Secret Value of Zero, The (27 page)

Most people Meke knew wanted some kind of reward from Sterling for their efforts. Not Theria, apparently.

Still, why help me?

Theria scoffed as she read these words.

Look, little girl. I’m not sure why you’re being so nosy. Here’s the thing. This whole revolution is about choice and freedom, right? Well, that means you can do any damn fool thing you want. Plus, I’d like to kick Donner where he deserves it. Cecil would’ve liked that.

Meke stared at these words, mouth a bit agape. She had to read them several times to truly understand their full meaning. Theria grabbed the handheld, typed and then threw it back at Meke.
 

Why don’t you take the first watch? Wake me up before sunrise.

As Meke read the last word, Theria had already tucked herself into her sleeping bag, eyes closed. Scowling at the woman, Meke walked to the edge of the clearing. Tall grassland surrounded her. In the gusty winds, the tall grass rippled with every blast, bending whichever way the wind blew
 

She didn’t like this campsite. It was too easy for someone to sneak up on them. The grass’s tallness and motion confused Meke as she strained to sift the human from non-human.
 

Meke, numbed by the constant movement of the wind and the grass, almost didn’t notice it until it was too late. Something moved through the grass, parting the reeds like curtains. Meke tightened her grip on her poleax. She started backing toward Theria’s sleeping figure, but the figure approached too fast for that. Meke tightened her grip on the poleax. It was only one man, and she could handle this alone.

The body’s shape sharpened in her mind. Meke’s breath caught as she recognized the silhouette. It was Trove. Meke had to remind herself not to loosen her grip. Perhaps he was acting on orders. Meke focused on her steady breathing, refusing to contemplate the possible reasons of his arrival.

The grass bent outward as Trove charged into the clearing. He faced away from Meke, his swords hanging on his back. Meke could see how rapidly he breathed, with mists billowing in front of him. Meke stood, frozen, as he scanned the clearing. When he finally saw her, she held her poleax more firmly, and pointed it at him.
 

Trove’s face relaxed as soon as he saw her. He started toward her, but jerked to a halt when he saw her weapon. His forehead creased in confusion.

“Are you here on Sterling’s orders?” Meke asked, clenching her teeth. She had to sign quickly and one-armed so she wouldn’t lose her grip on the poleax.
 

Trove shook his head, slowly lifting his hands so she could see his palms. “No. I’m not.”

Meke loosened her grip, but only slightly. “Then why are you here? I’m not going back.”

“I’m not here to stop you. I’m here to help you. I was—” His Adam’s apple jumped. “I should’ve helped you. You can’t do this alone. There’s a whole horde of soldiers after you now, from both sides.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because it’s me.”

Meke stared at the ground, looking at the trampled grass. “You don’t think what I’m doing is right.”

“No, I still think that this is a stupid idea, but,” he shrugged, “it’s your choice, isn’t it? I’ve tried to convince you otherwise.” He chuckled. “But, I doubt you can be convinced. I can’t let you do this by yourself.”

Meke let the cool metal of her poleax slip out of her fingers as she ran toward Trove. He stumbled backward with the force of her hug. They nestled in each other’s arms until Theria emerged from her sleeping bag. Her lips moved in indecipherable curses, then she turned back to her slumber.
 

Meke felt the deep, low rumble of Trove’s chuckle. “What?” Meke asked.

Trove released her. “Theria was just complaining about sweethearts.” He smiled as he looked down at her. “Also, she said that since I’m here, we have watch until we leave. Apparently she needs her beauty sleep.”

Meke smiled and clasped his hands to hers. She looked up, and saw Trove looking off in the distance. “You okay?” She asked.

He glanced down. “Yeah. We just need to get moving as soon as the sun goes up. I told Sterling that you would take a different route, but I’m not sure how long that’ll last, especially now.”

Meke nodded against his chest.
 

THEY WERE only a few hours away from Technologia. Meke could see the tips of the tall, flat-topped buildings in the distance. The buildings’ glassy sides shone in the sinking sun. The whole city glittered.

Meke sighed, glad to leave the tall grassland behind. They could easily move among the blue-green grass that only reached their ankles, unlike the tall, dry wildness of the high grassland.

