“You can return me.”
“Yes, but I need the facilities to do it. That’s DanuVitro’s most secure area. And Stavon has discovered where my true allegiance lies.”
She wilted against her best efforts at optimism.
Tolman stepped forward. “What is Byn planning to do?”
“He wants Margi to kill Stavon.”
She turned away in disbelief.
“You’re the only one who could get near him,” Rolo said.
“Stavon’s too smart for that,” she mumbled.
Rolo made his way to the door. “We’re meeting at the old settlement at tomorrow’s sunrise.” As he turned to leave, he added, “You have until then to find a better solution.” He passed through the doorway and was gone.
She couldn’t look at Tolman.
He stood still as she took a moment to herself, then motioned to her. “Come with me,” he said and together they walked into the new day.
Rolo was trekking back toward Danu and didn’t turn back to them. He didn’t linger on that which didn’t matter. He’d made his peace with the situation, and she’d best do the same. Any desire to posture unfairness was met with the realization that Rolo had neared Stavon for some time to earn his place in the research area. The debasing acts he must have carried out for the greater good would be beyond anything she had done or would need to do.
The morning light cast against the long blades of grass. Ferns lazily spiraled upward, now beginning to relax into the day. The forest stood taller against its floor as it stretched from its slumber.
Margi supposed that the most beautiful day one would see was the day upon which one might die. She had yet a single day to steal and hoped for another before Stavon overtook them.
She imagined what it would be like to have someone else inhabit her body. She had Rivner’s body but that was much as her own in likeness as well. She had thought of Rivner on occasion, felt herself an unwitting invader of the newly deceased, taking residence in another’s own very intimate home. Yet to have someone else use her body at will was a cruel thing, a slavery of so much depravity none was left to the imagination. She wasn’t even sure that Holan deserved it. But then again, such unfathomable realities were to be especially reserved for ones such as him.
Tolman stood before a towering tree and retrieved a box hidden in the bushes. He took out some pegs and began poking them into little hollows in the tree. The trunk’s diameter was wide but not too wide for him to embrace as he held on while scaling the steps of pegs. Not one broke.
He reached for a thick, brown twine knotted around a hook in the elbow of a limb and gradually let loose its length. Leveraged high above him was a case bound with the rope, now being lowered.
She helped stabilize the case as it came down. “What is it?”
“Weapons. You’re now in training. Although from what I hear, you’re a natural.” He winked.
She took hold of one side of the case with Tolman carrying the other side and walked. They came upon a small clearing. He knelt and tilted up the lid. Guns like the one she used on the hover car were layered atop one another.
“What are those?” she asked pointing to the larger ones.
“Last resorts.”
He retrieved two of the smaller weapons, looked them over, and gave one to her.
“Push this here. That will let you fire.”
She did.
“See that branch?”
“Yes.” She attempted to brace herself for a pretend battle.
“Okay, now align it through the sight here. Watch me.” He aimed the gun at the branch. She watched how he stood as he held the gun and took aim. He fired a green shot at the limb, exploding it off the tree.
“Got that?”
“Yeah,” she replied, recovering from the effects of seeing the shattering wood.
She took aim, mimicking his stance, and fired. A branch fell to the ground.
“Not the one I was aiming for,” she said.
“If you get one, sometimes that’s good enough,” he replied.
Tolman always made her feel that the best she gave at any given moment was all right. He smiled as he looked at the fallen branch. She hoped that her efforts would suffice, especially for any good she would do for him; she didn’t want to say good-bye under any circumstances. That day would not be so beautiful. But it would come as all days did.
He had her take aim at another target. Before long, she was hitting them consistently, though the thought nagged her that she was truly out of her element. Time would tell if she had the will to see it through and the skill to back it up.
He packed up the case, and they carried it to the dwelling. She was beat, and the day was early.
Once inside, she helped him prepare a meal, and they ate. This routine in the forest, she could have this. Her mood lightened.
As they were washing the dishes, he turned away and took hold of something and faced her. “I got a treat.”
She darted her attention to him to see him offering his two clenched hands, palms down.
“Pick.”
She knew this game. “You’re already laughing.”
“Am not,” he said, laughing.
She rolled her eyes and looked at his hands. She bent down to peer up at them and then sideways, and paused to look him in the eye. She squinted and teased.
She tapped a finger on one hand.
He opened it to offer a piece of chocolate-looking candy.
She took it readily. Then, he slowly opened his other hand. Another candy. He held out his hand for her to take it.
She gradually took it from his palm, grazing her fingers along his skin.
“Thank you,” she said.
The taste of the morsel livened her mood. “You are kind,” she said and her thoughts blurred. “I don’t understand how Stavon could do such a thing,” she confessed.
“Which thing?”
“With people. I understand the attraction of self-awareness. Some would say it’s the highest form of awareness.”
“I suspect some people are lonely,” he replied with a soft voice.
Margi collected her thoughts.
