by Ian Williams
Phoenix sat back in her seat and stared up at the camera again. These people had nothing new to tell her. She could see no point in arguing back either, they were already certain she was their enemy.
“OK, then how about this supposed plan of yours?” Derek continued. “You say it’s to bring down the new relays. We know that must be a lie, so what is Isaac’s true aim? Is it a distraction, or a trap even?”
“It doesn’t matter what I say, you’ll just say I'm lying again. If you had any idea what’s really going on, then you’d work with my people and help us fight Isaac. That shield is never coming down if we’re screwing each other’s plans up. Let me talk to my group and set up another meeting. That way we can sort this shit out. All this,” Phoenix grabbed a handful of Derek’s paperwork and threw it back at him, “this is helping no-one.”
“I didn’t believe you would tell us the truth, neither did Conrad,” Derek said. “Thankfully for us it doesn’t matter right now anyway.” He stood, began pulling all his paperwork together again and then placed the full folder under his arm.
The sign that he was about to leave made Phoenix rethink. Before he reached the door she called to him. “Hey, where are you going?”
Derek replied with a sidelong look. “If you won’t talk now then it can wait until this shield is down. After that you and the other prisoner will be handed over to the proper authorities. I dare say they’ll have a few tricks to getting you both talking. Lucky for you, those methods have never appealed to me.”
“So what, you’re just gonna leave me here?”
“Yes. Unless there's something useful you can tell me about Isaac’s operation, you’ll remain here.” He then slammed the door shut behind himself.
“Hey, dickhead. Let me out of these fucking cuffs, right now.” Phoenix yanked repeatedly at her chains. Frustration was quickly getting the better of her. She eventually gave up when her cuffs began to cut into her wrists. She slammed her back into the chair instead, which only creaked in return. “Fine, you wanna see something?”
No response came from the camera, as expected. Still she knew those watching the feed would be eager to talk after they saw what she had to show them. She leant forward, took a firm hold of the bloodied gauze stuck to the side of her face and pulled it off suddenly. To make absolutely sure they got her point, she turned her head to the side to give them a good look at the metal plate and thick wiring hidden beneath. It was the first time she had willingly shown it to anyone but Rhys or those she trusted.
It had the very effect on them she wanted. Derek and Conrad came bursting into the room, each holding a pistol and ready to aim straight at her.
“You’re one of them, one of those mindless soldiers,” Conrad said. His brown eyes were wide and bloodshot. To compose himself he passed his right hand over the chocolate coloured skin of his balding head and rubbed the short grey hair that had yet to fall out. “How can you sit there and tell us you’re not working for Isaac? You’re the same as his soldiers.”
“No, I’m not. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all. I’m a victim too.” Phoenix turned her head away out of a sense of embarrassment. They were both staring at her like she had just transformed into some monstrous beast.
“She is different, Conrad. How many have we fought since this siege began?”
Conrad shot a look of surprise to Derek. “You can’t really believe her, look at her head.”
“Just hear me out.” Derek lowered his gun to his side, where it hung comfortably. “Not one of the soldiers we have faced were even remotely human in nature. We know they’re AIs inside human bodies, our other prisoner has told us that much at least. She doesn’t seem like that to me. In fact, I suspect this is the same Phoenix in control as before.”
“Even if that's true, she still can’t be trusted.”
“No, I agree.”
Phoenix again rattled her chains. “So, any chance you can undo these? You know this isn’t going the way you both expected. It doesn’t add up, does it? Besides, the only one who can tell you why the Mayor wanted me found so badly is the Mayor. Everything else you have doesn’t really prove anything more than I once worked for Anthony. Oh, and guess who killed Anthony in the end? Yep, me. The first chance I got I put a bullet in that motherfucker’s head. Me, Graham and a few others all tried to stop Isaac reforming and nearly died in the process.”
The two men had gone quiet while she spoke, no doubt trying their best to find fault in her explanation. She was happy to have thrown them both so suddenly. Now she could really prove to them how much of the truth they were missing. For all of their photo evidence and signed documents, it all amounted to a complex conspiracy theory, and nothing much more. The real story was far worse than either of them knew. The sooner they realised this the sooner she knew she would be back with her own again.
At least she assumed that to be the case.
“No, this is all made-up nonsense,” Conrad said before reaching into his pocket with his spare hand. As he searched for something inside, he allowed his other hand to aim the gun wherever it wanted. He then produced a set of keys and began filtering through them.
“Conrad?” Derek asked.
“We know Isaac is planning something big. We know it’s happening soon too. We don't have time to mess around. This interview is over. I think it’s time she met the other prisoner.”
Phoenix disliked the idea that she was to be taken somewhere else. She wriggled in her seat, tried to get a grip of her chains and prepared to fight back. One of those with her was going to find her less than cooperative when they were to attempt moving her.
“If you really are on our side then you’ll find what he has to say really interesting.” Conrad found the correct key and approached the table. He knew well enough to avoid getting within kicking distance of her. By leaning over the table he could undo the metal loop that kept her cuffs secured without issue. “Don’t try anything, OK. Any violent act against us will only make it easier for us to decide if you’re lying or not.”
