"What are you doing here?" Victor asked. It was all he could do to keep himself from beating the boy within an inch of his life. It was true that he had been relieved when Bracias had pointed him out, but what ensued after might not have transpired if he had only kept his mouth shut. Victor knew that, ultimately, it wasn't Bracias' fault, but he still didn't trust the boy.

"I- I'm sorry, Victor," he said.

"How did you find me?" Victor said. He wasn't interested in apologies. What was done was done.

Bracias was silent.

"Bracias. I'm not going to ask you again."

Bracias fidgeted uncomfortably. "When the fighting started I hid behind the meal line. I saw you go there, but you weren't around. After it all ended I began wondering where you went. I guessed that you might be in here."

Something about Bracias' story seemed off.

"Good story. You can repeat it to everyone when they return."

"I can't stay. Roger is expecting me."

Victor slammed Bracias against the metallic wall of the vent maintenance area.

"Are you out of your goddamned mind, Bracias?"

"I didn't have a choice! He said he needed people like me. He's recruiting students, Victor."

Victor loosened his grip on Bracias. If he was really there to spy, why was he saying all of this? He could have verified Victor's location and made a break for it. Unless, of course, he was trying to ascertain who else had aided in his escape. He didn't drop his guard.

"Why is he recruiting students?"

"First and foremost to find you. He's got control over the drones, but for some reason he's not using them to find you."

Victor realized that Bracias might be incredibly useful, if he didn't get him and his friends all killed. He appeared so spineless and harmless that Roger had probably revealed much more than he should have. Victor resolved not to make the same mistake, but instead get as much information as possible.

"Alright Bracias," he said, letting the other boy go. After all, the only real choices were that or killing him in cold blood. Otherwise, sooner or later, he'd have to let the boy out of the vents. Victor was no killer. He was beginning to wonder if that might not change.

"What do you think Roger is up to?"

Bracias relaxed, now that Victor's threatening tone dialed done to merely stern.

"I don't think he can control the drones when he's not there. And I don't think he can look at the A.I. viewing ports. That's why he always has three drones with him. He needs people in order to find you. Later he'll need them to control the school."

Victor nodded. There was something else that he needed to know.

"Why are you helping me, Bracias? Keep in mind that now would not be a good time to lie."

Bracias was silent again and looked Victor in the eye for a few moments.

"I'm sorry for what I did, Victor. I'm a coward and a wimp. Always have been. I'm not brave like any of the rest of you. However, I am a survivor. Under Roger's regime, where might is right, people like me will suffer the most no matter how useful we make ourselves. And when Roger's testosterone-fueled meat headed group inevitably begins to fracture, I'll almost certainly be one of the first to die in the crossfire. This is my last chance to do something about it."

Victor nodded. However pathetic it was, it was an explanation he believed. Maybe because it was so pathetic. Victor reminded himself that, whatever his motivation, Bracias hadn't necessarily made the wrong choice back in the mess hall. Victor would almost certainly have been killed outright, but the others would have been unharmed. They would have been able to mount resistance in silence. Possibly Roger would never have even thought to begin what was sounding like a secret police force.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Who else has Roger 'recruited'?" Victor asked. If what Bracias said was true then it was important to end this before Roger had a sizeable force of students to combine with his drones.

"I'm sure of only four right now. Kendrick, Pinbrick., Lauder, and Gomez. He meets with me separately from the rest. He wants me to spy on the spies, too."

T.J. Pinbrick was no surprise. The other names Victor only recognized vaguely. Probably high Physical and Social stat students - the kind Roger was more likely to attract. Victor realized that there was a way he could test Bracias.

"Lauder?" Victor said, furrowing his brow. "But he's supposed to be with us."

Bracias' eyes brightened a little too eagerly for Victor's tastes.

"Oh really?" he said, innocently. "And who else is with you?"

Victor shook his head. "I can't trust you. Not yet, Bracias. I want to, though."

Bracias nodded. "What do I need to do?"

Victor smiled.

-------------------------------

It was 'nighttime' when a few of the others made their way back to the vents.

"Hey, Vic. We snuck you some food from the mess hall." It was Lucas, followed by Jack and Wright Two, Frank.

Victor felt a pang of guild and panic when he saw Frank, so focused immediately on the food. It was a stale bowl of kale and a rubbery beet. Victor decided he preferred kale in fry form, but ate it with gusto because he was hungry and didn't want to appear ungrateful.

"It doesn't look like it's occurred to Roger to keep watch on the bathrooms. We'll sneak you out after we catch you up on the particulars," Lucas said.

The so-called 'assembly' that Roger had gathered went more or less predictably. A few students tried to attack and were stunned by the droids. Roger went on for an hour, loving every moment of the attention. According to Lucas and Jack, he didn't seem to know what he was doing. Any fraternization with Victor, wherever he was, was of course strictly forbidden.

Victor told them about Bracias' visit.

"Shit," Jack said. "We're all as good as dead if he tells Roger you're here."

"I don't think so," Victor said, ruminating on the encounter. "I think Bracias just wants to survive. He's not particularly loyal to either side. He's gathering information on both sides and weighing his options. He won't turn us in rashly. Only if it looks like that's the best choice. I also think he really wants to belong to our group."

"He can belong to my fucking fist," Jack said. When Victor and Lucas gave him a look he shook his head. "Sorry. I'm beginning to sound like Miguel."

"Can't really blame you," Lucas said. "Hell, I don't blame Miguel. Maybe he's right."

Victor sat down on the floor of the vent maintenance room and took a deep breath. It was time to lay his cards out on the table. Now that his life wasn't in immediate danger, he needed to start focusing on the big picture. Although the threat from Roger felt immediate (and a bit too coincidental when he thought about it) there was still the matter of the Reactor Club information. It was even possible that the two matters were related.

Anyway, there wasn't much he could do while his mobility was this restrained. He was going to need help getting the data cube where it needed to go.

It was time to tell Lucas and the others about Najar.