by Eliza Green
Simon appeared to perk up at the idea. ‘You would only need to access Tanya’s mind. The others listen to her.’
Stephen looked at Serena. ‘What do you think?’
She shrugged. ‘It’s possible. I’m willing to give it a go, but I would need to get closer to the caves.’
Simon nodded. ‘I might be able to give you some cover if I turn off the cameras.’
‘Okay, that’s settled,’ said Stephen. ‘Let’s agree a plan now because this can’t wait.’
‘What about Simon?’ said Bill. ‘Can we offer him immunity if this goes wrong?’
‘If this works,’ said Serena. ‘the Elite will die of natural causes before they have a chance to imprint on him.’
38
Clement’s withdrawal of his promise to change Marcus into an Indigene played on his mind. For an hour after his shift ended, Marcus had lain on his bed and thought too much about their meeting that day. It wasn’t until he’d stared at the ceiling for too long that he remembered something else Clement had said: There’s more than one way in, human.
More than one way inside District Three. Who would pay for that information? Harvey, Ollie? He didn’t even know what their agenda was any more. But he’d worked for Gaetano Agostini long enough to learn a little information in your back pocket could prove useful.
There were no surveillance jobs on that evening, leaving Marcus with time to search for those alternative entrances. But when he drove out close to where he knew the main entrance to be, he looked around a stony landscape that was flatter than Carl’s arse. Where to begin?
He got out and trekked around for a while, making sure to keep the car in sight. He’d brought a stronger pair of magnification glasses with him, a set he’d seen on the dresser in Ollie’s room that worked better than the lame pair he’d been given. In the distance, two figures met. He zoomed in and saw one was Clement, the other an older Indigene. He looked away, then looked back to see they’d disappeared.
‘What the hell?’
Marcus trekked out to the same spot and looked around. And there it was hidden in the dirt: one of the alternative entrances Clement had hinted at set into the soil at a forty-five-degree angle. Marcus would never have found the metal hatch camouflaged in rubble without Clement’s tipoff. Using another filter on the glasses, he transposed a set of coordinates over the spot and jotted them down on his hand before returning to the car to watch the main entrance to District Three.
☼
Marcus rolled his neck. He’d camped out for hours watching the comings and goings at District Three. Two hours ago, he’d seen Bill Taggart and the GS human who’d met with Harvey and Ollie go inside with two Indigenes. Then the GS human emerged alone and disappeared into the black night.
Maybe Marcus had this all wrong. Maybe he didn’t need to change into another species to get power. What if he could keep his human identity and still have a place in this new world?
Bill Taggart emerged next from the district. Marcus spotted a car parked close by. The ITF Director walked towards it. He had seen Harvey talk to this man who appeared to run things on Exilon 5. That meant Taggart had connections to the GS humans, probably dating back to when they were human and in charge on Earth.
Harvey had played both sides for long enough. Now it was Marcus’ turn to get what he wanted.
He got out of his vehicle, which was almost invisible in the cloud-covered night. The distracted director didn’t see him as he approached him from behind.
Marcus called out. ‘Hey!’
Taggart stopped and spun round. His hard gaze and flashlight found Marcus. ‘Who the fuck are you?’
‘I need to talk to you.’
‘I asked you a question.’
Taggart’s flashlight pinned Marcus to the spot. He would need to earn this man’s trust.
‘My name isn’t important—’
‘I disagree...’
‘—but who I know is.’
‘Yeah?’ Taggart eyed him. ‘Who do you know?’
‘Harvey Buchanan.’
Something registered on Taggart’s face as he brought the light down to rest on Marcus’ chest. ‘You one of the boys over at the construction site in the west quarter?’
Marcus nodded, grateful the man who’d helped to bring down Gaetano Agostini didn’t know his real name. He could still use his alias, but being this close to Taggart made him nervous, disguise or no disguise. If Taggart discovered his connections on Earth, he would probably stick him in some detention centre.
Taggart folded his arms. ‘So, what about Harvey?’
‘I have information on the GS humans that I think will be of value to you.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘First I want your promise of immunity.’
‘Seems everyone wants that from me. And I’ll tell you what I’ve told them. Depends on what information you’ve got.’
Marcus had to show trust. ‘What if I told you that Buchanan and Patterson were helping the GS humans to access more power from your power station feed?’
A stony faced Taggart cocked his head. ‘Is that so?’
‘Yeah, they’ve been talking at the power station.’
The director laughed.
Marcus wasn’t impressed. ‘Something funny about that, friend?’
‘You’re a day too late, friend.’
Taggart walked away.
Marcus ran after him. ‘Wait! What does that mean?’
The director didn’t break his stride. ‘It means we have it all under control.’
‘So you’re not going to help me?’
Taggart stopped and turned around. ‘With what?’
‘With immunity.’
‘Tell me why you need it.’
‘I just do.’
‘You afraid of Buchanan, is that it?’
Marcus pretended to be scared. Nobody scared him. ‘Something like that. You gonna help me?’
‘Tell me your name.’
‘Martin Casey.’
