by Paul Teague
Joe looked her in the eyes. He could see she really believed this, and he hoped she would get her wish as well. They’d spent too many hours talking about their fathers. It seemed cruel that Joe should be reunited with his dad and Lucy denied the same outcome. Joe had seen so many incredible things, he really believed that Tom might be alive. But where was he hiding if he was?
‘Joe, we need to get you cleaned up and dress some of those cuts. You’re in quite a bad way,’ said Matt.
‘They have good meds here, Joe,’ Lucy smiled, breaking away from her thoughts. ‘Whatever they gave me, I’m feeling pretty good again!’
‘Okay, Joe, you get yourself clean and fixed up, then we’ll get you both fed and fully briefed. We don’t have a lot of time to play with. We need to get you back in action as soon as possible, within the hour if we can. If we can’t get you to Delman in the little time we have left, we’re not going to be able to stop Catharsis when it begins.’
Chapter Seven
Pressure
Nobody dared to breathe for several minutes. The Centuria were still stationed all around the room, but it looked as if Damien Hunter had finished. One of the Gridders gasped, another began to retch, two of them rushed over to the Head Gridder’s body. It was futile, she was dead. Hunter didn’t take prisoners.
Linwood began to breathe again. All he could manage were shallow, sharp bursts. His heart was pounding furiously in his chest, he was wet with sweat and his face red and burning.
He’d just been made Head Gridder. Did Hunter know? Was he just tormenting him prior to execution? There was no way Linwood could extricate himself from the situation and save his own life. He was ready to give himself up for dead.
The Centuria moved swiftly to remove the bodies. They were hauled onto barrows and wheeled out of the room. Cleaning staff moved in to remove the splatters of brain and blood from desks, screens and floors.
Except for the muted conversations in the room and the two empty workstations, it was as if the two dead Gridders had never been there. Linwood knew he would have to take control quickly, he could see that his colleagues were looking to him for leadership. He wanted to walk out of the building and never have to return, but The City was a place from which there was no escape. Life might have been easier on Silk Road, but its residents were no less trapped.
Linwood thought about his brother, Jacob. There was a big age gap between them – Linwood had only been twelve when his brother disappeared. Jacob had been a great gamer, it was his enthusiasm that had inspired Linwood to play.
Nobody had known what happened to Jacob at the time, only in retrospect. He’d taken part in the Gridder Games. Linwood had been there to watch his victory. Jacob had been amazing, he’d been so proud of his brother. Yet he’d changed so much after winning the games, starting from the day afterwards.
Jacob became moody and secretive. He finished his job in City Management Services and moved to a new department at Fortrillium. He would never discuss his work, and sometimes he’d disappear for days at a time. Often they wouldn’t see him for weeks. If anybody asked him questions, he’d become moody and defensive. The brother that Linwood knew had changed the day after he won the Gridder Games.
Linwood knew exactly why, of course. After his brother’s disappearance, he’d followed in Jacob’s footsteps, taking part in the Gridder Games and, after several years of trying, eventually winning the contest.
He’d been approached by Damien Hunter, signed the appropriate contracts and then learned very quickly why his brother had become so secretive and defensive. His mother and father had watched it happen all over again, first their eldest son, then the only son that they had left.
Linwood had worked hard to win the Gridder Games because he was desperate to find out what had become of his brother. They’d never known what had happened to him when he disappeared, there was no body. That wasn’t unusual in The City, people often disappeared without a trace. But they were usually in the public eye, people who’d been foolish enough to challenge the President or Damien Hunter. Jacob was invisible, why would anybody need to dispose of him?
It had been difficult growing up not knowing what had happened to Jacob. There was no official explanation, no evidence trail. He’d just gone missing. There were no messages either, Jacob had left the house one day and never returned.
