We spend some more time going over the specific details of his vaccination by Trent. Both Delvin and his partner, Gareth, were injected not long before the symptoms started. He clearly remembers what happened before the vaccination, but afterward his memories become a nightmarish haze. Trent used a standard vaccination injector carried in a sophisticated, metallic case. Delvin noticed the container was internally cooled and used a key code for access. If nothing else, I now know what to look for. Such a case is not a common item, not even in the Research Department.
When we are done, I return to my quarters to rest until the standard lunch time. While walking, the walls around me feel like they are moving, throwing off my balance. With everything going on, the world seems to be disintegrating around me. Even worse, with the coming detail, there is no certainty I will be around long enough to see this through. What if I do not survive the Death Detail? I lie on my bunk and force a slow deep breath.
“I will be okay and with the help of my friends, we’ll find the truth,” I tell myself out loud. I repeat this in my head until it almost feels true. While lying there, Merrick returns to my thoughts. I again remind myself that nothing can be done about the past, but there is a chance for me to set things right. When my clock turns to noon, I walk up to my normal lunch hall to find Hadwin and Sayda. They need to know what Delvin told me.
As soon as I enter the lunch hall, a noticeable change follows. All conversations cease. The collective gaze of the hall focuses on me. I feel the morbid curiosity of them watching the man who may soon die. I continue to walk, fighting the sensation of being a condemned man trudging toward the gallows in the stories of humanities distant past. Luckily, their attention does not last long. As I gather my food, the volume of conversation returns to normal. Hadwin and Sayda are sitting at a table on the side of the hall, so I move quickly to join them.
“Hey guys, I feel like a dead man walking in here,” I tell them.
“Don’t pay attention, it’s human nature to be curious,” Hadwin says. “Besides, we have something to get your mind off that.”
“We? I don’t recall you spending all those hours working on the design or meticulous fabrication,” Sayda says, teasing Hadwin.
“The design and fabrication of what?” I ask.
“It’s ready,” Sayda says, obviously pleased with her achievement. “My tracker’s functional. I made two of them, just in case. I already gave the first one to Haddie this morning so he could put it in the next outgoing electronics shipment.”
“It’s about time,” I say in an exasperated groan, suppressing my smile. “I almost thought we were going to have to turn the task over to Hadwin.”
“Hey, I can’t do everything for you guys,” Hadwin protests.
“I should probably take the other tracker with me tomorrow, in case I notice anything suspicious. It could come in handy,” I tell Sayda.
“Okay, I’ll get it for you later,” she offers.
“Sounds good. I also have something important to share, when we have a moment,” I say in a serious tone to let them know the urgency of my message. They both understand the insinuation. After we all finish our lunch, we head back to Sayda’s quarters to talk, hidden from the ears of curious onlookers.
“Well, what is it?” Sayda asks immediately as the door closes. She never did have much patience.
“Delvin started talking again yesterday. At first, he said he didn’t remember much about what happened. But when I visited him in his quarters this morning, his story was very different,” I tell them.
Sayda sits down to stop herself from pacing, bracing for bad news. Hadwin stands with his arms crossed, waiting for me to continue.
“I was hoping he would be able to shed some light on where he may have contracted the disease, and I think he has. That morning before he became ill, Trent came down to give him and Gareth a vaccination. The problem is he never does that. If we need to update someone, we either schedule them an appointment or have the rounding Healer take care of it. Trent’s far too lazy to take over someone else’s duties for no reason.” I pause, waiting for them to absorb the implications.
Hadwin looks as though he may become ill. He sits down on the bunk while taking in a deep breath. Sayda turns red from her anger, looking like she may become more lethal than the virus itself. I understand their reactions because I felt a little of both when Delvin told me this as well.
“I can’t vouch for Delvin or the authenticity of what he told me, but I thought the both of you should know,” I say.
“Leadership using The Caves as their own little playground is one thing, but this goes far beyond that. If this is true, we need to do something now!” Sayda fumes.
“I can’t believe anyone could do something like that. What’s to gain from it?” Hadwin asks, unable to make sense of this mess.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “But we’re going to find out. I’ll see what I can do to find the vaccination guns Trent used. If we get that, combined with the evidence from the equipment siphoning and the storage room in The Caves, we’ll have everything we need to make something happen. If this is all true, we’re gonna need Talia more than we thought.”
“If this is all true, we may need more than just her help. If Leadership already went to these depths to hide the truth, I don’t want to know what else they’d do to keep their secret,” Hadwin warns.
Their time for lunch is running out, and they have to return to work. I, on the other hand, have nothing to do except fixate on the new revelation. Instead of returning to the solitude of my quarters, I decide to head back to the infirmary. Someone else there may be of help to us. While walking up the stairs, I am intercepted by a familiar face.
“Hi, Kagen,” Abira says. The lack of enthusiasm in her voice shows she is nowhere near as cheerful as usual. She must be worried about my upcoming detail.
“Hi, Abira. Don’t look so down, everything will be fine,” I reassure her.
“Kagen, can we talk for a minute?” she asks and looks away, as though she immediately regrets speaking.
