"You're a vigilante," said Jameson with realization and a frown.
"Yes!" said Dane with excitement, but then seeing Jameson's frown he dropped his tone. "No. Not a vigilante. Just a concerned citizen."
Jameson gave Dane a sidelong glance. "If you've made it up here, you must be very concerned citizens."
"We are in fact extremely concerned," said Abby.
"Our civic duty is very important to us," said Dane.
"I know you're lying to me," said Jameson, "but I can't quite figure out your angle."
"Right now, we all want to stop Carmichael from destroying the city," said Dane. "And like you, we're under guard, so all we can do is watch the dastardly old man do his thing."
Jameson shrugged. "They took my gun. I know they searched you for guns as well. I'm not sure how you think you're going to stop Carmichael any better than I."
"I find that the solution to most difficult problems is creative thinking," said Dane.
Abby raised her eyebrow and stared at Dane until he became uncomfortable enough to meet her gaze.
"Also gadgets, lots of gadgets," said Dane.
"Gadgets? I fail to see how gadgets will be much help," said Jameson. "They took my gun and I'm pretty sure if I got on my phone, one of these big gorillas would wrestle it out of my hands."
"It's all about the right gadget for the right job," said Dane, opening up his satchel.
"Oh, your bag of useless crap," said Jameson. "Isn't that what he called it?"
Dane smiled. "Eye of the beholder and all that. One man's trash, one man's treasure. Pearls before swine. Some other profound proverb."
Jameson smiled patronizingly. "Do you have anything in there to back all that talk up?"
"Don't you have a knockout gas grenade?" said Abby. "You mentioned that yesterday."
"Our friend over there let you in with a grenade?" said Jameson.
"It doesn't look like a grenade," said Dane.
"What does it look like?" said Jameson.
Dane fished in the bag and pulled out the grenade-that-didn't-look-like-a-grenade. "A Christmas snow globe of Old Avalon." He shook it gently and white fake snow fell down on a cityscape that coincidentally included the building they were now in. Avalon was written in large gold letters on the skyline.
"Oh, you're crazy! That explains a lot," said Jameson.
"I'm actually going to side with Jameson on this one," said Abby, who had not realized the form the grenade took.
"It's a disguised grenade, made to look harmless," said Dane. "Like James Bond gear."
"That's definitely well disguised," said Jameson with some amusement.
"Are you sure it's really a grenade, Dane?" said Abby. "Have you ever used it?"
"Of course I've never used it, it's a grenade! It only has one use!"
"So it could just be a snow globe," said Abby. "An ordinary, non-explosive, non-gas filled snow globe. Yes?"
"Regardless of your belief in its authenticity," said Dane, "I only have one gas mask in here, so this is suddenly more complicated. We never did get you a mask, Abby. We should have asked Jaya if she had a spare."
"You can get me a mask for Christmas," said Abby, not as enthusiastic as Dane was for her having her own gas mask.
"I give hams for Christmas, just hams," said Dane.
"What if I didn't want a ham?" asked Abby.
"Everyone loves hams!" said Dane. "Except people who can't eat them due to religious reasons, I guess. And vegetarians. And people trying to cut down on salt. And maybe super intelligent pigs. But everyone else loves hams!"
"I'm sorry, but could I get put in the non-crazy prisoner section?" said Jameson, still rather amused.
"What, you want a ham for Christmas too?" said Dane.
Abby sighed and decided to reexamine the room again. It was a strange room to find at nearly the top of a hotel. It was very large, like an office, ballroom, or a lounge. To her, it looked like the bridge of a starship, that point driven even farther home that in the center of it was a large throne-like chair where Carmichael sat, looking very much like Kirk or Picard. Around him at various distances were desks where people sat in front of computers with massive screens, laptops next to them so they can work on a few things at once. In addition, there were a few actual old-fashioned control panels that looked like the inner workings of a steam ship. But those panels were made entirely of Avalon Brass. In fact, the whole room seemed to be made of either wood or Avalon Brass; Abby guessed that the wood would be the particular Yage wood they used throughout the hotel.