Linwood had hoped to find some answers by winning the Gridder Games. He’d certainly discovered why Jacob was so secretive and bad-tempered all the time. That went with the job. But he’d moved no closer to the truth about his disappearance, and there he was, trapped in a role from which there was no escape. The Gridder Games were simply a way for Damien Hunter to find new killers.
Linwood had struggled with his conscience just as Jacob must have done. His family were at risk if he didn’t comply with Hunter’s requirements, and the deaths in The Grid would continue whether it was he who was creating the scenarios or somebody else. He had to sit tight, make his kills, then walk out of there still breathing. With his mum and dad still alive what choice was there?
If at any time he’d considered that Damien Hunter might be making idle threats, he’d now seen the truth. Hunter was deadly serious. If you crossed him, you died. The two Gridders who’d lost their lives didn’t even get the chance of a Justice Trial. What he’d just seen was summary execution.
Hunter had placed Linwood in charge. As he stood there considering what to do next, he wondered if Jacob had just disappeared. Perhaps nobody had killed him, maybe he’d just run away and hidden. It was what Linwood wanted to do. If he could have just disappeared at that moment, if he’d thought it was an option, he would have done it.
Linwood was torn. What could he do? He desperately wanted to keep Hannah alive. He was sure she was in The Grid, but how could he carry out Hunter’s demands and still protect his friend? If he didn’t make the trial look good, Hunter would place a gun to his head. He’d used some of his best gameplay already, he’d need to come up with some new ideas. His team of Gridders looked as if they all wanted to run away, and he wasn’t sure how much use they’d be. They were all in shock from what had just happened, there was no hiding behind pixelated images on console screens anymore.
He would have to make the gameplay good and rely on Hannah to survive. He’d give them weapons and supplies, he’d place clues where he could, but she would have to do her best to stay alive. Linwood needed more time to think, he couldn’t see a way out of the situation which didn’t involve death.
He decided to seek some help from his brother Jacob. He’d been an amazing gamer, and Linwood had looked on in awe as he’d watched his brother rise to victory in the Gridder Games seven years previously. He was going to deploy a few techniques that Jacob had used to win his own contest.
Firstly, Linwood intended to bring back Schälen. He’d not seen that technique deployed in a long time, but it always played well with the watching crowds. Schälen was a great villain, but he was beatable. Lucy had fought him off, Chris had killed him. Hannah would be able to do the same if it came to that. He would clone three Schälens, recreate rendered versions of the madman – that would generate some immediate tension in The Grid.
Then, for the third and final Mode he’d use a brilliant idea his brother had come up with. He’d beaten all of his opponents in the Gridder Games using this technique, and it would give Hannah a fighting chance too. Rather than depending on strength and fighting skills, the final challenge would be psychological. He’d seen that Hannah was strong, but she’d have to fight her worst demons to survive. He was sure she could do it.
Linwood walked over to the Head Gridder’s console at the end of the room and indicated the remaining Gridders should gather round for a briefing. He was going to play as a different Gridder now, in honour of his own brother’s amazing talent. It was his brother’s fate that had led him to that place, it would be his brother’s skills that would now keep him – and his friend, Hannah – alive.
Instead of
continuing the trial playing as 97TRaider, Linwood would now attempt to step back into the mind of his brother Jacob. He would have to live, breathe and act just like his brother’s Gridder ID. Linwood would have to become his brother Jacob, known in the gaming community as Reevil96.
Tech
Wiz was impressed. They’d given him everything he’d asked for and more. If only he’d had access to this equipment when he’d been in Harry’s apartment.
To his side he had the live stream of the Justice Trial on a console screen. He’d been shocked to see Schälen back in The Grid again, but it was being played for maximum drama. The Schälen clones hadn’t yet located the two parties of Justice Seekers.
Wiz knew it was now a race to get ahead. Two teams of rebels had been sent out to attach aerials to three new tower blocks. Wiz had advised them to forget the aerial on Harry’s block and to reroute the signal from the sewers to avoid detection. They were quite some distance from where Harry had been based, but there were three tall towers available to them.
