I was surprised when Ava didn't follow, but relieved. Though she'd tried to kill me twice already, I didn't want any harm to come to her. And with what I was about to do, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to keep her safe.
My plan was to first talk to the guys, who were all probably still down at Finn's party, and to try to hash out just what had happened on the day of Randi's death. I wanted to keep things civil, to have a rational conversation with the young men that had acted as my bodyguards these past few days, putting their own needs aside in order to look out for me.
Though internally I still found it impossible to believe that Marko, Finn, and Biff could possibly have anything to do with such a horrendous crime, I had to admit they'd positioned themselves into a tricky place. One that I wasn't sure I'd be able to get them out of.
But what if you're wrong? My internal voice chimed in. What if they are as guilty as Ava makes them out to be?
What would I do? Could I bring myself to stop them, to bring them to justice? And what if they didn't want to come willingly?
The second part of my plan, and the very reason I'd taken Ava's gun, was that after I'd cleared things up with the boys –assuming they were innocent as I suspected– I planned to confront Banks. I wouldn't waste time beating around the bush, or playing it cool, I'd meet him head on and get the truth no matter the consequences.
I was so lost in thought, that I almost didn't notice when a figure stepped out in front of me.
"Vera," I said, startled at her sudden appearance.
"Sage," she replied slowly, her eyes hidden from view as the dark shadows around her covered up most of her features. "In a hurry?"
"Yeah, I was just heading over to Finn's party," I answered.
Aside from the occasional harried wave, this was the first time since I'd woken up that I'd been able to really talk to Vera. Back in the training room when I'd woken up without a clue as to what happened, she had directed herself primarily at Banks and Jade. It'd hurt a little since we'd used to be close back in candor.
However, though I really did want to talk to her, to catch up and know why she'd been so distant lately, I had a goal in mind and I couldn't stray from my path.
"Sorry to be in a rush," I said as I attempted to sidestep her. "I just don't want to be late."
"Late? Coming back is more like it, no." She drawled, blocking my path and inching closer as she spoke. "I saw you leave with Jade. But when she came back a minute later you weren't with her."
I blinked, surprised she'd noticed that when I hadn't even seen her among the crowd.
"Yeah, well I had something else to do," I hedged, knowing fully well that if I tried to lie she'd see right through it.
"Had someone to see?" she added as her lips pulled into a thin line. There was a pause as she slowly shook her head, appearing disappointed. "A certain someone you were forbidden from speaking to no less."
"Ava you mean?" I asked, careful to keep my tone casual. It hadn't been a lie, so the words had left me easily. "Well nothing bad happened if that's what you're worried about. We just had to sort some things out between us."
She studied me for a few seconds then sighed. Oddly, she then curled a finger for me to lean in, as if she were about to tell me a secret. I did so, feeling her hair brush against my cheek as she uttered in a low whisper.
"You know damn well that's not who I'm talking about."
Before I could react to her threatening tone, before I had a chance to move out of the way, Vera had whipped one of her hands from behind her back and pierced a syringe into the side of my neck.
I jerked backwards, already feeling my legs wobble as I fumbled to pull the needle free. My fingers felt stiff, and the world around me began to tilt wildly as I fought to keep my balance.
"Vera," I gasped, feeling my words begin to slur as I fell to one knee and then the other. "What is this?"
Slowly walking forward, she easily pushed away my weakly searching hands and plucked the syringe out herself. She then capped it and stuck it in her pocket before acknowledging me.
"Just a little cocktail. We were hoping that this would be easier, that you'd cooperate, but since that's obviously not going to be the case–" and with that, she raised her booted foot and slammed it against my chest.
I fell back, limbs fully numb as I felt myself drifting off into darkness. My lids heavy, I was still able to watch as Vera pulled a silver device from her pants and then proceeded to speak into it.
"Found him, but I'm going to need some help getting him to the lab." I couldn't make out the response, but whatever it was Vera replied with a prompt, "Very well, I'm on standby."
A single slurred word escaped me as I tried my best to stay conscious. "Why?"
For a second I thought she might not have heard me, but then she edged closer and bent down so that her face was only a foot away from mine.
"Because, Sage, this is the way things have to be if we want to save our city," she crooned, her voice unnervingly gentle. Then, when my eyes could no longer remain open, she reached out a hand and tenderly swept a bit of hair from my forehead. "Don't worry. You'll see things our way soon enough."
That was the last I heard.
I don't know how long I was out, only that when I awoke I was in pitch darkness, my arms and legs strapped to what I could only assume was a chair-like contraption. The feeling of my skin against cool metal told me that I'd been stripped of my shirt.
At once the memory of what had happened returned, and I felt my heart sting with betrayal. Rather than let myself dwell on that, however, I focused on finding a way out.
The moment I flexed my hands, giving the fastenings a testing pull, a fluorescent lamp above me flickered to life. I was bathed in its incandescent glow, and I had to blink several times before my eyes could adjust.
