The Seat of Power (The Securus Trilogy Book 3)

by Anthony Maldonado

  Both of their eyes light up with my words. “If you go now, no one should notice. The others are checking the infirmary and your old quarters.”

  “Thanks again,” I tell them, nudging Arluin to the door.

  Once in the main hallway, we run. Out here, we are in full view of the security cameras, but by the time Eyra sees the footage it will be too late. We race down the stairs, only slowing when reaching the Electronics Department’s level. The hallway leading to the entry is empty and eerily quiet. It feels like a vision of what is to come, with the people of Securus all wiped out by Caelum.

  We dash for the entrance to the Electronics Department. As soon as we get close, the door opens. The surprise makes us stop so abruptly, we both nearly slip and tumble forward onto the man coming out. Instead of more Guards, we have run into Hadwin.

  “There you guys are,” he says with relief. “We were starting to think you weren’t gonna make it. I was coming to look for you.”

  “We almost didn’t make it,” I tell him as we go inside.

  At the far end of the area, multiple workers scurry about, loading boxes and equipment onto the hidden lift. Hadwin asked some of the workers he trusts to come in early to help. This is part of the plan, but seeing the number of people makes me worry. If even one of them said too much to the wrong person, this could all go wrong.

  It takes a couple elevator trips to get all the equipment up. On the last trip, we pack ourselves into the corners of the unlighted elevator, ready to be taken to the transport. Once the door closes, the elevator becomes as dark as the depths of The Caves. The absence of light makes the upward movement slightly disorienting. My ears strain to listen for any sign of trouble, but all that can be heard is the humming of the elevator’s machinery.

  When the doors open, light pours in. We stay hidden behind the containers until one of the workers gives us the signal. We have some time to stage everything before the transport arrives. With the workers’ help, we arrange the shipment for loading, carefully placing the containers with our supplies in an inconspicuous spot.

  We are nearly finished setting up when the hidden door leading to the Leadership hallway opens. I spin around to see who is coming. My heart sinks as Eyra walks inside with two Guards following behind her. This is bad.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Eyra asks sternly, motioning for the Guards to detain me.

  “What’s necessary to save Securus and Talia,” I tell her defiantly.

  Arluin, Hadwin, and Sayda move to one side while the workers helping us move to the other. We far outnumber them, although the Guards are the only ones with weapons. Ours are neatly packed away inside the containers to sneak onto the transport. One way or another, we need to end this quickly. If the transport arrives while she is here, we will lose our only chance to get to Caelum.

  Eyra glares at me, appearing confident in her coup. What she has not yet noticed is her two Guards have not moved at all. They remain behind her with their weapons holstered. It seems the other Guard was telling the truth. They are not willing to support Eyra in her personal attack against me.

  “I’ll tell you what,” I say, flashing a deliberate smirk. “If you leave now, I’ll consider not having you placed in the Detention Center.”

  Eyra laughs at my bravado, until she looks back at her Guards. When seeing their inactivity, she realizes the extent of her predicament.

  “This isn’t over, Kagen,” she fumes. “These Guards will learn to respect authority, just as you will.”

  “We don’t have time for you right now. When I return, we’ll talk about your over-ambitious plans.” I no longer care about staying within the constraints of our laws. Eyra cannot be given any more opportunity to mess things up. I turn to the Guards. “Until then, hold her in the Detention Center. If she manages to convince Leadership to release her, don’t let her get anywhere near Talia’s office. She might be working with Caelum and we can’t risk her warning them.”

  Eyra is enraged by the Guards following my commands. She tries to pull away as they escort her out, but the Guards keep a firm grip. Since she has not technically broken our laws, she may be able to talk her way out of the Detention Center, but the time that will take is more than we need.

  Before the door closes, two more people walk in. Abira and Tailyn both have a part to play in this, and they are right on time.

  “Did we miss something?” Tailyn asks.

  “They can explain later,” I answer, feeling a vibration in the ground. “The transport’s coming.”

