when the truth is out?”
Echoes of “Yeah, no kidding,” “About time,” and “That’ll set the GC back” ricocheted around the room.
“So,” Paulette said, “you still have not told us about this Joan.”
“Joan is the sister of one of my best friends,” I said. “She was chosen for FeLS. The sex training. She couldn’t take it, and when she broke, they consigned her to Mars. I don’t know how, but she was rescued. By NonCons, I think. She ended up living with a group of homeless women down by the river. I recognized her one day, and I’ve talked with her a few times. She needs to get off the street and get some care, but she can’t go to anything GC related. As far as they know, she no longer exists.”
“Why doesn’t she go to her family? And what makes her any different from hundreds of other girls just like her?” Paulette asked.
I stiffened. “Her family doesn’t know what happened to her—they think she’s still in FeLS. Do you think she can really afford to tip off the government by letting her family know where she is? Or what happened to her? And also, she’s a friend of mine. And I don’t know and haven’t seen those ‘hundreds of other girls,’ but I
have
seen Joan. I know where she is, and I know she needs help. Whether or not the Sisterhood wants to be a part of that . . . well,
I’m
going to do something, even if I have to do it alone.” I set my jaw. That was it. One way or the other, Joan was going to get help.
“Nina, let me do some checking,” Mag said. “My older brother might know a place she can stay. There are a few safe compounds.”
“Like Rita’s?” Sal’s aunt had a place out in Easley Woods; we’d been there together to deliver a trannie that Sal and his brother, John, had modified for their aunt.
“Uh-huh. Except there are some specifically for women. Your friend isn’t the only escapee who’s messed up, and not just by FeLS. There’s so much violence against women . . .”
“I’ll talk to my uncle, too,” Brie said. “He’s pretty savvy about getting Resistance members and GC casualties to places outside the Americas, where they can’t be tracked down.”
“Don’t worry,” Dorrie said. “We’ll help. Right, everyone?”
They all looked at Paulette.
“Right. I have to go. I’m helping Mom with arrangements for our big New Year’s Eve party.” She clicked off.
A collective sigh of relief followed her exit. “Paulette can be such a pain sometimes,” Dorrie said. “Don’t get me wrong. The Sisterhood needs her, and we want her, too. She gets NonCons into places none of the rest of us can, but still . . . She can cop real attitude sometimes.”
“Yeah,” Wei said. “We all can. Hey, Nina and I are going to Soma tonight. You guys want to meet us there?” Wei asked.
Dorrie made a face. “Can’t. Family stuff for Holiday.”
“I’ll come,” Brie said.
“Me, too.” Mag nodded. “Oh, before we go. Don’t forget, we have a Rogue Radio broadcast set for later this week.”
“And I uploaded a schematic to the guys for vert interruptions on Michigan Avenue the day after Holiday,” Dorrie said. “Thanks for the maps, Mag.”
“No prob.” Mag smiled. “You know me, I love making maps.”
“See you guys later,” Wei said. “Have fun, Dorrie.”
“Right.” She stuck out her tongue before clicking off.
“Mag makes maps?”
“Yeah. She has all the Audio/Video stations mapped out, and provides that information to the NonCons. They take care of the actual interruptions. Rogue Radio, however, is all ours. It’s the one thing that is. It drives me crazy that we don’t get to be more hands-on, but at least we have that.”
“So who does what?” I asked.
“Brie and I mainly provide information. Paulette, well, she lends us all the cover of her family’s top-tier Media status.”
“So I noticed.” I pressed my lips together, not trusting myself to say anything else.
“She also has a way of
Echoes of “Yeah, no kidding,” “About time,” and “That’ll set the GC back” ricocheted around the room.
“So,” Paulette said, “you still have not told us about this Joan.”
“Joan is the sister of one of my best friends,” I said. “She was chosen for FeLS. The sex training. She couldn’t take it, and when she broke, they consigned her to Mars. I don’t know how, but she was rescued. By NonCons, I think. She ended up living with a group of homeless women down by the river. I recognized her one day, and I’ve talked with her a few times. She needs to get off the street and get some care, but she can’t go to anything GC related. As far as they know, she no longer exists.”
“Why doesn’t she go to her family? And what makes her any different from hundreds of other girls just like her?” Paulette asked.
I stiffened. “Her family doesn’t know what happened to her—they think she’s still in FeLS. Do you think she can really afford to tip off the government by letting her family know where she is? Or what happened to her? And also, she’s a friend of mine. And I don’t know and haven’t seen those ‘hundreds of other girls,’ but I
have
seen Joan. I know where she is, and I know she needs help. Whether or not the Sisterhood wants to be a part of that . . . well,
I’m
going to do something, even if I have to do it alone.” I set my jaw. That was it. One way or the other, Joan was going to get help.
“Nina, let me do some checking,” Mag said. “My older brother might know a place she can stay. There are a few safe compounds.”
“Like Rita’s?” Sal’s aunt had a place out in Easley Woods; we’d been there together to deliver a trannie that Sal and his brother, John, had modified for their aunt.
“Uh-huh. Except there are some specifically for women. Your friend isn’t the only escapee who’s messed up, and not just by FeLS. There’s so much violence against women . . .”
“I’ll talk to my uncle, too,” Brie said. “He’s pretty savvy about getting Resistance members and GC casualties to places outside the Americas, where they can’t be tracked down.”
“Don’t worry,” Dorrie said. “We’ll help. Right, everyone?”
They all looked at Paulette.
“Right. I have to go. I’m helping Mom with arrangements for our big New Year’s Eve party.” She clicked off.
A collective sigh of relief followed her exit. “Paulette can be such a pain sometimes,” Dorrie said. “Don’t get me wrong. The Sisterhood needs her, and we want her, too. She gets NonCons into places none of the rest of us can, but still . . . She can cop real attitude sometimes.”
“Yeah,” Wei said. “We all can. Hey, Nina and I are going to Soma tonight. You guys want to meet us there?” Wei asked.
Dorrie made a face. “Can’t. Family stuff for Holiday.”
“I’ll come,” Brie said.
“Me, too.” Mag nodded. “Oh, before we go. Don’t forget, we have a Rogue Radio broadcast set for later this week.”
“And I uploaded a schematic to the guys for vert interruptions on Michigan Avenue the day after Holiday,” Dorrie said. “Thanks for the maps, Mag.”
“No prob.” Mag smiled. “You know me, I love making maps.”
“See you guys later,” Wei said. “Have fun, Dorrie.”
“Right.” She stuck out her tongue before clicking off.
“Mag makes maps?”
“Yeah. She has all the Audio/Video stations mapped out, and provides that information to the NonCons. They take care of the actual interruptions. Rogue Radio, however, is all ours. It’s the one thing that is. It drives me crazy that we don’t get to be more hands-on, but at least we have that.”
“So who does what?” I asked.
“Brie and I mainly provide information. Paulette, well, she lends us all the cover of her family’s top-tier Media status.”
“So I noticed.” I pressed my lips together, not trusting myself to say anything else.
“She also has a way of
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