Shadow Heart (46 page)

Derek barely heard him, his thoughts fixated on his own statement:
draw them out
.

“The Corridor will return to the fold if Grace Sawyer is removed.” Derek stood and commanded: “Computer, display satellite image of Corridor Prime.”

A three-dimensional model of the city came alive on the table, and Gentry moved closer to study it, “What are you thinking, sir?”

“Van Dorn’s forces are here,” he pointed to a position along the river several miles north of Prime. “When he marches south, Bracken and Laban will send their forces north to meet them, outside the city proper.” He pointed again. “Sawyer will want to minimize casualties. It is also likely that she will send part of Silent Thunder to strengthen the core of the defense force.” His hand moved from the likely site of the battle and pointed to the building that rose just beneath the largest arch. “If she listens to her advisors, Sawyer herself will remain at the Stone Hall with only a few warriors.”

He slammed his fist down again on the table, only this time it was not in frustration. The hologram flickered due to the vibration, but rematerialized once the projectors were stable. He pointed at Gentry, “Get me General Van Dorn. I know how we are going to retake the Corridor.”

L
IZ OPENED HER EYES
to the morning, still shocked at first to be back in a comfortable bed and out of the bitter cold. The sunlight streaming in through the window spread warmth across her skin, and she considered just closing her eyes again and losing herself in the luxury. It had been so long since she’d had no responsibilities—since she didn’t have to wake up every morning to decisions of life and death. She could get used to living like this.

Fingers touched the bare skin of her arm, and she rolled over onto her stomach to see Lieutenant Commander Davian watching her, that same expression of awe and desire she had come to expect from him in the last two days since their kiss in the stable. It both thrilled and terrified her, for it was not the kind of desire she had witnessed her entire life. Lust was something she understood, but while there was a physical aspect to Davian’s desire, it was secondary to the emotional. His eyes spent more time on her face than elsewhere, always searching hers, as if trying to reach that part of her soul that she had buried long ago. More than once it crossed her mind that he might love her, and that was the most terrifying notion of all.

He ran his fingers across her back affectionately, tracing the scars that still had not fully healed, no doubt imagining how they had looked when he first found her. There was a certain intimacy in it. He had seen her at her absolute worst, on the very brink of death, and yet he could still look at her like that.

“What's going on behind those eyes?” he whispered softly. “Sometimes I know you're here with me. Other times, you're off someplace else.”

“I was just thinking how thankful I am,” she grinned. “That it was you who saved me and not one of those old men.”

Davian laughed, a deep rumble she had grown to love in the past two days. It was hard to fathom that it had only been that long. It felt like so much longer, though it might be because she saw more of him than anyone else in Corridor Prime.

Grace had been keeping her at arm's length, and it was frustrating though not wholly unexpected. Her responsibilities and problems seemed to multiply daily, and arbitrating between two former enemies while also preparing the city's defenses took up the majority of her time. Still, it stung. Now that Grace didn't need her anymore, it was hard not to feel brushed aside.

Davian calmed down from his laughter, “I'm glad for that one, too. But I know something is bothering you. Is it the man you killed in the forest? You knew him, right?”

“I did,” Liz nodded. “But my only regret is that I didn't kill him long ago. He got what he deserved. Perhaps better than he deserved. There are worse things than death.”

“True enough,” his expression hardened. “And this man...what did he—”

“It's Grace,” Liz cut across him, eager to steer the conversation away from Rowan for multiple reasons. “She is shutting me out, and I don't know why.”

Davian rolled over onto his back and sighed, “I told her it was a bad idea.”

Liz pulled the sheets around herself and sat up, “You told her
what
was a bad idea? You mean you knew she was shutting me out and didn't say anything?”

“She isn't shutting you out,” Davian replied. “She's giving you space to rest; to work out things on your own.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You've been through a lot, Liz. And not just since nearly dying in the Wilderness. You left the World System, prosecuted a war against them for Sullivan, and then he betrayed you and left you for dead unless you could work your way into Silent Thunder. Now here you are. After the year you've had, can you blame Grace for not wanting to place you in the middle of the tensions between us and the Great Army?”

She frowned and pulled her knees up to her chest, “Or perhaps she thinks I will take Sullivan up on his offer.”

“She trusts you more than she should,” Davian said. “In fact, she wants you to join Silent Thunder. She's just afraid you will say no.”

Liz paused, unsure what to say. Lack of responsibility had been refreshing after all she had been through, but it wasn't the kind of life she could abide for long. She belonged at the center of the action, not on the sidelines.

“Will you?” Davian asked. She turned to him with questioning eyes. “Will you refuse her, when she asks?”

Her first inclination was to say yes, but in truth she didn't know how she should answer. She loved Grace, but joining the Silent Thunder rebellion had never been in her plans. She liked the thought of placing her allegiance where it was earned, not where it was owed. But she saw no reason to tell Davian any of that, not after his little slip, “You said Grace trusts me more than she should. Does that mean
you
don't trust me?”

He hesitated, and that was all the answer she needed. Exasperated, she threw off the covers, stepped out of bed, and began gathering her things.

“Liz, wait,” Davian protested. “I didn't mean...where are you going?”

“Why? Need to keep tabs on me?” she slid on her clothing, relishing the disappointment on Davian's face as her body was slowly hidden. Perhaps he was the same as all the others, after all.

