Chapter Nine Faith

After a night of poor sleep, Faith arrived at the Resistance leader's office feeling slightly nauseous. Robyn and Madeleine were waiting inside, their expressions serious. Faith took a seat, not sure why she'd been summoned.

"Morning." Robyn smiled.

"As you know," Madeleine began briskly, with no attempt at a greeting, "we have made a thorough study of the photographed documents from the academy. It has confirmed our suspicions that the majority of the senior students are already being given this untested drug."

Robyn leaned forward. "We want to find out more about it before we decide what action to take."

"This..." Madeleine squinted at the report in her hand, "…femgazipane. It's what they gave you at the academy… right?"

"That's right."

"Can you tell us more about the effect it had?"

"You can see the effect it has." Faith fought to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "You only have to look at Sophia, in the hospital."

"A visual inspection of Sophia's condition is useful, yes." Madeleine gestured to the images on the desk in front of her. "And the information from the photographs you took tells us a little about the dosage each student is receiving." Her gaze pierced Faith's. "But, as you've been given the drug in the past, we're hopeful that you could give us more specific detail."

Faith stared at the Resistance leader, wondering how she could remain so detached.

Robyn seemed to notice her discomfort. "We've been trying to work out the purpose of the drug, but we really don't have enough information. We thought…" she glanced at Madeleine, an unreadable expression on her face, "your perspective might help us to help them… in the long run, at least."

Madeleine drummed her fingers against the desk. "Basically, until Blake has more success hacking into the student information on the school system, you're our best source of intel. And we feel your… personal account of your experience with femgazipane would be… a powerful one."

Faith shifted in her chair. Her memories of the drug were uncomfortable. The tiny room she'd been locked in, her loneliness, the terror of the unknown impact of the drug they'd administered so soon after Serene's death. But she had to do what she could. Only by helping the Resistance could she hope to save Sophia.

She sucked in a deep breath. "I was given the femgazipane via injection. I don't know how much they gave me. Then they left me alone, to see if I'd live or die." Faith grimaced. "A lot of it's a blur, really. It made me vomit. I passed out several times… felt extremely dizzy."

Madeleine's fingers tapped away at the keyboard, taking copious notes. "And were these the same symptoms that Serene suffered when she was given the same drug?"

Faith shrugged. "We never saw her afterwards. They kept her away from us." She felt the weight of the two women's eyes on her and searched for more specific details. "I suppose… the effect must have been incredibly rapid with Serene, because whatever went wrong… it happened immediately."

"Really?" Madeleine's fingers stilled.

"Yes. They sent us straight back to the academy." She bit her lip. "None of us ever saw Serene again."

Robyn's hand flew to her face. "That's awful!"

"It was. For Diane especially." Faith recalled the desolation her friend had felt at the loss. Screwing her eyes shut against the memory, she forced herself to continue. "But by the time they gave it to me, the formula must have been altered. Or perhaps the dosage was weakened." She waved a hand in the air as she clarified. "I mean… not that I didn't feel terrible, but… I obviously didn't die."

Robyn glanced over at Madeleine. "You think we need to get them out of there?"

"The seniors?" Madeleine looked surprised. "How would we do that without attracting attention?"

"Well, it wouldn't be easy." Robyn sat up straighter. "But don't you think they're at risk?"

"No." Madeleine gestured to Faith. "You heard her. They changed the formula." She leaned back in her chair. "We have to assume the girls are safe for the time being."

"But–"

"If we rescue them now, we risk Danforth discovering our operation. Shutting us down entirely. It's too risky." She turned back to her notes, peering at the datadev screen. "We've discussed this. It's about taking the long view. We need to bide our time. Gather more information before acting."

Whilst both women had an air of authority, Madeleine was definitely the one in charge. Robyn disagreed; Faith could see it in her face. But for now, she fell silent.

Tiredness threatened to overwhelm Faith. Her worries about Sophia had caused a disturbed night. She'd been planning on asking Madeleine to reconsider her decision about rescuing Sophia. But her refusal to consider a similar mission to help the academy seniors did not bode well.

She shifted in her chair. "May I go? That is, if you don't have any more questions for me?"

Madeleine's eyes rose from the datadev screen. "We do have one more question." She glanced at Robyn. "A mission we'd like you to consider."

Faith sat up straighter. Completing a second mission was her chance to impress the Resistance leaders. If she proved herself valuable, she might be able to leverage her elevated status. Get them to consider rescuing Sophia. She forced her weary mind to pay attention as Madeleine continued.

"We've been gathering information on Danforth for a long while now, with the eventual intention of sharing it with the Bellator citizens." The leader's face darkened. "Making them aware of what's really happening in their city."

"These recent findings are so shocking." Robyn was back on Madeleine's side now, her tone urgent. "The women of the city have to be made aware. And soon."

Faith's mind was racing. Where did she fit into their plans?

