Deliverance (13 page)

We return to Greater City after a couple of hours, and everyone seems happy to be back. I'm ashamed when I realize that I'm happy to be back, too.

Guard Nev walks me back to my apartment. “Don't even think about sneaking out tonight.”

“I won't. I didn't find what I was looking for, anyway.”

His eyes narrow and I can almost feel his curiosity. He doesn't ask questions, though. He almost never does.

“Good night, Guard Nev. I'll see you in the morning.” I push through the door to the stairs and jog up the steps. Mom isn't in Lesser City 1. At least it is something. It's better than no information at all. Now I can focus my search on Lesser 2. Until I can get my hands on her file, it will have to do.

 

 

 

 

20

 

My HELP comp dings as I get ready for training the next morning. I've set it to notify me any time Keegan is performing at the concert arena, so I hurry to see what the ding means.
Requested Information
blinks on screen and I quickly tap the link. I smile as Keegan's name pops up. He'll be playing tonight, and I will be there.

At training, Professor Higgins surprises me as soon as class starts. “We will be visiting Lesser City 2 on Friday. They are a bit more prosperous than Lesser 1, but not much more so.”

Two trips in one week is a good thing, even though it seems odd. Professor Higgins had warned me the focus would shift away from the Lessers, only it hasn't.

I tuck the information away for later as we begin discussion on what we saw in Lesser City 1. Berry points at that if there was more incentive to do well, such as higher allowances, then more Lessers might be motivated to become productive.

“And what if we run out of ways to reward them?” I ask. “What if something happens to our country which disallows us from providing extra? Those who worked only for the reward will stop working, and our society will fall further.”

Berry sneers. “Like anything can happen to us.”

Is he serious? “It's happened in the past.”

He rolls his eyes. “Then what do you suggest?”

“Show them how much better their lives will be. It won't work with everyone, but I believe it will work with most of them. There is a saying they used in the Early Days. Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime. It's the same principle.”

Some of the trainees giggle and Berry speaks up. “The Early Days? You're way out of touch.”

Again I wonder what they teach here. I turn away from him and look to Professor Higgins for guidance. He smiles at me and moves the conversation along. I'm not sure, but I think I see pride in his eyes.

“Don't worry about Berry,” Kassy whispers. “No one likes him.”

I smile at her, but I can't help worrying about his behavior toward me.

The day moves on and our assignment is to draw up a model that will help the people in Lesser 1, based on what we saw while we were there. Professor Higgins instructs us to pair up. Thank goodness for Kassy, because no one else would consider working with me.

We start with outlining our thoughts on paper, and then Kassy pulls over the small HELP comp each team has available. She begins tapping, using functions that are completely foreign to me. After just a few minutes she has entered all of my ideas and an entire graph pops up on screen.

“How did you do that?”

She grins with pride. “I can teach you a few tricks.”

Tricks I can use. “I would love that.”

By the end of the day my mind is exhausted. Professor Higgins pulls me aside when the other students have gone. “You did well today, Hana. Supreme Moon will be happy with your progress. He's quite interested in your ideas and he'll be glad to see your model. It's the best in the class.”

I smile, not sure how to respond to this information. Supreme Moon is oddly interested in the Lessers and my ideas. I realize this is why I was brought here in the first place, but I can't be that important.

Thinking about it irks me and I change the subject, instead. “Can I ask you a question, Professor Higgins? Why did you help me yesterday?”

His excited face falls a bit, and he glances around. “I see a little more in you, that's all.”

“What do you mean?” If I can get him to say anything about God—anything at all—then I will know for sure there are other Christians in the city. I will be able to find others to help me learn, and who might know how to further spread the message.

He pats my hand and smiles again. “You have passion, Hana. The other trainees here? They don't.”

I force a smile and nod. “Thank you, Professor Higgins.”

Guard Nev joins me and we make a quick exit. I don't want to linger any longer than I have to because the professor's words confuse me. He seems to sway one direction some days and a different direction on other days.

