Champion

Page 33

 

  Anden shoots me a dangerous look, but to my surprise, he stays silent. I pull away from June so I can hold her face in my hands. “You’re okay, right?” I ask urgently. “You’re completely okay?”

  June raises an eyebrow at me, then gives me a quick, reassuring kiss. “Yes. I’m completely okay. ” She casts a glance over at Anden, but he’s too distracted talking to one of his soldiers now.

  “Find me the men assigned to retrieve the Princeps-Elect,” he snaps at the soldier. Dark circles line the skin under his eyes, and his face looks both haggard and furious. “If luck hadn’t been on our side, Jameson would have killed her. I’ve half a mind to label them all traitors. There’s plenty of room in the firing squad yard for all of them. ” The soldier snaps to attention and rushes off with several others to do as Anden said. My own anger wanes, and a chill runs through me at how familiar his wrath feels. Like I’m looking at his father.

  Now he faces me. His voice turns calmer. “The lab team tells me that your brother pulled through his experimentation so far very bravely,” he says. “I wanted to thank you again for—”

  “Don’t lay it on too thick,” I interrupt with a raised eyebrow. “This whole thing isn’t over yet. ” After more days like today, where Eden’s going to fade even faster from all the experiments, I might not be so polite. I lower my voice, making an effort to sound civil again. It’s half working. “Let’s talk in private. Elector, I have some ideas to run by you. With this recent news from Commander Jameson, we might just have an opportunity to stir up some trouble for the Colonies. You, me, June, and the Patriots. ”

  Anden’s eyes darken at that, and his mouth tightens in an uncertain frown as he scans his audience. Pascao’s giant, ever-present grin doesn’t seem to improve his mood. After a few seconds, though, he nods at his soldiers. “Get us a conference room,” he says. “I want security cams off. ”

  His soldiers scramble to do his bidding. As we fall into step behind him, I exchange a long glance with June. She’s okay, she’s unharmed. And yet, I’m afraid that she’ll disappear if I’m careless enough to look away. I force myself to hold back on asking her about what happened until we’re all in a private room—and from the look on her face, she’s also waiting for the right moment. My hand aches to hold hers. I keep that to myself too. Our dance around each other always seems like it’s doomed to repeat itself over and over again.

  “So,” Anden says once we’ve settled into a room and his patrol has disabled all of the cams. He leans back in one of the chairs and surveys me with a penetrating look. “Perhaps we should start with what happened to our Princeps-Elect this morning. ”

  June lifts her chin, but her hands shake ever so slightly. “I saw Commander Jameson in Ruby sector. My guess is that she was in the area to scout locations—and she must have known where I would be. ” I marvel at how steady June sounds. “I tailed her for a while, until we reached the strip of airship bases that border Ruby and Batalla. She attacked me there. ”

  Even this short of a summary is enough to make me see red. Anden sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “We suspect that Commander Jameson may have given some locations and schedules to the Colonies about Los Angeles airship bases. She may have also attempted to kidnap Ms. Iparis for bargaining power. ”

  “Does that mean the Colonies are planning to attack LA?” Pascao asks. I already know his next thought. “But that would mean it’s true, Denver has fallen . . . ” He trails off at Anden’s expression.

  “We’re receiving some early rumors,” Anden replies. “The word is that the Colonies have a bomb that can level the entire city. The only thing holding them back from using it is an international ban. They wouldn’t want to finally force Antarctica to get involved, now would they?” Since when did Anden become so sarcastic? “At any rate, if they attack now, we will be hard-pressed to have a cure ready to show Antarctica before the Colonies overwhelm us. We can defend against them. We can’t defend against them and Africa. ”

  I hesitate, then bring up the thoughts that have been churning in my mind. “I talked to Eden this morning, during his experimentation. He gave me an idea. ”

  “And what’s that?” June asks.

  I look at her. Still as lovely as ever, but even June is starting to show the stress from this invasion, her shoulders slightly hunched. My eyes turn back to Anden. “Surrender,” I say.

  He hadn’t expected that. “You want me to raise the white flag to the Colonies?”

  “Yes, surrender. ” I lower my voice. “Yesterday afternoon, the Colonies’ Chancellor made me an offer. He told me that if I could get the Republic’s people to rise up in support of the Colonies and against the Republic soldiers, he’d make sure that Eden and I are protected once the Colonies win the war. Let’s say that you surrender, and at the same time, I offer to meet the Chancellor to give him the answer to his request, that I’m going to ask the people to embrace the Colonies as their new government. You now have a chance to catch the Colonies off guard. The Chancellor already assumes you’re going to surrender any day now, anyway. ”

  “Faking a surrender is against international law,” June mumbles to herself, although she studies me carefully. I can tell that she’s not exactly against the idea. “I don’t know whether the Antarcticans will appreciate that, and the whole point of this is to persuade them to help us out, isn’t it?”

