Rising Tomorrow (Roc de Chere Book 1) by Mariana Morgan (essential reading txt) 📕

of intel, will not replace the invaluable clues we can get out of watching Wagner struggle though a confusing situation. I want to push him, and I want to watch him under pressure.’ Gonzalez paused, wondering how much he was willing to share with Ingram. He trusted her implicitly, so the fact that he was hesitating surprised him. ‘I didn’t get enough time to observe him at the 4th. Megan believes that he has support from the Central Police Inspectorate and probably from Military Command, and I don’t question her instincts. What I want to know is if he’s just following orders or whether he is personally invested.

‘I want to see what happens when Eloise contacts him, saying she’s alive and that she’s just escaped from wherever we held her and is demanding his protection. She can demand to see him somewhere safe, away from the 4th, where she nearly died last time. He’s bound to invite her to his home.’

Elites took particular care when it came to safety in their homes, and if Eloise mentioned that her own security system had reported people trying to break in, not wanting to go home would be highly believable.

‘I’m hoping we can trick him into saying something of value. It won’t be anything huge, and it will seem inconsequential to him, but to us…’ Gonzalez shrugged. ‘I agree, there are less risky ways of doing it than involving Ms Moretti, but my instincts are telling me this is worth the risk.’ There weren’t many people Gonzalez felt comfortable discussing his instincts with. ‘We won’t take the security system down—we’ll have Tilly run it for us so that it looks uncompromised. Taking down the six security guards won’t pose any problems. If anything goes wrong, Rivas can go in and extract Ms Moretti, and we’ll be gone before Wagner realises he’s been had.’

‘So you don’t believe she can actually pull it off for more than a few minutes, sir.’ The statement sounded more like a question, but Gonzalez didn’t reply directly. He stared dead ahead, pondering Eloise’s chances.

No, of course he didn’t believe that.

In fact, Gonzalez gave it fifty-fifty that Wagner would see straight through Eloise’s fake story, but it would take some time for him to confirm his suspicions and it would be enlightening to see what would happen next. What frantic comp calls would he make? What emergency protocols would spring into action?

Worst-case scenario, if he tries to raise security, we can always abort, he thought, trying to rationalise his own worries before facing Ingram.

‘Do you think it’s an insane idea?’ he eventually replied.

‘More insane than getting her to piss herself, you mean?’

‘Dammit, Carlotta, I didn’t—’

‘Joking. Just joking.’ Ingram lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘What I really want to say is that your insane ideas usually get pretty damn amazing results, sir. You’re right—if the worst comes to pass, we’ll simply end up with the wrist-comp, as we originally intended. And if this insane brain child of yours works out, we might learn far more. I only have one question, sir. I’m going to be down in Lyon with them, aren’t I?’

Gonzalez shook his head in mock exasperation. ‘Yes, Sarge, you will be down there as back-up. While I play the good CO who sits flat on his ass and monitors the situation from a safe location.’

‘I always knew getting promoted would be dangerous.’ Ingram laughed, ducking his hand as he tried to smack her playfully. But then she sobered, remembering Gonzalez’s recorded comp conversation with Megan. ‘Sir, what if she doesn’t make it out tonight?’

There was no need to say any names. Gonzalez knew Ingram was no longer talking about Eloise.

‘That’s another reason why I want you down in Lyon, Carlotta.’ Access to a fast ride as a last resort would help Megan avoid the long and dangerous route through the Underground City that Ingram herself had taken only a few days ago.

‘That’s not what I meant, sir…’ Her voice trailed off, and she looked at Gonzalez, her eyes serious.

‘You think she might choose to stay behind?’

‘I think that a lot has happened in the last few days, and we don’t know enough about what she’s been through.’

Gonzalez looked back at Ingram, one cocked eyebrow inviting her to continue, and she exhaled loudly.

‘Yes, sir, I do believe you should have pressed her more about what she’s been through. I understand why you haven’t, and if I were in her shoes, I would have appreciated the lack of probing questions, but I’m not. I got to see it from the outside, and as an objective observer I can tell you I’m not sure she’s in a position to make rational choices. She isn’t Special Forces trained, and while I have no doubt that her full potential would astound us, in these particular circumstances I worry that she won’t be able to call it quits.’

There was more Ingram wanted to say. She wanted to explain how Megan already saw herself as gone, unable to believe the nightmare might ever end. How the long-lasting oppression of Leeches had taken away hope. While Megan would never forget what it meant to be born as a Leech, she had spent the last few years in the safety and comfort of MIS HQ. She had gained distance from the dreadful reality, focusing on her work towards changing the System rather than feeling trapped by it.

The fast progress the Afro-European Alliance had made in nano-tech and associated technology had come at a hefty price. Leeches couldn’t afford it. They couldn’t even fall back on the pre-nano technology widespread in the 20th and 21st centuries, for it no longer existed, replaced by the better wonders unavailable to Leeches.

Only one thing stood between death in miserable poverty and a luxurious life—money. Without money you were an object that could be used when it suited the puppet master and discarded when it didn’t. A sudden descent from a comfortable life at MIS HQ into the clutches of