by Gareth Otton
“Deo, this isn’t right and you know it,” Leon screamed from the other side of the room.
“I don’t have a choice,” Deo called out over his shoulder. “I have to do this.”
“No you don’t. After today, the Eidolon Council will have bigger worries than you,” Leon grunted even as he head-butted the closest eidolon hard enough to knock the man to his knees. Before he could take advantage of that fact though, there was another man on his back, trying to lock his arm around Leon’s neck. Leon was too strong though and with a yell, he pulled the arm away and tossed the man like he weighed nothing at all.
“Think about this Deo, I know you don’t want to hurt these people. The Deo I knew wouldn’t have wanted any of this.”
Amazingly, Deo’s step faltered and Lizzie was stunned to find tears in his eyes as he turned his head to look at Leon.
“I didn’t have a choice. You know the consequences of going against them.”
“You always have a choice—” Leon started, but suddenly there was a gunshot that silenced his words as the man he had tossed was back on his feet and was firing what was left of his ammunition at Leon.
Deo turned back to her, and desperately, Lizzie tried to pick up where Leon left off.
“He’s right, you don’t have to do this. I’ve got enough evidence to take them down. The very last thing they will have time to worry about after today is dealing with you. The entire world will be out for their blood and you can be free.”
“You don’t know them like I do. If you did, you’d understand. I am sorry though,” Deo said, and his voice almost broke. Tears were streaming down his face and the determination she saw there earlier just wasn’t present anymore.
“Please,” Lizzie begged, her own tears flowing as the fear took hold. “You’re just letting them win if you kill me now. They only want me dead because they fear me, but if you kill me, then you take that away. Please, don’t do this. We should be on the same side, we should fight against them.”
“I… I can’t… I… I have to…”
He stopped walking, staring at her and then at the knife in his hands. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see Leon kill the eidolon he had head-butted earlier, and now he was one on one with the last man. Deo’s attention turned to the dead bodies on the ground, lingering on the blood, before he turned back to her and his face was pale.
“I never wanted this,” he almost sobbed.
“Then stop it. It’s not too late,” she begged.
He hesitated, took one more step forward, then stopped again. This time the knife fell from his open fingers and Lizzie let out a sigh of relief as she realised he wasn’t going to attack. He was staring at his hands as though he could see something there that Lizzie couldn’t, and she wondered if he was losing his mind. However, the eyes that met hers when he looked up weren’t insane, they were just filled with hate and self loathing.
“I’m sorry,” he said, then with one glance back at Leon, he was suddenly sprinting, not towards Lizzie, but to the nearest exit. Ten seconds later he was outside, and Lizzie let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.
With shaking hands, she wiped away her tears and tried to reboot her mind as the terror left her.
You need to get help, she thought and finally acted on that thought.
By the time she dreamwalked back to her studio, Leon had killed the last of their attackers and he was seeing to Laura and the bullet wound in her arm. Lizzie rushed over with Jen and Dr Burman one step behind her, while the soldiers that had accompanied her spread out to help the rest of Lizzie’s crew.
“Are you okay?” she asked Leon, as he stood aside for Jen and Dr Burman to do their magic. Leon nodded in response. He looked a little wild eyed and reached for a hole in his t-shirt. He looked stunned when he found no wounds.
“Yeah, I’m better than fine apparently.”
He lifted his eyes and saw one of Lizzie’s people who hadn’t made it, and the wonder in his expression faded.
“Lizzie, I’m so sorry. This is…” His words trailed off as he struggled to verbalise his thoughts. Then he said, “I guess the video will have to wait.”
Lizzie was shaking her head even before she realised she had made her decision.
“No, it will happen,” she said. “Otherwise, all of this was for nothing. I’m putting that video out even if it means I have to make the damn thing myself. In fact…” Looking around, she found who she was looking for and shouted, “Simon, get a camera. We’re going to share what just happened here with the world, and it’s going to be proof of what they do to the people who try to expose them.”
Turning back to Leon, she saw him look a little startled by whatever he saw on her face.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No, I’m not fucking okay. They killed my people, Leon, tried to kill me, and they’ll do so much more. I’m not okay, because I’m angrier than I’ve ever been. I’m going to make them pay.” She glanced at the door where Deo had fled and asked, “Will you go after him?”
“No, I’ll stay here for now, just in case they try anything again.”
“We shouldn’t let him get away just because he had a change of heart at the end there. He still killed people. He deserves to be punished for that.”
“And he will be, but right now we have bigger things to worry about.”
It was Lizzie’s turn to look at the people she had lost and the frightened faces of the rest of her staff.
“Yes, we do,” she agreed. Then she spun away, shouting for Simon to hurry the hell up. She was fed up with being attacked by these arseholes, and it was time to fire a shot right back.
The difference would be that so far they had failed to take her out, but when she fired her shot, she wouldn’t miss.
