Wilde Card, page 33
“So…” Tia hedged. “You gonna keep pretending that something's not up?”
Raghida jumped. She had evidently been in a world of her own. It took her a few seconds to reply. “What?”
“The whole Cinderella act. Not that you were a rag doll before-” she added. “But you know...a skirt?”
“I felt like a change.”
“Why?” Tia narrowed her eyes. “Is it true what Jay said? Is this for someone?” She saw that Raghida was going to sprout another lie so Tia grabbed onto her arm and forced her to slow. “Don't lie to me again, Raghida. I'm your friend but I'm not a very patient person.”
She seemed conflicted; several expressions chased across her face, none of which Tia could name. Why was it so difficult for Raghida to talk to her? Jay, irritated by Tia’s consistent avoidance techniques, had continued walking past them. Raghida tracked his position with wide eyes before turning back to Tia.
“Okay, fine. I've been seeing Eliza.”
It wasn't what Tia had expected to hear. She did a double take, recognising the serious pressure of the words. “Eliza? Our Eliza?” Raghida hushed her, glancing towards Jay again. He remained oblivious, marching ahead. “I mean, I didn't know she liked girls but what's so crazy about that? She's a nice girl-”
“I didn't know either. That she was gay.” Raghida smiled a little, as if she couldn't help it when she thought of Eliza. “She wants to keep us a secret; her mother has always planned for her to get close to the next leader of the Rebellion. She's forbidden Eliza to have any relationships so that she can focus. Anya is crazy-”
“You mean get close to Natalia?” Tia’s heart thumped in her chest. Was Eliza into Talia? She had to bat that crazy thought away. Of course not. “Surely Eliza can just refuse? She's an adult. Anya can't just dictate her choices…”
Raghida shrugged, “If she can refuse, she doesn't want to. So we are a secret.” She sighed in relief. “God, it feels amazing to say that to someone, finally.”
They carried on in silence for a while. “How did it happen?”
“During the raid Eliza and I were partners. I always thought she was amazing but we've never really been alone before. One minute we were talking about our favourite weapons, the next we were knocking out a guard together and then before I even knew what was happening...we were kissing.” She looked away briefly, her face reddening at the admission. Tia tried not to smile about the fact that she hadn't been the only one misbehaving that night.
“She says that she was always watching me but didn't think I would be interested in her. Then we went to that party and we danced together and it was just magical.”
Tia thought about Eliza, about what she did know about the girl. She knew that Eliza was Anya’s only daughter. She had red hair and sometimes made sarcastic comments. She knew about Tia and Talia. That was about it - Tia didn't know anything other than that. Whenever Eliza joined them, she was generally very quiet. But Raghida was Tia’s friend and to protect her, she would have to get to know Eliza more.
She smiled gently. “I'm glad it worked out.”
“I really like her.”
“You know - you're gonna laugh - for a while there, I thought you liked me.”
Raghida went silent before lifting up her head and squinting ahead. A lone ray of sun had broken through the cloud and smog. The gravel beneath their feet was vibrating, the small rocks shifting and sliding. Tia followed her line of sight to see the truck lumbering towards them. They skipped out of the road, watching as Jay pulled up alongside them. He leaned over and flung open the passenger door.
“You guys done with your little girl talk?”
“Call me a little girl one more time,” Raghida threatened before pulling herself up. The front bench was wide enough for two passengers, and Tia took a seat beside her. She realised that Raghida hadn't given her an answer but she took the lack of reply as an answer anyway. It didn't matter much whether Raghida had liked Tia. They were friends.
It was still light out but sunset was due in an hour or so. They parked inside an abandoned car park and snacked on the food Jay had seduced out of the ‘sous chef’, Morena. Tia crunched on salty crackers and accepted pieces of soft fruit bread from Raghida. Jay alone ate the carrots; all three of them that he had convinced Morena to include.