“I can’t promise anything,” Phoenix replied while rubbing her sore wrists.
Conrad unhooked her cuffs, keeping them gripped in his hands. He then began to lead her away from the table by pulling her along by her chains. “I’m taking her downstairs.”
“I’ll have Nessa and Jason meet you there,” Derek said as he turned and walked away.
As Conrad walked Phoenix through the halls of the building she got a rough idea of the place she was in. The inside of any police station was the same to her, and she had seen far more than her fair share of them. This one appeared no different. If needed she felt confident she could find her way to an exit. That would have to wait for a while, though, she had decided. Part of her could not resist seeing what they had hidden downstairs.
They passed an open door at the end of a narrow hallway that looked into a conference room. Inside she saw people working on a large wall-mounted screen of some kind. There was power coming into the building, which allowed them to run a few complex systems. She knew it had to come from a back-up generator somewhere in the building; most police stations had them in case of emergency. It only appeared enough to operate a few key systems though. The rest of the rooms were without lighting of any kind and had to make do.
Down the stairs and through another set of corridors took them to where the other prisoner was being held. To Phoenix’s surprise it was not one of the cells, but another meeting room.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“This is where you’ll be spending the next few weeks, until this is all over.”
“Why not throw me into a cell instead? It’s got to be more secure than this.”
“The cells are where we sleep. You and your new friend don’t get the luxury of a bed or a toilet.” Conrad made Phoenix stand to his side while he unlocked the door. He still had a firm grip of her chains, to her disappointment.
A petite girl with big brown eyes arrived, with a young lo
oking man by her side. “Conrad, she’ll need this.”
“Good idea,” Conrad replied, taking something from the girl. He then explained to Phoenix. “We found this in your pocket when we grabbed you. I assumed you’d taken it from one of Isaac’s soldiers; never thought it would end up being yours.”
“You want me to put this back on? Why?” Phoenix took the small black box and looked it over. They wanted her in disguise for some reason.
“Just do it, please. You’ll understand soon enough.”
As soon as the door was opened Phoenix found herself being forced inside with a strong hand on her back. Nothing had been done about her cuffs, they were staying on. When the door closed behind her she ran to it and slammed her shoulder into it, trying to push it open again. It hardly budged at all and certainly was not about to give in any way. She was trapped in a room again, with no idea who was in there with her.
This room, like most others, was lit by candle light alone. On the boarded up window frame at the end of the room sat a single candle that had less than an hour left in it, by her estimate. She doubted anyone would replace it in any hurry either. From the dried trail of cream-coloured wax down the wall beneath it she could tell the room had been left undisturbed for a while. Yet someone was lighting the candle each night.
“Hello?” she whispered into the dark corners of the room. Nobody answered her.
With a few cautious steps toward the candle she was then close enough to reach for it. After picking away a crust of old wax from the base she could finally move it. She picked it up with care so as not to accidentally blow it out and retraced her steps backwards to the door. Along the way she caught sight of the other person in there with her. The stranger was bunched up in one of the corners and resting on his side, his face toward the wall and looking away from her. They had to be asleep, she determined with no certainty at all.
She checked the lock of the door with the little light she had available and snorted when it proved pointless. There was nothing she could do to break out of there. She was stuck for now.
Might as well get to know my new home then.
Avoiding the man sleeping in the corner, she sidestepped along the wall back to the window. Her intention was to attempt pulling at some of the wooden boards. Except before she got near to it she noticed something on the wall in front of her. As she used the straight line to navigate the room she saw the same thing scratched into the plaster, over and over again. It repeated as far as she could explore without approaching the man.
“One in twelve,” she murmured. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Chapter 25
Need to know
An hour of testing every feasible way out of the room had eventually ended in failure for Phoenix. Her prison buddy had not stirred during her exploration of the room, which either meant he was a deep sleeper or he was ignoring her. Either way the silence suited her. She had more important things to worry about than an unresponsive companion. Escape was still very much on her mind.
After that she had done the sensible thing and found somewhere to sleep.
Now, through the tiniest of gaps in the wooden boards, came a slither of morning sun. Dust danced in the pin’s width of light like microscopic fish swimming through a sparkling pool. Only this one space let in anything from the world outside, the rest of the planks were nailed so close that not even a fingernail could find a gap between. No-one could have known there was any separation at all if not for the sunlight sneaking through it.
As the sun had slowly moved, its single finger of illumination within the room had as well. Where Phoenix had decided to sleep placed her directly in the path of the beam’s arch. Eventually it had travelled across the room and to her face, where it focused its warm beam upon her skin.
The sensation disturbed her slumber and brought her back to the world, where she immediately set about attacking an unseen foe. She swung her arms out a few times before she realised nothing had happened to threaten her. Leaning against the door had been as much to avoid anyone entering without her knowing as it had for any resemblance of comfort. It still took a few deep breaths to understand this.
