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IMARA RAN HER HAND OVER THE shaved hair on her the sides and back of her head. Then she trailed a few fingers through the curls on top of her head. She ambled toward the hover cart with the biggest smile she could possibly manage.
Think persuasive thoughts she said to herself as she walked. This plan hinged on getting these people to do what she wanted, so she had to be as persuasive as possible.
“Hello,” Imara said with a wave. The two women stopped pushing their hover cart to stare at her. They didn’t look eager to help. In fact, they looked annoyed.
Imara put on her sweetest smile and spoke in a soothing voice. “I was wondering if you two could help me with something. I’m really, really desperate.”
Imara made sure to put an edge in her voice that would make her seem more pathetic. Hopefully the women would be more willing to help that way.
“I know you,” one of the women said.
Imara wanted to smile, but she wasn’t sure if the woman knew good things or bad things. Anxiety threaded through her as she waited to find out.
The woman turned to her companion. “This is the girl who’s been helping the tagged.”
The other woman stared blankly for a moment, but then her face lit up. “You’re the one who’s been tagged hero?”
Imara’s gut twisted into a knot, and she wasn’t sure whether to puke or smile. “I... Yes. Yes, I am, but I didn’t ask for it. I’m not working with Santini.”
“Oh, we know,” the first woman said. “You’ve been helping the tagged. They’ve been talking about you on the news nonstop. They say you’ve done more to help Nairobi than anyone else in this city. They said your tag is the only one that’s true.”
Another wave of anxiety punched through Imara’s body. The urge to vomit got even stronger. She didn’t know what to make of this knowledge, but she didn’t really have time to consider it. Instead, she pushed it to the back of her mind and tried to focus on her most recent problem.
“Can you help me?” she asked. “I need to borrow your storage container and hover cart.”
They pushed it over to her without question, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at their willingness. When had the news started talking about her? She’d been so busy the last week, she hadn’t even thought to check the news.
“Good luck,” the second woman said as Imara pushed the hover cart back toward the others. “Just bring it back around that corner when you’re done. We’ll be waiting.”
The hope in their eyes seemed to pierce through her confidence. It made her realize just how much there was riding on this plan. If it didn’t work, there would be no backup. There wouldn’t be anyone else that could come and make things right. If they couldn’t blow up the glass dome, Santini would take over the world. They only had one shot at this, which meant they had to get things right.
When she got back to the alley, Siluk pulled small spray bottles out of his pocket and started spritzing them around the alley. Imara opened the storage container and let the doors stay wide open while she stood in the back of it. Siluk joined her in the container and sprayed twice the amount inside as he had outside.
When Siluk nodded, Imara left the storage container to let Naki and Basara know they were ready. When she crept outside, neither of them seemed to notice her presence.
“Do you really think so?” Naki asked, looking right into Basara’s eyes. “Even with this nasty cut on the side of my face?”
Imara froze with her foot hanging in the air.
“You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. The most.” He sounded sincere when he said it, and his skin glowed more than Imara had ever seen, indicating his words were truthful. Not just truthful, but the most truthful.
Naki seemed to sense his sincerity too. She let out a soft giggle and leaned closer to him.
And now they were both staring into each other’s eyes.
Imara thought about retreating into the storage container. They needed to enact their plan sooner than later, but still.
She quickly shook the thought out of her mind. They had less than a day to get the council members out of the glass dome. She didn’t have time to worry about intruding on awkward conversations. Instead of retreating, she did the next best thing she could think of and cleared her throat loudly.
Naki’s ears went bright red, but Basara merely grinned, looking pleased with himself. “We’re ready,” Imara said. “Siluk created a trail of smells leading to the box. It shouldn’t be long before a few of the guards come to investigate.”
Naki nodded with a timid smile. “I guess it’s time to be brave.”
Basara reached for Naki’s forearm. “When we go into the building, stay behind me. I’ll be able to watch out for you that way. And Naki,” he looked straight into her eyes. “Promise me, if something happens, you’ll let me get hurt instead of you.”
Naki basically melted on the spot. Bursts of rose gold light came off her skin. Imara knew in an instant that they represented elation.
Naki waved away Basara’s concern, trying to pretend it meant nothing to her. “Don’t be ridiculous. If I have to get hurt in order for us to get the drug, then so be it. The drug is the highest priority.”
“Not to me,” Basara said under his breath. Yet, he still said it loud enough for all of them to hear.
Imara nearly gagged, but Naki beamed.
“All right, time to hide,” Imara said. “Get behind the storage container. I’ll let you know once it’s safe to move.”
Imara waved Siluk out of the storage container, and they both hid behind it, waiting. “Are you sure this will work?” she asked, biting her lip.
