“And some folk blame them for things that happened,” Hondo added after a moment. “I know it’s not fair. It’s not right, and it’s not fair, but that’s how it is.”
“None of this moves us any closer to resolving last night’s attack,” Cass said, reasserting control of the conversation. “Unless you’re suggesting that we’ve reached such a state in Morningside that people would send someone to kill my son?”
Hondo shrugged in a way that suggested it was the only possible explanation.
“What purpose would that possibly serve?” Rae asked.
“It’d be the first step towards getting things back to the way they were, wouldn’t it?” Hondo said. “Think about it. Wren dies by the hand of an outsider, what’s the first thing everyone’s going to want to do?”
“Send them all back outside,” Vye said.
“Whoa, slow down now, slow down,” Aron countered. “Ain’t no reason to go makin’ up conspiracies when it coulda been just like I said. Girl after revenge, on her own, cause of her own reasons.”
“It makes sense, though,” Connor said. “A terrible, terrible kind of sense.”
Rae took over. She said, “Look, in the immediate, it’s irrelevant. Whether she was crazy, or desperate, or a hired assassin, we’re not going to figure that out sitting around this table. The question we’re here to answer right now is – what do we do?”
It was quiet for a moment, as each Council member looked to the others.
“Nothing,” said Wren. Hondo suppressed a condescending smile; Connor smiled what he probably thought was an encouraging smile, but that ended up more condescending than Hondo’s.
“We can’t do nothin’ Wren,” Aron said. “Once people find out–”
“If we don’t do anything, then no one has to know anything happened,” Wren answered.
“I think you’re putting a little too much faith in your guards,” Hondo said.
“Maybe someone will talk,” Wren replied, “But if we don’t make any sudden changes, then who will believe it? It’ll just be like any of the other rumors people talk about every other day of the week.” Wren was sitting up straighter, leaning forward. Confident. And becoming convincing. “You’ve been saying it yourselves all morning. People fear change. So, we don’t change anything.” He paused for a moment. “Except maybe I’ll sleep in my mom’s room for a while.” He said it with a smile that undercut the seriousness of the moment. Rae chuckled.
“I agree,” North said, “If we don’t respond to the attack, it becomes a non-event.”
“Unless she really was sent by someone,” said Connor.
“Then our inaction will speak more powerfully than anything we could do at this point. We will not be terrorized.”
Aron shook his head. “No. We can’t pretend it was nothin’. It’d be pure foolishness.”
“We need to help people adjust,” Wren said. “We need to help them get used to how things are now. It won’t help anybody if you just lock up the compound.”
“It won’t help anybody if you’re dead either,” Hondo said.
Wren’s gaze dropped to the table and he went quiet.
“Whatever else we decide, we need to identify the girl,” Cass said. “Discreetly. What are our options?”
The other Council members all exchanged looks, waiting for someone else to offer an idea or opinion. Finally Rae sat forward. “I’ve got a few connections by the West Wall. I’ll see what I can find.”
“I doubt it’ll be any use, but I can handle the business district,” Hondo said.
“And I’ll talk to the elders,” said Aron. “Most of us are only good for gossip these days anyway; someone’s bound to know somethin’.”
“Secrecy is crucial,” North said. “We shouldn’t ask so many questions that others begin to wonder.”
“Agreed,” Cass said. “Use your judgment, but err on the side of caution. Let’s see what we can find out, and reconvene in two days.”
The Council members agreed and, after a round of formal goodbyes, began excusing themselves. Cass watched them intently as they departed, looking for any final hints or clues as to what any of them might be hiding. But nothing stood out, nothing out of the ordinary. Or rather, so much out of the ordinary that made it difficult to discern motives.
“Mama,” Wren said. “Are you mad at me?”
The question caught her completely off guard. “What? No, baby, why?”