Democracy is Dead

Chapter Thirty Seven

Orpheus came out from behind the counter, putting a comforting hand on Athena and Orion's shoulders. Orion had become an immovable statue beside her, his eyes frozen on the screen of his glasses, where the hashtag continued to flood his vision.

"We're going to get her out. Come on, Bree's waiting for you." He guided them to a door behind the counter, giving Orion a gentle push towards the staircase on the other side.

What met Athena at the top of it looked like a full scale operations centre, complete with a conference table surrounded by chairs Athena recognised from the theatre. The wall opposite the door held two huge screens. One was filled with the public feed, full of messages using the #TerroristsMustDie hashtag. The other showed a map of New London, zoomed in on their current location.

Bree and her usual shadow, Don, were standing off to one side, deep in conversation. Bree's hair was pulled back in a hasty, dishevelled bun. Her eyes were puffy and weary. Ismene and Ajax were sat at the table, looking at a portable screen in Ismene's hands.

"What the Hell happened?" Bree demanded as soon as she saw Athena.

"They realised we were there. Sephy diverted them so that I could get out." Saying the words out loud caused an ache in her chest.

"And Dyo?" Bree asked, drumming her fingers against the desk.

"Jason Leighton is his father. But he promises that he's not working for him." Orion scoffed. "He said that his father is the reason he hated the system as much as he does. He wants to help us free Sephy."

"He's not coming anywhere near us until we get her out!" Bree pounded her fist on the table.

Athena wanted to defend Dyo, but Bree wasn't in the mood to change her mind, so she switched subjects instead.

"How are we going to get her out? Do you know where she is being held?"

Ajax nodded before replying. "They've already taken her to a holding prison close to the Tower. I've been speaking to Artemis, who's always in and out of the legal buildings with lecture students, and she doesn't think that the security around her will be too tight. But we need to get to her before she is tried. I think we can safely assume that she will be found guilty and be transferred - we've got no chance of rescuing her from the Tower, or one of the high security facilities outside of the capital."

"Could Artemis get us in to the holding prison?" Athena asked, hopeful for the first time since the blast.

"That's what we're about to find out," Ajax said, as a call came through to one of the screens. Ajax jumped up to accept it and Artemis' face appeared on the wall.

"I've been on the phone with an old friend who works in the holding prison. She confirmed we should definitely be able to go in. I told her I had a seminar tour planned and wanted to check straight away so that I had time to plan something else for the session before the morning."

"What would normally happen on one of your tours, in case anyone asks what we're there to do?" Bree asked.

"The tours give an overview of how the system works. I explain how trials are conducted over the feeds and what happens to prisoners next. We chat to some of the guards about their experiences and take a look around the cells themselves, talking to a few low-level detainees about their prospects. From what my friend was saying about the 'buzz'" Artemis pulled a face as she spoke, "in the prison, I should be able to get us right to Sephy's cell as they will expect us to be interested in seeing her."

"Won't there be guards with us?"

Artemis laughed. "I've been taking students in and out of the prison for almost three decades. They stopped escorting me when they realised I had more experience in the prison than anyone working there."

"What about guards outside the cells?" Bree asked.

"As with our society in general, far too much confidence is placed in technology. There are no guards outside the cells. They stay sat in a control room watching the prisoners via cameras. I believe Ismene can help us with those..."

"Absolutely," Ismene answered, her face resolute. "I can hack into their security system." Her fingers were darting across a wireless keyboard while she scanned something else on her glasses. "I've been snooping around since we found out where they have Sephy. Because it's only a holding prison, the security isn't too tight. I'm certain I can take care of it."

"When the cameras are down and the gates are open, we'll get Sephy out as quickly as possible. We will need to get her away from the capital until everything dies down," Bree finished. Her face was stony.

"That's all?" Orion asked, grinning for the first time since Sephy had been taken.

Athena didn't share his enthusiasm; it sounded a bit too simple to her and that usually meant something was going to go wrong.

"Sometimes it's best to be uncomplicated," Bree said, guessing the direction of Athena's thoughts. "Besides, it's the only chance we've got. It has to work."

"Thank you for your help, Artemis," Ajax said.

"I've been joking for years that I'll break someone out of that place one day. I guess I'll get my chance in a few hours' time... See you soon!" She gave them a grim smile and ended the call.

"All we can do now is go home and try to get some sleep," Bree told them, taking charge once more. "Ismene and Ajax are going to hold the fort and let everyone else know what's going on. Orion, Don, Athena and I will meet Artemis outside of the holding prison at seven am sharp and we will bring Sephy home before anything can happen to her."

Athena nodded, relieved that they at least had some kind of plan, even if she wasn't sure it was a good one.

"And Athena," Bree added, her tone stern. "Don't tell Dyo any of this; Sephy's life is at stake. It doesn't matter how much you trust him; we can't risk him going to his father."

Athena nodded, but there was no way she was going to leave Dyo out of the loop. She'd message him as soon as she got home.

She gave Orion a tight hug before she left. "Try and get some sleep," she counselled, knowing how hard it was going to be to close her own eyes tonight.

He nodded, "I'll give it a go; got to look like a good little pop voter in the morning."

Athena waved to the others and went downstairs. Orpheus and Ino were still behind the counter, serving doughnuts to group of female pop voters in sparkling white dresses.

"Help yourselves, ladies," Orpheus told them, with a wink in Athena's direction. "You don't want to hit the clubs on an empty stomach. And make sure you tell all your friends to come to the ABC cafe. We're open twenty four hours a day."

As Athena left the cafe and started to walk towards the bridge, she had to admit the cafe idea was a good one; even if it did seem a little off the wall. Maybe when all this was over, she and Sephy could work a shift together. Selling cupcakes and tea sounded blissful compared to the day she had ahead of her.

Hey, She sent to Dyo, unable to wait until she got home, knowing he would be desperate for news. I've just finished with Bree. Ready to hear the plan?

A few minutes passed without answer. She messaged again, and then once more while she was passing over the bridge. Again when she reached her flat, then her room. By the time she drifted off into a fitful sleep, she'd sent Dyo thirteen messages. None of them were answered.

{Let me know in the comments what you think of the cafe, and their plan to save Sephy. As always, please vote if you enjoyed reading this chapter. Amber & Ice, the draft version of this story, is currently being featured on a Wattpad story list, so is getting a lot of interest at the moment. I hope a few readers make their way from the rough draft to this version of the story too!}