The Elitist Supremacy

by Niranjan K

  But he had been, hadn’t he? He would never have offered to sponsor the test if he hadn’t been. Yet, inexplicably, he had rejected Raul’s offer. He could ask why, he could try and persuade him, but Alexander wouldn’t be back for a couple of days and who knew if Sergio had that long?

  Zain was right. He should have told the Resistance what he knew. They needed Alexander, and he had the information that would give them leverage over him. He could not call Zain, and he didn’t want to leave a message, but there was someone he could call.

  “June,” he said. “Can you get me Mr. Savin on the phone?”

  “Mr. Savin is currently off planet,” June replied. “He’s in Hafi, and cannot be reached.”

  “Leave him a message. Ask him to call me as soon as he gets back.”

  “Message left,”

  Sergio sighed. Was he doing the right thing? Alexander was his friend.

  My cause is more important.

  He couldn’t afford to second guess himself. Should he try and contact Zain? After all, he had no idea when George might be able to contact him.

  He would wait for a day and call Alexander again before making any more decisions.

  He poured himself a glass of water, and took a sip and grimaced at the odd taste.

  “June, what’s wrong with the water?” He asked. There was no reply, and he frowned. “June?”

  “June has been temporarily deactivated, Mr. Martinez,” A familiar voice spoke.

  “Quinn?” He asked, surprised. “What are you doing here? What’s wrong with June?”

  “I’m here on Mr. Selwood’s orders, and June had to be temporarily deactivated since Mr. Selwood does not want any witnesses.”

  “Witnesses? Witnesses to what?”

  “Your death, Sergio,” Alexander materialised in the middle of the room, looking very pale, his body shaking, though his voice was steady. “That odd taste in the water was a very potent poison. It’s slow acting, but there’s no antidote.”

  “Poison?” Sergio took a step, and fell, his limbs refusing to move. “Wh-what’s happening?”

  “It kills slowly, but paralyses before that,” Alexander said, leaning against a wall. Sergio could not see his face. “Soon, you’ll lose the ability to speak as well, but don’t worry, it is painless as well.”

  “B-but you’re s-still in Ignis. H-how?”

  “Oh, Quinn just made a few minor adjustments to Beltram’s invention. It really is the most amazing thing.” Alexander said. “You know, Sergio, I was hoping you would wait to talk to me before deciding to betray me. You know what the odd thing is? I said yes to a tie up with Raul not fifteen minutes prior. After talking to him—he’s very persuasive when he’s not lying, by the way—I realised that I can form a partnership with Raul without allying myself with the Resistance in any way. I've communicated it to him, and he's agreeable. Also, considering Raul would need to pass a State vetting, it seems unlikely that anyone would ever blame me even if Raul’s true allegiances were revealed in the future. I made my yes contingent on him being vetted successfully. His suggestion, actually.” Sergio could not see Alexander, but his voice was clear, and it was steady. Was this the real man? One who would stand there and talk as he watched someone he once called a friend die?

  At least he agreed to the project.

  “Why?” Sergio whispered. “Alexander, please.”

  “Perhaps you should have been honest with me as I was with Raul,” There was emotion in Alexander’s voice, heat, and fury, “I told him I knew he was in the Resistance, and I suppose I am allying myself with them, after a fashion.”

  “Please...” Sergio said as his legs failed to support him, and he slumped to the floor.

  “So, you see, all that you did was for nothing.” Alexander sounded grim. “You could have told me the truth, you could have chosen to tell me the truth! Instead, you chose to keep me in the dark, chose your cause over me, which I would have forgiven, but you decided that you’d betray me... You decided to reveal a secret that isn’t yours, which was told to you in confidence. Wasn’t that the call you were trying to make?”

  Alexander knelt at his side, though Sergio still couldn’t see him properly. “Do you remember when you first approached me for a job, Sergio?”

  His tongue was thick, and there was a ringing in his ears, but Sergio remembered. He had approached the man in desperation. He’d told him he was capable, qualified and hard working, but he was also incapable of giving references or a DNA verification.