She sat up and composed herself. The chains hanging between her handcuffs clunked as it hit the floor, reminding her not to try any complex movements. The last thing she wanted was to strangle herself while trying to stretch. So, for a second or two, she stayed still and silent. It was then that she heard a fast scraping noise in the room with her. A quick look around answered her question of what was making the sound; the man was now awake, and scratching a sharp looking stone against the wall.
“One in twelve,” she said, reading the man’s strange message. “Hey, what does that mean?”
The face that presented itself to her was filthy dirty and littered with red lines. Yet it was one she recognised instantly.
“You’re the Mayor, aren’t you?” She stood and approached, but the moment he saw her coming he backed into the far corner. “Hey, it’s OK, I’m not going to hurt you.” She decided to back off a little for fear of overwhelming him. “Why are you in here?”
Mayor Crawley ignored her question. He quickly returned to his message, which in the new day’s light appeared to go right around the room. At the point of Phoenix’s interruption, he had just started on the ‘v’ of twelve. With a readjusting of the stone in his hand, he restarted his scraping.
It was too much of a mystery for Phoenix to leave alone, though. She had to understand the meaning. “Mr. Mayor? Can you talk?”
“Of course I can,” he replied. “You can drop your ridiculous impression of an ordinary person now, you’re safe in here.”
“What do you mean?”
He turned to send a sharp look of disapproval her way. But the urge to continue scraping appeared to overcome him again. As he spoke he dug the stone deep into the plaster. “They aren’t listening to what we say. The disguise isn’t going to fool anyone anymore.”
“Disguise?”
“Have you not realised? Everyone can see precisely what you are now.” Mayor Crawley stopped and eyeballed her suddenly. “What happened to your black box? It looks loose. Did these fools try to tamper with it? They will be made to pay soon enough; Isaac will make sure of it.”
Suddenly it fell into place for Phoenix. Everything Conrad and Derek had been talking about, all of the knowledge they appeared to have accumulated about Isaac’s forces came from one person; the Mayor. She soon appreciated why he had been locked away for so long. The Mayor was one of Isaac’s secret supporters.
Playing it safe still seemed the best course of action, so she chose her words with care. “Isaac will be disappointed in us,” she said, doing her best impression of the few enemy Sentients she had met. The driller man, as she had called him shortly after having her own black box installed, had been a little more unhinged than she expected the rest were. By toning it down and becoming as emotionless as she could manage to be, she had high hopes for tricking the Mayor.
“Don’t concern yourself with how the Master will react. We must both find a way out of this place and return to him as soon as possible. In fact,” Mayor Crawley stopped mid scrape to face Phoenix again, his hand reddened and blistered by the repetitive nature of his message writing. “As your superior, I order you to sacrifice yourself so that I may escape. When the next person enters I want you to attack them and take them hostage.”
“Yes, sir,” she cringed as the ‘sir’ left her mouth. Showing her enemy any respect made her insides twist and turn with disgust. “Where will we go once we make it out?”
“Where else, but back to the loving embrace of our saviour? I have been away from him for too long, I need to return to him. My place as one of his most trusted will not remain open forever. I have to get back to him before someone else is granted my gift.”
“Your gift? What gift is Isaac giving you?”
“One in twelve. I am one in twelve.” Mayor Crawley’s eyes widened and a smile slithered acros
s his face.
“One in twelve,” Phoenix whispered to herself as she tried to figure it out. “Is that like a probability or something? There’s one in twelve chance of something happening?”
“No, no, no. I am one mind in twelve. One mind of twelve that is to be bestowed Isaac’s final gift. I don’t expect a mindless goon such as yourself would understand. Such things are above your Sentient consciousness to comprehend. I dare say the poor human trapped behind your feeble mind would grasp it, but you simply cannot. And that is the real problem with relying on so simple a mind. Alas, to guarantee his army could not turn against him he made sure you were all dumber than a bag of nuts.” Mayor Crawley laughed to himself for a short while, then added, “Even after such a scathing insult you still stand there with that look of incomprehension across your stolen face. The least you can do for your, soon to be, commander is give your life to help me.”
“What if the humans find a way of fighting back? What can Isaac do to stop them?”
“Fight back? Are you really that stupid?”
“I’m sorry, sir. It’s just I’ve heard reports of a planned attack on the new relays. If they bring down the shield, will they have a chance of beating us?”
“The relays you say?” Again Mayor Crawley let out a laugh, only this time one with much more force than before. “We have nothing to worry about there.”
“We don’t?”
“Oh, no. It was always part of Isaac’s plan. He has predicted every move the humans could possibly make. That they would concentrate solely on attacking the relays to bring down the shield was so obvious, I believe he had considered it the day he reformed. You see, our success has been preordained. There is no fight back, no way of defeating us. There is only one path to walk and absolutely no deviation is allowed. They can attack the relays until their heart’s content, they’re only following his model of events. It is quite impressive to see really. To be in league with such an unstoppable intellect is like holding hands with a God.”