“This smell is guaranteed to get some of those guards to investigate. I wish we had more than one stun gun, but once we separate them, I think we have a chance.”
She noted how Siluk stepped closer to her as he spoke, but she didn’t react to it. She tried to push it out of her mind as soon as she saw it. She wished they had more than one stun gun too. And she wished Abe was here. He probably would have come up with a better plan than she had.
But at least he was alive. That was enough for now.
A few moments later, five guards marched into the storage container. Before they could realize it was a trap, Imara and Siluk slammed the door closed behind them and secured the door with a lock.
“I only counted five,” Siluk said. “That means there are still five guards in front of the building.”
“Five?” Naki’s voice trembled as she said it.
Imara lifted her chin in the air. “I’ll be fine. I’ve taken down lots more than five people before. You and Basara wait here until I have things under control. Then, get inside the building at the first chance you get.”
Hopefully no one noticed the trembling in her own voice. She had taken out more than five people before, but never alone. She’d only done it in a big crowd with lots of confusion, and several more people on her side. Not to mention, each of those guards had a gun, and she only had one stun gun.
“Do you need me to come with you?” Siluk asked.
She bristled at the words. “No. You need to stay here and watch the storage container. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
She tried to walk with an air of confidence that hid her worries. As she moved, she realized what she needed. Confusion. That was the last piece of the puzzle. If she created some amount of chaos, it would be that much easier to take out the remaining five guards.
Before she rounded the corner, she tapped her ring and found a video she took at one of the riots. Several people were screaming on the video. If she increased the volume enough, it could give the confusion she needed.
The moment she hit play, all five guards widened their eyes. Wine-colored fear spikes came off their skin, each covered in a raven black rash of anxiety.
She plucked a stray rock from the ground and threw it at the guard whose fear spikes were longer than anyone else’s. He nearly jumped out of his shoes as he looked up and down the street. “I’m out of here,” he said as he took off down the road.
Before he even made it to the nearest alley, another guard was right behind him.
Imara smiled. Just three left.
She grabbed another rock but couldn’t decide who to throw it at. The remaining three guards all showed equal amounts of fear, and unfortunately, it wasn’t much. She threw a few more rocks, but the guards maintained their positions without a single hint of wavering.
With a deep breath, she went on to the next step. She clutched the stun gun as she aimed. This time, instead of targeting the weakest guard, she targeted the strongest. The one with the largest weapon. She knew if she missed, they might all die. Even Naki.
Since Abe had miraculously lived through a jet explosion, she didn’t have time to think about whether or not she would take the chance. She had to live because she had to see him again. So, she would make the shot, no matter what it took.
When she finally pulled the trigger, a strange calm overcame her.
Just as the man crumpled to the ground, a putrid smell filled the air, and her stomach churned. One of the remaining guards doubled over as vomit spewed from his mouth. Imara aimed at him, taking advantage of his distraction.
The shot was good, but soon she was vomiting as well. Shaking her head, she ripped the bottom few inches of her shirt off and wrapped it around her head so it covered her nose.
Siluk could have warned her he was going to make such a disgusting smell with his sprays. He must have sprayed more since they were back at the hover cart. If she’d been prepared, she might have been able to take out both of the last two guards. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been warned, and she lost valuable time dealing with the smell.
Now that she had shot the stun gun twice, the last guard knew her position. Imara waved Naki over to her side and whispered, “There’s only one guard left. I’ll go to the left and distract him. You two go to the right and get inside the building as soon as you can.”
Naki shook her head so hard, her braids whipped around her. “What if he shoots you?”
Imara didn’t answer. She had no time to consider things like that.
After peeking around the corner, Imara jumped out and waved her arms. The last guard started shooting right away. She ran to the left in a bob and weave pattern. The man kept shooting, but her constant movement made her a difficult target. She threw her last rock over her shoulder and into his face. The shooting stopped for only a moment before he regained focus.
She glanced back long enough to see him aiming. A shot that probably wouldn’t miss. She ducked and felt the bullet slice through her clothing, burning her skin.
For a moment, the world seemed to stop as her body processed what happened next. The bullet hadn’t broken her skin, but it grazed through something worse.
Her temperature-controlled underclothes.
The underclothes had a mechanism to prevent them from shorting out, but rare freak accidents had been reported. Usually when a bullet grazed across the underclothes instead of going through it. Exactly like now.
A buzz shot through the underclothes as they shorted out. It shook her until her legs gave out under her.
Feebly, she tried to reach for the stun gun that had fallen millimeters from her face. Another shock went through her, and every breath seemed to leave her body.
The guard laughed at her effort.
At least Naki and Basara had made it inside the building. Hopefully they could get the drug and make it out safely because she didn’t know how she’d get out of this one.
Her fingers were too weak to reach for the stun gun, let alone squeeze the trigger.
