Crumbly raised his face, staring at him with clear unease.
“They died at the hospital a week ago,” the nighter said. “We thought it was from their injuries. But it’s not true, they got recruited...” He swallowed, hesitated a bit, and finally finished. “By renegades. If you meet them, know they are on their side now. And kill them, if you can. Before they kill you.” He fell silent, afraid of saying anything more.
“Leave me alone,” the cop asked suddenly. “I need to... think it all over.”
“Sure,” Vesper replied, getting up from the chair. “You’ll stay with us for now, for some time,” he added quietly. “You’re not safe anywhere else.”
He walked up to the door, and the handle gave way under his hand, opening the door with a quiet squeak. He walked over the threshold but then turned back to look at Crumbly, sitting with his head hung low. He didn’t even move.
***
“What are we going to do with him, my lord?” Vesper asked Lord Ultor humbly.
He met Ultor at the bar in the TV hall, and took advantage of the situation immediately. Despite Lord Ultor living with them, and his expected availability, he was always terribly busy.
It was difficult to get a private audience with him, especially for such a young nighter like Vesper, who was still at the low end of the pecking order.
“With that police officer?” the lord said thoughtfully. “I don’t know, to be honest. I’d like to see him with us. Do you think he’d want to wake up for the Night?” he asked, pouring himself blood into a glass.
“I doubt it,” Vesper said honestly. “As far as I know, he has a wife and son. He won’t decide to leave them. Definitely not.”
“That’s not good,” the lord sighed. “He won’t join us, you say... and he already knows a lot, too much even. Well in that case, the Capitol will have to decide.”
Vesper stared at him, his unasked question obvious.
“Maybe we’ll consider him a Friend,” Ultor explained. “There are people like that already. We trust them and tell them some of our secrets. And usually hire them, of course.”
“Like the recruitment cells...” the nighter understood right away. “So that’s how it works.”
Lord nodded, drank the glass’ contents and started toward the door. He obviously considered the audience over.
“But, my lord...” Vesper stopped him, then began to pleadingly ask. “So what’s gonna happen to him, and when, because I don’t know when that Capitol is happening and all, and what if they don’t accept him?”
Ultor sighed impatiently.
“Listen, Vesper, I know he’s your friend, and that it’s important to you,” he said, forcing himself to be calm. “But I have other priorities on my mind right now. What will you eat the day after tomorrow, for example.” He stared at him solemnly. “The artificial blood factory blew up, so did the storage, and a portion of blood here got contaminated. We have to arrange for a new supply. Because of that, please forgive me, but the human can wait with his problems.”
“But, my lord,” Vesper asked. “He’s been waiting like that for a week... and his family too.”
“Well...” Lord Ultor growled, obviously angry. “If you’re in such a hurry to take care of it, we can kill him right away. That would definitely take care of our problem. Is that good enough?”
The young nighter hung his head in humility.
“We’ll wait,” he said obediently. “Forgive me, my lord.”
“No problem,” Ultor said and left the hall briskly.
The door closed with a slam after him. Only now Vesper took a deep breath. He had nearly killed Crumbly with his stupid talk. That was close, dang it. Damn.
“Is no healthy to make lord angry when he work much,” Acies said from his spot by the window, trying to pronounce the Polish words as best as he could. “Is true that. I knows.”
“Shut up,” Vesper growled at the praetorian in answer. “I didn’t ask...”
The praetorian shrugged ostentatiously, the look on his face saying, “You don’t want good advice, asshole, then you’ll feel it on your own skin sometime.”
Vesper took out a clean glass and filled it with blood. His hand shook, spilling the liquid.
“Ho no hurt,” Acies took mercy on him, clearly not upset at all. “He only says so. But no hurt... for nothing.”
“Unless he decides he needs to,” the nighter said, a bit calmer now. “If that so-called well-being of the Cause requires it.”
“Oh, then yes,” the praetorian agreed.
They were both silent, considering the subject closed.
