by Lan Chan
It wasn’t easy opening up to him now. It went against everything I believed in, but sooner or later he’d find out, and I needed him sooner. “So, umm...apparently, the Psi-Ops have a file on me and they’ve upgraded my danger status to a black notice.”
His face went still for a moment. Too-long lashes blinked over startling sapphire eyes. Ah shit. This bomb was about to detonate. His head turned first towards Lily. “What have I told you about hacking into a secured database?”
She drummed the fingers of her right hand against the tub of ice cream. “I didn’t do it on purpose. We needed to know how much information they had on Willow after the Ballarat incident and I just never closed the investigation. You told. Why did you tell? You didn’t have to tell.”
The latter accusation was levelled at me. Then Rich was glaring at me too. I started getting defensive. He always thought the worst of me.
“It wasn’t even my fault,” I said, forestalling his question.
Oz sighed. “She’s right.” He scratched at the patch of hair above his left ear. “It’s my fault. I allowed the Psi-Ops to mind-scan her and the nanobots overreacted.”
“Overreacted how?”
Oz glanced over at me. I swallowed hard. “I think I tried to kill him?”
“Did the agents mention anything to you about this?” His voice had gone soft, quivering with anger. At least it wasn’t all directed at me this time. There was a first for everything.
Oz shook his head. The breath of air that Rich let out was slow, like the steam coming out of a combustion engine. The boilers at school used to make all kinds of noises when they were turned on in winter.
“I want to know everything,” he said. There was a pulse in his jaw that made the stubble seem as though it was alive.
“I don’t know anything,” Lily said. “Can I go?” She’d made a move to leave but his voice stopped her.
“Sit back down.”
Lily was his pet project. It was not good that he was ordering her around. She sat but her bottom lip quivered. Now two of them were on the verge of a meltdown. This just kept getting better.
“Can I point out that I’m trying to do the right thing here?” I said. Way to add fuel to the fire, but I wanted at least some credit for being mature. So often in the last few weeks I’d wanted to hop the window of my bedroom and head out towards the city. But I hadn’t. I felt like that was major self-restraint on my part.
“Just start talking.”
So I told him about what happened at Scarlet’s apartment. He’d very reluctantly agreed to let me do Ryan the favour, and I had wondered how he felt about Scarlet. Minister Nichols was still ‘happily’ married to his first wife, which meant Scarlet had been an affair.
If it bothered Rich, he didn’t let it show. I gave my version of what happened at the Academy this afternoon and Oz filled in the rest. Then I sighed, looked around the table, and as much as I didn’t want to, I told them about my nightmares. About how they’d started a week or two after Ballarat and had gotten to a point where Zeke had to stay in my room so that he could wake me if they got too vivid. Because that was the scary thing about these so-called nightmares. I couldn’t wake from them on my own. I didn’t go into detail about the one I’d had of Adam. I didn’t put much stock in it, and I wasn’t going to freak anyone out by revealing something that had no bearing on anything. I did tell them about the one with Gabe.
Oz sucked in a breath. “Do you think it means he’s in danger?”
“I don’t know what it means. Only that when I saw my reflection in the dream, I didn’t look like me.”
Rich ran both hands through his hair. “I wish you kids would stop self-diagnosing and self-managing.”
“I’m not a kid,” Oz protested.
“Okay,” I said. “Time to step in and do some adulting stuff now.”
“What do you expect me to do?” Rich asked, eyes blistering. “Oscar’s right. We’re not to interfere with the Psi-Op investigation. Second Sight is serious.”
“But…”
He blinked again, as though it was hard for him to get the next words out. “But relinquishing you to their reconditioning program isn’t an option either.”
I rewarded him with my best smile. If anything it made him frown deeper. “First things first.” He pointed at Lily. “You are not to go changing anything on Willow’s file. You can bet they’re monitoring it carefully and they’ll notice any tampering. You’re to cease any delving into any Psi-Ops files.” She whined in disapproval. “I’m serious, Lily. No more.”
“I won’t get caught.”
“That’s not the point. If you make a mistake of any kind, Willow will go to prison.”
“Do you know how their investigation is going?” Oz wanted to know.
“They don’t talk to you?” I asked.
“I’m a contractor. They ask me to do targeted readings but they don’t trust me to know where their investigation is going. I don’t blame them. And in this instance, they’re dead right for not including me.”
“The public cooperation on this one is at an all-time low,” Rich said. “It always is when anything telepathic is involved. Despite the dangers of S2, no one wants it to be stopped. The cells are filled with people who have been caught experimenting with false telepathy.”
“Is it false?” I asked. “We’re not even a hundred percent sure what factors create a telepathic mind. How can we be sure this isn’t the real deal?”
I knew by the way he swallowed that there was something else I hadn’t been told. I also knew I was only reacting badly because when it came down to it, I wasn’t a real esper either.
“This isn’t to reach beyond these walls, do you understand me?” Rich said. Oz and I nodded. Lily just looked at the table with that same inscrutable expression on her face. She was still annoyed at not being allowed to spy on the Psi-Ops.
