The Gender Lie (The Gender Game #3) by Bella Forrest (ebook reader for laptop TXT) 📗

and straightened. “When I transfer the line, it’s going to be jerky. You have to remain calm and not struggle, okay. If you start swinging too much, I won’t be able to tie off the line.”

I nodded rapidly several times. “I will, I promise.”

Viggo guided me to the handrail and helped me over it. I felt shaky, just like when I had done this over a week ago, when I had disarmed the explosives, and I questioned the wisdom of what we were doing once again. But then I thought of those boys and what was at stake, and slowly lowered myself down, surrendering my weight to the rope as Viggo pressed a knee into the winch.

I heard the soft whir of the machine as it lowered me, and focused my gaze on my hands gripping the rope, trying not to think of the darkness below. As I descended, I slowly let go of the rope with one hand, reaching into my pocket to pull out a small shielded light that I had also pilfered from the supply closet.

Clicking the button, I carefully angled my body around until I was facing the wall that was between me and the service station, keeping my gaze steadily fixed on it. I counted the bolt holes that had been punched in the concrete, using them as a distraction to keep my mind from the gaping abyss ready to swallow me up.

The seconds crept by, turning into a minute, and then two, when my descent finally came to a stop. I shivered, trying to think of anything but what Viggo was about to do.

I felt the rope shudder under my hands and resisted the urge to cry out. The rope creaked ominously, and I felt myself swing. I leaned my body weight forward slightly, steadying myself and the rope.

After a few seconds, I gasped as the rope gave a little, and then sucked a deep breath in, realizing that it was just Viggo letting off the slack he needed when he’d tied the rope.

I gazed up and saw the dark blurry shape of his head as he looked down. He held out his hand and I raised my own, shining my light behind it so he could see.

I heard the faint sounds of his footsteps followed by the creaking of wheels as he made his way to Tim’s cell, and I exhaled. I let go of the rope with one hand, reaching into my other pocket and pulling out the earbud, realizing I should have put it on sooner.

Then there was nothing to do but wait. Viggo was in the process of giving Tim the transmitter, showing him how to turn it on and off. I doubted Desmond would think to sweep the boys for transmitters, but just in case she did, Viggo would explain to Tim what to do and how to handle it.

I tried to keep calm, but without something to focus on, it was difficult. The dark was terrifying, even my little flashlight wasn’t enough to keep it at bay. As I stared through it, I got the distinct impression of a predatory beast, circling tightly, waiting for any opportunity to strike.

I closed my eyes. Okay, Violet. You’re dangling from a rope with no secondary line above a black pit, about to spy on a woman who may or may not be trying to manipulate some children for nefarious reasons. You’ve got this, right?

Just then I heard the pitter-patter of feet, light and soft, barely detectable on the catwalk, and breathed a sigh of relief. It would only be a few more minutes before Tim turned on the transmission. I could hold on for that long, and once the transmission was happening, I could use that as a distraction.

Although it was less than five minutes, it felt like I had been hanging there for an eternity. I was almost convinced that the transmitter wasn’t able to penetrate this amount of concrete when I heard a sharp burst of feedback in my ear, causing me to jerk in surprise.

The rope creaked again, and goosebumps erupted on my skin as Desmond’s voice started coming through the microphone, loud and clear.

“All right my darlings, sit down, sit down. Do you have all of your candy?” she crooned in a way that I had never heard before.

There was a round of affirmative words before she continued. “Now, does anyone have any questions as to the reading I gave you last night?”

A jumble of voices followed her question, presumably from the boys all clamoring at once. “Calm down, one at a time. Antoine?”

“What’s a threat?” came a tiny, slightly nervous sounding voice.

“That’s an excellent question—a threat is someone or something that can hurt you. Who’s next? Cody?”

The earbud fell silent for a second.

“The pamphlet said that if Matrus or Patrus ever found us, they would want to experiment on us again. Is that… true?”

“Unfortunately, it is very true, Cody. I know this because I used to be a spy for Matrus. And in my time, I learned that there was no stopping people in power from using other people to keep their power. Make no mistake boys, for all the harm that Matrus has caused you, Patrus would do the same.”

“I don’t understand why we don’t just join up with Patrus,” came a small shout. “They don’t like Matrus, and neither do we. Maybe we can become… friends.”

“That’s a good suggestion, Peter, except… Patrus would never accept you. You’re born of a Matrian. They rarely let males from one side move to another.”

“But we could fight Matrus! And then take it!”

I could practically feel Desmond’s smile through the earbud. “I admire your spirit, Stephan, but it’s not that easy. Patrus would want control of Matrus… they wouldn’t want to give it to you.”

“Well, what should we do?” asked a new voice.

“What do you want to do?” replied Desmond.

There was some murmuring, and then another boy spoke up. “What do you think we should do, Des?”

I