Triplicity

Chapter 9 - VALERIE

"I think the people are getting restless."

The words were stupidly obvious, but I let them out anyway. Isaac tilted his head and studied me. "Well," he began, "you haven't given a speech for the past six days."

"What else is there to say?" I asked him bitterly in reply.

We were standing on the balcony of the Lounge, where the government workers got their meals. (Of course, my food was brought to my quarters.) It was a rather nice place. The color scheme was purple and silver—a welcome change from the rest of the Center, which was a dull gray. I'd never really had a reason to go down here, but I'm not regretting doing so now.

Since planning the attack on the rebels, I'd eaten less, slept less and talked less. I was basically a shadow, showing up at meetings only to remain silent the entire time. When I wasn't working, I was in my quarters brooding darkly. Until now.

I really wished I could stop seeing Isaac about my problems, but I had nowhere else to go.

I leaned against the balcony railing and gazed out over Apex, hoping no one below would see me. Taking time off work for a leisurely meetup like this was unlike me. I'd called Isaac on some strange impulse, but once we were both here, my words had left me. Our usual friendly conversations had turned into exchanges of some clipped, highly depressing words, mostly from me.

An image of Resalia swam into my mind, filling my heart with guilt. Not much, though. I was regretting my plan of attack less and less, and that was what scared me the most.

"Valerie?"

I blinked a few times. "Sorry, what?"

"I said you need to care about yourself."

"I am—"

"Don't give me that." Isaac crossed his arms. "You're acting differently. You're closing yourself off from everyone else."

"You aren't quite the same either," I shot back at him, which caused him to press his lips tightly together. We'd passed each other once a week ago, and the look he'd given me was so full of fear he could have been any citizen out in the streets.

I could tell he wanted to say something, but before he could, a voice interrupted us. "Chancellor?"

I regained my composure as Secretary Dane strode toward us. She was a stout woman with short blonde hair. She was polite, but she didn't treat me like I was high-ranking trash. I liked her.

She was obviously unsettled by something. She stopped in front of us and gave a quick nod of greeting to Isaac before returning her attention to me. "Chancellor, you have a visitor."

"I'm busy," I told her in a flat tone.

In any other case, I would have been glad to have an excuse to leave. My conversation with Isaac was turning awkward, and I had a meeting to prepare for. However, the nervous look on Dane's face told me I might not want to see this particular person. "Please," she said. "She really wants to see you."

"I'm busy," I repeated. "This visitor can wait. I have a—"

"Your meeting is in an hour, Chancellor. I think you can spare five minutes."

Isaac sucked in a sharp breath. I didn't blame him. I felt as if the temperature had suddenly dropped ten degrees. A woman with graying hair emerged from the shadows near the Lounge door, not taking her eyes away from me.

Secretary Dane turned on her heel and left. I turned to Isaac, who was looking at me with a concerned expression. "Officer Wilborn, you may leave," I said quietly.

Isaac shot the visitor a quick glance before heading for the door. I was fairly sure the cooks had been cleared out as well.

It was just the two of us.

For a while, we simply stared at other. My hand found the railing behind me and gripped it tightly. The woman's frown deepened, and I almost flinched. I was too familiar with her disapproval.

"Do I even get a hello?"

Those words, laced with disappointment, gave me the courage to speak. "Do you have any idea," I asked hoarsely, "how many of your problems I've had to fix? How much poison you've put into my reputation? And you expect me to say hello?"

The woman clasped her hands in front of her. "You should be happy I've come. I'm here to fix the damage you've caused."

A nearly hysterical laugh escaped my lips. I pushed myself away from the railing and stormed toward her. "Damage?" I hissed. "You'd only make things so much worse. You're a traitor!"

"You are a failure."

I managed not to cringe at her words. We were now face-to-face with each other. She was still taller than me, though. I was tempted to spit in her face. "How could you come back?" I growled. "You've disgraced our family. You've disgraced Apex."

"Respect, daughter," my mother said harshly.

"Respect?" I shouted, and this time I couldn't keep the hurt from my voice. "You don't even call me by my name!"

I heard the Lounge door slam, footsteps receding down the hallway. So much for privacy. I buried my face in my hands. "What are you even going to fix?"

"The rebels—"

"They are not my fault," I snarled. "Resalia is not my fault. It's all because of you. You ruined everything."

"I saved everything."

"Oh, really?" I tapped the face of my cuff and pointed it at her. A blue light flickered over her. "Halwyn Chan," a small, electronic voice announced. "Ex-Chancellor. Overthrown by government of Apex. Served four years in prison for corruption of government."

Halwyn stared at me coolly. I recognized that look. It was the same expression that used to make me cower as a child, waiting for an inevitable slap to the face. However, she didn't say anything. I backed away and ran a hand through my hair. "I can't even bear to look at you right now. You're worse than a rebel."

As if a switch had flipped, Halwyn suddenly changed. Her gaze softened and she broke into a warm smile. "Oh, daughter," she cooed. "Can't I just see how my child is doing? Chancellor is a very hard job. I'm worried!"

"If you hadn't been such an abusive witch, maybe I'd believe you."

The corners of her mouth turned downward in disgust. "You know, I'd have thought my eldest daughter would have been less of a disappointment. I was wrong. You've done more damage to the city than your traitorous sister."

Acting on its own accord, my hand moved beneath the folds of my cloak. In a second, my pistol was pointed directly at Halwyn. "Get out."

When she didn't move, I shot the table next to her. A smoking hole appeared in the metal surface. "Get out!" I screamed.

Halwyn raised an eyebrow, but she turned and walked out of the room. As soon as she had disappeared through the doorway, Isaac rushed in. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I heard a gunshot."

I put my pistol away. I wanted to cry, but that was a form of weakness. The look in Isaac's eyes was concerned and pitiful, and I knew he was seeing me as the unstable, fragile girl that everyone else saw. "You're making me late for a meeting, Officer Wilborn," I told him coldly.

A look of surprise and hurt flashed across his face, but he bowed his head and stepped aside. "My apologies, Chancellor."

I stormed past him and out the door. As I walked down the hall, I saw two guards restraining Halwyn. I stopped directly in front of her. My angry gaze was met with an indifferent stare. I looked at the guard to her right. "Put her in a cell," I ordered. "I'll have her held on trial in a few weeks."

As the guard nodded, Halwyn began to smile. I struck her across the face. Her head snapped to the side, but I grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me. For the first time, I saw a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"I'm in power now," I whispered. "Don't mess with me."

I released her and walked away.