You're Invited

Just like that, I’ve become the center of attention, and not only because of Ezri’s words. My face is plastered across every screen in the vicinity. You’ve got to be kidding me. People stop and stare as soon as they notice me, like I’m some type of novelty. When someone is called to Headquarters like this, it always means bad news. It’s basically a call-to-action to alert the authorities about you. Now, everybody probably thinks the president’s daughter has gone rogue.

A burning sensation travels up my body, but what I don’t feel is fear. It’s degradation. Whenever I think I’ve gotten away, Ezri is one step ahead of me in perfect timing – so perfect that it’s suspicious.

She’s enjoying this too, I can tell. Her voice was downright cheerful when she made the announcement. My eyes narrow at a camera situated on a storefront. She really is watching my every move, isn’t she?

The police car, that originally came to help me, is now driving up. How the tables have turned. With the whole Capital looking out for me, is there even a point in running anymore through all these crowded streets? The policeman, raising an eyebrow, approaches me again.

“This sure is unexpected, Miss Hartwell… Do you actually have a warrant on ya?”

“No, sir,” I mumble. There’s nothing else to say without telling him things he shouldn’t know.

“Well, not according to the IPU,” he says, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “Turn around, please.”

Never in my life did I ever imagine these cold, steel shackles would be put on my wrists. I’m the least deserving person to be in some pathetic cuffs, or to be seen as a filthy criminal. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been dedicated to following the laws of the IPU, and making sure everyone else does the same… This is the outcome for all my hard work? Someone can just come in and put a stain on my dignity, on my name? Not a chance, not in a million years.

“Officer, you’re making a mistake,” I say, shooting him a glare. “I don’t- I don’t belong here.”

He continues leading me into the back of the van. “You can explain yourself at Headquarters,” he says over the noisy acceleration of a nearby car.

“No, you don’t get it! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Miss Hartwell, please don’t make this difficult,” he says, his tone turning firmer, “Get into the vehicle.”

He opens the door, and it looks like my fate is imminent. Here I am, playing right into Ezri’s hands, and there’s absolutely nothing that can be done about it. Even if the signal were to magically return all the sudden, it’s not like I can call Dad anymore and have him save me. I’ve failed, and I never fail.

I think I’m going to be sick.

“Let me handle this.”

A man suddenly says, who just came out of the car that was speeding past. He’s dressed in business attire, his dark brown hair slicked back with a gray streak running through. His bushy eyebrows are low and furrowed on his face, giving him a permanent vexed impression; it’s no other than Lux Connell.

“Secretary Connell?” says the officer.

“I’ll bring her to HQ instead. Remove the handcuffs and go back to your duties,” he says in his usual rough tone of voice.

The officer nods. “If you say so, sir.”

A huff of relief escapes me as I’m freed from the predicament. I don’t know Lux’s intentions, but he knows that any message from Headquarters is a lie. Whatever he wants, it’ll be better than dealing with Ezri. Ignoring the whispers of the onlookers around us, we both get into his car, and he drives away from the scene. I keep my eyes forward, daring not to look back at the judgment and disdain in the way they looked at me – that’s how any criminal is viewed as, a burden, and now they all think I’m one of them.

“Do you have an idea as to why Ezri is wanting you?” asks Lux, focused on the road.

“No, none. This all happened out of nowhere.”

“You clearly must’ve done something to get yourself into trouble, kid. Probably because of that mouth of yours.”

I think back to the first and only time I’ve ever spoken to Ezri. The disrespect I felt in that moment can never be forgotten – the way she laughed as if nothing I said was even remotely worth considering. That women was amused, not even slightly bothered. I doubt anything about that conversation could’ve resulted in this.

“Heard you were taken to the hospital. Was Ezri too much, even for you?” I inquire, offended by his accusatory attitude.

He scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous, you really think I was like the others?” His grip on the steering wheel tightens. “When Anthony finally told me the news, I ended up breaking some things. Wife sent me to emergency since she thought I was losin’ it.”

