by Kyle Andrews
When he was done, Collin tossed that bent and twisted chair out of the way. He took a deep breath, smoothed out his pants, looked at Tracy.
“You done?” she asked.
Collin nodded. Tracy nodded back.
After that, Collin looked up at the giant monitor at the front of the room, where all sorts of information was streaming in every direction. That information was only the tip of the iceberg. The city had been taken by Freedom, but the city was but a small fraction of a country that was ruled by the authorities. There would be no rest until they had taken it all.
EPILOGUE
Two weeks had passed since Marti and Justin had fled the city on the Governor's helicopter. In that time, they had needed to make some changes to their cover stories. They had gotten everything that they could out of their fake relationship, so that was ended. Justin and Marti laughed it off and moved on with their lives, while Sim looked at them as though they were crazy. He said that if they were going to break up, there should be fighting and hatred, not friendly lunch dates and pleasant conversation.
Marti's attention was on Geo now. She wanted to get into his world, which would get her into the Governor's world. If she played her cards right, she might be able to take down a whole group of politicians at the same time, but she didn't want to get ahead of herself. Things were moving more slowly than she would have liked.
When they left the city, the entire group made their way to the airport and boarded a plane which took them to the state capital. Justin and Sim received their orders to join Geo's security team, though Justin was still recovering from his wounds.
Marti wasn't given a new assignment. She was put into an apartment that was nicer than any that she had ever lived in before, and then she waited for three days before she heard anything else about her situation.
In that time, she explored her new surroundings. The streets were cleaner than back home. The people wore brighter colors and smiled more. Those who weren't the highest ranking members of the elite class appeared to at least work for the elite, and that meant that they needed to dress better and speak more eloquently than the people back home.
Marti listened to how those people interacted with each other. The conversations that went on and on without any signs of either party actually caring what the other had to say. The way they either avoided politics entirely, or spoke about their favorite politician as though he or she walked on water. In Marti's new surroundings, it wasn't enough to simply support a candidate. You had to act as though supporting that candidate made you the savior of the world and anyone who disagreed with you was evil incarnate.
Basically, it was a somewhat exaggerated version of the city that she had grown up in. The only real difference was that the windows shined a little more brightly and people took the time to plant flowers along the sidewalks.
Flowers were outlawed in most places. They fell under the category of 'illegal farming and distribution'. Like most things, it was a crime punishable by reprogramming or death. But those rules apparently only applied to the commoners.
There wasn't as much talk about Freedom's taking of the city as Marti would have expected. The news barely mentioned it, and when they did, the loss of the city was brushed off as some vague disaster that called for the city to be abandoned. They painted the picture of a wasteland, and nobody seemed to question it.
One evening, after Justin and Sim had eaten dinner with Marti and went to their own apartments for the night, there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, she saw Geo standing in the hallway, wearing dress pants and a perfectly tailored button-up shirt. His hair was neatly combed. His teeth seemed brighter, but that could have been the fact that they had better lighting than when she had last seen him.
Geo smiled when he saw her and said, “Hey.”
“Hey,” she replied.
The silence that followed went on for longer than either of them was comfortable with. Eventually, Geo shook his head and said, “I actually came to say more than just that.”
“I should hope so.”
She moved aside and allowed Geo to come into her apartment. He looked around the place, but didn't comment on its appearance, as one might expect. It wasn't really hers anyway, so paying her a compliment would have been pointless.
“You've probably been wondering why you haven't been assigned to a hospital yet,” Geo said, turning to face her once again. “The thing is, I've been trying to get you a better job than the one that my father's office was arranging. Something a little bit closer to me.”
“Closer to you?”
“I didn't mean that to sound as creepy as it sounded.”
Marti smiled and said, “I thought it sounded sweet, but if you want to go with creepy, I'm okay with that.”
Geo scratched his nose, and Marti saw that he was still wearing that cell phone on his wrist. She wondered how many of the people in that city wore such things without realizing the privilege of it.
She also couldn't help but wonder if the phone were listening in on their conversation.
Geo walked to the couch and sat down on one of the arms as he said, “I'm explaining this poorly. I'm just... flustered. Which is weird for me. The thing is, my father is being called to the capital. They have questions about what happened, and they probably want to question all of us, which means that you'll have to come too.”
“I thought we were in the capital.”
“I mean, the capital of the country. Washington D.C.”
“Oh,” Marti said, and at that point, she had to sit down. For the first time that she could remember, she felt as though she might be in a little bit over her head. Taking on the Governor was one thing, but the nation's capital would be a whole different story. For one thing, they would probably have far more competent security.
“I have a job there, so I'll probably be staying after my father leaves. I was thinking that you might enjoy working there too. Justin and Sim will be coming with me, so you'll have friends. And it will be a nice change of scenery. And I think that the opportunity to advance would—”
“Yes,” Marti smiled, stepping toward Geo and smiling at him.
