“I have waited my whole life. In the years to come they will wonder at how it was done. How did Children of Earth gather so many people, how did they draw together their plans with such perfection? The answer is simple. Patience.”
“And now we are ready for the Atrium once again.”
“Yes, we are.”
“We have learned from the last time we were there. We will not fail again.”
Jozef worked his jaw ruefully. “It is a shame that not all of our number understood the virtue of patience throughout the years. That ill-conceived assault on the Atrium almost cost us everything.”
Gault seemed baffled for a moment. “Blake and his men took a chance, it’s true, but–”
“Blake defied my orders. He and those he took with him acted rashly. There was word that the Stormgates had opened, true, but we were not yet ready to put our plan into action.” Jozef’s eyes narrowed. “It is fortunate that the Enforcers did not put the pieces together and come looking for us afterwards. We were not strong enough to hold them off then. All would have been lost.”
“Mother watches over us. She keeps us safe.”
Jozef favoured him with a smile. “Yes. I think that is true.” He clasped Gault’s shoulder firmly. “Now, to the task at hand. We have many floors to climb. Gather the others, and make sure those in Lux and elsewhere begin preparations.”
“Of course, Jozef.”
“I will join you presently to give one final address to the children.”
Gault turned and walked from the room, and Jozef looked about for one last time. His eyes were drawn to the corner, where a rusted metal pipe snaked upward to the ceiling. He considered it for a moment, then walked forward.
Slipping his hand around the cool metal, Jozef pulled himself up, bracing his feet against the walls and wiggling his shoes into the joins in the cladding to provide extra purchase. He had repeated this routine many times over the years, and the climb came naturally to him. In a few seconds he had reached the window that looked out across the landscape, and he beheld the world below in the morning light.
Jozef felt his breath lodge in his throat. No matter how many times he looked upon her, Mother still managed to stun him with her beauty, even now in this horrid, defiled state in which mankind had left her. He thought of how she had watched over her children as they’d evolved from tiny and insignificant single celled organisms to the complex, sentient creatures they’d eventually become. After all those countless days, those millions of years, how must she have felt to see those very same children abandon her when she most needed them?
“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he strained his neck to look outward. “You deserved better, Mother. Today, your healing will take a great leap forward.”
He stared out into the sunlight for a moment longer, then climbed carefully back to the floor again. He dusted a patch of grime from his clothes, then made his way over to the table and moved the bonsai again, centring it within the patch of sunlight that was already beginning to narrow.
Then he gathered his things and left the room for the last time.
24
Knile came to suddenly, the sound of nearby footsteps triggering survival instincts he had developed long ago. He sat up and reached behind his back, his fingers closing around the shiv in his belt, but then Roman appeared in the doorway and he relaxed.
“Hey, don’t gut me,” Roman said, feigning alarm. “I’m just the messenger.”
“Sorry,” Knile said, getting up from the bench and allowing his hand to drop away from his belt. He scratched at his head as he attempted to shake off sleep. “Old habits, y’know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Knile gathered up his holophone from the table and followed Roman out into the corridor.
“What’s going on?”
“Silvestri’s brought together his war council, or whatever he calls it.” Roman gave him a smirk as they started forward. “You might have heard about it if you hadn’t been watching the back of your eyelids.”
Knile punched him good-naturedly on the shoulder. “There’s this new concept I heard about. It’s called sleep.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. I just tried it for” – he checked his wristwatch – “three hours, after working on DNA shit for almost forty-eight hours straight.”
“Sleep is a myth,” Roman said. “At least around here.”
“So I take it you haven’t gotten any just lately?”
Roman made a curt razzing sound. “As if. I’ve been working on Yun’s semiconductor processing line this whole time.”
“Any progress?”
“Yeah, I think we’ve got there after about ten thousand misfires. We won’t know for sure until we step up to the Stormgates, but all of the diagnostics check out at least.”
“Have they nominated someone to head up there? Couldn’t hurt to do a dry run. If everything works the way it should, they’ll be able to walk through the gates and then come back again afterwards.”
“Silvestri’s worried about that,” Roman said. “He thinks it might attract attention. What if the Consortium sees it happen and figures out what we’re up to? All that time spent developing the chips would be wasted.”
Knile frowned. “Maybe, but I don’t like the thought of going in cold. Too much risk.”
“You can argue that with him, Knile. But, I’m telling you, if we have to go back to the drawing board on this stuff, you’re the one who’s going to be peering at semiconductors through a microscope for days on end.”
“Deal. And you can handle the DNA.” He wrinkled up his nose. “Hope you enjoy getting stool samples from Holger.”
Roman shot him a horrified glance. “You didn’t…” He stared at Knile as he tried to figure out if he was serious.
Knile laughed. “No, I didn’t. But looking inside that guy’s mouth was terrifying enough.”
They reached the meeting room and found the usual crew had already assembled. Silvestri was having an animated discussion with Aksel as they stared at a terminal screen, and Yun stood nearby with Talia, gesturing to a gold, octagonal chip that she held pinched between thumb and forefinger. Lazarus stood off to the side of the room with his massive arms folded across his chest and his eyes closed, as if he’d nodded off while he waited.