Theria was patrolling the area. They had encountered a few Rankers who persisted in their mission to uphold Prosperon’s mission, even as the government lay in shambles. They recognized her immediately and rushed at her. They almost always had pentagons or stars on their hands, but a few Equis and Squares were Rankers, too.
 

Meke shivered when she remembered their faces as they drove at her. Angry didn’t even begin to describe it. Their matted hair flew as they ran, their eyes unseeing with rage, yet they focused on her. Their cheeks tight with tension as they raised their weapons. Their lips peeled back in an ugly
Zero
as if the word meant evil. Of course, they never got close to her, not with her crossbow or Trove’s sword. Theria would shrug and watch, only intervening when anyone got a bit too close. “It’s fun to watch sometimes,” she would say. “With you both, I’m the safest woman around.”

Sterling’s soldiers proved a difficult case. They had managed to avoid the revolutionaries with Meke’s help. The avoidance delayed them a day, but they managed to reach Technologia without either side capturing them.
 

Meke rubbed her sore shoulder. They had to rest before they entered Technologia. They had been on the move since last night, a full twenty hours ago. Tomorrow, they would enter. Meke walked to the hill where Trove stood, staring at the gleaming city. Trove glanced back as Meke got to the top of the hill, and turned back to the view.
 

“Are you sure about this? We still can go back,” Trove said.

“You know the answer.”

“Yes.”

Meke studied the man in front of her. Meke could see the lines of his muscles under his uniform, despite the thick fabric. Still, his back wasn’t as straight as usual. His shoulders sloped as he squinted at the horizon.
 

Meke slipped her hand into his. He smiled for a moment, but returned to his study of the skyline. She looked at the city as well. It was dense, buildings jammed next to one another so tightly that the whole thing seemed like one big mass of shining glass and metal. Meke could barely feel the people inside. Most of them huddled inside their small apartments, waiting for the whole thing to pass them by.

Meke knew that tomorrow would bring even more unknowns. She didn’t even know if she would see Trove again. She took a deep breath. “You know that test they gave you that said that you’d be,” Meke swallowed, hoping Trove would listen, “disloyal?”
 

He tensed, but he nodded. “Well, I was thinking. What if it was all a lie?”

“Don’t start this again. It can’t possibly be lies. Look what happened.”

Meke kneaded her palm. The idea floated around in her mind, refusing to take shape. She just knew that Trove’s worries were misplaced, but she had to convince him of that. She didn’t want to leave him miserable.

“There used to be things called horoscopes. They would tell your fortunes, depending on what month you were born in,” she said. The furrows on Trove’s forehead deepened. “But, they weren’t really fortunes, you know?”

“Meke, I’m not sure where you are going with this, but this isn’t just fortune-telling. This is science. They took my blood and tested it.”

“Is it? Is it really?” Meke turned, blocking Trove’s view of the glimmering city beyond them. “The fortunes worked because the fortunes were so vague that whatever happened, people thought that the fortunes predicted it.”

“Meke, I hardly think that’s the case here. This test was quite specific about what I would do, and it was right.”

“Because you think it was right.”

“No, it was a result of a genetic test. It’s science.”

Meke huffed. She didn’t think much of this kind of science. Science couldn’t predict the future. “Was it really? How do you know that?”

Trove didn’t move for so long that Meke gave up and returned to staring at Technologia. Finally, he looked at her, face blank. “I don’t know how I know. I just…believed it.”

Maybe, just maybe, he could forget this. Meke sighed as she grasped his hand to her chest. “Trove, I’m just saying that all this fuss about your genetic destiny may be fake. You’re here because you want to be here. You chose it.”

“Maybe.” He rolled his shoulders back and stood straighter. “Now, let’s talk about how we’re going to do this.”

Meke felt a new tension replace the old one. All thoughts of the Ministry had fallen away as she spoke of fortune telling and destiny. Now was the time to think about the man behind these walls. She would meet Lucio Donner in a few hours, and end the whole thing. The thought of the end cheered her, but it was a faint joy compared to her pounding nerves. Still, she had to face this man. Something deep and unseen told her that things started and ended with this man. Meke straightened her spine and looked back at Trove.

“Okay, let’s talk.”

