Girl of Stone (The Expulsion Project Book 2)

by Norma Hinkens

  “Bringing up the plans,” she replies. “Okay, got it. Give me a minute. Second door on the right in the basement. Redirecting the cameras. What’s going on? Is there a server down there?”

  Velkan snorts. “It’s not what you think. I’m just trying to get a hot shower going. The water heater isn’t working.”

  “I can give you fifteen minutes to fix it.” There’s a moment’s pause before Ayma adds. “I told Phin you might have found his father working in the processing plant.”

  “What did he say?” I ask.

  “Not a lot—you know Phin. But his eyes were glistening with tears when he walked away.” Ayma hesitates. “The only thing worse than finding out that your father’s dead is learning that he’s gone to the dark side.”

  I swallow back a sob. I hate that Phin has to go through this. He has never known the love of a parent. He held out hope of his birth parents being everything he had ever dreamed of in a family, but it looks like those dreams have been shattered.

  A public alert flashes across our CipherSyncs, startling me out of my reverie.

  Preeminence is pleased to announce a radical breakthrough in protein replication techniques that will considerably reduce the duration of your child’s stay at NeuroOne. Please note that selection for this elite program is a privilege, and your protein donation will directly benefit future generations of Mhakertan citizens by expanding the comprehensive semantic knowledge base. Hail Preeminence!

  Velkan and I exchange horrified glances as I read the message aloud to Ayma. “Mhakertans have no idea what’s happening here at NeuroOne,” I add, shaken. “They’re volunteering their children for this.”

  “We need to get word to the CentroZone about what’s really going on,” Velkan says.

  “Words can be dismissed as rumors,” Ayma says. “Once I find a way to penetrate the neural core, I can send a VidFeed to every screen in the CentroZone and let Mhakertans see for themselves exactly what Preeminence is doing to people.”

  “But what can Mhakertans do about it? The robot military will simply crush any protests,” I say.

  “That’s why we can’t act until I can shut Preeminence down,” Ayma replies. “I’ll find a way. I don’t know how yet, but I won’t stop until I’ve done it.”

  “We have to go,” I say, as the elevachute opens on the basement level. “Keep us posted.”

  Velkan leads the way to the second steel door on the right, and then throws a quick glance up and down the corridor before opening the door and pulling me inside. The heat is oppressive and the room buzzes and hums, lanes of cables twisting over an array of gauges and equipment. My eyes boggle at the intricate network of colored wiring, but Velkan doesn’t hesitate. He walks over to a large tank and deftly checks some connections. “Solar-powered thermal exchanger,” he remarks. “The pump’s running fine.”

  He crosses to the shelving lined with spare parts and tools. “I’ll need to check the individual valves and sensors to make sure they’re working right.”

  “Hurry,” I say, as he selects a couple of screwdrivers. “We can’t risk the cameras coming back on before we make it out of here.”

  While Velkan gets to work, I wander around the cramped space checking out the rest of the machinery in the room. “We can kill the power from here, if we need to.” I gesture to the power box. “In case we’re forced to create a diversion.”

  Velkan wipes the back of an oily hand across his brow and frowns up at me. “You mean if we need to escape?”

  I grimace. “We can’t assume Ayma can pull off shutting down Preeminence. And Dr. Petrop knows your IQ. I’m not sure what she’s playing at, but it can’t be good.”

  “She told me she’s part of a selection committee that screens donors for suitability to work in NeuroOne. My IQ matched the current needs. I’m more use to Preeminence as an auxiliary than in the donation cycle.”

  “I don’t trust her,” I say. “And once our suits are sent over from the collective, it’s only a matter of time before we’re both exposed.”

  “Let’s focus on a hot shower first, then we can worry about dying.” Velkan grins, as he bends back down and unscrews a metal plate. He jiggles something behind it and then straightens up. “Got it! A faulty sensor. Should be easy enough to switch out if they keep an extra one on the parts shelf.”

  He rummages around at the back of the room for a couple of minutes. “We’re in luck!” he announces, holding up a small box.

