Cecelia Ahern - Perfect

“Thanks, guys.” I hug them, and Mona squeezes me tightly.

“Did everyone from Vigor make it to Professor Lambert’s safely?” I ask.

“Everyone except Bahee,” Lennox explains. “We decided to take a detour and abandoned him on a road somewhere in town.”

“We left him exactly where he dumped Lizzie,” Mona explains, fire in her eyes, payback for her friend Lizzie. “We asked around for her, but it wasn’t the safest area in the world. We had to get out of there fast.”

I can tell she feels guilty for not searching for her friend sooner, for not realizing that her disappearance was sinister.

“We’ll find her,” I say encouragingly.

“Even after all he’s done, Bahee actually thought we were going to bring him to Professor Lambert’s with us,” she says angrily. “I give him one week max on his own before the Whistleblowers find him. He’s got no idea how to survive out there.”

“What if he talks to the Guild?” I ask.

Carrick shrugs, nonplussed. “I doubt he’ll tell anybody about Alpha and Professor Lambert. They’ve been his only lifeline all this time. He hasn’t a clue of any of our plans anyway.”

“And what a house the Lamberts have,” Lennox wades in. “Good call, Celestine.” He holds his hand up for a high five, and I laugh as our hands meet in the air.

“You were right, Celestine, they’re good people,” Carrick says, and I hear the apology in his tone.

Everyone apart from Kate and Marcus starts taking off their uniforms in the van as Marcus speeds away, no time for discretion.

“Anyone stops us now, we’re taking you guys in, okay?” Kate warns, and we all agree.

Carrick hands me a bag of clothes. Juniper must have brought them. I’m gaining feeling in my legs but nowhere near enough to take off the trousers. Carrick doesn’t say a word and starts untying my bootlaces. The simple act brings tears to my eyes.

“Thank you, everybody,” I say again.

“We can get you out of a whole lot of little messes as long as you get us out of the big one,” Lennox says, and I get it. I finally get it. We’re in this together; it’s not all on me. Every person here is taking a massive risk, too.

“How did you find me here?”

“Carrick followed you,” Mona says.

I look at Carrick, but his eyes are down, taking off my boots.

“How did you get in touch with Juniper?”

“Last number dialed on Raphael Angelo’s phone,” Carrick says, with an unimpressed raise of his eyebrow. Not one of my smartest moves. Always pulling other people into my trouble.

That thought leads to another, horrible one. “What’s going to happen to Juniper?” I suddenly panic. “They’re planning on doing a skin graft.”

“A skin graft!” Mona says, confused. “For what?”

She doesn’t know about the sixth brand.

I look at Carrick, worried.

“Don’t worry. There’s a plan in action. Your mom is going to charge in there, with a solicitor and a police officer, as soon as we give her the word, and she’s going to accuse them of taking the wrong daughter.”

My mouth falls open. “Do you think it will work?”

“It will work,” Whistleblower Kate says confidently, and I wonder at what point she changed sides and why, or if she was always against the Guild and just found a better way of fighting them, from within. I’d love to talk to her more, but now isn’t the time.

“Maybe my mom should charge in there with Bob Tinder, too,” I add.

“Bob Tinder?” Carrick’s brow furrows, looking up at me as he slides a boot off my foot. “He’s the new editor of The Voice .”

“He used to be head of Crevan Media’s newspaper,” I explain. “He’s my neighbor. His wife, Angelina, was branded. Before us. Something to do with a disagreement between Crevan and Bob, it was Crevan’s way of punishing Bob. His daughter, Colleen, is in there. She’s one of the missing students.”

“Are all the students in there?” Kate asks suddenly, leaning forward.

I nod.

“Logan Trilby?” she asks, and I cringe at the sound of his name. Just thinking of what he put me through still hurts, and he was the worst, the most malicious of them all.

“Then perhaps the famous married Trilby priests should storm in there and find their son, too,” Kate says thoughtfully.

I shake my head. “His parents would go straight to the Guild with that kind of information. They’re the Guild’s biggest supporters; they blame me for everything. They’d never believe you.” I recall their interview on Flawed TV when they blamed me for Logan’s disappearance.

“They’d listen to anything if it meant finding their precious son,” Kate says, sharing a knowing look with Marcus, an unspoken plan brewing between them.

“An idolized model, a respected religious duo, an angry newspaper editor. They’ve annoyed the wrong parents.” Mona smiles, almost gleefully. “What about the other kids’ parents?”

“Natasha and Gavin,” I say quietly, remembering how they stripped me in the shed and examined my body’s scars. Then I picture them from only moments ago, eyes glazed, practically drooling on their red hospital gowns. I’m so conflicted. I hate them and I pity them. I’m relieved they’ve been punished, and feel guilty at the same time.

“I say leave them in there,” Carrick says angrily. I can’t meet his eyes. He must know what happened to me; Pia Wang as Lisa Life documented the entire event in its awful detail.

While Marcus and Kate excitedly discuss their plans, inside I tremor, because I know exactly the place my mother will be entering and the kinds of people she will be accusing.

It won’t be easy. When it comes to the Guild, nobody is untouchable.

FORTY-SIX

MARCUS DRIVES KATE, Mona, and Lennox back to Professor Lambert and Alpha’s mansion, where they are all hiding. I have visions of Evelyn in a pink bedroom of her own, brushing a doll’s hair, and even if it’s not true, I want her to be somewhere where she feels free. I know Alpha will give her the best life she can. But Carrick and I aren’t safe yet. The van stops in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, at a row of shops. It’s late and they’re all shut, apart from a Chinese takeout.

“Just me and you,” Carrick says, sliding the van door open, checking left and right before hopping out.

I would quite happily go back to Alpha’s house, have a bath, eat, sleep, and pretend none of this has happened, but it’s gone too far for that. Juniper has taken my place. The clock is ticking. I have to do as much as I can before they realize she’s not me.

“Good luck,” Kate says, before sliding the door shut.

And as quickly as that, Carrick and I are on our own again. Creed Barracks was out of the city; Marcus and Kate brought us to the outskirts, the suburbs. Carrick is holding me up again. I look around for someplace to hide, not that it matters much at the moment, as we’re on a relatively quiet backstreet and the sun is down. It is easier to hide under the cover of darkness, but harder after curfew, when checkpoints are raised, and curfew is not far off.

“What now?” I ask.

He looks at the palm of his hand as if he’s reading something. “Rescue Celestine North, the most beautiful woman in the world. Tick.”

I laugh in surprise, not expecting this from him.

“Next. Say sorry.” He looks at me, swallows his pride. “Sorry. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Enya Sleepwell, but please know that my intentions were good. Everything that I’ve done has been for the good of the Flawed cause, for you and for me. I never wanted to hurt you. None of this has been a trick. I’m just doing all that I can.”

His heart is true. I know this and I don’t want to fight with him anymore. Still, no harm in letting him stew in it for a while. I wait for more from him.