The Controller (The Securus Trilogy Book 2)

by Anthony Maldonado

  “This food does not look or smell very appetizing. I’ll return to my quarters and leave you to this bland rubbish.” Braeden gets up to leave the room with Ulan following close behind.

  As he has the entire day, Braeden seems determined to throw off all of our plans. Why can he not just do one simple thing as expected? It is not like he has anything to gain from skipping dinner. Unless he knows what is in the artificial food and wants to avoid it. Next to me, Talia fiddles with her fingers while staring at the ceiling. I rest my hand on her shoulder, wanting to calm her uneasiness.

  “Interesting day,” I say, attempting to break the tension in the room.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” Talia says, with a pointed look. Without saying it, she tells me we should not speak candidly here. I remember Ulan’s mysterious pack and the small size of his communicator. Talia is right. They could easily have left a communicator behind. That could even explain their early exit. Braeden is trying to irritate us into slipping up.

  We finish our food in relative silence before getting up to leave. This whole time, Nyree has had a rigid posture, much like the one Raked naturally wears. When she leaves, her shoulders finally relax. The change reminds me of when we would finish a day on the Solar Panel detail. I hope this review does not last long because the stress is getting to us all.

  As soon as Talia and I enter our quarters, we both head to her side office. Now is the perfect time to see what they are up to. Talia turns on the screen, but only static appears. She accesses the recorded footage to see if we have anything available. We watch as Braeden and Ulan enter the room. Ulan goes straight to his pack, taking out some food for Braeden. After that, he pulls an orb from another compartment in the pack and places it on the floor. This seems odd. The object has a smooth surface and is only about six inches in diameter. Ulan taps the top of the orb. The instant he does, our screen turns to static. The device must be the reason our cameras are no longer functional.

  Talia only shrugs. Evidently she expected no less from them. She turns the screen off and goes to bed. I lean over on Talia’s desk, my eyes still stuck to the dark screen. I should have known better than to expect them to be unprepared for this.

  “Come to bed, Kagen,” Talia calls to me. She knows brooding over the lost opportunity will not help us reach our goals.

  As soon as I join her, some of my frustration dissipates. Even with all the things happening around us, I always find inner strength when in her arms. This day has been emotionally draining for both of us. We look into each other’s eyes and let our worries drift to the back of our minds, at least for a little while. Our problems will be waiting for us in the morning, along with Braeden and the rest of the review.

  *

  After a drawn out and sleepless night, we both get up to face the day, along with whatever obstacles the Controller has planned. Before it gets too late, I fill Talia in on the transmissions Arluin and Seonah found. She takes the news better than expected.

  “We’re going to have to deal with that soon, but nothing can compromise the review. I don’t think Braeden knows about the transmission. In his eyes this place is beneath him. He wouldn’t set foot here unless he had to. We still have some time. After Arluin and Seonah fully decrypt it, they need to erase all traces from the system. After Braeden leaves we’ll extend a new invitation to Ardal for this. This time I’ll preside over his review and sentencing. Believe me, he’ll regret his decisions more than he can imagine.”

  “What about your day yesterday? What happened?” I ask softly.

  “Ulan was pleasant enough, but I get the feeling his civility is a ploy to get my guard down. He was carefully searching for information,” Talia says with slight irritation. “We spent the entire time going over the organization of Leadership and discussing their energy requirements.”

  There is one obvious omission. Talia did not mention the conversation I overheard them having. “What about Braeden?” I ask.

  Talia looks down briefly before looking me in the eye with stubborn determination. “He’s using you to control me. I won’t let him hurt you.”

  “Talia, don’t worry about me. I know the risks of what we’re doing more than anyone. We have to do this. No matter what decisions you have to make, I’ll always love you.” I pull her close.

  Before anything else is said, an unexpected knock comes to our door. I immediately hide in the side office while Talia answers it.

  “Talia, we would like to see you and Kagen in the meeting room after your announcements,” Ulan tells her from the hallway. His polite voice has lost some of its enthusiasm compared to yesterday.

