Chapter Twenty-Three Faith

The screen at the rear of the stage flickered briefly. Hope surged through Faith as a puzzled ripple ran through the crowd.

This was it!

On the screen, Danforth's face dissolved, replaced with an image of a familiar sickbed. Faith's heart constricted as Sophia's face filled the screen. Her friend might not be here anymore, but she was about to get her wish. Today, the Bellator citizens would see just what their beloved chancellor was capable of. And Sophia would be the one to reveal the truth.

There was a loud buzz, followed by a crackling sound. On the podium, Danforth had abandoned her microphone and was shouting orders, her face creased with fury. An air of confusion hung over the crowd. Several Resistance members to Faith's left exchanged hopeful glances. As the achingly familiar voice rang out across the square, they began to creep forward.

"My name is Sophia. I am a student of the Danforth Academy… the Danforth Academy… the Danforth Academy…"

Faith's eyes flew back to the screen, where the image juddered horribly. Sophia's features lurched back and forth in a comical loop as the video stuttered, unable to play.

Please, Blake.Faith pressed her fingers into her sides to keep from screaming. Work it out. You can do it.

But Blake's concerns about repeating their earlier move successfully were being borne out right in front of them. Sophia's face flickered back and forth on the giant screen, the same words echoing over and over.

The women in the crowd stared upwards. But instead of a dawning horror at the atrocities Danforth had committed, they were simply bewildered.

Come on, Blake.Faith willed the techie to regain control. Please.

A long, metallic shriek echoed across the square. On the screen, Sophia's face froze.

And on the podium, Danforth hid a satisfied smile.

Turning to her people, she shook her head in mock-sadness. "My apologies. We seem to be having some… technical difficulties." She waved a hand dismissively. "But the ceremony must go on."

She turned her attention back to Flynn.

"I promised you justice," Danforth said. "I promised that those responsible for the recent atrocity would be punished. And today, you will see that I am a woman of my word. No longer, will these vicious beasts be allowed to hurt us. No longer, will they…"

Tuning Danforth out, Faith gazed up at her friend's face on the screen. Her eyes wide, Sophia was frozen in an earnest expression, her innocence and honesty shining from the screen. Faith swallowed hard. All the effort Sophia had put into the video, despite the pain it had caused her, so that the women of Bellator would know the truth.

She couldn't let it be for nothing.

She glanced at the guard on duty at the top of the steps. The woman was as distracted as everyone else, her gaze fixed on the chancellor. If Faith moved quickly, she wouldn't know what hit her. And once Faith made it to the stage, once Danforth recognised her, no one would dare attack.

Slipping off her sunglasses, she walked towards the stage, her hand closing around the pills in her right pocket.

At the bottom of the steps, she looked upwards once again. Danforth was shouting now, her face filled with fake fury, denouncing her own actions as those of the devil. The guard at the top was transfixed, her eyes fixed on the chancellor's performance. No one was paying Faith any attention.

She gazed at the screen one last time.

I won't let you down.

With a final promise to her friend, she launched herself onto the stage.