Chapter Forty-Five Faith

"Citizens of Bellator, I stand before you today a proud woman."

Danforth's words rang out hollowly across Blake's office. As Blake had requested, Faith started the timer on the datadev in front of her. The schedule had allowed forty-five minutes for Danforth's address. It was vital they time their interruption. Other parts of the plan depended on it.

She tried not to concern herself with the fact that they weren't quite ready.

"I'd like to thank the Bellator Orchestra who, as always, showed us how the beauty of music can lift us from our daily grind."

Faith watched as Danforth's crocodile smile beamed out at the crowd. How many of the women in the square, she wondered, still believed what the chancellor told them?

"Welcome to our Liberation Day Ceremony! Today, we have much to celebrate, and I'm very proud to…"

Faith turned to Blake, tuning out the vicious words. "Are we good to go?"

Blake tapped on her coms. "Still trying to contact Robyn."

Though everyone else was in place, they had yet to hear back from the Resistance leader. Blake's posture radiated tension. Hunched over the datadev, she was tauter than the strings on one of the Bellator Orchestra's violins.

Faith glanced around. They were as prepared as they'd ever be for her speech. She had her notes neatly laid out in front of her. Blake had checked and tested the equipment several times. Microphone, lights, camera: they were all in the perfect position.

Controlling the outside factors was proving more difficult.

"Can I help?"

As Blake glanced at her, she braced herself for the usual rejection. No, Faith. I have it in hand.

Faith saw the response rise to Blake's lips automatically, but at the last moment, something changed. Rolling her neck, she gestured to the second set of earcoms.

"I want to double-check that Ella's been able to disconnect the firewall." Blake chewed on her lip, and Faith could see her struggling with asking for help. "Could you contact her, while I try to reach Robyn?"

Grateful for something to do, Faith didn't waste time. Selecting her friend's name from the contacts list on the datadev, she made the call.

It took several moments to connect. The repetitive pinging sound set Faith's nerves on edge as she waited. She adjusted and readjusted her earcoms. What if Ella hadn't made it to the control room? What if she'd been caught sneaking inside? What if–

"Blake?"

At the sound of Ella's voice, Faith pumped a silent fist in the air. Beside her, Blake jumped.

"It's Faith. Everything go to plan?"

"Hold on. I've bypassed the firewall. I'm just connecting the cable now." There was a brief pause. "There was a tiny delay getting in."

Faith's heart pounded as she waited for an explanation.

"Okay, I'm done. The firewall's down."

"Great." Faith gave a thumbs up to Blake, who relaxed her spine a fraction. "Did something go wrong?"

"No. It was easier than I expected, actually." There was a rustling noise. "But when I got to the control room, the techies were on their way out."

"They were leaving?" Faith frowned. "Right before Danforth's speech started?"

"Yeah. There was a guard standing at the door when I arrived. She was asking if everything was in place. One of the tech ladies confirmed they were ready." Ella sounded a little breathless. "I had to keep on walking, so I didn't arouse suspicion. That's what caused the delay. But as I walked away, I heard the guard say Danforth needed them in the square."

"That's why they left?"

"Guess so. I wandered around for a couple of minutes, then went back. They were all gone by the time I got there."

"Maybe…" Faith considered, "Maybe Danforth needs them to be… I don't know… more hands on. You think?"

"Maybe. Anyway, it made things a lot easier for me. I didn't have to use a ruse to get inside. It was deserted." There was a clicking sound Faith assumed was the door opening. "Everyone's watching the speech in the canteen. I'm heading back there now, so no one notices I'm missing."

"Sounds like a plan." Faith drew a breath, knowing it was time to play her own part now. "Anyway, thanks for your help."

"No problem." There was a brief pause. "Try not to worry, Faith. You're going to be great."

The line went dead before Faith found the words to respond. It was so like Ella to understand exactly how she was feeling. Swallowing hard, she turned back to Blake. "Any luck?"

"It's just ringing out. She'd have answered by now, if she was able to." Blake rubbed a hand across her mouth. "The guards must still be detaining her."

"If she doesn't get there..." Faith's heart lurched.

"Don't you think I know?" As Blake cut the call, Faith noticed her fingers were shaking.

"What can we do?" Faith sat up straighter. "There must be something."

Blake frowned. "What we need is something big to distract the guards. Something that would cause them to move to a different part of the city. The square, perhaps." She scrolled through her contacts. "I wonder if Diane… No, that wouldn't work."

A thought struck Faith. "What about Flynn?"

Blake cocked her head to one side. "What about Flynn?"

The Resistance had been in contact with Eremus several times since Paulo had told Noah about their plan. They'd agreed that Flynn's idea of coming to Bellator with one of the Danforth students was a powerful one. One which would support their cause. He'd been given approximate timings for the event and the Resistance had arranged for him and Helen to sneak into the city through the tunnels the night before.

Evelyn had been assigned to greet the pair. She had checked in with Blake several times to confirm their arrival. She had met them on the outskirts of the city the previous night and brought them in darkness to a small safehouse close to the centre. It was a risky move, but they'd managed it. Now they were close enough to the square to get there in minutes. The plan was for them to stay there until Faith's speech began. Once they were certain Blake had managed to successfully hack into the feed, they would move towards the square, aiming to arrive as Faith finished speaking.

Although the added security presence around the square amplified the risk of using the more central safehouse, it was essential that Flynn be able to time his arrival as precisely as possible.

Flynn would be carrying a weapon, held to the head of his hostage. Helen was in on the plan, and well aware that the weapon was only for show. It was a necessary move, aimed at preventing Danforth's guards from attacking. It would, they hoped, protect him as he walked through the city streets, allowing him to reach the square without coming to any harm.

As long as he had a Bellator citizen by his side, under his control, the guards would not shoot. But they would, Faith was certain, shadow him at a distance. There was no way a male could wander the streets without attracting attention.

Right now, it might be just the distraction they needed.

"Flynn and Helen are supposed to wait until I start speaking to appear, right?"

"They are." Blake frowned. "And?"

"What if we brought them out early? Like… now?"

Blake looked as though she was considering the idea. "You mean…"

"An Eremus man on the streets will be quite the distraction."

"The timing's wrong, though. If he comes out too soon, he'll be putting himself in more danger than we intended."

"Maybe." Faith knew she was right. "But he's already taking a huge risk coming here in the first place."

"I suppose…" Blake raised her eyebrows. "I mean, you're right… the disturbance will have guards from all over the city racing over there." She chewed on her lip. "But…"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"No."

"Why don't we ask him, at least?" Faith reasoned. "Give him the choice?"

Still, Blake hesitated.

Faith's eyes moved to the screen. Danforth was still speaking, as she had been for the past five minutes, according to the timer. Faith's speech was supposed to cut in at ten minutes.

"Blake," she kept her voice soft. "We don't have long."

"We'd better get on with it then, hadn't we?" Blake started scrolling her contacts. Seconds later, the call connected.

"Evelyn," her voice was urgent, "change of plan…"