As Silvestri saw them enter, he gave Aksel a pat on the shoulder, whispering something in his ear, and then walked to the centre of the room.
“Attention, please,” he said, clapping his hands together. He waited a moment for the chatter to subside. “It’s been brought to my attention that there have been more developments this morning, not only in Gaslight, but in other parts of the Reach as well. Iris, can you bring us up to speed?”
Iris stepped forward. “I’ve been working with Aksel over the past day or so to try tracking Children of Earth as they move around the Reach. We’re trying to stay one step ahead of them, or at least create an early warning system should they make another play. It hasn’t been easy. The bastards have managed to disguise themselves pretty well after the first attack. Until this morning we didn’t have anything concrete to go on, but then…” She shook her head. “This morning it seems like they’ve abandoned all attempts at subterfuge. They’re popping up everywhere and making no attempt to hide themselves.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Holger said.
“Almost an hour ago they engaged Enforcers up in Lux directly. There was a firefight, and the Enforcers came out on top, although they suffered a number of casualties. There was also a skirmish here in Gaslight, and an explosion in the Plant Rooms. Enforcers are en route as we speak.”
“So what are Children of Earth up to?” Talia said.
“Coordinating multiple attacks, obviously,” Silvestri said. “Trying to cause more panic.”
“Maybe they’ve decided to retaliate for that massacre by the Redmen up on Fifty-Six yesterday,” Remus said. “The body count keeps rising, and from what I’ve heard, they weren’t
just targeting rioters.”
“Yeah,” Holger said. “Maybe this is what the Redmen wanted, to draw the bastards out. Get them angry so they could pick them off.”
“This is their endgame,” Lazarus said quietly.
Holger sighed. “More words of wisdom from the ogre.”
They turned to as one to look at Lazarus, and the Redman opened his eyes and drew himself up to his full height.
“These insurgents would not expose themselves unduly, unless there were some purpose in it,” Lazarus said. “None of their activities to date would suggest that they are prone to petty acts of retaliation. They are too methodical, too calculating. One would assume that they are about to bring the thunder, in whatever form that may be.”
“You’re talking out your ass,” Holger spat.
“No, he’s not,” Silvestri said. “I was wondering the same thing myself when Iris came to me. This could be something big.”
“Oh, so this is the big thing,” Yun said sarcastically. “Like those other attacks were small.”
“In comparison, that may turn out to be true,” Silvestri said.
“So where does that leave us?” Knile said.
Silvestri glanced at Aksel. “When is the next launch scheduled for the Wire?”
Aksel seemed a little caught off guard. “Uh, let’s see here…” He tapped on the keyboard in front of him. “Tonight, just before sunset.”
The hairs on the back of Knile’s neck suddenly stood on end as he watched Silvestri processing that information thoughtfully.
“Silvestri,” he said, “what exactly are you thinking here?”
Silvestri glanced around almost apologetically at those assembled.
“I’m thinking that we need to be on that railcar tonight.”
There was an explosion of voices at that remark, disbelief for the most part. However, Knile noted that there were also several who seemed in agreement with Silvestri, including Remus and Holger, and Lazarus nodded his head in approval. Silvestri patiently held up his hands and waited for the noise to abate.
“Unless I’m wrong, I don’t believe there’s anything that’s standing in our way,” Silvestri said. “Aksel has verified that our elevator access is still current. Yun has finished the chips that will get us through the Stormgates.” He glanced at Yun. “Right?”
“Well, the last was finished an hour ago. They’re literally hot off the press. We don’t know for sure if they’re going to work at this point.”
“There’s no way to test them unless we actually go through the Stormgates,” Silvestri said. “And if we send someone up there on a dry run – to walk through, only come right back out again – that’s going to raise suspicions. They might discover what we’ve done with the chips and patch the security hole before we can make it up there again.”
“Wait a minute,” Yun said, “are we actually discussing this seriously? Heading up there today?”
“Yes,” Silvestri said, his voice hard as stone.
“This is beginning to sound like a suicide mission,” Yun said.
“Call it what you want,” Silvestri said. He pointed at the terminal. “Those insurgents are gearing up for something. They’ve left us with no other choice.”
“Maybe we should wait,” Iris said. “See how it plays out for another twenty-four hours.”
“Wait for what?” Holger said. “For the terrorists to rip the Reach in two? All of this bullshit,” he said, waving his hands around at the room, “will mean nothing if that happens. All the work we’ve done will count for jack shit.”
“There is one other side to this,” Knile said. “If there’s confusion and disarray, that could help our cause. If the Enforcers and the Consortium are preoccupied with what Children of Earth are doing, there’s a greater chance that we’ll be able to slip through unnoticed.”
“Exactly,” Silvestri said. He gave Knile a pointed look. “What about the EMP? Is that ready as well?”
Knile nodded. “Yeah, I put it together earlier.”
“So we have what we need to put our plan into action on this side of the Wire,” Silvestri said. “Thanks to Knile, we also now have floorplans of Habitat One. We can plan what to do when we reach the top.”