Rich delved into his shoulder bag and pulled out his tablet. He switched on the screen and opened a folder. The picture on-screen was of a brain that had been dissected right down the middle of the frontal lobe. Looking at brains would make anyone queasy but this one made me wish I hadn’t just had dinner.
The grey matter was less grey and more a bunch of engorged nodules reminiscent of tumours. There were so many that it was difficult to see the original shape of the brain tissue.
“This is the dissected brain of one of the overdose victims of Second Sight. As you can see, the side effects are extreme.”
“Shit,” I said. “If this is what happens, why don’t they release an APB? Tell everyone they’re going to get cancer and die?”
“Because it doesn’t happen in all instances. This is the first one we’ve found with it.”
“Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer either,” Lily pointed out. “But they still have those gross billboards.” Until now I hadn’t thought she was listening, but as usual, her brain was better at multitasking than mine.
“What if a Void takes it?”
Lily shook her head. “They’d be monumentally stupid. They’ve got the only known guaranteed defence against telepathy. But I suppose we won’t know until we come across one.”
“We have to do something...” I trailed off.
Rich had other ideas. “It’s not really our call to make. The Academy has sent the reports to the Psi-Ops and they’ll notify the health department. My concern is the fact that it has such varying side effects. What kind of drug mutates organic matter this quickly?”
“A biological one,” Lily said. There was silence around the table.
The colour drained from Rich’s face. “Say again?”
“A biological one. All drugs are known to sometimes cause detrimental side effects. The only thing capable of mutating a biological organism to this extent this quickly is a biological drug.”
“The Psi-Ops have to know this already,” I said.
“They do,” Lily informed me. “But they can’t figure much more from the batch of drugs they’ve
been able to confiscate. It looks like the drugs themselves aren’t all effective. There are placebos mixed in with the real thing.”
We didn’t even have to ask how she knew that information. Really, though, what did we expect her to do all day here with just Rich for company? She often translated and collated reports for the Academy but that wasn’t what interested her. It seemed spying was more her thing.
“If we got you some pills, do you think you could get anything out of it?” I wanted to know.
“Don’t even think about it,” Rich said. “The last thing we need to be doing is circumventing the Psi-Ops.”
“But they’re not getting anywhere on their own. Nobody trusts them.”
“Be that as it may, they’re the authority, and you might not think so, but there are some very intelligent and capable agents working for them.”
There were some real pricks too. Oz must have inadvertently heard me because him lips twisted. “Speaking of unsavoury people, Moore has lodged another complaint against you.”
Metaphorical steam blew from my nostrils. “What now?”
“He says you’re insubordinate and reckless.”
“I’m going to kill him. Why can’t I get a new mentor? Everyone knows he sucks! Why do I have to get stuck with him?”
The answer to that question was that no one else wanted me. Apparently, rumour had gotten around that I was reckless and insubordinate. Go figure.
“He also says you disregarded an order and drove to the Rendezvous and challenged Edward Blake,” Oz added.
“I did not! He’s such a liar.”
“Did you go to the Rendezvous?”
“Yes, but only because Moore wouldn’t tell me what he wanted.”
“But when he asked you to leave, did you go?”
“No, because—”
“It doesn’t matter, Willow. He’s the senior officer. If he gives you an order, unless it’s illegal, you follow it.”
“This is why people are suss about the Academy. If this was the Court—”
“But it’s not the Court,” Oz said.
“I’m not learning anything from him! I can barely stand to be in the same space as him!”
Oz smiled. There was no mocking in it. It was the kind of gentle smile that coaxed a return response, but I held firm. “You interrogated a witness pretty much on your own today. Even if your mentor weren’t a deadbeat, I don’t think there’s much you could learn from him. Patience and level headedness, however…”
“So put up and shut up is that what you’re saying?”
“Not in those terms.”
I put my head on the table. “I’m just saying, don’t be surprised if he ends up in the infirmary one day. Because I’m close to the edge.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Rich said. “And none of you are to make any kind of move about this Second Sight thing without clearing it with me. Oz, I want you to keep the agents away from Willow as much as possible. Until we can find a way to contain the nanobots, there’s no telling how she’s going to react.”
“And you,” he pointed at me, “I know I’m asking the impossible, but try and stay off the radar.”
That was easy enough for him to say. He didn’t have a black notice on his file. I hadn’t even killed anyone yet. Either way, I had a target on my back. Sooner or later, someone was going to start shooting at it.
“How would you feel about a dream scan?” Oz asked while we washed up.
“Not tonight. I’ve had enough of telepathy for one day.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
I nodded without much conviction. Twice now him being in my mind had caused the nanobots to react with violence. I wasn’t exactly itching for a do-over.
13
Too late that evening, I got a knock on my door to say that I had a phone call. I took it in the lab, preferring the cerebral monitor to a conventional phone because it left my hands free.
Gabe’s voice was rougher than usual. He exhaled as though coming home from a long trip. “Secure the line,” he said. Without questioning it, I used the cerebral monitor to tap into the surveillance drones, jumping from one to the next until I pinpointed his location.
