Interlude [h.s]

forty-seven

WHITSEN, 180KM FROM NORTHFAIR

Alouette is running through the narrow streets of Whitsen, her heart in her throat. She can hear the shouts and footsteps coming closer and closer, even though they're still too far away for her to see them.

It's barely been thirty minutes since Harry pretended to kidnap her, and the Revolution is already closing in on them. Their car is useless because of the accident Harry caused, and they're now on foot. They can't outrun them.

She spots someone walking out of a building and tugs Harry towards it, her grip on his wrist firm. She stops the door right before it can close and they slip inside unseen.

They run up a flight of stairs and then she finally stops, pressing her back against the wall and taking a deep breath. Her stomach is hurting and she's sure she's about to faint. She's never had to run for so long.

When she stops feeling like she's about to pass out she finally looks at Harry; for once he seems to be just as breathless as she is.

There's movement coming from outside the door, she can see the ghosts of frames from the frosted glass of the door. Some shouts ring out and terror washes over Alouette when she recognises them.

The Revolution is on the opposite side of the door. If they decide to take it down they'll find them right there, and they'll be done for. They need to find a way out.

She looks up, but the only thing she can see is stairs. No window, no hole for them to crawl in. Stairs and a thousand doors, because they're in a residential building. She can't open any of the doors though, because if the locks are broken the police will be automatically called. Unintentionally, she stepped into a perfect trap. There's no way out but through the front door.

Harry seems to notice her distress and lets out a sigh, the kind that automatically makes her want to step on his foot. This is much more than a minor inconvenience—it's a disaster.

He slides something out of the inner pocket of his jacket and it takes Alouette some seconds to recognise it as his thin wallet. It's a surprise that he hasn't already lost it somewhere.

Harry pulls a black card out and approaches the first door on the floor they're on. He slides it on the side of the digital lock and a blue light flashes. Then he types in a four digit code, and the door opens soundlessly.

He motions Alouette to get inside the apartment and she does, looking at him with shock painted on her face.

"How did you do that?"

He steps inside and closes the door, putting the mysterious black card back into its hiding place. It's a little too similar to the one he used to reach the roof at his Palace a while ago, and Alouette suspects it's the same one. "Admin code," he only says, as if Alouette is the dumb one for not having thought about it sooner.

"Admin code?!" She exclaims, after a quick glance around the apartment confirms that nobody is inside. "You mean to tell me you can access every home in the country with that card?!"

Harry raises an eyebrow. "Are you truly surprised?"

Alouette's head is spinning and she suddenly has to lean against the wall not to fall down. "Of course you can," she says venomously. Yet another perfect way to control everyone else.

"Truthfully, every district has its own admin code," Harry explains, and she doesn't know if it's because he's genuinely decided to be helpful or because it's the perfect opportunity to praise his own cleverness for thinking up such a system. "But you can think of the card like a master key." He offers her a troublesome little smile then, that makes her blood boil.