by T. C. Edge
“Oh…it doesn’t matter. I’m just being paranoid.”
“Well, what’s been going on? Why weren’t you back here for the start of the ceremony? I was waiting for you.”
“I, erm, got distracted,” I say. “I went out for some fresh air and ran into a few old friends. Then…it all happened.”
“And since then? Where have you been, Brie?”
“With Sophie and her husband, Rycard. She was in a state. I helped her home.”
“Right…”
“So have you heard from my brother? It was him, wasn’t it? Him and the Nameless. Did you know about this, Adryan? Did you know this was going to happen?”
I peer at him, and his hands rise up to tell me to slow down.
“One question at a time, Brie,” he suggests. “And no, I didn’t know about this. Like you, they only tell me what they think I need to know. I’m as in the dark as you are…”
“And Zander?” I ask quickly. “Have you spoken to him, or Lady Orlando? I can’t get through to him telepathically. I need to know that he’s alright.”
“I’ve tried, but there’s no response. I’m sure he’s fine, Brie. Your brother can handle himself, and if it was him down there, then he’ll have planned it all out, escape routes and all. It seemed to be very professionally arranged to me…”
He turns to the hologram, which plays out the event once more in real-time. I watch again as the pulse of blue light zips from a darkened window, breaking apart the invisible energy barrier in front of Commander Fenby. Then the bullet comes, almost immediately, cutting straight through his head and leaving him in a crumpled heap on the floor.
It’s as Adryan says: extremely professional. And watching it without using my Dasher powers, it’s quite astonishing how quickly it all happens. The blue pulse round to disable the shield, the sniper bullet that kills Commander Fenby, the crackling gunfire that follows, causing all manner of chaos on the streets.
All of it happens in a flash, so fast that no one down at the ceremony has a chance to react before it’s all over.
Watching the footage, I’m reminded of the many times I used to sit in the common room at the academy doing the same, or head off to the large intersection just south of Brick Lane, where the huge screens drew so many eyes.
A thought comes to me.
“Is this being televised across Outer Haven too?” I ask.
Adryan glances towards the windows.
“It wasn’t meant to be – just an official function for Inner Haveners. But you can bet they’ll be making sure all of Outer Haven sees this now. It will only help to increase panic.”
“But they won’t blame the Fanatics, will they? They’ll have to admit that it’s the Nameless, right?”
“I suspect so,” says Adryan. “But all the better for them. The people are already terrified of the Fanatics. If the Consortium make them think that some sort of war is coming between the two groups, then their fear is only going to grow.”
“And so their grip gets tighter,” I murmur.
I turn from the footage, not wishing to view it any longer, and march into the open plan kitchen. Pouring a glass of water, I gulp it down, and find Adryan following me over. I look up to him, shaking my head.
“Why, Adryan,” I ask. “Why would Lady Orlando want Commander Fenby dead? It’s only going to make my job – our job – so much harder here. Security’s going to grow even tighter now, surely?”
He doesn’t have the answers. Or he won’t give them to me. I glance into his eyes and find that his confusion is similarly strong as mine. I’m grateful, at least, that he’s not keeping secrets like the rest of them.
Returning to the sofas, we shut off the hologram, and Adryan asks me whether my task earlier was successful. I’d half forgotten it all amid the mayhem, but at least have some good news for the day.
“Yeah, Rebecca is working until 3AM at the moment,” I tell him. “I suppose I should get some rest if I’m going to…”
“No, Brie, not tonight. Not after what happened. Let’s wait for the dust to settle first, shall we.”
“And how long will that take?”
“We’ll have to wait and see. But Savants don’t tend to let any crisis affect them for long. It’ll probably be business as usual tomorrow, only with a few more City Guards around the place.”
Why does that not surprise me. Other than creating a talking point, I doubt the death of Commander Fenby has had any impact whatsoever upon the residents of this building.
In truth, I suppose I don’t mind taking a break for the evening. I’m still pretty wired after everything that’s gone on, and have plenty on my mind without having to go in search of Rebecca and the secrets that may, or may not, lie in wait in her head.
Still, that stage of the plan is speculative, but there’s something else I need to be getting on with now too – getting Sophie, Rycard, and Maddox down to the underlands.
That will, of course, involve my brother, giving me another pressing reason to get in touch with him. So leaving Adryan in the dark about this particular side-mission, I tell him I’m tired and should get an early night. Given how he spent most of last night trying to decipher the security files and building schematics, he’s probably in need of the same.
With a weary kiss to the cheek that turns into a long, drawn-out hug, we leave each other in the living room and go our separate ways, heading off towards our own private rooms at opposite ends of the apartment.
Reaching my room, I immediately order for the bright lights to be significantly doused and clamber into bed. Clinging to the final vestiges of energy I have, I sit in the silence and the darkness, shut my eyes tight, and call out for Zander once more.
Zander, can you hear me? Zander, are you OK?
I wait for a moment and get no reply, something I’ve grown used to. And then, rumbling from the depths, I hear him answer.
Brie…I’m here. I’m OK. Are you?
A rush of air escapes me at his words. He sounds calm, in control, no tension to his voice.
