Chapter Thirty-Five Faith

"Have you seen Noah?"

Faith looked up, startled. Ever since the news about the academy girls had come in, she had been sitting in the hub racking her brain for ways they might help them. But when rescuing Sophia had been deemed difficult, rescuing multiple girls was an impossibility.

Evelyn stood in the doorway, her face creased into a frown.

"No. Isn't he supposed to be with you?"

"Supposed to be." Evelyn scowled. "He disappeared while we were out."

Faith sat forward, her heart thundering. "What do you mean, he disappeared?"

"Exactly that. I was in the café in Liberty Park. He was supposed to wait outside for me. When I came to fetch him, he was gone."

"You think something happened to him?"

"Who knows?" Evelyn stomped past her, heading for the office. "And he'd actually been doing well up to that point."

Faith followed the older woman into the office. Robyn and Madeleine looked up as they entered.

"Evelyn, you're back." Madeleine greeted her briskly. "Good. We need you."

"I lost–" Evelyn opened her mouth to speak, but Madeleine cut her off.

"No time." She jabbed a finger at the screen. "The academy girls are in grave danger. We're working on a plan to help them."

Evelyn took a seat, all thoughts of Noah forgotten. "I'm listening."

"Anderson is about to start the girls at the academy on a radical second drug." Madeleine leaned forward. "An action she's been advised against by the medics."

"We can't rescue them all right now." Robyn looked stricken. "We don't have the manpower. But we can't just do nothing."

"We think we've come up with a way to help them," Madeleine continued. "A temporary solution, at least."

"Alright." Evelyn didn't hesitate. "What do you need me to do?"

"We need placebos." Madeleine blurted out. "Pills with which we can replace the real drug."

"And then we have to get them into the academy." Robyn frowned. "Somehow."

"We can't use Kemp." Madeleine butted in. "They're watching her too closely."

"What about Arden?" Faith spoke for the first time. "Could he help?"

Madeleine scratched her head. "Possibly. It would be bigger than anything he's done in the past. But I think he'd be up for it, if the girls' lives are at risk."

"You can contact him?" Faith asked.

"Should be able to, yes." Robyn turned to Evelyn. "Can you manage the placebos if I can work out a way to get them inside the school?"

"Definitely. Lily has a contact in one of the med centres." Evelyn stood up. "When do you need them?"

"As soon as possible."

"I'm on it." Evelyn moved towards the door. As she reached it, she turned. "By the way, you should know that Noah did very well today, until he–"

Running footsteps in the hub made her pause. Faith's eyes went wide as Noah appeared behind her. He was pale and breathless, but alive.

"Hi." His gaze went to Evelyn. "Sorry about…"

"It's fine." She narrowed her eyes. "Everything alright?"

He opened his mouth, but Faith caught his eye. She gave a tiny shake of her head. Taking the hint, he glanced back at Evelyn.

"Yes thanks. Never better."

She regarded him for a moment before turning away. "Very good. I must get on."

She swept out of the office, with Robyn not far behind.

When Faith looked back at Madeleine, she had returned to her screen. Jerking her head towards the hub, Faith raised an eyebrow. Noah nodded.

Once out of earshot, Faith pulled him to a table in the corner. "You alright?" She looked him up and down. "Evelyn said she'd lost you! I was so–"

Noah ran a hand across his forehead as he slumped down on to the bench. "I'm okay. I had to run, that's all."

"From what?"

He leaned closer, dropping his voice. "From Sarah Porter, of all people."

Faith recoiled at the name. "You saw her? Was she with–?"

"No sign of Jacob." He held her gaze. "I followed her. It's why I left Evelyn. But I figured, if I could find out where their group was hiding out, it would be useful information for Madeleine." He hung his head. "But she spotted me. Even threatened to expose me."

"What do you mean?"

"She screamed for help. I think she was going to have me arrested for harassing her." He flushed at the memory. "I didn't wait around to find out. Ran as fast as I could, loitered in the backstreets, eventually made my way back here."

Faith's heart thundered as she imagined him on the run. "So you don't know–"

"I don't know anything, other than Sarah was in the city today."

Faith glanced at the door to the office. "You should probably tell Madeleine."

"And give her another reason to send me back to Eremus?" He rolled his eyes. "She already doubts me."

"Evelyn said you'd done well, until you disappeared." Faith laid a hand on his arm. "And she didn't give you away."

"Not yet, anyway." Noah groaned. "You think she might keep it to herself?"

"Probably. For the time being, at least." Faith hoped she was right. "They have too much going on right now." She wondered how much she would be permitted to confide in him. "Sophia's definitely pregnant. And Danforth's desperate to push ahead with using the drugs on the academy students. She wants more pregnancies, so she can make some big announcement to the citizens. Convince them she's their saviour, once and for all."

"At the Liberation Day Ceremony?"

"What?" Faith frowned.

"I overheard the woman at the deli discussing it with Evelyn. There's some big celebration next week, isn't there? Danforth gives a speech."

"You're right." Faith's mind was racing. Liberation Day was always a big deal in the city. Everyone turned out to listen to the chancellor speak or watch her on the news. "That's why she's so desperate for results. Liberation Day will be the perfect time to announce her news."

Footsteps from the other side of the hub announced a newcomer. They looked up to see Diane approaching. "Robyn came in to speak to Blake." She flopped down onto the bench next to Faith. "And we were right in the middle of testing–"

"It's pretty urgent." Faith beckoned her friend across, dropping her voice. "Sophia's definitely pregnant. We think Danforth wants to announce her big success to the Bellator citizens at the Liberation Day Ceremony. But she'd rather have more than one pregnancy to crow about."

