Chapter Fourteen
WHEN THE CALL PANEL DIDN’T generate a fast enough response, Brice pounded on the door itself, until he heard it unlock.
The door opened. Zana Magro’s mouth turned down when she saw him. “Brice.”
“The death penalty, Zana? Are you out of your damn mind?”
She took half a step back, and he realized he had shouted.
“You’d better come in.” She left the door open, turned and walked away.
Brice stepped in and slammed the door. “The guy just tried to rig some bets! I don’t care how angry everyone else is over the arena collapsing on top of them!
We don’t kill people on the Endurance! It’s barbaric.
” He strode after her, down the hall to the big front room with the jaw-dropping view of the Aventine and more.
“Actually, it wasn’t my idea,” Zana said calmly, sailing into the front room.
Brice stomped after her and came up short two steps into the room, for Lakewood was sitting in a relaxed sprawl in one of the big armchairs bracketing the faux fireplace.
The man held a glass of something that looked a lot like whisky. He smiled at Brice. “When I explained to them that mutiny was still an active category in the crimes index, the Bridge had to agree with me.”
“Mutiny!” Brice clenched his fists. “Zana, this is out of hand. It’s over the top extreme. Yes, the ship wants justice. Do we have to shove a man out an airlock without a suit to get it?”
“You clearly haven’t been paying much attention to the Forum the last few weeks,” Zana said.
“This is exactly what the ship wants. Go and read the boards. Count the number of times someone says, ‘we should kill him for what he did.’ That is the depth of their rage. That is the storm we must weather.”
“By killing someone? We’ll be as bad as Devar Todd!”
“It’s what people want.”
“And my name is on those charges!” Brice bellowed back.
“As the president of the tankball association, your name should be on the charges,” Zana replied.
I quit. I’m done. The words were right there. He couldn’t speak to them. As he opened his mouth, an old instinct, maybe something left over from tankball, tapped the back of his mind.
Yes, he could resign and walk away. It was widely known, now, that the odd couple were a couple no more, thanks to this disaster.
Crunch digested the Forum gossip and gave him a report each night, stripped of emotion, which was why “we should kill Devar” had not made it through.
The speculation and prurient interest in “the odd couple” and their abrupt distancing was rife.
So Zana could do to Brice all she threatened, and she would if he resigned, only none of it would touch Luciana.
Yet if he stepped out of the middle of this, then he would be useless.
And maybe, just maybe, if he stayed right where he was, something might pop up…
He had no idea what “something” might be.
He’d just come from Bronson’s office, where he had read the full report that they had just released, with all the evidence laid out, explained and confirmed as accurate by the three institute examiners, who chose to remain anonymous.
On the face of it, Devar was guilty of everything for which they were accusing him. Brice had finished reading the report with the sinking sensation that there was zero wriggle room anywhere in it.
There had to be something he could do that would let him feel human once more.
He took a deep breath. And another one, while Zana and Lakewood watched him, both wearing smiles.
“You are an odious example of a human being, Zana,” Brice told her. “You and Lakewood deserve each other.”
He stormed down the passage, rammed the door against the wall and slammed it shut.
It didn’t help.