Onero stopped in front of him, stared a moment longer, and then embraced Charlie like a friend. Charlie wouldn't have been more shocked if the walls turned into bread and crumbled around them.
"There's our hero," Onero said. He let go of Charlie and grinned. "Sorry for the problem yesterday. I hate aborting a mission so late, but in this case it was necessary. Katy told me you were brave."
Charlie's heart fluttered. He looked over at Katy, who smiled back.
"You brought the bomb back? Come on now, take off your shirt. I'm sure you're eager to get it off your shoulders."
Charlie obeyed, unbuttoning his uniform and placing it on the clean table. He unclasped the bomb at the front and Onero helped slide it down his arms. Gingerly, carrying it out in front of him, Onero walked it to the corner of the room and placed it in a metal box. The lid closed with a click.
That answers that question, Charlie thought. The bomb was real, his mission more than just a test. Although he was relieved at the confirmation that they trusted him, Onero's demeanor was frightening. Onero always despised Charlie, ignoring him most of the time, sneering when the steadfast did fall under his attention. His sudden friendliness was foreign.
"There weren't any problems," Charlie said as he buttoned up his shirt. "I was able to reach Jayce close enough to--"
"That's not important," Onero interrupted, waving a hand. "Jayce is harmless. I've a new mission for you. A new target."
Charlie followed him to the broken wall. Through the gap he could see the leveed river to the west. Riverhawks circled above the water, occasionally scrunching up their wings close to their bodies to dive beneath the surface for fish. Beyond the river were the farmlands, massive domed fields of crops stretching into the distance. Farther to the north construction cranes tilted where the hulking image of the hydroelectric dam was being built. Its shape marred the horizon, flat and blocky.
"The dam? Is that the target?"
Onero chuckled. "No. We have something bigger planned. Much bigger."
Charlie arched an eyebrow. Bigger than the dam? Onero liked to exaggerate. But before he could ask more, Onero continued.
"Why do you want to be one of the Children, Charlie?"
Charlie kept his eyes from glancing back at Katy. She was only part of the reason, anyways. Should I tell the truth? Will mentioning my father upset him? Onero was waiting, so there was no time to think of another reason, and he would know if Charlie lied anyways. "My father. He's a pilot on Latea, has been for years. He's completed five tours without reward. Without recognition, never even advancing to the Bronze Wing, let alone the Silver or Gold." He shook his head. "He toils for an Emperor who doesn't care, who wastes his life carelessly. I will not have my life wasted. I want my life to mean something."
Katy looked worried. Spider had joined them at some point, standing off to the side. He glared at Charlie.
Onero only grinned. His smile showed teeth, more savage than friendly.
Chapter 4
Onero swiped at the computer screen with a finger, moving through sheets of data. Charlie, Katy, and Spider stood around the table, watching. Onero stopped when a map appeared: a view of the city from above, showing both the inner and outer, with the dammed river to the west. It was mostly colorless, except for the transportation rails highlighted in orange, and two buildings that blinked green, one in the inner city and one in the outer. Their current location, by the river, was marked by a red square.
"We're constructing a bomb," Onero said, "More precise than the packs we've used before. More powerful. This will be a bomb that brings the Empire to its knees.
"To build it we need materials from two locations." He pointed at a blinking green building, outside the Wall but on the north-east side of the map. "Spider and I will take this one."
But Charlie was staring at the other green light, the one in the inner city near the Terminal. "I know that building," he said. "It's a hospital."
Onero nodded. "Right. That's where you and Katy will go. You need to retrieve a sample of pure plourine."
He touched the side of the screen and a picture of a glass vial appeared, small and thin. Its contents glowed green. Warnings were printed on the side in small, precise text.
"Plourine?" Charlie asked. "Plourine is a drug. Why do we need that?"
"By itself it's a drug, but when mixed with other chemicals it has... different properties."
"I know someone who can get us plourine," Katy said. "It's easy here in the wharf sector."
