‘Then it is a good thing you don’t have the option to,’ Greyson replied. ‘I think we have tarried long enough,’ he declared reaching once more for the little silver bell.
‘Perhaps, but before you leave you might want to check your television set. I believe there is a broadcast in progress that is enthralling the Republic and this world alike,’ Ben smirked, listening to the cheers of his crew flow down his comm. line.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Across the Republic and throughout the world above the water, at that very moment, every television set was alive with the Coelacanth’s broadcasts.
***
In Abantos, Estelle broke onto the air waves with an introduction that spoke of the treachery of the Republic, how they sought to keep them underfoot by controlling every aspect of their lives and how Abantos was the only free place left. She spoke with feeling and strength on the litany of reasons why they should fight back, and no longer allow the Republic’s bureaucrats to rule them. The Republic shall fall.
***
In the Colonies, Simon’s bloodied face broke into the workers’ audio and visual feed, and flooded the band with his personal anguish and hatred of what the Republic had done to him as an individual, and what it was doing to them as a whole. How, in the name of entertainment, their lives were torn apart for amusement, and atrocities rained down on them to make it all seem more gritty and real. He spoke of wanting to make the Republic a better place for their children and how they shouldn’t stand for this treatment any longer. The Republic shall fall.
***
In Eckarna and Isnal, and throughout the rest of the Republic, Sophie broke into the regular Republic sanctioned programmes to broadcast her own brief introduction. She condemned what the Republic had being doing to them all for the last hundred years, and urged them all to take the next hundred years out of the scheming hands of the politicians and give it to the people. To the people who are, each and every one, worth more than their value as mere entertainment. The Republic shall fall, she declared, before playing the recording of Carrington admitting to Duncan and Melanie how he had made the series gorier and grittier, then aired the videos themselves.
***
Above the water, the population stood aghast and glued to their television sets as a young woman, many of whom recognised as Minister Devonport’s personal slave, decried their favourite programme as being real and using real people in real situations. How they had condemned hundreds of innocents to the Jigs Day executions. There were no actors or sets or scripts, just the very real and very hard life deep in the water. Entertainment should never call for so high a price as that of a human life.
***
Nathan and Rose watched the broadcast from his office in Eckarna in numb silence, the folder Rose was carrying with their final haul of information on Daniels and the Sky Affair had been dropped in shock, with its papers now spilled carelessly across the floor.
‘He actually did it,’ Rose muttered.
‘Yes, he did,’ Nathan agreed in a cold tone, which sent shivers down her spine.
‘Nathan, I…’
‘You what, Rose?’ he thundered angrily, throwing back his chair into the glass window; the toughened glass did not break but gave an ominous creak. ‘I tell you what you’ve done: you’ve just served us up to that madman all for your little crush!’
‘How was I to know?’
‘You should have known,’ Nathan told her darkly. ‘Now you are going to clear up this mess with Daniels and his little band of rabble rousers.’
***
The crew and friends of the Coelacanth themselves, cheered their success from their many positions throughout the Republic. In Abantos, Estelle and Theo whooped and hollered, and jumped up and down sharing a huge bear hug, shouting, ‘We did it, that crazy bastard actually got us to pull it off!’
***
In the broadcast centre in Brant, Simon sat propped up in front of the camera with a tired, but beaming smile on his face, as Ash and Max slapped each other on the back, and were already halfway through concocting the story of how it all had happened. Simon grinned to himself, wondering just when he and Ash had fought through hordes of troopers and rescued damsels in distress before being able to make the broadcast. Well, he thought to himself, walking up to the building with a set of keys provided by Max just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
***
In the Ministries in Eckarna, Melanie and Duncan were enjoying the stunned look on Carrington’s face as he found the disks he had were worthless, and the real ones were broadcasting, with him in a starring role, in front of his very eyes.
‘But how?’ he had spluttered, whirling around to face Duncan and Melanie.
‘You didn’t really think we’d bring the disks into the Ministry did you? They’re safe and sound on the Coelacanth,’ Dunc grinned at him.
‘But I had transmitting facilities disabled, you can’t have…’
‘But we just did,’ Melanie couldn’t help but point out.
‘It’s amazing what you can accomplish when one of your best techs is hacking into the system from within.’
‘What do you say, Soph?’
