Tool

Chapter Nineteen

The combination of the bright lights and still being halfway down the staircase meant Aurelia could see nothing. But she could hear the crunch of boots on gravel, and she felt Nicholas being pulled up and away. He hadn't stood a chance. He was obviously surrounded and couldn't run, and he couldn't get back into the tunnel because she was blocking the way. He was gone in a moment, not uttering a word, and she didn't even get the chance to see his face.

With Nicholas gone, a dark shadow loomed over the door. "There's a girl here," said a voice.

A hand reached down and yanked her up.

"She's with me." It was Jonathon. Squinting, Aurelia could see him hurrying across the courtyard towards her, a group of sec Workers standing back to let him pass. The Worker holding Aurelia seemed reluctant to let her go. He didn't release his grip until he had a clear look at Jonathon's face.

"Yes, sir," the Worker said finally, surrendering Aurelia into Jonathon's custody.

He grabbed her arm roughly, pulling her along, her feet catching on stones so she nearly tripped and would have fallen if it weren't for his support. She could barely comprehend what was happening. Inside, she was screaming Nicholas's name, but on the outside, she kept silent, allowing herself to be dragged clear across the courtyard to a waiting transport pod. Jonathon pushed her inside, and desperately she looked around for any sign that Nicholas was here. She couldn't see him. Maybe that's a good thing, she thought. At least it meant they hadn't injected him on the spot. Jonathon pulled her seat belt on, fixed his own, then sat back as the transport pod began to move. His jaw was tight and his eyes hard.

"Where are we going?" Aurelia asked. Of all the questions running around in her head, it was the banal one that escaped.

"To my house," Jonathon said shortly.

She wasn't sure if he was angry or merely thinking, but she was sure his house was not where she wanted to be. There was something wrong here, and as the shock and exhaustion wore off, the pieces were coming together.

"No. I want to go to the hospital."

His eyes flicked over her in surprise, but he nodded and leaned forward to reprogram the console.

He said nothing for the rest of the trip, pulling out his screen, fingers tapping furiously over it. Aurelia's mind whirled, and she couldn't make things stay still long enough to figure out what was going on. Yet something niggled at the back of her head. It told her there was only one way for all of this to make sense. She wasn't ready to hear it yet, though. Nicholas was gone. Nicholas, whom she'd tried so hard, risked her life, to bring back inside, had been arrested as soon as he'd hit Lunar City territory.

When the pod entered the hospital grounds and slid to a stop, Jonathon escorted her out and to the elevators.

"I'm coming," he said when she protested.

He deposited her outside of her quarters and told her to remain there. He would be back as soon as he could. When Aurelia stared down the corridor after him, she saw him head to the stairs. He must be going to see Elza.

Her quarters seemed stale, unlived in. She pulled her shoes off and sat on the couch, not even able to make it to the bedroom. What the hell had happened? Her body was so battered and exhausted that it was numb, and her mind so full she felt like her head might explode. She had felt like this once when she was a student. Her final year of med training had contained so much information that she could barely keep track of it all. The only thing that had worked was to take one point and follow it logically until it led her through everything swimming in her brain. A focus.