by Eliza Green
‘I can arrange that. I bought Indigenes with me.’
Hetty lifted one brow. ‘The kid must be important.’
‘He is, but Harvey is fighting against all of us, not just humans. Members of his team have blocked the entrances to Indigene districts.’
Hetty’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked to her team of three: two on the sofa and the one who’d let them in, who was standing in the doorway. ‘Did we know about this?’
The woman on the sofa shrugged. ‘Not with the DPads out of power and our people staying off the private channels.’
‘I only found out about it an hour ago,’ said Bill. ‘Can you get us to the station?’
Hetty pulled a baseball cap out of her back pocket and put it on. ‘Follow me.’ To the man who’d brought them in, she said, ‘Signal the others.’
‘Only Gunnar and I will be going in.’ Bill flicked his gaze to the man. ‘Your team needs to stay out of sight.’
Hetty added, ‘Tell them to stay out of sight.’ To Bill, she said, ‘And your team—where will they be?’
‘Give me a minute to contact them.’
Bill removed the stone from his bag. It was glowing blue with a new message. He put the stone up to his ear and listened.
‘We’re waiting for your signal.’ It was from Stephen.
He messaged back. ‘The abandoned docking station.’ He recalled its exact location from Gunnar’s 3D map. ‘Head north to the boundary wall. It’s close to the edge of the city.’
Hetty led the way out. Bill and Gunnar followed her out into the tiny garden with its overgrown weeds and a large, chain-link fence blocking the view of the courtyard. She opened the gate, looked around, then crept out. Bill followed with Gunnar as she headed left across the courtyard, ignoring the street lined with rubbish. She climbed up and over a wall there, then disappeared down the other side. Gunnar gave Bill a boost up and over. Bill landed in a pool of water. The place was filled with plants and flowers, and pergolas with flared roofs.
‘A public Japanese garden,’ said Hetty.
Together they crossed through its deserted, manicured grounds and out the other side.
They carried on for a while until Hetty pointed down one street. ‘This is as far as I go. Head two streets that way and you’ll see it. Good luck. We’ll be watching.’
‘And us you.’
Bill checked the way was clear before he darted across to the other side. Gunnar silently pointed in a new direction and they took that path. The building they wanted came into view.
A short approach road and the two-storey structure told Bill this had not been part of the city’s original design. Similar to New London, he guessed new building work had engulfed this station and rendered it obsolete over time. All around it, building work had continued without consideration for its inclusion.
A tall, metal fence formed the perimeter around the station, with the station’s back wall nestled against the city’s higher-walled perimeter. The gate was open but he counted three guards gathered around a parked vehicle. They appeared to be having a chat with the occupants.
Bill slipped his magnification glasses on. Artificial lights lit up parts of the interior he could see, creating a ring of light where the windows at the top tier were located. He counted four guards patrolling inside.
‘Four inside that I can see, three outside. Probably more in the car and on the ground floor.’
‘I’ll head one way, you the other,’ said Gunnar. He checked his Buzz Gun. ‘You set?’
Bill put his glasses away and patted his own gun. He hated firing these things inside. The excess electricity became too unpredictable to know for certain where it would land.
The guards looked in no hurry to end their conversation. That’s when Bill spotted another guard, on the top of the building looking down.
‘Make that four outside.’ Bill pointed at the guard on the roof. ‘We’ll need to take him out.’
‘I’ll check for external access points to the roof—ladders, that kind of thing.’
Bill stopped him and pointed. ‘Wait.’
Another man exited from the right side of the building. Bill would have recognised that dipshit anywhere. Marcus Murphy. He checked around and ran out of the complex while the men’s backs were turned and the sniper on the roof was checking in a different direction.
‘At least we’re in the right place,’ said Gunnar.
Bill went to go, but a dark figure appeared on the roof, stopping his plans. The guard scuffled with his assailant and went still.
‘Was that one of ours?’ Gunnar flicked his gaze to Bill.
