CHAPTER 8

The bell chimed, and every student in the lecture theater seemed to exhale at once. “It seems we’re out of time,” said the despised lecturer whose subject, History of Codified Society, made even Social Ethics seem like a good time. “Don’t forget what you need for the exam.” She scowled at the class as they fled their seats.

Mineko escaped through a side door to the recreational lawn, which stretched beneath a clear morning sky. Most of the students on the grass seemed to be studying, though one pair was engaged in a desultory game of catch. She cut across the lawn, passed an ornamental pond swarming with orange fish, hurried over a flagstone section and reached the long row of white-blossomed trees.

Several students loitered on the path, the brats of lesser dignitaries. They frowned as she hurried past them. They envied her the advantage of her family name, and why shouldn’t they? The highest strata of elite society, those departmental heads who formed the all-powerful Committee, was impermeable by any means other than birth.

Avoiding eye contact, Mineko made her way into the dorm building and up to her room. She really needed to stop dashing everywhere with her head down—she looked guilty even when she wasn’t misbehaving.

She swiped her card, opened the door and stared. Callie sat on the edge of Mineko’s bed, dressed in a gray maintenance uniform. Beneath the brim of her cap, her face was bright with mischief.

“Hurry up and come inside!” she said. “Somebody might walk past.”

Her heart hammering, Mineko entered the room and shut the door. “How did you get in here? Callie, this is so dangerous…”

Callie took off her cap and shook out her hair. It fell in wild disorder, and she flicked a strand from her forehead. “Kade set me up with this uniform and a handy entrance code. As for your room, I kinda broke in. It’s the sort of thing I’m good at.”

“You weren’t seen?”

“Sure I was seen, but nobody looked twice. I even fixed a few light bulbs just to keep in character. I also opened up your air conditioner panel to see how it works, but I put it back together afterward, don’t worry.”

Gripped by meekness, Mineko found herself incapable of taking a single step closer. “Did the others make it to safety?”

“Sure did. Lexi’s found herself a hottie to play with, and I’m pretty sure Zeke’s sleeping off a few bottles. How about you? Are you holding up?”

Mineko closed her eyes, and dizziness swept through her. She had to tell the truth, even though it would ruin everything. “No. I’ve done something terrible.”

“What do you mean?”

“They didn’t know about you. Not until the fight outside Zeke’s. It’s my fault you’re involved.” Mineko opened her eyes. Callie’s face expressed worried compassion, no anger at all. Another guilty lurch rolled through Min’s core. How could this woman be so understanding? “You’ve lost everything, and it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“But it is. I’m such an idiot.” Mineko’s vision blurred and her throat tightened. “All I wanted to do was help, and I got it wrong. I’m hopeless…”

“Min, no. Shit, come here.” Callie leapt to her feet, put an arm around Mineko and led them both back to the edge of the bed. Mineko fought not to sob, instead drawing and releasing shivering breaths. She lost the struggle, and to her horror and shame, she began crying.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Callie squeezed Mineko close, and the spasms began to subside. “You did the right thing.”

Mineko rested her cheek against Callie’s shoulder. Each breath brought in Callie’s scent: the sharp smell of oil, the fragrance of her hair and the light aroma of her sweat. “It gets worse. Lachlan Reed is hunting you.”

“What’s a Lachlan Reed?”

“He’s my father’s second-in-command. The only Codist cyborg.”

“Lexi’s a cyborg too. She’ll kick his ass.”

“He’s six foot six, Callie.”

Callie chuckled. “So I’ll help her do it. Relax. I’m not worried.”

“But I’ve destroyed your life.”

“I’m in trouble, sure, but it’s trouble that makes me come alive. All you did was break me out of a quiet spell.”

Mineko pressed herself closer against Callie’s side. She was so warm, so solid. “But your home, all those wonderful things you own…”

“Forget about that. It’s just junk. I’m way more worried about you. Does anyone suspect anything?”

“I don’t think so. But last night, I had dinner with my family. They talked about you, and Lexi, and Project Sky. And the whole time I was thinking…” Mineko’s voice wavered. “I’m betraying my own parents. They’ll hate me if they find out, yet I don’t have a choice. I’m stuck.”