  “I will summon him shortly.” Talia closes the door. She waits for the footsteps fade away before turning to me. “I guess we’re getting an early start today.”

  I go with Talia to her regular office for the announcements. She keeps it short and simple today. Afterward, we wait a couple minutes before leaving to make it seem like I came up from my own quarters. When the timing feels right, we go to meet with Braeden and Ulan. They are both sitting in the center of the meeting room, facing the door, impatiently waiting for us.

  “What took so long?” Braeden asks as we sit in front of them. “You were together this morning, were you not?”

  “We were making sure everything will continue to run smoothly while we are otherwise occupied in here,” Talia answers. He clearly already knows we were together, so she does not deny it. “So, what’s your plan for today?”

  “I’m tired of this place. I shall return to Caelum soon.” Braeden stands up and walks over to looks me in the eye. “It’s too dark and constricting being stuck this far underground, don’t you think?”

  He is taunting me. “It’s actually rather cozy, as long as you’re not claustrophobic,” I reply, being careful not to sound petulant. With his cold, calculating stare watching me so closely, I cannot slip up now. At least this will be over soon. So far, things have gone as well as could be expected. Just hold your tongue and keep it that way, I think to myself. As those thoughts come to mind, the door opens. I instantly regret thinking this would end so easily.

  “Mr. Karun, I have something important to tell you,” Cale says as he storms into the room.

  Talia and I both stand up to stop Cale. We cannot let him condemn us all, but if we silence him, Braeden will want to know what he has to say even more. I am unsure what to do. My legs feel stuck in place. Before I break free of my invisible chains, Talia steps in front of Cale and pushes him directly in his chest. He flinches from the force of her blow.

  “Do you not see we’re in a meeting,” Talia snaps at him. “If you were needed, I would have told you so. Our guests are far too busy to deal with you and your petty concerns.”

  The surprise from Talia’s forceful action causes Cale to hesitate. He quickly gathers himself and steps to the side while pushing her hands away. “You’re not the person I came to speak with.”

  I follow Talia’s lead by grabbing Cale’s arm and forcefully pulling him toward me. The sudden yank nearly knocks him over. Both Ulan and Braeden watch intently. From the corner of my eye, it is impossible to tell if they are amused or annoyed. My hand squeezes Cale’s forearm so tightly his hand bloats from the lack of circulation. Concentrating on the grip is all I can do to hide my nervousness.

  “You need to calm down, or I will force you to,” I growl at Cale.

  After regaining his balance, he tries to pull away from me, but cannot. Even if he is stuck in my grasp, Cale has accomplished his goal. He has Braeden’s attention. Now we find ourselves in another precarious position. I look back to Talia, hoping she has a plan.

  “Do you wish to hear what this man has to say or would you prefer I have Kagen throw him out?” Talia asks Braeden in an annoyed tone.

  Her question is clever. Talia makes it seem like Cale is a benign nuisance, and she is only concerned he might be irritating Braeden. Her gamble counts on Braeden saying no. If he does, we will have all the reason we n
eed to do whatever it takes to silence him. But if he allows Cale to speak, we are finished.

  “Let him go.” Braeden waves his hand, motioning for us to get out of Cale’s way.

  My jaw nearly drops before I catch it. This is it. Cale is going to kill us all, I lament in my mind, already mourning the loss of Securus.

  “Thank you sir,” Cale says as he walks past us. “There’s something…”

  Cale’s words are stopped by the surprise of a pistol suddenly appearing in front of his face. I had not known Braeden even had a weapon, but there it is, pointed directly between Cale’s eyes.

  “Did I give you permission to speak?” Braeden speaks in a low voice that combined with his emotionless demeanor is utterly terrifying.

