Superior

Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

Caleb

No one came for me the next morning, so when I got hungry, I left my suite by myself and made my way over the dining hall. Neither Champion nor Charisma were there, but I got the feeling that all the other Superiors in the room were watching me. I ignored them, making sure to keep my head down as I ate my breakfast alone.

Once I finished eating, I quietly left the room. Twenty pairs of eyes followed me out the door. Remembering Nessa's request, I decided to look for Miracle, as I had been instructed to spend as much time with possible with her. The thought of it was more appealing to me than I would admit.

My feet seemed to be moving on their own as they navigated me down two flights of stairs and through the main building to the West Wing. I was surprised at how easily I was able to find Miracle's office; it was as if I had walked the path a thousand times before. Was that yet another one of Leary's intrusive tweaks?

I walked through the building feeling as though a veil had been lifted from my eyes. I observed the faces of passing Superiors, wondering if they hid any stray memories behind their haughty expressions. I watched the guards too, and the way they shrank away from me and the other Superiors as if simply looking at us would kill them. A few in particular gave me strange looks, and I couldn't help but think that their faces were familiar.

Before I could dwell on it any further, though, I found myself a few feet from Miracle's office, on a pathway that wound itself around a well-trimmed garden. Her door was cracked open, just slightly, but enough so that I could see what was going on inside.

Miracle was sitting at her desk, leaning her elbows against its surface. Two figures sat across from her with their backs to the door, but I knew immediately that they were Charisma and Champion. The three had their heads close together, whispering conspiratorially. Strangely, though, I could hear their conversation as clearly as if they were speaking it into my ear.

"—can't believe you let that happen," Miracle was saying, her voice an angry hiss. "I told you both to keep an eye on him."

"I'm sorry, Miracle," Champion replied calmly, "but Perfecta was adamant."

"Don't give me that." Miracle leaned closer, her eyes flashing. "We both know that the two of you could have easily stopped her from taking him. But you did nothing. Nothing."

"I don't understand why it's such a big deal," Charisma complained. "I talked to Perfecta, and she said that she was just showing him around."

"And you believe her?" Miracle demanded. "You know how bitter she is; you know how she still insists that Dr. Leary kidnapped her, even after all these years. She still wants her old life, the one she had before. Her loyalty does not lie with us."

Champion snorted. His voice was gruff as he snarled, "Her life here is infinitely better than any life she could have had with the humans."

"I know that," Miracle stated. "You know that. But that won't change her."

I frowned at that. Perfecta hadn't said anything about being kidnapped; in fact, I didn't even know how she'd come to be in the Capitol. For a Superior such as herself to be so blatantly against the government seemed to be unheard of, so this bitterness that Miracle spoke of made sense.

"Mira, I don't understand," Champion pressed. "If you don't trust Perfecta, why do you allow her to be so close to you?"

Miracle sighed. "Have you ever heard the phrase, 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'? I live by that. While I don't particularly enjoy her company, or have any faith in her decisions, it does allow me to keep an eye on her. However, I am not able to watch her every move. That's why I have you two, though you appear to have been slacking slightly on your duties."