Limbo (The Last Humans Book 2) by Anna Zaires, Dima Zales Page B

toward the exit, but before she reaches it, she turns around, gives every Council member a baleful glare, and says, “As of now, I formally resign as a member of this ruling body.”
    The room comes alive with hushed murmurs and outraged whispers.
    To Jeremiah, Fiona says, “Once I’m officially off the Council, I wish to Forget this latest decision… and I hope it eats a hole through the amorphous pit you call your conscience.”
    Not waiting for anyone’s response, Fiona storms out of the room.
    Phoe makes the Screen go blank again.
    “Wow,” I subvocalize. “She quit the Council and told them off.”
    “Yep. If I hadn’t made them Forget, it would’ve happened that way, but as is, they don’t remember her outburst. Once he sees this, Jeremiah might strongly suspect Fiona to be the person he’s looking for,” Phoe says triumphantly. “She has a strong motive. She basically told them she hates their guts. On top of that, she even said something about Forgetting.”
    “Can’t she accuse him of faking this video?” I think.
    “She could, but it would be reasonable for him to state that he doesn’t have the resources or capabilities to create something like that,” Phoe says, then gives me a thoughtful look. “I have to say, faking a video is a very interesting idea. It wouldn’t be much harder than manipulating Augmented Reality—”
    “Okay,” I think in an effort to keep Phoe focused. “Even if everyone thought this video was real, I don’t see how it would help us.”
    “Are you nuts? If Jeremiah has a suspect, he’ll stop looking for you. That aside, it’s the oldest trick in the world.” Phoe tilts her head. “We’re dividing and conquering them. While Fiona and Jeremiah fight each other, we’ll do what we need to do: the Test. The likeliest outcome of their fight will be Jeremiah reporting Fiona to the Envoy. From there, they’ll question Fiona with the Lens of Truth. The questioning will prove her to be innocent, except they might think she made herself Forget. Things will get complicated for them, which is great for us. Maybe Jeremiah will talk the Envoy into letting him question more Council members. He’s clearly itching to do that. If so, that will give us even more time. And if the Envoy relaxes enough to stop monitoring Jeremiah’s brain—which is likely—I can then deal with Jeremiah’s wish to get rid of you by using the resources I currently have. This is only a contingency on the off chance that you’re unable to stop the Test. If you succeed with the Test, we’ll have a ton more options.”
    “I like that,” I think, mulling over her long explanation. “But what about Fiona? What will happen to her if they think she’s guilty?”
    “If the Lens of Truth doesn’t clear her, you mean? I guess Jeremiah will grant her what she wanted anyway. He’ll kick her off the Council.”
    “But—”
    “Look, if you’re so concerned about her, I have this other idea based on something you said, but don’t worry about it for now.”
    “Okay,” I think, feeling a bit less like one of those ancient lambs going to the slaughter. “Tell me your plan. How do I take this Test?”
    As Phoe outlines the start of her crazy plan, I rethink my sense of relief. If I were a lamb, I wouldn’t be just going to the slaughter; I’d be picking a fight with a wolf right before entering the slaughterhouse.

10
    I walk back to the Birth Day celebrations. It takes me some time, but I finally spot the perfect group of people for what Phoe has in mind.
    There, by a tent, the Dean and a few other people who work with him are speaking with professional tennis players.
    As luck would have it, there aren’t many Youths around them. That’s good. I’d rather my peers not witness what I’m about to do, since word might reach Liam and I’d have a hard time explaining this to him—or anyone else, for that matter.
    I confidently stroll to the middle of the dozen or so people.
    They look at me