“I plan to go to a concert tonight,” I warn Guard Nev as we walk. “My friend will be there.”

He nods.

“You're not going to tell me all the reasons I shouldn't?” I say, teasing.

Maybe he smiles, maybe he doesn't—but he doesn't reply. At least it appears he's forgiven me.

I eat what the food delivery brings me, and then I retreat to the bathroom for a few minutes of not being watched. The warm bath water relaxes the tension from my muscles. How do the Greaters do it? Spending every minute of every day being watched—it's too much for me. I need time to unwind, to just be myself and not worry what the world is thinking.

After bathing, I put on a pair of only slightly fraying brown pants, and a knit top the color of a sunrise. I let my hair air dry while I read a few verses in my Bible, then I jog down to meet Guard Nev. My excitement grows with each step that takes me closer to Keegan. Did he get my last letter? I want to tell him I visited a Lesser City, and that I was able to look for Mom. And I just want to see him.

I find a seat and expect to see Guard Nev loitering at the end of the row like last time, but he's standing in the aisle, looking across the arena at a group of women awaiting the music. His face almost looks happy, which is very unusual for him.

Scanning the group of women, I see why. Supreme Moon's secretary, Fallon, is in the group. She throws back her head and laughs at something one of the others said. Her face radiates happiness, and I can see why Guard Nev is attracted to her—she's beautiful with her long, wavy, blond hair and her perfectly shaped smile.

After a moment of staring, he seems to remember me and glances my way. I grin and shoo him away with my hands. He frowns and shakes his head.

“Go!” I mouth.

He looks at her one last time, then strides that way, and I turn to the stage to wait for Keegan. Tonight he is the fourth act, and it feels like an eternity has passed before he finds me in the crowd and smiles. From the first note he strums, I am hooked. The song is slow and deep. He sings of a love no evil can penetrate.

When the song finishes, he heads backstage. I look around for Guard Nev, but he's nowhere to be found. Oh well. He'll know where he can find me, if he looks.

Keegan waits for me, smiling. “No tail?”

“I don't know where he went,” I say, glancing behind me again. We are alone in the hallway, but that doesn't make me happy anymore. I'm Greater, and I can be alone with Keegan. But he is still Middle, and being alone with me is against the law.

This must be why Guard Nev's being alone with the secretary is a problem.

I glance at Keegan, and I am super aware that I don't want to get him in trouble. I look to the arena one last time, almost hoping for Guard Nev to appear but being relieved when he doesn't.

“Do you need to wait for him?” Keegan asks when I hesitate.

“I don't want to get you in trouble.”

He nods toward his prep room. “I'm not worried. Come on in.”

I scan the hallway for small, metal disks that might be watching us, and I follow him inside and sit on a couch in the corner. Once he puts his equipment away, he sits beside me. “So? What's new?”

I laugh, almost giddy at being with him. “I went to a Lesser City. It was basically like what we've been told, except the people weren't terrible. They were more scared than anything.” I tell him about Professor Higgins helping me look for Mom, but also how Supreme Moon is interested in my work. “Why do you think he cares so much, when it's been this way for two centuries and no one has cared?”

Keegan frowns and looks at the floor. “I've been hearing things as I've asked around. Most of the guards are from the Middle cities. I hear them talk, and they've mentioned the prison. They say it's a training camp.”

“What are they training for?”

He clears his throat and looks back at me. “War.”

Chill bumps prick my arms and I rub my hands over them to warm me.

Keegan reaches out. “Let me do that.”

I know I should stop him, but I can't make myself do it. His hands are warm and strong, and after a moment I'm not at all cold. It's more like I'm on fire. “Is that better?” he asks.

He's so close that I can smell the soap on his skin. His warm breath tickles my neck, and then he kisses me, right on the lips. He's tentative at first, but then his kiss is more searching.

It's the first time I've ever been kissed—really kissed—and it is amazing. I kiss him back and he pulls away. He swallows hard and turns away from me. “Maybe having the guard around is a good idea.”

