The Defiant Spark

by Annie Percik

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Walter had never seen a Gadg-E-Tech Board meeting so well attended. But then this was the first Code 47 in most members’ living memory. He looked round the table, all the faces known to him, though some more familiar than others. The CEO wasn’t there, of course. Walter couldn’t remember the last time he had even been in the building. Walter enjoyed listening to the theories that swirled around the company grapevine about where the CEO was, amused by how far from the truth they were. Edgar Pearson, the Vice-President, had full proxy authority to act in the CEO’s stead, and sat one space down from the head of the table.

  On the other side of the table from Edgar was Keto Jones, the representative from the Artisan Council. He caught Walter’s eye and gave a small nod. Walter resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Keto had been sensible enough not to turn up for the pointless Inner Circle meeting the night before but he was apparently going to make up for it by being indiscreet here instead.

  All the other Board members were looking at Edgar. Board meetings never usually started on time, but everyone was here.

  ‘Good evening,’ Edgar said, ‘and thank you all for coming. I know there’s only one reason most of you are here so I won’t waste your time with inanities.’

  There was a murmur of gratitude and Walter did roll his eyes now at Edgar’s blatant pursuit of popularity.

  Edgar continued. ‘You all know about the Code 47. The engineer’s name is Abelard Abernathy. I would like to hear proposals as to what to do with him before we take a vote.’

  One of the oldest Board members raised a hand and Edgar nodded for him to proceed.

  ‘The precedent was set fifty years ago, last time this happened. That other fella who did the same thing – what was his name?’

  ‘Rajesh Kumar,’ a younger voice supplied.

  ‘That was the one,’ the older man said. ‘We shuffled him off to the Quality Assurance Department and nobody’s heard a peep out of him since. Easiest way to go about it. Why not just do the same with this new one?’

  ‘That’s certainly one possibility,’ Edgar said. ‘It’s worked before so there’s no reason to suspect it won’t work just as well again. Does anyone object to that plan?’

  ‘Don’t we need to find out how this keeps happening?’ asked Simon Hanley, the head of the Research & Development Department. ‘So we can stop it happening again? I mean, we can’t have engineers popping up with spontaneous artisan abilities all over the place.’ Simon waved his hands in agitation. ‘It would destabilise the whole system by raising questions among the populace that we either can’t or don’t want to answer.’

  There were noises of assent and Edgar raised a hand to quiet them.

  ‘I would hardly say two occurrences in fifty years constitutes a major threat. And we have no way of determining the cause of the so-called phenomenon without physical harm to the two people in question. However, regardless of what we decide here today, I will ensure Mr Abernathy is made available to R&D for an in-depth interview regarding the incident that boosted his spark.’

  ‘Isn’t our security more important than one engineer’s well-being?’ Walter asked. ‘We haven’t vetted this Abelard person and we know nothing about his values or his integrity. We can’t just give him a job willy-nilly and expect him to automatically align himself to the company vision. He’s an engineer so he must have gone through the testing process and been rejected. Shouldn’t we find out why he wasn’t accepted in the first place, rather than just welcoming him with open arms?’

  ‘A valid point,’ Edgar said, though he and Walter rarely saw eye to eye. ‘However, there are many ways we can help Mr Abernathy to become aligned with the company’s vision. And your nephew vouches for him.’

  ‘My sister’s idiot boy?’ Walter sneered. ‘We all know how security-conscious he is! He should never have been given a position here, either. How many of our secrets do you think he’s already revealed to this engineer?’

  ‘I’m sure Jonathan knows when to keep his mouth shut,’ Edgar said. ‘And if he has let slip some minor details about the way we do things, that’s all the more reason to incorporate Mr Abernathy into an innocuous position within the company where he can fulfil his dream of being an artisan with no risk of harm to us.’

  Walter snorted. ‘Mr Abernathy set fire to my office. That’s hardly a sign of a balanced and useful individual if you ask me.’

  There was a ripple of laughter around the table.

  ‘It was only a minor accident,’ Edgar said. ‘And I believe there were extenuating circumstances. But that’s why I’ve assigned Alessandra Eriksen to tutor him in better control and fundamental shielding.’

  Walter set his jaw. ‘Alessandra Eriksen has better things to do with her time than babysit dangerous social climbers.’

  Edgar looked surprised. ‘She’s the best person for the job.’

  Walter shrugged. Alessandra and the engineer probably deserved one another.

  ‘And it’s an important job,’ Laleh Nazari said from further down the table. ‘Regardless of what is decided here, the engineer needs to be rendered safe as a priority.’

  Walter noticed Edgar giving her a small smile. She had always been one of Edgar’s supporters and was respected by many of the older members of the Board.

  ‘His current lack of control over his abilities is the only danger I can see from this young man,’ Laleh continued, her calm tone and expression lending credence to her words. ‘That danger is being addressed in the best possible way, through the allocation of Ms Eriksen. Then the only way to mitigate what little risk there is to the business from this engineer is to accept him into our family and train him as we would any other new recruit. If we were to reject him a second time and send him back to his life, there would be much more danger from his resentment, curiosity and uncontrolled powers than if we give him what he wants and answer any questions he has in a way that maintains our position and secrecy.’

