by J Bennett
He grins at us and then seems to finally take in the scene in front of him. “Whoa, were you doing girl talk? Hold on, hold on, let me get a cam in here. Iron, wipe that scowl then go back to what you were doing. Repeat the whole convo. Any claws come out? Because I was thinking we need some tension in the group. Maybe a henchmen feud. You two would be perfect. The cunning beauty versus the…” he looks at me, clearly digging for a descriptor.
“Wait, which one is the cunning beauty?” I ask sarcastically.
Gold ignores my question. “Let’s brainstorm this. We’ll need something to start the conflict.”
“Nitrogen,” Mermaid says. “I’ll seduce him and Iron gets jealous.”
Gold frowns. “I see what you’re saying, but it seems, I don’t know, not exactly believable. I mean, you hearting Nitrogen?”
Mermaid shrugs. “He could be handsome if he tried, and he’s a strong fighter. We could make a good match.”
Gold’s big, easy smile is nowhere to be seen. In fact, his shoulders seem suddenly tense. “It’s just that…” he begins, but Mermaid cuts him off.
“We don’t tell Nitrogen a thing. He’ll be confused, flustered by my attention. Viewers will love that.”
I stare between the two of them as they toss around Sequoia’s heart like it was a toy. “You’re both awful!” I cry and push past Gold to leave the kitchen.
“It’s just the game, Wholesome,” he calls after me.
“That’s what I was trying to tell her,” Mermaid says.
I have nowhere to go inside the house, so I stumble outside, letting the cooling evening air soothe the flames in my mind. Everything Mermaid said echoes in my head, and I think I’m starting to believe her.
Life is a game. Mermaid is playing it. So is Gold and even The Professor. Adan is def playing the game, and he’s holding Leo in the balance.
Leo.
We’ve got to save him and not only to rescue our next ep. I hate to admit it, but I want Leo back on our team. I want to see his calm face, hear his smooth voice spiced with hints of amusement. I want to see his eyes and try to guess at all the hard memories hidden behind them.
A realization crashes into my mind. If I want to save Leo, I’ve got to step onto the board and start playing the Fame Game. I exhale a long, long breath as a new molten certainty settles across me. It’s time I stop reacting to what everyone else is scheming and start making my own moves.
***
An hour later, we gather in Sequoia’s living room. The Professor grins with unsuppressed glee. Gold paces, chewing the golden lipstick off his lips. Ash Anders lounges on the couch next to Kitty, scrolling through messages on his Band.
“It should be any…” Gold begins and then my Band vibrates.
“Here it comes,” Sequoia says.
A holo-screen projects from my Band, splashing up my forearm. Sequoia’s Pod throws a much larger holo-screen on the wall. All the screens begin playing the same vid. The Professor peers from the screen, looking grimly satisfied. We henchmen stand behind him in our colorful lab coats guarding a nobly unbowed Ash Anders.
“You dismissed my ideas. You denied my grant applications. You laughed behind my back,” The Professor begins. As he continues the spiel we recorded this morning, the cam flicks from The Professor to a close-up of Gold’s face, then Mermaid’s, and then lingers on Ash Anders. It pans back, to take in the whole room.
I stare at my own hard expression and clenched fists. In some strange way, I feel like I’m watching a different person, someone cold and cruel. A henchman. We are all silent as the short vid plays out, ending with The Professor’s demand for President Sage Anders to deliver $10 billion in unmarked bills in order to reacquire her son.
Overall, I have to admit Gold did a decent job with the hostage vid. He relied too heavily on startling close-up shots, and the background music was overly aggressive, but I appreciate the slight echo he added to The Professor’s voice and the filter he used that leeched most of the color out of the scene. No surprise that Gold and Mermaid were heavily featured in the vid, including several close-ups of their faces looking sufficiently menacing.
Leo would have been more artful about it, I think. Gold’s hostage vid was bold but predictable. Still, not bad.
The Professor is obvi happy with it. “Excellent! Excellent!” he crows. “That will certainly give the world something to think about! No one shall discount The Professor anymore.”
