And rolling over the dead man–
And curling into each other for protection–
Mayor Ledger tries to throw the bomb away from himself–
Releasing it from his hand–
And–
– it blasts him into a thousand pieces, tearing out the walls behind him and most of the room we’re falling into and the heat from the explosion singes our clothes and our hair and rubble comes tumbling down and we force ourselves under a table but something hits Todd hard in the back of the head and a long beam falls across my ankles and I feel both of them break and all I can think as I yell out at the impossible pain is she betrayed me she betrayed me she betrayed me and it wasn’t a mission to save Todd, it was a mission to kill him, and the Mayor, too, if she was lucky–
She betrayed me–
She betrayed me again–
And then there’s darkness.
Some time later, there are voices, voices in the dust and rubble, voices drifting into my pain-addled head.
One voice.
His voice.
Standing over me.
“Well, well,” says the Mayor. “Look who we have here.”
[TODD]
“LET HER GO!”
“I pound my fists on the glass but no matter how hard I hit it, it ain’t breaking.
“LET HER GO!”
My voice is cracking from the strain but I’ll go and go till it gives out completely.
“YOU LAY A FINGER ON HER, I’LL KILL YOU!”
Viola is strapped to the frame in the Arena of the Ask, her arms back and up, the skin around the metal band burning red, her head twixt the little buzzing rods that keep her from hearing Noise.
The tub of water is below her, the table of sharp tools to her side.
Mr. Hammar stands there waiting, arms crossed, and Davy, too, watching nervously from the far door, across the room.
And the Mayor is there, calmly walking round her in a circle.
All I remember is the BOOM and Mayor Ledger disappearing in a fury of fire and smoke.
I woke up here, my head aching, my body filthy from dirt and rubble and dried blood.
And I got to my feet.
And there she was
Beyond the glass.
Being Asked.
I press the button again for the speaker in the room. “LET HER GO!”
But no one acts like they can hear me at all.
“I do this with the greatest reluctance, Viola,” says the Mayor, still walking in his slow circle. I can hear him perfectly clear. “I thought we might be friends, you and I. I thought we had an understanding.” He stops in front of her. “But then you blew up my home.”
“I didn’t know there was a bomb,” she says and I can see the pain across her face. There’s dried blood all over her, too, cuts and scratches from the explozhun.
But it’s her feet that look the worst. Her shoes are off and her ankles are swollen and twisted and black and I just know the Mayor ain’t given her nothing for the pain.
I can see it on her face.
See how much she’s hurting.
I try to pull up the bench behind me so I can smash it thru the window but it’s bolted into the concrete.
“I believe you, Viola,” says the Mayor, re-starting his walk. Mr. Hammar stands there smirking, watching it all, once in a while looking up to the mirror where he knows I’m standing and smirking some more. “I believe your dismay at your betrayal by Mistress Coyle. Though you can hardly be surprised.”
Viola don’t say nothing, just hangs her head.
“Don’t hurt her,” I whisper. “Please, please, please.”
“If it helps,” says the Mayor. “I’m not entirely sure I would take it personally. Mistress Coyle saw a way to get a bomb right into the heart of my cathedral, destroying it, perhaps destroying me in the process.”
He glances up to me at the mirror. I pound my fists on it again. There’s no way they can’t hear that but he ignores me.
Davy looks over, tho, his face as serious as I’ve seen it.
And even from here I can hear the worry in his Noise.
“You presented her with an opportunity she couldn’t pass up,” the Mayor continues. “Your extreme loyalty to Todd might actually get you inside where any other bomber might not. She probably didn’t wish to kill you, but there it was, a chance to take me down, and weighed up against that, you were finally expendable.”
And I’m looking at her face.
It’s pulled down sad, pulled down so sad and defeated.
And I feel her silence again, feel the yearning and the loss that I first felt out in the swamp a lifetime ago. I feel it so much my eyes get wet and my stomach tightens and my throat clenches.
“Viola,” I say. “Please, Viola.”
But she don’t even look up.
“And so if that’s all you mean to her, Viola.” The Mayor’s leaning down in front of her now, looking into her face. “Then maybe you finally know who your real enemy is.” He pauses. “And who your real friends are.”
Viola says something real quiet.
“What was that?” the Mayor asks.
She clears her throat and says it again. “I only came for Todd.”
“I know.” The Mayor stands again and starts his walk. “I’ve grown fond of Todd, too. He’s become like a second son to me.” He looks over at Davy, whose face flushes. “Loyal and hardworking and truly making a contribution to the future of this town.”
I start pounding my fists again. “YOU SHUT UP!” I scream. “YOU SHUT UP!”
“If he’s with us, Viola,” the Mayor says, “and your Mistress is against you, then surely your path is clear.”
But she’s already shaking her head. “I won’t tell you,” she says. “I won’t tell you anything.”
“But she betrayed you.” The Mayor comes round to her front again. “She tried to kill you.”
And at that, Viola lifts her head.
She looks him right in the eye.
And says, “No, she tried to kill you.”
Oh, good girl.
My Noise swells with pride.
That’s my girl.
The Mayor gives a signal to Mr. Hammar.
Who takes hold of the frame and plunges her into the water.
“NO!” I scream and start pounding again. “NO, GODDAMMIT!” I go to the door of the little room and start kicking it as hard as I can. “VIOLA! VIOLA!”
I hear a gasp and run back to the mirror–
She’s up outta the water, coughing up liquid and spitting hard.
“We are running short on time,” says the Mayor, picking a speck of lint off his coat, “so perhaps we should come right to it.”