Onero shook his head. "No, it needs to be pure. Hospital-grade."
He swiped at the screen and the city map disappeared, replaced by a new schematic of mostly straight lines, annotated with tiny letters. "This is the tenth level of the hospital. Plourine is stored in supply closets, here and here." He placed an object on the table: a computer chip, the size of a fingernail. "This will give you access to the supply closets. They reset the codes regularly, so it will only work today."
Charlie connected the chip into a port on his wrist computer. Such chips were standard for giving steadfasts access to different buildings in the city. It wouldn't arouse suspicion at the searchpoint. "This will give us access to the tenth level as well?"
"No," Onero said, "there's a different code required to pass beyond the eighth level. But you'll reach the tenth without issue. That's the level for neurology. Anyone with a brain illness is taken there."
Onero glanced at Katy. She smiled wearily.
After a moment Charlie understood. "What? No! What am I supposed to do, hit her on the head and drag her inside?"
Onero gave him a level look. "It's more nuanced than that."
"I don't care," Charlie said. "I won't be part of anything that hurts Katy."
She put a hand on Charlie's arm. "It's okay. It's just a pill I take that gives me a headache. I'll pretend to be dizzy, delirious. You'll tell them I drank a strange chemical. They'll let you accompany me to the tenth level so you can identify the chemical."
Charlie brushed her hand away. "Let me take the pill instead. Katy can be the one to come along while I risk myself."
"No!" Onero snapped. "Out of the question."
"Why not?" Charlie asked.
"We can't risk it. You're too important."
Charlie frowned. "I thought you said the pill just causes a headache."
"It does." Onero stood up straight, hardening his voice. "Charlie, this is the plan. We've checked every step. Either you follow it the way it's designed, or Katy goes on alone."
Katy's eyes widened.
"The plan is complicated, Charlie, but it will work with your help. If you're resolute, if you're a true believer, you'll do your part and help Katy."
Katy's fear convinced Charlie. He couldn't let her go alone. Besides, under Onero's stare he was beginning to regret his outburst. "Okay. Of course I will go."
Onero frowned at him before bending back to the computer screen. "You'll take Katy to the entrance. When they ask what's wrong you'll say she drank a bottle of chemicals. Tell them you think it had tetracyne as an ingredient. It's important you mention that chemical as one of the ingredients. They'll think she's a junkie trying to get high, and take her to the tenth level. Okay?"
"Tetracyne. Got it."
"We've completed test runs with other members of the Children, so we know the process. The doctors will ask you what the bottle looked like, what color it was, all that stuff. Tell them you don't remember any details, but that you'd recognize it if you saw it. They'll take you upstairs with Katy so you can identify the bottle from a computer list.
"Once upstairs they'll move Katy into a scanning room. They'll send for a chemist and leave you in the hallway outside while they work on her. You'll have a few minutes before the chemist arrives to question you. Go to the supply closet, use the access chip to take a bottle of plourine, and then return to Katy's room."
"That's it?"
"That's it." He explained what to tell the doctors, describing the bott
le Charlie would tell the doctors she drank from. "They'll give her some medicine and observe her 'til she's fine, then release you both."
Charlie stared at the map. It seemed so simple. "There will be cameras everywhere. I'm a steadfast. They'll match my face, record that I was there."
"That's fine," Onero said. "You might be flagged by the computers for suspicious behavior, but it will take a few days for your reprimand to be processed. By then it won't matter."
Katy was giving Charlie an appraising look. It seemed like a solid plan. They'd accounted for everything. Charlie nodded, agreeing to the plan.
From his pocket Onero retrieved a pill, smooth and round. It looked like it would be difficult to swallow. He handed it to Katy, who made it disappear into the pocket of her uniform.
"Meet back here tomorrow, same time. Don't bring the plourine with you; it might get picked up at the searchpoint on your way back in. Security will be heightened in the coming days." Onero put a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "Stick to the plan and everything will be fine. Good luck."
