The communicator blared, and she saw it was Jonah. “What the fuck just happened, Daniella?”

  “Delspar overthrew Yin, named himself Prime Senator, and Yin’s being evacuated. He enacted the Core Principle before Delspar took office by force.”

  Silence.

  “Jonah?”

  “I’m… I’m here.” He sounded distracted, and she grabbed a lock of hair and twirled it around her finger, a tangible tingle of pain breaking through the ice of restraint as she tugged hard with her concern. She gasped.

  “Daniella?”

  “I’ve started to sequester funds, Jonah. Channeling them to an off-planet resource holding facility. We need to move the team, or at least the children and those most at risk. I have a place—”

  “Don’t tell me on the line. I’m on my way.”

  The line clicked off, and Daniella rose. “Contact my parents. Have them moved to the country house in lockdown. No one gets in or out without my authorization. Arrange for your family to join them, and you too if you want.”

  Kallee straightened up before her. “I’ll arrange transport for my family, but my place is here right now, as long as I’m of service. I’ve seen what Delspar is doing, and there’s nothing good in his actions. The Protocol is evil, and he’s tied to these children. We need to fight it before we are over-run, and I refuse to turn tail and run away because I’m frightened, senator.”

  “Daniella. My name is Daniella. I’m not a senator anymore.”

  “You are a senator. You earned the right to be called that, despite the best efforts of some jumped-up joke who now calls himself the Prime Senator. The people chose you. We honor them by using your title.”

  Warmth filtered at Kallee’s impassioned words. “Call me senator in public then, but privately, I’m Daniella. Our government is gone, and we need to work together if we’re going to salvage anything.”

  Kallee opened her mouth to argue, but Daniella held up a hand.

  “That’s an order, Kallee.”

  The woman nodded. “So, what do we do first, Daniella?”

  “We hide the records pertaining to the team. We bury them so deep no one will be able to find them.”

  * * * *

  The roads were choked. People had got the news, heard about the actions of Delspar and the Core Principle, and acted accordingly, fleeing.

  Jonah arrived at Daniella’s estate on the edge of town, teeth gritted, anger coiled in his belly like a writhing snake. The gates opened, and he hurtled up the driveway, skidding to a screeching halt at the steps.

  She stood there, dressed in black pants that molded to her legs, a dark gray shirt, and sensible-heeled boots. Her hair was in a coil twisted on top of her head.

  Jonah climbed out of the vehicle and steadily advanced up the stairs, taking in the wan features of the woman. He opened his arms, and she ducked into his embrace.

  “I’m so scared, Jonah. What he’s done…it terrifies me.”

  The pounding of her heart both frightened and reassured him at the same time.

  “Dark days are ahead, Daniella. I’m not sure if we’ll even win, but right now, if we give in to the fear, it’ll be worse for everyone. Let’s go inside and make some plans. I want you safely away from here.”

  Daniella tugged out of his embrace, her face hard. “No. Yin needs me here to carry on, to lead my team, and I won’t let Delspar strip what’s left of our government without a fight.”

  “And that will be exactly what he’s hoping for. That will allow him to strip you of status and—”

  “I don’t care. Kallee reminded me today that I was put here by the people. My job is to protect their interests and to make decisions and laws for their future.”

  He closed his eyes, wondering how he could change her mind. Get her to safety. “Your family?”

  “Already on transports and heading for the country house. They’ll arrive in an hour or so. And you aren’t packing me off to them, so get that out of your mind straight away.”

  He slid his arm around her, and they entered the house together.

  Kallee waited in the entryway, wringing her hands. “Uh, Daniella? I’m sorry.” Kallee handed over a tablet, and his heart sank.

  “Yin’s plane was shot down. There are no survivors.” Daniella turned the color of cold, white marble, and he took her in his arms. She didn’t respond, and he swore.

  “Get Daniella a tea. Sweet. Lots of sugar. We’ll be through to the kitchen in a moment.” He waited as Kallee scurried away, just holding Daniella close.

