Chapter Thirteen

JESSE

I slammed my fist into a man's skull, and he fell to the floor. Unconscious or dead, I didn't care. Porter smashed into me when his head was knocked back by a particularly brutal punch from a Bureau man. Porter came under his guard and delivered two blows to his guts, bending him over. After he had kneed him, the Bureau agent fell to the ground.

The brawl was coming to an end, and it didn't look like our side had won. I could see some of our people on the ground. Others had been dragged off by the Bureau.

"It's time to get out of here, Porter," I said. "Through the back. Annalee's in my quarters."

"Are you crazy?" He glanced across the room to the door that led to housing. If we wanted to get to the bedroom, we would have to get past a bunch of Bureau agents.

"You're right, Porter. You can escape and save yourself. Help me if Annalee and I get caught."

He rolled his eyes. "As if I'd leave you with this lot by yourself," he said.

We took off running and screaming at the top of our lungs, looking like madmen. The Bureau men were slow to react. We manage to barrel through three of them, but the next one knocked Porter on his ass.

Porter was up again in an instant. We took his assailant down together, kicking him a couple of times to make sure he didn't get back up. The next thing I knew, something hit me on the back of my head, and I fell flat on the ground. I blacked out for a moment. When I managed to get on my feet, Porter was in trouble. I jumped on the back of the man opposite him, giving Porter the edge he needed to finish him off.

By now, the way to the bedroom was clear. We took off running out of the control room. I was glad Annalee had been safe when the trouble broke out. If she kept the door closed, she wouldn't have even heard any noise.

I visualized what would happen in my mind. I could get her, grab a hovercraft, and hide out somewhere, as long as it wasn't a safe house. If we were able to lie low until everything blew over, we would be secure. Raids weren't anything new to the Underground. We couldn't lose the opportunity to present our agenda do the new monarch and the new government.

Porter reached the door first and knocked loudly, then threw it open when he didn't get a response. She wasn't in the room.

"Maybe she's in the bathroom," I said, opening the door. I looked around the small, empty room in dismay.

"Where is she?" Porter asked. I knew he suspected the worst because I did too.

"I don't know. She's not here."

There was a commotion in the hallway. The Bureau was beginning a systematic search of the area.

"We have to go, Jesse. We can't let them catch us."

I nodded. It would be the end of the Underground if they caught all the leaders. We left, quietly making our way to the garage. It was quiet and dark; apparently the Bureau had left this part of the facility untouched.

As we sped off into the early morning light, I wondered where Annalee was and if she was okay.

"There must be some way to track her," I said. I was finding it hard to think correctly.

"You know the Underground exists for a reason, right? It's going to be difficult to find her without any advanced technology. I don't suppose you happened to put a GPS patch on her?" Porter said.

I shook my head. "If I stored things like that at home, the Bureau would have taken me prisoner along with her. I didn't think it was necessary."

"Our options are limited, then. We don't have enough manpower to search all Yordbrook on foot."

"There are only a couple of possibilities, though. The Bureau could have captured her again, or she might have escaped with one of our agents. Either way, we should be able to track her easily. It rained recently, and they probably left a trail."

"That's right," Porter agreed. "If she's with one of our people, they headed for the rendezvous point, and we'll find her there, assuming the Bureau doesn't know about it already. If the Bureau captured her, then they'll take Annalee to Willford."

Neither one of us wanted to guess if Annalee was alive or dead.

"Sounds like we have a plan. Let's find some people to help us look for her."

By nightfall, we had been unsuccessful. We had found some other members of the Underground who escaped, but she wasn't anywhere in a five-mile radius. I didn't want to give up the search, but Porter made me face reality. The Bureau had captured her.

We had no choice but to go to Willford. Further searching on foot wasn't going to help. We returned to the hovercraft and Porter set the course.

"Why do you think they would take Annalee instead of killing her outright? They knew she was a wanted woman."

"It's likely they circulated her picture as soon as she escaped. Every man ought to have recognized her. There's only one reason I can think of," he said.

"They're going to use her against me, aren't they?"

"I think they'll use her to lure you in so they can capture you, and then they'll kill you both and make an example of you. We still don't know where Sheera is either, in case you've forgotten." Porter sighed. "What are we going to do?"

"The same thing we always do - figure things out as we go along," I said, laughing at him. "Don't worry. Annalee is strong."

I thought she was strong, but internally I was worried myself. We were going into enemy territory with nothing but our wits.

ANNALEE

My guard pushed me roughly into the prison cell. I had spent so much time in Bureau captivity on Yordbrook it seemed like my second home. I stumbled and fell, hitting my head on the corner of a desk in the room.

"Fuck," I said. I put my hand on my head and felt a trickle of blood running down my face. The guard barely acknowledged my injury as he shut the door.

I held my hand to my head in an attempt to stop the bleeding. I now had a pounding headache to go along with my sore cheek. My legs started to feel weak, so I sat down on the single chair in the room and surveyed my surroundings.

The cell was small, cold, and dark. The only illumination came from a high window. It was more like a hole in the wall; it looked barely big enough for my arm to fit through. On the bed was a narrow cot with a wool mattress, like the ones at Jesse's house. A worn but clean sheet and a threadbare blanket completed the furnishings.

I hoped they treated their prisoners well here. I wasn't sure where I was, but by eavesdropping on the conversations around me, I thought they had moved me to Bureau Headquarters. I didn't know why they bothered. I was just a random off-worlder. Why were they making such a big deal about me?

They were keeping me alive as bait in a Jesse trap. But they didn't need to bring me here like I was someone important. My hands were free, at least. I slipped off my shoes and sat down to rest.