***
Vesper dragged himself to his room. He threw himself on the bed, and the mattress springs squeaked softly under his weight. He stared at the window. Tightly fitting blinds didn’t let in even a photon of UV.
He sighed heavily. Reaching into his sweats’ pocket, he pulled out his cell. It was time to do a good deed. Maybe it would work out this time.
He dialed the number Crumbly had given him as his wife’s number. He listened to the long signal for a while.
“Renata Jazwinska, can I help you,” a female voice finally was heard in the receiver.
Vesper recognized it instantly. That woman was recorded on Crumbly’s voicemail. So it was all clear then. His wife.
“Jurek Malinowski, good morning,” he said in a slightly official tone. “I’m an officer with Internal Security Agency. I’m calling about your husband, Piotr...”
The silence that fell on the other side was nearly suffocating with its weight.
“Please don’t worry, he’s all right,” he said soothingly. “I just wanted to inform you that Piotr will be staying with us for some time. He’s been delegated on an important matter, and it’s hard to tell when he’ll be back...” if he gets back, he added in his mind, swallowing.
“Oh, okay,” she answered, clearly relieved.
They were both silent.
“He’ll call you as soon as we set up a safe line,” he assured her after a moment, trying to break the awkward silence. “Right now, his cell could be tracked...”
“Because, obviously, he couldn’t call from yours,” she growled angrily. “Right, he’s playing war again, and everything’s on my head again.” She suddenly began to prattle feverishly. “Sure, enjoy yourself boys. Shoot with your toys. Have a little race. But do tell him that since he started a family, it would be prudent to be responsible for it a little. To be a husband and a father from time to time, and not to constantly disappear for who knows how long, without a word. Well, whatever he wants. Just so he’s not surprised, if one day he finds suitcases on the doormat and changed locks. Please tell him to come back, when he finally grows up.”
“These are really important matters,” Vesper choked out since nothing else came to his mind.
“I don’t doubt it,” she hissed venomously. “Have fun shooting. Goodbye!” She hung up.
Vesper lowered his hand with the cellphone. That would be it, as far as the good deeds went, he thought. Considering the matter as a whole, he was better at killing lately.
He picked himself up from the bed. He walked up to the window, and rested his fingers on the blinds’ control pad. The lamp shone red in alarm. Twelve noon. Highest UV danger. I wonder how the sun looks like now, fleeted through his mind. I haven’t seen it in a long time... not at high noon.
He stared at the control for a little while, tightening his fingers on it. One move and the blinds would go up, letting the day into the room.
“You have no way back, man,” he whispered quietly. “You died for the Day, when you woke up for the Night. You can’t live in both.”
He lowered his hand. Then he turned away from the window, went back to the bed, and lay across it. He didn’t feel like sleeping. Not at all. He stared at the ceiling. A web of minuscule fractures joined together, separated and joined back in... interesting.
An eager knock came on the door.
“Come in!” he said qu
ietly,
Nidor looked into the room. He stopped at the threshold and looked at his friend, clearly agitated.
“Lord Ultor wants to see us,” he announced briskly. “Both at the same time, and right now. Did you screw up somehow?” He stared at Vesper carefully.
“I don’t know, maybe...” the other stammered, jumping up immediately. “You know how it is with him. You don’t know time nor day, when something is not to his liking...”
“No matter, we’ll see,” the captain sighed. “Come on, man. Now!”
Vesper went to the door instantly.
***
Ultor stared at them from behind the desk. They sat as quiet as mice on their chairs, and didn’t say a word. If he wanted to, he would tell them what he wanted with them. Annoying a shark was extremely unadvisable, especially since he’d been working yet another day in a row. Day and night even.
“The Capitol meeting is on upcoming Thursday” The lord said finally.
Vesper and Nidor exchanged glances. Capitol? Okay, fine, but so what? They were just regular nighters, it was too high up for them.
