Her unexpected words stun me. I already knew Trent was being reckless by using his virus, but never imagined he would even consider introducing The Agent into Securus.
“I haven’t told anyone about this yet. I barely received the results and was going to tell my father when Rana got word to me of your incident. So I came here first,” Talia reassures me.
“Talia, I know he’s your father, but you know there’s no way he doesn’t know what’s going on,” I tell her. With the protest in her eyes, I continue before she disagrees. “It’s about time you knew the entire truth of what really happened in The Caves,” I say with my head bowed and eyes fixed to the floor.
I am barely able to look either of them in the eye while telling the story of how Merrick was murdered. Not enough time has passed to dull the anger and frustration of that night. I tell them about the mysterious rail tracks, hidden supply room, disappearing equipment, the enigmatic name on the electric grid, and of course about Aamon’s spies. After hearing the last part, Rana checks the hallway to make sure Kesia did not come back. She will never be allowed in the infirmary again. Beyond that, there is nothing else we can do with her unless we finish what I have started. An overwhelming silence overtakes the room. I understand how they feel. What is someone supposed to say to something like that?
“I’m sorry it took so long for me to tell you all of this. I needed to get enough evidence and make sure no one else was put in danger until I knew what to do. My plan was to tell you everything once I figured it out. The people of Securus deserve to know the truth, and there isn’t anyone they would trust more than you, Talia,” I say softly, hoping she will accept my apology. “There’s one more thing.”
“What else could there be?” she asks, clearly frustrated.
“Your father brought me into his office to have a discussion. He implied that my attempts to uncover whatever is going on would put all of Securus in danger. He knows exactly what’s happening out there,” I tell her.
“My father can be rigid and even coldly analytical when needed, but I don’t believe he would be actively involved in all of this. Aamon has to be misleading him,” she rationalizes.
“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” I say. “When the detail’s over, I’m going back into The Caves to get into that supply room. I’ve been told of a hidden tunnel to get there without having to go through the main entrance. After that, we’ll take everything we have, plus whatever I find there directly to him.”
“We should tell him now so he can stop whatever they’re doing immediately,” she demands.
“Talia, I know all of this is completely unexpected and difficult to accept, but we need to be careful. Even if he doesn’t know, we need to have irrefutable evidence so Aamon or whoever is behind this cannot twist our words and evidence to make it seem benign. All I ask is for two more days. Please, just wait that long. Then we’ll both go directly to him,” I plead with her.
Talia turns away from me, facing down to the floor. Rana watches us both but does not interfere. Talia has the same look on her face she gets when working to solve a problem. She is analyzing everything that has been said, deciding what to do. I simply sit and wait, hoping she will agree.
“Okay, two days and two days only. After that I tell him no matter what. There’s one condition though,” she says, finally breaking the silence.
“Just name it,” I agree before even hearing her demand.
“I’m going with you into The Caves,” she says.
“No, it’s too dangerous. I’m not going to risk losing you, Talia,” I snap back.
“You don’t have a choice, I am going,” she says.
By the stubborn look in her eyes, I know it would be impossible to stop her. Besides, I never knew how adorable she looked when she gets angry. That cripples my resolve to deny her wishes. Plus, we will not be alone. Hadwin and Sayda will be there with us. Talia can go, but I will make her wait outside of the tunnel so she will never be anywhere close to those soldiers.
“So stubborn,” I say with a smile. “Okay, but if you go, you have to do what I say in there, got it? You can’t use that cute, stubborn look to get your way again, it’s not fair!”
With my words, Rana laughs. Even Talia calms down, though she looks slightly frustrated that her angry look made me smile.
“Fine, you’re in charge,” Talia says. “We have one other minor detail to tend to. We need to keep you alive for the next two days. There’s no way anyone will keep me out of the Control Room now, so at least I can keep an eye on Aamon.”
“That’ll make me feel a lot safer,” I say. “Now, Rana, what tests were we supposed to be doing?”
“I told them we needed to do an abdominal ultrasound and some neurologic monitoring. Looks like we’re done with both,” she says with a wry smile. “I did arrange for dinner here for you since you can’t go to the main hall. After that, you’re free until the upper level gets locked down.”
“I want to stay here as long as possible to get some rest. I definitely need it. Can one of you tell the others where I am?” I ask.
“I’ll do it. It’ll be less obvious if I’m the one walking around rather than Talia,” Rana offers.
Rana helps Talia get me into the gurney before she leaves. For dinner, I get more of plain gruel along with plenty of water. The meal may not be extravagant, but is more than I need right now. After eating, I rest my eyes, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
My rest does not last long, but I get the most pleasant wake-up of my life. Talia gently kisses me and whispers in my ear to tell me the others are here. I rise in time to see them walk into the room. My mother nearly cries when she sees me on the gurney. I force myself to sit up, wanting to reassure her that I am alright.
“What happened?” she asks while looking me over.
“I might have crashed one of the Grinders. Then I may have fallen off a ladder into the exit chamber,” I say coyly, wanting to keep her from getting too worked up.
Arluin glares at me, wanting to hear the real story. This time he does not relent when I ignore him. He stands firmly in front of me, waiting for me to continue.
