Elite (Citizen Saga, Book 1) (16 page)

"Who is she?" I asked, but Lena wasn't capable of talking.

It surprised me how the fear I saw in her eyes made me feel.

Desperate.

I wanted to comfort her, but if this was what I suspected - a friend held at the mercy of that madman to get to Lena - then there was little I could do to assuage the terror. I was well aware of what Chew-wen could do.

How had she survived him for so long?

I glanced back at the image, catching one final look at the woman on the Chief Overseer's arm before Si killed the feed, trying in his own way to protect Lena. She was beautiful. In that utterly perfect, made-up to please, way. If I didn't know better I'd think she was a courtesan. My eyes darted back down to the woman clinging to my frame and I tried to see if Lena fit that bill.

Is that how she survived?

A rumble of anger spread through my chest. The thought of Lena doing that made me mad. I purposely didn't spend any effort on trying to figure out why I reacted so viscerally to that notion, I was in enough trouble as it was.

I helped Lena into a chair Kevin had hurriedly brought over. Then held the glass of water Si had provided out to her. In different circumstances I'd be amused. My entire inner circle was enchanted with this woman. All we needed was Alan and we'd be set.

I sighed, as Lena dutifully sipped from the glass, a tiny tear trickling down her porcelain cheek.

"Get Alan in here," I instructed Si. If anyone knew who the courtesan on Chew-wen's arm was, it would be him. And sadly, I didn't trust Lena to tell me the honest truth. She'd protect this woman with her dying breath. I could tell. I recognised that conviction I could see on her face. I saw it on Kikri's when he looked at his sister.

The woman wasn't Lena's sister, I knew that. But blood does not a sibling make.

A few minutes later Alan strolled into the tech room, having been replaced by the
Mahiah
twins at the front door.

"What's up, boss?" he asked, flicking intelligent and assessing eyes over Lena, then the room at large, noting the lack of people besides us.

Alan took in everything at once, he prided himself on his ability to sum up a situation in two seconds flat. No wonder he was so peeved at being bettered by Lena at Wántel. He hadn't even known she was there until he'd opened Chen's office door.

"Do you recognise this woman?" I asked, waving a hand at Si for him to bring up the image again.

Si used a smaller screen, one that wouldn't slam the picture of her friend in Lena's face. A courtesy she hadn't yet earned, but my tech whiz automatically gave. And it had nothing to do with her being Elite.

"Aiko Tan," he said and Lena jerked. So hard, I thought she'd fall off the chair. As it is, water sloshed over the side of her glass and I had to reach for it, before it smashed to the floor at her feet.

"How do you know her?" I pushed, reluctantly taking my eyes off Lena's shell-shocked face to see the expression on Alan's.

He blushed. Which was perhaps the greatest surprise of the day. Alan Ng did not embarrass easily.

I raised two very interested eyebrows at him. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Spent a memorable night and day in her bed last month," he finally declared.

"So she is a courtesan," I confirmed. He nodded his head, then scratched at the back of his neck looking away.

Everyone knew Alan frequented the brothels, but for some reason this particular engagement meant something to him. His eyes darted back to the screen and he walked, as though on auto pilot, closer.

"What's she doing with Chew-wen?" he asked, fists beginning to ball as the repercussions of what he was seeing started to sink in.

Lena had again bettered him; he'd not been as observant as quickly as usual.

"At a guess, she was hired," I offered, my eyes back on Lena now to see her response.

"She wouldn't work for him," Alan argued over my shoulder, rather loudly I thought. "She's Citizen through and through."

Lena lifted emotion-filled eyes to the screen, purposely avoiding looking at me, I think.

But still she said nothing.

I contained my sigh of disappointment, but did what I had to do.

"Lena knows her," I said, and you could have heard a pin drop.

Her eyes flicked to mine and held, as Alan said, "What the fuck?" Then appeared at my side, looming over the Elite.

"Easy," I warned, not breaking eye contact with Lena. "Why don't you tell us all about it?" I asked her instead.

She lifted her chin defiantly, her eyes losing all the fear of before and turning chilled.

"What Aiko does is no one's business," she declared, the Elite back in her tone.

It almost made me proud, for some reason.