She looked him in the eyes and softened her smile as she said, “You don't need to keep listing excuses. You don't need to dance around the idea that you'll be there. That's a good reason.”
Geo stood up and moved even closer to her. He seemed puzzled as he said, “I thought you and Justin...?”
“We were. But it's over.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Really?”
“No. Not really.”
She smiled coyly, allowing the moment to linger as though they might kiss right then and there, but she didn't want to be a casual hookup. She wanted to be the girl that Geo chased, so she turned away and asked, “Do you want a drink?”
He nodded.
҂
Two days later, they were in Washington D.C. It was a little awkward for Marti to be traveling with Geo while Justin and Sim followed close behind, in their HAND uniforms and with the serious expressions of proper HAND officers on their faces. But this was business, and Marti would do her work, whether they were there with her or not.
As their plane landed, Marti looked out at the city below and even knowing of the evil that lived there, the sight took her breath away.
Geo called it the 'Sea of Glass'. It was an accurate—if perhaps unimaginative—description of the city. Massive buildings lined the landscape, all with beautiful glass designs that looked more like sculptures than buildings. Some reflected the sunlight so brightly that Marti had to squint just to look at them.
Some were mirrored. Some were green. Some were blue. Some rippled or waved like water being poured from the clouds. And the most breathtaking of them all was a tower of stained glass, with every color she could think of, reaching into the sky as though it wanted to claim the stars for its own.
There were no windows, in the sense of there being windows on the buildings back home. No bric
ks either. These buildings appeared more delicate than such common construction materials would allow. They looked like something to be kept on display in a case, not lining the horizon.
She had seen pictures of the city before, but nothing could have prepared her for the breathtaking beauty of seeing it in person. She felt smaller and weaker, simply for having witnessed it.
As they moved closer and closer to the ground, she could see some older, more typical buildings. They were smaller than the others, hidden between those giant works of art, but there was a real city in there. There was still dirt and blood. As strange as that place was, it was still a part of the real world. The people who lived there were still as mortal as anyone else.
Geo looked over her shoulder as she studied the view. He said, “I think this place is going to agree with you.”
With a grin, Marti replied, “I agree.”
They weren't scheduled to be interviewed until the next afternoon, so Marti and Geo spent the rest of that day touring the city, taking in the sights and eating food that was so rich that Marti needed to take a sip of bitter coffee in between each bite. Fortunately, coffee flowed like water in Washington D.C. She doubted that anyone there had ever even heard of Coffite.
Geo bought Marti a flower, which she carried with her as they strolled through a beautiful park and watched children fly kites, while their nannies spread out lunch on blankets.
It was an experience that Marti could not have possibly imagined before actually experiencing it. The comfort and beauty of that place was remarkable, and the people just went about their lives there as though it were perfectly normal. As though their comfort didn't come at the expense of millions of others who were oppressed and hungry.
The more she thought about it, the more the sweet smell of her flower turned into a vile stench that made her sick. Geo was showing her the world that he had grown up in, more or less, and for the first time, she was starting to wonder whether or not she could pull off her act. Could she pretend to love that man and his world, and do it so well that nobody would realize how much she truly hated it?
Over dinner, Geo went on and on about his schooling and the fun times that he had in the dorms, with all of his privileged buddies. He talked about studying philosophy and art, as though there were anything remotely practical about such studies.
By the end of the night, Marti was convinced that she couldn't do it. She couldn't be with him every day without him realizing how much she wanted to destroy him and everyone like him. She hated the son of a bitch, and as they ate their chocolate ice cream for dessert, she fantasized about driving her spoon through his eye.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked her, in a soft and romantic tone.
Marti looked down at her ice cream and replied, “Just how lucky I am to be here.”
She looked at him and smiled as warmly as she possibly could. He smiled back, apparently happy to see her so enthralled.
As they returned to his apartment that night, they left his guards in the lobby and rode the elevator together. She caught him studying her reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator and they smiled at each other.
He took her hand, and she allowed him to.
Looking at his reflection, she asked, “Does your father know that you're on a date with someone like me?”
“Someone beautiful, smart and funny?” Geo asked, as though he didn't understand what she was saying.
“Someone who has nothing. Who comes from nothing. Someone who will never be anything.”
Geo turned to face Marti properly. He made her face him as well. He put a hand under her chin and lifted her head so that her eyes met his as he said, “You are so much more than you give yourself credit for.”
“I don't have a lot of credits to give in the first place.”
“Stop that. Stop acting like you're not good enough.”
“Your father would probably agree with me.”
His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed a bit. She was sure that he was going to argue with her, but he didn't. He just leaned down and gave Marti a kiss. Nothing deep and passionate, but a soft and sweet kiss that matched the soft and sweet lifestyle of the city they were in.