“I plan to take care of few things there,” Ultor continued. “We’ll introduce your candidate for a Friend to other Lords. We’ll see, maybe he’ll get accepted.” He looked at Vesper solemnly, “I think you were right, we shouldn’t wait too long with it. It’s non-humanitarian to keep the guest here for months, only to kill him in the end, if the Capitol rejects him.”
Vesper swallowed rapidly. He’d done Crumbly some favor, darn it. Maybe he could have bought him a few months of life. But now, if things went wrong...
“Second of all, we’ll present the kid,” the Lord said. “I’m not sure if he’s suited to be a nighter. But maybe one of the other Families would want him.”
They nodded in agreement. It would be a pity to kill the kid. Yes, he was annoying. But somehow, they had gotten used to him.
“And third of all,” Ultor added with a hint of irritation. “I’ll get rid of you two from here for some time.”
Their eyes widened in astonishment.
“Someone has to take care of our dear human guests,” he explained. “I’m assigning you to guard them. I’ll have you off my mind for few days. I hope that will be enough.”
“But... my lord...” Nidor protested humbly. “May I be so bold to ask... why?”
Ultor leaned over slightly in his chair, watching them carefully. They stiffened, feeling especially uneasy under his gaze. What have they done that he wanted to get rid of them so much?
“First of all, you are the renegades’ target, both of you and that human,” he said finally. “If you disappear from their line of sight, maybe we’ll catch a breather for a bit. Second of all...” Ultor paused and looked at Nidor harshly, “If you and Alacer don’t stop jumping at each other’s throats, I’ll have to cut both your heads off. I’d rather avoid it.”
The captain blushed and hung his head.
“But he starts it...” he mumbled stupidly, childishly.
“You will hang out in England,” Ultor said calmly, as if he hadn’t heard that comment. “Meanwhile, he’ll feel more confident here. I get the impression that Captain Alacer doesn’t feel competent enough in his position. He’s afraid of any critique from you, so he attacks first.”
Nidor nodded with understanding.
“But you’re not making it easy for him,” the lord continued mercilessly. “Sometimes you act as if you can’t get used to the idea of you two being the same rank now. Alacer has reasons to be worried of your critique, you have to admit.”
“Yes, my lord,” Nidor whispered reluctantly.
“I’m glad we understand each other,” Ultor said. “And you, Vesper...” he moved his eyes to the young nighter, who cowered under his gaze. “I feel like you’re suffocating here a bit. You could use a change of scenery.”
He got up from behind the desk, announcing the end of their audience. They got up instantly as well.
“That’s all,” Lord Ultor said dryly. “Place orders for tickets at administration. I’ll see you in London. You can go now.”
They started for the door momentarily. They stopped at the threshold with a standard bow toward their lord.
“Oh, and send Alacer here,” he said, throwing them an unmoved glance.
“Yes, sir!” they chorused.
***
The Boeing 737 rose high above the clouds. The captain announced politely that they’d just reached the cruising altitude. There was eleven thousand yards beneath them.
“How cool!” Crumbly was in seventh heaven. He stared out the window and kept nudging Vesper with his elbow now and then. “So fucking awesome, man, you see these clouds? There, below, can you see?”
The nighter shrugged.
“I’m begging you, shut that thing,” he asked, pointing to the plastic window cover. “I’m gonna go blind because of you. What, man, you’ve never been on a plane?” he added with astonishment. “Big deal.”
“I was on the plane, and more than once,” the other defended himself right away. “And even got out of it in the air. But not at this height, yet.” He let the plastic down, looking at the covered window with obvious regret.
“Oh really?” Vesper showed polite interest. “You jumped with a parachute?”
Crumbly nodded.
“I have over a thousand jumps,” he pretended to sound dispassionate, but it was obvious that deep down inside it tickled him the right way. “But I haven’t done HAHO or HALO yet. We were supposed to jump with the GROM guys from an AN plane on the twenty-sixth, from thirty thousand feet. I even had the equipment on... but sadly, it didn’t work out.” He broke off suddenly, not wanting to reveal further details. “But I’ve never flown a Boeing before, that’s a fact,” he added right away, as if he couldn’t help his joyous prattle. “And, you know, don’t laugh...” he looked at his friend pleadingly. “I’ve never been abroad in my life.”