Spider left the warehouse, but Katy and Onero lingered. "I'll meet you outside," Katy said to Charlie. They both stared at him, waiting to be alone.
Charlie left.
Saria was just now peeking over the buildings in the alley; it was still morning, several hours before the midday eclipse. He had plenty of time to steal the plourine and return home before class ended at the Academy, before his brother returned home and Charlie's absence was discovered.
But that's not what truly worried him. Paradoxically, the plan to steal the plourine seemed more dangerous than his mission to blow up the Academy auditorium. That mission had a sense of finality; he would blow himself up and everything would be done. Even if he didn't reach the stage, even if the guards shot him in the aisle, it would be over in one grand act with no consequences.
Stealing plourine had a different resolution. He needed to escape. If the mission failed and he were arrested everyone would find out. Everyone would know, his embarrassment on public display. And he would see the disappointment in his parents eyes. Somehow that terrified him far more than death.
But this was his chance to do something meaningful. This was his chance to prove himself to the Children. They would see that he belonged with them. Katy would see.
She was still inside with Onero. Charlie resisted the urge to go back, to see what they were doing. He saw the way Katy looked at Onero. It was the way the students in the auditorium looked at Commander Jayce, with awe and respect and love. Girls liked men who were powerful, strong. Charlie was neither.
I can be, he thought. Steal the plourine, help Onero with the bomb, and I'll be a hero in my own right.
"What are you staring at?" Katy asked, emerging from the doorway. Her face was flushed. "Are you praying to our Mother?"
Charlie realized he'd been staring at the sun. He looked away but the brightness remained. Tears rolling down his cheeks until his vision returned.
"We pray to her just before the noon eclipse," she said, "when Saria is highest in the sky. She can't hear your prayers the rest of the time, except at dawn and dusk."
"Sorry, no, yeah, I know that," he said, embarrassed. "I was just thinking."
Katy looked around the deserted alley. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."
They walked toward the city in silence.
The Children's religion made Charlie uncomfortable. Like all Melisao he'd been raised to believe in the Emperor's divinity. When the His Luminance died his soul passed into his son, immortal in rebirth. The Emperor had lived a thousand lives, experienced a thousand lifetimes, the scattered stars in the sky evidence of each rebirth. Even if one disliked the Emperor, his holiness could not be denied.
But there were those who denied the Emperor, worshipping the star they orbited instead. The Children of Saria were everywhere, Onero said, on Melis and Praetar and the hundred moons of Ouranos. Silently waiting, the intact flesh beneath a rotting exterior. "And soon the rot will be lanced away," he could hear Onero say.
Charlie was a part of it, even if his piety was lacking. I don't need to believe in their Mother, he thought. Go through the motions, worshipping three times per day, and he would be accepted. All that mattered was he was part of something great, part of an organization that would act. He'd never seen more than half a dozen of the Children at one time, though Katy assured him they were numerous.
Katy seemed pensive as they neared the Wall. He didn't want to say anything to upset her. He wondered what she and Onero had talked about.
There was little he knew about her. She was his age, sixteen years or so. She maintained computer equipment in the inner city, fixing things that broke and replacing the old with the new. That was all. He didn't know about her family, if she had any brothers or sisters. He didn't know what drove her to join the Children, where her devotion originated. Was it her piety toward Saria, or something greater? Charlie imagined she was like him, unhappy with her station in life and wanting to create change. He liked to believe they were similar.
He wanted to ask. He was rarely alone with Katy, as civilians weren't permitted to mingle with students inside the Academy. Walking together, by themselves in the wharf sector, was the perfect time to strike up a conversation. But she was still frowning, her eyes thick with concern. She was definitely worried about something.
She's afraid, he thought. Of course she was; she was about to risk her life, faking illness to gain entry to a building in which she didn't belong. Charlie didn't believe for a second the pill was harmless. Surely Katy felt the same way.
