The Significant (32 page)

      
“Isa doesn’t seem to obey,” Kailynn
murmured.

      
Rayal chuckled. “Isa has always been a
special case,” he admitted. “According to many, Isa was different from day one.
She was the youngest Elite to ever come into power. She’s also one of only two
Elites to ever jump classes.”

      
“What does that mean?”

      
“It means that Isa was made to be a
Bronze Elite, but she jumped to the position of Golden Elite.”

      
“They even determine the type of Elite
before they’re born?” Kailynn asked, startled.

      
“They determine everything before they’re
born—class, hair color, eye color, height, absolutely everything about the
Elite is determined before they are born. That is one of the reasons Isa has
always been special. She broke through everything she was made to be and became
something far stronger. Because of this, you can imagine, she has seen more
pain in her life than most. And that is how she gained so much favor in the
inter-galactic community. She may not be able to feel emotion, but she can
understand it.”

      
“You spent years with her,” Kailynn
whispered. “You really think she can’t feel emotion?”

      
Rayal smiled mysteriously.

      
“Kailynn, I must confess something to
you,” he started. “I’m sure you recall when I told you to stay away from Isa
and to never return after you left.”

      
“Yeah.”

      
“I don’t think you fully understand why I
said that.”

      
“Because we are risking both of our lives
and you want to protect her.”

      
“It’s more than that,” Rayal admitted.
“Apart from Remus, I may know Isa better than anyone. When she first came to
power, she was ambitious and driven to change things. She had strength within
her that enthralled and empowered everyone. She had such enormous plans,
but…time progressed, she got older, and she faced more challenges in her job.
Then, when she had the accident five years ago, that strength almost
disappeared.” He looked down at his hands and took a deep breath, slowly
letting it out. “For many years, I truly believed that her relationship with
Remus was diminishing her strength. Having to keep that relationship secret
from Venus and other planetary leaders and the people…I was sure that that was
wearing her down. And when their relationship began to fall apart…”

      
Rayal trailed off, closing his eyes
briefly and shaking his head.

      
“Anyway, the point is, I was worried that
her already-diminished strength would disappear, having to keep you as a
secret,” he said, looking at her seriously. “Now, I have to apologize for
thinking that.”

      
“What do you mean?”

      
“I believe you give Isa strength,” Rayal
said seriously. “I think Isa needs people, just as everyone else does, if not
more so. You are a Significant, so I’m sure you understand how lonely everyone
on this planet is. I think it’s far worse for Isa. She has been working herself
to death since she was a child, and it has been seared into her very being that
she is there only to serve the people and Venus. But, just like everyone else,
she needs someone to care for her, and see her as more than just the Golden
Elite. She takes care of the planet, but I think you take care of her in a way
that no one else can.”

      
Kailynn stared at Rayal, unsure how to
respond to the words. They struck a part of her soul that made her mind go
blank and her chest tighten.

      
Rayal smiled gently.

      
“I’m sorry if that puts some kind of
pressure on you,” he chuckled. “I know that this is a dangerous relationship
for both of you. That is just how I see you and Isa.”

      
Kailynn let out a long breath and closed her
eyes.

      
“I just…I would have never thought that
my life would take this kind of turn,” she tried to joke.

      
“I’m sure it’s a lot to take in,” Rayal
said knowingly. “But I think you are very good for Isa.”

      
“And you think Isa is good for the
planet?”

      
“I think she’s regaining the strength she
needs to change things for the better,” Rayal said with a nod. “She can do
great things, Kailynn. She just needs the right support.”

      
Kailynn returned to Companion, unable to
face returning to Trid immediately after the conversation with Rayal. Even
though he had joked about putting pressure on Kailynn, she felt a new weight
settle on her shoulders.

      
She had to choose between what her heart
was telling her to do, and the loyalty she felt to her family.

      
Feeling anxious and a little sick to her
stomach, she reached for the phone and told it who she wanted to call. She
paced around her room, listening to the monotone beeping sound three times
before cutting off.

      
“Are you back on the radar?” a gentle
voice asked.

      
The tone seemed to soothe Kailynn’s
fears, if only for that moment when the words washed over her ears. She closed
her eyes and let out a long breath.

      
“Yes.”

      
“Are you alright?” Isa asked, her voice
turning worried.