  The workers stand in formation, ready to load the cargo. Tailyn and Abira, dressed in the same uniform as the loading workers, take a position in front of them to greet the Soldier Guards protecting the transport. Normally two of the workers are assigned to tend to any issues for the transport personnel, so this set up should not draw any suspicion. Arluin, Hadwin, Sayda, and I hide in the far corner. Back here we will be shielded by the loading equipment.

  Soon, a light approaches from the tunnel. This transport is very different than the one the Controller came in. Large compartment doors line the entire lower perimeter along with a flattened second level to fit the operator and Soldier Guards. As soon as the transport stops at the end of the tracks, Abira and Tailyn step forward.

  The Soldier Guards climb out of the transport, using the step ladder attached to the outer surface. They immediately head for the two beautiful women. Abira flips her long, brown hair out flirtatiously, while Tailyn feigns a shy interest in the Soldier Guards. I can feel the irritation emanating from Sayda watching the two women. She did not like this idea, but it is working. The men are all completely focused on Abira and Tailyn. Even the operator of the transport comes out to talk to them. Honestly, I did not think this would work so well. While they are distracted, I inch to the side, waiting for an opportunity to get inside one of the cargo holds.

  One at a time, we slide along the wall and then sneak in. While the men from Caelum remain distracted, our workers steadily load the transport. They pile a few pieces in front of us before closing the compartment. The placement of the equipment with us has been deliberately planned. These containers hold our weapons, Codens, and other essential pieces.

  After a couple more minutes of flirting followed by a disappointed groan from the Soldier Guards when the women have to leave, the transport is ready to go. The distraction worked so well, the men never even questioned why the load is much larger than it should have been. They are transporting more than just us, a few persuaders, and some guns. They are unwittingly bringing the one thing capable of giving me enough leverage to pull this off with any chance of not dying in the process. Even if this part went well, every coming step will be harder and more dangerous.

  I take out my Coden to send a message to Auden. Unfortunately, this transport is scheduled to stop at Munitus before going to Caelum. Having to go to Munitus with Mr. Breck and Tauren already suspicious is something I would like to have avoided, but with so little time to plan, we had to improvise.

  The gentle vibration and rocking of the transport makes me sleepy as we wait for the next stop. It is surprisingly quiet inside here but also too dark to see anything. Being stuck in this constricted area, deprived of light reminds me of the Detention Center. They are probably keeping Talia in a very similar environment right now, except hers would be stationary.

  Even though I try to focus my thoughts on the task ahead of us, something else keeps intruding on my concentration. The audacity Eyra displayed in attempting to send me to our Detention Center bothers me. I wonder if she is just another power hungry tyrant, or if she really could be one of the Agents of Guidance. Since she will be in the Detention Center, there is no way for her to warn Braeden. But if she is under Caelum’s control, others in Leadership could have been corrupted as well. Soon, they will all know I have left Securus. I am glad Seonah is continuously monitoring any signals or communications from Securus. For the time being, contacting the Controller should be impossible.
If anyone was able to find a way around her containment, we will be caught before my plan can be carried out.

  A light flashes on the edge of my Coden. Auden has responded to my message. I turn the Coden back on to read the message:

  We have a problem. Even though our Guards completed their sweep of Munitus, Mr. Breck isn’t satisfied. He has Tauren watching Rylan and Bynah constantly. We have to alter our part of the plan. Stay hidden in the transport. We’ll find a way to keep the Guards away from you.

  Seeing the light from my Coden, Hadwin crawls over. “Are they set up?”

  When I show him the message, he turns away in silence. As always, nothing is easy for us.

  Chapter 22

  The continuous hum of the transport almost has me in a trance until a change of speed jolts my attention. We must be nearing Munitus. Auden’s message has severely shaken my confidence. Especially since my rifle is packed away in the containers. Even if I kept it with me, the space we are nestled in behind the containers is too constricting to effectively wield the sizable weapon. Instead, my hands tightly grip a Persuader in anticipation of what could come. As the transport slows, the sound of Arluin’s rapid breathing grows louder in my ear. I reach over to put my hand on his shoulder.

