It also made him feel powerless to stop what he could already sense coming from this.
He knew, from too many years of personal experience, exactly what kinds of things mobs could be capable of, whether seer or human. He also knew intimately the types of decisions and actions desperate people, fearing for their families, could make.
This really was the Displacement. Most of these people would likely be dead in a matter of months. Now, thanks to Shadow, more of them would die enmeshed in the light of the Dreng.
Or, at the very least, they would die filled with hate and misplaced desires for revenge. They would die in terror, feeling powerless and without hope. They would be lost in the Barrier spaces of the Dreng after death. Perhaps they would be lost in those spaces even longer than that, if Balidor could believe the prophecies of the old seers, and even the words of Vash himself.
Either way, Menlim managed to hit those same notes that Haldren had back then.
His words resonated along the same twisted, yet oddly archetypal lines, causing the same tremors in his psyche and in that of the crowd who so badly wanted to believe him. Menlim managed to not only tap into their desire for rescue and their fear of death, but also their anger, desperation, fear of change, fear of being overpowered, fear of the unknown and fear of anyone unlike themselves. Also, perhaps even more importantly, he tapped their need for an explanation. Their need to find someone or something to blame.
It was the same thing Haldren had done. Hell, it was the same thing Hitler had done, from Balidor’s own experiences during war and in the world.
Menlim also fed their fervent wish to see the world the way they always had, as something they could control. As something that made sense to them.
The thought of what could come from that terrified Balidor.
He found himself thinking about the Bridge, and the condition that grew more obvious to the rest of them every day, the one Dehgoies still avoided telling her, for reasons Balidor only partially understood. He tied that in his mind to Jon and Wreg’s desire to be mated, and his own morning with Yarli, and Allie’s human friends who had just arrived from San Francisco, the hacker kid Dante, the Bridge and Sword’s wedding and the Bridge’s surprise party planned for Dehgoies’ birthday...and just the fact that all of them had built a family here at the hotel, in spite of everything. Balidor tied that in his mind to everything they’d been through in the past year, and what Allie had gone through to rescue her husband, and something in him dipped enough that he felt it as a near-danger, and shook his head, trying to snap out of it.
As soon as he had, the voices of the others reentered his consciousness.
"...We have to respond in some way to this," Jorag was saying. "They're all but threatening to nuke New York, if we don't..."
"Or China," Yumi muttered, folding her tattooed arms.
"They aren't going to nuke New York," Chandre said, her voice hard. "Why would they? This one of their cities, is it not? Did they not set this up with their own people, for the purpose of keeping them safe? Why go to all of that trouble, only to destroy it? They are rattling swords, trying to get a response from us..."
"You're assuming that Shadow is running the White House entirely now...” Jax said.
“Why wouldn’t we assume that?” Anale asked, frowning at Jax.
"Anyway, we have to respond, don't we?" Jorag said a second time, glancing at Illeg and then Holo. "We can't just sit here, can we? We have thousands of brothers and sisters in China. We cannot just let them die..."
Chandre looked at Yumi, then back at Balidor, her eyes holding an open disbelief.
"We cannot truly believe he would wipe out all of Asia!" Chandre gestured towards the monitor with a strong sweep of her fingers. "Why would he do this? What would be the possible motive? If he wants the Lao Hu gone, there are easier ways. Especially at a time like this. And why would he not want to recruit as many of them as possible? Why kill the children? Why kill those who would willingly join his crusade...?"
Balidor’s eyes shifted back to the monitor.
As his gaze moved, Menlim spoke up in another burst of angry speech.
"...Let her show her face to the world! Let her tell us exactly what it will take to end this war she has started!" His words rose to a shout, even as he held up an aged fist. "Let her explain to us why she's so determined to end humanity and in such a disgusting, brutal way...without giving us recourse to a sane solution to these problems between our peoples!"
Menlim’s expression twisted, turning into a sneer.
"...Clearly she feels somehow justified to visit this horror upon the world,” he said, letting his voice grow louder once more. “Clearly this seems reasonable to her...the deaths of families and children from all corners of the world, millions upon millions of us, bleeding and rotting too quickly for those left behind to even bury what's left..."
