by Jamie Davis
“How did she escape the property if your units had the building surrounded?”
“A news van is missing from the facility. We suspect she used some sort of enchantment to conceal it. There are no reports of any vehicle leaving the property after their arrival.”
Kane quietly digested the information.
Couch didn’t like to make excuses, but he wouldn’t let the Director hold his men responsible for something they had no way of knowing ahead of time.
Finally, Kane nodded.
“There are ways magic could be used to conceal something as large as a van from middling eyes.” He looked over at Couch. “Very well, what’s done is done. Now we consolidate our power where we can.”
“Agreed,” Couch said. “We hold the capital, obviously. We also hold power in most of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the central portion of New Amsterdam. I recommend we fortify the central portions of each city so that it’s easier to control the populace and halt attacks by insurgents like Durham and her runners.”
“That makes it look like we’re on the defensive,” Kane objected. “We must show them all we have no intention of backing down. Holing up in cities that we control doesn’t project the right image.”
“We’re not erecting defensive positions, sir. We are creating safe staging areas from which we can strike back at any forces arrayed against us. Think about it. We’ll hold all the central locations of power in each area. Electricity, water, public transportation centers and the media—all of it in our control in those cities. It’s how you control the populace, sir, by governing the things they need to live and thrive. No one will oppose us after we make a few examples of the agitators.”
“That makes sense,” Kane said. “And you’re certain you can use these safe staging areas to hunt Durham and her people? To bring them to justice?”
“It’s only a matter of time. If we control all the power and resources, public support for her little revolution will fade. Someone will turn her in, then we’ll finish her once and for all.”
“I certainly hope so, General. Durham has proven much more resilient than I’ve given her credit for. She’s managed to find a way out and thwart me, dead to rights, every time.”
The Director sighed. “We’ll try your fortified city plan. See if it smokes the girl and her crew out of hiding. If nothing else, it will discourage others.”
Couch stood from the table and nodded. “I’ll have daily reports on our progress sent to you, Director.” He started to leave and turned back with a thought. “What do you want me to do with the Assembly, sir? As part of our fortification plans, we’ll be occupying capital buildings.”
Kane laughed, waved a hand in the air. “Lock them up. They’ve served their purpose. Now that they’ve all turned on me, let’s not let them live under the pretense of being in charge. You can lock up the senators and their aides with the general population in the federal prison building downtown. I’ll sort through the survivors when I get a chance, see if there’s anyone of use.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll implement the arrests back at HQ.” General Couch turned away and marched back to the long hallway and double vault doors of Kane’s bunker.
There was a lot of work to do for his limited supply of soldiers. He still had a few officers whose loyalty he couldn’t be sure of. Maybe he’d assign a few to the Assembly arrests. He could have them all watched for anyone who might question their orders, then have anyone mutinous arrested on the spot.
There was so much still to be done.
CHAPTER 10
Winnie’s return to the Pike a day later was anything but the triumphant arrival she’d planned after her interview aired. They hid in an abandoned building on the outskirts of Baltimore for a dozen hours to avoid detection, waiting for military traffic to finally die.
The cell towers were disabled, so Winnie and the others had been unable to call ahead and tell her followers at the Pike that she was safe. By the time they got there it had been a full twenty-four hours since their departure.
Tris came rushing out when Winnie stepped out of the van. “Winnie! We didn’t know what happened to you.”
“We’re all fine,” Winnie said. “It was close but we got away.”
“Everyone back at the abandoned amusement park was watching the interview live when the screen went blank,” Tris said. “There were reports of armed soldiers storming broadcast centers that came in over the next hour or so. Then all the stations went dark. The Internet went next. And we couldn’t get you on the phone. We—”
“I’m sorry, all we could do was drive back here and tell you what happened once we got here.”
“It’ll be better once everyone sees you and realizes you’re here and safe, especially Garraldi’s team.” Tris pointed to the heavily armed guards filing out of the doorway and clustering around their leader. “They’ve all been going over possible rescue plans since the broadcasts went dark. I tried to tell them we didn’t even know where to send a rescue party, let alone if one was even needed.”
“Garraldi will deal with them,” Winnie said. “But I’ll say a few words, thank them for being so worried. How is everyone else? The Twins?”
“Better now that we know you’re safe. I told the others to keep the twins in the dark. I didn’t see any reason to worry them with what we didn’t know. Turns out I didn’t have to worry about them at all.”
“What do you mean?” Winnie asked.
“I went to check on them a few hours ago. Fiona looked up at me and said, ‘Winnie’s fine, Tris. She’s on her way here. They didn’t get her.’ Then the kid went back to reading as if predictions were like hiccups.” Tris shrugged. “I didn’t think anything at the time. I figured it was wishful thinking on her part and that they’d overheard us talking after you disappeared. Now that you’ve showed up safe and sound, I’m starting to wonder what else she knows but isn’t telling us.”
