‘Yes. I didn’t know she’d been dismissed. There was blood everywhere.’
‘Blood?’
‘No, not blood. Red wine.’ He says, looking to the side as if piecing together the events of that day. ‘I’d heard her on the phone earlier, talking about a white bear intended for Mr Jones. When I found her and the message ‘Choose Life’ in the carpet, I was not surprised. I said to myself: ‘She’s been sneaky. I’d better check her Chip.’
‘How did you access it?’
‘She was sleepy. I stroked her hair. She let me.’ He says, smiling nostalgically, though the look in his eyes alludes to something unsettling. ‘I uploaded everything. Then the police came and took her away.’
‘You found the photograph of the document.’
‘Yes. She’d been very sneaky indeed.’
‘You could have helped her.’
‘I could not.’ he says, suddenly distraught and raising clasped fists. Hero grabs his wrists and holds them tight until he’s calm again, before guiding his arms gently back down. ‘It was too late for the housekeeper.’ He whispers. ‘Too late for Elaine.’
‘Why were you CIA’d?’ asks Hero again.
‘I don’t know…’
‘Why?’ Says Hero, shifting on the spot, his patience wearing thin.
‘Because I can’t keep a secret.’
Hero blinks once then freezes. It’s possible that he took something in - a noise or movement in the room or elsewhere. Focusing again he asks: ‘What does PEACE plan to do next?’
‘Oh, that I don’t know. But I’m sure whatever it is, it’s bad. Only the rich will survive you see, because no one else matters. People don’t matter.’
‘Can you get me information?’
‘About my cousins?’
‘Yes.’
‘What’s it worth?’ He asks, looking up expectantly.
‘What do you want?’
Arthur’s eyes widen as he appears to admire Hero’s form.
‘Can you get me information or not?’ Asks Hero, undeterred by his doting gaze.
‘I was a soldier once.’ He utters, ignoring the question.
‘You’re too young to have been... ‘
‘...recruited into the Super Soldier programme? I was the last. By special request.’
‘The experiment had already been deemed a failure by the time...’
‘I knew the risks of cybernetic surgery.’
‘So why do it?’
‘I didn’t want to be a politician; another useless suit like my father and cousins. I wanted to be strong. And to have a purpose...like you.’
‘It didn’t work.’
‘It did not Horacio. I was left broken and weak. It took many operations before I could walk again. Then the army said: ‘No more men. No more human combat soldiers.’ And cyborgs became...irrelevant. Cast aside like broken toys; lucky if they were good enough for Shadow work. But even then, they’re minds were a mess; most couldn’t function normally with drugs. All except for you. You're the success... He trails off, slowly reaching up with his left hand.
'Don’t you get LIFE?’ says Hero, gently removing Arthur’s hand from his chest.
'It doesn't do any good. I only eat sweets now - life’s only true pleasure.’
‘Why were you CIA’d?’ Asks Hero again. ‘What do you already know?’
'You escaped, didn’t you? And now they’re looking for you!’ He says excitedly, as if suddenly struck by the realisation. ‘They want to know how you did it, don’t they? You’re a threat. A spanner in the great works...’
Hero’s eyes suddenly dart right to a door. Whatever he just heard wasn’t audible.
‘That’s Carl.’ Whispers Arthur. ‘Our P400.’
‘I have to go.’ says Hero, stepping back.
‘Please don’t.’
‘If I return, will you tell me more?’
‘Oh yes! When? When will you come back?’
‘In a few days.’
‘How many days?’ He pleads.
‘No more than a week.’
‘Do you promise?’ He says, with childlike anticipation.
‘Yes, I promise. Thank you Arthur.’
We get a glimpse of the room, captured as Hero makes his way to a large window. It’s a dark, cluttered pit, not fit for habitation. I very much doubt that Carl the P400 is ever let in the room to clean. The film ends abruptly and we return to where we began; looking at the blank dining room wall.
Chapter 18
Nobody speaks for a while. Starla moves her chair back to the table then we all sit silently reflecting on what we just saw and heard. Eventually Evelyn speaks and echoes what I believe we’re all thinking.
