by Annie Percik
Mateo’s grin got wider. ‘Exactly! I thought maybe he’d let us stay with him and he might be able to help us work out what to do next.’
‘Doesn’t he live on some kind of compound, in the middle of nowhere with no access to the mana supply?’
‘Yup! He and his friends are convinced the artisans can track their activities or influence them or something if they use artefacts, so they don’t have any at all.’ Mateo looked contemplative for a moment. ‘We wouldn’t be able to take Terry and they won’t let us take any of our personal artefacts on to the grounds either.’
‘Um, aren’t they a bit bonkers?’ Abelard said.
‘Absolutely! But we have proof that they’ve been right all along. They’ll probably throw a feast in our honour or something.’
Abelard wasn’t convinced but he also didn’t have a better plan. ‘Okay.’ He turned to Jen. ‘I don’t think the artisans have any idea you’re involved in all this. It would probably be okay for you just to go home if you want.’
Jen looked at Mateo. ‘I’d like to believe that. But I’m not so sure. Jonathan’s met me and the Legal Department at Gadg-E-Tech have that NDA I signed. Plus the people at the viz-e-fact station can confirm I was with you this morning.’
Abelard was annoyed with himself that he hadn’t thought of any of that. He just wanted one of his friends to be able to extricate themselves from the mess he’d created.
Mateo crossed to where Jen was standing and took her hand. ‘I think it’s better if you stick with us at least for the time being. Besides, don’t you want to be turned into an artisan too?’
Jen shook her head. ‘Not even remotely. I have no desire to have anyone mess with my brain, thank you very much. I’ve been mundane my entire life and I have no intention of changing that now.’
‘You couldn’t be mundane if you tried,’ Mateo said, with an affectionate smile. ‘But fair enough. Shall we head out?’
Alessandra had apparently been following the conversation at the same time as conversing with Terry. ‘I’ll stay here and work on Terry’s artisan-making artefact.’
‘Are you sure?’ Abelard asked. The reference to the crazy theories of the conspiracy nuts prompted a thought. ‘Might Gadg-E-Tech be able to track you through your smart-e or something?’
It was Terry who answered. ‘No, Abelard. We will be quite safe from that here. I have set up a shield so that no mana activity within this building can be detected from outside. Alessandra and I will not be found that way. You should all leave your active artefacts here as well so you cannot be tracked when you leave.’
It would be odd not having any artefacts on him but Mateo had said they wouldn’t be able to take any to where Cousin Gerald lived anyway, so Abelard reluctantly agreed.
‘How long do you think it will take you to do what you need to do here?’ he asked.
‘We should be ready by tomorrow afternoon.’
‘Okay, we’ll come back then to see how you’re getting on. I don’t like not being able to contact each other at all, though. What if something goes wrong and we need to let each other know?’
Terry sat stock still for a long moment. Abelard figured he must be thinking. Then he got up and crossed to a stack of crates over by one wall. He rummaged inside for a minute and brought out a handful of blocky items. He set them on the desk and laid his hands over them. A second later a bright blue mana flash lit up under his hands. Terry walked round the group, handing one of the items to each of them. Abelard looked down at his and recognised an old model of portable call-e-fact.
‘These are now charged,’ Terry said, ‘and we can use them to communicate. The artisans will not know to track them but it would be best if they were used only in an emergency.’
Abelard felt anxiety welling up in his chest again. He was in so far over his head and everything was so uncertain. They were reduced to using ancient artefacts that had gone out of service almost before he could remember. He didn’t like splitting up the group but making contact with Cousin Gerald was a good idea and a brain-e and an artisan wouldn’t be welcome at the compound.
He beckoned to Mateo and Jen. ‘Okay. Let’s go.’ Then he had a thought. ‘Um, how are we going to get there?’
It seemed Terry had thought of everything. He led them outside to where an old speed-e-fact was parked. He touched the door, there was a crackle of mana and the vehicle rumbled to life. Abelard just stared at him, then gestured for Mateo to climb in the front. Once they were all in, Mateo entered the route information and the speed-e-fact set off.
* * *
‘How dare you send armed men after my daughter?’ Laleh stalked up and down the temple meeting room. ‘If I’d had any idea that was what you were planning …’
‘You would have come up with some other way to stop them broadcasting?’ Walter said. ‘And what would that have been? I had to act quickly and it seemed like the best way to diffuse the situation. I only wanted to get them under our control. Nobody would have been harmed.’
Laleh looked at him, scepticism clear in her eyes.
Keto Jones spoke up from where he was sitting across the table. ‘My men were instructed to take the rebels into custody peaceably.’
Laleh whirled on him. ‘Oh, really. And that’s why they were armed, was it? All it would have taken was for one person to do something stupid and my daughter could be dead right now.’
‘But she’s not,’ Walter said.
Laleh wasn’t mollified. ‘No, instead she’s a fugitive and her life as an artisan is over.’
Walter turned to Theobold, who had been silent thus far. ‘And we have a serious problem. They have dangerous knowledge and it’s clear their intention is to make it public.’
Theobold nodded slowly. ‘I cannot locate them. But we must try to do so. Their motives are pure but they do not understand what damage they might do. We need to educate them.’
