Joan Undone

Chapter 30

Monday morning dawns a little too early with a loud holographic message from Professor Wilde demanding that Harriet and I show up to class today, OR ELSE. I tamp down my rising frustration at the distraction.

Professor Wilde is waiting in the Little Theater when Harriet and I arrive, only a few minutes late.

"We're the first ones here!" I chirp, hoping to make him smile.

But, for once, Professor Wilde's face is stoic. "Attendance has dropped to all-time lows in the past few weeks, Ms. Fasces. You've recruited Seattle Secondary's best students and are feeding them into your rebellion."

"A rebellion you support," Harriet remind him.

"Not at the expense of my livelihood! This school will not be properly funded by my donors and the government if there are no students. You are taking the bread from my child's mouth!"

"You gave me $24 million dollars, so I'm sure you have millions more in your bank account," I interject. "Wills isn't starving."

"Equality between Throwbacks and Evolved will not be achieved in Wills lifetime," Professor Wilde says. "But wealth will always open doors. I am not a saint. If this venture stops being profitable for me, I will withdraw my funding and expel every student in the school."

The change in Professor Wilde's demands is so extreme that it's giving me whiplash. "You'd put all the students in school at risk of being jailed when they're fighting to make a better world for us all?"

"He will," Harriet replies for him. "We understand, Professor. We will speak with the other students at this school immediately and make sure they attend classes regularly."

I bite my tongue, trusting Harriet's judgment, even if I'm not sure I trust Professor Wilde any longer.

"Excellent," he says, brightening. "You may go now. I'll expect everyone to return within three days."

Harriet all but drags me away, but I pause at the door. "A great man once said, 'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'"

For once, it's Professor Wilde's turn to look stunned by my quote from the original of his clone type, his hero.

"Take your eyes off your feet, Professor, or you'll soon be wallowing in the mud."

The Bunker is empty except for Marie and Sacajawea, who are frantically trying to man several tablets at once.

"What's happening?" Harriet asks.

"We've got three mobs forming in different parts of the city. Many of them are wearing those red armbands, so we're pretty sure they're out there on Crew's command," Marie says. "Nic organized teams to try to diffuse the tension."

The hairs on my neck rise in apprehension. "Things have been quiet. Why now?"

"Elizabeth thinks Crew is close to making his next big move," Sacajawea says. "Something worse than Circe Night or the attack on the Evolved police station."

Memories of the hundreds of bodies littering the ground around the Evolved police station make me shudder. What could be worse than that?

The door to the Bunker swings open, and it takes me a minute to recognize the woman who walks in.

"Ms. Wells, welcome," Harriet says. "The vlog you made for Justus was wonderful. Thank you."

The cool, wry reporter I met at her news station is barely recognizable in the harried woman standing before me. "Crew contacted us all."

"Us?" I ask.

Ida takes a breath and slows down. "There were nine Beakers who grew up together in Strand's lab. We went in our own directions long ago, but being raised in that torture chamber bonded us. We vowed that we would always help each other if a great need arose. Crew has called on us now to assist him in his plan for Seattle. But I will not help him in this. He's become violent and unhinged."