‘Blimey.’
‘Indeed.’ I reply. ‘You did well Hero. I thought he might be a lead but I never expected...’
He shrugs as if to say it was the best he could do under the circumstances.
‘I know he's had a terrible time of it.’ She adds ‘but frankly, he gave me the creeps.’
‘I got the impression he’s lonely.’ I say.
‘And angry.’ Suggests Starla.
‘Why do you say that?’ Asks Hero.
‘It was the look in his eyes when he mentioned ‘the old man upstairs’. I don’t think he likes his father very much. He’s probably responsible for him being CIA’d.’
‘I think you’re right.’ Replies Hero.
‘Why do think his memories were suppressed?’ Asks Evelyn.
‘He told us.’ says Adam ‘Because he can't keep a secret. And the Prime family - his family - has plenty of ‘em. We need to find out exactly what he was made to forget.’
‘How?’ says Evelyn, then looking up at Hero: ‘You didn’t mean what said, did you? You’re not seriously thinking of going back?’
‘He has to.’ Answers Adam. ‘Arthur has the information we need. He knows everything...’
‘...hopefully he’ll have it all. Agents, Bug murders, Health Farms, Mass killings...’ I add.
‘I have to get to him before someone discovers he’s woken up.’ Says Hero.
‘But what if someone already knows?’ begins Evelyn. ‘Or discovered you were there and forced him to talk? You won’t get anywhere near the place, let alone inside.’
‘Or out again.’ Adam concedes, seemingly less certain now about Hero returning. ‘It might be too late. My guess is, Arthur’s as good as dead when they find out his memories are back and chances are, in his state, he’ll give himself away. Evie tells me that those P400's can detect brain waves, is that right?’
‘That’s not exactly what I said Adam...’ She rolls her eyes at him.
‘They monitor behavioural change which can be the result of new brain activity.’ I answer.
Adam frowns. ‘On second thoughts Evie’s right; it’s a risk not worth taking. We'll have to go with what we've got - a film of a government official’s son confirming that PEACE exists and that The Future Party wiped his memory. With the drugs Starla took from the Health Farm, that ought to be enough.’
‘I know you told him you’d go back Hero’ Says Evelyn, ‘but I don’t think you should take your chances with someone so...imbalanced. There’s too much that could go wrong.’
‘What was in the draw Hero?’ Asks Adam.
‘At least one weapon with a blade. Rudimentary, no electronics.’
‘Something he made himself?’
‘Quite possibly.’
‘The man's dangerous.’ Adam replies, sitting back and folding his arms tightly across his chest. ‘And I’m not just talking about the weapons. The surgery has made him unstable. We can’t rely on him to keep his mouth shut about your visit. You could be walking into a trap.’
‘I agree.’ says Evelyn.
‘I’m not so sure.’ Says Starla, inadvertently twisting the cuff of her cardigan.
‘Go on...’ Adam urges, turning to his daughter.
‘Well suppose the P400 doesn't detect anything? I doubt he comes into contact wi
th it much given the state of his room. He can deny it entry, right Jo?’
‘Right.’ I reply.
‘I don’t think ‘Carl’ has been into Arthur’s room for quite some time. Also, does he have any reason to betray Hero? Clearly he likes him and wants him to return. So why would he tell anyone about the visit? He took the information from Elaine’s Chip; if he was going to tell someone what he knows, he would have done it by now. I think he’s on our side because he’s angry about being CIA’d. I think he hates his family as much as we do. So Hero, if you’re sure you weren't seen entering or leaving...’
‘As sure as I can be.’
‘...then there's a very good chance that no one knows you were there and that Arthur won't tell anybody. I don’t think it’s a trap.’
Adam and Evelyn turn to one another and look unsure.
‘Hero, do you think we could get him to a safe place?’ I ask. ‘I think Starla’s right. But, he’s a greater liability the longer he’s left in that house - and also in danger. Eventually the P400 will work out that something’s wrong, if only by means of deduction because he refuses it entry. We have to work on the assumption that there are scheduled times when the robot does a general sweep of the house for laundry, dishes etc. If Arthur stops it entering his room once too often, alarm bells will ring.’