That sounds like him. Lux is pretty much the only person I know who can avoid a facility despite experiencing frequent rage. Somehow, he always manages to be just at the line, but never beyond it. Might also be because of his performance as secretary of the Department of Order. His MME scores are almost as good as mine too, averaging the high 90s.

“But as you can see, I’m perfectly stable. Even got a 99 on the MME,” he continues, then with a smirk, he adds, “you got a 98, didn’t you?”

Oh, shut up.

Ignoring him, I ask, “You’re taking me home, right?”

“Not yet. For now, I need you to be somewhere else.”

I try to get him to tell me where we’re going, but he’s stubborn and won’t budge, insisting that it’s best we have a discussion once we get there. I don’t even have an idea as to what this “discussion” would entail.

We drive away from the bustling heart of the Capital and into a long, one-way road, with plains on either ends. The quiet atmosphere is in stark contrast to the city, and there’s no structures blocking out the rays of the sun. The blades of grass sway gently in the breeze, and each contain a golden flex from the sunlight.

Here, it strangely doesn’t feel like the world is falling apart.

But despite the serenity, it’s not enough to push back all the “what-ifs” rushing through my head. For instance, it never takes this long to fix an outage. The fact there’s still no signal on my phone indicates something nefarious, and I’m not just paranoid. So far, Ezri has murdered, traumatized some of the most important people in the country, compromised the Admin System, and even impersonated the IPU. Now, shutting off communication? Putting out a search for me? Of course this isn’t a good thing.

“I suggest you relax, kid. Wouldn’t want to get a 97 on your next test, would ya?” Lux says, noticing my tension.

“It’ll be a 100. I won’t fail again, I never do.”

After over an hour passes, we approach the IPU’s military base. It’s been mostly vacant for years, since we never had any use for it. Some officials had even considered removing it, but Lux denied such suggestions. Unlike most of us, Lux was never fond of the belief that peace would be indefinite – I always looked down on him for it, but lo and behold, he was right.

Now, the base is swarming with soldiers. Their shouts carry in the air. In the field, it looks like they’re having a drill – to make up for their lack of experience, I bet they’re having those day and night. Just beyond the base is the office of the Department of Order, a wide building constructed with smooth, slate bricks and barred windows throughout. Golems are stationed in towers made with the same material. I’ve never been happier to see them, knowing they’re too far away to be under Ezri’s control.

Lux brings me inside and into a packed meeting room on the second floor. It’s sad that it’s surprising to me we have even this number of people still available for work. Miss Gray is among them; she waves at me wearily. With the crisis we’re dealing with, it makes sense to have an MME overseer included in – whatever this is, though it’s obviously something very important.

After leading me to the front of the room, Lux takes a seat and says to everyone, “I’m sure you’ve all heard the announcement about this one here,” he points to me with his thumb. “It seems that she’s caught Ezri’s interest. The motive is unknown, but it’s safe to assume that Calla has some type of value.”

“Perhaps Ezri wants to use her as a bargain? We all know how much the president cherishes his daughter, me especially,” Miss Gray says.

“She’s already made it clear she wants our heads. What would the ‘bargain’ be? ‘If you do this, I’ll let Calla go, then kill you all anyway?’ It sounds very unlikely.”

Remembering the events of today, I add in, “Ezri had sent M-droids to get me, and they did mention my safety, even said it was an Admin order. I thought Ezri was just being sadistic, but now…”

“Good, that’s very good. That means we can move forward with my plan,” Lux grins, his eyes meeting mine. Drumming his fingers against the table, he asks me, “Calla, how would you like to help the task force?”

That was the last thing I ever expected him to say, but it’s music to my ears. I’ve been wanting to do this ever since the task force was established, and now the opportunity is right in front of me?

“What about my dad? He refused to let me be involved.”

“President Anthony isn’t in… The best state right now,” Miss Gray says, shaking her head. I just saw him this morning, what could’ve happened? She goes on, “For the time being, Lux is in charge of everything related to Ezri, including who can or can’t join the task force.”

“So, Calla?” Lux asks. “What do you say?”