Forged Absolution (Fates of the Bound Book 4) Read online

  But saying La Roux’s name would stir up the press.

  Saying La Roux’s name would stir up Tristan.

  “Well? Who did you come to see? We will need to confirm your story.”

  Leather squeaked behind her. Shaw rose to his feet. “She came to see me.”

  The senators turned to one another, eyes wide.

  “She came to see you?” Masson asked in surprise. “Whatever for? And why haven’t you mentioned this before tonight?”

  “Because the purpose of her visit was classified. It still is.”

  “I apologize for betraying your trust,” Lila said over her shoulder.

  Shaw inclined his head, his face expressionless.

  Masson cleared his throat. “Fine. On what cases did you use the stolen information?”

  “That is confidential.”

  “You are before the senate disciplinary committee, Ms. Randolph. There is no such thing as confidential.”

  “I assume you already searched my room and office. Go through the data you found and figure it out yourself.”

  “We can’t. Bullstow could not recover your data. It seems as though your hard drives have gone astray.”

  “That’s convenient,” Lila replied.

  “We thought so too.”

  “Senators, I have given my defense of the charges against me. If you have any shred of circumstantial evidence leading you to conclude that I profited from the information I found in the BIRD, then by all means, shoot me full of truth serum and find out if you’re right. But you can’t because there’s no evidence to find, no matter how circumstantial. I receive my family dividends, my salary from the hospital, and my chief’s salary every month, not a credit more. But you already know that, because you’ve checked my accounts.”

  “Yes, and those accounts you speak of are now empty.”

  “Yes, and they weren’t emptied by me. I’m sure your investigation has revealed that. Several criminals are off the streets because of what I’ve done. They’re getting the counseling they need to become productive citizens, as well as gaining a fair amount of job experience they didn’t have before. Their victims received justice and fair compensation. I’ll admit once again that I was overzealous in my approach, but impulsivity is the worst of my crimes. Theft? Hacking? In light of my confession, both are at odds with the truth. A fake logon? Which fake logon? Misuse of a computer? Which computer did I use?”

  The senators eyed one another with severe expressions.

  “Madam, people have rights,” Senator Masson said. “One of those rights is the right to privacy. You cannot break the law in order to make a case against a suspect if you cannot make it on evidence alone.”

  “Really? You’re prepared to violate my rights and shove a needle in my arm simply because you can’t prove yours.”

  “It’s a treason charge. The rules are different.”

  “Perhaps if you had evidence for a treason charge it might be different, but you don’t have that. You don’t have any evidence at all, just words on a piece of paper dropped in your lap by…whom? Do you even know?”

  Masson gripped his gavel. “Can you prove your innocence, Ms. Randolph?”

  “Can I prove my innocence? Have you forgotten that this is a court of law? I’m supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. You’re the one who has to build a case against me. But you haven’t done that, and I’ve already proven one charge false. How much more do I need to do? How much more before you ask yourself about the anonymous source who tossed all this information to the press?”

  “We’re not here to investigate the source. That job belongs to Chief Shaw.”

  “That job belongs to Bullstow. All of you,” Lila snapped. “I ask you again: can you prove that I profited from my supposed break-in? Do you have any scrap of evidence—”

  “I don’t believe that is the point. The law states—”

  “The law is there to protect people, not condemn them, as you so wisely pointed out. Even unrepentant hypocrites like me. I do have rights, and you’re about to violate them.”

  Mr. Martinez winced, but he couldn’t stop himself from eyeing the row of senators.

  The spectators whispered amongst themselves.

  “Fine,” Masson said, cutting through the din. “The committee will verify that we have the authority to order the serum and reevaluate the evidence against you. Report back at nine o’clock tomorrow morning, madam. Do not make us send Chief Shaw to collect you.”

  The gavel smacked against the sounding board.

  “Let’s take a break,” Masson told his comrades. “Meet back in fifteen minutes as soon as the room is cleared. I’ll have the blackcoats fetch Dr. Vargas about the truth serum. He’ll clear up the matter.”

  The senators gathered up a few papers and belongings, then filed from the room.

  Chief Shaw marched from the room as well, leading a press of blackcoats into the corridor. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, not even to offer his thanks for keeping his secrets.

  Her lawyer scratched his cheek. “I have no idea if that was the dumbest stunt I’ve ever witnessed or the most entertaining. You managed to beat Senator Masson with his own argument, and that doesn’t happen often, madam.”

  “I just opened a door. I knew he’d walk through it. The man speechifies too often without thinking ahead, which is why he still serves New Bristol rather than Saxony. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if it worked.”

  “Aye, that we will. I don’t think you helped your situation, though. You admitted to digging through the BIRD. You’re going to get a slave’s term. That’s certain now.”

  “Yes, but they can’t—”

  “I’m not Senator Masson, so save your arguments.” He snatched up his paperwork. “You’ve won nothing, I’m afraid. Take this last day and spend it well. It will be likely be the last day of freedom you enjoy.”

  “Do you think they’ll order me to take the serum?”

