Tumbledown
Page 21
Chapter 21
The Chancellor Helene Berghoff had been monitoring Maddie’s progress ever since the news of the break out at Juvinescence reached her. It was not her usual practice to burst into her First Ministers offices but she thought the present circumstances justified her actions.
“You were supposed to contain the situation with this girl and yet I hear she is perched at the edge of the City with an army of Imps ready to descend upon us at any moment.”
Having his decisions questioned like this was unacceptable to Jarod even if it was coming from the Chancellor.
“You must remain calm Helene I have everything under control.”
“If this is your idea of control Jarod I question your judgement.”
Jarod stood up to his full height and without raising his voice gave the Chancellor the full benefit of his powerful voice.
“We have worked well together for all these years because you have never felt the need to question my judgement and I would appreciate it if you would not do so now.”
Helene would not be intimidated by the power of this man any longer.
“You will tell me of your intentions Jarod and I will hear of them now.”
Jarod sat back down and began to talk to his superior as if she were a child.
“You do not understand the facts here Helene, we have to show strength against the rabble that is at our door and as for my intentions. I intend to let them march into the City and then line up the Academies against them.”
“You want a bloodbath on our streets?”
“Hardly that Helene, it will be more of a skirmish where the Cadets teach them a well-earned lesson.”
“Why let it get this far Jarod? You could have stopped them at Juvinescence.”
“I refuse to use the State police against them apart from making martyrs of them I don’t wish to give them that kind of respect.”
“You were not quite so squeamish when it came to the Devs and by the way I think you went a little over the top with the clean-up.”
“They too needed to be taught a lesson and some examples needed to be made.”
“I was not suggesting that you use the police on children Jarod I am saying that someone needs to talk to this girl Maddison.”
“I will talk to her when her rag-tag army is humiliated on the streets of the Capital by a smaller more disciplined force. I will then have her thrown in Juvi where she belongs along with the rest of her followers.”
Helene was not completely satisfied with the answers she was receiving from her First Minister.
“Jarod if this fails then it will be your Cadets and you that is humiliated and I will have you removed from office.”
“I appreciate that you are worried Helene but please do not make idle threats that you cannot back up.”
“I have more than enough support to have you removed Jarod and I think you sometimes forget who you are talking to, you have made many enemies in your time and if this plan of yours fails then you are gone.”
Jarod could see how serious the Chancellor was and began to wonder if she really did have the support of the council.
“You need more than fifty per cent of your ministers to back you to remove your First Minister and that will never happen.”
“Be very careful Jarod and believe me when I say that I have all that I need to see you thrown out of office.”
Could it be true had he really lost all of his supporters so quickly and over a young girl?
“Even if what you say is true it is irrelevant as my Cadets will easily defeat a bunch of undisciplined Imps.”
Helene could see a hint of vulnerability for the first time in her First Minister.
“We could invite the girl in for talks and avoid any kind of bloodshed.”
“I am your Minister for Justice and I advise that we wait until she comes to us so the Citizens can see how easily she is defeated and then you can talk to them from a position of strength. If you give in to this girl or give concessions to the Imps then our Citizens will think us weak and that is unthinkable.”
Helene thought for a moment and began to think that she imagined the vulnerability she saw in Jarod.
“If that is your advice I will accept it but if things do not go as planned remember you are the one that will be held responsible.”
After the Chancellor left his office Jarod called for Patrice.
“You asked for me Sir?”
“Yes boy that is why you are here now tell me more of Lissa and this John.”
“I have them in custody they are down below in separate cages.”
“Don’t be so dense boy I know where they are I want to know how they are?”
“Lysette is her usual self and the boy John has said nothing of interest so far, we are getting ready to interrogate him further.”
“You do not have the authority to interrogate anyone; just make sure that no harm comes to either one of them, do you understand me boy?”
“Yes sir I understand fully.”
“Now get out and ready your Academy for the coming battle, the 1st will be leading the fight. You are to show no mercy and if you get the chance to put the girl down then you will do so at any cost.”
“Yes sir, but what about Dylan all reports show that he will in all probability be by her side?”
“He is a traitor and you will treat him as the enemy, just make sure that Lysette is safely in custody.”
