Rivulet (38 page)

“A special treat,” Roman replied. “One I think you will rather enjoy.” A hand landed on her lower back, pushing her forward. She stumbled closer, her eyes locked on Ludwig.

“What’s your name, girl?”

“Charlotte Hatcher.”

Eyebrows shot up in surprise as Ludwig glanced at Roman questioningly. “Think of a number,” Roman said.

“Pardon me?” said Ludwig.

Roman laughed. “Ludwig, trust me, would you?”

The New World leader looked between the two of them doubtfully. “I’m starting to wonder if that’s such a good idea anymore,” he said.

“Humour me at the very least. You won’t be disappointed.”

“Twelve,” Charlotte said immediately. The second he had thought of it she heard it easily. His eyes shot to hers, widening in surprise. “Eighteen. Sixty two. Eighty nine.” God, Charlotte thought, how long is he going to do this? “Two thousand, five hundred and six.”

“How is she doing it?” he asked.

“She reads minds,” Roman said from behind her. Charlotte could hear the smile in his voice. Ludwig sat down behind his desk, his gaze never leaving her face.

“A girl who reads minds,” he said slowly. He leaned back in his chair, hands clasped loosely over his stomach. “My girl, I do believe you will be my greatest weapon yet.” The smile that stretched across his face made her stomach turn, but she kept her expression blank. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before he looked over at Roman. “And the father?”

“We didn’t find him.”

He nodded, looking back at her. “I bet he’ll be looking for you though, won’t he? Have a room prepared for our newest addition to the New World order.”

Her ears began to hum, their voices fading against the buzzing sound. Had she seriously just joined the New World army?
It’s just to stay alive
, she told herself. She could handle being around them for now. She’d been forcing herself to deal with shitty circumstances all her life. This was just simply new surroundings and different people. Her wall would stay firmly in place, and now she would have the opportunity to grow and ensure a future for herself. She would stay until she found her sister, and then she and Bridgette would leave everything and everyone behind. This was just one more stepping stone in the right direction. She could handle it. She had to.

“She needs a new name,” Ludwig was saying as she gave herself a mental shake and focused on the conversation around her.

“A new name?” she said, her voice shaky.

He nodded. “I can’t very well have everyone calling you Charlotte, now can I? Your father will know exactly where to find you if I do. A new name, a new life.”

A new name. A new life. A new identity, she thought.

He looked at her through narrowed eyes, thinking. “Dinah,” he eventually said, sitting forward. “Yes, it’s perfect. From now on you will be called Dinah.”

And just like that, Charlotte Hatcher was dead.

CHAPTER ONE

5 years later…

New Berlin, 2040

The man slumped to the floor, tears streaming down his face. Dinah looked on in disgust. She hated tears. They were a sign of weakness and served no purpose. She stood behind Ludwig’s chair, to his left, like she always did, Roman on the right. This whole scene was frustratingly familiar, as if she were living the same day over and over again. People were brought in, suspected of being rebels. More lies and, inevitably, death. She could tell from the way this one was blubbering that they wouldn’t be getting much out of him.

“Lottey,” Roman whispered.

She looked over, annoyed. “Stop calling me that,” she snapped. She hated when Roman called her by her old name. Charlotte meant
free man
. Her father had been molding her into a rebel right from the beginning, and she didn’t like to be reminded of that. Dinah, meaning justified, felt more natural to her now. It fit, considering she now served as Ludwig’s judge and jury. She’d been going by it for five years and yet Roman still couldn’t manage to call her by it.

She threw him a hard look, even though her mouth quirked up in a smile. He wouldn’t be able to see it anyway because of the mask she wore. Another of Ludwig’s changes for her. Dinah was required to wear a similar uniform to the men, but with a slight change – a light black shirt with a hood that went over not just her head, but her entire face. There was a thin opening for her to see through, but everything else was covered. She always thought she looked like a ninja – but way cooler, of course.

“A necessary must, I’m afraid,” Ludwig had said when he first brought the clothing to her. “If anyone realizes you are a woman, they will start to doubt your strength. We can’t have that if you are to be my third in command,” he explained. He didn’t say it, but she knew he also wanted to keep her hidden from her father. Not that she knew if he was even alive. No one had seen her father in years. He had literally dropped off the face of the earth.

Ludwig was still convinced he was alive and that if he knew where she was, her father would try and get her. Dinah doubted it, since he left her to her demise to begin with, but Ludwig wasn’t to be swayed from his belief. She didn’t mind anymore, even if the hood did get hot now and again. It added a sense of mystery to her, and she knew how unnerved it made people when they saw her. Ludwig’s “Weapon X,” they liked to call her. Of course, they had no idea she was a girl. She hadn’t been blessed with overly feminine curves, so the ruse was complete.

“X,” Ludwig said before she could find out what Roman wanted. He thought the nickname for her was funny, and adopted it himself.

She stepped forward so she was directly beside his chair. It amused her to see him sitting there like some King on his throne. The interrogation room was a large, dark room inside their main headquarters in downtown New Berlin. There were no windows – on purpose. Ludwig wanted anyone inside to feel completely disconnected from the world outside. Dark grey stones tiled the floor, stained from repeatedly spilled blood. Along the walls were sconces that lit the room in a dim glow, casting dancing shadows to unnerve the prisoners. There was no furniture except for the chair he sat in. It wasn’t necessarily a fancy chair by any means. Solid wood, carved with his crest at the top, and a red cushion for him to sit on. But still, she thought of it as his metaphorical throne.

She waited in silence for him to address her again. She
never
spoke out of turn. After five years of being his third in command, Dinah knew exactly where her place was.