"But she's there because of you," Alan challenged.

Lena slowly turned that frosty gaze on Alan, who growled low and took a step toward her. My arm came up halting his progress, but I was fascinated in the challenging growl Lena threw back at his face.

Lioness.

"So, what are you going to do about it, Elite?" Alan demanded, his voice rough with his rage.

I watched as Lena's eyes returned to the screen, calculation and determination gracing her beautiful features. There was absolutely nothing complacent about this woman. She may be Elite, but she was every inch a Citizen of Wánměi.

"I'm going after her, of course," she announced.

I shouldn't have been surprised. It was obvious she'd do it. What surprised me was the sudden spike of panic I felt at her words.

I went to open my mouth, but Alan beat me to it.

"You're not going alone," he declared.

She slowly turned her head to look up at him and the smile she offered, despite Alan's chilled tone, was all warmth.

It should have been my smile. Not his.

It should have been me declaring she had back-up. Not him.

But instead I just stood there and watched as Alan nodded agreement, the chill evaporating from the room, and they became a team of sorts.

"So, when do we go?" he asked in a much more friendly manner, satisfied now that she'd do the right thing.

Lena opened her mouth to answer, but it was me who was doing the beating this time.

What I meant to say was,
no one
was going to sacrifice themselves at Chew-wen's feet until we had a plan. But clearly this fixation with Lena was affecting my intelligence.

Because what I did say was, "Neither of you are going anywhere," in a tone that conveyed the full weight of my authority as their leader.

Alan stilled, Si muttered, "Here we go," under his breath, and Kevin turned back to his switches and toggles as though he hadn't just been hanging on each word. While I tried not to cringe at my lack of tact.

Then Lena picked up the thumb-drive with the Sat-Loc codes from Wántel and made a show of slipping it safely back inside her bra. Out of reach for more reasons now than I cared to admit.

My eyes met hers and I smiled. "You think I can't get them?" I asked, and even I admit it sounded a little cocky.

She smiled back, it wasn't as warm as the one she gave Alan.

"I'd like to see you try."

No she didn't. She most definitely did
not
want to see me try, but I had to hand it to her. Nothing she did lacked class.

The woman was spectacular, but unfortunately it was clear she didn't feel the same way about me. And I only had myself to blame.

Oh, and Alan.

Oh, God. Aiko.

All I could think was how did I get her out of there? And all I came up with was handing myself over in her stead. It's what Chew-wen wanted. Why, I couldn't say. But his message was clear; return home and she's safe. Keep hiding and she gets hurt.

Aiko. I wanted to scream with frustration. He couldn't have chosen a better threat.

I first met Aiko when she was walking the streets in
Wáikěiton
late at night, plying her wares. I watched from my perch on a rickety rooftop as she was approached by a group of men. At first, it seemed fairly benign. The odd joke in
Wáitaměi
. The friendly smiles and flirtatious looks. But then things changed. I'm not sure what made them do it, maybe they didn't like her price. Aiko is top dollar, because she can become anyone you want and make it work.

High class call girl to Arthur Chen, appropriate model Citizen to an honest worker,
Wáikěiton
hooker in the back streets. Honourable courtesan to the Chief Overseer. She can play it all, do it well. A skill that has earned her much business over the years, but even then it was never enough. Aiko took risks that weren't necessary, had a compulsion to push her limits every day. Which was why, I found out later, she was walking the streets of
Wáikěiton
instead of entertaining a repeat customer in much more pleasant surroundings.

The first punch made me suck in a surprised breath of air; I hadn't seen it coming. The second and third had been landed by the time I was off the roof and across the alley. There were no more after that. Well, not for Aiko.

I helped her home and met Lee Tan, or as he liked to be called, Tan. Her older brother. We have been friends ever since.

Tan and I worked hard to protect Aiko. What must he be thinking right now?

I had to get in touch, but first I had to get out of here.

I held Trent's impassioned stare. He really didn't want any of us going after Aiko. At first I thought it was jealousy. But then he made it obvious it was all about risk. And he wasn't prepared to risk Alan, or risk losing the Sat-Loc codes I now had back down between my breasts.

