Joan Undone

Chapter 26

"Justus's dad has a safe house ready for you. Say the word, and you're done there," Harriet says.

"Yes, and his safe houses are very secure, other than when they're being burned to the ground," Sacajawea mutters.

"We talked about this," Elizabeth says, her teeth clenched. "I am so close to being brought into Crew's inner circle and finding out what he's been obsessed with for the past month. He hasn't organized a riot or lynching in weeks, and the momentum in the Throwback community is dying without him and his team fanning the flames. Whatever this new project of his is, it must be big. And violent. If you leave, Sacs, Crew will never trust me."

Sacajawea hangs her head, and it's hard not to intervene and insist that they get away from Crew now. But Elizabeth is determined, and she's also right. If Crew is planning another big attack, like the one on the Evolved police station, we have to stop it.

Elizabeth, Sacajawea, Harriet, and I all leave the Lab and get in our team van. Harriet drives us to a dingy park that Elizabeth has chosen as the setting for a vid we're creating for Crew's benefit.

"I think you organized this just to get in a few good hits," I tease Elizabeth, to lighten the mood.

But she and Sacajawea are silent, as if they are past the point where they can be distracted from their fear.

Harriet waits in the van while Elizabeth points out a camera installed on the roof of a bank across the street.

"Crew's team can hack that feed," she explains. "When I give Crew your files, he's going to check up on my story. So let's give him a good show."

After roughly laying out the blocking for our vid, we're ready to go.

I jog into view of the bank's camera and stop to check something on my phone, exactly as we rehearsed.

Elizabeth and Sacajawea are entering the frame behind me. Sacajawea hits me in my skull with a stick she picked up off the ground. She uses more force than necessary, in my opinion, and my stumble is genuine.

"What the hell?" I shout.

Before I can touch my head to see if there's blood, Sacajawea grabs my arms and pins them behind me. She presses a laser to my neck. Sweat breaks out all over my body, as if I'm being threatened for real. Like with Nic on the roof, I wonder for a moment whether Elizabeth and Sacajawea are going to betray me.

But Elizabeth sticks to our script. "Log in to your phone and tablet, and hand them over."

I try to head-butt Sacajawea and squirm from her grip, but she presses the laser deeper into my neck.

"Right. I do that, and then you kill me. I know how your rebellion operates."

"You don't understand that we're working for the greater good. You never did," Elizabeth hisses. "I won't kill you, because that wouldn't serve the movement. And Crew can't decide whether or not to keep you alive."

"Wouldn't want to upset Daddy," I taunt.

Elizabeth backhands me across the face, and I taste blood. I was right. She's enjoying this.

"Keep going, Your Highness. Don't stop on my account."

Elizabeth backhands me again. This was not in our rehearsal. Neither is the knee to my gut that follows.

"Fine. You can have it. I know you're after the files we found on Strand's network. They're yours, not that you'll ever be able to unencrypt them."

Sacajawea releases my right arm, and I log into the phone and tablet that we purchased and loaded with corrupt data to give to Crew and his team. Elizabeth stuffs the loot in her bag as Sacajawea shoves me to the dirt. She kicks me in the head and chest, and I fake a knockout so this vid can be over.

Sacajawea and Elizabeth leave, and after a few minutes, I get myself up off the ground. I don't have to exaggerate my injuries much, because my head is killing me and I twisted my ankle when Sacajawea shoved me to the ground.

Back in the van, Harriet looks at my darkening bruises with a wry smile. "Glad to see you putting all that acting training to good use."

"If those two were just acting, then they'll be billionaires someday," I say, swishing the blood out of my mouth with a sip of water.

A hand pounds down on the hood of our van, and Harriet's smirk vanishes. Officer Boer stares at us through the windshield.

"Run him over," I say, entirely serious.

"Think, don't react," Harriet replies. "We play this smart, stay under the radar, like always."

Officer Boer comes around to her window and taps on it with his gun. Harriet steps out of the car.

Officer Boer looks her over, sneering. "I don't usually remember the trash that I've had to take out in the past, but, in your case, it was such a pleasure, I may never forget you."

I'm out of the car and beside Harriet as fast as my twisted ankle can get me there, ready to step in if he touches her again. Ben, the red-haired officer I saved during Crew's raid on the police station, steps out of a police car.

"We're taking these two in," Officer Boer calls to Ben. "And we'll have some fun with them on the way so they toe the line."

"What's their infraction?" Ben asks, his eyes moving from Harriet to me.

He gives me a small nod, and I know he recognizes me as his savior from the night of the massacre at the police station.

Officer Boer snorts. "Loitering? Insulting a police officer? Take your pick."

"No, Iker," Ben says.

Officer Boer's face goes red. Ben means well, but the result of pissing off that psycho is Harriet getting socked in the gut. She hunches over, choking.

I'm ready to yank my laser out of my pocket when Ben wrestles Officer Boer to the ground. Their struggle is brutal, but brief.

"I've been waiting for you to give me a reason to have you investigated by internal affairs. Assaulting an innocent bystander is grounds for suspension," Ben huffs, wiping away blood from his nose where Office Boer hit him.

"You ignorant shit. You think they care if I hit a Throwback? It's you who will be suspended. I'll make sure you're off the force, and when you are, you're a dead man."

Officer Boer struggles to shove Ben off of him, but Ben manages to keep him pinned.

Ben looks up at us. "Get out of here. Now."

Harriet wrenches open the door to the van.

I pause in front of Ben before following her. "I'm going to find you again, soon. I think I found you a new job."