The throne, the desks, and the panels all faced a gigantic pane of windows which covered the entire side of the room. The windows were huge and the floor sloped down as it moved toward the wall of windows to give even more room for panes of glass. The ceiling also sloped upward, probably taking up most of the floor above to give more window space. The windows looked out over New Avalon from the front of the hotel. It was a beautiful view, but since this was the view of a man who claimed to want the destruction of that town, it was rather ominous to Abby.
"What is this room, anyway?" asked Abby. "I thought this was a hotel."
"Crisis center," said Jameson.
"Control room," said Dane, almost at the same time.
"It's a hotel, guys," said Abby. "Why would you need a control room or a crisis center in a hotel?"
"It's clear they intend some terrorist activity," said Jameson. "That was the point of the press conference. It's going to be coordinated from here. This is mission control. The crisis center."
"I agree with almost all of that," said Dane, "except it's true because this is a control room. It's all controlled from here."
"That's really splitting hairs, isn't it?" said Jameson.
"Once this thing blows wide open and they start controlling it all, you'll be happy I had the foresight to call this a control room," said Dane.
"This is your partner?" said Jameson to Abby.
"I wouldn't say partner exactly," said Abby vaguely. "And where's yours? Aren't all you government agents on the buddy system?"
"My partner is still in the building and unaccounted for," said Jameson in a low whisper. "I'd rather they not know that. If they've suspected I have a partner, they haven't indicated it. I don't think these guys are as professional as they act."
"Then I think we need to give him an opening," said Dane, gripping the knockout gas snow globe in his hand.
"You're really going with the snow globe?" said Abby.
"Knockout gas grenade, but yes," said Dane. "I'll give Carmichael a chance to surrender, then I'll use the grenade. Abby, you use the mask, Jameson, you hold your breath, and you both make a run for it and get the cavalry."
"Why bother giving him a chance to surrender?" said Jameson. "Just use it."
"I always give them a chance to recant," said Dane. "If they remain unmoved and fixed in their ways, then I play hardball."
"But -" said Jameson.
"He just has these weird rules," said Abby. "Just roll with it."
"I need a distraction, though," said Dane. He handed Abby his satchel. "Take this, it has the gas mask in it. Best to not tip our hand until the last minute." He turned to Jameson. "Could you distract the guards?"
"Are you kidding? Why would I do that?" said Jameson. "I am not convinced of your sanity."
Dane sighed. He turned to Abby. "Can you distract them? Do something to piss them off and attract their attention."
"Her?" said Jameson. "You're going to send a little girl to do your dirty work?"
"I'm twenty-three!" said Abby, already having lived a whole life of people guessing she was far younger than she was.
"I need a distraction," said Dane. "I think you're selling her short. If homicidal robots didn't get the better of her, I don't think these guards will."
"Homicidal what?" said Jameson in confusion.
"It's fine, I'll distract the guard," said Abby.
"Forget it, I'll do it," said Jameson. "
I'm not going to sit back and let crazy people run the whole show. Miss, just sit here and be ready." Jameson stood up and walked toward Kripp.
"I'm not a Miss, I have a name!" said Abby petulantly, but not loud enough for Jameson to hear as he walked away.
They couldn't quite overhear the conversation between Jameson and Kripp, but the antagonism started as soon as Jameson approached, as the security head wondered why Jameson was even standing, much less why he was walking forward with confidence. Soon there were loud blustery voices and what Abby thought were the typical territorialism of men used to being head of their own domains. However, it did work, as while the two argued, every other security guard was suddenly alert and watching the argument. Most slowly sidled over to the area, surrounding Jameson in a aggressive cordon, but still waiting for Kripp's lead.
As a guard walked by, Dane took his chance. He slowly stood and then slipped over to Carmichael, walking nonchalantly and trying not to attract attention, as if he was one of the workers at the desks just getting coffee.
"So, destroying the city," said Dane as he stood next to the old man. "I mean, it's an idea! But is that really the best plan? Sure, you come back after a century and find the city not to your liking, but is razing a city to the ground really a Roger Carmichael plan? It lacks a certain... class and vision, I guess. And the things Roger Carmichael has always been known for are vision and class."
