by Eliza Green
Julie nodded, her lips thin and white. ‘Of course. You needn’t worry about things here. I’ll take care of them.’
‘Thanks.’ Bill walked to the exit.
‘Bill?’ He turned partially. ‘Be careful.’
With a nod, he entered the stairwell, which carried a stiff, occasional breeze. ‘Barricade the door after me.’
A clink clunk followed his exit. Laura was sitting halfway down on the stairwell. Gunnar and Jameson were at the bottom below them, pacing. It had been too risky to leave Jameson in his apartment, the one place Harvey might search.
Laura stood slowly when he neared her. ‘She still cares for you.’
He feigned ignorance. ‘Who?’
‘You know who.’
He landed on her step and cupped her face. ‘I never cared for her, not in the way I do you.’
Laura grinned. ‘I know, but it’s nice to hear it once in a while.’
They joined the others at the bottom.
‘What now?’ Bill asked Gunnar.
‘Now, we leave this city via the docking station.’
‘What about the Maglev trains?’
Gunnar shook his head. ‘The renegades are gathered there. And the trains have been shut down. The power outage has pulled the power from the magnetic rail and the onboard navigation system.’
‘Okay, we go on foot,’ Laura said.
The docking station was only a fifteen-minute walk from the ITF offices. They could manage it. But that wasn’t the problem. It was getting out of the tunnel and across the busiest part of the city without being noticed.
‘I think we should split up. Gunnar with me. Jameson with Laura.’ He looked at her and she nodded.
‘I can take Jameson,’ said Gunnar.
‘I know, but Laura has heightened abilities. She can detect danger faster than either of us, and we need to protect him.’
‘We’ll meet you at the docking station,’ said Laura.
Jameson explained, ‘In case you don’t know, the tunnel entrance is located behind the station where the spacecraft land. We’ll be there.’
Bill hadn’t personally explored the tunnel between the hospital and the city. Knowing Deighton had built the tunnel had been enough to keep him out. But his team had, right before Bill had ordered the corridors to be flooded with anti-gravity and the exits blocked. Until Jameson had shown up, he hadn’t worried about anyone using it.
He nodded. ‘But first we need to get out of this tunnel.’
The way ahead led to the nearest Maglev station. Before it were two service entrances out of a series of them that had been built but never used—except by his team.
They stopped outside the first one.
‘You take this one,’ Bill said to Laura. ‘Gunnar and I will take the one nearer the station. Be careful, love.’
She smirked. ‘Aren’t I always?’
Opening the door with one hand, she used her other hand to gently push Jameson ahead. A whip of blonde hair followed and she was gone.
Bill pressed on farther into the tunnel with Gunnar. ‘Where’s the next exit point?’
‘Beside the train.’
A bout of nerves hit Bill. He felt for his Buzz Gun. ‘I’m curious to know how many are guarding it.’
Using his weapon in a confined space like a tunnel would be dangerous. There was more risk of the electricity bouncing back and hitting him rather than the intended target. But getting Jameson out of the city was the priority.
He and Gunnar walked in silence. Five minutes later, the back of the train came into view. The low murmur of chatting guards reached Bill. Gunnar pointed silently to the side where there was a gap between the train and the door. He kept low; Bill did the same.
Guards were patrolling the platform. Two guards were sitting with their eyes closed in the carriage closest to them. The men looked like they were napping. But Bill couldn’t take that chance.
He followed Gunnar to the service door. Opening it would surely create a noise.
He whispered to his chief-in-command, ‘How do we get out without them hearing us?’
Gunnar whispered back, ‘There aren’t usually guards down here. We’re going to need to wait a moment.’
A moment turned into fifteen minutes. Someone shouted from up top. ‘Anyone want coffee?’
The men Bill had presumed to be sleeping jolted awake.
‘Me.’
‘And me.’
The pair got up and exited the train.
‘Cream, lots of sugar,’ one shouted up.
‘Your arteries aren’t going to thank you for that, Heller,’ said the second man.
Heller shrugged. ‘Isn’t that what the clinics are for?’
‘Fuck those places. I wouldn’t be seen dead in one.’
‘Never say never, Grant. You’re looking a little worse for wear around the eyes.’
‘Fuck you, Heller.’
Bill felt a tap on his shoulder. Gunnar had opened the door and was standing inside. Bill slipped in and Gunnar closed it.
‘Never underestimate the power of coffee,’ said Gunnar as they followed a set of stairs up.
They waited a moment before exiting at the top.
Gunnar checked first then said, ‘It’s quiet.’
Bill stepped out and onto the street, under the early evening light, still bright enough to be seen. With the real threat of being captured by Harvey’s men, the streets had a creepier vibe to them.
The light pinched his eyes after having been in the tunnel for so long.
His vision adjusted and he saw small groups of people gathered near the train station entrance. He stiffened for a moment, hoping they weren’t keeping watch for Harvey. But then he heard them discussing the problems of the power outage. He released a breath.
‘They’re only residents,’ said Gunnar, as if he’d been worried about the same thing.
‘We should find another way around.’ Bill kept a close eye on the group. ‘I don’t want them recognising me.’
