"Watch this," he said with a wicked glint in his eyes, throwing me entirely off balance.
He waved the waiter over and in perfect Wáitaměi asked for the dishes to be packaged to-go. The waiter didn't even bat an eyelash. It could have been the sexy smirk Trent offered me, making the server think we'd reconciled and decided to take our reunion - and meal - home.
For some reason I smiled back at him, amused and impressed at the same time.
The Chilli Crabs were returned to us in pretty little take-out packages, our reputations intact. Trent picked them up, after we both paid for the meals in cash, sharing a look as our credits hit the table simultaneously. It was a cashless society, but those of us trying to stay under the Overseer radar managed to carry more than just plastic electronically chipped cards. I saw the surprise in his eyes, which was carefully hidden as he moved to let me walk out of the restaurant first.
It was strange walking through Wáikěiton with him. This was my natural environment. I knew every street and lane, every alley and back pathway. I also knew every shop owner and a fair few of the inhabitants, my face as Lena Carr quite recognisable. Today I kept my head down and didn't make eye contact, avoiding a wave or smile, or worse still, my name being called out.
Sooner or later I was sure my alias would become known to the man at my side. But for now, I needed a little longer before he became aware.
We rounded the corner into Elliott Street and I began counting off the Cardinal drones and those of the people busily occupied on the packed street I thought were Cardinals as well. There were fifteen in total. Two drones standing opposite the front door to my home. I suspected there were more around the back.
"Why so many Cardinals?" Trent murmured, as though to himself. He slowed his pace, eyes darting left and right, and then surreptitiously scanning the rooftops.
I felt safe enough walking here, as long as no one called out my name. But with Cardinals present, the entire neighbourhood was purposely unfriendly. No greetings. No smiles. Hardly a word. Just the hum of air-con units, the low rumble of cars on Wellesley Street West, and the clatter of feet along pavement.
A heavy pall had fallen over this segment of Wáikěiton and it was all my fault.
I used the opportunity to check the windows of my home, to see if movement within was noticeable. It was hard to tell from where we currently were, but the dim sum stall was across the street and once we reached there it would be easier to see.
"Is that your vendor?" I asked, as Trent seemed to be going slower still.
"I think we should leave," he advised, his shoulders again quite rigid.
"I'd like to try it," I pressed, walking across the street.
"Wait!" he called out softly behind me, trying not to get noticed by either the sPol or the iPol, both of which walked the street.
"Come on!" I said, offering a smile over my shoulder. "You promised."
I saw the indecision on his face, the concern and fear that most Citizens had when surrounded by Cardinals, but just as quickly as they appeared they vanished. And once again the mask was back in place.
He strode over to stand beside me, missing the vendor's greeting as I had hoped. Much of what I did under the darkness of night relied on perfect timing. I approached this moment exactly the same way. While the vendor began preparing our dishes, and Trent fell into his own act and started explaining why he liked these particular dim sums the best, I scanned the windows of my apartment. Now at an angle where I could see inside.
It took a second. Maybe more. For me to see a shadow behind the curtain at my lounge. It shouldn't have been there... and then it moved. I held my breath as the vendor handed me my bowl, but didn't immediately move to eat. My eyes locked on the shadow as it approached the window itself, pulling the curtain back and looking out onto the street.
The bowl started to fall from my hands, but somehow Trent caught it, as I took a step back and spun on my heels, walking swiftly away from the cart and the dim sums and a situation that was about to blow up in my face.
I'd made a mistake, thinking naively that I could use Trent's presence as a cover. A man who looked every inch a Citizen, better than I did at the moment even in this summer dress. But I'd needed to get a better look at what was happening here. I'd needed to make sure my alias was well and truly lost.
And she was. Lena Carr couldn't be saved now. My last gift from my father slipping out of my hands and being crushed under the boot of Wánměi.
"Selena!" Trent called, appearing beside me. "What's the matter?"