She was rambling, but she’d never before had a chance to express her fears, let alone with a comforting arm around her. “I love them, but I hate the life they’ll force on me. I want to be free, but I don’t dare leave. I don’t belong anywhere.”

“That’s not true.” Callie’s smile brought out the full force of her dimples, and Mineko’s eyes blurred again. “Hey, you know how I got here? A big Harley-Davidson.”

“A what?”

“A motorbike. Motorcycle. You know, two wheels, vroom-vroom?” Callie turned an invisible throttle in the air, and Mineko laughed, finally diverted from her inner tremors. “Yeah, you get it! It was a beautiful ride. Tearing down the streets, leaning into the corners, the engine snarling beneath me. Someday I’m going to take you for a ride. You’ll love it.”

“But I don’t know how.”

“It’s easy. You just sit behind me and hold on.” Callie’s smile became wistful. “We’ll cruise down to Bappy’s in the Rail District, where they serve the best spicy tempeh burgers you’ll ever taste. The cinema across the road does 3D screenings on Saturdays. It’s not much fun alone, but when you’ve got someone with you…”

The ache was back. “You know I’ll never be able to do any of those things.”

“Sure you will. And afterward, we’ll cut across the desert and head up the mesa, and I’ll show you how the sun looks when it sets over the basin. It melts into the horizon, and the stars that come out afterward are brighter than any you’ve ever seen. I’ll teach you how to spot the constellations.”

Mineko blinked back more tears. It was beautiful, but it was torture. “Do you know many constellations?”

“Pretty much all of them. I spend a lot of time out there just stargazing. Thinking about all the wrong things.”

Mineko attempted to smile, but she only managed to make her lips tremble. “I’m sorry about crying on your shoulder.”

Callie gave a soft laugh. “Don’t be. I cry most days.” She moved her arm away, and Mineko sat upright. “I brought you something.” Callie plucked a chunky phone from her breast pocket. “This is a radio phone that uses an encrypted channel. Apparently, it goes to a receiver in the Open Hand base. They gave you a codename to identify yourself: Blue.”

A codename? That was exciting. “Why Blue?”

“They only know you as the Project Sky informant, so blue skies, maybe. It suits you, though.” Callie glanced at the door. “I wish I could stay longer, but Kade’s waiting for me, and I’m worried about him.”

She was leaving already? Mineko gripped Callie’s sleeve as she searched for some excuse. “Tell me about Kade. Do you know him very well?”

“We aren’t regular buddies or anything, but I trust him. And I don’t say that about many people.” Callie touched Mineko’s hand. “I’ll be honest. My hope is you’re going to agree to escape with me right now. We can do it, I swear. We can walk right out of here.”

How did Callie not understand that being exiled to the hellscape of Foundation was as terrifying as the threat of being Reintegrated? At least in the enclave, Mineko had her parents. She had the power of her family name. Out there, she was nothing.

“I can’t,” she said. “And you can’t come back here again.”

“But what if they catch you?”

“It’s a risk I’ve chosen to take, just as you chose to take a risk coming here. As it stands, I think I managed to get away with it. Nobody identified me, and I could well be safe. But out there, the danger is certain, isn’t it?”

Callie frowned. “I guess.”

“Don’t think it isn’t a hard decision to make. It’s the hardest I’ve ever faced in my life. I want to be free. I don’t want to live under the Code. But I don’t want to be dead or alone, either.”

“You won’t be alone. I’ll watch out for…” Callie trailed off. “God, I’m dumb. If I were in your position, I wouldn’t listen to me, either. You don’t know me from anyone.”

“I believe you’re kind and sincere. But it’s a huge thing you’re promising. I don’t know how anyone, even the best of people, could guarantee it.”

“Yeah.” Callie patted Mineko’s wrist before standing. “Okay, I’ll go. For now. But you better keep winding that watch.”

It was so unfair that they had to part already, while the warmth of Callie’s body was still imprinted on her own. “I still don’t understand why you gave me such a beautiful present. I don’t feel like I deserve it. I don’t feel like I deserve anything.”

“I often think that way too, even though I know better. You have to stop listening to that voice. Trust what other people think of you.” Callie walked to the door, averted her eyes—had those been tears?—and reached for the handle. “If you ask me, a girl like you deserves the world.”

The door opened and closed, and she was gone.