Page 40 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

W hen we arrived, Chelsea and Edith greeted us. If all five of us were being called in, it was likely nothing good. I watched as my peers stepped inside and assembled themselves around the circular strategy table in the center. I made sure I stayed by Matias.

Sasha stood tall, flanked by Sergeant Major Anthony Giza and another man I didn’t recognize.

Though her pose was confident, her face was tight with concern.

“Welcome. Thank you for joining me on such short notice.” We all nodded.

“I’d like to introduce you to Ben, one of our many undercover operatives inside of Telvia.

He brings news that I thought was important for you to hear. ”

The man behind her stepped forward, raising his fist to his mouth as he cleared his throat before continuing.

“Thank you, President De’vor. While stationed in Telvia, Admin held a mandatory viewing less than twenty-four hours ago.

The viewing was about Miss de la Puente.

” I perked up at the sound of my name, chest tightening.

“Me?”

“Yes. The viewing informed the Telvian community that you had died shortly after the Cleansing in the Arena, but that the presidential family had been too devastated to make any formal announcements. They reported the rebels had kidnapped you as a punishment to the presidential family for those who died in the arena. They said that, not only were you captured, but you had been slain. They’re planning a parade and grand ceremonial burial in your honor. ”

“Great,” Wes grumbled. “That’s all we needed. Bad publicity.”

Chelsea snorted in agreement, her arms crossed against her chest as she cocked out a hip. “Flippin’ fabulous…”

“It would seem you have become the Martyr of Telvia,” Sasha began. “An innocent girl on the verge of beginning her adult life, in love with the boy who tricked her and ultimately caused her demise. No better way to garner sympathy from all the classes.”

Matias was tense beside me, body rigid and face hardened as he stared off into space. Giza spoke, drawing my attention back.

“We’ll need to respond to this. We cannot afford to lose sympathizers.”

Matias broke his silence. “We could respond with our own propaganda. Something that shows Mara well and healthy among us.”

“What?” I spun on him. Was he crazy ? The last thing I wanted was to be in the center of all this crazy-ass attention. “No way!”

He faced me. “This is important, Mara. We can’t let this go unchecked. If we respond with you in a video, we would undermine Raúl’s credibility.” I shook my hands in a no-way fashion. “ Mara ,” he almost growled back. “This is bigger than you—”

“No!”

“You’ve got to think about the bigger issue—”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one doing it,” I shot back. I couldn’t believe he was pushing me to do this.

His brows drew down into a deep V, and for the first time, I saw Matias get angry. “We all have to do things we don’t want, Mara. Don’t be so focused on yourself and think of the greater good!”

Ouch. That hurt…that one really hurt. I know he didn’t mean it this way, but all I heard was, you’re selfish .

Heat blasted my face as embarrassment and hurt flooded my system.

The hardened expression on Matias’s face, but I didn’t care.

I turned away from him, fighting back the tears that were threatening to overwhelm me.

Giza spoke, “Taking footage would be a strategic approach. We could film Mara alive and well at the riverbank. The footage would not only show that Raúl is lying to the Telvian people about the welfare of his daughter, but would also show the drought is over.”

Sasha nodded, “Yes, that the lies he’s been using to keep them in a state of submission are nothing but a ruse.

Well done. This kind of response would definitely cause the people to question Raúl and might even earn us a few more sympathizers toward our cause.

That is, of course,” she turned to look at me, “if Mara films the footage.”

Oh god, please, don’t focus on me right now. It was taking everything in me to keep from crying. Muttering so much as a sound was going to cause me to crack. Edith spoke up, and I found myself eternally grateful for it.

“If Mara does this footage, she can kiss her chances of going home goodbye.”

“Get real,” Chelsea challenged. “They were going to freaking kill her, remember? Her chances of going home were gone before she ever stepped foot here.”

Edith glared. “She could have told Raúl that we kidnapped her, because wait, we did ,” she shot back.

“Raúl might be some crazy asshole, but I highly doubt he was going to fry his own daughter in the arena.” I could kiss Edith right now.

Just one big smacker for standing up for me.

Because right now, she was the only one looking past the rebel cause and actually considering my future.

