Chapter Twelve Noah

He was exhausted. The evening shift was always a killer, and this one had been more eventful than most. Ever since he'd left Ella and Helen, he'd been racking his brain for how he might get into the Fertility Wards again. Finding proof of Danforth's experiments was another way he could make himself useful to the Resistance. But the drudges on duty had been kept busy all night, and he had yet to come up with a viable plan.

It had been difficult enough to steal Susie's keycard the first time. Now Sanders was on the warpath, and there was no doubt that additional security measures had been put in place. If the authorities were actively looking for a drudge who had assisted with Sophia's rescue, Noah needed to stay under the radar more than ever. But it was agony to be so close to the place where the evidence was most likely to be and not try to access it.

Thankful that he had finally finished work, Noah headed along the rear hallway in the direction of the drudge quarters. The hospital was usually deserted this late at night, so he was surprised to hear someone walking along the hallway behind him. Whoever it was kept an uneven pace, hurrying one moment and slowing the next, as if they weren't certain of their destination.

The medics always walked rapidly, with a certainty that demonstrated their expert knowledge of the hospital layout. Drudges moved more slowly, but had a quiet, regular footfall. This woman followed neither pattern. But it was unlikely that a patient would be out of bed so late.

Curious, Noah slowed his pace. When the woman was almost upon him, he moved aside, bending to tie his shoelace as she passed. Moving off again, he judged the distance between the cameras carefully. Timing it just right, he angled his head a fraction higher so he could study the woman more closely.

She looked familiar, but he couldn't work out where he knew her from. She wore a dark coat, not a gown, so she definitely wasn't a patient. Her pace was even more erratic now, as though she were nervous to have someone so close behind her. She hurried along, glancing up at the signage on the doors as though she were lost.

Noah picked up the pace as much as he dared, hoping another glimpse might help him to place her. As he gained on her, something about her posture brought back a memory. An Eremus citizen in the clearing, glancing nervously into the forest right before the bombs had gone off.

Fury surged within him. It was Harden's friend Sil. A member of the group that had run away with Jacob. Who had detonated the bomb which had landed Flynn in Danforth's clutches.

He sucked in a deep breath, steadying himself. When he'd followed Sarah, he'd almost gotten caught. There was the same danger here. As a drudge, he shouldn't approach a woman. In the hospital, he was even more trapped than he had been on the streets, where there had been numerous alleyways he could slip into.

There were other dangers too. He knew Jacob had plenty of guns and ammunition. Sil was no doubt armed. If he accosted her, at best he would blow his cover. At worst, he'd end up dead. But no matter how precarious his position, he knew he couldn't let Sil leave without confronting her.

The question was, how could he speak to her without attracting attention?

In the end, Sil solved the problem for him. Stopping abruptly, she turned to face him. "Excuse me. C-can you help me?"

His heart pounding, Noah moved a step closer. For her own sake, it was a good job there were no other Bellator citizens within earshot. The way Sil had spoken to him, a drudge, was far too uncertain and polite to be convincing.

Ignoring her error, he inclined his head to indicate he was at her service. Any cameras which recorded their conversation would look like a Bellator citizen giving commands to a drudge. An everyday occurrence which wouldn't attract much attention, as long as Noah was cautious and kept his temper in check.

There was a short pause. Had Sil recognised him? When she continued speaking, he knew she hadn't.

"I'm looking for…" she fished in her pocket and consulted a piece of paper which might have been a map. The lack of wristclip gave her away. "The pharmacy?"

It was a strange request. The pharmacy was closed at night to anyone except the medics, but Noah ignored the fact. Inclining his head again, he moved off down the hallway, knowing she would follow. His mind was racing. Was she after drugs? Why? But he couldn't ask her.

Confident that Sil knew little about the hospital layout, Noah led her to a small walk-in storage room on the far side of the hospital. When they reached it, he pushed open the door. Sensing her hesitation, he hurried her inside, grabbing hold of a sheet from one of the shelves before closing the door behind them.

"This isn't–" she began, as the room went dark. "Where are we?"

Keeping his head low, Noah moved to the corner where he knew there was a camera. Using the shelving as a ladder, he looped the bedsheet over the lens before jumping down. Returning to the door, he snapped on the light and pulled down his mask.

"Noah!" Her face flooded with recognition. "What are you–?"

"Be quiet. We haven't time for this." He stepped closer. "What are you doing here?"

She bristled at his question. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because I want to know what Jacob's up to. After recent events, I think we've a right to–"

"What Jacob does is no concern of yours anymore." She tossed her head. "Eremus rejected him. He owes them nothing."

Noah felt his hackles rise. "I'm sure that's how he sees it. Is that why he blew up Matriarch House? That was a real double-whammy! Piss off Danforth and increase the hatred of the Eremus people?"

Sil narrowed her eyes. "Blew up…? Wait. You mean that big government building that was destroyed? I saw the ruins earlier today." She tilted her head to one side. "You think Jacob was responsible?"

"Well, wasn't he?" Noah hated her denial. "It's just the kind of thing Jacob loves to do."

"Not that I'd confide in you under normal circumstances," Sil snapped, "but that had nothing to do with us. I can assure you we were nowhere near that government building the other night."

"I don't believe you."

"Believe what you like." She scowled. "I'm telling you we weren't there."

"Well, what exactly are you doing here then?" Noah spat out. "Why wander the hospital in the dead of night?"

"None of your business." She moved towards the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Sil stopped, her hand on the handle. "Why not?"

"Because," Noah stepped towards her, "you're doing a lousy job of pretending to be a Bellator citizen. And if you're caught…"

She turned to face him. Her face was still defiant, but he could tell he'd rattled her. "Lousy… how?"