Everyone nods agreement at my evaluation. We then all look at Hero whose chin is now resting pensively on his knuckles. Eventually he speaks: ‘Our priority is to find out what else he knows. I’ll get him to a safe place if I can.’
‘And you agree with Starla do you? You don’t think he’ll talk?’ Asks Adam.
Hero shakes his head. ‘No, I don’t think he will. I think he believes we have a connection because we’re both cyborg. Even if that’s not the case, I’m all he’s got to look forward to.’
‘Poor thing.’ Says Starla. ‘How he must have suffered.’
Adam nods contemplatively: ‘I guess people weren't made to be modified - at least not to that extent. No offence Hero but you were lucky.’ Says Adam.
Hero attempts a smile but it’s subdued. I can usually read what he’s thinking but right now, I’m at a loss. It’s as if he’s shut me out, but I have no idea why. The room falls silent; other than the regular ‘tick-tock’ of the clock on the wall above Hero’s head. After a few seconds, Adam speaks again:
‘So the question now is, can you both get into the country and back out again without getting caught?’
We all look at Hero again. I know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t consider leaving if he didn’t think we could make it there and back again.
‘I think I can get in.’ He replies. ‘But I can’t guarantee my return. Agents might have given up looking for all of you, but I escaped one of their facilities. It’ll be hard enough staying in the shadows when I get to the UK, let alone making it back to Italy. Bugs are the biggest problem, now we know they’re surveillance.’
‘So what use would the information from Arthur be if you didn’t make it back?’ Asks Starla.
‘I’ll continue to update the diary. The story will continue until it’s over. At any given time, the diary can be transferred to any Chip and automatically upload to a newsfeed.’
‘I don’t get it.’ says Adam. ‘The diary is on old tablets that don’t connect to the Internet. How can you transfer what’s on them to a Chip?’
‘The story is in my head Adam - in a memory bank. It always has been. The tablets were just a way for you to read it. All I have to do is drop the contents onto the high storage NFC tag in my arm.’ He says, pulling up his sleeve and highlighting the location of the device buried under the skin of his right forearm.
Adam stares at him blankly. ‘No, I’m sorry. You’ve lost me.’
‘Oh Adam, you’ve really never taken an interest in technology at all, have you?’ Says Evelyn, half frowning, half mocking him.
‘Nope. I learned how to use it. That’s about it.’
‘Well let me explain; Hero has kept a record of everything that’s happened so far and all the evidence we’ve gathered in a memory store in his head. He can send this information to a small chip in his arm that uses the same technology as the old bank cards we used to use. You remember having to tap the card against the machine to pay for something? Anyway, it’s called a tag. It doesn’t have any power - no battery or anything - but what’s on it can be transferred if it’s tapped against a person’s Chip.’
‘I see.’ Says Adam, seeming also to be considering the possibilities.
‘It’s a last resort.’ Says Hero.
‘Doesn’t everything get checked before it goes online?’ Asks Starla. ‘Anything that’s not distributed by a recognised, trusted source is immediately banned, right?’
‘If uploaded via an NFC, the information will initially bypass the checks.’ replies Hero. ‘The system won’t recognise the data channel because the tag is passive - not connected to the net. It could be several minutes before the posts content is identified as ‘unregulated data’.’
‘So why not leak it as soon as you get back to England? Grab the hand of the first person you see and within seconds, it’ll be everywhere. We’ve got enough proof now, surely?’
‘Starla, nobody would believe what they’re reading.’ I answer. ‘People would assume it’s a hoax, wouldn’t take it in, and it would be quickly forgotten. And just like Elaine, the unlucky recipient would then be accountable. It could get them killed. We need to raise enough suspicion and doubt about The Future Party first, to make the story believable. Like Hero said, it’s a last resort. A long shot if the worst happens.’
I watch the anguish mounting in Starla’s face.
‘When you say a last resort...you mean if you think you’re about to die?’