  “I can’t explain, but there are reasons,” he’d told Alexander. “I know I’m asking a lot, but if you take a risk on me, I promise you you’ll never regret it!”

  “Do you remember what I told you that day?” Alexander’s voice was fading away, and Sergio remembered.

  “I’ll take a chance on you, and I accept that there are things you can’t tell me, but from the day you join my company, you shall have to be loyal to me. You won’t betray me, or keep anything from me that could affect me or my company. That is my offer.”

  Sergio tried to speak, to apologise, to explain, but he was not able to. He could hear nothing, see nothing and feel nothing. Was he already dead? He couldn’t tell.

  Eighteen

  Interplanetary travel through Nishati was fatiguing, not to mention highly uncomfortable. As soon as he was back in his room on Ignis, Alexander was sick.

  “Let’s not do that again, Quinn,” he groaned as he finally lifted his head from the toilet bowl he was crouched over. “I don’t think Beltram meant his technology for transporting people.”

  “That is correct, Mr. Selwood.” Quinn replied. “I did warn you that there are risks.”

  “You know, Quinn, if you are going to start making excuses, you’ll be human very soon.” Alexander said, massaging his temples as he lurched to his feet, the room spinning around him. “Have you cleaned up after me?”

  “There’s no evidence of your presence in Mr. Martinez’s residence, and the chemical in Mr. Martinez’s blood stream will leave no evidence either. June will be reactivated as scheduled, and no one will know she was not active all the time. Her memory and records have been modified.”

  Alexander nodded. He had timed it well. His presence on Ignis was all the alibi he needed, should it ever become necessary, but he had no time to rest, or to think. He had a call to make.

  “What time is it, Quinn?”

  “1430, Mr. Selwood.”

  He nodded. “Quinn, I want you to take me to Ytres where I was last night.”

  “An analysis of your body shows you’re still recovering from the effects of your journey which would have been fatal to anyone else. It is inadvisable to undertake another trip through the Nishati at this time. A recovery time of 24 hours will be optimal.”

  “Give me the minimum recovery time,” Alexander said, lying down, and not arguing. He had one more day on Ignis. There was no need to overdo things, and he would need a clear head to deal with ‘Lucas Hendriks’. He could rest for a couple of hours.

  “Minimum recovery time is computed at 12 hours.”

  “Okay,” Alexander knew when he was beaten. “Wake me at 0600, and Quinn? You’re certain no one will find Sergio until after I’ve boarded the flight back?”

  “Of course, Mr. Selwood.” Alexander was certain Quinn would've rolled his eyes if he could.

  Alexander closed his eyes. Over the years, he had trained himself to fall asleep whenever he wanted, under any circumstances. Within seconds, he was asleep.

  Quinn woke him exactly at 0600, and Alexander showered, changed and had breakfast before he went to Ytres. Quinn transported him to the exact same place behind the empty crates, and Alexander studied the room. It was large, with the media wall to his left,and a door behind him, and another one opposite the media wall. There were a few chairs grouped in front of the media wall, and a desk panel near it.

  He recognised the empty crates as the kind used for shipping water and other essentials to Ignis. Which meant
that someone did live here. The living quarters were probably through the door behind him. He stepped into the room, cautious and yet not. There was no one at the monitors, and no sign of anyone which made Alexander wonder if it was only a temporary base.

  He didn’t analyse the reasons why he agreed to Raul, but the man he had come here to see was definitely a part of it. Alexander did owe him something, after all. If turning a blind eye while the Resistance built themselves a base using his resources was the price, he was willing to pay it. However, he knew how easy it was to get carried away, to be sucked in to the cause, and he had to be on his guard to prevent that.

  The door opposite the media wall opened and the two strangers whom he’d seen yesterday came inside, both wearing body suits. They stiffened on seeing him, their suits falling away, and Alexander found himself facing a short rod that he knew was an advanced stasis field generator.