‘I hope so.’
Two more figures appeared like black ninjas; one pulled the guards on ground patrol back from the car. The other targeted the occupants inside.
‘That’s our cue to go,’ said Gunnar.
They raced to the side door Marcus had appeared from, before more guards turned up. Next to it was the sniper from the roof without his rifle. Bill relieved the man of his Buzz Gun and stuck it in his waistband. Gunnar opened the side door and they slipped inside silently. They stood in an outer corridor with two doors, several feet apart, a viewing window in between them and a stack of boxes at one end.
Bill peered inside the hangar and counted six guards. He spotted an empty chair sitting outside a door at the back of the room. It could be where Ben was being held captive. He also saw an array of Buzz Guns on a trestle table near the front of the room.
Gunnar said, ‘I’ll distract them while you get the boy.’
Bill didn’t like the idea of Gunnar taking on six men, but he wanted to get in and out without any fuss. ‘The others are here. Call out if you get into trouble. You won’t be alone.’
The Swede opened the door and made a scuffling noise on it with his nails. He pulled back and they both hid behind the boxes.
The guards appeared in the corridor and checked it visually, then checked outside. While some were kept occupied, Bill ran inside the hangar and over to the room. He opened the door and found Ben sitting in a chair, a gag in his mouth. His hands and feet were tied, his black hair a mess. The teen’s eyes widened. He said something that came out muffled.
Bill worked the gag down.
Ben repeated, ‘I knew you’d come.’
‘We don’t leave our men behind.’
He untied his wrists and then his feet. Ben stood, a little shaky.
‘You okay to go?’
‘Yeah, get me out of here.’
The teen walked like a newborn calf trying to find its feet. Another noise sounded, this time outside the building. The guards had not yet returned from chasing after Gunnar’s noise. He pushed Ben to the side door, keen to get out before they were seen.
‘No, not that way, the main exit.’ Ben pointed at a set of double doors.
Bill helped him to walk faster.
‘Is Stephen here?’ Ben asked.
‘He’s out there. Come on, hurry.’
They crashed through the double doors. One of the guards was in the corridor. He must have come back in through the main entrance.
‘Halt!’ he said and fired his weapon at the pair. The volatile electricity bounced around the space. It grazed Bill’s arm and he cursed. Kickback from the shot travelled up the arm of the guard. He gritted his teeth and shook out the pain.
Bill’s arm throbbed as he grappled for his weapon. He pushed Ben on. ‘Go! The guards are down outside.’
The teen slipped past the injured guard, who’d recovered enough to point the weapon a second time. Before Bill could react, a blurry figure came up behind the guard and looped their arm around his neck. Bill gasped when he saw who it was.
‘Laura!’
She pressed hard enough for the guard to pass out. She eased him to the ground. ‘Clement, Serena and I have you covered.’
He smiled at her, relieved to have her near. ‘We have to go. Get Gunnar to safety? He’s
still inside, I think.’
‘On it.’
She ran farther inside and crashed through the double doors.
In the hangar, he heard new shots of electricity ring out. His stomach dropped and he felt sick at the sound, but Laura could take care of herself. Ben was his priority. He followed the teen out of the station and shoved him on to the exit. At the gates, Stephen, Emile and Marie waited.
Stephen nodded at the boy.
To Bill, he said, ‘We need to get Ben back to the tunnels. Before Harvey returns. Hurry.’
But Bill couldn’t leave until he knew Laura and the others were okay. ‘Laura and Gunnar are inside. Help them.’
‘I will, but you need to go.’
Stephen raced for the building while Emile and Marie took over caring for a shaky Ben. They led him across the street to the wall opposite. Bill glanced back nervously at the station as more shots rang out. Gunnar appeared and saw them. He ran over to their location. Bill fought against an urge to storm in there and help his wife.
Glints of light on the rooftops opposite the station caught his eye. He peered at the outline of people watching. One wore a baseball cap.
