Pax bit her lip. There’d be no going back from it.
There was a shout below. A door slammed and heavy footfalls rang through the building. Bees’ companion burst into the office, announcing his presence loudly. “Snapped the bloody saw head. That’s two this morning. This guy must’ve –”
Howling Jowls Jones was halfway across the office, headed straight for the fridge, before he noticed Pax and Grace. He paused as Pax gave him a light, nervous wave. Dressed in overalls like Bees, he also wore plastic gloves and a hairnet. There was little white showing around his bloodstains, though his cheekbones were sharp and high enough that Pax could make out his smile behind the mask.
“Good to see you, Pax – to what do we owe this pleasure? And who’s this young dear?”
“She’s in trouble with the MEE,” Bees explained.
“The MEE?” Howling Jowls let out his trademark whoop; it was a wolfish sound that Pax suspected he practised. He turned to the fridge to get a beer, pulling his mask down. “So that’s why Bees has been waxing lyrical about them. Chewing my ear off about this theory and that theory – why there’s no methane in the sewer system, why the skyscrapers in the CC1 postcode have green antenna lights, cover-ups and conspiracy on a national level. Ain’t that right? I’ve heard it all and it all sounds like shit, but here you are.” He opened the can. “It’s you that’s been digging up dirt about them.”
“Something like that,” Pax said.
“I was telling her,” Bees said, “we might find a way to get her clear of a predicament, if she happened to let us in on the details.”
“Now there’s a proposition,” Jones swung his beer can around. “I’d be game just to shut him up. There’s no aliens in Ordshaw, are there? Or is it a water supply scandal? Give me strength.” He spun away from Pax, letting out another whoop. He was going to keep talking, that’s what these guys did. But time was an issue. “It’d be fun if I didn’t already know no government ministry ever did anything more interesting than filing shifty budgets. The MEE. Give me strength.”
“They’re hiding a secret network of tunnels.” Pax rushed it out. Jones froze with his eyes and mouth equally wide open.
Bees placed his beer can aside. “What kind of tunnels?”
“Ones that run all over the city. They’re extremely dangerous.”
“Dangerous structurally, or some other way?” Bees asked.
“Some other way.”
Jones turned to Bees and they exchanged a look. Jones cleared his throat. “Pax, you’re bright, we all know that. If you’re talking about a network of tunnels that might get us from A to B unseen, you’d be talking about something our boss would take a real strong interest in. You’d know that, wouldn’t you, before bringing up a thing like that? You’d need to be thinking that this is something you really want to share.”
“I think it could get you in a lot of trouble,” Pax said, “but if you can help me out, you’re welcome to the problem.”
“You got a map?” Bees asked.
Pax shook her head. “I know where a couple of entrances are.”
“Monitored by the MEE?”
“Yeah,” Pax said. “They’re not so interested in the tunnels as in what’s down there.”
Jones let out a loud, heartfelt laugh. “Stop being dramatic. What’s down there?”
“That’s as much as I’ll give you right now. Here’s the cut.” Pax stood up, to firm her point. “There’s stuff I need from my apartment and I don’t feel safe going back there. I need it yesterday, because there’s other people after it. Not the Ministry – they might be watching the place, but they don’t know what’s there. You help me and I’ll tell you where to find an entrance to these tunnels. I’ll give you some idea of what’s down there, but you need to see it for yourself. And I want to be 100%, before we start this, in saying I think you should not go down there. Got it?”
“All right,” Bees replied carefully. “What’s this stuff you need?”
As they walked away from their factory, Pax let out a breath of relief, freed from the stress of being in the same room as the two bloodied men. Grace asked, quietly, “Who were they?”
“Just friends.”
Pax didn’t like the answer herself. Too many of her suspicions about them were being confirmed, a step beyond imagining she lived in a dangerous world to knowing it for sure. Contrary to what they had said, she did not know exactly why their boss would be interested in the tunnels, but the best case scenario involved contraband. The very best case. She might have just contributed to a criminal enterprise, but it had to be better than whatever was already down there.
