The Controller (The Securus Trilogy Book 2)

by Anthony Maldonado

  “I could take care of him for you,” Sayda says with a hiss in her voice, ready to deal with Ardal herself.

  “No Sayda, the infirmary’s busy enough without you creating more patients for us,” I tell her, though her idea does sound like a good one.

  Knowing they have access to the system answers another of our questions. I am certain Ardal is the one who hacked into the Leadership files. He changed the date of his own review, knowing the timing was his best chance. With the way he was acting, Aamon must be involved as well. It would be entertaining to see Sayda tear them both apart, but we need to be careful to contain this without drawing more attention. Only then will we have a chance to expose their accomplice.

  “So, what do we do?” Arluin asks, kicking the table’s leg in frustration.

  “First, I need you two to find a way to block all access from the Detention Center to the rest of the system. Keep them contained and I’ll figure out a way to catch Ardal’s accomplice.” I already have an idea in mind, but will need Talia’s help.

  “Not a problem. We’ll send word once we have the connection contained and when we decipher the message,” Seonah says, already turning to go.

  Arluin follows Seonah as they both leave to get started. Before he goes, I get the usual look from Arluin telling me he will find me later to get the information he seeks. He is not the only one growing inpatient. As soon as they leave, Sayda turns to me, “Okay, they’re gone. Now what’s going on?”

  “Braeden’s doing everything he can to throw us off balance. He’s definitely not here to investigate. It feels like this whole thing is one big game for his entertainment,” I tell them, finally able to express my frustration.

  “That doesn’t answer why you aren’t there,” Hadwin reminds me.

  “The Controller chose his own escort for the tour of Securus. Luckily, Cale was too enthusiastic for his liking. He ended up picking Nyree,” I tell them.

  “She’ll keep a good eye on him. Of all the people he could’ve picked, she’s probably the best one for us,” Sayda says. “I’m more worried about that transmission. Someone in Caelum has to know what’s going on. If they know, why wouldn’t Braeden?”

  Sayda is right. We will not know for sure until the transmission is decrypted. Until then, we must continue on with our plan. We were already walking a fine line with this review, now we have no margin for error. Even with Nyree as his guide, Braeden’s penchant for being unpredictable could catch someone off guard enough to expose our lie. That combined with the need to contain this new threat stretches us way too thin. There are so many potential dangers it is getting harder to prioritize and deal with them.

  I desperately want to tell Talia about this, but have no way to safely do so with Ulan around. All we can do now is hope Seonah and Arluin blocking further outside communication prevents us from being completely compromised. In the end, our efforts will not matter if Braeden already knows the truth or is unsatisfied with his review.

  Hadwin and Sayda do not need my help, so I let them work in privacy. With our ever growing list of problems, there are other things I can do to keep busy during the review. Down the hall, the researchers are reanalyzing the gruel. Hopefully they have made some progress. Inside, standing amongst the hazardous containers and sterilizing cleaners, a researcher diligently works on the analysis. The specific person doing so is unexpected.

  “Tailyn, I didn’t expect you up here.” I walk toward her, passing a large centrifuge spinning vials of some liquid sample, separating its contents.

  “I had extra energy this morning, so I came to help out.” There does seem to be more bounce in her step. She looks more like the woman whose beauty turned Jace into a bumbling wreck.

  “Did you eat the gruel we talked about?” I ask her.

  “My grandfather brought me more of it than I could handle. I feel a little bloated from eating so much. But, seeing how much better I feel today, it makes sense you wanted this stuff looked at.”

  I scan through all the different vials and reagents set up on her work station. She has been busy. “Have you learned anything yet?”

  “Most of the contents are simple nutrients with some additives intended to make the mix more palatable.” She says the last part in a sarcastic tone because we both know how tasteless the result is. With the blandness of the gruel, I would hate to see what it would be like without the additive. “I went over the old results and found some a substance initially thought to be preserving chemicals, but I’m not so sure. The chemical structure looks like two proteins bound together. They don’t seem to have the properties I would expect of a preservative. I’m working on isolating more of the protein to test it more thoroughly.” Tailyn points back to the centrifuge.

  It is not encouraging the only abnormality is a malfunctioning preservative. I was hoping for more, although finding anything suspicious is better than nothing. Unfortunately that means there is nothing for me to do here either. I do not have an appetite right now, but it is close to lunch time, so I go back to meet up with Talia and Ulan. We need to keep an appearance of normalcy. Having me sulking alone somewhere would not be helpful.

  I wander through the halls and offices in Leadership looking for them. They are nowhere to be found. Talia has a communicator on her, but I cannot think of a good cover story to track her down without making Ulan suspicious. Braeden is already watching our interactions, so I do not want to make the depth of our relationship easy for him to discover.

  While deciding on my next step, something that had bothered me earlier comes to mind. Since the Leadership offices are close by, I move down the hallway, looking for someone. I find the room, and stand at the open door. Inside, Wakil hears my movement and turns around. He furrows his brow, watching me with intense curiosity. The welcoming smile and friendly handshake he normally greets me with are both conspicuously absent.

