I give her a look. “Assume, from now on, she’s guilty. To the Corps, she’s the one. They’ll say and do whatever to ensure she stays that way.” I add, “Trials are a farce anyway. They’re just for show.”
Sabrina bows her head. We don't speak for several minutes. To my utter humiliation, a hot tear rolls down my face. I wipe it away angrily. “We need to know what the Corps has on her. Otherwise, nothing we do makes any difference. We need their evidence so that we can prove that it's wrong. I say we start there first.”
Sabrina turns to her computer, then turns away. She sighs and leans back, closing her eyes. I’m about to close my own when suddenly, she bolts upright. I startle at the movement.
“Oh my God.” She stands and heads to the front door. “I just had an epiphany.” She pulls out her cell phone. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. Oh my God! Derek, stay right here.”
Quicker than I can speak, she bolts out the door and slams it shut behind her. I have no idea what just happened, but I figure that if Sabrina has an idea, that's a lot better than where we were. So, I wait. And five minutes later, she comes back in with an expression on her face that can only be described as totally incredible.
VICTORIA
Jace sits in the back of the room. A soldier I’ve never seen stands beside me. A middle-aged man, my attorney (who was probably only told the bare minimum of my case five minutes ago, who’s most likely here on his lunch break) stands on the other side of me. And the woman…she sits atop a mountain. Her look is emerald and green and jaded.
“Counselor, I'm a busy woman. Now, I know exactly who this girl is but I also know the crime she's accused of. And in this day in age, I do not—society does not—tolerate it. We can't. Furthermore, Miss King poses an extreme flight risk. You know her family’s wealth. They could have properties around the world we're not even aware of. Therefore, Miss King, you will remain where you are. I am not granting visiting rights. I am not granting outdoor time. I am not granting your request for a jury hearing. For a case like this, I don’t want to waste the time and money to conduct one. I will oversee this case personally. And I am revoking, as of this instant, your Request Privileges. Frankly, you don’t deserve them.”
The judge shakes her head. Her lips are flat and thin as eels. “Your own father. What a disgrace. An absolute disgrace. Young lady, may God be with you. You'll need Him.”
The gavel bangs down and it's all over.
The soldier takes me by the elbow and steps to the side, pulling me to follow. But my heart leaps to my throat and panic shoots from my spine outward, blasting through every nerve like an electrical shock.
“Your Honor, please!”
The judge’s mouth opens, her eyes go wide.
“Please,” I say, struggling with the soldier to stay put, “Your Honor, I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t do this. I know it’s hard to believe. I know how it looks. But please, I didn’t do this!”
“How dare you? Soldier, get her out of my courtroom.”
“I didn’t do this! Someone has been stalking my father. He’s still out there! Please! I didn’t do this.”
An implacable grip tightens on my upper arms. I’m pulled against a tall, hard body and my struggles are suddenly as effective as an ant trying to push away a shoe. The judge glares at me the entire time I’m dragged out; she remains stonily silent as I plead, beg.
Jace throws me in an elevator and we ride back up to my cell.
DEREK
“Matthew is cool. Just settle down and relax.”
“I’m just confused. How is he going to help us?”
Sabrina gives me a look. “Trust me. He'll help us. He has one of the most devious minds I've ever known and has a knack for finding the coolest stuff ever.”
“Finding?”
She bites back a smile. “Okay, maybe acquiring is a better word.”
I leave it alone at that. While Sabrina turns her attention back to the computer in front of her, I go upstairs and call my parents. No one answers, so I leave a message.
“Hey, it’s me. I just wanted to say that I’m alright and things are fine. I’ll call again soon.”
I hang up just as someone knocks on the front door. Sabrina has it open before I'm even halfway down the steps. A guy with dark hair and even darker eyes stands on the threshold.
“So,” Sabrina says, “you have it?”
Matthew nods and reaches into his pocket. He hands her something small and black. It’s the size of a dime. Sabrina hugs him.
“This is awesome. Thanks again.”
