“Holly is taking real good care of me,” Daze said. “And look what we have, thanks to Lockland.” He pulled Maisie out of his pocket.
Maisie took it from there, her shell lighting up as she flicked her colored lights around the room and intoned, “One unknown female detected. Vitals acceptable. Heart rate increased. One weapon, a half-tase, found.”
Claire bent over, her face masked with wonder. “I’m Claire,” she told the egg with complete assuredness. “Glad to hear my vitals are acceptable. I have a few more weapons at my residence, but if you know how to work a half-tase, it can be just as lethal as a full. Don’t rule me out of the game just yet.”
“Of which game are you speaking, Claire?” Maisie asked. It was the first time I’d heard the status reader ask a question, which sounded strange.
“Why, the game of life, of course.” Claire chuckled as she straightened. “This thing can’t be too smart if it can’t catch my play on words.”
“Puns and sarcasm are difficult for me to discern,” Maisie responded. “However, my program, once triggered by this play on words, will remember it. So don’t rule me out of the game just yet.”
Claire’s eyebrows rose to her hairline, and I laughed. “I stand corrected,” she told the egg. “I won’t rule you out.”
“Thank you,” Maisie said. “It is nice to make your acquaintance.”
“Honestly,” I said, still chuckling, “she’ll pick up on anything if you give her enough time. It’s actually freaky how much she can infer from a benign conversation.” I made my way around the seating area and sat. “I want to show you this. Darby thinks he found a substantial lead. I know you guys just arrived, but we should talk about this and get organized.” Claire took a seat next to me. “The last time we talked was at the Emporium,” I said to her. “You indicated that things were happening and that certain people were trying to sway attitudes and loyalties. You said you’d found out about this secret group, the Bureau of Truth, for the first time. Fill us in on what’s happened since then.”
Bender grabbed a chair and slid it over, straddling it backward. I was happy to see a fully healed Lockland sit next to Darby, taking in the map with a curious expression. Case sat on my other side, and Daze knelt by the table, settling Maisie on the glass top directly beneath the hologram.
“A lot has happened in a short amount of time,” Claire started. “Murmurs have turned into whispers, and whispers are becoming loud. I still haven’t been able to find anything substantial on the Bureau of Truth—other than it’s been rumored to have been making Plush all this time and feeding it to those poor addicted souls. As I was telling Lockland and Bender on the way over, the government is like a frayed cloth beginning to tear. My network of loyalists is willing to defend the government as is, for better or worse, but fear is affecting most everyone. It’s clear that a substantial number are beginning to support a revolution.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand it. People who choose to serve do it because they have a passion for helping others. They would feel lost without working toward bettering lives in this cruel world. It must come from the heart”—she placed a hand over her chest—“as we get no compensation, other than a decent place to live, in exchange for our service. We do our jobs because we have hope that if we help, we can make this world incrementally better each and every day. A revolution would mean war. People would die needlessly. Then who knows who would gain power? People are making these decisions not based on fact, but on speculation and gossip, which is insane.”
I thought about what she was saying. “You don’t receive a wage now, but that wasn’t how things began, right?” I asked. “When coin was still traded, and before The Water Initiative left, government workers were paid a nominal wage, and the government collected taxes, mostly in the form of salvaged items, but it collected them all the same. For the first thirty years after the meteor struck, the government tried to hold the world together, providing for the people, keeping the structure similar to the way it was before disaster struck.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Claire said. “But it hasn’t been like that for so many years, many have forgotten.”
“What if I told you at least twelve haven’t forgotten?” I said. “And those twelve might’ve struck a deal with The Water Initiative before they left. The bureau might’ve been formed just before the initiative to cull the so-called defective residents of the city and remake those remaining into an obedient populace. These people would then wait for the Flotilla to come back. And once the water dwellers arrived on land, the groups would combine their resources to create a viable city, reinstating currency and kickstarting a new era of industry.”
Claire sat back, crossing her legs. “If I’d heard that same story a few weeks ago, I would’ve said you were out of your mind. But now, in light of the new information coming out, I would believe that—as farfetched as it sounds. Most everyone in the government believes the Flotilla didn’t succeed, that the ships went down and all was lost. They took communication devices with them, but we’ve never heard a word, as far as I know. It’s been more than thirty years.”
“I’m sure Bender and Lockland filled you in about what we learned from Reed,” I said. “The Bureau of Truth has their own communication setup. Bandwidths we knew nothing about. It could be that the Flotilla has been communicating with them in secret. The bureau has been very patient, waiting for the perfect time to enact their strategy. They’ve been building an army down South, readying the city, and it all points to this building right here.” I touched my finger on the hologram in front of us. “There’s a medi-pod in the basement that has the potential to cure seekers, and in the building next door, Darby found a hidden stairwell that leads to this tunnel.” I ran my finger along the route. “That would explain how the twelve are moving around without being seen entering this building.” I used both my hands to shift the hologram so it was in front of Claire. My technique was a little choppy, but not bad for my first try. “We need to figure out whose office is right here. This is where the stairwell access is.” I made small circular movements with my finger. “Darby thinks this used to be the housing building.”