I kept walking, wanting to be anywhere but here. Wanting to curl up in a little ball and cry useless tears for a father who had been dead for ten years and a world that seemed so very wrong.
"Selena," he tried again and then a voice I had hoped to avoid joined him.
"Selena? Selena Carstairs? What on earth are you doing here?"
I stopped dead in my tracks, because you didn't run from a Cardinal. Even if he hadn't identified himself as such. I felt Trent tense beside me, his gaze already telling him what my mind had recognised.
I had no choice. I had to turn.
I faced him, looking up into familiar brown eyes, noting absently that they were definitely not dosed.
"Cardinal Chew-wen Wang Chao," I said softly. "What a wonderful surprise."
I knew instinctively, neither one of us believed that. At all.
Chapter 18
Get Me Out Of Here
Trent
Fuck, this was bad. General Chew-wen's son, staring down at Selena like he wanted to drag her off this offending street and haul her in front of his father.
"Selena," he said again, his voice clipped and authoritative. "This is not a place for you, toétèi." He called her "his treasure." I understood now why he was so keen to protect her from the disturbing sights of a Citizen zoned Wáikěiton street. I glanced at Selena to see her reaction, grateful there was no simpering or swooning on her part.
I guess he'd look good to most women in his pressed cream suit and flowing red cloak. Cleanly shaven, haircut Wánměi approved. The gold buttons on his shirt, I noted absently, were polished to a high gleam and devoid of any engravings.
My eyes came back to his stern face. I was taller than him, which amused me. I straightened my shoulders, and moved to Selena's side, offering silent support at her back. I even lifted a hand and placed it against the curve of her spine, pushing my advantage home.
The sharp eyes of Chew-wen's son flicked to me, any softness that had been on display for Selena now gone.
"Why are you here, Wang Chao?" Selena asked, drawing his focus back to her instead of me. I wasn't sure if she'd done it purposely. But she wasn't pulling away from my touch either.
I smiled.
"Cardinal business," he snapped. "This street is not safe."
"Not safe for an Elite?" Selena asked innocently. Almost too innocently. I forced myself not to check out her expression, keeping my attention on the threat opposite me instead.
His eyes darted down the length of her sundress; not quite Elite appropriate.
"What are you wearing?" he demanded.
"Do you like it?" she asked and proceeded to pirouette in front of us. For a second I forgot we were on a street conversing with the enemy, my eyes locked on the dancing form of the woman before me. I noticed, once I managed to pull my gaze away and actually breathe, that Wang Chao was just as lost as I had been.
"It's lovely," he conceded. "But hardly your usual attire."
"I felt like a change, and as I was intending to try out the dim sums, at this street vendor I had heard so much about, I thought it appropriate for my day."
"Return home," he instructed.
She affected a pout. It was quite good, I must say. But also not the Selena I had come to know. She was playing him. And I suddenly felt dreadfully scared. He was a tiger and she was the mouse. No. The zebra, about to be eaten alive. But she acted as though he was nothing more than a delightfully enchanting pussy cat and she the b
utterfly that teased just out of reach of his claws.
"You so like to spoil all my fun," she announced with a smile. His face softened. Just minutely.
"And you like to upset my day," he threw back, almost a banter, but I couldn't see the formidable Chief Overseer's son joking like that under normal circumstances.
She laughed breezily and then looked over his shoulder as though only just noticing the rest of the street. This woman noticed everything, I'd hazard a guess Cardinal Chew-wen was aware of that fact as well. She said, "Why are there so many drones here, Wang Chao? Are you about to make an arrest? I'd love to see you in action."
Oh, but she was good.
"Toétèi," he said with surprising patience. "This is a side of my work I do not wish for you to observe."
His eyes abruptly left her face and landed on me. His entire being changed in an instant and there had been absolutely no warning at all.
"Introduce me," he instructed.