It was just what Patrice wanted to hear a clear command to show no mercy to Dylan who was now to be treated as an Imp.”
The cages beneath the Justice building were exactly that and they were barely large enough for John or Lysette who were both almost six feet to stand up in.
“What do you think they will do with us Lissa?”
“I am sure that they will send us to Juvi once they have extracted all of the information they need from us.”
“You mean they are going to torture us?”
“You should just tell them all that you know immediately and hope that they believe you.”
“If I do that then I would be betraying others and I cannot do that.”
“That sounds very noble but I can assure you that you will tell them everything they want to know eventually so just save yourself the pain.”
John was sure that Lissa was right but he could not just give up his friends.
“And you will they interrogate you and if they do will you talk?”
“I have been trained to resist and will be able to hold out longer than you but eventually I will tell them what they want to know.”
“Then why hold out at all?”
“Once Dylan knows I have been captured he will be aware of what will happen to me and the longer I hold out the more time he has to get as far away from the States clutches as possible.”
“You think that Dylan will run and hide while you suffer here?”
“It is what I would do; there is nothing he can do for me now.”
John admired Lissa’s stoic stand.
“You really do amaze me Lissa and if I am to be thrown into Juvi then I would not want to go there with anyone else.”
Lysette did not quite understand the idea of wanting to go to Juvi with or without anyone, other than Dylan possibly.
“You have been a fool John and I have been an even bigger one for coming back towards the Capital with you but you have courage and if we were not betrayed by Patrice perhaps we would have been friends.”
John already considered Lysette his friend.
“Is Patrice the one that did that to your face?”
Lysette’s face had come up in the most horrendous bruise after Patrice had put his boot down on her.
“Yes and if I get a chance he will pay for doing that to me.”
John did not think it sounded like Lissa thought she would get that chance.
Maddie was surprised at the strength of her own feelings when she saw Lana walk into her encampment with Jinn and George.
&
nbsp; “You little so and so I thought you were dead I should kill you right now for worrying me so.”
Lana looked a little embarrassed as Maddie threw her arms around her forming a tight bear hug.
“I am not calling you Maddison and that is that I am not one of your army of zombies.”
Maddie released the girl and laughed in what seemed the first time in an age.
“You can call me anything you like Lana just as my army of zombies as you call them can and it is good to see you to.”
Lana was smiling her mischievous grin and Maddie knew that something cheeky was going to come out of that mouth of hers.
“I let you out of my sight for a moment and you go and give Jinn the idea that he is the boss of me that is just dumb, you really do need me don’t you?”
“Yes Lana we do need you but you should know that without Jinn we would not have gotten into Juvi let alone out again, he has been invaluable to us.”
Jinn’s face was a mask of pride as Maddie praised him.
“You talking about skinny Jinn I don’t believe a word of it.”
Jinn’s expression of Pride disappeared as quickly as it had appeared to be replaced with anger and frustration.
“I should get some sleep Maddison if you will excuse me?”
Maddie looked back with sadness at Jinn and nodded.
“You really should not say such things Lana Jinn has earned our respect in the time that you have been away.”
This from Dylan thought Lana, how could Jinn have changed so much in so short a time?
“But it is just Jinn and you know Jinn is well I don’t know just Jinn.”
Maddie could see that Lana was struggling with the idea that Jinn was anything but the smelly little boy that followed her around Dylan’s camp.
“Dylan is right Jinn deserves your respect but don’t worry about that for now as I have a bone to pick with you.”
Lana looked confused at the idea of anyone wanting to pick her bones.
“My bones don’t need picking thank you very much and if you come near them I will poke those eyes of yours out.”
Maddie loved Lana’s feistiness and tried to explain.
“It just means I want to discuss something with you and it is this the next time you try and come to my rescue I will knock you out my-self.”
Lana smile that Lana smile.
“You mean the next time I risk my life to rescue you that you will attack me, I should think a simple thank you more appropriate.”
A shake of Maddie’s head was followed by.
“You are Impossible.”
“Yes I know impossibly beautiful, smart and of course brave but don’t be too jealous Maddie one day you too could be as perfect as me. I just can’t wait to tell everyone how I saved the great Maddison from certain death at the hands of the Cads.”