Wails rose from the crowd, a shock-filled grief that Balidor also recognized from war and death or previous years. Menlim’s voice seethed with a darker hatred, one that felt almost real as angrier yells once more broke out among those in the watching crowd.
"...Perhaps we have done her some terrible wrong...one that justifies the deaths of billions of our people. If so, why will she not accuse us herself? How else will this 'Bridge' feel exonerated for obliterating an entire civilization?”
Menlim’s voice grew openly contemptuous, but the hatred in his words didn’t diminish.
“...Unless this is just some fantasy she is enacting...a belief in this mythology that tells her it is her destiny to kill us. That it is her destiny to destroy our entire race for the benefit of some abstract good. If that is truly the case, then I would like to hear that from her, as well!"
Yells of agreement and anger erupted louder from the crowd gathered on the steps, even among those holding the cameras and microphones near to where Menlim spoke. He turned to face the nearest of these and that image swiftly took over the monitor. His light eyes flashed under the artificial lights of the newsfeed crew as his wasted face frowned delicately.
"I call upon this ‘Bridge’ to answer for her crimes,” Menlim said. “If she hasn't the courage to face the leaders of this world, then perhaps she has enough to face those who knew her in her earliest years. Cassandra Jainkul, who knew her when she was still a child...who knew the Bridge when she still masqueraded among us...has generously agreed to be the liaison to this Bridge, despite the enormous personal risk to which it exposes her...”
Balidor saw Wreg frown, right before Wreg’s dark eyes swiveled to his. It occurred to Balidor only then how quiet Wreg had been throughout the transmission.
“Where is the Bridge?” Wreg said. “Didn’t Jon go downstairs to get her?”
Balidor frowned, studying Wreg’s eyes before looking back at the monitor when Menlim once again spoke out over the crush of bodies and lights.
"Like all of you, what matters most to me is family..." Menlim said in a resonant voice. His eyes blazed, carrying a heightened emotion. "...Our families are what matter, above all...the protection of our people, of those we prize as giving meaning to our lives, love to our hearts, purpose to our work, the very breath to our lungs. Those who aid us through these dark times, help to bring us back into the light..."
Balidor frowned at the words.
Something in them hit him strangely, more than the rest of what he’d said.
Shoving his uneasiness aside, he looked back at Wreg. He fought briefly to think, even as he sent out a ping for Allie, and when she didn’t answer, her husband.
Dehgoies didn’t answer him, either.
"Gods," Chandre said from next to him. Cursing a few more times, in Mandarin and then in Prexci, she shook her braids, staring up at the monitor without seeming to see it. When she next spoke, she stripped her words of emotion, leaving them cold, but Balidor could feel the sparks flaring her light. "I know what he wants,” she said, her voice suddenly grim. “He wants her to come after Cass. This is clearly a move c
alculated to tempt the Bridge into some sort of rescue attempt on Cass. Did not this Chinese infiltrator, Surli, warn us that Shadow plans everything down to the last detail, mapping even the most unlikely of contingencies? The Bridge will want to do this thing...”
Chandre glared around at all of them, her eyes nearly accusing.
“...You all know it is true,” she finished darkly. “We cannot allow her to do it. We cannot allow Shadow to use Cass to lure Allie out of hiding...we cannot! Not when Shadow has made it clear that he intends to see her and the Sword dead...preferably in as public a forum as possible..."
Remembering Kardek on that pyre of wood during the first Displacement, Balidor felt his jaw harden, right before he shook his head.
“The Bridge will not go to meet Cass,” Balidor said, his voice warning. Hesitating when he realized he was speaking for Allie, he flipped a hand sideways, moderating his words. “...The Adhipan could never approve such a plan, as her protection...”
Chandre let out a disparaging snort. “Because the Bridge is so good at following orders!” she said.
