Page 86 of Hidden Justice
Her brow furrows and her eyes widen at the information that has been kept in strictest confidence. She swallows, whispers, “I can’t.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that? From you, quite possibly the best liar I’ve ever met?”
She flinches, the red in her neck flushes over her cheeks.
“Let me ask you something,” Leland says. His normally gruff voice is even deeper—sounds like he swallowed a razor blade. “We found a busted-up computer hidden in Cooper’s truck. Our technicians were able to get the history off of it, and it showed Cooper reached out to Walid the night of Justice’s mission. Are you saying you had no idea that happened?”
Bridget’s hands flies to her mouth. Her eyes fill with tears. “I…” The tears fall. “He wouldn’t have known how to disguise his trail.”
“He didn’t,” Leland says. “His timing was as shitty as his VPN. He sent an email warning Walid to leave Jordan at nearly the same time Justice was in his room. Which explains why Walid came back early from his dinner.”
I’d wondered about him showing up. There hadn’t been enough time for Security to hunt him down. I’d assumed it was coincidence. Now that I know Cooper’s involvement, I realize there was another way I was being tracked. I reach up and tug off my locket. “Cooper gave me this necklace right before I left.” I hold it up.
Sandesh exhales a sour curse.
Bridget’s gaze focuses on the locket dangling from my hand. She says nothing.
Leland continues. “After Cooper warned Walid,hisdigital mercenaries tracked Cooper’s IP. Within minutes, they’d hacked into his computer and discovered a GPS signal being sent from Jordan. Walid directed the men he had inside Jordan to follow the trail. It led them to Justice in Za’atari.”
That not only explains how I was tracked; it wasn’t my implanted GPS. It also explains Cooper’s broken computer. Cooper must’ve realized he’d been hacked, panicked, and busted up the computer at some point. But not before they’d found me in Syria.
Absorbing all Leland has said, Bridget’s straight shoulders begin to slump, her brow to furrow. She whispers, “Where is Cooper?”
With brisk surety, Momma answers, “Earlier today, he was found in his apartment where he’d been tortured then murdered.”
Bridget’s face pales. She staggers forward and falls into the seat before Momma’s desk. She puts her head into her hands and, for a few moments, she sheds more tears for my father than I ever could. Then she raises her head, eyes swollen and red-ringed behind her glasses. “He must’ve thought he was helping to protect Justice.”
“What?” She’s lost her mind. “He did it to make money for drugs. That’s what he does. It’s what he’s always done. You told him about The Guild, about what I do, and he took the first opportunity to make money off of me.Again.”
Bridget inhales then exhales audibly for several breaths, her face blotchy red with emotion. “If what you say is true, then tell me why Cooper didn’t tell the men torturing him where they could find his computer? The computer that could still be fixed and used to track you?”
I hate the yawning silence that opens up inside of me. I hate the lack of an answer. “He was too drugged up to remember!” I shout, balling my fists.
We stare at each other; she an almost unreadable mask, me a furious ball of hurt. I walk to where she’s seated, stab a finger into her shoulder. “You deserve to lose your memory of this place. You deserve to no longer have any of this.”
“I’m willing to accept my fate for what I’ve done, but I wonder, would you be?”
Is she seriously trying to turn this into some kind of lesson forme? “No, Bridget. I wouldn’t. But I’d never do what you did. I’d neverchooseto betray you.”
Bridget’s gaze slides over to Sandesh.
For his part, he stands at military attention, silent as he watches my family falling apart.
Her look says what she doesn’t: Ididbetray the family. If I hadn’t, Sandesh wouldn’t know about operations.
She returns her attention to me. “Everyone makes mistakes, but only a chosen few are forgiven and given a second chance. Cooper was brought here, so you could get to know him, spend time with him, and maybe let go of some of your anger. Cooper loved you, Justice.”
Bullshit. “No. You don’t get to talk to me about love or mistakes. What I did, what I revealed, came from being backed into a corner. Something that happened when I tried to rescue a girl. Someone who never would’ve been saved if not for The Guild. What you did almost got me killed, and you did it because you no longer believe in our work.”
Bridget’s chin lowers the slightest bit. It’s the only sign in her straight-backed posture that lets me know I struck pay dirt. And I want pay dirt. She needs to feel something. All that equanimity shouldn’t mean she can’t be properly punished and hurt. Like she’s hurt me.
“You’re wrong,” she says quietly. “I never stopped believing in The Guild. It was The Guild that stopped doing what it was designed to do. It was founded to rescue people, but ask yourself, Justice, were you rescued? You’ve spent a lifetime nurturing a rage that never brought you an ounce of relief. Now, you’re an assassin trained to kill, a warped warrior, and is that what you want for our younger siblings?”
“Warped?” If she’d slapped my face, I wouldn’t have been more surprised. “The laws are warped. The laws don’t work. Or haven’t you watched the news? Femicide is rampant. Misogyny is winning. And too many of us are sucking up the pain, Bridge.”
Bridget breathes slow carefully, as if trying to hold back her own anger. But I see it there. Anger is my specialty, and I want more. “Is that what you want foroursiblings? To accept their pain and be punching bags?”
Exhaling hotly, she answers, “In my way, I fight too. I look for opportunities to advance our cause, I inspire innovation and healing, and I do so without violence. My way works. Mostly.”