“I’d really like to go home now,” Grace said.
Pax gave her a smile. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.” The teenager did not look convinced. This detour probably had her questioning whether she had even been freed. Pax’s smile faded. “I’m not a part of the bad stuff. Honest. I need those guys to help me the same as I’m helping you, that’s all. You’ll be fine.”
Grace nodded, clearly filled with doubt.
Pax sighed and kept on walking. She checked her phone and saw a missed call from an unknown number. It gave her pause. Had Letty changed her mind and wanted to get back in touch? Maybe she would help out after all, and she could call off Bees and protect the secret of the Sunken City. But the voice she heard when the voicemail clicked on was not Letty’s. It was a woman who sounded equally hostile.
“This is Holly Barton. You spoke with my husband. I’d like to speak with you myself. Call me back.”
Pax turned to Grace. “See. That was your mum. She’s waiting for us.”
11
Letty was received without the flanking honour guard that typically shielded the Fae leader; Valoria had chosen discretion above safety now, and only her bodyguard Hearlon attended their meeting. The brick-headed goon strode into the dugout room, a cavity in the concrete walls, and all but pressed into Letty in the tight space. When he moved to frisk her, she raised a warning finger.
“You fucking dare.”
Every time they met, he backed down with an expression that said he’d like nothing more than to punch her face off. The feeling was mutual. Hearlon stepped aside, settling for the threat of resting his hand on the handle of a pistol, holstered at his shoulder.
Valoria squeezed into the room and looked Letty up and down. “There were reports of your death.”
“Guess they exaggerated,” Letty replied dryly.
“You were in a Ministry compound,” Valoria continued. “You know our thoughts on Fae that leave Ministry compounds alive. My council would have you shot on sight.”
“Good thing you know better, huh?” Letty replied, sarcasm dripping off the ceiling. “Guess you’re just too damned curious about that Dispenser, aren’t you?”
The governor kept calm, making a clear effort to tune out Letty’s attitude. “Of all the Fae I know, I’d imagine you to be the least likely to be turned by the Ministry. But yet, I must ask.” She didn’t.
“The fuck do you think?” Letty said. “As to what they got from Rufaizu, though, I couldn’t say. Your people haven’t taken care of that, have they?”
“The Roma’s fate is uncertain.”
“I can certain it,” Letty said coldly. “He’s alive enough to have ratted on me.”
“That’s disappointing. But your team hardly helped matters.”
“No? Seems to me they’ve made some kind of progress. Seems to me it’s something we need to discuss. In pretty serious terms. Things are moving forward, Val. At long last. You know what we’ve uncovered, right?”
Valoria fixed her with an icy stare, designed to make Letty uncomfortable. Letty didn’t get uncomfortable about people’s looks. She stared right back.
“Do you expect me to be impressed?” Valoria said, each word thick with bitterness.
“Are you on the cusp of getting the Dispenser back or what?”
“No thanks to you.”
“N
o thanks to – are you fucking serious? I’m the one that got Rufaizu onside. It was me that organised to have –”
“It was you who got it stolen in the first place. And from what I can gather, your men used their own initiative to get it back, not yours.”
Letty could feel the colour rushing to her cheeks. “If they had followed through with my plan, you wouldn’t have had this human collateral to deal with right now.”
“Nevertheless, the Dispenser is all but secure. And your...boys’...security has already been negotiated. It did not involve you.”
Letty’s eyes bulged with hate. “You know it was my project, those are my –”
“You dealt with humans without our go-ahead, you led an attack on a Ministry compound, you got yourself injured, if not caught – there is nothing in any of this that suggests you deserve a reward, Letty. Your team performed better, and quicker, without you.”
“This is bullshit and you know it.”
