Outcast: A Corporation Novel (The Corporation) Read Online Free Page B

it.
    “You, citizen. Stop.”
    I pretend not to hear and keep moving, my breathing and steps speeding just a little.
    “I said, stop .” He sounds more irritated than warranted and I can't ignore that command again. My boots stop where they are, like they're sticking in drying cement. “Turn around,” he says.
    I take a breath. I can’t run, they’ll catch me, and then there will be real hell to pay. But maybe they’ll be so sidetracked with my escape attempt that they won’t get around to checking my Mark.
    Tight fingers grip my upper arm, turning me around with a jerk. The one holding me is the newbie, about my height, and the world to prove in his eyes. I recognize his dark hair and puffed out chest. I don't come face to face with many Guards, so when I do, their features are seared into my brain, the way his is. He's the young Guard that had the same something to prove back when Rebeka helped Ethan and me escape the Inner City; the night she tricked him. I can only pray that he doesn’t recognize me.
    “Didn't you hear what he said? Or are you just stupid?”
    “Sorry,” I mumble, keeping my eyes glued to the abused road. There are chunks of glass here. If things get real bad, I can use it as a weapon. Why did I have to test my Mark today?
    “Where are you headed?” It's a deeper voice that says this, the older Guard.
    “I—”
    “Look at me when I'm speaking to you.” I can feel his eyes burning into me, watching my every move. Or lack thereof.
    I drag my head up and meet the eyes of my interrogator. They're outlined with hard, deep lines, set in skin toughened by the sun. Behind them I see a bit of weariness and boredom. A career Guard. This is not good. “Sorry, sir,” I mumble.
    “I'll ask again—where are you headed?”
    “To work, sir.” My eyes flit to the ground and back to his face, trying to avoid direct eye contact.
    “At this hour?”
    “Yes, sir. I work over in the Industrial Section, as a seamstress. It takes a little bit of time to get over there.” I glance around. We’re still alone, but not for long.
    “Where are you coming from?” He narrows his eyes a bit. He’s only a couple feet away.
    “Over there.” I nod my head in the general direction of my apartment. I hope they don't notice I'm a little out of the way from where I said I'm going.
    “You're apartment's that way,” the young Guard cuts in, pointing to where I indicated, “and you work in the IS, but you're over here, in East End?”
    I let out a string of curses in my head. A Guard feeling they need to prove themselves will let nothing go. Like a pig that's had a taste of human blood. It's best to look out and steer clear. “I'm meeting a friend. We both work in the Factory. We walk together in the morning. Journey Cambrai.” Stupid . That was too much information. I've given them everything they need to look up and find out that I'm lying. That Journey lives in a completely different section than where they've found me. I shouldn’t have brought her into this.
    “What's your name?” the older Guard asks.
    “Look, I haven't done anything wrong,” I say, “Can't you just let me go?” Stupid . Why do I always open my mouth when I should just keep it shut?
    “I thought you were waiting for your friend, Journey? Name, please. “
    I bite the inside of my cheek. “Karis.”
    “Surname?”
    “Singh,” I say, accepting the fate I know is going to unfold.
    He nods sharply. Reaching into his jacket, he pulls out a portable scanner. “Mark, please.”
    I'm pretty sure my heart stops for several beats and that I die for a few seconds as a result, because the Guard is saying, “Mark, please. Mark, ” as if he’s had to ask several times.
    The young Guard reaches for my wrist and yanks my arm up, pushing back the sleeve of my duster. He squints at my arm and looks up at me. “You’ve tampered with it.”
    How he can tell, I have no idea. “What?” I try to pull my arm back to look at it myself, even