Chapter 35 — The Court of Public Opinion

"The mundane will never coexist with the awakened. I do not mean to sound the pessimist, but the non-magical people simply cannot comprehend the paradigm shift that took place in the shadows of their world. They will adapt and awaken, or they will perish. There is no middle ground.

Let me be clear: I advocate for no violent uprising, no revolution. The dawn of the world need not be bloody. I would welcome anyone who seeks to awaken. No, I trust that the bloodshed will make itself plain as soon as we emerge. There will always be those who resist change, and resistance will always increase with the rate of such change.

We represent a complete overthrow of all human understanding, the beginning of a new world order, so I wonder—how many will survive the transition?"

~Cinza, the Rallsburg Diaries

Riley twisted around, pistol rising—but Hailey flung her hand out, and the gun ripped itself out of Riley's hand. Hailey caught it out of mid-air, her hair fluttering behind her as she glared down into the room from atop the rubble of her makeshift entrance.

Disarmed, Riley took a few steps back, raising her hands. "I have insurance," she repeated, but suddenly her tone wasn't quite so confident. "You cannot ha—"

Hailey burst into motion. She launched off of the little plinth of broken concrete straight through the small room, a gust of wind accompanying her short flight. Her foot slammed into Riley's chest, knocking her to the floor in a gasping heap.

"That's from Alden," Hailey growled.

"The fuck?" said Jeremy. Seeing the opening, Cinza hurried forward to untie Lily, while Riley lay heaving on the stone floor. "Hailey, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Trying to find her," said Hailey, nodding at Riley. "I've never met Malton, and her essence was easier to track than Viper's."

"Nikki taught you… of course she did," said Cinza, shaking her head in dismay. She helped Lily to her feet, both shaking a little. Makoto quickly moved to support the pair, since the height disparity between the two made Cinza's efforts mostly useless.

Lani finally snapped out of his stupor and rushed over to Riley, holding his own gun to her head. "Who are you, Riley?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion.

Jeremy winced. He'd never heard someone sound so defeated. Riley stared back up at him without a word.

Hailey shook her head. "Her name's not Riley. It's not 'Rook', either, but that's a codename she goes by. Her name is Tessa."

"...Tessa?" asked Lani, glancing back down at her.

Riley shook her head. "Another given name."

"So what the fuck should we call you?" asked Jeremy.

"Rook will do."

"Sounds good." Jeremy cleared his throat. "Rook, I swear to God, you're gonna be locked up so deep they won't discover you for a hundred thousand fuckin' years."

"And you will put your friends in danger," Rook shot back, unperturbed.

Hailey glanced up at Jeremy. "What does she mean?"

"She has blackmail with a lawyer," said Cinza. "Details about the Greywood… and about our youngest friend."

"...You wouldn't," said Hailey, whipping back around to Rook. "She's thirteen! She's just a kid!"

"Wait," said Jeremy. "I thought she didn'—"

"She was in Rallsburg," said Hailey. "She knows everybody who was there, and if she doesn't, Viper knew them."

"Shit…"

Cinza's eyes narrowed. Her voice echoed with suppressed rage of her own. "We will end you," she snarled. "You wrestle with forces beyond your comprehension."

"I don't fear you," said Rook. "You are a child playing at power."

Lily finally stood, stumbling a little as Makoto helped her forward. "I trust my sister arrived?" she asked, eyes not leaving Rook for a moment. She sounded surprisingly calm for someone who'd just been kidnapped and taken halfway across the world.

Jeremy nodded. "With your dad."

"Ah." Lily's lip twitched slightly, the barest hint of a smile creasing her cheeks. "That should be… interesting."

"Lily, are you all right?" asked Cinza.

"Quite fine, thank you," said Lily, brushing dust off herself.

Rook's eyes narrowed. "...You are the sister?"

A real smile finally broke on Lily's face. "Indeed. Even if you'd escaped, you took the wrong one."

To be fair, they're literally the same fuckin' person… Jeremy grinned in spite of himself. It was about time they got some kind of good news. "What was the plan?" he asked. "Grab the Brit and pick her apart for how this shit works?"

Rook ignored him. She looked at Cinza. "What happens now?" she asked again, though now without her hostage or her weapon. "You cannot kill me, unless you want your secrets exposed."

"My secrets have been exposed before," Cinza shot back. "I've survived."

"But will your family?" The air in the room seemed to sharpen as Rook brought up her threat again. "Will she?"

"Last I checked, that girl had a fuckin' pet hawk, and way more magic than everybody in this damn room," said Jeremy. "...'cept maybe Hailey."

Hailey shrugged. "Nah, I think she's more powerful than me." She glared at Rook. "Forget that though. Where the hell is Malton?"

Rook shook her head. "I don't know."

"Wrong answer."

Before any of them could move, Hailey's fist plowed into the wall next to Rook's head. Concrete shattered and flecks of dust filled the air. She withdrew her hand in perfect health, though a huge gap remained in the wall.

"Where the hell is your boss?"