Reports were coming back that The Climbs were alive with Centuria. The news of the rebel attacks had been suppressed on the screens, but word had got out among the residents of The Climbs. Nobody remembered ever seeing a battle where the Centuria hadn’t come off best. There was a new buzz in The Climbs, and it wasn’t just about the latest trial.
Wiz set up the tech he’d managed to salvage and cabled it up to the new equipment he’d been given. There were no issues with power supplies, no solar packs to nurse and no looking over his shoulder to make sure he was safe. He would be able to work fast and effectively, there were even tech people on hand to help him where normally he’d have called on Mitchell’s skills.
Wiz was angry with Mitchell, but he had no desire to see him harmed. They all did things in The City which they’d have preferred not to have done. He’d been about to kill Dillon. He was going to blow out the brains of his best friend’s brother. As an act of mercy! How screwed up was that? How could Wiz ever explain that to Jena, Joe or Dillon? Yet, in the moment, it would have been the kindest thing to do for Dillon, to spare him the agony and torture of being hunted like a beast by the Centuria.
In that moment, Wiz forgave Mitchell. Whatever he’d done, he was only human. None of them were perfect, they all had to make deals with their consciences every day. Mitchell was no better or worse than anybody else. He wasn’t evil, he wasn’t trying to get them killed. Whatever had happened to him, he was probably just trying to do the right thing. Of course, Wiz was annoyed and felt betrayed, but he resolved not to judge Mitchell. He’d got them this far, and if it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t have the masts set up on the tower blocks, Lucy would have been caught in The Climbs after Segregation, he never would have been able to find the message from Joe’s dad.
Mitchell had made a bad mistake betraying the whereabouts of his friends, and now he was paying the price, stuck in The Grid, wounded, bloody and beaten. He was just trying to survive like the rest of them. If Wiz ever saw him again, he would forgive his friend. And he sure as hell was going to do his best to get him out of there, along with Hannah, Jena and all the rest of the Justice Seekers.
There was no point in dwelling on the things that had passed already, it was time to seize the future.
Exit
Teanna was relieved to get to the relative safety of her apartment within the presidential complex. She needed to catch her breath, events were moving fast. Alliances were being tested, she would soon have to make her final choice. Would she throw in her lot with President Delman or take a chance on Hunter? She knew that Hunter would make a formidable ally. He was ruthless and without mercy, he also had the motivation, but would he be able to reunite her with her father?
If she carried out the President’s instructions and made a move on Hunter’s family in the Umbilica, she’d have to declare her hand. She wasn’t yet ready to make her choice. Delman might betray her at the last minute when they crossed through The Grid. There was no longer any reason to keep her alive once he’d safely returned to Centrum. Hunter did not hold Delman’s power, he had no ability to get through The Grid. Still, if she needed a killer on that side of The Grid, he was her man. She’d seen the look in his eyes as he’d tortured Mitchell. She’d wanted to step forward and spare the boy from the ordeal, and in the end she prevented Hunter from slitting his throat. He was poised to do it, but Teanna had suggested that he should be thrown in The Grid as a traitor. Hunter had hesitated a moment. He’d actually been disappointed not to be able to cut Mitchell’s throat, but he could see how placing Mitchell in The Grid would be a direct challenge to the President. He wasn’t going to let a throat cutting get in the way of a spiteful strategy. Teanna had saved Mitchell’s life, or, at least, prolonged it. He’d seen what she’d done before he passed out. He knew she’d stepped forward and manipulated Hunter.
Teanna drew out her WristCom and transferred the images to her console. Finally she would get to know the truth about Catharsis. It took a moment for the pictures to transfer. She’d taken them on the highest resolution, she wanted to be able to read them clearly.
It didn’t take Teanna long to understand what the President had been hiding from her for so long. That’s why they were leaving in such a hurry, Catharsis was about to begin.
