by Lara Morgan
“Others have been here,” Pip said and pointed at boot prints in the dust. Rosie frowned.
“I think I know where we are.” She led them up the stairs to a short corridor with a door at the end. Beyond it was the bar where she’d met Sulawayo. She told Pip and Stefan about her meeting.
“So she’s been using the tunnels all along,” Stefan said.
“Welcome to the world of Helios secrets.” Pip went behind the bar to check the shelves. “No water, but I had some with me on the bike. If it’s still there. Come on.” His exhaustion was evident but Rosie didn’t suggest they rest. Operatives could be here at any moment.
“Only one bike?” Stefan said as they followed Pip through the ruined town.
“Yeah, but you’re skinny – we’ll fit.”
Stefan looked less than impressed but didn’t reply. None of them had the energy to bicker.
The sun was close to breaking the horizon and it wasn’t yet hot. Shadows spread through the town and the faint damp of the night still lingered. Pip had left his bike and supplies not far from the building Rosie had found him in, but he’d hidden them under a heap of rubble and tin. Too weak to get at it, he instructed Stefan and Rosie how to shift the debris, until they emerged, sweating and dusty, wheeling the large bio bike out and under the back awning of the building. Pip sat down on the front step. “Water and food’s in the hold.”
Rosie got it out. Only two water bottles. They shared one, Rosie forcing Pip to take the largest portion. All of them were too tired to be hungry, but they each took a share of the protein cakes and ate anyway.
“We don’t have much time before they figure out where we’ve gone and send operatives,” Stefan said. He was squinting at the bike. “Maybe I should take my chances here.”
Rosie said, “We’re not leaving you here for them, Stefan.”
“Yeah, well.” He got up and began searching the bike’s hold. “Got any scopes?”
“At the bottom,” Pip said.
Stefan found them and loped away.
Rosie watched him with concern. He was covered in dust and spider webs and looked exhausted and scared. But he’d been Helios for a long time and she couldn’t help worry that he might change his mind and try to signal the Enclave or leave and run back.
“He joined Sulawayo’s little gang, Rosie, he’s not going anywhere. Don’t worry about him,” Pip said, watching her.
“What if he turns on us?” she said, but Pip shook his head.
“He won’t. Besides, if he goes back, odds are he’d be killed or re-educated. He’s been in Helios long enough to know that. A soldier who doubts the cause isn’t worth the risk.”
“Since when are you such a good judge of character?”
“Since always.” He pushed himself up against the wall and gave her a pale imitation of his regular grin. But the smiled faded as they looked at each other.
It was like he was deciding if he was going to say something or not.
“What is it?” She swallowed, suddenly nervous, but he shook his head.
“Nothing. You need to take that serum Cassie made for the implant.” He went to the bike and rummaged through the storage compartment. The muscles on his bare back were tense as he took out a shirt and pulled it on, giving a low grunt as he lifted his arms.
Scared the run from the Enclave had aggravated his wounds, Rosie went after him. “Pip, stop, you need to rest.”
“I’m fine, and you’ve got to take this. Now.” He held a small injector syringe in one hand. “Push your hair out of the way; it goes in your neck.”
She hesitated, thrown by his sudden change of mood now they were alone. He exhaled and said softly, “Come on, don’t be a baby.”
“I’m not.”
He stepped close and lifted her hair to expose the vulnerable skin of her neck. His fingers traced a vein, lingering a moment longer than necessary.
She swallowed, warmth suffusing her skin. “Pip–”
“Sh. Don’t move.” His tone was hard in contrast to his touch and, a moment later, she felt the press of the injector as he pumped the syringe.
She waited, breath held, her heart thudding faster. Then, there it was, a cool stream of something shot through her system. It was as if she’d been injected with a stream of ice. She gasped and immediately Pip had an arm around her, pulling her close. “Rosie?” He sounded scared.