The operatives.
He wished he could thank them; he hoped there would be time for that later.
Emile said, ‘We need to leave now. Stephen has it under control.’
He agreed. It was too dangerous to stick around. Emile and Marie shepherded Ben away from the docking station.
Against his instinct to wait for Laura, Bill followed them, but the pair was moving too fast to keep up. He and Gunnar lost the elders somewhere past the pet park, but he knew where they would be headed. They arrived back at the entrance to the train tunnel and headed for the secret entrance to District One. An exhausted Bill saw three figures up ahead. Emile, Marie and Ben.
He pulled out a spare mask from his bag and handed it to Ben, then he put on his own. Gunnar fixed his own mask in place. Emile and Marie led them through the labyrinth of tiny tunnels and back into District One. Only when they crossed the threshold did Bill take a proper breath. But their journey wasn’t over. He didn’t want to spend another second in this district with Emile or Marie.
Bill headed for the hole they’d made to gain entry into the district, and hauled himself out. He helped Ben next. Gunnar squeezed out last. Together, they trekked the few miles back to the cluster of jagged rocks and the vehicle they’d hidden there. Inside the car and safe for now, Bill sat, too rigid to be comfortable. Ben was safe. But he could not settle without knowing Laura, Stephen and the others had made it out too.
‘How far behind us are they?’ Ben asked, his gaze fixed on the city.
Bill released a tight breath. ‘I’ve no idea.’
22
‘Which way did they go?’ Laura exited the docking station with Clement and Stephen, and looked around for Bill.
She’d expected him to wait for her. Six guards had been disarmed inside and were unconscious. The four outside, plus the ones in the car, were in a similar state.
‘I don’t know,’ said Clement.
They met up with Serena, who was standing in the yard next to one of the unconscious guards. Anton and Arianna stood next to the parked vehicle. Margaux wandered between them in a state of partial lucidity.
Serena said, ‘Bill got Ben out. Last I saw was them joining up with Marie and Emile outside.’
‘I told them not to wait,’ said Stephen.
Laura released a soft breath. Ben and Bill were on the move, and she assumed Gunnar was with them, but she wasn’t happy to hear Emile was in charge of getting them to safety.
‘That’s a good idea. We should do the same,’ said Serena. ‘Before Harvey returns.’
Laura looked back at the station. ‘The guards won’t be out for long. Let’s go.’
Their group ran back in the direction of the service tunnel leading down to the Maglev tunnels.
Laura raced out in front with Clement, while Serena, Anton, Arianna and Margaux matched Stephen’s pace. Of the latter, only Serena’s speed was at full strength.
Laura tried not to run too far ahead, but she also wanted to catch up with a slower moving Bill. Even though she knew he could handle himself, she had to know Bill had gotten Ben out safely.
They arrived at the street with the service entrance on it. Laura saw no activity outside it and no sign of Bill. She wished she knew where Harvey was. A full circuit of the city might give her more information, but right now getting out was their priority.
Stephen and Serena entered the stairwell first, descending into the darkness beneath the city. Soon, they gathered in a tunnel. It wasn’t as dim for Laura with her Indigene vision. But the others, lacking their usual sharp sight, walked slower than she could bear. A clanging up ahead startled her. Clement lifted his head as if he were listening. Serena had already stopped the others with her hand.
‘Wait here,’ Serena whispered, before disappearing in a blur down the tunnel. She returned moments later. ‘Harvey’s men have been deployed to the area. There are a few Indigenes in the mix.’
But they had someone better in theirs.
‘Can you influence them?’ Laura asked her.
Serena looked doubtful. ‘I could influence a few, but there are too many. We wouldn’t all get past without being seen.’
‘Then some of us will stay in the city.’
‘No,’ said Stephen. ‘We all came in together; we all leave together.’
Something about this escape plan nagged at Laura. ‘We got in undetected. How did they know about the tunnel?’
