Chapter Twelve

 

 

Star

 

I cracked open the door and sniffed the air. The sweet scent of morning rain and ozone hung over the cobblestone roads and steamed against the metal of the manhole covers. Clouds peppered the sky, with only small specks of blue showing between them. People rushed by, never noticing me peeking through the doorway of one of the rebellion’s many safe houses.

“Shut the door! You’re going to let the cold in.” Gigi’s hand pushed on the door until it clicked shut. I straightened, crossing my arms, and jutting out my bottom lip, but she paid me no mind. Twirling away, she grabbed an umbrella and smoothed down the skirt beneath her jacket. Her lovely blonde curls were tucked away under a brunette wig that could fool even the most meticulous of inspectors. “Well?”

I looked up, already lost in my thoughts. “Well, what?”

“How do I look?”

“Not like you, so fine, I guess. You look fine.” I turned to stare out the window. “It’s going to rain some more this afternoon.”

“Best take an umbrella as well and wear some rain boots.” She frowned at her black shoes, which paired well with her outfit.

“I already got mine on.” I lifted my loose slacks to show them off. We were lucky that this safe house had been stocked with a wide assortment of clothing.

Fran entered from the kitchen with a couple of thermoses and handed one to each of us. “It may be warm and humid right now, but once the breeze comes up, you’ll both catch your death and freeze. Wear a thicker coat, Star, for goodness’ sake. Here.” She turned, yanked a coat from the rack by the door and held it out to me. “This will repel the rain and keep you warm.”

“What about you?” I shrugged it on and fastened the buttons. She was right, it was warm, but not overwhelmingly so. I smoothed out the bottom of the coat. It went well with rain boots and my dark slacks yet remained feminine.

“I’m not going. They only allow humans into the public rallies unless you’re disabled and need a caretaker, which you don’t. There are scanners at all the entrances. No cogs allowed.”

“Cogs?” I asked.

“It’s what the locals call androids. You know, like gears and cogs. Like our insides.” She tapped her temple and smiled. Her acceptance of the slur was unnerving.

“News that many of the city’s women are androids is just starting to come out,” she continued, “and not everyone is reacting positively.”

I pressed my lips tightly together and shook my head. “I don’t like this. What if they discover Gigi is the president’s daughter? We’ll have some real problems then.”

“Star, we have to do this.” Gigi pressed a hand to my shoulder and squeezed gently, a quick affirmation I hadn’t known I’d needed. “I can’t sleep and can’t eat without feeling sick with worry. I need to know how my father is holding up. If I get caught, I’ll give in and return to my father, but not before giving you time to get away.”

I scrutinized her pretty face but found no malice dancing in her eyes, only sincerity, concern, and reassurance. I sighed. She was right. If she were discovered, there would be so much confusion going on, I’d be able to slip away unnoticed.

I hoped.

“All right. Let’s go. We’re going to be late.” I inhaled deeply, hoping my nerves would settle. Something wasn’t sitting right with me, but it could just be that I hadn’t been topside in town since running away to Clyde’s family cottage. I didn’t want to be there, but sitting still in the Glass Sky City was not where I wanted to be either.

Gigi slipped her thermos into her messenger bag, as did I. I’d sorely miscalculated how apprehensive I’d feel. There was a dense tension hanging in the air as we left the house. Stepping out into the wet streets humming with life reminding me that not everyone was locked in battle or conflict. Life went on no matter what. Shops were open and selling goods; people browsed the aisles and bought things they needed. The smell of food permeated the air from the nearby pizza shop and hotdog stand. My mouth watered in response.

Clearing my throat, I pressed on, moving more swiftly out of the neighborhood in case anyone noticed two girls walking alone in the rain. I held my umbrella close so most of my face could not be seen.

“How far away is this place?” I asked to Gigi, who was huddled under her own umbrella but as close as she could get to me.

“Just five minutes’ walk. Come on.” She quickened her steps, avoiding people with a grace I had to admire. If I had not had my rubber boots on, I’d have been slipping all over the cobblestones. I hated to admit that I was less than graceful compared to Gigi. It made me wonder if we would’ve been friends had we met in some other time and place. Some other life. Maybe she’d been at the ball where this all started. I scanned my memories for her face in the crowd. President Farlan had certainly been there, but I doubted he would’ve allowed his daughter to attend a doomed event.

He’d known he was going to bomb the ball back then. The very one I had met Clyde at. He’d have had Gigi stay away from it for that reason alone and yet had the balls to attend for the first part of it to gloat and see who would be taken out.

My fists curled up tightly, clenching around the umbrella. I felt the plastic creak from the pressure. I breathed out slowly, mentally talking myself down to hide my rage.

I watched Gigi turn to head toward an ornate building surrounded by barriers and guards. I could see that beyond the crowd in front of the steps of the building sat a podium with a microphone. Propaganda banners hung from the building behind the podium, rippling slightly from the breeze. They were brightly colored and emblazoned with the Insurgent’s insignia. I cringed at how Farlan’s regime had taken over the city with such ease. This was no longer the same city I’d grown up in, and I’d never felt more like a stranger than I did then.

Gigi glanced my way and threw me a tiny nod before we made our way to the queues to enter the rally. I got into a separate line so we wouldn’t be noticed together. I kept my hood on, which wasn’t unusual due to the sprinkle of rain still trickling down on the city. I pressed my lips together, relieved I’d tucked my red-brown locks into the hood. They made me stand out like a thorn.

Gigi stood at the guard’s station, nodding and answer his questions as another guard scanned her for weapons and mechanical enhancements. It amazed me how much tech had reappeared with Farlan’s takeover. We’d been lied to for so long, led to believe that all the old technology had been lost in the wars.