Tia spied out the window, noticing the flutter of leaves and discarded rubbish in the wind. There was a burnt circle of concrete not too far from the truck where a band of homeless had probably made a fire. It was small, the car park, and they could see all corners of it. At ease, they passed the time by talking about nothing much at all. Once the sky and the air around them became saturated with darkness, Jay flung a map towards the girls. “Navigate.”
Tia and Raghida directed him, occasionally yelling when he misheard them or decided to take his own route. At this time of day, the buses were almost empty of people. They were on main roads for half the drive so Jay flicked up his hood to avoid odd looks. The radio in the truck didn't work but it had a CD player. There was only one disc inside the whole cab - so they listened to that album, The House That Dirt Built scrawled across the front.
Between the music and the map, Tia’s thoughts were kept at bay. Whenever she was silent, she began to think of Natalia, the fact that they hadn't spoken for two days; not since she'd left her room. She had been tempted to search Natalia out but her pride told her to wait until she found her. She was the leader of the Rebellion, after all. So Tia tried not to think about anything at all. She wanted to avoid over thinking, indulging herself or creating a version of events that hadn't actually happened. If she was being honest with herself, she was stretched thin. She felt like a trapeze artist, balancing on a wire high above a net that she couldn't see. She didn't know if there even was a net anymore, she was so far gone.
I can't see where you coming from
But I know just what you running from
And what matters ain't the who's baddest
But the ones who stop you from falling from your ladder, baby
The song began to play and she realised that she recognised it, the lyrics bringing the hair on her body to a stand. It had been Andy’s favourite song. She was flooded with sadness, as she always was lately when she was reminded of him. She had been so caught up in her love life that she hadn't spared a single thought for her father in days. How pathetic. Jay suddenly made a noise in the back of his throat: appreciation for the song. He turned the volume up and Raghida began nodding along with him. Despite herself, Tia found herself smiling at the sight and before long they were singing along to the chorus, making music against the door, the dashboard, the wheel.
“This ain’t no place for no hero
This ain’t no place for no better man
This ain't no place for no hero
To call ‘home’”
◆◆◆
The tricky part was finding somewhere to hide the truck. Bloc 3 was not only patrolled heavily, guarded and protected by armed guards and dogs - it also had a watchtower. It was like a prison. Thankfully, the area surrounding the bloc hadn't been renovated yet and there were plenty of levelled buildings, empty foundations and dust covered tracks. They abandoned the truck behind a literal hill of rubbish and hoped it would still be there later. It was the best they were going to get.
They climbed into the back, slipping into lab coats and disguises. Raghida and Tia braided their hair tight against the skull so they could pull on wigs. Raghida; a short, dark bob that didn't draw attention to her colouring, and Tia a long, blonde wig that hid her face. Jay attached a realistic beard and slipped two dark contacts into his eyes. They were trying to be as realistic and as unnoticeable as possible. They had raided the Tunnels once again for the disguises as well as weapons. Tia hoped that this time Natalia would understand.
She slid Natalia’s kunai into the waistband of her jeans beneath the lab coat. There weren't many places you could hide a weapon in it, so she had kept it simple. She had a lock picking set stuffed into her boot and a knuckle duster in her back pocket. They finished arranging themselves and stood, appraising each other. Jay looked much older and vaguely resembled the picture on Quentin’s ID, something they had made sure of - just in case. Raghida looked like a pixie in her wig, but Tia knew that if it came to it, she could see through any of the guards with the two daggers hidden beneath her lab coat.
Jay raised his eyebrows at Tia. “Blonde suits you.”
He was genuinely complimenting her. She didn't like it; it made her uncomfortable. She flipped him her middle finger and jumped down from the truck. Raghida followed, laughing at Jay’s response.
They walked to the bloc in silence. The time for jokes was over. They were about to attempt to penetrate the most heavily guarded building in the whole city with five daggers, a lock picking set and a stolen ID card. Tia’s heart was sloshing around in her mouth, the bitter taste of fear focusing her. She was more determined than she had ever been. She had come so far from that naive girl who had come home to find that her father was dead. She had grown, she had learnt, she had fought. Everything hinged on this. Everything. If they messed this up, it was all over. And she would disappoint not just Andy, but herself, her mother, her legacy.
