Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Chapter 19: risks

It was all Harper could do to keep his mouth shut as his coworkers and friends talked in hushed tones about Victoria's murder. He knew the moment he tried to say anything, he would implicate Cameron, and guilty as he felt now, he couldn't risk it.

"Has anyone figured out how they got in?" Joan inquired. "I can't say I'm surprised there are guns still on the base, but I am surprised that anyone was able to waltz in past the codes without someone hearing something."

She moved her hands so Harper could angle the driver better. They were just putting the panels back from the night's sewage leak, and then they were done. Harper found the odd schedule disorienting. He had no idea when he worked next, it could be in three hours or four days.

"Last night? It was so loud the whole base could have blown away and I wouldn't have been the wiser," Pollock pointed out. "They planned ahead."

"Doesn't Levi have that master code to everywhere?" she argued. "He could have."

"Except Levi isn't exactly in a position to be quietly entering and leaving anywhere," Harper said, finally speaking up. "His crutches make a bit of noise."

"True," Pollock admitted. "Unless there are more people involved than just one. He could have told someone."

"Then you have the same problem as I pointed out earlier," Joan grunted, shutting their overflowing toolbox. "How do you get multiple in and out of a berth without someone noticing? Wouldn't there have been some people in the hallway?"

She stretched her neck and then nodded at their work. "All done here. Edison is in that congress meeting still, so it's not like we would find out if there was anything else to fix."

"Still? It's been six hours," Harper said, thinking that Cameron was probably exhausted.

"There was a murder," Pollock scoffed. "I wouldn't be surprised if they are in meetings for the whole day. We can't keep letting this happen. They have to have something in place to protect people or at least be able to find out what happened. We don't have anyone qualified for such a thing."

Harper rolled a shoulder. "I'm glad I'm not on congress today. I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to resolve this."

He bobbed his head at his coworkers and walked away before his emotions threatened to spill everywhere and get his partner in trouble. He needed to talk to someone. He needed to tell someone who then in turn could tell him what to do. O'Keefe was his usual confidant, but in this case, he would be no help whatsoever. He wanted the quartet responsible for Landing Day to be punished.

Harper wasn't certain how Levi or Lully would react and was a little skeptical that they were the right choice. Both of them were so self-sacrificing that he imagined they would tell him to alert congress to Cameron's plan at the expense of Cameron herself. He couldn't do that. Esperanza might be more understanding, but Harper knew she told Lully everything and he'd be back where he started.

As for Canary crew, he couldn't think of a single person who would condone what Cameron was doing. Many of them still believe that Lincoln's coup was totally warranted and they would destroy Cameron for thinking differently. She was pregnant. There was another life they were condemning that was most definitely innocent.

With that thought, he was reminded of Alcott. He wasn't a close friend with her, but she might understand the predicament he was in. Her partner had been killed, but she was also an expectant mother. He pulled out his holo-rib, messaging Alcott and hoping that she got out of work before Cameron got out of her meeting. He would lose his nerve to talk to anyone.

To his surprise, Alcott messaged him back, saying that she was on her way back to her berth and that he could meet her there. Harper began to jog, making it to the other side of the base before even Alcott was home. She rounded the corner, her mouth upturned in a smile.