Rook's eyes flicked over to the hole in the wall. She looked seriously unsettled, and she wasn't the only one. Even Cinza seemed taken aback. Hailey couldn't do that before… Jesus Christ. The fuck is she doing…?

"Hailey," said Jeremy.

She rounded on him. "Jeremy, seriously… Don't."

Fucking hell. Jeremy shook his head. "She's gone. You ain't. Don't take this too far."

"They took it too far," Hailey shot back. "They blew up a neighborhood. They kidnapped Ryan and Lily." Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Hailey plowed on uninterrupted. "They killed Jessica." She turned back to Rook, who seemed… confused? Jeremy couldn't quite parse her. "Your men. His plan. They killed Jessica Silverdale. He's going to answer for it."

"By doing what?" Jeremy shot back. Against every instinct in his gut, Jeremy stepped in between Rook—bruised and seated against the wall, still eyeing the giant hole in the concrete next to her—and the fuming Hailey, whose hair was still fluttering around from the slight wind in the air. "Hailey, forget the blackmail, we've got her cold on kidnappin', assault, a whole shitload of other crimes. She ain't goin' free."

"She has to," said Makoto.

The room seemed to shift at his words. Cinza looked around to her lieutenant, surprised. "Makoto?"

"She knows how the Greywood functions. I… I explained it to her." He looked embarrassed, glancing away from them. "If her information goes free, we'll be defenseless. Brian's men have gotten near our border before. We'd have to devise new methods, fast, and I don't know how effective they'd be."

Cinza shook her head. "I can do it."

"Can you?" Makoto frowned. "It took a lot out of you when we first designed the system. In your current condition—"

"Then Ruby will support me, and Yusuf, and everyone else!" Cinza roared. "I will not allow this monster to harm a single member of my family." She glared at Rook, and spat on the ground at her feet. "Loose your filth, wretch. Play your cards. See what they accomplish. I would see you hang."

Rook looked around to Hailey. "You want Malton?" she asked—and her voice quivered just slightly. Shit, is that panic?

"For what?" Jeremy asked, before anyone else could cut in.

"For Viper."

Oh, shit. That's a card to play. "We don't have him," said Hailey, not understanding.

Rook shook her head. "For his safety. You guarantee Viper and I safety and anonymity, you can have Malton."

Cinza shook her head. "We will have him anyway."

"With his attorneys? His fortune? His fame?" Rook smiled. "You will never be able to defeat him in the world's arena, but if I am protected, I can give him to you." She turned to Jeremy. "You are the only one who can negotiate this outcome. I speak to you."

Jeremy shrugged. "Fuck-all is what I can do. I ain't even supposed to be here." Story of my damn life…

"I can," said Lani, voice still shaking. His gun lowered to the ground. Rook didn't move, of course—Hailey was still standing within inches of her, and with far more power than a gun in her hands—but she visibly relaxed a hair. "Riley, I can get you protection."

...Fuckin' hell, Lani…

Rook turned to him, and her voice shifted up a notch again. Jesus, she can do that fast. That's fuckin' terrifying. "Lani, you're a great guy, but this is business, you know?"

"Yeah." He frowned. "Business. I'm making that deal."

"I'm still standing here," growled Hailey. "I didn't take any deal."

"Nor did I," said Cinza.

Lily spoke up, interrupting the parade of angry voices. "Before we proceed, what precisely does 'giving us Malton' entail?"

Good damn point. Jeremy looked back to Rook expectantly. She cleared her throat, still coughing out dust occasionally from Hailey's explosive entrance. "I give you Malton."

"Meanin' what?" asked Jeremy. "Evidence on the motherfucker?"

"I didn't come all this way just to get a story," said Hailey.

Rook shook her head. "He is too dangerous. He should not be in a jail. I will provide his location, to the millimeter, and let you do what you want with him."

That ain't what I signed up for. Jeremy couldn't let this go any further—but Hailey spoke first, before Jeremy could get a word in. "And in return," she said slowly, "you leave, and you take Viper with you, and we never hear from you again?"

"Yes."

"And your blackmail remains dormant," added Lily. "All forms of it."

"I have no interest in your affairs," said Rook. "This is my protection." She glanced at Hailey, her eyes softening ever so slightly. "I would never have ordered a kill. Nor would Viper."

Hailey shook her head. "Just tell me where Malton is. I don't want to hear anything else."

"Let me go, and I send it to you."

"Like hell—"

Rook held up a hand. "Your magic allows you to find me, no matter where I am, yes? I ask for a symbolic gesture. I cannot escape so long as you have power."

Hailey hesitated.

Jeremy jumped in. "Hailey, this ain't a good idea…"

"She cannot be allowed to leave," agreed Cinza. Finally, me and the damn witch are on the same page. "She must answer for this. If it must be their government, then it must, but we cannot allow this to stand."

"There's bigger fish," said Hailey. "I don't care about her. She wasn't even there."

"Yeah, because she was infiltratin' your fuckin' friends!" Jeremy shot back. "How's that any better?"