  “Interesting morning wasn’t it?” he says.

  “That’s one way to say it.” I shrug off the question. With everything going on I am in no mood for small talk. I go to sit on the edge of his desk, close enough to see any reaction to my next pointed inquisition. “You and Braeden looked pretty familiar with each other at the meeting.”

  “That’s because I’ve meet him once before. He was the assistant to the last Controller that was here when Mr. Vaden took over as head of Leadership for Securus.” Sensing my suspicion, Wakil continues. “Make no mistake, I’ve always supported the Vaden’s, and now is no different.”

  My souring mood leaves me uneager to indulge his vague answers. I lean forward and speak in a low voice through a clenched jaw. “Then why didn’t you mention that before?”

  “Because that meeting was so long ago, and honestly, I have no insights that would have been helpful in our planning.” Wakil pauses, taking a deep breath while looking at his feet. Suddenly he looks so old and tired.

  He has something else weighing on his mind, so I stop questioning him and wait. After a moment of reflection, he continues. “Kagen, I’m concerned. While I support Talia’s efforts, it’s becoming clear that we as a people are not prepared for this. There are too many variables out of our control. Caelum has had decades to plan for these contingencies. I fear our few weeks of planning may be jeopardizing us all. Maybe we should reconsider our approach.”

  His words are so unexpected they turn my legs weak from the shock. He slumps over in his chair with his eyes full of hesitation as well as sincerity. That is why his mood and affect are different than normal. Wakil must have been thinking about this a lot. He would not ask us to accept our role as slaves to Caelum unless he truly thought our struggle was doomed to failure.

  In my weaker moments, I have considered the alternative of accepting our fate, but even then, the steps in that direction are unclear. Whether we like it or not, the path we have chosen is not one that can be retraced. I steady myself before speaking. “What else can we do? There’s no going back. The people will never accept or forget our confinement. And
even if they could, we couldn’t tell the truth to Caelum. Any hope of a peaceful outcome was erased from my mind the instant I looked into Braeden’s eyes.”

  “You have already found the answer to that dilemma in the box from The Caves as well as the vitamin deficiency. We simply tell the people we have become dependent on a food source we can only get from Caelum, and about the hidden weapons ready to destroy us.” Wakil speaks like he has already resigned himself to abandoning our freedom. “Really, we wouldn’t be lying.”

  My legs find their strength and I get up from the desk, standing fully upright. “I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and we both know Talia isn’t either. I see your point, but we aren’t there yet. I think we can still do this without sacrificing our lives or our freedom.”

  His change of heart is disconcerting, but he does not know the recent developments. We are close to uncovering the etiology of the Pellagra cases, and to being able to track the location of the boxes. With the events of this day, now is not the time to catch him up on either of those things. At least he did not try to get me to agree with Cale. I am sure Wakil will rethink his position when he finds out how much progress we have made. That is, if we are not already undone by the secret messages from the Detention Center.

  “I will relay your concerns to Talia. If the time does come, at least you have given us another option,” I tell him while turning to leave.

  Having Wakil talk like this makes my head spin. Things used to be so much simpler. All I had to do was help people one at a time in the infirmary. Now I have forced myself into a position where we are constantly struggling to contain fires that threaten to engulf all of Securus. I head back to the Talia’s office, intending to search the screens again for Braeden. When I arrive, Talia and Ulan are both already inside.

  “Is there anything you need assistance with, Ms. Vaden?” I ask in a formal tone.

  “Come join us, Kagen. We were just going over some of the realignments I instituted,” Talia says.

  “I’m surprised to see how smoothly things seem to be running with as many changes Talia has enacted,” Ulan tells me.

  “She has a talent for getting others to see her point of view. Sometimes it takes a while, but in the end, she always gets her way,” I tell him with a laugh. That part is completely true and I have learned not to fight it. “Will Mr. Karun be joining us?”

  “That’s a good question. One I don’t have an answer for,” Ulan admits. “He keeps his own schedule. I simply do my best to keep up.”

  As he finishes his sentence, Ulan stops and puts his hand to his ear. He seems to be listening to something. I had not noticed he was wearing a communicator. Even now it remains invisible. Braeden could have been using him to get information while listening to his conversation with Talia. Then again, Talia knows better than to reveal too much. She would have been careful even when Braeden was not around.

  “Yes sir,” Ulan says to the voice in his ear. “Braeden is headed back up here. He wants to speak with Talia alone. He also asked for Nyree to take me to the Thermal Vents while you two speak.”

  With their new directions, the one thing missing is any role for me. This seems to be the theme of my day. There are so many things to do but somehow it keeps on becoming someone else’s task. Arluin and Seonah have multiple things they are working on. Hadwin and Sayda are engrossed with the tracker for the boxes. Tailyn investigates the gruel’s ingredients while Talia and Nyree are overseeing our visitors. I am not sure if Braeden is intentionally leaving me out or if he finds me so insignificant he has not even thought of me. With the feel I get from him, it could be either or both of those things.