“It was.” Claire nodded, scooting forward on the couch. “I’ve been there many times. It’s used now for general assembly talks and private group meetings.” She examined the hologram. She was quiet for a few moments, her expression darkening.
“Do you know who works in that office?” I prodded.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Claire asked.
“Fairly certain. The stairway behind the door is a dead giveaway.” I trailed my finger, once again, through the room and down the stairs. “It leads to this tunnel, which leads to this room in the building next door. It’s the perfect cover to slip away without being seen.”
“Then from that room,” Darby said, taking over, “there are two different ways to access the inside of this building. Right here, up these internal stairs. Or the door here on the same level.” He tapped the image. “We’re trying to get to a medi-pod we think is there, which is highlighted on Roman’s map, but not on this one. This feed was taken right before the meteor struck. Everything matches up, so it has to be the right building.”
By the look on Claire’s face, she knew who occupied the office in the building next door. “Who is it, Claire?”
“It’s Albert.” Her eyes traced away from the map as she brought a hand up to her throat and murmured softly, “How can it be Albert?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Who’s Albert?” I asked.
Claire stood abruptly, moving away from the seating area. I followed. A few steps later, she spun around, anger brimming on her features. “He’s a friend, that’s who,” she said. “He also happens to be a loyalist. He’s in our group. The man has been a member of the loyalist group for years.”
I considered the implications.
The Bureau of Truth was cagey, that was for certain. Not only were they trying to blend in, but they�
��d affiliated themselves with the opposition, managing to fool people like Claire into believing they were the kind of people who were against revolution, when they were the ones kindling it.
“Have you shared anything about us with him?” I paced to a pillar and leaned against it. “Has he asked you probing questions?”
“Yes, he’s asked,” she said. “But they’re always framed under the guise of inquiring about my personal life.” She waved a hand in the air. “But you needn’t worry. I haven’t been foolish enough to answer any of his questions, or anyone else’s, for that matter. I keep my private life concealed, as I always have. In fact, recently I’ve gone to great lengths to disavow your group and its violence.” My expression reflected my surprise. “I had no choice.” She turned and paced. “Your defeat of that group from down South has been openly discussed. It was the only thing I could think of to throw off the scent of our union. I believe I’ve been convincing, but I guess we won’t know for sure until this all plays out.”
I pushed off the pillar and walked back over to the seating unit and took a seat. “If members of the Bureau of Truth are masquerading as loyalists, then they’ve handed us an advantage.” I met Claire’s gaze. “We need to get you back before it arouses more suspicion. And then we need you to set up a meeting with the loyalists. Can you arrange it for tomorrow?”
“Likely,” she answered. “I can pretend I have new information to share. They know I have sources, but not who.”
“You will have new information. Vital information,” I said, glancing at Lockland across the tech table. “About the movements of our group.”
Lockland nodded. “False information.” He leaned forward, examining the hologram. “Then, when we know the majority will go to place X, we’ll be at place Y.”
“If place Y equals this building”—I tapped the map—“you’re exactly right. But we’ll only get one chance. Doing it this way will expose Claire. But it won’t matter if we achieve full takeover.” Full takeover equaled eliminating the threat completely.
“But we have to keep this from the rest of the government,” Darby said. “If people notice twelve government workers disappearing abruptly, it will get back to the militia quickly.”
“I agree. We do it stealthily,” I said. “The objective is for Tillman to keep thinking everything is going smoothly up here. We enter the building while they’re trying to track us down, following Claire’s lead, and wait for the rest to return. We take them out, but we do it quietly.”
“And we make it look like Reed has succeeded in his mission, and we’re no longer a threat,” Lockland said. “We can do that by recording Reed saying something of the sort and playing it over their private bandwidth once we have access to the building. They’ll figure it out eventually, but this should give us time to launch an attack of our own down South.”
I nodded. Phase two of this plan would be more complicated, but taking out the Bureau of Truth here was the starting place. Not to mention, we needed access to the medi-pod, if it was operational. Ned and Mary were holed up, waiting for our help.
“I like it,” Bender said. “At this point, we don’t have a whole hell of a lot of choice. They’re closing in. There’s no doubt they’re waiting right now for one of us to come home. Their UACs have to be darting all over the city. I bet they’re pissed off they can’t locate us. If we strike before they know we’re back, it could work.”
Case chimed in, “It’s risky, since we don’t know if we can make it through this tunnel here.” He tapped the screen by our underground hidey-hole, highlighting the area, which looked perfectly clear and undamaged in the hologram, but wouldn’t look anything like that in real life. “But every scenario I’ve gone over in my mind is full of risk. Our best chance is to go in when they’re not expecting it.”
“We’re outnumbered,” Lockland said. “But since we’ve gathered intel on them from Reed, we know they’re spread out over great distances, so there’s a higher likelihood we can achieve success if we treat each area as its own zone. For now, the important part is keeping Tillman away. If he brings his troops to the city, this could be over before it starts. From the tech you two spotted down South alone”—he glanced between Case and me—“they have access to a hell of a lot more resources than we do.”
