Steelheart (The Reckoners #1)(35)

I righted myself, determined not to look like a fool in front of the others. Though I wasn’t certain if that was possible at this point.

“There’s one simple way to neuter Enforcement,” I said. “We take out Conflux.”

For once an idea of mine didn’t prompt an outcry from the others.

Even Megan looked thoughtful, standing just a short distance from me, her arms crossed. I’d love to see her smile again, I thought, then immediately forced my mind away from that. I had to stay focused.

This wasn’t a time to let my feet get swept out from underneath me.

Well … in a gurative sense, at least.

“You’ve considered this,” I guessed, looking around the room.

“You hit Fortuity, but you talked about trying for Conflux instead.”

“It would be a powerful blow,”

Abraham said softly, leaning against the wall near Cody.

“Abraham suggested it,” Prof said. “He fought for it, actually.

Using some of the same arguments that you made—that we weren’t doing enough, that we weren’t targeting

Epics

who

were

important enough.”

“Con ux is more than just the head of Enforcement,” I said, excited. They nally seemed like they were listening. “He’s a gifter.”

“A what?” Cody asked.

“It’s a slang term,” Tia said, “for what we call a transference Epic.”

“Yes,” I said.

“Great,” Cody said. “So what’s a transference Epic?”

“Don’t you ever pay attention?”

Tia asked. “We’ve talked about this.”

“He was cleaning his guns,”

Abraham said.

“I’m an artist,” Cody said.

Abraham nodded. “He’s an

artist.”

“And cleanliness is next to deadliness,” Cody added.

“Oh please,” Tia said, turning back to me.

“A gifter,” I said, “is an Epic who has the ability to transfer his powers to other people. Con ux has two powers he can give others, and both are incredibly strong.

Maybe even stronger than those of Steelheart.”

“So why doesn’t he rule?” Cody asked.

“Who knows?” I shrugged.

“Probably because he’s fragile. He isn’t said to have any immortality powers. So he stays hidden.

Nobody even knows what he looks like. He’s been with Steelheart for over half a decade, though, quietly managing Enforcement.” I looked back at Enforcement headquarters.

“He can create enormous stores of energy from his body. He gives this electricity to team leaders of Enforcement Cores; that’s how they run their mechanized suits and their energy ri es. No Con ux means no power armor and no energy weapons.”

“It means more than that,” Prof said. “Taking out Con ux might knock out power to the city.”

“What?” I asked.

“Newcago uses more electricity than it generates,” Tia explained.

“All of those lights, on all the time … it’s a huge drain, on a level that would have been hard to sustain even back before Calamity.

The new Fractured States don’t have the infrastructure to provide Steelheart with enough power to run this city, yet he does.”

“He’s using Con ux to augment his power stores,” Prof said.

“Somehow.”

“So that makes Con ux an even better target!” I said.

“We talked about this months ago,” Prof said, leaning forward, ngers laced before him. “We decided he was too dangerous to hit. Even if we succeeded, we’d draw too much attention, be hunted down by Steelheart

himself.”

“Which is what we want,” I said.

The

others

didn’t

seem

convinced. Take this step, move against Steelheart’s empire, and they’d be exposing themselves. No more hiding in the various urban undergrounds, hitting carefully chosen targets. No more quiet rebellion. Kill Con ux, and there would be no backing down until Steelheart was dead or the Reckoners were captured, broken, and executed.

He’s going to say no, I thought, looking into Prof’s eyes. He looked older than I’d always imagined him being. A man in his middle years, with grey speckling his hair, and with a face that showed he had lived through the death of one era and had worked ten hard years trying to end the next era. Those years had taught him caution.

He opened his mouth to say the words, but was interrupted when Abraham’s

mobile

chirped.

Abraham unhooked it from its shoulder mount. “Time for

Reinforcement,” he said, smiling.

Reinforcement. Steelheart’s daily message to his subjects. “Can you show it on the wall here?” I asked.

“Sure,” Cody said, turning his mobile toward the projector and tapping a button.

“That won’t be ne—” Prof began.

The program had already

started. It showed Steelheart this time. Sometimes he appeared personally, sometimes not. He stood atop one of the tall radio towers on his palace. A pitch-black cape spread out behind him, rippling in the wind.