  He quickly replaces the faulty sensor and, with only seconds to spare, we exit the room and race back to the elevachute. Velkan tosses the defunct sensor up in the air and catches it as the doors close. “I’m doubly ready for a hot shower now after working in that stifling room.”

  “What did you bring the old sensor with you for?” I ask.

  “We can’t leave any evidence behind,” he says, slipping it into his pocket. “Or they’ll know someone was in there. I’ll dispose of it later.”

  The hot water feels like silk on my skin, and I’m grateful once again for Velkan’s uncanny mechanical abilities. He can figure out how to fix, modify, or even build from scratch most anything if the situation calls for it. I’m the one who’s feeling useless now. Seems there’s nothing much I can contribute or do except to stay under the radar until Ayma cracks the neural core.

  When I finally step out of the shower wrapped in a towel, Lira bars my way to the dressing room, arms folded across her chest. “I see we have hot water,” she says, in a threatening tone.

  I shrug. “Apparently so.”

  She leans against the doorframe, her eyes narrowing in an accusing stare. “Tova said Velkan was asking where the mechanical room was.” She inches closer, until her warm breath brushes over my cheek. “Funny, isn’t it, how all of a sudden the hot water is working again. Of course, it couldn’t have been Velkan’s doing, because he doesn’t have the proper clearance to access the basement.” She arches her brows until I think they might split. “I checked,” she whispers.

  I tighten the towel around me and shove her roughly aside. “I expect maintenance got on it sooner than expected.”

  Lira slides her tongue between her bottom lip and her teeth and studies me for a moment. “I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how a pair of newbies like you ended up on the research floor.”

  “Don’t strain your brain.” I reach nonchalantly for my clothes even though my pulse is pounding. I keep my head bent low so she can’t see the guilt in my eyes.

  “You must have connections in very high places to be able to bend the rules the way you two do,” Lira adds.

  “We haven’t bent any rules.” I straighten up and stare straight at her. “Don’t make accusations unless you have hard evidence. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  She puts out a hand to block me. “Is this what you’d call hard evidence?” She pulls something out of her pocket and sticks it under my nose.

  Nausea swirls in my gut. It’s the broken sensor.

  26

  Lira snatches her hand away as I try to grab the sensor. Before I can wrestle it back from her, she whistles and tosses it through the door to someone waiting just out of sight.

  Her lips meld into a cruel pink slit. “I guess Velkan was in such a rush for the hot shower he was craving that he forgot all about hiding the evidence.”

  “Where did you get that?” I growl.

  “Tova went through Velkan’s pockets for me.” Lira smiles serenely at me. “He’s so utterly desperate for a girl’s attention, don’t you think?”

  Tova! Of course a snake like Lira would use him to her advantage. My mind races. I have to get the sensor back from her. If Lira turns it in, there will be an investigation. And if Tova admits to finding the sensor in Velkan’s pocket, Velkan will be arrested, and not even Dr. Petrop will be able to save him this time.

  “Velkan must have overridden the cameras to access the basement.” The smile vanishes from Lira’s face. “How did he do it?”

  I cast a hes
itant glance over her shoulder, wondering what she told Tova to do with the sensor. I’m wasting precious time here with her when I should be trying to retrieve the sensor, but I’m not going to be able to shake Lira off our tail now that we’ve aroused her suspicions. Maybe I can appeal to her instead. “It doesn’t matter how he did it,” I whisper. “He only wanted to help.”

  “And he did help,” she says, her brows coming together in a harsh line. “He fixed the equipment. Which is remarkable considering his inferior IQ.” She flashes her CipherSync at me and walks briskly to the door. “An anomaly worth noting, don’t you think?” She gives another syrupy smile laced with poison and slips through the door before I can stop her.

  I hurriedly pull on the rest of my clothes and race out of the bathroom to warn Velkan. I come to a screeching halt in the corridor when I see the military robots standing to attention outside his room. Lira must have reported the sensor before she confronted me. She was just toying with me in the bathroom. It’s too late to do anything to help Velkan.

  Moments later, two military robots escort Velkan out of his room and march him down the hallway toward the elevachute.

  I step in front of them, but one of the military robots brushes me aside with a powerful swipe of his arm sending me crashing against the wall.

