Madeleine Clark sits in her office, on the last floor of the Institute. She has a meeting scheduled with Jade in the middle of the afternoon, and she’s organizing her thoughts. All the Clark Industries responsibilities that her week still holds, the visit to the Congress to show the list of abilities that each employee and student have.
“Maybe I can have the vice president do that…” she says out loud.
Her thoughts are interrupted by the ringing of her cellphone. An income call from a media mogul.
“Yes?”
“Miss Clark, my team has a breaking story. One we want to publish right away… but since it concerns you… I’m giving you a heads-up.”
“Enough with the chitchat. What is it?”
“Jade Harris and her family have a booked a flight at the end of this week. Destination? Kenya. Is it leisure or business? Our sources tell us business. Apparently Jade Haris will renounce your institute and move there. Her parents will be part of the board of the Kenyan institute, and she’ll be their face. Any comments?”
Madeleine smiles briefly and shakes her head.
“Who else knows about this?” She says after a few seconds.
“No one knows yet, but everyone else will soon enough. It’s a matter of who publishes it first!”
“You’ll hold the publication and make sure everyone else does it, too. Are we understood?”
“Miss Clark, I’ll do what I can-”
“You’ll do as I say.” She hangs up and puts her hands on her forehead.
Stupid girl.
Madeleine puts her palm in the drawer on her desk. It recognizes her fingertips and opens. Inside there are different passports, one handgun and a phone. She grabs it and calls the only number in it.
“I need the team to locate Jade Harris' parents.” She says.
“What are the orders?” On the other side, a male voice asks.
“Locate them and wait for my follow up.”
Madeleine hangs up and calls her security team at the Institute. Ten minutes later, the elevator rings. The security detail outside asks her if they should open the door. Madeleine tells them yes and Jade walks in.
“Madeleine, I thought our meeting was later today!” Jade tries to hide the surprise in her voice.
Madeleine gets up and closes the door, she goes back to her desk, sits, touches a button to activate the soundproof of the room and asks Jade to sit.
“Hey, girl! How are ya?!” Madeleine smiles widely. Her voice is chirpy as always.
Jade sighs with relief. The security guards were just to force me to meet her. She probably suspected that I’d miss our meeting later.
“Do you want something to drink? I’m sorry to ask you here already, but in the afternoon I have this boring meeting with some investors, so no can do. Tell me, Jade. What’s up?”
“What’s… up?”
“Jessica is going a bit mental that you haven’t done the speech yet. I’m like ‘it’s okay’, but do you think you could do it today, maybe?”
“No.” Jade looks away.
“Because you aren’t feeling well? I understand everything has been too much… Emily… the students… I’m here for you,” Madeleine smiles.
“It’s not that, it’s the speech itself. I’m not saying it, Madeleine.”
“Okay! Like, if there’s something you’re uncomfortable with, we can totally change it.”
“Something? It’s the whole thing!” Jade finally faces her. “It’s dangerous! It will lead to more attacks on deviants. And either Jessica doesn’t understand it or she wants to provoke it.”
“Jade, honey, come on! You know Jessica. Sure, her speeches are emotional, but-“
“What is the angle here, Madeleine?” Jade’s hands curl into a fist.
“Angle?”
“Yes. With this speech. What’s supposed to achieve?”
Madeleine laughs, “honey! It’s supposed to bring awareness. I don’t know!”
“Jessica is just using me. To achieve something else. Isn’t she?”
“Honey, Jessica has your best interests at heart!”
Jade laughs and Madeleine’s smile briefly disappears.
“Does she? And I’m supposed to believe you have them too, Madeleine?”
“Of course, honey, of course I have. I understand that you are feeling emotio-”
“Tell me, Madeleine, what is the price of the uber-rich?” Jade faces her and shakes her head.
“Sorry?” Madeleine texts Get them. Send me the video of it. Take them to X.
“Obviously that you don’t understand. You are too dense!”
