by Emery Hale
‘The sole purpose of this . . . institution is to make the choices that no one else will.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We are trained to make choices like a computer, without emotion. What the Government wants rather than what is right. What’s morally acceptable.’
‘Morally acceptable?’
Quinn fell silent and my eyebrows furrowed. Where was she going with this?
‘Well, I don’t think the army would murder one of their recruits because he posed a security threat.’ Quinn’s voice was shaky, like there was a chill in the air that made her teeth chatter together. ‘I used to study with this guy called Rhys, we were both in technological engineering. He spoke about what was happening here, after – I told him not to, but he told the police. Two days later he disappeared, then the next day he was found dead.’
‘In the city?’
I took in a breath, closing my eyes as images flew across my vision. Now I knew exactly what she was talking about.
‘No.’
‘Then where?’
Quinn stood up slowly and walked over to the window, pulling back the curtains a little, pointing straight ahead.
‘You saw the tree, with the birdhouse in it?’
‘Yes.’
‘There.’
Naomi’s gasp filled the room as the rest of us looked away. I wondered if the Academy was any better than Trojan. Were we the good guys?
‘For the record, the tree is a couple of metres away from the subject’s front door,’ Naomi said. She looked ready to throw up, hands clasping at her throat. ‘The subject known from now on as source A will answer the next question.’
At that I turned; Naomi was looking directly at me. Her whole body screamed that she wanted out of this place and I didn’t blame her.
‘If I was found here, would the same thing happen to you?’
For once, I didn’t know the answer. I presumed it would be yes, but I’d been taught never to presume. The likelihood was that the whole team would face the consequences: would they kill us all and make an example of us to the rest of the students? Even though I had screamed at Kayson earlier that they would, I doubted it. Apparently Harkness had taken an interest in me; maybe that was something I could use.
‘Yes,’ Grace answered. ‘They would string us all up for this.’
Naomi’s gaze didn’t deter from mine; she didn’t even seem to register Grace’s answer.
‘Source A?’ she asked.
Would they? Would they really kill us all? How far would they go to keep their secret? I had to understand that I wasn’t invincible. Just because my mother had a reputation didn’t mean I was safe.
‘Yes,’ I answered. ‘If he found out that the whole team were in on this, then the consequences would be filtered through us all.’
‘He?’
I paused – was it right to say his name on record? That would expose him. Maybe Harkness was just following orders himself. Before I could even string a few words together, Lily spoke.
‘Edward McDonald, but his real name is Daniel Harkness.’ She sat forward in her seat. ‘He controls Scotland Yard.’
Naomi nodded.
‘OK . . . Trojan, do you know their motives?’
‘These people murder to make a point,’ I snapped, and Naomi shrank back.
Did they even have motives or did they just want to reduce the world to ash and cinder because they could?
The murders so far were mercy killings; unlike the rest, they decided to make their deaths quick. The unlucky ones were kept alive, their organs strung from their bodies. I had seen the footage – the sick bastards filmed themselves as they stripped a man’s kidney, liver and one of his lungs. In another they tortured an MI5 agent to death. They started off slow, only plying a toenail from its bed, but she only had so many toes, so they moved on to fingers, and then her eyes.
‘We all know how bad things are getting. Attacks are becoming monthly and Thompson can only tell the public they’re unrelated for so long. As much as we hate to admit it, people aren’t that stupid,’ I said. ‘The bank and then the theatre only a couple of days later, they’re planning something big.’
‘What are you saying?’ Lily asked me.
‘That until we have more information on how bad the situation is getting, we comply with the rules.’
At that there was an outcry, but I held a hand up. My throat was almost eroded, I couldn’t shout anymore. ‘However, so will Naomi. The longer she stays here, the more evidence we get, and that will lead to a bigger case.’
‘What about the water?’ Quinn asked. ‘We all drink it and I don’t think my filter jug will get rid of whatever they’re putting in.’
‘What drug is it?’ said Lily. ‘I mean you’ll see what it is in the pharmacy.’ She looked to Grace, who only replied with a blunt stare.
‘I’m studying to be a doctor, go ask a chemist. I’m still learning.’
‘Learning? What does that mean? We’re safer giving Quinn a scalpel?’
‘Computers and human bodies are different things, Lily,’ Quinn said.
‘Not for much longer,’ she muttered.
I shook my head. We’d have to come up with a solution to the water problem later, right now I needed to get them on board with the plan.
‘With the restrictions and tight security, we’re going to have to be smart about this,’ I started. ‘What I want to do is gather as much intel on this place as possible. That includes interviews with Naomi, and we’re also going to need lapel cameras.’
‘Lapel cameras?’ Grace asked.
‘Well I wasn’t under the impression we could shoot this professionally, but give me a couple days and I’ll assemble a full crew. Make sure to get the lighting just right so everyone can see you getting punched in the face,’ I said sarcastically.
Grace’s face dripped like sour milk, but it made me smirk. She was going to comply. Even if she hated the idea. Another small victory.
‘How are we going to get the cameras to see the abuse?’ Lily asked. ‘We can’t just wait around for it to happen.’
I sighed, here goes nothing.
