Citizen

Chapter thirty

Ethan leaned forward on his elbows, fingers probing his temples. "What's the plan?"

"Take a look for yourself." The Commander motioned to the Tab in front of them.

Kyra skimmed over the plan with a frown. "Does this seem a little... impossible to you?" she asked Ethan.

His eyes didn't leave the screen as he responded. "Completely. The power outage in the Control Centre jail buys us an hour for Ashley to get us Enforcer uniforms, use the underground passages to sneak into the loading station and find our way onto a truck. With no assistance, apparently." Ethan glared up at the Commander.

"As much as you refuse to believe it, I benefit if this plan succeeds. Hence, I've done everything I can to ensure it does." The Commander smiled with tight lips. "Read the fine print."

Ethan squinted and adjusted his glasses to read a minuscule line of print. "Full assistance will be provided between the uniform storage room located at the top of the city fence to the loading bay according to the following conditions: one, the individuals arrive at the specified location within an hour; two, the individuals have not been detected; and three...only four individuals remain. The Exempt assisting the escapees will replace the previous member."

Kyra's lips parted as her gaze switched between the screen and Ethan, the words slipping through her mind like sand through fingers. "Only four? Why?"

"Four is already a stretch."

Ethan scoffed. "So stretch a little bit further, we're both going."

The Commander shook his head. "You misunderstand me. I don't care if you go. All I care about is seeing Ashley Henderson dead."

Kyra gripped the arm rests until her knuckle screamed but it was all that kept her sitting down. "Why?"

"Non deficere, ut moriatur. We fail, we die. That is our ultimate law."

"Are you kidding me? You want to take away an innocent life because of some archaic, old-world bull?"

"I doubt Alexia Ruth would say the same thing."

"Alexia?" Kyra's lip quivered as her hands fell to her lap. It felt like years ago that she'd sat around a lunch table with James, Danny and Evaleen discussing Alexia Ruth. "She got sent outside."

Ethan inhaled sharply. "That's what the citizens are told when someone is murdered."

The Commander raised one corner of his mouth in a smile that made her want to scream. "Ashley Henderson killed an innocent. And now your life depends on her death."

Silence filled the room like an icy chill. It was the kind of silence that felt fragile, as if to break it would set something in motion no one could go back from. The Commander crossed to the door and had his hand on the handle when Ethan spoke.

"How long have you been planning this?"

The Commander paused. "Planning what?"

"To use Ashley Henderson as a martyr." Ethan got to his feet, stopping when he was eye level with the Commander. "I've been doing some research on you, Commander. I know just how far your claws have dug into every crevice in this city – including the Control Centre. That's how you know so much about us, right? How you know exactly which buttons to push to get what you want?"

Kyra looked between Ethan and the Commander, the cogs turning in her mind. "You knew I would never be able to betray Ethan. From the beginning, you knew. And we've been doing exactly what you wanted us to, all so that we could get here. You want us to rescue Ashley just so that she can die bloody."

Ethan nodded. "Ashley may be well-liked by the Exempt, but she's spent months surviving with the Outsiders and that's an even deeper bond. If she was killed by a citizen they wouldn't rest until we're all dead."

"You don't want to take over the city, you want to destroy it."

The Commander's face was blank as he turned back, no indication of wrong or right clear in his features. "You have until you're on the edge of that wall to decide whether Ashley's life means more to you than reuniting your families. Good luck, Citizens." The door slammed shut behind him.

Ethan began to pace. As Kyra watched him she gnawed on her nails, mulling over the events of the past hour. It felt like a second and a lifetime had passed all at once. How had she been so blind to the Commander's plans? How had she not seen him twisting around her like a vine, affecting every decision she'd made since the day they'd met? And that wasn't even the worst of it.

Ethan paused to look at her, lips parted. "Kyra... what are we going to do?"

"I don't know," she confessed. She glanced at his face and added, "But I know one thing: no one will die tomorrow. Not Ashley, not us, not anyone. There'll be enough bloodshed in the war if they get what they want, we don't have to add a body to the pile."

"But what if the Commander finds a way to kill Ashley anyway? That life will be on our hands."

She stopped his pacing with a firm hand. "It will be on his, not ours," she amended. But even as she said it she knew it wasn't true: that death would be on her conscience, no matter who it was or what they'd done. It would all be her fault. All because she'd been too blind to see the threat in front of her.

Kyra rubbed her wrist where the bracelet used to sit. Even though the drug was long gone, her mind continued to miss crucial details. And now it could cost someone their life. This wasn't the fault of the city, it wasn't even the fault of the Commander. It was all on her. And she had no idea how to fix it.

--- author's note ---

Hey y'all, how are you guys?

Recently edited this chapter from scratch again and I'm way happier with it (very rare lmao). So if you see any mistakes I missed feel free to point them out!

Who's applying for the Wattys2019? Drop your story details below so I check out your story!!

Thank you again for everything - if you're reading this, you're the best x