“Wait a minute,” Holger said, frowning. “How the hell did you come by those?”
“I have a contact up there,” Knile said. “She got in touch with me yesterday, and sent through the floorplans last night.”
“Who is she?” Iris said.
“She’s, uh…” Knile struggled to give Ursie an appropriate label. “An old friend. She said she knows one of the maintenance people up there. He provided the floorplans. She’s also working on getting us intel on the Redmen who are stationed in the habitat.”
“So she’s some kind of spy,” Holger said doubtfully.
Knile shook his head. “Not at all. That’s why we have to take the information with a grain of salt.”
He omitted to tell them that he still did not trust Ursie completely, although he’d confided as much to Silvestri in private. They’d agreed not to hang all of their plans on the intel being one hundred percent correct.
“Aksel has previously gleaned about fifteen percent of the floorplans from the habitat,” Silvestri said, “and the information provided to us was a complete match.”
“I have seen the drawings,” Lazarus added, “and from what I recall of the place, they seem to be accurate.”
An awkward silence fell upon the group at that point, and as Knile struggled with his inner turmoil at Silvestri’s words, he decided the others must have been doing the same. It was a huge decision to make, and if they went up there unprepared, the results would be disastrous. They might be blowing their only chance to escape.
On the other hand, if they waited longer, and Children of Earth wreaked further havoc, leaving Earth may prove impossible.
“Silvestri’s right,” Knile said finally. “We’re ready. There’s no point waiting.”
Talia nodded. “We can do this.”
One by one their doubts seemed to fall away, and as Silvestri queried each in turn, they all gave their consent. Yun was the last. He stood there, looking pale and clammy, seemingly on the verge of falling apart.
Iris stepped over to him and placed her hand reassuringly on his shoulder.
“What do you say, buddy?”
Yun licked his lips. “I say you’re all fucking crazy. But I guess I am, too.”
Silvestri smiled at him. “Then let’s do this. Let’s activate Skybreach.”
There was something liberating about those words, and Knile felt as though a great weight had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders. The waiting, the planning, the worrying was over. Now the time had come to act. It was as if he had been the gladiator standing on the edge of the arena, watching and nervously awaiting his turn to fight. Now he was finally stepping into the battle, the place where he could allow his instincts to take over again.
Looking around, he could see that most of the others felt the same. Faces were draining of anxiety and filling up with excitement. Belief.
“Good,” Silvestri said, satisfied. “Team Alpha, load up. We leave in two hours.”
Remus reached out and snared Knile by the sleeve as the crowd began to disperse, then waved to attract Silvestri’s attention. Silvestri joined them, an impatient look on his face.
“What’s the matter, Remus?” Silvestri said.
“Knile has been assigned to Omega, right?” Remus said.
“Yes,” Silvestri said. “What of it?”
“I’d like to take him with me to find the RECS,” Remus said. “We need them now more than ever.”
“This again?” Knile said.
“Wait a minute, Remus,” Silvestri interjected. “I haven’t sanctioned this. In fact, I think it’s a waste of time, and this isn’t the first time I’ve told you as much.”
“So what’s the deal with these things?” Knile said.
“Riot Engagement and
Containment Systems,” Remus said. “They were used in the early days of the Reach as a form of crowd control. They were decommissioned and put into storage, but I know where to find them.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Silvestri said.
“C’mon, it’s practically on the way,” Remus said, sounding almost like a petulant child pleading with his parent. “If it turns out that we can’t get to them, we abort and catch up with the rest of Team Omega. No harm done.”
Silvestri shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
“If we’re going to be contending with Children of Earth, Redmen and Enforcers up there, the RECS could really make a difference. I think they’re worth a shot.”
Silvestri considered for a moment longer, then waved dismissively.
“I’m going to leave this up to Knile. If he wants to go with you, he can. Just don’t jeopardise the safety of the others while you’re at it.”
Silvestri moved off without another word, and Remus turned expectantly to Knile.
“So what do you think?”
“To be honest, we need every advantage we can get,” Knile said. “But I’m not going to risk missing our cue. We need to meet up with the rest of Omega before they reach the Atrium.”
Remus nodded enthusiastically. “We can do that.” He jabbed a finger at Knile, smiling. “You and me.”
“And me.”
Knile turned to see Roman at his shoulder, a resolute look on his face.
“Roman, you should stay with the brawlers,” Knile said. “This could be risky. There’s safety with–”
“No!” Roman practically shouted. “I’m sick of being treated like the baby around here. I’m not a child anymore, Knile.”
Knile was taken aback by his vehemence. “I know that, but–”
“So let me go,” Roman said. “I can handle myself.” He glanced at Remus. “I want to do something that matters. I’m not a passenger around here.”
“It’s fine with me,” Remus said.
Knile looked back at Roman. The boy stood there defiantly, he chin jutting out and his lips pressed together as he waited for Knile to try to dissuade him. The look in his eyes suggested that he would not be swayed, however, and Knile saw no point in continuing the argument.
Skybreach (The Reach #3) Page 17