Gigi provided a fake ID card we’d had made in the underground. It was meticulously constructed to pass any scrutinization. The guard studied it closely, flicking his eyes back and forth from it to Gigi. Luckily, this place wasn’t as secure as Farlan’s mansion. Here, they used the archaic method of plastic ID cards. It would have been way harder to get in if they had been scanning our faces. I imagined that it would take some time for everything to be updated with the re-emerging tech, and I was grateful for that.

Gigi waited until the guard handed the ID back to her and waved her forward. I blew out a breath of relief but tensed up as the line crawled closer to the guard tending the line I was in. It was then that my eyes widened as a man who was being interrogated by the guard was suddenly grabbed and dragged away screaming.

I watched them take him into a nearby tent, and then a single gunshot rang out. The crowd gasped; a few women screamed, but no one dared run away. It would put them under suspicion, and a line of guards had formed behind the crowd. My heart hammered in my head as I concentrated on breathing in and out slowly and deeply. I couldn’t lose my nerve. Not now. Gigi was depending on me.

Suddenly, I wondered what I was doing. Reconnaissance or not, I didn’t need to be there. Groaning internally, I straightened, for I was next in line to be checked. As the guard let the woman in front of me pass, I stepped forward and held out my ID. I was relieved when he nonchalantly took it and glanced at it, looking absolutely bored with the monotony of it all. Maybe he was tired of checking everyone over. He looked at the dark-haired version of me on the picture and then up to my face. His eyes widened just a bit as the corners of his mouth upturned slightly, and his pupils dilated while taking in my face, filling with something akin to desire.

Oh, God. Had he recognized me? I pretended to be unaffected by his reaction, trying to keep my expression neutral. When I realized he was speaking to me, I snapped back to his face, eyeing his mouth for the words.

Get it together, Star. Focus.

“What’s a gorgeous specimen like you doing in a dump like this?” he smirked, leaning forward to place my ID into my palm, holding my hands together in the process. “I’m a lot more fun than this stupid rally. What do you say? Let’s meet up. I’ll make it worth your time.” He grinned as his eyes raked down my body. As though disappointed I was wearing such loose clothes, he refocused on my lips and licked his own.

I tugged away slowly, matching his flirty smile, but he didn’t let go. Swallowing the desert in my mouth, I trained my eyes onto his, trying to read what was going on in his head. He wasn’t bad looking, but that snarl reminded me of the persona Everlee had donned when he’d pretended to be one of the Insurgents. At least I could now see that it was a common trait amongst this lot. Creepy, sex-starved, narcissistic men. How typical.

“Sounds delightful.” I forced a genuine smile onto my face as I flicked my eyes up and down his body, pretending to check him out. It made me feel dirty, and I promised myself a nice, hot shower the moment I got back to the safe house to scrub it all off. He smirked, satisfied with my answer as he wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“Good. Find me after the rally. You won’t be sorry, darlin’.”

He let me go and waved me forward as I continued to grin and blush like a smitten schoolgirl. On the other side of the gate, I cleared my throat, disgusted. I scanned the crowd for Gigi, finding her quickly since she’d worn red gloves for that very purpose. I slipped through the crowd and took a spot a few paces away to her left. She turned and looked around, her eyes sliding right over me to not seem as though she knew me, but she shoved her black locks over her shoulders to signal that she’d seen me too.

I exhaled the breath I was holding, relieved we’d gotten past the first obstacle so easily. I just had to make sure I didn’t exit through the same gate the creeper guard was at. I glanced up to the podium as a portly man approached, cleared his throat into the microphone, adjusted his ugly tie, and placed some papers noisily onto the podium. He was thick with a protruding belly and had red cheeks and slicked back, thinning gray hair. His jacket was slightly damp on the shoulders from the rain. I wondered who he could be.

“Welcome to the Bi-Annual Presidential Reception. I am Senator Harry Jones. This festive event will be held every six months from this point on to give a chance to the lower classes to see the president and his cabinet. Not to mention, listen to his infinite wisdom and plans for the city of Petra. You will be graced with his magnificent presence and delighted to be near the one and only, President Farlan Parsons! Please welcome him!” He held his arm out toward Farlan, who was approaching from his left. He shook the large man’s hand and then turned to face the crowd.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the introduction. Delightful indeed.

Settling my gaze onto Farlan, I shuddered, shivering in the cool sprinkle of rain. He looked well, almost too energetic for someone constantly at war with people. I pressed my lips together as I watched him rile up the crowd as though he were some sort of energy booster. His long silver hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and his suit was tailored to fit him like a glove. Some of the women around me swooned at his figure-hugging clothes. It was difficult to not gag at their immature giggling.

Camera flashes strobed, not only taking pictures of Farlan but of the massive crowd pressed together to see him. The crowd had erupted in applause and cheers at seeing Farlan. I cringed at the enthusiasm and the camera flashes, taking pictures of everything, including Gigi and me. Panic filled me as I tugged my hood more tightly around my face. I flicked my eyes around, finding the positions of the cameras and lowering my head. I hoped Gigi had pulled her hood over her head as well, but I could no longer see her with the people behind us shoving everyone forward to get closer to the podium. The crowd thickened into a suffocating, claustrophobic mass.

Who knew so many people admired Farlan? It made me sick.

I frowned at the pressure of bodies pushing behind me. Someone stepped on my foot, and I yelped, trying my best to shrink into the smallest ball I could manage. My eyes widened as I realized I couldn’t find Gigi anymore, and I was being pushed closer and closer to the podium.

Where was Gigi?