“Sure. But that'll probably be the last one I can get you for a while. So don't lose this one too.”
“I promise.”
He nods. Then he looks at me. “Good luck with everything.”
“Thanks,” I say.
Sabrina walks out with him and when she comes back, the smile on her face is huge. I follow her to the dining room, where she sits and beckons me to sit beside her. She places the black circle on the blue laptop.
“What's that?”
“Technical term?” she asks.
“Sure.”
“It's a...well, the technical term is long and I never remember it totally, but for lack of a better word, it's a bug. A very high-tech bug.”
“So what? You plant it and we can hear what a person is saying?”
“Sort of. You plant it, but you don't hear anything.” She brings up a standard Word document and types some random numbers on it. Then she moves to the silver computer and a few key strokes later, she has my screen up on hers, same Word doc, numbers and all. She turns and smiles at me. “You see everything.”
“So it basically copies a computer and what they're doing.”
“Here, try it. Open up some programs. Start typing. Do something.”
I angle the silver computer so I can rest my fingers on the keys. I bring up Google and launch some searches. Then I open up My Documents drive. I start typing in Word. I glance over at Sabrina's laptop. Not only do the programs come up, but it's coming up in real time. As I'm typing, the words appear on her monitor. When I move my mouse, the mouse moves on her monitor.
“This is incredible. Geez, where'd your friend get this?”
“Who cares? But check this out.” She reaches over and takes out her cell phone. She picks the device off the laptop and places it on the back of her smart phone. Then she goes back to the laptop and then…bingo. Windows open on the screen like fireworks.
I lean forward. Every text message she has ever sent lights up the screen. Her call log is up there too. And, most impressive of all, because the phone is a smart phone and linked up to her email, her entire email account is right there out in the open.
“Holy shit.”
“See? It's like one of those credit card things you see people trying to guard against. You know, when someone places something next to a person's credit card and can then read the numbers? That's what this is kind of like, except powerful as hell. It just reads the information on the device. I mean, I'm paraphrasing here. But think of it this way: this little device is like the tiniest, most far-reaching squid you can imagine. I unleash this baby's tentacles and I'm into everything on your computer. And best part is, unlike me trying to internally plant this or upload a virus to the Corps network, this thing won’t be detected or stopped by any of their firewalls.” She sits back. “Impressed yet?”
I chuckle as I navigate through more windows. I'm not reading anything; I'm just amazed with all the information it brings up.
“Very.”
“I try.” She leans back and laces her fingers behind her head. She crosses her legs at the ankles. “So, do you have a computer in mind to put this on?”
“Oh yeah. But it won’t be easy.”
“Derek, dear,” she smiles, “I didn’t think it would be.”
VICTORIA
“That was stupid. You never, ever talk back to the judge.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I had to
say something. That asshole attorney was no help. I had to try. Wouldn’t you?”
Jace shakes his head and runs his fingers through his hair. Major body language for a guy who never shows me anything.
“She has the power to kill you, to order your execution any time she wants. Do you understand that? You can’t show her defiance.”
“Defiance? Defiance?” I throw my arms up and when they slap down at my sides, I scream. “I’ve been locked up in this cell for days. You people don’t even let me shower. What kind of defiance am I showing?”
“Lower your voice.”
“No! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Jace comes at me so fast, with such single focus, it’s like he’ll plow right over me. I move back until I hit the wall. My body tenses and panic grips me as he crouches down in front of me.
“What are you doing?”
But I already know. He easily locates the loose piece of tile I only found out about the other day, when I was frantically searching for a place to hide what Derek had given me. He tosses it aside and plucks the small ring from its hiding spot. He stands, holding it just inches from my face.
“How did you know?” I snarl. “Do you have cameras in here?”
Jace steps back. “I noticed it outside William’s after the funeral, but I didn't say anything. I figured you'd hide it, and when I saw the crack in the floor a bit wider than normal, I knew that’s where you put it.”