‘A mighty fine piece of work, if I do say so myself, Dunc,’ she said stepping forward into the room causing Carrington and his guards to turn and gape at her, leaving Melanie and Duncan free to draw their weapons and persuade the guards that they didn’t want to die for this scum.
‘Oh, and by the way, Carrington, I’m Duncan Tucker. Benjamin Daniels is currently broadcasting this to the people above the water – your audience, I believe,’ Duncan couldn’t resist the parting shot and they left Carrington all tied up ready for the mob to find.
***
Above the water, Ben watched with an amused smirk, as Greyson took in the broadcast that was happening on the television.
‘There goes your comfy lifestyle,’ he commented.
Greyson looked down in disbelief at the disks still clutched in his hand.
‘They’re worthless by the way.’
‘Why you…’ Greyson’s face contorted into an ugly mask of pure hatred and rage as he lunged for Ben.
‘Uh, uh-ah,’ Ben said as he darted out of the way and drew his sabre. ‘You should never have let me keep my sword,’ he chided.
‘It is a mistake I won’t be repeating,’ Greyson retorted, drawing his own blade, causing Selena to let out a gasp of horror.
Ben looked at her in disbelief, ‘So you can watch people being slaughtered on television, but can’t stand the sight of a duel in a library?’
Greyson took advantage of Ben’s lapse in concentration and lunged at him, a manoeuvre that Ben caught sight of just in time to block, and which returned his focus completely to the duel. The duel lasted a scant few minutes; it was clear to see that Ben was the better swordsman and certainly a good deal fitter than Greyson.
Never having been one to toy with people, even those he loathed, Ben quickly disarmed Greyson and moved in for the kill.
‘Wait,’ Greyson gasped.
Ben, against his better judgement, paused.
‘Surely you will not kill me in front of my wife, though she means nothing to you anymore; she is still the light of my life,’ Greyson laid it on thick.
‘Selena, get out,’ Ben ordered without looking away from Greyson.
‘Selena, my love come to me one last time,’ Greyson called her over to him and she obliged with tears in her eyes.
‘Yes, my darling?’ she asked as she knelt by his side, taking care to keep clear of Ben’s blade.
‘That’s enough, Greyson,’ Ben threatened, as the man pulled Selena over his body.
‘Not quite yet, Daniels,’ Greyson smirked causing Ben to pause trying frantically to work out what had changed.
‘Ben look out!’ Zhe yelled from the doorway as two
shots rang out.
On instinct Ben dived to his right at Zhe’s cry, before he even registered what he was doing but he did register the two shots. His breath caught in his throat as he searched for the source and victims. He knew that he had not been hit, even though it felt as though he couldn’t feel his own body. Looking up, he saw Zhe standing in the doorway, her gun raised. Following the trajectory of the barrel he focused on Greyson and Selena, who were in a bloodied heap on the floor. Quickly, he moved over to them; rolling Selena off Greyson he could clearly see what had happened and why there were two shots.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Zhe kept repeating.
Ben swallowed and moved back from the two dead bodies, one shot through the chest and the other through the head.
‘No need to be sorry; you saved my life, little darling,’ Ben walked over to Zhe and wrapped her in his arms.
‘He was going to shoot you through her,’ she explained, having had a better angle to see the gun from the doorway.
‘I know, darling, I know.’
‘Are you okay?’ Ben asked suddenly after a few moments of just standing holding each other in silence.
Zhe nodded against his chest, ‘But don’t ever ask me to do that again,’ she told him in no uncertain terms. ‘I was scared to death; Blue had to talk me down and explain everything, and there were guards and…’
‘Shh, it’s all right now, little darling; it’s all right,’ Ben soothed her.
‘Can we go now?’
‘Yeah, but let’s just…’ Ben walked over to the floor-to-ceiling drapes that covered the back wall, he'd been curious when he'd come in as to what they would reveal if pulled back and now was his chance to find out.
‘Wow,’ Zhe breathed in awe, for the curtain revealed floor-to-ceiling windows looking out across the sea to distant islands that were bathed in the glow of the morning sun.
‘Now that’s quite something,’ Ben finally declared once he had found his voice.
‘Yeah.’
Ben turned to look down at Zhe, slinging an arm around her shoulders he asked, ‘Are you ready to go home?’
Tearing her eyes from the awe-inspiring view she looked up at him, ‘Home sounds pretty good to me.’
Within the Water Page 35