[Contributor 02] - Infiltrator (2013) (18 page)

“Of—of course,” Dara stammered. Why hadn’t it occurred to her that she would have to speak to the Authorities again? Dread settled in her stomach like a lead weight as she thought of the last time she’d had to talk to the Authorities, the day her mother had been extracted. She wondered if she’d have to speak with her old friend Head Investigator Manning again. The thought made her sick. She’d been lucky to get away with lying to Manning once. She was afraid she wouldn’t be as lucky a second time.

“The Authorities can be intimidating, but you’ve no reason to look so frightened. You’ve done nothing wrong. Trust me.”

“I do trust you, sir.” Meeting his gaze, she stared directly at him. He fixed his unblinking eyes on her for several uncomfortable seconds before he nodded.

“I’ll escort you to headquarters now. My meeting begins in less than thirty minutes, and we need to go over the presentation.”

“Yes, sir.”

Walking next to him was torment. His face was smug, his lips turned up in a satisfied smirk, and he exuded a palpable glow of well-being as he greeted everyone they passed. She wanted to slam her bag into the back of his head. She had thought it wasn’t possible to hate Andersen any more than she already did, but she’d been wrong. His obvious relish of the abuse he heaped on her had been awful enough, but the pride he took in believing he’d bent and twisted a naive girl to his will filled her with loathing. No trace of remorse marred his face, and she could almost hear him congratulating himself on his many successes: manipulating her into breaking the law, orchestrating the downfall of his enemies, and seducing the Creators with the promise of his project. He was a menace who needed to be stopped, and she was more determined than ever to be the one who brought him down.

The Authorities did come to see her later in the afternoon, taking her into a conference room to speak to her privately. They had spent the last several hours questioning other members of the engineering department, so she had plenty of time to compose herself before it was her turn. Sweet relief flooded her as she faced a nameless underling of Head Investigator Manning, who Dara gathered was still busy searching for the missing Shah and Gutierrez. The Authority asked a few preliminary questions, but when all he got from her were the same insignificant replies he’d probably heard fifteen times over, he let her go back to her terminal.

The knowledge that Javier and his family were safe comforted her, but she still didn’t know what had become of Shah, and she found herself wringing her hands at the thought. Andersen had mentioned that Shah had obtained additional project data, which increased Dara’s anxiety. Despite all the lies and misinformation Andersen had fed her, she felt certain that this bit was the truth. Why else would he have escalated things against Shah so quickly? Whatever knowledge Shah had must be important, and Dara hoped against hope that the Free Thinkers had managed to find her. They might not yet realize her value, but Dara would ensure they did. Shah’s knowledge could prove crucial, and it was imperative The Free Thinkers persuaded her to share it.

This line of thought was too dangerous in Dara’s current setting, though. It increased her agitation, and along with her hand-wringing, she’d also begun chewing on her lip. She couldn’t afford such physical manifestations of her stress, especially not now. She threw herself into her work, trying to forget that Jasmine Shah had ever existed. At least with Shah and Javier out of the dome, she could stop worrying about what Andersen might do to them and focus instead on what he himself was doing.

They were a distraction, and don’t forget that with them out of the way, Andersen is free to focus all his attention on you. He knows how much hold he has over you, now that he’s made you a criminal. He has you right where he wants you, and he’s going to try to exploit his power. You’re the weakest link, the one obstacle that might hinder his progress, and he knows it.

Nothing short of superhuman strength could have held back the shiver this thought provoked.

Dara didn’t leave the dome for training on her free day. It was too risky in light of everything that had happened. She and Letizia kept their distance from one another as well, though Dara suspected her former master did this as much because she was furious with Dara as because she was trying to protect them both. At some point she would have to face Letizia’s fury—and probably Mal’s as well—but she couldn’t worry about that now. Her thoughts were too consumed with making sure she stayed one step ahead of Andersen.

