Beyond Reach by Siobhan Davis

Author:Siobhan Davis [Davis, Siobhan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Siobhan Davis
Published: 2015-04-30T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

“What’s this?” Agent Dale asks. Quickly deducing that this is no time for subterfuge, I recognize that my options are limited. He can easily get the chip analyzed, so attempting to hide the truth will be of no benefit to us, or the situation we find ourselves in. All I can do is come clean, and perhaps there’s a way of using it to our advantage. I doubt Agent Dale is aware of the Chancellor’s extra-curricular activities, and when he reviews the file, he can’t help but be appalled at the content.

“It’s a copy of some recordings I made. Feel free to check it out.”

“What were you going to do with it?”

“Give it to a friend, an ex-neighbor of mine. But his house has been obliterated. I don’t suppose you know anything about that?”

“I’ll hold onto this now,” he says. His refusal to even acknowledge my question tells me all I need to know. And all Isla needs to know as she lunges for him unexpectedly. He is caught off guard, and she manages to scrape her nails across his face before she’s contained. The abrasions on his cheek aren’t deep, but they still draw blood, and his skin swells and reddens at the point of contact. “Get them out of here!” he roars. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him rattled to the point of losing self-control.

My hands are pulled tightly behind my back, and I feel the sharp dig of the metal band as my wrists are bound. Isla is being similarly restrained in front of me. Twisting in my direction, she has a mixed look of satisfaction and sorrow drawn on her face. My body sags forward as a heaviness creeps through every part of my being, pushing and clawing and churning with the weight of the burden forcing me to confront the mounting body count attributable to me.

Isla and I are interviewed separately, so I’ve no idea how she’s getting on, but every so often, I hear raised voices coming from the adjacent room and a few loud bangs, and I know she’s giving them hell. A wry smile spreads over my lips. When Agent Dale finally appears in the room, sporting a bandage over the damaged side of his cheek, he’s extremely agitated and clearly in a foul mood.

He asks me again about the reason for our trip above ground, and I reply exactly as I did previously. Then he pushes a report in front of me and slouches back in his chair. Leaning forward, I scan over the pages. It’s a long list of data items, accompanied by corresponding dates and times. “Do you know what that is?” he asks, his finger tapping off the sheet.

“It looks like a list of reports and corresponding download dates.”

“Correct. That report is for your digital station. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“What do you want me to say?” I ask, shrugging my shoulders. I regularly download reports to aid work in progress and to provide information for management meetings, the Board, and the War Council.

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