can’t believe you walked into the Bureau without an appointment, and with a bag of anything, let alone unauthorized meds. You’re lucky that woman only threatened you—usually they stun first and ask questions later,” Mag said.
“Wow!” Dorrie said. “Weren’t you scared?”
“I didn’t really think about it until after I got out of there. And then I was terrified at what I’d done,” I admitted.
“You’ve got some courage going,” Brie said.
“I didn’t feel very brave,” I said.
“Well, courage is when you act even though you’re scared to death inside.”
“Foolhardy’s more like it,” Paulette muttered.
“Like you wouldn’t do something risky to save one of your family members?” Brie asked.
“In the first place, Brie, my family members wouldn’t put themselves in—”
“Paulette. Brie.” Wei’s voice had an edge I’d never heard before. “Calm down. Shut up.”
“Look,” I said. “Pops needed his medicine. It was something that had to be done. That’s all. You guys do things to help the Resistance, things that need to be done. That’s exactly what I did.”
“Well said.” Brie settled down. “Welcome to the Sisterhood, Nina.”
“Yeah, welcome,” Dorrie said.
“Definitely. Glad to have you.” Mag chimed in.
“Right.” Paulette stared straight ahead.
This wasn’t going to be hearts and flowers, not with Paulette in the group. But at least I was in. That was good.
“So is now the time to talk about, you know . . . Joan?” I asked Wei.
“Yeah. They know some of the truth about FeLS, but I haven’t filled them in on Joan’s situation. Now’s as good a time as any.”
“FeLS? There’s more than the sex-slavery crap?” Dorrie sat up. “That is the most disgusting . . . Thank goodness I’m tier three and exempt. Ha! Never thought I’d ever say that.”
Brie hooked her arm in Dorrie’s. “Someday there won’t be any tiers at all. People will be able to do whatever they want to without being held back or forced to be some way they’re not.”
Without trying to appear as if I was checking her out, I snuck a look at Dorrie. Sure enough. Unlike Brie’s ultrachic clothes, Dorrie was wearing Sale-o-rama jeans, like me. I’d kind of assumed all the Sisterhood would be upper tier, like Wei, and obviously Paulette. On closer examination, Mag was wearing mid-tier. Not Mars 9, but not Sale either. We were a mixed bunch.
“So what’s the additional info?” Paulette asked.
“You all know that Nina’s mother was murdered. She’d been spying, collecting information on FeLS, details about how they forced—sorry, ‘Chose’—tier-one and tier-two girls into training as sex slaves, and how the ones who didn’t make it through the so-called training were shipped off to Mars to ‘service’ the miners. And she was killed because someone wanted the evidence she’d been gathering about FeLS.”
Sympathetic murmurs came from everyone, even Paulette. I tried not to let it get to me. I’d spent the last few months steeling myself against the emotions surrounding Mom’s death. I scrunched my sadness deep into my gut; no way would I break down now.
“But her killer didn’t find the evidence. Nina’s mom hid it, and Nina found it.”
I flashed back to that last confrontation with Ed in the abandoned building. To finally finding the package of information my mom had lost her life to get from him . . . Wei’s voice broke through my cloudy thoughts. “Nina and I got the info to the Resistance, to her father, just a few weeks ago. Dad says we should be hearing an Alert on the Media soon.” She humphed. “Should be interesting to see how they’ll spin the fact that only a few girls entering FeLS were actually trained as diplomatic liaisons. How the rest of them were turned into toys for high-level government officials. No one, no matter if they are tier one or tier two, should ever be treated like that. I really wonder what’ll happen
“Wow!” Dorrie said. “Weren’t you scared?”
“I didn’t really think about it until after I got out of there. And then I was terrified at what I’d done,” I admitted.
“You’ve got some courage going,” Brie said.
“I didn’t feel very brave,” I said.
“Well, courage is when you act even though you’re scared to death inside.”
“Foolhardy’s more like it,” Paulette muttered.
“Like you wouldn’t do something risky to save one of your family members?” Brie asked.
“In the first place, Brie, my family members wouldn’t put themselves in—”
“Paulette. Brie.” Wei’s voice had an edge I’d never heard before. “Calm down. Shut up.”
“Look,” I said. “Pops needed his medicine. It was something that had to be done. That’s all. You guys do things to help the Resistance, things that need to be done. That’s exactly what I did.”
“Well said.” Brie settled down. “Welcome to the Sisterhood, Nina.”
“Yeah, welcome,” Dorrie said.
“Definitely. Glad to have you.” Mag chimed in.
“Right.” Paulette stared straight ahead.
This wasn’t going to be hearts and flowers, not with Paulette in the group. But at least I was in. That was good.
“So is now the time to talk about, you know . . . Joan?” I asked Wei.
“Yeah. They know some of the truth about FeLS, but I haven’t filled them in on Joan’s situation. Now’s as good a time as any.”
“FeLS? There’s more than the sex-slavery crap?” Dorrie sat up. “That is the most disgusting . . . Thank goodness I’m tier three and exempt. Ha! Never thought I’d ever say that.”
Brie hooked her arm in Dorrie’s. “Someday there won’t be any tiers at all. People will be able to do whatever they want to without being held back or forced to be some way they’re not.”
Without trying to appear as if I was checking her out, I snuck a look at Dorrie. Sure enough. Unlike Brie’s ultrachic clothes, Dorrie was wearing Sale-o-rama jeans, like me. I’d kind of assumed all the Sisterhood would be upper tier, like Wei, and obviously Paulette. On closer examination, Mag was wearing mid-tier. Not Mars 9, but not Sale either. We were a mixed bunch.
“So what’s the additional info?” Paulette asked.
“You all know that Nina’s mother was murdered. She’d been spying, collecting information on FeLS, details about how they forced—sorry, ‘Chose’—tier-one and tier-two girls into training as sex slaves, and how the ones who didn’t make it through the so-called training were shipped off to Mars to ‘service’ the miners. And she was killed because someone wanted the evidence she’d been gathering about FeLS.”
Sympathetic murmurs came from everyone, even Paulette. I tried not to let it get to me. I’d spent the last few months steeling myself against the emotions surrounding Mom’s death. I scrunched my sadness deep into my gut; no way would I break down now.
“But her killer didn’t find the evidence. Nina’s mom hid it, and Nina found it.”
I flashed back to that last confrontation with Ed in the abandoned building. To finally finding the package of information my mom had lost her life to get from him . . . Wei’s voice broke through my cloudy thoughts. “Nina and I got the info to the Resistance, to her father, just a few weeks ago. Dad says we should be hearing an Alert on the Media soon.” She humphed. “Should be interesting to see how they’ll spin the fact that only a few girls entering FeLS were actually trained as diplomatic liaisons. How the rest of them were turned into toys for high-level government officials. No one, no matter if they are tier one or tier two, should ever be treated like that. I really wonder what’ll happen
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