“It’s probably a matter of us not asking either of them the right questions. We don’t know everything they can do, and they don’t know all the things we can’t do.” Winnie shook her head. “I need to work with them directly. I can’t help thinking that we’ve been missing something important. If we can teach others to do what they can do … well imagine what some additional powers could do to help us defeat Kane.”
“It’s worse than you think, Winnie,” Garraldi said coming over with a member of his security team. “This is Benny. When we went off-grid and all the info sources died, he was smart enough to send messengers to Colten in Philly and Artos in Baltimore. They got back just before we arrived. Things are bad in the city centers, boss. The Army’s in control of everything. They’re fortifying locations around the power plants, communication hubs, and water pumping stations. No one’s allowed in or out of the central parts of the cities at all.”
“It’s a coup by the military,” Winnie said. “They’ve got to be working with Kane. Somehow he gained control and is making an end run around the Assembly.”
Danny stood there shaking his head. “The military has a long tradition of following civilian authority in this country. There aren’t coups in the United Americas.”
Tris said, “I don’t know what else you’d call it. Kane is a civilian authority, though not the lawful one. Maybe he’s using them against their will. Could this be more of his mind control tricks? You know, like he did to Danny before?”
“Maybe. More likely he’s formed an alliance with some general who’s taken control of troops around the capital. It’s not like the Army’s all that large anymore. We haven’t needed to worry about foreign incursions since the trans-continental fall of Europe. We need to know what’s happening everywhere else.” Winnie turned to Tris. “Is there a way we can reach out and contact other parts of the country without using the phone lines? I need to know if this is a regional thing or if other cities have been seized by the military, too.”
“If we had a shortwave radio set up, I might be able to reach other independent operator
s. Let me think on it.”
“Why don’t you just open a window and talk to the people you want to reach?” said a tiny voice behind them.
Winnie turned around, then crouched down in front of the twins. “What do you mean by ‘open a window’ Fiona?”
“Like this.”
Fiona drew a rectangle in the air between them. The outline stayed visible as thin silver thread trailed her finger. She tapped the center of the rectangle.
Suddenly, Winnie wasn’t looking at the girl’s face through the rectangle, but down a narrow alleyway between two buildings.
“Fiona, what am I looking at right now?” Winnie asked.
“That’s the alley outside of our hideout in Baltimore. We used this window to make sure the coast was clear before we came out each night. I’m sure it could be used to look other places, too. So I asked Jacob and he said that I was right.”
Winnie smiled. She looked at Tris, wanting to wink. “I really need to spend more time with these kids.”
“I think we all do,” Tris said.
“Fiona,” Winnie said. “Close the window and show me again how you do it. I want to watch with my magic eyes.”
“Sure.” The girl tapped the window in the center again with one finger. It faded to nothing like fog in the sun. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
Winnie shifted her vision to the magical spectrum and nodded.
She watched Fiona draw ribbons then channel them through her fingertips, tracing the outline in the air. Her movement was complex and yet strangely simple.
Fiona tapped the rectangle and Winnie saw something she recognized.
The small room where the twins lived, here at the Pike.
“That’s amazing, Fiona. Do you know if you can talk to someone through the hole?”
“I think so. We can hear things from the other side when we open it.”
“Let me try something.” Winnie held up one hand, forefinger extended and started scribing a rectangle in the air to one side.
She concentrated and tapped on the center when she finished.
The window opened into a familiar office. Winnie spoke.
“Hello, Cleaver. Can you hear me?”
The man behind the desk jolted in alarm then looked around his office.
His eyes found the window.
His jaw dropped. He stood, almost too fast.
Then he scrambled around his desk and up to the window, staring at Winnie, who was smiling from the other side. He smiled back. “Girl, you never cease to amaze me.”
“It’s a trick a new friend showed me.” Winnie winked at Fiona.
Cleaver looked down at the little girl. “That one of the twins I’ve been hearing so much about?”
“Yes, this is Fiona. Fiona, this is Cleaver Yorke, a friend of ours from New Amsterdam.”
“Hello,” the little girl said.
“Hello, Fiona. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Cleaver looked up at Winnie. “So, Winnie, all communications are down. We’re back to writing notes and sending them by messenger. I assume that’s not just local.”
“We’re pretty sure it’s a national blackout. Kane has implemented some sort of military coup. We’re trying to figure out how far it extends: who’s been caught up in it and who’s still free.”
“There was a bit of a scuffle between the local NAPD and some uniformed militia units. Soldiers managed to capture some portions of the financial districts, but the mayor cut them off. He’s been on local radio and TV telling everyone to stay calm, but most people are still freaking out. How are things down there?”
“We think Kane’s goons are in full control of the capital and have some forces in Philadelphia and Baltimore. I’m going to use this trick to check in with the other Sable bosses around the country to see how they’re faring. My guess is that with the standing army being so small and based in this part of the country, the farther we get from the capital, the less control Kane has.”
