Free The Fall by Claire Merle

do. Ed, Sandra and I will escort the Warden and the disc into the City. We’ll wait with him until dawn, giving Ana and Cole time to leave the Project before her father learns what’s happened.’
    A stunned silence fell over the room. Tobias intended to let the Warden leave with the disc.
    Blaize was the first to respond. ‘You can’t give him the recording.’
    Tobias carried on as if no one had spoken. ‘Cuff yourself,’ he said, lobbing Dombrant’s cuffs back to him. ‘Now let’s find the disc and get moving.’
    ‘That’s a decision for all the council,’ Blaize insisted.
    Tobias pulled himself intimidatingly close to the hunter. ‘There’s not going to be a war.’
    Blaize’s lip curled revealing a crooked tooth. ‘Thought you didn’t believe in the Writings?’
    ‘Yes, well,’ Tobias said, glancing back at Ed and Sandra. ‘It seems I’m in the minority.’ He released a hook on his trident fighting pole. With a swishing sound, two fan-like panels near the handle of the baton spread open, covered in tiny spikes. Blaize stared at the Chief of Security but remained silent. Dombrant rose to his feet, hands shackled together in a pair of light, wire-thin metal cuffs.
    Ed came towards him. ‘Key?’
    ‘They don’t have one,’ Dombrant said. ‘But I can’t tap in the release code myself.’ Ed inspected the cuffs then nodded his approval at Tobias.
    As Dombrant, flanked by Ed and Sandra passed Ana, the Warden stopped and held out his hands. He was asking for the disc.
    Taking in the gesture, Tobias sucked in deeply. He closed his eyes in an attempt to contain exactly how much Ana annoyed him. ‘Give him the bloody disc, before I decide to take you with us and return you to your father. A much safer place for you as far as everyone’s concerned.’
    Ana’s fingers brushed the hand-engraved quote on the back of the star in her pocket: ‘ Beauty is truth, truth beauty .’ She coiled the chain up tightly in her fist, sensing Cole’s eyes on her. They’d both risked so much for the recording. Ruefully, she took the star from her pouch and dropped it into Dombrant’s palm.
    ‘Tell the others we’ve got it,’ Tobias said to Blaize. ‘Let’s move it.’
    Ed, Sandra and Dombrant advanced towards the passage.
    ‘Stop!’ A voice ordered. Everyone in the cabin turned. Seton, Clemence and another middle-aged couple still in their pyjamas, big coats thrown over the top, blustered in through the far door with a night guard.
    Seton strode forward towards the fleeing group. Clemence’s beady eyes took in the room and in an instant she swept up to Cole, putting down a far larger medical box than the one Ana had. She began unknotting the strip of gauze Ana had tied across Cole’s shoulder and under his arm.
    Seton and Tobias drew up face to face.
    ‘If we release this recording to the public,’ Tobias snarled, ‘we’ll be attacked. We’ll have to evacuate the Project.’
    ‘You were fine when it was Peter Reed risking his life to give it to us.’
    ‘The minister was going to film a personal statement alongside the recording. You couldn’t argue with that. You couldn’t say it was a fraud.’
    ‘You forget Tobias,’ Seton said calmly. ‘We’re all here for one reason only, whether you believe in the Writings or not. To restore the truth.’
    ‘I’m afraid I have you outnumbered on this one,’ Tobias said. He nodded at Ed and Sandra to go.
    Seton shook his head. ‘Not this time.’ The men glared at each other.
    Tobias blanched. ‘Damn!’ He pounded his metal baton against the wall.
    Ana frowned, not understanding what was happening. Dombrant was the first to catch on. He uncurled his cuffed hands and began awkwardly fiddling with the tiny catch for the star’s secret compartment. Ana stood up and edged closer as he shook the pendant upside down. Nothing fell out.
    ‘It’s gone,’ Seton confirmed. ‘I sent the disc out this afternoon.’

Safety
    Clemence opened a packet of