  “Wow,” he said, as he lifted his arms. “I thought that was a prototype, and not in the market yet.”

  “Who are you?” The man holding the weapon asked, his dark eyes narrowed in suspicion while the woman went to the media wall to check the monitors.

  “How did you get in?” she asked. “None of the cameras captured you!”

  “I’m Alexander Selwood,” Alexander responded, and kept his posture relaxed, “I’m here to see Lucas Hendriks.”

  “How do you know he’s here?” the man asked.

  He was very young, Alexander noticed, with tanned skin and black curly hair that reached down to his shoulders, and was tied back. He was of medium height and build.

  “Raul Beltram,” Alexander said calmly.

  “How do we know that you are Selwood?” the woman demanded.

  She was tall and slender, with pale skin and long, black hair that was tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were slanted and her mouth thin. She was also young, though not as young as the man.

  “Hendriks knows me,” Alexander said. “If you can just call him, everything will be cleared up.”

  “He’s not up yet,” the woman said, her eyes assessing.

  “Can I drop my arms?” Alexander asked. “It’s really tiring to keep them up, you know,”

  “Sit down,” The man indicated a chair. “And keep your hands on the armrest.”

  Alexander complied.

  “Jo,” the man addressed the woman. “Can you check whether Lucas is awake? Ask him to come here, if he is.”

  “Already on it,” she said as she touched a monitor and keyed something in. “He’s coming.”

  Alexander kept his face neutral as ‘Lucas Hendriks’ walked in through a door on the right, next to the crates behind which Alexander had hidden the previous night.

  “Lucas,” he said, before Hendriks could open his mouth, his eyes warning the man not to say anything. “I’ve a message from Niek.”

  Hendriks stilled.

  “Alexander,” he said, speaking his name as if it was a foreign object in his mouth.

  “You didn’t say you knew him,” the man still covering Alexander with the stasis field generator said to Lucas, lowering the weapon a fraction. Alexander remained on his seat.

  “I... we were just casual acquaintances,” Hendriks said.

  “You still could have mentioned him,” Jo said.

  “Not the time, Joyce,” Hendriks said. “Amir, I think Alexander and I need to talk in private. Really private.”

  Amir moved to the monitors, and keyed in something, causing a door to materialise out of nowhere in the middle of the room. “It’s all I can manage at short notice,” he said. “It should be available for an hour.”

  “Thank you.” Hendriks opened the door, and went inside. Alexander stood up and followed him, wondering what the hell it was. He found himself in a small room, with a window opening into a landscape that was not Ignis. The room had a couch, a tea table, two armchairs and a dressing table.

  “What is this place?”

  “A storage room in Nishati,” Hendriks replied. “Don’t ask me how, but Amir’s a wizard with such things.”

  “I would say he is!” Alexander said. “He can bring the whole room, complete with contents to our dimension?”

  Hendriks nodded.

  “But where did he pull it from?” Alexander asked, curious still.

  “Some of the residents in Ignis prefer keeping their things in Nishati,” Hendriks replied. “If you want to know the exact location?”

  “No. I’m just... it’s just amazing!” Alexander could not hide his awe. “I mean, yes, I can have my Sentient access Nishati, and get things from there and transport me through it within the planet, but this... this is pure genius!”

  “He’s a genius,” Hendriks said.

  “How does he manage this without the State knowing?” Alexander asked again. “They always know when someone or something enters the Nishati, or leaves it.”

  That was how the State kept control over Nishati. It wasn’t possible to monitor the dimension, but they had invented a way to keep track of those who used it. Alexander had found a way to bypass it, using Quinn, and Beltram’s technology too had done so, but this... this was beyond any of that.

  Hendriks shrugged. “I’m not an expert in the field.”

  They eyed each other, wary and hesitant.

  “You look good,” Alexander offered finally. Hendriks did. He looked more confident, and better fed. There were no longer bags under his eyes, though he still looked tired. His hair was longer now, but Alexander had a feeling that it had to do with disguise rather than aesthetics.