Tension was thick at home, both she and her father tiptoeing around the apartment as if walking on eggshells. Joshua had tucked their emergency bags back in their hiding space, and she wasn’t the only one whose eyes were drawn to the spot as if by a magnetic pull. Several times she caught her father unconsciously staring in that direction.

“Accounting is in an uproar,” he told her at breakfast. “The Authorities have taken up residence in the department, tearing Shah’s desk apart and sifting through every last file on the server.”

“It surprises me they’re being so obvious about it.”

“It doesn’t surprise me. They want to make an example of her. They want to raise everyone’s ire, focus that collective rage on her. It’ll inspire feelings of allegiance to Magnum, a sense of betrayal that becomes not just professional but personal.” He scowled as he spoke, his voice filled with bitterness.

“You’ve seen it happen before.”

“I have. And it’ll happen again, and again, and again. This needs to stop.” Dropping his fork, he massaged his forehead, his eyes falling closed.

“You don’t have to stay. You can leave anytime you want. Mal promised me he’d find a place for you. You could go see Mom. I know she’d like that.”

Her father’s eyes were full of tears when he looked up at her. “You have no idea how much I’d love to see your mother, how anxious I am to get out of this dome, but I can’t go yet. I can’t leave you here to deal with this on your own. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help, but at least I’m here. Leaving means giving up, and I will
never
give up on you.”

“You wouldn’t be giving up on me, Dad. I can’t stand seeing the strain this has put you under. I want you to be happy.”

“You think I don’t want the same thing for you? You’re my daughter, Dara. I won’t abandon you in this shark tank. How could I ever live with myself if I did? I want to protect you. I need to protect you. I
have
to protect you.”

She didn’t know what else to say. Wouldn’t she have felt the same if she were in his shoes? Neither of them could walk away from their own sense of responsibility. She couldn’t blame herself if her father chose not to leave, not really, but his sole reason for staying was her refusal to leave. Causing him so much stress wasn’t easy to live with, but Dara couldn’t leave, not when she was so close to figuring things out.

“Once I find out what’s going on with Andersen, we’re leaving, both of us,” she said.

“I’ll go then, but not before. I won’t abandon another member of my family.”

She nodded. There was nothing more to be said on the subject. “Do you think they’ll find anything?”

“They already have. In the past, when I’ve seen this happen, the Authorities were content with a single crumb of evidence, but they seem to be sweeping up every last one of Jasmine’s crumbs. Whatever transgressions past Contributors committed must have been very minor in comparison. Jasmine had to have been involved in something big for them to be tearing the accounting department apart like they are.”

“I thought you said they always make a show.”

“They do, but this time it’s different. They’re not going through the motions. I’ve seen it often enough to know when it’s all an act, and this time it’s more than an act.”

“What do you think she could have been doing? Could there be any truth to what Andersen claimed?” A small kernel of hope sprang up in Dara. It wouldn’t absolve her of her guilt if it turned out there was something to Andersen’s accusations. Nothing could change the fact that she had planted evidence. But if Shah had been attempting to sabotage Magnum, her lack of innocence would go a long way toward assuaging Dara’s guilt over destroying her life.

“I don’t know. All I can determine is that she was up to something. I doubt we’ll ever have the truth of it from Magnum. They’ll spin this story in whatever way is most advantageous to them, whether that’s by telling the truth or by outright lying to all of us.”

“I’ll be able to find out. I need to know anyway. After what I did…”

Joshua put his hand over his daughter’s. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry you were in a position to be forced to do something like that.”

“I chose this.”

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier, does it? What you’re doing is important, I’m not going to deny that, but it’s also taking a toll on you. When you told me about your decision, the danger certainly worried me, but I was also worried about the cost. I know you want to see this through, and I don’t blame you for it. Just promise me you’ll make sure the price isn’t too high.”

“I’ll try.”

“I’m sorry I can’t be here today. I feel awful leaving. I’d much rather stay with you, help you through this, but the surest way I can protect you is by doing my part to make sure you don’t stand out in any way.”