“Her husband will not approve it, either,” Balidor said, his voice openly warning that time. Feeling his skin warm slightly, he made a somewhat apologetic gesture with one hand, although he didn’t know to who, exactly, unless it was to the Bridge herself. “...His opinion will hold more weight with her than any of ours, especially now...”
Chandre looked overtly skeptical of his words, but she was the only one.
Neela waved off both of them, her jaw taut.
"This is not the point,” she said, her words as hard as Chandre’s had been, despite her deeper voice. “The point is, they know where we are already. If they wanted us dead, why not just kill us? Why this cat and mouse?” Neela glanced around at the others, her narrow face unmoving in an infiltrator’s mask, despite the charge animating her light.
"Does anyone sincerely doubt they could have killed us by now?” she added coldly. “Does any one of us truly believe that we know exactly what Shadow has, in terms of assets inside this hotel and among our people...even under this d’garculen idi quarantine?"
Balidor clicked softly, but couldn’t help agreeing with her. The clicking part was more at his own irritation around the truth of her words.
"No," Wreg said, unnecessarily.
"I have to agree," Yumi said. "Especially given the attitude of Ditrini. They have people here we have yet to find. Perhaps among the refugees..." Her jaw hardened as her eyes scanned faces around the room. “...Perhaps among us.”
Balidor didn’t answer that directly, either, but he saw a scattering of frowns and angry eyes directed at Yumi from among the other faces. Meeting Yumi's gaze, Balidor himself only nodded, unable to disagree with anything she said, or even what she implied.
Chandre's sharper voice again broke the quiet of the room.
"They may know where we are," Chandre said, her voice holding more of an overt anger. "...But they also know that the Bridge is surrounded by a few dozen infiltrators and more than three hundred seers...most of whom are deeply loyal to her. Why would they risk facing those odds, when they have some chance of luring her out into the open instead? Especially given her track record in the past on this front? It would be madness to accede to Shadow’s demand, even if they have a dozen plants located here. Sheer madness..."
Balidor's eyes fixed on Chandre, even as he felt the coil of emotion in her light. He knew Chandre wanted to go after Cass herself. Perhaps she was even angling for that very thing, but looking at her, Balidor doubted that her words were so calculated, at least not consciously.
Even as he thought it, the East Indian seer’s dark red eyes swiveled to his.
"What do you think?" Chandre asked him directly. “Adhipan Balidor? You have an opinion on this, I am quite sure. What would be your advice on how to approach this with the Bridge? Or are you really going to hand the whole issue off to her husband to deal with...?”
Balidor hesitated, glancing at Yumi.
Yumi raised an eyebrow at him, giving Chandre a look that held more scrutiny. Balidor himself only shrugged, however, speaking frankly, without really thinking about whether he should. They’d all run out of time to play games.
"I think you're right,” Balidor said to Chandre simply. “Shadow is clearly dangling this opportunity towards Alyson, it is true...he is doing it this way because he knows the Bridge by now, and knows she is likely to respond to such a challenge, if it means there is a chance she could rescue her friend. He also knows the Sword will be confused, conflicted and afraid by Shadow having sent this message himself. Refusing to give us a visual on Cass is clearly a calculated move on his part, as well...likely so that we will all fear and presume the worst...”
Pausing meaningfully, Balidor turned back towards Chandre.
“Of course it is a trap,” he said, with a dismissive gesture of one hand. “He knows we will assume this, so it becomes a question of the trap’s primary design, as well as which cheese is the true one, and which is false...” Balidor paused again before adding,
“...But there is a real cheese there, too,” he added. “We mustn’t forget that. This may be the only opening we get to retrieve Cassandra before we have to launch a full-scale hunt, like we did with Syrimne during the First World War. We cannot afford to let Shadow make Cassandra fully operational..." Balidor gestured at the wall monitor with one hand. "...Especially given the messages he is giving us about her so far.”
"Which are what, precisely?" Chandre said, frowning. "She was not there. No one can get close enough to her aleimi to see a damned thing. We are operating completely in the dark with her. We do not even know if she is telekinetic...!"
