Cridex

Chapter Twenty Eight

I tucked Gaige into the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. He had a fever and was constantly coughing as well as sneezing. I had given him a cup of hot chocolate and some pills, which he took unwillingly despite his condition. Dane, although he tried not to show it, held at least some degree of concern for Gaige.

"Drink up," I commanded, giving Gaige a cup of water with two brightly colored pills.

He shook his head, refusing. "No, I won't," Gaige replied stubbornly.

I thrust the water and pills at him. "Drink. Up. Or do you want me to force it down your throat?" I threatened, though I had no intention to act on it. "It's for your own good. You'll get better this way. Remember the other rebels? They need you get better fast."

He must have realized that his group needed him, so he ate the pills. I waited as he set everything on the floor and snuggled back inside the covers, closing his eyes.

Finally, Gaige's breathing slowed as he fell asleep and I looked around the room. Gaige had threw up two more times after the initial accident with Dane's shoes, and they were all in the room. Grabbing a spray bottle filled with some kind of liquid Rose handed me, I sprayed it onto the carpet and started scrubbing with a towel.

The door slowly opened and Imogen walked in. "Thank god he's not in my bed," she commented. I just rolled my eyes, Gaige was sleeping in my bed because Dane didn't have any more servants' quarters left open- despite the many vacancies in his large mansion.

"He's sleeping now, it'll be fine," I reassured her although even I was uncertain. I wasn't quite sure where I would sleep, now that Gaige had taken my bed. "Why are you here? Don't you have tasks to do, like me?" I asked Imogen, who was still standing on the door, but now with her hand pinching her nose.

"Uh, Dane wants to see you after you're done," Imogen replied, her voice squeaky. "Apparently he received something in the mail, and now he needs you." Imogen shrugged. "It looked important. Maybe something to do with the government?"

I nodded, "Yeah, just tell him I'll be done soon." I scrunched my nose up at the mess on the carpet. "And tell him that Rose and I probably need something stronger for the carpet." Imogen nodded and spun on her heel to leave, the door closing behind her.

After I was done, I walked down the stairs to where Dane was standing, waiting. "Okay, good, I have something to discuss with you," Dane said and we walked to his study again. As we both sat down, he pulled out a magenta envelope with a wax seal.

"I-I'm invited to this government event, a gala to be exact," Dane told me. I frowned, not sure where this was going and why he was telling me. "And I need you to accompany me."

I frowned again, my brows furrowing. "What? Why me? Don't you have some woman coworker or colleague you can go with? Besides, I'm just a cyborg."

"I'm a cyborg too," Dane replied.

I sighed, "No, not like that, Dane, it's different. Why do I have to go, anyways?"

"For insider information on the government," Dane replied, opening the envelope and passing the invitation to me. "It's today, at night in this building," his finger tapped the picture. "All important government officials will be there. And we will too."

Instead of responding, I took the time to study the invitation. The building the gala was held at was huge, and it was resembling a mansion, which meant the party was most likely held at a prestigious government official's house. Committing everything on the invitation to memory, I turned to Dane.

"I'm not going, Dane. They will recognize me," I argued. "Or, for that matter, not recognize me. I'm not some famous person, I'm not important. They'll realize me for what I am."

"No. It's a masked gala. Many women will be wearing masks there, and you can too."

I furrowed my brows. "But..." I trailed off, all types of scenarios running through my head. "This plan is highly faulty, Dane. So many things could go wrong."

"But so many things could go right, too." Dane shrugged. "I thought you wanted information on the government for the rebel cyborg cause. We aren't going to party all night, Ellery, we're using this opportunity to infiltrate the government."

"Fine," I relented. "What does your plan require of me?"

"The gala is held at the top city councillor's house," Dane started, taking the invitation back from my hands and returning it to the envelope. Continuing, he said, "He has the plans-"

"For the prototype children!" I cut in, excitement coursing through my veins. "The new ones they plan to implement when we are all finished."

Dane nodded, "Exactly. If we go, then we have a chance of retrieving the plans. It's better then nothing. The city councillor himself will be partying, greeting the guests. He will be distracted, giving us enough time to go in undercover and find the plans."

I nodded and clasped my hands together. "Formal wear, correct? I need a dress. We need to act the part. What's the floor plan of this councillor's house? We need a plan!"

Dane chuckled, pulling a folder out from a drawer in the desk. "I already mapped it out," he said, handing it to me. I opened it and pulled out a piece of paper with a winding red line drawn on it. "That's the third floor, where his study is. The gala is held on the first floor."

I nodded slowly, tracing the path with my finger, then I realized something. "I- my eye! If this is a government official's house, they will surely have the detectors to find any cybrogs infiltrating the party. It will pick up on me!"

Dane just laughed. "How do you think I went without anyone thinking I was a cyborg, even though my eye lights up? No, they didn't change my circuitry," he grinned at me, pulling something out of his pocket. "Contact lenses. These were specifially designed for my use."

"You thought of everything, it seems..." I trailed off, trying to think of any other downfalls it could have, but not coming up with any.

"Yes." He spoke and held his breath before releasing it in a long sigh, "Now it's just up to us to pull the act off."