by RF Hurteau
“Excuse me,” she said softly, her voice pained. Then she rushed past him, down the hall and out of sight.
Edwin watched her go, then faced the door. This didn’t bode well for Nero’s mood. He braced himself, and knocked.
“Enter,” snapped a voice from within. He opened the door, tentatively.
Nero scowled at him. “Where have you been?” he growled. “You think I have nothing better to do than sit around, waiting for you for an hour?”
“Apologies,” said Edwin, insincerely, as he pulled up a chair. He wanted to quip that Nero had hardly been sitting around, given the state his daughter had left in. But instead, he settled for “Urgent matters required my attention.”
“The only thing urgent around here is the need to find someone who knows how to do their job and mind their place. Do not let it happen again.”
Edwin nodded, but he knew that Nero was only posturing. He had no power on his own to remove Edwin from his position. The Council had handpicked him, and he had been able to charm most of them. Nero was the only one who refused to extend a hand of, if not friendship, at least cooperation.
“I’ve taken the liberty of writing down your notes for you since you could not be bothered to be here to do it yourself. I have other things to attend to.” He shoved a piece of paper across the desk to Edwin, who took it and stood.
“Very good, then,” said Edwin, making to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I thought you had other things to attend to?” said Edwin.
Nero tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk. “Other things with you. I have to attend to other things with you,” he corrected, speaking slowly, as if Edwin was having a hard time understanding a simple concept.
“Again, apologies,” said Edwin, retaking his seat. “How can I be of service?”
“I need you to give me an update on the Anniversary. How are we progressing on the pageantry and such?”
“Everything is well in hand. We have a good team making sure everything will run like clockwork. Sylvia is coordinating everyone.”
“What about the speeches? Have those been selected?”
Edwin nodded. “Yes, I handpicked the speakers myself. We need only arrange the timing. Now, I assume we will not be making attending these mandatory, since that will take up practically the entire day, what with the Council’s speeches in the evening—”
“The new speeches will be mandatory attendance.”
Edwin appeared surprised but recovered quickly. “All right, it’s a bit late in the game to make that kind of an announcement, but we’ll muddle through. I’ll see about getting the word out.”
“What are you talking about?” Nero growled. “The word is already out, everyone knows the evening is mandatory attendance.”
“Yes, of course, Councilor, but if we are going to also require the morning to be—”
“I swear, it is like trying to reason with a pile of rocks!” Nero exclaimed. “Must I spell it out for you? Shall I simply do your entire job for you?” Edwin had to admit that he was, in fact, having a difficult time following. But Nero’s mocking tone only made him angry. He struggled to keep his features neutral as he waited for Nero to continue. It wouldn’t do to go riling him up even further.
“The new speakers will be speaking during the evening,” Nero said slowly, as if this should have been painfully obvious. “The Council members will speak in the morning. People will not be required to attend those.” He glared at Edwin. “And don’t bother pretending that you’re upset or confused about it either. It’s the same drivel year after year. Nobody listens anyway.”
Edwin found himself at a loss for words. The idea that the Council speeches would not be required listening was unprecedented. He wanted to point out that there was no way he possibly could have been expected to know something like that, but he thought better of it. “Of course,” Edwin said, instead. “How foolish of me.”
Nero paced the room. “This is the one hundred twenty-fifth Anniversary of Sanctuary,” he said, “The celebrations must be grander than ever before. What about the food? That’s all taken care of?”
“Yes, the feast has been planned to your specifications; although, if I could just point out, I’ve spoken to Agriculture, and they say the order is, um…exorbitant.” Actually, the man had said it was a wasteful act of sheer idiocy, but Nero might not like to hear that. “He said that it will severely deplete our current stores, and cause some significant decreases in rations.”
“We’ll manage,” Nero said. “Is that it?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Do you have anything else to tell me?”
Edwin felt his mouth twitch. Nero had been the one who said there were things to talk about. Why was he making Edwin feel like a waste of his precious time? “No, sir,” he said, coolly.
“Good. Get out.”
Edwin did not need to be told twice. Once outside, he looked over Nero’s list. Typical, he thought to himself as he read each carefully bulleted point.
*Address failure of Security forces to quell general Human unrest surrounding upcoming festivities.
*Address issues concerning rampant disregard of Tube safety regulations.
*Remind all Sigil staff that Therans do not celebrate birthdays, and that the covering of Councilor Mendon's office with streamers and confetti was both unwelcome and insulting.
This one made Edwin chuckle. The list went on like that for a full page, but yielded very little insightful information. Thankfully, his chat with Nero had given him plenty to think about.
Tapestry cells throughout Sanctuary had been holding regular meetings the past few weeks. As a leader in the organization, he had found himself called to several just in the last few days. The increase in activity had made him nervous, but with the celebration tomorrow, it was crucial that they had everything ready to go. They planned to use the Anniversary as a cover for several big operations, and there was a lot at stake. Nero’s switch in the order of the proceedings was a hiccup, but not insurmountable. It just meant tweaking a few details. If the Council members themselves would not be occupied in the evening, Tapestry would need to have eyes on them.