“I’m … okay.” She leaned against him, gripping his forearm, which was around her waist. The serum ran through her neck and up across her scalp, down her torso and spine, and she could feel when it found the nanos and when they let go of their hold on her. The pain in her chest disappeared as well as the sharp jabs in her spine and legs, and then the sense of the implant. All these months it had been inside her after it malfunctioned, she’d felt a heaviness in her mind, like a presence, but now nothing. It was light, released. She caught her breath.
“It’s okay,” she said, straightening. “I’m all right.” He let her go slowly. But there was still a strange tension between them that she couldn’t figure out.
“So the serum, Cassie said it should control the nanos for a time?” She said. He nodded, but his lips were still tight. She wanted to ask him why, but before she could say anything else he’d turned back to the bike.
“We need to contact Essie. I’ll see if my com is still working.”
“Wait.” She pulled the com Sulawayo had given her from her pocket. “I’ve got one here. It’s untraceable.” She flicked it on. “Aunt Essie hasn’t changed her ID, has she?”
“I don’t know. I just used this one.” He took the com from her and tapped in the ping address. They waited, heads close together over the screen. Rosie couldn’t dispel the nervous hollow inside her. Pip was holding something back, but there wasn’t time to find out what it was.
“Pipsqueak?” Essie’s frowning face filled the screen and Rosie’s heart jumped.
“Aunt Essie.”
“Rosie!” Essie grinned and shouted over her shoulder. “Riley, it’s Rosie.”
Riley? Pip and Rosie exchanged a quick incredulous look and, for a second, the distance he’d put between them was gone. But then Essie was back and Riley was at her shoulder, obviously pleased to see them.
“Where are you? What’s the deal?” Essie said. “Are you safe?”
“Um, yeah, we’re out of the Enclave,” Rosie said. “Pip was shot, but he’s okay now. Aunt Essie is Dad–”
“He’s fine,” Essie said. “I got him out of Greenview and into a safe place two days ago.”
“Did you take that serum yet?” Cassie’s voice came from the background.
Startled she was there, Rosie looked at Pip but he was focused on the com.
“Yes, Cass,” he said. “Stop nagging.”
“About time.” Cassie’s voice was strident.
“How is the implant?” Riley said.
“Okay, for now. It feels like the serum worked.” Rosie didn’t want to waste time going into details about that when there was so much to tell him. “Riley, I found things out. Jebediah and Alpha, the head man here, have been working together. The rebellion is a sham, and he’s been killing the rest of the Pantheon.”
Riley’s expression was grim. “I thought so; it explains why I’ve only been finding dead people. I’ve been searching for them, Rosie, but–”
“There’s one left, Alis Chan,” Rosie interrupted. “I haven’t told them where she is. Do you know? Did you find her?”
“She was on Mars, but she’d disappeared by the time I got there. I’m hoping she’s still alive, but the main thing is you’re alive Rosie, both of you.”
“Thanks, boss,” Pip said sarcastically. “Did Cass tell you about the MalX vaccine being stolen?”
“Yes.”
“Jebediah has it now,” Rosie said. “But Riley, there’s something else. I had to give up the plans for the Equinox Gate. They were threatening my dad and–”
“I know Rosie; it’s all right,” he s
aid.
“No, it’s not! I thought they were mostly after the location of the Pantheon members, and I didn’t want to give them all the information, so instead I gave them the sets of numbers that were alongside the names.”
Riley paled. “All of them?”
Rosie nodded. “They were important, weren’t they, more important than the locations?”
“Yes, but you didn’t know that. It’s not your fault. And I didn’t know it when I found them either.”
“Where did you find them?” Rosie asked.
“Franco Brun kept an underground vault beneath a foundry in the ruins of the old city. He’d collated every Pantheon member’s name, their safe houses and those numbers, along with more files on Helios activities. It was some kind of safety net for himself.”
“Not safe enough,” Pip said.
No, it wasn’t. “You know what those numbers are for now, don’t you?” Rosie said. “Do they have anything to do with something called Dark Star?”
“Where did you hear that?” Riley’s tone was sharp.
“I overheard Alpha and Jebediah talking about it.”
