Page 85 of The Order

I pause, unsure how much more to say.

“He’ll know what I mean,” I whisper, glancing at Aaron.

All Hunter can do is nod. I can tell he’s wary of getting involved.

“I do hope our paths never cross again,” I say, watching the redhead's smile grow once I look over at him.

“I have a feeling that won't be the case,” he says, waving his fingers to my brother in a gesture I know is making Kai fume.

“It was nice meeting you,” Hunter says, finally addressing my brother.

Kai gives him a small wave, crossing his arms, taking in as much as he can about the two men.

“I'll deliver your message. Maybe it will get him out of bed,” Hunter smiles, motioning his friend to pull.

They both start dragging the cart down where they came from, their figures growing smaller the farther they move.

I turn around to face my brother, watching him tap his foot in anticipation.

“I need answers,” he starts, not giving me the chance to plead my case.

“Starting with; why the hell you were alone with two Unfortunates last night?”

Chapter twenty-seven

Andrew

“Sir,youmightwantto come take a look at this,” one of the new interns says with a great deal of hesitation.

I pry my eyes away from the list of things that need maintenance in the Unfortunate sector. The interns are looking over security footage of our sector, checking for any faulty cameras or slip-ups in our system. Two of them gaze at one computer screen, completely disregarding the other filled with the view of the New Foundation’s Academy.

I slide my chair from behind my desk, using my legs to push me over to the pair training under me. I see the image of my house from another person's porch camera. On my porch resides two figures: my daughter and the figure of a person holding her up by her neck against the building. I jolt forward at the footage.

“Your neighbor's camera picked this up late last night. Whoever is holding her broke your camera before she stepped outside,” One of the interns says, scrolling their thumb along the mouse as the video fast forwards. I watch my daughter's figure flail, doing her best to shove the person away. Her face is red from lack of oxygen. Even from here, I can see the Unfortunate mugging getup that common thieves from their sector often wear. I take over the mouse, scrolling faster, waiting for her to escape the hold. Seconds later, another figure approaches, grabbing and shoving what I can only assume is a man away from my girl. She drops to her knees, clutching her throat, unable to take a full breath.

“Was that one of our people that saved her?” I question, watching the pair exchange a look.

“We thought for a moment it was, but they're wearing the same mask as the one that held her down,” the intern says, grabbing back the mouse to scroll ahead.

I stare wide-eyed at the visual of the masked savior clinging to my daughter, her legs wrapping around their torso as they remain inches apart.

Seconds later, his hood is down, and his mask comes loose. He watches her with those familiar blue eyes that I'd know anywhere, focused only on her.

I cannot look away from the screen. I tighten my grasp on the desk once Fallan’s hands grasp her tighter.

She looks far from disgusted.

In fact, she looks enthralled.

“We did an image search on him,'' one of the interns begins, pulling up Fallan’s profile on the screen. “He's an Unfortunate,” they say disgustingly. “She failed to report any of this. The cameras in your area cut out moments after the Unfortunate leaves her behind.”

“This is coming into us live,” another intern says, cutting off the first, pulling up a video from downtown New Haven. I now see both of my children conversing with an Unfortunate. My daughter turns to meet our surveillance camera, all of us flinching as the brick she hurls destroys the feed, and the screen goes dark. Her green eyes are the last thing I see, before nothing at all.

“Sir, maybe we should consider bringing your daughter in to get her chip evaluated. It says here on her scorecard she’s already had to be visited by Officials on two separate occasions, one of those trips resulting in her chip use. In just a day, she has managed to violate some of our most significant rules, and even worse, she seems to be having relations with an Unfortunate, which is a high-level violation, even for her-”

“How many people have seen these videos?” I question, stopping them mid-sentence. I rub my wrist with my left hand, feeling my coarse skin beneath the material of my shirt.

“So far, just us, but you must know we can’t keep it between us, sir,” the younger of the two interns says.

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