by Rick Scott
The android steps right to her, matching the giantess’ height as she stares Val Helena straight in the eye. “You need to appreciate this from my point of view. You’ve already admitted you have other priorities you consider greater than mine, but I assure you mine are just as important as yours. Greater even. And I need a way to ensure you acknowledge that. Physically.”
“Angela,” Rembrandt says. “There’s no need for this. I told you—”
“Talk is cheap, Rem. If you’re planning to abandon me again, I need you leaving more on the table than you did last time.”
Geez, is that what this is still about? Her issues with Rembrandt? “Queen Angela, we came through for you on the Gun Queen. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
She stares at me with that same capriciousness nature that has me feeling all over the place when it comes to her. One minute I think we’ve won her over and are in her good books, but then she switches up into this heartless ice queen again.
“Think of this as added motivation for you, Reece,” she says coolly. “If you want your brother to stay out of that ring, you make sure you bring Rembrandt back to me in one piece.”
Man, what the heck? My stomach sours as everything we have to face, becomes ten times worse with a hatchet hanging over our heads.
She then looks to Maxis. “Well, will you submit yourself freely, or do I need to issue Lance an order to arrest you?”
Dead silence fills the air as we all try to figure out if she’s serious or not. Even Lance looks unsure as to what to do should my brother actually refuse. Maxis looks to me with a questioning glance and I send him a PM.
Me: Just go along with it for now. We still need her protection and I’m not sure how to play this out yet.
Maxis: Okay, bro.
“I’ll come freely,” Maxis says and then scowls at Lance. “No need to get uncivilized over this.”
“I’m sorry, mates,” Rembrandt says.
“Don’t apologize now,” Queen Angela says with a satisfied smile. “Save it for the tournament.”
Chapter 38: Lamentations
I bite down the anger and resentment building in my gut as the cell door slams shut, locking my brother inside. We’re back at the HQ, down in the lowest floor of the basement and within what serves as the modern equivalent of a castle dungeon.
There are 8 tiny cells, each with a small cot and a latrine only. The main door behind us is also barred and guarded by an automated sentry gun. Lance along with two other faction flunkies double-check the security of the cell before activating some unseen switch that energizes the bars with a vibrant red glow.
“Don’t touch those,” the bioroid says to my brother and then looks back to all of us. “I’ll give you guys a couple minutes. Then you’ll have to clear out. Visitation is one at a time after that.”
“This is total BS and you know it,” Val Helena says to him savagely. “There is no reason at all to put him under these kinds of conditions!”
“Sorry,” Lance says with an unsympathetic shrug. “Queen’s orders. You’ve got five minutes.”
He departs with the two flunkies trailing behind him who then take up sentry positions on either side of the prison entrance door.
“Don’t worry, guys,” Maxis says, easing down on the cot. “Ain’t the first time I’ve been locked up.”
My brother, the eternal tough guy. I don’t know if he’s just saying that to make us feel better or what, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. Still, it doesn’t make this okay. “She could have just used house arrest or something. She’s treating him like a criminal. I’m going to go talk to her.”
“Talk? I have a mind to tear her stupid head off for this,” Val Helena says. “What is she thinking?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Lexi says. “But she acts like this sometimes.”
“Like what?” Aiko says. “Crazy?”
Lexi shrugs. “A little?”
I look to Rembrandt. “Any idea why she’s being so heavy-handed about this?”
“She’s been burned, mate,” he says. “And I’m the one to blame. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” He then grins. “No offense ladies.”
Even that doesn’t get a chuckle under the circumstances. I look at the faces of my comrades, the despair and frustration within them. It’s the same that’s in my heart. We should be coming off the high of an epic victory against a tough LM, ready to press forward to our next goal. But instead we’re dealing with what I can only describe as an extreme lack of trust by Queen Angela.
And that lack of trust is growing mutual.
“Rembrandt,” I say. “Tell us honestly. What’s going to happen in that ring? What’s she got planned for you?”
We all go silent waiting for his response.
The cyberpunker slumps his shoulders as he looks to the floor. “I believe she intends to make me pay for my abandoning her in the past. As much as I’ve practiced, there’s no way I’m winning that fight, mates. And she knows that.”
A cavern opens up inside me as his words chill my soul.
“You can’t be serious,” Becky says.
“It’s my fate,” Rembrandt says. “Sealed a long time ago and by my own hand. As I said…hell hath no fury.”
“Alright, screw this,” Aiko says. “Screw all of this! We’re getting the hell out of this place.”
“Damn right!” Val Helena says, her eyes full of fury. “We’re all getting out of this crazy town. Rem, you’re not dying here. Understand?”
“Val…let it be.” He rests a hand on the giantess’ huge shoulder. “It’s my pill to swallow. And I’m prepared for it.”
“No!” Val Helena shouts back. “This isn’t right!”
The conversation devolves into a stream of lamenting and shouting from Aiko and Val. And I can’t blame them either, but I need to think about the big picture before we do anything rash.
“Okay, cool it!” I shout above them. “We’re not going to solve anything by going nuts just like her.”
It takes a few seconds but Aiko and Val Helena eventually calm down.
“So what do you suggest we do?” Val Helena says with hostility lingering in her tone. “I’m not leaving Max like this.”
I take a deep breath to steady my thoughts. Once again they’re looking to me for an answer. And in truth I’ve got us this far, so it’s up to me to keep us all together and pulling in the same direction. There’s a chess game going on here and I’m not certain of all the pieces at play.
“Here’s how I see it,” I say. “Rem and Lexi know Queen Angela best and they both think this kind of action is within her character, right?”
Both Lexi and Rembrandt nod.