“Once we secure the building,” I said, “we essentially take over their operations. Maybe we keep one of them alive and give them Babble.” I turned to Claire, who was walking toward the tech table. “Once we gain the upper hand, you’ll know exactly who they are. How long do you think your loyalists group can cover for them at work? You’ll need to make excuses for why they haven’t shown up.”
“Realistically,” she answered, “three or four days at the most. There’s only a few hundred of us in the entirety of the government, so gossip will begin immediately.” She sat next to me. “You all believe there are twelve key figures leading this anarchy, but I know for a fact that those twelve have convinced others to join their cause. They’ve been careful to prey on the disgruntled and hopeless—those who have the most to lose—and it’s worked. Albert is older, in his early fifties, but I would bet not all the members are that old. In order to keep something like this active for thirty years, they have to have been recruiting new people into their fold. It angers me that this has been happening right under my nose all this time and I never knew.”
“Don’t feel bad,” I reassured her. “They didn’t go near you, other than Albert asking you a few questions, because they know where you stand ethically and morally. If they had, their cover would’ve been blown a long time ago. Just like you said, they target the weak and disgruntled. They’ve been sneaky and careful, and it’s worked for them. That also means their casual, or new, supporters likely have less of a backbone, which bodes well for us.” I smiled. “Do you think the loyalists can round up the bureau’s supporters? You’ll most likely have to use force once you figure out who they are.” Claire didn’t participate in combat. Her greatest asset to the group was working from the inside.
Slowly, she nodded. “Once the twelve are gone, there will be gossip, and I’d like to think some panic and erratic behavior from those who think they might be next. The loyalist group is over forty members strong, so even if all twelve members of the Bureau of Truth are within the group—which I don’t believe they are—we should have enough strength to keep their supporters locked down, for a while at least.”
“When the deed is done, which will take time, since some members will be on-site and some will be gone, we’ll help you contain the supporters,” Lockland said. “With our access to Babble, we’ll be able to surmise the intent of each one and how far their convictions go in favor of the revolution. Your group can work on convincing them that continuing to support the opposition is a bad idea, and for some, that will be enough.”
“For others…” Claire’s voice trailed off.
She was a lover of life, which was why she’d dedicated her life to helping people. War and uprising were never easy, and yes, people would lose their lives.
I grasped her hand. “I know this is hard, but there’s also incredibly good news to go with all the crappy stuff. What lies in the basement of that building has the potential to help thousands of people. Remember when you said most of the government would rally around a cure for the seekers? It could be right here.” I gestured at the hologram. “That will be our rallying point for the remaining government body. Focus on that, and not the other stuff, if you can. And there’s even more good news coming. I’m not sure how much Lockland and Bender told you about what we found down South, but we discovered scientists who’ve been working on solving problems for the betterment of humanity for as long as the Bureau of Truth has been trying to undermine it—if not longer. They have inoculations, cures for disease, resources, and they’re growing plants. They have seeds and bio-printed food that tastes like nothing you’ve ever imagined.” I gave her hand a squeeze. “Claire, this will be the start of a new world, one
you’ve been working toward your entire life. But if the Bureau of Truth gets there first, a group of vicious militants will rob most of humanity of that dream. So we have to do everything in our power to fight for the majority, and once we succeed, we can be a part of reshaping the city into a better place.” I hadn’t felt this much hope in a long time—if ever.
I wasn’t alone.
Bender stood abruptly, his chair clattering forward. “Let’s figure out the story Claire tells her group tomorrow, then I’m taking her back. Alone. I’ve got a way in that will be undetectable. It’ll get her close enough to her residence so she gets back safely. The more time this takes, the more risk involved. They were following her, but they don’t know where she went.”
“Done,” I said. “After that, we perfect our plan and get some sleep. We enter the city tomorrow at blackout.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Are you sure this is right?” Darby asked.
“Shh,” I said.
“Why are you shushing me?” Darby rotated his head to look around. “There’s no one else here.”
“Voices carry in a tunnel,” I replied. “They could have sensors or amplifiers set up. We have no idea what kind of traps are waiting for us.” Darby and I stood outside our underground safe house in the hypertube chamber, a small space where the airlock used to be.
Lockland, Bender, and Case were inside the mag-lev train, readying the weaponry. Lockland had made it to one of his stashes before arriving here and had managed to bring a barrel laser big enough to sear a hole through rock. That would make it easier to deal with any walls we encountered. He’d strapped it to his back and wore a cloak, much like Cozzi would have back in the day. Poor Cozzi. I wished he were here to see all the progress the world was set to make.
None of us had gone anywhere near our residences. We’d entered the city hours ago under the cover of blackout, leaving our crafts a few kilometers outside the east entrance, slipping in one by one, disappearing in different directions. We’d met up here less than thirty minutes ago.
Danger's Cure: (Holly Danger Book 4) Page 16
