Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
“You deserve to be caught,” I say. “You deserve everything that is coming to you. So do your Embassy friends.”
I have nothing left but defiance, and I intend to lean into it hard. As I speak, fresh merriment breaks out in little spates across the crowd. Nobody here is concerned about the consequences of the revelations I have uncovered. There is a certain indulgent tone to their mockery, as if I am just a small, stupid thing who has done a small, stupid thing.
Marcus speaks to me in slow, patient, dangerous tones. “I have some very, very bad news for you, pet. The server you sent all that data you stole? That is owned by a friend of ours. A man who is in this very room.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I say. “Libraryleaks is everywhere, and the consequences for people like you are real. Didn’t you hear about what happened in the aftermath of the Pendleton Papers?”
Marcus shrugs. “A few middle-managers lost their jobs, and a few paid shills went to prison. But you’re right, Libraryleaks certainly caused some problems back in the day. However, pet, they are no longer a threat.”
“Independent journalism will always be a threat.”
Marcus’ expression, which had held a certain dark bitterness up until this moment, has now settled into a you sweet summer child sort of disbelief. I might as well be telling him about the unicorn I intend to buy just as soon as I get my pocket money. He leans down, putting his hands on his thighs as he speaks to me in slow, clear tones that would be patronizing if I had not just spent all that time demonstrating my own naivety.
“There are no independent publishers anymore. There is no such thing as an investigative journalist. There are just honeypots, where people like me, catch people like you—Carebear.”
The sense of horror I feel as he says those words and uses my Libraryleaks login handle feels like a yawning chasm opening up in the very pit of my stomach. My mind races, wondering how this could be possible. I hunted him down. I set all of this in motion. So how on Earth could he be turning this on me now?
If this is a trap—which it must be—then this must have been a trap from the very fucking beginning. Before I thought I got the idea to make contact with Marcus Waterstone, he had to know who I was already. There’s no other way that this could all have worked.
“How?”
“How what, pet?”
“How did you pick me, before you knew me?”
He stands up, smirking, a brow lifted in a way that indicates he finds my near immediate deduction at least somewhat impressive.
“You made yourself known to us the same way you made yourself known to Trent. Don’t forget, pet. We own the internet. We own social media platforms. We see and hear anything and everything you do. Social media programs are essentially smorgasbords for people like us. I wanted a new pet. I searched according to certain parameters around things like appearance, temperament, intellect, and you came up.”
“You Googled me?”
“Oh no,” he laughs. “There are much better search engines capable of acquiring much deeper data. They’re essentially menus of citizens, and one can pick from among them according to desire and need.”
“Sounds creepy,” I say. It’s an understatement. My skin is absolutely fucking crawling. Marcus and his ilk truly do think of other humans as little more than farm animals. We’re out there to be selected and used.
“So you were toying with me. Making me think I was going to make a difference.”
“Yes. Don’t look so sad, pet. You’re finally beginning to understand that you have been chosen.”
I haven’t been chosen. I’ve been selected, stalked, and abducted. Marcus let me think he was my prey, but there was never a moment in any of our interactions that he wasn’t completely and totally in control.
“It all felt like a game up until this moment, didn’t it?” He purrs the question, caressing my scalp with his fingertips, then sliding his hand down to cup my chin and force me to look into his eyes. “It’s not a game, Charlie. You really belong to me, and you always will.”
“But…”
“There’s nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. There’s no law to protect you. I can assure you, the list of crimes you have committed in the effort to betray me is more than enough to put you behind bars. Trent told me about so many of them. I was impressed, if I am to be honest. You were closer than I thought. You knew more than I realized. If I had not found you first, you might very well have one day brought me down.”
Marcus
“You’re insane.”
She whispers the words, her lower lip quivering as her eyes fill with tears.