by Simon Archer
“Yeah, and he worked for this company, or organization, or whatever the fuck it is, and he lived upon the surface,” I explained. “And, Kira, you said that you saw him communicating with someone, right?”
Kira was getting excited like me. “Oh yeah, I definitely saw that. He talked to this big burly guy with broad shoulders over hologram. I couldn’t tell what they were talking about, though.”
“So maybe whoever these people are, they’re based underground,” I said, thinking aloud. “And then they have employees up above who monitor what’s going on in the city and communicate with them about it. That way, they wouldn’t reveal themselves with boosters or whatnot, and their agents’ reports would get lost in the typical stream of daily communication.”
“Did you ever look into Beaufort’s call, Malthe?” Cindra asked. “Were you able to trace it?”
“No, I wasn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, I looked for the call, but it seemed pretty mundane. As if it was coded language or something, or someone placed something over it.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not remembering him ever mentioning this before. “I don’t think you told me about this.”
“Oh yeah, it was pretty hectic those last few days before we killed Elias, wasn’t it? Anyway, yeah, basically this guy he was talking to, I couldn’t find anything on him either, and the conversation was pretty normal, just you need to file such-and-such paperwork on the nets,” Malthe explained.
“Except there’s no such thing as digital paperwork for these people,” I said. “So that must be code somehow.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Malthe admitted. “I never thought of it like that. Sorry for not mentioning it before.” He was the best hacker in Termina, but there was a reason I was the guy who put the info together.
I shook my head. “Hey, we’ve had a lot on our minds. Did you look for the guy? Any records or anything?”
“Not a thing,” he said. “Other than the same few hits I got on facial recognition software like I did with Beaufort and the other client, whatever his name was.”
“Okay, that’s something then…” I said, my voice trailing off as I thought about all this. “So they communicate with each other, but in code. Can you try to track that guy’s signal?”
“Already did,” Malthe said. “He never used that device again.”
“Huh,” I said thoughtfully. “Weird. I guess they have to communicate with each other somehow. But not from beneath the surface?”
“I think if there were mass transmissions coming from beneath the surface, I would’ve noticed it by now,” Malthe said. “But I’ll take a look later, do a more thorough investigation.”
“That’s fair,” I said, nodding. “So they’re probably totally off the grid beneath the surface to hide. The question remains how they got so many members of Parliament on board in such a short amount of time without sending transmissions from below.”
“They could have been coded like the one Beaufort got,” Cindra suggested.
“But would the members have known enough to decipher it properly?” I asked, and no one seemed to have an answer.
“I can think of one possibility,” Malthe said carefully, “but it’s kind of weird.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “Try me. We’re thoroughly in the realm of weird possibilities at this point.”
“Fair enough,” Malthe said, nodding. “Well, you know how our phones are basically all computers now, so the transmissions are digital just like everything on the net?”
“I guess so,” Kira said carefully.
“We’ll just take your word for it, nerd,” Cindra said playfully.
“Okay, well, what if they’re using old phones to communicate with these people? When they can’t use coded language, I mean,” Malthe asked. “Like old burner phones, ones they only use once. With their employees, they can get away with the regular old transmissions because they can use coded language. But not with people who might not even know they exist.”
“Maybe…” I said, thinking this over. “And that would work in the tunnels? And we wouldn’t pick up on it?”
“I don’t see why not,” Malthe said, shrugging. “Thing is, we can’t find what we aren’t looking for, can we? Old phones operated on a whole different frequency than modern digital stuff. I’ll see if I can calibrate my stuff to find something like that.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I nodded curtly. “Thanks, Malthe.”
“No problem,” he said. “So what’re we gonna do with this new theory, otherwise?”
“Well, I think we should probably go check it out. The tunnels I mean,” I said. “And sooner rather than later.”
“As in right now?” Malthe asked, looking at the ground nervously.
“No, we’re expected at your place.” I grinned. “A gentleman never refuses an invitation from a lady’s family. Plus, Clem and Lin are gonna be on our backs, and it might be better to check it out when it’s dark, anyway. We’ll meet with Clem and Lin, celebrate with your folks, and then you can try to find a signal or something. Then, when it’s dark, we’ll go down under. Or I will, at least. No reason to risk all our skins.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Malthe said, but he still looked nervous.
“Alright, let’s go party,” I smiled, stepping forward and leading the way.
5
The old slums had changed so much in the past three months. Where in the past the gravel road where the driver had dropped us off was the most attractive thing about the place, now it was the plainest.
Where once there was a long, seemingly endless line of dilapidated shacks so worn down that Clem nearly figured out TelCorp was full of shit before I even told him, now there were brand new houses with grass and pools and sprinklers and everything else the foxgirls could want, right on the water. The water itself was even cleaned up, creating a sort of coastal paradise in the gloom of Termina. Sure enough, the water was beautiful and clear where it was once brown. I even thought I might’ve seen a fish.