  “I’m guessing that you’d say something which would lead to the hangman’s noose?” He eyed her as he slid his files into a worn leather briefcase. “They’ll try, no doubt, but you did give them pause. They don’t want to leave themselves open to a lawsuit. No one fetches Dr. Vargas if they can help it. He’s a walking encyclopedia of legal precedent who runs on port, but he’s also a frightful bore.”

  He turned away and slid his palm from his pocket on the way to the door.

  Chief Sutton marched to Lila’s side, her bun shaking at her neck. “All that time we worked together, and this is what you made of yourself?”

  Lila opened her mouth.

  “Save it, Elizabeth. I taught you better than this. I taught you to follow the law. I don’t care what they say tomorrow. You deserve the noose for spitting on your militia vow.”

  “I—”

  “Do you know that your mother has summoned me to the great house every Monday morning since you disappeared? Every Monday morning, she asks if I’ll formally accept the chief’s position, and every time, I refuse. Do you know why?”

  Lila shook her head.

  “Because Jewel resumed her role as prime the morning after Senator Dubois called off their wedding. She only did it at your mother’s order, but she did it just the same. I thought you’d come back to the compound after the case was dismissed. I wanted your job to be there, waiting for you when you returned.”

  “I—”

  “I thought this trial was just some stupid mistake. I thought you’d volunteer for the serum and clear up these ridiculous charges against you. You had the chance to prove your innocence, but you didn’t take it. Instead, you proved yourself to be the worst sort of blackcoat.”

  Sutton laid her hand upon the desk. Something metallic bounced upon the wood, jingling sharply. “I don’t want this anymore. I’ll requisition my own damn pin.”

  Sut
ton stalked from the room. Her boots clacked against the marble, and her blackcoat swished around her ankles in her haste to leave.

  Lila picked up what Sutton had left behind. The star pin was hardly larger than the tip of her finger, and still warm.

  She slipped it into her pocket.

  Dixon flashed his notepad. I approved of your speech. It’s a pity Senator Masson and his flunkies can’t see their own hypocrisy.

  “It is what it is.”

  It’s bullshit. This is why I don’t vote for the lowborn senate.

  He fell into step behind her as they navigated the corridor, the faces of the senators falling after they realized that their gossip had been delayed for another day.

  Much of the crowd had petered out by the time Lila and Dixon reached the exit. She had just stepped outside when a man grabbed her arm and tugged, walking her quickly down the sidewalk. Shiloh’s muscular form brooked no argument. She’d come along even if her younger brother had to toss her over his shoulder and ruin his impeccably brushed and styled hair.

  Such a move was unlikely, though. It wouldn’t be civilized to carry her away. Shiloh wore the golden coat and breeches of a senate intern now.

  “Shiloh, where are we going?”

  Dixon followed along behind the pair, his hand upon a small bulge in his coat.

  A switchblade, most likely.

  “Take it down a notch, Dixon,” she whispered. “He’s my little brother. You’d both get along quite well, sitting in a room, not saying a word to one another.”

  Shiloh frowned at that, barely pausing in their walk.

  When they passed a café called Rosebuds, he cut quickly into the alley. Unlike most in New Bristol, it did not smell of piss and shit. Instead, Lila smelled stale food and week-old coffee grounds mixed with beer. It was likely the new spot this semester, that place where teenagers sipped booze away from prying eyes, feeling like rebels against their teachers.

  Shiloh prodded her deeper into the alley. “He told me to fetch you. He’s waiting. He told me he’s going to fix everything, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Who?”

  Shiloh rolled his eyes with the irritation of younger siblings everywhere, and darted back out onto the sidewalk.

  Lila circled the dumpster and came face to face with her father, a man in his fifties who still kept himself fit and trim in the gym. His gray hair hung to his shoulders, and his salt-and-pepper beard had been impeccably groomed. He had forgone the usual white coat and breeches of the prime minister, marking him as unaffiliated with any state or family. Instead, he wore a pair of dark trousers and a three-quarter-length navy coat.

  Dixon eyed him with some annoyance.

  Lemaire stared back with the same expression. “Is this our friend?”

  Dixon gave him the finger. Loudly. With multiple exclamations marks.

  Lila grabbed Dixon’s wrist and pushed it to his side once more, unsure if she wanted to correct either of them. Her father had always called Tristan their “friend” as a code, as a way to mark his distaste and not use his name in case they were recorded. He’d never enjoyed the fact that Lila had chosen to work with him. It turned out that her father had gotten his wish in the end, for Tristan would likely never work with her again, and he damn sure didn’t want to be her friend.

  “He’s been friendly enough to offer a bit of moral support at my trial. What do you want?”

  Her father straightened. “Do you think I wanted to stay away?”

  Dixon nodded.

  “If you’ll give us a moment, Mr. Friendly Enough, I’d like to speak to my daughter alone.”

  “He knows already, Father, and he hasn’t ratted you out. I assume you were listening? I thought I saw a bug on Chief Shaw’s coat.”

  Her father rubbed his chin, casting more than a few doubtful glances at Dixon. “Of course I was listening. I’ve spent an entire month listening in places I shouldn’t.”

