reason the entire base will be killed. Beau and Tora are both waiting for my response.
Funny, I thought Beau would come to my defense. Does that mean he believes it too? Is that why he and Niall argued at the staff meeting? Pain pulses in my head. I look past Beau’s shoulder to the dual Q-net terminals.
Masterpieces, Beau said. Damn right they are.
I gather my poise and stare at Beau then Tora. “Jarren’s the enemy. Not me. Try not to forget that.” I turn my back on them and leave.
Five
2522:194
My anger at Tora and Beau fuels my steps. I go straight back to my…er…Radcliff’s unit. Grrr. Now I’m gonna worry about everything I say. Yes, where I live is out of my hands. But still…I don’t want the team to think I’m getting special treatment.
Taking a painkiller, I change into comfy clothes, turn off the light in my room, and crawl under the covers. In the cool darkness, I wonder if we’re going to survive this. If Jarren returns, he won’t be concerned about altering camera feeds. No reason to. He has a small army, heavy earth moving equipment, and weapons. These thoughts don’t help my headache.
Eventually I fall asleep. Only to be woken two seconds later by an insistent tapping on my door. I groan, which is translated by the tapper as “come in” because light stabs the darkness. I pull the blanket over my head.
The mattress dips as someone sits on the edge and touches my shoulder. Mom. I’d know that touch anywhere.
“Did you over-do it today?” she asks.
Did I? “A little.”
“We were worried when we couldn’t find you.”
Huh? I sit up. “What time is it?”
“Eighteen hundred.”
Oh. I slept for two hours. The aroma of Radcliff’s casserole wakes the sleeping lion in my stomach. Its claws dig in and it roars, reminding me I haven’t eaten all day.
Mom laughs. “You can’t be feeling too bad. Come on.”
I follow her to the kitchen as I unwind my messy braid and comb my fingers through my hair. My dad and Niall are already sitting at the table. Radcliff scowls at me. What did I do wrong now?
“If my team isn’t visible on the screens when I look, and since no one is watching the feeds to tell me where they might be, how do I locate them?” Radcliff asks.
Oh. Mom’s earlier comment makes more sense now. “You can ask the Q-net.”
He stares at me as if I had just spoken another language.
“Come on, I’ll show you. You, too. Mom and Dad.” They follow me into Radcliff’s bedroom along with Niall who stands near the door. I gesture to his desk. “Access the Q-net and ask where Officer Dorey is.”
Radcliff inserts his tangs. The screen shows Beau having dinner in the cafeteria. “What about someone who’s in a private location?”
“Ask about Niall.”
The screen switches to the view of the corridor time stamped seventeen-fifty. Niall exits his unit and then enters Radcliff’s.
“The Q-net is tracking everyone?” Dad asks. “It knows where everyone is right now?”
“Yes. And only you, Mom, and Officer Radcliff can access the information.”
“What about you?” Radcliff asks me.
“Me and Beau can as well. Why, is that a bad thing?”
“It could be a violation of privacy,” Mom says.
“What’s the difference between a person watching the feeds and being able to tell my dad where someone is versus the Q-net?” Niall asks.
“The Q-net doesn’t forget and this feels like surveillance,” Mom says.
“As long as you don’t ask it for…patterns,” I say. “It’s meant to look for intruders. I think using it to find someone is okay. We all know there are cameras in public areas.”
“This is only due to unforeseen circumstances,” Radcliff says. “It’s temporary and as soon as we’re no longer in danger, we’ll return to the normal monitoring.”
We troop back to the kitchen. Conversation is light and I just about inhale a large portion of casserole. When I finish, I slump back in my seat, thinking of going into a food coma. I don’t have to monitor the camera feeds tonight. But I still want to help.
“What else can I do?” I ask Radcliff.
“You already freed up so much time,” he says.
“I want a shift. How about guarding detention?”
“No,” my mom answers. “We don’t need another riot. It’s too dangerous. Besides, Ara needs to rest after today’s marathon Q-net session.”
“I’ll be fine by tomorrow,” I say.
“Then you can resume training,” Radcliff says with an evil little half-grin.
“I can also resume working with Beau.” We still need to find a