“It was in the binder, the policy,” Ramsey says, once they’re back in the SUV. “I didn’t intentionally keep it from you.”
Lynell studies him. Stray wiry strands stick out of his beard. From this angle, she can see the valley caused by the scar piercing his beard and ending at his chin. The effect makes him appear altogether like a menacing assassin and a lovable lumberjack.
She’s always found that, when someone offers a defense before the accusation can be made, it’s because guilt prompted them to. “Yet, you deemed each committee member’s family tree as more important and demanding of a spot at the beginning of the binder. Don’t you think learning about an imminent policy change would’ve been a better use of my time than reading about Finnegan Reese’s brother’s habit of jumping in and out of rehab?”
Ramsey’s face remains emotionless. “I didn’t count on being disrupted by a bomb.”
“We only lost a few hours. Even without the disruption, I wouldn’t have had time to learn anything but the existence of the policy. I’d have barely been more prepared than I was.”
“This meeting was your chance to make an impression on the committee, an introduction of sorts. I prioritized your knowledge of the committee because I thought that would be the best way to carve your place among them.”
“If Finnegan hadn’t brought it up, then we wouldn’t have this chance to reconsider it.” She’s not trying to sound accusatory, but there’s an edge in her voice, nonetheless.
“I—” He pauses, and the way he swallows is so unlike him that Lynell softens. “I didn’t know a revote was an option.”
It’s the first time Ramsey has sounded truly ashamed and embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” he adds. “It wasn’t an intentional omission.”
Lynell chews on the inside of her cheek, watching him with a frown. The apology feels tangible between them, but her anger isn’t that easily subdued.
“I can’t look like I have no idea what’s going on. You’re the one who said I need them on my side. I need their respect, or they'll always see a spoiled little girl who scarcely graduated high school, married a rebel, and was handed a position she didn’t earn because the family she didn’t know were all murdered.”
“You’re on your way to getting their respect,” Ramsey says. “You did well in there.” Pride travels from his eyes to his voice, and Lynell tries not to sit up straighter at his praise.
They don’t talk for the rest of the drive to the new house. She pulls out her phone, prepared to look up past policy changes and voting history of the committee members. Instead, she types in Sawyer D’Angelo’s name, curious about the rebel leader now that the immediate threats of the bomb and meeting are in the rear-view mirror. She clicks the first link, which is a news article that was published two days ago.
ANTI-REGISTRATION REBELS CONDONE ELYSIAN MURDER
Outspoken Anti-Registration activist, Sawyer D’Angelo, calls Lynell Carter “The Rebels’ Savior” and says the deaths of Eric and Zachary Elysian are “a huge win for the cause.”
A popular live podcast, The People’s Regulators, was recorded near the Elysian property on Sunday afternoon, which included a short interview with Anti-Registration activist and leader of the Resurrection, a large rebel organization, Sawyer D’Angelo. The Resurrection leader gained notoriety after her heartbreaking song “You Promised” went viral four years ago. The song, which includes an excerpt from a speech given by Eric Elysian, memorializes D’Angelo’s late wife, a transgender activist who was Registered as a hate crime by local religious zealots. D’Angelo now speaks boldly against the Registration and calls for justice for all who have lost their lives to the Registration. On Sunday’s podcast, D’Angelo admits that the rebel groups have experienced a win that could “change the course of history.”
“Eric Elysian was a heartless snake who turned a deaf ear to the cries of the American people,” D’Angelo says on The People’s Regulators. “Whether she pulled the trigger or not, Lynell Carter has freed the country of a tyrant.”
When Marjorie Dunn, The People’s Regulators’ co-host, explained her worry of simply trading one Elysian for another, D’Angelo defends Carter, who has also been referred to as “Mize,” saying that no one can choose their family. She ends the interview by imploring the protestors outside of Carter’s home to stand down. “Right now, Lynell Carter is the rebels’ savior,” D’Angelo said. “But if we’re not careful, we may turn her into our greatest enemy.”