"I won't leave her there," I announced, crossing my arms over my chest and drawing his eyes to my cleavage in a flash.

"I'm not suggesting that," he argued, reluctantly bringing his gaze back up top again.

"Then what are you suggesting?" I demanded.

"Why does he want you so badly?" he threw back instead of answering.

"He doesn't like rebellion, or had you missed that fact."

"No, I got it."

"He especially does not like rebellion in his family," I added.

"And you're his family," Trent said, the look on his face was a mixture of sadness and surprise. As if he'd forgotten that fact and was only just now being reminded.

"I'm his responsibility, in the eyes of his peers," I corrected. "It doesn't look good if I boycott the celebration."

"But he brought the celebration forward by a week," Alan pointed out. "He could have just given his drones more time to pick you up and not made an obvious issue out of it."

"Wang Chao," Trent murmured. "At
Elliott Street
he said to you, 'I always get my woman.' What did that exactly mean?"

I hesitated too long and before I could think of an adequate answer Trent huffed out an incredulous breath of air.

"That home was yours," he accused. "Your alias lives there. He knows."

I nodded my head slowly.

"What will he find there?" Trent asked, his voice softer now.

"He found Aiko," I replied, only just now realising how she'd been picked up. My legs gave out and I collapsed into the chair behind me. "She often spends the night at my flat when she's argued with her brother Tan."

Oh, God. This was all my fault.

"Lena," Trent murmured, crouching down to look in my face. "This is not how people should live. Do you understand? This is not living, this is existing at someone's command."

I shook my head, not understanding what he was getting at.

"General Chew-wen has not been protecting Wánměi, he's been controlling it."

"But that's how he shields us from overindulgence and inappropriate influence from the outside world." The words were spoken by rote. I didn't mean them. I'd just been taught to think them.

I realised that now.

His hand reached up and a finger gently entwined in a strand of my hair. He pulled it forward so I could see the white and black colouring.

"White and black, Lena," Trent said, holding my gaze. "Why not red, blue, or pink?"

"People have those colours in their hair," I argued.

"Yes. But don't you see? It's the Overseers' way of allowing us a measure of freedom within the constraints of a dictatorial society."

A long, slow breath left me. To say those words aloud left my stomach in knots. To think them was heresy. To voice them, madness.

"And he couldn't even give you that," Trent added. "White and black," he said, stroking my hair and then releasing it. "Our world is white and black. Do you think it was his decision to let us have different colours for our hair? Or do you think if he had his way everyone would be white and black?"

I flicked my eyes across the room to Simon, who had nondescript natural looking blond colouring in his hair. What was not natural for Wánměi, though, was the length of it. He wore it loose, down past his shoulders, completely slamming model-like and appropriately acceptable haircuts. There was no way he could walk freely on the streets, and yet he still wore that hairstyle.

And shouldn't he have that choice?

I bit my lower lip, feeling the familiar sensations of panic well up inside me. Whenever I had questioned our regime in the past, I'd be punished by my guardian. Locked away in my room and ordered to read Wánměi's manifesto. Then be pulled before a scowling General Chew-wen and made to recite the reasons why we lived the way we did.

For the better of the people. For the future of Wánměi.

We should not desire for more than we have. Wánměi provides all that we need.

Wánměi above all others. Wánměi leads the way.

My eyes came back to Trent's and I saw his conviction, his belief. I saw a man who did ask those questions, and when made to recite the reasons why we lived the way we did, he shouted back, "No."

Could I do that? Could I stand behind my beliefs like this man did?

Did I want to?

Aiko. I believed in Aiko. In her beautiful and innocent face. Despite her choice of livings, Aiko was simple in her desires, simple in her beliefs. Simple in her thought processes. She did not deserve to be at Chew-wen's hands. Just like she did not deserve to be beaten for daring to ask too much for her service in that
Wáikěiton
alleyway.

"We can do more than just save Aiko," Trent said quietly, still crouched before me, still staring patiently, but expectantly into my eyes. "We can save Wánměi."

"How?" I said, the words mainly just air, made up of the part of me that was letting go of my past.

"Those codes," he said. My breath all but stalling. "They unlock the satellite that allows us access to outside networks. Not Wánměi's; they open up the
rest
of the world through cyberspace. A world we're not even meant to know exists.