      
“Yeah, yeah,” Kailynn said quickly,
closing her eyes and leaning against the wall of her room. “I’m just tired. I
didn’t really sleep last night.”

      
Isa hesitated, clearly not convinced.

      
“Am I going to see you soon?” Isa asked,
her tone betraying her concern.

      
“Yeah,” Kailynn repeated. “I just have a
few things left to do and I’ll come see you.” She swallowed hard. “Should I
call you beforehand or just surprise you?”

      
“Either way,” she said. “You have an open
invitation.”

      
Kailynn fell silent, trying to hear Isa’s
breathing on the other end of the call, but she could not.

      
“Are you still there?” Isa asked quietly.

      
“I’m here…”

      
“Kailynn, what’s wrong?” Isa pressed.
“You’re upset. I can tell.”

      
Kailynn sighed and lifted a hand to her
face.

      
“I’m confused,” she admitted. “I feel
like my life is spiraling out of control.”

      
“How so?” Isa asked. “What can I do to
help?”

      
Kailynn tried to suppress her confused
sob behind her hand. She took several moments to calm down, worried about
blurting out the truth to Isa.

      
“I’m scared…” she choked.

      
“What are you afraid of?”

      
Kailynn closed her eyes.

      
“I’m afraid of how I feel,” she said.
“I’m afraid of how you are making me feel. I don’t know what to do.”

      
“Would you rather take some time to
yourself and think all this over?” Isa asked, her tone light and gentle. “Do
you want to not see me for a while?”

      
Kailynn’s eyes shot wide.

      
“No, no,” she said quickly. “It’s not
that. I just…” She swallowed hard. “I want you to be okay. I want everything to
be okay.”

      
“Everything is alright.”

      
“How do you know that for sure?”

      
Isa was silent on the other end of the
line.

      
“Kailynn, why don’t you come here?” she
said. “Let’s discuss this in person.”

      
“I can’t,” Kailynn said quickly, almost
interrupting the Elite. She knew if she went to Isa, she would immediately tell
her the truth about her brother’s plot. She did not want to betray her only
living family. “I have a client tonight.”

      
“I see,” Isa said slowly. “I made a
promise to you, remember? I told you I would be safe. And I will be.”

      
“People are trying to kill you, Isa,”
Kailynn half-sobbed.

      
“There will always be people who want to
remove me,” Isa said, her tone even. “But I know how to keep myself safe.”

      
Kailynn leaned her head back on the wall,
her eyes closing tight. She remained silent, trying to keep her tears at bay.

      
“Kailynn, I am very worried about you. Do
you want me to come see you before your appointment?”

      
“No,” Kailynn said, shaking her head
quickly even though the Golden Elite could not see her. “No, I’m sorry…I’m
acting stupid…” She sniffed and cleared her throat. “Just…promise me that you
won’t leave Anon Tower unless you absolutely have to. And that your guards are
always around.”

      
“Kailynn—”

      
“I have to go,” Kailynn said. “I’ll call
you when I am on my way to see you.”

      
She ended the call before she could say
anything else and took the earpiece out of her ear, angrily throwing it across
the room. She slowly sank to the floor, leaning against the wall and cradling
her head in her hands, breaking down into tears once more.

Chapter
Twenty-One

      
That night, and the two days after that,
Kailynn was in a drunken stupor. She slept in between alcohol binges and got
into two physical fights with Raphael when he tried to take the bottles away.
They were thrown out of their usual club when Kailynn became too rowdy and
tried to pick fights with the tourists, who cowered from her and looked on in
fear as she was thrown out with the rest of the Cobalt Panthers.

      
On the third night of her binge, she went
to her brother and drunkenly demanded that he tell her the day and time of
their plan. Theo took her aside, out of earshot of the rest of the Heart of
Trid gang and forced her to drink water. She punched him in the stomach when he
called her a drunk and told him that he needed to tell her his plan exactly or
she would turn them over to the Officials.

      
While Theo did not actually believe that
she would do that to him, he did tell her that, in four days, they would shoot
Isa as she was leaving a charity event.

      
Armed with the information, Kailynn went
to her apartment to get her phone, only to find Raphael there.

      
“I have been looking everywhere for your
drunken ass,” he snarled, irritated. “Come on. Let’s get you to my place and
get you some water.”

