It couldn't be a coincidence.
The first precept declared that man should respect all life. Many of the religious zealots claimed it was God's way of denouncing enhancements, but modification wasn't even hinted at in the Good Book. Rissa had been browsing it while she recovered from her upgrade. She couldn't understand why people thought enhancing themselves would be bad. She was smarter now than she ever would have been as a normal. Cybernetics took the human body and perfected it, giving advantages with only one minor drawback: the need for Stabiltrol.
But it didn't matter why people hated the enhanced. A new message flashed on the live stream, confirming what Rissa suspected. A radical religious faction—followers of the Legion, supposedly—were taking credit for the bombing of the lower west apartment complex. Over a thousand people were assumed dead, another five hundred likely wounded. All of them were families. They were not criminals; they were simply the working poor, doing their best to make ends meet.
What mattered was a terrorist group had just targeted the homes of innocent people. While Rissa watched the disturbing images, fighting to keep her vitals within acceptable ranges, she understood Sin. He cared because no one else did. The mediaacted as if the bombing was a celebration, each of them trying to get more graphic, more shocking, and more blood-filled footage. The suffering of the victims became a fight for ratings. The more grotesque the images, the more popular the advertising was during the breaks.
It made Rissa feel sick.
She adjusted her endocrine levels and regulated her stress hormones. Her body responded almost immediately as her heart rate slowed and her internal organs relaxed. She needed to think about something else or her supervisors would notice the fluctuations. If she was in a dream state, it would be realistic to follow a traumatic series of dreams with euphoric ones. There was only one thing that always made her happy: Sin.
She released her hold on the graphic footage and concentrated on the fan sites dedicated to her guardian. They often posted pictures of him, commenting on his good looks. Today was no exception. Still images had been taken from the live feed. A few had been edited for clarity and enhanced. She scrolled through each one, finally able to admire him without anyone able to know. He did look really good standing there like a leader of the Legion.
She decided to check the messages she'd left on the site, wondering if anyone had replied. There were quite a few, dozens from women offering to help him make it through this difficult time. Plenty more offered to kiss him and make it better. Rissa fought the urge to laugh. Sin would not be amused.
She was, so she read through each one. Near the end, a comment made by someone calling himself "Flightless" caught her eye.
Takes a genius to know the priests need time to grieve. While you're patting your own back, maybe you can figure out how to clean up what's left of the Legion? Going to be a real mess when they go to pick a new leader, what with all thecomplaints about the 1st precept. Just don't clip your wings, angel.
She scanned the message again. It had to be Sin responding to her. If she was reading this right, he needed her help! Reading it one more time, she noticed the date. It had been posted yesterday, but he'd mentioned the concerns about the first precept. The part about being careful was easy enough to understand, but he'd mentioned the complaints about the first precept in public? That meant he'd found something new.
Sin knew something she didn't, and he needed her help. He was finally going to save the Legion like she'd been telling him to.
There was no need to reply. Instead, she threw herself into the depth of the web, looking for anything related to the first precept and members of the Legion. The best part of being an Ingénue was that her mind didn't work like normal computer systems. She had no identifying address. Every other access point to the web was required to identify itself, but the Ingénues were exempt. In order to work seamlessly with the corporate systems, OutLink had programmed them to be seen as simply an extension of whatever they connected to. That meant each server Rissa connected to saw her as a moment of increased storage and processing power, nothing else. She could go anywhere, see anything, and leave no trace.
It also meant nothing could keep her out. No security system would prevent its own servers from handling the data. Those who tried only needed the lightest nudge to convince them she was ok. Because of this, she was able to delve into places that would be locked to most people. She could find information Sin would never know existed. For once, she could protect him instead of it always being the other way around—just like Benedict had said.
Rissa checked her vitals and moderated her mental activity. She was supposed to be sleeping, recovering from the strain of the procedure. Her eyes flicked open, peering through the darkened plexi covering her care bay. Dim sparks of light proved it was still within normal working hours, because the halls of the Enclave were completely lit. She took a deep breath and returned to her search.
She didn't care how long it took. Sin had asked for her help, and Rissa would give it. If she was exhausted tomorrow, he'd understand. If she walked a little slower or yawned behind her veils, he wouldn't harass her for it. Not with the solution she was going to find. If her guardian was ready to put his church back together, then she'd spend every second finding his answers.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The next day didn't start early. The sun was hanging low in the sky when Sin stepped through the glass doors. The employees no longer looked up each time he arrived. They'd gotten over his weapons after the first week. It took longer before they accepted his bold manner, but after almost a month, no one even batted an eye when he entered the building.
It had been almost four days since he last saw his angel, and he was ready to get her out of this prison. In the receiving area, her serial number was listed as "in processing". Sin grabbed a chair and leaned his head back, resting while he waited. He hadn't slept well. Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered Benedict was dead. Every time he opened them, he remembered the bombing of the lower west apartment complex. His Praetor was gone and the world was already falling to shit.
They hadn't even waited until he'd been buried.
The door clicked and Sin opened his eyes, checking the monitor first. Her number was listed as "on assignment," which meant the careful steps had to be his girl. He looked over his shoulder and found grey eyes waiting.
"Morning, Ingénue," he said.
"It is late afternoon, Legate," she corrected.
He chuckled. "Yeah. It's morning for me, though. What's the destination?"
Her technician stepped forward. It was the same guy who'd given him the surveillance tapes. "RetGen." He glanced at Rissa quickly, then back to Sin. "You won't get back until after hours,so use the side door. I'm the only technician on duty tonight." He reached up and scratched at his head nervously, effectively blocking his mouth from the camera as he dropped his voice to a whisper. "I'm just saying that if you're moving a little slow, there's no one to complain. I'll make sure she gets logged in on time."
Sin nodded, smiling at the man. "Thanks. I am moving kinda slow. The Conclave meetings have been hell, and sleep is just a fond memory. Thanks for covering for me."
"Not a problem, Brother Sin. Bless you, Legate."
"May God be with you, too."
Not wanting to miss this chance, Sin grabbed Rissa's elbow and guided her from the building. His steps were just a bit faster than normal. "Ok, we need to hurry. How long is it going to take you to get this problem solved?"
"Less time than it takes to reach RetGen, Legate."