  “I asked him if he was safe. He was a good man, and they killed him. I can barely accept that he’s gone. His whole family too.”

  There wasn’t much he could say, so he waited until she wriggled in his embrace, then steered her toward the room at the back of the house.

  Her housekeeper, Mrs. Garmy, stood in front of a viewer, her hands tightly clasped. “I saw what happened, senator. It’s wrong. I’ve spoken to my family, told them I’m staying where you are and—”

  Daniella shook her head. “No, Mrs. G. I’m sending you to my parents. Right now, worrying about your safety is one thing too many. For me, please go.”

  Jonah understood the woman felt she needed to be near Daniella, but he added his weight to the argument. “I agree with Daniella. I’ll be looking after the senator and Kallee. I will do everything within my power to keep them safe.”

  McNally, sitting quietly watching nodded in agreement.

  The door crashed open, and Michael, Clarissa, and David surged in. “We heard the news. Daniella, you need to go to our parents.” David spoke forcefully.

  Daniella stepped back, Jonah placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

  “No, David. I’m staying. Yin’s dead, and Gravely will need me. I need to brief him and—”

  Michael shook his head. “He sided with Delspar, Daniella. Handed over the government offices ten minutes ago. He’s with them. We’re on our own now.”

  At hearing that, she collapsed, sagging with a weak cry, and Jonah caught her in his arms. “You didn’t have to break it like that, Michael.”

  His friend frowned. “What’s going on?”

  Kallee sighed. “They’re sleeping together. She’s had a lot of shocks, and you two are thoughtless asses the way you slammed in here, dropped the bombshell, and demanded she give up.”

  Clarissa balled her fist and whacked her husband in the arm. “I told you. You should have let me tell her, and now you’ve upset your sister and Jonah.”

  Jonah glowered at the man, but Michael laughed. “About bloody time. Fine, we can discuss this rationally in a moment.” He reached out to the counter where a range of snacks sat, but Mrs. Garmy smacked his hand.

  Michael frowned at her. “What?”

  “You know better than that. Now go sit at the table before I ring Mrs. Hudson and tell her not to cook your favorite meals.”

  He retreated to the table with Clarissa and David, Kallee hovered, and Daniella shook her head. “I’m okay now. Really.” She sniffled and wiped at her eyes which were still moist.

  She wasn’t, but Jonah admired the way she rallied. “Okay then. What we need to do is make sure everything is as secure as we can make it. We need to arrange for a lockdown of the office and containment areas. We need a lead on the children.”

  Michael narrowed his gaze. “That’s a big list, and I’m not sure it’s immediately achievable.”

  “Our biggest problem is securing our offices and the children. We need an alternative, secure location to send any others to.”

  “That splits the resources though, Jonah. We don’t have the people to police both properly and track down whoever is behind what’s going on.”

  David was earnest, and Jonah understood and agreed with his thoughts, but the children had already found their office once. He rubbed his brow as he and Daniella sat down. “I know, but realistically they know where we are. We can defend it under most circumstances, but if more of the children are involved, I’m not sure it will be enough. If we could just—”

  “Jonah? Before Yin died, he enacted the Core Principle, right?” Senna asked as she entered the room. “We’ve got loyal people—well-trained soldiers. We connect with them, explain what we know. It means we have more to fight, more to hunt them down.”

  He sat up straight at Senna’s words. “Yeah, but we’re also a bigger target.”

  “Then we go underground. We’re good at that. Always have been. We move our families into the military compound, for their protection, send them off once things are ready, and we fight to get our planet back.”

  “You also need to have someone who’s politically capable, someone to front the fight publicly,” Daniella added. “That would be me.”

  Terror clawed at Jonah as he turned to face Daniella. “No. You need to be—”

  “I’m no princess. I may not be able to fight, but I can talk, and you need my skills. I can present the arguments to the people. Yin was popular, and I was one of his team. They know me. They trust me, Jonah. The people need someone who will fight for them, but they need to be reminded of what they deserve.”

