"Deal."
They shared the embrace silently. However, the silence soon grew awkward for Leo, and he felt the need to interrupt it.
"Annabelle, what about your father?" he asked. The question had been on his mind, but he wasn't sure why he had chosen that moment to ask her.
Annabelle's expression fell, and Leo thought that he should clarify himself a bit.
"I mean, I know there is no way you can go back there, not after blasting, what was it, sixteen Security officers? We can't go back until we clear your name somehow, or get a pardon from the Council. I just... Won't your father be worried? Aren't you bothered by leaving him?"
A glazed, distracted look came into Annabelle's eyes, and she pulled away from Leo, then turned and stared at the mirror. Her expression slowly darkened, and Leo could see that he had touched a raw nerve.
"I don't know, Leo. I had Idi send him a message, but I didn't tell him much. The Security guys are going to interview him about me, I'm sure... I really hope they don't hurt him... At least, not too badly... I think that station is rotten to the core, and I think I've known it for a while... There are things I saw, and things I heard... Kidnappings. Murders. Rape. Extortion... It's gotten much worse recently, and I hope he can get out of it. He deserves some terrible things, but torture is not on my list..."
Leo noticed anger in her voice, so he moved closer to her and placed his hand comfortingly on her shoulder.
"I'm sure Alice can have somebody make sure he comes out of this alright. I'll tell her that I won't help her until she makes sure your dad is okay."
Annabelle shied away from his touch and kept looking into the mirror.
"Thanks, Leo, but it's fine. He has enough money, and he has enough power. I'm sure he'll be fine apart from me leaving... I'm more worried he'll muster some mercenaries and come try to 'rescue me' and bring me back to the station. He would probably tell me that he's hired the best attorneys, made the right payoffs, and that he would take care of it... All that bullshit..."
Annabelle clenched her fists, then turned and glared at Leo. "You want to know something, Leo?"
Leo didn't want to upset Annabelle. He regretted bringing up her father, but he had broached the topic, and he needed to deal with the repercussions. So, he slowly nodded.
Annabelle took a deep breath, and her voice became very tense.
"The truth is that my mother didn't leave us. He drove her off. He abused her. Badly. And, he abused me, but not as bad as her... She didn't abandon us. She escaped him, and I don't blame her! The truth is that my biggest regret is that she didn't take me with her! I'm glad to be away from him!"
Annabelle paused, took a deep breath, and ran her fingers through her long black hair.
"The truth is that I'm happier today than I've ever been in my entire life, and I don't give a damn what happens to my father!"
Leo heard the emotions in her voice – anger, defiance, and love - and his heart ached for her. He wanted to know more, but he wasn't going to press her when she was so vulnerable. He wasn't going to push her when she had just trusted him with a terrible truth.
Leo filled his voice the compassion and spoke from his heart. "I can't speak about your father. I don't know what he deserves and what he doesn't, but I do know what you deserve. You deserve to be free! You deserve to stand on your own two feet, and you deserve to see the light of a dying star! You deserve whatever you can dream up for yourself, Annabelle!"
Annabelle gave him a look of gratitude. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good to me."
Leo was silent. After taking a deep breath, she continued. "You know what sounds better than any of that?"
Leo didn't know, but he wanted to. "No, what?"
"Helping you and Alice!"
Leo was shaken by her statement. He hadn't committed to helping Alice yet. He hadn't made that decision, but it seemed Annabelle already had.
"Well, I guess I'll have to see if the universe wants me to let you come along. If I decide to help her with her mission..."
Annabelle snorted with disbelief. "Oh, please... It's Alice's ship, and I've already talked to her about it. You guys need all the help you can get. I already saved you both, thus proving my endless usefulness and competence. Yadda yadda yadda... She's already agreed to let me come along, at least until she finds a convenient place to dump me."
Annabelle's face fell into disappointment as she stopped speaking. Leo wanted to reassure her, but the truth was that there were many reasons why she shouldn't go with them. It would probably be very dangerous, and she would be at risk of being injured or killed.
"I don't even know the details of what Alice is trying to do," Leo explained. "I don't know anything about it, and I haven't even decided if I'm going to help or not. I need to know more... We both do before we can decide to take part in it. I know it's exciting to be swept up into Origin Council intrigue, but don't let the excitement cloud your mind. You have to think logically about this. Think about the risks! You need all the information before you can even begin to make an informed decision!"
Annabelle didn't reply. She just looked at him expectantly with her arms crossed and her jaw jutted forward.
Leo could see her stubbornness, and knew he needed to sway her. "I'm old, Annabelle, and I've survived relentless pursuit from the Origin Council, criminal organizations on the outer colonies, and syndicates on Mars. I haven't made it through all that by acting recklessly. There have been a lot of sacrifices, a lot of restraint, and a lot of caution. It's a matter of survival! One bad choice and boom, you're dead! One too many moments of bad luck, you're dead! If I didn't look at things logically and think things through, I wouldn't be standing here right now!"
Annabelle's expression changed into a knowing grin as he spoke, then she shook her head. "You're not as logical as you think, Leo. Emotion drives you way more than you let on."
