******
Michaels tapped his foot impatiently. He checked his watch and rolled his eyes. Claudia had dragged him from his office because somehow she needed his help. All she had done was bring him down to the large testing laboratory and leave him standing outside of her office.
Maybe that's why she left me out here, he thought. She knows how much I hate wasting time. He peered around the door, looking through the glass panels that served to allow her or whoever else to monitor the rest of the testing room.
Michaels was surprised at the change. Before, when he had been there, many of the other projects had still been scattered about with various techs and people in white coats milling around working on them. These included various prototypes of military hardware and vehicles, a few kinds of explosive devices, and all sorts of other projects.
Now, everyone was working on assembly of identical devices. Michaels recognized the curved, smooth metal riveted together to form a cylinder. From there, one of the slitted ends was welded in place, the opposite side awaiting the payload for each one. The device was identical to the prototype save for the size. Each unit was about as large as a refrigerator laid on its side. Rungs were welded to the outer surface, which Michaels assumed were used to attach cables for lifting and lowering.
Other stations were producing smaller tubes of what Michaels guessed was a hard plastic substance: the chemical chambers. There were four thinner ones attached to a larger one in the center for each device as the mixing area. More workers yet hovered around small electronic assemblies, and other groups were working on putting the parts together. Thus far, none of the units were finished enough to receive the deadly payload, but a couple of them were getting close.
As he peered around the corner, he'd occasionally see Claudia bent over something in sight of the window. Then, she'd disappear again into an unseen corner. He sighed, irritation at being left standing around for the last half hour growing rapidly.
He sat down and leaned his head against the cold metal railing. He was considering trying to close his eyes and take a brief nap when he saw Citizen Dennis Myers, in his dark blue suit, moving up the stairs and across the second story towards the office where Michaels sat. Michaels stood up and smoothed out his own rumpled attire. Due to the late nights, busy schedule, and a great deal of things to think about, Michaels' personal care had suffered somewhat. His clothes were unkempt and slightly dirty, and a dusting of stubble stood out on his cheeks.
Myers, conversely, looked clean and immaculate as always. Michaels shook the soft, manicured, dark hand as Myers spoke in his rumbling bass. "Afternoon, Citizen Michaels."
"Hello Citizen Myers; how are you?"
"Just fine. A little curious as to why Miss Claudia called me to come down here." He glanced at his watch. "I have a broadcast going out in forty-five minutes."
Michaels shrugged. "She personally dragged me out of my office, begging for my help before deciding that she was going to work in there," he hooked a thumb towards the office, "without me."
"Curious," Myers said, clearly uninterested.
"Indeed," Michaels replied.
The two stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, as neither really knew anything about the other, and they had no idea of any common ground or subjects to comfortably discuss.
Luckily, they were spared from extensive agony by the exuberant appearance of Dunlevy, who came bounding over with a loud, "Good afternoon, my friends!"
Both men responded with a, "Hello, Arthur." Myers said it with a relaxed tone, and Michaels mumbled the greeting.
"Standing about today are we?" Dunlevy said, eyes twinkling. "With so much work to be done. Absolutely appalling!" he finished, laughing at them.
"Very funny, Arthur," Myers said passively. He gestured towards Michaels. "We were just talking; do you happen to know why Claudia called us down here?"
"Haven't the foggiest!" Dunlevy said with a wide grin. "Always so exciting to come down here to see what gadgets and trinkets are being put together. Although," he added, smile fading as he looked down at the milling workers below, "it seems a bit more drab than usual."
Myers straightened his tie. "Redirected to work on the latest project, as you'd expect."
"Yes, I see that," Dunlevy said softly, distracted by the milling workers. "Frightening device, don't you think?"
Michaels looked away, saying nothing. Myers gave a slow nod. "I can't say I'm fond of it…" leaving a hanging air to the statement.
"But?" Michaels frowned.
Myers gave a grim smile. "But nothing. I don't like it at all. It's barbaric by any standard."
Michaels shrugged and looked uncomfortable. "I suppose, but what if it's necessary. Did you think of that?"
A look of irritation crossed Dunlevy's face, and he opened his mouth. Myers held up a hand and shook his head, and Dunlevy remained silent. Myers leveled a gaze at Michaels and said, "Son, someday you might understand that barbarism isn't defined by what some old man in a tower afraid of his own death says."
"Please." Michaels scoffed. "It's obvious that Lange barely runs things. He's too detached. It's all Wresh and the Inquisitors."
Myers leaned back and let out a laugh. "Well, you're half-right. Julian would love to see the city under his full control, but old Citizen One's not letting go that easy."
Michaels gave a confused glance towards Dunlevy, who nodded in affirmation, "Citizen One still has primary control over a lot of the infrastructure and power grid." He shrugged. "No one really knows what would happen if he decided to do something. At best, we'd have to reroute a lot of control center materials. At worst…" he left the statement hanging.
Before Michaels could respond with a shaky and less-than-confident rebuttal, the office door swung open. Michaels jumped back, narrowly avoiding being struck by it.
She looked carefully at each one. "Good, you're all here. Come inside."
Several minutes later all three men were uneasily shaking their heads when Claudia finished talking. Michaels spoke up first. "I'm not sure how these things are supposed to work, but has anyone ever done anything like what you're suggesting?"
Myers folded his arms. "No. Everything Citizen One says has been obeyed as long as I've been around. Complaints or concerns are always addressed at council meetings…" he furrowed his brow, "and never brought up again."
"He's right, Claudia." Dunlevy nodded. "No one's stood up to him in oh…" he thought about it, "thirty years?" He let out a humorless laugh. "At least none who have lived to tell about it."
Claudia removed her glasses and set them on the table, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I know that, but there's never been a real reason to before." All three men frowned and said nothing. "Come on! You know this is wrong!"
Myers unfolded his arms and turned his palms upward. "Of course we do," Michaels scowled at being spoken for, "but what good is that?"
"Nothing!" Michaels cut in. "No good at all. We'd be idiots to try-"
"Shut up you cowardly piss!" Claudia snapped, surprising them with her blunt language. "We can't use that thing!" She pointed at the small prototype canister sitting on her desk.
"Because it's not ready?" Michaels asked.
Claudia shot him a deadly glare. "No, you moron! It is ready. Of course the goddamn thing is ready! We can't use it because it's horrific!"
Dunlevy spoke up, in a somber tone. "We know that, but Gregory is right." He gave a sad smile. "He's living proof that none of us are irreplaceable." Michaels swallowed hard and paled slightly, remembering the grinning skull on Coleman's computer screen as Dunlevy continued, "Marcus was a very close friend of mine. Of all of ours." Myers merely raised an eyebrow. Michaels indicated no response.
"So that's it?" Claudia asked, exasperated. "We don't speak up because we're too afraid?" She looked at each one of them. None of them met her eyes. "Fine." She started walking out the door.
Myers stepped forward putting his hand on her shoulder, "Claudia…"
"No!" she shouted, and he stepped back. "To hell with keeping quiet and to hell with you! All of you!" She slammed the door on her way out.
An awkward silence settled in the wake of her departure. Myers and Dunlevy quietly left one by one without so much as a glance backward. Michaels stood leaning on the desk with his arms crossed. He wondered if Claudia would still be alive in the morning.
Uprising Page 71