“Jade, that’s a bit harsh…” Madeleine looks away.
“Harsh, but true. Your stupidity limits you to being a mere puppet, Madeleine. So, you don’t even understand my question. I’ll spell it out for you. You are what, top 500th most rich in the country? You work for someone who hands you speeches.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Jessica handed it, Jade. She wrote it.”
“Obviously! Because someone told her to write it. And someone told you to hand it to me. So… my question is, what is the price of someone as rich as you? I understand the poor selling their souls to the highest bidders, but when you have the insane amount of money that you have, how do you set up your price?”
“Not everything is about money, Jade. I can't persuade you to deliver the speech, can I?”
“For someone as idiotic as you, I’m surprised you reached that conclusion by yourself.” Jade scoffs.
“Honey, what's the plan here? You won’t say the speech, that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“And what comes next?”
“Nothing, Madeleine. I’ll still be the face, but I won’t say these speeches anymore. I can do more for my kind.”
Madeleine's phone vibrates.
“You want to know the price, Jade?” Madeleine faces her and smiles. “I won’t tell you mine, but I can tell you yours.” Her entire posture changes, her tone drops, and her cadence is different.
Jade looks at the door and swallows her saliva.
“Lovely family you have.” Madeleine turns on the screen behind Jade and shows her the video of her family being taken by armed people.
Jade’s eyes fill with water and her mouth drops open.
“Don’t you dare hurt them!” she shouts and curls her fists.
“So, Jade. The speech… let’s do it before dinner?” Madeleine maintains a somber tone.
“Leave them alone, Madeleine! Don’t hurt them.”
“That’s up to you, honey. Six o’clock?” Madeleine taps her smartwatch.
“Okay, I’ll say the speech!”
“It won’t be live, Jade. I don’t trust your judgement. I’m sure you’ll do something stupid-”
“I won’t, just let them be-”
“Something stupid like… leaving for Kenya. Don’t deny it. I know it’s true.”
Jade keeps facing the door.
“You planned to go to Kenya by the end of this week. Stop working for us… work for them… But you see, Jade…” Madeleine shakes her head and clicks her tongue.
Jade’s sweat drips from her forehead.
“You won’t make it there. You were sloppy, and the media knows about it. They will run the story soon. That was… stupid.” Madeleine faces her and points at the screen, still showing Jade’s parents. “You keep talking about these powerful people that own me and Jessica. Have you thought about what they’ll do to you when the news comes out? Oh, and by the way, little girl, they don’t own Jessica and me…” Madeleine smiles.
“You-” Jade bites her lower lip.
“We are part of it.”
Madeleine takes the gun from the drawer and points it at Jade.
“You really don’t stand a chance now, Jade. Your invincibility won’t save you, not with the bracelet. That you so dearly embraced.” Madeleine smiles while facing her.
Jade looks at the door and tries to normalize her breathing.
“How ironic. Invincibility would be useful now. It’s not a crime to kill a deviant, Jade. Those poor souls at the hospital, fighting for their life, when, I mean, if they make it, they can’t press charges against the humans that put them in a coma. They can try for libel damages, but with the current political scene, would any judge grant them what they deserve? Nope!”
Jade begins to run, and Madeleine shoots right in front of her face. Breaking a vase and compelling Jade to stop immediately.
“Oh, that was a gift from the Kenyan institute. I loved it."
Jade’s entire spine is frozen. She tells herself to try to make it a run again. Dying trying would be more fitting than whatever it is that awaits her.
“Shooting is like a meditation for me, Jade. I do it every day. You should try it, you have so much stress and pressure accumulated. It’s not good for you. Chronic stress can kill you,” she laughs again.
Madeleine's phone vibrates. At X.