“That’s a safe bet.” Cleaver scratched his stubble, thinking. “Have you thought about moving? I’m sure the mayor would offer you sanctuary.”
Winnie shook her head. “I need to head off Kane. We’re not strong enough to confront him directly yet, but I’m hopeful we can gather forces from local police and ex-army types, among the middlings who don’t want him running the government any more than we do.”
“It’s risky to stay that close to his center of power,” Cleaver said. “But you’re the boss. I’ll put together some more of the guys from up here to send you. Maybe the mayor will lend us some resources, too.”
“That would be great.” Winnie smiled.
Cleaver was her strongest ally among the other Sable bosses. If he did this, others would be inclined to swell her ranks. She’d need all the help she could get to pull this off.
“Let me show you how to open one of these windows. It’s complex but once you know the trick, I think most chanters of moderate ability will be able to pull it off. Then you can contact the other bosses for me and coordinate, sending some support my way.”
“Good idea. I’ll check in with them and get back to you.”
Winnie nodded. She took a few minutes showing Cleaver how to draw and direct the flows to form a window. It took tremendous power to open the small hole but when Cleaver created one on his end his smile could have swallowed them all.
“I’ll coordinate with Garraldi once I know how many people I can send your way.”
“Thanks, Cleaver,” Winnie said. “Just let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Have you considered what we should be doing to help the chanters in camps? Maybe once you have enough people, you could stage another raid.”
“I don’t know. They’re safe enough there for now. We destroyed the Harvester antenna at the closest camp. The others don’t have theirs built yet, so as long as they’re getting fed, it’s probably better to have them out of the cities until we can gain control and defeat Kane.”
“Makes sense. I know a lot of my guys have family and friends in those camps. None of them are sleeping.”
“Same here. I’ll check around, see if we can get some surveillance back up around the camp. But as long as they’re safe, it’s probably best to leave them where they are.”
“Agreed,” Cleaver said. “I’ll get back in touch when I know something.”
“Sounds good. Let me know.”
Winnie closed the window then turned and looked down at the twins, both still standing at her side.
“Thank you both for showing me your trick.”
“We like helping you, Winnie,” Fiona said.
Jacob nodded beside her.
“Have either of you ever tried to open a window like that … ” Winnie’s voice fell to a whisper. “That you could pass through, from one side to the other?”
The children shook their heads.
Winnie shrugged. “No big deal. I’ll think on it. It might be helpful.”
Tris laughed. “Helpful? You could send supplies and people instantly. We could jump to Kane’s location and kill him.”
“It might not be safe to randomly open a window to somewhere you don’t know,” Winnie said. “But we could use it to check on the closest camp. You’ve been there so it should be easy enough. Do you think you can open a window?”
“If Cleaver can do it, so can I.”
“Good. Now if only we had a window to Kane.”
CHAPTER 11
Kane circled the bed, leaving the listless and naked Jane Margolis, former director of Magical Research, lying there spent.
He slipped on a robe and eyed the woman he considered his toy.
Something had snapped inside him the night the Durham girl released her video. Attacking Jane in his office, Kane’s anger surged his power to new levels and helped him delve into areas of the woman’s mind he’d never touched before.
Every time he opened himself to the power, Kane found that he could draw in even more magic. Go deeper.
He’d also sensed a presence nearby when using this new power.
It wasn’t a person; it was something else.
Nils felt its every time he used his new-found powers to control Jane.
It always dissipated after he finished toying with her.
This time it lingered.
Kane crossed his underground apartment, deep inside his hidden bunker beneath the Red Leg headquarters in the capital. He’d kept control of the Sable magic he’d been using on Jane, not letting it go like he usually did.
It must be drawn to the magic.
This time Kane opened himself up as wide as he could go, drawing in more energy, then pouring that energy into his apartment.
At first nothing happened.
Then, a black dot appeared in the air, slowly widening into a spinning black sphere about the size of a basketball.
The surface was polished smooth. It looked like a glass ball filled with ink spinning in the air.
Kane could see his face reflected in the dark surface as he approached it.
He looked into the darkness, felt that presence, this time closer.
After a moment the face looking back morphed and shifted.
It was no longer his reflection.
Now it was a face surrounded by a nimbus of faint purple light.
The visage was hideous, it’s skin pocked and lined with scars, the mouth crammed with needle sharp teeth.
A pair of goat horns sprouted from the forehead.
Kane wanted to step back but he was frozen. Fascinated. He’d never seen such a creature before and could feel the power emanating from the being on the other side of the spinning globe’s surface.
“Greetings, Nilrem,” the rumbling, bass voice sounded deep inside his brain. “I’ve been waiting for you to access this part of your inner being. It’s been a long time coming.”