Numbers Game (20 page)

32

I
t
was strange, talking to my biological father while awaiting death. He told me of my mother, how she’d been young and beautiful when they’d met and married. He’d been a top-ten graduate, just like Dresden, and he’d graduated from the Leadership Academy’s technology department.

“I helped design the first techband,” he said proudly. “Took me from the academy to councilman’s assistant in one year.” I told him about the empress’s new punishment law, and his smile faded. “She promised she’d never use punishment mode as a weapon. Should’ve known she’d break that promise, too.”

We fell into a thoughtful silence. It was ironic that I’d survived Semias’s poisoned pill only to die here, the same way, in the same prison as my biological dad. A part of me wished I could get to know him a little better, to find out more about my parents and my past.

No, you don’t
,
I told myself.
He abandoned you.

“What do you think of the Rating system now?” I asked cautiously. “After living down here for so long, I mean.”

He gave a deep sigh. For a moment I wasn’t sure he’d heard me. Then he said, “I think it’s the most sophisticated and chilling system of control known to man.”

I thought of the empress and the diamonds embedded in her forehead. I thought about Dresden’s record, about my mom’s struggle for a green Rating, and about Vance and his clan. I thought about the tower and how it felt to dangle from the top, terrified of the hard pavement eighty-two floors below.

“I knew it back then, too,” he continued. “Even as a councilman I still had my doubts. I know it’s why she threw me down here. We both knew that my ambitions were different from hers. I don’t know what’s worse—that I doubted my own nation’s government or upheld a system I didn’t believe in.”

“I’m not sure I really want to know this,” I said slowly, “but how did your relationship with the empress come about?”

I learned they’d been paired up at the academy and that Jasper had just finished a round of testing on the new techband. She was young and intelligent, one of the top graduates of her year. He skipped over much of that part, his face coloring a bit. I thought about my mother, a young newlywed in medical school then, and glared at him.

“It’s not something I’d expect you to understand,” he said, noting the look on my face. He paused, suddenly very interested in a loose string on his sleeve. “How is your mother, anyway?”

“Lanah remarried,” I said, the bitterness creeping back into my voice. “Her husband has his sights set on becoming the new Integration councilman.”

“Really. That’s incredibly ironic.”

“He’s an egotistical jerk. But she can’t have another divorce on her record without taking a huge hit on her score, so she refuses to leave him.”

“I’m truly sorry to hear that,” he said. “She deserves so much better. I hope she can forgive me someday.”

My mind floated back to the night she’d given me his stone. She’d defended him. He was right. She deserved a different life.

I fingered my stone necklace. Its giver was right in front of me now. I could finally ask him the meaning behind the gift. But something held me back. I didn’t need to ask what his intended message had been because it didn’t matter. What mattered was the meaning I brought to it. This stone had probably started out as a rough, angled chunk of rock and been sanded and polished over time.

“Are you really sorry?” I asked.

His eyes glanced up in confusion. “Of course. I feel awful.”

“You realize that your stupidity has affected many people?” I asked, suddenly sounding a lot like my dad. Well, my stepfather.

“Yes, I know. Especially you. I’m so sorry, Ametrine.”

“If you’re truly sorry, you need to get us out of here.” My mind was forming a plan. I just hoped it wasn’t too late.

He gave me a puzzled look. “Don’t you think I would have escaped by now if I could?”

“There must be a way,” I said stubbornly. “You’re a scientist. Is there a way to break the glass?”

Jasper shook his head. “I’ve tried a hundred times. It’s coated with an unbreakable substance called LiquiPlas. It was developed by my mentor at the academy. It won’t shatter, no matter the force raised against it, and it’s completely heatproof.”

“What about the slot at the top?” I gestured to the air hole. “Wouldn’t that weaken the glass somehow?”

“Tried that, too. Stacked the bed and the chair and tried to climb up. It didn’t work, and the guards bolted the furniture to the floor after that.”

I sighed. There had to be a way or I was dead.

Dead.

A surge of excitement rushed through my veins.
That’s it.

“How long after taking the pill did those prisoners die?” I asked, trying not to shudder.

“It was instant,” he said. “They starved them all day, so the pill took effect immediately.”

“Did the guard wait around until they fell to the floor and then remove them?”

I saw the flicker of realization in his eyes. “Yes. She usually waited until they collapsed, then she called for a guard to remove the body.”

“It’s worth a try,” I said.

He swallowed. “But if you fail—”

“What else can they do?” I asked bitterly.

He paused thoughtfully. “I don’t like it, but you’re right. It’s your only chance.”

It was only a few minutes before a set of footprints echoed down the hall. Jasper ran to his bed and sat on it, feigning disinterest. I forced myself to ignore the surveillance cameras placed around the corners, hoping they hadn’t been monitoring our conversation. It was the same woman, a small package in her hand. She opened the hatch and sent it through the glass. I picked it up.

“May I get a drink to wash it down?” I asked.

She gestured to the sink on the wall behind me. “Just hurry up.”

I grabbed the plastic cup by the handle and filled it with water, then pretended to put the pill into my mouth, gulping the first mouthful of water down quickly. The pill disappeared down my sleeve, just as Tali had once shown me.
Thank you, Tali.