"It's the first step towards bringing down the walls. Educating the people, allowing them the information to fight back. If they knew there was a world out there,
free
, they wouldn't settle for General Chew-wen's Wánměi."

"Revolution," I whispered.

"But a revolution involving the majority of the city."

"More than you had last time," I offered.

"Yes," he said simply. "We need more. We can't do this alone."

I sat there and considered his words. I actually played them over and over again inside my head. They still scared me. They still sounded so foreign. So evil. But I couldn't stop myself from repeating them again and again.

"People died last time," I said, my voice hitching on the words.

"Yes," he said, a sheen of something painful washing over his eyes and then vanishing. "And they will again. But it's worth it."

"Death."

"Freedom," he countered. "What price would you pay for Aiko to be free from all of this?"

I truly believed he was playing me, but I couldn't fault his tactics. I'd do the same for something I believed in, and I believed in Aiko and Tan.

"I need to make a phone call," I said, which clearly wasn't the answer he was expecting. "Privately," I added.

"We can do the phone, but not the privacy."

"You still don't trust me," I surmised.

"Do you trust me?" Trent asked. I smiled. He was right. I didn't.

But we might just need each other.

"Who do you want to call?" he asked, his eyes stuck momentarily on my lips.

"Aiko's brother. He could help."

"How?" Alan asked, reminding me that Trent and I had not been alone, an audience had witnessed everything we'd said. I was guessing alone time in this place was only possible when you went to bed.

My cheeks heated fractionally at that thought. Which was stupid. Trent and I may have needed one another, but we were worlds apart when it came to sharing a bed. Unfortunately, he caught the blush and raised a single eyebrow in query, making me picture all manner of things that didn't help.

"He knows people," I said, directing my answer to Alan. "He knows a lot of people."

"I don't know him," Trent offered.

"Did you know me before I stole those files out from under your nose?"

"You got lucky," Alan muttered from across the room, just as Trent said, "You were a delightful surprise."

I couldn't help smiling. His eyes darted down at the movement again.

"What type of people does this brother know?" Trent asked, pulling his gaze back up.

"Palace staff," I offered. "Citizens who are trusted by the Overseers."

"No Citizen is trusted by the Overseers," Simon argued.

"Some of these ones are."

"And you trust them?" Trent asked.

"I trust no one," I replied. "But that doesn't mean they can't help."

Trent laughed. "You really aren't a typical Elite, are you?"

"I keep telling you," I said, smoothing the material of my skirt to seem at ease. "I am not Elite anymore."

He stared at me for a moment and then stood back up and moved away.

"Open up a line for Lena," he instructed Simon. "Let's see what Aiko's brother has to say."

"This is going to backfire," Simon muttered under his breath, but did as he was told.

I moved over to him and picked up the headset he offered, as he dialled in Tan's number while I recited it. The phone rang once. And only once.

And then my close friend answered in
Wáitaměi
. Not
Anglisc
.

I reached out and hit disconnect on the panel in front of Simon.

"What did you do that for?" he asked. "Did I misdial?"

I took two steps back and shook my head.

"Lena?" Trent said appearing at my side.

"They've got Tan as well," I said, feeling my entire world crumble around me, the ground buckling at my feet.

"Oh, little zebra," he murmured, pulling me close to his side and brushing a kiss in my hair.

It seemed so natural, I wasn't even sure if he knew what he was doing. But I took advantage of the moment and buried my face in his chest and inhaled.

He smelled good. So good I took another sniff, trying to be inconspicuous about it, but probably failing.

"Call Harjeet," Trent said, still holding me. "We need more information before we walk blindly into Chew-wen's trap."

And I knew, right then, right in that second, that I would follow this man anywhere. He didn't know Aiko. He didn't know Tan. He really didn't know me and kept reminding me that he didn't trust me. The files with the Sat-Loc codes were down my top, he could just reach out and take them at any time, or order one of his men to do the same.

But despite all of that, he took one look at the devastation on my face at the loss of my two closest friends, the only true family I had left, and he reached out immediately to hug me.

He chose to support me. Comfort me.

And then he got to work on helping me free my friends.