The Law and the Codas

Chapter Five

We stop in front of a door painted wood. Nothing reinforced. It must be one of the residential suites, ready to staffers needing on-site living quarters. Lab technicians whose work runs past the normal tram hours to take them back into the city, I'd heard rumors from the lower-levels, the Archivists, Net Techs, and Cleaners, that a lot of times these rooms were used for outlaw business transactions.

Someone knocks, plows a fist into the door, The door slinks open, and a pale face sticks out through the sliver of an opening. The woman removes her mask and takes a deep breath. The man's beady eyes flit from her to David, to the rest of us.

He gasps and makes to slam the door, but the woman seemed to have gauged his reaction before he'd acted, and wedges a foot in the gap. "Snitch," she says. her eyes remain hard, alert. The man she calls Snitch bristles, his shifty look, once again drifting to us.

He shakes his head. "No, no. Oh hell no, Della. No way." He kicks at Della's boot, trying to dislodge it so he can slam the door. She slams a hand against the door. Snitch jumps, his hair falling in front of his eyes. "No," he says again. "It was just David." His head continues to shake,

He blinks, runs a fat hand over his eyes, blinks again. He looks up at us and squeals. "Christ No! No. No. No..." Sweat treks collect at his chin, before dripping onto the front of his Facility mandated powder grey button-up, the FUA's crest, embroidered on a pocket, housing a few pens with chewed up caps

Christian Fenderson, clearance-level three. someone dress a whitecoat brings us that day's meals, escorts us from one room to the next. I've never seen him before. Must be new. "The deal was for David only..."

"David's make a new deal," she flashes Snitch a grin, Snitch starts shaking his head and fumbles around in his lab coat's pocket.

Della shoves the barrel of the pistol into Snitch's cheek. " Just like that!"

"Drop it," Snitch says,

Two guards, a pair of red-haired men Della called, Finn and Jenson were commanded to beginning setting explosives. They'd pulled out their grenades from their vest pockets, sticking them to the opposite wall of the room

One of Della's followers, an unmasked girl called Keran, is given the task of bandaging Snitch's foot.

Della stretches out on a chair, boots hoisted up on a plush, red footrest. She relaxes a bit, as she runs a rag over her gun, polishing it until the nearby lamp causes the slick metal to a sheen.

Della wasn't the same as Marava. She wouldn't match me sarky word for sarky word. Della was a soldier, she'd flood my vitriol in gasoline, strike a match, and set the whole place on fire.

Her eyes narrow and her posture stiffens. "And who," she hits a boot onto the ground "Do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

Great. I've roused the hornet's nest. "I'm Ten," I say. She motions me to sit. I decide standing's better.

A little, amused hum escapes her lips. "Is that your real name?"

I shrug. "in here it is."

Della scowl and places the butt of her rifle on the ground beside her.

Maybe if I stay silent, I'll manage to get out of this alive. Sam looks at me with pleading eyes, he's thinking something similar. If only I could take my own advice. "I do have one question," I say, turning back around.

Della grins and leans forward, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Go on."

I clear my throat, gaze bouncing from Della, to Keran and their guns, to the others. Jonathan shakes his head. Marava's all smiles, her arm wrapped tightly around Jonathan's own. David mouths, "Tread lightly." Good advice, if not entirely clear. Sin gives me a nod.

"It's been longer than an hour since the break-in," I begin. "The Birds should have landed by now, this place should be full with Dove Militia and yet there's nothing. You've been making your way through the Facility as if you don't face execution if you get caught."

Keran twirls her finger. "Get to the point, one-zero."

"That guard," I swallow and look toward Rima. She's so weak, so much of herself has already been expended. I don't want to remember her but-- "the one who killed your two guys," Rima head collapses into her chest. Sam pulls her into himself. "He'd said something about letting you free, not alerting the authorities. I'd thought he'd been lying."

"Hell of a shit lie," Keran spits.

"I concur." Treading common ground "But it wasn't a lie. He'd been telling the truth."

I've hit a chord with Della and the hardened flint of her eyes ignite into blazing infernos. "Was he now?" She can't hold the smile or the giddy energy she's now radiating.

"You blocked their Comms," I say.

She claps. "I have."

My brow furrows. "That's supposed to be impossible."

"Nothing's impossible when you hire the codas."

Keran grin, Finn and Jensen whoop, the others raise their guns and stomp their feet.

"You're smarter than I gave you credit for," Della says, getting to her feet. She shoulders the gun. "Guess they did something right while they groomed you to be guileless" She stalks toward me. "Though you still don't really get it."

"Get what?" An icy hand clamps down on my shoulder, nails digging into my flesh.

"Whoever Snitch liaisons for wanted the Chemist broken out," she raises her gun and points it at David. "They didn't pay me to rescue you." The gun barrel presses into my temple.

Sam jumps to his feet. Sin moves away from the wall. The other Codas raise their weapons. No one moves, no one dares to breathe.

Della leans in close. Her menthol-scented breath tickles my cheek. Queasiness bubbles up in my stomach. "Now tell me--" Icy metal runs down my nose, my lips, settling in the hollow between my chin and neck. With it, Della forces my head up, so I meet her gaze. The intensity burning behind her eyes, the unwavering placement of her finger on the trigger, causes the last fumes of my courage to dissipate. A shiver runs up my spine, frosting over my veins, burrowing into my marrow.

"Why shouldn't I kill you, little dove?"