Chapter 49 #2
“This doesn’t change anything,” Tairn says quickly, leaning forward.
“The cellphone still belonged to Harlow Santos. It was found in her bungalow. Nothing in this new evidence exonerates her. A whole multitude of staff work within this building. There are guards, administrators, clerks, maintenance workers. It could be any one of them.” He looks around the room, his expression earnest. “We need to vote. The evidence presented is not sufficient to excuse Harlow Santos from her crimes.”
“Crimes she didn’t commit,” I say, but Tairn ignores me.
I stand. “We need to find out who the traitor is,” I add, my voice carrying through the chamber.
“We need to do it now, before word leaks and evidence is destroyed. I propose that we immediately collect and examine all communication devices belonging to every Council member in this room. We can fan out across the building from there.”
I know it was someone here.
“That’s preposterous!” Arrow’s face flushes red. “Surely you’re not suggesting that one of us gave a Tribute a cellphone? That one of us is a spy?”
“It’s very possible.” I meet his eyes, then look at each Council member in turn. “All devices should be collected and checked. Guards should be sent to each of our homes to carry out thorough searches for additional devices. If no evidence is found—”
Movement catches my eye. Tairn is reaching into his pocket, pulling out his phone.
“Put that away!” I shout, pointing at him. “Put the device away, Tairn.”
“You don’t get to give me orders.” He swipes to unlock his device.
I’m moving before I can think, crossing the distance between us in three long strides. I reach out and physically take the phone from his hands. It takes everything in me not to slam his head against the table.
“How dare you!” Tairn’s face contorts with outrage.
He tries to grab the phone back, but I hold it out of reach.
“You are completely out of line, Drake. The meeting has run over, and I was simply letting my next appointment know that I was running late. This is assault. You’re completely off the rails, and you’ll do just about anything to try to get your very guilty rider off.
” He turns to Vector. “We need to move forward and vote. Now.”
“I have to agree,” Thorne says slowly, looking uncomfortable. “This is all a bit far-fetched. I find it difficult to believe that one of us is a spy… For whom, exactly? The Mainland? That can’t be right.” He shakes his head.
“As do I,” Ember says. “Surely there’s another explanation?” She shrugs.
“Perhaps we’re being too hasty,” Rynn adds, though she sounds uncertain.
I’m still holding Tairn’s phone, and the male looks like he wants to tear me apart.
Vector stands, his expression grave. “Someone in this building is a spy,” he says, his voice cutting through the tension.
“That much has been established by the evidence. We cannot ignore this.” He pauses, looking at each of us.
“In the interest of transparency and leading by example, the investigation should start with us. We all need to hand in our phones immediately. Once we have this suspicious device, we’ll know with certainty whether Harlow Santos is guilty. ”
“Of course she’s guilty!” Tairn shouts.
“Vector, you can’t be serious,” Ember protests.
“I am deadly serious.” Vector picks up the phone on the wall and speaks into it.
“I need guards to secure the Council chamber. No one enters or exits without my express permission. I also need four guards inside the chamber immediately. Two male and two female.” He puts the phone down.
“I suggest you hand over your devices because the guards will be conducting body searches.”
“Body searches?” Arrow’s voice rises an octave. “This is ridiculous and unnecessary. Of course we’ll give you our devices. There is no need for such extreme measures.”
“It is necessary,” Vector corrects. “We will start here. If nothing is found on any of us, then I will send guards to search each of your homes. We’ll have them check computers, laptops, tablets, any communication devices.
All of it.” He looks around the room. “I am including myself in this investigation.”
Within minutes, guards file into the chamber. Vulcan sets up his equipment at a side table, and one by one, we each place our phones in front of him. He checks each device against the number from the deleted call log.
“Nope.” He shakes his head.
Damn! None of them match.
“See?” Ember says, her voice carrying relief and vindication. “Can we please move forward with the vote now?”
“Everyone needs to stand for a full body search,” Vector says.
“This is absurd,” Arrow mutters, but he stands.
“Completely unnecessary,” Thorne grumbles, getting to his feet.
“I refuse!” Tairn yells.
“It is an order,” Vector says.
We all stand, and the guards move through the room. They’re thorough, checking pockets, sleeves, anywhere a device could be hidden.
Three more devices are found.
One on Ember. “Oh!” she says, looking surprised. “I forgot I had this old work phone. I barely use it anymore.”
Yeah, right.
One on Thorne, who apologizes. “I’m sorry, I thought I left that in my office.”
And one on Tairn.
When the guard pulls a slim phone from an inside pocket of Tairn’s jacket, the male’s face goes pale, then red.
“That’s my personal device,” he says, his voice tight. He lunges forward and grabs it from the guard’s hand. “I refuse to be treated this way. This is harassment. This is—”
“Give us the phone, Tairn,” Vector says, his voice like iron.
Instead, Tairn turns and hurls the phone against the far wall with all his strength. It hits with a sharp crack, breaking into several pieces that scatter across the floor.
He turns back to face us, that smug look back on his face. “I object.”
Vulcan is already moving. He crosses the chamber and kneels down, carefully collecting each piece of the shattered phone. When he stands, he’s grinning.
“Don’t worry,” he says, holding up the pieces. “I’ll be able to get all the information we need from this device. The memory chip is intact. I just need to go back to my house; I have the right equipment there. Give me an hour, maybe two.”
Tairn breaks free from the guards flanking him, but I’m on him in a second. My fist connects with his jaw with a satisfying crunch, and I force him back against the wall, my forearm across his chest.
“Take the phone and do it,” I tell Vulcan, never taking my eyes off Tairn. “I have a feeling that whatever is on that device is going to be very interesting. I can’t wait to see.”
Tairn’s eyes narrow. I see panic written in them.
Got you, asshole!
I smile. It quickly morphs into a smirk.
The guards grab him, pulling him away from me.