Vesper stared at him, surprised.
Suddenly his vision fogged nastily. His UV filter contacts had moved due to rapid eye movement, so he had to blink for a moment to put them back into place.
“Really?” He asked once he took care of the problem. “Why? I took a trip whenever I had the chance. Even hitchhiked once with only a backpack.”
Crumbly cleared his throat shyly.
“Oh you know, just stuff...” he mumbled. “Because you need permission from the commander, you can’t just go just like that, you have to report it. Besides, with a wife and a kid... there’s never enough cash, you know. Besides, you probably don’t go now other than for business. Could you afford it? How much do you get in ISA...?”
The nighter nodded without a comment. Right, the A-T had a regular government salary. How much could he make there, two grand before taxes? He sighed disapprovingly. And that was more than his officer’s pay in the ISA. Good thing there was the nighter’s salary. Otherwise he would have no reason to look into his account.
Nidor turned around toward them, kneeling on his seat, and resting his arms on the headrest. He glanced around fleetingly. Business class was nearly empty, only a few suit-clad people typing on their laptops sat on the aisle’s other side. The economy class was emptyish too. This wasn’t a very popular flight.
“All right, men,” the captain said quietly. “Time to do some homework.”
They stared at him attentively. The recruit got up from his seat and kneeled on it as well to face them, and interest was painted on his face.
“Short lecture on politics,” the captain smiled. “Meaning, you’ll find out about the right people. Especially the humans will.”
“You mean ‘who is who’?” Crumbly showed his English skills. “Right?”
“First of all, the lords,” Nidor said, ignoring the cop’s speech. “We have five Families. Lords are the heads of Families. As you can tell, there are also five of them,” he said seriously.
“But of course, Mr. Intellectual, don’t be shy,” the ticked-off Cr
umbly growled. “Five Families, yes? And how many lords in this case...? You’re talking to a simple cop, so maybe you should draw a diagram. Here are the Families in order. One, two, there, four, five. Just in case I don’t understand something, you know.”
“Nidor’s not making fun of you,” Vesper interrupted him gently. “He didn’t have time to say the most important thing before you got angry. There are actually six Families, if you count the renegades. But we don’t officially acknowledge them. That’s why we emphasize those five.”
“Oh,” Crumbly backtracked immediately. “Then I apologize. I didn’t understand.”
“No worries,” Nidor smiled calmly. “Our Family is the Warriors. Lord Ultor is our master. He became the head of the Family some four hundred years ago, and so far, he’s doing pretty well.”
“So far?” Recruit raised his brows in surprise. “So he could get fired? From being a lord?”
“Yes and no,” Nidor replied, biting his lips, flustered. “How could I explain it...? A lord can be killed, which automatically removes him from the position. But it’s definitely not easy. Only the Hidden One, obviously, would have no trouble with killing a lord.”
“Well, not only him. Aranea took care of Atroks pretty well,” Vesper interjected with a tone of awe. “After all, the woman comes from the Warriors...”
“Aranea isn’t really a lord,” Nidor said. “She just fulfills the duties. She hasn’t been approved by the Hidden One, after all.”
“Right,” Vesper admitted. “That’s right. I wonder if she’ll have the courage to ever wake the Hidden One so he can approve her... the Capitol won’t do it for her, for sure.”
“I understand everything,” Crumbly said and turned to face the window ostentatiously. “Don’t let me interrupt you, gents, keep talking. Let me know when you start talking to humans.”
The nighters glanced at each other flustered.
“Right, I’m sorry, we got carried off a little,” the captain cleared his throat. “So there are five Families. Lord Ultor is the head of the Warriors. You know what we do, so no need for me to explain. Lord Mercator for the Bankers, also obvious. Lord Candor, with the Scientists, also obvious. Lord Viticula, the Viners—entertainment and arts. And Feeders, Lord Arista.”
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