  Undaunted, Cale tries to plead his case. “You don’t understand, sir. I’ve been working with three other men to…”

  A deafening blast stops his words. It takes me a few moments to realize what happened. My eyes close as splatters of blood hit me. Cale’s lifeless body collapses to the floor. Braeden shot him. The heartless Controller turns to Ulan, looking as though everything were normal. Even with the warm liquid trickling down my cheek, I am frozen in place, numbed by the brutality of these men.

  “I warned him, did I not?” Braeden asks Ulan.

  A wave of nausea hits me as the dirty metallic smell of blood saturates my nose. I wipe the splatters off of my face and realize what happened. Braeden only instructed us to release Cale as a test. He wanted to see if we would resist. When we did not, Braeden lost interest in him.

  “People should really mind their manners. I guess that will not be a problem for him anymore.” Ulan replies in the same cheerful, accented voice he has used this whole time.

  Callously murdering someone in front of us did not alter either of their outward appearances at all. At this point I am not sure which one of them frightens me more. Braeden is unpredictable and emotionless, more like a cruel machine than a man. Ulan, on the other hand, remains cordial even after what just happened. Seeing the true emptiness behind the artificially pleasant exterior makes him completely sinister.

  Even though I always disliked Cale, and he was about to condemn us, the relief I get from him being silenced feels wrong. My body remains unresponsive as mind races, struggling to process the mixture of horror, relief, and guilt.

  Braeden returns his attention to us. “You need to have better control of your people, Talia.”

  “I’ll work on that.” Talia tilts her head down in deference.

  The Controller seems satisfied with her answer. He steps toward me. “You look upset, Kagen. Do you have something you would like to say?”

  Braeden’s gun remains in his right hand. He looks over at Talia, waiting for a response, but she has already retreated behind a stoic exterior. She has reverted to the same impossible to read face I have seen many times before. Only this time she does it to keep me from suffering Cale’s fate. Not wanting to give him any reason to shoot me, I remain silent. My only reply is to shake my head, indicating I have nothing to say.

  “This one’s a fast learner, isn’t he?” Braeden tells Ulan, pointing to me with his gun.

  “See, I told you they could be taught. We simply need to employ the proper techniques,” Ulan replies.

  If it was not clear how little they regarded us before, it is now. A surge of adrenaline rises within me. My muscles tense and hands quiver as fear is replaced by anger. I have been battling to control myself in the face of Braeden constantly amusing himself at our expense. Now it feels like I may not be able to hold on for much longer. I want nothing more right now than to show him he is not superior to us. I could take his gun away and make sure he gets the point.

  My irrational thoughts continue to build until Talia puts her hand on my shoulder, turning me to look her in the eye. A tear threatens to escape from her eye, pleading with me to calm down. The concern in her caring face brings my senses back to me. Talia reads me better than even Arluin can. Because of her worry, she no longer hides her feelings for me.

  “Your point is well made,” Talia assures Braeden.

  “I shall return to my room to clean up,” he tells us, pointing at the blood droplets covering his uniform. “You two look like you should do the same.”

  Braeden and Ulan stroll out of the room, both looking pleased with the encounter. As soon as they leave I grab Talia and squeeze her tight. The bits of Cale spread around the room do not matter right now. I need her strength. With the force she holds me with, I think she needs mine.

  *

  Talia showers while I use the sink to remove the dried and caked on blood. No matter how much I wash, it feels impossible to get clean. I scrub my face raw, trying to gouge out the memory and feel of Cale’s blood from me. Even after we both are changed, Talia returns to rewash her face and hands repeatedly.

  It takes a while to calm down enough to regain rational thought. Those thoughts bring me two more new concerns. One is the fact that Braeden plans on cutting his trip short. He could be done with his review or he could have learned something we were hiding. The other thing that strikes me is what Cale was saying before it happened. He said he was working with three other men. That is one more than expected. Two of them must be Ardal and Aamon, but the third person I am unsure of. It could be any one of Cale’s supporters. No matter whom it is, our problems are getting worse. We need to be more aggressive in order to contain them. The one small benefit to this festering mess is Ardal’s freedom from the Detention Center will be short lived.