“Is the pathetic excuse for a human telling the truth?” he said, as if asking what the weather was currently like outside.

“He knows little,” she answered. “He’s more scared of what you will do to him after. His thoughts aren’t coherent.” She kept her voice low, only loud enough for him to hear.

“Pity.” He frowned. “Nothing of use?”

Dinah turned to look at the man kneeling on the stone. He watched her nervously, visibly shaking under her cold stare. She searched deeper, shuffling through the useless crap she didn’t need to know. What is this? She thought, narrowing her eyes. Interesting. She pushed harder.

“He has a wall,” she said simply.

Ludwig leaned forward in his seat, his face hardened. “Another one?”

Dinah didn’t look away from the prisoner, but nodded in reply. This was the third this week. It hadn’t happened before then, well, except for her mother that last day. The fact that it was happening often now was concerning. Someone was teaching these men how to block her out.

“Break it down,” Ludwig ordered.

Dinah pushed forward hard, breaking down the wall as if it were nothing but sand. It crumpled in her mental fingers, revealing everything hidden there. Oh yes, she thought, there it is.

“There is a bar in the eastern ghetto,” she said. “A meeting is planned there for tomorrow at midnight.”

Ludwig snickered. “Midnight. So dramatic.” He sighed.

The man’s eyes burned, furious. “You cannot stop us all!” he shouted. “No matter how many of us you strike down, we will only rise up again – stronger!”

“I’m sure you will,” Ludwig answered dryly. “Anything else, X?”

“Nothing useful,” she said. “He’s not in the inner circle. He knows little.”

“Very well.” He nodded. “Roman.”

Dinah watched dispassionately as Roman stepped forward, pulling his gun from the holster beneath his left arm. He raised it level with the man’s head.

“You are all going to hell,” the man said, the fear in his eyes at war with his words.

Roman smiled down at the man, mercilessly. “Looks like you’re going to beat me there. Let me know how it is.” He pulled the trigger, the man’s brains splattering across the floor. The soldiers manning the periphery moved instantly, dragging the body away, and preparing to clean the mess. She didn’t envy the task.

“I want you both at that bar tomorrow night,” Ludwig said.

Dinah looked at him in surprise. “Even me?” she asked, louder now that no outsiders were around. All the soldiers in the New World army knew she was a girl so she didn’t have to be as careful around them.

“Yes, you too,” he said. “I need you there, Di. If anyone is going to be able to uncover these rats, it will be you.”

“If the meeting is going to be there, Ludwig, I’m sure me and my men can handle it,” Roman said.

“It’s not enough. I want her there. Just make sure nothing happens to her,” he said pointedly to Roman. Ludwig hardly ever let her out on these raids. He was constantly worried something would happen to her, even though she was hard to beat in a fight. The fact that she could hear her opponent’s move before they made it made beating her difficult.

The truth was, Ludwig relied on Dinah too much to risk losing her. The fact that he was letting her tagalong for this raid was surprising. She knew Roman’s reluctance was him just being overprotective as well. Between the two of them, it was a wonder she was allowed out of her room each day. Not that she really fought to get out. Over the years she’d been here, she found herself hiding within those four walls like it was the only world in her reality. Like the world outside wasn’t the same as the one she had to live. She was slipping further and further away from everything she used to be before joining the army.

“Bring me back information I can use,” he said, getting up from his chair. “These rebels are a constant thorn in my side. I want them wiped out, and I want it done
now
.” He stormed off, four soldiers breaking away from the rest to follow him.

Dinah stood with Roman, watching Ludwig as he retreated. “He’s getting impatient,” Roman commented.

“Gee, really? What was your first clue?” she replied. Roman turned to her with an appreciative grin.

“You’re getting mouthy in your old age.”

Dinah rolled her eyes. “I’m only twenty,” she said. “Hardly old.”

“Actually, you’re twenty-one,” he corrected. “Happy Birthday, Lottey.” He pulled out a small package from a pant-leg pocket. Dinah was speechless. It was her birthday? How did she manage to miss that? She looked up at Roman, amazed he’d actually remember a thing so trivial.

“You got me something?” she asked. He stood with the small present between them, a sardonic expression on his face.

“No, Lottey,” he answered. “I’m just standing here with a little box for no reason. Just take it”.

She narrowed her eyes, still not reaching for the box. “Stop calling me that. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“I do it because you keep telling me not to,” he said. “You should have realized that by now.”

“You’re annoying.”

“I know.” His smile stretched wider. “Are you going to take this, or am I going to hold it out all day?”

With a sigh, she reached out and took the small gift. She hesitated for a second before lifting the lid open to reveal the delicate pair of earrings inside. They were a beautiful blue stone set in white gold. Jewellery was a privilege of the upper class. Very few had such luxuries, and although she wasn’t part of the lower class by any means, Dinah had never owned anything like this. She had no idea what to say.

“They’re aquamarine,” he said. She looked up, still speechless. He shrugged uncomfortably. “They reminded me of your eyes. I always think of that stone when I look at you.” She blinked. It never occurred to her that Roman would notice anything about her. Despite the fact that she knew he was attractive, she swore to herself that she would never get too close to someone. Plus, the two had always been more like siblings. She didn’t get the sense that this was his way of hitting on her, more like a genuine observation of his that he wanted to commend in some way.

“They’re beautiful,” she finally said.

He smiled, accepting this statement as her way of saying thank you. “Perhaps when you’re alone you can put them on.”

“I will,” she replied sincerely. “I’ve never owned anything like these.”

“They’ll look even more beautiful on you than they do in that box.” They smiled awkwardly at each other before he cleared his throat. “Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow night for our big outing?”