Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
In silence, their eyes were locked on the holoscreen, both of them watching the news reports about the bombing at OutLink.
No one had started talking about a Stabiltrol shortage yet, but it would come soon enough.
Right now, the focus was still on the loss of life, and a lot of people had died tonight.
Most of the confirmed deaths were Ingénue.
Sin's thoughts flashed to the technician who'd offered to record her return early.
The man had been inside the building. He had to have been.
That meant he'd given his life for her, but Sin wasn't sure she realized it yet.
He also didn't truly know if she'd care.
Rissa's life inside the OutLink Enclave hadn't been a compassionate one.
The man may have tried to help, but to her, he could've been just another person to torture her.
He turned to ask her if she knew the man, only to find his Princess's eyes closed and her breathing slow and rhythmical.
For her, it was late. She was always back in her care bay by the time the sun went down.
With all the extra excitement? He was almost surprised she'd lasted as long as she had.
He certainly wasn't about to wake her up.
So he turned back to the news, listening to the soft droning of the anchors.
Over and over, they said the exact same thing, making it clear no new information was available yet.
Outside of his apartment, Sin could hear people moving, but not as many as normal for this time of night.
He had a funny feeling all of New Cincinnati was in shock, trying to grapple with not just one bombing, but six in the same night.
And yet one thing was clear. As far as the rest of the world knew, Rissa was dead. There had been a brief mention of him having been at the OutLink receiving room nineteen minutes before the blast, though it was assumed he'd made it out ok, but the numbers of casualties were still pouring in.
OutLink wasn't the worst of them, either.
The two factories ran night shifts, and everyone inside them was presumed dead.
The damage to the train tracks had caused one to derail, killing at least a dozen more people.
Looting had started as desperate people tried to get the supplies they thought they'd need—and still no one had mentioned Stabiltrol.
In other words, this was going to be very, very bad.
Eventually, he got up, threw his garbage away, and then pulled out a long t-shirt from a drawer. That, he carefully laid across Rissa's lap, then Sin gently rubbed her shoulder. She didn't suck in a breath or tense. The girl simply opened her eyes.
"Princess," he said, bending over to offer her the shirt.
"I don't know how you slept before, but there's a bed you can use.
" When her hand closed on the fabric, he continued.
"Put that on, take off your shoes and other clothes that aren't comfortable, then crawl into the bed.
I'm gonna step outside for a smoke while you change. "
"Ok." Her voice was groggy but she lifted the shirt, trying to orient it.
He grabbed his pack of cigarettes from the counter and stepped outside.
Lighting one, he took a long pull, feeling the hot smoke slide into his lungs, and leaned over to thump the door beside his.
Before he could lift the cigarette to his lips again, the door opened and Zan stepped out.
The guy's hair was freshly dyed in his favorite metallic silver color and his clothes were rumpled, but Zan smiled to see him.
"Nice hair," Sin said.
"Yeah. And I saw the news," Zan told him. "Sorry to hear about your client. I've been listening for you."
Sin sucked in another drag. "Why are you awake?"
"For me, this is lunchtime," Zan said, rubbing at his hair. "I'm studying for a test next week. Why are you?"
Sin grinned. "Brought a dead girl home."
Zan thought about that for a moment. "Either you're one sick fuck—which we both know isn't true—or you need something?"
"The second," Sin agreed. "The plan was to take Riss to Davis's girlfriend's place to hide her for a bit.
We're calling it a safehouse so no one asks about how a Legate has a girlfriend.
Tonight, things blew up in our face rather literally, and I couldn't get her across town.
Now, it seems she's dead. Zan, I need a new plan. "
"Well, OutLink won't be looking for her," Zan pointed out.
Sin grunted. "Probably not. Wouldn't want to put money on it. With as obsessed as Daniel Briggs is with reclaiming their parts, I have a feeling they're going to be counting bodies. I'm mostly worried that OutLink isn't her biggest threat."
Zan pushed out a heavy breath. "Ok, then who? Any idea on who just blew up half the city?"