He almost laughed. "The fact that you're wandering the hospital in the middle of the night with no good reason is enough. The only people up and about in the hallways at night are people who work here. How did you even get in?"

She shrugged. "It took me a while. I watched the Emergency entrance all day today. Eventually, two ambulances came in at the same time. I sneaked past while the staff were distracted with the new arrivals." She chewed on her lip. "I figured I could move around at night without being seen though."

Noah pointed at the sheet hanging from the ceiling. "There are cameras everywhere."

She shuddered. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really. We're watched all the time." Noah shook his head. "Putting that aside, the biggest issue you've got is the way you spoke to me out there. A total giveaway that you don't belong here. Any Bellator citizen would know you were an outsider."

She blanched. "But why?"

"I'm a drudge. The Bellator women give us orders. They don't speak to us with respect."

"I see." Sil shifted from one foot to the other. "I didn't realise. I guess there's a lot I don't know about the way things work in the city."

Noah snorted. "There certainly is. Now, will you tell me what you're doing here?"

"I will not." Sil folded her arms across her chest. "It's none of your–"

"Fine." Noah pushed past her, heading for the door. "I'll leave you to get out of here on your own then."

Sil grasped his arm. "Don't go."

He stopped. She looked like an animal in a trap. For a moment, he felt sorry for her. And then he remembered the bomb.

"Did you hear what happened to Flynn?" He took a step towards her. She flinched, but didn't reply. "He was blamed for the explosion. Danforth's planning his execution as we speak. All because of Jacob's little stunt."

"I keep telling you." Sil shook her head in disbelief. "It wasn't us."

"You expect me to believe that?" Noah scoffed.

"Yeah. I do." Sil's entire body sagged back against the shelving. "Since we came to the city, things have been pretty difficult. We have few resources, the men in our group can hardly move around the city without being spotted, and Avery's a royal pain."

Noah remembered the arrogant senior girl who had been kidnapped by Jacob after his recent split from the Eremus community. As a prisoner in the caves, she had been demanding and unpleasant to his own community and most of her fellow students, but even she didn't deserve to be Jacob's hostage.

"…we've had to scavenge for food or steal it, and to cap it all–"

She broke off abruptly.

"Go on?" Noah prompted. "Don't leave it there."

She sighed. "I'm telling you, with everything we have going on, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to blow up such an important landmark. And, as I keep saying, we were elsewhere the night the bomb went off."

Noah stared at her. Was she telling the truth?

"Where were you, then? If you weren't here."

Her face closed off. "I won't say."

Noah tried a different tack. "What do you want with the pharmacy? Was that just a ruse, or did you really want to get some drugs?" He took a step closer. "One of you get injured in the bombing? Got a nasty wound you don't want to get infected?"

"We had nothing to do with that." Sil sighed. "We do need drugs though. Avery's sick. A cough which refuses to go away. The little princess isn't used to roughing it, I guess."

Noah was glad that the group appeared at least to want to keep Avery in good health.

"What does Jacob intend to do with Avery?"

"I don"t know. Use her to get to Danforth, somehow? Avery is one of her precious academy students, as she keeps reminding us." Sil shook her head. "I'm not even sure Jacob knows himself. But her being ill is just another of our many issues." She glanced around the store room. "I'm guessing this isn't where they store the drugs?"

"Definitely not." Noah gestured at the shelving. "This cupboard stores various supplies used by the drudges. Cleaning fluids, mops and buckets, cloths, bleach, spare uniforms–"

Sil picked up a mask from the shelf Noah had indicated. "You wear one of these things all the time?"

"Every minute we're in public."

"And the uniform?"

Noah nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Sil began to walk along the shelving, running her hand across the contents of the shelves. "Why are you pretending to be a drudge?"

"I'm working for the Resistance now." Noah deliberately kept it vague. "I'm undercover here. It's a useful place to be."

Sil accepted his response without question. "Can you get me some drugs?"

He laughed. "No chance."

Her face fell. "Jacob will kill me if I come back empty-handed. He's pretty desperate."

"Sorry. They don't let the drudges near the important stuff."

He found himself feeling sorry for her. Jacob could be cruel, especially when backed into a corner. Sil's fear that he would take out his frustration on her, or Avery, was not unrealistic.

"The only way you'll get drugs is by stealing them from the delivery van." He sighed. Was he doing the right thing? "It's dark blue. Drops off deliveries at the rear entrance of the hospital every other day. If you can somehow be there when the drugs are being brought inside, or if you got in a comcar and followed the van when it left, you might work out where the warehouses are that store the drugs. Maybe you could break into them more easily."

Sil's eyes were wide. "Why would you help me?"

Noah shrugged. "Because I don't want Jacob to punish you. Or Avery."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me." Noah closed his eyes. It was the right thing to do. Faith wouldn't want Avery to suffer, even if she disliked the young woman. "Just promise me you'll try and keep an eye on Avery. Look after her."

"I will."

"Alright. Now if I were you," he leaned close, "I'd make my way out of here the same way you came in. Quickly. Before someone catches you and identifies you as an Eremus citizen."

Sil gave a weak smile and gestured to the door. "Could you…? I mean, will you check that…?"

Sighing, Noah edged past her and eased the door open. The hallway outside was empty.

He turned back to Sil. Her breathing was rapid and her arms were wrapped tightly around her chest.

"All clear. For now. But hurry."

As Sil disappeared into the darkness, he wondered if she was telling the truth. Because if it hadn't been Jacob, he had no idea who was responsible for the bombing.