Introspection

Chapter Nine

It wasn't until midnight that Harper woke to the soft rumble of the garage door vibrating against her bedroom floor. She opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the dim moonlight faintly glowing through the window. The sound of heels against hardwood pierced through the otherwise silent house, making Harper cringe. It wasn't long before she heard her mother padding up the stairs, and she clamped her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep.

The footsteps passed without approaching, and Harper heard Lydia's door at the end of the hall shut loudly. She scoffed at her mother's insensitivity to the two supposedly sleeping girls next door, but it wasn't out of character. A seemingly never-ending silence quickly loomed, and it wasn't long before Harper's eyelids grew impossibly heavy. She felt herself teetering on the edge of blissful slumber when the sound of a muffled ring drifted from her mother's room.

Her eyes popped open instinctively, and she sat up. The ringing came to an abrupt halt, and she could faintly hear Lydia greet the caller. Carefully, Harper shuffled to her own door, pressing an ear against it, straining to listen.

"Sir," her mother's voice sounded tired but firm, "It is twelve o'clock in the morning. I assure you this can wait until tomorrow."

Her boss?

Harper grew increasingly annoyed with her limited knowledge of Lydia's work. She couldn't make out anything from the other end of the call but remained in position, hoping there would be enough context to fill in the blanks.

"Yes, I know who she is," Lydia's voice grew slow, "Why does the council have her name?"

The council was a sort of court system. Harper learned in school that there were various levels. Some dealt with Government decisions for the entire city, while others handled individual cases, particularly involving criminals.

"If that's the case, why didn't the officers charge her when you became aware of the information?"

Her voice was reprimanding, and Harper quickly changed her previous assumption of who was in charge. She didn't have enough information to figure out details of the case they were discussing, but she intended to learn Lydia's role in it.

"There's always a little chaos after an announcement of change. You all were prepared for it; there was no reason for anyone to fall through the cracks. The girl should have been brought in to stand trial long before the sunset."

Chaos?

Harper didn't know if she was referring to the assassination or the mysterious fire. She remembered the helicopters taking position around the city during the president's speech. It was clear that an attempt was made to prepare; however, not enough. In hindsight, she would almost call it pathetic given the amount of chaos that prevailed.

"It is not my job to bring these kids in," Lydia's voice was short and harsh, a merciless tone that Harper was all too familiar with, "and coming in on my only day off isn't remotely covered by my paycheck. Pick the kid up, bring her in, and hope there's a council member on the clock that'll take her before 8:00 AM."

It took her a moment to understand the time's significance until she remembered it was when the new crime policy went into effect. Harper had to stifle a gasp behind the door.

She could hear her mother draw in a deep breath, "It's a risk, but it's your only shot."

There was silence after that. She didn't hear the two bid goodbye, or she was just too distracted to notice. Harper sat in shock and unable to move. Her entire body seemed to be numb, completely frozen by the collision of confusion and anger within. Even without the other half of the phone call, she tried to fill in blanks, but it only created more grey areas in her understanding.