  Walter was unsurprised by Laleh’s endorsement of Alessandra. He was one of the few people in the company that knew she was Alessandra’s mother. Laleh used her Iranian maiden name and Alessandra strongly favoured her father’s Scandinavian looks, so nobody would suspect the family connection without being told. He was also unsurprised by Laleh’s weak stance on what to do with the engineer. It was exactly what he would expect from her blind adherence to Brother Theobold’s altruistic tendencies.

  Several of the more senior members of the Board were nodding sage agreement and the dissenters had quieted in the face of Laleh’s apparent logic. It was useless to argue further. Walter inclined his head in acknowledgement, admitting at least temporary defeat.

  ‘If no-one has any further comments?’ Edgar said. He looked across the table at Keto Jones. ‘Can you speak on behalf of the Artisan Council to agree this approach, Mr Jones?’

  Keto looked at Walter, his eyes asking a question he didn’t voice. Walter nodded his head almost imperceptibly and Keto gave Edgar his assent.

  Walter would hold his peace for now but keep a close eye on developments and take action later, if necessary.

  * * *

  Jen got Abelard’s message on Wednesday lunchtime and was warmed by the enthusiasm in his voice. She pictured his mop of dark curls and his shy smile as she listened. Then she tried to call him back but couldn’t get through. She tried again a couple of times during the afternoon but with no success. It bothered her that she wasn’t able to leave a message and she hoped her apparent lack of response wouldn’t put him off. She assumed there was some kind of malfunction with his smart-e-fact and was amused that their continuing contact was still defined by faulty artefacts.

  But given how different they were in their attitudes toward artefacts, did they really have anything in common? Their first meeting had been so intense and she knew almost nothing about him. Giving him her number had been an uncharacteristic act of pure impulse. There was something about him though. He had kind eyes and had seemed genuinely interest
ed in getting to know her. Besides he had put himself in danger to solve her artefact problem and that was something she couldn’t take lightly.

  And now she couldn’t reach him. At the end of the day Jen went home, disappointed and unsure what to do.

  On Thursday afternoon a thought struck Jen and she dialled the Mana-Calls helpline number.

  ‘Mana-Calls Artefact Support. Mateo Vega speaking. How may I help you?’

  ‘Can you put me through to Abelard Abernathy please?’

  ‘I’m afraid he’s not in the office today. Can I help at all?’ The voice was friendly and eager.

  ‘Oh, um, no,’ Jen said. ‘It’s a personal call. Do you know when he’ll be back?’

  ‘Should be Monday. He got signed off on Tuesday because of his injury but he’s supposed to be coming back after the weekend.’

  ‘Injury? What injury?’

  ‘Well, that is …’ Mateo suddenly sounded hesitant. ‘Perhaps you’d better ask him that yourself when you speak to him. I could tell him you’re trying to get hold of him when I call him later. Who should I say it was?’

  ‘My name’s Jen Blake–’

  ‘Jen? You’re Jen?’ Mateo said, his tone almost one of awe.

  ‘Er, yes I am.’ How did one of Abelard’s colleagues know about her?

  ‘Didn’t he give you his personal number? Honestly, I swear that boy would forget his own head if it wasn’t attached. Hang on a sec and I’ll get it for you.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ Jen said. ‘I do have it but it doesn’t seem to be working. I’ve been trying to get hold of him since yesterday. I know it must sound ridiculous. I only met him on Monday but it seemed strange that the number didn’t work. And now you tell me he’s been hurt …’

  ‘He only burned his hand. But it’s not like him to ignore calls. And he’d get his smart-e fixed pronto if it was on the blink. I bet it’s got something to do with the artisans.’

  ‘Why would it have anything to do with the artisans?’

  ‘Long story,’ Mateo said. ‘But I’ve been dying to tell someone about it. I don’t suppose you’re free after work, are you?’

  Jen wasn’t sure what to say. The whole situation was getting both weird and complicated. Admittedly she had contacted Mana-Calls in the first place because she was worried about Abelard, but now there was talk of injuries and artisans. She considered what her mother would advise and decided to do the opposite.

  ‘Absolutely,’ she said. ‘When and where?’

  Mateo named a pub on the other side of town and suggested they meet at six o’clock.

  ‘In the meantime,’ he concluded, ‘I’ll try and get in touch with my artisan friend, Jonathan. He’s the one Abelard was going to see yesterday so he should be able to shed some light on the situation. Thanks for calling.’

  * * *

  Abelard felt very light, as if he might float away. His left hand hurt but he was sure he had burned his right one. He wiggled his right fingers and they hurt too. He wiggled both sets of fingers together and the left ones definitely hurt more. He supposed he should stop waving his hands about and let them heal.

  ‘Finally awake, are we?’

  The voice came to him as if from very far away. It was female and quite sharp, sounding more irritated than concerned.

  He struggled to open his eyes and saw a woman looming above him. The bright light in the ceiling cast a nimbus of gold around her luxuriant blonde hair and the red of her lips stood out against her pale skin. The blurriness inside Abelard’s head extended to his eyes and he saw her in soft focus, which lent a dreamlike air to her appearance.