  I shake my head. “They didn’t seem to care that the Colonies broke the ceasefire without warning us, back when this all erupted. ” I glance at Anden. He watches me closely, his chin resting on his hand. “Now you get to return the favor, yeah?”

  “What happens when you meet with the Chancellor?” he finally asks. “A false surrender can only last so long before we need to act. ”

  I lean toward him, my voice urgent. “You know what Eden said to me this morning? ‘Too bad everyone in the Republic can’t be a soldier. ’ But they can. ”

  Anden stays silent.

  “Let me mark each of the sectors in the Republic, something that will let the people know that they can’t just lie down and let the Colonies take over their homes, something that will ask them to wait for my signal and remind them what we’re all fighting for. Then, when I make the announcement that the Colonies’ Chancellor wants me to make, I won’t call on the people to embrace the Colonies. I’ll call them to action. ”

  “And what if they don’t respond to your call?” June says.

  I shoot her a quick smile. “Have some faith, sweetheart. The people love me. ”

  In spite of herself, June smiles back.

  I turn to Anden. Seriousness replaces my flash of amusement. “The people love the Republic more than you think,” I say. “More than I thought. You know the number of times I saw evacuees around here singing patriotic Republic songs? You know how much graffiti I’ve seen over the last few months that support both you and the country?” A note of passion enters my voice. “The people do believe in you. They believe in us. And they will fight back for us if we call on them—they’ll be the ones ripping down Colonies flags, protesting in front of Colonies offices, turning their own homes into traps for invading Colonies soldiers. ” I narrow my eyes. “They’ll become a million versions of me. ”

  Anden and I stare at each other. Finally, he smiles.

  “Well,” June says to me, “while you’re busy becoming the Colonies’ most wanted criminal, the Patriots and I can join in your stunts. We’ll pull them on a national level. If Antarctica protests, the Republic can just say they were the actions of a few vigilantes. If the Colonies want to play dirty, then let’s play dirty. ”

  1700 HOURS.

  BATALLA HALL.

  68° F.

  I HATE SENATE MEETINGS. I HATE THEM WITH A PASSION—nothing but a sea of bickering politicians and talking heads, talking talking talking all the time when I could instead be out in the streets, giving my mind and body a healthy workout. But after the plan that Day, Anden, a
nd I have concocted, there’s no choice but to brief the Senate. Now I sit in the circular meeting chamber at Batalla Hall, my seat facing Anden from across the room, trying to ignore the intimidating looks from the Senators. Few events leave me feeling more like a child than Senate meetings.

  Anden addresses his restless audience. “Attacks against our bases in Vegas have picked up since Denver fell,” he says. “We’ve seen African squadrons approaching the city. Tomorrow, I head out to meet my generals there. ” He hesitates here. I hold my breath. I know how much Anden hates the idea of voicing defeat to anyone, especially to the Colonies. He looks at me—my cue to help him. He’s so tired. We all are. “Ms. Iparis,” he calls out. “If you please, I hand the floor over to you to explain your story and your advice. ”

  I take a deep breath. Addressing the Senate: the one thing I hate more than attending Senate meetings, made even worse by the fact that I have to sell them a lie. “By now, I’m sure all of you have heard about Commander Jameson’s supposed work for the Colonies. Based on what we know, it seems likely that the Colonies will hit Los Angeles with a surprise attack very soon. If they do, and the attacks on Vegas continue, we won’t last for long. After talking with Day and the Patriots, we suggest that the only way to protect our civilians and to possibly negotiate a fair treaty is to announce our surrender to the Colonies. ”

  Stunned silence. Then, the room bursts into chatter. Serge is the first to raise his voice and challenge Anden. “With all due respect, Elector,” he says, his voice quivering with irritation, “you did not discuss this with your other Princeps-Elects. ”

  “It was not something I had an opportunity to discuss with you before now,” Anden replies. “Ms. Iparis’s knowledge comes only because she was unfortunate enough to experience it firsthand. ”

  Even Mariana, often on Anden’s side, raises her voice against the idea. “This is a dangerous negotiation,” she says. At least she speaks calmly. “If you are doing this to spare our lives, then I recommend you and Ms. Iparis reconsider immediately. Handing the people to the Colonies will not protect them. ”

  The other Senators don’t show the same restraint.

  “A surrender? We have kept the Colonies off our land for almost a hundred years!”

  “Surely we’re not all that weakened yet? What have they done, aside from temporarily winning Denver?”

  “Elector, this is something you should have discussed with all of us—even in the midst of this crisis!”

  I look on as each voice rises higher than the next, until the entire chamber fills with the sound of insults, anger, and disbelief. Some spew hatred over Day. Some curse the Colonies. Some beg Anden to reconsider, to ask for more international help, to plead for the United Nations to stop sealing our ports. Noise.