  Talia sees me struggling with what to do next and offers another option. “Kagen, why don’t you go to the infirmary? I hear we have had some extra patients you could help with.” She makes her words sound more like an order than a suggestion. I know she is being more firm as a show for the visitors, but her idea is a good one. Even if they do not really need my help, there is almost always something needing to be done there.

  *

  My time in the infirmary drags on, with very little to do. Today happens to be one with very few patients. While it is good that people do not need to come in, the lack of work leaves me even more frustrated than before. Sometimes it feels the harder I try, the less I accomplish. The entire day has felt like a waste of time. Instead of continuing to sit here and wait for something to happen, I decide to go back up to the Leadership offices. Maybe Ulan and Nyree have returned. While walking, I am careful to avoid the security cameras, not wanting Braeden to see me on the screens if he is still in Talia’s office.

  On the upper level it becomes harder to blend in since there are very few people around. Not to mention we have a camera fixed on the entrance of our private hallway that cannot be avoided. If Nyree and Ulan have returned, they are likely in one of the side offices next to Talia’s. In order to avoid the full scrutiny of the camera, I wait until another person walks down the hall and follow closely behind him as we approach the door. Using him as a shield, I quickly enter my code and move into the private corridor. Inside, there are no cameras to worry about.

  I silently glide down the hallway past Talia’s office. Inside, a muted voice penetrates the door. With the accent on the words, it must be Braeden. I check all the other offices. They are all empty. The only people in here are Talia and Braeden. I go in one of the side offices, knowing it would be better to wait here until they leave, so he does not see me lurking about.

  While waiting, my curiosity of their conversation grows. Slowly inching out of this room and closer to her door, I strain to hear their words. The muffled tones take the form of recognizable words.

  “Well, Talia, I must admit you appear to have everything in order. Your father had some reservations with allowing you to succeed him, but you have handled the internal transition well,” Braeden tells her.

  “Thank you,” Talia replies.

  “There’s one other detail of utmost importance. The internal workings are only one aspect of running Securus. If I allow you to continue, you must never forget the ultimate purpose of this facility is to meet Caelum’s energy requirements. I’m sure you understand the precarious situation you and your people are in. Keep up production and you’ll be allowed enough leeway to run Securus as you see fit. The only parameters are the general population never learns of us and never attempts to leave the colony. That is, if I decide to spare the current inhabitants. I’m undecided whether keeping your people alive or recolonizing is the better option,” Braeden says.

  “I understand,” Talia replies in an even tone. She does a much better job than I would at hiding my anger and irritation at him.

  “If you do continue as head of Securus, the consequences of any failure to comply with my orders will depend on the level of inconvenience it causes me. I’ve noticed you have some level of attachment to your advisor,” he says.

  “I think you misunderstand our relationship.” Talia tries to explain.

  “Do not presume to tell me what I understand. I’ve seen the way you look at him.” Braeden cuts her off. Even with this he does not shout or exhibit any emotion in his voice. He remains completely calm and in control. “As I was saying, his life will be the first one in jeopardy should I be unpleased.”

  “That seems unnecessary. I’m accountable for my own decisions,” Talia says, attempting to redirect his threat.

  “On the contrary, your response tells me it’s more than necessary. I promise you, if it comes to that, Kagen’s death will not be fast or painless. Your Detention Center does not enjoy the splendid variations I can bring to bear,” he says.

  His threat does not bother me, but the effect it will have on Talia does.

  Chapter 21

  Talia would be much less concerned by a threat on her own life than one on mine. This must be the reason Braeden intentionally left me out of most of the proceedings and especially this meeting. He wanted Talia alone to prove he knows
how to hurt her.

  The news strikes me as both good and bad. The concerning part is Talia’s worry for me could impact some of her decisions. That would be problematic. On the other hand, Braeden even taking the time to make this threat means he is at least considering clearing us from the review. Otherwise, he probably would not even bother. Then again, from what I have seen of him, he could still decide to eliminate us and is merely entertaining himself with this visit.

  Either way, I cannot sit here and listen to this anymore. After silently sneaking down the hallway, I go to Talia’s extra office inside our quarters. The men from Caelum are not the only ones with hidden communicators. We have multiple cameras set up throughout their temporary quarters. Since they were alone in the room earlier, I want to make sure our equipment was not disabled. An empty room appears on the screen in front of me, with no evidence of our visitors except Ulan’s pack sitting in middle of the room. Everything remains functional. Now we need them to return and reveal their true thoughts to us.

  *

  Near dinner time, the voices of Ulan and Nyree come from the hallway outside my quarters. I go out and follow them as they meet back up with Talia. She looks calm when we enter the room, but a slight twitch in the corner of her eye betrays her agitation when she sees me. The twitch is so subtle I doubt anyone else notices. Instead of going to the Leadership hall, we return to the meeting room for privacy during our dinner.

  The room has been temporarily rearranged. Now a circular table with food waiting for us stands in the center of the room. We all sit down, and wait through an awkward silence, deferring to the men from Caelum to start. I am not hungry, but find his behavior annoying. Even with this, Braeden insists on playing games with us. After watching us squirm for a while, he finally looks down at the food. Instead of eating, decides he wants to make a change.