Z 2134

sure you want to know?”
    Calla nodded, still crying.
    “Tell you what,” Jonah said, feeling like shit for manipulating a little girl whose mother he’d already taken, even if indirectly. Yet, he had to swallow his self-loathing — his daughter’s life depended on it. “If you cut these ropes and let me go, I’ll tell you whatever you want.”
    Calla stared at Jonah for six seconds. On the seventh she shook her head and took a few steps back.
    “Please,” Jonah said. “I would never ask you for something like this or use your mother as bait, but I love my daughter as much as your mother loved you. I’m so sorry about what happened to your mom. If I could take back anything in the world, that would be it, but I can’t. I can save Ana, though, or at least try. Unfortunately, I don’t think your father plans to let me leave.” Jonah peered into her eyes, causing Calla to flinch and fall another step back. “Do you?”
    “No,” her tears fell faster. “He’s going to kill you.”
    “I don’t blame him, and you shouldn’t either. He’s upset about what happened to his life, to you, your mom, and your brother. He blames me, and I understand why. I agree, I should pay for my crimes, and I promise to return after I save Ana, if I don’t get killed outside while trying to find her. Your father can put me on trial, or hell, he can shoot me while I kneel and wait for the bullet.”
    Jonah lowered his voice and met the girl’s eyes. “I deserve it and won’t fight my punishment. You have my vow. But I must get out of here, or otherwise my daughter will die. You understand, right?”
    Calla nodded.
    “Tell me something about my mother,” the girl said, making no promise.
    Jonah took the girl on faith and told her a story about her mother.
    “After your father was cast outside The Wall, your mother fell completely apart. Eventually, she was forced to live in the Dark Quarters. Do you know what that means?”
    Calla nodded, and Jonah continued.
    “The Dark Quarters is a miserable place, and the people who live there are often forced into doing horrible things.”
    “Is that what happened to my mom?”
    “Yes,” Jonah nodded. “She was taken advantage of by some awful people. Eventually, someone killed her.” Jonah let his voice crack for effect, feeling like shit for his manipulation, but knowing Ana’s chances were dimming by the minute. “They never found her killer.”
    “Did you see her?” Calla said, her voice surprisingly strong. “When she was dead?”
    “Yes. I was called in, the second Watchman on the scene.”
    “Why didn’t you find her killer?”
    Jonah stared at the girl, not wanting to bullshit her, but not cruel enough to tell her the truth — that her mother’s life didn’t matter enough to warrant investigation. Like anyone else living in the Quarters, she was a tick in a box in a column whose numbers meant nothing.
    “There wasn’t any evidence to narrow the suspects,” he said. “Too much crime in the Dark Quarters to keep track.” That much was true. Calla’s mother could have been murdered by any one of the thousands of dirtbags living in the Quarters.
    “I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “It’s not much, and if I could go back in time and change things, I would.” He held Calla’s eyes and sent every molecule of truth from his lenses to hers. “I never would have helped put your daddy in jail.”
    “Where was I?”
    “Huh?” Jonah asked.
    “When my mom died. Where was I?”
    “You were crying in a crib in the corner,” Jonah said, remembering the memory he’d tried not to replay.
    “Did I see what happened?”
    “I don’t know. You were just a baby. And after that, The City took you to the orphanage. And that’s the last I saw of you. I figured you were still there until I saw you here.”
    Calla kept staring, as though studying Jonah, perhaps unsure what she should say. He wondered if she was going to ask why he’d never checked up on her in the orphanage. He didn’t know what he’d say to that question. Yet another guilty log to add to the fire. He tried not to shift, even as uncomfortable as he was in his seat. Finally, she said something Jonah didn’t see coming.
    “What does icy cream taste like?”
    Jonah laughed out loud; he couldn’t help it. Of the many things he expected, that wouldn’t have made the longest list. His laugh died to a smile, and he said, “It’s called ice cream , and it’s wonderful.” He licked his