I had only been left alone for a minute before the door violently opened, and a blonde woman wearing a bright red dress walked in. Her scarlet hood framed the pale white skin of her beautiful face and made her look terrifying. Her eyes were light blue, like chips of ice.

She looked at me disdainfully.

"Get her some proper clothes," she commanded, and walked out again. After a few minutes, another Bureau employee appeared in my cell and threw clothes for me on the floor.

I waited until he was gone, then picked them up. I sighed, thinking about all the bits and pieces I would be required to wear again. I looked forlornly at my jeans and T-shirt as I pulled them off and started the laborious task of getting dressed in a beige dress and hood.

Fortunately, it didn't take me as long as I had imagined. I guess I was getting better at dressing myself. I refused to put on my shoes, which didn't fit properly and hurt my feet. I didn't bother with the socks either. The small act of rebellion made me feel better. Soon the door opened again, and the woman returned.

She held her hands behind her back and began to pace around the room in front of me. The woman was young. She wore a plain navy dress that stretched to her toes and a matching hood that covered her hair. Although we wore similar clothes, she had an aura about her that reminded me of an army commander.

"Mrs. Melnyk." For a moment, I wondered who she meant. I slowly realized she was addressing me. It was the first time someone called me by my married name, and it felt strange.

"I have paid careful attention to your stay on Yordbrook. You've done many things in a short period. You started as a simple case of an ignorant off-worlder in flagrant violation of our laws, then became the bride of an Underground leader, and now you're a prisoner of the Bureau of Purity once again."

"Who are you?" I asked. For some reason, the names of the Bureau agents who kept capturing me were unimportant, but I wanted to know who this person was.

"I am the head of the Bureau of Purity. You may refer to me as Controller Kozel."

"How can you be the head if you're a woman?"

She glared at me.

"I thought women played a subordinate role in Yordbrook society."

"That might be true for some jobs, but it's certainly not the rule for the entire planet. I am the fourth female Controller, so there is a precedent. After The Before Times, we thought having women in positions of power would give us a more balanced perspective."

"Hm," I said, surprised. Obviously, I had more to learn about the people of Yordbrook.

"I am here to inform you of your pending execution. It will occur immediately before the new queen's ascension to the throne."

Apparently I wouldn't have much time to learn. "I thought you had a king?"

"We expect the king to pass away within the next few hours. People are already beginning to prepare for the new queen's coronation. The queen and the Bureau want to start off her new reign on the right foot, so to speak. If we execute you before the coronation, we will discourage any 'revolutionaries' from interfering with the Bureau of Purity.

An idea occurred to me. "Is it possible to exile me?" I said. I felt ill again at the thought of my beheading. I didn't have anything to lose if I asked for leniency. "As you said, I'm an off-worlder. I was ignorant of your laws."

"Ignorance is no excuse," she said coldly. I knew then that my fate was sealed.

"Why is the Controller of the Bureau of Purity coming to tell me about my execution? Are you trying to rub it in my face? I already knew that already. Anyone could have reminded me."

She pressed her lips together. I sensed she was angry about something but was trying to control it.

"I wanted to see what the wife of an Underground leader looked like before she died and I lost the opportunity. After our latest raids on the Underground, it will be extinguished in a matter of days. It's a glorious time for Yordbrook."

"We barely know each other," I said. When I looked at her carefully, she seemed to be fuming. She looked at me with contempt and hatred, but I hadn't done anything to engender such feelings.

I decided to go for broke. I was already going to be scheduled for execution. What else could happen to me?

"You're lying," I said, standing and looking at her in the eyes. "Why are you really here?"

A question from me was all it took to remove her veneer of civility. All her anger was apparent now, and she made no further attempt to hide it. When she finally answered me, it was through clenched teeth.

"Mr. Melnyk has had a string of women since he was a teenager. I was interested to know who the woman was that finally caught him."

With how many women had Jesse been intimate? Was she another one of his conquests?

The Controller looked me over with contempt. "You're not much to look at, are you?"

People were certainly superficial on this planet. Why was everyone here always commenting on my looks? I wasn't a hag or horribly disfigured. I was an average girl, pretty on a good day. I was getting sick of every alien I met telling me I was ugly.

I moved forward into her personal space and looked directly into her face. "I may not be much to look at, but Jesse married me. It seems like he prefers me to the others." I glared at her. "Does that upset you, Controller?"

"Nothing you could say could upset me," she murmured. "Jordan!"

The Bureau man who brought my clothes stepped into the doorway. This one had a name!

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Take the prisoner to the cellar for the night. You can return her immediately before her appointment tomorrow."

Jordan hesitated. "Are you sure, ma'am? There were no orders to torture her. Does she have valuable information?"

I blanched and started to sweat. Did he say torture? I had stepped over the line with someone who had complete control over me. Sometimes my mouth said things I regretted, and this was a perfect example.

"I've changed my mind, Jordan." She turned to me with a wicked smile on her face. "It seems Mrs. Melnyk needs to be taken down a peg or two. This way, she will be properly broken when she appears before the people tomorrow."

He made one more attempt to help me. "But ma'am..." She cut Jordan off with a sharp hand gesture.

"Move the prisoner. Don't question me again." She walked out of the cell without another look.

"Yes, ma'am, right away," Jordan said to Controller Kozel's disappearing back.

I stepped back until my knees hit the bed and I collapsed.

"There's no point in resisting, Mrs. Melnyk." Jordan looked apologetic. "It will only make things worse."

He bound my hands together and grabbed my arm, leading me out the door.