“You know I don't,” he said. “Please, just stop for a second. Can we talk about this?”

“There's nothing to talk about,” she made her way over to the mirror and did what she could with her hair. “I'll settle things with Grace so you don't have to babysit me anymore.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” he said, getting out of bed himself. She forced herself to look away in indifference, despite how badly she wanted not to. “If you and I have a problem then we should talk through it. You don't just walk out and act like—”

“Please, Davian,” she had been moving toward the door, but stopped for a moment to face him across the room, the unmade bed a buffer between them. “Let's not pretend this is anything more than what it is.”

The light went out of his eyes, and her heart hurt as she heard her own words. Maybe he did care about her as much as she thought. Maybe she cared more about him, too. Davian swallowed and crossed his arms, “So what is it, exactly?”

She stared at him in silence, tempted to take back what she had said, to apologize and try to make things right. Perhaps afterward they could have a serious conversation about what was happening between them. Wasn't that what normal people would do when they felt these things?

But she was not normal, and she was a coward.

She turned away from him, and before she could think twice about it the door had closed behind her. She paused for a moment, listening, hoping he might come after her, but there was no sound from within. So she continued on down the hall, past her own room and out of the residential suites. She had business to attend to at the Stone Hall.

- X -

Grace couldn't remember a time when she had been more tired. The demands of her position as magistrate were beyond anything she could have imagined, and with the lengthening shadow of war that stretched in their direction she barely had a moment of peace. There were so many things to consider, to weigh and keep in balance, that something was bound to drop. Or explode.

First on her agenda was a meeting with her remaining officers to discuss the part they would play in the battle to come. Those men respected and trusted her, but also had gone out of their way to insist that she must use her power to bring about the downfall of the World System, not perpetuate its oppressions. The hardest part about it was that she agreed with them. She wanted nothing more than to declare from the Stone Hall that all the people of the city were free and no longer bound by Systemics. But she might as well hand her armies over to Van Dorn right now, and offer up both herself and her people for slaughter.

There would be a time for change, but that time was not now.

The elevator doors opened to reveal the corridor that led to the Stone Hall, and her first sight was of Liz standing by the door at the opposite end, waiting. Grace stepped out, her entourage of guards behind her, and smiled. She had been hoping to find some time with Liz today. She remained the only person in the city that Grace could truly be honest with, and that included Davian and Crenshaw.

“Liz,” she greeted her with an embrace and resisted the urge to laugh. No matter how many times she hugged her, Liz always seemed surprised at the gesture. She released her and turned to her guards, “Can you two give us a moment?”

“Respectfully, Magistrate, you already have an appointment with the officers of Silent Thunder.”

“They will wait on me for a few minutes,” Grace said. “I won't be long.”

The guards acquiesced and stepped away, giving the two of them some privacy. “I'm sorry about the last couple of days. I'm getting up to speed on things, and I thought you could use the time to rest.”

“You shouldn't have,” Liz replied. “You said you needed me, and you were right. Don't make your position weaker on my account.”

Grace nodded, relieved but at the same time concerned. There was something going on with Liz, something beyond her normal withdrawn and stoic tendencies. She seemed hurt, though she hid it well. Did she feel that strongly about being out of the loop the last couple of days? Or had something happened with Davian?

Grace knew what was going on between them. Davian had told her as much, not wanting to bring any further tension between them by her finding out through some other means. At first she had been shocked at how quickly it had happened, but she took it in stride. She loved them both, and wanted the best for them…even if it wounded her barely healed heart to do so.

“Are you sure you want to wade into the middle of this?” Grace asked. “The road ahead is not going to be easy.”

“I never wanted easy,” Liz replied. “I just want to do something that has meaning. Let me help you. Please.”

“Alright,” she said. “I do need you, but the last thing I want is for you to serve me. I need a friend, not another subordinate. Someone I can trust to be honest with me—but only in private, away from the ears of those whose loyalty depends on their service.”

“You know you can rely on me for that,” Liz smiled. “But there is something else we must discuss. Something that has been bothering me since we arrived here…about the Code Zero.”

Grace took a look back at her guards to make certain they were out of earshot. Every time she had mentioned the Code Zero she had been met with silence, as if she spoke of something forbidden. Now that it was over, few desired to remember that it had happened. Which, of course, only made her want to know more about it.

“What is it?”

“Every officer in the Great Army is required to take a course in Systemics to understand how the selection process works. It’s not complicated at the highest level. You take your Operations Potential Exam, and the System’s central computer places you in an occupation based on a balance of your aptitude and the expected needs of your city. When positions of higher-value are vacated, the computer selects successors all the way back down the line. However, an individual’s entire life is based on preparing for their role. That is the simplest explanation of how the System works, but underneath the surface it becomes so much more complex.”

“Go on.”

“The computer uses more than just the OPE to determine aptitude. It watches and gathers intel on our actions, our behavior in certain situations, our emotional states, everything. We are essentially a package of data that it consumes, judges, and moves within society according to its programming. But it takes more than software to achieve something like this. No human mind could keep up with all that data and make something useful out of it. But it takes more than a machine to understand human behavior and learn from its mistakes.”

“What are you saying, exactly?” Grace asked.

“The System’s central computer is an AI, Grace. The most advanced artificial intelligence ever created. It watches us, learns from us, and catalogs us. It knows every documented person on this planet individually, and sees them as a part of the larger picture.”