Gunnar led the way down a different street that took them away from the entrance. Together they raced down several side streets, twisting at sharp bends and vaulting over obstacles until they reached New St. James’ Park, close to the docking station. The park was empty and they managed to cross it without difficulties. At the other end of the park, Gunnar stopped at the main gate, with a view of the docking station entrance, and checked the way ahead.
‘Guards are posted outside the station,’ he whispered.
Bill worried for Laura.
‘I know a way around them,’ said Gunnar. ‘Follow me.’
‘I was hoping you’d say that.’
They stayed inside the park and Gunnar led him to a section on the left that dipped lower than the docking station level. Above was a wall separating the park from the station that was too high to see over.
‘You any good at climbing?’ said Gunnar.
Bill hadn’t climbed anything since he was a kid. ‘Nope.’
‘All good.’ He pointed to a set of concrete stairs. ‘Because we don’t have to.’
The stairs appeared to stop at a metal gate that was showing signs of rust and neglect. Gunnar climbed them, took out a laser scalpel and cut a neat section out of the gate. He squeezed through the gap to the other side. Bill kept close to him. The way out took the pair inside the fenced-off, non-public section of the docking station. They crept down the left side of the station to the rear, before any guards spotted them. Bill glanced up at the static cameras posted at every corner. But with the power off, chances were high the cameras were not operational. Along the side of the station were stacks of crates—deliveries of some kind. When Gunnar neared the left rear corner, Laura and Jameson appeared from behind one crate.
Bill breathed out a sigh of relief.
Laura did the same when she spotted him. Next to the last crate and beyond the station wall was a dark-grey-bricked structure and a door.
<
br /> Jameson pointed to it. ‘It’s locked.’
Gunnar jogged over and worked on getting the door open.
Laura met Bill, a frown on her face. ‘What happened to you two?’
‘We got delayed in the tunnel.’
She clutched the front of his jacket, as though she might never let him go. ‘I’m glad you’re okay.’
Gunnar used his laser tool to cut through the locking mechanism and got the door open. He waved to the others and everyone slipped inside a new stairwell. The tunnel was surprisingly fresh and not cold like the train tunnels had been.
The hospital was twenty miles out from the city and Bill expected the tunnel to run equally as long. At the base of the stairs, they passed through another door and into a tunnel big enough for a car and not much else. Waiting there was exactly that. Except the car was set on rails. The rails disappeared down a weakly illuminated tunnel.
It appeared Deighton had thought of everything.
Gunnar marvelled at the find. ‘It must run off a separate supply.’
‘It does,’ said Jameson.
‘How did you get access to this tunnel?’ asked Bill.
‘The Elite knew of the tunnels, having been former board members themselves. They sent the Conditioned to dismantle the blockade you placed there so I could continue to use it and others.’
‘So much for my plans to block these tunnels off.’
Although, it made sense that Deighton’s former cronies would use this space again.
‘Where the Elite had a will they had a way.’
They climbed on board the open-sided car. Jameson hit a button on the console and the contraption began to move.
As the car picked up speed, Bill recalled Deighton’s safehouse near London and his tunnels. He’d had his first meeting with the man there. Down here, the air felt cool and refreshing, like there was a separate supply of it.
Fifteen minutes later, the car arrived at the hospital blockade Bill had ordered to be placed there. Jameson jumped out and Bill saw an almost invisible gap that was probably equally invisible to the cameras that monitored this area. Jameson shimmied through it and to the other side.
Laura used her newfound strength to widen the gap by rocking larger pieces back a few inches. Bill was last through the gap. He passed into the dark containment room inside the lab where the Elite and their hosts had been recently.
‘What now?’ asked Laura.
‘Now, we go to New Tokyo.’
‘The city is as far as that tunnel we were just in,’ said Laura. ‘We’re going to need transport.’
Bill checked the status of the others. Jameson looked winded by the efforts so far. Gunnar, on the other hand, looked raring to go. As did Laura. But Bill was feeling more like Jameson. The idea of travelling on foot didn’t appeal to him.
He exited the containment room and entered the lab. ‘We can try the yard, see if there are any vehicles there.’
One floor up, the upper area, teeming with confused doctors and bathed in a red light that afternoon, was now dark and had been abandoned. At least there were none of Harvey’s guards camping out there.
‘Harvey’s men seem to be concentrating on keeping people inside the cities,’ said Laura.
‘He must be looking for Jameson.’ Bill marched through the open-plan area. ‘Thinks he has him trapped inside the city.’
‘The Elite taught me how to be crafty,’ said Jameson.
At least they had been useful for something.
Bill eased one side of the double doors open, applying the same caution he’d used leaving the city. The yard was empty and the main gates were still open.
But a miracle was sitting in the yard—one of the vehicles that Harvey hadn’t taken for himself.
They ran for it and got in. Bill and Laura sat in the front while Gunnar and Jameson got in the back. The car fuelled by solar power flickered into life.
‘Thank God,’ said Bill with a sigh. ‘I really didn’t want to walk there.’