  ‘Umm…’ he said, overwhelmed.

  ‘I hope your brain wasn’t fried like your fingers. I don’t have all day to babysit addled engineers.’ Her harsh voice was in direct contrast to her angelic face and Abelard struggled to reconcile them in his still confused state.

  ‘Umm …’ he said again.

  ‘Okay, let’s try a few simple questions. When was the last time you ate?’

  The rational part of Abelard’s brain seized on the question like a lifeline and dragged him further into complete awareness, while at the same time trying to think back to his last meal. His life had been so disrupted in the last few days.

  ‘Monday lunchtime,’ he said eventually.

  The vision of loveliness uttered a snort of contempt.

  ‘More than 48 hours without food, combined with two direct mana manipulations. It’s no wonder–’

  ‘Uh, six,’ Abelard said, his mental calculations finally speeding up.

  ‘Six what?’

  ‘Six direct mana manipulations in the period without food.’

  ‘Six?’ Shock registered on the divine features.

  Abelard tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry. ‘Is that bad?’

  He didn’t want to disappoint her but he didn’t seem able to stop himself from telling her things.

  ‘Is that bad?’ she repeated with a harsh bark of laughter. ‘Okay, so your brain must already have been addled even before you collapsed. I’m surprised half the city isn’t on fire rather than just the CFO’s office.’

  ‘On fire?’ Abelard said, though most of his mind was taken up by how happy he was to have made her smile.

  ‘Yes, you made quite a mess when you lost control of that mana by all accounts. I wish I’d been there to see it. It’s pretty difficult to rattle Walter Snyder.’

  ‘Was anyone hurt?’

  ‘Other than you?’ His angel rolled her eyes. ‘Luckily, no. Anyway, now that you’re awake and apparently not in danger of spontaneously combusting, I have work to do. Try not to blow anything up while you’re still in the building.’

  She swept from the room.

  Abelard was trying to make sense of the encounter several minutes later, when another woman entered the room. She was much older and carried a tray of food.

  ‘Who was that other woman?’ Abelard asked.

  She looked surprised by the question.

  ‘Who? Oh, you mean Alessandra?’

  ‘Alessandra …’ Abelard repeated, his mouth stretching into a goofy grin.

  The woman looked at him oddly. ‘You really need to eat something, young man. And then I suggest you go back to sleep. If meeting Alessandra Eriksen puts that expression on your face, you might want to think about having your head examined as well.’

  She took an unfamiliar artefact out of her pocket and pointed it at his left hand. A beam of blue mana light shone out of a narrow nozzle on the artefact’s front and the woman studied its small screen for a moment.

  ‘Looks like this is healing nicely,’ she said. ‘And the other hand was pretty much fine after I treated it earlier. So you can remove the bandages in the morning and let fresh air and time do the rest.’

  Abelard stared at her. How could his mana burns heal so quickly? She must be an artisan doctor, with tools and skills that weren’t available to the mundane doctor he had seen before. The woman gave him a brief smile and bustled from the room.

  Abelard glanced at the food and suddenly he was ravenous. He barely registered what he was eating but his body welcomed it and he was finished in no time. As he replaced the tray on the bedside table a wave of fatigue washed over him and he snuggled back down in the bed, drifting off to sleep again, his mind full of thoughts of Alessandra Eriksen.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Jen watched the clock all afternoon, facts and figures blurring on her screen. Surely Abelard would turn up safe and sound, embarrassed to have caused such concern. But what if the artisans had done something to him? She would struggle to fill a postcard with what she knew about where mana came from and how artefacts were produced. She just accepted it as a part of life.

  She escaped work early and hurried to make her rendezvous with Mateo. She had no idea what he looked like but a man waved her over as soon as she entered the pub.

  ‘Mateo?’ He nodded. ‘How did you know I was me?’

  ‘Abelard told me what y
ou look like. Drink?’

  She asked for a gin and tonic and studied Mateo as he went to the bar. He was shorter and stockier than Abelard, with straight dark hair in a similar state of disarray and sparkling eyes that gave distinction to his otherwise average features.

  When he came back with the drinks he considered her with an appraising look before he sat down. ‘So, you’re Abelard’s Jen,’ he said.

  She squirmed under his stare but then realised he was only doing what she had just done to him without him knowing it. But his comment made her bristle.

  ‘I’m not anybody’s anything, thank you very much.’ He looked chagrined and she took a sip of her drink before changing the subject. ‘Is your artisan friend joining us?’

  ‘No.’ Mateo’s expression darkened. ‘I spoke to him earlier and the whole conversation made me even more suspicious. He said he hadn’t seen Abelard since we all went out last week and he claimed there was some crisis at Gadg-E-Tech head office that meant he couldn’t really talk to me.’

  ‘And you don’t believe him?’

  ‘About not seeing Abelard? No. He’s not a very good liar and he sounded really weird when he said it. But I think the crisis at Gadg-E-Tech is Abelard.’

  ‘Why?’

  Mateo took a large gulp of his beer.