The final guard let out a laugh as he stepped forward. “I’ve heard of temperature-controlled underclothes killing by electrocution, but I’ve never seen it in person. It’s very rare.”
The man raised a hand and brought his finger to the trigger.
Finger.
Her fingers were too weak to squeeze the trigger of the stun gun, but maybe she didn’t have to use her fingers. Maybe she could use something else.
As the man took aim, Imara did her best to distract him. “How many people have you killed?” she asked. “Do you remember them all? Their names?”
His arm faltered for a moment before he sneered at her. The brief hesitation gave her just enough time to move her head closer to the stun gun. She dropped her mouth over it.
“Is your brain already fried?” the guard asked, gawking at her. “Are you trying to eat that gun?” He shook his head and finished under his breath, “Idiot.”
While he spent his time insulting her, she used her chin to arrange the stun gun into position. Then, she used her tongue to squeeze the trigger.
He finally realized what she was doing a second too late. The blast from the stun gun shot across the ground toward his foot. He jumped to miss. The shot caught his foot, but it only seemed to reach his shoe because he remained unaffected.
Imara heaved and forced herself to a sitting position. As the man watched her, the fear spikes surrounding him grew. She grabbed the stun gun, but when she tried the trigger, her finger was still too weak. She brought the stun gun to her mouth instead.
Just as she pressed her tongue against the trigger, Siluk appeared and slammed a fist into the guard’s head. At the same moment, the blast from the stun gun hit the guard squarely in the chest. He dropped to the ground in a crumpled mess.
What if the combination of those two hits had killed him?
She shoved that thought far, far away and fell back to the ground, weakened by her few seconds of sitting up.
Siluk dropped to his knees and touched the singed material on her arm. “What was in his gun?” he asked.
“It wasn’t his gun. It was my temperature-controlled underclothes. The bullet grazed them, and it made them short out.”
Siluk’s face went slack. “You got electrocuted?”
She tried to shrug it off, but it was difficult with her injury. When she attempted to stand, her body collapsed from the effort.
Siluk glared at no one in particular while blood red flames of anger burned around him. He was usually so easy going, so carefree. Now he looked ready to kill.
He glared at her and then at the building. “Are they done yet?”
Imara tapped her ring and tried to call Naki, but her body wasn’t working right. Nothing was working right. She lowered her head to the ground and felt her curls brush the pebbles on the street. It suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea to curl into a ball and forget the world even existed.
She tried to ignore that this injury was partially her fault. As always, she did everything she could to rescue others and gave no thought for her own life. But this time, she thought about the pain of losing Abe. Even though he wasn’t dead, she thought he had been and that hurt more than she could have ever known.
What if he had to deal with her death? Could she do that to him?
As she contemplated that, one of the guards began to fidget. She reached for the stun gun, but the effort was more than she could handle. Instead, she tugged the bottom of Siluk’s pants and vaguely pointed toward the guard. Without a word, he plucked the stun gun from the ground and shot the guard before he awakened.
And then they waited. In complete silence.
Several minutes later, Naki and Basara emerged with their hands full of boxes. “We have to get to my apartment quickly,” Basara said.
Naki’s gasped when she saw Imara on the ground, still wincing in pain. Naki tried pushing her things into Basara’s hands as she said, “I’m going with Imara back to our apartment. I’ll come to yours later if I can.”
To her surprise, Siluk let out a little laugh. “Naki, she’s fine. She’s just tired, so she sat down to rest. She’s totally and completely fine though. You go with Basara. Imara and I will go back to the apartment and we’ll meet up with you guys later tonight.”
Imara blinked at him, too stunned to speak. She didn’t even know what to say. Naki seemed unaware of Imara’s surprise and let out a breath of relief. She nodded toward Imara and said, “Be safe on your way back to the apartment. We’ll let you know when we make some progress.”
Imara knew what Siluk was trying to do, and it wasn’t worth the effort to stop him. If he wanted to talk, they could talk. She’d put it off long enough.
Once they were out of earshot, Imara turned to Siluk and narrowed her eyes. Before she could say a word, he dropped the stun gun next to her and said, “I’ll release those guards from the storage container. Just stun anyone that tries to get near you before I get back.”
“Siluk,” she said.
He glared at her while the blood red flames of anger burned around him. “When I do get back, you and I are going back to the apartment, and then we’re going to have a little chat. I guess I should be grateful you’re injured because this time you won’t be able to run away.”
“Siluk,” she said again, but he ran off, ignoring her protests.
Two of the guards stirred while she waited. She tried to move her legs, but only her toes would wiggle. She figured it was a good sign that at least something was moving, but overall it was still disconcerting. Worst of all, she didn’t know whether to be more worried about her legs or about Siluk.