I need to take the pill, he decided. He would swallow it instead, taking her place. The more he thought about it the more sense it made: it would be easier for her to steal the plourine. Civilians in the inner city were mostly ignored, going about their menial tasks in the background, unseen. Even though she didn't belong in the hospital she would go unnoticed. Yes, it was a smarter plan. Safer for Katy.
Now he just needed to get the pill from her.
A few civilians drifted through the square leading up to the Wall, but it was otherwise deserted at this time of day. Katy stopped when they reached the door to the stairwell. "It's better if we go through separately. Wait a few minutes before following me."
She disappeared inside.
Charlie waited. He felt very alone, standing there against the wall. When he passed through that morning nobody gave him more than a glance, but now most of the crowd was gone. The civilians that remained, those without jobs to hurry to, stood around idly. Watching him. Charlie was a steadfast and his presence alarmed them.
He tried to appear relaxed, but he felt stiff, unnatural. A food vendor pushed his cart down an alley, looking over his shoulder as he disappeared. Two other men in brown uniforms quickly walked away. A pair of Firehawk aircraft screamed overhead, the sound of their engines drifting down from the clouds far above. Charlie watched the sleek planes to avoid looking at the civilians. They were just tiny black specks against the blue sky.
It was a relief to finally enter the stairwell. He suppressed the urge to jog the steps; the cameras would see him, and the guards at the searchpoint might become suspicious. The stairs were endless, winding upward. He pitied the civilians who relied on this route to reach their jobs.
Just six civilians stood in line at the searchpoint now. Katy must have already passed through, since she wasn't waiting on the other side. She could have been taken, he thought. Maybe they'll take you too.
But when it was his turn he was scanned and admitted without issue.
He found Katy farther inside the station, waiting by the railway platform. He stood next to her. They didn't speak as the train glided to a stop, opened its doors, and let out a handful of passengers. They chose seats on opposite ends of the aisle, close enough to stay within sight but without appearing together.
The train accelerated, shooting them into the sunlight of the inner city.
Charlie let out a deep breath, as if
releasing a burden he didn't know he was holding during his time in the outer city. The buildings here were new and shone in the sunlight, the ground below the rail was cleanly paved. The rooftop gardens topping each building teemed with life. Charlie watched it all as they moved deeper into the city, stopping occasionally to let people on and off.
They were two stops away from their destination when Katy rose. The train was slowing to a stop outside the Shadowschool, where shades, the Empire's spies, were trained. When the doors opened she disappeared.
Charlie followed, pushing through the passengers trying to enter the train. He kept her within eyesight, while leaving enough space so they wouldn't arouse suspicion, as they'd discussed. The cameras at the rail stations were watched more closely than the others throughout the city.
He followed her down the platform and to the lifts, where they took separate cars to the ground. Katy waited for him near one of the pillars supporting the rail. "We're past the worst cameras. We can walk the rest of the way together."
Charlie nodded. He was beginning to feel queasy, that nervous fluttering in the pit of his stomach. He was glad to be with her again.
She tilted her head. "You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" She cocked her head. "If you're having second thoughts you need to tell me now."
"Stars, Katy," he said, "I'm not having second thoughts."
She lunged at him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him close. "Don't say that!" she snapped through clenched teeth. "There are not stars, that's a lie told by the Emperor. There is only one star, our Mother above. Open your eyes, Charlie!"
His eyes were open, wide with surprise at her outburst. He nodded.
She looked around the street before letting go of his shirt. Her voice softened. "You cannot say things like that, Charlie. If Onero heard, he'd kill you."
"Okay, I'm sorry," he said, holding up his hands. "It's just a force of habit. I'll be careful."
She nodded before beginning to move down the street. After a few deep breaths he followed. Stars take me, it was only--he shook his head. He'd done it again. Would Onero really kill him for a slip of the tongue? He didn't want to find out.
Sword of Blue (Tales of a Dying Star Book 3) Page 4