Walter stood up. ‘No, we need to stop them. I’ve had enough of this ridiculous softly-softly approach you take to everything. Something needs to be done and I intend to do it.’
He strode from the room, Keto scrabbling to keep up with him as he went.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
‘So how well do you know this cousin?’ Jen asked Mateo as the speed-e took them through the outskirts of the city.
‘We-ell …’ he said. ‘Um, I guess I haven’t actually seen Gerald since I was about twelve. My parents took us up to the compound for a visit one summer. I think because it was cheap and they didn’t have any better ideas of where to go on holiday.’
‘But you talk to him regularly?’
Mateo offered up a sheepish smile. ‘Not exactly,’ he said. ‘I mean it’s not as if I can just call him up on my smart-e. He doesn’t have any artefacts at all. And no mana supply. That makes communication a bit difficult.’
‘But you do know he’s still at this compound, wherever it is?’
‘I have no reason to believe he’s not …’ Mateo trailed off at her worried expression.
Jen saw Abelard looking warily out of the window as they sped past buildings. She was worried about being spotted too, but they all relaxed once they left the busy streets and headed out into the countryside.
After a couple of hours, the speed-e-fact came to a stop just inside some woodland.
‘We’ll have to walk from here,’ Mateo said.
Jen climbed out, her entirely inappropriate shoes squelching in the mud. She squared her shoulders and trod with as much confidence as she could muster, following Abelard and Mateo into the trees.
By the time they reached the compound Jen had turned over on her ankle multiple times and was shivering in her light jacket. The other two were faring better but she didn’t think any of them were well prepared for their current situation. She had seen enough stories on the viz-e to know she wasn’t cut out for the life of a fugitive and she had the uncomfortable feeling they had left the most capable members of their party behind at the warehouse.
&nb
sp; As they rounded a corner, Jen saw silver lines glistening through the trees. It was a chain link fence. The path ahead was blocked by closed gates and what looked like a guard post. A man and a woman stepped out to meet them. They had guns in holsters at their sides but they didn’t draw them.
Jen exchanged a glance with Abelard. He looked as nervous as she felt.
‘Turn around and go back the way you came!’ the woman called out when they were still about twenty feet away.
Jen raised her chin and kept walking at Mateo’s side, determined not to show her fear.
Mateo held up a placating hand. ‘We’re here to see Gerald Simpson. I’m his cousin, Mateo Vega.’
‘Stay where you are,’ the woman said and this time they obeyed. Her companion went back inside the guard station and returned after a couple of minutes.
‘He’s on the list,’ the man said.
The woman beckoned for them to come closer
She looked them up and down. Jen looked right back. The woman was probably in her late forties, dark hair starting to grey around the temples. The bun at the back of her head only added to the severity of her already stern features. She was a few inches taller than Jen and her frame looked as strong as her gaze.
‘Show me some ID,’ she demanded. When Mateo complied she scrutinised it for several long moments before giving it back. ‘What about these two?’
‘They’re friends of mine,’ Mateo said. ‘Look, we have some really important information about the artisans that I think Gerald is going to want to hear. Could you maybe get him down here to talk to us?’
‘I’ll take you up to him. Do you have any artefacts on you?’
She placed the old-style call-e-facts Terry had given them in a large box with a lining Jen thought might be lead.
‘Stay here,’ the woman told her companion. ‘I’ll take them up to the main house.’
On the other side of the gate a wide driveway led up a slight incline into the trees. Jen couldn’t see any indication of buildings but she trudged along behind Mateo and Abelard without comment. The outer chill of the breeze matched the inner chill of her apprehension. So far nothing they had seen or heard was making her feel any better about this cousin Gerald.
After about five minutes of walking they came to a clearing that contained a scattering of buildings around a central square. A few people were in evidence, moving about between the buildings, chopping wood and carrying water. They wore rough homespun clothes and their hair was generally long. Pens held horses, cows and pigs. It was like stepping into the pre-mana world of history books and Jen thought about just how dependent she was on mana to provide even the basics of her lifestyle.
The artisans controlled so much and they weren’t about to relinquish any of that power. Had they been naïve to think they could really make a difference? Maybe living off the grid was the only alternative. Jen wondered if they were threatening this community’s safety by even being here.
The guard led them up to the biggest building, a two-storey wooden affair that dominated the square. Its imposing double doors swung open easily. Jen appreciated the change in temperature as soon as they stepped inside. Another woman sat at what looked for all the world like an office reception desk, though without any of the familiar artefacts.
The woman looked up at them curiously. ‘What’s this, Lynn?’
‘Is Gerald in?’
The woman shrugged. ‘Library.’
‘Thanks. Can you send someone down to join Piotr at the gate?’
Lynn gestured at them to follow her and led the way down a dark wood-panelled hallway. Their footsteps echoed as they approached a door at the very end. The room behind it was large and spacious, the ceiling reaching up through both storeys of the building. The walls were lined with books and there was a balcony running round the circumference of the room, allowing access to a mezzanine level. At the far end a leather armchair was positioned in front of an ornate fireplace and in it sat the largest man Jen had ever seen. He had a shock of frizzy grey hair and a bushy beard that framed his fleshy face. The book he was reading rested atop his considerable paunch. He seemed engrossed in the text and didn’t notice their entrance until the guard cleared her throat.