“As I was saying, I could kill you right now, Jade, walk to the police station, tell them exactly what I did, and I’d walk free. Fun history fact, the only time that killing a deviant was a crime was when you were considered property. If someone killed another person’s deviant, the law was on the owner’s side, it was a criminal offense. Now, you aren’t property anymore…” Madeleine stops and shakes her head. “I just realized how insensitive this is. I’m sorry! But yes, you aren’t property anymore, but you aren’t people either in the eyes of the law.”
Madeleine’s primary phone buzzes and she answers it.
“Miss Clark, the other news outlets will run the story in one hour. You have 45 minutes.”
Madeleine hangs up and faces Jade.
“Where were we? We’ve run out of time, Jade,” Madeleine grabs a remote and pushes the button.
Jade finally takes a deep breath. She realizes she can access her ability now.
“I’m all in favor of leveling the playing field, Jade,” Madeleine lowers the gun, “all this was actually to prove a point. You misjudged your ability to read people. Better to be a little more humble going forward. It will save your life. Your family are already headed to an unmarked private jet, this door behind me,” Madeleine pushes a button on her desk that opens a door to an elevator, “will lead you to my private garage, there’s a car parked there with some people that you can trust that they’ll take you to the airport. It’s your only chance of making it out of the country alive.”
“I don’t understand…”
“You don’t have the time for it. The news is about to break, and they will come for you. They’ll go to your house, they’ll come here, and hopefully you’ll be on international territory by the time they understand where you are. Hopefully, the Kenyan government can protect you. I’d sleep with an eye open if I were you. I’d keep my mouth shut, too. See if they’ll forget about you instead of being vengeful.”
“Who are you, Madeleine? Really are. Because clearly everything that I know about you is a lie. You have been playing a part for years, fooling everyone around you.”
“I’m Madeleine Clark, CEO of Clark Industries, president of the Institute, and a member of a group that will kill you, Jade, if they decide that you are an inconvenience. Don’t be one.”
"What’s the goal of that group?"
“Enough with the questions. Go, Jade!”
“Just answer this one! What’s their purpose?!”
“Power, Jade! If tomorrow humans didn't fear deviants, they’d lose their relevance. The government wouldn’t give them any power. They know how to use fear in their favor and let’s be real now… deviants are an easy target! Powerful enough to be feared and outnumbered enough to not pose an actual threat to a system. We all know they're merely a scapegoat. If tomorrow you deviants disappeared, the country’s issues wouldn’t be gone magically. But when you focus on that enough, it becomes the truth, doesn’t it?”
By the time Jade made it to the private jet, the one her family was in already, the news broke. Edward called Madeleine Clark immediately. Laurence made up a plan to trash Jade’s image. Jessica Miller took care of the smearing campaign online. Edward wanted more. He wanted Jade dead. It was only because the president said that killing her now would be too obvious that Edward held back.
***
Two days later, the group is in the living room, discussing the next steps on bringing the children home with the help of Abigail’s parents. The tv screen is turned on.
“Breaking news. Jade Harris has moved to Kenya. Jade hasn’t made any announcement, but Madeleine Clark, president of the Institute, has confirmed that Jade Harris will no longer be of service to America. The title of world’s most powerful has been stripped from Miss Harris following the accusation that Kenya bribed the results to have her as number two. The new number one in the world is Nathaniel J. Adams II.”
Emily shakes her head. “not that idiot Nathaniel…” she shouts now.
“Emily,” Abigail looks at her, “I was wrong about Jade.”
“What you mean?” Emily faces her.
Ánh and Diego look at their phones, Rachel keeps staring at the screen, and Alex follows their conversation.
“I thought Jade only cared about being number one. Surprisingly, she cares about something else. Maybe she cares about you more, too.” Abigail smiles.
“Jessica Miller’s team is doing a wonderful job. The fake news against Kenya. There is already a trend on the socials… traitor Jade.” Ánh shows them the posts.
“If Jessica is doing this, then Jade angered them… if she was working for them, she betrayed them.” Abigail says.
“Nathaniel is perfect for this role. He’ll do whatever they tell him to.” Emily shakes her head. Like I used to.