Chapter Forty-Eight Noah

"Imay not have long to deliver my message, so I urge you to listen closely." As Faith's voice boomed from the speakers, Noah held his breath. "You are all being lied to by the woman who stands before you today."

Faith sounded determined and confident. Exactly the way she had when he'd stumbled on her rehearsing in the library. Noah stopped scrubbing and turned. Only moments ago, Danforth had been grinning down at them. Now, Faith's serious face filled the screen mounted at the back of the stage.

The wounds on her face were almost healed now, but the fading scars gave the impression that she had seen battle and survived. She looked tough. And determined.

"Terrible things are happening within the Bellator boundaries, while you are kept in the dark. Lie number one: there are dangerous experiments going on within the grounds of the Danforth Academy. Experiments which put the lives of its students at risk. I know this, because I am one of them."

Noah felt a surge of hope. Faith had waited so long to play her part in the Resistance's work. Every word was heartfelt. The citizens in the square stirred, shock and confusion dancing across their faces as Faith continued.

"Lie number two: Eremus still exists."A whisper ran through the crowd at the revelation. "And, far from being a den of vicious brutes, it is a thriving community filled with both men and women who choose to be there. Again, you can trust my word on this, because I have been there."

Danforth was still standing by the microphone at the front of the stage. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, and her face was twisted with fury. Faith's words were already having an impact. The fact that the Resistance had used the speech to disguise Sophia's rescue mission was the icing on the cake. Noah glanced at the street. Any minute now, Robyn would be there.

"But let me tell you more. As I said, the Danforth Academy students are being cruelly used. Their presence at the establishment is not, as you have been led to believe, a privilege. It's a curse."

Faith paused, and Noah could feel the crowd leaning closer to listen. For a moment, he searched the faces, wondering if he might spot Diane. Her team would be there, listening, talking to the citizens, measuring their reactions. But the square was packed, and it was impossible to make out individuals.

He turned his attention back to the screen, where Faith continued to speak. Despite the pressure, Faith's words were measured, weighty, and ringing with importance. The crowd was transfixed.

"Even as I speak, these young, vulnerable women are being forced to undergo horrendous experiments in the name of progress. I have witnessed this and even,"she winced, as though the memory was painful, "been subject to the testing myself."

Faith took a breath, keeping her eyes fixed on the camera. Noah felt like she was staring right at him. If even half the audience felt the same way, her speech would have a powerful effect.

"Not only that, the revolutionary discovery your chancellor is about to reveal is a direct result of this testing. It's an advancement in modern medicine she feels sure you will be thrilled by." Faith paused, leaning closer to the microphone. "I wonder if you'll feel quite so thrilled when you learn that the experimentation has already caused the deaths of three young Danforth students?"

This time, there was an audible gasp.

Faith pressed on, refusing to allow her audience time to recover.

"I presume you're wondering how I know about lie number two: the Eremus community. A few weeks ago, I was kidnapped by them and taken to live in the forest." A ripple of shock ran through the crowd at her words. "Like you, I believed their community to be long gone. Like you, I thought the rebel males in the forest were…"

Noah glanced out of the window again. There was still no sign of the team. He wondered how much longer Susie would be in the lab. If she returned to the ward before they had rescued Sophia, things would get far more complicated. Saying a prayer that Robyn made it before it was too late, he turned his attention back to Faith.

"…what I found there shocked me. Not because the people in Eremus are all male or all monsters. But because what I found was a large, mixed community forced to live in very difficult circumstances because of our chancellor's treatment. The kidnapping was a desperate attempt to draw attention to their plight. Their suffering. The chancellor has her guards hunt them down, because…"

The noise of an engine in the side street caught Noah's attention. He tensed, ready to move to the door. But the vehicle sped by without stopping. Noah glanced back at the screen, wondering how much longer Faith had before Danforth's people cut her off.

His eyes sought out the chancellor. He found her at the side of the platform. She was waving her arms uselessly at an unseen offstage presence. Noah revelled in her fury for a moment, but as Faith began to speak again, his eyes were drawn back to hers.

"…majority of the people were kind to me. Some even became my friends." She smiled slightly, and Noah wondered if she was thinking of him. "When I came back to the city it wasn't to flee from Eremus. It was to try and save a friend. A fellow student who the chancellor was… is hurting."

Noah's hands were shaking. Not with fear, or even anticipation of the dangerous mission to come, but with admiration for the young woman who was giving her all to the speech that could change things, for the better, for everyone.

"There are many other things I would like to tell you." Faith gave a slight shake of her head. "I may not have time. But understand my message. Until you begin to question the leader before you, the atrocities I have described will continue."