37
Saturday, 31st December 2016
09:43 (local time)
Elias stared at the TV as he tapped his fingers against the stone of the ancient desk just a few inches from where his phone lay. He wasn’t thinking of the fallout from the series of attacks on Britain last night, but contemplating a serious decision.
Was it time to cut his losses with Pamela Rosi?
Once again, she failed to reign in the rabid dog that was Kuruk Campbell. He had made the consequences of failure all too clear and knew he should follow through with his threat, but there were other options. He hadn’t made it this far in life by being hasty with such decisions. It wasn’t enough to think of the ramifications of his actions today, he needed to look at how this would affect him ten, twenty or even a hundred years into the future. He had long ago learnt that sacrificing short-term success for long-term gain was the only way to win at life.
Killing her would satisfy his anger today, but the downsides were many. There would be no way to rescue the reputation of his people in the secret service, so he would lose some of his best assets there. When Russel Craig was promoted to President, he would lose his asset in the vice presidency position.
As he moved each of the pieces on his mental chessboard, he realised what a massive impact this would have on his assets in America, enough that it might destabilise some of his future plans. Keeping her in office might mean losing some control over the woman, but when the Borderlands were his, America would be less of an interest.
He was toying with the idea of giving her another chance when his phone buzzed and he looked up. There was a notification on the screen that pushed all thought of the president out of his head. It was a notification from the YouTube app telling him that his least favourite reporter on the planet had just released another video.
He wanted to ignore it, but his curiosity trumped his will power in that moment and he cast the video to the TV. He expected the usual intro video that was played at the beginning of every show, maybe a few highlight clips. Instead, it cut straight to the image of Lizzie Bradley centred in the frame and staring into the camera. For five full seconds, there was nothing but silence, and it was more tha
n enough time to notice the background behind her.
Elias sat up, his skin prickling and his mind closing down as he dreaded what he was about to see. Even with her silent he knew this would be bad. He contemplated calling his people at YouTube to get this taken down, but a glance at the view count on his phone showed him it was already too late. Millions had already seen this woman sat in front of the wreckage of her studio, in front of the police as they were collecting the dead bodies of her reporters.
Elias wondered how she got permission to film this, then realised that whatever she was about to say must be good for the war effort and powerful people had pulled strings to make this happen. The prickling of his skin was turning into a full blown shiver as he dreaded what she would say when she finally started talking.
“Norman Geller, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, is dead. He was killed this morning by the monster responsible for the recent attacks on British soil and countless innocent deaths. This was a monster unleashed on us by our enemy in this war, an enemy who was one of our greatest allies for over a century; an enemy who have been tricked and coerced into a drastic action by a shadow organisation who have a vested interest in bringing our countries to war.”
“No, no, no!” Elias screamed, seeing where this was going and wanting to destroy the TV to satisfy his rage. But he was compelled to watch this disaster like he was watching a car crash in slow motion.
“Ever since the Merging, Norman Geller has been recruiting people like the Dreamwalker, Stella Martin, and other vital players to prepare for this war that he recognised was coming almost immediately. It is not a ‘friendly’ invasion to help save British lives from the perils of Dream, nor is it a way of keeping Americans safe from whatever is happening over here. Whatever you have been told to justify this war, none of it is true. Norman recognised that this is a war of resources. The Borderlands are the largest opportunity for change and growth that our planet has ever seen, and every nation on this planet wants that opportunity for themselves. The only reason America took first stab at this was because of a group of people who call themselves the Eidolon.
“What I am about to tell you might be hard to believe, but I have more than enough proof to back up my claims. The first part of that proof is right behind me as an hour ago my studio was under attack from eidolon agents who do not want me to share what I know with the world. It is not the first attack either, as I have had to fight for my life multiple times to stop me getting this information to you.”
Time lost all meaning as Elias stared at the screen and watched the woman accurately describe his people, expose his organisation, and then, to his horror, start laying out her proof. She had photos of important people entering New Olympus, people including world leaders and the CEOs of some of the world’s largest organisations. She revealed that Stella Martin and Leon Galanis were also eidolon, ones who were in fear of their life for daring to go against the wishes of the Eidolon council. She even named every member of that council, showing pictures of them before coming to what was what she had been building up to throughout the video.
“And this is Elias Masalis. He is the head of this ruling council and he has been in that position for over a century. He pulls the strings behind some of the most powerful people in the world, including the President of the United States. Don’t believe me even after everything I have shown you so far? Watch this.”
The video that appeared filled Elias with such anger that he couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“No!” he screamed again as his fists pounded into the stone of his ancient desk with the full force of the most powerful eidolon on the planet. The desk of Zeus that had survived for thousands of years and was priceless beyond reason was a wondrous creation of solid marble. However, that stone was nothing compared to Elias’ rage, and it almost exploded under the enormous impact. The once smooth surface shattered into a thousand pieces that shot out across the penthouse like mini projectiles that damaged even more priceless art.