I’m fine! Was it you, Zander? Tell me, was it you?
My own voice isn’t controlled. It gallops through my mind and into his.
A short silence follows. Then his answer comes.
I didn’t pull the trigger, he says. But yes, it was us.
Why?! I shout in my mind. The city is in lockdown now! You’ve just made my job impossible!
It was necessary, Brie. I can’t tell you why…not yet. But you have to trust me. We had no choice. Your mission is merely part of a greater plan. I have my role too, as do others. There are lots of moving parts, of which you are just one…
I feel my eyes scrunching up tight as his words come at me.
Just one part of a greater plan? I ask aggressively. Then why aren’t I being included?
I’ve told you before, Brie, he says, his own voice rising in volume. Focus on your role, and nothing else. That’s your job here.
I suck in a deep breath, and a whole bunch of curse words flow through my thoughts. I want to project them to him, but refuse the urge. After all, this isn’t anything new, being told to just ‘focus on my mission’. Yet I never expected this to happen. I never expected another member of the Consortium to be assassinated, right before I took out the biggest dog of them all!
I decide to not push the issue. He won’t budge, I know that about him now. And I know, too, that somewhere deep down, he’s right.
So instead, I move towards a more personal matter, a fresh favour that I need to ask him. Last time he helped me out, I promised I’d do this job. I guess, now, since he’s made it so much harder, he can help me out again.
I need you to do something for me, I tell him.
I can almost see him rolling his eyes by the way he asks: What?
It’s Sophie and her husband, Rycard, I say. I need you to give them safe passage to the underlands and take them in…
Jesus, Brie! What the hell…
Zander, this isn’t a req
uest, OK. It’s an order. I’m doing the best I can here, and it’s not easy, but these are my friends, and I need them to be safe. Will you help me?
Another silence follows. And then comes the expected concession.
Fine. I’ll help, he says. But why? Why do they need to get out?
It’s a long story, I say. Suffice to say, they’re in real danger of losing their son. If you’d been in my shoes here, you’d know what a big deal that is. I won’t let them lose him.
And it’s just passage to the underlands they need? asks Zander.
Passage and refuge, I say. Rycard is – was – a member of the City Guard. He may be able to help you. But mostly, I just need them safe so I can get on with my job.
Right, if that’s what it takes, then I’ll make sure they’re taken in. And they’re definitely on board with the idea?
Yep, a hundred per cent on board, I answer. It shouldn’t be hard to get them all across to Outer Haven. I’ll just need you to pick them up and get them to safety.
Well, make your plans and let me know. And do it quickly, Brie, so you can get back to why you’re really there…
There’s a small bite of irritation to his voice that he clearly doesn’t want me to miss. Evidently, he’s got plenty to be doing without all of this, and yet knows that my cooperation is paramount.
Best to keep me sweet and focused, is what he’ll be thinking. And, well, that works for me if it will ensure that Sophie, Rycard, and Maddox are given sanctuary.
I will, I assure him. Tomorrow. I’ll be in touch tomorrow. Be ready to help.
I’ll be listening, he says. I’ll be waiting.
And with that all cleared up, and my own mission on a very temporary hiatus, I manage to drop into an unexpectedly peaceful sleep.
17
Adryan wakes me before leaving for work at the usual hour, proving that the High Tower isn’t going to come to a halt for anything, even the death of one of its senior members.
“Life goes on,” he tells me, setting down a hot chrome flask of coffee on the bedside table. “What are you going to do today?”
I stretch out my weary limbs and quickly work through the plan of action I formulated last night in my head. None of those thoughts turn verbal, though, given how I’m intending on keeping Adryan out of the loop on my mission to help Sophie and Rycard.
“Oh, not much,” I say. “I’ll just catch up on some rest and let the dust settle, as you say.”
“Good plan. By the way, I spoke with Lady Orlando just now. Your brother is safe and sound.”
“Yeah, I know. I spoke with him last night. I guess she didn’t give you any more info on what they’re up to then? Zander was typically tight-lipped…”
“Afraid not. Just that it was an important part of the plan, that’s all. It doesn’t surprise me. Lady Orlando doesn’t do anything unless it’s been fully thought out.”
He drops down and kisses my cheek, before briefly glancing up at the picture of my parents behind me. A small frown drops over his eyes as he looks at it, and I follow them.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
He peers closer, and then shakes his head.
“Nothing. I just…feel guilty.”
“Why?”
“I promised I’d find out about your parents. But with everything that’s been happening…I don’t know, I haven’t had much of a chance.”
I lift my palm to his cheek, cleanly shaven and smooth as it is each morning.
“Don’t worry, Adryan. It doesn’t matter right now.”
He looks down at me, and I smile at him to make it clear that he doesn’t have to feel bad about it. And as I do, he leans in again, and this time kisses my lips. It’s little more than a peck, and he quickly retreats.
“Sorry…” he mumbles. “Sometimes I just…I see…”
“Shhhh,” I whisper. “You don’t have to explain.”
And with a note of awkwardness settling in the room, he departs.
