Page 10 of Coldwire
“Is it something I said?” I call after him. “Baby, come back. I can change!”
He gives me the finger without looking. If I can’t get further retort out of Kieren, this is very serious. I’m already grimacing before he disappears through the doors properly.Final postings.It’s early. I didn’t expect them this morning of all mornings, the moment we’ve returned from a reset day. We still have one more unit to cover in class.
I change my shoes quickly, then slam my locker closed. Inside the gymnasium, Tier B’s cadets who have returned already are clumped around the far wall. Drills will be starting as soon as the rest of their class and mine arrive, so it’s unusual for everyone to be congregated by the announcement board. They’re installed all across campus, each one accompanied by a holographic animation of the NileCorp logo overhead, looping in the StrangeLoom icon’s infinity shape. Sometimes the boards are displaying upcoming events, and other times they’re crowded with headlines of breaking news that the academy wants cadets to be aware of. Today, the board looks sparse.
“Is it postings?” I ask, rising onto my toes at the edge of the crowd.
Gena Wilson turns around. Her eyes widen. “Lia, you’re here!” She shuffles aside immediately to let me through. “Go look.”
I push into the crowd, trying to shift closer without prodding other cadets. I hardly need to worry. When my classmates spot me, they hurry out of my way, making a path for me to proceed forward.
This is getting really weird.
I get to the front. I scan the words at the top of the board at once. Final exam postings, indeed. My heart slams to my throat.
Postings and announcements are always made by class ranking, so I expect to see myself in the first row. But my name is nowhere to be found. It’s not in the second row either. Nor the third. Now my pulse is starting to hammer. I move down the list slowly, carefully reading the two columns: the posting on the left and the cadet to the right. I see Rayna, posted toMedaluo. I see Hailey Murray, Kieren’s sister, also posted to Medaluo. That’s more unusual. Each individual cadet is designated to a location upcountry, followed by a short description of what their mission goal is. Most stay within Atahua. A fraction are sent to other nations. Cadets of Medan or Pyaish descent will almost always be sent to Medaluo. It’s a given that that’s where I’ll be posted.
At last I find my name at the very bottom of the board—which is a warning before I even register the rest of the words. I’m on a row of my own, separated from other postings.
I stare, aghast. I rub my eyes, then stare some more.
But no matter what I do, none of the words change.
SPECIAL JOINT POSTING
Medaluo
See Headmaster for details
CADETS
Lia Ward & Kieren Murray
“Shit,” I mutter.
3EIRALE
They take me in.
It doesn’t matter how much I protest that I’m innocent, or that my team members claimed I wasn’t at the site of the assassination. I articulated clearly to the federal agents what we were doing at the nightclub. NileCorp received word of Nik Grant’s presence tonight, and we showed up. If something horrible has happened, he is responsible. That’s simple observation and deduction.
Somehow, I’ve still ended up in the back of their transport van, my wrists bound together with magnetic cuffs. The windows are barred. Two agents sit in the van with me, speaking quietly between themselves. I can’t hear them, though I suppose I’m not trying anyway. I halfheartedly tune in and out of the radio playing from the front: the civil war in Cega continues, Irisea has announced that they’re cleaning the southern oceans. President Sterling will be making an emergency announcement tomorrow. To assign a new secretary of defense, I’m sure.
“All right, let’s move it.”
I’m being urged out of my seat before the van has come to a full stop. One of the agents takes my elbow, and the other hauls the door open. Gauging by his grip alone, the agent escorting me isn’t very strong.MILDENHALL,his lanyard says. He’s pale, spindly, and the bald spot at the back of his head is shaped like a certain anatomical part. I bet I could outrun him.
Then Mildenhall pushes me to the sidewalk, my eyes scan the federal facility in front of us, and I change my mind. The line of uniformed military extends around the entire perimeter. I’m not running anywhere. They will shoot me before I can make a full turn on my heel.
“Inside. Come on.”
The other agent’s lanyard saysPERRON. She walks ahead toward the building, the small heels of her shoes clicking audibly on each step. A few curious civilians peer over from their encampment down the road, lit a hazy orange from the fire burning in an overturned bin. They know better than to intrude in government business and certainly know to stay a healthy distance from a federal facility. By the time we’ve come to the door, there are no more onlookers straining to see.
Agent Mildenhall nudges me through the vestibule. On the first level, I scan the empty desks we march past, the screens dark and the holographic clocks turned off. Button City emits a murmur no matter the hour of the night, and beyond the window comes a series of faint car horns. I didn’t know federal even had a facility downtown, but I’m not surprised.
In the interrogation room, they seat me without ceremony. A lamp flares on.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” Agent Perron says. “You can make this easier for yourself. A full confession will appeal to a jury far more nicely than us prying the truth out of you.”
