Chapter Forty-Two Noah

"I'll be doing the dangerous part." Professor Kemp moved to the desk. Opening a drawer, she started rummaging through it. "It's good that you're here, Helen. You're more familiar with the tech. Sit here, please."

"Okay." Helen's tone was shaky, but as she settled into the chair she raised her chin.

"Put these on." Kemp handed her a pair of headphones. "I'm going to head to Anderson's office. If I'm right…" she checked the time on her wristclip, "The marchers will be arriving any minute. It's perfect."

"Marchers?"

"Long story." Kemp continued to tap at the datadev, navigating through various screens. "Basically, the Resistance are leading a protest march through the–"

"The women are rebelling!" Ella butted in. "Questioning Danforth."

"They're headed towards the academy." Kemp unplugged a cable and replaced it with another. "Any minute."

"So if we can capture Anderson admitting what she and Danforth have done…" Helen's face lit up as she understood. "It's genius!" She gestured to the equipment in front of her. "Just tell me what I need to do."

"Turn that other screen on."

Helen obeyed, the screen to her left lighting up. As Noah squinted at it, an office came into view. Anderson was sitting at the desk reading something on a datadev in front of her.

"Bingo!" Kemp crowed. "We can see her."

Spurred on by her success, the professor moved to a cupboard at the side of the room. She opened it and took something out. Pulling her shirt out of her trousers, she pressed a button on the top of the object and slipped it into her belt. "Help me with this, Ella?"

Ella hurried to assist her. Kemp fiddled with the cable attached to the object.

"You need to thread it up the back of my shirt. We have to keep it hidden."

Ella did as she was told, flushing at the close contact with the older woman.

"What do I do with this?" She gestured to a tiny black sphere at the end of the cable.

"The microphone?" Kemp pulled a jacket from the back of the chair Helen was sitting on. "Put it in my pocket. She'll see it, otherwise."

Taking a pair of scissors, Kemp cut a hole in the jacket lining before slipping it on. With Ella's help, she fed the cable into the pocket from the inside.

"That's as close as I can get it without her spotting it." She gestured to Helen. "Can you hear me?" Helen gave her a thumbs up. "Good."

Satisfied that the microphone was hidden, Kemp moved to a different datadev, turning it on and navigating through some options like lightning. She was searching the academy security cameras. When an image of the front gates appeared, she pointed at it.

"This is where the marchers should be arriving." She checked her wristclip. "Any minute now. I need to get to the office. Helen, you should be able to hear our conversation. Once I'm in, hit this button to start recording. Okay?"

Pale but resolute, Helen nodded.

Removing her wristclip, Kemp slid a small cable into the side of it and attached it to the datadev in front of Helen. She clicked a few buttons. "We'll store the recording on my clip. As soon we have what we need, remove it." She held Helen's gaze, her expression serious. "Whatever you do, keep it safe."

"Got it."

"Noah, lock the door after me." Kemp went to a cabinet at the far side of the room. Wrenching it open, she took out a gun and handed it to him. "If anyone tries to enter, you use this. Alright?"

Noah's hands were shaking as he took the weapon, but he managed to nod.

"Ella," Kemp turned back to the other girl, "when the marchers get here, flip this switch. Make sure that dial is turned up as high as it can go. Okay?"

As Ella moved into position, the professor glanced around the room, meeting their gazes one by one.

"If this works, we could change the minds of the Bellator citizens. Forever." She walked towards the door. "If I don't come back," she opened the door, "take the recording and get out of here. By any means possible. Take it to Madeleine. She'll do the rest."

Before they could respond, she was gone.

The silence that filled the room once the door had closed behind her was a heavy one. They had expected to get out of the academy well before the marchers arrived. Now they were stuck here, with vital roles in a job which could make all the difference to the Resistance's success.

Or its failure.

After several seconds had passed, Noah walked to the door. Locking it behind the professor, he gestured at the gun. "I hate these things."

They lapsed into silence again. Helen's eyes were glued to the screen, Anderson hadn't moved. Noah felt a seething hatred for the woman. She was supposed to be an educator, concerned about the young women in her care. Instead, she had knowingly put innocent girls through torture in the name of science. How could she live with herself?