  “Take a deep breath,” I whisper to him. “You don’t want to hyperventilate. Whatever happens, stay behind me. Everything will be fine.”

  The transport comes to a stop. Almost immediately, someone outside barks out instructions while pounding on the doors of the cargo holds.

  “Open up all of these. Check inside every one of the storage holds before filling them,” he yells. Even with the muffled sound of the voice, Tauren’s anger and determination come through. Apparently Mr. Breck has given him a wide new range of authority.

  The Soldier Guards climb out of the transport. Instead of their usual intimidating demeanor, their greeting to Tauren sounds friendly.

  “Hey Tauren, what’s up?” one of the Soldier Guards asks.

  “I’m working on a fixing a rodent problem,” he says with a laugh. “How about you guys?”

  “Same old transport duty,” he replies. “Since you have everything under control, we’re gonna relax inside. Knock on the door if you need us.”

  After the Soldier Guards are back inside the transport, Tauren and his men get to work. One by one, the doors to the storage compartments are opened. They begin with the ones on the opposite side. We have nowhere to go. It is only a matter of time before they find us.

  Tauren’s men steadily move closer, thoroughly searching every compartment as they go. The compartment next to us opens. We hear one of Tauren’s men crawling inside. As soon as he gets out, someone else approaches our compartment. The door flies open, leaving only a stack of containers between us and Tauren. We crouch down to hide, but that will only work for so long. As soon as they come inside, we will be found.

  I’m not gonna let it end this way, I think to myself with my thumb resting on the activating button of my Persuader.

  “What are you two doing here?” Tauren growls. “And weren’t you guys supposed to be watching them?”

  The Guard who opened the door to our compartment steps away, checking to see who Tauren was yelling at. While he is distracted, I sneak a glance from behind our cover. The Guard has completely lost interest in searching the compartment. He is much more curious with whoever just arrived. My friends are not so interested. Next to me, Hadwin and Sayda position themselves to fight. Behind me, Arluin has calmed down and has his own Persuader ready.

  “Someone needs to make sure you aren’t abusing your new power, you mindless brute,” a woman replies to Tauren. Her voice sounds like Bynah.

  “And what are you gonna do about it?” Tauren taunts her.

  Another Guard comes from the side and stands next to the one who opened our compartment. They both ignore our containers, staying fixated on the others. Sayda jabs me in the side, silently asking if we should attack now while they are not looking. I am conflicted because we may not have a better opening to attack. But if we do show ourselves, we need to kill every one of the Guards, not to mention the Soldier Guards. Their compartment does not have windows, but the sound of our Persuaders would never go unnoticed.

  Fighting may be our only option though. There is no other way to make sure they cannot get word to Leadership. Before Sayda jumps out on her own, I shake my head. I want to see what Bynah intends to do. If her plan fails, we will act.

  “It’s hard to do much when you’re hiding behind your fellow Guards,” Rylan says.

  “Really?” Tauren laughs. “Everyone get out. No one comes back in, no matter what. This door says sealed until one of us opens it.”

  The two Guards in front of us leave. We hear them and the others slowly walk to the door. I cannot let this happen. Rylan is no match for Tauren. I carefully scoot around the boxes, ready to help as soon as the door to Munitus closes.

  Before I take a step out, Hadwin pulls on my shirt. I glance back to see him shaking his head. Intent on helping Rylan, I ignore his warning. As I step out, another man unexpectedly appears right in front of me. He covers my mouth, barely preventing me from yelling out. Auden motions for me to go back inside. He climbs in after me, closing the door behind him.

  Rylan and Bynah were supposed to come with us, but they will never get past Tauren. This must have been the improvised part of their plan. It seems to be working at the moment. The part that worries me is what will happen next. How are they going to deal with Tauren?