Edwin strode quickly to the lift, and had his finger on the keypad when he heard a voice behind him. “Edwin!”
Edwin’s finger hovered over the keypad as he debated whether or not he could get away with pretending he hadn’t heard. The voice belonged to Councilor Prevos, an Elf with a penchant for long-winded conversations. Prevos, unlike Nero, was quite fond of Edwin, and would often find excuses to drag him into long, meandering conversations. At first, Edwin had been able to cherry-pick these ramblings for interesting or important details, but over time it had become more and more of a chore, as the Elf was prone to repeating himself and forgetting his point. Edwin found it hard to focus, instead retreating inside his mind to think about other, more important issues. He would occasionally nod, to show he was still listening, but it was rare that he walked away from Prevos with anything more interesting than a stiff neck and a backache from sitting too long.
He closed his eyes and composed himself, then spun around, greeting Prevos with what he hoped was a convincing smile. “Councilor, how have you been?” he asked.
It was well over an hour before Edwin was finally able to break away. He was drained, and he still had a long night ahead of him.
Reaching the main lobby, he spotted Nelson, who was acting strangely. He was wandering around, wringing his hands and looking at his watch. When he saw Edwin, he ran over.
“Edwin! I need to talk to you!”
“Not now,” Edwin said, “Are you crazy? Your shift starts in ten minutes, you should be getting ready.”
“That’s the problem,” said Nelson, looking around. Though Edwin was fairly certain no one was listening, Nelson’s strange behavior would be sure to draw unwanted attention quickly enough. “I’ll be working tonight. I won’t be able to attend—”
“Sh
h! Shut it, you idiot!” Edwin hissed. “In here.”
He half-dragged Nelson backwards, into the lift, and pressed the button for the fourth floor. When the doors had slid shut and the lift began to move upward, he waved his wrist in front of the keypad and depressed a small red button. The lift stopped halfway between the second and third levels. “Make it fast, or someone will get suspicious,” said Edwin, angrily. “What couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”
“It’s Ben, he’s gone missing.”
Edwin frowned. “I know, I helped Sylvia look for him earlier. She was acting kind of peculiar. You’re sure he didn’t just go home?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I checked.”
“I don’t have time for this right now,” said Edwin sharply. “Get to the point.”
“Well, apparently Ben was snooping around in a storage area, and he found…something.”
“This is a bad time for guessing games, Nelson.”
“Well, I’m not sure exactly what he found. But Sylvia said he was on the comm with her, and he was going on about this, this moving storage room. He said the whole room went down, just like the lift. He said he was maybe three floors down.”
“Three floors down? You mean he found a moving room and ended up in, what, the Geothermal Plant?”
“No, that’s what Sylvia thought, too, at first. But he specifically said he wasn’t in Geothermal. He said he was somewhere else.”
Edwin said nothing, thinking hard.
“I think he must have stumbled on something big, Edwin. I’ve never heard of anything but the penal colony that far down. And secret rooms that move? And then to just…vanish?” Nelson shook his head. “There’s something more there, I can feel it. And whatever it is, I’m scared for Ben. Do you think…do you think Tapestry could help him?”
Edwin pressed the button again, and the lift started to move once more. “So, either he’s still hiding down there, or he’s been found and sent to Geothermal. I’ll reach out to my contacts to see if there’s any record of him being taken in. If he’s in Geo, it won’t be easy to get him out,” he said quickly, “but it isn’t impossible. We’ve managed it a few times in the past with higher profile targets. However, after the Anniversary, I have a feeling everything’s going to get a lot harder, so we have to act now. But usually we’d have more time to plan…bah!” He shook his head, frustrated but determined. He didn’t know Ben, but he knew Sylvia, and she was a good person. If there was a chance he could help her, he’d take it. “I’ll get someone to cover your shift tonight,” he said. “You’re coming to the meeting.”
* * *
The Tapestry recruits filtered into the room, individuals or groups of two or three at a time. Although the labyrinth of passageways in Sigil’s lower level afforded a fair amount of privacy, it had become increasingly difficult to get everyone down without being seen, especially now that they’d begun meeting more frequently. Edwin sat tensely, as they entered.
Nelson was, naturally, the first to arrive. He sat down next to Edwin, looking expectant. Edwin frowned. “It isn’t good,” he said. “I’ve heard back. He’s in Geo, all right.”
Nelson rubbed the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “Damn,” he said, dejectedly. “I was really hoping to be wrong, for once.”
More people entered. “We’ll talk about it soon,” Edwin promised.
There was Harlan, from Agriculture, and Denton and Percy from Security. They sat down silently, waiting. Sterling and Briggs, both members of the Sanitation crew, appeared a few minutes later, followed closely by Jackson, from Health Services. It was an odd mix, and the members would normally have very little to do with one another. But these were not normal times. Molly, a teacher, arrived last.
“Okay, that’s everyone tonight, I think,” said Edwin, leaning forward to address the group. “Let’s get started.”
Sterling sat back, crossing her arms and pursing her lips in annoyance. “I don’t know why we bother. Always just seems like more of the same, to me.”
