by Seth Patrick
Jonah slowed momentarily, but kept walking. He looked at Never, seeing the swelling coming up around his eye, the blood still flowing from a split lip. The two men the lawyer had brought with him were standing at the door, not meeting Jonah’s gaze.
The lawyer spoke again from behind him. ‘You hear me?’
Jonah stopped.
‘Jonah . . .’ said Never, shaking his head, as Jonah slowly turned.
The lawyer sneered. ‘I said I hope you’re proud of yourself, you desecrator.’
Jonah looked at David Leith’s body. He looked at David’s mother, watching them, stunned. He looked at the lawyer, the man’s face full of self-righteous anger and disgust.
Then Jonah lunged at him.
7
‘You comfortable?’
Jonah looked up to see Sheriff Garter’s weary face. They’d been in the holding cells in the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office building for eight hours. ‘How much longer will we be here, Sheriff?’
Garter sighed. ‘Galls me to say it, but the lawyer and his friends were released two hours ago. Judge Forest’s decision, same judge that issued the order to forbid the revival. You two will be here for some time yet, I’d guess.’
‘How come?’ It was Never, from the cell to Jonah’s right, a solid wall between the cells meaning that Jonah couldn’t even see his friend. ‘If we’re actually going to be charged with anything, can’t we at least get processed? It’d relieve the tedium.’
‘Right now you’re not being charged for the affray,’ said Garter, ‘and I suspect you’re not going to be. Forest is an Afterlifer sympathizer, but their people were the initial aggressors.’
‘Damn right,’ said Never. ‘My face hurts.’
‘Even so,’ said Garter, ‘it was your assault on the lawyer, Jonah, that triggered the second round of fighting. They were trying to make a distinction in law. Forest said he wanted more time to consider. He was happy to order that the others be released but wanted you held pending a final decision.’
Jonah rubbed his side. It hurt like hell; there were little pockets of pain all over him, but his side was the worst. After he’d jumped at the lawyer he’d managed to land two swift punches before the deputy and the lawyer’s men had stepped in. The lawyer, back on his feet, had put in a kick to Jonah’s side before Never took him to the floor again. He counted his lucky stars that the kick hadn’t been at the site of his old gunshot wound. The rest of it was a blur of confused scuffles until the officers present managed to bring it all to an end. ‘That’s bullshit,’ said Jonah. ‘They get off scot-free because the judge likes them?’ He rubbed his tender knuckles, remembering the satisfying burst of chill that had accompanied his punches – something he suspected the lawyer wouldn’t forget in a hurry.
Garter smiled. ‘Welcome to my world. But I don’t think it’ll be long before the judge orders your release, given the crowd they’ve shipped in.’
Jonah stared. ‘Crowd?’
‘Hell, yes. A dozen folk so far, placards and lots of hot coffee. I expect plenty more will show up. The Afterlifers want some airtime on this.’
‘On what?’ said Jonah. ‘Them starting a fight next to a boy’s corpse?’
Garter shook his head. ‘They had a warrant to prevent the revival taking place and it went ahead anyway. Whatever the rights and wrongs, whatever the timings, they’ll spin it to get their supporters’ blood boiling. And it’ll be much more likely to hit the TV news if you two are released into the middle of a braying mob. The crowd’s only just warming up. Once they’re ready, I’m guessing I’ll get a call from Judge Forest telling me you’re free to go.’
‘Ha,’ said Never, without an ounce of humour. ‘I get it. They had their man stall for time so that they could arrange a photo opportunity.’
‘Looks like it,’ said Garter. ‘I’ve been in touch with your boss, by the way. He’s already sent people to collect your equipment from the hospital. We left it locked up once David Leith’s body was removed, but I advised your boss to get it dealt with before that lawyer decided to try and grab it.’
Jonah nodded. The footage of the callous attempt to stop David Leith having his final say wouldn’t be favourable to the Afterlifers. ‘Good call.’
‘It was better than good,’ said Garter. ‘When your people arrived, someone had just scammed the key off a member of staff and was having a good poke around.’
‘Fuckers,’ came the shout from the next cell. ‘Nobody touches my fucking kit,’ said Never. ‘Nobody. What happened?’
