Games of Chance: When Numbers Fail

Twenty Two

Chase had never opened his phone so quickly before. He tapped frantically on the mail icon to find an organization-wide announcement from the Order of Chance waiting in his inbox. The email contained no text- just a single pdf attachment titled Order of Chance Member Contract. 

It seemed normal enough at first glance- a forty-page document containing detailed operational definitions of the Nonnegotiables, descriptions of agent duties and responsibilities, and guidelines for using Order technology. If he was being completely honest with himself, Chase wasn't familiar enough with the original contract to know exactly what had changed in Nelson's version, and that bothered him. Why would Nelson go to all this trouble if he didn't have anything to gain from it? 

"Chase," Hayley tapped him on the shoulder. "Look at the bottom of page 17- the end of the Officer Responsibilities section." 

Chase scrolled up to the page she indicated, his eyes racing across the page as he took in the contents of the new paragraph tucked so discreetly between noncontroversial sections that he almost missed it. 

The OFFICER is defined as an agent of rank COMMANDER or higher and/or a member of PROJECT PROB as defined in the previous section. The OFFICER will be prepared to publicly acknowledge Regent Alan Nelson as a legitimate HIGH GENERAL of the Order of Chance. The OFFICER will report all intelligence relevant to the location of fugitive Juliana VanderSchee to the office of Regent Nelson within 24 hours of discovery or risk suspension or dismissal from the Order of Chance on grounds of TREASON. 

"Chase, is your father here?" Chu whispered seriously. 

"I- no, I don't think so. I think he was on his way to Hewkin Manor last night."

"Good," she nodded, thinking. "We cannot let him sign this contract. He's the only one who knows where Juliana is, which means he's the only one who could potentially be dismissed for treason under these new terms. Someone needs to warn him as soon as it's safe to do so."

"We're not signing it either," Adrian's face twisted with fury. "We're not agreeing to be sellouts!" 

Chu turned her head to see pairs of androids discreetly taking their positions at all the auditorium's exits. The only two humans among them stood out in their gleaming red armor. Felix and Farrah. 

"Unfortunately, Adrian, I don't think Nelson plans to give us that option," Chu sighed. 

"Well, I presume I've given you all enough time to look the contract over," Nelson said as he paced across the stage. He'd been silent for so long that Chase almost forgot he was there. "That's actually all I have to say. Everything else is spelled out pretty clearly in the contract. I don't want to keep you guys too long- you're hard workers and you deserve your rest. Just show your signed contract to my lovely Red Knights at the door, and you're all free to go." With that, Nelson walked briskly off the stage and disappeared into the wings.

Chase could see conflicted looks all around him as the Order officers wavered between their instinct to fight and their training to follow orders. He himself was fairly certain what he wanted to do- activate his dart shooters, put on his helmet, and give Nelson a piece of his mind- but he wondered if that was just his rage talking. He wasn't a fighter- he never had been- and that was his strength. He was the peacekeeper, the one who kept hotheads like Juliana and Adrian in check, and he couldn't let Nelson change that. 

Juliana. Wherever she was, she didn't need any of her teammates making stupid decisions and compromising her safety. Chase sharply pulled his thumb away from the palm of his glove- he hadn't even realized he'd been tracing over it, prepared to jump into action at a moment's notice.