“Okay, Arluin, I was getting ready to tell you anyway,” I say, giving in.
“Tell him what?” my mother asks.
“That none of this has been an accident, and it’s time you both knew why,” I confess, and then stop, choking on the words.
Being forced to repeatedly relive everything that happened is hard enough, but knowing how my mother will feel about it makes this even worse. Sensing my reluctance to continue, Hadwin begins the story for me.
“It started the night we went to The Caves. After the earthquake, Merrick was trapped and stumbled upon some men with guns. Before we knew what was happening, they shot him. Kagen got our group out of there before they could find the rest of us,” he says, making me seem more heroic than what I know is true. “It turns out Leadership is up to something, and they’ve been covering it up. There’s a hidden storage room with stolen electronics from my work as well as a railway that leads deeper into The Caves.”
“Unfortunately, things only got worse from there,” Talia picks up when Hadwin pauses. “Trent Riley instigated the recent outbreak, and tried to kill Kagen to cover his tracks.”
“I just found out today where he got the virus from. I followed the tracker Rana put in his case to a hidden room in the research labs. After he left, I went in and found an entire storage room full of hazardous viral storage containers. He has an endless supply,” Sayda adds.
“I don’t know what they’re doing, but Merrick didn’t deserve to die to keep their secret. I have proof to back up most of those things, but we need to get back to The Caves one more time to find out what they’re up to. Then we’ll make sure everyone knows the truth,” I say.
“When are you planning on going,” Arluin asks with the obvious intent of joining us.
“Right after I finish the last day of the detail,” I answer. Seei
ng the horrified look on my mother’s face, I stop Arluin before he demands to go with us. “But you can’t go, Arluin. There’s already too many of us in danger. We can’t afford to let the truth die with us if something happens.”
“You can’t expect me to do nothing while they try to kill you, Kagen,” he argues.
“I don’t, otherwise I wouldn’t have told you yet. We need you to keep copies of everything in case we are caught. Plus, I need to make sure we’re able to get to the hidden entrance and into The Caves. Nyree told me she has seen your friend Varian down in the Deep Vents before. Since he apparently knows his way around, I need you both to be lookouts for us when we go down there to make sure it’s safe to reenter,” I say, offering him a limited role that should keep him out of trouble. After noticing the piercing stare from our mother, he agrees to the task.
“I’m sorry Mom, I wanted to tell you, but didn’t know how. I didn’t want to worry you,” I manage to say before my voice gives way.
“You’re exactly like your father, Kagen. I’m proud of you for standing up for what’s right and what you believe in,” she says. Her response leaves me utterly speechless. That is not at all how I expected her to react. “I won’t get in the way, but please, don’t take any unnecessary risks. I can’t lose either of you.” She pulls Arluin and me together, hugging us both.
“I have a guardian angel for the rest of my detail, so you don’t need to worry,” I tell her while looking at Talia.
“I always wondered why you never went for Abira or any of the other girls from our sector,” Arluin says with an understanding smile. Talia gets a small wrinkle in her nose when Arluin mentions Abira’s name. It seems as if the very sound of the name irritates her. She and Sayda have that in common.
After they have had enough time to come to terms with the disturbing revelations, we discuss the plan for how we are going to approach the reentry and the needed steps after. The hardest part will be how Talia is going to get the message out if her father does not want to cooperate. She does not see this as a potential problem, but I know better. Sayda mentions the electronics she was tracking stopped in the vicinity of the supply room in The Caves. That is why Hadwin said there were electronics in there. Then the shipment continued deeper into the tunnels until she lost the signal. Wherever the electronic pieces eventually went, they have gone farther in than I thought the tracks would lead.
I want to stay in the infirmary for the rest of the night, but the upper level will be locked down soon. Telling everyone what was really happening turned out to be a lot easier than I anticipated. After getting the weighty load off of my shoulders, I feel a little better about what needs to be done. But in the end, this does not change the fact that we are all in in danger. Because of that, my guilt will never relent unless we finish what I have started.
After another goodbye, I return to my temporary quarters. Thankfully, the only person waiting inside is Nyree. I do not have the energy to confront Balum right now, so this is a welcome sight.
“I was waiting for you to get back,” Nyree says as I limp toward my bunk.
“I wanted to get as much rest as possible before coming back,” I reply, sitting on the edge of my bunk and facing her.
“A lot happened after your accident,” she says.
“Accident? There was nothing accidental about it,” I interrupt. “That was quite deliberate.”
“Well, that’s what Leadership is calling it, anyway. Balum kind of lost his mind after that. He was babbling through the communicator, making no sense at all. They said he had an acute stress reaction from the rigors of the detail. I thought he looked psychotic. I’m not sure if they’re going to let him continue,” she says.
“I’m not that lucky. Everything else is ready, by the way,” I say trying not to give away my true meaning in case anyone else is listening. “Only that one last piece left.”
“I’ll get you there soon,” she says. “Now, get some more rest. You look like you need it. I’ll keep an eye out until the others are back and asleep.”
“Thanks,” I say while crawling under the inviting blanket to go back to sleep.