"She's in!"

He jumped at the sound of Helen's voice.

On the screen, Kemp had entered the office. She was standing in front of Anderson.

Noah stepped closer to the screen, praying that Kemp had a plan to get the information out of the principal. Checking the wristclip was properly connected to the datadev, Helen hit the record button. It was tricky to make out Anderson's facial expression, but her body had gone rigid at the unexpected interruption.

"Want to listen?" Helen disconnected the headphones and Kemp's voice filled the room.

"…speak with you?"

As Helen fumbled with the volume, Noah had to admire Kemp's calm.

"Not a good time, Charlotte." Anderson's voice was quieter than Kemp's. She sounded tetchy. "Can't it wait?"

"No," Kemp's voice took on a tone of certainty. "It can't."

Anderson sat up a little straighter. "Go on then."

"I came to give you my resignation."

"What is she–?" Helen exclaimed.

"Shh!" Ella waved a hand to quiet her. "Listen."

In the office, Kemp was still talking. "…here to tell you I'm a proud member of the Resistance, working here undercover. I want you to know that…"

"She's blowing her cover." Helen frowned. She was gripping the table so hard that her knuckles were white. "I guess that's part of her plan, to deliberately aggravate Anderson."

"That's a dangerous strategy," Noah muttered.

"…no longer be allowed to get away with your crimes against the girls in this academy." Kemp ploughed on. "What you have done to them is…"

"They‘re here." Ella jabbed a finger at the screen.

Where the space in front of the gates had previously been empty, now a large group of people was gathering.

"Go on then!" Helen gestured to the switch. "Flip it! Then turn up the volume."

Startled, Ella obeyed. An impressive number of marchers was amassing outside the gates. As Ella turned the dial Kemp had indicated, the marchers on the screen began to react. Looking upwards, they frowned, looks of confusion on their faces.

In the office, Kemp continued to goad the principal. "These girls deserve better. The citizens of this city deserve to know the truth."

"We did it!" Noah stepped closer, pointing at the screen. "They can actually hear her."

"Genius!" Ella's eyes were like saucers. "Now if she can just get Anderson to admit to the bombing…"

"…the crowd will hear it live," Helen finished off.

The plan was working. Better than they could have hoped. A recording of Anderson admitting to the crime would be a powerful tool. But a live broadcast of a confession to a group of women who were already asking questions would be priceless.

The marchers were silent and still now, listening intently to the private conversation in the office. Noah refocused his attention on the conversation, praying that Anderson would admit to Danforth's part in the bombing, without discovering the microphone in Kemp's pocket.

"You can no longer be allowed to get away with this, Principal Anderson," Kemp's voice had reached fever pitch, building to a climax. "It has to stop, or–"

"Or what? You traitor." In the office, Anderson was on her feet. "How, exactly, are you going to stop us? The women of this city believe in Chancellor Danforth."

"Oh, yes?" Kemp leaned forward, her face a snarl. "Maybe that was true, in the past. Right now though, her position doesn't seem so secure."

Anderson came out from behind the desk. "The chancellor has done everything for them. She's always had their best interests at heart."

"Really?" Kemp's tone was sarcastic. "I don't regard the experimentation at this school as being in the best interests of these vulnerable young women."

Anderson took a step towards Kemp. "Everything Danforth has done has been for the good of this city's women. The chancellor has been forced to make the most difficult of decisions, at times, but she has never run away from them."

"Difficult decisions?" Kemp cocked her head to one side. "What kind of decisions?"

"Decisions," Anderson went on, "which have meant the sacrifice of a few for the good of the whole."

"Sacrifice?" Sensing victory, Kemp pressed on. "These girls weren't given a choice. They were selected for Danforth's trial without any information about what would be done to them."

"When the fertility drugs work, it will all be worth it. The entire city will benefit." Anderson advanced towards Kemp, her voice menacing. "They will thank her. And they will see what she has done has always been for them."

At the gates of the academy, the women of the city listened. Their gazes aloft, they focused on the voice booming out of the speakers at the front entrance of the school. And Anderson had no idea. If Kemp could steer the conversation in the right direction…

"Danforth thinks it's okay to sacrifice these young, innocent girls for the good of the rest of the city?" Kemp's voice retained its mocking tone. "She's okay with them dying for us?"