The old man looked over to Dane, his face the mixture of annoyance and amusement only possible from the truly megalomaniacal. "Oh, it's you. Come to stand in witness of my moment of triumph?"
"If you weren't listening, I was actually trying to convince you not to do it," said Dane. "Avalon is a beautiful city for all its flaws. I don't think it deserves destruction just for not measuring up to your century old ideals!"
"And that's because you're a fool, just like all the others," said Carmichael. "Like attracts like. A city of corruption produces corrupt men. The city above Avalon is fueled by her will. Mere changes to the city will no longer stop it. The infection is deep and the whole city must be razed."
Dane nervously rubbed the snow globe that he held behind his back. Was it time to use it? He didn't feel like he was getting through to Carmichael.
"Infection is a rather dark way to put it!" said Dane. "I realize you are a man of high ideals. I also realize that your ideals were betrayed. That's a very bitter sting. But just because others got the better of you and the city went a different direction than you wanted doesn't mean it needs to be destroyed."
"What do you know of betrayal?" said Carmichael, spitting out the words, his old man face with his new pink skin looking suddenly like an angry baby.
"I know that you were betrayed," said Dane. "Avalon's Hope. Things didn't go well there, did they? That was your vision. It was your hope as well as Avalon's. You created something great, something everyone would benefit from. But they didn't agree. They bought your ideas but instead they decided that they'd rather make something cheap and lucrative. I'd be mad too."
"Mad? You have no idea. Anger? Anger is for lesser men. Great men don't have anger. They have wrath. A wrath the whole city will see."
"Just one betrayal and you want to destroy it all?" said Dane. He took a quick look to see how much time he had. All the guards were watching Jameson, who seemed to be challenging Kripp to a one on one fist fight.
"As much as I have my own feelings, this isn't personal," said Carmichael.
"It isn't personal? I've heard a lot about your triumph and your betrayal," said Dane. "Far more than anything specifically wrong with our fair city."
"As much as I have my own feelings tied up in it, this isn't personal. Would all these people have brought me back if it was personal?" He waved his hand at the friends group workers and security personnel. "I had met none of them. I have no descendents. No, they brought me back because they believe Avalon is sick. It needs healing."
"The healing that comes from destroying it utterly?" said Dane.
"Your view is small-minded. Avalon is more than a city. Avalon is not a place as you think of it. Avalon is an idea. Avalon is a consciousness," said Carmichael. "It lives on in more than the sum of its buildings and people. Yet those buildings and people influence it. Like creates like, like attracts like. In a powerful place such as Avalon, that is magnified. The city has grown too twisted, too corrupt. No amount of urban renewal will change a city that has grown sick to its core. If your foundation is rotted, you must demolish and rebuild. I can hear the voice of Avalon crying out in pain. I do this all for Avalon."
"Forgive me if I don't see the same logic," said Dane. "It feels rather like you're trying to justify what you already wanted to do! You wanted to destroy the city, so now you're making excuses why you should destroy it!" He gripped the snow globe tightly, ready to smash it to the ground.
Suddenly Dane was grabbed from behind. His hands were pulled apart, one arm twisted behind his back painfully.
"I wish we had invested in better security," said Gustav with a sigh, holding Dane's arm tightly against Dane's back. "If we had some actual professional guards this wouldn't have happened." This second sentence was uttered louder and toward the group of security. The guards turned and looked in shock at Gustav and Dane. Realizing their mistake, the guards stopped gawking at the Kripp-Jameson confrontation and went back to their posts. At Kripp's direction, two grabbed Jameson and unceremoniously tossed him back down on the ground near Abby.
One of the guards grabbed Dane from Gustav's arms. "He was carrying something," said Gustav, "He could have been dangerous." He tore the snow globe from Dane's hand. Then he lifted it up to look at it in confusion, having expected it to be something more dangerous.
"Yes, I'm sure he would have been quite lethal with that," said Kripp, who now stood behind Gustav.
