The Lofties (The Echelon Book 2) by Ramona Finn (no david read aloud .txt) 📕

Even as I considered it, I knew I wouldn’t do it. His Lazrad Corp ID had caught my eye. Friend or foe, he had what I needed: a way in. Worst-case scenario, he’d attack me, and I’d defend myself. He wouldn’t expect my strength. I might catch him off guard that way, rattle the truth from him like candy from a box.

I made my way up to twelve, taking the stairs in case the elevators had cameras. At first, I didn’t see anyone. The walls were lined with study rooms, little closed-off cubes marked FREE or OCCUPIED. Most of them looked free today, and I wandered from one to the next, prodding doors open and peering inside.

“Get in and flip the sign.”

I jumped, caught off guard. Still, I did as instructed and ducked into the study room as I flipped the sign to OCCUPIED.

“What do you want?”

“I’m Reyland,” said the stranger. He stepped into the light, keeping his face turned from the window. He was about fifty, I guessed, a cardboard-cutout office drone. “Joe Stark sent me—Starkey.”

Sweat prickled under my arms. This was a test. It had to be. Lazrad had sent him, she must have. Thrown him in my path to test my loyalty.

“Starkey wouldn’t know someone like you,” I said. “He’s a brute and a killer. You’re... look at you.” I flapped my hand at the whole of him, his floppy hair, his knobbly limbs. “I’ve put all that behind me. Leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Reyland. He circled around me, blocking my exit. “I’ve been following you since you arrived. Can you guess why I’ve cornered you here?”

“No cameras.” I bulled into his space, sharing his air. “You know that works both ways, right?”

“Oh, I know.” His breathing picked up. I smelled fear on him, copper and garlic. “You’re smart to be suspicious, but you’ll want to hear me out.” He squared up to me, chest bumping mine. “I know what you are. I know what you did. I am here for Starkey—and for Ben.”

“For—” I shut my mouth with a snap. He was baiting me. Interrogating me. Prium had sent him, or Lazrad herself. I wouldn’t be tricked, not so easily. “What am I, then? What have I done?”

“You’re a Decemite,” he said. “Or your parents were. You saved the whole mountain camp, you and your friend. You took a bolt through your guts, let them—”

“Shut up.” I seized him by the throat, slammed him up against the door. Reyland didn’t resist. I could feel his pulse pounding under his skin, his sweat turning clammy and running down his neck. I needed time. Time to think.

“Think about it.” Reyland wheezed through my grip, spittle settling on my arm. “Lazrad wouldn’t send me, if she knew the truth. She’d send a squad equipped to handle you. Decemites. Militia.”

I grabbed his ID card and held it up to the light. “Digging... systems manager? What’s that?”

“Digital systems.” He squirmed free of me and straightened his lapels. “I’m a coder. A computer nerd. Nobody, really. There’s ten thousand of me.”

“How do you know all this?” I grabbed him and shook him, messing him up all over again. “How does some nerd know Starkey, of all people?”

“I got myself on the comms crew. Tagged along on some trade missions. I slipped a note in his pocket about two years ago.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Look around you.” Reyland went to the window, staying hidden behind the curtain. He pointed toward the river and the quarantine district on the other side. “This is meant to be paradise, but I saw you try to cross there. I saw them turn you back. You think you’re free here till you step out of line, then down comes the gate, right in your face.” His gaze drifted north, where the houses got shabby. “And there, the workers’ quarters. There’s families up there, four kids to one bedroom, maybe a fifth on the way. You think that’s their dream?”

I thought about that. “I guess not. But why not go to them, then? Why risk the Outside, someone like you?”

“Too risky,” said Reyland. “People on the inside have too much to lose, and too much to gain. They could fight and risk everything, their lives, their kids’ lives—so why would they bother? Why go that far when they could turn in a spy and be heroes? Lazrad rewards loyalty.”

I snorted. “So you figured the Outsiders have nothing to lose—why not ask them?”

“I wouldn’t put it quite that way, but—”

“Why didn’t Starkey mention you, if you’ve been talking all this time?”

“To you?” Reyland laughed like he couldn’t help himself, a short, sharp bark. “Tell you he’s got a spy, a pet coder in Lazrad Corp? You’ve met him, right? You’re a kid to him. A strong kid, a smart one, but to him, a kid’s a kid.”

I found myself nodding. “That does sound like Starkey.”

“I can’t say I disagree with him. Getting children involved just feels—” He sucked air through his teeth. “Thing is, you’re a well-placed kid. Your Ascension could be valuable, if you—”

“I could help Ben? Keep him safe?”

“You could help a lot of people.” Reyland smiled, thin and strained. “Lazrad’s planning a move, something quite... I was going to say decisive, but disastrous feels more accurate. You might help turn the tides, but I can’t guarantee your—”

“I don’t care if it’s dangerous. Just tell me what you need.”

Reyland shook his head. He was looking at me the way Dad did when I’d done something reckless, a pained mix of guilt and regret. “You should take the night and think about it. The risk to yourself is significant, and I—”

“I’d already decided,” I said. “Long before we met. I just came from Lazrad Corp, looking for answers. When I saw who you worked for, I—” I stopped short of admitting I’d thought of beating the truth out of him. “Can you get me in?”

“Not directly,” he said. “But once you’re inside, I can open