Kel wiped her eyes.
“Involuntary sound is not communication,” she said, and then, more forcefully, like an incantation, “and charges stemming forth constitute a breach of Law. Said sound does not obligate or bind to payment the party from which said sound emanated. This includes laughing, coughing, sneezing and other bodily sounds for which a reasonable expectation of control cannot be demonstrated.”
I could not remember anyone ever using Legalese to console me. I let go of my fury at Kel. Silas Rog deserved it more. Sam once said, after he turned fifteen, he would learn to communicate through farts. The memory of his irreverence soothed and unsettled me at the same time.
“All the good I thought I could do as a Lawyer...” Kel shook her head. “It came to nothing. I thought I could change things. I thought I could get in and get us back some rights—some freedom. For years, I sought proof that freedom of speech is a right, but I can’t find it. There are hints and clues, but none of it matters.” She gestured to the books around us. I realized they were all books of Law.
“I’m certain it used to be different. I’ve seen where the Law started out as protection for the people, and somewhere it was perverted, like there is a missing link where the Law changed. Copyright became perpetual. Trademark expanded beyond Brands. Patent turned into a game of war. I tried to discover how, but everything surrounding the change is suppressed, censored and classified into an opaque Legal fog. It’s possible the change is recorded in the book people whisper about—the book they say Rog possesses. But I never found any evidence of it.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and drew a breath. I tried to understand. Why was it always Rog? He wasn’t our city’s leader, though it seemed like he controlled everything. Wasn’t there a world outside, beyond him?
I yearned to ask Kel questions, but she had been clear; she respected my silence. I had to keep it, at the very least until I had some revenge. Was the book the revenge that I needed?
“I did everything legally and out in the open. It galled them. Suits mounted against my family and me, all of them spurious. I could not defend against the volume. They took one of my sisters well before I started, and the other to teach me to back away. I had been too obvious and too threatening. So I dropped out of sight. I became a Placer. I tried to make a difference there, too, knocking out the WiFi and giving people a chance to talk, but that backfired. Rog took control of every node and hid them underground.”
Rog, I thought. He was there again. They taught us in school about the two branches of government—the Legislative and the Judicial. We had a representative for our dome, and a Commander-in-Chief Justice who was in charge of the country, but Silas Rog didn’t seem to answer to either of them.
“The best I could do was set aside extras for Henri and Margot to pass along. I swore to do it all legally—no stealing, no breaking in. I—”
A knock came at the door. She put a finger to her lips to tell me to be quiet, but then remembered who she was talking to. My eyes felt raw and my head was spinning. My head and elbow still ached.
Kel opened the door. Henri and Margot stood waiting. Margot’s face was grim and anxious. Henri’s flushed with relief when he saw me. Kel pulled them in and sealed the door.
MISERABLE THINGS: $45.98
“What happened?” Henri asked. His brow wrinkled in confusion.
“Her brother’s dead,” Kel said in a rough, unsteady voice. “They are saying he jumped.”
“Did he?” Margot asked, her voice low and cool. She crossed her arms.
I glared at Margot, and my eyes welled with fresh tears. I wanted to scream no, but I would not say it. No. Whatever happened, I would not speak until I saw things change—or, at least, until I saw Rog taken down. Sam did not want me to give in. I was sure of it.
“I’m sorry,” Henri said, avoiding my eyes.
“I got her out, but Collection will be coming,” Kel said, regaining her normal, orderly tone. “They’ve already put in the claim. Rog has a hold on her purchase.”
Everyone looked a little startled.
“You should not have her in your home,” Margot said to Kel.
“Why?” Henri wanted to know. He lifted a bag up and handed it to me—my bag. He must have retrieved it from my apartment.
“Why?” Margot mimicked him. “Are you stupid? Silas Rog bought her.”
“So?” Henri asked again.
Margot exploded. “Do you have any idea what Rog will do if we interfere? She is only using us, anyway! She does not care about us. Why do you care about her?”
I felt a twinge of disappointment in Margot. But what, exactly, did I expect?
“They took her sister away,” Kel said, as if Margot had said nothing. “They’ve been deleting her data all day. I’ll try to get a better update when we leave...” She waved a hand around the room. Her Pad wouldn’t update again until the door opened and we went out into the WiFi tether.
“We need to go,” Margot said. “Now! They are sure to track her Cuff.”
I held out my forearm, bare of the Cuff.
“Oh. Right. How did you manage to remove that?” Her eyes shot to Henri. Henri felt back to his pack and, of course, the little blue device wasn’t there. An oppressive silence filled the room. Henri’s eyes glistened, realizing that I’d used him. That our kiss had never been real.
“Well.” He swallowed hard. “We still have to help. I could hide her at my place.”
I wanted to throw my arms around him, but Henri would get the wrong message, and Margot would only be further enraged.
Margot stamped her foot. “She cannot stay with you. You don’t even have a Squelch. If you are ruined, too, how will that help anything? How?”
Henri tried to answer, but Margot wheeled around on me. “I have a family, too, and I am sorry, but I will not let you destroy us! My sister is eight years old. Do you want Silas Rog to buy her?”
Of course I didn’t want that. Margot’s eyes darted around quickly like a nervous rabbit. She seemed to grow even more angry and frustrated. “I am sorry about your brother,” she added through her teeth. “You see what he does to us?”
She meant Rog. The room seemed to be narrowing around me. There was nothing they could do, and Margot was right. I was only endangering them.
I crossed to the door. I had my bag with my gear now. I had zero idea where to go, but I had to keep them safe.
Kel put a hand on my shoulder and held me back.
“Margot,” Kel said, “do you remember the night Henri went down to that alley? Do you remember how you whispered, ‘It’s the Silent Girl’?”
Margot nodded very slowly.
“You practically squealed,” Kel said.
“I did not squeal.”
Had Margot been excited? I hadn’t seen it. I did remember how she’d bandaged my chin.
“Do you remember how annoyed I was?” Kel asked.
“You hate all talking on the job,” Margot said hoarsely.