"We've tried to leak this kind of information before." Madeleine closed her eyes briefly. "It hasn't gone well. Danforth blocks it or casts doubt on its origins. We need to overwhelm the citizens with so much evidence they have to stand up and take notice. Last time, Danforth had her guards execute the person responsible."

Robyn shot Madeleine a look of alarm. When she spoke, her tone was much softer. "Faith, we're trying our hardest to turn the tide of opinion against Danforth. But it's not easy. She has the women of Bellator believing every word she says." She met Faith's gaze, her eyes serious. "We have to find a new way to get through to them."

Madeleine leaned forward suddenly. "We think you're the answer."

Faith blinked. "But what can I do?"

"We want you to become… a kind of spokesperson for the Resistance." Robyn held out a hand at Faith's look of alarm. "Hear us out. You have first-hand knowledge of the academy and the experiments. You spent several weeks living among the Eremus community. You're young, educated, and you speak well. We believe the Bellator women will trust your word, sympathise with you."

"Didn't you just say the last person who did this was executed?"

Robyn dropped her gaze. "We'd do everything we could to keep you safe."

A chill ran over Faith's body. She wanted to help them, to help Sophia. Shame flooded her as she tried to contemplate doing what they asked of her.

"How would you protect me?"

"You'd stay here, inside the library." Madeleine jumped in. "No one knows this is the Resistance headquarters. You'd be safe."

"Stay here?" Faith frowned. "Then how would you have me speak to the women of Bellator?"

"To begin with, we thought we'd have a journalist friend of mine interview you. Take your picture. Plaster it on information leaflets which we'd deliver across the city."

"So my face would be known." The reality hit Faith all at once. "I'd never be able to leave the library or I'd be recognised."

Robyn nodded her head. "It would be too risky. Danforth would have her guards out looking for you."

Faith swallowed hard. It wasn't what she'd imagined herself doing when she joined the Resistance. She'd pictured undercover missions where she broke into vital city buildings. Battling Danforth's guards. Finding a way to bring Sophia home safely.

She narrowed her eyes. Perhaps there was a way she could make this work. "If I do it, will you rescue Sophia?"

"No." Madeleine stiffened. "Not necessarily. I won't be blackmailed like that. We will consider rescuing your friend when it is the best thing to do for the women of this city as a whole. Not on a whim. Or because you try to bargain with us." She resumed her typing, glancing down at the datadev keyboard. "We could, of course, ask Diane to undertake this mission instead."

It was an empty threat. Though Diane had knowledge of Eremus, she hadn't experienced the femgazipane. And she was far too spiky to come across as sympathetic. But Faith held her tongue for now. She had to stay on Madeleine's good side if she ever wanted support getting Sophia out of the hospital.

"I'm not sure. I mean, it wasn't what I imagined myself doing here."

Madeleine frowned. "But it's a role we think you'd be perfect for."

Faith stood up, wanting to look as though she meant business. "I'll think about it. And, in the meantime, will you allow me to participate in other missions, outside of the library?"

Madeleine glanced at Robyn, who gave an imperceptible nod.

"Very well." She turned back to Faith. "We need more time to gather additional information anyway."

"Thank you." Faith turned to leave, but Madeleine's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Faith?" Madeleine's tone was distinctly cool. "Don't take too long, will you? We'll need an answer soon."

Nodding, Faith left the office. She forced herself to close the door quietly, though every part of her wanted to slam it.

Two hours later Faith was a little less agitated. After leaving Madeleine's office, she had headed upstairs to the library, glad to see the amiable Laura on duty. She had permitted Faith to stay, as long as she remained out of sight. Since the library was huge, and mostly empty, it had not been a problem.

Strolling the length and breadth of the shelving at the rear of the space, she had browsed all the books available to her. Faith was fascinated to find they were mostly classics, written hundreds of years ago. The front section of the library, she presumed, contained more modern works by Bellator writers who were still living.

She sighed. All of the older books had been modified, a movement propelled by the Women's Independence Party when the city had begun to rid itself of males. Texts which included instances of male violence had been given forewords warning of their shocking content, proof of innate male tendencies the city was trying to get rid of. Large sections had been removed from many books, and others had been rewritten, at least in part, to contain only female characters. Many books from the old days, Sophia had once told her, had been lost altogether. Faith remembered her friend's anger, so uncharacteristic, over the words of writers long dead which were gone forever… at least to the citizens of Bellator.

She drew in a shaky breath. Sophia was never far from her thoughts, but memories of her from the time before Eremus were especially painful. Curling her nails into her palms, Faith stalked towards the only section of the library she had yet to explore. A side room off the main chamber, its sign declared it the Records Room, and she suspected it contained dusty documents which pertained to the city and its inhabitants.

Slipping inside, she gazed around the space. It was no less beautiful than the rest of the building, but had more of a functional tone to it. In addition to the sofas which were arranged around the fiction section, this room contained several tables surrounded by wooden chairs, presumably so that the user could sit and peruse documents which interested them. Around the edges, instead of shelves, there were several filing cabinets, each carefully labelled.