He was at home in one of the waterfront properties on the edge of City Square and the Row. He’d hung up, but I used the electricity from the line to create a bridge between his mind and mine. It was a nifty trick that Lily had engineered. Given that my telepathy had no physical boundaries as long as I could create a current, the use of the drones and the amplification of the cerebral monitor meant I could connect with someone across a long distance. Sometimes for kicks, I’d use it to freak the others out while they were on duty. Suffice to say they didn’t enjoy it.
Knock, knock, I said inside Gabe’s mind. Seeing the state of his natural shield and the discipline in which he ordered his thoughts, it wasn’t hard to understand why he was so feared.
Stop harassing the staff at the hotel, he thought back.
Where have you been? Why are we doing this telepathically?
None of your business.
Is Blake making you investigate S2? What were you doing in the Docks? Is Marcello Virgona dead?
His surprise was palpable. I felt it like the sinking of a ship being dragged out to sea. Anger bubbled to the surface of his thoughts and I was thankful we weren’t having this conversation face to face.
I don’t even want to know how you found out about that, he thought. But you better not be roaming the streets again.
Is he dead?
After a short pause, I felt him shake his head. He’s shook up. Never been electrocuted before.
What about the girl?
How do you know about her?
Truth or lie? I guess I’d given away too many pertinent details to even consider lying.
I dreamt it.
Precognition doesn’t exist.
Which begs the question of what the heck is going on!
Irritation spiked through the mental link. She got away from us.
And who is us exactly? You shouldn’t be fraternising with Claudia’s men. She hates Blake, remember? And he hates her.
An errant thought slipped by in the midst of his physiological commands that told me he regretted divulging so much detail of Court dealings to me over the years. It was too late for that now.
Did you tell anyone where you suspected I was? he asked.
If he could have felt me roll my eyes, I would have done it. Sadly, this was mostly a one-way show. Only Jules. I’m not an idiot, you know. Why don’t you want anyone to know? What’s going on?
The less you know the better.
Like hell. Don’t start keeping things from me for my own good! I get enough of that from Rich. I got enough of it from her.
The one thing Rich and Gabe had in common was their reaction whenever I mentioned my mum. It was like throwing a bucket of ice water over them and watching them attempt to maintain a stable core temperature. Gabe shivered mentally. I felt him wavering between two decisions, which was odd because he always knew what he was doing.
Someone’s killing Whispers, he sent.
Tell me something I don’t know. It’s been all over the news that homicide has gone through the roof since S2.
There’s no connection between the killings except for the way they’re executed. Shotgun to the head, blowing their brains out. Now, why would someone want to do that?
So that they can’t be tested by the Psi-coroner. What does this have to do with you or Edward Blake?
None of the deaths have happened in the Row. Every other territory has been hit at least twice.
So you’re going with the popular theory that the Shadowman is making a grab for power? Call me cynical but I can’t see a recluse King giving a damn about how many fake espers are turning up.
Neither can I. But then who’s flooding the market with S2 and why?
Maybe you should team up with the Psi-Ops and work it out together. Amusement shot through me at t
he thought. Gabe would kill the agents faster than I killed Moore.
I’d rather take my chances with the Shadowman, he thought.
How do you know one of the other Kings isn’t behind it? Or another gang from interstate?
Every other Captain is denying involvement. Someone’s got to be lying. His thoughts turned resolute. Stop coming by the Rendezvous. The last thing I need is for someone to start asking why a Hyper agent is always sniffing around the place.
Answer your phone then!
Just do me a favour and lay low. And Willow, if something happens to me…Julian…
Don’t worry. I’ll keep him safe. At the moment, I was more concerned about Gabe even believing that something could happen to him.
I disconnected us and tried to go back to sleep. Thankfully, with everything that had happened, I didn’t dream.
Laying low, however, was easier said than done. Moore took my newfound docility as a testament to his dominance. We spent the next four shifts circling endlessly around the park outside of Chancellor’s Hill. Some of the politicians actually knew him by name. The first half of our Thursday shift was at HQ Restaurant where all the big brass from the Academy and the Psi-Ops ate lunch.
“I’m not going in there,” I said.
“You are unless you want another citation on your record.” He blew his nose on a napkin that he’d picked up off the floor in the car. I didn’t know if it was dirtier before or after it became covered in snot.
“We’ve got no business there,” I said. “We’re meant to be patrolling.”
“Little tip for you, slim. Men don’t like girls who talk too much and disagree with everything.”
He did not just say that. Before I even had a chance to formulate a response, he was out the door and barging up the sidewalk to the entrance of the restaurant. If he moved that fast while we were on patrol, we’d get a lot more done.
Stopping under the eave, he turned back to me and pointed at his watch. Then he imitated writing me up on disciplinary reprimand again. This just couldn’t go on. How much longer could I take not learning anything on patrol while my classmates were out there doing serious Academy work? When I didn’t move, Moore reached out telepathically and I unbuckled my seat belt.