“This was inevitable and you know it. Your back-street diplomacy got you nowhere and your half-measure violence threatened us all. So here you are, where you belong. Outcast.”
Valoria turned on her heel, as though that was all there was to say. As she moved away, Letty surged forwards to curse and throw fists and shoot if necessary. Hearlon moved faster, though, pistol drawn and aimed at her chest. Letty stopped, but wasn’t done.
“This is bullshit!” she repeated, louder. “You’re bullshit! How are you gonna use the Dispenser without human help? You need me if you want the Citizen onside, at the very least! You can’t keep forcing a brute like that!”
“It’s time you left,” Hearlon told her.
“You can’t keep me out!” Letty roared at Valoria’s retreating back. “I know how to make things work with the humans! I’ve got friends!”
Valoria paused. All but out of view, she turned back but kept her distance. “We don’t need human friends, Letty. Why did you never understand that? Your friends give us all the reason to keep you away.”
“You honestly think we can reclaim the Sunken City without at least a little human help?” Letty growled, but as she said it she saw that there was no question in Valoria’s eyes. Letty frowned, thinking of the dumb questions Pax had raised. Was there a chance the Fae didn’t want to use the weapon? Did Apothel know something she didn’t, when he stole it? “Do you even want to take it back?”
Valoria gave her a slight smile, not deigning to answer. Letty saw what it meant, with such surprise she had to look to Hearlon to share it, no one else to turn to. “You know what’s going on here?”
Hearlon said nothing, trained to lack emotions.
“You never belonged here, Letty,” Valoria concluded. “You never understood. Our relationships are nuanced, our place in this world layered – you cannot shoot your way through everything.”
“What the fuck are you saying?” Letty snapped. “You’ve got the whole of the FTC waiting to reclaim what’s ours, who gives a shit about nuance?”
“I’m being incredibly generous not punishing you for what you’ve already done,” Valoria said, the first strains of impatience entering her tone. “Keep talking and you’ll leave me no choice. Walk away, Letty. Let it go. It’s probably better that our people still think you’re dead.”
Letty bared her teeth. “Where are my boys?”
“They won’t want to see you,” Hearlon answered.
“Who the fuck asked you?” Letty shouted. “Are they in the city? Are they still working? Fucking give me something! I’m out here with one goddamned wing!”
“They’re putting everything you started to rest.”
Letty looked from Hearlon to Valoria, neither giving anything else away. She shook her head, saying, “Out of order. You’re bang out of order.”
“This is the first and only lesson you need to learn, Letty,” Valoria said. “They’re only humans.”
Letty backed off, still eyeballing them both. Without another word, she turned and ran.
Mix and Fresko were, at that moment, standing side by side in the rafters at the Innovation Centre. Both regarding the emptiness of the room. The lock had been shot by a Fae gun, but there was no sign of violence. Mix lit his cigar, speaking through the side of his mouth. “What do you make of it?”
“I don’t get the why,” Fresko said. “Must’ve been Fae, someone who knew we’d been here. Don’t see what they’d gain from boosting her. Or why they’d do our job for us. Doesn’t make sense. But we need to be sure, don’t we?”
“How’s that?” Mix took a deep puff, blew smoke in Fresko’s direction.
“We go to her house and check she hasn’t escaped.”
“To her house,” Mix repeated.
“Yeah.” Fresko shouldered his rifle. “Either someone already did away with her, and we got nothing to worry about, or someone helped her out. And took her home.”
“One of our own?” Mix raised an eyebrow.
“We can figure out the why of it later,” Fresko said. “Right now, let’s finish the job.”
Mix grinned and slapped Fresko’s back. “Now you’re talking my language.”
12
Pax and Grace had made it to a street corner in Ten Gardens by the time Holly caught up to them. Though her energy was waning, Pax wanted to keep moving as long as it took to put a distance between herself and the Fae, and the sight of clean streets and stoop flowerpots was welcome. As they waited for Holly, Grace struggled to make conversation, with meek questions about how Pax was feeling and how far they had to walk, too tired for anything else. When Holly skidded her car up next to them, Grace’s energy barely came back. She mustered a smile and a hug for her fussing mother, but that was all. She crept into the back seat and all but fell asleep.