She wondered how many girls fell for his routine. How many times had he amused himself by acting like one of the normal people?
People like Marti were like toys for all of the young elites who wanted to pretend that they lived in a Cinderella world and could turn a servant girl into a beautiful princess. But eventually, the shine would wear off of that game. Girls like Marti would be dumped or relegated to the role of mistress, while boys like Geo married women of status, who would look good on their resume.
She allowed him to believe that he was winning her over, but every kiss sickened her. Every touch made her skin crawl.
Once they reached his apartment, they sat on Geo's large, comfortable couch. The TV was on in front of them, playing some old movie that had been edited beyond recognition.
He put his arm around her and held her close, and Marti rested her head on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of each breath. Each time he exhaled, Marti imagined what it would be like if he never took another breath.
Then he did, and she grew angrier each time.
What was she doing there? She didn't even know what the plan was. She had no mission. She had nobody to report back to. Freedom didn't exist in this city, so her being there was pointless. Her being undercover was a joke. She wasn't serving any greater purpose here, she was just telling herself that she was still one of the good guys, when the truth was that she was stuffing herself on food that she would have been killed for eating back home. She had a flower that she would have been killed for having back home. She was being held by a man who would probably be arrested for smelling the way he did, if he were anyone but the son of a prominent politician.
There was no heroism in what Marti was doing. She wasn't a spy, she was a coward. A liar. Every second that she spent there was like spitting on the graves of everyone that she had ever known and lost in this war.
She closed her eyes, pretending to drift off so that she wouldn't have to talk or cuddle. After some time passed, Geo covered her with a blanket and kissed her on the forehead, before heading into his room to sleep for the night.
Marti lay there in darkness and silence, half expecting the pig to come crawling back to her in the middle of the night, demanding payment for his kindness.
She didn't want to live this way. She didn't want to be a cheap novelty for some spoiled kid who was trying to rebel against Daddy. She would never be able to take down the authorities in Washington, so she didn't even entertain that idea. All she could do now, she realized, was take advantage of the situation that she had found herself in.
Marti was in the hornet's nest. She was going to get stung, and she would probably end up dead. That was fine with her. It meant that there was nothing left for her to lose, so she figured that she might as well go out in a blaze of glory, causing as much pain as she could before they did her in.
She got off of the couch, dropping the blanket onto the floor. She looked around the place, imagining cameras watching her and microphones listening, but she didn't care. Let them watch.
Quietly, she moved toward Geo's bedroom door. It was open, just a crack. She pushed it wider and looked inside.
He was sleeping soundly, shirtless and tangled in a mess of fluffy pillows and blankets. One more reminder of the luxury that came from being one of the elite.
She balled her fists and clenched her jaw. Then she turned and headed toward the kitchen.
There were hundreds of politicians in Washington. Thousands of elites. Marti would have loved to see them all go down, but there was nothing personal about that idea. It would be interesting to watch, but it would mean nothing.
Governor Garrison, on the other hand, was someone that Marti desperately wanted to see suffer. He was the head of the system that was responsible for the deaths of people that sh
e knew. The system that killed Uly. Garrison was personal to Marti, and she wanted to see that man's eyes when someone he cared about was brutally murdered. Then, if she had the chance, she would kill him too, but she didn't get her hopes up for that. She would never see him without tons of security surrounding him.
Did the Governor love Geo the way that she loved Uly? No, probably not. Marti wasn't even sure that love existed among the better class. But Geo was Garrison's legacy, and there was no doubt that Garrison would be hurt deeply if his name were soiled.
'GOVERNOR'S SON MURDERED BY PET COMMONER' sounded like a pretty embarrassing headline. Tons of elites had their toys, but most of them knew how to handle them. They certainly didn't end up in the newspapers because of it.
If the Governor who just lost an entire city showed that he couldn't even control his own son, Garrison would be ruined. No more political positions. No more servants bowing to him. No more parties thrown in his honor. No running for President.
Killing Geo would be killing the thing that the Governor loved the most in the world: His own status. It was the only move that Marti had left at this point.
Once she was in the kitchen, Marti quickly found a block of wood that had a dozen or so knives sticking in it. Designer blades, meant to slice through thick cuts of meat without a hint of hesitation.
She grabbed the biggest knife of the bunch and studied her own reflection in it. She was looking at a dead woman, but she didn't care. As long as she got the job done, Marti had nothing left to accomplish. She would be happy to be done with the world.
Lowering the knife to her side, Marti walked lightly out of the kitchen, into the massive living area, where a whole wall was made of glass. It overlooked that tower of stained glass, and spots of different colored light were cast onto the floor in front of her. She couldn't help but look out of that window as she passed, and because she was doing this, Marti nearly walked right into Geo.