Trove told her all about how the Ministry and the Rebel forces were laid out. Both sides stood at a standstill. Sterling’s Equalists surrounded the Ministry with Lucio Donner, along with a few of the remaining Elite Forces, cocooned inside. So far, the Equalists hadn’t found a way into the glass fortress.

Barbara Kasher, the commander of the Equalists outside of the Ministry planned an attack tomorrow morning. A hundred Equalists would barrel through the doors and extract Lucio Donner and the others. As Trove explained, it sounded easier than it was. Ten years ago, Lucio had installed throughout the Ministry secret pathways with steel doors and impenetrable security codes. The few Equalists that had made it inside hadn’t returned. None of the Equalists knew how the Ministry worked, or why their soldiers hadn’t returned. Nobody was eager to attack the deadly building.
 

Meke knew then, despite what Trove said, that she was doing the right thing. One life for a hundred, maybe more. Maybe that would repay the debt that she owed.

The difficult part was persuading Barbara to let Meke walk into the Ministry. Sterling had sent out strict orders to send Meke back if they found her.
 

“She’s a practical woman. I think you have a chance with her,” Trove said.

“Are you sure? Sterling’s orders will be pretty specific.”

“Well, it’s our best shot. I’ve worked with her before. She hates losing lives unnecessarily.”

“Sterling won’t be happy with her.”

“Let her worry about that. You can’t get through without her say-so. So, we’ll approach her and convince her. Then—” Trove stared at his hands. “Since Lucio Donner wants to see you, I suppose he’ll let you walk in. Then, you’ll…” He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t even know what he wants with you.”

Meke stared at the last few rays of the sun sinking past the horizon. “I don’t know either, but does it even matter?” she asked.
 

“Of course it matters. If he just wants revenge, then you have no chance. If he wants something else, then you have a chance.”

Trove’s hard truth made Meke’s cheeks lose any remnants of warmth. He was right. Lucio Donner could want her dead or alive for any number of reasons. If he wanted her dead, then she would be dead. No escape plan could reverse that. If he wanted her alive, then there was hope.
 

“Let’s go ahead thinking that he wants me alive.”

Trove’s fists clenched for a moment as his shoulders tightened. His shoulders relaxed, but his face remained tight. “Fine. Let’s do that.”

Meke and Trove devised a plan where Trove would communicate with her from outside the walls. Meke would distract Donner when the attack came. Easy.

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Barbara Kasher stood eye-level with Meke. Her short blond hair hung in wisps around her face. A bold square shone from her hands. Her eyebrows rose as her gaze swept Meke’s body. She glanced at Trove, and spoke.

Trove nodded, his mouth moving in words that they had already agreed on. Trove made the scenario sound very simple. Meke would go in, and one way or another, Lucio Donner would come out. Barbara’s foot tapped in a furious rhythm as Trove spoke. Her blue eyes never left Meke, who wished that she could say these words herself. At least Trove would do these words justice.

As Trove finished, a smile spread on Barbara’s sun-roughened face. “So, you may save us a lot of trouble. You’re a fool, but I won’t turn away a helpful fool.” Meke kept her hands by her sides. Fool she may be, but she was her own fool. “Go ahead. Don’t expect me to rescue you. We’re going in tomorrow, no exceptions. I’m not going to wait around for someone to deliver Lucio Donner wrapped in a pretty bow.”

Trove looked away, jaw clenched. He inhaled deeply before he signed her words for Meke.

“What about Sterling? I’m sure he has ordered you to send me back,” Meke asked.

“Oh sure, he has. But, you know, wars are messy things. e-comms get lost. Miscommunications happen, and I’m a busy woman.”

“Fine. If I can, I’ll get the job done,” Meke said, watching Trove to see if he said her words. He did, through stiff lips.

Barbara’s foot slowed its tapping as she crossed her arms. “What?” Meke asked, bristling at the renewed inspection.

“I don’t know if Lucio Donner will really surrender because you came along. No offense intended, but I can’t imagine why he would do that.”

Barbara dusted her hands on the front of her uniform. After she cleared her uniform of any speck of dirt, she squinted at Meke. “You know, maybe we can get something good out of this,” Barbara said.