* * *
Despite not being halfway through the article, she stops reading and types “Sawyer D’Angelo wife” into the search bar and picks at a growing hangnail on her thumb while waiting for the search results to load. When they do, she scrolls through them, icy sympathy filling her chest. Ellery Klein, D’Angelo’s wife, was one of twelve LGBTQ activists who were Registered and killed six years ago by a group of “Sin-Fighting Warriors” who claimed they were doing the Lord’s work. Because the killings were legal, none of the men faced legal consequences. However, four of the “Sin-Fighting Warriors” were Registered and killed by grieving family members, but the man who Registered Ellery Klein, Thomas Johnson, is still free and travels to churches across the country, encouraging others to follow his lead.
Lynell feels sick. She can’t imagine what Sawyer D’Angelo must have gone through. And she can’t blame her for fighting the Registration.
But what about the four family members who were able to get justice on their own through the Registration? D’Angelo could have done the same, and Ellery’s killer could be dead right now, if D’Angelo had an unused Registration. The “Sin-Fighting Warriors” used the Registration to back up their twisted views the same way they use religion to validate those views.
The Registration isn’t supposed to be a weapon in the hands of evil. It’s supposed to be a tool in the hands of good.
She deletes the tab and notices a recent article about the bomb. Knowing it’s probably a mistake, she clicks the article. It’s short and straightforward, giving the facts without speculation. The comments below, however, are bursting with theories and opinions.
* * *
Is anyone really in doubt that the rebels bombed the Elysian house? I mean, duh.
Why would Sawyer D’Angelo publicly defend Lynell Elysian only to bomb her house? Someone else is probably trying to pit them against each other.
L Elysian shouldn’t have inherited the Registration. She’s basically a high school dropout with no education, a nobody until she killed her family. She should be in prison, not a mansion.
This is a classic case of pitting women in power against each other. When Lynell Elysian replaced her uncle, she became an immediate threat to the men in America. There are now women controlling two of the largest organizations in the country, and that’s a nightmare for misogynists and anyone who benefits from a divided country.
what a surprise this is sexism too! women will do anything for attention
It’s more than possible when studying history and the politics of other countries to see evidence of individual parties hijacking their local government in order to control the society from behind the scenes. For example, there are several case studies of what’s called a “shadow state” or “shadow government” made up of unelected people wielding nearly all the power without the knowledge of the public at large, in places such as Uganda, Brazil, and yes, here in the US.
lol ok conspiracy nut. how were the alien probes?
* * *
Lynell drops her phone and closes her eyes, pulling long breaths through her nose. It’s always a mistake to read the comment section. She can’t identify the emotions building from the comments, but they feel suspiciously like fear. They don’t know who planted the bomb or if it was meant to kill her. It could’ve been one of the committee chairs or oligarchs, unwilling to let an untrained girl who is hardly an Elysian take over. If that’s the case, then she might as well dig her grave now. She barely managed to survive Eric. Now, enemies as bad as, or even worse than him could be hungry for her blood.
The SUV pulls to a stop in front of a house at the end of a cul-de-sac. It’s Tudor Style and about a third of the size of Eric’s house, probably four-thousand square feet, with a black wood accent trim. The shrubbery and garden are pruned to perfection, and the lawn is deep green. Lynell waits for one of the guards to open her door before she climbs out and walks up the sidewalk, Ramsey following close behind. The front door is open, and the moment Lynell steps inside, she loves the house.
There are no ghosts haunting her in the hallways, no dungeons where prisoners are kept and tortured. She walks past the staircase and formal dining room to the right of the entryway, into a large open space complete with a fully stocked kitchen, open space living room, small dining nook, and a clear sliding door that leads to the back patio. At her entrance, the door at the back of the house opens and Daniel steps through, smiling.
“Nice, isn’t it?” he says. “There are three more bedrooms and bathrooms, a family room, and an office upstairs.”
“Damn,” Lynell says, turning slowly to take in the space. The house probably costs more than she could afford if she’d saved a lifetime for it. Now, in a blink, it’s hers. No month-long wait before closing or hefty bank loan needed.
“Mrs.—Lynell.” Hayes walks toward her from the staircase, so clean that he might never have been in a fire. “I hope your meeting went well.” It’s clearly a rhetorical sentence, because he launches into an explanation of the house before Lynell has time to reply.
Despite hoping to keep the location a secret, he and Ramsey agreed on stationing six guards at the house day and night. The group will work in shifts, one at each entrance, one circling the property, one inside the house, and two sleeping in the spare bedrooms. While he speaks, Lynell returns to her fleeting idea of promoting Hayes to CSO. He’s young but a hard worker, and with Ramsey teaching him, she’s confident he’d do well.
