The Significant Read online

  “I’ve just been thinking, that’s all,” Kailynn murmured. “Do you ever think that…maybe the planet would be better without the Elites? And Venus?”

  “That’s dangerous talk,” Jenn hissed. She glanced around before leaning forward to whisper, “But I’ll tell you, I would give my right arm to see those pampered Elites try and survive like us.”

  Chapter One

  “You’re not even gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

  Kailynn turned to Raphael, surprised out of her silent stupor and brought back to the loud noises of the club.

  “Huh?”

  “What’s with you?” Raphael asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they sat in a booth in the back corner.

  “Yeah, ya been actin’ funny all night,” Viv said, smiling as she leaned forward. “Ya already take somethin’ tonight?”

  “No.”

  “C’mon, Viv,” Trey laughed, nudging his girlfriend in the arm, “Kailynn’s all about gettin’ on the straight n’ narrow, now.”

  “Bullshit,” Kailynn huffed. “I don’t have money to spend on drugs since my shit brother’s fuck up last year.”

  “Ah, lay off ‘im,” Oggie said, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table. “Theo’s doin’ Trid proud—always lookin’ for ways to screw over the Elites.”

  “And that does Trid proud when he fucks up and pays for a bomb that doesn’ even work?” Kailynn growled. “Then I’m stuck payin’ for it.”

  “C’mon,” Alyssa said with a smile. “You know those asshole Elites don’t give a damn ‘bout us. It’s about time we give ‘em something to give a damn about.”

  “Ah, Kailynn, remember?” Raphael smiled broadly. “You were so proud of him when he put all of Anon in lockdown as they tried to find the bomb. So what if it didn’t work? It scared the hell out of them when they thought they were gonna lose those precious Elites.”

  Kailynn sighed heavily.

  “So what if the Elites die?” she grumbled. “There’s a thousand made every year. They probably wouldn’t even blink.”

  “Hey, that’s not the Kailynn I know,” Oggie said. “When did you get so boring? You’re the Wild Child of Trid. I mean, no offense to Raffy over there, but we all know yer the brains behind this gang. The one who wanted to see the Elites try n’ survive like we do, ya know? Who gives a fuck if a thousand Elites are made all the time? They ain’t human. We are! Where’s your sense of pride? When did you conform so much to what Anon thought of you?”

  Kailynn’s jaw dropped.

  “Boring?” she repeated. “I’m boring?” She grabbed her drink. “Fuck that, I’m still Trid’s Wild Child!”

  “A’ight!” Viv cheered.

  “My Trid blood runs thicker than anyone here!” Kailynn laughed. She pulled herself onto the table, lifting her glass high and raising her voice.

  “Hey!” she called. “I just wanna say somethin’!” The bar did not completely quiet, but many people turned to her. “I know this is the Walking District of Anon, but I think a lot of you have better blood than that!” Cheers greeted her as other Trids agreed. “So, on behalf of all of us, I would like to turn to the cameras and send a message to our leaders.” She lifted her glass higher. “Fuck. Venus.”

  Another round of cheers greeted her as she downed her entire shot and cheered loudly. Raphael laughed and grabbed her leg, pulling her into his lap and laughing.

  “Alright, that’s fine in Trid. You do that too often here and you’re going to bring the raids.”

  The drinking continued late into the night, as always. Kailynn was stumbling, her arm around Raphael’s waist to keep her steady, when they finally exited the bar. Raphael had stolen a few hundred credits off some oblivious tourists, so the drinking had continued even later, which meant Kailynn had imbibed more alcohol than she considered normal.

  Raphael took her back to his place where they climbed under the covers so that the heat from having sex would keep them warm. While Raphael slept, Kailynn watched patterns float over the cracked ceiling, feeling the alcohol slowly wear off as she thought over a million scattered ideas.

  It was nearing dawn when she grabbed her clothes, dressed, and walked deep into the Trid district, where an abandoned car garage stood near the lake. The garage was surrounded by junk piles from the landfill around the lake that could not fit within the fenced junkyard.

