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“What happened?” Henri asked. His brow wrinkled in confusion.
“Her brother’s dead,” Kel said in a rough, unsteady voice. “They are saying he jumped.”
“Did he?” Margot asked, her voice low and cool. She crossed her arms.
I glared at Margot, and my eyes welled with fresh tears. I wanted to scream no, but I would not say it. No. Whatever happened, I would not speak until I saw things change—or, at least, until I saw Rog taken down. Sam did not want me to give in. I was sure of it.
“I’m sorry,” Henri said, avoiding my eyes.
“I got her out, but Collection will be coming,” Kel said, regaining her normal, orderly tone. “They’ve already put in the claim. Rog has a hold on her purchase.”
Everyone looked a little startled.
“You should not have her in your home,” Margot said to Kel.
“Why?” Henri wanted to know. He lifted a bag up and handed it to me—my bag. He must have retrieved it from my apartment.
“Why?” Margot mimicked him. “Are you stupid? Silas Rog bought her.”
“So?” Henri asked again.
Margot exploded. “Do you have any idea what Rog will do if we interfere? She is only using us, anyway! She does not care about us. Why do you care about her?”
I felt a twinge of disappointment in Margot. But what, exactly, did I expect?
“They took her sister away,” Kel said, as if Margot had said nothing. “They’ve been deleting her data all day. I’ll try to get a better update when we leave...” She waved a hand around the room. Her Pad wouldn’t update again until the door opened and we went out into the WiFi tether.
“We need to go,” Margot said. “Now! They are sure to track her Cuff.”
I held out my forearm, bare of the Cuff.
“Oh. Right. How did you manage to remove that?” Her eyes shot to Henri. Henri felt back to his pack and, of course, the little blue device wasn’t there. An oppressive silence filled the room. Henri’s eyes glistened, realizing that I’d used him. That our kiss had never been real.
“Well.” He swallowed hard. “We still have to help. I could hide her at my place.”
I wanted to throw my arms around him, but Henri would get the wrong message, and Margot would only be further enraged.
Margot stamped her foot. “She cannot stay with you. You don’t even have a Squelch. If you are ruined, too, how will that help anything? How?”
Henri tried to answer, but Margot wheeled around on me. “I have a family, too, and I am sorry, but I will not let you destroy us! My sister is eight years old. Do you want Silas Rog to buy her?”
Of course I didn’t want that. Margot’s eyes darted around quickly like a nervous rabbit. She seemed to grow even more angry and frustrated. “I am sorry about your brother,” she added through her teeth. “You see what he does to us?”
She meant Rog. The room seemed to be narrowing around me. There was nothing they could do, and Margot was right. I was only endangering them.
I crossed to the door. I had my bag with my gear now. I had zero idea where to go, but I had to keep them safe.
Kel put a hand on my shoulder and held me back.
“Margot,” Kel said, “do you remember the night Henri went down to that alley? Do you remember how you whispered, ‘It’s the Silent Girl’?”
Margot nodded very slowly.
“You practically squealed,” Kel said.
“I did not squeal.”
Had Margot been excited? I hadn’t seen it. I did remember how she’d bandaged my chin.
“Do you remember how annoyed I was?” Kel asked.
“You hate all talking on the job,” Margot said hoarsely.
“After we let her follow us—after she’d gone—you told me she was the only hope this city had.”
“That is how miserable things are,” Margot said, frowning.
Kel turned back toward me. “Speth, I don’t really know what your plan was—or if you ever had one. Maybe you thought you would inspire people, or maybe you are just a fifteen-year-old girl who never saw this coming. I wish you could tell us what it is you want.”
I wanted my family back. I wanted Sam to be alive. I wanted his death avenged. I wanted the world changed. I wanted things made right. I wanted us all to speak free.
Margot shook her head, as if Kel was wasting her time.
I took the Pad from Kel’s hands. I typed in the search box what I most wanted.
Silas Rog.
It was the best I could do to explain. I wanted him destroyed.
The Pad started beeping. The map scrolled to the heart of the city. Henri’s head cocked quizzically, and Kel’s brow furrowed. She leaned in, trying to glean what I had done.
“Oh, no,” she breathed. A new assignment appeared on our itinerary.
We had a Placement in the office of Silas Rog.