2079- Beyond the Blue

by Florence Watson

There’s a brief pause. I take a deep a breath. ‘Starla, I need to talk to you about the finances.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘I don’t know how much money your father has and we need to budget, given that we have no idea when this will all be over.’

  ‘That makes sense. Okay, I’ll talk to him.’ She says, then turning back: ‘I wish it didn't have to end.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I ask, genuinely puzzled by the remark.

  ‘Well, it’s so beautiful here.’

  ‘Oh. I see what you mean. Yes it is.’ I agree, now looking out in the same direction. The sea is vibrant green and perfectly still from this distance, as if the artist has painted in block colour, into the triangular gap between the clustered, sun kissed mountains.

  ‘I don’t think I thanked you Jo, for bringing my father to such a... magnificent place. I know he feels at home here.’

  ‘He appears to be content. Well, as contented as one can be, given everything he’s been through.’

  ‘He’s finding it hard to talk about my mother.’ She says, sincerely. ‘I miss her too.’

  ‘I know, I understand. That’s why we have to do this. We have to succeed.’

  ‘Do you think Hero will make it back?’

  ‘Of course.’ I answer with false confidence. ‘He’s never let me down before; why would he start now?’

  From the side, I see the corner of her mouth turn up but it’s not a convincing smile. I change the subject. ‘Your father has a lot of stories.’

  ‘He certainly does.’ She says feigning weary, then breaking into a real smile this time. ‘It gets boring after you’ve heard them fifty times or more, but it’s his life. His memories...’

  ‘Starla…’

  ‘Yes Jo?’ She says, instantly turning back.

  The intensity in her eyes causes me to freeze. Suddenly I’m unsure of myself and what I’d intended to say. So I say something else instead. ‘How’s your arm?’

  ‘Fine.’ she answers with a light shrug. ‘Like nothing happened.’

  ‘That’s good.’ I reply, nodding. ‘Really good in fact - and I want to say again that I’m sorry.’

  ‘There’s no need Jo.’ She replies, turning once again to the scenery. ‘These are strange times. Anything can happen and it probably will.’ She adds, philosophically. ‘I want to apologise for wasting so much time. I knew deep down that the system wasn’t fair - I’d heard it all my life. But I thought I could prove my father wrong.’

  ‘You thought you could win if you stuck to the rules.’

  ‘Yes. I told myself that if I followed the Manual, I’d be alright. But I never imagined people were being killed.’ She pauses briefly before continuing to speak. ‘You know just before I left, the Hive next to mine was put under quarantine. All the residents forced to stay indoors and people on the street wearing masks, afraid they’d catch flu. I wanted to scream at them that it isn’t real. Those dying aren’t infected, they have been poisoned. I’ve never felt so frustrated; unable to help or to say anything. But then I arrived here and...I don’t know. It’s confusing I guess. I keep thinking that it’s not forever; that this is just a holiday. Soon I’ll return to Holloway and continue my life where it left off. Everything will go back to normal. Then I remember that it’s not and realise that I’ve never felt so free. Despite all this uncertainty, it’s as if there have never been so many possibilities. I’m not sure if any of that makes sense to you. But I don’t think any of us can ever go back and frankly, I don’t think I ever want to.’

  ‘The Mediterranean will do that to a person…’

  ‘I’m serious Jo.’

  ‘I know. And it makes perfect sense.’

  ‘I keep thinking about Hero and where he might be right now. And then I think about the people back home carrying on with their lives, unaware of their fates.’

  ‘It is difficult. But we’re doing all we can for now. We just have to sit tight and wait.’

  She nods and looks down at her feet. ‘I’m glad we finally have the opportunity to talk.’

  I step forward. She looks up, expectantly this time and her body seems to naturally follow. Moving closer still, I gently lift her chin then feel her tremble as our lips meet. It’s the lightest touch but sends an ecstatic wave through my entire body. Then suddenly she pulls away.

  ‘What's wrong?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’

  I immediately determine this to be a lie. ‘You’re not sure?’

  She looks up timidly, like she’s about to say something I’m not going to like. ‘I don’t think you know what you want Jo.’

  ‘Sorry? I thought it was obvious what I want?’

  ‘A kiss doesn’t mean anything. Unless of course it does mean something.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘What I mean is; you’re unpredictable. Impulsive.’

  ‘Impulsive? For two months I felt that something was missing. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. When I found the diary, I realised it was you.’

  ‘How do you know it was me? You’d lost Jessica and you thought Hero was dead. How do you know it wasn’t grief, or the mission that had left a void, or the sense that there was something important that you should be doing? I’m worried that you’re confusing these perfectly understandable feelings about what you thought had happened, with feelings for me.’

