by T. C. Edge
“More or less everyone in the High Tower frequents the communal levels,” he says. “That includes the higher ranking officials who have access to the highest levels here..”
“The highest levels…but not the penthouse, right?” I argue. “Not the summit. Only the Consortium have access there, don’t they?”
“That’s right,” he admits. “Only members of the Consortium have access to the domed summit. Not even the highest ranking Savants are granted entrance, unless they’re voted into the Consortium, of course.”
“Then how, exactly, am I supposed to have my little face to face with Director Cromwell? You know, Adryan, it’s going to be tricky to assassinate the man if I can’t get near him.”
My sarcastic tone is something he’s still struggling to get used to.
“Well, occasionally the members of the Consortium do descend lower. You saw that during your ceremony, after all…”
“Of course,” I say, recalling that fateful day. “So…are they planning to come down any time soon?”
Some minor hope burgeons in me. It’s typically misplaced. It wasn’t going to be that easy.
“I know of no such plans. Before the ceremony, Director Cromwell hadn’t been seen for some time. Other members of the Consortium, perhaps, but not him.”
“Well, that’s just great, isn’t it. The one man I’m trying to get to is the one man who’s hidden away. Superb. Why am I here again?”
Adryan manages the most subtle roll of the eyes. I’m actually rather impressed.
Then he answers blankly: “To assassinate Director Cromwell,” reaffirming his position, however tenuous, among the emotionally disabled.
“Oh come on, Adryan, you have to work with me here! I thought you’d have some, I don’t know…some proper plan for me to follow.”
“It’s not that easy. Director Cromwell may rarely descend, but he does conduct meetings on the level beneath the summit. High ranking officials will be required to report to the Consortium, and while they’re not permitted entry into the summit, they are allowed to reach the penultimate level.”
“Right, at least that’s something. So I’m going to have to manipulate some high ranking official, find out when Cromwell will leave the summit for a meeting on the level below, and then go and…kill him.”
The final words echo through me, sending a long breath out of my lungs. It all just sounds so chaotic, so ridiculous. I don’t even have a weapon to use. And even if all that pays off, by some miracle, how on earth will I escape from up there?!
I fall silent for a moment, and then spread my gaze out of the window, wishing I’d never gotten myself into this. I seem to be wishing that every other hour these days…
“It’s a suicide mission,” I mutter, shaking my head. “I’m never getting out of this building alive, am I?”
There’s a short delay before Adryan reaches over to squeeze my arm. That delay is enough to show me his thinking is along the same lines. I turn to him and see his soft silver eyes working up some expression, trying to console and support me. And without thinking, I shoot straight into his thoughts, and get the confirmation I’m scared of.
He’s thinking the same as me. Perhaps not so strongly, but there’s something there. Some doubt that this plan will work. And even if it does, he’s clearly sceptical that I’ll get out alive.
The words that come from his mouth, however, say the opposite.
“Of course you will,” he says. “You’re going to live a long and happy life, Brie.”
There’s no conviction in his voice, not that I can hear anyway. Perhaps it’s best if I just do as Mrs Carmichael is doing concerning my likely fate: realise that I’m not long for this world, make my peace with that fact, and then go about the task without fear or doubt.
It would certainly help me complete the job. And in the end, that’s what I’m here for. If I have to forfeit my life to save countless others, I guess I have no choice.
“OK,” I say, refocusing. “So, people gather down in the communal levels. They eat and stay fit and, ahem, socialise. So, my job is to, what, gather information? Try to find the right people to manipulate and follow my orders? Then get access to the top, and take out the big man. Is that about right?”
Adryan nods his approval at my summation.
“Great. Sounds like a walk in the park,” I mutter, before brightening my voice again. “Any thoughts on where I’d start?”
“Start by getting a feel for the place. You need to learn to fit in, and not stick out. Yes, I know that can be difficult given your status here, but if you try to act as a resident, you’re more likely to slip under the radar.”
“So, walk around like a robot?”
“Not in so many words but, yes, that’s the gist of it. As you know, it’s not completely uncommon for a Savant to marry an Unenhanced, so there are others like you here. I have arranged for you to meet two women tomorrow down on the consumption level. They will be able to explain far better than I can what it’s like to live here from a perspective you’ll understand.”
Well that’s something at least.
“One of them may also prove fruitful in who she’s married to,” he continues.
My ears prick up.
“And that is?”
“An engineer who sees to security protocols. It’s a lucky break, really, and one I wasn’t aware of until recently. He will have access to all security measures in the building, as well as schematics and plans that might be of use to us.”
“Which might give us some better knowledge of the upper floors?” I say, thinking about loud. “Or…or even a way of sneaking in unseen?”
“The latter’s unlikely,” he says, tempering my enthusiasm. “However, the former is a far more probable prospect. Your first job, therefore, Brie, is to make friends with this woman and try to set a meeting between yourself and her husband. If you have to impart an order using your powers, then do so. If you feel you’re ready, that is…”
“Pffff. For a lowly Unenhanced woman, no problem,” I say, my confidence brewing. At least this gives me something specific to be getting on with.
