Fury Rising by Jeyn Roberts

world, well, that was the quickest way to get people killed. And knowing Mason personally wasn’t a good thing. Leon still watched him like a hawk. Mason wouldn’t put it past the head Bagger to constantly monitor everything Mason did.
    Way to be paranoid, Dowell. What’s next? Radio waves going directly into your brain? Leon hiring psychics to see into your dreams? Maybe you should consider getting some tinfoil from the kitchen so you can make a nice hat. A nice pair of boots would match nicely. You never know, they might be able to put computer chips in your toes to figure out where you’ve been walking when you can’t sleep at night.
    “What’s wrong?” Chaplin caught up with him. “Who is it?”
    Mason swore under his breath. He should have known better than to rush the stage like that. He’d given himself away.
    “His name is Raj,” Mason said. “He’s a friend of Aries.”
    “Which one?”
    “Third from the right.”
    “That’s a real shame. Hope it goes well for him. He looks healthy enough. Doubt they’ll kill him.” Chaplin turned from the stage and gave Mason a hard look. “Was this part of some plan you haven’t told me about?”
    “Jesus. What the hell? Want to try and talk a bit more loudly? I’m sure some people in the back didn’t hear you. You’re going to get us all killed.”
    Chaplin shrugged but didn’t apologize. “Sometimes it’s nice when you let others in on your tactics. Did it ever occur to you that our lives are on the line too?”
    “No one is going to die,” Mason said. “And no, this isn’t some sort of diabolical plan. Aries and the others know better than to try and get me out. If she’s working on something, she would have told me.”
    “If I recall, you weren’t informed about the last prison break either.”
    That wasn’t totally true. Clementine had tried to warn him, but he’d still been surprised when they stormed the Plaza of Nations. It had been such a frenzy of unorganized chaos; he’d made Aries promise to never do it again.
    “Yeah, well, I put a stop to it.”
    Chaplin looked like he wanted to argue, but too many people were beginning to push up against them. They were prisoners too, but even Mason and Chaplin knew that being captive didn’t mean completely sealed lips. Trust only went so far when squealing could be the one thing that kept a person alive. The Baggers made it clear that snitching would be rewarded with special treatment like decent food and better shelter. They did it because it made everyone paranoid. A group of untrusting people wouldn’t be able to work together to overthrow their rulers. They would remain passive and solo instead. People have breaking points and Mason knew he was no different. Leon knew it too. The day would come when Mason would reach his. He didn’t want to think about what he might give up when he could no longer control the words coming out of his mouth.
    “I’ll trust that you know what you’re doing,” Chaplin finally said. “And that when the time comes, you’ll keep me in the loop.”
    “You’re wrong.” Mason wanted to say more, but Chaplin already turned and began making his way through the crowd. Everyone would hear any additional conversation if Mason shouted after him.
    What was Raj doing there? And with Colin showing his face earlier, none of this could be a coincidence. They were up to something and they hadn’t bothered to let Mason in on the plan. Not cool. Mason glanced back at Raj, but the British man wasn’t doing anything suspicious. In fact, he stood there, his hands shaking by his sides, staring straight ahead, a look of pure panic on his face.
    If Raj had volunteered to get captured for some reason or another, he wasn’t doing a good job of keeping it together. What was he thinking, putting himself on the stage like that? Raj had been part of the raid back in December. What if he was recognized? 
    Mason held his breath as one of the Baggers walked right up to Raj. He