"She is. Because she understands that the end justifies the means." Anderson was almost toe-to-toe with Kemp now. The volume of her voice increased as she neared the microphone in Kemp's pocket. "It's not the only time she's had to make a tough decision because she knows it will ensure the right outcome for the women of this city."

"Really?" Kemp sneered. "On what other occasion has she deemed it necessary for citizens to die so that the whole can benefit?"

Noah held his breath.

"The recent bombing, of course." Anderson spat out. "Another necessary evil. To ensure that the Bellator citizens understand the importance of Danforth's work."

A shockwave ran through the crowd.

"And as long as the chancellor has Eremus to blame for this kind of evil act, the women of the city will remain confident in her ability to protect them." Anderson finished, triumphantly. "Danforth will never give up. She knows what's best for them, even if they don't know it themselves."

Noah sat back in his chair, his heart pounding. At the front of the academy, the marchers stood, openmouthed.

"I think that just about did it." Ella was grinning.

"Look!" Helen pointed at the screen in front of her.

The crowd had come to life. Their faces seething with fury, the women of the city were converging on the gates.

As the crowd descended on the building, the trio in the tech room stared at one another. Clearly, Anderson's words had had the desired effect. But the angry mob outside put them in a very vulnerable position.

"What do we do?" Ella whispered.

Noah shrugged. "Get the recording. Then get out of here."

Helen saved the file and removed the wristclip. She slipped it into her pocket and turned back to the screen. Having abandoned the conversation with Anderson, Kemp was attempting to leave. As she did, Anderson lunged towards her in a desperate attack.

"Think she's worked out what's happening?" Noah asked.

Anderson threw a vicious punch which Kemp failed to avoid. Rallying, the professor launched herself at the door. Anderson was hot on her heels. The pair grappled with one another, falling to the ground out of sight of the camera.

For a moment, the sounds of their struggle continued. Then, without warning, the feed cut out.

"Should we try to help her?" Helen murmured. "Or wait for her?"

"Not if it risks us losing the recording," Ella replied.

"But–"

"Look at the impact it's having." Ella gestured to the camera which focused on the crowd. They had managed to haul the gates open now and were pushing towards the school's front entrance. "It's huge. The entire city has to see this."

"I guess." Helen glanced back at the office camera, where there was no sign of the two women. "But I don't like the idea of leaving her."

"None of us do." Ella sighed, taking Helen's hand. "But it's up to us now. We can't let her down."

The pair joined Noah at the door. As they peered out, their concern over the escalating disturbance grew. There were distant cries, and a loud crash, as though the citizens were trying to break through the gate.

But the hallway outside the teacher's entrance was empty. Creeping into it, they cast desperate glances towards Anderson's office.

"Can't we just–" Helen began, but then her face brightened.

Kemp had appeared further along the hallway. She was limping slightly, and bleeding from a cut on her face, but she was alive. Joining them, she wasted no time in guiding the group back to the central vestibule, where the racket from the mob was deafening.

"They'll be inside any minute," she muttered.

Picking up speed, she turned the corner, heading back to the Resistance's original entry point.

Arden was waiting at the door. He nodded at Kemp with relief. Without a word, he guided them outside and through the grounds, leading them to an exit at the rear. As they slipped into the alleyway, they turned back to look at the academy. All the lights were on and the noise from the invasion carried across the field to them.

Helen's face was pale. "Think the junior girls will be okay?"

Kemp slid an arm around her. "Evelyn's with the march, remember? She'll make sure they're not harmed. I suspect," she gestured to the hallway containing the offices and tech rooms, "they'll head straight for Anderson's office."

Noah shuddered. He wasn't a fan of the principal, but the baying mob descending on her office was unlikely to treat her kindly.

Turning to Arden, he extended a hand. "Thanks for waiting for us."

The drudge bowed his head. "It was my pleasure."

"Shall we get going, then?" Kemp was already walking.

Their hands clasped together, Ella and Helen followed her. Sucking in a deep breath, Noah nodded at Arden. Together, they brought up the rear of the group, heading for the outskirts of the city.

There was more work to do before the night was over.