She’ll deal with her staffing problems later, she decides. After thanking Ramsey and Hayes, Lynell excuses herself, requests to have dinner sent to them, and pulls Daniel to their bedroom. She jumps onto the Texas King-sized bed, her muscles relaxing. Daniel climbs on next to her, and she feels his blue eyes staring at her profile.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, voice barely above a whisper.
“Fine.”
She reaches up and pinches the collar of his shirt, carefully pulling it back to see the bandage over the re-stitched wound. “Does it hurt?”
Daniel shrugs before reaching up and grabbing her hand. He pulls it to his mouth and presses a kiss to her palm. “I’ll live. Plus, the pain meds will help,” he says with a smirk.
Studying her husband closely, Lynell almost considers not telling him about the vote next Friday, or her plans for contacting D’Angelo. But she promised she’d never lie to him again, and she knows from experience that having him by her side makes the impossible feel achievable.
She takes a deep breath that turns into a sigh. “I need to tell you something.”
His wild eyebrows pull together in worry, but he stays silent while she talks. His reaction to the policy change is predictable and not much different than her own. By the time he finishes ranting about the injustice and horror of such a change, he’s paced the large bedroom dozens of times.
“You have to stop it,” he says.
Lynell nods, now sitting at the head of the bed. “I’m going to try.”
“You have to,” he repeats. “Use the code if necessary.”
She looks down, noticing that she’s somehow picked at several hangnails on her right hand, despite her left being useless.
Eric had her Registered, kidnapped, and tortured for the code that could practically give the holder unlimited control to the Registration. Anyone using it could edit the lists, give people more Registrations for free or take people off the list. They could even shut down the Registration all together.
Lynell didn’t know she had it until a few weeks ago. Her father had secretly given it to her through a letter, and though she deciphered it, she hasn’t done anything with the code yet. Zach warned her that using it could make the Registration’s system vulnerable to hackers and might throw the country into a chaos so devastating there’d be mass fatalities.
“I still need to see if I can verify what I think it is,” Lynell says, “and learn how to safely use it.”
“How are you going to do that?” Daniel asks.
“I need to talk to an expert in the field.”
“But you can’t give the code to anyone. Or tell them it exists and you have it. We don’t want another Eric situation.”
She tucks her hand under her leg and nods. “I know. But when I was going through the different departments in the Registration, I noticed the head of the IT security and IT management and administration departments were both hired by my dad before he died. Owen and Summer Meadows, siblings. They were both included in Ramsey’s list of employees in management positions that he thinks we can trust. At least, those who weren’t overly loyal to Eric.”
“That’s a good sign,” Daniel says. “But I’m still not sure consulting anyone else is smart.”
“Danny, I need help. We’re out of our depth here. What if I try using the code, then screw up and accidentally open the Registration for anyone to go in and steal lists or edit them for their advantage?”
“Then you end it,” he says, like it’s the most obvious course of action. He seems to have forgotten that she never hated the Registration like him. She didn’t consider the possibility of it ending until a few weeks ago. “Lynell, you’re the only person who can end it. And now’s the perfect time. The rebels are stronger than ever, and the oligarchs and committee are vulnerable.”
She’s surprised it’s taken them this long to have this conversation. She’s been expecting Daniel to tell her to end the Registration since Eric’s death was validated, making her the Elysian heir. She’s suffered through sleepless nights, wondering how she’ll reply when he inevitably asks her to end the Registration.
But he hasn’t said anything. He hasn’t even asked her what, exactly, the code is.
“You heard what Zach said,” Lynell says. “Using it could be disastrous. That’s something we’d have to plan for.”
“If you wait, what’s to keep the committee from passing something worse next? Or the oligarchs from changing the laws?” The policy seems to have erased any hesitancy to talk about this. She hasn’t seen that fire in his eyes in years. He steps closer to the bed and his voice is softer when he says, “Baby, I know you want to do what’s right. I trust that you will. But I’m worried you don’t have as much time to do so as we thought.”
