Chapter 25
chapter
twenty-five
Haven
I’m in one of the interrogation rooms.
Bare concrete walls enclose me in a chilly embrace. A single metal table sits in the center, scarred with scratches and dents, and flecks of dried blood cling to its edges. I sit on a hard, unyielding chair that is bolted straight to the floor.
Ender stands against the wall, and across from me sits a man I recognize. He visited my father once, though his name and exact role escapes me. His white hair is cropped short, and cobalt-blue eyes pierce straight through me.
“Sit, Warrick,” Ender says.
The man leans forward in his chair. The lamp above us throws harsh light across my face, making my skin sting.
This is not going to be a fun, light-hearted conversation.
“This is Colonel Ansel,” he says. “He reports to your father.”
“Pleased to meet you,” I say, turning the light away from my face.
This is a bit too intense for a post-mission breakdown.
“We’re putting together a briefing report,” Ansel says. “We’d like your perspective on what occurred during the mission.”
“I share the same account as the others.” I shrug. “I mean, we were all there.”
“Aric has a line about you in his report,” Ender says. He lifts his tablet to read. “In his words, he says, ‘She is shady as shit. I don’t trust her one bit. She’s with the rebels, I know it.’
“What an eloquent observation,” I say dryly. I fold my arms on the table, leaning forward. “Look, Aric has it in for me. He’s a small-dicked bastard who gets off on bullying girls. Is this comment really a surprise?”
Ansel clears his throat.
“Let us keep the foul words to a minimum,” Ender says. “We just want your statement.”
“Fine, here it is. Aric is the one working with the rebels,” I say. “It’s obviou—”
“We don’t want another he-said, she-said,” Ender says impatiently. “Just tell us what happened without mentioning Aric.”
I release a sharp breath, annoyed by this entire conversation. It’s fine when Aric badmouths me, but when I return the favor, they get exasperated.
I repeat what happened. Everything Ender witnessed himself. He’s just a very suspicious individual. He must have some deep-rooted trust issues.
“Now tell us about the Transporter,” Ender says slowly. “What happened?”
“You shot her, I went to punch her, and she fled.”
Ansel’s pen stills on his tablet screen.
“Fled how?” he asks calmly.
My heart races, but I just shrug, pretending to be unbothered.
“The usual way. She disappeared.”
Ender shifts his weight against the wall.
Even though Ansel sits as a buffer between us, it feels like we’re the only ones in the room.
Our eyes fight a silent battle of wills.
He knows something is off. He just can’t put his finger on it.
As much as I despise him, Ender Vale is a competent soldier and an intelligent leader.
“She was injured,” he says. “Badly. I hit her shoulder. Transporting under trauma is challenging.”
“Guess she was more capable than you thought.”
The room is silent, besides the tap of Ansel’s pen against the screen.
Ender’s jaw ticks. “You raised your fist.”
“Yes.”
“And yet,” Ansel continues, “she somehow vanished before impact with a fatal wound.”
Ender must have told him the scenario, or maybe Ansel sat in on the other conversations. Either way, he’s been fully briefed on the situation.
I tilt my head.
“Lucky timing.”
Ender pushes off the wall and circles me.
My eyes remain fixed on Ansel. I refuse to let him think I am cowering.
Even though my pulse races and my heart is about to give up on me.
I steel myself to weather their line of questioning.
They have no proof about how it all unfolded.
Nor can they comprehend how things are not falling in a linear pattern.
I am an anomaly that they don’t understand.
They don’t suspect that I am Gifted, or they would have asked me point-blank.
Ender’s hand falls on my chair, enclosing me on either side. The metal creeks beneath his grip.
“You hesitated,” Ender whispers. “Even if she was strong enough to flee, you gave her an opening.”
“I tried to knock her out so we could bring her in for questioning,” I say. “I miscalculated her speed.”
Ansel watches us like a spectator at a match.
“You understand why this concerns us, Warrick,” Ansel says. “Especially, knowing the history of your mother.”
His words make me wince. Even if he is being polite, there is a spark of coldness in his eyes that makes me shiver.
“I understand you’re looking for someone to blame. They got away, which means the mission failed,” I say sharply. “And I’m convenient. It isn’t the first time the Commandant blamed me for his defeats.”
Ender’s fists clench. He seems annoyed that I am tattling to Ansel, who is of a lower rank than him. It must really grind his gears.
Ansel clears his throat, cutting through the tension.
“You spoke with her,” Ansel says.
My stomach tightens. “Who?”
“The Transporter.”
I let out a short laugh.
“You think I stopped to chat while everyone else was trying not to die?”
“She took two soldiers from Delta, but not you; she could have taken you along when she escaped,” Ansel says. “Also, she warned a rebel to leave you alone. That’s in three separate reports.”