  Talia stays deep in thought, pacing the length of the room. For a while she barely says a word. I cannot blame her. Nothing either of us would say could make any of this better right now. While Talia gathers herself, I use her communicator to ask Cyrina to seal the room with Cale’s body inside, ensuring no one will stumble upon it. Soon after, another knock comes from the door. Ulan again summons us. This time we are to go to Talia’s office.

  “Kagen, maybe you should wait here,” Talia says, backing toward the door.

  “Not a chance. There’s no way I’m leaving you alone with them,” I say, following her to the door.

  Talia worries for me, but I know they would prefer to keep me alive to manipulate her. The thing concerning me now is if they decided we have failed the review, Talia would be the one in danger. I need to be there for her. She is too important to Securus and too precious to me to let her face them alone. Talia must see this is one time she will not get her way and gives in to my demand. We both walk down the hallway hand-in-hand, standing together in the face of our potential demise. Inside her office, Braeden leans back in Talia’s chair, waiting for us. Again, he sends us a silent message. No matter where we are, we must take the position meant for subordinates.

  “I have summoned my transport. We are to leave immediately. I’ll inform you of the final result of the review once I make my decision,” Braeden tells her.

  Talia nods in understanding. We all head back to the secret door at the end of the hallway above us. Radek and the other Guards are already there, securing the area. It seems a bit needless, knowing the Soldiers in the transport could easily overwhelm our Guards, but somehow their presence is reassuring. We wait in silence as the light of the transport creeps closer and closer. When it arrives, the Soldier Guards stream out and get in formation.

  “Do you have any final instructions for us?” Talia asks. Now that she has had some time to compose herself, Talia stares him in the eye with confidence and shows strength in her voice.

  “If we do decide to maintain this facility, don’t make me come back. If I’m forced to return, I will not be nearly as pleasant as I was on this trip,” he says before getting in his transport.

  “Thank you for your hospitality,” Ulan says as he follows Braeden. His forced politeness grows even creepier.

  As the Soldiers board the transport, the leader with the wolf on his shoulder breaks formation, walking over to me. “I can’t wait to see you again. When I
do, your Leadership status won’t matter.”

  “I look forward to it.” I have had enough of these men and their threats. From the corner of my eye, I see Radek inching closer. I subtly tilt my hand up, telling him to stay in place. I can handle this for now.

  The Soldier reaches down, gripping his massive handgun, but keeps it in its holster. His other hand reaches up to the visor on his helmet. He retracts it, exposing bushy eyebrows that cast a shadow over his deep set, black eyes. The Soldier stares at me with a fiery intensity. After seeing the unfeeling gaze of Braeden, this angry response almost feels comforting. One of his men hesitantly comes over. The second Soldier’s arm stutters as he reaches out and taps the leader on the shoulder.

  “Malin, we have to go,” the Soldier says, revealing the name of the leader.

  Malin closes his visor and boards the transport with the rest of his men. An electrical hum reverberates through the chamber as the transport speeds down the tracks. Our Guards stay motionless, watching the light disappear into the darkness of the tunnel. When the transport is gone, Talia turns to me.

  “Let’s go, I have a plan.” Talia marches out of the chamber and back into Securus.

  Chapter 22

  I follow Talia to her office. As soon as we get inside, she turns to me. “No one else knows Braeden left. We might be able to use that to our advantage. Make sure the Guards don’t say a word. Have one of them get Arluin and Seonah. We’re gonna need their help.”

  I go to find the nearest Guard while Talia works on her plan. Seonah and Arluin show up not long after I return. Apparently they were looking for us as well.

  “Kagen, we decrypted part of the message. It was sent for Cale,” Arluin shouts as soon as he enters the room.

  “I know,” I tell him calmly, motioning with my hand for him to lower his voice. Even though no one else is in this corridor, we need to take every precaution to maintain secrecy.

  “What? What do you mean you know?” Arluin demands with a puzzled look on his face.