“Mostly, we just sit around and talk,” complained Denton in agreement. “I’m tired of talking. When are we gonna see some real action?”
“You know perfectly there will be plenty of action during the Anniversary!” snapped Jackson, “or do all those big muscles take so much effort to maintain that your brain is too shriveled to remember?”
Denton made a move to stand, and Edwin knew he had to change the subject, fast. Tempers were short, nerves were frayed, and everyone was on edge. “Sit down, Denton. And listen up. Your little shenanigans haven’t gone unnoticed by the Council. Just today they gave me orders to deal with all the little skirmishes that have been breaking out. I’m not an idiot. I know you and your cronies have instigated a lot of these things. You need to cool it. You’re going to draw attention to yourself. And that could draw attention to Tapestry.”
“I can’t help it,” said Denton. “I can’t stand it. I can’t stand to see their ilk strutting around, acting like they own the place.”
“They do own the place,” retorted Briggs. “They make the rules; they enforce the rules. They decide who gets paid, who gets fed.” He shrugged. “Sounds like ownership to me.”
“This is our home!” Denton said, furiously. “They have no right!”
“Calm down!” Edwin said, angry now. “You aren’t telling us anything we don’t already know. You’re just wasting everyone’s time. Just sit down. Promise me you’ll keep a lid on your vigilantism and shut your mouth.”
Denton glowered, but gave a grudging nod.
Nelson was practically squirming in his chair, anxious to speak. Edwin ignored him. “Harlan, I addressed the food issue with Nero. He didn’t budge. The feast will go on as planned.”
The vein in Harlan’s forehead was threatening to pop, it was throbbing so hard. “I’ve been going over the numbers for weeks!” he said, angrily. “If we prepare this much food, we’ll have people starving in the streets in three months’ time. How can they be so…so…careless?”
“Maybe that’s what they’re hoping,” said Jackson. “Maybe they want to fatten us up, get us nice and complacent, and then just let us all starve.”
“There are simpler ways to get rid of Humans, if that’s what their goal is,” Edwin reasoned. “I don’t think that’s it. I agree it doesn’t add up. But for now, Harlan, just do the best you can.”
“I’m a farmer, not a miracle worker,” grumbled Harlan.
“Okay, next order of business. I had the opportunity at this morning’s meeting to assign the rest of the speakers for tomorrow. Nelson, how is your speech coming?”
“Fantastic!” said Nelson, forgetting his worry for a moment. “It’s going to be really moving!”
“Seriously?” said Sterling, “You’re letting the kid speak? Who else?”
“No one from this group. I had considered Denton, but apparently, he isn’t very well-liked. Nelson here is a much more consumer-friendly face.”
Nelson nodded eagerly. “It’s true!” he confirmed, “Everyone likes me!”
“As far as timing goes, these speeches will be taking the evening slots traditionally held by the Council members. The Council members, in turn, will be speaking at the beginning of the ceremonies.”
The room filled with a buzz of voices as everyone sat up, all trying to be heard at once.
“Will you all please keep your voices down?” said Edwin, struggling to be heard. “It’s okay. The evening speeches are still going to be mandatory attendance. Nero has confirmed this. Now, our window of opportunity has not changed, but it is somewhat complicated by the fact that several of our members will be giving speeches during that time. If I’d known, I would have gone outside of the organization for speakers. Backing out now would look suspicious.”
“What does the Weaver say?” Molly asked, and several of the others perked up, interested.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I will. I wanted to settle things here first.”
“Speaking
of settling things—” began Nelson, but Edwin cut him off.
“Not yet. We’re going to need some volunteers to keep tabs on the Councilors during the festivities. If they aren’t going to be speaking, we need to make sure we don’t run into them. Harlan, Briggs, you’re indisposed, obviously. Any takers?”
“I will, I guess,” said Sterling with a shrug. “I’m just a floater, anyways.”
“Okay, great. You’ll be in charge of Mendon. I’ll see about getting you a comm.”
“I can take one,” said Denton with a wicked grin. Edwin shook his head.
“You aren’t especially good at stealth, Denton. No, not you either, Percy,”
he replied, as Percy looked ready to say something. “We need someone a little less conspicuous. Molly, I’d ask you, but I know you’re part of the transfer op, so that’s no good.” He bit his lip thoughtfully. “All right. I’ll get some people from other cells to tail the other Councilors.” There were several nods of agreement.
Nelson’s leg was bobbing up and down in an irritated manner as he waited, impatiently, to make his request known.
“How do we know the other cells will do their part?” inquired Molly, her face full of concern. “I mean, we’re going to be moving a lot of supplies, and a lot of people. It’s a huge risk. There’s no way it’ll go unnoticed for long. The Elves will double down on Security after it’s been discovered.”
“I agree with Molly,” said Briggs. “Up until now, little missions here and there, it’s been easy to sweep those under the rug. But this is big. They’re not stupid. They’ll figure out that this was an organized effort. They’re going to start looking for us.”
“Let them come!” said Denton. “I don’t care. Let them find us! How many are there in Tapestry, now? A lot, right? It’s time we stopped sneaking around in the shadows and made some real changes around here!”