Jace has my ring. Anger floods my veins. The unfairness of it all heats my body until I break out in a sweat. “I hate you.”
Jace stays quiet.
I glare at him. “I hate you. I hate the Corps. I hate this cell!” I push myself from the wall, sick of feeling cornered and scared. “I told you everything! It's not my fault you can't find him! It’s not my fault you can’t justify a pair of fucking shoe prints, or fibers, or whatever else you just picked up on the scene and cluster-fucked into a case."
“Sit down.”
“Give me my ring.”
Victoria—”
“Give it to me!”
“If I have to restrain you,” he says, his voice calm but firm, “I will. And you won't like it. Do you understand?”
“I. Want. It. Now.”
“Sit down.”
But I've had enough. I'm innocent. Outraged and frustrated. I didn't kill my father. And the way he's treating me, the way I've been treated—I’ve had it. With a scream that comes from the bottom of my gut, I charge at him. My fingers are curled into claws and I take a swipe.
And suddenly, I'm face-down on the ground, Jace on top of me. One arm is stuck between my chest and the floor and the other is wrenched behind my back.
“Get off me!” I buck and try to rise, but the only thing moving are my legs. He adjusts his position so in a matter of moments, I can't even move them.
“No. Let me go! Let me go!” I try to twist beneath him. Nothing. My tears run hot with frustration. “I just want to go home! Please! I want to go home! I want to go home!”
I scream until my voice cracks. But the tears never let up. I don't think I'll ever stop. I finally rest my forehead on the ground. I stop moving. I stop screaming. At last, Jace gets off me.
He doesn't even sound winded as he says, “That was the second stupid thing you did today.”
I roll to my side and bring my knees to my chest. Hay sticks to my face. I push it away.
My head pounds violently. I cough until I gag but there's nothing in me to throw up. Breathing hurts my throat. I'm scraped out. My voice is weak and hollow as I say, “I was...I was...” Breathless hiccups wrack me. I force the words out, “I was on your side.”
“Excuse me?”
I wipe my eyes. “When you first came here. The Corps. I was on...on...your side. I thought...I thought you were a good thing. A necessary thing. After the war and those hurricanes...” I trail off, remembering the newscasts that showed houses literally being carried away by the waves, of the lifeless bodies of people and animals floating in their own basements. Half the country lost power for months. Crime was tremendous. People were being robbed, raped, killed, and there was nothing anyone could really do. And then the Corps stepped in. They were brutal, but they had to be. What people were doing was brutal. They fought fire with fire and within days, criminals were where they were supposed to be: in the ground.
Soon, power had been restored. People who suffered the most were getting help to rebuild their lives. Food and shelter were provided. They broke down doors to get to those who were trapped. They hauled away the flooded cars and gave people new ones. The Corps even provided sanctuary to animals. No one was turned away. And if they continued to rule with an iron fist, punishing people who would steal, or cheat, or lie, then so be it. Why be kind to people like that? We were one of the last states to have a Corps rule and I was glad when they were finally here. I read what they did to places like California and New York and Texas. They didn't try to hide the bad or work with it. They simply wiped the criminals out. No trial that costs thousands, just a bullet to the head.
Quick. Efficient. And so easy to get behind when I wasn't the one in front of the firing squad.
“This isn't fair,” I whisper. “Just because you can't find him, I'm...I'm being punished. I did nothing and yet I'm being punished.”
There is a brief silence, filled with tension, electricity, and something that bruises every inch of me. I hear Jace take a breath, as if he is about to say something, but then a knock sounds at the door. I don’t look over, but in the next moment, Jace is gone. As my cell door slams shut, I let my eyelids lower. Defeat and exhaustion pummel me, despair drags me down. The last thing I think of is how on earth I can ever get out of here.
DEREK
I run my fingers through my hair and pull at the tips. Nervous, anxious energy makes my fingers bounce on my legs. I told Sabrina I’d find a way, that I’d improvise and just go with it. But now that I’m here, it’s like my brain has shut down. I can’t seem to think ahead even a second. To top it all off, as luck would have it, Fat Guy is at the front desk. The familiar anger and resentment flare up. God, I hate that guy. I lick my dry lips and try not to make eye contact.