"...I do not think we can afford to let Shadow get Terian fully operational again either," Balidor added, almost as if Chandre hadn't spoken. He glanced at the East Indian seer, then looked back at Wreg and Yumi.
"...Clearly he wants us to know he is making progress on that front, as well,” Balidor added. “There are too many risks in the situation to allow Feigran and Cass to remain with this person. Further, we have no idea what Shadow truly has planned for either of them, apart from the psychological aspect. I'd like to get Nenz' take on this, since he's likely more familiar with these tactics than the rest of us..." Balidor’s eyes sharpened on Wreg’s. "...I'd also like to ask Varlan for help. We will keep an eye on him, of course...but we need as many high-ranked infiltrators as we can possibly get, looking at the two of them prior to any meet. Especially if Alyson agrees to some kind of face to face..."
“But we cannot let her agree!” Chandre snapped.
“She is the Bridge,” Jax said, giving Chandre a hard look. “Even the boss takes his orders from her. And his opinion will hold more sway than any of ours...”
Chandre looked about to argue again, but shut her mouth, frowning back at the monitor.
"...About that," Wreg said, his voice hard. "Where is Nenz? Where is the Bridge? We need them up here. Now. We need Nenz to confirm Menlim’s identity, at the very least...before we start arguing about any meet and greet with his wife...” Wreg gave Balidor a darker look. “You know damned well what he’s going to say about this anyway, given her condition. He’d sooner gnaw off his own arm then let her anywhere near that fucker right now. He’ll probably try to get her removed from command, evoke parental statutes, if she tries to pull rank on him. Hell, he’ll probably try to get her out of the hotel altogether...”
Balidor looked at him, and felt the truth of his words, too. Realizing there would be a fight no matter how it happened, he started to speak, when Chandre cut him off.
“Condition?” she said, bristling. “What condition?”
A few of the other seers glanced at Balidor, before looking away uncomfortably.
“Are you blind, sister?” Wreg said, his voice hard.
“Blind?” Chandre stared around at them, her eyes holding an open anger again. “What the hell are you talking about? What is wrong with the Brid
ge?”
“She is pregnant,” Jax muttered, glancing apologetically at Balidor.
The Adhipan leader only sighed, waving for him to continue. Personally, he didn’t really see the point of attempting to keep it a secret anymore, under the circumstances, at least within their inner circle. Everyone inside the construct had noticed the extra presence to a degree, at least when it became prominent for whatever reason.
Jax added, “The Sword has been reacting to that fact somewhat...”
“...Psychotically,” Wreg supplied bluntly. “As per usual. We’re pretty sure he hasn’t told her. Being human-born, she likely has no idea, since the stages aren’t the same in the beginning...” Wreg looked back at Balidor, about to speak, but Chandre interrupted them again.
“Gods, no,” she said. “No! Don’t you see? That’s what this is about! Of course they would want the child!”
“The thought had occurred to us,” Balidor said drily, giving Chandre a hard look that time, right before he exchanged glances with Wreg.
Chandre only frowned though, her eyes hardening with more anger.
“No, you don’t understand,” she said, shaking her head and braids angrily. “Not only Shadow. Cass. Cass would want the child. Shadow, he played on this with her...he would talk to her about her past, get her to remember those years when she was young. He would traumatize her, getting her to remember these things...then fill her head with the importance of family, of finding one’s true family, of salvation through familial love. He kept hammering her with this family crap the whole time we were there...how once he helped her create a new family, everything would change for her. Don’t you see?”
Staring around at the rest of them, Chandre bit her lip, looking at them as if they were dense, or not getting the importance of her words, or both.
“Do all of you know nothing about Cassandra’s past?” she snapped after the silence. “She was abused through most of her childhood. She felt unloved...abandoned. Her mother drank and often left her alone, sometimes staying away for days...even weeks. Her father hit her and left the house while Cass was still very young. She had an uncle who raped her. All of her life Cass has wanted her own child. She told me that even in high school, she wanted a child...something to love. She said she probably would have gotten pregnant at an early age, if not for Jon and Allie. She confessed to me she still thought of it at times...”
Allie's War Season Three Page 117