They approached the gates - massive, jet black - at a pace they thought was casual. Tia knew Jay was nervous because he didn’t crack not a single joke. Raghida was fingering the handle of the dagger in her left pocket. Between them, Tia stared straight ahead. Two guards at either side; black guns that merged into the black of their clothes, black of their helmets, black of the night. Tia could see only the shine of the whites of their eyes as she smiled casually at them. Beside the big gates - designed to allow entrance for vehicles - was a smaller gate for footfall. The guards watched, soundless, as Jay brought out his ID and swiped it against the intercom. Tia’s heart was beating so hard it was a roar in her ears.The light flashed from red to green and Jay strong armed the door open. The guards turned their attention away and Tia felt her bones turn to liquid.
They hurried through, not wanting to give the guards any reason to look back. Jay was sweating, he shoved the card back into his pocket and continued to stride towards the stairs, wiping his palms on the coat. Beside her, Raghida was breathing heavily. Tia touched her fingers to her hand briefly, reassurance. They were okay. In the quad, more guards patrolled, guns held at a lower angle than the two at the forefront. Tia knew from her recon that there would be two here, four more on either side of the building, and four more at the back. They would complete a full circle every hour, switching positions with their colleagues on opposite sides.
There were eight steps leading to the glass revolving door. Jay practically swallowed them in his stride but he stopped just before entering the building. He had remembered the plan, at least. Good, she hadn’t wanted to call out to him and draw unnecessary attention to them. They regrouped and began a conversation about the weather, about the density of the clouds and the forecast for the next week. The revolving doors were big enough for all three to fit into one segment and they spilled out into the foyer. To the left was a receptionist’s desk where a man sat, looking bored. Straight ahead was a bank of security barriers. The foyer, unlike the quad, was alive with the hustle and bustle of people. It reminded Tia of a beehive she had seen once in class. All the workers buzzing around, each with a job to do, moving around the hive efficiently.
They were surrounded by people but that didn’t mean they could relax. They still had to get through the barriers undetected. They continued their conversation, giving the appearance of being relaxed, as if they belonged here, as if they did this all the time. Jay took out his ID and swiped it along the top of the barrier. The barrier buzzed and he pushed the small gate, waving his companions ahead.
“Ladies first.”
“Oh, look, he’s such a gentleman now,” Tia laughed, loud enough for the nearest guard to hear. He (or she) glanced over, the gun held diagonally across his chest. Raghida, the most nervous out of them, forced a responding laugh. It was high pitched and unnatural but Tia linked arms with her and hoisted her through the gate. Jay pushed the gate shut behind him.
“Hey.”
They froze. The voice, deep and demanding, came from behind them. Raghida gave a little gasp. Tia’s nerves sucker punched her so hard she thought she was going to vomit. Jay made a small gesture only they could see: carry on. He breathed out and turned around, flashing a bright smile. The guard who had glanced over at Tia was standing behind them, his helmet raised atop his head. He was young, roughly stubbled and red eyed. Jay had told them to continue but obviously they couldn’t leave him alone, so they had turned with him. The guard’s gaze flickered over the two women before settling back onto Jay. He raised his hand and Tia thought he was going to grab Jay. She reached for the kunai before she realised that the guard was holding something in the palm of his hand.
Jay’s ID card.
“You forgot this.”
Jay’s shoulders sagged, a movement even he wasn’t aware of making. “I’d forget my own head if it wasn’t screwed on.” He laughed, slipping it into his pocket. But the guard had already lowered his helmet and was walking back to his post. Tia thought she was going to cry out of relief. Jay took no chances this time; he grabbed both of them and yanked them away from the foyer. They bumped into a few people but he didn’t stop until they had reached a staircase. He bundled them through the door and barricaded it with his back.
“Oh, my god,” Tia gasped, her pulse supersonic.
