His heart wasn’t in it.
“No.” Somewhere between a statement and a command, as if she could simply refuse the reality of the situation, force it to conform to her will. “Couldn’t be. You wouldn’t...Oh, Michael. Tell me that you didn’t...”
He tried to take her hand, but Alice pulled away.
“You need Auditors, Alice.” He kept it simple and honest. Alice was pragmatic above all things, and it seemed best to appeal to her rational side, and hope that it wouldn’t try and take his head off. “You are deficient in both talent and experience. Let’s face it – you have Xia, an unstable psychopath with a terrifying protocol he can’t control, and a bunch of half-trained kids. My protocol is limited – we both know that. No matter how powerful an energy manipulator I may be, the limitation of a daily use restricts my value in the field to an occasional surprise attack, at best. I’ve been implanted to make up for those deficiencies. A similar surgery to the one Gaul performed on himself, though the implant itself is very different. Gaul didn’t like the idea any better than you do – but he saw the necessity, the same way I’m sure you will.”
Alice peered at his bloodshot eyes, her expression tight and unreadable.
“You mean the surgery that made Mitzi,” she said softly, her voice cold. “And killed six other people, as I recall.”
“Like I said, he continued to work on it during the intervening years, computer modeling and the like. He made improvements. The risk was much lower,” Michael protested weakly. “It was worth it. Once I finish adjusting to the implant, I will be able to manipulate and project any kind of energy. I’ll be able to absorb it. I will be the Auditor you require, Alice. You need me.”
Michael thought that she might hit him. The idea must have crossed her mind – her body tensed, her grip on his neck tight and firm. She settled for grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him.
“You are damn right I do,” Alice snarled. “I need you alive, Mikey. I need there to be someone to remember for me. Do you know what Auditors do, you fucking idiot? We die. We all die out there. Why would you want that?”
Michael gently peeled her hands from him, then he pulled her close, putting his arms around her stiff shoulders.
“Why would I let you face that alone?”
***
Alex and Katya sat side by side in matching office chairs, the kind that companies buy in bulk for call centers and administrative staff, and watched Dr. Graaf pour hot chocolate from a brushed-metal carafe into three eggshell-colored mugs with steady, economic movements. He was still dressed in his “robes” – which, under better light, was obviously some sort of plastic hazmat suit, the kind of outfit that workers in chemical plants and brownfields wore. The hood was pulled back to expose his salt-and-pepper hair, and there was a mask with a ventilator tucked into a kangaroo pocket, along with a pair of elbow-length gloves.
“A cult, you say? I am familiar with many of the rumors attached to the Far Shores community, but this is the first time I have been introduced to that particular variation.”
Dr. Graaf chuckled pleasantly while he handed around two of the mugs, keeping the third for himself, taking a seat behind a desk as bare-bones and cheap as the chairs they sat in. For some reason, his amiable demeanor and faint European accent made Alex think of a dentist – though he couldn’t recall ever seeing a dentist anything like that.
“How amusing. I can see how tonight’s activities would have played very nicely into your suspicions. I can assure you, however, that we were simply engaging in a study of Etheric properties – both the stated and actual purpose of the Far Shores, I might add – best done nocturnally, for reasons that it would take a very long time for me to explain.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Alex said, shooting Katya a pointed look that she refused to acknowledge. “I hope we didn’t screw up your experiment.”
“Hardly. You need not worry, Mr...?”
“Warner. I mean, Alex. Call me Alex, Dr. Graaf.”
“Well then, Alex, have no fear. Our observations were largely completed by the time of your discovery, and more-than-sufficient personnel remain to conclude the work.”
“Oh. Well, good, then.”
Alex sipped his cocoa and did his best to look apologetic. Katya crossed her arms and glared across the desk at Dr. Graaf, radiating suspicion.
“Now, if we could return to my original question, to which I note that I never actually received an answer – what exactly were you two young people doing out on the beach tonight, well past curfew?”