Danforth had disappeared from the stage. Noah pictured her roaring at her technical team backstage as they struggled to restore the broadcast feed before any more damage was done. He turned back to the screen, praying Faith would be allowed to continue.

"You may recognise my face from the leaflets that were distributed throughout Bellator a couple of weeks ago. Leaflets which were dismissed by our chancellor as the work of extremists. Of a group of rebels who want nothing more than to disrupt our city's peace."

There was still no sign of life on the street outside. Noah leaned closer to the window, casting his gaze this way and that, hoping to see a comcar pulling up. But the street remained stubbornly empty.

If Robyn's team didn't get here, the mission would fail.He recalled his earlier promise to Sophia. Considered the look on Faith's face if the team returned empty-handed. He couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

Making a decision, he crossed the hall again. He could speed things up, at least. If he went inside, he could remove the tubes from Sophia's arms, get her into a wheelchair and bring her out here. She would be ready and waiting when Robyn arrived.

And he had to believe that she would arrive. Soon.

Behind him, Faith continued, her voice growing more animated by the second. "I can assure you that these so-called rebels do not aim to lie to you, nor to harm you. All they want is to expose the chancellor for the liar she is! To open your eyes to what's going on around you. You should know that Laura Meadows, the Resistance member arrested for her part in delivering the leaflets, was executed by the chancellor. Not, as she claimed," Faith's voice took on a cynical tone, "given the care she needed to be rehabilitated. And there are many others who suffer at Danforth's hands."

Noah made his decision. Swiping the keycard through the gap in the rear of the reader, he pushed open the door.

"Another group who you should spare a thought for is the drudges…"

Faith's voice faded as he strode inside. Without hesitation this time, he entered Sophia's room. Her eyes met his immediately, and he got the impression they had been fixed on the door since he'd left the room.

"Are they here?" Her voice trembled. "The team?"

"Any minute now." He didn't want to lie. "But I figured… if I got you ready, it would save time."

The hope in her eyes faded, but she forced herself to sit up. He hated how weak she looked.

"Alright." She glanced around. "Anything we can do to increase the chances of success. Can you disconnect the cannulas? I know it's not the sort of kit you have in the caves, but your ma must have told you about them." She searched for reassurance. "Right?"

"Of course." Noah looked at the tubes. "I should probably find something to cover the wounds with. In case they…" he hesitated.

"There's the boy whose ma trained him to assist her." Sophia managed a weak smile at his practical suggestion. "I think there's some cotton wool over there. Self-adhesive bandages, that kind of thing." She pointed to a trolley at the side of the room. "Hurry though."

Noah washed his hands in the sink before searching the trolley. Finding what he needed, he donned a pair of gloves and began to remove the cannulas one at a time. Sophia looked away, wincing as each needle left her skin.

Noah found himself hating Danforth even more.

When he was finished, Sophia had three, neatly-covered injection sites.

"A job well done." She grimaced as she complimented him.

"Do you have anything warmer?" Noah gestured to the thin tunic.

"Susie wears a cardigan sometimes. It might be in the office, if we have time to grab it."

Noah hurried to the office and located it. As he wrapped the thick woolly material around Sophia, he could feel her trembling. She had been slight when he met her, but now her body felt skeletal. Helping her to the edge of the bed, he tried not to gawp at her swelling stomach. It was the only part of her which was full and rounded, as though the baby was sucking all the goodness in her body for itself.

Dragging his eyes away, Noah grabbed the wheelchair from the corner of the room. He thought Sophia might argue that she could walk, but the effort of removing the tubing seemed to have sapped all her energy. She was floppy as a ragdoll, as he helped her transfer from the bed to the chair.

When she was settled, he wrapped a blanket around her and brought her to the door of the ward. Easing it open a crack, he peered through. The hallway was still, thankfully, empty.

He turned to Sophia. "I'll go and check if the team are there before I wheel you out."

Propping the door open so he could keep an eye on her, Noah slipped across to the window. The street outside remained empty. His heart sank. If the team didn't arrive soon, they would lose their chance.

His heart racing, he contemplated alternatives. He could take Sophia out of the hospital himself. But a drudge with a vulnerable patient would not go unnoticed for long. He glanced back at the frail body in the chair. Sophia needed care. He couldn't push her all over the city in a wheelchair.

Perhaps he could hide her somewhere inside the hospital. But where? The moment Sanders discovered her missing, she would tear the place apart. There was no way she wanted to lose her one and only success.

On the screen, Faith launched into the final section of her speech.

"So many of your fellow citizens are suffering." Noah glanced up and down the hallway in desperation. The speech had done its job, but he was out of options. He gazed up at Faith. Despite his own dire situation, he was confident that her words would make a difference. "This suffering is purposefully hidden from you. The Resistance aims to show you the harm which is being done, in your name, to other, more vulnerable people, both inside and outside the boundaries of your city."