"I have a bad feeling it was us," Sin admitted.
"Us?" Zan asked.
"The Legion."
Those words fell into the night air like a rock, hitting a little too hard. Zan scrubbed at his mouth and paced away for one step before spinning to face Sin again. The kid's mouth opened, closed, and then opened again, but no real words came out.
"So what do we do?" Zan finally managed.
"Sounds like you're willing to help," Sin teased.
"Always," Zan assured him. "Why? What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking I'm going to have to choose what vow I'll break," Sin said softly. "I'm sworn to protect my angel, but I also promised to act in a way that benefits the church."
"Are you sure about that?" Zan asked him. "I mean, what was the actual vow you took?"
Sin took another drag off his smoke. "That I would do everything in my power to uphold God's will."
"And a church is not the same as a God," Zan pointed out. "Would you really be breaking a vow if you refused to do something you believe is wrong?" He lifted a brow. "Like bombing a fucking building?!"
"No," Sin agreed.
Zan nodded. "Yeah. Because I've been thinking about this since the last time you brought her home.
That girl? The Legion won't protect her because someone else decided to enhance her mind.
Well, most of her nervous system, I'm guessing.
" Then he grabbed Sin's arm. "Think about that for a second.
The church won't protect the victim, yet God sent you to her. Her, Sin, not someone else."
"Yeah, I know," Sin breathed, flicking the end of his smoke to break off the ashes.
"Just..." He paused to pull in a deep breath.
"Keep an eye on the news. Let me know if anyone's looking for her, ok?
I need to talk to the guys, but not tonight.
Everything's going to be monitored, and even breathing a word of female pronouns to them will likely have a squad of Centurions sent this way. "
"So we need a new identity for her," Zan said. "I'll need to tell Mom, but I think we can say Rissa's her sister's kid. Always been a bit shy and has a reputation for bucking the system quietly. Sound about right?"
"Exactly." Sin blew out a breath of smoke, then sucked in another. "Probably be nice if we could find a wireless adapter. Something small, meant to be worn on a regular basis."
"Ok. What kind of port? I also need to know if she has any limitations. The last thing we want to do is burn out her mind, and I've never seen a setup like she has."
Sin huffed a laugh, hiding it with another drag. "Trust me, Zan, she'll make sure she doesn't burn out. And any type of port will work; she has them all."
"I can do that," Zan promised. "You worry about her. I'll handle all the neurojock shit, ok?"
Flicking his cigarette onto the concrete, Sin nodded. "And I'm probably going to need your mom's help. I have a girl who can't eat or drink, has never gone to the bathroom, and I don't even want to think about what else. We need a woman to teach her a few things we all consider normal."
Zan just flashed him a smile. "Kinda sounds to me like the very definition of being a mom. I'll talk to her about it." Then he clasped Sin's arm. "We got this. All of us, Sin. Rissa's free. She's alive. You saved your angel, now go get some sleep."
Giving in, Sin palmed open his door. This would work out.
It was going to be ok. His angel was safe, and that was all that mattered.
He didn't need to stop and think about the repercussions of what had just happened.
Then again, he also couldn't stop thinking about them, because this wasn't over. It was just beginning.
He'd been asked to protect this woman's life.
He'd vowed to watch over her for as long as she was in danger.
He'd sworn he would let no harm come to her.
All this time, he'd assumed that would be something easy.
Eventually, he decided it meant he'd have to get her free of the indentured servitude she was stuck in. Now?
It seemed God had bigger plans.
The Legion was falling apart from the inside.
The city was on the brink of chaos. The enhanced had just lost the supply of the one medication that would keep their own bodies from killing them.
Outside of his apartment, the world was tearing apart at the seams, but he'd saved the girl.
He'd kept her alive, gotten her free, and yet she still wasn't truly safe—and that meant his vow wasn't done.
It also meant he had a very big decision to make.
But when he stepped inside, the first thing he saw was Rissa.