"Regardless, no more mistakes!" said Gustav. "We're paying you for security, not to stand around like apes and get in fights."
"I'm sure you'll appreciate us apes when the SWAT raid us later," said Kripp.
"Good, maybe we'll get our money's worth," said Gustav.
Kripp said nothing but stormed off to dress down some of his men for leaving their posts. Gustav signaled for the guard holding Dane to take him back to Abby and Jameson, but Carmichael stopped that with a wave of his hand.
"You are a tricky one," said Carmichael to Dane. "You remind me of Victor Sargosso, even if you lack the class of that man. You both have the same habit of butting in where you are unwanted. He too tried to stop me before I could cleanse the city. He unfortunately succeeded... for a time."
"I take that comparison as a compliment," said Dane. "I'm a big fan of Victor Sargosso. He was your nemesis, wasn't he?"
"I would hardly call him my nemesis," said Carmichael. "But we did have our conflict."
"But he was the one who trapped you in Avalon's Hope, wasn't he?"
Carmichael turned his head almost as if slapped. His response was almost a hiss. "You would do well to respect your betters." Carmichael took a breath and his expression calmed. "But on the day of my triumph, I believe even a great man can afford to be magnanimous and let your comment slide."
"How about we don't be magnanimous and instead minimize risks?" said Gustav. "Let's just lock them all on another floor under heavy guard. Let's not have them in our control room."
"Always so worried, Gustav," said Carmichael.
"Someone has to be, since you and Colette are overconfident. If this guy was carrying something else you might be dead right now."
"What was he holding?" said Carmichael, inclining his head.
With a shrug, Gustav handed Carmichael the snow globe. The old man held it in front of his eyes, giving it a little shake so snow began drifting down over the scene. He stared into the globe, seeing a skyline almost unchanged from his time. It was a city that he did truly love. It was his hometown, a city of gods and the future, a city of beauty and potential. Something almost like tenderness welled up in Carmichael f
or just a moment.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Carmichael. He waved to the guard, who let go of Dane, allowing him to stand on his own.
"A gift," Dane lied, rolling his now-stiff shoulder. "Something to remind you of the glory of Avalon."
Carmichael smiled sardonically. "It was a better time. A far better time. But one that is gone. That Avalon is long lost."
"It's not!" said Dane. He leaned close to Carmichael and pointed forward. "Look out those windows! See that city! Those that live in the city today have the same hearts and joys as those in your day! But you're going to throw away all their dreams, all their homes, possibly even all their lives!"
"I admit there are probably some good people in the city," said Carmichael. "But their deaths cannot be avoided. The cure is extremely effective but inexact. There will be losses. Some may not survive. But those are acceptable for Avalon's rebirth."
"You're giving up on so many!" said Dane. "These are the people you created Avalon's Hope for! These are the people who didn't get the chance due to the same ones who betrayed you! They don't deserve to have their whole city taken from them!"
"No, they don't," said Carmichael. "It's sad side effect, though it's unavoidable. But from these ashes, we will rebuild. They will get a chance again! I gave them warning. If they fled, they will be able to return to a newer city eventually, a New Avalon that truly deserves that name."
"You're just going to throw it away?" said Dane. "Raze a whole city full of hopes and dreams?"
Carmichael stared at the snow globe again for one more lingering moment. Then he put it down on the table next to his throne. It was right next to an ornate wooden box, and to Dane's dismay, on the other side of Carmichael. "Yes. There is work to be done. Avalon needs renewal and I will give it to her. That is the role she has given me and I shall take it. Architect and Destroyer. Such is the reason I created the Terminus Hotel."
"It's time," said Gustav. "Everything is ready."
"Excellent," said Carmichael. "Begin!"
"But it's not five, yet," said Dane. "You said everyone had until five."
"Naturally some misleading information was required," said Carmichael. "If we waited until five, we would be swarmed by interlopers, such as petty law enforcement officials trying to stop us. Instead we start now, before they are ready, before they have gotten desperate."
Manic Monday: (Dane Monday 1) Page 20