Whispers of the Diamond: A Romance of Memory and Desire

Chapter 35 - Alex

It had been almost a week since our raid on London North, and the TG had indeed issued an arrest warrant for me. That meant my fate was now in the hands of Hunters, and with the price on my head, I had no doubt what awaited me.

On the other hand, Rebbi had made significant progress in upgrading their systems to fifth-generation Conscience Transference Technology. This would ultimately keep the resistance alive beyond our current predicament. She had also managed to reverse-engineer the system that stored short-term memory from the one in my own body, meaning they would lose even less ground now.

If I was honest, I'd gotten restless as the resistance sifted through the information they now possessed. The TG had issued a statement upgrading their status from terrorists to a global threat, which meant the pressure was now on. And, of course, I'd been blamed for the whole thing. The military sector had doubled down on its security protocols, and my ID had been wiped from their system. Unfortunately, they had also begun executing anyone they believed had ties to the resistance. Civilians were paying the price for our actions. The TG was doubling down on its control through fear.

"You look tired," Terra said, snapping my train of thought back to reality.

"It's hard to sleep these days, with all the chaos we've caused," I replied softly.

"I know, but Alice is about to speak to them, try to bring an end to the bloodshed. Rebbi is just finishing up the defences so we can't be traced, to make sure we stay safe."

I followed her through the area and down into another isolated part—an old office, it seemed. As the big screens lit up, I saw that face. One I'd met only a handful of times: Arthur Frost.

"Well, well, Alex, the betrayer, standing with the biggest threat the Transcontinental Government has ever faced," he said, his voice dripping with contempt, his eyes cold and emotionless.

"A little flexibility can go a long way toward ending this, Arthur," Alice stated, her voice surprisingly warm in the face of someone so cold. I'd gotten to know Alice, and I could see reflections of Abigail in her too. Both women were stubborn to the core, but both knew what they wanted.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," Frost spat back. There was a vicious tone, a dark nature of a man corrupted by power.

Alice remained quiet for a moment before turning away, her back now to Arthur Frost. A smirk crossed her lips. Over her shoulder, I could see the displeasure on Frost's face, clearly unhappy that anyone would have the nerve to turn their back on him.

"Then I have no choice," Alice stated, her tone catching both Terra and me by surprise.

"Among the files we took is every secret the TG would hate to see fall into the hands of the lowlanders or those disgruntled within your own ranks. In 48 hours, we will release those files, and the TG will be forced to confront its own twisted purpose. I don't want to destroy the TG; I just want a world where people can live, where their government cares enough to ensure they're fed, where children don't have to turn to rape and prostitution to survive, where money isn't the driving factor in a world already bitter from it. It's not a lot to ask."

Arthur Frost seemed to freeze for a moment, contemplating her words or perhaps trying to gauge the seriousness of the threat. They knew exactly what we had taken and the potential damage we could inflict. I wondered if this had been Alice and Abigail's aim all along, but in truth, I never really cared enough to ask. My attention had only sharpened when I became aware of Terra's actions, and even then, it was driven by my need to protect her.

Alice turned back to face him, and I could see his jaw clench. If he were a poker player, he'd be nervous right now, and Alice had just raised the stakes in a way that made him uncomfortable. I wondered if it was because he was the Head of Justice or simply because Alice was a woman with a clear goal. But suddenly, Arthur seemed less of a threat as he scrambled to regain his footing. The one thing I was certain of was that Arthur Frost was not used to being on the defensive.

The image shifted to a clock and then disconnected. If I had to guess, Rebbi cut the uplink to avoid being traced. But it seemed Alice was locked in her course. I wasn't used to this—waiting. I had always been the one solving problems, chasing the bad guys. Now I was being hunted, and all I could do was wait. Forty-eight hours—the countdown was on. But I had to wonder if they would really go through with it. In fact, I was certain Alice would. But what if the TG gave up ground? Then what?

"You can relax, Alex. I intend to help you and Terra as well—my gift to you both," Alice stated, having noticed that I was standing about as stiff as a man could be without being dead. I suspected it was quite the look, being so straight and uptight in that moment.

"Sorry, just... not used to being on my heels. This is new for me," I replied quickly, trying to downplay my discomfort. No sooner had I spoken than Terra pushed up against me, kissing my cheek.

"Isn't he cute when he's uncomfortable?" she teased. I hated that tone—mocking, playful, daring me—as I looked from Alice to her and smiled softly.

I pulled her close, and for a moment, the world made some level of sense. The truth was, all I could do now was wait. As Terra took my hand and led me from the comms room, we crossed through the station and descended into the old underground, walking quite a way before she finally stopped, backing me into the wall and leaning up on her tiptoes to meet my lips.

"How about you take all that frustration out on me?" she smirked, her eyes wild and wicked now.