Wearing only the large shirt, with her clothing in a heap at her feet, she'd fallen asleep against the arm of the couch.
The poor thing hadn't even made it to the bed.
She probably had never actually used a bed before.
It was just one more thing to prove she still needed him.
Maybe now more than ever, because the real world was a frightening place.
Crossing the room, he pulled back the covers on his bed, then moved to the girl.
Sliding one arm behind her back, the other under her legs, he lifted her easily and carried her to the soft mattress.
The moment he set her down, she snuggled into the pillows, looking like she was about to fall into a deeper sleep - until he pulled away. Then her eyes snapped open.
"Sin!" she gasped, sitting up.
He reached up to smooth back her hair. "Yeah, hun? I'm right here."
She sighed in relief, relaxing into him.
"I dreamed you were hurt." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she reached up to wipe them away.
"I dreamed that when the bomb went off, it ripped you in half.
Then the priests came, and they started picking through the bits, saying they only wanted the real ones.
They threw your body parts into a dumpster and were coming for me.
I kept begging for you to help me, but you were torn in two! "
"I'm fine. You're fine." He leaned over and brushed her hair back until his partially cybernetic palm lay against one of the ports at the back of her head. "We're both still in one piece. We survived, Riss. We're going to be ok."
She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "It sounds so different in here - so quiet, like after the bomb. There are no beeps or footsteps. I keep thinking I'm back there."
"I know, but it's ok." He knelt so he was at the same level as her. "We'll turn on some videos to give you a little sound, and I'll be right there on the couch. I swear, I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Princess. Not now and not ever."
She swallowed, those big eyes hanging on his face. "You have to. The Legion is going to tear itself apart. Your church will be destroyed in the process. Sin, you are a good priest. All of the internet agrees with that. I'm just..."
"A miracle," he finished for her. "You are also my angel." The words were no more than out of his mouth before he realized how true they were. "Rissa, listen to me. I swore to God that I would keep you safe. You are my first priority."
"But you heard what Caleb said. The Legion wants me," she insisted. "Sin, there has to be a reason they assigned you to me."
"Benedict did that," he assured her.
"And I can only assume the new Praetor has the records of what the former did. They have to know by now, and I don't know what they'll do to you because of it."
A chill ran down his spine at the words, but he shrugged, trying to act like this was ok.
"I didn't make a deal with God to get a title, hun.
I do this because it's His will. I vowed to be God's hands, to help those who cannot help themselves, and to fight for the weak because I am strong enough to do it.
More than any of that, I promised I would show you what it's like to be free.
" He tilted his head to smile at her. "And now you are. "
"But I'm going to ruin everything for you," she insisted.
"No, Princess." He paused to glance toward the ceiling. "I think I've finally realized why you're so important."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because right about now, my city has a problem.
Thousands of people are going to die if they don't get a miracle, and fast. Tonight, someone attacked all of the enhanced, and I am starting to believe it was my church.
Not my God, but my church. Right about now, someone has to figure out how to fix this, and God has shown me how to find the answer.
" He tilted his head toward her. "He sent me to you. "
"But..."
He didn't let her finish. "It doesn't matter what they do to me.
I will still be a priest. I swore my vows to Him, and this is what He gave me.
" Sin shifted his hand so it cupped her cheek.
"He sent me to you, Rissa. The most amazing woman I have ever known in my life.
The one person in all of New Cincinnati who can save God's flock.
You, the girl who has become my closest friend. "
She offered him a nervous nod. "I don't think I can do this without you. Live in the real world, I mean."
"And I can't save the real world without you, Rissa." He leaned back with a soft chuckle. "Partners, right? Together, we will figure out how to make this happen." Then he sighed. "I just hope God remembers I'm only a man."
"No," Rissa told him. "You, Brother Sin, are this city's hero."
"Then what are you?" he teased.
She looked up at him with those impossibly silver eyes. "Your angel."
The words sent a chill down his spine. "Yeah," he agreed, "you really are." And he was done trying to fight it.