Faith wandered to the first, which read Laws and Policies 2090 – 2110. The next three were similar, with different dates. But the fourth was titled Genealogy. Curious, Faith stopped in front of it and pulled the top drawer open. Inside, separated by scrupulously labelled dividers, were a number of slender record books. Faith's heart jolted. Would there be a record of her mother's pregnancy in here? Of Sophia's? Of Noah's, even?

She ran her finger along the tops of the dividers, stopping at the one marked 2100-2110. Her hand shaking, she slid the book out and closed the drawer. Moving to the large oak table, she slid into a chair and opened the cover to the first page. The book was organised into sections, each one pertaining to a different year of births. Faith flipped eagerly to her own, and found the name Grace Hanlon, her mother, in the middle of a table of names.

The entry gave dates and times of impregnation, a complex code labelled as Seed Origin and the number of attempts with successes or failures. After that, there was a record of maternity appointments, the various tests the pregnant Bellator citizen underwent, and, finally, a date of birth and given name at the end. Faith located Sophia's entry easily, but it took her a little longer to find the one for Noah, as she had no idea when his birthday was.

Eventually, she stopped at an entry a few pages before her own. It stood out because many of the columns were empty, and one of those was filled out with a large black letter M, for male foetus. Anna had fled from the city when she'd discovered she was expecting a boy, and none of the subsequent tests had been done. The final column was simply marked with a black X, presumably noting Anna's disappearance and the lack of information about Noah's birth.

Fascinated, Faith flipped back several more pages, searching for Diane's entry. She found it, and felt a pang of sadness when she spotted the name Serene Joseph two rows above. Another victim of Danforth's experimentation, she had not deserved to die. Faith knew how much Diane missed her old friend. And thinking of what had happened to Serene only made Faith more frightened that the same fate might easily befall her own best friend.

Desperate to distract herself from her depressing train of thought, Faith ran her finger down the rest of the page, searching for more familiar names. She found Farrah, and noted that she was older than Diane, which surprised her. Was Avery older or younger, she wondered? She had to go forward another page to find the blonde girl's name and chuckled to herself. Avery was actually younger than Diane and Farrah, despite her superior attitude.

She ran her eyes idly back along Avery's entry, wondering who had given birth to the arrogant young woman. When she reached the name, her heart stopped.

Avery's mother was Abigail Danforth. A fact the chancellor had obviously wanted to hide. Despite the lack of connection between daughters and their mothers in Bellator, girls did retain their mother's surnames. But Avery's last name, at least the one she'd gone by at the academy, was Lassiter.

Faith's mind was swirling with questions. If Danforth was Avery's mother, why didn't anyone know? Did Avery even know?

It made sense that Avery would act superior to everyone else if her mother was the chancellor of the city, but Faith doubted the older girl would have been able to keep that nugget of information to herself. And why would Danforth put her own daughter in the academy, knowing its true purpose?

She had to tell someone. Someone she trusted.

Faith stood up. After replacing the book, she exited the anteroom and hurried along past the towering shelves to the front of the library. Behind the main desk, Laura frowned at her.

"You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine." She forced herself to slow down. "Just realised how hungry I am!"

Patting her stomach, she bypassed Laura and headed for the door. Her heart pounded as she took the stairs two at a time, almost stumbling as she reached the bottom. Regaining control, she raced along the hallway towards the hub.

She found Diane at their usual table, drinking coffee as she pored over some documents on a datadev. Throwing herself down onto the bench beside her friend, Faith filled her in. When she had finished, Diane's eyes were wide.

"This is huge."

"I know."

"Do you think Avery knows?" Diane rolled her eyes. "I can't imagine her keeping something like that to herself."

"Me neither." Faith kept her voice low. "And I don't get it. Why would Danforth put her in the academy. I mean, now that we know its purpose? She surely didn't want her own child to be subjected to…" Faith shuddered.

"Maybe she was there to spy." Diane's eyes lit up. "Yes! I bet that's it. She had to report back to mother dearest."

"But that would mean she knew about their relationship." As a couple of Resistance members entered the hub, Faith leaned closer. "And I really don't think she does."

"Hmm." Diane shrugged. "Maybe not."

Faith voiced the question which had been running through her head. "You think I should tell Madeleine?"

"Of course, you should. Why wouldn't–" A look of understanding dawned on her face. "You want to use it as a bargaining tool."

Faith could feel herself blushing. "Well, she's still refusing to help Sophia. I thought–"

"You thought this might persuade her?" Diane took a sip of her coffee as she considered the idea. "Perhaps. Though she doesn't seem like she's the sort of person who responds well to blackmail."

"No." Faith recalled the leader's earlier words. "I'm sure she doesn't. But if I could… choose the time when I reveal this information, maybe… maybe it could help my case?"

"Maybe." Diane drained the remnants of her mug. "But if she finds out some other way and then discovers that you knew, it won't go well. I wouldn't wait too long to tell her. Or the whole thing might backfire."