She’d been shocked to read about the process of destruction that was coming. The time had to be approaching if Delman was leaving. But what was he up to? What was his plan? Her father was caught up in it all too, it’s why he’d taken her in the first place. Had her father known about Catharsis and hidden the secret from her? Wherever Delman was heading, it would be safe from Catharsis, that much she knew.
Teanna’s father was a CryoBiologist, they didn’t even have those in this city, it was an unknown technology. The Umbilica was the only evidence that kind of knowledge had ever existed, but it was primitive and basic compared to her father’s work. Her father had something Delman needed – it’s why he was crossing back to see him. And Teanna was part of the deal, it wouldn’t go ahead without her, she was her father’s security. The men had made some sinister bargain many years ago, and it was almost time for them to collect.
Teanna couldn’t make up her mind which way to jump. If she betrayed Delman, she would be putting her father at risk. What did he have riding on his arrangement with Delman? He’d warned her not to trust him, those were his parting words to her. Was that a hidden message, did he want her to stop Delman?
Then there was Hunter, crazy Damien Hunter. She was certain he was unstable, but he was also dangerous and powerful. He commanded the Centuria. If anybody could stop Delman it was Hunter. And he certainly wanted Delman dead. With his family caught in the Umbilica, Delman had Hunter exactly where he wanted him. Hunter had to toe the line. However much he wanted to kill the President, he would not put his family’s lives at risk.
Yet the President had asked Teanna to give him direct control over their fate, he was going to put a knife to the throats of Hunter’s family much as Hunter had done to Mitchell earlier that day. He’d asked Teanna to begin the process of termination. It would not be instant, she would selectively begin to shut down their bodies, leaving them in a state of half-life. They would be teetering on the edge of death, but not quite dead. The President wanted them that way so he could kill them at the click of a button. It would be instant. It would give Hunter no thinking time, nothing to gamble with. If he didn’t comply with the President, he would lose his family. Delman would paralyse him with the threat if it came to that. Delman might have seemed to be the saner option, but they were living in a world surrounded by madness.
Teanna thought through her options. She needed to create some insurance of her own. She had no bargaining power with President Delman, she’d never had any power. If she wanted to see her father again, she had to be fully compliant. She had to make sure she had some kind of hold over the President just in case it was needed.
Teanna made her way to the Umbilica and partially
followed through on Delman’s commands. She began the process of termination, but she would not make it quite as perilous as the President had requested. She needed to buy Hunter some time. If Delman put him under pressure, if the President really killed his family, there was no telling what he’d do. Teanna thought Damien Hunter was a man best left with options. So she altered some of the settings in the Umbilica, but she had every intention of keeping Hunter’s family alive.
Only Teanna and the President had control access to the Umbilica, and Delman was the one with final authority. But before Teanna left the area, she made a minor change in case it came in useful later. Hunter would do anything to keep his family alive, Teanna had seen that already. So she made sure he could access the Umbilica. Just as the President had done in error earlier the same evening, Talya left her account partially open. It was encrypted at password level, but the DNA recognition was left open. If she needed to, she could convey her access information to Hunter and he would be able to reverse the termination process. It might just buy her some time if things turned ugly with the President.
Unleashed
Mitchell was feeling wretched, but he was more capable than he’d led the others to believe. He was ashamed, humiliated and contrite. Not only had he betrayed his friends, he’d been a fool to fall for the President’s flattery. Joe, Wiz, Hannah and Lucy had been good to him, they’d welcomed him into their circle of friendship. His response was to look down his nose at Joe and Wiz and to desert them in favour of the highest bidder as soon as the going got tough.
He wasn’t ready to talk with the others yet, he needed some time to straighten things in his own mind. How could he recover from this? Hannah was an arm’s length away from him, she was the one whose attention he’d been trying to attract all along. Look where it had ended up. They were both in The Grid and their plans to take on Fortrillium had come to nothing.