"Cardinal Chew-wen Wang Chao," Selena said immediately, aware the situation was deteriorating but still amazingly keeping her cool. "This is Citizen Trent Masters, a new acquaintance."
"Prepare for iRec," he advised and a chill raced down my spine. It wasn't Selena who was playing Wang Chao. It was him playing her and I think she might have known it.
No wonder this woman did what she did. She was more than trapped, being the god-daughter of this Cardinal's father, she would be often in his company and subjected to his mood swings and subtly threatening words. She knew what she was about to face when she'd turned on this street, and she hadn't baulked. Didn't even blink. The only way she could manage that was if she had an escape to retreat to afterwards. Her night time pursuits offering her a life she wouldn't otherwise have had.
"Of course," I murmured, moving so he could cup my chin with his fingers. Much like a drone, an iRec unit was strapped to his arm, which proceeded to scan my eyeball on his command.
A hum and a buzz, and then Shiloh announced out of the little device, "Citizen Trent Masters. No warrants issued."
He looked disappointed, but lowered his hand.
"You keep illustrious company, Citizen," he remarked.
"I merely offer a guard," I replied.
"How did you meet?" he demanded. Selena remained thankfully silent, interrupting would only increase the danger and she wasn't stupid.
"Honourable Carstairs served at a charity I frequent. I mentioned the dim sums. Now we are here."
His eyes darted to Selena. "You and your voluntary work. Father always wondered why you bothered."
"To be Elite is to set an example, Cardinal," she offered. "I am fortunate to be able to show those beneath me the model Wánměi way."
He stared at her a moment longer and then glanced back down the street.
"Don't come here again, toétèi," he said softly, but there was something in his tone that set off warning bells. "You might be pulled into an event that a model Elite should not be."
"I know your work is often harsh, Wang Chao," she offered, reaching forward and placing a hand on his arm in what appeared genuine concern.
I wondered why she wasn't cutting and running. I wondered why she was dragging this out even though it looked like Wang Chao was prepared to let us both go with only veiled threats. She was taking a risk.
Being reckless.
And I had a sudden sinking feeling there was a reason why.
His eyes came down to where she touched him and he lifted a gloved hand and placed it over her fingers, gripping her possessively. I forced myself not to growl out loud.
"Will you catch him?" she asked, looking almost adoringly up into his eyes. If I couldn't see how pale her face was, I would have believed the act.
But for the moment, he was the one trapped; a cat and mouse game that I reluctantly found fascinating to watch. Even as my insides were being twisted and churned.
"It's not a him, toétèi," he said emphasising the endearment. "Sometimes the worst offenders can be of the fairer sex and right under your nose."
"Indeed," she said with only a slightly shaky smile.
Wang Chao laughed. It sounded as threatening as the tone of his words.
"Do not fear, Selena. I always get my... woman."
And OK, the growl was audible, but thank God Selena was talking and covered the sound.
"But does she deserve you?" she was saying.
He cupped her cheek, it wasn't entirely tender, his eyes fleetingly flicking towards me to make sure I was watching - as if I could look anywhere else while he pawed her delicate skin - and said, "This one will receive the full extent of my power."
"Has she done you so wrong?" Selena queried quietly.
"She threatens all of Wánměi," the Cardinal replied, then clipped his heels, offered me one last glower, and walked away.
We stood there a few seconds longer, unable to move. For me, because I was acutely relieved to have escaped such a close call. For Selena, I think, because she was upset and could hardly breathe. Her eyes full of unshed tears, her skin ashen, her chest rising and falling above her sundress.
"Are you going to tell me what just happened?" I asked softly at her side.
She jerked, her whole body rocking at the motion, moist, and fuck me, panicked eyes flicking up to my face.
"Get me out of here," she pleaded, a rawness on her beautiful pale features that I had never seen before.
I clasped her hand in mine, rejoicing in the feel of smooth skin that fit so perfectly, and led her away.