Taggart shook his head and smiled. ‘Your real name. I’d recognise Buchanan’s handiwork anywhere. The face manipulation is slightly off-centre. You must have been important to him. Did you come from Earth? What did you do there?’
Marcus knew a dead end when he saw one. ‘Don’t bother, friend. I’ll sort myself out.’
Taggart turned back to his car. ‘Whatever you say... friend.’
☼
Only one course of action remained open to Marcus, and it involved speaking with the one group he had yet to encounter. He knew exactly where their lair was; he and Clement had watched it for days. Why, he had no idea. But Marcus was starting to feel like the whole collaboration with the Indigenes was for show, to plant the seed of doubt among their race.
He drove to the GS boundary line and ditched the car. He climbed over the boulders lining the perimeter and jumped down the other side. He began his walk to the back of the environ. The black night provided him with cover as he approached the rear. A hand on his shoulder stopped him cold and nearly gave him a heart attack. He spun round to see the GS human he’d seen with Bill earlier.
‘What’s your business out here?’ the man snarled.
‘None of yours. This is a free country.’
Up close, the GS humans looked more human than the Indigenes. It freaked Marcus out.
‘You’re trespassing on GS land so either you’re on a suicide mission or you want something.’
Marcus pointed to the white, tarpaulin environ. ‘What’s in there? I see you lot coming and going all hours of the day and night.’
‘What’s it to you?’
‘You want more power? I can offer my services.’
The GS human frowned. ‘In exchange for what?’
Marcus shrugged. ‘Everlasting life is a good place to start, I reckon.’
The GS human laughed. ‘You don’t want that, so I suggest you move along—’
‘Halt! Who’s out there?’ said another voice. Two
more GS humans rounded on their location. ‘Simon? What’s going on?’ One of the GS pointed his weapon at Marcus. ‘Who are you?’
Nervous sweat soaked Marcus’ shirt. ‘Someone who can help your leaders get what they want.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘Let me meet them and we’ll discuss it. Seems rude to have the chat out here.’
The one called Simon said, ‘No, he needs to go.’
But then the freak grabbed his own head, like he was in pain. The other pair shook theirs as though something buzzed in their ear.
‘She’s detected him. She wants to see him,’ said one of the other GS humans.
Marcus caught the look of surprise on Simon’s face. He was sure he was helping the Indigenes and Bill Taggart with something and this “she” didn’t know anything about it.
His reasons for being here had gone way beyond a simple request for immunity. Marcus wanted power and where else to get it but working alongside the most powerful beings on the planet?
One of the others grabbed his arm and pulled him along. He slipped his glasses on and saw the outline of their caves in the distance. What could he offer them? That depended on what they wanted.
He would throw everything at them, see what stuck. And if nothing worked, it didn’t matter. Harvey had said the GS humans couldn’t read others’ thoughts, only their own.
He’d make up some shit when he got there.
39
From her hiding place, Laura watched as Bill entered the District and pressed his gel mask to his face. Her chest tightened at seeing her best friend, but she needed more time. She wouldn’t string him along any more.
It was torture waiting for him to leave. Her heightened abilities sensed everything about him that was familiar and comfortable. She pushed back her longing to go to him. Arianna had even stuck by her side to, in her words, ‘keep you from doing something stupid.’
The group with Simon were camped out in Anton’s lab to test the neurosensor that Laura had tried out just recently. It was an amazing piece of tech that had completely opened up her ability. When the chatter died down, Laura emerged from her hiding place. All was quiet in the room. Eager for a progress report from Serena, she walked on, not hearing Arianna’s silent warnings behind her.
When she was just a few feet from the room, he emerged. A stunned Laura locked eyes with her husband, who stared at her, then looked down at the floor. Her heart jolted from the surprise; the shock forced her to turn away.
A heavy-footed Bill strode past her, followed by Simon. And then she could no longer sense him.
Arianna appeared by her side. ‘One day he’ll understand why you had to do this.’
Tears pricked Laura’s eyes. ‘He encouraged me to come here. He kicked me out. And now he hates me.’
‘No, he doesn’t. He’s just confused. He doesn’t know how to act around you. You’re going through a transition. That’s all. When it’s all over, you two can talk.’
Laura hoped that soon she’d decide on something worth discussing. She entered the testing room to find Stephen, Serena, Anton, Gabriel and a new Indigene she hadn’t met before talking telepathically to each other. Her skill wasn’t strong enough to join the silent conversation but her presence in the room caught their attention. They broke out of their huddle to look at her.
‘What happened?’ she said, feeling Stephen and Serena’s concern weigh her down.
Bill was gone. Of course things were tense. She could do nothing about it right now.
‘Stephen saw Simon attacking the district,’ said Serena. ‘We assume Tanya was using him as a vehicle.’
‘We need to test this neurosensor out on the surface,’ said Gabriel. ‘We have to know when she plans to attack. Is it one day from now, one week?’
‘What difference does it make?’ said Laura. ‘If they’re coming, we can prepare.’
‘If we can access Tanya’s thoughts, Serena might be able to change her mind,’ said Stephen.
Serena looked sceptical. ‘I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try. To do that will require me to maintain a connection with Tanya.’
