Recompense

TWELVE

That evening after dinner, Ethan and I crash on the couch and he fills me in on his discussion with Willoughby. The only difference from the original reports is that more boys are disappearing along with the girls. Over a hundred and fifty cases combined. When he's done, I ask, "Is there any good news?"

He shakes his head. "Have you gotten to know any of the Lowers at school?"

"You still think they're behind this?"

He sighs. "I don't know what to think. Nothing's adding up in a way that makes sense."

"I've only gotten to know them by name. They spurn all attempts at friendliness." I had tried again to speak with Jewel. I sat by her at lunch and tried to strike up another conversation only to have her move away again.

"Keep trying."

I fidget with the cloth covering the arm of the couch. "I just don't understand how so many people can go missing without any evidence. It's like they've vanished into thin air."

He looks at me keenly. "It's happened before."

"You mean the Provocation?" I gape. "You think it's happening again?"

He shrugs.

"No," I say with finality. "It can't be. We're talking about scores of people, not thousands."

"How many will there be if we can't stop it?" He looks as discouraged as I've ever seen him.

"We will stop it. We just have to stay here and keep at it until something breaks."

He presses his lips together and agrees with a short nod.

"Markay has really taken to me," I say encouragingly. "She's got friends in every quarter. I get to know a few more people every day."

"Then stick with her," he says. "And I'll keep working the boys. But not one of them strikes me with any suspicion except Linc."

"And he's gone."

"But his friends aren't."

Back to the Lowers. We're going in circles, around and around with nothing substantial. "I think I could break into the Lowers if I could tell them who I really am." I almost wish I could. I feel such a strong pull toward them.

"No way. You can't risk our cover. We'd be finished here."

He's right, of course.

My head tilts slightly as I think. "Do people understand the scale of what's happening?"

"No. Governor Macron has the press under her control. She won't allow anything to leak out that might cause alarm."

"But the lockdowns at school, the increased security. How can they not realize?"

"Without an effective means of communication, people only know what's happening within their own sphere of influence."

"It seems deceitful to keep them in the dark." And it strikes me as terribly high-handed.

"Do you want a public panic?"

"I want people to know the truth so they can be prepared for it."

"I'm not sure if people want the truth. They want safety."

"You sound like the governor." The corner of my lip pulls downward. "But what if safety is an illusion?"

"People can be very content with illusions."

I think about this for a minute. "Not the Lowers. Not me. We live without a security net every day. We'd rather know the truth so we can survive it."