*
When the morning comes, I feel more rested than I have in a while. That is probably because I have been asleep for the better part of the last eighteen hours. My body still aches with every movement, but I am getting accustomed to the constant stiffness. The pain is tolerable enough for me to fight through for the short amount of time left on the detail. Looking around the room, I notice there are only five of us in here. Balum remains conspicuously absent. The others are groggily getting out of their beds and preparing for breakfast. Seeing them fumble around while half asleep is a little entertaining. This is what Arluin must feel like watching me all the time, I think to myself.
No one is in a talkative mood this morning, but the others constantly watch me from the corners of their eyes. By now, they must suspect all of the accidents following me are more than a coincidence, but no one says it out loud.
At breakfast, we are served a less exceptional but still sizable meal. It consists of some of the pasty gruel that has become the main food source lately with a piece of fresh bread and an orange flavored drink. Needing the energy, I rapidly clean my plate. Afterwards, we all head back to the exit chamber to start the detail. When we arrive, I am met with an unpleasant surprise. Aamon and Balum are both waiting for me next to my changing station. Balum slouches over, staring at his own feet, while Aamon is his usual annoying self.
“Kagen, we wanted to talk with you before the detail started,” he says, nudging Balum to continue.
“I wanted you to know how sorry I am for what happened. I kinda lost it and blacked out. When they told me what happened, I felt terrible about it,” Balum says, attempting to sound apologetic. Do they really think I am that easily fooled?
“Being the youngest member of the detail has taken a toll on Balum. Trent diagnosed him with an acute stress disorder. As you know, he was not really himself yesterday. But things are better now. Trent gave Balum a medication to help him relax and deal with the stress,” Aamon reassures me.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, knowing every word is a lie. Even if Balum was medicated, that could make him more dangerous. Being under the influence of mind altering medications is not a good idea when working with the equipment and conditions we are in.
“If it’s so bad, why don’t you give him the day off? We can manage without him,” I offer.
“He’ll be fine, I assure you,” Aamon says while motioning for Balum to go and put on his bio-suit. When Balum leaves, Aamon continues in a near whisper. “Just so you know, Kesia was simply making sure you were maintaining an acceptable performance as a Healer. It’s a vital function and you’ve been through a lot lately. Because Rana is too attached to objectively assess your performance, we needed another way of evaluating you.”
“Seriously Aamon, you need a better imagination. Your excuses are pathetically transparent. Now, if you don’t mind, I have another vital function to prepare for,” I say, unable to contain my contempt for him any longer.
He gives a dismissive smile and simply walks away. Here we go again. He has something else planned, I think to myself.
Chapter 27
As soon as Aamon leaves, I again switch my bio-suit. Unfortunately, either one of these could be tampered with. The one I wore yesterday had to be replaced because of the damage. So my options are to either use the new one or the suit originally intended for me. If they intend to sabotage a suit, they would most likely do so with the new one. At least that is what I am hoping. When we are all dressed, Aamon reappears. This time he is not alone. Talia enters the room with him, much to the surprise of everyone except me. Seeing her calm determination gives me strength.
“Okay, everyone, there will be new teams for today. Jadyn and Nyree will work together. Eldin, you’re with Ardal and Kagen’s with Balum,” Aamon says. “Let’s make it through the day without another incident. Be s
afe and productive.”
Talia gives an incredulous look to Aamon when she hears the last sentence. Apparently I am not the only one who notices his penchant for imitating her father.
“Balum, I’ll be keeping an eye on you. If you step out of line even once, I’ll make sure you regret it,” Talia says in an icy tone. I did not even know she was capable of sounding so frightening. She must have learned that from her father.
Balum nods in understanding and along with the others, waits for me to walk to the exit hatch first. I do my best to appear confident on my way to the ladder. After climbing the ladder, I immediately head to the bunker. With how this detail has turned out so far, any desire to enjoy the scenery on the surface has left me. Instead, my thoughts are focused on what could be planned for the day. I must stay vigilant, knowing it is only a matter of time before they try something else.
Like before, we start by retrieving our charged Grinders from the bunker. My Grinder is easy to distinguish from the others because of its caved-in and mangled front end. Because of the damage, we will have to use Balum’s Grinder. We pack our equipment and drive out of the bunker to start the day. The Solar Panel we are directed to stands near the center of the field, close to where the others will be working. I get out of the Grinder to unpack the tools and equipment.
“Why do you continue working on this detail? Why not admit it’s too much and plead for Leadership to relieve you?” Balum asks from the cab of our Grinder.
“Because we have a duty to the people of Securus, and I do not hide from my responsibilities,” I answer. “It’s called pride and discipline. Maybe you’ll learn about those things someday.”
“I’m growing tired of your insubordination toward Leadership,” he says, getting out of the Grinder.
I do not like where this is going. He must have turned his communicator to a private channel otherwise Talia would have said something by now. I look around and notice for the first time, no cameras cover this area. We are in a blind spot. Balum comes into view from the periphery of my vision, carrying something in his hand. From this angle, the object looks like a spear. I am careful not to look directly at him, not wanting him to know his weapon has been revealed.
The Death Detail (The Securus Trilogy Book 1) Page 25