  The Heart of Trid gang had claimed the garage as their base of operations, though they had much territory around the lake. Other gangs had not tried to take the land in over a year, but the Heart of Trid gang never let their guard down. For this reason, Kailynn was sure that, when she entered the garage, she knocked three times slowly, followed by two rapid knocks, signaling that she was an ally.

  The back door opened loudly, setting Kailynn’s teeth on edge as the sound aggravated her growing headache. She stepped in quietly, wondering why the garage was almost silent. She found the members of the gang unconscious in various areas of the main garage floor, bottles thrown carelessly, likely from celebrating their plan to shut down Venus. It did not bother them that shutting down the super-computer of the planet would leave the entire planet in a state of chaos. To those who had suffered through growing up in Trid, it was only right that those who lived in grandeur had to struggle to survive.

  Stepping cautiously around the sleeping, but armed, figures of the Heart of Trid gang, Kailynn found her brother.

  “Theo,” she said, shaking her brother’s shoulder. Theo groaned and tried to swat Kailynn away. “Theo.” The older Evada sibling grit his teeth and turned onto his back, blinking slowly.

  “Lynni?” he mumbled, his eyes squinted against his hangover.

  “Okay. I’ll help you take her down.”

  “Now I know something is wrong.”

  Kailynn blinked, startled at the ration bag that was suddenly in front of her face. She stared at it before glancing briefly up at Raphael. She took the bag, but did not take a bite out of the bar inside, her eyes returning to her feet. Raphael sat on the bed with her.

  “Did your brother do something again?”

  Kailynn turned quickly.

  “What?”

  “Why are you all the way out in space?” Raphael chuckled brokenly. “I mean, you’ve always been a bit of a space cadet, but this is out of character, even for you.”

  “Don’t call me a space cadet,” Kailynn sneered. “I’m just thinking. Is that a crime?”

  “Lynni, don’t be like that.” Raphael sighed, rolling his eyes. “I can tell something is bothering you. You didn’t even notice that I got the heat working.”

  Kailynn shook her head, resealing the ration bag and tossing it aside, laying back on Raphael’s bed.

  “I’m just being stupid today, that’s all.”

  “Today?” Raphael teased.

  Kailynn punched him in the thigh. The man laughed and went to his side, looking over Kailynn’s troubled features.

  “Are you really not going to talk to me?”

  “Why do I have to tell you everything?” Kailynn asked pointedly.

  “You don’t,” Raphael admitted. “I just want to make sure you’re not in trouble.”

  “I’m not,” Kailynn said. “I’m just sick of this life, like the rest of Trid. Those dickwads in Anon don’t give a shit about us, and we’re sitting here celebrating that the heat is back on so we don’t freeze.”

  “You did not know the heat was on until I told you,” Raphael pointed out.

  “That’s not the point, Raffy.”

  “I know, I know,” he tried to appease her. “But there’s nothing we can do about it. You and I were born Trids. There’s no way for us to get citizenship. Hell, they’ve even stopped giving citizenship to those who had to move into Trid because they couldn’t afford anywhere else.”

  “And how is that fair?”

  “Life ain’t fair.”

  Kailynn ground her teeth together. She wanted to vent all of her frustrations about the upper c
lasses and how much the Trids suffered in comparison, but she knew that the rant would get her nowhere. Everyone in Trid had the same feelings, but talking about them never resolved the problem. It only worked her up and made her angry for days.

  “What do you think the world would be like without Venus?”

  Raphael sighed and fell onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

  “I don’t know,” he murmured. “Hard to imagine what things would be like without her. She runs everything.” He was quiet for a few moments, thinking about how he wanted to respond. “Maybe it wouldn’t be much different. I mean, through history, hasn’t there always been a low class and a high class?”

  “I guess.” Kailynn shrugged. “I don’t care about history. I only care about now.”

  “Me too,” Raphael agreed. “Why are you askin’ now?”