Everyone within earshot was laughing at Lana’s little speech.
“I think that blow to your head may have dislodged your brain and now it is you that are the one that is a little touched.
Maddie pointed her finger at her own head and turned it in a circle and was rewarded with the widest smile from Lana.
The day after Lana arrived Jerome, Tariq and Raea rolled up in their old truck.
“I thought you would be bringing everyone in your village Jerome?”
“I first wanted to talk to Maddison to see if she still planned to March into the Capital with the rest of you behind her.”
Dylan was not surprised that Jerome had joined them without the rest of his village and did not really have any faith in him.
“I can tell you that is our plan and we could have used the numbers from your village.”
“As I said I would like to talk to Maddison.”
There were no introductions as Raea and Tariq stood awkwardly watching the two men talk.
“I see you have brought two recruits that should swell the ranks considerably.”
“Your sarcasm is not welcome and I will not take criticism from the son of Jarod Holt, now I insist on seeing Maddison.”
“Fine by me Jerome but if you are planning on trying to change Maddie’s mind then I would advise against it.”
“And why is that?”
“Because if by some miracle you were successful I would have to slit your throat.”
Jerome was much bigger than Dylan but this statement still gave him pause.
“You think Maddison going in there with an army of Imps is a good idea then?”
“I think you are a politician like my father and that you have your own agenda that you have yet to disclose to me or Maddison.”
Lana ran up to Raea as soon as she saw her.
“It is good to see you I didn’t think you were coming and I don’t know why you brought the big ape.”
“It is good to see you to Lana and the big ape needs to talk to Maddison.”
Lana shrugged her shoulders and looked at Maddie.
“Don’t trust him Maddie he is not a truth teller, come on Raea I want you to meet some friends of mine.”
Raea was only too pleased to get away from Jerome who she knew wanted to dissuade Maddison from her present course of action. She really did not know why Jerome had insisted on bringing her along with him anyway.
“Hello Jerome when is the rest of your people arriving?”
“They will come when you have agreed to come into the Capital with me Tariq and Raea to talk to the Chancellor.”
Maddie felt a little confused by what Jerome had said.
“I thought it was agreed that we would all march into the Capital together or did I get that wrong?”
“I want change as much as you do Maddison even more but I don’t think marching into the Capital and demanding it is the right way to go about things. I want us to negotiate a fairer deal for all the Imps and the only way I see us getting that is by talking not fighting.”
Dylan chipped in at this point.
“If you are not willing to fight for what you want then you don’t deserve to become citizens.”
“Oh come now Dylan you know that your father will never allow us to become citizens but we may just be able to secure a more comfortable way of life for ourselves.”
“For ourselves do you mean all of us Jerome or do you mean just a select few at the top?”
“Look Maddison you are new here and in all likelihood you will be leaving once you have secured the release of John. So I don’t think it is up to you to decide how we proceed.”
Maddie noticed that just like the politicians at home Jerome had dodged a direct question.
“You are probably right Jerome it should not be up to one person to decide what happens here so I suggest we ask the people.”
The horrified look on Dylan and Jerome’s face told Maddie what they thought of her idea.
“They are an uneducated rabble and will do as you tell them Maddie so I suggest you tell them to march on the City as planned.”
Jinn who had remained silent throughout the talks suddenly inserted him-self into the conversation that concerned all non-citizens.
“As one of those uneducated rabble I think I should have a say in what happens and so should everyone else that has joined us.”
“I don’t know who you are boy but Dylan is right we cannot let something this Important be decided by an army that is made up of Devs and ex-prisoners of Juvi.”
Maddie decided to make her position clear.
“We will ask them and whatever their decision is that will be the one that we will abide by.”
Dylan was the first to speak after Maddie’s decisive action.
“If this backfires and they choose to go with Jerome’s idea then we will never see John or Lissa again and if that happens there will be consequences.”
Once again the threat was undeniable and Maddie was getting tired of Dylan’s thinly veiled threats.
“Yes yes I know you will end my life and so on and so on but for now just try to have my back while I
give your people a choice for the first time in their lives.”
