Wicks laughed, bringing his eyes back to Summer. “You lose, bitch.”
Summer pointed again at the door, sending an ocean of tears to her eyes. She let her hand tremble.
Wicks spun his head in a flash. So did Krista.
Professor Edison strolled in, followed by Morse and his walker, its new wheel already in use. Morse was right. It didn’t take long to fix.
“Oh my God,” Edison snapped, running to the cell door. He looked back at Krista. “Open this door at once!”
Morse waited in the doorway as Krista fumbled with her keys before unlocking the door. She pulled it open, then stepped aside as Edison raced in, taking a knee at Summer’s side.
The Professor placed his hand over hers, helping to apply pressure to the wound. “What did they do to you, child?”
Summer pointed at Wicks, then changed her tone, chattering her teeth and sniffling along with the words. “That awful man . . . he hit me, Professor . . . Then threw me in here really hard.” She swung her head to the side, leading his eyes to the blood smear on the frame. “I hit my head on the bed. It hurts, Professor. A lot.”
“We need to get you to medical,” Edison said, helping her to her feet. He led her out of the cell with one hand on her forehead and the other around her waist.
“You’re not seriously buying this, are you, Professor?” Krista asked, her hands out to her side. “She obviously did that to herself. Look at her. You can see it in her eyes. She’s lying again.”
Edison stopped and stared at Krista, his face pinched and eyes tight. “Were you here? Did you witness it?”
“No,” Krista stammered, shuffling her feet. “But that doesn’t mean—”
“It started in the hall,” Summer told Edison, interrupting Krista’s response. “Ask her. She was there. He slapped me and then wanted to punch me in the face. I was so scared, Professor. I thought he was going to kill me.”
Edison fired another question at Krista, his voice filled with even more determination than before. “Is this true? Did he assault her in the hallway?”
Krista’s face turned sour. She obviously didn’t want to answer, but duty must have forced her to speak the truth. “Yes, sir. He did. But again, that doesn’t—”
“Plus he felt me up when we were alone,” Summer said. “Touched my breasts and everything.”
“I’ve heard enough,” Edison said, whisking Summer ahead. “I want that man arrested!”
“But, sir—” Krista said.
“That’s an order. Make it happen,” Edison said, whisking Summer out of the jailhouse.
Morse followed, the wheels on his walker in fast mode.
Summer pointed at the door behind them. “Don’t forget my pack, Professor. Krista stole it from me. It’s on the table.”
“I’ll get it,” Morse said to Edison, making a U-turn. “You get her to Liz.”
CHAPTER 19
Krista leaned back in the mess hall chair with arms up and fingers locked behind her head. She kept her eyes shut and focused on her breathing, trying to rid her chest of the tightness squeezing at her ribcage.
The pain persisted, even after two minutes of meditation, so she opened her eyes in frustration. Her vision changed to an unfocused stare, while her mind sank deep into itself, trying to make sense of the events of the day.
The cement ceiling, with its interwoven steel beams and lack of paint, reminded her of how closed-in everyone felt in the silo, even after a retrofit by their founder, Edison. The same man who’d helicoptered in and rescued Summer from the brig, then had her second-in-command, Nathan Wicks, arrested for some trumped-up charge. Well, mostly trumped up.
Krista knew as well as anyone that nobody could escape the reality of life in this place. She knew from her years in the military that anytime an oligarchy has control, democracy suffers. Especially a fake oligarchy—one actually being run by a single man.
She’d tried to be the voice of reason as a member of The Council, but it seemed that nobody was listening. Not unless her intentions fit neatly within Edison’s vision for Nirvana. Everything else was dismissed. Ignored. Swept away, if it didn’t fit the narrative. It was exhausting.
The video player in her mind took control without warning, showing her a replay of the jumper who died after a leap down the silo bay.
Krista figured that person wouldn’t be the last victim of Edison’s inconsistent application of the law under the Nirvana Code of Conduct, not with tensions mounting.
Most who came to live in the silo struggled to cope. Some failed, feeling the cement tomb sucking the life out of them until they just wanted to scream. That’s how she felt at the moment—like she was trapped in a never-ending play—one whose climax featured her in a straitjacket.
Krista quashed the pity party, flushing it from her mind. She wasn’t going to be one of the losers—not because of Edison and his propensity to circumvent his own rules. And certainly not because of a charming, yet completely unreliable twenty-something-year-old girl named Summer Lane. A girl who could spin a lie faster than lightning races across the sky.
Rod Zimmer walked in, twisting his handlebar mustache with his fingers, the salt and pepper strands winding in a circle. “There you are. Been looking all over for you.”
“Needed a break. This seemed like as good a place as any. Nobody ever comes in here at this time of night.”
“I heard what happened,” he said, taking a seat next to her at the table closest to the empty stand of coffee pots. Dusty pots that hadn’t been used in years.
Krista smirked. “Can you believe it? Even after The Council ruled in my favor.”
“Kind of pulled the rug out from under you.”
Krista sat upright, snorting an angry breath as she pulled her arms from behind her head. It was all she could do not to pound a fist on the tabletop. “What good is my title of Security Chief if I don’t have the responsibility to carry out my duties? That girl needs discipline.”
“We’ve all known that for a while now. Eventually, Edison won’t have a choice. He can’t keep protecting her. Her lies will catch up to her.”
“You’d think so, but she’s pretty damn clever.”
“And charming, when she wants to be.”
“All part of being clever, Rod. Knowing how to manipulate any situation for support,” Krista said, running through a series of memories in her mind, each one another defeat. “I’m pretty sure everyone thinks I hate that little rule breaker, but I really don’t. I’m just trying to do my job and keep everyone safe, Summer included. But she keeps getting in the way, like she’s doing it on purpose, just to piss me off.”
“Maybe it’s time to change tactics.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean let her hang herself a little.”
“How exactly?”
“Well, it’s pretty obvious that riding her ass hasn’t accomplished anything. Maybe it’s time to give in and befriend that little snot. Give her some rope to go out and do her own thing.”
His words were not what Krista expected. “Do her own thing? Are you serious?”
“Deadly.”
She huffed a fake laugh. “I don’t see how turning a blind eye will accomplish anything.”
“You know as well as I do that she can’t help herself. The moment she thinks nobody is looking, she’ll be off doing whatever she’s really doing out there.”
“If I did that, she’d probably get herself killed.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Come on, Rod. I don’t want the girl dead. I just want her to grow up and contribute like an adult. It’s more than time. She’s not a kid anymore.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.”
“What do you mean?” Krista asked, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.
“Earlier you wanted her banished. Left out in the cold.”