‘Ah, Lynn.’ He looked up at them over the reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. ‘Who have you got with you there?’
Lynn pointed at Mateo. ‘This one says he’s your cousin. He’s on the list.’
The man’s face split into a delighted grin and he levered himself out of the chair, placing his book carefully on a small table to one side. He lumbered towards them, his arms out in greeting.
‘Mateo!’ he boomed, enclosing Mateo in a huge hug. ‘My, how you’ve grown! It’s been years!’
‘Hi, Gerald,’ Mateo squeaked from within the man’s embrace.
‘I can’t believe it!’ Gerald pulled back but kept hold of Mateo’s upper arms. ‘I’m delighted to see you but what are you doing here? We don’t get many visitors up here.’
‘We have some things to tell you that I think you’ll find interesting,’ Mateo said.
‘Intriguing!’ Gerald said, his eyes sparkling. ‘And who’s we?’
‘Oh, right,’ Mateo said. ‘This is my best friend, Abelard Abernathy. And this is my – this is Jen Blake.’
Jen noted the hesitation but this wasn’t the time to explore that particular situation.
‘Welcome, welcome!’ Gerald ushered them further into the library to where a group of chairs was arranged around a low table. Gerald beamed at them as they settled down. Jen hadn’t known what to expect from the leader of a commune of conspiracy theorists but this grandfatherly figure wasn’t it. She supposed he could be hiding an insane and tyrannical nature beneath his unassuming exterior but the whole atmosphere of the place was relaxed, despite the fence.
‘So, young cousin,’ Gerald said. ‘What is it that you’ve come all this way to tell me?’
Jen watched Mateo pull in a deep breath as he began the tale. Gerald listened in silence as it unfolded. Mateo occasionally turned to Abelard or her to confirm events, and finally concluded with their escape to the warehouse and journey here. ‘And so we decided we should come and let you know what’s going on …’
Silence reigned for a long moment as Gerald looked from Mateo to Abelard to Jen and back again. Then he threw his hands in the air and let out a huge laugh.
‘Marvellous! Marvellous! You did exactly the right thing coming here, my boy! In one fell swoop you have confirmed everything I’ve been saying for years.’ He turned to Lynn, his eyes shining with a manic gleam. ‘See how I have been vindicated! The time to overthrow the artisans is at hand! We have work to do.’
* * *
Abelard looked at Mateo in alarm but all he saw on his friend’s face was amusement and excitement. Cousin Gerald had probably been a colourful family tale throughout Mateo’s childhood and the visit to the compound with his parents had turned the legend into a larger-than-life reality.
The guards at the compound entrance might not have threatened them but they had been armed. If they had weapons and enough crazy motivation there was no telling what they might do. And Mateo had just given them a reason to act, by confirming their theories.
‘Um, what kind of plans did you have in mind?’ Abelard asked, hating how tentative his voice sounded.
Gerald’s gaze swung round to rest on him and he felt like a bug under a microscope. Who was he kidding, thinking he could control the actions of a man like this in any way?
‘Ah, now there’s the question. You’ve got an intelligent friend here, Mateo. Intelligent and important. He’s the key to blowing this whole thing wide open.’
Abelard didn’t much like being talked about in the third person. He leaned forward in his seat towards Gerald, maintaining eye contact.
‘We already tried that. Weren’t you listening to what Mateo said? We were going to give the story to the media but the artisans sent armed men to capture us – or wo
rse.’
‘They’re not the only ones with guns,’ Gerald replied.
‘So what – you want to attack them?’ Abelard looked to Mateo again, hoping that the turn of the conversation would break his friend out of his hero worship. ‘I really don’t like the sound of that.’
But Mateo let him down. ‘I’m sure that’s not what Gerald meant, Abelard.’
‘No, no, no!’ Gerald said in his booming voice. ‘Of course not! All I’m saying is that the artisans don’t pose as much of a threat now that you have us on your side. We can provide protection so that you can get your message out without risk of personal harm.’
It still felt to Abelard as if they were treading a dangerous path but Gerald’s next words brought a suggestion of reason to the proceedings.
‘Your impulse to go to the viz-e-fact station was absolutely the right one. Releasing the information to the public is the best way to get change fast. But you need proof. If all you do is tell your story without anything concrete to back it up, it will be all too easy for the artisans to claim you’re delusional or lying.’
‘But how can we get proof?’ Jen asked. ‘Could Terry get copies of the records for us?’
‘Maybe,’ Gerald said, ‘but copies obtained from outside Gadg-E-Tech could still be called into question.’
‘What about the Gadg-E-Tech brain-e-facts?’ Abelard was starting to see a way to combine his promise to Terry with the next steps of exposing the artisans’ conspiracy. ‘They’re technically Gadg-E-Tech property and are viewed by the public as simple machines so they could basically testify on our behalf about information from the Gadg-E-Tech file-e-facts.’