For a second only, Elias regretted the loss of his most prized possession, but his anger would not be quelled so easily as that video was still playing. Footage from inside this very tower, footage of him forcing the President to his will. He had been betrayed. Someone had planted cameras inside his building and had been spying on him. He wanted to march downstairs and go on a killing spree, but the damned reporter was back and she was talking again.
“Norman Geller received a lot of hate for hiding his true nature from the world. His approval ratings have plummeted, he has faced rebellions in his own party, and he has been publicly ridiculed and humiliated. But behind the scenes this man has been fighting for a whole year to unite Britain, because he knew that the only way that we can face that threat…” She pointed to where an image of Elias had been frozen with him releasing a bolt of lighting from his hands. “…is by working together. He hid his dreamwalker nature because he knew what would happen if he revealed himself, and also knew that he stood no chance of uniting people from outside the system. He tried to show that dreamwalkers, normal people, and even ghosts can work together to do amazing things, but his plans were ruined by a madman with one good point to make.
“For all that Jacob Baker was wrong for everything he did, he was right about one thing. The Borderlands and the Merging are the greatest opportunity humanity has ever been given to rise to new heights previously undreamed of. There is infinite possibility here that comes not just for Britain, but for the entire world. That will not change now because, like it or not, the Borderlands are here to stay. The only question that is left is what we do about that. We can squabble like children over who gets control and fight until there’s no one left to benefit from this opportunity. Or we can follow the path that Norman Geller was pushing for, put aside the differences between us, and unite to take advantage of this resource together.
“I know what path I’m going to take. The next part is figuring out what path you want to follow. If, like me, you want only the best thing for this world, then now is the time to stand up for that. If you are in Britain, come together and stand strong in this time of crisis. Don’t turn on the ghosts, dreamwalkers and our armed forces with dreamcatchers who have been fighting to keep us safe. Support them and show the world that nothing can break our spirit.
“To those of you in America who I know never wanted this war because you’re good people at heart, now is the time to stand up and make your voices heard. Let your government know that they don’t have your support, and they are not acting on your behalf, but against you.
“And finally, to everyone else the world over. This war doesn’t just affect Britain and America, it affects everyone. Let your governments know you will not stand by if they take similar action, and for the love of God, start looking at your own people to see what strings are being pulled by the eidolon puppet masters.”
She sighed and looked behind her. When she turned back, there were tears in her eyes and she looked exhausted.
“This might just be one of the darkest days of my life, but I have to believe that we’ll get through this if we do what Norman Geller would have wanted. Lets stop fighting one another, and lets start working together. We’ll be back later with more coverage of the atrocities last night. Stay safe, stand up for what you know is right, and help end this madness.”
The monitor went black for a second before the usual YouTube auto play screen loaded up, wanting to take him to another video. A bolt of lightning that shattered the glass and fried the electronics so badly that it killed the power to the rest of the building soon put an end to that idea. The thunderclap that accompanied the lighting was so loud that it blew out all the windows and destroyed yet more priceless statues, but Elias was beyond caring.
That one video had done more to out his kind and derail his plans than the combined hardships of over two hundred years of life. All because his people either failed him or betrayed him. All he wanted was Lizzie Bradley, Stella Martin and Tad Holcroft dead. Three insign
ificant fools that would be nothing but footnotes in the history of his people, but somehow no one could do what they were told.
His mind turned to that idiot Deo and he vowed he would kill that man when he saw him next, and would do so personally. He would take great pleasure in crushing the life from him with his bare hands.
But there was one death that couldn’t wait. He had already put it off too long. He snatched up his phone and was pleased that somehow it had escaped being fried by the lightning that still felt like it was charging up the very particles in the air, then dialled the lead agent on her secret service detail.
“Kill her,” he ordered as soon as the phone was answered.
“Sir, she’s in a meeting with—”
“I don’t fucking care. KILL HER!”
The man didn’t answer this time. There was just a moment of hesitation, followed by a loud crack of gunfire, followed by a lot of screaming.
“It’s done, sir.”
“Good,” Elias said, then ended the call before starting another. “Get my jet ready to fly within the hour. We’re going to London.”
He didn’t wait for the confirmation before hanging up this time. He hung up so firmly that he cracked the glass on the screen of his phone and he climbed to his feet, looking at the ruins of his desk, the broken statues and shattered windows in his office. In many ways, he felt this was apt because it was a good metaphor for his life right now. A lot had just been destroyed, but not everything. He could still come back from this. He could rebuild better and stronger than ever. It was just time to stop leaving things up to other people and take a hand in these matters himself.
For the first time in over a seventy years, it was time for Elias to step out from the shadows. If Lizzie Bradley wanted to expose him and his kind to the world, then he would show her just what it looked like when a god stepped into the spotlight.