  His heart squeezed. They did need public support and assistance, but if Daniella did this, the target on her forehead could almost be painted in neon.

  Daniella reached out and covered his hand with hers. “I know this is hard for you to accept, but I can do this. I need to do something useful.”

  David and Michael exchanged glances. “Daniella, you’d be a target.” David spoke forcefully, and she smiled.

  “I know that. I won’t be the only one though, because all of you will be too. It’s my duty. I never shirk my duty. Don’t ask me to do that.”

  The steel in her voice almost had Jonah cheering. Almost.

  Clarissa cleared her throat. “Okay, so we have a public face, being Daniella. Jonah leads the resistance, and Michael and I have the kids. Agent McNally goes back to working with Daniella and Kallee, and who else? Franklin?”

  Jonah turned to meet the gaze of his best friend’s wife. “He’s a hell of a guard and someone we trust, so we need to use him appopriately. Guarding the kids and hospital perhaps. Senna?”

  “We could do with another female, so she looks like a soft target,” Clarissa said.

  Heat suffused Senna’s face at the words, but Clarissa raised a hand.

  “I’m not saying she is, just that she looks like it. We work in teams and create a new base. Somewhere no one would think to look. Something that is easily defensible. Somewhere central…”

  “The military base. They’re loyal, and everything we need is there.” McNally’s words were quiet but exploded into the silence around the table.

  “The base?” The only one that came to mind was the corps base, on the other side of the river, divided from the town by chain-link fences, extensive laser scanners, and who knew what else. “But…”

  Senna grinned. “I like this woman. She thinks quickly. I know the head of the base well, his brother is my boss and contacted me last night after he heard of my suspension. I can—”

  “Ring him. If he’s on our side and his apparent loyalty, based on what we’ve seen so far, is indicative of the majority of those remaining on the base, then we might have hope. Make it quick, and share as little information as possible. We can fill him in once we secure the location.”

  The thumbs-up from Senna as she rose and tugged the communicator from her pocket brought a smile to his lips.

  They waited, drinking the coffees and tea Mrs. Garmy slid onto the scarred table, along with the sweet bites.

  “We’ll need to pack then, won’t we?” Callum’s voice dripped with disdain.

  “Yes, Callum. I want you and Mrs. Garmy to go to my parents when we leave. I need you safe and away from here.” Daniella reached out and patted the older man on the hand. “What’s more, I won’t accept any argument. You’re like my family. You’ve been with me for a long time, and I won’t put you in a position of danger. I need to know that you and my parents will be safe so I can do my job. Please?”

  The man stiffened at her words, but while he seemed to open his mouth to remonstrate, he stopped, stared for a moment, then nodded. “If you insist.”

  “I do.” Daniella sniffed and smiled tremulously. “So, go pack and get Mrs. Garmy to do so as well.”

  “Wait.” Clarissa stood. “I want you to take Clarrie and Mrs. Hudson with you.” She turned and crouched before Michael. “You know that’s for the best, Michael. They should all go and be safe.”

  “I agree, and I’m pleased you thought about it. I would have, in time. But it’s better to move them immediately.”

  Senna re-entered the room. “Well, he’s pissed but agrees with us. He’s got about fifty men with families he wants moved to the base. Can we manage that?”

  Jonah sighed and scratched his head, wondering how much more difficult this could be. “We’ll have to make it work, won’t we? But they’ll need guards posted.”

  “Already fixed, Jonah. General DuSaint has started to pick men. It’s almost as if he expected something like this.” Senna slumped into a chair.

  “He probably did,” Daniella said. “He’s a member of the Military Assembly. In my experience, they talk as much as old women do.”

  Jonah swiveled in his chair and stared at Daniella.

  She shrugged. “Experience. I was a junior senator to the Defense Minister for a year. I was in on their deliberations several times, and I can honestly say they didn’t stop talking at all.”

