Chapter 12 - The Party Upstairs

Blackthorn Estate's dining room glittered like nothing terrible had happened beneath it.

Donors in expensive coats stood beneath chandeliers, watching a presentation about Asterion's “emergency response.” A model of the town glowed blue at the center of the table. Clara recognized three county officials who had praised the company at fundraising dinners.

Voss met her at the doorway. “You look tired.”

“You kidnapped a kid.”

“She volunteered to protect her family. You should be proud of her.”

“Show me June.”

He led her past the guests into a glass-walled office. June sat on a narrow bench, awake, her wrists unbound but the door locked. She pressed two fingers against the glass.

Clara returned the gesture. It was the signal June had taught her in the dark: I see you.

“I want everyone released,” Clara told Voss.

“And I want my company to survive the night. We can both get what we want.”

“People are sick.”

“People are always sick. We're giving them a treatment.”

“You never asked them.”

Voss smiled. “The law gets flexible when politicians are frightened.”

He opened the office desk and displayed a slim metal cuff. Its center glowed the same blue as Clara's veins. “The core needs its registered subject. A few minutes of cooperation, and June goes free.”

Clara fastened the cuff without letting her hands shake. “Do I get to read what I'm signing?”

“For once,” Voss said, “no.”

As security led her out, Evelyn appeared behind a column. She had changed into a plain black coat. Without a word, she slipped a folded receipt into Clara's hand.

In Evelyn's familiar handwriting were seven words: THE SYSTEM NEEDS TWO. DO NOT TELL VOSS.

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Clara glanced back.

Evelyn was already walking into the crowd, beside a guard carrying an open case of syringes.