‘They gave a vaguely plausible bullshit excuse and left,’ said Garter. ‘Empty-handed.’
‘And the revival footage?’ asked Never. Jonah found himself tense.
‘All fine,’ said Garter. Jonah relaxed, and sensed Never doing the same. ‘Anyway, I have no intention of kicking you out into the middle of a mob, so we’ll keep you here until the early hours. Your boss will send someone when the crowd’s lost interest for the night. Assuming the judge does what I think he’ll do. Which he will. You boys try and get some sleep.’
*
Within the hour they could hear the crowd outside. Muffled, the only thing that came through was the occasional chant of ‘FRS hands off our kids.’
‘I can’t believe they’re drawing attention to this,’ said Jonah. ‘We have the footage that shows them being total assholes. On the offensive, I guess.’
‘It’s more than that,’ said Never, sounding grim. ‘They’ll say we flouted the law and didn’t give the relatives their rights.’
‘The law was on our side, and what about the mother’s rights?’
‘I hear you, but all they want is headlines and sound bites that fit their message. Even if the footage got out there, I doubt it’d convert any of their supporters to agreeing with what we did.’
‘Even if the footage got out? Christ, surely we can make sure it—’
‘No!’ said Never, sounding appalled. ‘That footage is confidential, whatever the situation. It’s not getting out into the public domain, not on my watch.’
Jonah stayed quiet. Of course Never was right, but Jonah couldn’t help feeling he’d been reprimanded like a child.
*
They were woken at five the next morning to find that their boss Hugo had come to get them himself. They’d both managed to catch some sleep, which was more than could be said for Hugo, from the look of him. Sheriff Garter was there too and looked similarly exhausted. Out of their cells, Jonah and Never appraised each other’s injuries, Never with a swollen lip and a black eye coming up, Jonah with an impressive bruise developing on the side of his face.
‘Sorry for the early start,’ Garter said. ‘As I’d been expecting, the call came through from the judge last night at ten, at the same time the crowd was reaching its peak. I gave a statement that you’d be staying in the cells until exactly eight thirty-five in the morning. A degree of precision in a lie is important, I find. They believed me, so the mob drifted home. They’ll be back here in a couple of hours, but you’ll be long gone by then. They have a handful of people in a car out front keeping watch, so we’ll use the back way.’
Garter led them outside. Hugo had brought his own car, unmarked, and nodded to them as they got in, but he was unwilling to give much by way of answers to their questions. Most of those centred on just how much trouble they were in.
‘We’ll talk about it back at the office,’ was all Hugo would say.
When they arrived in Richmond ninety minutes later, it wasn’t even seven o’clock. Jonah was expecting the office empty, save for the handful of staff finishing the night shift, but as they came in the door all three of them stopped in their tracks.
‘Oh shit,’ muttered Never. ‘You could’ve warned us.’ He and Jonah looked at Hugo, but Hugo seemed as taken aback as they were.
The door to Hugo’s office lay wide open. Inside, they could see a group of suits waiting, in the middle of whom stood Robert Thorne, the FRS Director.
‘I thought
this would happen later on,’ mumbled Hugo, his hand balling up, knuckles tense. ‘By phone.’
The moment Thorne became aware of their presence the dark cloud of disdain on his face vanished and became a salesman’s welcome. It gave Jonah the creeps.
Thorne beckoned to them. ‘Hugo,’ he said. ‘Jonah, Never. Come in.’
Jonah saw Hugo’s eyebrow rise – no wonder, being invited into his own office. They entered and were directed to three chairs that had been set in a line in front of Hugo’s desk. Thorne sat down in Hugo’s chair, still smiling, and indicated to the four people standing at the side of the room. One woman, three men, their clothes as humourless as their eyes.
‘These good folk are from Legal,’ Thorne said, giving their names, each of them smiling briefly in turn.
‘What is this, Robert?’ said Hugo. ‘I thought we would be discussing this at ten. That was what you told me.’
Thorne’s smile was still there, but toned down now; matter-of-fact, ready for business. ‘I decided we need our response nailed down much sooner. Our friends here agreed. I hope you understand.’