  “All right then, so we send out the call, get as many of our people in place as soon as possible. We’ll want to close access to the base swiftly. Michael, you take care of talking to the others you know, we vet them though…carefully. We need to know who’s coming into the ranks. David, you take care of the transportation of families and placement once the base is available to us. Do whatever it takes to get the base management on the same side as us, and keep them working. Senna, you become our liaison with the corps base and General DuSaint. McNally, round up Franklin, and you’re on Daniella.”

  The room became silent as they mulled over their assigned roles.

  “It’s not going to be easy. There will be some who’ll refuse.” Clarissa sighed. “Clarrie won’t want to go.”

  Michael wrapped his hand around Clarissa’s. “No, but we appeal to his protective self. We need those who can assist in the protection of the base. The men and women. The children.”

  Jonah nodded at the sentiment. “Good. If we’re all ready then? Let’s get moving.” He rose to call an end to the meeting.

  The others followed his lead, chairs scraping on the ceramic tiles and the thudding of feet. He waited until just the two of them stood there, and Daniella rounded the table.

  “You handled that very well.” She cupped his cheek, pulled him closer, and kissed him.

  He shuddered, for a moment letting the chink in his emotional defenses show. “I’m scared, Daniella. You’re in the front line, and this could all go badly. We could roll over and accept the change.” Then he sighed, lowered his head so that their foreheads touched.

  “You could, but that would be wrong. The children are just that. They shouldn’t be weapons. That’s not what humanity is about. We’re doing the right thing.”

  He wound his arms around her. “I know. I’m just not certain we’ll all survive to see the better world.”

  Chapter 15

  Daniella watched the taillights of the vehicle taking Mrs. Garmy and Callum to safety fade away through the gate that shut firmly behind them. Tears dribbled down her cheeks, but she swiped them away.

  She remembered the war vividly. She’d watched friends and lovers departing on the viewscreen daily. Saw the effects on families, those who lost husbands and partners. Brothers and sisters.

  For the first time as an adult, she understood the fear that came with letting those she cared for deeply leave. It wasn’t that she hadn’t felt Michael’s going, but she’d still been young, with the enthusiasm of youth, and had been so damned sure that Michael would survive. This time, she couldn’t rely on wishing and hoping.

  Jonah waited inside the house. She’d asked him for the privacy to say goodbye—needing to do this on her own and test her internal strength.

  She turned and headed to the house, which was almost empty. Jonah had suggested sending anything of value to the estate, and she’d agreed. The house was now a target because it was hers. Once she became the face of the resistance, they’d come at her with everything.

  With slow steps, she ascended to the door, then reached out, but it opened before she could turn the handle. He knew, understood, and had given her the time and space she’d needed.

  Jonah spread his arms, and she moved in, needing the reassurance for a moment before pulling away. “We need to get out of here.”

  Piles of bags mounded in the entranceway, Kallee joined them and stood in the shadows.

  “We should. Do you want to…”

  Did she want to say goodbye to the house? She’d bought it when she’d become a senator, aware she needed her own space. It was nice. Comfortable. But everything of importance to her had already been shipped out. It was a shell.

  “No. Let’s get everything together and go.”

  “I’ll get the van then.” Jonah left them alone, and Kallee looked at the pile of bags.

  They’d agreed to use a small van and added bogus signage to the side using magnetic holders. Anonymous and otherwise unmarked, she and Jonah would remain in the back with the luggage. No one expected a senator to hide in a delivery vehicle, it would fit their belongings, and they’d be able to travel to the corps base incognito.

  “It’s going to take a while to load up,” Kallee remarked.

  Daniella smiled. “Well, if you didn’t insist on me taking so many clothes.” She covered her fears with light talk, hoping Kallee would join her.

  “You’re still the senator, and for the appearances in the media, you’re going to need to look the part. Who would believe a windblown woman with messy hair and no makeup?”