“Oh, Puerto Rico’s got a bridge near collapse?” Daniela asked the empty room. “I could help with that, if I wasn’t cooped up in here answering the same dumb questions over and over.”
Officials had been interrogating her about Switzerland on pretty much the daily over the last two weeks. There were different faces from different governments and intelligence agencies, some of them were nice and some of them were gruff and one of them even tried to ply her with cookies like she was five years old, but their questions were all the same.
“What happened in Engelberg?”
“Do you know where the rogue Garde might be hiding?”
“Do you think the Loric known as Number Nine had anything to do with the attack?”
“Did Caleb Crane tell you he planned to defect?”
With a frustrated swipe of her hand, Daniela gave the transparent globe a spin. The hologram blurred, blue lines flickering.
Daniela always answered their questions honestly. Or tried to, at least. She really didn’t know much. The only time she bent the truth a little was when they asked about Caleb. Of course she’d noticed how strange he’d been acting. She knew that Caleb and his clique from the Academy were tangled up in some weirdness. She’d been assigned to help extract them from that crazy religious cult a couple of months back, hadn’t she? She remembered how, on the way to Switzerland, it had seemed like Caleb was trying to warn her that something bonkers might go down.
But Daniela played dumb about that. She wasn’t a snitch. She liked Caleb. She’d survived alongside him, Nigel and Ran back at Patience Creek. Just because they’d chosen different sides back in Switzerland didn’t mean they were bad guys or defectors or terrorists or whatever else the so-so-serious diplomats and generals implied when they peppered her with questions.
Daniela wondered, not for the first time, what Melanie might be telling the interrogators. Back in Engelberg, she’d been too shell-shocked to say anything when Nine had let Caleb and the others leave. But, on the flight back, Daniela had seen a dark look on Melanie’s face. “I can’t believe he let them escape” was all she’d said to Daniela.
They’d been kept separate since returning—Daniela was stuck in the barracks, but she was pretty sure Melanie got to go back to her dad’s estate in Maryland. Or maybe Melanie was just avoiding her. She probably didn’t appreciate how Daniela had literally slapped some sense into her in the middle of battle. Daniela smirked at the memory.
“Girl’s over there crying instead of using her superstrength,” Daniela mumbled with an incredulous shake of her head. “And I’m not going to give her a smack?”
“You’re not supposed to be in here,” a voice answered.
Daniela spun around just as a man in a very expensive suit entered the room. His brown hair was slicked back, his face bright and wrinkle-free, even though he was probably in his forties. He had a European accent that she couldn’t quite place. She’d seen him around before, in the halls of Earth Garde HQ. He was a diplomat or something. The guy carried a tablet computer, glancing down at it every few seconds, like he was too busy for this conversation.
“I’m sorry—who are you?” Daniela asked with a cocked eyebrow, unable to keep the surliness out of her voice. Dudes who thought they were hot shit always brought it out of her. “Since when can’t I be in here?”
The man crossed the room and turned off the operations map. The blue glow faded, the normal lights coming on.
“We were actually just coming to talk to you about that,” the man said, a bit of impatience in his voice. “Had to search all over the complex for you, Ms. Morales.”
The “we” he was talking about became clear as a trio of Peacekeepers entered the room. Daniela squinted at the soldiers. They were stone-faced, dressed in body armor and carrying those shock-collar Inhibitor cannons that Sydal Corp produced.
A lump rose in Daniela’s throat. The vibe here was all wrong.
Why would these guys be dressed for combat inside headquarters?
“Am I supposed to know you, man?” Daniela asked the guy in the suit. She casually circled around the table.
He smiled. “My name is Greger Karlsson. Usually, I work with your friend Nine at the Academy, but I’ve been asked to supervise the installation of Earth Garde’s new safety protocols.”
“Safety protocols? What’s that got to do with me?”
Greger glanced down at his tablet, double-checking some bit of data. “Now, according to your psychological profile, there’s a high likelihood of you interpreting what I’m about to tell you in a negative way. Let’s try to maintain a cool head and approach this matter with maturity, yes?”
“I mean, you’re already pissing me off with that tone and we just met like thirty seconds ago, so no promises.”
Daniela thought one of the soldiers almost cracked a smile at that. Greger continued on like he hadn’t heard her.
“The UN has determined that, in light of recent events, measures must be taken to ensure Garde do not become a threat to the public. Going forward, it will be mandatory for all Garde to have an Inhibitor chip implanted.”
Daniela’s eyes narrowed. She’d heard Ran say something about Inhibitor chips back in Switzerland. The government had apparently put them into her and Kopano without asking permission. She got the feeling Greger here wasn’t asking either.
“You want to stick one of those things in my brain,” Daniela said. “And I’m supposed to be mature about that?”
“It’s a very simple procedure. We have a healer on hand. Once it’s done, you won’t even know it’s there.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Daniela said, her voice rising. “All I’ve done is help people.”
“Your model service is all noted in your file,” Greger said with a smile. “If that behavior continues, you’ll have nothing to worry about.”
Daniela glanced at the Peacekeepers. “This is some stop-and-frisk shit, man.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Yeah. Of course not.” She edged farther around the conference table, making sure it was directly between her and the soldiers. “So, what? You put this chip in me and give me a shock whenever I’m late to a meeting?”
Greger actually chuckled. “It’s not meant as a punishment, Ms. Morales. It’s a worst-case scenario. A last resort. The Inhibitor will only be used if your conduct becomes dangerous.”
“And who decides that? You?”
“No, actually, you’ll be assigned a trained Peacekeeper as a handler who will monitor your behavior and assist you in the field. We got the idea from the Loric themselves, actually. Back on their home planet, we understand that their Garde also had minders. They called them Cêpan.”
Daniela took a deep breath. She was out of questions, except for the big one. Here we go. Moment of truth.
“What if I say no?”
“I’m afraid it isn’t optional. The agreement you signed with Earth Garde in conjunction with the Garde Accord gives us unlimited discretion to implement safety measures necessary to protect the human race.”
“Who’s protecting me from you?” Daniela asked sharply. “I’m part of the human race, too.”