“If I use the code without a plan, then it’ll start another civil war,” she says. The last real civil war the country had, not including the attempted resurgences like the one Daniel fought in seven years ago, nearly destroyed them. The only thing that stopped the fighting was the creation of the Registration. “What if the result is worse than what we have now? And what about the good things the Registration gives us? Without it, women will have no control over their own bodies. They’ll never be able to end an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy.” She averts her eyes from Daniel’s face when she says this, the feeling of shame still sharp in her chest. “And people who are terminally ill or in constant pain will be forced to endure it. Criminals will get to go free. And—”
“New laws can be added to address all of those things,” Daniel interrupts.
“There were laws, remember? But no one could agree on what they should be, and our country was caught up in a civil war for years. All I’d accomplish by ending the Registration is returning us to that misery. I’m not saying I don’t want to end it, just that I need to think it through first. Make sure we have a plan and alternate solutions.”
As Daniel’s jaw tenses, he runs his fingers through his thick curls. “I know,” he admits, though frustration makes the words sound like a growl. “You’re right, I know you can’t end it without making us even more vulnerable.”
Silence settles, and before she can speak, someone knocks at their bedroom door. Lynell jumps at the sound and Daniel answers, letting Alex, a young female guard with pitch-black hair and three nose rings, step inside, pushing a little cart filled with two covered plates and cups into the room.
“Thanks, Alex,” Lynell says before the young guard leaves.
Their bedroom has a couch and coffee table at one end. Daniel pushes the cart over, helping Lynell move the food and drinks to the low table. She uncovers the plates to show two bowls of chili, bread, and a side of green beans. Her mouth instantly fills with saliva at the smell. In silence, she starts on the green beans and is halfway through before Daniel speaks.
“If you’re going to ask those IT siblings, the Meadows, then you should have Ramsey or Hayes run a background check first.”
“Good idea,” Lynell says. “But even if I do talk to them, I’m not going to outright tell them a code exists or what it is. I need some guidance. Someone to explain how the database works.”
“It would be helpful if one of us was an expert technician or programmer.”
“I think the real skills we need are those of a hacker.”
Their conversation lulls as they focus on their meal. Lynell’s bowl of chili is still a third full when she leans back on the couch, hunger satisfied.
“We need allies,” she says.
“Yeah.” Daniel nods, still leaning over the table while he finishes off his chili. When his bowl is empty, he reaches over and grabs Lynell’s. The action is so second-nature for him that a smile tugs at Lynell’s lips.
She shakes her head, forcing her thoughts back to the matter at hand. “I’m going to meet with D’Angelo.”
Daniel drops his spoon and sighs. “I figured. Is there any point in trying to change your mind?”
“You’re the one who wants me to end the Registration, Danny. We need someone like Sawyer on our side to make that work. And you said she has a good reputation.”
“I don’t care what reputation or intentions she may have. She’s a rebel, Lyn. As much as I agree with their cause, my loyalty is to you. She’ll see you as nothing but the enemy.”
“You fought with the rebels, but you don’t trust them?”
“This isn’t the same rebel group, and you’re an Elysian, Lyn. I’d be an idiot to trust them not to make snap judgments about you.”
“Okay, but she reached out to me. There must be a reason for that.”
“Maybe the reason is to lure you into a trap.”
Lynell knows that’s possible, but her instinct disagrees. Still, it’d be stupid to ignore logic in favor of a gut feeling.
“I guess my big strong husband should come with me for protection.”
He rolls his eyes. Then, without warning, he leans forward, forcing her to fall back on the couch. He cages her in with his arms, hovering above her as his eyes travel along her face like he’s been on a journey for several years and finally reached the destination. When his gaze drops to her lips, Lynell’s breath nearly stops in her lungs.
“You are terrifying,” Daniel says.
Lynell blinks, her brain sluggish. “What?”
“You’re one of the smartest, bravest, kindest, and strongest people I know. You could easily rule this world. Now you have the power and money to do so. Anyone should be afraid of you.”
“Are you afraid of me?”
“Of course I am,” Daniel says. “You’re my biggest fear, Lynell Carter, because you have my heart. You are the one person in the world who could destroy me completely.”
“I would never do that,” she says, even as memories of having done so plague her every day.
“Then you can never die on me.” Emotion thickens his voice. She knows his pleas are fueled by the fear of what could happen when they meet with Sawyer D’Angelo.
“I won’t if you won’t,” she whispers. “Because you’re my biggest fear too.”