“The same ones who’ve been running this from the beginning,” said Kira. Her skin went cold, and she gripped Xochi’s hand for support. “They planned this entire thing — Samm, and the explosion, and even the riot. This isn’t a provisional government in the wake of a national disaster, this was a planned and calculated coup.”
“They couldn’t have planned Samm,” said Marcus. “They had no idea you were going to go out and get him.”
“Who is Samm?” asked Tovar.
“The Partial,” said Kira. “And they didn’t have to plan his capture, just what to do with him afterward. They’d probably been planning some kind of power grab for a while, and then when we showed up with Samm, we gave them the means to pull it off.”
“They’re only in charge until the city gets back on its feet,” said Jayden, “and they’re only doing it because of the riot
“Do you actually believe that?” asked Xochi.
“They responded too quickly,” Kira protested, feeling the rage build up inside of her. It was so familiar now, so much a part of her, that it filled her easily. “They had to have a plan already in place, to deal with exactly the kind of situation we forced them into — we started a riot, and they went to Plan F or whatever and seized the whole island. Even when we thought we were stopping them, they were still ready for us.”
“They’re trying to save the species,” said Jayden. “Yes, they’re being extreme about it, but maybe that’s the only way to make it work — a solid grip on the island, with a single vision to lead it and army to enforce it.”
“Remember where you are,” said Tovar.
“I don’t like it any more than you do,” said Jayden, “but they don’t have the—” He stopped, glanced at Kira, and started again. “For all they know this is the only way to save us from RM: to take the Hope Act to its natural extreme and ranch us like cattle until someone’s born immune.”
“Delarosa used to be a zookeeper,” said Kira softly, thinking of all her friends still trapped inside the city.
Tovar snorted. “No kidding?”
She nodded. “She saved endangered species. I guess we’re just another bunch of rare white rhinos.” Kira swallowed her rage and took a long, deep breath. “Mr. Tovar,” she said, looking up to meet his eyes. “We need to get back to East Meadow.”
“Then you’re crazy,” he said.
“Crazy or not,” she said, “we need to go. And you need to take us there.”
“Then you’re crazy and stupid,” said Tovar. “In three days, when all my forces are gathered, we’re going to launch our biggest offensive yet. It’s like your friend said — when the entire species is at stake, people are willing to go to extremes. We’re going to take that government down and you do not want to be anywhere near it when we do.”
“Three days?” Kira’s mind raced. “That might be all we need. If you can get us there without being seen, actually inside the city, we might not need a war at all.”
Tovar frowned. “I’m not an assassin, Kira, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Of course not.”
“And I’m not a martyr either. Getting you or anyone else into East Meadow would be extremely dangerous. When I die it’s going to be for a pretty damn good reason.”
“A good reason is not the problem,” said Kira, and held up the syringe. “We have the cure for RM.”
Tovar stared at it, his mouth open, then laughed out loud. “And you expect me to believe that?”
“You believed all the crazy bad stuff,” said Xochi, “why not the crazy good stuff, too?”
“Because crazy bad stuff is well within the realm of my experience,” said Tovar. “Curing RM is in the realm of magical pixies and talking dogs that piss whiskey. It’s impossible.”
“It’s real,” said Marcus, and looked at Kira. “We’ll stake our lives on it.”
“Suppose it is,” said Tovar. “What do we do with it? Walk into town, hold it in the air, and wait for the magical pixies to make everything right again?”
“If the Senate taught me one thing,” said Kira, “it’s that power comes through the people — the only reason they have control is because the people have given it to them.”
“Also because they have guns,” said Marcus.
“They don’t have guns,” said Xochi, “they have the allegiance of people with guns.”
“Exactly,” said Kira. “If we can change that allegiance, we can free everyone in the city — everyone on the island. If we show them a live human baby, the purest, simplest proof that our way works and the Hope Act doesn’t, the people will rise up so fast your head will spin. We can restore freedom and unite the island, all without firing a single shot.”
“Say your cure works,” said Tovar, “and we can actually show them, as you say, a live human baby.” Tovar’s voice nearly broke, and Kira could practically see the emotion running through him as he said the words. “You’ve already been in league with the Partials — you’ve crossed the sound and met them in person. Won’t people just assume it’s a Partial trick of some kind? A baby Partial, or an engineered … doppelganger or something?”
“The mother will have to be an East Meadow regular,” said Marcus, “someone people will recognize as one of their own.” He glanced at Jayden. “His sister is about to deliver — she may already have.”
Kira nodded. “It’s not enough to just show up with a baby: we have to go in, grab Madison, and get her out. Right under the Grid’s noses.”
Tovar looked at Kira. “I get the distinct impression that nothing is ever easy where you’re involved.”
“Welcome to my life,” said Kira. “How many soldiers do you have?”
“Ten.”
Kira raised an eyebrow. “I saw a lot more than ten in the backyard alone.”
Tovar’s voice hardened. “Are you asking about soldiers, or armed civilians with more guts than training?”
“Point taken,” said Kira.
Tovar studied them carefully, his eyes flicking from one face to the next as he thought. “We may — may — have a way to get you inside. Are you sure you can do it?”
Kira grinned. “Haven’t you heard? I’m the most wanted criminal on the island. I think it’s about time I start living up to my reputation.”
“Hell, yes,” said Xochi.
Tovar paused, studying her, his brow furrowed. Finally he broke into a smile. “When you put it that way,” he said, “I’m pretty sure I heard a talking dog just last week. Didn’t drink its piss, though.” He stood up. “It’s still midmorning, and the weather’s with us; if we start now, we can get you beaten and in police custody before dinner. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, though. I’ll round up the troops.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
One of the tricks up Tovar’s sleeve turned out to be uniforms: dozens of Defense Grid uniforms stolen from the depot they’d raided in the old East Meadow High School. “We stole a mountain of ammunition and trail rations, too,” he said slyly, “just to make it look like we were after their supplies, but this was the real prize. Worth a thousand bullets each if you use them right.” Kira nodded and shrugged one on over her normal clothes.
The living room, already cramped, was now packed with an assortment of Voice leaders. Kira studied them as they talked, poring over makeshift maps of the island; they were determined, at the very least, and appeared capable enough, but they lacked the smoothness she had seen with the Defense Grid. The Grid was better organized, even for something as simple as a salvage run. One person laid out the plan, while the others listened attentively. The Voice could not have been more different.
“This is Farad,” said Tovar, pointing to a stern man with a fiery shock of red hair. “The uniforms are nice, but he’s our real secret weapon: a Grid soldier, so newly defected to our cause that the Grid leaders, we hope, don’t even know he’s left.”
