The Five Unnecessaries

Chapter 22 - Part 2

 It was hours before we had my outfit and a practiced cover story. We didn't see Erin go out again for days. Stuck in a waiting pattern, I had to message "hi" to my assigned number, letting Central know that I was okay but hadn't acquired a target. Cassidy had messaged "PFT?"—which was the current abbreviation for "plans for tonight?"—to let Central know that she had a target Unnecessary.

I blew some of my money on food and hotel rooms, giving us lots of time to talk. It felt almost strange, as if we maybe could forget what we were there for. Like if we weren't careful, we'd get sucked into their definition of normal. But then something—probably the mortal danger, I suppose—would pull us out. Still, it gave me time to think about, and regret, leaving Collin like I had. It gave me time to listen to music. It gave me time to tell Cassidy about Katerina and baby Collin. It gave me too much time, some days, spent staring at the glimmers of light that reflected through windows.

The best thing about this was that our cover was easy to blend in. We were on our MCUs, looking like we were busy working in several places, switching areas every couple of hours. She taught me how to make a fake ID and where to print it without getting caught. The Sub-Terra in the printing shop tried to help another Sub-Terra sneak in to get medicine from the lab. She didn't even know who she was helping.

It also gave us a lot of time to talk about Julie, as we caught glimpses of her each day.

"I didn't get it at first," I said, shifting my mug slightly. "But then I realized that a child like Julie could ruin the system. They want her mom to be independent. Not to be who she truly is, but who the Society wants her to be. She's not expected to be reliant on anything but the Society. Not even love."

"I think it works both ways," Cassidy nodded. "The Society sees killing some kids as a kind of weeding. If kids like Julie grew up, making genuine connections with people, how would she be managed or manipulated? She would be the kind of person who was crazy enough to be a Vessel—to want to hold the child growing inside her."

Cassidy gazed out the window. "No one wants to admit it, but love is their worst nightmare. The system is not built with love in mind. She could wreck the whole thing just by falling in love. Nothing could be more dangerous. She's the equivalent of a bomb."

Her words haunted me and made it impossible not to think about Collin for the rest of the morning.

We left after finishing our breakfast, setting up to pass the house when the cab usually arrived for Julie to leave for her twelve-hour school day. We were walking by as the cab pulled up. Erin came out first, followed by a pleading voice.

"Mommy, please!"

It was happening. What Cassidy had hoped for.

We stood a short distance away as Julie hugged her mother. Almost a week of waiting, talking, doing nothing—yet, now that the moment had arrived, my words escaped me.

But Cassidy knew what to say first: nothing. She stared at Erin, who was trying to unwind her daughter's arms from her legs. Erin noticed Cassidy's attire and her badge. Her face turned white like she had gotten caught at the scene of a crime.

"This... this is the first time..."

"You're lying," Cassidy responded in a monotone voice. "I was on my way to see you, considering the school's correspondence."

"No, I'm... this is the first time today," Erin said, recovering. "To be honest, I should have had her evaluated by a specialist a long time ago. Maybe she should go today."

"Excellent idea," Cassidy said, and I pulled out my MCU, as we'd practiced. "You know, we are... more than able to help you with this situation, ma'am, if you would like us to examine and decide about the girl. It's clear—"