‘The Indigenes are possible defectors from District One,’ suggested Anton.
‘But why were we allowed entry into the city at all? They must have known we’d try.’
‘Because they wanted to trap us here.’ Stephen narrowed his gaze, as if the realisation had just hit him. ‘We need to get out of these tunnels. Fast.’
‘And go where?’ Anton looked around.
‘Anywhere. Here is not safe.’
They retreated the way they’d come, back up the stairwell and onto the street. From there, they hid in a nearby laneway, under the cover of darkness.
Noise reached them from the stairwell they’d just exited.
‘Someone’s coming from down below,’ Serena hissed.
A whistle sounded nearby. Laura peeked out to see a woman wearing a green parka jacket. Her face was covered with a scarf.
‘I’m a friend,’ she said, motioning for them to follow her.
With the neurosensor still in place, she checked quickly for the presence of a black ghost. No shadow followed the stranger. ‘We should trust her.’
They ran after the woman, who entered a Japanese garden and crossed it to a wall. She climbed over it. One by one, they vaulted over. Laura stood in a courtyard beside a tall, chain-link fence covered in black plastic. The woman opened the gate and gestured them through. Laura hurried inside the derelict cottage and stopped in a tiny living room. She breathed out her stress. At least they were off the streets. But the others remained by the front door, unwilling to move.
The woman pulled her hood back and took off a baseball cap. ‘You Laura O’Halloran?’
She eyed the black-haired stranger. ‘And you are?’
‘My name’s Hetty. I’m part of the ITF underground movement. Gunnar and Bill asked for our help tonight. We were watching everything.’
Her tension lifted a little, but she needed more information. ‘What were your orders?’
‘We were the rescue team’s protection. The Indigenes were ours.’
She inhaled sharply. ‘Did you see Bill get out?’
Hetty shook her head. ‘Harvey and his men don’t know about this place. We have an invisible force field that keeps them from detecting our electronics.’
The neurosensor tickled her skin. Laura studied the woman more closely. A shadow separated slightly from her frame, but not
enough to cause alarm.
She looked back at the others and pulled back her hair, to show them the neurosensor. ‘She’s okay.’
Only Clement stepped inside the room. He said to the others, ‘Laura can talk to the ghosts.’
‘The what?’ said Serena, edging closer but remaining cautious.
‘I can see when people are lying,’ Laura explained. ‘It’s one of my skills. Anton’s neurosensor allows me to speak to them.’
Hetty looked shocked by her admission.
A grinning Anton stepped inside the room. ‘I knew you’d put it to good use.’
Laura faced Hetty. ‘The tunnels we used to get in are blocked. Is there another way out of the city?’
Hetty sat down on the sofa and shook her head. ‘All exits in and out have guards posted there.’
Laura pointed at the DPads that lay idle. ‘What about using those to spy on Harvey’s movements?’
‘Whatever channel he’s using—if any—it’s not one we can track. We’re flying blind here. All we have are eyes and ears inside the city, not outside.’
Stephen pulled out the communication stone he’d been carrying. ‘This will give us a way to talk to Bill.’
Laura perked up. In all the chaos, she’d forgotten about it. ‘Anything?’
He shook his head. ‘It’s cold.’
Just then, a faint, blue glow appeared on the stone. She lunged for it and plucked it from Stephen’s grip.
A faint voice came through. ‘We got out.’
It was Bill. Her hands shook with relief.
‘He’s okay. They’re okay.’
But Stephen didn’t look happy. ‘Why them and not us?’
‘They must have reached the site before Harvey’s team did.’ It was the only explanation.
‘Or Emile fooled us. Him and his mate.’
‘We can’t be sure he did,’ said Arianna.
Margaux curled her lip in disgust. ‘I knew he could not be trusted.’
Stephen paced the small living room. ‘Emile is dictating matters again. It’s a repeat of what happened before. He wishes to assert himself as leader of my charges.’
‘Bill is not one of your charges,’ said Laura.