"I-is that Faith's voice?" Sophia was leaning forwards. Her eyes lit up as they found the screen. "It is!"

"You need to listen to them, to us, to our message."Faith was winding up, her face earnest. "To know that things in Bellator are not as rosy as the chancellor would have you believe."

A screech of wheels in the street outside made Noah jump. Glancing outside, his heart soared as a comcar drew up outside. He yanked the door open as Robyn and Lily leapt out of the vehicle.

"Sorry for the delay. Unavoidable, I'm afraid." Robyn stepped into the hallway her eyes zeroing in on the young woman in the chair. "Oh! You have her ready and waiting."

"Hadn't you better get going?" Noah gestured to the screen. "It's almost over."

Lily's eyes slid to the screen. "Isn't Faith amazing?"

"Hurry, Lil. There's no time." Robyn crossed the hallway, heading for the open ward door. "Hi Sophia. I'm Robyn and this is Lily. We're here to take you somewhere safe. Okay?"

Sophia nodded her understanding. As Robyn pushed the chair out of the ward and towards the exit, Lily checked the injection sites on her arms.

"Nice job!" she grinned at Noah.

He marvelled at her lack of panic. Between them, Robyn and Lily had Sophia in the comcar in seconds. As the door slammed behind her, Robyn turned to Noah.

"Quick thinking, getting her ready. Really saved us some time." She opened the passenger door of the comcar. "Make sure you cover your tracks, won't you? For your own safety."

The door slammed behind her, the comcar pulling away before she had time to wave. Noah moved back inside, relocking the fire exit. The sound of Faith's voice drew him back to the screen.

"It is time for us to make changes. To question the system. To hold accountable those who make the rules which put some of us at risk at the expense of others. And, if necessary, to stop them." She paused, drawing in a deep breath. "Our movement does not intend to disrupt or destroy this city, but to work together to change it for the better. N-not i-in–"

The image on the screen began to break up. There was a loud crackle, and Faith's face disappeared.

Cover your tracks. Robyn's parting words came back to Noah as the spell cast by Faith's speech was broken.

Using a broom handle from the trolley, he retrieved the towel from the camera. Packing away his cleaning equipment, he prepared to leave. From underneath the camera's watchful gaze, he raised his eyes to the screen once more.

Danforth had resumed her place centre-stage. She looked shaken but was preparing to speak. No doubt she was ready to denounce Faith's claims and attempt to return her citizens to their usual state of ignorance.

Noah grinned. The damage was done.

But before she could say anything, there was a disturbance towards the rear of the crowd. The Bellator women parted like sheaves of corn on a windy day, drawing back in horror and fascination as two figures made their way towards the stage.

The taller of the two was hooded and held a gun to the temple of the smaller figure, a female, whose face was exposed. Squinting his eyes, Noah recognised a pale and wary-looking Helen. On the stage, dozens of Bellator guards had sprung into action around Danforth. By the time the strange pair reached the stage, there were more than twenty guns trained on them.

Noah had known it was going to happen, but he still wasn't ready for it. He'd have recognised the mystery figure anywhere, despite the hood. The man's gait was as familiar to Noah as his own.

Guiding Helen before him, Flynn headed for the steps which led up to the stage. Danforth's guards bristled as he came to a halt at the bottom.

Flynn lowered his hood, and Noah felt his knees buckle. The only father he'd ever known looked calm and rational in the face of immense danger. He kept Helen close, the gun pointed at her head.

Noah knew how the situation looked to the majority of the audience. They would assume Flynn was the standard violent male, a terrifying threat to Helen, using his masculine power to gain some kind of sway over the crowd.

But what choice had Danforth left them?

Noah could only hope that the false threat would protect Flynn, giving him the opportunity to speak. Danforth wouldn't want to risk the life of a Bellator citizen. Not with so many onlookers.

Once Flynn opened his mouth, all they could do was hope that his words, in addition to Faith's, would be enough to turn the tide. To reverse the years of hatred.

A strange expression crossed Danforth's face as Flynn called to her. The microphone didn't pick up his words, but after a moment the chancellor nodded. Slowly, Flynn directed Helen up the steps, keeping the gun pressed to her temple. As he neared the centre of the stage, Danforth backed away, taking the guards with her.

As Flynn stepped up to the microphone, Noah's eyes followed the chancellor. Flanked by her guards, she stood to one side, her arms folded. Noah had expected her to look angry. Frightened. Wary even. But the expression on her face was one of extreme confidence, as though she had expected, or even planned, the Eremus man's appearance.

As Flynn opened his mouth to speak, Noah's heart began to pound.