“I have nothing but time today, but don’t you have to get back to your classroom?” I ask, offering her a way out.
“I do, but this is important,” she says, gaining conviction.
I follow her out of the stairs and around the hallway, toward the main Learning Center. When we enter the area, the change in decoration is noticeable. Instead of bare steel walls, they are lined with images of our history. On one side of the wall hangs a schematic of the original structure of Securus, images of the founding members of Leadership, and a magnified model of The Agent itself. Even looking at the actual physical structure of The Agent, with its numerous sharp tentacles flanked by a diffuse matrix of hooks used to entrap its prey, unnerves me.
Abira leads me to a small supply room. Before going in, she looks around to make sure we were not noticed by anyone. She keeps nervously tugging at a lock of hair. Her anxiety spreads to me. We move past the various supplies used in the classes as well as a mix of other cleaning and maintenance equipment. Abira turns to face me in the dim light. The look on her face tells me this is not the type of conversation I thought it was going to be. My day is about to get even more interesting.
Chapter 18
What I see while looking into Abira’s eyes in the pale light is completely unexpected. She is nearly in tears. I hesitate to even ask what happened, but there must be a good reason why she brought me here.
“Abira, what’s wrong?” I ask, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Kagen,” she says with a slight quiver in her voice.
I wait for her to continue, but she only looks at me in silence, unable to get her words out. “Sorry for what? What’s going on?” I ask, urging her to continue.
“Aamon came to me the day after Merrick died,” she says.
With the mention of his name, I removed my hand from her shoulder. What has Aamon done now, and why is Abira sorry?
&nbs
p; “He said you were being elusive with Leadership and may be dangerous to Securus. I didn’t believe him for a second. That’s why I agreed to help, because I knew you would never do anything to endanger us. I wanted to prove your innocence,” she says, grabbing both of my arms and pleading for forgiveness with her eyes.
“Help him do what, Abira?” I ask, struggling against my rising anger.
“At first it was only supposed to be one conversation. I was to ask you about Merrick and record your response for him. So, I did. And I was right, you didn’t do anything wrong. I thought Aamon would be satisfied after that, but he wouldn’t let it go,” Abira says, no longer able to look me in the eye.
I remember that day. I thought her hesitation to ask me about Merrick was because of concern for my emotions, but apparently there was more to her inner turmoil.
“Then he insisted I keep an eye on you and report back to him. At first I told him no, but he threatened my little sister. I figured there wouldn’t be anything to tell, so I went along with it,” she says.
“If you’ve been spying on me for Aamon, why I should believe anything you say now?” I ask coldly.
“Kagen, I never thought it would hurt you. I would never do anything to hurt you,” Abira says through her sobs. She looks up through tear-soaked eyes and again reaches for me. “After the first day, I didn’t tell him anything. I just let him think I was doing what he asked.”
“So what did you tell him the first day?” I ask with my anger already fading, knowing Abira is being sincere. She simply did not know the magnitude of what happened that night. How could she?
“I gave him the recording and told him about your temporary uniform,” she says, managing a slight grin at the memory. Her fleeting smile is already gone before she continues. “There’s one other thing. I got the feeling I wasn’t the only one he had watching you.”
So that is how he knew about my clothing change the day I snuck back into The Caves. The information she could have given Aamon is inconsequential, but I think she was meant to serve more of a purpose by keeping tabs on my general habits. Aamon has been even more thorough than I thought, having multiple people watching me. Even if Abira does not know who the other spy is, I have a strong suspicion of who it could be.
“Okay, Abira, I understand why you did what he asked, but why are you telling me this now?” I ask, confused by her timing.
“Because of something else he said.” Her already weakened voice diminishes to a barely audible whimper. “When I told him I didn’t want to do this anymore, he said not to worry because you won’t be an issue for much longer. Oh, Kagen, I’m so sorry.”
She reaches out and clings to me, burying her tears in my arms. We both know the significance of Aamon’s words. Saying such a thing right before I am scheduled to serve on the Solar Panel detail he is overseeing cannot be a coincidence.
“It’s not your fault, Abira,” I tell her firmly. “If it wasn’t you, he would’ve found another way. At least I know he’s planning something, and can look out for it. That’s a lot better than being ignorant of his plotting. If nothing else, you’ve given me a fighting chance.”
My outward strength is somewhat fabricated as this news has shaken me deeply. But, the more I tell myself that I must be strong for her and everyone else, the more real it feels. As I accept the reality of my situation, my burden almost feels easier. No matter what I do, my actions cannot make things worse. Either I find a way to the truth and out of this precarious situation, or the outcome remains the same inevitable conclusion. More importantly, this does not change what must be done. After a few minutes, Abira’s tears gradually relent.
“I have to go, Abira,” I say gently, breaking the silence. “Thank you for telling me the truth. I may need your help before all of this is over. Can I count on you if the time comes?”
“Anything, all you have to do is ask.” Abira looks up and softly kisses me on my cheek. “You take care of yourself, Kagen.”