“You shouldn’t have brought up my mother,” Ash Anders says. He came off well in the vid, looking defiant and courageous. “Now, let’s discuss my brilliant escape.”
The Professor frowns.
“Mr. Mayor, the cams are rolling,” Gold tells him beseechingly and points to the two cam drones floating above us, capturing our reaction to our own hostage video. “We don’t want the fans to know you aren’t really a hostage, so I’ll have to edit out that last part. How about you look nervous and angry? Maybe say something like, ‘You’ll never get away with this, Professor!’”
Ash Anders gives Gold a look of distaste. “I’ll look suitably angry after we discuss my escape.”
“I do have some thoughts on that,” The Professor says, “but I’d rather discuss them with you privately. So, if you’d please, Mr. Anders, I would like to continue with a short bit of gloating for the ep. I expect we shall receive an official response soon enough.”
Ash Anders crosses his arms over his chest. “Fine. Finish your scene. Then we talk.”
He smirks at The Professor. “Nice little vid, Professor, but you won’t be getting your $10 billion anytime soon. Seeing as I am not a lobbyist with pockets full of Loons, my mother will hardly care I’m in your custody.”
Ouch! Leave it to Ash Anders to take a political dig at Momsey during his captivity.
The Professor laughs in delight. “You talk a big game for a prisoner.”
“Well, I hear you don’t currently have such a great track record of hanging onto your prisoners,” Ash Anders shoots back, a little grin on his face. He still wears the green suit. His jacket is rumpled, and his jaw sports dark scruff that gives him a handsome, unvarnished look.
The Professor frowns dramatically and points his cane at Anders. “It just so happens that my last guest was going to help me test out a very special and experimental machine I’m building. Since he so rudely escaped, I’m on the lookout for another test subject.”
I glance up at the two cam drones hovering at opposite ends of the room. I need to time my words just right. “Professor, what an excellent hostage vid,” I pipe up. “The world will tremble at your name, but we have another problem.”
I haven’t told anyone about Adan’s ultimatum or about the big bold plan I’ve crafted over the last hour while walking circles in Sequoia’s backyard. I want their reactions to be authentic. All eyes in the room turn to me. I open my mouth to deliver my hook when my Band buzzes.
Again.
I glance down as the holo-screen washes up my arm, then I look to Sequoia’s Pod, which has also automatically activated. Another town-wide message? That would make three in a single day. It’s unheard of, but, then again, these are highly unusual times.
We all look to the holo-screen on the wall. It flickers white for another moment and then resolves into a face that launches sparks up dread up my spine. Beacon stares back at me from beneath her iconic golden helmet. Her loose blonde hair tumbles around her shoulders. I can see the upper part of her costume, all twisting shades of red and gold with the glowing lighthouse emblem stamped in white on her chest. Behind her, I see the pale purple walls of her study. She must be at her headquarters.
“Professor, your depravity knows no end,” she says, her husky voice so familiar and damning. Her violet eyes seem to stare right at me. I want to gape—Beacon is talking to us! —but the cams are rolling, so I force myself to seem calm.
“This time you’ve gone too far,” Beacon continues. Despite her position of disfavor with the City Council, she must sti
ll have some allies tucked away at PAGS. She knew The Professor’s vid was coming. There’s no other way she could have gotten on the air so soon afterward.
“I admit that it was never my intention for you to tumble into that solar furnace all those years ago,” Beacon is saying now, “but, Buddha help me, I wish you’d stayed there.”
Now she looks angry, her lips pressed tightly together. “And yet, here we are. Professor, I have a new deal for you. I can’t get you the $10 billion you asked for, but I can give you something else you want.” She pauses and lifts her chin just a millimeter. She looks so proud, so beautiful as she speaks.
“I can give you me.”
“What?” The Professor cries, ever the performer, leaning heavily on his cane.
Beacon looks steadily into the cam. “I’ll trade myself for Ash Anders.” Beacon swallows. A look of regret wash over her face, which is impressive considering her face is mostly covered by a mask.
