Rami cleared his throat, unable to finish his sentence, but Gemma knew the ending. She understood the agony of a harrowed soul far too deeply. Where Gemma had failed in her attempt to end her pain, Rami’s wife had succeeded.
He scratched his cheek. “Anyway, a few years later, I was given this role and used my influence among the dismissed participants to start theDissent. But what started as political opposition against the tyranny of our government turned into something more akin to a terrorist organization. And it started the moment Reymond began to gain followers, usurping me.”
“But we’re—they’re—not terrorists,” Gemma argued. “They only want the Systems to recognize Reva as a legitimate planet.”
“That’s whatIwanted for Reva. But under Reymond’s leadership, there have been 564 innocent people killed on Oranos due to bombings. Several hundreds have either been murdered or have ‘disappeared’ from Perileos—all of them with links to the Dissent. Does that sound like someone who has his people’s best interests at heart?”
She’d known none of this when she’d agreed to join their ranks. If she had, she may have reconsidered.
“We are not your enemy.” Rami shook his head. “The Dissent feeds you lies. We don’t terminate people who disagree with our laws. We don’t withhold technology from Perileos. We just haven’t sent it to you yet, because there’s an ongoing battle within the Systems about relocating your people to a better environment. If you’re looking for perfection, you won’t find it. But the Dissent has become something far more dangerous than when it was founded.”
Rami sat back in his chair. “So, what do you say, Gemma? Have I convinced you to help me?”
Her face tightened as she considered his proposition. “What happens to me after I find the operative?”
He shrugged. “You’ll be a Winner of the Oranos Trials.”
Really? He’d just let her walk free?
Her stomach fluttered. “And if we stop the Dissent, what becomes of the people in Perileos? They don’t deserve to keep suffering.”
Rami dropped his head in a deep nod. “I fully agree. The Dissent’s presence is the primary reason our fight to relocate your people has stalled. With the Dissent under control, the President would lose her leverage to keep saying no.”
Gemma tightened the blanket around her body. It was a good trade-off. She didn’t know if she could trust Rami, but at least her people would have a better chance if she did spy for him.
And she’d be able to make Reymond pay for making her believe Nadine was dead.
At last, she nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
Rami dropped Gemma off at her flat and handed back her access ring. “As far as anyone’s concerned, Lieutenant Commander Mehnkof’s death is under investigation, and you’ve earned your spot as a graduate. Understood?”
Rami’s stare bore deep into Gemma’s soul. She knew her title as Winner hung on her ability to follow through with playing spy. If she didn’t succeed, she’d end up in prison—or dead.
“Got it.” Gemma held her ring against the keylock by her door. With a green flash, it signaled permission to enter, and the door whooshed open.
Gemma loosened her breath the moment her door closed. She may have privacy within her own flat, but the technology here was monitored, and cameras were stationed in all public areas. Rami would watch her every move now.
Privacy would forever remain a thing of the past.
Her room was so quiet and empty, save for a bouquet of flowers that she hadn’t seen when Christian had come to escort her to the formal graduation party. The blooms now lay limp on the small table near her door.
Gemma’s stomach twisted into a tight knot.Christian. The look on his face when she’d run away cut a gaping hole in her soul. He’d been so terrified and confused.
She wiped a tear from her eye before it could fall. Christian was the last thing she needed to be worrying about right now. Rami had given her an ultimatum—spy or die—and she intended to see it through. She would worry about her aching heart later.
Gemma stripped free of her sparkly, black dress, shoving it in the waste disposal, and prepared herself for a long, hot shower. Her knees and shoulders ached terribly, the skin around the burn marks on her side and back were blazing red, and the bruises on her wrists and ankles had already begun to darken. She’d had a horrible day, and nothing would feel better than hot water on her aching muscles.
As soon as the water hit the wounds on her skin, though, sizzling pain smacked Gemma like another round of shocks from the electroprod. She winced through her teeth and made the water as cold as she could stand.
A hot shower definitely needed to wait.
She had just finished brushing her wet hair when someone buzzed her room.
Gemma dropped her brush and gasped the moment her comm projected the image from the door’s camera onto her eyepiece.
Christian.
Dressed in only a bathrobe, Gemma sat on her toilet and stared at him through her lens. A deep frown had settled on his face, and his hair was messier than it had ever been.