Jasper had said the poison worked immediately, but he hadn’t said how. Was I supposed to convulse, roll my eyes and froth at the mouth, or simply drop to the floor?

Option three seemed to require the least acting. I dropped the half-f cup on the floor and made my legs give, hitting the ground much harder than expected. The impact jarred my head painfully, swirling my thoughts around until I thought maybe I had taken the pill after all.

But a few seconds later a woman’s voice said, “She’s down.” Then there was a click and a squeak as a door swung open on the opposite wall.

One.

The woman walked over to me, pausing overhead.

Two.

She tapped me with her foot. I forced myself to stay still. My lungs ached for air, but I didn’t dare make a single movement.

Three.

I struck right as she started to kneel, my leg sweeping out and taking her down in one swift motion. She shrieked as she hit the ground. My other leg whacked her face, effectively putting an end to the scream as my hands reached up for a chokehold. Before my mind even realized what had happened, her head was crooked inside my elbow, her eyes pleading, her breath completely cut off. If I ever saw Vance again, I’d have to thank him for the training.

I squeezed a little harder. Her eyes widened and a squeak escaped her throat. A few more seconds and she would black out. I almost didn’t notice the slight movement from below, but Jasper yelled, “Look out!”

My leg lifted just in time to smash her moving hand and stunner to the floor. It clattered on the concrete and cracked, sliding to a stop a meter away.

The sound made the woman strain for a second, then her eyes rolled back and her body relaxed. I waited for a moment, making sure she was really unconscious, and then examined the stunner. It was cracked, but hopefully it still worked.

“Where did you learn that?” my father asked, his eyes wide.

I gave him a grim smile. “A great teacher.”

“The lock is a techband scanner,” he said. “Hurry, drag her over here.”

I stood and pulled her arm. She didn’t move. I yanked harder and almost fell over.

“You can knock her out with some crazy move, but you’re not strong enough to drag her two meters?” he asked incredulously.

“At least it’s not a big, burly guy,” I said, picking up her leg. Pulling as hard as I could on her arm and leg finally made her body budge, and a minute later I was close enough to scan her techband. It sprung the door right open. We both gave a sigh of relief.

He stepped out tentatively, a warm glow on his face. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t a moment too soon. Footsteps sounded down the hall. And voices.

“There’s two of them,” he whispered.

“Can you handle one if I take the other?” I whispered.

“Uh . . .”

“Just poke him in the eye or smash his nose or even kick him in the crotch. Just keep him from signaling anyone or we’re dead.”

He nodded and we backed into the shadows as the men trotted in.

The guard, a short, squat man in his later years, aimed his stunner, but it was too late. Remembering another trick Vance had taught me, I leaped on him from behind and forcefully clapped his ears with my cupped hands. I could almost hear the pop of his eardrums. With a howl, the man covered his ears. I grabbed the broken stunner out of my pocket and aimed it at his head, punching the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other man raise his techband to his lips and step away from Jasper, who now lay twisted on the floor. Closing the distance, I tackled the guy to the ground. He threw me off and reached for his stunner, but I punched him flat in the nose. His hands immediately cupped around his injury.

Meanwhile the shorter guard, looking a bit disoriented, had pulled his stunner out and started toward me. Blood trickled down from both his ears onto his crisp white uniform, and he eyed me with a cold, controlled gaze. I leaped at him, but he dodged out of the way. I sent a quick kick toward his crotch. He blocked it easily, then aimed the stunner at my face.

I ducked just before he fired, then leaped back and executed a perfect sweep. The guy went down like a lead weight. The man crumpled to the floor, trying to catch himself with one hand while aiming the stunner with the other. My next kick connected with his wrist and sent the stunner flying. He groaned, but he didn’t get up.

“Are you okay?” I asked Jasper, who was still on the ground.

“Just . . . can’t . . . breathe,” he gasped.

“Can you stand?” I said, watching the short guard bring his techband slowly to his lips. I ran to where the stunner had fallen, grabbed it, and aimed at his head. “Put it down.”

He obeyed, but the call was already in progress. “Reply, Captain,” a voice on the other end ordered.

“End your call,” I told him. “Now.”

He moved his arm slowly to his face, but instead of hitting the End button, he spoke. “Red alert. Prisoners have escaped—” I pulled the trigger, but his leg shot out and kicked the stunner out of my hand at the last second. I started after it but thought better of it when the man raised his techband to his lips again.
I’m sorry, but you leave me no choice
, I thought, and kicked at the techband with all my strength.

The screen shattered. Suddenly the guard stiffened and started to gasp. He curled into fetal position, an anguished wail escaping his lips.

Jasper had crawled along the floor, grabbed the man’s stunner, and made his way over just as the guard went limp. Jasper yanked at the techband, muttering something about “newer version.” Then he pulled back, eyeing me with a horrified look. “He’s gone.”

I stared at him, stunned. “I didn’t mean—I’m sorry—”

“What did you think would happen?”

“I just thought he’d go unconscious,” I mumbled. “That’s what happened last time.”

“Last time? You do this often?” He shook his head incredulously. “The intensity of punishment mode depends on the force transmitted to the techband, Ametrine.”