He continued, “And to know another person, simply look into the eyes of someone you’ve helped.”
Stavon had to be the loneliest person in the universe. He knew no one.
“How can I be Stavon’s greatest weakness?” she asked as frustration took its toll. “I can’t do this tomorrow. I’m not a gunslinger. I’m a reporter.”
She braced her hands on his chest. “I’m a reporter!” she shouted in glee and jumped into his arms.
He held her tight.
She pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. “I’m a reporter,” she repeated. She kissed him, and he didn’t resist.
“I know how to bring down both Stavon and DanuVitro and anyone who dares follow,” she said.
He moved away from her. “How?” His hand still lay upon her hip.
“Can The Ward broadcast over the holograms?”
“Yes.”
“Rivner made a diary entry. An account of her first Great Adventure.”
Tolman sobered.
“She said that she regretted having done it.” She spoke the words gently, mindfully, knowing that his brother, Welser, was her participant.
He rubbed his hands over his entire face and said nothing.
“The diary entry was a confession from someone the people know and who was in Stavon’s closest circle,” she urged. “It’s a renouncement of support.”
He looked deep into her eyes.
She felt it. “What better way than for Stavon’s closest ally, his wife and spokeswoman, to denounce DanuVitro’s greatest benefit? The Great Adventure didn’t give her understanding. It destroyed who she was.”
Margi felt Tolman release a tension that he probably didn’t know he carried.
“I think she would want others to know,” she added. She let the voice of Rivner resonate within him.
> He came to her and cupped her cheek in his palm. His eyes were deep, dark pools, soft and placid. He slowly lowered his lips to hers.
She let her breath slip away as he pressed the small of her back to draw her closer to him.
Her fear of the day gave way to passion.
He swooped her in his arms and carried her to the bed. There, he made love to her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The morning light filtered through cracks in the doorjamb.
Margi didn’t want this day to begin. She wanted it to end, with her alive and with Tolman, in this dwelling. Yet she knew her fate lay in the events that were about to unfold. She was to live out a destiny for both her and Rivner and steer an entire civilization in a new direction. Only one person stood in their way—Stavon.
Tolman lingered a kiss. The warmth of him and the ease of his movements let her know that he would rather remain with her, together in the forest and away from the demands of others. This was their time. As fleeting as it might be, neither would have sought to rush what should be a happy ending. She couldn’t see it and might never have seen what a happy ending looked like, not in real life, an ending that she could see her way through by herself. Always the demands of others won the day and needed to win in order for her to have her day.
He rose from the mattress, slipped on his pants, and went outside. She got dressed, and together they packed the guns and set forth to the rendezvous point.
She looked in every direction for any signs of Stavon’s men. So did Tolman, it appeared. Though they walked side by side, the heaviness of the pursuit weighed in contrast to the comforts of last night’s lovemaking. She hoped that it wouldn’t be her last with him. She would soon return to Earth to reminisce on their budding love and knew she would not seek another.
Margi remembered one of the first statements Stavon made to her when she awoke as Rivner, about Rivner insisting on returning to her original body. It would be Rivner’s only tie to the life she’d led with Tolman, before going to Stavon. He could have forced her to return to a new body, yet he hadn’t. He’d granted her that one point of respect. Margi understood that, too. Rivner had earned the right.
The forest grew denser and gray rocks towered near. They came upon a fissure in the boulders and shimmied through. Soon, she heard the murmur of conversation.
The narrow passage widened to a larger space that opened to the sky. Trees had fallen over the opening, providing coverage from overhead. She glimpsed a guard pacing the cliff above.
People had gathered at the opposite end where Byn stood. Nearby, Rolo, Zarnel, and Cam observed the group. Zarnel leaned into Rolo’s embrace. She gently combed her fingers through Cam’s hair. A family. Margi had the notion that they were the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.
Byn waved his hand for Margi and Tolman to approach. “I’m so pleased you are well and safe,” he said to her. His eyes sparkled with favor.
“Have a seat.” He motioned to a section of floor.
Before she had a chance to speak with him, he walked away. He stepped onto a platform and faced everyone, his demeanor commanding, yet inclusive. “I am thankful to see you all here today. For in one day, we have far fewer members to our cause. Yet we will succeed. Danu needs us now more than ever. DanuVitro has captured our friends. We will not have them sent to Meno.”
The crowd grumbled, keeping their discord to a quiet rebuttal.
“We will retrieve our friends and set the labs ablaze tonight.”
Margi raised her hand.
“May I speak?”
Byn eyed her for a moment before motioning her to stand.
She stood before the members, some of whom she recognized from the bunker the day before. Their posture was lowered, their faces far less expressive, the telltale signs of anticipated doom.
“Thank you,” she began. “I have a proposal.”
The energy from the group collectively flowed to her, giving her the will to tell them their part in the scheme.
“Rivner kept a video diary about her Great Adventures. She recounted her time on Meno and considered her own betrayal against the woman she had been and to her loyalties of those she professed to love. It was her first death. The Great Adventure was her second. There was no coming back from that.”