Diane's eyes flew wide. "The academy girls?"

"Yes. But they're not ready for the second drug, according to the doctor in charge of the study."

"So she's putting their lives at risk?" Diane sat bolt upright. "What are we doing about it? These are girls we know! We can't let them–"

Faith held out a hand to stop the flood of words. "We're not. Robyn's speaking to Blake about contacting Arden. They're going to replace the drugs with a placebo. Keep them safe." She turned to Noah. "Danforth told Anderson there were some women in the city who believed the information from the leaflets, you know. She's worried."

"Really?" Noah sat forward. "That's great."

"I wonder…" Faith turned to Diane. "You know how Blake managed to keep Stella's broadcast going for longer than usual last week?" Diane nodded. "Could she hack into the feed for Danforth's speech, do you think?"

"She's pretty good." Diane cocked her head on one side. "It's possible, I guess."

"What are you thinking?" Noah asked.

Faith's mind raced over the possibilities. "What if… what if we could switch the feed during Danforth's talk and I could talk to the citizens? They'd all be listening on Liberation Day. Perhaps a live audience with me might have more impact than the leaflets alone. Might change their minds – stop them believing every word that comes out of Danforth's mouth."

"You could tell them what she's doing to the girls at the academy before she gets the chance to announce her triumph." Diane looked excited. "Preempt her."

"You think that might work?"

"It's certainly worth a try." Diane gestured to the office door. "Shall we?"

Moments later the three of them waited for Madeleine's response. Her face was unreadable as she considered Faith's proposal.

"I'd have to check with Blake. Make sure she thought this was possible."

"Of course." Diane stepped forward. "But I'm fairly sure she would. We've been working on the tech she used during Stella's broadcast last time. We've made some alterations, improved it. Hacking into Danforth's speech and switching the feed is definitely something she could do."

"What if Danforth's team could track it? Trace it back here?" The leader hung her head. "It's bad enough she's torturing Laura for information about the Resistance. So many people live here in the library. I don't know how many more lives I can put at risk."

"I'm sure Blake would do everything she could to scramble the signal." Diane's eyes flashed with determination. "Keep Faith on as long as she could, without compromising headquarters."

Madeleine turned to Faith, her face earnest. "If we do this, you'll have to make sure your speech is very carefully written. Get across the key points fast. We'll have no idea how long you'll have."

"I can do that." Faith felt more positive than she had in a long time.

Madeleine sat upright in her chair. A calm settled over her, and she looked almost regal.

"Alright. I'll consider it." She gave a sharp nod. "We finally know what Danforth's up to. She wants to present her citizens with a solution to the reproductive issues the city has. To show them they can exist without any form of male input." The leader shook her head in disbelief. "If we can replace the metraxilone with the placebos, the girls at the academy will be safe. It's the best we can do for them, for now.

"But it's not enough. Danforth still has one successful candidate. If she presents Sophia to the citizens, it will be extremely convincing. We cannot allow that to happen. If this works…" Madeleine jabbed a finger at Faith. "Your speech could act as a distraction."

Faith held her breath. "A distraction for what?"

"For a rescue. If all eyes are on the Liberation Day celebrations, security elsewhere will be more lax. We know Danforth is struggling for guards right now. If all the attention is focused on you, we can take advantage." Her eyes gleamed. "We can get Sophia out."

Faith's heart felt like it was going to burst. "You mean it?"

Madeleine nodded. "It makes sense. If we remove all of Danforth's advantages, she'll have nothing to impress her citizens with. It will require some careful planning, but I think it's–"

The door to the office burst open, cutting her off. The three of them turned to see Ella, her face stricken.

"I'm sorry…" she was panting, "I know I'm not supposed to come here without permission, but I had to come… to let you know…"

Noah was at her side in a second. Taking her arm, he brought her forward and eased her into a chair.

"What is it?" He soothed. "Take your time."

"I just came from Matriarch House. Got sent home early."

Faith sucked in a breath. "They know you're from Eremus?"

"No. Not that." Ella heaved in an unsteady breath. "I was bringing in a food delivery. From a van outside, to the kitchens." She blanched, and her eyes filled with tears. "I heard a commotion… running feet… shouting… and then… and then…"

She broke off. Alarmed, Faith took a step closer. "What happened? Are you in trouble?"

Another vehement shake of the head. "Not me." She paused, bringing her eyes up to meet Madeleine's. "I'd just stepped into the building when a figure came running towards me. Smashed straight into me. We both went flying. But before we could get up, guards came flying at us from nowhere." She paused, dropping her gaze. "At first I thought I'd been discovered. That it was me they were after."

There was a silence, as though Ella didn't want to go on.

"But they were after the other person?" Madeleine prompted. Ella refused to look up. "What happened to them?"

"The guards grabbed hold of her, but she struggled." Ella's eyes went wide. "So hard. She managed to pull free of them… she tried to run, but…" She gasped a breath, forcing herself to go on. "She didn't even make it to the door."

"Did the guards…?" Diane's voice was full of dread.

"They shot her." Ella's voice was full of disbelief. "Right there in front of me. Before she could reach the street."

The group fell silent. It was clear from Ella's face that the shot had been fatal. Faith felt sick as Madeleine asked the next question.

"Ella, did you recognise the person who was shot? Do you know who it was?"

Ella turned to Madeleine again. "Not at first. But she collapsed to the ground close to the door, underneath a light." She paused. "That's when I knew. I think she'd been trying to escape. Stop the torture."

Madeleine's hands were trembling. "Was it-?"

Ella nodded. "It was Laura."