Alex glanced at Katya, but without a great deal of hope. She seemed determined not to cooperate, or even speak – standard operating procedure for captured assassins. Then again, they hadn’t been on an operation – they had been spying on their hosts, for reasons that Alex still wasn’t totally clear on. Nonetheless, it seemed that the responsibility for getting them out of whatever trouble they were in would rest solely on his narrow and unreliable shoulders.
“Um. Well, we haven’t had a chance to look around the place much, since we arrived, and nobody told us anything about the Far Shores. Plus, you know, we are housed in a basically empty building, and everything around here looks new, like it was put together in a hurry, and I guess we got sort of, ah, curious. Suspicious. Whichever. Katya and I have been through some rough experiences lately, Dr. Graaf, and it seemed like finding out more about you guys, before we got another surprise, would be a good idea.”
Dr. Graaf slurped cocoa noisily while regarding them over the lip of his mug.
“Understandable, given the circumstances,” Dr. Graaf said, pausing to take a napkin from his desk and wipe foam from his neatly trimmed moustache. “Our organization is rather tragically misunderstood, and given what I have been told of the rigors of the Program, as well as my limited knowledge of your rather difficult personal circumstances, I believe I can sympathize with your position.”
“I really appreciate that, Doctor, and...”
“Why at night?”
Katya cut into the conversation, her voice cold and serious, ignoring the pleading looks that Alex gave her.
“I’m sorry, dear. What was your question?”
Katya sneered at Dr. Graaf’s solicitousness.
“I think you heard me fine, but whatever. Why did the test need to be done at night, Doctor?”
“Um, Katya, don’t you think...”
Dr. Graaf held up a hand, and Alex closed his mouth.
“I believe I explained that already,” Dr. Graaf said with good humor, his attention totally focused on Katya. “For the particular tests we were conducting, nocturnal examination guaranteed the best results. Of course, I can’t share the exact nature of the tests with you – confidentiality and all – but I assure you, they were entirely non-nefarious.”
Katya shook her head and smirked.
“You wanna know what I think?”
Alex shook his head, but no one was paying him any attention.
“Certainly, my dear. Please, do share.”
“I don’t think time of day was important at all,” Katya said, leaning forward to stare directly in Dr. Graaf’s watery brown eyes. “I think you picked tonight for the same reason that I did – you knew that Alice Gallow and the rest of the Auditors were out on assignment. You didn’t want them to discover you doing whatever it was you were doing.”
They exchanged ambiguous stares. Alex was torn between anger at Katya’s screwing up his attempt to talk their way out of trouble, and surprise that she knew the Auditors were in the field, and picked the time for their unauthorized exploration based on that information. Clearly, she had more in mind than what she had chosen to share with him – which left him feeling left out, a little hurt, and more than a little annoyed.
“Are you certain the timing isn’t coincidental?”
Dr. Graaf’s suggestion sounded weak, even to Alex. He was certain Katya would laugh contemptuously, denounce him as a liar – something dramatic. He was disappointed.
“Could be,” Katya said, sitting back in her chair and shrugging. “It’s not the kind of thing I absolutely must share with Miss Gallow.”
Dr. Graaf studied her closely, his expression unreadable. Alex felt like there was a whole other conversation happening to which he wasn’t privy, despite the fact that they all occupied the same room.
“The same could be said of your adventures this evening,” Dr. Graaf suggested, humor creeping back into his voice. “Assuming there are no repeat incidents.”
“Right back at you, Dr. Graaf. One test while the Auditors happen to be away, I don’t see how that’s a big deal. But a policy of conducting tests in secret, well, that’s the sort of thing that Miss Gallow would want to know about, I would think.”
Dr. Graaf hesitated a moment longer, then smiled – but to Alex’s eyes, the smile looked false.
“Good,” he said, clapping his plump hands together. “I’m so glad that we understand each other. I will have someone escort you back to your rooms. I bid you both a very good night.”