Hugo said nothing, and looked from Thorne to each of the legal team. He took his time. ‘I can’t say I do understand, Robert,’ he said at last.
Thorne gave a slow nod. ‘Yesterday’s events are likely to come under close scrutiny, Hugo. And it’s with you that the ultimate responsibility lies. As the regional FRS head.’
‘And you’re the FRS Director,’ said Hugo. That made Jonah take in a sharp breath.
Thorne’s smile became wary. ‘Your team ignored a specific and valid legal warrant to halt proceedings. Then, allegedly, they instigated a physical assault on—’
‘That is not what happened,’ said Never.
Thorne’s gaze swung round to him. Jonah could see Never quail slightly under it. ‘That’s why we’re here, Never. To establish what did happen. To establish our response. Do you deny you ignored a law enforcement officer’s legally backed request that the revival be stopped? And Jonah, you punched a man to the ground.’
Just as Never opened his mouth to answer, Hugo spoke. ‘Robert, you know damn well what happened. The revival had already succeeded. It was appropriate to continue. The warrant was to stop the revival taking place, not to stop it in progress.’
‘That’s a subtle distinction,’ said Thorne.
‘Like hell it’s subtle, Robert. Considering how irreversible that decision would have been. The Afterlifer lawyer pushing this through overstepped the mark by some margin. He attempted to forcibly separate reviver from subject. Besides the fact that Never received notable injuries as soon as the Afterlifer group gained entry to the room – by force, I note – it was clearly an act of assault for that man to put one hand on Jonah.’
Thorne nodded, then looked at the legal team. He looked at the desk for a moment, then up at Hugo. ‘You don’t like me,’ he said. ‘I know that. You think I’m an officious prick who whittles away at your budget each year because I enjoy it.’
Hugo was uneasy, Never and Jonah likewise. Thorne hesitated and took a slow breath, looking genuinely unhappy. Jonah wondered where the hell this was going.
‘I don’t enjoy it,’ Thorne went on. ‘Just like you, I don’t enjoy the hard decisions. Just like you, I don’t enjoy having to say no to things my staff need. But it has to be done. The same way revivals can’t be given to everyone. We have only so many staff. We have only so much money. I try my damnedest to keep worries about higher-level financial concerns to myself. And I absolutely don’t enjoy what I have to do now.’
For a moment, Hugo just watched Thorne. Then, slowly, something dawned on his face, and he looked around to Jonah and Never. Something about that look made Jonah extremely nervous.
‘No,’ said Hugo. ‘Absolutely not. You can’t just throw your staff to the wolves.’
‘Please,’ said Thorne. ‘I understand what happened. I don’t blame you. You saw the opening, and you took it. But no attempt to seek the opinion of the father was made, in spite of – or because of – the knowledge that he would have been firmly against it. In the end, Hugo, it doesn’t matter what happened. It only matters how the Afterlifers make it look. The problem is, they now have the money to buy the media expertise to make us look like the bad guys. Worse, they can push legal action that we simply can’t afford to fight. We’re in a bad situation and we have to pre-empt them. There’ll be an internal investigation, with those involved suspended while that happens. All three of you.’
‘For how long?’ said Hugo.
Thorne looked at the lawyer to his immediate left. Jonah braced himself.
The lawyer nodded. ‘Six weeks minimum,’ she said. ‘At most twelve.’
‘Please,’ said Thorne, ‘rest assured you’ll be on full pay. We’ll get through this. You have all our support.’
Nobody said anything. Thorne shifted in his seat.
‘Suspension is a hell of a way to show your support,’ said Hugo.
‘We’ve underestimated the Afterlifers,’ said Thorne. ‘All of us. If you don’t agree with what I’ve decided, I’m sorry. But we can’t just brave-face this and pretend they’ll go away. We simply can’t risk taking borderline decisions, not now. There are rumours going around of a concerted effort, behind the scenes, to limit the FRS budget significantly. There are powerful people who aren’t quite ready to come out in support of the Afterlifer cause, but who are ready to give them what help they can. They’re pushing. Everything we say and do from here on in has to be managed with great care.’
