Chapter Thirty-Nine

Caleb

I slid through the crowd as quickly as I could without looking suspicious, sipping absently from the water bottle as I did so. My brother would be leaving through a different exit, and we would meet up outside. All I had to do was walk through the double doors unnoticed; no big deal.

But just as I passed the stage, someone grabbed my arm. I turned and saw Miracle regarding me with a serpentine smile. The suddenly pressure of her hand against my skin sent a jolt through my body, and my still-open water bottle slipped from my grasp. Its contents spilt all over the floor before me, creating a clear liquid puddle on the hardwood.

"Shoot," I muttered. People were staring.

"Oh, what a shame," Miracle said calmly. "Don't worry about it; I'll get someone to clean that all up." She motioned to a pair of guards and pointed at the water. "Why don't you come over here while they take care of that?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," I replied hollowly, following as she took my hand and led me aside. A few Superiors eyed me suspiciously, but I kept my head down. Miracle took me out of the crowd and to the side of the stage, where a reporter was conversing with a few of the candidates. The small group moved away as soon as we approached. Once they were gone, Miracle slowly removed her shades and spun them around her finger.

"You know what?" she asked after a pause. All I could manage was a noncommittal grunt as I struggled to keep myself from being distracted by her eyes.

Miracle continued, pretending not to notice the effect she was having on me. She looked at me sharply. "You should consider yourself lucky."

For a long moment I did nothing but hold her gaze. What does she mean by that? I wondered. I studied her flawless features, looking for something to decipher her words—but there was nothing except cold emptiness staring back at me.

"You're lucky that you survived that accident," she explained. My breath flew out in a quiet rush; thankfully, her statement was about something that simple.

"I am lucky," I said quickly. "Without you and Dr. Leary, I would be dead. I'm eternally grateful for everything you've done for me."

A quick glance at Mira's face told me that it was the right thing to say. A smug smile crept across her features, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm certain you are," she purred. "We've done our best to make you feel at home, what with your memory loss and all. You know that, right?"

"Of course." I scooted back slightly, slightly wary about where the topic was heading.

Miracle smirked. "Glad to hear it. I hope you remember that."

I frowned. "I will."

"Good. Because we're your family." She leaned closer, so close that I could feel her breath on my cheek. "And you'd never betray your family, right?"

My stomach dropped and twisted with fear, but I kept my expression calm. It had to just be a coincidence. Miracle couldn't have known about my involvement with the Pro-Inferiors. But the way that she peered at me as I deliberated how to respond told me otherwise.

I swallowed the sick taste that was forming in my mouth.

"Right?" Mira repeated. Her eyes were slits.

"Yeah," I replied, the lie falling easily from my lips, "right."

Delaney

The doctor approached me slowly. One hand was buried in the pocket of his business suit, and the other was clasped around his pistol, which happened to be pointed right at me.

I started shaking by instinct, fear welling up inside of me as my eyes locked on Leary's index finger, poised on the trigger. If he so much as flinched…

I held my breath.

Noticing my discomfort, Leary dropped his arm down to his side. "Relax," he assured me with a hint of mockery, "the safety is on. For now, at least. And if you'd like it to stay that way, I suggest you tell me everything you know about the rebellion."

Think, Delaney. I desperately racked my brain for some kind of lie that actually made sense. But even if I could come up with something good enough, telling the untruth believably would be a whole different task. I was a terrible liar.

"Everything we know?" I asked pathetically, trying—and failing—to put on a fierce tone. "We don’t know anything. We've been locked in our rooms for days; how would we know anything?"

Somehow, I didn't think the doctor was convinced.

Moving much more quickly than I expected, Leary strode across the floor and was next to me in a second. He lifted the gun and held it to my head. I froze, too frightened to move or breathe.

Click.

The second I heard the sound, I knew the safety was off. With simple flick of his finger, Leary could blow my brains apart. "Tell the truth," he hissed into my ear. All I could manage was a terrified whimper.

The barrel of the gun dug into my hair.