When I could finally see, the sights around me had me wishing it could all just be part of a nightmare.
To the right of me, there were a series of examination tables, all of them equipped with leather straps at each corner. And at the foot of each table there sat a tray filled with scalpels of various sizes, bone saws, needles, a mallet, and what looked to me like a set of industrial pliers.
One of the tables appeared to have been used recently, because even from where I sat I could just make out that there were traces of fresh blood smeared upon its surface. The tools were also laying around haphazardly, their handles grisly with gore.
To my left I could see that there were a line of cages, all barred with thick poles that extended from the ceiling and were embedded into the cement floor. Each also seemed to be equipped with a computerized padlock.
No, this can't be. Is that?
Just inside the closest one, I could see the unmistakable form of an emaciated body. One that was clearly missing its head.
My pulse quickened, and when I looked down at myself it began to thunder in my ears even more erratically.
Three IV's were hooked to each of my arms; two at the crook of my elbow, and one along my forearm. The top two appeared to be pumping in some kind of murky brown substance, while the third one contained a sickly red fluid. The lines appeared to come from within the actual chair, and even through the sound of my pounding heart I could just make out the mechanical hum that came from within.
I jerked at the restraints, fighting desperately to free myself. I was so concentrated on my efforts that it took me a second to realize I was being watched.
"You can't get out of those," Vera informed me, her tone sounding very much detached. She had a clipboard in hand, and as she approached me she jotted down some quick notes before making a sound of approval.
"Why would you do this to me?" I demanded, increasing my struggles when she pressed a series of buttons on the chair and the mechanical humming grew louder. It was unmistakable, the flow of the brown serum had sped up, and the color of the red liquid had darkened. "Why? Answer me!"
She ignored my questions, her face completely slack and free of emotion as she walked around me collecting data from a screen attached to the chair. When she disappeared behind me for a minute, I struggled to keep the anger and betrayal from my voice.
"Let me go, you don't want to do this," I said, not even knowing what this was, but having enough sense to figure out that it couldn't be anything good. "We've known each other since we were kids. I used to watch over you and Annie all the time."
When she returned, she held what appeared to be a sort of belt. It took me a second too long to figure out what it was.
"God dammit, Vera!" I bellowed when she placed the strap across my forehead and cinched it down so that I couldn't turn this way or that. "Stop this!"
Still acting as if I weren't there, she pulled out the same silver device as before and held it to her lips. "Subject prepped and ready for download and installation."
"I'm going to get out of here," I hissed when she pressed two electrodes onto my forehead. "And when I do–"
"You won't."
I froze, momentarily silenced as a new voice spoke out against my threat. Beside me Vera's head snapped up from her clipboard, a slow smile spreading over her face as she met eyes with the person who'd always been the one behind everything. Who my gut had told me not trust, yet I'd done so without any hesitation.
"Banks," I uttered, my voice sounding hollow in my own ears.
Unhurriedly, as if he were taking a leisurely walk in the park, he made his way over to me. Icy eyes shining with a morbid kind of delight, he scanned me from top to bottom, nodding his head occasionally as he flicked though Vera's paperwork.
"Did you activate the neural transmitter on his neck?" He asked her when he'd reached the final page.
"Not yet," she answered nervously, finally showing a hint of something other than indifference.
"Have you readied the system for the Panoptic Program transfer?"
"No, I was just about to get it," she replied, immediately shrinking under his frigid gaze.
Without further discussion, he unceremoniously waved her away.
I watched as she practically sprinted out of the room, jabbing a few buttons on the door's keypad before disappearing into a shadowed exit. The wave of fresh air that flowed in when the door slammed shut caught my attention. Though I hadn't lived in the dauntless compound very long, I'd been there enough to know that because it was situated underground, every time you took a breath you could always taste a sort of lingering staleness in it.
"Where are we?" I demanded when he turned and began to connect my chair to yet another type of computer. "What do you want from me?"
"So many questions." He raised a brow, not at all curious but instead amused. "However, I do believe that I already told you what I want."
At my confused expression, the side of his lips gave a slight twitch; the hint of a smile.
"I told you that our way of life was in danger. That the city was at risk. "I mentioned that there were a group of individuals who had to be found before they could wreak havoc upon our delicate system."
Suddenly remembering, I sputtered as I tried to find the words to respond. I'd planned to confront him about Randi's death, about why there wasn't any information about him anywhere, to know if he'd coerced any of the guys into working for him, about why he seemed to have so much technology and serums at hand.
Never had I thought things would swing so wildly out of hand. I couldn't grasp exactly how everything was connected.
"I don't understand," I grated, still pulling at my restraints. "What does any of this have to do with me?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Vera had returned with some sort of black disk in one hand, and a memory stick in the other. Banks saw as well, and without turning to look at her, he answered without falter.
"Simple. You are the one that is going to find them for me. Find them, and kill them."