Free Someone to Remember Me: The Anniversary Edition by Brendan Mancilla Page B

with information,” Null warned Seven ruefully. “Don’t worry. I got my invitation. Five times,” she said to Twenty.
    “Can you blame me for being thorough? Make sure you bring Nine with you,” he insisted. “I expect a full house.”
    “I doubt the same can be said for tonight. I’m guessing that a quorum isn’t expected?”
    “Just the five of us,” Seven nodded slowly, as if confessing to a crime.
    “I absolutely dread these meetings,” Null admitted with grim resignation.
    “Why? They’re always efficient,” came another woman’s factual announcement, her voice the only indicator of her presence for a few moments more. Stepping out from behind one of the neighboring statues came Ninety-Nine, her undetectable entrance made possible by her slight frame and narrow build. Though she was smaller than everyone present, she was still taller than the average citizen of Haven. Her ability to move without drawing attention made Seven envious. “The five of us are three times as likely to be more sympathetic to the plight of the rebels and we typically reach a consensus at least sixty-four percent faster than when the twelve of us are assembled for a majority vote.”
    “Majority voting wasn’t meant to be subjected to secretive meetings and midnight compromises,” Null protested.
    “Why not? Our methods paved the way for the truce. We five decided to convince the others to vote Seven the power to negotiate with the rebels directly. On average, we are eighty-four percent more efficient when we decide on an agenda this way and convince the others to side with us later,” Ninety-Nine concluded, so fiercely confident in the authenticity of her statistics that she willingly put her argument to rest.
    “Well what’s the agenda tonight?” Null asked, her irritability on full display.
    “Tonight’s agenda is the same as it was before Seven convinced the two sides to stop killing each other,” insisted Eight, the last to arrive on the scene. She must have come directly from her workplace at the University—her white laboratory coat could be seen beneath her jacket and she grumpily stomped towards the assembly. Eight gave their surroundings the slightest indication of displeasure. None of the the twelve particularly enjoyed the Round of Heroes, which made it the perfect spot to convene in secret. Nobody would bother looking for them here.
    Seven, whose concerted effort not to stare at Eight was failing miserably, turned his eyes skyward. Eight’s dismissive glare had already taken him in and cast him aside. Whatever conviction had guided him into orchestrating this meeting evaporated, the usual casualty of Eight’s furnace-like hatred.
    “We’ve got to find a way of ensuring permanent peace. A total end to hostilities between the two factions,” Eight announced.
    “How? Ilana refuses to allow the rebels to depart the island—which is their singular demand,” Null reminded the group. “If there’s one thing that she, as the face of the government, hates more than the rebels it’s breaking with orthodoxy.”
    “Too much of this city’s leadership adhere to superstitious traditions,” Eight decried.
    In the span of a second the group collapsed into a bitter argument: Ninety-Nine assuring them of the statistical likelihood of a return to warfare, Twenty advocating the abdication of their responsibilities entirely, Null admonishing the others for meeting in secret at all, and Eight hurriedly poking holes in the arguments her companions presented.
    “I have a plan.”
    Silence rippled away from Seven across the group. Even Eight’s voice withered because Seven had spoken with an authority he rarely yielded, but that everyone knew he possessed. Surprised by the sheer force with which he had spoken, Seven nervously swallowed before continuing.
    “Obviously, we can’t publicly side with one force or another,” he began.
    “Haven’t we already done that?” Null seethed. “We all work for Haven in