Any response Leo might have made was interrupted when Idi's melodious voice suddenly sounded around them.
"Alice is ready to see you, Leo. Please make your way to the command center. Annabelle may join you if she wishes."
Annabelle laughed with glee. Leo was surprised that she was to be included in the meeting, but he didn't feel it would be right to hide any information from her.
"I guess we're in this together, Annabelle. Let's see what the Council wants us to do..." Leo somberly announced.
Then, he grabbed his shirt off the sink, pulled it on, and followed Annabelle out of the washroom.
Chapter 25
Leo followed Annabelle into the Epiphany's command center. He walked with his usual nondescript confidence, though he was filled with questions. What could Alice show him to convince him to help her? What mysteries would he discover when he went over his Origin Council file? Was it all just a massive attempt to manipulate him?
Leo eyed Alice warily as he entered the room, and she returned the look as she sat in a comfortable looking chair next to the control panel in the center of the room. Two empty chairs sat across from her.
Alice gestured for Leo and Annabelle to take the two empty chairs, and they obliged. Leo sat down slowly and cautiously while Annabelle flopped down with abandon.
Alice was the first to speak. "How are you both? Both of your treatments were successful, according to Idi, but I'd like to hear how you feel about everything."
"I'm fine," Leo grunted.
Annabelle was more enthusiastic. "You know, I expected to be a little more messed up from the acid, but Idi fixed me up. My mind is as quick as ever. She couldn't repair the scars, though... Too bad, huh?"
Alice looked at Annabelle with evident sympathy. "Yes. It is too bad. There may be a remedy for them, but not on this ship. There are excellent cosmetic surgeons on Callisto, though, and I promise I will take you there and pay for your treatment once we complete the mission."
Annabelle accepted the offer graciously. "Thank you, Alice. That means a lot to me..."
Alice smiled at her and nodded, then turned to Le
o. "Unfortunately, Leo and I have our scars as well, the most serious of which are not visible. During our treatment, Idi removed our damaged implants. They were simply beyond repair. We're both operating as raw humans, so excuse me if I'm a little slower than you've known me to be in the past."
Alice didn't give Leo a chance to respond as she quickly continued. "Fortunately, that particular problem is a lot easier for us to solve than our most crucial one. We've wasted enough time, and now, we need to get to work. Annabelle, I was going to deny you access to the information I need to show Leo. However, considering how much you've done for us, I think you deserve to know everything we do. Also, according to Idi's simulations, having you involved slightly increases our chance of success."
Leo raised his eyebrows. "Wow, I wouldn't have thought a Council operative would be willing to share information so freely."
Alice glared back at him."Leo, I'm going to do what's right, and to hell with whatever the Council thinks!"
Leo was stunned into silence by Alice's bluntness. After taking a deep breath, she continued. "Secrecy is still essential. Annabelle, I want you to know that if you reveal this information to anyone, it will cause a panic. Many people would die needlessly if this information were common knowledge. The same goes for you, Leo. If you hear me out today and decide you don't want to help me, I'll let you go, but you have to keep this information to yourself. That's part of the agreement."
"Okay, okay. I get it... It's a big secret," Annabelle replied. "I think Leo and I can both keep a secret, can't we, Leo?"
"I can't answer that honestly unless I know the secret first," he retorted.
"Fair enough," Alice replied, and Leo thought she suddenly sounded quite exhausted. Then, she crossed her hands on her lap and leaned back in her chair. "Idi, play the stage-one briefing."
"Wait!" Leo interrupted, "Where is my file? I want my file. That was part of the deal."
Alice shook her head. "After you watch the briefing, I will give you your file. That's the deal we made."
Leo reluctantly nodded, then all three of them turned their attention to the holographic viewing screen that had appeared in the air before them.
Together they watched Alice and the Council discuss the mission, remaining silent at Alice's request for the entire ninety minutes of the recording.
Leo couldn't help but become intrigued as he watched Alice bring up many of the counterpoints to the Council's statements that he would have. And, in spite of his hatred for the Council, he couldn't help but feel dismayed by the terrible possibilities they outlined.
According to the Council, Exony Margolesh had constructed the weapon that had unleashed the terror of Ganymede. Then, she had faked her suicide shortly after and severed the mental link that she had with the other Council Members.
During the time after that, she had built a base somewhere near Uranus and began research on a new weapon. The new weapon was supposedly based on the one that had killed so many on Ganymede, but was feared to be much more deadly than its previous iteration.
According to the Council, they learned of Exony's faked suicide and her further plans of mass murder through the unexpected return of the mental link they had with her. They feared that the connection would also reveal their thoughts to Exony, and so they formed a plan to hide their intentions and stop her through unexpected means.
Alice had been the only known person to survive the Ganymede incident. So, the Council believed that she might have some natural resistance to Exony's new weapon. Leo, on the other hand, was the only known person who could manipulate space and time - a useful ability when one's goal was to stop a technological genius bent on mass murder.
So, Leo and Alice were to locate Exony's research facility, infiltrate it, destroy the weapon before it was released, and kill her.