Holly stayed out of the car, halfway between scolds and blessings. “Oh thank God you’re all right. You had me so worried! What were you thinking? I’m so glad you’re safe!” She turned on Pax. “What happened? Where’s she been?”
Pax took a moment before responding, partly from the force of this sharp woman, partly from confusion at her attire. Holly was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with an important-looking crest and the words Professional Wine Taster – Free Consultations Offered. Not taking Holly for one with a sense of humour, Pax took a moment to realise that the t-shirt was a joke, by which time Holly was ranting on. “Speak, would you? You don’t think I’m owed an explanation?”
During their walk, Pax had thought about what she might say or do when Holly arrived, and now it was time to put it into action. Rescuing Grace wasn’t just a means to do good; it presented an opportunity. She needed somewhere to lay low while Bees did his bit, and no one was likely to go looking for her in the suburbs. She said, “I’ll explain what I can, if you take me with you. I’d like to make sure Grace is okay. And...to see your husband.”
Holly gave her an uncertain look. She quickly made the decision, though. “Get in.” She rushed back to the driver’s seat. Pax scanned the road, as though they might be under surveillance already, then she got into the car. Holly spun the tyres pulling out, and started throwing looks back to Grace, who was curled up like a child trying to sleep on the sofa.
“Young lady. You tell me what’s going on.”
“Someone with a gun,” was the best Grace could offer. “A man. I never saw him.”
“Where? How?” Holly asked urgently, but her questions came too quick to answer. She turned on Pax. “You know who it was?”
“Kind of,” Pax said.
“Kind of? My daughter’s been kidnapped and the best you can do is kind of? That’s not good enough. We’re going to the police.”
“No!” Pax said firmly, imagining the police handing them straight over to the MEE. “They’ll only get worse people involved. Trust me – the best thing for us right now is to get you both home.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Holly thumped a hand into the steering wheel. Pax gave her a moment to calm down. Holly took a deep breath, in t
hrough the mouth and out through the nose, as though she had been trained to do it. She said, “I just think that when a teenager has been abducted by a man with a gun, the police are the logical people to get involved. Don’t you?”
“I would,” Pax agreed, “if it was a man that did it. They weren’t men, though. Not as you understand the term.”
Holly glared at Pax, doubt in her eyes. She knew there was more to this. Yet she ventured, hopefully, “Transvestites?”
Pax shook her head. “Is your husband home?”
“He went looking for Grace. You haven’t seen him?”
“No. I tried to call him.”
“I’m going to give him such a talking to when he gets back, don’t you worry. Damn all of this.” Holly frowned. “How did you find Grace?”
“It’s a long story,” Pax said, quietly.
“You’ll tell me, though. Someone has to tell me something or I’m going to do something terrible. I’ll drive this car straight off a bridge, or I don’t know what. He is going to get such a talking to!”
Pax stared at the side of her head. There was no way for Holly to cope. Raise your family, live your happy life, get your ducks in a row and finally have your daughter kidnapped by something that wasn’t a man. Suddenly you have no reasonable way to deal with it.
Holly gave Pax another questioning look. “Who are you?”
“No one,” Pax sighed. “A card player.” It was an answer that never failed to pique people’s interest, and even Holly’s hard façade softened in surprise.
“That’s...all you do? I mean – your work?”
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
“And...Darren plays?”
“No,” Pax said. “He doesn’t know me. Honestly.”
Holly concentrated on driving for a minute longer, apparently deciding how to continue. “My husband has told me very little about all this. I need to know more. Why was my daughter taken? Why on earth won’t the police do something about these maniacs?”
The Sunken City Trilogy Page 23
