The Gender Fall (The Gender Game #5)(43)

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.

“What’s the last bit of information?” Violet asked, leaning forward.

Jeff smiled then, genuinely. “Matrus is having a day of mourning for the death of Princess Tabitha. It was revealed that she did die in the palace, along with several key advisors—both Matrian and Patrian—and Chancellor Dobin.”

“So Dobin was in the palace?” Violet asked.

Jeff nodded. “Apparently, he was in a portion that collapsed. They recovered his body early on, but with all the dead… it took a while to identify him.”

Violet’s face fell, and I recognized immediately that the news wasn’t as uplifting to her as maybe it should have been. But I couldn’t blame her. A lot of people had died during her attack on the palace. I knew she hadn’t wanted them to; I also knew that if Tabitha had accepted Violet’s deal, nobody—not even Tabitha herself—would’ve died. I reached out and took her hand in mine, knowing she needed the reassurance.

“Thank you, Jeff,” I said. “But how are the people taking this news? There’s gotta be some concern that with no leaders readily available, the Matrians are trying to seize control, and I know the people of Patrus won’t accept that lying down.”

“I’m glad you asked. The follow-up to that announcement was that Elena is asking for there to be a general election of a leader to represent the country’s interest during this time. The message remains the same—the Matrians are only here to help restore order, not to assume control.”

I exhaled. “And in the meantime, while we’re waiting for the election to take place, Elena’s in charge.”

“She’s making a show of working within the Patrian legal system, but refuses to execute women in cases where they would traditionally be executed while men would not—the only exception being the women who have been accused of being part of the Daughters of Patrus. Nobody is making a fuss about her refusal, though, because at least looters and criminals are being caught and held accountable. It’s gaining her a lot of support, to be honest.”