I begin my day as soon as he leaves, jumping up out of bed, showering, dressing in my usual outfit of sky blue pants, t-shirt, and sweater, and heading straight down to the atrium to see just what the situation is outside.
As soon as I step out from the lift, I get a sense of the greater concentration of City Guards lingering around. They spread in greater numbers around the main doors, with many more clearly visible outside.
I suspect that it will be the same on the floors above, or at least the levels that are deemed to require protection. Yet, for the most part, the heightened security will be concentrated around the paths into the building, and not inside of the High Tower itself. If that’s the case, then perhaps I won’t be so hindered after all.
Other than the increase in security, however, life appears to be going on as normal, within the atrium at least. Over at the main desk, I see two receptionists I don’t recognise doing their usual thing, tapping away on their touchscreens and multi-tasking as only a Savant can.
Across the marble floor, various other Savants continue to spread in from outside, coming into the building to work. There’s nothing to their expressions to speak of the assassination of one of their senior members, barely a word spoken as the drones march in and set about their days.
It’s such a weird sight, really, given what’s just happened. And yet, it’s as if nothing’s happened at all.
One cog, large though it may be, has been irreversibly damaged and will need to be replaced. It will be, and probably very soon, and the machine will keep on running. That’s how it goes here. No one will shed a tear for Commander Fenby. No one will let any measure of fear enter their minds, worried that this might be the start of something worse.
They’ll all just continue to do their jobs, all the little cogs just turning, so that the big machine keeps on running. No matter what.
Baffled by the sight, I wander towards the main doors and set my eyes over the scene. Already, most of the construction for the botched ceremony has been taken down, the stage and stands gone, with only a few supports still being dismantled.
All around, and up on the balcony, the investigation continues, with various areas still closed off where the attackers were thought to have made their assaults from. The same goes for the window ahead, up on a building not far off from the High Tower, where both the pulse round and sniper bullet originated.
Their investigation, really, isn’t worth conducting. They know full well who was behind it, and unless they managed to capture one of the Nameless as they fled – which I’m sure they didn’t, seeing as Zander never mentioned it – then they’ll have little to go on.
What I’m most intrigued by, of course, is how exactly they got in and out without detection. Most likely, they did so via the use of their ‘allies’, of which they have many. As Zander told me, they have support all over the city, and clearly have nurtured relationships with the right people to help give them access.
If only they’d just done this when Cromwell was there during my own ceremony, I think. Then I wouldn’t have had to be dragged into this mess at all…
With security currently tight around the High Tower, however, I have a little trouble getting through. Reaching a temporary checkpoint, I find myself being briefly questioned by the City Guard on duty. It’s no surprise to find that it’s a fully armed and armoured Brute, and with everything on high alert, he’s rather less cordial than I’m used to.
“What do you require beyond the High Tower?” he asks suspiciously.
“I’m just visiting a friend,” I say. “They’re in Inner Haven, it’s OK.”
“What’s the purpose of the visit?” comes his booming voice.
“Just…a catch up, that’s all. I am allowed out of the High Tower, aren’t I?”
“Everything is on high alert, Mrs…”
“Shaw.”
“As I say, Mrs Shaw, all citizens of the High Tower, and all of Inner Haven, are being advised to stick to their predetermined duties. Anything beyond normal protocol s
hould be avoided.”
“I don’t have a predetermined duty,” I counter. “I’m just seeing a friend. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I suggest you return to the High Tower, Mrs Shaw. You will be safe there.”
Oh, forget this…
With a flash of my eyes, I spread an order into his mind.
Let me pass, immediately, I demand.
It takes hold in an instant, and from behind his visor, I see the giant Brute’s demeanour change. He steps to one side and nods me through the barrier.
“You may pass, Mrs Shaw,” he says.
“How kind of you,” I offer with a smile, drifting through and quickening my step until I’m far enough away from the High Tower so as not to be burdened again.
Unfortunately, I’m accosted several more times as I pass through the city on foot, working my way towards the western end of the Outer Spiral where Sophie and Rycard live. It reminds me a little of how Outer Haven has become in recent weeks, the people barely able to go more than ten metres before running into some grumpy Con-Cop. Now, it appears to be the same around here, Inner Haven itself coming under tighter scrutiny.
Still, having escaped the cordon around the High Tower, I’m not grilled to such an extent, and am able to reach Sophie and Rycard’s apartment without needing to resort to any further mental manipulations. Knocking on their door, I find Rycard quickly ushering me in and shutting the door tight behind him.
“Did Sophie do what I told her?” I ask, reaching the living area where I see a single bag packed and waiting.
“Yes. She took Maddox to work with her,” says Rycard. “They’re both over in the southern quarter now.”
“And she didn’t have any problems getting there? I assume security at the gate was pretty tight.”
“Tighter, yes, but she has the relevant documentation to get in and out. I assume you managed to speak with the Nameless, with your brother?”
Last night, I told them all about Zander, and that I’d get straight in touch with him to help. I’d assured them that he’d comply, knowing the bargaining power I hold. The source of that power, however, I kept securely to myself. I suspect that, should I tell either Rycard or Sophie about my mission, they’ll try to talk me out of it.