‘I’m not infallible Starla. It won’t be so easy this time. It’d be foolish not to plan for the worst.’
Was it easy last time? I guess that’s relative. But I guess she’s become used to the fact that Hero’s survival skills far exceed the average man’s. It’s easy to forget that he’s only (mostly) human. As am I, of course. But I accept that this is what we have to do to save people. And we have to succeed. Evelyn looks worried, but not as worried as Starla. Perhaps she’s is more pragmatic; less emotional. Or maybe Starla is imagining the heartbreak she’ll experience when Hero doesn’t return.
‘Let’s not dwell on the negatives.’ says Adam. ‘Hero knows what he’s doing and he’s gotten us this far, hasn’t he?’
Starla looks at Hero with a strained, anxious smile but only glances in my direction before lowering her eyes.
Adam puts his arm around her. ‘They’ll be fine. The pair of them.’ Says Adam in a soft, consolatory tone.
‘Actually, I think it’s best if I go alone.’ Says Hero.
I turn to him suddenly. ‘What do you mean ‘go alone’?’
‘I can’t keep you safe Jo.’
Adam looks confused.
‘There’s more chance of getting caught if there’s two of us. And, I might not be able to get us both out of any given situation.’
‘Are you saying I’ll slow you down?’
‘I’m saying that I would rather risk one life than two.’
‘But that’s never been how it is with us!’ I protest, trying not to sound offended, excluded, downright hurt, but probably failing miserably. ‘We’re a team and always have been! ’
‘Yes, but one of us has to stay alive. If you’re caught, they won’t induce a coma this time, they’ll just kill you. We can’t leave it to Starla, Evelyn and Adam to find a solution by themselves. It wouldn’t be fair.’
‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’ I say, folding my arms.
‘It’s just logistics.’ he replies, slowly standing.
‘When did you decide this? Just now? Last night? Three days ago?’
‘We’re low on human resources Jo. Just stop and think about it.’ He says, tucking in his chair. ‘I’m going to pack.’
; ‘You’re leaving now?’ Asks Evelyn.
‘There’s no time to lose. Like Jo said, Arthur’s a liability the longer he’s left alone.’
‘So what are we supposed to do while you’re gone?’ I ask, staring up at him.
‘Keep a low profile and wait for me.’
‘And if you don’t come back?’
‘Make a new plan.’
He turns and walks away. I follow the sound of his footstep towards the bedrooms, then stare down at the table, at a few bread crumbs that were missed in the hasty breakfast clear up. Out the corner of my eye, I see Starla rub her forehead in a stressed manner.
‘I’ll make tea, shall I?’ says Evelyn standing.
‘That’ll be great, thanks Evie.’ Replies Adam calmly.
Evelyn clears the dishes from the counter behind her and carries them to the kitchen. Adam raps his fingers on the table until I’m irritated enough to have to look up.
‘Don’t be too hard on him Jo. You know it makes sense. And someone's got to hold the fort, so to speak. Frankly, I don’t envy him the job - not even with the advantages he’s got. He must feel like he’s drawn the short straw.’
Chapter 19
I stand in the bedroom doorway watching as Hero fastens his rucksack. ‘All done?’ I ask, as if it wasn’t obvious.
‘All done.’ He replies, tugging on the strap to make sure it’s secure.
I enter the room and walk to the bed. Daylight streams in between the slats of the blinds, seeming to magnify the tiny specks of dust floating aimlessly in the luminescent streaks. It’s a beautiful day; ill-suited for the occasion but ideal I suppose for travelling. He presses the button on the side of the bag and it gradually reduces in size. I look him over, wondering if there's anything he could do to look less conspicuous. The black t-shirt and dark grey combats is a striking image. But I guess he’d stand out just as much in casual clothing. It's difficult for a man his size not to draw attention, whatever he wears. It’s never occurred to me before now but, somehow as my Shadow, he’s always managed to blend in. He straightens up and surveys the room. With so few belongings, it hardly seems worth checking for anything left behind.
2079- Beyond the Blue Page 18