“Meet me in Iconic Square tomorrow at noon to make the exchange.” She gives the cam one more fierce look, and then the vid feed cuts out and the holo-screen disappears.
We all stare in silence at the now-empty wall. My heart beats wildly in my chest. A prisoner exchange with Beacon!
“It’s obvi a trap.” Mermaid is the first to speak.
“Of course it’s a trap,” The Professor says and raises his index finger as if to bestow upon us an important lesson, “but it is also an opportunity. No doubt Beacon has some sort of plan, but she must also be present at the exchange. That gives us a chance.”
“What about my escape?” Ash Anders explodes. Gold grimaces. He’ll need to do a lot of editing on these scenes.
“Perhaps we can arrange that as part of tomorrow’s exchange,” The Professor tells him and then looks pained. “It would be helpful to have our erstwhile producer back with us to record such a momentous occasion.”
Beacon’s appearance has thrown my thoughts asunder, but even I can recognize a good lens opportunity when it rolls out the red carpet for me.
“I think I can help with that,” I pipe up. I step closer to The Professor and slap an amused little smile on my face. My boss gives an assessing look. He knows I’m preening for the lens. Will he let me continue or slap me down?
“Yes, my little element?” The Professor asks.
I let my gaze sweep the room. In this moment the lens is all mine. “I’ve made contact with Shine,” I tell the room. Beacon’s vid changes things, but I think my plan can still work. Adapt, adapt, adapt, Tickles preaches.
“Shine wants to make a deal,” I say and give the quiet laugh I’ve been practicing before bed each night. “But I have a better idea. I say we give him a little surprise that will make him regret ever leaving his cell.”
Chapter 22
Injury and death are always a possibility, but the greater risk is doing nothing. ~ Beacon, S12, E3
~
I wake up to the gentle buzz of my Band and the heavy aroma of coffee. Sunlight streams from the front windows of Sequoia’s living room, and I wince at the brightness. My brain is groggy, wallowing in wispy dreams. Then, in a moment, reality strikes, blowing away the remnants of those dreams.
Castillo v PAGS.
Beacon.
Leo.
Flashes of memory hit me. We’d stayed up nearly all night, the others planning the big prisoner exchange in Iconic Square this afternoon while Sequoia and I cemented our mini side adventure. Even Ash Anders had gotten into the swing of things, tossing out bold suggestions for his big escape. I remember The Professor stepping into the hallway to begin making calls.
Now my stomach tightens as I realize what I have to do today. It’s not just that my plan is risky, it’s also a little… evil. Will I be able to cross those lines? Should I?
Adan’s the one who nabbed Leo, I remind myself. And Lysee went behind my back. They’re both playing the game. These thoughts are true, but they’re hardly comforting. Instead, they make my stomach twist more. We need Leo back. This thought, at least, doesn’t feel slimy. Leo is the only one who can unlock the footage of the Chicago heist. We also need him to capture our dramatic hostage swap with Beacon this afternoon.
I sit up on the couch and notice a thin figure standing in front of the windows, gazing out into the world. The Professor is in full costume. Did he ever go to bed last night? In the kitchen, I hear Sequoia humming softly to himself. A glance at my Band tells me that I have only about half an hour before the two of us need to set off on our quest. I push myself off the couch, sway a little, then find my feet. Before I head to the bathroom, I step up beside The Professor. He clutches his hands behind his back. The sunlight turns his steely gray hair almost white, like a halo around his head.
“Today I meet Beacon once again,” he says, his eyes still riveted outside. “I have my plan and she has hers.” I notice his bowtie no longer shifts colors. Its charge must be dead.
I look over my shoulder. No cam drones hover in the air.
The Professor shakes his head sorrowfully. “Back in the day, we’d plan a battle like this for months. My producer would have lunch with Beacon’s producer. They’d catch up and then plot out our eps together. There was still room for improvisation, mind you,” The Professor says as if this is important, “but the outcome was already planned. No one got hurt that way.”
