Chapter Four
The next day, in the compound on the edge of Razor City...
"Petra!" Lux barked. "You did what?"
"She's kidnapped Prince Dante," Key said matter-of-factly, frowning at Petra across the round table in his bedroom around which they all sat. It was the older kid's typical meeting place. One of the chairs was conspicuously empty. No one mentioned Ren, but they didn't have to. If he'd still been there, they wouldn't even be having the conversation.
Petra lifted a shoulder. "Not kidnapped, as such. I found him in an alley. He was beaten up and he had no memory. He came with me on his own. What else was I supposed to do?"
"Not bring him here!" Lux replied, surprising her. "Are you crazy? The security of the entire compound is compromised!"
"No one has seen him," Petra said defensively. "No one saw me take him or bring him here. We're safe enough."
"Until he recovers his memories and remembers who he is and calls his dad," Jesse said, pushing his hands through his ginger blonde hair. He rose to pace the length of the room.
"That won't happen," Petra told him. "I have his cell phone."
"You honestly think that's enough to stop him?" Beth asked gently. She sat in the seat beside Petra, but she didn't seem as supportive as her position suggested.
"Petra, this is crazy," Lux repeated. "What are you planning to do?"
Petra lifted her chin and met Lux's gaze squarely. "All of us have people in one of the King's prisons. All of us want our families back. King Scarlet will want his son back, and when he does, maybe we can make a trade for our people."
For a moment, all six of them stared at her. They didn't all look angry. Lux didn't look as though the argument swayed her much, but Jesse turned to peer thoughtfully at Petra. Key sighed in a long-suffering sort of way that suggested he would follow Petra, even if he thought she was completely out of her mind; he'd made it perfectly clear that he did. Rip's face brightened. Beth still looked uncertain. As usual, Ellis' expression was perfectly unreadable.
"That's not such a bad idea," Rip put in.
"What? What are you talking about?" Key snapped. "It's a terrible idea!"
"What else have we got?"
Petra nodded. "Scarlet runs this city. He rolls over everyone who gets in his way. This is the first chance we've ever had. It's the first chance anyone has ever had."
"Yeah, but what are we going to do?" Lux demanded. "Keep him prisoner? Where is he?"
"He's in my room. He's sleeping. Key and I are keeping him...sedated."
"What?" Lux snapped incredulously.
"He's on painkillers. He's been badly injured. He isn't trying to get away yet. He still doesn't know who he is."
"He really doesn't know he's Prince Dante?" Beth asked.
Petra glanced at her. "He doesn't know anything. He thinks he's one of us."
"For how long?" Jesse asked.
"No idea."
They all sighed. Lux scowled. "How do we know the people who attacked him aren't going to come back for him?"
"We weren't followed. No one knows he's here. If we can keep it that way for just long enough..." When Petra looked up at them all, her dark eyes looked a little crazy. They all looked at each other uneasily. "The King hasn't reported him missing yet. For all we know, Grey--Dante does this all the time: disappear for days and not come home. I'm not sure how long we have before Scarlet notices he's gone. Or how long before Dante remembers Grey doesn't exist and he doesn't belong here."
"That doesn't sound like a plan, Petra," Lux said, scowling. "It just sounds insane."
Petra rose to pace the room. "The world is insane! Everything around us is insane. I want Ren back. I want everyone back. And if the King wants his son back, we can trade him."
"It's not going to be that easy," Key told her.
"How do we even know the King isn't the one who set him up?" Lux demanded. "Where were his bodyguards? How did he end up alone in the alley like that?"
"Why would Scarlet do that? Why would he set up his own son?"
"Why does he do anything he does? We don't know him. Maybe he was trying to teach him a lesson. Maybe that's why he's still alive. We've all heard all sorts of things about Dante. He's a nightmare. He's as bad as his father. Maybe he's worse because he doesn't even have a reason to be a prick. He doesn't have a city to rule. As bad as Scarlet is, he has a reason for the things he does."
"Are you saying it's okay?" Jesse barked.
Lux shook her long, black braids. "No. I'm just saying he started out good. He just lost sight of what he was doing. He probably still thinks what he's doing is right. Maybe he didn't like what his son was becoming and decided to show him the consequences of his actions. Dante doesn't do what he does because he's trying to keep the city together. He does it because he likes the power."
Petra frowned. Something about this didn't sit right. The boy she knew wasn't the sort of person who liked power. Grey was as gentle and sweet as a child. She felt a strange surge of irritation at this.