He switched to manual and drove the car out past the gates. The automated commands needed a waypoint and right now he didn’t have one. New London, to his right, was just a dot in the distance. The outline of New Tokyo’s taller build was to his left in the far distance. Gripping the steering wheel tight, he turned towards the new city. The tyres bumped over striated land.
‘What are we going to do?’ said Laura. ‘Just drive through the front entrance, demand he return Ben?’
Bill didn’t know. He’d been working off adrenaline so far. But this close to the new city, he was out of ideas.
Laura touched his hand. ‘Stop the car, Bill. We need to talk about this.’
He kept driving. His knuckles had turned white.
‘Please, stop.’
In the middle of nowhere, Bill hit the brake.
He rubbed his forehead out of confusion. The sun had begun to set and had turned the landscape a beautiful orange.
‘I don’t have a plan. Harvey’s won.’
Laura touched his face. ‘No, he hasn’t. This is exactly what Harvey wants—dissension in the ITF. If you give up now, he’s won.’
But whatever Bill did appeared to play into Harvey’s hands. He couldn’t see a way out of this mess.
13
‘Bill would never betray us like this. There has to be another reason,’ said a pacing Anton.
He stopped and faced Stephen inside the Council Chambers. Stephen had closed the door to give them privacy. Also surrounding him were Serena, Arianna and Margaux. They were the only ones he could trust.
‘Who else could it be?’ He pointed at the former elder. ‘Margaux heard the men say the ITF were involved.’
He wished he had his abilities back. Then he could verify the rumours for himself. But the only things that remained after the vaccine were his strength and his speed. Although, both of those had been tempered.
‘What reason would they have for blocking us in?’ said Anton.
‘Maybe Bill thinks we’re still infectious,’ said Arianna.
‘But why would he just lock us in here, not say anything?’ added Serena.
Stephen thought about the DPad and the missed calls from Bill. ‘He tried to call me.’
Serena stared at him. ‘What, when?’
‘On the DPad this afternoon. It was sitting in our quarters idle and had run out of power.’
‘You let it run out of power? Considering what we’ve just been through?’ Arianna huffed. ‘That’s our only way to communicate safely with the ITF.’
‘I guess I was too busy trying to live.’ Stephen eyed his friend. ‘Look, the facts don’t lie. Bill was trying to call me—what about if not this? Then his men conveniently show up and block us in?’
It was not like Bill to pull a stunt like this, but the events of recent times had changed everyone’s priorities, put friendships and loyalties to the test. And ever since half of his district had walked out, Stephen had little patience for excuses.
‘Maybe he was warning you,’ suggested Anton.
Or maybe Bill couldn’t admit to his face that after the virus surge, the Indigenes could not be allowed to mix anymore.
Not that they had done much of that before.
Stephen lifted his chin confidently, despite feeling sick about the betrayal. ‘The ITF has never involved itself in the business of this district before. Then the virus struck and he took over. We have to assume Bill knows all about the blockades.’
He hid his disappointment at knowing his friend had betrayed him like this.
A quiet Margaux was looking around the space. She appeared trapped between a lucid state and not, but Stephen had become used to her ways, and they no longer bothered him.
Anton turned to the elder. ‘Are you sure it was the ITF you heard?’
Her gaze continued to roam. ‘The men mentioned the organisation.’
‘But did they confirm it was actually the IT
F who ordered it?’
She pinned him with her gaze. ‘Why does that matter?’
‘According to you, all they said was the ITF was finally doing what it should have done before. That’s speculation.’
Margaux blew out a disbelieving breath. ‘I stand by my earlier comment that they are behind it.’
Anton shrugged at Stephen. ‘It’s too early to assume anything. We must go deeper than an overheard conversation.’
Stephen rubbed new pain out of his temples. This move had thrown his leadership into question again. And left him doubting his abilities once more.
‘What do we tell the others?’ Arianna met everyone’s eyes. ‘I can’t sense them the way I used to, but I expect they have questions.’
‘It’s getting late.’ Serena waved her hand. ‘Whatever questions they might have can wait until morning. Tonight, we get some rest. Tomorrow, I will assess everyone’s mood.’
It soothed Stephen to know some still had their abilities.
Arianna said, ‘What about gathering those who were not affected by the virus? Using them as a first line of defence?’
Stephen balked at the idea. Using any Indigenes more skilled than him right now would weaken his position as leader. And prove Emile right that he was not fit to lead.
‘No, we in this room must take care of this problem.’
But without his abilities, he didn’t know where to start.
The others stared at him, waiting for him to blurt out his next idea. He turned away from their intense gazes. ‘I need time to think.’
Someone tugged on his sleeve and he turned partially.
Margaux was looking up at him, her eyes wide. ‘The virus affected my hearing a little. I could have heard it wrong.’
He didn’t believe she had; it felt more like she didn’t want to upset anyone.
‘What else did you hear?’
She frowned at the ground. ‘Not much, but...’
His heart pounded thickly in his chest.
‘Please, Margaux.’
The elder bit her lip. ‘Before the blockade was moved into position, I heard them say they would radio back to the ITF soldiers that it was done.’
His hope deflated. He’d been hoping Margaux had been in one of her delusional states. ‘So that confirms it. Bill ordered it.’