I compose myself and leave the Learning Center. Knowing Aamon coerced her into this makes it hard to blame Abira for what she did. Even so, fully trusting her again will be difficult. Given the events of this day, the calmness overtaking me on my way to the infirmary is surprising. I go to find Rana, determined to continue with my ultimate goal. She does not need to know everything right now, but if she found out later I withheld what Trent did, she would never forgive me.
On my way, I walk alone through empty halls and staircases. Despite the solitude, a tingling on the back of my neck makes me think someone is watching me. I look around for any of the scattered security cameras. At the end of the hall, one points directly at me. Even if Mr. Vaden knows where I am, he has no way to know what I am up to.
When I reenter the infirmary, once again, all of the infection control warnings have been deactivated. That will make it easier for me to go in and out as needed today. I already know from the schedule that Rana is working in my exam room. Since the intensive care unit is finally empty, Adara will be taking care of the appointments. I activate the patient arrival chime to summon Rana. When she and Jace come to meet me, a smile crosses her face. Nice to see I can still surprise her sometimes.
“This one looks really bad, don’t you think, Rana?” Jace jokes.
“I agree, terminal case of smugness,” Rana plays along.
“We probably should euthanize him now and rid ourselves of the hassle,” Jace laughs.
“Thanks, I feel so much better knowing I’ll be treated so well,” I say, forcing a smile while barely being able to stop myself from cringing. They are not really in a playful mood and are simply attempting to keep my spirits up, but the joke hits too close to reality. Euthanizing me is exactly what Aamon would prefer. “I really do have an issue though, but it’s kind of sensitive,” I say, glancing toward Jace.
He gets the message and excuses himself while I follow Rana back to my exam room. Although my complaint is only a charade to speak with Rana in privacy, being on the opposite side of this encounter feels weird. Even when we are alone, speaking freely is not safe. From the security feeds he showed me, I know Mr. Vaden has a camera hidden in here. I need a way to avoid the watchful lens and any other spying devices.
“What can we do for you today?” Rana asks expectantly.
“I think I need an X-ray. I tripped and really hurt my upper arm,” I say despite obviously not being injured. She understands what I am trying to do and plays along.
“Well, let’s take a look first,” she says. “Hmmm, probably not broken, but there’s only one way to find out for sure.”
She does better than I expected with this. Crafty Rana, she is always full of surprises. I get positioned into the X-ray machine. Nestled in the chair, I motion for her to come closer. She activates one half of the automated barrier meant to keep radiation in. We pull the other end as far closed as we can without decapitating Rana, who has her head inside the machine with me. The slightly open end faces a wall, so in a whisper, we should be free to talk.
“What’s going on, Kagen?” she asks.
“I went to talk with Delvin this morning. He remembers more than he was admitting earlier,” I say.
“Why would he lie about that?” she asks.
“He was protecting himself. He needed to know who he could trust before saying anything. I can’t vouch for what he said, but if it’s true, things are a lot worse than I feared,” I say. Rana does not interrupt, but she does look around the room again to make sure we are still alone.
“Trent went down to his research lab to give him and Gareth some kind of vaccination. He told them the shot was a regular update. Shortly afterward, he started to feel sick,” I tell Rana while watching her response to the news.
“There weren’t any scheduled updates. Even if there were, Trent wouldn’t have been the one doing them.” As she puts the pieces together, the anger in her eyes startles me. I have never seen Rana this angry before. I see her thoughts continue to race, searching in vain for an
other explanation of why Trent would have been there giving shots to the men.
“We need to confront him. This is too sinister to let it go unpunished,” Rana says.
“No, you have to keep this between us for now, Rana,” I plead. “I know Leadership has some role in this. We need to know the full extent of their involvement before we do anything. I need you to trust me. This isn’t the only revelation I’ve had to deal with lately. It’s part of a larger conspiracy, and I need to put it all together. Otherwise, we may end up doing nothing but condemning ourselves by acting too soon. Then what good would we be able to do for the rest of Securus?”
She takes a breath, ready to give a rebuttal, but stops herself. Rana knows I would not have come to this decision lightly, so she reluctantly agrees to the plan. “Then why are you telling me this now?”
“Because you would kill me if I didn’t. Plus, even though I promised not to involve you, I need your help,” I say. The other reason is too difficult for me to say aloud. Someone needs to know what Trent did in case I do not live past the next few days.
“What do you have in mind?” she says eagerly.
“We need to find the case and vaccination guns Trent used. Then we’ll know for sure if Delvin’s telling the truth, and we’ll have hard evidence to incriminate Trent. Delvin told me exactly what the case was like, so we know what to look for. For my plan to work, we need to get Talia’s help. But she’ll need to be convinced. Giving her the case to test for the virus should be all the evidence she needs,” I say, not even realizing that was my plan until the words came out.
I fill Rana in on every detail Delvin told me about the case. I leave out most of the other occurrences because she is already worried enough. She does not need the added shock of knowing what awaits me on the Death Detail.
“And, Rana, don’t trust anyone. We’re being watched,” I warn her.
We finish my X-ray, and luckily, my arm was not broken after all. Soon after we finish, Jace and Kesia come to the exam room to see if I am alright. I assure them my injury is nothing to worry about before getting up to leave.
The Death Detail (The Securus Trilogy Book 1) Page 17
