Joan the Made (Throwbacks Series, Book 1)

Chapter 31

Harriet refuses to discuss her time in jail, but she recovers her usual stoicism quickly. She even returns to the dorm after two nights back in the Lab with her friends.

Harriet joins me the next morning on the walk over to the Little Theater.

"What's the plan to get evidence against the headmaster after our last plan failed?" she asks.

I'm quiet for too long, and Harriet purses her lips in annoyance. "We're not giving up on our mission because of last week's setback."

"Setback? You were in jail! You were beaten! You could have died!"

"Fear is not my master," Harriet says. "Don't let it be yours."

"If it was just my life, that would be one thing. But Lexi White has proven that she'll go after you or maybe my parents or our friends. I can't risk that."

"You can make choices for yourself, but do not make them for others. They will not thank you for it."

Harriet's words are true. It would infuriate me if Harriet or Justus tried to keep me safe, when I yearn to make a difference.

"If Lexi's this upset about those pictures, we must be close to something important," I admit.

Harriet smiles. "We think alike."

"If we're going to do this, we have to be smart about it. We follow the headmaster only and stay far away from Lexi."

"Agreed. Let's take shifts following him and see where he leads us."

"I'll take the first shift."

Harriet gives me a brief, small smile. "Of course you will."

~ ~ ~

Staking out the headmaster's office is excruciatingly boring. Instead of clandestine meetings with actresses he's planning to pimp out, he stays in his office with the blinds shut. I could be watching his window while he jerks off inside, for all I know.

The headmaster yanks up his blinds and stares out the window. The tree beside me wreathes me in shadows, but my heart thumps hard in my chest anyway. What if he can see me? I wouldn't put it past him to be able to see in the dark, like a blood-sucking vampire bat. He turns away from the window, and the lights in his office go off.

A short time later, he leaves the Little Theater, striding into the darkness with purpose. Tailing him is easy. Like most Evolved, he assumes that no one would ever question where he goes, and any threat can be handled by a call to the Evolved police.

He opens the door of one of the autonomous cars in the lot, and I scurry to my motorcycle, hoping he won't disappear too quickly. For once, luck is on my side, and I switch the bike to its manual settings. At the last minute, I pull my helmet on as a quick disguise, in case the headmaster spots me.

The headmaster's car is swift and silent, merging onto the traffic grid with a smoothness that only comes when a vehicle is on its autonomous controls. There is a lot of traffic on the road, considering curfew is only an hour or so away, but my bike zips between cars and buses with ease.

When the headmaster's car stops in front of the Evolved police station, my stomach drops into my shoes. Did he notice he was followed? Is he here to provide evidence against Harriet?

My mind is still processing the possibilities when I notice a small group of Throwbacks carrying digital signs to protest some recently publicized abuses by the Evolved police against Throwback citizens. The turnout is less than impressive.

The headmaster doesn't go inside the station. Instead, he weaves through the crowd, shouting something. Easing my bike closer to the group, I can make out the chants of the Throwbacks and the angry voice of the headmaster.