  “And?”

  “And I’ve cashed in a great deal of favors, but it will be for naught if they use the serum against you. You were correct to point out that they don’t have enough evidence, not even circumstantial evidence, to force the serum on you. They’ll try to use it anyway, though, and they’ll pressure Dr. Vargas for any sort of loophole or precedent to warrant its use.”

  “If they inject me with the serum, we’re all dead.”

  “Probably. But if they don’t, the treason charge should fall away. Mr. Marquez called me as he was leaving the courtroom. He might be able to work out some sort of deal after your statement in court. He’ll contact Senator Masson this afternoon. If he’s successful, you’ll only end up with a slave’s term.”

  Her father ran a hand through his hair. “Look, don’t worry about the auction house. Your mother has approached Chairwoman Masson to purchase your mark. She likes you, and she owes the Randolphs greatly after Trudy Poole. You won’t be scrubbing dishes for the rest of your life. She’ll use you, just like your mother used Ms. Poole. Things might not be so bad.”

  Dixon snorted.

  “It was the best we could do,” her father snapped, sticking his hands into his trouser pockets. “We all knew the consequences of what could happen when we started.”

  “Yes, we did. I just never thought it would come to this.”

  “Neither did I.”

  He dug the toe of his boot into the cobble-lined alley.

  Lila saw the half-guilty look in her father’s eyes. He needed something, wanted something from her, just like the oracle. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

  “Chief Shaw and I need to know what else you found out about the Baron and his associates. Liberté won’t turn over his accounts.”

  “Bullstow is stuck, just like always.”

  “Yes, and I need the rest of the data. I need to know who else was working for him and who had been trapped by him. Chief Shaw and I need to get this sorted before I leave for Paris in a few months. I can’t become a member of the Allied Council knowing I left Saxony in disarray. I understand this is your last day, child, but Saxony and New Bristol—”

  “Need me. I know.”

  Even on a day like today, he was all business. Everything went back to the job. A job that had landed her before the disciplinary committee. A job she’d soon pay for with her freedom or perhaps her life. A job she had bungled and left undone, with the consequences of her failure wasted if she did not complete it. A job her father would leave behind as he rose to the Allied Council.

  Lila raised her head to the sky, wanting to scream.

  A dull, echoing thunk sounded in the quiet. Her father’s back struck the dumpster. He smacked his fists against the steel container, barely recovering his balance, and looked down his nose at Dixon.

  A nose dripping with blood.

  Lila swiveled her head just time to see her friend wince and shake out his fist.

  “Pardon me, sir,” her father said in a snooty, muffled voice.

  Dixon flipped him off. Fuck you, you fucking fuck! he mouthed.

  Lemaire took out a handkerchief and wiped his nose. “You keep interesting company these days, Elizabeth. I could call for my security detail to arrest him, you know. He’d get a few years, at least.”

  Lila held Dixon back as he lunged again. “You’ll keep even more interesting company if he gets angry enough.”

  “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be, Lila girl. But before that happens, don’t you think we should get the information to Chief Shaw or his replacement? Otherwise, this was all for naught.”

  “You were right before,” she said. “Everyone wasn’t outed in the Great Purge. I suspect that the Baron set up the dead man’s switch for his most worthless contacts, contacts that he only meant to use in dire circumstances.”

  “Dire how?”

  “As a way to startle anyone wh
o tried to capture him, to show his kidnappers what would happen if he wasn’t released. I strongly suspect he has another switch, Father, and when that one blows, the press won’t have a cute name for it.”

  Lila didn’t admit that she’d already broken into La Roux’s files and stopped the second switch from triggering. She’d seen the articles that had been primed to reach the press. Even she, as an heir and a cynical militia chief, had been shocked into silence. If the next round had triggered, highborn would have hanged beside lowborn and workborn, and Bullstow would have needed a much larger stage if they wished to hang them all at once.

  “Can you stop it?” her father asked. “Can you get the evidence before the press? The disciplinary council has to clean house, Lila, but we can’t do that with the press involved and a thousand workborn threatening the gate. It would break the trust of the mob. We have to keep that at all costs.”

  “Do we?”

  “Do you want anarchy, Elizabeth? Every play has consequences. Your mother and I taught you better than that.”

  Her father was right, of course. Protests and riots and revolution were all well and good in theory, but the history books never wrote the stories of the innocents caught in the melee. They never read out the names of those who starved or the casualties of battles that didn’t need to be fought. They didn’t write the stories of the orphans or the old who lost their pensions or life savings when the banks tumbled and fell. It rarely balanced in the end, no matter what the protesters believed.

  It could be avoided. It must be avoided.

  “I might be able to stop it.” Lila did not offer any more information than that. The information she’d gained from the second dead man’s switch had become her ace in the hole, though she hadn’t finished going through half of it yet. She did know one thing, though. Not all the senators on the disciplinary committee had gotten their positions fairly, and quite a few of their siblings and cousins would hang.

  If La Roux could pull their strings, she damn well could too.

  Chapter 5