Byn stepped forward. “You have this video?”
“It’s in Stavon’s penthouse.”
The group whispered among themselves.
“I know where it is,” she added. “You can broadcast it. The people only need an excuse to act. The lie will be exposed from within. Rivner will give them that.”
Zarnel stood tall beside Rolo and Cam, with the spirit of a great warrior in her stance. Greater than herself, Margi considered. Margi would need to get the video disc and felt the surge of pursuit envelope her. She, too, was ready.
Byn conferred with his council in the corner, the animated members posturing and drawing in the dirt.
Rolo and Zarnel approached Margi and Tolman.
Margi couldn’t hide the fear that now gripped her for they would also then need to return her to the lab. She faced Rolo. “DanuVitro will be well-guarded. Is it still possible?”
“Anything is possible,” he replied.
She needed to hear those words more than ever. Each member of The Ward was a unique hero, with gifts they would need to exercise to their fullest. They were the most real people she had ever met. She would soon lose them all to her own desire to return to Earth.
“You have her Path?” Tolman asked.
“Yes,” Rolo replied.
Margi held Tolman’s hand, and he responded by holding it with the firmness she welcomed.
“Holan said that many people on Danu have clones on Earth,” Margi said. “How is that?”
“In ancient times, Danu was a prosperous civilization. Every industry in every corner of the planet had purpose. Yet enough is never enough, and they looked beyond the confines of their own world to settle elsewhere. That is why Earth has identical bodies of many on Danu and with Paths that can, unfortunately, be determined. The body magnifies the reach.”
“What happened?” Margi urged.
“We only have scrolls that survived the first apocalypse. The government developed a technology to go to Earth. Once the work proved successful, companies stole it and destroyed each other with it, in part using their opposition as participants in their own experiments. War broke out.”
Margi thought of how far the war had descended through the ages to include the lives lived through the bodies in their current time, the decisions that people made to submit themselves as participants for loved ones left behind, themselves a slave resource for the lot—yet by those who had true choices.
Did those left behind know the decision being made? She never had knowledge of another’s decision to end one’s own life, save for the impulse of war or despondency. But these people had submitted themselves to an enemy that they never declared as such. A total defeat, masked by money. Yet it appeared that Tolman had known of Rivner’s decision to become someone she wasn’t. Was he unable to stop it? Had she embarked upon a singularly personal death, a follow-through that slipped by the attention of others? A decision so quick, so irretrievable beyond the instant. Her thoughts faded into obscurity, more private than she could consider for the moment.
“Over the eons, the forest overtook the rubble. Civilization rose again, and the technology was rediscovered.” Rolo paused. “It will always be discovered.”
She realized the truth of the matter.
“Stavon is Danu’s leader. He controls everything. Technology and government have the same goal,” Zarnel said.
“What’s that?” Margi asked.
“Control,” she said.
“I hope that’s not true,” Margi countered.
Zarnel began, “Any technology can be used for the common good or for its destruction. The Ward are few but our aim is true. Stavon used the technology for destruction. We must exceed their ta
rgets. Danu must begin anew just as Earth is fated to do one day.”
Margi grappled with the magnitude of The Ward’s mission and what would become of their actions. Evolution for a new day was not possible. A revolution would bring about its aim by day’s end. To think otherwise would be damning as Stavon would strike a devastating blow, bringing to bear the full wrath of someone who should know his time would eventually come to an end.
Byn took his place in front of the group. He announced that a plan was made and separated people into teams by leader. Her time had just begun.
People gathered in their groups as Byn made his way to Margi.
“Zarnel, you will take Margi and Tolman to Stavon’s penthouse. Meet us at the station afterward,” Byn said.
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
Byn turned to Margi. “You have done well, Margi Hall. We will see you through.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said and felt the personal support she had needed to feel a part of the group.
Byn walked away, and Zarnel began formulating her plan.
* * *
In the broad light of day they set out on their mission. Margi boarded Tolman’s hover car, which was hidden in an alley. He had removed the top, giving them better sight to their targets but also making them easier targets.
She could see Stavon’s penthouse structure in the distance. The space between them was a gauntlet through the wide-open sky. Less traffic indicated that the populace was watching, waiting for an outbreak of war from the safety of their homes. Even the holograms seemed to move with hesitancy. In a situation no one was supposed to know about, everyone appeared to know everything. Or at least, they imagined from their fear of what it would take to right a wrong upon them. She knew. It was her plan, after all, and she almost didn’t believe it. The others would come to know their role by day’s end.
Zarnel’s car drifted past Tolman’s. Then, she motioned her arm forward. They coasted single file down the alley, through another, and another.
Margi’s attention darted to the sky to see if someone had followed them and to windows and rooftops where a single laser shot could end their lives. She tightened her grip on her own pistol resting in her lap.
The Assumption Code Page 17