Dylan was not really thinking about his people but more about Lissa and how the outcome would affect their rescue attempt.
“Tell them that walking in their too negotiate is an act of weakness and that the First Minister will see it as such and then this will all be over.”
Maddie turned to Jinn.
“Jinn spread the word that I have something Important to say to everyone and that I will be ready in two hours to talk to them.”
Jinn nodded and left.
“You will be relying on the decision of a mob and that is very unwise.”
“Jerome this is the way it is going to happen so I should accept it if I were you.”
“But you are not me Maddison and you do not belong here, what gives you the right to decide the fate of my people?”
Maddie was furious at this accusation from Jerome.
“You are the one that wants to decide their fate I am putting the power to decide what happens to them in their hands.”
Dylan was still unconvinced but seeing there was no changing Maddie’s mind tried to get her to influence the people.
“You must tell them that Jerome’s way will result in them being returned to Juvi and that the State will crack down even harder on them to make examples of them.”
Jerome decided that this would be a good time to enlighten Maddie to what really happened at Juvi.
“Are you aware Maddison of the sacrifice that was made at Juvi on your behalf?”
Maddie knew what was coming but felt she had to ask anyway.
“No what happened we heard shots as we left and I am certain that something bad did happen.”
“Yes Maddison something terrible did happen, over one hundred Devs were shot and once the rest had been dispersed Jarod Holt sent in a clean-up team.”
The look of shock on Maddie’s face told Jerome that his words were having an Impact.
“Do you know if Jasmine was killed?”
“I am not aware of that name but the clean-up team rounded up another fifty prisoners and hung them as a show of strength.”
Jasmine must have been killed thought Maddie as she tried to force the tears to stay away.
“It is done and they are gone there is no point in crying for them now Maddie.”
Dylan’s callous disregard of those that lost their lives at Juvi made Maddie sick.
“You cold bastard they were people and if I do not cry for them then who will?”
Jerome saw an opening.
“If you march into the Capital then there will be many more dead for you to cry for.”
Maddie could see that Jerome was trying to manipulate her and would not let him get away with it.
“You are right Jerome there will be more tears shed by the time we finish this and many more of us may die but that does not mean that we should not try, I will tell the Imps that we should honour the sacrifices made at Juvi by marching proudly into the Capital.”
Jerome had lost and he knew it.
“Just make sure that you tell them everything and give them an informed choice Maddison.”
Maddie stood before thousands of Imps, Devs, Cads and strays who had gathered to hear what she had to say.
“WE HAVE COME ALONG WAY TOGETHER AND TODAY I HAVE LEARNED THAT ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FELLOW NON-CITIZENS WERE MURDERED AS WE WALKED OUT OF JUVI. I WANT ALL OF YOU TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO MARCH ON THE CAPITAL AND THE RISK YOU ARE TAKING, WE MARCHED THROUGH A STATE POLICE TOWN AND THEY DID NOTHING I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE CAPITAL AND AT THE VERY LEAST WE WILL HAVE TO FACE THE ACADEMIES WHO ARE ARMED WITH LEKTRO’S AND WELL TRAINED. IT HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO ME THAT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CHANCELLOR MYSELF AND LEAVE YOU BEHIND. IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT THEN I WILL ENTER THE CAPITAL WITH JEROME AND TRY TO GET A FAIRER DEAL FOR YOU. I NEED YOU TO DECIDE DO WE MARCH OR DO I NEGOTIATE FOR YOU?”
“MARCH, MARCH, MARCH, MARCH, MARCH, MARCH, MARCH. MADDISON, MADDISON, MADDISON, MADDISON, MADDISON, MADDISON.”
The chanting continued for what seemed an eternity and even after Maddie stood down and walked away she could hear the voices of her army chanting her name.
“It is settled then we go in tomorrow and it would be nice to have your people with us Jerome.”
“They are not far Tariq can have them on the move immediately and they will join us as we march into the City.”
Dylan had a look of curiosity on his face.
“Where will you be when we march on the Capital Jerome?”
“I will be at Maddison’s side as I expect you will be.”
Dylan smiled and said no more, satisfied that Jerome had been forced to march up front with him and Maddie.