“Good, but feel her out first, obviously. I’m sure your brother’s taught you that.”
“Of course he has. I can deal with normal people, I’m sure of that much. But...ordering her about isn’t going to be enough, is it?”
Adryan shakes his head.
“No. If you can set a meeting, dinner perhaps between the four of us, you can then use the opportunity to manipulate her husband. You’ll need to get him to download security files to then give to you at another time…”
He stops short at the change in my expression. The excitement has gone. This one doesn’t sound so easy.
“That will be…harder, obviously,” says Adryan. “But it’ll certainly help in giving us a better understanding of the upper levels.”
“Harder…yeah, I should say,” I mumble. “I could probably use some more practice. So, are you sure I’m not allowed back over to Outer Haven?”
“Not yet. That would look extremely suspicious, and show a lack of commitment. The Council of Matrimony might well go ahead and annul the marriage in such a case. And what’s more, it will expose you further to Agent Woolf, who is surely still keen on tracking you down.”
“Fine, OK, so that’s a ‘no’ then?”
He smiles and nods slowly.
“A fairly firm ‘no’, yes.”
“Right, well that means no training from my brother. I guess I’ve got no choice but to practice on you…”
My mind quickly brings up the sight of his poor wife, Amelia, being dragged off from their home, the terrible memory I witnessed the last time I ventured inside his head. They probably would have lived only a few floors above this one, maybe in a similar facing apartment.
I wonder just how Adryan feels about that. I wonder how human his emotion levels really are…
Then again, I don’t have to wonder, not if I don’t want to. I can cre
ep back into his head and feel his pain.
“I’m here for you, as I’ve told you, Brie. You can practice on me as much as you want until you feel you’re ready.”
“Well, that’s good to know. I won’t go into your memories like last time, though. I still feel bad about that.”
“Don’t. Please. I’m glad you know about my past. It’s not something I’m trying to hide. But yes, I think it’s best that you practice imparting orders into my mind. I assume that’s what you’re thinking?”
I nod.
“Exactly. I mean, it’s not the best way to spend our wedding night…but there you go,” I laugh.
He smiles too, falling short of my giggle.
“Practice…then dinner, maybe?” he asks.
“As long as it’s here, and not down there,” comes my swift reply.
And so, for the next couple of hours, I turn my attention to my powers once more. And in the quiet of our new home, I begin flashing orders into Adryan’s mind, forcing him to act out certain tasks that I find rather amusing.
At one point, I even get him to tell a joke. It falls flat, obviously, and his ability to deliver the punchline is a little off, but nevertheless, he tries. And like Zander taught me, making people do things against their nature is the hardest thing of all.
And what could be more against the nature of a Savant than telling a joke?!
The tasks are mostly small in nature, though, and therefore a little easier for me to communicate. Still, Adryan’s memory of performing each remains jumbled and blurred after, which is an important characteristic of dispensing such orders.
In the end, I need to operate under the radar, and each order I give needs to remain hidden somewhere deep within my target’s subconscious. If they’re fully aware of what they’re doing, then the finger of blame might just fall on me. I can’t afford for that to happen.
Yet later that evening, there’s one final order that I wish to deliver, one that builds in me as I enjoy a glass of wine, and my inhibitions begin to relax.
Staring into Adryan’s grey-blue eyes across the dinner table, I consider that there’s one part of our wedding day that should be maintained, one tradition of marriage in Outer Haven that I’d like to bring here to the High Tower.
So as I gaze at him, I drop a final order into his head. I watch those silver eyes fade a little as the order takes hold, and feel my heart-rate climbing as he stands from his chair and moves slowly around to me.
His fingers reach down, and he pulls me to my feet. And gazing up, I watch with my breath stuck inside me as he gently leans down and presses his lips to mine, soft and warm.
Our first kiss as a married couple.
And when he pulls away, a little smile forms on his face, and I quickly trace his thoughts to see what he’s feeling.
I see joy, something visceral and real. And the same feeling blooms in me.
I may have imparted the order. But one thing is obvious: he was only too happy to carry it out.
81
I wake the following morning to the smell of coffee. It’s not something I’m used to drinking, and yet appears to be a favourite of my new husband.
The scent gets a little stronger as the door to the bedroom opens, and he sweeps in with a chrome flask full of the stuff. Setting it down on the bedside table of the overly spacious room, he takes a seat on the bed as I shuffle the covers up over me to ensure no spare flesh is showing.
Last night, after dinner concluded, we slept in separate rooms. I had been concerned that we’d only have a single bedroom in the apartment, but those were quickly doused. According to Adryan, many couples here sleep separately, something that supposedly allows for optimum levels of rest.
Frankly, I don’t even know why they bother with marriage here at all, especially seeing as their kids are taken to be raised elsewhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if the concept of marriage faded completely, losing its final, fingertip-grip on this cold world.
“I hope you like your coffee strong.” My mind switches back on, and my eyes roll up to Adryan’s. “That’s how we drink it here. It’s good to get the brain functioning in the morning. Did you sleep well?”