“Aric and his friends are colluding against me. They are corroborating each other’s lies.” I stare at him harshly. “Also, did you think that maybe the rebel has standards. Who wants a lowly Common when there are so many powerful Gifted ripe for the taking?”
Ender’s hand comes down on the table.
The sound cracks through the room like a gunshot.
“You’re not clever enough to joke your way out of this,” he says, voice low. “So I’ll ask you one last time. Did you help her escape?”
The air feels hotter, and that damn light is burning my skin.
“No,” I say.
And that, at least, is true. Serenity used her powers to flee.
Ansel studies my face, searching for cracks. They exchange a long, silent look. One that makes me nervous.
Ender straightens. His gaze returns to me.
“Get out of my sight.”
“We’re done.” Ansel stands. “For now.”
The door opens behind me. Ender speaks just before I leave.
“Warrick, if you’re lying to me…”
He lets the sentence fall unfinished. The threat is clear in his voice.
I don’t look back, because if I do, I’m afraid he’ll see the deception in my eyes.
Rei is waiting for me outside when they release me.
“How did it go?” she asks.
“My retina aches from that light. Did they shine it in your face?”
“Yes,” she says. “They must want answers if Ansel is there.”
“Why was he even there?” I ask. “Ender Vale doesn’t need him to frighten a bunch of young recruits. His freaky eyes do that with no help at all.”
“Ansel Ashford is a Class Two Gifted,” Rei says slowly. “He can sense when one is lying.”
For a moment, the room spins around me, and I fear that I’ll pass out.
This information is alarming to say the least. Most of my answers were a twist of the truth.
Serenity did escape on her own. I just provided her with the opportunity.
But I don’t know how Ansel’s powers work.
I have to assume that my words didn’t hold up under his scrutiny, which is a frightening thought.
I understood the risks of working with the Resistance, but now that my life is in peril, I realize that I don’t want to die before I’ve accomplished anything of worth. I can’t leave my sister behind in this cruel world.
“That’s…”
“A crazy power,” she finishes. “He’s often used for torture sessions and can tell when a prisoner is misleading. He also happens to be Clover’s father.”
My eyes widen at this newfound knowledge.
“He wasn’t pleased when the Supreme Director chose your sister over Clover,” Rei says. “Clover and Ender were raised together. Everyone assumed they would get married. It made sense. Until it didn’t.”
I suspect Warrick forced the Supreme Director to make this match. He must have dirt on him. Warrick had an intensive spy network. It was why he commanded so much fear. He was always greasing someone or the other’s pocket. He was both a strategist and a politician.
“My father could not resist making the match,” I say. “I think a part of him hates that my sister and I do not possess any gifts. It left him with no choice but to find a way to enhance our status in society. And what better way than through marriage?”
“I used to think that not having powers made one weak,” Rei admits, glancing at me with a pointed look. “You showed me otherwise, Mercy. You are the bravest person I’ve ever met.”
My chest tickles with a warmth I rarely feel. I never thought Rei and I would be anything less than bitter rivals, but over the course of the past few weeks, she’s become one of my closest allies, along with Flint and our manic leader, Spider.
“Thanks, Rei,” I say. “You’re not a coward either.”
Rei scoffs. “It’s hard for you to compliment people, isn’t it?”
“I’m not really an affectionate person,” I admit. “My sister was always the one who drew people to us with her gentleness and kindness. This is the longest we’ve been apart, and I suppose a part of me grew to rely on her.”
Even Grayson was her friend first, before I began my combat lessons with him.
I’ve always been closed off and guarded ever since my mother died. It was hard for me to trust anyone when the man who sired me could betray me so cruelly.
“I don’t know your sister, and I have no idea what it’s like to have a twin,” Rei says. “But you are enough, Mercy. You do not need your sister to complete you.”
For a moment, I want to confide in her. To tell her my real name. To admit to someone that I am Haven.
It is self-absorbed, but I can’t stand that my accomplishments and victories will never be under my name. That one day, when the regime falls, and we rebuild a new world from the rubble, the name that will be written in the books will be Mercy Warrick and not Haven Warrick.
I unfold Prue’s letter in the bathroom. It is the one place in Block A with no cameras.
You will meet one of our own soon. Trust him. We need your help.
The message is short and to the point.
I tear the paper and flush it down the toilet.
There is another undercover rebel here who will make contact with me soon. I don’t know how or when, but I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for anyone who seems unusual.
I’m impressed that they have someone on the inside. The Forge is a dangerous place to infiltrate. I feel like at any moment, Ender will unearth all my secrets and kill me for it. He’s already attempting it by subjecting me to Ansel.
I just have to make sure I don’t get caught.
I have to always be two steps ahead.