Chapter 27

BURDEN OF PROOF

Chamber of the Tree, House of Fourteen, Santa Monica, California, United States

When Gen entered the domed-room in the House of Fourteen, all talking ceased. All eyes swiveled to focus on her. There seemed to be a collective hush as Gen strode forward, taking her spot in front of the council.

She looked around at the warriors and Mortal Seven stationed around on the stone floor, giving them quizzical expressions. She glanced up at the council, wondering if she wasn’t supposed to be there. Then she worried that she had something on her face, making everyone stare and had been wearing it the entire time she was hanging out with Jack.

Gen cleared her throat. “Did I do something wrong? Am I interrupting something? I was supposed to attend this meeting, right?”

“Of course,” Hester DeVries replied from the high bench, a polite smile on her old face.

“And that’s what we’re wondering,” Freek Kolman muttered through his scruffy beard. “Did you do something wrong? Are you guilty of these charges you’re accused of?”

“No!” Gen exclaimed, much louder than she intended. She looked sideways at Liv, hoping for a little direction. Gen thought that the council was on her side based on the impression that Liv gave her. She simply gave her an encouraging nod.

Gen refocused her attention on the council, looking at the various seven faces staring down at her. “I was set up but I don’t know by whom. Dwayne Stone arranged the internship. I thought that everything went well there but when I left, someone, somehow, put the quantum-entangled silicon in my bag.”

“Do you know of anyone who would want to sabotage you?” Raina Ludwig asked.

Gen bit her lip. Of course she wanted to say Dwayne, her boss. However, without any evidence, that simply made her look like a rebellious rider, not respecting the leader put in place by the Founders. Gen had to play this very carefully. More than ever, she needed to investigate.

“I stopped the major heist at the Los Angeles Museum of Art,” she began. “Hamilton Dixon, the Director of Security was behind that. He’s in jail now?—”

“He’s out on bail, actually,” Clark Beaufont interrupted, shuffling through some paperwork in front of him.

“Oh, right,” Gen said, now knowing exactly how bail worked since she was also out on it. “Well, he would definitely want revenge.”

“This seems bigger than something Hamilton Dixon could pull off,” Haro Takahashi imparted.

Gen gulped, remembering this was Akio’s brother. It felt like she should tell him that she’d just spoken to him. But what good would that do? He wasn’t coming back and would only bring unnecessary emotion into the proceedings. Also, Akio hadn’t given Gen a message for his brother, only for Liv. It wasn’t her place, she decided.

“He was appointed by the new Commissioner of Los Angeles,” Seraphine Galopin stated.

She was another councilor who had lost her brother, Gen realized, feeling so much death around her. That was the risk a warrior for the House of Fourteen took though. They knew it and that’s why so many had been replaced. That was different than the councilors who sat safely on the bench inside the protection of the Chamber of the Tree. Gen and the Founders knew this would be the case when they established the organization of the House of Fourteen, however, that didn’t make it easy to digest that there were two roles, one that was protected and one full of danger.

“Wasn’t the Chief of Police for Los Angeles recently arrested?” Armando Rosario asked, thumbing through paperwork, much like Clark.

“Yes, a Barry Fer,” Hester answered.

“He’s being tried for his involvement with a robbery of the Federal Reserve Bank in LA,” Clark stated. “Fortunately it was stopped because of the quick and covert work of some rogue police officers. They’d been fired by Barry and figured out what he was up to, calling in the FBI.”

Gen worked to keep her face neutral, not wanting to give anything away about her involvement. She didn’t need praise for spearheading that mission. All that mattered was that it was stopped.

“Also Barry Fer was another new appointment made by the Commissioner of Los Angeles,” Raina stated.

“I don’t know much about this Charlie Sloane, but I think we need to investigate him,” Haro said, shaking his head.

“I’ll do it,” Gen volunteered. All eyes shot to her. She stiffened. “Well, I have to clear my name. Right now the prosecution is building a case against me and it doesn’t look good. I was caught with the quantum-entangled silicon on me.” She was careful not to share anything that Captain Neal had told her, not wanting to expose their connections.

Clark nodded. “Yes, and as much as the council wants to help, we simply can’t get involved.”

“Unfortunately that’s true,” Seraphine added. “You’re a Rogue Rider and Dwayne is supposed to be in charge of helping you.”

“He just tried to fire her,” Liv cut in.

“Before she’s even been formally charged?” Freek asked, shaking his head. “I mean, I’m skeptical regarding your innocence, but we are obligated to assume you are until proven guilty.”

“I didn’t do it,” Gen stated with conviction. “I’m going to learn as much as I can about MystTech Creation—covertly, of course. And I’m going to have the best detectives help me to determine what’s going on there, who all is involved. If the Commissioner of Los Angeles is connected to this, then I’m going to find out.”

“We need more than just that,” Armando said. “You’re not considered the most trustworthy source, more so than ever before. Many are skeptical of you. If we are really going to go after this supposed corrupt Commissioner, then you’re going to need to dig up everything on him.”

Clark nodded. “Yes, if he was connected to the LACMA heist or the bank robbery then you’ll need to have proof. That’s the way to free yourself. Because if you just prove your own innocence, that means your enemy is still out there. Unfortunately, I suspect that they aren’t going away until you stop them completely.”