Page 37 of Breaking Point
“Even if you did do it, you didn’t mean to kill anyone!”
“I don’t think anyone on the ship but you and Caelen care about that distinction,” Devar said.“They want someone to pay for what happened.And that someone turns out to be me.They’re pulling in mutiny, too.That’s how they’ll ram this through.”
“Mutiny…” She felt sick.
“Anything that compromises safety-critical infrastructure like gravity or life support is legally equivalent to mutiny.And mutiny carries an automatic death sentence.”
Luciana moaned.She couldn’t believe she was hearing this.Devar’s white face, the crimping of his hands so that the knuckles turned white, told her that she was.
“I…I don’t know what to do…” she whispered.
“Go home,” Devar told her.“And stay there until this is over.”
She put her face in her hands, shuddering, as she realized what he meant.
It would be over when they executed him.
Chapter Fourteen
WHEN THE CALL PANEL DIDN’Tgenerate a fast enough response, Brice pounded on the door itself, until he heard it unlock.
The door opened.Zana Magro’s mouth turned down when she saw him.“Brice.”
“Thedeath penalty, Zana?Are you out of your damn mind?”
She took half a step back, and he realized he had shouted.
“You’d better come in.”She left the door open, turned and walked away.
Brice stepped in and slammed the door.“The guy just tried to rig some bets!I don’t care how angry everyone else is over the arena collapsing on top of them!We don’t kill people on theEndurance!It’s barbaric.”He strode after her, down the hall to the big front room with the jaw-dropping view of the Aventine and more.
“Actually, it wasn’t my idea,” Zana said calmly, sailing into the front room.
Brice stomped after her and came up short two steps into the room, for Lakewood was sitting in a relaxed sprawl in one of the big armchairs bracketing the faux fireplace.
The man held a glass of something that looked a lot like whisky.He smiled at Brice.“When I explained to them that mutiny was still an active category in the crimes index, the Bridge had to agree with me.”
“Mutiny!”Brice clenched his fists.“Zana, this is out of hand.It’s over the top extreme.Yes, the ship wants justice.Do we have to shove a man out an airlock without a suit to get it?”
“You clearly haven’t been paying much attention to the Forum the last few weeks,” Zana said.“This isexactlywhat the ship wants.Go and read the boards.Count the number of times someone says, ‘we should kill him for what he did.’That is the depth of their rage.That is the storm we must weather.”
“Bykillingsomeone?We’ll be as bad as Devar Todd!”
“It’s what people want.”
“And my name is on those charges!”Brice bellowed back.
“As the president of the tankball association, your nameshouldbe on the charges,” Zana replied.
I quit.I’m done.The words were right there.He couldn’t speak to them.As he opened his mouth, an old instinct, maybe something left over from tankball, tapped the back of his mind.
Yes, he could resign and walk away.It was widely known, now, that the odd couple were a couple no more, thanks to this disaster.Crunch digested the Forum gossip and gave him a report each night, stripped of emotion, which was why “we should kill Devar” had not made it through.The speculation and prurient interest in “the odd couple” and their abrupt distancing was rife.
So Zana could do to Brice all she threatened, and she would if he resigned, only none of it would touch Luciana.
Yet if he stepped out of the middle of this, then he would be useless.And maybe, just maybe, if he stayed right where he was, something might pop up… He had no idea what “something” might be.He’d just come from Bronson’s office, where he had read the full report that they had just released, with all the evidence laid out, explained and confirmed as accurate by the three institute examiners, who chose to remain anonymous.
On the face of it, Devar was guilty of everything for which they were accusing him.Brice had finished reading the report with the sinking sensation that there was zero wriggle room anywhere in it.