  “Don’t worry about—,” Velkan calls to me before a military robot points an index finger at his face and shoots out a flexible metal gag that wraps around his head and seals his mouth.

  I want to shout a million things to him: that we live and die as a team, that I’ll stay strong and be a fortress, that I’ll find a way to rescue him. But my lips won’t cooperate. My knees wobble beneath me, and it’s all I can do not to sink to the floor as the robots whisk Velkan out of sight.

  I turn to see Tova and Lira watching me. Lira wears a triumphant smile on her face, but Tova averts his gaze. Too late now for second thoughts. The damage has already been done. I’m alone with no idea how to help Velkan and no way to stop what’s happening to him. I turn away and head for my room, disgusted by Tova’s weakness that allowed him to be used as a pawn in Lira’s hands.

  I throw myself down on my bed and punch the mattress in frustration before bursting into wracking sobs I attempt to drown in my pillow. A few minutes later, exhausted and spent, I sit up and try to clear my thoughts. Velkan’s guilt hinges on two things: Tova’s testimony and the broken sensor. If Tova is regretting the role he played in this, maybe I can persuade him to change his account. I dry my eyes on a corner of the sheet and get to my feet. If Tova won’t help me, I’ll find someone who will. I won’t give up. Now, more than ever, I need to be a rock for Velkan, to be the Girl of Stone he needs me to be.

  I search the communal area where Tova usually hangs out, but there’s no sign of him anywhere. “Have you seen Tova?” I ask the auxiliaries conversing in the seating area.

  “He got a summons on his CipherSync a few minutes ago,” a woman answers.

  “A summons, what does that mean?” I ask, my heart thumping erratically. If Tova is being summoned to give testimony, then maybe they’re interrogating Velkan.

  “He must report to his superiors.” The woman widens her eyes at me. “No idea what it’s about, do you?”

  “No, I barely know him,” I mutter before turning away. There goes my plan to pressure Tova to retract his story. With him out of the picture, I’m running out of options. No sense pleading with Lira. She’s made it clear she’ll do whatever she can to bring me down. I take a deep breath. There’s only one other person who might be able to help me. I make a beeline for the elevachute. Dr. Petrop saved Velkan once, maybe she’ll be willing to risk trying it again.

  My thoughts tumble over themselves as I try to come up with a reasonable explanation for why I want to help Velkan. Nothing rings true, other than the truth itself—I love him. I need to stick to a straightforward story that won’t arouse Dr. Petrop’s suspicions—we met in the collective and fell in love. I practice the lines out loud, cutting off abruptly when the elevachute door opens and a familiar broad-shouldered figure steps inside with a group of scientists from the processing plant. I can’t help staring at him a moment too long, struck again by the striking similarity the man bears to Phin.

  He takes up a position next to me at the back of the elevachute, facing the door as it closes, without acknowledging me. He’s so close I can almost hear the beat of his powerful heart. A chill runs through me. I desperately want to whisper Phin’s name to him to see how he will react, but I can’t say anything with the other scientists standing in front of us. Precious seconds tick by as I wrestle with a plan to stall him when the door opens. But he beats me to it. I flinch when he presses something into my hand right when the elevachute stops on the second floor. Before I can react he exits with his associates, striding down the hallway without as much as a backward glance at me.

  I suck in my bottom lip and flick my eyes to the note cradled in the palm of my hand. I don’t dare study it for more than a second or two in case the cameras pick up on the fact that I’m hiding something in my hand.

  Midnight, basement. Eat this.

  Trembling inside, I force myself to remain expressionless, eyes forward. With the tip of my thumb, I work the paper into a ball in my hand. Pretending to chew on a nail, I carefully push the slip of paper into my mouth and swallow it in one gulp. I could have just flushed it down a toilet somewhere, but suddenly nothing feels safe. The scientist knows a whole lot more about this place than I do, and I can’t risk being discovered with the incriminating note when I step out of the elevachute, not now when I’m the only hope Velkan has. Tiny beads of sweat prickle along my hairline. If the scientist really is Phin’s father, maybe he’ll help me find Velkan if Dr. Petrop won’t intervene.

