Sanchez turns back to us. “This spine brand doesn’t appear to take the same shape as the other brands.”
“She wasn’t strapped down, there wasn’t any anesthetic, Judge Crevan did it to her himself, the girl screamed bloody murder with the agony—you saw it yourself. Her brand is perfect, in keeping with the events we just viewed.” Raphael looks at her incredulously, trying to stay calm, but his anger is obvious. “What’s going on here? I thought you wanted to remove Crevan from the Guild. Have you lost your nerve?”
“No, I haven’t lost my nerve, and removing Judge Crevan as head judge is my plan.”
“You told me to bring you the proof to take Crevan down and I did,” I say, anger rising because I can sense her backing out.
She looks at me then and for the first time her expression changes.
“You brought me too much, Celestine. What you have here is enough to bring down the entire Guild. Now I know why Crevan wants you so much.”
FIFTY-THREE
I LOOK AT Raphael nervously. He shares a similar look. We just went from advantage to disadvantage. We are in a precarious position. Sanchez wanted Crevan out, not to bring an end to the Guild. This gives her reason to be the cat and me the mouse once again.
Raphael clears his throat. “So this gives us the opportunity to make a deal.”
Sanchez’s head snaps around to him so fast. “Are you threatening me?”
“Are you threatening my client?” he replies coolly.
Her forehead wrinkles a little.
“Judge Sanchez, the game hasn’t changed here. We brought you what you wanted, but this doesn’t have to go public. You can use the video in any way you want to discredit Crevan. You’re still in control here. All that needs to happen is that Crevan’s actions are found to be not in keeping with Guild rules and he is discharged. And my client’s verdict is therefore overturned.”
She’s thinking hard. “But Crevan will know I won’t want anyone to see this. I have nothing on him. I was part of the judging committee that allowed this to happen. Whether I knew about it or not, I am also responsible. It will fall to all three Guild judges—me, Jackson, and Crevan—to take responsibility.”
“Not if you bring it to light. You get to make the first move,” Raphael says.
“We have him,” I say, hearing the tremor in my voice.
“What I have, Celestine”—she looks at me—“is you. And Crevan is looking for you.”
“You’re going to use me to get what you want,” I say.
“This is preposterous,” Raphael yells, jumping down from his seat. “This is unethical, immoral, unprincipled, and below the very laws that the Guild practices. I’ll fight you on this all the way,” Raphael says. “There is an inquiry into Crevan already. This is the beginning of the end for the Guild. You need to choose whose side you’re on. That of the survivors, or the sinking ship.”
“You’re right. I’m a survivor.”
Raphael looks relieved.
“It’s just a shame I see your cause as the sinking ship. It will be very difficult for you to fight this all the way, Raphael, when you’re being held by the Guild for aiding a Flawed.”
“He’s my lawyer. We signed a contract.”
“Representing an evader.”
Raphael is shaking his head, a big smile on his face, as though finding the dismal situation hilarious.
He looks at me. “Come on, Celestine, let’s get out of here.”
“I’m afraid I’m not going to let you leave.” She picks up the phone. “Grace, it’s me. Get Crevan on the phone immediately.”
I rush for the USB, which is still in the laptop, but she grabs it from me and shoves me away. She’s stronger than I thought and I fall back against the coffee table, which shatters as my elbow whacks the glass. Raphael runs to my side.
“Are you okay?”
“Tobias!” she calls.
Her son appears, dressed now in his boarding school tracksuit, assesses the situation, me on the floor lying on broken glass, his mom on the phone. He knows her well.
“What did you do?” he asks his mother.
“Stop them from leaving.” She rushes to her bedroom with her mobile to her ear. “Damn it, Grace, keep calling him. I need to speak to him immediately. Tobias, lock the door now!” she yells as she closes the bedroom door behind her.
Tobias rushes to the front door and locks it, then keys a number into a control panel. A robotic voice announces the apartment is in lockdown. Someone in Sanchez’s position needs high security. Tobias looks at us uncertainly.
Raphael is strong, but not enough of a match for Tobias.
“Let us out,” Raphael says. “You can’t hold us here against our will. You saw the video, you know what Crevan did. You know who’s right and who’s wrong here.”
Tobias, panicking, can’t make a decision. The sweat breaks out on his brow.
Raphael shakes his head, disgusted. “The problem with people who are always gazing at the stars is that they often miss what’s going on around them. You seem like a nice boy. Your mother doesn’t. Seem like a nice woman, that is.”
Tobias looks worriedly from him to me, where Raphael is pulling me up from the shattered glass. Thankfully none of it has punctured my skin.
“I can’t do this,” Tobias mutters, his upper lip breaking out in sweat. “Mom!” he yells at the top of his voice so that she comes running out of her bedroom, half-dressed. “You’re on your own. I can’t do this anymore. You say you’re right, you say it all the time, but…” His voice catches. “You should hear how they talk about you at school. They’re talking about marching on the castle. Protesting the Guild. I’m embarrassed to say who you are, and what you do, to my own friends.”
“It’s Crevan, Tobias,” she says, in a tone that I’m not used to hearing from her, her mom voice. “He’s brought our reputation down, but I’m doing this to fix it. People will believe in the Guild again. I promise you. I want you to be proud of me, but you have to trust me.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “You’re just as bad as him. I’m beginning to wonder who the Flawed really are. It’s not them.…” He takes a deep breath, summoning the courage. “It’s you.” He spits it at her. He enters the alarm code, unlocks the front door, and storms out, leaving it wide open.
FIFTY-FOUR
RAPHAEL AND I both stare at the open door in surprise.
Judge Sanchez is momentarily stunned by her son’s leaving her alone in this situation, but then she recovers. Instead of chasing after him, she slams the door and fires the code into the keypad. We are once again in lockdown. She has one heel on, the other foot in a stocking. She’s wearing a burgundy pencil skirt and a red silk blouse. The red lips and red-framed glasses are back on.
Her phone rings from her bedroom and she slowly backs away from us, torn between answering her phone and afraid of leaving us alone. She runs to her room. The ringing stops on her way and we hear her curse.
I check my own phone to see if there’s a message from Carrick.