Rhombus [h.s]

17

17

I have killed one man to save a hundred.

I have killed one man to save a hundred, I kept reminding myself.

I stared at Seth: he was foaming at the mouth while twitching as if he were having a seizure.

I was the last person he saw in this earth. The world was terrible, but perhaps I'll see this man again. I told him that I was sorry. I was sorry I had to kill him for the Operation's selfish purpose. It was such a broken world.

I threw the champagne flutes away and ran across the yard and saw Garfunkel running toward the main building. I never saw him run so fast in my life. I slipped and fell repeatedly and worried that someone had seen me kill Seth, but I just kept getting up and running, away from the guardhouse. I ran like an antelope—well, like an antelope wearing heels having a nervous breakdown, out of control. And then, as I reached the back of the main building, I saw Liam, staring at me. From afar, I could already see the worry in his eyes.

"Rue! Are you all right?" He asked once I reached him.

I gasped for air. My knee throbbed. I wheezed as I tried to tell him I was fine.

His eyes darted around, seeking out threats. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Stung like a bitch, huh?"

I pushed out a weak laugh. "If you have to ask."

"You know, I could get used to this espionage thing. Maybe we can do this again under better circumstances."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Just give me a second, okay?"

I caught sight of the stack of papers and flyers in his arms. UNITE AGAINST THE SYSTEM was their bold heading in grisly red.

Craning his neck to look back the way I came, Liam asked, "You got your job done?"

"Yeah. I just hope this Operation won't get me arrested," I said.

"Don't worry about the police. Headmaster Gordon doesn't like to bring the police to campus. It's bad publicity."

"But I just killed Seth." The words tasted bitter as it rolled off my tongue.

"And that's where Harry's genius comes in."

"Huh?"

"He's a maestro. He's orchestrated this whole goddamn thing. Seth's night shift starts at ten. Harry specifically picked him for you to kill. See, the guy has a family history of epilepsy. From that remarkably obvious fact, investigators can infer that he died from an epileptic fit. And you know what that means? A clean kill."

"But an autopsy would—"

Liam shook his head and went on. "George, Walter and I searched for the perfect poison. Methyl alcohol mixed with tetramine and abrin is virtually untraceable in autopsy. It will be absolutely impossible to determine the cause of Seth's death. Unless, of course, they have a well-developed lab and a lot of time in their hands then they might find the toxin. But as far as I'm concerned, these people won't waste any of their time to solve one security guard's death."

My jaw literally dropped. My mouth hung open as I stared at him.

"Close your mouth, Rue," he said.

My teeth clopped together. "You guys are unbelievable."

"Welcome to part uno of Operation Red Death—Exploitation," he gave me a smile, then it faded, just too soon. His face went very still very fast.