Justice by Jeffrey Salane Read Free Book Online Page A

dad,’ answered M.
    ‘John Doe is your dad!’ cried Merlyn.
    ‘No, no,’ said Cal, motioning for everyone to calm down. ‘I’m not related to John Doe. My dad’s a Fulbright. But he never talked to me about his boss – if the guy even exists. I mean, it sounds like an alias to me. John Doe is actually the ID that police give to people who are unknown for one reason or another.’
    ‘Enough!’ snapped Keyshawn. ‘John Doe is not your priority right now. I’ve only got two weeks to get you prepped for the field and if this experiment fails, then I fail, and I’ll be —’ Just as quickly as he had raised his voice in frustration, he stopped himself short. ‘And we’ll be in a situation we’d all rather avoid.’
    M narrowed her eyes. ‘What happens in two weeks?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ answered Keyshawn. ‘But something is in the works. It’s the reason my program was green-lighted. And it’s the reason you’re all here today instead of locked up. So, you’ve got two weeks to learn everything the Fulbrights can teach you, take it or leave it. If you wantout now, say the word and I’ll call Ben to take you away.’
    The perspiration beaded on Keyshawn’s forehead. And in this perfectly temperature-controlled environment, M knew that his sweat spoke volumes.
    ‘Two weeks is plenty of time,’ said M in a calming manner. She was doing her best to channel her father, making her voice jovial, hopeful, and casually reassuring all at once. It worked; Keyshawn let out a sigh of relief.
    ‘So what’s the first step?’ asked Cal. ‘You guys got a Box hidden around here?’
    Keyshawn wiped his brow with a handkerchief and motioned in the direction of the door he’d gone through earlier. ‘The Maze is a good place to start.’
    Through the door, the crew entered a long, wide room that seemed as big as a football field, but the tail end of the room was hidden in dark shadows. The ceiling was so uncomfortably low, they could reach up and touch it. The cramped headspace reminded M of her narrow escape from being crushed in the Box, the high-tech training facility at Lawless that Ms Watts had reprogrammed into a deathtrap. There were dim lights recessed throughout the room in key areas, which barely helped shed any real light on what they could expect to happen next.
    ‘Okay,’ said Jules with a sudden excitement. She was back in her element. Anything that raised her heart rate was a welcome challenge. ‘So what’s the mission?’
    ‘You just need to escape,’ said Keyshawn.
    ‘Escape an empty room?’ said Merlyn with a nasal snort. ‘Easy peasy.’
    Unfortunately M didn’t share her friend’s confidence.In her experience there was always more than met the eye to these tests. She felt her suit tighten around her at the thought, but decided that must have been her imagination.
    ‘Less talkin’, more walkin’,’ said Cal. He shoved Merlyn onto the main floor.
    ‘Hey!’ yelled Merlyn as he stumbled forward, flinching as if he expected something bad to happen next. But nothing did. Instead he stood, scratching his head, a few steps away from the rest of the group. Smiling nervously, he asked, ‘Is this one of those tests where it’s more important to make the first move than to complete the journey?’
    ‘No,’ said Keyshawn dryly, and a solid metal wall sprung up from the floor and crunched against the ceiling, trapping Merlyn on the other side. The others jumped at the wall’s sudden, violent appearance.
    ‘So it really is a maze,’ said M, as she touched the new wall. It felt warm, heavy, and unbreakable. ‘Isn’t that kind of obvious? To name a maze the Maze?’
    ‘I’m sorry if we don’t have the same flair or swagger that the Lawless School boasts,’ said Keyshawn absently as he watched a dot moving across the screen of his tablet. M realized he was tracking Merlyn’s movements. ‘Here we call it like we see it.’
    ‘Sounds too simple for my taste,’ said Jules.
    ‘Oh, we