  “I’m just wondering if shutting her down would be a good thing or not.”

  “Why would it matter?” Raphael chuckled. “It’s not like you’ll ever get a chance to shut her down.”

  “I know.”

  Raphael rolled on top of Kailynn, smiling at her.

  “I know the heat is working, but I can still screw you so well that you’ll forget about the problems of the world.”

  Kailynn barked a laugh.

  “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  Raphael’s jaw dropped and he laughed.

  “What? You think I can’t?”

  “Why don’t we find out?” Kailynn challenged with a devilish grin.

  Even though Kailynn was exhausted—Raphael gave his best effort, and it did take Kailynn a very long time to regain her train of thought—she went into the cold night air, walking among the neon lights that illuminated the streets. She normally did not pay attention to the prostitutes and drug addicts lingering in the alleys of the Walking District, but she kept a watchful eye on everyone around her that night.

  She studying where different alleys led, being sure she knew the area as well as possible, in case anything went wrong with her brother’s plan. She wanted to believe that all would go well, but she knew from experience that her brother’s plans never worked. She remembered too well the catastrophe of the last one. She did not want to be stuck paying for her brother’s mistakes once more.

  However, she was also watching the area closely because she was slowly moving out of the Walking District and into Anon. She had never dared to move past the Walking District. She knew how quickly Trids disappeared when they were found in the capital city. There was no way for them to blend in. No one walked in Anon. There was no way to sneak any vehicle past border patrol. Even then, with the electronic roads, Officials were immediately alerted when an unregistered car was being driven.

  At four in the morning, Kailynn was sure that she would be safe from the electronic sensors in Anon, but if anyone spotted her or saw her in the cameras, it would not take long for Officials to take her into custody.

  There was no tolerance for Trids in Anon.

  Kailynn was sure that Raphael had worn himself out enough to sleep for at least seven hours, so she wanted to use the time to her advantage. She did not want Raphael to know about Theo’s plan. It would put him in danger and he had already done enough to help Kailynn when it came to Theo’s botched plots to destroy the government.

  The gang was waiting for her in near the side gates of an enormous warehouse complex.

  “Finally! Fuck, where have you been?” Jamis growled, his hands shoved deep into his pockets to avoid the blistering cold.

  “Fuck off. It’s none of your business.”

  “Don’t have that kind of attitude when we do this, Lynni,” Theo warned. “Remember, you are a lady of Anon who has been assaulted. You need to be helpless.”

  “Then why the hell did you choose me to play your fucking damsel in distress?” Kailynn murmured.

  “I need someone I can trust.”

  “Yeah, but, who’s to say that we can really trust her?” Arina said, glaring at Theo. She had always carried a torch for Theo, and thought it was creepy how much the Evada siblings depended on one another. She wanted to be the center of Theo’s world.

  “First of all, bitch, I don’t give shit if you trust me or not. Second, I was the one who freed him from prison when you sat on your ass and waited. What the fuck were you doing when he was locked up?”

  “I sure as hell wasn’t whoring myself out so that my boy-toy would pay for his bail.”

  Kailynn started forward, but Theo held her back as another member of the Heart of Trid put his arm in front of Arina to keep her from attacking Kailynn in turn.

  “Don’t start this now,” Theo growled. “We have two days to figure the rest of this shit out. You two wanna scratch each other’s eyes out? Wait until we’ve shut down Venus.”

  Arina slowly backed away, but she and Kailynn continued glaring daggers at one another.

  “Are we ready to get started?”

  Chapter Two

  Kailynn was shifting her weight back and forth nervously, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, trying to stay as warm as possible in the tiny dress that had been torn around her belly. The scratches that Kailynn had made on her thighs were stinging in the cold air. Theo stood beside her, glancing around as he waited for the signal that everything was ready.

  There were twenty-nine participating. When the others were in their agreed positions, Jamis would flash his light twice to Theo and Kailynn. Theo was watching the ledge of the nearby manufacturing plant, his hands closed around the vile of whiskey he was nursing to steady his nerves.

