Evan and Keetha strode across the plaza, looking everything like a modern couple on a leisurely morning stroll. It was an easy walk, as the place looked abandoned. Evan had been told that most every Merlain citizen would be preoccupied with the Department of Communication’s coverage of the trial that the city would seem desterted….
As soon as the doors closed on Saw Yatha’s lift, Katherine Gold let out the breath she’d been holding since she noticed him in the holding bay. She had only encountered him once before, in Evan’s apartment. At the time she thought he was bad news, but after he shot her, emblzoning her with his…
Saw Yatha’s eyes popped open the instant his brain woke up. The first thought, the only thought, was, “This is the day.” He swung his legs to the side of Zungher Dol’s office couch and sat up. Ever since he’d taken on the mantle of Dol’s spokesman, he’d, like Zungher before him, taken up permanent…
Keetha felt electric. “This was happening. This was really happening,” she repeated in her mind over and over between the safe house and her transport. She had to keep her composure because hololenses were everywhere – constantly scanning, continually assessing. The slightest errant twitch could cause problems if anyone decided to look closely. She had…
“You don’t look well,” Keetha said. “I’m sure I don’t,” Amnon replied, resting himself on the edge of his desk. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through his body. It hadn’t let up since he left Saw. He gripped the desk’s edge to keep his hands from shaking. Amnon wanted to appear strong for Keetha,…
Amnon Saxe entered the Chieftain’s office in the morning, unprepared for what he saw. Presumably, he had been called into a meeting with Zungher Dol himself of a matter so sensitive that the meeting needed to happen face-to-face and as soon as possible. Amnon had pushed all other appointments aside and rushed his schedule to…
Saw Yatha watched Dol’s interview with Lillian with disgust. His device alerted him to the cell’s activity a few minutes after it began. All of Saw’s suspicions of his Supreme Leader came into sharp focus. Saw had installed the hololens in Lillian’s cell during her first day on trial. He’d hoped he would be able…
Zungher Dol sat in his desk chair mindlessly flicking his thumbnail with his index nail. His lap cradled his device, on which showed the pasty visage of Saw Yatha flaunting his pride outside the courthouse. Saw was busy responding to the Department of Communication representatives about his testimony. This event was being framed as a…
Evan regarded Keetha’s demeanor. He knew he was in trouble, but he couldn’t imagine why. That’s not true; he would assume he was in trouble for getting outside without permission, but there was no way they knew where he’d gone. Even if they had the best surveillance system he could imagine, there hadn’t been time…
Escaping the safehouse for the first time since being deposited there, Evan was grateful to get away from Katherine and to get some fresh air. The air was crisp, and the streets quiet. Evan stood on the stoop for a few minutes, finally taking in the scope of Merlain’s capitol for the first time. The…
