Part One
1
Casualty Value
…we shall pay any price, bear any burden… to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
—JOHN F. KENNEDY, INAUGURAL ADDRESS
It shouldn’t have ended like this.
But in some respects, was there any other way for it to end?
As I latched Theo’s office door behind me, curiosity sparked at the tableau I faced, at the look on his face, and I just knew.
This was the beginning of my very slow end.
Our Prime Delegate, Nia Williams, sat beside Theo behind the desk. “Good evening, Sophia,” she said, her dark eyes gleaming with some hidden emotion. Something like interest or maybe even intrigue. I hadn’t laid eyes on her in months. As the leader of the Defiance, she traveled frequently. Short black hair stylishly trimmed, outfit pristine, she was a queen mingling with us peasants. No one had clothes that clean anymore.
Her full lips split into a welcoming smile as I hesitated near the threshold. I should have known she was inside Theo’s officegiven the security detail outside the door, should have prepared to be intimidated.
And yet…
My questioning gaze landed on Theo. He motioned me to sit. “An opportunity has arisen.”
Right to it, then.
“Okay…” What sort of opportunity could possibly involve me, a lowly medic with a proven track record for recklessness in the field?
“A Hunter has come forward offering information.” Theo shifted in his seat. “We need a contact to meet with him on a regular basis.”
My pulse stuttered, then pounded as I fell into the chair he indicated. “You wantmefor that?”
Theo dropped his gaze to the crudely soldered nameplate on his desk.Gen. Theodore Harrison. His office at our improvised headquarters was cramped, lined with empty glass display cases—a remnant of the museum gallery it had been before the Fracture. A dusty crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and shed fractured light across every surface, including the shiny dark skin of his bald head.
Unlike Theo, Williams held my gaze. “The man had explicit criteria. Not many people fit the description.”
A hysterical laugh burst from my mouth. Inappropriate, yes, but nothing else would suffice. When it subsided, I managed to say, “What exactly did he ask for?”
Theo rapped twice on his beat-up oak desk,stillnot looking at me. “He wants someone discreet. Someone who won’t be noticed when they disappear at odd times. Someone I trust implicitly.”
I pursed my lips. The trust part significantly narrowed the pool of applicants. Theo did not trust easily.
“And he only wants a female,” Williams added.
Ah. The catch. There had to be one, yet the breath whooshed out of me, anyway. “Did he say why?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.
Why else would a Hunter want a woman? They weren’t exactly known for their subtlety.
The expression on Williams’s face could only be described as pitying, and I hated her for it, but I wanted her to admit what they were asking of me.
Out loud.
Deep in my stomach, something began to ice over. Began to ache.
“Come on, Miss Reeves,” she said. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s offering information, and he asked for a woman in exchange.”
Theo finally met my eyes. Studying the familiar lines of his square face, I tried to peer behind his expressionless mask. He merely shrugged. “Hesaidhe wants a contact, but given how the NAO…feels about women, we assume there will be certain expectations?—”