      
“Stop it, I have to call someone,” she
slurred together, trying to walk away from his hands as they reached out to
grab her.

      
“Call someone?” he said, barking a laugh.
“You don’t have a phone. Come on.”

      
“I do have a phone!”

      
“Sure,” he droned.

      
“Oh…but it’s not here…” she said, her
eyes sliding shut in sudden exhaustion.

      
“Okay, we’ll find it when you sober up,”
Raphael assured. “Come on.”

      
He hauled her to his apartment as she
incoherently babbled about needing to call the Syndicate with important
information. He humored her until he got her to the apartment, where he forced
her to drink water and lie in bed until she fell asleep.

      
Of course, after several days of
drinking, she felt horrible when she woke in the morning.

      
She spent the entire day snapping at
Raphael for being too loud and nursing her pounding headache.

      
After a day of rest, Kailynn was back on
a rampage, only it was of a different sort.

      
When Raphael woke and saw that Kailynn
was gone, he groaned and quickly got dressed, ready to search for her.

      
He spent half of the day asking everyone
he could think of if they had seen Kailynn. They all told him the same thing.

      
“She’s looking for Theo.”

      
Raphael became more frantic as the day
wore on.

      
Finally, he found Kailynn walking angrily
down one street, her eyes on the ground.

      
“Kailynn!” he snapped, darting across the
deserted street and grabbing her arm, turning her around. “I have been looking
everywhere for you.”

      
“I need to find Theo,” she said, yanking
her arm out of his grasp.

      
“Why?”

      
“Have you heard about his latest shit-brain
idea?”

      
“What?”

      
“This stupid fucking plan he has to kill
the Golden Elite,” Kailynn said sharply.

      
“What the
fuck
—will you keep your voice down?!” Raphael hissed urgently,
looking around to be sure that no one heard them. “Are you still drunk? What the
hell is wrong with you?!”

      
“Do you know about his plan?” Kailynn
growled.

      
Raphael looked over Kailynn’s expression,
trying to figure out why she was upset about Theo’s idea. He thought that it
was because Kailynn had just gotten him out of one botched plan and he already
was concocting another. However, there was a fire in Kailynn’s eyes that gave
him pause.

      
“You know, don’t you?”

      
“Yes,” Raphael said.

      
Kailynn shoved him backward.

      
“Why the hell didn’t you try to talk him
out of it?!” Kailynn bellowed.

      
“Kailynn, please, keep your voice down,”
Raphael said, holding his hands up peacefully. “You know how your brother is.
He’s set on it.”

      
“Where is he?” Kailynn growled. “We have
a few days to try and talk him out of it.”

      
“Why?”

      
“
Why
?!”

      
“You know that the only way the Trids
will get anywhere is by removing those in power and starting a revolution,”
Raphael hissed. “We’ve dreamed about this since we were kids, remember? We were
going to start the movement to bring down Anon.”

      
“And it’s fucking stupid!” Kailynn
snapped. “If we get rid of one Elite, then others will come to take her place.
And they won’t do nearly as much good as she has!”

      
“Wait,
what
?” Raphael gasped, his eyes shooting wide. “Are you…you
support
Elite Isa?!”

      
Kailynn stared at Raphael for several
long moments, her eyes showing her turmoil.

      
“I’ve just learned enough to realize that
we’re ignorant of what revolution actually means,” Kailynn whispered.

      
Raphael stared at Kailynn, slowly shaking
his head.

      
“Who
are
you?”

      
Kailynn began walking away.

      
“I’m going to find Theo.”

      
“It’s too late, Kailynn,” Raphael called
after her. She stopped and turned around quickly. “Theo lied to you.”

      
“What?” She quickly walked back to him,
her heart sinking.

      
“He didn’t want to risk your life again,”
Raphael said. “They’ve already left. They’re going through with it tonight.”

      
Kailynn’s eyes shot wide and she turned
once more. This time, Raphael grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.

      
“No, Kailynn!”

      
“Let go of me!”

      
“What are you going to do?!” Raphael
barked, yanking her back once more. “You think you can just stroll up to the
Elites and tell them what’s going on?!”

      
Kailynn managed to yank her wrist out of
Raphael’s grasp.

      
She stared defiantly at her childhood
friend for two long seconds before turning and walking quickly along the
sidewalks toward the towering structures of Anon.

