The Gender Game 5: The Gender Fall(50)
She shrugged. “It’s stupid,” she said. “It’s just hair, and it’ll grow back, but I can’t help imagining that I look like a… a giant baby.”
I laughed before I could stop myself, and she gave me a sharp look. “Sorry,” I said. “But… seeing as I was the one who shaved your head, I can safely say you do not look like an infant without your hair.”
Her features softened, a smile sneaking onto her lips. “I noticed you haven’t caught me up on the actual news from the city and any of the plans you have going on.”
“Well, that’s just because you haven’t asked. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me you’re ready.”
“I’m ready. So what’s been going on?”
Reaching into my pocket, I met her gaze. “I’d much rather you hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. Jeff’s been waiting for me to contact him, and I figured you’d want to sit in.”
“Should we get Owen and the others?”
I shook my head as I pulled out my handheld. “There’s too much going on to stop and have a meeting every ten minutes. We’ll meet in the morning to get everyone up to speed. Sometimes it’s my job to talk to Jeff, sometimes someone else’s. I asked for the job today.”
Moving closer to her until we were pressed shoulder to shoulder, I keyed in the code for Jeff’s handheld and waited for it to connect. A moment later, Jeff’s face filled the screen. “Good morning, Viggo. And you as well, Violet. I’m glad to see you recovering.”
“Thank you, Jeff,” she said, a smile on her lips. “So they sent you into the city, huh? How’s that going?”
“As well as can be expected. I have established myself at a boardinghouse, and have received a job helping to clean up the burnt-down sections of the city. For some reason or other, the Matrians don’t see me as threatening, which I find quite useful, all things considered. The job itself is not exactly exciting at the moment, but it does put me in a position to notice things.”
“Oh, really? Like what?”
“Well, nearly one hundred Matrian wardens have arrived by boat at the city.”
My eyes widened. “Are you sure about that?” I asked.
Jeff nodded, his blue eyes grim. “Tiffany—one of the maids from Ashabee’s—followed them for a bit, until it became too risky for her to go any farther. We’re still not sure where their main base is, but we’re working on it.”
I exchanged looks with Violet. Her face was drawn; the severity of this information was not lost on her. More troops meant Elena was stepping up her plans. “What about the news?” I asked.
“Ah, yes, well—the announcers noted three things of interest. The first is they are implementing a national registry and the issuing of identification papers. Apparently, a lot of citizen information was lost due to the destruction of the palace, and in order to track rations, they are requiring all citizens to register.”
I absorbed this and frowned. “Damn, that’s going to be tricky. Do you know if they’re going through with those security checkpoints you mentioned the other day?”
“Yes—that might be why they are bringing more wardens into the city. In order to combat terrorism, as they put it.” Jeff’s voice was prim as he announced it, but his face reflected his distaste. “On that note, they also announced that after a thorough investigation, they have discovered the culprits behind the bombing of the palace were the Porteque gang. Apparently, they disagreed with the interference of Matrians in their city.”
“What?” exclaimed Violet. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t they stick with the Daughters of Patrus as a scapegoat? Or even point a finger at me?”
“That does seem like it would be easier…” I agreed.
“Well, perhaps identifying a single individual wouldn’t help them maintain a state of fear, but other than that, I really don’t know,” Jeff responded, clearly also baffled by the news. “The only thing I can think of is they couldn’t fabricate a good enough reason. The Daughters are touted as a pro-female-rule organization, and with the news that Princess Tabitha was to assume control with Chancellor Dobin by her side… Well, maybe they thought it likely that the Daughters would approve of a female ruler.” He gave a shrug, but by the look on his face, he thought it was a bit of a stretch as well.
I thought about it. Maybe the bad cover story was good news—it showed Elena was grasping at straws to maintain control over the population. Then again, this new terror threat only added to the level of fear among the populace. They had been used to hearing about the Porteque gang in the past, and now, with two terrorist groups, public demand for the violence to end would be high. Any actions Elena took to eradicate them on behalf of the people of Patrus would be considered a great win, and at least the Porteque gang was a real target for her to show off her firepower.