  Kailynn ripped it from his hands and gulped down some of the horrid drink. She needed to calm her nerves as well, but was hoping the alcohol would also warm her frozen limbs.

  When Theo snatched the vile back, Kailynn ground her teeth together in frustration.

  “I’m fuckin’ freezing!”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” Theo breathed, his voice betraying his anxiety. He had concocted grand plans of attacking the Elites and rupturing the class system of Tiao, but the previous plans always concerned taking out the nobles or the Elites. He never thought he would get a shot at attacking the head of the snake—Venus.

  When a small light flashed twice from the roof of the manufacturing plant next door, Kailynn’s stomach flipped. Theo turned to her, pocketing the flask of whiskey and bending to scoop her up in his arms. Kailynn could not tell if her shaking was due to the cold, or realizing that everyone was in position and they were about to attempt taking down the super-computer that ran the planet.

  “Ready?”

  Kailynn gave a tight nod, wrapping one arm around herself and curling forward.

  Theo took a deep breath and raised his voice.

  “Help!” he cried, running forward, holding Kailynn in front of him. “Someone?! Anyone?!”

  He darted out of their alleyway and ran the short distance toward the front gate of the warehouse complex they had been scouting for days. Kailynn knew that there were four guards at the front gate and two posted at the other seven gates around the complex. The others were supposed to take care of the other guards—some were being drugged, others were being lured away by members who were trying to appear to be casing the fence, and a few of the guards were meant to remain unharmed. The gang hoped to do their work quietly, and wanted a few of the guards around to take the blame for not stopping the raid of the warehouse compound.

  “Help us! Please!!” Theo called, looking around frantically. When he saw the confused guards, he ran to them.

  “Please! Please help!!”

  The guards watched the man approach, wary. However, when they saw that he was properly dressed in Anon attire for an upper-class citizen—not knowing the garments were stolen—they relaxed slightly.

  “What’s wrong?” one asked.

  Theo ran to them, breathing hard. Kailynn started gasping for breath, cringing, her face contorted in agony. She tried to force some tears out of her eyes, but she was so cold and nervous
about the plan, that they would not come.

  “I found her in an alley.” Theo nodded somewhere with his head while the four guards crowded around them, their faces hidden by dark, protective visors. “She was supposed to be home hours ago and, when she didn’t show up, I went searching…and…she-she says…” Theo’s voice became choked. “She says she was raped,” he hissed, “by a gang of filthy Trids.”

  “Trids? In this district?” one of the guards hissed, sharing worried glances with the other guards. “Unlikely.”

  “Please, can you call help for her?” Theo said frantically. “I don’t know how badly she’s hurt…She’s so cold.”

  “Pat, Boomer,” one guard said, turning, “do a precautionary sweep. Make sure there aren’t any Trids.” He turned to Theo and motioned to him. “Bring her inside.”

  Theo walked in with the shivering and whimpering Kailynn.

  Kailynn was surprised that, so far, the plan was working. She had never expected to be let in the main gate. Yet, the guards were unlocking the man door and opening it, ushering both her and Theo into the compound. Once the card swept over the electronic lock, the reader in Theo’s pocket copied the code to another gang member’s proxy card, allowing them to access the back gate of the facility, which should have been unguarded with the now-drugged guards.

  The guards opened the door to the small building where they would take shelter and watch the security monitors. Kailynn spared a glance at the screens as she cringed and groaned in mock-agony. Everything seemed quiet. There was no movement on the cameras that would have caused alert.

  Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

  “Put her here.”

  Theo moved to the cleared table and gently set Kailynn down. Kailynn let out a cry of pain when her body was moved out of the position, playing up her fake injuries, her hand reaching out to grab Theo’s. Theo took her hand tightly.

  “I don’t know what to do to help her…” Theo choked. He squeezed her hand once. That was the signal that everything was alright. If he released her hand, that meant that something was wrong and they needed to escape. Two squeezes meant that she needed to play up her injuries even more as a further distraction.