"The fish rots from the head," said Lani, nodding slightly. "Riley wants to help us take him down." Rook smiled at him, a glimpse of the old Riley buried somewhere inside her. ...Fuck you, bitch. Fuck. You.

Hailey turned to the group. "I'm letting her go."

Jeremy took a step toward her. "Hailey—"

"I'm letting her go," Hailey repeated, and a burst of wind whirled through the room like a mini-tornado. It only lasted a second, but it visibly buffeted everyone. Jeremy flinched, and Hailey kept talking. "Lani, you've got my number, right?" Lani nodded. "Okay. Take her out of here. As soon as you're gone, she gives you the location, you text it to me. You stay with her and she keeps giving me info until I have him." Hailey glanced back to Rook. "Agreed?"

Rook nodded, ice-blue eyes flashing, a fitting match for the chilly stone room they were all still stuck in. Jeremy shook his head in dismay, but he couldn't think of anything that could dissuade Hailey—and he sure as hell couldn't use force on her.

"Don't do this," Jeremy repeated.

Hailey looked at him, and there was so much fury filling her clear blue eyes. Her eyebrows sunk low on her face, halfway between pain and anger. She radiated so much sheer emotion that Jeremy couldn't look her eye-to-eye. His face fell.

"He killed Jessica," Hailey repeated, rage dripping from every syllable. "His men, his plan. I have to."

"It ain't your job."

"Who's going to do it?"

"The people selected their authority," said Cinza. "You're walking a dangerous path, Hailey."

"They aren't my people." Hailey nodded to Lani. He picked Rook up by the arm, helping her to her feet. The pair left in a hurry, with Hailey standing in front of the door to prevent anyone following them. After a few minutes, she looked back to Jeremy. "I'm flying out now. Don't try to stop me."

"Hailey—" said Jeremy, but she was true to her word. A huge gust of wind filled the room, and Hailey lifted up into the air. A shift in the breeze and she swooped forward, straight back through the hole she'd created in the wall and out of sight.

Jeremy sighed. "Well… fuck."

Cinza shook her head. "She is on the precipice. We cannot allow her to fall."

"No shit," Jeremy muttered. "I'm surprised you're sayin' it, though," he added, glancing at Cinza. "You were all for dishin' your own brand of justice before Hailey showed up."

Silver-grey hair shimmered in the dim light of the chamber as Cinza shook her head. "This is no longer justice for an assassin who took one of our own. This is murder in broad daylight on a man tangentially responsible. Hailey must not harm Cornelius Malton."

"Or what?" asked Makoto.

"She is the most visible awakened in the world," said Lily. "If she does this, it will be a setback."

"Understatement of the fuckin' year," said Jeremy. "'The awakened are comin' to kill us and overthrow the whole damn world.' Worse, there's no way to tell who's what. It'll be chaos."

"You really think Hailey would kill somebody?" asked Makoto.

Cinza hesitated, but Jeremy answered in her place. "She already did." When they looked to him for further explanation, he sighed. "One of Malton's guys, back in Lakewood. Put her fist through his damn face, smashed his skull like a cracker. I don't think she realized it, but she'll kill if she's pushed over the edge—and that was after Jessica just got hurt."

Cinza turned to Lily, fresh urgency in her tone. "Call your father. Get us a car, and a way to track Malton or Hailey. We must not lose her."

Lily winced. "That… might be more difficult than you hope."

Cinza shook her head. "You're his daughter."

"He's never met me."

"Trust me," said Jeremy, "he ain't gonna be disappointed." He held out his phone. "I'm guessin' you know the number, bein' literally Kendra and all?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm only Kendra from the moment I was born."

"Which was when, exactly?" asked Cinza. "If you don't mind. I'm quite curious."

"December the 28th." Lily smiled slightly. "I turn one next month."

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "No, you turned thirty-two in May, for Christ's sake. Now make the damn call, we're wastin' time."

Lily nodded. She took the phone and dialed, her fingers shaking. "...Yes, Collins? Please… yes, it's me. Yes, I know. Please, I need to speak to my father, it's urgent." She sighed. "Yes, I'm aware you're looking at me right now. Where is my father?"

In spite of everything, Jeremy grinned. Nice to not be on the confused end of a bizarre fuckin' conversation for once. "Come on," he added. "Let's get back up top."

They hurried out. The building was totally deserted as they went—Rook having ordered her men to depart without incident. Lily kept talking as they climbed the stairs back to the surface, where Lani's car was long gone.

"Yes… Yes, father, it's me. It's… Look, it's difficult to explain. Please… Please! Oh, hell—" she cut off, emotion creaking in her voice. Jeremy glanced back over his shoulder to see her dabbing at her eyes with a small cloth, produced from somewhere inside her dressing gown. "Hello, mother. It's… good to hear from you again. Listen, I—yes, this is really your daughter." Lily rolled her eyes, smiling again. "It's a long story and I haven't the time. I need your help."

"...Fuckin' hell," Jeremy muttered.