He had escaped. At least, that was what it felt like. In fact, his mother had agreed with him over breakfast that if he didn't return to work as normal, people would begin to talk. So he was currently sat in a car, speeding through the city, getting ready to put on his game face.

Or whatever his father called it when he lied to people's faces with a smile on his own.

He hadn't had the time to search the data archives to see if his mother's information about Pippa was true. Though from the database available to him at his parent's place, he doubted he would be able to get to the truth anyway.

The government had a way of getting the people to see only what they wanted them to see. Learn only what they wanted them to learn.

The stream of people walking below him, in and out of the buildings around him turned from a jumble of colors, gradually into a stream of blue.

And Black.

Glancing around, he noted there were many more men and women in black uniforms surrounding the tower than usual.

He sat back in his chair as the private car slowed to a halt before it hit the building that housed all the data, before lurching into the air aiming for his office.

Their presence brought chills down his spine. Were they there for him? To make sure he towed the line? To make sure he didn't do anything to disrupt the status quo.

He realized how stupid that idea was. People would think he was crazy if he brought up what was going on, the government would deny it and he would be locked away for good.

Looking over his shoulder one last time, before the car door opened he watched as the guards marched in pairs through the square, their guns in their hands, their presence creating a wide berth from the city goers.

Something must have happened. Something that had scared the government.

The thought brought him an unexpected level of glee.

The door opened right on time, Sadie would not be in a mess trying to find him. She would not suspect anything.

But he wished she would, that she would stand over his desk, her hands on her hips, demanding he tell her everything. Because something exciting had finally happened in his mundane life.

He stepped out of the car, straightening his blue jumpsuit to the best of his ability.

"Morning Mr. Jezebel." Sadie said, smiling with a small wave. "You have an incredibly busy day today- way more than usual, so I have put everything on your desk ready to go!"

"Thank you, Sadie." He replied, scoffing in his head. Of course the government would overrun him with work.

He sat down at his desk, and for the next few hours the outside world disappeared. He was determined to get through everything, even if it meant skipping lunch.

The next few hours flew past, the only noise the tapping of fingers on the screens on the desk. Sadie took the occasional phone call, glancing his way every now and then. But he would not stop to chat with her.

The ping of the elevator alerted him to someone arriving on his floor. Sighing he kept his head down, hoping it wasn't his mother coming to check on him, or someone from data retrieval coming to give him even more work.

When no one knocked on his office door, he grew suspicious.

Glancing up, he glimpsed a black uniform. His heart stuttered.

Rolling his shoulder back, he tried to loosen the muscles that had grown tight in his neck. He needed to see who it was, they were leaning over Sadie's desk, their head obstructed by a strip of frosted glass on his door.

Standing up slowly, feigning a stretch, he looked over to the desk.

Confusion didn't begin to explain what he saw. Recognition igniting in his brain.

The man dressed in black was hunched over, whispering reverently to his secretary.  Sadie, in turn was whispering back just as animatedly. Just as suddenly as he had arrived, he stood up, fixing his uniform as Sadie sat back down and looked around the room as though they had just been caught kissing in the elevator.

With his heart thudding in his chest, Bellamy watched as the guard walked back to the elevator.

What had they been talking about? Him? Was he being spied on by Sadie now as well? Was there no one left he could count on?

His internal monologue was cut short as the elevator doors pinged open and the guard stepped in, turning around to face him.

Their eyes met, a shock of recognition flashing through him. But just as quickly as he had appeared, the man with the mustache disappeared behind the closing doors.

He glanced back to Sadie. Did she know him? Who was he to her? What was a guard doing talking to him outside the president's office? He hadn't been wearing a black uniform that day... was he? He had been pretty distracted in that moment. Was it just a coincidence that he was here today?

Slowly sitting down, he tried to push the nagging questions to the back of his mind. Work. He had to focus on getting everything done. He had to focus on Pippa. On not losing his mind.

A container of food hit his desk with a thud, snapping his gaze from the screen to the woman standing in front of him.

"Usually you ask for lunch, way before its actually lunch time. It's been an hour after lunch time. Why have you not asked for lunch yet?!" Sadie stood over him, in front of his desk. Her hands on her hips.