‘All we need is time. Gabriel and Clement have sent word out to the other districts about the problems here. We must give the support time to get here,’ said Stephen.
The blue-eyed Indigene called Clement stared at Laura. His intensity forced her to look elsewhere.
Gabriel paused. ‘There’s something else.’
‘What?’ said Stephen.
‘I heard some chatter after you left, about the rogue humans and Indigene groups. That’s why we came. Clement says the rogue Indigenes are using the humans, pretending to ally with them. As soon as their guard is down, the Indigenes will attack the weak points in the city and take control of the power station.’
Clement added. ‘The Indigenes don’t trust your alliance with the ITF to protect the treaty, Stephen, and they definitely don’t trust the GS. They think you’ve become sympathetic to the humans and have lost sight of the dangers that can fill a complacent bond.’
Stephen sighed. ‘They have a point. But they aren’t our immediate concern.’
‘No, the GS are,’ said Gabriel. ‘But when this is all over, you must get control of your district.’
‘Can’t you see when they’ll get here?’ said Laura, trying to push the focus back on the GS.
Stephen shook his head. ‘I can’t see very far into the future, but what I did see was her arriving before any support did. If we can stall her just for a while, we might be able to delay her plans to imprint on the minds of the Conditioned.’
Laura noticed Anton shudder. It had been eight years since he carried an imprint of Charles Deighton’s personality but she imagined it had been traumatic enough that he’d never forget.
‘Okay, so when should we try this?’ said Serena.
‘Now,’ said Stephen. ‘We’re running out of time.’
Serena nodded, released a breath. ‘Just me then. Alone.’
‘No, all of us.’ Stephen grabbed her hands. ‘We’ll all help you. You’ll wear the neurosensor but we’ll provide you with our energy to see if we can bolster your connection with Tanya.’
Anton snatched up the neurosensor. ‘Last one to the top is a rotten egg.’
☼
The others collected spare air-filtration devices, except for Laura who had no trouble with the oxygen-rich air. The group travelled by foot to the GS boundary line. Even with her keen sight, Laura could not see the caves located about three miles away. She saw the environ well enough; it was closer.
‘Okay,’ said Stephen. ‘Everyone needs to concentrate on Serena, give her whatever help they can. We just need to plant the seed of doubt in Tanya’s mind.’
‘Assuming I can access it,’ said Serena with a huff.
Stephen squeezed her shoulder. ‘I know you will.’
The display of affection between them tugged at Laura’s heart. She missed her best friend.
Anton fixed the neurosensor to the side of Serena’s head. ‘We’ve already tested this on Laura and Stephen so we know your ability will be enhanced.’
‘I know I need to find Tanya but what am I looking for?’
Laura remembered the Tanya from old, the one with impeccable manners, but also a suspicious mind. ‘Look for a pessimistic mind. She trusts people close to her, but she also discards them if it suits her.’
‘So I’m looking for a self-centred personality.’
Laura nodded. ‘The former board members are all selfish, but Tanya considers herself above them all. She placated them while on Earth, but she wants an outcome that will benefit her.’
Serena closed her eyes and the others followed her lead. Laura did the same, and focused on directing what little Indigene energy she owned to Serena. She located her signature, surrounded by a cluster of energies. Laura’s energy felt the weakest, and she wasn’t sure if she was doing it right, but she added it to the effort.
Serena cast her inf
luence out like an invisible net. It raced over the terrain towards the caves, slowing when it got closer. Laura couldn’t see the net, but she felt what Serena put out there, what Serena wanted her to see.
Her influence met resistance at the entrance point to the cave. ‘That’s as far as I can push. We need to get physically closer.’
They all disconnected from her, visibly exhausted. Laura not so much, but her efforts had not been as powerful as theirs.
‘Let’s hope Simon was able to disable the camera feed,’ said Stephen, beginning the climb down to the GS side of the rock barrier.
The others followed, with Laura to the rear. She was slower than all of them. Clement waited for her and helped her down. She nodded her thanks. Was she really Indigene or just playing at it?
They reached the back of the environ and Serena tried again. Laura gave her energy to her, felt her attempts to push past the barrier to the cave. She felt a pop in her mind when Serena crossed over.
‘I’m in. I can feel her. Her energy is more powerful than the others.’
‘Can you read her mind?’ said Gabriel.
‘Yes, I can also sense the other Elite minds. They just want to die. She wants to transcend and will do anything to reach that goal. The others follow her orders. She’s weak, physically, but her mind is strong. I’ll see what I can do.’
Serena spread her influence around the caves. It felt like water filling a container. By proxy, Laura also felt Tanya, too powerful for her untrained mind to handle. But Serena was better at this than her. She’d been human too once, except she’d taken to Indigene life like a duck to water. Laura couldn’t hold on to one side or the other.
Serena’s energy was fading. Laura felt her influence retreat out of the cave at an alarming speed. Her eyes jerked open just as Serena collapsed to the ground. The others, visibly exhausted, went to her.
Serena stared up at the sky. ‘That’s it. I’ve planted the seed of doubt. I can’t maintain a connection. Her mind is too powerful. That’s all we can do.’