‘So next time we just lie down?’ said Jonah, visibly angry. ‘Let them get away with what they tried to do to that boy and his mother? It was the father’s spite, that’s all, to stop them saying goodbye; a final piece of revenge. If we’d waited, they would’ve found a way to drag it out until a revival was deemed unnecessary for the investigation, or too unlikely to succeed. Katherine Leith didn’t have private revival insurance, and she sure as hell couldn’t afford to pay outright for it. That’s what you want us to do from now on? We didn’t know that a judge was going to order a halt, but we knew they’d try to pull something. And we weren’t going to wait around to see what.’
Thorne frowned. ‘That’s an opinion I don’t want to hear repeated outside this room. Pressure from the Afterlifers is growing every day, and the last thing we need is to be caught conspiring to deny the rights of a grieving parent.’
‘His mother doesn’t count?’
‘You know what I mean. We’re not a charity. Operational decisions can’t hinge on whether we would like to offer revival to victims and their relatives. Don’t make me the bad guy, Jonah. I’m on your side.’
‘No, sir. You may not be on the Afterlifer’s side, but you’re sure as hell not on mine.’
‘Jonah, your actions have consequences. The fallout from this will cost the FRS tens of thousands of dollars, maybe hundreds of thousands. All because you wanted a boy to say goodbye to his mother.’
‘You’re out of line, Robert,’ said Hugo. ‘That’s going too far.’
‘Is it?’ said Thorne, agitated. ‘We have to make shitty decisions every day, Hugo. You know that. We shield our staff as best we can, but every day we make decisions that could stop ordinary people getting their last chance at a revival. We make those decisions because it’s the best we can do. Compromise. It’s not easy, but we have no choice.’
‘Uh,’ said Never, putting up his hand, ‘surely there has to be some choice?’ He looked at the contingent of lawyers. ‘You lot must have come up with other alternatives, right?’
The legal team said nothing but Jonah spotted the youngest-looking, a man furthest from Thorne, glance down fast enough to seem evasive. Hugo had seen it too.
‘What was it?’ said Hugo, addressing the man directly.
The man looked at Thorne. ‘Perhaps if—’ he started, but Thorne wasn’t having any of it.
‘No,’ said Thorne. ‘I made my decision clear.’
Hu
go turned his gaze to Thorne. ‘Robert, I insist. What was the alternative?’
Thorne and Hugo locked eyes, and the seconds passed. Finally, Thorne shook his head. He turned to Jonah, and spoke reluctantly. ‘They want your head. Before any investigation, they want you gone. Then they would back off, or so they claim.’
‘Just me?’ said Jonah.
‘You’re one of our best revivers, one of the longest-serving. That’s why they want you. They’re playing games. They know we won’t fire you.’
Jonah thought of the lawyer he’d punched, imagined him putting the proposal together, doubtless gleeful and vindictive. Then he thought of the many court cases where he’d been called as witness, the lawyers coming for him personally. Now the Afterlifers were joining in, painting a target on him, making him the focus of their attack.
He suddenly realized how tired he was.
He thought of how difficult his life had felt lately, and knew it was time to face up to a truth he’d been avoiding for over a year: that there was a reason why everything about his job felt so much harder now.
He knew what he had to do.
‘You won’t need to fire me,’ he said, standing up. ‘Not if I resign.’ Ignoring the open-mouthed looks, Jonah walked out of Hugo’s office.
Hugo and Never followed a moment later, closing the office door behind them. Hugo hung back a little.
‘What the fuck?’ said Never. ‘You can’t just jack it in.’
‘I’ve been in this office since it opened, Never. The first of its kind, worldwide, and I was here on day one. I’ve watched it all the way, watched it grow. It’s almost killed me, more than once. Then came Andreas. The fire at Reese-Farthing Medical. Getting shot. And ever since I came back to work not one day has gone by without me thinking about shifting to private revivals before it’s too late, but my sense of duty was stopping me. The FRS isn’t good for me, Never. I’ve always known that. But I hadn’t been able to admit that I was bad for the FRS.’
‘So take a holiday! If we’re all suspended, just take a break and—’