“Did you hear anything exact? Plans? Specifications?”
“No, what is it?”
“Dark Star is what I went to Mars to figure out,” Riley said, his gaze bright. “It’s Helios’s ultimate weapon, a satellite command system. It’s a kind of complex relay that links remotely into every recyc water system planet wide – every house, apartment, everywhere they choose – they are going to be able to control the chemical balances of the water. It’s what they’re going to use to release the MalX virus everywhere at once. The Pantheon has been planning it for years, ever since my parents were working for them. I finally found solid evidence it exists on Mars in the old Enclave. I’m sure it’s capabilities are what convinced Jebediah to take it over. Whoever controls Dark Star will control the planet. It’s in orbit in the outer atmosphere right now. I’ve seen it.”
Rosie had a terrible sinking feeling. “And the numbers are linked to making it work, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Riley said. “The Pantheon wouldn’t trust each other to have sole control of it, so each member had a code, and each of those codes is needed to bring it online.”
“And now Jebediah has all of them.” Rosie despaired at what she’d done.
“It’s not your fault,” Pip said in a low voice. “You didn’t know.”
But she shook her head. She’d still done it – handed Jebediah the keys to spreading the MalX planet-wide.
“But how can the UEC or Senate not know it’s there?” she asked Riley.
“Because Jebediah is clever. He’s been doing it under their noses as Curtis and Co, calling it a water project for the New Age. If we want to stop him, we’ve got to destroy it, but I couldn’t find the blueprints. I searched everywhere and without them, even if we get up there, we can’t touch it. It has drones protecting it, sophisticated security measures. We wouldn’t have a chance.”
Rosie felt a tiny kernel of hope grow. “Riley, I think I know where they are. Dalton told me something before we left. He said he’s seen plans on a com his father has, a satellite system of some kind with a massive command system linked to it.”
“Where is the com now?”
“In his dad’s safe in the Enclave.”
Riley and Essie were silent for a few seconds and Rosie felt a chill slide down her spine and she realised what that meant: she had to go back. There was no way Riley or Essie was going to get into the Enclave, not now. And she had to fix her mistake.
Pip was staring at her. “Rosie, you can’t be thinking what I know you are.”
“It’s the only way.” She pleaded with him to understand. “I still have information Jebediah wants, the last known location of the last Pantheon member. It’s not much but he won’t want to leave her alive as a loose end. I’ll be able to get close to him, into his office.”
But Pip’s lips had formed a thin line, his blue eyes like dark ice. “No. Way.”
“Rosie,” Essie called her attention back, “don’t even think about it.”
“I have to.” Rosie was terrified, but the feeling it was right was strong.
“You are not to do it. I forbid it!” Essie glared at her. Riley was watching her with a calm, slightly sad expression she knew well.
“Essie,” he said quietly, “I think it’s the only way.”
“You can’t be serious? Riley–”
“If she can get the plans, she can upload them to the implant,” he said. “She’ll be able to bring them out.”
“You mean the implant that’s not working,” Pip said.
“It will work and the serum Cassie made will keep it stable long enough for you to carry the plans safely,” Riley said.
Rosie swallowed. “But I tried to access the implant with the Helios machine, and it couldn’t do it.”
“Because I turned the receptors off in the nanos, so Helios wouldn’t be able to mess with it. I can tell you how to switch them back on. It’s simple.”
“Jesus Christ, Riley, no!” Pip was furious. “Rosie, I’m not letting you go.”
“We’ll get her out,” Riley said. “And they won’t harm her; I’ll make sure of it. I will contact Jebediah. I know a way to ensure he keeps her alive.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Pip said bitterly.
So had Rosie. The last time it had been Riley deciding to give himself up, to sacrifice his life to Helios, to save hers. It hadn’t worked out that way, but she knew he would do it because Riley believed in giving all for his cause, for those who needed him.
“Tell me how to fix the nanos,” she said.
“Rosie.” Essie’s voice was quiet, pained.