“Blondie, oh Blondie. I’m gonna give you ‘til three before I get up and throw your ass out the window. One. Two.”
Before he says “three,” an elevator dings in the distance. It’s like the gunshot at the beginning of a race, and all at once my nervous energy is like rocket fuel, the uncertainty in my limbs totally evaporated. That ding is still vibrating in air when I begin to run, arms pumping, toward the doors that are already beginning to close.
Fat Guy does a double-take as I hurry past him. I hear him shout at me. My socks slip on the floor and I fall to my knees, wasting precious seconds. I curse and fling myself up, and the doors are closing more and more and there’s no time to do anything but literally make a jump for it.
I hold my breath as my body bangs against the metal. Pain zings up my arm all the way to my temple as I run into the back of the car, unable to stop or even slow my momentum. I quickly turn and punch the fifth floor button. The last thing I see is Fat Guy, his eyes glowing with rage, his hand wrapped around his gun. But before he can fire, I’m already going up.
“Come on,” I whisper, watching as the numbers light up with a nightmarish slowness. “Come on.”
Finally, the bell chimes and the doors open. I step out and I’m halfway down the hall when Fat Guy and two other soldiers burst out from the elevator.
“You son of a bitch!” Fat Guy yells as he hurtles toward me. “I’m gonna fucking kill you!”
I rush the rest of the way. I can feel the soldiers’ footfalls shake the ground. I throw myself against Captain Pearce’s door as I grab the handle and push. To my relief, it opens.
He looks up from his desk, shock on his ever-present poker face, as I run in.
“Captain, I—”
An inhuman growl sounds behind me. I whip around but not fast enoug
h to brace myself for Fat Guy’s attack. He launches himself at me and we both go flying across Jace’s desk. We tumble and slide off, taking dozens of devices and monitors down with us. Fat Guy straddles my chest and punches me once, twice, three times. I can taste blood on my tongue and feel it race down my lips and neck.
“You think you're slick!” he screams. “You think you can come in here, fuck with me!”
I hear Captain Pearce’s voice, but can’t make out what he’s saying over Fat Guy’s bellowing or the ringing in my ears. I see his arm go around Fat Guy’s chest as he tries to lift him off me. He manages to hoist him up enough so I can finally squirm from beneath him, but it’s a short-lived victory. Fat Guy’s boot slams into my chest so hard I go sprawling.
Okay, I wanted to get into Captain Pearce’s office, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind.
Fat Guy hauls me to my feet once more. He shoves me over until my head is on his desk and then he jerks my arms behind me. But just as quickly, the horrible weight is gone. I stand and turn.
“What are you doing?” Fat Guy asks Captain Pearce, his face incredulous. “That fucker needs arrested. Now!”
I feel blood on my eyelashes. I stare at Captain Pearce, silently begging him not to throw me in a cell. Not now. Not ever. But especially not when Victoria's life is at stake.
Captain Pearce shakes his head. “Leave us.”
“Like hell I will! He—”
“That is an order!”
His command echoes and reverberates in air. The entire building seems to have hushed. Slowly, Fat Guy takes a step back. He looks like he's about to combust.
“You'll be punished for this,” he says. “I hope you know that. You'll be standing in front of that firing squad and when you do, I'll be the first to pull the trigger.”
“Back away, soldier. Now.”
He grins at me but does as he's told. “Good luck, Captain.” Casting one last blistering glare at me, he turns and heads through the door behind him. I look back at Captain Pearce. I open my mouth to apologize, but he raises his hand, palm toward me. A chill races down my spine at his expression. It’s then I finally get why a guy just a handful of years older than me is in a position of such power: he’s terrifying.
Unstoppable: Truth is Unstoppable (Truth and Love Series) Page 12