***
The remaining students clustered in one corner of the dining hall, which felt particularly enormous in the wake of the Anathema raid and the relocation of the Program to the Far Shores. Even at the best of times, the room had never been much more than half full, but now it barely managed a quarter of capacity at peak times. Eight in the evening was not a peak time. Unconsciously, they all picked seats facing away from the empty chairs, even if it meant that some groups clustered unusually close on one side of the table.
Eerie had to divide her attention between the tray she was carrying, making sure the milk didn’t slop out of her cereal bowl, and watching where she was going, so it took quite a while to cross the room to the table where two others were already seated. She took the seat they left for her; Sarah on her right hand, tying her matted hair back with a rubber band, while Vivik shook pepper onto his salad to the left.
“You’re eating food, Eerie,” Sarah said, eyeing her fruit loops and toast covered with honey, and then patting her blue head in approval. “Nice job.”
“I am trying,” Eerie hummed, opening a sugar packet and pouring it on her cereal. “Rebecca says I have to.”
“It’s probably a good idea,” Vivik said, cutting a pork chop with a steak knife. “Even if Rebecca says so.”
“Vivik, be nice,” Sarah chided. “Rebecca means well.”
“Or so she claims,” he countered, pausing to chew. “I’m not so sure anymore.”
“You’re really negative lately,” Sarah observed, wrapping linguini around her fork. “What’s gotten into you?”
Vivik had to think it over for a minute.
“Am I? I don’t know. Maybe you’re right.”
“Sarah is right,” Eerie agreed, in her singsong voice, tearing open another sugar packet. “Vivik is a downer.”
“Damn. Well, if you think so, Eerie, then it must be true,” Vivik said glumly. “I don’t know what’s bugging me, I guess. Everything lately just seems so...”
Sarah interrupted, leaning over the table to steal a baby carrot from his salad.
“Maybe you’re just lonely? I mean, Alex is at the Far Shores, Ana barely even shows up for class these days, and Renton looks like he might actually graduate.”
“If he does, then it’s only because Anastasia told him to,” Vivik replied, cutting slightly overcooked meat from the bone. “And I’m not lonely. I’m actually super busy – I’ve got an extra math course, and I’m tutoring a couple of kids in statistics.”
“Classes are not a replacement for friends, Vivik.”
“Maybe not for you. Besides, why would I miss Alex? He’ll be back on Friday.”
“I miss him, even though I am busy,” Eerie stated, staring at the brightly colored rings in the spoonful of milk she held about halfway to her mouth. “Alex is stupid, but I miss him anyway.”
Sarah laughed gently, while Eerie took a deep breath, and then swallowed the contents of the spoon with a reluctance most people reserve for foul-tasting medicine. She spent the next half a minute making faces and attempting to wash it down with purple Kool-Aid.
“What do they have you doing at Processing, Eerie? You’re down there every night until dark. The only time I see you these days is in class.”
“Upgrades,” Eerie explained, gasping and pushing her tray away. “The Etheric Network is projected to see a lot more activity in the coming year, so I’m expanding its capabilities to handle an influx of new users.”
“New users?” Vivik looked puzzled. “Like who?”
“Dunno,” Eerie said, shrugging and removing the cellophane from a piece of hard candy. “They don’t tell me.” She popped the green cube in her mouth with obvious relish.
“Figures. What about you, Sarah? Do you have your field study assignment yet?”
Sarah finished chewing pasta with her hand in front of her mouth before she answered. Vivik found her to be extremely well mannered, for a girl with dreadlocks.
“I’ll be working for the Hegemony, obviously. Family business and all that.”
“Really?” Vivik’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. “I always figured you would work at the Academy after graduation.”
“Oh, come on, Vivik,” Sarah laughed. “I’m just as obligated to my cartel as anyone else.”
“Of course,” Vivik said darkly, returning his attention to his meal.
Five.
“You may have heard certain rumors. I wish to assure you that they are mistaken,” Alice Gallow informed the worried gathering of the Jiang Cartel. “I am not a monster. A monster would not bother with a civilized dialogue like the one we are currently enjoying.”