I laugh, nervous, and nod. “I know.”

His gaze finds mine again, and it's questioning. I can almost hear his thoughts. Is it OK that he kissed me? Do I still feel about him like he feels about me?

Yes and yes.

How am I ever supposed to turn him down? He isn't bad. In fact, there's nothing further from the truth. He is infinitely good.

And yet, there is one huge area where we don't agree, and there is one gaping law keeping us apart. “Have you done any thinking?”

He knows what I mean right away and he shrugs. “Yeah. I ask about that when I ask about the prison.”

“And?”

He sighs and stands, then begins pacing the room. “I'm still not sure, Hana. It's too different. Why would Someone in control let things get so out of control?”

His argument makes sense, and I don't know enough to explain otherwise. “All I know is what I feel. I know the change in me is real.”

He watches me, his pacing stopped. He nods. “I can get that.”

Hope revives in me. For now, it is enough.

The door bursts open and Guard Nev storms in. He glances at me then Keegan, and when he sees we're apart, he calms down a fraction. “You should have waited.”

“I didn't see you,” I say. “I did look.”

He has no rebuttal for that. “I think it's best if we go.” He looks around the room the same way I did earlier, probably searching for cam disks.

“Did you get my letter? Will you write me again?”

“Of course,” Keegan says.

I wrap my arms around his waist. Who cares if Guard Nev sees that? Keegan's arms are safe.

“Soon,” he says.

I nod. “Soon.”

 

 

 

 

21

 

The drive to Lesser City 2 takes longer than our first trip away from Greater City. Professor Higgins explains it is further away. He says the Lesser cities are numbered by their distance from Greater City.

I crane my neck to catch sight of any building that might be a hospital as we ride through the streets, but nothing pops out at me. I doubt I will be able to talk the group into touring another medical facility. After the last tour, two girls caught some strange virus. Lucky for them Greater City is equipped with Tech Meds.

Excitement makes sitting still pure torture. I want to get off this vehicle and search high and low for Mom. She could be in this city. I tap my foot on the floor of the vehicle. Maybe there's a way I can get separated and make it look like an accident, though getting away from Guard Nev is next to impossible. Where is Supreme Moon's secretary when I need her?

“Don't even think about it,” Guard Nev whispers when we step off the bus.

“What?”

“I see you scoping the city.”

“Why is it so important to you that I don't do this?” I snap. At first I glance around, hoping no one heard me, but then I remember there are no cam disks here. They wouldn't waste the resources on Lessers.

He pauses at my words, but then he growls in frustration. “I have been ordered to watch you. I cannot let you do something illegal under my watch.”

“You do illegal things yourself,” I accuse. “You were alone with that woman. Why do you get to break laws but I don't, when the laws are equally absurd?”

He growls then turns and marches to the back of the group.

Professor Higgins leads us on a tour of the business district here. The people are slightly less disheveled than in Lesser 1. The buildings are slightly better kept, and the people's cheeks aren't quite so hollow. This gives me hope that by the time we get to Lesser 3, or even Lesser 8, the people will be doing very well.

An idea forms in my mind. “Can we transfer people between the Lesser cities for training? That way the more prosperous people of this city could help the people in the other cities.” Why didn't I think of this before?

Professor Higgins' eyebrows shoot up and he nods. “Excellent suggestion, Hana.”

Berry steps forward like he's going to rebut my idea, but finally he steps back into place. There is no arguing that my idea is a good one.

The rest of the trip passes slowly. Professor Higgins never mentions the city's hospital, and even though I scan the area constantly, I never see one. Disappointment hits me like a snowy wind when we reload onto the bus. If Mom is in Lesser City 2, I will never know.

Kassy comes over when we get home, and she shows me a few new tricks for my HELP comp. I can download any of the programs I saw on the HELP comps on the street right onto my own comp. She also shows me how to block certain security programs, but she does it in a way that the comp won't pick up on it. I thank her and promise to try it out later—and I will, but it's so new that I'm sure I'll mess it up.