The Fall Read Online Free Page B

pledge,’ he said to Ana, ‘you must choose whether you wish to become a permanent or temporary resident.’ He continued walking and she fell into step beside him. Cole let go of her hand, the path not wide enough for the three of them. ‘Theoretically, you may stay indefinitely. However, it will be safer all round if we move you as fast as we can to one of our outer London safehouses. I realise this isn’t giving you much time to consider the options, but Cole and I think it would be best if you left the Project as soon as possible.’
    Ana stole a quick look at Cole. ‘Could we have a moment please?’
    ‘Of course.’
    She stared after Seton as he strode ahead. The walking hadn’t tired her, but her chest heaved anyway. ‘Are you happy I’m here?’ she asked, once Seton was out of earshot.
    Cole raised his arm and hooked it around the back of his neck. His deep-set eyes were a gathering storm.
    He took so long to answer, inwardly she toppled off balance. ‘That’s quite a long pause.’
    ‘I’m gonna work this all out. I’ll get us away from here safely.’
    She nodded. Was she a charge? A responsibility he felt obliged to take care of? She felt compelled to prove she wasn’t a burden. ‘I have jewellery we can sell.’
    ‘I’ve seen the necklace.’
    ‘Good.’ She smiled, though it was the last thing she felt like doing.
    ‘Ana, we have to talk, but not now.’
    Her breath flew from her lungs. ‘Sure,’ she said, starting down the hill. Cole followed, but this time he didn’t reach for her hand.
    Beyond the ponds stood a lone building covered in moss and hidden by trees. Invisible until you were up close. The Project wall towered over it.
    Seton waved them into the wood and mud interior. A boy of about fifteen lounged with his feet up on a table beside a narrow corridor. He sat up as they entered. The narrow passage beside the boy’s table cut the room into a lopsided ‘L’ shape.
    ‘Here,’ Cole said. He took her hand, dropping Jasper’s wooden star necklace into it. Their eyes met for a moment. What was going on with him?
    ‘We need to register a newcomer for a temporary residency,’ Seton said.
    The boy did a double take. ‘But—’ He looked back at Seton, then Ana, confused. The passage was apparently the official place for any comings and goings. The boy blinked a few times, shuffling around as he slapped open a giant log book. He turned to the back of it.
    ‘Name?’ he asked.
    ‘Ana Barber,’ Seton said.
    The boy curled his pen across the paper making uneven, fluid letters. Ana’s mother had taught her script, but she hadn’t written anything other than her signature by hand since she was eleven. She wondered if she could still do it.
    ‘Interface, mobiles, electronics, in this tray please.’ The boy held out a wooden box. She shook her head. ‘Nothing electronic?’ he asked.
    ‘No.’
    ‘The disc,’ Seton corrected. ‘You can hand it in here. It’ll be safe until the council have agreed on who will go out of the Project to have it analysed.’
    Ana closed her fingers around the star. ‘Will I be able to go too?’
    ‘I’m afraid not,’ Seton said. ‘If you went you’d be putting yourself, the disc and whoever we send with you at a greater risk than they will be already. I’m sorry.’
    Her throat grew tight. ‘Can’t I just hear it?’ she asked.
    Cole’s hand raised to her face, brushed back a strand of hair. ‘Once they’ve had it analysed, the Project has contacts that can get it out to the public. Everyone will hear it.’
     ‘I could just borrow your interface for a few minutes,’ she said.
    ‘We don’t have electronics in the Project. All that stuff is locked up. I can only get my interface back when I officially leave.’
    ‘So we could just go out, listen to it and come back.’
    ‘We need permission. People don’t just wander in and out whenever they like. It’s not how it works here.’
    ‘Permission . . .’ she echoed.
    ‘We have