“Ah, there you are,” she says, rising to greet him. “Let’s get started.”
His calm gaze moves from me to her, and he shuts the door.
“Dean Christie, I have been carrying on a relationship with Miss Chambers for close to a month. She has no responsibility here-”
“Wait, that’s not accurate, I pushed-”
“As a teacher, the blame is mine completely,” he carries on as if I’d never spoken. “I showed her the tunnel system so we could travel undetected from her housing to my cottage.” His knifeis out and slicing through the zip-ties in seconds and folding it shut, he helps me up.
“Are ye all right?” he asks quietly.
“Yes, of course,” I nod firmly. Actually they tightened those zip ties pretty aggressively, but I’ll live.
I think.I’m looking at the Dean’s expression.
Cormac faces the Dean again, his arm protectively around my shoulders. “I will submit myself to whatever punishment you deem appropriate.”
“I’m an adult and equally responsible,” I add quickly. I can barely get the words out of my painfully dry mouth but he isnottaking the hit for this alone. He would never have given in if I hadn’t pushed him.
The Dean checks her phone. “Professors Fukumoto and Fitzgerald are in my office. Let’s join them, shall we?”
Now this feels really bad. I admire Professor Fitzgerald, she’s made my class - The Psychological Elements of Torture and Interrogation - fascinating this year.
The office we enter has gone into full battle mode. The whiteboards are covered in scribbled information, and multiple monitors are mounted over bookcases and all available open wall space, showing every square foot of the campus and surrounding area. There are even a couple of aerial shots.
Professors Fitzgerald and Fukumoto are huddled over a laptop and she’s drawing some complicated-looking flowchart, pointing at various spots when he disagrees with her.
“Sit down in front of my desk,” the Dean orders.
The uncomfortable chairs. As a student, I’m used to them but I’ll bet it’s a bit of a comedown for Cormac.
I steel myself to meet the gaze of the other professors, but neither looks judgmental, just calculating.
“It seems, Miss Chandler, that we have no choice but to bring you into the inner circle,” the Dean says coldly. “I would do anything to avoid involving a student, but you seem to have insisted on it, have you not?”
My brow rose. “I…” my gaze darts to Cormac. “I’m not sure what you mean, ma’am.”
She sighs irritably, kicking off her shoes. “The Academy and the students here are under attack. You know some of it, the gossip network on campus is quite thorough. Cormac was placed here to monitor communication from enemy operatives within the Academy to their forces outside. We’ve tracked ten specific cartels, mafias, and the like who are attempting to destabilize the crime world by bringing down the elites who hold this madness all together.”
“We’re… the ruling class of criminals?” I ask.
“The Elites are a stabilizing force,” Professor Fitzgerald corrected. “You’ve seen the wholesale violence and stupidity of certain organizations. The elite families have connections in law enforcement and every branch of government. They work in agreement with a certain set of rules that keeps the unstable elements from killing civilians and causing crushing crime waves that the authorities are forced to address.
Faced with this kind of wanton idiocy, government forces are required to crack down, taking desperate, across-the-board measures that affect everyone. Order is threatened. Crime will always exist, Miss Chandler. But it can be so much worse than you can imagine.”
“I’ve seen a lot, Professor.”
I don’t want you to see this part…
“I know about your twin brother, Michael,” Professor Fitzgerald says gently, her icy blue eyes surprisingly kind. “Two years ago, just after your freshman year, correct?”
Shifting in my seat, I avert my eyes. “That’s not relevant here.”
“A car bomb flipped your SUV over,” she continues, why won’t she shut up?
“I don’t want to discuss-”
I can hear the high, harsh sound of glass scattering on the dashboard and as I shift, I realize it’s falling from me. Everything hurts.