“I know, Dad. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the shopping, and I’m going to spend some time at the gym. Maybe I’ll go see the film too. I’m going to make myself very visible, be out in public as much as possible today, so don’t worry about me being alone.”

“That’s what does worry me, sweetheart.” Fixing a concerned gaze on her, he came around to her side of the table to drop a kiss on the top of her head. “No matter how many people are around you, you are alone in this, and I hate it.”

The Authorities remained camped out in the accounting department for the next week, which meant another missed training session. Headquarters swarmed with rumors about Shah and Javier, most of which Dara discounted as pure fantasy, but the fervor was disturbing. Some Contributors were horrified by what had happened, while others clearly relished the scandal. The second type were the worst, slavering as they passed around the latest morsel of gossip, reveling in being the center of attention, thriving on eviscerating someone who had once been one of their own.

Letizia still hadn’t spoken a word to Dara, and it made her uneasy. At first she’d thought the Free Thinkers being unable to find Shah was an annoyance, but it was now obvious that her well-intentioned warning had caused them a serious problem. She tried not to think about how Mal was taking it. Was Raj angry with her too? Somehow, that thought was worse than the thought of anyone else being mad at her. She had experience weathering Letizia’s anger, and Mal always seemed disdainful at best, but Raj cared about Dara, considered her his friend. She couldn’t bear the idea of disappointing him, of violating his trust in her.

It struck her as strange that Magnum wasn’t trying to do damage control until she realized that Shah’s disappearance had provided them with the perfect cover. Everyone was so busy speculating about what had happened with her that the gossip about Andersen’s project had died down. Something must be on the horizon, and it reignited Dara’s sense of desperation.

Unable to take it any longer, she finally went to see Letizia, who couldn’t risk making a scene by refusing to let Dara in.

“Do you have any idea how stupid your actions were?” Letizia asked, trembling with barely contained anger. She squared off against Dara, staring at her with a gaze so searing it made Dara cringe, but then her own anger rose.

“Do you have any idea what Andersen asked me to do?” she demanded, letting her voice rise more than was wise.

Grabbing Dara’s upper arm, Letizia pulled her away from the door. “Quiet down. The tipoff to the Authorities, was that you?”

“No.” Yanking her arm free, Dara thrust her face into Letizia’s. “
He
called in the tipoff. The Authorities weren’t yet suspicious of Shah, so he had
me
plant evidence to motivate them to go digging.”

Her eyes widening, Letizia took a half step back from Dara before hardening her expression. “I told you I would contact Mal. You should have trusted me.”

“Where is Shah?”

“She’s safe. We got her out, but no thanks to you.”

“I knew the Authorities were coming for her. What did you expect me to do, go home and relax and pretend nothing was happening? If they’d caught her, they would have made her disappear.”

“Your warning set off a chain of events that resulted in the cover of one of our best extractors being blown. The Authorities almost caught her, and she had to flee to a bunker. They followed her and destroyed it.”

“Oh, Creators,” Dara gasped, all the fury draining from her, leaving her light-headed. Her hands flew to her face, covering her mouth, and it was all she could do not to collapse. “Is she… Did they…”

“She got out through an escape hatch and made it to another hideout. Authorities from every Creator have been combing the wasteland trying to find other hideouts ever since. So far no one has been captured, and it looks like the Authorities are about to back off, but do you have any idea what this has cost us? Extractions were risky as it was, and this whole mess has made them infinitely riskier. We were careful to ensure that the Creators didn’t see us as a serious threat, so that they would leave us alone, but now they’re aware of the threat we pose. You have officially put us on their radar.”

“I—I didn’t mean…” Pain tore through her as she thought about Mal, Tasha, Raj, her mother. By trying to save one person, she had put untold numbers of others at risk. Her knees buckled, but Letizia caught her before she went down and guided her to a chair.

“I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but we warned you, Dara.” Every trace of anger had faded from Letizia’s voice, leaving her sounding exhausted. She sat across from Dara, propped her elbows on her knees, and dropped her head into her hands, burying them in the hair at the nape of her neck.