Joan Undone

Chapter 44

A great weight pushes against my brain, like I'm deep underwater. It's cold and dark, but quiet. Sirens pull me out of my fugue state.

Two Evolved officers from Ben's team help me pull Nic's body off the roof. They have brought paramedics, who confirm what I already know. The boy who loved me so much, more than his own life, is gone.

A gentle hand cups my elbow. Harriet has come. She watched enough of the video feed from my contact lenses to know that I'll fall apart without her.

Harriet answers the question I'm too afraid to ask. "Nic's sacrifice meant something. Justus is alive. Flo has him in the incubator. She says he'll be okay."

"I promised Nic I'd keep him alive," I say, my voice dull. "Instead, I killed his spirit, and he took care of the rest."

"Find within you the reserve of strength I know is there, because we need your leadership today. Alison and Tupac's concert is growing, and Marie estimates that Strand's buildings are about half empty. That's a lot of people who will die if Crew and his team aren't stopped."

My fingertips brush the back of my neck. "And I'm the one with the Mind Manipulator."

Harriet pulls a silver controller out of her pack. "I've got the old Manipulator too. But it can only control one person at a time. We need you to influence Crew's followers to retreat. If they follow through with the attack, we won't be able to stop them. Aside from that dirty bomb, they've got tanks, guns, and a mob of supporters."

She's giving me a purpose, a goal to set my brain back in motion, and it's working. Harriet leads me to the van that idles by the Space Needle. I don't look back at the monument as we drive away. I never want to see it again. Sometimes, artifacts need to be torn down.

"Marie made a breakthrough," Harriet says as our van makes its way through the Seattle traffic. "She was able to hack into Strand's Throwback database, which tracks the location of Throwbacks with active chips. Crew, Leo, and most of the rebellion leaders have deactivated their chips, but Rob's is still in place. He was probably still in police custody when Crew neutralized the chips of the rest of his team."

"It's a start. Rob likes to be near the center of the action."

"He'll get his wish, today."

Harriet shows me the map that tracks Rob's movements on her phone.

"Why is he so far from Strand's headquarters?" I ask. "Have they changed their target?"

"Sun believes that Crew is sending a small squad to attack the capitol building, so that when the Evolved police and the National Guard respond, they'll be drawn away from the real action at Strand's headquarters."

"So, we'll have to split up," I reply, sending a message to the governor to evacuate all of the government buildings in downtown Seattle.

"I will take three of the best Evolved police officers to take down Rob," Harriet informs me, inputting instructions to the van's nav screen. "You need to get in front of Crew's attack on Strand."

"Take ten officers," I say. "Who knows how large Rob's force is."

"I'll take five," Harriet counters. "You can't spare any more. The National Guard will show up soon enough to help."

"They'll arrest every Throwback they see, no matter what side they're fighting on. You will be as much of a target to them as Rob is."

"Good thing I'm not a recognizable clone type," Harriet says. Like me, she has covered up her lavaliere with makeup. "It's time to warn Lexi that Strand will be under attack. She needs to evacuate her buildings."