Outside, a rental scooter zips by carrying a teenage girl, her skirt pleated with zippers and her scarlet hair streaming behind her.
“But the crush of ratings got heavier and heavier,” The Professor speaks. “Heroes and villains began to quarrel about who got the best storylines. Some of the personalities didn’t follow their cues. The sidekicks and the henchmen started to steal lens time. Then Bright spun off. That was the first major defection.” The Professor’s voice is deep and smooth. “These days, we linger in our lonesome camps, everyone trying to outwit the other,” he continues. “Only the City Council knows all the threads. They watch the cams, they maneuver the producers. We play their game now.”
The Professor looks tired, but there’s also something else in his expression.
“You love it anyway, don’t you?” I ask.
He turns to me, his eyes almost colorless in the pale sunlight. “I think perhaps I am getting too old for this game, that retirement was the wiser option.” Now a wry smile pulls at his thin lips. “But it is exciting, is it not, Iron?”
His plan for today is bold. And very dangerous. Especially now, in the post-Castillo v PAGS world. Yet, I can’t help nodding.
“Yes, it is exciting,” I admit. No matter what happens, viewers will remember this day.
“Coffee,” Sequoia says behind us.
“Excellent!” The Professor nods. “I do hope you used adequate heat to extract as much volatile flavor compounds from the coffee beans as possible.”
“Oh yes, it’s plenty hot.” Sequoia grins and holds out a steaming mug in each hand.
“Actually, I need to get ready,” I tell him, suddenly aware of my mussed hair, sticky eyes, and serious morning breath. “We’ve got to go soon.”
The Professor takes his mug and turns again to the window. “Go on, then,” he says warmly to me. “I would very much appreciate the presence of our fearless producer at this afternoon’s festivities.”
I tidy myself up in the bathroom as quickly as possible. As my hands quickly weave my dark hair into a braid, I stare at my face in the mirror. I see the same brown eyes and blunt nose, but inside I feel different. I’m not just Alice Hannover anymore. Iron lives inside me, too, and I’m going to need her strength and cunning today if I’m going to beat Shine and get Leo back.
But why do I feel so weak, so uncertain? Why does every move I make in this dark game feel like I’m losing myself a little more? I tie the white bow to the bottom of my braid and turn away from the mirror.
In the office, I find Gold asleep at the desk, head cradled in his arms and goggles tossed to the floor. We’ve all been letting our guard down a
bout protecting our identities, all of us except Mermaid. She still slips away each night to her own place and has never removed her goggles.
“How long was he up?” I ask Kitty who stands guard next to him.
“He fell asleep three two hours and twenty-six minutes ago after stitching together a stupidly aweso scene of our plan to defeat Beacon,” Kitty answers with a big smile.
“Just make sure he doesn’t oversleep,” I tell her. “The Professor will need all the help he can get.” Especially if Sequoia and I can’t make it to the Square in time, I think to myself.
“Oh yes,” Kitty says. Her pointed ears swivel on her head. “I have strict orders to wake him up at 9 AM or if he starts having nightmares.”
Nightmares? I glance down at Gold again. In sleep, his face is soft and young, his lips their natural color. No golden lipstick yet. He almost looks innocent. I don’t know much about his past, only that his parents abandoned him in one of those kid drop-off depots. I’d probs have nightmares about them too if I’d grown up there. Then again, I have nightmares of my own.
Gently, I reach over Gold and tug Sequoia’s Goggs from his hand. Gold frowns, and his eyes flick open. I can practically see the dreams still dancing in front of him.
“Go back to sleep,” I tell him.
I’m not sure that he hears me, but his eyes sink closed and he sighs softly into his arms. My heart trembles. Will he get hurt again today? What if it isn’t a stun laz this time? What if it’s a full laz shot that roasts him from the inside out?
I realize that I care about Gold, despite his scheming and his antics. Mermaid, too, though I know she’ll betray us again if the opportunity is good enough. Over the past few weeks, it feels as if my old life has faded into the background and this new henchman life has come to the forefront.
“Watch over him today,” I tell Kitty.