  ‘I’m not.’ Is all I can think to say.

  ‘But how do you know? I experienced the same loss of memory Jo; I know how it throws you out.’

  The fact that she rarely accepts what I say is her most irritating quality. But I have to admit that at the same time it excites me in the way that a woman who hangs on my every word never could. ‘So what you’re asking for is proof.’

  ‘No, I know that’s not possible. What I need is time.’

  ‘Alright. That seems fair.’ I say, trying to sound reasonable.

  ‘Thank you.’ she smiles.

  The way I see it, a delay is as good as a rejection (or rather, as bad). I want to ask how much time she needs and if she’s likely to have talked herself out of the idea after a certain amount has passed in which case, waiting is actually worse than an outright ‘no’. I was foolish to think that a kiss could mark the start of a lasting tie. It is after all only a momentary lapse of reasoning - a mutual expression of desire and not proof of compatibility. It's a huge leap from a meeting of mouths to a meeting of minds; to something that might resemble a normal relationship - something I fully admit to never having experienced and she knows it. She wants time, which when I think about it, amounts to the same as proof. So in the coming days or weeks (however long it takes) I will need to demonstrate emotional responsiveness, consistency, rationality and all my very best qualities. … No, this is all wrong. It doesn’t have to be this complicated. I kissed her and she reciprocated. She kissed me back. We both felt it. It’s just pheromones, like Hero said. But isn’t the fact that we’re drawn to one another by instinct, proof of compatibility on a fundamental level?

  ‘Perhaps time isn’t what you need at all.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘I have to be honest with you Starla. Please hear me out.’

  ‘Alright.’

  ‘Yes, I can be impulsive. But that’s not what’s happening here. You must have predicted – foreseen that sooner or later... The truth is, I don’t need to question my feelings for you and I’m pretty sure you don’t need to question yours either …’

  A sudden, urgent cry comes from the door behind and Evelyn beckons us in: ‘Come quickly!’

  We rush into the house, through the kitchen to the living room where Adam is sitting on the edge of the arm chair, glued to a news report on the virtual screen. Evelyn hands us both an earpiece translator. She still has her jacket on, having only just returned from shopping. Starla and I insert them quickly, then crowd around her father. The footage is of a body covered with a black sheet, being wheeled on a stretcher into an ambulance on the grounds of a large property.
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  I hone in on the female news reader’s voice:

  ‘..a little under an hour ago, at the family home of the British MP Howard Luvel. Police who’d been alerted to the scene by the household’s P400, opened fire as a man tried to escape after breaking and entering the property. Investigations are under way to discover how the intruder was able to bypass security. Authorities have not yet confirmed the identities of the two bodies, but they are believed to be that of an armed assailant and one member of the household…’

  Adam turns and looks up at me. I feel the blood drain from my face. The reporters’ voice fades to a foggy, toneless sound in my left ear. ‘Hero and Arthur.’ I whisper.

  Epilogue

  I’m not sure how much time has elapsed since the numbing news report. The voices in the room are loud but indistinct; deadened by the ringing sound in my ears. Everyone is talking at once. I can’t make sense of anything being said.

  Eventually, Starla’s voice breaks through: ‘Jo? Are you even listening?’ The tone is fretful but equally unforgiving. ‘What are we going to do?’

  I can’t bring myself to speak just yet. Suddenly, Evelyn is crouching down beside me. I focus on the rose tattoo on her wrist, tracing with my eyes the faded ink lines, like I did when I was a child.

  ‘She’s panicking Jo. We’re all a bit lost right now.’ She says, gently stroking my arm. ‘I know you’re in shock sweetheart. But you’ve got to snap out of it. We need to know what to do.’

  She waits a few seconds then slowly rises, giving my back a gentle pat on the way up. I look up from my seated position on the arm of the chair to find them all staring, waiting for me to say something. The worst has happened; Hero’s gone. I’m not strong enough. I’d prepared for it, but I never saw it coming. I have to pull myself together; step up and take control. They’re still waiting. I can’t let them down. Reluctantly I stand then quietly announce: ‘We’re going to leave the villa.’

  ‘What?’ Says Adam, his bushy eyebrows prominent on his wrinkled brow. ‘Hero told us to stay here.’

  ‘Yes, but he didn't tell us what to do in the event of his capture or death.’

  ‘He might not be dead.’

  ‘Dad’s right.’ Says Starla. ‘We don't know for sure that one of the bodies is Hero.’

  ‘Are you willing to chance that it's not?’

  ‘Well we could wait a couple of hours until it’s confirmed.’ Suggests Evelyn. ‘We’re putting ourselves at risk by leaving, and we might not need to.’

  ‘The bodies will be identified as whoever the government wants us to believe they are.’