My friends and I walked all the way down the gravel road to the docks at the end of the line of houses, where Kira’s family lived. Clem and Lin were waiting for us. They waved at us as we approached, but neither of them looked happy, their lips set in nearly identical thin lines.
“About time,” Clem began, his tone matching his demeanor. “Get stuck in traffic?”
“Yeah, something like that,” I fibbed, looking around at Malthe and the foxgirls to indicate that they should keep things hush-hush. I didn’t like it, but I felt it was necessary.
“So, what’s going on?” Lin asked, clasping her hands together so tightly that her knuckles were bright white. “What happened this morning?”
“We still don’t know,” I jumped to say before anyone else had the chance to answer. “It’s just a game of wild speculation at this point.”
“No one in Parliament’s talking?” Lin asked, her face falling and her hands clenching together even tighter if that was even possible. “Not even Oris?” Her eyes were full of hope, though the rest of her appeared sullen. Oris was an old friend of hers, and she’d convinced him to run since she couldn’t after taking a position on TelCorp’s board.
“Oh, they’re talking, alright.” I shook my head at the memory of my conversations with the Parliament members that morning. “They’re just not saying much. Just that they changed their minds, whatever the fuck that means. I’m sorry, Lin, I know you’re close with Oris.”
Lin just looked down at the rocky shore, averting her eyes from mine. She kept her hands clasped together, and she looked so sad at that moment, her long black ponytail and plain clothes amplifying the whole aesthetic. I was afraid she might cry, and so I reached out to squeeze her shoulder. Cindra and Kira had a similar idea, and both crossed over to hug her.
“I’m so sorry, Lin,” Kira said. “This is all just so awful for all of us.”
“We’ll figure it all out,” Cindra assured her. “I’m sure he doesn’t really feel that way.”
<
br /> I gave her a pointed look, and she left it there.
“Oh, I know he doesn’t,” Lin said as she squeezed Cindra and Kira back. “I just know it. There’s no way he would betray us like this. Not if there wasn’t something else going on here.”
“What else could it be, though?” Clem asked. “Is there another explanation they’re not giving?” He looked eager like he was certain we had some other theory to share.
Well, we had one, but we just weren’t sharing it.
“Who knows?” I shrugged and looked away to avoid meeting his eyes. I always hated lying to him.
“Oh, c’mon, Joch, you always have a theory,” he teased, punching me in the shoulder playfully.
“I don’t know. I really don’t.” I forced myself to look right at him so he wouldn’t press it. “I’m sorry, Clem, the whole thing’s just been such a shock. To all of us.”
“Oh, well, I guess that makes sense.” Clem ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair, clearly disappointed.
“We’re on it, though,” Malthe assured him. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.”
I gave him a look this time, and he didn’t say anything more.
“Yeah, we’ll figure something out,” I said. “I’ve just spent most of the day talking to these people and trying to get something out of them. Anything, really. But it’s not doing shit, of course.”
“Why would it?” Clem shrugged. “Clearly, these people played us.”
“That can’t be it, though,” Lin said forcefully. “They can’t all have played us. I know so many of these people from the nonprofit sector. They’re not like this. This isn’t how they actually think.”
“What’s that saying about how power corrupts?” Clem asked.
“Not that fast,” Lin said, and she wasn’t wrong. “The whole thing seemed off. Like they all knew beforehand but were still surprised at the same time. Does that make any sense?” She looked around at Malthe, Kinley, and me, who were still standing opposite her, Clem, and now Cindra and Kira.
“I know what you mean,” I said, walking a fine line, “but none of them are talking.”
Clem turned to Malthe now. “And none of them have corresponded about it? You checked in on them, right?”
Malthe glanced at me nervously and nodded. “Yeah, but we didn’t find anything,” he said uncertainly.
“Nothing?” Clem was incredulous. “Nothing at all? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“He means we didn’t find much,” I hurried to correct Malthe. “We didn’t find anything that indicated there was some kind of conspiracy, so they must’ve gotten together beforehand and discussed it in person.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Clem said, and he seemed to buy it. “I mean, it’s not like we hide that we have Malthe. They must know anything they send digitally will get tracked.”
“I guess so,” I said, shrugging. “The whole thing is just so frustrating.”
Well, that part was true, at least.
“It’s just that we’ve come so far, only to have everything undone at the very last minute.” Lin shook her head. “It’s like nothing we’ve done even mattered. We only made it all worse since the government’s going to go along with it officially now.”
“That’s not true,” I said, jumping to keep morale up. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is pretty fucking bad, but we’ve still done a lot of good work. I mean, just look around.” I gestured at the nearby houses, practically fortresses compared to the shacks that had been there before.
“Nic’s right,” Cindra said kindly. “If this had happened before, and it would’ve happened eventually, the people down here wouldn’t have any way to combat it. They’d just be rounded up in droves. Now, they’ve got all this to protect them.”
“There’s a reason we installed all that security,” I pointed out. “It’ll take a lot for the other binding corps to take advantage, and all of TelCorp will be right there to stop them.”
“Exactly,” Malthe said. “We’ll send an army of drones the second they try to take someone.”