“It’s okay,” Rosie said. “I won’t be alone. Dalton is still there, and another girl, Gillian. I know I can count on her. And Sulawayo–”
“Sulawayo is either dead or she’s taken off. She wouldn’t have hung around after pulling a gun on her boss,” Pip said. “And Dalton and Gillian are either dead or in a cell by now. And they’ll do the same to you as soon as you go back in. How are you going to do anything?”
“I’ll find a way. Like Riley said, I still have information they want. They have to get rid of the last Pantheon member. She’s too much of a risk to leave her out in the wind.”
“How do you know they didn’t make her disappear already?” Pip said.
“They haven’t,” Riley said. “I’m sure of it. And I’ll make sure they think she’s still around. I can do things from here, Pip, or have you forgotten?”
Pip made a disgusted noise and swore under his breath then walked away. Rosie did her best to ignore him. “I’m sorry, Aunt Essie,” she said. “Riley, tell me what to do with the nanos.”
It was as simple as he said. Her aunt hated the idea, but Rosie tried to assure her she would be okay. When she turned the com off though, she felt she had barely convinced herself, much less anyone else.
Pip was fiddling with the bike, tension clear in the set of his shoulders, his movements jerky with anger. She took a hesitant step towards him.
“Pip?”
“Stefan will be back any minute. We’ve got to get ready to go,” he said.
A terrible ache filled her chest. “Pip, you can’t come.”
He didn’t stop putting the gear he’d dropped on the ground back in the bike.
She put a hand on his arm. “Stop–”
He whirled around. “You’re not going back there alone, Rosie. They’ll kill you.”
“I am. I have to. I need to fix this.”
His mouth hardened. “Not going to happen.”
“Pip?”
“No.” His face twisted with pain. “Why do you do this, Rosie?” he said fiercely. “Why do you have to be some goddamn heroic? I can’t–” His lips compressed. “First you run off, without telling me, deliberately not telling me, now you’re doing it again and you don’t want me with you. I’m not some us
eless–” He stopped, his breath shaky. “I know I’m injured, but I came back for you. I always do. Why do you keep leaving me behind?”
Tears filled her eyes. “I’m not. It’s not like that,” she whispered. “But I have to do this.”
He stepped close, blue eyes blazing with emotion, and took her face in trembling hands. “Then let me help you. Jebediah needs me as well. That vaccine is only a start. He won’t have the cure without me. I’m your best bargaining chip.”
Rosie felt like her heart might break, and right then, for a second, she wanted nothing more than to jump on the bike and run away with him, go somewhere safe, anywhere but here. But running away didn’t solve anything. She put her hands over his and pulled them away.
“I have to do this alone.”
Hurt and disappoint filled his face and she said, “Pip, it will be more dangerous if you’re with me; they want you too badly. You have to go back to Riley and Essie.”
He stared at her, as if he couldn’t quite believe what she’d said. Then they both heard the distant sound of engines coming towards the ruins.
Rosie backed away. “You have to go.”
“No.” He grabbed for her hand, but he was still weak and she twisted out of his grip. At that moment, Stefan ran back around the corner.
He stopped as he saw them. “What’s going on?”
“Pip, please just get on the bike,” she said. “Stefan can drive.”
“No.” He glared at her with frustration.
She couldn’t bear the pain on his face but he had to understand. “You have to. I’ll be okay.”
The engines were getting closer.
“Come on!” Stefan ran to the bike and started it.
“You can’t help me in there, Pip,” Rosie said. “You’ll only complicate things and there will be two of us Riley has to get out. Besides, Dalton is still there. He will help me, but you can’t, not now. It’s him I need now, not you.”
At that something in his face changed. “Right, Dalton,” he said and a queer anger twisted his lips. She knew he’d react like that; it was why she said it. It had hurt him that she’d confided in Dalton before and not him. It made her hate herself a bit, but she needed him to leave. It worked. He backed away and went to the bike. “Move, I’m driving,” he snapped at Stefan. The boy didn’t argue, shuffling back on the seat.