Tension was thick in the room, and it was clear sides were being drawn.

Sasha must have sensed it too, because she cut in.

“Edith’s concern for Mara is well placed.

After all, Mara did not ask to come here.

Though I strongly doubt Raúl had any intentions of sparing Mara’s life, doing the footage would reveal her associations with us and most definitely guarantee her exile from Telvia. ”

Giza lifted his hand, drawing our attention. “I think another point to consider is that Miss de la Puente’s participation in any propaganda will certainly draw some heat from Raúl. Whether or not Mara had a target on her back before, she’ll definitely have one after.”

Edith chimed in, “I vote we leave Mara out of it. Besides, we could just film the river without her and send it out. It’ll still show the Telvians that Raúl’s lying.”

“We’ve thought about it before, but we’ll only get one crack at hacking into their broadcast system.

Whatever we do, it’ll have to pack a punch.

Filming the river isn’t going to be enough.

Raúl will easily be able to discount it to the Telvians as cheap tricks from the rebellion.

Having Miss de la Puente in the shot will be irrefutable proof that Raúl is lying and can’t be trusted.

If he’s willing to lie about the death of his daughter, what else would he be willing to lie about? ”

“It would seem to me,” Sasha broke in before anyone could respond, “that the best response is the footage with Mara. However, this is a decision Miss de la Puente will need to make for herself after she has time to weigh the consequences.” I began to mumble a hell no , but her gaze was on me, and the look warned me to stay silent.

“I recommend you think about it. I will need a response within the next few days. The Dissenters will accept whatever you should choose, but all I ask is that you weigh your decision for a minimum of twenty-four hours.” I blew out a breath with a nod.

“Now that this has been settled, there’s one more matter to address.

” She turned to face Ben once again and motioned him to continue.

He cleared his throat once more before starting. “We’ve discovered some information about a possible Telvian camp further upriver and closer to the coast. The intel suggests that it’s some sort of processing facility.”

Matias spoke up this time, but I refused to look at him. I was too worried about what I’d do if I did. “ Processing facility? What does that mean exactly? What are they processing?”

“That’s the problem. We don’t know.”

“And that’s what we need to find out,” Giza interjected. “The intel makes little sense, and something tells me that Raúl is up to no good. We need to ID what this facility really is and figure out what he’s up to.”

Sasha stepped forward, taking command of the room once again. “This is the primary reason I called for you. I need you to conduct a reconnaissance mission to this facility and report back what you find.”

Matias pipped up, “Mara too?”

“Absolutely not. I can’t afford for her to be captured by the Telvians.”

“Wait a minute,” I jumped in. “I want to go. I can help.”

“I’m afraid that is not up to you, child.”

“But I’m ready. I can help.”

“I said no , and that’s an order. I will not have the First Daughter of Telvia gallivanting about in a camp we have no knowledge of. I am sorry, child, but the answer is no.”

Frustration bubbled under the surface. They could ask me to do propaganda footage by a river, denounce my family, and place a giant red bullseye on my back, but there was no way we could risk me sneaking around in the dark.

Screw that! It was total crap, but I bit my tongue.

Because I may not have known Sasha for long, but I’d figured out that when the leader of the free people says, “That’s an order,” it means shut up and sit back down.

So, I did. But that sure as hell didn’t mean I had to like it.

***

I was so pissed off and frustrated at the whole thing that it took serious effort to keep me from grinding my teeth.

And I was pretty sure I had one hell of a bitch-face going on, because everyone seemed to give me a wide berth, though Matias didn’t seem to go too far from me.

But either he knew I was completely pissed off at him or he was completely pissed off at me because the physical distance he put between us was the furthest he’d been except for when curfew hit.

Chelsea, on the other hand, was practically skipping at his side.

I hadn’t seen her this happy since…well, come to think of it, I’d never seen her this happy.

And deep in my gut, I could feel that familiar slithering sensation of jealousy.

Edith hung back from the rest of them and pulled up to walk alongside me. “You okay?”

I raised my brow in a what-do-you-think kind of way. The whole thing stunk. Of course I wasn’t okay! But I couldn’t say it, because if I said it, I’d crack. And if I cracked, I’d cry. And there was no way I was crying.