Page 99 of Anarchy Missing

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE - LULU

“I am livid,” I yell at Randy when we finally make it back to his office. “How dare you do this?”

“What the hell is your problem, Lulu? This was the plan, remember?”

“I figured I’d be consulted on the plan,” I seethe. “You know, because you’re wrong about him and his friends and I figured you’d get my opinion on that before going off half-cocked and arresting him for something he’s not a part of.”

“Oh”—Randy laughs—“he’s a part of it. We have all the evidence we need. And believe me, we’re gonna catch up with his buddies soon enough. They’re all gonna be in custody by tonight.”

“You’re wrong,” I say. But all the things I was telling Case in the ride down the mountain are rushing back at me. Flooding me with doubt. What the hell are they doing up there? That cave? The jellyfish? Sheila? The operation with nanites and… Fuck! I have no way to process this.

“Just because you’re falling for him doesn’t make him innocent, Lulu.”

I huff out a long breath of air at that. Because Randy doesn’t say it unkindly. It almost comes off as sympathetic.

“Look,” he says. “I know you want to believe he’s not a bad guy. I want him to be good, if only to make you happy. But the evidence, Lulu. It’s overwhelming. We tracked the transmission that took down the power and water treatment plant. It came from his fucking office.”

“What?”

“It’s him,” Randy says, enunciating the words carefully. “He’s the one. Case Reider, Lulu. He caused all this chaos. He stole that money. He blew up the cell towers, and cut the power, and fucked with the water. He’s a terrorist. And beyond that, he’s an anarchist.”

“No,” I say, turning away from Randy. I just stare at his desk, unable to believe this is how things will end today.

“Let me tell you,” Randy continues, “the shit he wrote down… well, it’s so beyond disturbing. He’s insane, Lulu. Like certifiable, belongs-in-an-institution, we-might-not-be-able-to-convict-him-because-he’s-crazy insane.”

That’s when I notice a SpyGlass underneath some papers on Randy’s desk. It’s flashing a red pattern that makes me want to look away. “Where did you get that? That product hasn’t even been released to the public yet. Did you take that from his office?”

“We found a manifesto on there that spelled it all out. We went into the ToyBox corporate office last night with a warrant and searched the place. And we came back with more than enough evidence to arrest him for domestic terrorism and a slew of other felonies. He’s our man. You need to accept it and get on with your job. Because if you can’t, you need to resign.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Resign?” I scoff and turn to face him. “I haven’t even seen the evidence. Since when do assistant DAs resign because they have an initial difference of opinion with their boss?”

“I’m not gonna let you fuck this up. I get it, you like him—”

“It’s not about liking him. I just think we need to look at all the evidence critically before we jump to conclusions. I was with him last night.”

“I figured,” Randy says, unable to control the venom in his voice. Is that… is that jealousy?

“Up at Lincoln Wade’s estate,” I continue. “And I learned a lot of things I need to process before I can come to a conclusion.”

“Well, I’ve already made up my mind. And I’m on my way to court right now to get things started.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“You’re not,” he says decisively. “You’re staying right here and shutting the fuck up until I come back. At that time, we’ll discuss what you know and why you think I’m wrong. But I’m warning you now, Miss Lightly.” He points his finger at my face and it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to smack it away. “If you get in the way today, I will fire your ass so fast. And I’ll ruin you. I’ll ruin all your chances of getting another job. Of working as a lawyer ever again.”

Before I can call him a bastard, he walks out, slamming the door behind him so hard the blinds on a nearby window rattle and shake.

I pace the office, wanting to leave, but unwilling to exit and have everyone look at me. I’m sure they heard us arguing.

So I force myself to take a seat at Randy’s desk, trying my best not to look at that flashing fucking SpyGlass.

How can this be? How can the man I slept with last night—with all that beautiful light inside him—be responsible for… all this?

But it does explain why he was so adamant about Lincoln’s innocence. Doesn’t it?

Does it?

Yes. He’s so loyal to his friends, he can’t let them take responsibility for what he’s done.

No. It cannot be. It cannot end this way.

The SpyGlass begins to beep and flash frantically, so I push aside this morning’s paper and quickly tab the power button on the screen the way Case showed me yesterday. The device powers off and I let out a sigh of relief.

You have two options, Lulu Lightly. You either accept the theory Randy is proposing or you don’t.

That’s it. Those are my only two choices right now.

Does the personality profile of Case Reider put together by Randy fit him? Or not?

I stand up and walk over to the window shaking my head. “No,” I say to the city outside. “No. That’s not him. That’s not the guy I know.”

So what will you do about it?