Joan Undone

Chapter 41

"You should have called for backup," I admonish her.

She gives me a look, and considering how often I go rogue, perhaps I should keep my mouth shut.

"I sent Mason a message," she says, frowning. "He said he was coming, but it's been a while since he sent the text."

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I see the video footage Marie has sent at the same time Harriet does. Officer Boer backhands Mason, who tumbles to the ground. They're not far, on the other side of the market, and Harriet and I take off running.

When we're close, Harriet stops me. "Circle around behind Boer. Don't let him know you're here until I give you a signal."

I cut through a series of stalls so that I approach the alley that Marie has flagged on my GPS from the other side. I'm puffing by the time I peer around the corner.

Harriet is there already, and her hands are up in surrender. I can read the panic in her eyes. The reason is crumpled at Officer Boer's feet, where Mason's body is in a heap. From this angle, I can see a thin trail of blood leaking from his nose onto the pavement.

"Joan's bitch is here. Even better," Officer Boer growls. "I wanted to make a statement, and somehow that little piece of trash didn't seem like a strong one. But you will."

He reaches for something under his jacket, and Harriet's expression hardens into steely resolve, ready to face her death.

No.

I pull out my laser pen and put it on its highest setting. A lethal setting.

When I killed the headmaster, it was an accident. With Sal, it was in defense of my life. This time, I intend to kill my target. Taking careful aim at Officer Boer's temple, I push the trigger button. There's no loud noise, no spray of blood. He crumples soundlessly to the ground, dead. It's both too much and not enough for all he's done.

A spreading red stain blooms on the pavement beneath his skull. My heart taps out a frantic beat in my chest, and lack of oxygen makes the scene seem like it's in a vid, instead of real life.

Harriet pushes Officer Boer's face with the toe of her shoe so she can check for a pulse on the side of his neck. "He's dead."

Mason moans, and Harriet kneels beside him, lifting his head off the pavement.

My throat swallows convulsively, and my eyes cannot look away from the life I've taken. The pavement of this city has soaked up so much blood this year. And now, thanks to me, it has a little more to absorb.

~ ~ ~

Mason's wounds are minor enough that a brief trip to the incubator sets him to rights. I leave him alone with Harriet and Flo and settle into the main room with the rest of my team—Harriet's team now.

Using an untraceable tablet, I send an anonymous tip to Officer Davies to let him know about Officer Boer. In another life, I'd deserve to be tried for my crime, but since I'll be receiving the death penalty tomorrow, I'll consider my sentence served.

"You're not going to do anything dumb, like turn yourself in, are you?" Nic asks me.

"No way," says Kat, clapping me on the back. "You're a hero for ridding the world of that bully."

An image of Boer's still face flashes in my mind, and I shudder. "Let's repress that shit for now, okay?"

The door to the Bunker opens, and Nellie and Ida enter the room. It's clear from their hard, businesslike expressions that this isn't a social visit.

"Crew and his rebellion are not going to attack any of the government buildings," Ida says. "He leaked misinformation to determine what sources he could trust."

Nellie squares her shoulders. "The real target is across town. Strand's headquarters."

"So they're going to, like, vaporize everyone inside?" Alison asks, her expression a mix of awe and horror.

"Maybe we should let them," Dennis says.

Marie shifts away from him. "How can you say that? Think of all the innocent people who would die."

"Think how many more innocent people will die at the hands of the Strand executives who are evil. Like Lexi White," Dennis counters.

"This is not how we operate," Sun says.

"Sun's right," I agree. "Crew will turn Strand's dead employees into martyrs. Other companies will step in to fill the void left behind, and Throwback rights will be set back a decade. Public trust will be irreparably damaged."

"Sometimes, I wonder if he wants to kill us all," Nic mutters. "Throwbacks, Evolved... It doesn't matter."

"He has lost his mind," Ida agrees.

"In that case, do we warn Strand?" Marie asks, biting her thumbnail.

"No," Harriet says, stepping into the room with her arm around Mason's waist, supporting him.

"Harriet—"

She silences me with a glance. "We won't let them die. But we won't trust them again, either."

"What do you have in mind?" Marie asks.

"We send someone to steal Crew's bomb," Harriet says. "Joan, you were planning on running off soon to sacrifice yourself for Justus, right?"

My jaw feels like it has come unhinged.

"Of course I know what you're planning," she says, impatient. "We all do. Every goodbye you've been delivering has been painfully obvious over the past two days. If you're determined to go in, let's do it right and make the place implode. Then we will get you and Justus out alive. That's the new plan."

Nic's eyes flash with panic. "No! Crew is unpredictable. There is no plan that guarantees that she gets out."

"She can make decisions for herself," I say. "I get that now. It's what you were all trying to tell me for months now. I kept thinking that I knew best, which is exactly what the Evolved do to Throwbacks every day. But we are all equals here, and we have to trust each other and abide by each other's decisions."

Harriet's eyes meet mine. "Yes."

"If we're sending in Joan, we're equipping her with everything we've got," Marie says, tapping on her tablet, her brilliant mind already whirring.

"With backup," Kat says.

"Sounds like a suicide mission," Alison says. "But I'm in."

Next to her, Tupac shuts his eyes in pain. "Then I am in as well."

"Nic is correct that there is a chance that Crew will slaughter us all," Sun says, but his eyes have a crafty glint. "But he underestimates our ferocity, and I believe that will be his downfall."

"Sounds like the beginning of a plan," Harriet says.

No one hears Nic whisper but me. "A terrible plan."