And the entire time she kept flicking longing glances over her shoulder down the street. Past Cardinal Chew-wen Wang Chao. Past the drones and the stall vendors and the people trying to go about their business while in the shadow of the Overseers' presence on the street. Past everything it seemed, until we turned the corner and my eyes lined up with the direction of hers and I saw what she was staring at, looking at, allowing herself one last loving glance at, before she left for good.
An apartment in a nondescript building, the curtains fluttering in a slight breeze, as though someone inside had just walked past. And across the street two drones watched the movement, their attention mirrored in the rest of the fleet dotted throughout Elliott Street.
Now, who did she know lived there? And why did she feel their loss so acutely?
Chapter 19
Jump!
Lena
He knew. Wang Chao knew, somehow, that the person they sought in that apartment building was me. I'd never been faced with this type of terror before. I'd never compromised my alias to such a degree. My father had gifted me Lena Carr as a way to mix with the lower classes and not be seen. I don't think he'd intended for me to use her as I had done. Because I realised now, that those who knew me would put the two sides of myself together with ease.
Selena Carstairs. Lena Carr. Too close. Too obvious. And Wang Chao had made the connection easily, I feared. But why had he not pounced?
His words were simply a warning. A precursor to something else. It had always been a game with him. A hint here, a sly look there, a surreptitious touch that meant more than it seemed.
And now I was in limbo, waiting for him to follow up the act and make his intentions clear.
I wasn't sure if I could even go back to Parnell. But there was nowhere else for me to go.
I pulled my cellphone out of my handbag and thumbed through my saved messages, hitting send on one that I fired off to both Tan and Aiko. The message read: Can't make our date tonight; something's come up. But what it meant was, don't get in touch, I'll contact you when it's safe. Then I pulled the back of the unit off, removed the SIM card and crushed it under my foot.
It was only then that I realised I'd done this all in front of Trent.
"Well," he said, from his side of the empty Elite train carriage. "That was interesting."
"I'm having a bad day," I admitted.
"Yes," he replied softly. "I believe you are."
My hands shook as I returned the u
seless device to my bag. I cupped them in my lap and stared out the window of the train. The seat beside me moved as Trent's weight made the cushions depress.
"Your stop is next," he remarked, looking up at the light blinking over Parnell Station on the Rap-Trans map. I followed his gaze as the train began to slow.
Neither of us said anything as Shiloh announced the train station and said the obligatory mind the platform gap warning. We were still sitting there when the doors closed again and the train moved out.
I'd burned Lena Carr. And now I'd lost the doctored Shiloh unit my father had left me, too. And, if things were as bad as I feared, I'd forsaken the only other thing he had given me, as well.
My real name.
Until I knew what Wang Chao wanted in exchange for holding off on arresting me, I couldn't risk going home. I couldn't risk Tan and Aiko. There was no Yeh Zhang Yong to turn to. I didn't know Harjeet well enough to ask for another favour and I already owed him for one useless one. And all my other acquaintances were for black market purchases and miscellaneous transactions. Not a solid enough relationship to call on in my hour of need.
I was destitute. No longer Elite. Not even a Citizen.
I felt strangely numb.
"So," Trent started. "Any plans for tonight?"
I turned slowly to look at him, taking in the rumpled t-shirt from a day out in the sun and heat, the roughed up almost too long hair sticking up at odd angles, the deep blue smiling eyes. I didn't even know him at all and maybe that made the decision easier. Risking him held no emotional response in me. He was here. He was capable. He'd use me in a flash if the tables were turned.
"Take me to your place," I announced boldly. His eyebrows crept higher, but the glint of laughter in his eyes didn't abate.
"What if my place is a secret?" he asked.
"Is it?"
"If I tell you, I'd have to kill you." He winked.
"I'll take that risk."
"You would," he muttered, running a hand through his hair again.
"It is a secret, isn't it?" I guessed. He let a huff of breath out on a laugh that didn't sound amused.
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