‘Because we’re going to instigate it.’
‘Excuse me?’ Grace asked horrified. ‘No, no way.’
Naomi sat up a little straighter. ‘I can’t ask you to do that.’
‘Well it’s a good thing I’m not asking,’ I retorted.
Glancing over to Lily I saw the glint of an ember sparking in her eyes as she grinned. This wasn’t an order for her, it was an invitation to raise hell.
‘What were you thinking?’ she asked. ‘I’m guessing it’s not covering Harkness’ office in toilet paper, I was going to go for the more violent approach. We do have access to knives.’
‘We’re not stabbing anyone!’ Quinn exclaimed, her hands flying out.
Lily seemed to reconsider. Nodding her head, she reached over, pulling Quinn into a hug, then placed both of her hands over the girl’s ears and whispered.
‘Minus Quinn, we’re going to fuck some people up.’
I let out a laugh, the rigid pole in my back easing for a moment, God I loved her sometimes. Lily was the person I could always rely on to have a laugh and make dark situations just that little bit brighter.
Naomi chuckled. ‘We probably don’t want to hear you planning murders on the record. Don’t need to incriminate yourself.’
‘It’d be worth it,’ Lily muttered as she pulled away from Quinn.
Quinn had a confused look on her face and it hit me that she really hadn’t heard what Lily said. Oh, the wee lamb.
Then Grace chimed in. ‘Do you have a plan?’ she asked condescendingly, ‘or are we just going to run around with cameras and voice recorders?’
No, I didn’t have a plan but I had an idea – did a horrible idea count as a course of action? Probably not.
‘Sometimes all you need is patience,’ I told them. ‘We get the cameras, every evening Naomi will interview us and we’ll give an ac
count of our day. Lily’s sister is a lawyer, she can represent us in court.’
‘Her firm is run by the Academy, her clients have to be approved. I bet they won’t agree to this.’
‘We can worry about that when we actually get there, right now we need to gather as much intel as possible. Instigate a couple of fights with the faculty, find out what buttons to push,’ I said. ‘Each of us will take a member of staff. Grace, you’ll take both Dr Williams and McKay since you already work with them.’
‘You want me to start a fight in the medical wing?’ she asked sceptically.
‘As much as I would love to sit and watch that with popcorn, no,’ I told her. ‘First I need you to get friendly, find out what they know about this new drug.’
I caught sight of a small smile from Naomi – at least she wasn’t completely terrified yet.
‘Lily, I need you to get closer to Duke, Quinn you handle Thompson considering you’re close.’
‘We’re not . . . close.’
‘You have tea together.’
‘If you expect me to code without my green tea, you are asking too much of me.’ Aw, the wee lamb had to have her tea in order to function.
This plan wasn’t a plan, it was based on a what if. What if we instigated a fight? What if we asked too many questions? What if we stepped out of line?
‘What are you going to do?’ Quinn asked, although it looked as if she already knew my answer.
‘I’m going to get close to Harkness.’
What if I disobeyed orders to the point of sheer lunacy and in defiance of all expectation? I had no clue – let’s find out.
* * *
Rather than putting Naomi in Willow’s room, Quinn had given up her bed and since Lily’s room was bigger, she would move in there for the time being. Lily wasn’t the happiest about it but she couldn’t exactly complain.
My plan was crazy, and if things got out of hand we would have to lie low for a while. Sure, they could continue to cut our supplies, but if the worst came to the worst I could get in contact with my brother. He didn’t fully understand what was happening, but he trusted me to take care of myself. I hadn’t exactly been doing that, but he didn’t have to know. Besides, it’s not like he could talk; the guy faked his own death.
The clock had just struck midnight and the girls were trickling up the stairs. I lingered just to make sure everyone got up alright. Besides, I had to do all the checks on the house: make sure all the doors were locked, the windows shut tight, the security code set, the motion sensors on and the door logs activated.
Naomi had headed up with Quinn to get the room sorted out. I still couldn’t believe she was here. Of course it was something I’d fantasized about, but fantasies rarely came true. Why had this one? Of all the things I’d dreamed about, the one the world delivered was Naomi. Was she my guardian angel? My saving grace? I didn’t follow any religion but I’ve prayed, I don’t know who to, but I’ve prayed that someone would get me out of this mess. Could it be her?
I grabbed the black duffle bag from where I’d tossed it at the bottom of the stairs then headed up to my room. I need to stretch off before I went to bed or I’d regret it in the morning. Just then I realised I hadn’t had dinner. I’d forgotten to grab food on the way home, shite. The last time I checked there was barely anything in the fridge.
As I opened the door to my room, I nearly jumped in surprise. Naomi sat on my bed, the laptop resting on her legs.
‘Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,’ she said sheepishly. ‘I just wanted to ask you a couple more questions before we all went to bed.’
‘Course,’ I said, chucking the bag under my desk and flopping onto my back beside her.
‘When we talked earlier you mentioned that the Technical Support and the Carrier would be a scandal. What’s the whole thing with the teams?’