I nod and smack my lips, tasting the lingering wine. I foolishly overindulged again. I’ll have to forgive myself, seeing as it was my wedding night.
“Good. I need to get off to work. You’ll be meeting Mrs Spencer and Mrs Paulson at 11AM, down at the consumption level. Go to the core of the level and they’ll find you there…”
“OK, and which one has the security engineer as her husband?”
“Mrs Spencer. But pretend you don’t know that. Try to act naturally, and…actually, I don’t need to tell you this. You’re far better at acting ‘natural’ around Unenhanced women than I am.”
I should hope so.
He smiles and lifts his eyes to the blank space of wall behind my bed. Only now it’s not blank, adorned instead with the only decoration I’ve added to this otherwise colourless room.
“Your parents,” he says, looking at the picture.
I turn my eyes to it as well, and look at the faded edges and slightly distorted details. And once more, I say a quick internal ‘thank you’ to Tess for having it restored.
I’ll always be grateful, Tess. Always.
“I like to keep it near me when I sleep. Like they’re watching over me.”
Adryan looks at the picture for a few moments, before turning his eyes back to me.
“I’ll remember my promise, Brie. I’ll try to find out more about them for you.”
And with a peck to the cheek that conjures the memory of our first real kiss the previous night, he disappears from the room, leaving me alone.
I wonder briefly whether he even remembers it. It was an order I put in his head after all…
Somehow, I feel a bit foolish for doing it now. My default setting is to blame the wine.
Stupid alcohol, I mutter internally.
Although, I’m not entirely displeased with the outcome.
I spend the early morning sorting out my clothes and getting myself mentally prepared. My choice of attire will predominantly be the less flattering garments I brought along with me, namely any long pants or jeans I have, shirts, sweaters, and blouses. Unless there’s call for it, the dresses will stay hidden within my wardrobe.
As I try my best to busy myself, the echoing voice of my brother begins to pulse from the depths of my subconscious, and I feel an immediate swell of joy to hear him.
I quickly stop what I’m doing, rush to the transparent walls, and issue an order to the apartment to make them as see-through as possible.
“Maximum transparency,” comes my demand.
It seems to work. The walls – currently semi-faded – become fully clear and my eyes spread to the depths of the northern quarter, visible in the distance away to the far right of the window.
I hear my brother’s voice again.
Brie…are you safe? Are you OK?
Looking out with a smile, I answer: I’m fine. How are you? How is Drum?
Good. We’re both good. How was the wedding?
Brief, I answer. It’s weird here. But I have some direction now.
Direction?
I’m surprised he doesn’t know. I suppose Adryan hasn’t yet had a chance to update the Nameless on what we’ve been getting up to.
Oh, I’m just about to go and meet this woman, an Unenhanced, I say. She’s married to a Savant here who works in security. He may enlighten us as to the structure of the top of the High Tower.
There’s a short delay before Zander answers.
OK. Be careful. Update me when you have something more concrete. I will try to speak to you as often as possible. But…I’m going to be busy here.
There’s some urgency to his telepathic voice. Our conversation flows more normally now, as if I’m speaking to him in a dark room. The inflection in his words is growing in clarity.
Is everything OK? Are things getting more dange
rous there? I ask.
Again, a short delay.
Then, he says: Just keep your mind on your task, Brie. You have your mission. Don’t let yourself be distracted by anything that happens. Nothing, OK?
Why…what’s going to happen? I ask, a tension rising.
Promise me, Brie, is all he says.
I nod, and then remember that he can’t see me. I have to vocalise my agreement.
I promise, I say.
And with that, his presence fades.
I can’t say it’s the best way to leave things, given the brevity of our psychic conversations. As I prepare to vacate the apartment, I begin to wonder just what he’s talking about, and what could be going on down there in Outer Haven.
Spreading my eyes to the northern quarter, I search with my Hawk-eyes for some sign of large Con-Cop patrols or groups of Stalkers. Are their numbers proliferating down there? Are they tightening the noose on the Nameless?
I see nothing, my sight mostly blocked by buildings and the misty haze that seems to settle across the northern streets most days. Yet whatever’s going on down there, it’s clearly got my brother’s back against the wall. Something tells me that this secret war between the Consortium and the Nameless isn’t going to remain so secret for long…
Yet, as he says, I can’t concern myself with such things right now. I need to maintain a solitary focus, and not let anything outside my own little – well, not so little – mission distract me.
So turning my attention back to my late morning meeting, I take a breath and step out of the apartment, letting the door swiftly shut and lock behind me. Moving to the nearest lift, I find the floor entirely empty, something that is probably common during working hours, and the doors open automatically, sensing my presence.
I step in and set my hand into the scanner. It’s my first time doing so, my first time venturing out into enemy territory without Adryan, and thus results in a pulse of adrenaline as the scanner quickly reads my security permissions.
Then, I simply say: “Level 6,” and the lift quickly shoots me down through the building to one of the few places I have free access to.