"You have three seconds," he murmured. "One. Two. Th—"

"Stop!" Abby shouted suddenly. My eyes were screwed shut, so I couldn't see Leary's reaction, but the cold, metallic pressure was removed from my head.

"Stop?" I heard him ask dangerously.

"You heard what I said,” Abby snapped. "Stop. Leave her alone. Scaring the crap out of her isn't gonna make her talk."

"Oh? Then what will?"

"Nothing. She's too much of a wimp to tell you anything." A wave of indignation swept over me, but I didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't open my eyes. "So I'll tell you what's happening. The truth, and nothing but the truth."

A pause. "Do you swear?" Leary demanded.

"I swear."

Finally, I dared to open my eyes enough to see what was going on. My glasses, however, had begun to slide down my nose, leaving half my vision blurry. I had to twist my neck sideways in order to fix them, sending a sharp pain through my shoulder.

When I at least partially regained my vision, I saw that Leary and Abigail were locked in a silent staring contest, trying to best each other in terms of deadly glares. And so far, Abby was winning.

"Go on," Leary relented at last, angling his body away from us. "I'm listening."

"Thank you," Abby said.

"Abby, don't!" Trai interjected, but his sister silenced him with a look.

"The truth is," Abby began slowly, "that Nessa and Perfecta are—" She paused abruptly, tilting her head with a frown. "Actually, before I tell you their plan, how about we make a little compromise? Unlock these stupid handcuffs, and I'll tell you everything."

"That was not the deal." Leary whipped out his gun and had pointed it at Abigail's head in an instant, but she hardly flinched.

"Oh please," she said sardonically, "we all know you’re not going to shoot me, because I have the information you need. So really, we’re playing by my rules."

Leary's mask of calmness wavered for a second, giving way to fury and indecision. But rather than lowering his arm, he stepped forward quickly and pressed the barrel of the gun against Abby's forehead. With his eyes darting around and his free hands clenching and releasing absently, he looked completely crazy.

"I beg to differ," he hissed.

"Get away from her," Trai snarled, leaning forward as far as the cuffs permitted him. In response, Leary flipped off the safety.

I was at a loss for words, and could do nothing but examine Abby's face as Leary leaned toward her. Her expression was defiant, yes, but I could see the way her lower lip was trembling. I watched as she leaned back against her shaking fists, away from the gun and Leary's insanity.

"Fine," she whispered. "Fine."

Leary drew back his weapon with a smile. "Excellent," he praised. "Proceed."

Abby took a huge breath before answering, her face a chalky color. "The Pro-Inferiors are going to surround the Capitol with their forces. About a hundred members, all armed, will enter this building through the East and West wings to catch the Superiors by surprise and take down as many of them as they can. It will happen at one o'clock. And that's all I know, I swear. That's all any of us know."

There was a long moment of silence as Leary assessed Abby's words, evidently trying to determine whether or not she was telling the truth. She wasn't, of course, but she was so good at pretending that I almost believed her words myself. I was amazed by her ability to weave a lie so effortlessly, especially given the maniac that was standing a mere foot away from her.

"That plan seems a bit...sparse," Leary mused.

Abby shrugged. "That's all they told us. If there's more to it, I can't help you."

My eyes were drawn to the pistol in Leary's hand, and I knew that everything depended upon whether or not he believed Abby's lie. I bit my lip, waiting.

"You," Leary said curtly, pointing at Trai with his gun. "Is that truly the plan?"

"That's the plan," Trai replied firmly. Leary still looked slightly unconvinced.

"And you!" I twitched involuntarily as he turned to me, weapon aimed at the point right between my eyes. "What do you have to say? Did the girl tell the truth?"

At first, I could only sputter out meaningless gibberish as I stared at the weapon, remembering how the cool metal felt against my head. But just as I was about to panic, I thought of everything that had happened to me in the past few weeks, starting all the way back at my conversation with Caleb at Stevie Jackson's party. I had made it that far in one piece; telling a single lie would be a piece of cake.

It would have to be.

"Well?" Leary demanded, waving his gun arm around dangerously.

"I—" Everyone was staring at me expectantly, so I gulped down my fear and answered.

"Yes," I confirmed. "That was the truth."