  By the time I reach the research floor, I still haven’t worked out exactly what I’m going to say to Dr. Petrop, but I’m resigned to pleading for Velkan’s life if it comes down to it. I hurry down the hallway, flashing my ID at a sentry robot making its rounds, and push open her office door.

  The room is empty. I take a quick look around the adjoining lab, but I don’t see her there either. My stomach clenches in despair. I need to find her soon. If the military robots took Velkan across to the processing plant for protein extraction, there’s no time to waste. As the head of research, Dr. Petrop’s the only one with the authority to intervene. I race back to the elevachute and bang the inside wall impatiently, willing the doors to close, not caring in the moment what the cameras make of my actions if they’re watching. As soon as I reach the ground floor, I make my way across the flag-draped, high-gloss foyer to NeuroOne’s main entrance. Two military robots approach me from either side.

  “It’s past curfew,” a fat-lipped guard in the booth by the doors says. “Unless you have clearance, you can’t exit the building until morning.”

  “I need to find Dr. Petrop,” I say, breathlessly. “It’s urgent, a matter of life and death.”

  The guard flicks a deadpan glance over me. “I don’t like having to repeat myself.” He gestures to the military robots. “It sends a signal to them that you’re causing trouble.”

  “Can you at least tell me if she went to the processing plant?” I ask. “She’s my boss,” I add through gritted teeth.

  “Follow protocol,” he says, brusquely. “Send her a message via CipherSync. Now, if you don’t remove yourself, I’ll have you escorted away from the door and trust me, a sentry robot’s grip can be painful.”

  I run my eye over the menacing robots on either side of me. They could step closer and crush me between them in half a heartbeat—if they had hearts. Reluctantly, I retreat and make my way back across the foyer to the elevachute. Once the doors close, I press my forehead despairingly against the cold steel. There’s nothing more I can do to help Velkan tonight with the curfew in place.

  My mind goes back to the note and the scientist who slipped it into my hand. He has access to the processing plant. If he really is Phin�
�s father, maybe he will help me.

  Back in my room I activate my MicroComm, and this time Phin answers. “Is everything okay?”

  “They’ve arrested Velkan.” I can feel my lip wobbling and I’m thankful no one’s here to see it. So far I’m not doing a great job of living up to being the rock I need to be.

  “What happened?” Phin’s voice is low and urgent.

  “Velkan went into a restricted area to fix our hot water system. Someone found out and reported him.”

  “Where is he now?” Phin asks.

  “I was hoping you could tell me. Has Ayma made any progress on penetrating Preeminence’s core?”

  “Not yet, but she can access the cameras and try and locate Velkan that way,” Phin says. “It would take time—time she could be using working on breaching the security protecting Preeminence.”

  I weigh my options for a moment. “The scientist who looks like he might be your father slipped me a note today. He wants to meet me at midnight in the basement. If he doesn’t know where they’re holding Velkan, I’ll have Ayma search for him.”

  “Be careful,” Phin says. “You don’t know for sure who he is.”

  “He’s taking a huge risk meeting me,” I reply. “That’s a good sign.”

  “Check in on the MicroComm at twelve-thirty and confirm you’re all right,” Phin says. “We’ll keep you posted on our end if there’s any progress.”

  The MicroComm clicks off and I’m left feeling more alone and vulnerable than I’ve ever felt before. There’s nothing I can do now but wait. I might as well send Dr. Petrop a message like the guard suggested—maybe she will respond. I frown at my CipherSync for a moment or two trying to formulate a message that will make it clear I know she lied about Velkan’s test results, but that won’t trigger Preeminence’s suspicions.

  Subject needs your help. You know the truth about him.

  At exactly fifteen minutes to midnight, I exit my room and pad down the corridor. I nod in passing at several auxiliaries getting out of the elevachute at the end of their shift. No one gives me a second glance. Shift changes occur around the clock. The elevachute descends to the basement and I step out into the dimly lit hallway. There was no indication on the note where in the basement I’m supposed to meet the scientist. After a moment’s hesitation, I head in the direction of the mechanical room as it’s the only area I’m familiar with.