Every time I thought about the team it became clear just how much of a mess it was, we were down a Carrier with no one to replace her, not that I had had given any thought to it. My second was constantly against me, my Runner was ready to break out the murder weapons while my Techie just wanted to see her mum. Then there was me, where to even begin?
‘Teams in the Academy usually consist of five people. Both genders can mix.’
Naomi whipped out the phone, pressing record.
‘Team Lead is the highest position, they make the decisions and have the final say. They’re also responsible for the actions of the entire team, and any consequences fall on their head first.’ Like an axe, I wanted to add.
‘The second in command is debated, it’s usually an academic scholar rather than a physical or creative. Their job is to question everything, and if the Team Lead isn’t present, they make decisions on their behalf.’
‘If she’s meant to be your second, why is she so against the idea of this?’ Naomi asked, quickly catching on.
‘I know her like she knows me,’ I admitted. ‘Admittedly, I can get careless. The second in command is there to make sure the Team Lead doesn’t screw up.’
‘But also tries to take your place.’
I laughed. ‘Seems it. Our second in command is also the Medical Response, so we got lucky with her. Next is the Runner. Their job is pretty self-explanatory – they give a target the run-around or tail them.’
Naomi nodded but the look of curiosity never left her face, it was like she was on the hunt. Ready to see around every inch of this story, and by God was I going to tell it.
‘The Technical Support is in charge of any command rooms we use whilst in the field, monitors, comms and maps. They work closely with the Carrier, more personally.’
‘Personally?’
‘The Carrier has one job – get any packages from the target or as a pass-off from us, then get the hell out. They are the Technical Support’s first priority.’
‘You mentioned outside duty?’
‘That’s nothing: every team or a couple take it in turns to go into town, either here or in Glasgow. Just to establish our presence, but also for any agents passing by to pass info if they’re out of options.’
With that Naomi stopped the recording, her lips pressed into a thin smile. She looked satisfied at what she’d heard, and I hoped it had cleared up any burning questions she had. However, as she slid the laptop off her lap and onto my bed I sat up.
‘Anything else?’ I expected her to ask about James, Harkness or the Academy, but the next question caught me off guard.
‘Were Willow and Quinn dating?’
What? Dating? Of course the pair were close, but I’d never considered it. Willow was something of a free spirit, she didn’t care for labels, and before the Academy had dated everyone from here to Aberdeen. Quinn I thought was as straight as an HB pencil, but if Naomi suspected it then maybe it was a lot more personal than I believed. Of course they spent a lot of time together, their roles on the team demanded it.
‘Dating?’ I asked. ‘No. Not that I know about, you’d have to ask Quinn.’
She nodded, deflated at my answer. She must have seen something I hadn’t to spark that question. Abruptly, Naomi pulled me into a hug, her shoulders squeezing mine before pulling away.
‘I’m going to get you out of here,’ she said, ‘whatever it takes.’
‘Thank you.’
Naomi seemed to be waiting for me to say something else but I couldn’t find the words – in truth all I wanted to do was take off my make-up, change, then sleep and block out the world. Tonight, I could sleep with the knowledge that Naomi was across the hall, my guardian angel.
Then, with a wave and a small-voiced goodnight, she left.
As I got ready for bed I put on some background noise to distract myself, some rock band but I didn’t really pay attention, I was focused on the beat as it hammered out the voices of guilt. Tomorrow was a new day and I had to be ready, but for now I let the beat take me.
Thump, thump, thump.
I stared in the mirror. The fresh bruises had now mutated to yel
low ones, similar to those on my cheekbone and lower back. If I kept this up I was going need more concealer.
Shut the fuck up! I didn’t deserve this.
I wouldn’t let him control me like that ever again. I would comply with the rules but I wouldn’t let him lay another hand on me. Harkness had power, but not anymore, and I’d make sure he knew about it. He’d hurt me before but he wouldn’t do it again.
The music raged on and I let every riff wash over me.
Things were going to change, and this time I’d be in control.
CHAPTER 15
Heterize
To transform.
NAOMI JADE
Despite being in a strange and worryingly dangerous place I slept quite well, only waking up when I heard what I assumed were pots banging from downstairs. I had thought that my regularly scheduled hot guys on jet skis dream would be consumed with torturous nightmares, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. It was only a matter of time though – how long before the horrors of your waking day slipped into the unconscious movies in your head? I wished I’d taken that psychology class, might have helped, although you’d probably need someone with a PhD to sort out all this whackadoo.
When I opened my eyes, soft pink walls greeted me, it felt like waking up in a modern-day princess room. Instead of curtains there were sheer white drapes and the bed covers were pastel pink with a soft, tan-coloured blanket on top (the fluffiest thing ever!).
Finally found a good thing about this place! If you put up with all the shitty trauma, you get the room of your dreams . . . yay.
Quinn told me last night that she’d tidied the place up before I came in, which told me she was a complete neat freak, since it looked exactly the same when I came back. What was with everyone? I felt quite ashamed because my room looked like a bomb-site while all of theirs were military-grade clean.
I didn’t want to leave the bed since I had worked the covers and blanket into a luxuriously warm cocoon, but I knew I had to make a start, strip this house from floor to ceiling. I had to treat this like a crime scene, anything could be evidence.