“‘Openly’ is the key word,” said Daphne. “But you’d be surprised what gets slipped into the message when impressionable youngsters are involved. That’s not for you to worry about, though. I’ll review the data. You just have to gather it. Look cute and hopeful for the future of this country. Participate in any conversations that seem controversial.”
“Yeah, because that won’t seem suspicious at all,” grumbled Tessa. Daphne led them down to subway station. “It won’t, actually. You’re provincial. In some ways, that means you should be cautious about what you say to fit in. At the same time, others won’t be surprised if you say something uncouth.”
“I’m not going to make myself seem like some backward barbarian, just to get your story that probably doesn’t exist!”
“Don’t be so dramatic.” Daphne chucked Tessa’s chin. “You’re a smart girl. You’ll know what to look for and what to say. Just pay attention to everything, and I’ll help you figure out the rest. I thought we were out of leads when Lucian left the country, but this may be bigger than talking to him directly.”
A loud train rushed by, forcing Tessa to wait before responding. “What do you mean talk to him? Did you have an interview lined up or something?”
“Not exactly,” said Daphne, with a small grimace. “But I was working on it. Look, if you don’t think it’s worth uncovering Senator Darling’s and his party’s possible ties to religion, that’s fine. But think on this. Senator Darling’s shown a lot of favors to your friend Dr. March. If you were hiding secret religious membership, wouldn’t it be a smart thing to be on the good side of a servitor if things go bad?”
Tessa gaped, thinking of friendly, open Lucian, who was always so kind to her when he came over. “You think he’s using Justin?”
“Not yet. But a politician like Darling has to think ahead. If he got outed for being in a cult—”
“—by someone like you,” interrupted Tessa.
“Or by anyone,” said Daphne, “then having a servitor in your pocket would be very handy for damage control. A servitor going on record and stating that you weren’t a threat or even disavowing your religious involvement would save a future consul’s career. Don’t you think Dr. March should know the truth—that the reason the senator pays him these visits and gives internships to his friends is so that your friend and benefactor will be obligated to help in a cover up someday?”
”I thought Lucian did all this stuff because they were friends,” insisted Tessa, though she could hear the doubt in her own voice. “And because Lucian likes Mae.”
Rufus looked up sharply at that. “What do you mean ‘likes’ her?”
”If that’s all there is, then great,” said Daphne mysteriously. “But wouldn’t you like to know for sure?”
She refused to say anything more about it after that and simply let Tessa’s own ruminations run wild. Down at North Prime’s main office, they had boxes of hidden microphones available for checkout, and Daphne soon had Tessa ready to record. In the meantime, Tessa sent Nico Cassidy a message saying her schedule had cleared and she wanted to attend the day’s meeting. He wrote back right away, expressing his delight and welcoming her to join them.
The Citizens Party owned a suite of offices in a secure downtown high rise, and it was here that the YCC held their meetings. It didn’t take Tessa long to figure out how things worked. There were student political groups all over the country, but this one, directly run by the Citizens Party, consisted of handpicked individuals from a demographic similar to Tessa’s classmates. They came from money and families with connections. Most didn’t have freeform schooling like her, however, so they had meetings outside of classes that gave them lots of photo ops and provided good references for future academic and work applications.
Dr. Cassidy, as it turned out, ran the student meetings only about a third of the time and usually left them to an assistant of his, a young aide named Acacia. He was there today, however, and all smiles for Tessa. “Welcome,” he said, guiding her inside a conference room. “We’re so glad to have you here.”
She cast a fleeting look at Rufus, waiting just outside the door, more because she’d gotten used to him for mental security than anything else. Facing this group alone was suddenly like reliving any of her past failed first days of school. There were two dozen other students gathered around tables in the room, all watching with bright eyes and questionably sincere smiles. Dr. Cassidy introduced her to them, earning surprised looks, and assured them they’d get a chance to ask her questions later. First, he let Acacia start them off in their regular business, giving Tessa a moment to relax and observe.
The YCC had two big projects coming up. One was a fundraising concert geared toward young constituents. It involved a well-known local band and had the dual goals of both raising money for the Citizens Party and spreading awareness of its candidates and policies to those in attendance. The group’s other big endeavor was aimed toward handing out electronic pamphlets when the election grew closer in the fall. Paper was a rarity in the RUNA, but canvassers could stand on designated street corners and transfer information about various people and causes to the egos of consenting passers-by.
Tessa watched as the group set to their tasks with genuine enthusiasm. There was some talk that Lucian might be able to stop by the concert and speak, which was setting many of the YCC’s members—especially its female ones—aflutter with excitement. Lucian’s youth and strong opinions were hugely appealing, and the hero worship he inspired was an almost palpable thing. One girl politely tried to involve Tessa by asking if she knew who Lucian was, and Tessa suddenly found herself the center of attention when she admitted to having met him multiple times, in a home setting.
“You’re so lucky,” said another girl. “If he came to my house, I’d be like, I don’t know. I’d totally pass out or something!”
Others agreed, and while Tessa hadn’t had quite that reaction to meeting Lucian, she suddenly recognized an opportunity for herself. You’re a smart girl, Daphne had said. You’ll know what to look for and what to say. Tessa put on an adoring smile. “I know! When he came over that first time, I couldn’t even get two words out. I just stopped and stared.” Encouraged by the others’ expressions, she added, “If we’d had someone like him in Panama, we’d have made him king or something!”
They loved that, and Dr. Cassidy used it as a chance for the others to engage Tessa in conversation about her background, bringing up a line of questioning she was well familiar with. Knowing what was hoped of her, she made a point to emphasize how amazing everything in the RUNA was compared to the provinces. She also made a point to highlight those Gemman issues that were of particular relevance to the Citizens Party’s beliefs. She saw that pleased Cassidy and Acacia, but knew Lucian was still the big draw for the others.
“You’re so lucky,” said another girl. She lit up with inspiration. “You should join us—like on a regular basis. It’s only right, since you’re a family friend and all.”
A guy who was chairing the concert committee and had hair styled suspiciously like Lucian’s nodded in agreement. “We’d love to have you help at the concert. It’s a lot of work—but it’s a lot of fun too.”
For a moment, Tessa was too flustered to respond, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she hadn’t really planned on doing much with the YCC beyond this meeting. The remarkable thing here was that she couldn’t ever remember receiving such a warm social welcome. She never would’ve thought to find it amongst a group of elite students hoping to pad their resumes with political connections. Dr. Cassidy smiled at her and the others, mistaking her silence for shyness.