“And then she found you?”
“Small consolation, huh?”
I tell her she saved me, driving off with me in Gatsbro’s limo while he banged on the windows for her to stop. “She’s a brave and strong woman, but I’m not sure what she’ll do when she finds out about you.”
Because of the lockdown, I haven’t told Miesha yet. I’m afraid she’ll leave her apartment and head straight for us without any regard to safety, or even confront the Secretary herself, ready to tear him to shreds with her bare hands. I remember how crazy Jenna got when Kayla went missing. There’s something about a parent that you just don’t want to mess with.
With only twenty minutes on the phone tab, I’ve had to keep my calls short but I’ve also stayed in touch with Xavier. The account is secure. Eighty billion duros are now safely transferred into the hands of the Resistance, but the Secretary has no way of knowing that yet and is probably still trying to beat the deadline. He also says Karden is recovering. The broken bones, ribs and ankle, have been attended to and are healing. But the damage from malnutrition will take longer to mend. He knows about Miesha and wants to see her but is willing to wait until it’s safe. I guess after waiting this long, a few more days is tolerable.
Raine stirs, nestling closer to my side for warmth. We kicked the blankets aside during the night. I’m just about to pull the blanket back over us when the phone tab vibrates. It’s Xavier. The lockdown is lifted. It’s presumed that the “dangerous suspects” escaped before the lockdown was in place. But we know the real reason for the lift—today was the deadline. It’s over. I picture the Secretary, crazed with defeat, still trying to track us down, still believing we are the key to his lost billions. It’s gone. He’ll never get it back now. But that won’t stop him from trying. Or exacting some sort of revenge. Some of that has already begun.
Xavier tells me that every CabBot involved in the traffic jam has been recycled. Every single one. Gone. And a few who weren’t even there were recycled just for good measure, CabBots like Dot who had become something more but were willing to risk what they had for Escape. There’s still no sign or word from Hap. I fear he’s met the same fate.
“It’s time for you to go, Locke, while you can, before someone spots you. It’s a small city. At least now it is. Everyone knows who you are,” Xavier says. We discuss what our options are and I tell him I need to run them past Raine first, and finally we make plans to meet up tomorrow.
Everyone knows. Does that include Shane, Vina, and Ian? I imagine each of their responses was different, Vina probably enjoying a vicarious thrill by the revelation, Shane mimicking his father’s rage, sputtering at his failure to be Raine’s perfect match, but it’s Ian’s response that interests me the most. It was his idea to help the Non-pacts. He thinks differently than many Citizens do. Maybe one day soon he’ll be in a position to help even more.
I roll over and kiss Raine’s forehead. “Time to wake up,” I whisper. “I’m going to make you another protein cake for breakfast.”
She smiles and stretches, her eyes still shut. “Hmm, yummy, I was hoping we’d have another one of those tasty morsels.”
“Plain or plain this time?”
“Extra plain,” she says. “With you on the side.”
Liberty
I frightened Miesha, showing up at the basement apartment with no notice, but that was the plan.
“Get your things,” I tell her. “You won’t be coming back.”
At least I hope she won’t be coming back. None of us know for sure how this will play out. Miesha does her usual balking. I’m mesmerized watching her. The way she waves her hands, the way her lips purse with annoyance, the subtle rumble of certain words. I’m seeing the smallest details of Miesha with new eyes.
“What’s the matter with you?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I answer, but my heart pounds in my chest.
She’s still using her cane for stability. I take it and offer my arm instead. It’s midmorning and the streets are busy. Crowds are an asset, but I pull the hood up on my coat before we exit the building just in case.
I planned to tell her in the cab, to prepare her, but she keeps rattling on, filling the silence the way Miesha has always been prone to do. I keep waiting for the right pause but it never seems to come.
“Miesha, I need to tell you something!” I finally blurt out awkwardly, interrupting her midsentence. She stops. She sees the magnitude of what I need to say in my face; I see the painful expectation in hers. I never thought telling her something like this would be so hard. Now time is running short. We’re already driving down the alley.
“Miesha, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this before, but I just didn’t know how things would play out. I didn’t want you to be hurt all over again.”
Her chest rises in slow careful breaths. “What are you saying, Locke?”
The cab stops in the courtyard. Xavier and a small crowd are waiting, standing close to the bonfire in the middle for warmth. Miesha looks out the window, and then her eyes dart back to me, suspicious. “Why are we here?”
“This is what I was trying to tell you—”
The cab doors swing open. Miesha steps out and I run around to the other side to help her. I hold her arm as she walks slowly toward the group. “Miesha, the Favor they brought me here for was about saving someone. Someone that you—”
The crowd parts. Miesha stops walking. There’s nothing left for me to say.
Karden stands there staring at her.
I feel Miesha lean harder against me, like her joints have gone slack. “What kind of trick is this?” she says, her voice a shaky whisper, but Karden hears it just the same.