“Of course.”
Mei Jiang licked her lips nervously, unable to find any more words. Only years of instilled discipline and liberal use of her protocol kept her hands still and her voice from quavering.
“Otherwise, I would not bother to ask for your cooperation, no? If the stories about me were true, then in all likelihood I would subjugate your cartel by force. Or even call down the rest of the Auditors and expunge all of you from existence, to be certain that the infection has been contained, that the Anathema in our ranks have been well and truly purged. Don’t you think that would be simpler than having a chat and a cup of tea?”
Mei nodded her head, quietly weaving an empathic shield around her cartel, granting them the emotional fortitude to contend with the rigors of the Audit without faltering or openly panicking. It was all she could do to protect her people in the face of the dreaded Chief Auditor.
“Speaking of which,” Alice said lightly, her eyes settling on each member of the assembly in turn, “this is excellent tea. I always enjoy my visits to your plantations, I must admit.”
“Would you care for...”
Alice waved her off, tossing the hundred-year-old china cup to the side to shatter on the stone with a smile.
“I’m fine, thank you. As I was saying,” Alice said, crossing her legs and toying casually with the end of one of her high boot laces, “the rumors are incorrect. This is simply an informational visit, and I am nothing more than a servant of the law we all follow.”
Mei nodded her frantic agreement.
“But if I were a monster...”
Alice trailed off, training her awful gaze on Mei in particular. The crazed joy of her smile was at complete odds with her cold and calculating eyes.
“If I were,” Alice mused, one hand trailing idly across the oiled surface of the shotgun on her lap, “I’d be a damn good one.”
The room was silent save for the rustling of cloth and the occasional soft noises the children made – and even they were subdued, whether by the blanket effects of Mei’s empathic soothing, or by some innate understanding of the gravity of the situation. She could feel the quiet desperation in the occasional glances that various members of the cartel risked, and understood the rationale – Mei Jiang was the only officer of the cartel present, even if
she was the most junior in the cartel hierarchy, and in the absence of the rest of their leadership, the responsibility for dealing with the Auditor fell upon her shoulders.
“Forgive me for presuming,” Mei began modestly, her eyes downcast. “But I assume that you are here, Auditor Gallow, in regard to our missing cartel members?”
“Yes and no,” Alice said, turning the full force of her manic grin on Mei. “Yes, that is why I am here. And no, they aren’t missing. They are dead.”
Mei Jiang quelled the shocked murmuring in the room with an exercise of empathic will. There would be time to mourn the loss of spouses and children later. Now that her worst fears had been realized, all that remained was the possibility of preserving some portion of her hereditary cartel.
“I see,” Mei said, forcing the image of her uncle from her mind’s eye. His strength could not avail her from beyond the grave. “That is most unfortunate news, of which we have heard nothing. Might we be permitted to know more?”
Alice Gallow nodded approvingly, putting her boots up on a four-hundred-year-old mahogany table.
“Tough cookie, aren’t you? That’s good. And you have a right to know, I suppose – when we found them, they were already dead. In a compound beside the Fuxian Lake, in Yunnan, which we had under observation as an Anathema outpost.” Alice Gallow toyed with one of her hair bindings, which appeared to be a fluted, carved piece of yellowed bone. “We visited it yesterday, expecting to find Anathema doing Anathemic things. Instead, we found corpses from three separate cartels, as well as a number of seemingly unrelated civilian groups. This, you understand, is a bit of a puzzle. Now,” Alice said, sitting up and slapping her thighs excitedly, “I got the ball rolling. Story time. What the hell is going on?”
“I do not know, exactly,” Mei Jiang answered truthfully, pushing aside grief, fear, and confusion, for the sake of her cartel – and, assuming she could navigate their way through this crisis, the cartel would very much be hers. “What I do know, I will share with you.”
The Far Shores (The Central Series) Page 12
