Rebel (Legend, #4)(28)

Then we reach the crime scene, and I halt in my steps.

In the middle of the intersection lies a body laid out so purposefully that there’s no question this was intentional. It’s been sliced open. The face is unrecognizable. Beside me, Jessan and Lara look away from the vicious wounds that lace the corpse. I look on, my heart beating rapidly. An ugly flashback emerges from the dark corners of my mind now, the memory of bodies piled next to me as I woke up among them, terrified and in pain.

The memory is so vivid that I barely register Min coming over to stand beside us. Her lips are folded into a grim line as she studies the body with us.

“It’s him, yeah?” I say to her in the beat of silence that follows. “He did this?”

Min nods toward the telltale red handkerchief tied to the corpse’s ankle. “And he wanted us to know it,” she replies.

The kind of cruelty that Dominic Hann inflicts on his victims is so sharply reminiscent of what the Republic used to be like, what Commander Jameson used to do, that I feel an ominous weight on my chest. This isn’t just the work of a sadistic criminal. This is manipulation, someone trying to send a message. Someone threatening the city with his power.

“Who was he?” I ask as I bend down beside the body. “Do we know yet?”

Lara nods. “A councilman in the President’s inner circle.”

This stops me cold. The President’s inner circle. My eyes go back to the mutilated figure before us. Most of Hann’s past attacks have been against people who couldn’t repay his debts, but an act like this is bold beyond belief. Had this councilman owed him money too? It’s possible. But this isn’t a regular citizen. He had bodyguards. All kinds of security attached to his account.

If Hann was able to do this to a prominent councilman in a coordinated attack, then he’s not only growing more confident, he’s got more connections in powerful places than I thought.

“How did it happen?” I ask.

Jessan runs me through what they already know: that the councilman had gone missing earlier today; that he’d been driven here and dumped at the intersection still alive; that he had then been set on fire. I wince at each graphic detail. My attention goes briefly to people sitting on the curbs now, being interrogated by the police. Probably nearby storeowners, some who might’ve witnessed everything happening.

“And they still managed to get away?” I ask when Jessan finishes.

She shrugs, and Lara nods at the scorched walls. “They seem like they struck fast and hard. It’s not their first time at this game. It’s just the worst one yet.”

I run a hand through my hair in frustration. “But what does Hann want?” I mutter to no one in particular. “Money? Revenge? Do we have any evidence? What does he get out of killing a councilman, aside from all of AIS descending on him like a horde of wasps?”

“No idea, but there was a theft tonight at the East City Laboratories, where a rare energy coil was stolen. No confirmation yet on whether or not these two events are related in any way, but the timing is unusual enough that it’s worth noting.”

My eyes go back to the pitiful remains. We’re going to be the ones to deliver the news to the family.

Min is looking at me with a thoughtful expression. She turns to Jessan and Lara, then gives them a terse nod. “I need you two to gather some more eyewitness accounts,” she says. “Go on. Let me have a word with Daniel.”

They don’t hesitate. As they head off, Min turns to me and lowers her voice. “I know that look, Wing,” she says quietly. “What’s going through your head?”

“That this all looks familiar,” I reply, my eyes still settled on the body.

“The wounds?”

I shake my head. “The political escalation. Up until now, Hann has stayed in his realm, punishing anyone who fails to pay their debts to him or loses a gamble or is a part of some rival gang. But this is different.” I cross my arms. “He’s prepping the people.”

“What do you mean?”

I give her a hard look. If there was ever a time to bring the topic up to her again, it’s now. “You know how I feel about the city’s Level system. I remember what it’s like to be part of the lower class when we’re pushed to our limits.”

At that, Min makes an exasperated sigh. “Daniel. You know my answer to this argument already.”

“Then don’t ask for my opinion,” I say. “But I’m warning you—Hann isn’t a fool. He knows that the number of poor down here is growing, that more people aren’t able to raise their Levels and can’t afford to feed their families. You got flattened Levelers setting up entire rows of tents down here. Hann knows that. He’s already instilled a proper amount of fear in the Undercity—people here are intimidated by him. But he also shows them enough mercy to make them love him. Now he’s attacking the city council. Prominent politicians.” I point at the body. “It’s not a coincidence that Hann decided to put this body on display down here instead of hanging it up in the Sky Floors, where they live. He knows how much the people down here hate the Sky Floor politicians. He wants the people down here to see. To know who’s really running their city.”

Min gives me a skeptical look. “You’re insinuating that Hann wants to stage a coup?” she asks incredulously.