Compliance (The Dust Chronicles) by Maureen McGowan

Author:Maureen McGowan [McGowan, Maureen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Skyscape
Published: 2013-06-03T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MRS. KALIN’S OFFICE IS the opposite of what I expect. Every other place in the Hospital is sterile and white and as brightly lit as the Hub, but her office is cozy and quiet and soft.

She guides me to a chair with an upholstered seat and wooden arms, and I sink into it gratefully. On the other side of a small desk, she sits in a high-backed chair and gestures for her System screen to wake. Then, twisting her hands, she adjusts the display so that it’s visible to me, too, hovering above the edge of her desk.

She presses a few keys on her keyboard and a video starts. It’s the Hub at night, based on the lighting and lack of pedestrians. The camera’s focused on the lower levels of scaffolding, then it pans up to the top. Mrs. Kalin presses a key and the video fast forwards, the camera panning up and down, until there’s a blur. She stops the video and backs up a few seconds.

A person dressed in black is standing at the base of the scaffolding holding a wrench.

I snap back in my chair. It looks like Burn, and I watch in utter horror as he loosens a bolt at the side of the scaffolding. He then loosens another and another. Burn rounds the far side of the scaffolding and loosens another bolt. The camera zooms in. Mrs. Kalin presses a key and the video pauses, focused on Burn’s face. There’s no doubt. It’s him.

Blood rushes in my ears. I feel sick. Betrayed. Then my anger swiftly changes to hatred. My eyes tingle as my Deviance builds. The person on the screen can’t really be Burn. It’s Zina. But knowing that doesn’t help. Someone I know did this on purpose. Someone I know killed innocent people and nearly killed Scout. Plus, because of Zina, the Comps will blame Burn.

“I realize this must be a shock.” Mrs. Kalin leans over her desk toward me. “But I thought you should know that this heinous crime was committed by the same Deviant who kidnapped you.”

I can’t look at Mrs. Kalin. It’s too dangerous. I can’t even talk. I have no idea what to say. She has no idea how well I know Burn—the real Burn.

“I can see that you’re scared,” she says. “But don’t worry. The Compliance Officers will find him. I’ll keep you safe. There’s no way this Deviant will escape detection again.”

I hate to think that even someone as devious as Zina is capable of this crime, and I wonder what Rolph will do when he finds out what she’s done. She’ll be kicked out of the FA, that’s for sure, but with her as my only contact right now, how will I even get a message to Rolph to let him know of her crime?

I can’t think about this right now—not around Mrs. Kalin—no matter how much I trust her, I can’t trust her with this. It would be one thing to tell her my secrets, another to share those of others.

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