  Hendriks snorted. “Really? That’s all you have to say? After all these years?”

  Alexander shrugged. “Would you rather I discuss the weather?”

  Hendriks chuckled as he sat down on the couch. “Isn’t that such a 23rd century thing to do?”

  Alexander remained standing, waiting. Hendriks sighed and said. “Niek is with you.”

  “I didn’t know he was your son,” Alexander replied.

  “So, is this where you threaten my son so I’ll keep your identity a secret?”

  Alexander snorted. “You think I came all this way to blackmail you? Why the hell would I reveal myself to you, just so I can turn around and threaten you?”

  Hendriks looked at him blankly. “I’ve had very little sleep in the last few days,” he said. “So, forgive me if I’m a little slow. What did you come here for?”

  “I told you that I didn’t know that Niek was your son, but I came here because I knew Niek’s father was here. I came to find you, to ask you for an authorisation. That is, if you’re not coming to get him. We’re a little tired of looking over our shoulders for Enforcers.”

  “He’s been with you this whole time?” Hendriks sounded surprised.

  “Yes,” Alexander said. “Does that surprise you?”

  “I don’t know,” Hendriks sighed. “I never knew you that well, did I? Only your reputation, and that man wouldn’t have taken in a 13 year old.”

  “You’re right, you didn’t know me,” Alexander said. “And as for my reputation, that was a long time ago. People change.”

  “People do,” Hendriks said quietly. “But have you?”

  “It’s not as if you’d notice,” Alexander replied.

  They were both silent for a while. “So, you’re Alexander Selwood now.”

  “Alexander is my middle name,” Alexander said, not wanting to elaborate further. “And you’re Lucas Hendriks.”

  “Lucas was my father’s name, and Hendriks my mother’s maiden name.” Lucas said, with a sigh. “And I hope you would remember to call me by it.”

  “Only if you return the courtesy.”

  “All right, Selwood, there are reasons why I can’t bring Niek here at the moment.” Lucas said. “But I still do not wish him to stay with you.”

  “So, what are you planning to do? Let the State take him? Have me thrown in jail for kidnapping a ward of the State?”

  “Find another guardian,” Lucas ground
out.

  “Make sure he’s alive this time,” Alexander couldn’t help but sneer. He was angry. “I would also remind you that Niek has been with me the past two years, and he’s not very happy with the way you just left him, with a vague letter. I really don’t think he’d be any happier if you start arranging his life again.”

  “He’s my son!” Lucas snapped.

  “You left him!” Alexander snapped back. “And I’ve been the one who’s been taking care of him since.”

  “Why the hell do you care anyway?” Lucas shouted.

  “I care for Niek!” Alexander said. “Is that so hard for you to understand?”

  “I don’t care!” Lucas said. “I don’t want my son in your care!”

  “Unless you’ve an alternative, I don’t see much choice for you.”

  “I can ask Raul.” Lucas said, looking mulish.

  “Don’t forget to ask his fiancée's permission,” Alexander said, his voice dry. “He’s already skating on thin ice with her, what with her working for the State and his connection with the Resistance, but I’m sure he’ll not mind taking in your fifteen year old son while going on his honeymoon.”

  “Will you just shut up?”

  “Gladly, as long as you give me that authorisation. I’m your only choice, Hendriks. Niek likes me, and I care for him. I’ve been taking care of him for two years without any problems. That child needs a normal life away from all your Resistance crap, and I’m the only choice you have who can give it to him.”

  “Not if you jump into bed with Beltram’s company!” Lucas said. “Obviously, you already know he’s part of the Resistance, so you’re affiliating yourself with it too, so how’s it any different?”

  “Because my company is a separate legal entity, and if Beltram’s true allegiances are ever revealed, all I would suffer is an investigation and hefty fines, unlike whoever else you have in mind for Niek’s guardianship.” Alexander paused. “Look, I know you don’t like me, but believe me when I say that I only want what’s best for Niek, and I think it’ll be best if you can just put your prejudices aside and think of what’s best for him instead.”