, they don’t want to think about anything they may have done wrong.”

“So? We can’t appeal to their sense of decency then?” Phoenix asks.

“Eventually, yes,” I explain. “But not now when we’re on borrowed time. The only chance we have to rally them immediately is to threaten to spill their blood.”

“But we said peaceful change,” Farnsworth interjects and Phoenix nods along.

“I know. And it will be. I’m not talking about the blood in their veins. I’m talking about the blood in mine.”

“I don’t follow you,” Farnsworth states.

“Well, the first thing you have to do is abdicate.” I stare directly at Farnsworth. “To me. They are a nation of children. And no one leads groups of children better than me.”

I see the glimmer of understanding in Phoenix’s eyes. “But I can’t do it alone.”

“Raven,” Phoenix deduces.

“Raven,” I repeat.

“What?” Farnsworth asks, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Both Phoenix and I remain stoic, and slowly, Farnsworth realizes we’re serious.

“Abdicate? Why would I do that?” Farnsworth asks, scoffing. I look him dead in the eyes.

“Because you want to survive.”

****

We find Raven sitting on a counter in Farnsworth’s kitchen. She has an enormous bowl of something in her hand, and chocolate smeared across her face. As soon as we walk in, she knows why we’ve come.

“You want me to help rally the people of the Inferno to fight in a peaceful opposition against Gunnar’s coup,” she rattles off, putting her bowl down on the counter.

“Yes,” Phoenix confirms.

“Cool.” She hops down and walks over to us.

Chapter Twenty-Three

After a short bout of fitful sleep, we spend the next few hours in a frenzy of prepping everyone and everything for Farnsworth’s “Message to the People” and consequently, his abdication speech. Phoenix, Raven, and I work together seamlessly, and Farnsworth is so overwhelmed, he simply stays out of our way. If it wasn’t all a matter of life and death, this would almost be fun. We have it orchestrated down to the last detail. I sit on a window ledge overlooking the ocean, putting the finishing touches on Farnsworth’s speech, when Phoenix walks over to me. I feel him near me before I even see him.

“Oh,” I say with a small start. He is standing incredibly close to me. “I didn’t realize—”

He takes the pen from my hand, and I look past him to see we are nearly alone. There is only Raven, sitting cross-legged on top of a table on the other side of the room, staring at a few pieces of paper. Everyone else must have left to prep Farnsworth. Phoenix looks over his shoulder at Raven, and she gives us a big smile. She hops down off the table and clears out of the room…then we are alone.

Almost immediately, my breathing grows shallow and perspiration begins to dot my forehead. My eyes are locked on his. The yearning I’m feeling is driving me wild. Phoenix reaches up over me and places both hands on the windowsill behind me. He is looking at me so intensely, I feel naked. I blush and look away, but he takes one hand from the windowsill and places it on my chin. Gently, he guides my chin back up until I look him directly in the eyes. He has complete control now. I am trapped, cornered like a wounded animal, but yet I close my eyes and pray there is no escape.

“Ronnie,” he whispers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen here tonight. I don’t know if your crazy, convoluted scheme can work. But what I do know is I am so very proud to be working with you. You are smart, and beautiful, and loyal, and strong, and fierce. And I love you, Veronica Billings.”

“What?” I look up at him.

“I love you,” he repeats.

“I love you too,” I whisper. I throw my arms around him and push myself toward him. We hold each other so tightly our breathing falls into time. He leans down and kisses me. One kiss leads to another and soon our mouths are locked together.

“Wait.” I push him away, although, I don’t want to. “I can’t. I can’t. Not after Brooke.”

“Ronnie,” he sighs. “This time you are going to listen while I explain.” He holds me tightly by the shoulders, so there is no chance to get away. “I did have a past with Brooke. Yes. I’m sorry for it, now. There’s nothing I can do about that. But nothing you think happened, yesterday, did. Ron, we talked and I uh…I poisoned her with your mushrooms.”

“What?” I ask, much too loudly, breaking free of his grasp.

“I had to do something. I knew giving her one mushroom wouldn’t kill her. It would just knock her out for a while.”

“How did you find the right mushroom?” I am in awe of him.

“I saw them when I checked out the bikes. That’s what took so long. You kept her talking, so I hoped some part of you understood what I was doing.”

“You’re sure they were the right ones?”

“I listened when you explained about the circular spores.”

“How did you get her to eat them?” He looks away. “Phoenix? How?”

“I uh, I told her they were an aphrodisiac.”

“You what?”

“I’m sorry, Ron. But I had to do something. And she…well…for all of her show, she’s afraid of intimacy.”

“You mean you two never?”

“Never. Never. I promise. We had a relationship, yes. And we did some things couples do. But no. Never that. She was adamantly opposed.”

“Because of the Couplings,” I murmur, realizing. “Because she was sentenced at such a young age.”

“Maybe so.”

“So why last night?”

“She would have poked needles in her eyes to get even with you,” he explains. “She always thought I was in love with you, even way back then. That’s why I never pushed her.”

“But you wanted to?” I ask, feeling like I’m six years old. I feel the sweat accumulate under my arms.

“No.” He shakes his head. “I knew there was someone else out there for me. I have wanted you for as long as I’ve been hunting you. Actually”—a small grin spreads across his face—“much, much longer.”

“But you never even knew what I looked like way back then.”

“Of course I did. Do you really think it took me this long to find you?” he grins again. “Really? I knew where you were. And I’m not proud of it, but I watched you every chance I had. I was so confused. I thought you were my enemy, but still I wanted you so very much.”

“You’re not confused anymore?” I ask. He leans forward and puts his arms up against the windowsill again, once again pinning me and holding me as his very willing hostage. It feels so good, I breathe him in deeply, trying to make the moment last forever.

“Things have never been so clear,” he murmurs, leaning down and kissing me gently. This time I know it is only us, and I let his mouth open mine. His hands make their way down my back, and one of his arms wraps entirely around my waist. The other reaches up and holds the back of my head. For whole minutes we are lost—not in the New World or the Old, but in our own world. And it is exactly where we should be.