Bellamy stared up at her, glancing down at the container before looking back up.

"What?" It was the only thing he could think to say.

"What? Seriously?" Sadie dropped her hands to her side, looking around the room as though something had just occurred to her.

"Sadie?" he asked, after she hadn't said anything else for a while.

"Come with me." She stalked around his desk, clutched his hand and pulled him up and forward towards the hologram room.

He looked longingly over his shoulder at the food on his desk, before the door slid shut.

"Sadie?" He asked. She dropped his hand and began to pace around the room.

"It's too early, it's too early." She muttered.  "He's going to kill me."

"I thought you said lunch was an hour late?" He replied, wondering what on earth had possessed his only friend.

"-And who is he? Do you mean the guard that was here earlier? He's going to kill you!?" He exclaimed.

"What?" Sadie snapped, before looking at him like he had said the most stupid thing she had ever heard.

"You said something was too early? And that someone was going to kill you..." he questioned. "And why are we in the hologram room?"

Sadie sighed, rubbing her temple agitatedly.

"You saw the increase in guards, I presume." She said, coyly.

"It was hard not to notice." He whispered in reply, looking at his receptionist, head to toe, suspicion creeping into his mind. "Especially when one pays a personal visit to this office."

What was going on?

"This is what we call a dead room. It has no cameras, no sound devices. It is an impenetrable box. No one car hear us right now." She said slowly, looking him dead in the eye.

"I don't understand." He replied. What she was saying, it wasn't possible. It wasn't true- the government had eyes and ears in every room and around every corner. 

"Yes you do. You understand what I'm saying perfectly. No. One. Can. Hear. Us." She said it again.

Those words. Those impossible words.

He stood still. Frozen in place, not knowing what to say- what was he supposed to do with this piece of information?

How did she know? Why would she know about a room the government couldn't penetrate? Who was she- really. Because right now, this was not the Sadie he knew.

His confusion and mistrust must have been written across his face.

"They are watching you. The government are digging up every single piece of information they can possibly find. They even cam to talk to me! As if I knew anything about you... about your secrets." She scoffed.

He took a step back from her, back towards the door.

If the government had come to speak to her, they could be using her to find out about everything. About his true feelings. His thoughts were dangerous to the status quo; his mother had made sure that had been drilled into his head.

A dry, bitter laugh escaped from her mouth. "I'm not with them, Bellamy. I'm not working for them."

"How can I know? How can I know for sure?" He replied.

"You don't. Of course you don't, but you need to trust someone. I can be that someone, Bellamy." She said, taking a step closer to him.

"Prove it."

She took a deep breath. "The guards aren't there for you. They aren't watching you. Not today. Something big happened last night. Something I can't explain to you right now.

I know you are sick of this life Bellamy. You are not the only one. There are others. There are so many others. What is going on, really going on in this city, beneath this city... It is beyond anything you will have ever thought possible.

I know this is a lot to take in, we don't have much time left. They will come looking soon, and we will both be questioned as to what we spoke about."

She took a deep breath.

"Are you following me, Jezebel?"

"I think so." He replied, numb.

"We need to know what is going on with you. What has made them so interested in you so suddenly." She said, urgently.

"We?" his voice was faint, his mind spinning.

"Yes, we."

"Tell me, first. Who was the guard who came to speak to you?"

"He is a friend of mine... a close friend. If there is someone in this city who you can trust, you trust him." She replied.

"Yes, but who is he?" He asked again, frustrated by her avoidance of his question.

"You will learn soon enough; I promise you that. Right now I am telling you everything you need to know."

"Will you tell me what happened? Why are there so many guards outside? Can you at least tell me that?" He had to ask. His mind a mess, overloaded with information he never knew he wanted to know. It was all very confusing and frustrating.

A large smile slipped slowly onto Sadie's lips, her eyes lighting up with such pure happiness and hope.

"What happened?" He asked again, she was happy- why was she happy that something had happened to make the government at least triple the amount of black uniforms on the street? What could possibly have angered them- scared them- so much?

"Someone got out."