      
Raphael did not follow.

      
Kailynn rushed to Companion and grabbed
her phone, quickly trying to call Isa’s phone. However, the Elite did not
answer. Her attempt to call Tarah also failed.

 
     
She
called Rayal’s phone, pacing and quietly pleading for him to answer. Her heart
was racing and frightened tears were welling in her eyes. She was worried that,
if she did not warn them immediately, Isa would be killed.

      
As Kailynn listened to the beeping,
waiting for someone to answer, at the charity event, Isa, Remus, and Rayal were
sitting with the other Elites at a large table watching the art auction pieces
pass silently as the bids were tracked electronically. The hall was silent,
everyone in their respective seats in front of the Elites, bidding on the
pieces that were wheeled in front of them.

      
When Rayal’s phone lit up next to Isa,
she slowly lowered the wine glass from her lips, turning to look at the screen.
Rayal’s eyes also fell on the phone before slowly turning to Isa.

      
They both had been expecting the call.

      
Isa’s eyes lifted to look at Rayal before
she reached over and pressed the ignore button on the phone.

      
“She’s trying to warn you,” Rayal
whispered.

      
“I don’t want her in danger,” Isa
breathed.

      
“She knows something,” Rayal said. “Let
her tell you.”

      
“No,” Isa said, shaking her head. “There
is a reason she did not tell me earlier.” She turned to Remus and nodded once.
He nodded in return and stood, walking out of the hall silently.

      
Kailynn hung up the phone and looked
around her room, desperate to find a way to warn Isa.

      
She ran downstairs to Jak’s office and
rapidly hit the call button on the outside of the door. When he did not answer,
she began furiously pounding on the door with her fist.

      
Finally, Jak opened the door, taking the
earpiece out of his ear and looking at her incredulously as she barged into the
office.

      
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Jak
growled, closing the door immediately.

      
“We need to get in contact with Syndicate
Intelligence,
now
.”

      
“What the hell has gotten into you?”

      
“There will be an assassination attempt
tonight,” Kailynn said breathlessly.

      
“How do you know this?”

      
“Something I remember from my last
client,” she lied, pacing, her eyes frantic and her breath caught in her
throat. “I didn’t think anything of it until I heard there was a charity event
today.”

      
“Yeah, it’s an annual art auction. They
do it every year. Security is ridiculously tight.”

      
“Someone is going to try and kill Elite
Isa,” Kailynn said seriously.

      
“Jacyleen, take a deep breath. Explain
yourself.”

      
“I can’t get in contact with Isa,” she
said quietly.

      
“Are you on a first-name basis with her?”
Jak said, his eyes wide. “Jacyleen, tell me what the hell is going on.”

      
“I can’t,” Kailynn said, shaking her
head.

      
“You’re scaring the shit out of me,” Jak
said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’re
shaking
.”

      
“This is really complicated and I really
need you to work with me on this.”

      
“Okay, I will. Just…take a deep breath.”

      
“Call Syndicate Intelligence and tell
them that someone will try to shoot Golden Elite Isa when she leaves the
auction.”

      
Jak stared at her, a million questions
running through his mind. Deciding it was best to do as Kailynn asked in an
attempt to calm her, he went to his phone and commanded it to call Syndicate
Intelligence. When he was connected to the tip line, he explained that one of
his Significants heard from a client that someone would try to shoot Elite Isa
when she left the auction. Kailynn listened to him explain, continuing to pace,
running her hands through her hair multiple times.

      
When Jak fell silent, Kailynn turned and
watched his expression.

      
He turned to look at Kailynn, but the look
confused her.

      
“I see,” he said. “No, that is a relief.
Thank you.”

      
He disconnected the call.

      
“Where did you get this tip?”

      
“From the last client, the one who was
arrested,” Kailynn said.

      
“He must have told them, too,” Jak said,
looking at her seriously. “He said they already received the tip. They were
working on apprehending the group.” He walked back around his desk and looked
at her seriously. “Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on? Why are
you so frantic?”

      
“I just realized there was a plot on
Elite Isa’s life.”

      
“I know, but showing such intense
reactions when you would scoff at any Elite a few months ago…” He studied her
expression, slowly shaking his head. “Please tell me that you obeyed all the
ruled when you were there.”