  ‘So you’re they’d lie and say that the bodies are those of two other people, to make us think Hero’s still alive?’ Says Starla.

  ‘Precisely. Then if it is Hero’s body they removed from the house, they’ll use all the information in his memory to track us down. He’s a walking computer and though encrypted, they will eventually find a way to access the stored data. It could be a matter of hours before they find us.’

  My words silence the room. I begin to pace the breadth of it, from one sandy coloured wall to the other. The trio look on worriedly, but I can't think straight unless I do this. I’m aware of the need to act immediately but I’m thinking over my emergency plan, just to make sure I’m not making a huge mistake.

  ‘So where do we go?’ Evelyn asks after a minute or so.

  ‘We'll take the car to the train station and head for Naples.’

  ‘Evelyn or Adam, can one of you drive us there?’

  ‘Of course.’ Replies, Evelyn.

  ‘From Naples we’ll hire a driverless vehicle to Rome. Adam, are we able to locate and contact the ex Ministry members who helped us out before? It would save having to hire a car directly.’

  ‘Sure.’ He replies. ‘If we want to implicate them further, or walk into a trap because they’re being watched. Hopefully they made it out of the car park and weren’t followed. But there’s no way of knowing without getting in contact.’

  ‘Okay, never mind.’ I reply, surprised by how calm he is under pressure. Clearly he’s not daunted by a life in exile – nor having to plan an escape. I should have asked for his help sooner.

  I feel Starla’s eyes follow me as I stride past. ‘Isn't Rome where your friends are; the couple who hosted Dad and Evelyn? It'll be the first place they'll look for us, surely?’

  ‘The capital is the safest place to hide. It’s crowded and home to lots of influential people so we have a good chance of transferring the data on the NFC tags to someone important. Or if it comes to it, to as many people as possible. Otherwise the knowledge dies with us.’

  ‘Okay.’ Starla says, now sounding convinced. ‘Hero mentioned badges before he left.’

  ‘Yes, there are four badges; one for each of us. They’re the tags that contain the diary - or at least the facts as a chronological report. The drugs that Starla stole from the Health Farm that we suspect contain DNP, will remain here - along with the mobile phone; the original source of Elaine's letter and the PEACE document.’

  ‘So what was the point of her risking her life going back in to get it?’ Says Adam, miffed on his daughter’s behalf.

  ‘Carrying hard evidence is a risk. The code on the packaging is documented in the diary, so the drug can be traced to where it was manufactured. There’s photographic evidence of everything else. Hopefully we’ll survive long enough to come back for it, so it can eventually be put into the right hands.’

  ‘Where will we stay?’ Asks Evelyn. ‘Those sleep pods in the city need a Chip scan or credit card. We have neither - not that we could use them to pay anyway as they’d identify us.’

  ‘We’re in Europe. There'll be a hotel somewhere that still accepts cash. Same for the car hire.’

  ‘If we’re lucky.’ Adam says, doubtfully.

  ‘It won’t be luxurious, but it’s only for the first night. I'll find us somewhere more permanent after that.’ I stop pacing and look up at him. ‘Will the money extend to renting an apartment for a few days?’

  He folds his arms and appears to think it through. ‘Possibly. I have no idea how much it costs to rent an apartment in Rome these days. It’s the second most expensive city in FUSE, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, it is.’ I confirm. ‘Just outside Rome then?’

  ‘I’m really not sure Jo. All I know is that I could buy this villa three times over with the amount we’ve got, if that’s any help to you.’

  ‘That’s great. Thanks.’

  ‘So what do we do first?’ Asks Evelyn, putting her hands on her hips.

  ‘Everyone start packing. Bring essentials but don’t leave your rooms bare. It has to look as if we’re coming back. Pack as much as you can carry; no more. Adam, can you get the cash and split it into four bundles? I’ll get the badges - we’ll put them on in the car.’

  Evelyn and Adam leave the room as soon as my instructions come to an end. But as she reaches the door, Starla hesitates and turns back.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?’ She asks, walking back towards me. ‘Perhaps we could find somewhere that’s just as remote as this mountain and hide out there until we know more.’

  ‘We can’t hide forever Starla. If Hero really is gone, then we have to carry on without him. But if he is still alive, we might not find out for weeks. The sooner we get going, the more likely we are to find someone who’ll believe us.’

  ‘But how will he find us if we move?’

  ‘He’s Hero; he’ll work it out.’

  ‘You’re right.’ She concedes. brushing away a loose strand of hair before looking up. ‘We can’t keep running’

  ‘I know.’ I put my arms around her then pull her in close. ‘We need to finish this…’

  Copyright © Florence Watson 2019

  All rights reserved.

 
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