Chapter 1 - The Arrest
January 20, 2079

So far, that was one of my most dangerous missions yet.  Still flushed from exhaustion or exhilaration I did not know.  I was slightly shaking.
“Veronica Paige Kozem!” the policeman yelled at the quiet, empty (except for me) room. 
“Um, you can just call me Roni, thanks.” I mutter, walking into the questioning lab.  I peek at his nametag-Cassius.  Inside, the room was stark white, with bright lights beaming down on the steel table.  I had to squint to see where I was going.  Sitting down, I saw a bulky dossier with my name on it.  I got curious and started to reach for it.  “You might not want to do that, considering the fact that you’re being questioned for treason and major theft of war guns, plans, and maps of the capital.”
“Whatever you say, Cassius.  And I did not steal anything.  I did leave a bit of money at the entrance.  That’s not even what I took.   It was quite easy to get in, by the way.  Your codes aren’t very secure…” I trailed off, realizing what I was admitting to this guy.  I mentally kicked myself for being so blunt. 
   “I hope you realize everything you say can and will be held against you, and no matter what you say or do, you aren’t getting out of our grasp again.  We’ve finally got you, and you’re on your way to jail for life because you thought you were better, stronger, and smarter than us.  A bunch of children can’t overthrow the government; you’re just some amateurs trying to get noticed.    So, I suggest you stop talking.”  Cassius retorted, looking smug. 
I knew there was no point in arguing, but I pressed on, “No.  You guys are just so worried about people like me changing this country for the better ‘cause you think it would be a disaster and would ruin your life.  So what do you do?  You shut us down immediately.  You’re afraid of us.  Cowards, all of you.  You make us look like the bad guys, which gives you praise and worship that you so desire.  And you know what comes from that?  Money, lots of it.  And that’s where we hit rock bottom.  ‘Cause that’s all you really care about, right?  You don’t care about the safety or well-being of these citizens; you just want the big bucks, don’t you?  And that’s where we come in.  The more of us are caught, the more money you get.”  I paused to take in Cassius’s reaction to my rant.  He was red-faced and looked like he was going to slap me.  But, behind all that anger, I could see embarrassment.  “I’m right, aren’t I?”  I sneered, “You don’t hide your emotions very well.”                                                                                                
We sat in complete silence for about five more minutes.  I was trying to plot my escape, or my holder’s demise, when he finally got up to see why my cross-examiner was taking so long.  I knew if I wanted to get out of here, now was my chance.  But before I could even locate anything to use to my advantage, Cassius turned around.  He gave me a suspicious look, but finally caught on.  As he walked toward me, I quickly glanced at his belt and then at the door.  Fortunately, he didn’t see me do it, but he did take some handcuffs from his back pocket and reached for my wrists.  Suddenly, without thinking, I jerked my hands out of his reach.  As I realized my mistake, he roughly grabbed my hands and secured them together.  Another pair was in his back pocket, and, luckily for me, he didn’t use them to handcuff me to the table.  As Cassius walked away, I could tell he thought he had stumped me.  He was very c***y, which made him a bad cop.  Too much arrogance causes mistakes.  This is exactly what he just did. 
Swiftly, without hesitation, I lunged for his other pair of handcuffs and yanked his right arm towards the table (earlier I had seen him shoot his gun with his right, so it was obviously his dominant hand).  He tried to twist out of my grasp, but I held tight to his wrist.  Yelping in pain, Cassius went limp for a second from all my tugging on his arm.  That’s all I needed.  I tried to open the handcuffs, but they were locked, so I gripped Cassius’s head and thumped it as hard as I could against the table.  He was out cold.  Working quickly, I searched his pockets and tried every key until, after about seven thousand tries, I finally found the correct one.  Once I opened them, I locked Cassius to the table, which was bolted to the floor, so he couldn’t drag it behind him-that is, if he woke up…
  I hated doing this, but I didn’t want to go to jail, so I didn’t really have a choice.  If I were to be captured with no plans or ways to escape, our whole mission would be pointless, according to my older brother, Griffin.  He has too much faith in me.  I love him to death, and would do just about anything for him, but he thinks I can do everything, even if I’m terrified of the process or outcome.  And I was afraid of this process and possible outcome.  I might have killed Cassius, and I don’t believe in killing.  And if something goes wrong, then I could get sent to prison for my life, banned from this country and forced to make a life somewhere else, or possibly executed. 
My grandma Donna told me things weren’t always that way.  Executions were illegal, and no one was ever banned from the U.S.A, just imprisoned.  From what she’s told me, the world was a much better place before WWIII.  Now the world is broken.  But the U.S.A. is finally starting to recover, not to how it used to be, though.  The president-President Roderick-was turning our country into a monarchy.  He wants his son, Benjamin, to supersede him, as he did his own father.  He took over all the braches and made his own laws.  He has the final say in everything and uses his wealth and power for his own desires, and ignores his country’s needs.  He has all the best technology while the rest of the country has technology from the 1990s.  He’s selfish.  He’s not only a terrible president, but a horrible person in general. 
There are many rebellion groups trying to stop him.  I am part of the SAFETY, Suffragists Achieving Freedom Everywhere, Together You must stand.  We take over prison camps where they keep arrested rebels, and turn them into rebel camp without anyone’s knowing but the rebels.  Other rebellion groups of SAFETY make speeches to communities about what our government does and what others can do to help stop it.  They speak to many different communities, from small towns, to big cities.  Sometimes, they even go to the president’s speeches and protest, but never riot.   We have two types of spies: open spies and closed spies.  Open spies are spies who pretend to be someone they aren’t, like military officials, secretaries, etc.,  or something smaller, like maids or waitresses for the Capital House or wealthy politicians-for the few that are left.  Closed spies are spies who sneak into the Capital House, military bases, or top-secret storage units.  Most closed spies need to be excellent hackers, so they can find any information about the government they need from computers.
I have been a closed spy for about three years now.  Griffin has been doing it for seven years, and has been training me for five of them.  Those times with him were special to me because he was often gone on “business trips” (he used to be a public speaker for SAFETY, and just didn’t let me watch the news, but when I joined, he become a closed spy with me), but I didn’t know where he was at the time.  I didn’t know why he was training me until I turned sixteen and joined the SAFETY.  I haven’t been caught yet, that is, until now.  Most first-time closed spies get caught on their first or second mission, or they get kicked out or transferred to a different “job” because they aren’t very good. Some drop out because it’s too dangerous for them, then they have to be deported from the country because they know too much about us.    I’ve stuck with them no matter how hard the task and don’t plan on leaving.  I’m the best closed spy they’ve had in years, but now I’ve let them down.  So I need to figure out a way out of here.  I already have a plan, but who knows if it’ll work?
I take the ring of keys off the table and start towards the door.  Suddenly, I hear the sound of people struggling.  It’s very soft, but it sounds like there are two people, and one’s trying to hold the other down.  “Roni,” I hear.  It sounded strained,  like that person was being choked.  The voice was too soft to recognize it.  I quickly debated in my head if I should open the door.  Part of me said I shouldn’t: who knows what, or who, is behind that door?  For all I know, it’s probably a trap to get me to come out because they knew I was going to escape.  But another part of me, a very small sliver, felt like I knew the person on the other side getting beaten and tortured, saying my name because they knew that I would understand it was a warning not to open the door.  That little sliver won out.  I searched for the correct key, the one I had seen Cassius use earlier for this door, and slid it in the lock.  Slowly creaking open the door, I peeked outside.  I gasped, then lunged at the man holding my brother in a death-grip with a gun against his head.