She opened her mouth, but Key was the one who spoke. "I don't know if Dante was really like that or if it was all just rumors, but...he doesn't seem much like that now. He's docile. He trusts Petra and me."
Petra nodded slowly. "I think we could convince him..."
"What?" Lux asked. "To fight against his father?"
"Maybe not fight against him. But maybe we can convince him that what his father is doing isn't right. He wanted to rush out into the street and save some girl from the Marshals. He's...nice. He's a good person, I think, on the inside."
"So, what? You think a bump on his head changed his personality?"
"I think maybe he's...back to who he was when he was innocent. I think he wants to do what's right. He's lost the part of himself that's been corrupted."
Key sighed. "But we've only known him a couple hours. We can't know what he'll ultimately do."
Petra nodded reluctantly. "I think we can influence him. Enough to keep him on our side for now."
"This is so dangerous, Petra," Beth murmured. “It just leaves so much to chance.”
"I know, but we don't have any other choice."
"This is not how civilized people behave."
"This is not a civilized world!"
"When the King reports him missing, every bounty hunter in the city will be gunning for him," Jesse said. "They don't follow rules. They will break down every door in the city, including this one."
"We'll hide him. We'll be prepared."
"How can we prepare for that? Just having him here puts us all in danger."
"But letting him go would be worse! When are we going to have another chance to get our families back? To make things right?"
"There is no making things right!" Lux snarled. "This city is ruined. It's destroyed and corrupt."
"That means we have to be just as bad, then. We do what we have to do."
Lux sighed. "How far are you really prepared to take this, Petra?"
Petra lifted her chin. She wasn't as confident as she sounded when she replied, "As far as I have to."
No one spoke for a long moment. They all looked at each other uneasily. Finally, they looked at Key. They always looked at Key. He sighed. "Petra acted rashly, and I don't think she thought this through all the way. But she has a point. If any one of you saw the prince in the same situation, would you have done any different? Dante's the only leverage we have against Scarlet. Scarlet rules this city. He has all the power. Now we finally have a little power of our own. Maybe we can get our people back this way. And if we can't..."
Lux sighed. "If we can't...if we can't, maybe we all die or the people we love die."
"Or maybe we can hit Scarlet where it hurts him the most." Beth's eyes were as cold as ice. Petra was forcibly reminded that she was one of the Uprising. There were things about her best friend even Petra wasn't sure she wanted to know. "Maybe we can break him down a little like he breaks us all down."
Petra's eyes
narrowed. "We aren't going to do anything to Grey."
Key lifted his eyebrows. "We might not have a choice, Petra. We will try to do what we can not to, but you brought him here. You might have to face the consequences. If it gets too hot, we might have to take drastic measures."
Her stomach roiled. For the first time, Ellis spoke. "I think it might work."
They all turned to look at him in surprise. "What?" Jesse demanded.
Ellis didn't speak much. When he did say something, they all listened. "We might be able to make it work for us. Petra didn't necessarily do right by bringing him here, but we can't let him go. We can't let the opportunity pass us by. Now that we have him, we just have to find the right way to use him to our advantage." He looked as Petra with mild, amber colored eyes. "Maybe we can convince him to see things our way."
"It will be difficult," Key answered for her. Petra glanced at him. "But he seems pliable right now."
"Now," Lux repeated. "Now! What about when he regains his memory?"
Petra spun to her. "We'll have to do it quickly then." She frowned around at them. "I don't suppose I have to remind you all to keep this a secret. We don't want anyone to know he's here. Not even our closest friends." She met Beth's green eyes. Her friend inclined her head almost imperceptibly. "If they aren't in the inner circle, they don't need to know about it."
"Come on," Lux said. "Don't be stupid. None of us are going to be crazy enough to tell anyone. It could sign all our death warrants."
"Right now, keep him quiet," Ellis told Petra. "If he starts to regain his memory, keep him sedated. Do what you have to. All we can do right now is figure out how we're going to make this work without getting anyone killed."
Beth rose. "I'll monitor the news, see if anyone has reported him missing."
Lux followed her. "I'm going to check the perimeter in case anyone is lurking around looking for him. We might already be compromised."
Petra crossed her arms over her chest. "We aren't."
"I want to see for myself. You and Key can take care of Dante."
Jesse threw up his hands. "Yeah. Because the rest of us don't want anything to do with this."
"Fine." Petra frowned at him. "I'll figure it out on my own, then. Consider yourselves off the hook."
"I don't think it will matter," Lux said grimly. "If anyone finds him here, it won't matter who knew he was here and who didn't. We'll all be dead."