Raghida’s knees buckled from underneath her and she slid down onto the stairs. She looked terrible, pale and sweaty beneath the wig. Jay was shaking his head, staring up at the ceiling.
“I really thought-” he started.
“I know.”
He looked at her then, his artificial eyes narrowing. “I told you to go. You stayed instead.”
“Oh, come on. Really?”
“Yes, really,” he snapped. “Anything could have happened.”
“This is my mission, you really think I would let you be the fall guy? Either of you?”
Jay’s face became thunderous. He stepped forward, his mouth hitching up into a snarl. Tia hadn't ever seen his face do that, not even in a fight. “I don’t know anything about you, Tia, not even what I thought I did.”
“I don't wanna talk about this right now. In fact, not now, not ever.”
“Look, I get it; you were upset, you needed comfort-”
“Jay!”
It had to be obvious to Raghida that this was about more than the guard. That this did not, in fact, have anything to do with Bloc 3. Tia didn’t want to get dragged into this - as she said - not now, not ever. She opened her mouth to reply, to say that they were on a tight schedule and they needed to continue. She wanted to do what they had risked their lives coming here to do. She didn't want to squabble in the stairwell.
Raghida beat her to it. “What the hell are you two arguing about?”
Jay’s eyes flashed and Tia saw it, saw that he was about to tell Raghida - his best friend - what had happened. Tia couldn’t allow it. “Nothing, he’s just angry because we disobeyed-”
“Cut the shit, Tia,” he growled, turning to Raghida. “We nearly had sex, in the Tunnels. She’s been avoiding me ever since. At the party, I thought we were finally okay again but she just went right back to avoiding me.”
“Goddamnit,” Tia cried. She did not want to open that can of worms, especially right here, in front of Raghida.
Raghida cut her eyes to Tia, wide and trembling under the strain of what had just happened. A little bit of colour had returned to her face but she still looked shaken. Yet another reason why Jay should have kept his mouth shut. But then Raghida reminded Tia why she had liked the girl so much from the very first meeting. She stood up, sighed, and turned to Jay. “And you couldn’t wait until we got back to start crying about it?”
Jay, shocked, flapped his lips and uttered no words. A relief so strong it could have brought her to her knees swept through Tia. Finally, they could get on with the mission. Jay was the first out of the stairwell, tension snapping his shoulders up high. The girls followed, making brief eye contact; thank you - you’re welcome.
Now that they were inside the bloc, they needed to get to corridor D, door 49 - as Andy had laid out in his journal. Thankfully, the whole bloc was pretty simple to navigate. What at first appeared to be a complicated system of corridors and staircases, turned out to be a pattern like a sunburst. The reception was the starting point. They found corridor D, door 49. It looked like any of the others except that it was empty of people where the others hadn’t been. It was eerie. Beside the door was a small black square, with two lights above it. The light currently showed red. Jay pressed the ID card to the square. Green.
The door was heavy, reinforced steel with deadbolts on the inside. If anyone wanted to try and break through, they would have a long night ahead of them. The stairs leading from the door spiralled downwards at least three flights, opening out into a darkened corridor. The lights were not automatic down here like they had been upstairs. Tia took the head of their procession, palming her kunai. She knew from Andy’s journal there were no guards down here but there was no harm in being prepared. She led them down the corridor, peering into empty rooms along the way. Each contained a hospital style bed, metal railings, disinfectant attached to the end, a clipboard, IV drips.
They continued to the end of the corridor, stepping lightly though there was no sign of anyone else around. It curved off to the right. They were met by another security cleared door. Jay swiped them through and they continued down another, narrower, corridor. The doors weren’t open but Tia could see from the name plaques that they were offices, labs, storage cupboards. She tried one and found it locked, likewise for the rest. She was starting to think that their search would be fruitless when they came to the last door in the corridor. It required the ID card, not a key. They squinted into the sudden brightness, so at contrast to the dimness their eyes had adjusted to.