Overall, Leo couldn't fault the Council's plan too much. It was a long shot, but he guessed it was one of many long shots the Council had organized to try to stop her. He had grown to understand how the Council worked during his many years of running from them, and he knew they were probably only one cog within a vast machine.
What Leo didn't expect, but became clear to him as he watched the briefing, is that everything the Council said made sense to him. It made sense that the Council's power would inevitably corrupt one of its members.
The fact that the Council outlawed genetic experimentation after Leo had escaped Venus showed that, even then, they knew that Exony needed to be limited in her technological and biological pursuits.
Perhaps that limitation had stoked resentment in Exony, and maybe it was then that the first seed of her plan had grown within her. Interestingly enough, the war of the New Republic had probably brought back Exony's influence and importance within the Council. They had needed her to develop new technologies to win that war, and she had obliged by creating the Ganymede weapon.
Maybe after the Ganymede weapon's power was made clear, Exony saw a future for herself where she could produce weapons that were even more powerful. So, she faked her death, then began to develop even more powerful technologies, with even greater ability to kill...
But what was her goal? What would her mass-murder accomplish?
Leo thought back on his memories of Exony during his time on Venus. She had been like a mother to him, but a sadistic and psychopathic mother, to be sure. He hadn't been much more than an animal during those days, but he could still remember the torment she had put him through.
Did she look at herself as a God? Did she think that if she could produce a deadly weapon that only she could control, then she could wrestle away the power of the Origin Council and take it all for herself?
If her goal was only power, perhaps the widespread death her new weapon could cause would never actually happen. Maybe it was just a tool of ruthless domination, rather than senseless death. Perhaps it was a tool of extortion to bend humanity to her will...
Regardless of the unanswered questions, much of it made sense to Leo. Begrudgingly, he had to admit to himself that the only reason the Council would dedicate the time and resources they had to convince him to help them stop Exony, was that they had serious reasons for doing so.
Leo supposed that the Council could want Exony dead for other reasons. Maybe she hadn't developed a super-weapon. Perhaps she was doing something else the Council didn't like. But, if that was the case, why send Alice? Why bank on the unlikely outcome that Leo would agree to help? Why not just send a battalion of troops to her base and be done with her?
As Leo debated all the possibilities and motivations that could be in play, he also watched Annabelle to see if he could divine her thoughts. He noticed a subtle change come over her as the briefing progressed. She began with a cheerful, almost joking manner, but she slowly changed to become more serious, and by the end of the briefing, she had a preoccupied look of worry on her face.
The briefing ended as the Councilwoman named Zary finished speaking on the screen in front of them.
"...Alice, it is now time for you to undergo implantation and enhancement protocol. Director Redden will guide you to our medical facility. Once you are finished there, you will depart the Ark."
Leo took a deep breath when the briefing ended, and the viewing screen returned to its former state of ship status display.
No one spoke for a few seconds, so Leo decided to break the silence. "In other words, a rogue Councilmember wants to kill or enslave all of humanity, and we're supposed to stop her."
Alice smiled at his gross oversimplification. "Yes. That's basically it."
An immense feeling unexpectedly came over Leo. He needed to escape. It was a trap. It had to be...
"I don't think I can help you, Alice..." he grunted.
Both Annabelle's and Alice's faces fell as his words landed, but Annabelle was first to respond.
"Uh, Leo? This is not the time to be an asshole. What the hell kind of a person would you be, to just let this happen?"
Leo frowned at Annabelle. If anyone
else was sitting where she was, he may have just shaken his head and walked off, but he felt compelled to explain himself to her.
"Annabelle, I need time to think! I can't just join the Council! Not after what they did to me. If they're lying, but I help them anyway, I'll be throwing my life away for nothing! So will you! They could be lying to us, and we could end up killing people rather than saving them!"
Annabelle snorted in disbelief and looked away as she crossed her arms. "And what if they're telling the truth, Leo?"
Alice stepped in and spoke pointedly. "Listen, Leo. I know you hate the Council, and so do I. This isn't your responsibility, and I know that. You don't owe the Council, or me anything, okay? All you need to decide is if you want to help, or if you don't. I have my doubts about this, just like you do. I'm not a zealot. If we do this and it turns out the Council is lying, I will be the first person to admit it."
Leo shook his head. "You've earned some of my trust, Alice. You saved my life... But you could be lying too..."
Alice gritted her teeth. "I could, but I'm not! I'm going to set you free, Leo, whether you agree to help me or not! Remember that!"
Leo was silent. He fleetingly thought of calling Alice on her bluff, if that's what she was doing, but she spoke before he could reply.
"How about this? We all need to cool off and think about this. Take a few hours and think things through, then tell me whether you're in or out. We can't delay any more than that."
Leo closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he tried to sort out his thoughts. In spite of his instincts to run and his profound mistrust for the Council, his resolve to refuse a part in Alice's mission was weaker than he would've expected. He didn't want to be the reason more people died...
However, he couldn't just flip a switch and agree to help the Council after everything they had done. If he was going to help Alice, he had to be sure that the Council wasn't tricking them into doing something terrible.
The Ganymede Legacy Page 21