  “What are they gonna do?” I whisper to Auden.

  “Nothing. They’re only distracting him long enough for me to get in,” he says.

  The voices outside are muted, but still audible. “You’re getting the wrong idea,” Rylan says, trying to pacify the raging Guard. “We meant nothing by it.”

  “We have to go, there’s a meeting starting soon,” Bynah adds.

  “That’s what I thought,” Tauren snorts. “Next time you better choose your words carefully, because I won’t give you another chance to explain.”

  He opens the outer door and commands the other Guards to come in while Rylan and Bynah make a defeated retreat. At least, that is what they let Tauren think they are doing.

  “Did you guys check all of the holds?” Tauren asks.

  “Yes, all of them, sir,” one of the others replies.

  “Then finish loading up and get this transport on its way,” he says.

  Even with his heightened suspicion and angry determination, Tauren played right into Rylan and Bynah’s hands. They have given us a chance to reach Caelum.

  After a couple more minutes, the shuffling steps outside cease. They must have finished loading. Even when the transport begins to move, my tension does not ease. We may be leaving one danger behind, but that only means we are about to face a much greater one.

  Now that we are headed to Caelum, we have work to do. Sayda turns on an illuminator so we can see what we are doing. We take out a neatly folded sheet of a special material. This sheet is what we are counting on to get us past the Soldier Guards in Caelum. We carefully maneuver ourselves closer to the outer door, pushing our supplies against the inner wall. Next, we open up the folded material and stretch it out. We attach it to the floor of the cargo hold about a foot from the door. Then we stretch the other end backward before attaching it to the ceiling, forming a complete barrier. The angle of the sheet is important because when an electric charge runs through the material, it becomes reflective. If the Soldier Guards do not look too hard, when they open the door they will only see the reflection from the ceiling and hopefully assume this hold is empty.

  Of course, we are prepared in case they are not fooled. With the rearrangement, my rifle is out and ready along with a few Persuaders. Still, I would prefer to go undetected like when Arluin snuck in before. Of course, their trip was much easier because there was no cargo to unload, so no one stuck around once the people in the transport left.

  “It’s
getting bad in Munitus,” Auden tells us when we finish setting up.

  “What’s happening?” Arluin asks, already curious.

  “This is my brother, Arluin,” I say, seeing the scrutinizing look Auden gives him. “Arluin, this is Auden. He’s the Guard Radek and I first met outside Munitus.”

  Satisfied that Arluin is trustworthy, Auden turns back to me to explain. “Ever since Tauren convinced Mr. Breck that he saw you, they’ve both been on a rampage. They tore the place apart looking for you. Now they’re even accusing random workers of conspiring against them. If something doesn’t change soon, the workers are gonna revolt. We can only be pushed so far. I would be all for that, except it would only end in our slaughter.”

  “Well, if we’re successful, that won’t be a problem for much longer,” I tell him. And even if we’re not, things should go back to normal for them since I’ll be dead, and the Controller will know it, I think to myself, keeping from saying the morbid thought out loud.

  We all settle in for the rest of the trip. Hadwin and Sayda have been uncharacteristically quiet, staying huddled together in the corner. They have not had much time together, especially with everything going on. So we give them what little privacy we can in this cramped space.

  Seeing Arluin’s nervousness makes me question bringing him, even though his growing computer talent will be critical to what we need to do. I could have convinced Seonah to come instead, but Arluin would have never given up.

  The trip to Caelum takes longer than the trip to Munitus. By the time the transport slows down again, my muscles feel frozen in place and my arms tingle from the lack of circulation. Even worse, the floor below us has become quite warm, making us all sweat. That has added a subtle smell to the cargo hold, making us even more uncomfortable. Being trapped in this constricted place makes me yearn for the open and fresh air on the surface, even with all the genetically altered animals stalking the woods. With what waits ahead, those creatures no longer seem so frightening. Down here, the predators may be less physically imposing, but they are far more conniving.