“And then an army of binders,” Clem added, wrapping a comforting arm around Lin’s shoulders. She looked like this made her feel better, at least.
“That’s true.” She smiled around at us weakly. “Thanks, guys. It’s good to know we have so many people that care here.”
It was so hard for me after all this to believe that Clem and Lin weren’t on our side. They seemed so genuine and authentic, and I did have a knack for these things. I even got weird vibes from Elias before I knew the extent of what he’d done to my dad and to TelCorp. But even so, we had to be careful, at least for now.
“So let’s not stop the good work now,” I said. “Let’s get to the reason you guys came down here in the first place. How’s the project going?”
“Oh, it’s been awful,” Clem said, his expression darkening again. Then, seeing our panicked expressions, he hastened to continue. “I mean, not the construction project. That seems to be going okay. It’s just that we met with all of the residents down here to continue building trust and to make sure everything was going smoothly, and then, in the middle of the meetings, all this came out on the holovision. We had to meet with them right after or even while they heard the news.”
“Oh jeez, yeah, I didn’t even think of that,” I said. “That must’ve been awful, I’m sorry.”
“How’d they all take it, considering?” Kinley asked. I imagined she and the other foxgirls must be thinking a lot about their families.
“Not all that bad, actually,” Lin said. “I think it actually built some trust, having them see us be just as shocked and upset as they were.”
“Well, that’s a silver lining, at least.” I was glad to hear this. Trust had been a long time coming.
Lin nodded as she continued. “They’re not gonna want to go outside for a while, I think, but I think they’ll let us help them now, bring drones down to fight for them if need be. I’m not sure that would’ve gone over too well before.”
I turned to Malthe. “We should get some drones down here ASAP. Get messages out to the network so that everyone down here’s informed, knows they’re from us, and knows what measures to take to stay safe.”
“On it, boss,” he said, his nose already back in his E-pad.
“Also,” I continued. “Cross-post all that in the board group and schedule a meeting for tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll have more info by then. We already told them tomorrow, but setting a time will make them feel like they have more of a handle on the situation.”
“Will do, boss,” he said, not looking up from his E-pad.
“So what now?” Lin asked, dropping her arms to her sides in defeat. At least she wasn’t maiming her own knuckles anymore.
“Now, we celebrate,” I said. Clem and Lin both looked at me blankly.
“Uh… what?” Clem asked. “Joch, are you losing it? What’s to celebrate?”
“This guy’s got himself a live-in girlfriend,” I laughed, clapping Malthe on the back.
“No kidding,” Clem said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “That is a miracle.”
“Hey,” Malthe said, shooting him a look. “I may not have your shoulders, but I’ve still got game.” We all burst into laughter in unison, and he looked at us with a hurt expression on his face.
“Game?” Cindra managed, clutching her side with the force of her laughter. “You? Dude…”
“Yeah, man, you are a man of many talents,” I grinned, “but game is not one of them.”
“Alright, alright,” Malthe relented, waving away our laughter and furiously typing on his E-pad to get the message out. “I guess you’re not wrong, per se. You’re not right, but you’re not wrong, either.”
“How’s that work?” Cindra asked, still laughing her ass off.
“Well, I managed to convince your sister to give me another shot, didn’t I?” he asked.
“Touche, touche,” she admitted, and we all started wa
lking back in the direction of Cindra’s family’s house, which I guessed was Malthe’s home now, too. It was about time he got himself one of those instead of crashing in his old rat-infested office. I felt like I needed a tetanus shot just by going near that place.
“Hey, man.” Clem walked up to me and leaned in close so the others wouldn’t hear. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, staring straight ahead so I wouldn’t have to look at him.
“You know what I mean,” he said stubbornly. “Don’t be like that. Not this time, not with me. I know exactly what you’re doing, you’ve done it before.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, kicking a particularly large piece of gravel out of my way with the toe of my boot to distract myself. Clem just stared at me, and I could see out of the corner of my eye that he had a hurt look on his face. I couldn’t exactly blame him. I wouldn’t be happy if I knew my friends didn’t trust me either.
“Yes, you do,” he said, more softly now, like he’d already given up. “This is exactly how you acted that first time we came down here together when I realized how bad the conditions were for the foxgirls. You didn’t trust me then, and you don’t trust me now. Or Lin. Haven’t we proven ourselves to you yet?”
I continued to stare in front of me.
“What exactly do you think we’re keeping from you?” I asked.
“Oh c’mon, Nic, you know as well as I do that something was up with those guys this morning.” He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “That wasn’t normal. They were all freaking out, looking around the room like they were nervous or something.”
“Probably because they knew they were going against TelCorp,” I said matter-of-factly.
“You know that can’t be it,” Clem said, an edge in his voice now that he usually reserved for lesser binders who got in his way. “Otherwise, why would they go against us at all? Especially when we checked them all out so well.”
“Well, I guess we didn’t check them out so well after all,” I said forlornly. “I guess there aren’t as many people in this city that agree with us as we thought.”