“With what I’ve done especially,” Rembrandt says. “From her point of view, it would make perfect sense to me for her to keep some kind of bargaining chip over us.”
I nod. “Then she really does think we’re going to blow her off. And with what you all said just now, it’s probably with good reason. So I don’t think we’re going to convince her to let Max go.”
Val Helena looks aghast. “So we just leave him in here? No way!”
“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Maxis croons from within the cell. “I can take one for the team.”
“No,” I say. “I won’t stand for her treating any of us like this. But we can’t outright defy her either. It’ll only make her more defensive.”
“So what do you think we should do then?” Aiko asks. “Sit here and play nice instead of ditching her while we can?”
“The key to this is not going to be busting out of here,” I say. “It’s going to be winning her trust.”
“I thought we did that already,” Aiko says.
“Yeah me too,” I admit. If defeating the Gun Queen for her didn’t do it, I’m not sure what will. “I need to go talk with her some more. I don’t like what she’s done here but ultimately, it doesn’t really matter in the end.”
Val Helena’s eyes go wide. “Wha
t?”
“We have a plan and we need to stick to it,” I say. “If Queen Angela really wanted to sabotage that, she would have locked up Rembrandt and not Max.”
That gives everyone a bit of pause as they mull it over.
“He’s right,” Becky says, nodding. “It sounds like Queen Angela really is once bitten, twice shy over this thing. She’s protecting herself by keeping one of us as collateral, but I don’t think she’s our enemy.”
“So what is she then,” Aiko says sardonically. “A frenemy?”
“I’ll go reason with her,” I say. “But I don’t want this to distract us from what we still have to do. Lex, you can still help us with this race, right?”
The goth-girl, who looks more than a bit uncomfortable with the war happening between us and her leader, nods. “I don’t fully understand what you guys are here to do, but I know you wouldn’t be trying to challenge the Thunder Ball Rally on a whim. And honestly, what you’ve all accomplished here already has been amazing. So I want to help you anyway I can.” She then pauses a moment, looking a bit sheepish before she says, “Also, I know you don’t understand what Queen Angela is doing and sometimes I don’t understand either, but I know she has a good heart. I’m not trying to defend what she’s done here, but deep down she always wants the best for people. That I can say with certainty.”
“Aye,” Rembrandt says. “I second that. She’s got a sharp edge to her and she’s not afraid of unpopular decisions. But I’ve always found her moral compass on point.”
Aiko scoffs. “This from the guy she plans to see executed.”
Rembrandt shrugs. “There’s a lot more you’re not privy to, and perhaps won’t understand. But trust me. From my own actions, I can understand why Angela is doing this completely.”
I honestly can understand too, but I’m still not going to allow her to keep my brother locked up in a cage. Before that though, I need to get us back on track and focused on the main goal.
“Lexi,” I say. “Let’s start the training immediately. We all need to unlock Runner and get to practicing on the course, right? Can you show us where?”
“No problem,” Lexi says. “Runner is a base job so unlocking it is easy. Just need to visit the motor speedway on the outskirts of town.”
“Good,” I say. “I’ll meet you all there.”
I head for the exit.
“Where are you going?” Lexi says.
“To go meet the Queen.”
* * *
I step through the office door and feel the tension in the room immediately.
It’s just me and Queen Angela, as I requested on my way up from the basement with Lance. The bioroid closes the door behind me and I plop down in a chair opposite Angela.
The android sits with her elbows on her desk, fingertips touching in a steeple as she peers over the top of them at me. “So…what’s on your mind, Reece?”
Her tone is even and causal, as if she hasn’t just locked my brother up in a prison cell.
I’m not sure if she’s egging me on for a response, but I know the one I want to give her will probably not get me what I want. I’ll start out plainly though. She needs to know I’m not accepting the present circumstances. “I’m not happy with where you’ve placed my brother.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll agree to some form of surety,” I say. “But my brother will not be caged like some animal. You’ll give him free rein within the HQ and an escort to go outside. But that’s it. No cell.”
She smiles, staring down at her desk. “Forgive me, but I’ve already been down this road before. Your brother stays exactly where I can see him. The temptation to abscond will be too great when the time comes. And that’s not a risk I’m prepared to take.”
I inhale deeply and suppress the urge to tell her where to shove her risk.
Think carefully, I tell myself. You need to win this with persuasion, not force.
“Look, I understand why you’re doing this,” I say. “After what happened with Rembrandt, I know you think he’ll bail on you again. But trust me. He’s more gung ho about facing his own death than you are.”
She chuckles. “Is that what you think’s going on here?”
“It’s the only outcome I see.”
“Justice has many forms, Reece.” Queen Angela admires her well-manicured nails for a moment. At first I think it’s some form of vanity, but then I realize she’s checking on the progress of her repairs. Her face is smoothed over and whole again and above her head, her health bar is now reading around 20%, double what she had after the Gun Queen fight. “Rembrandt will face his justice when the time comes, but he needs to be there to face it.”
“And I will ensure that he is there.”
“I know you will, Reece, because I’ve laid the groundwork to guarantee it. There’s a reason I’m keeping your brother. I trust you to value his life more than Rembrandt’s when the time comes.”
I shake my head. “You really don’t trust us, do you?”
“Not until I see him in that ring.”
I really need another angle here. “Do you understand why we’re even doing this? We’re doing this to save everyone. Yourself included. If we don’t stop what’s going on and save Citadel, then none of this…this tournament crap will even matter. We’ll all be dead!”
She chuckles. “So you’ve told me before. And the visions of the Feast Freaks are also true, correct?”
I huff out a frustrated sigh. I told Queen Angela about the Others before and she blew it off then, the same way she is doing now. She still thinks it’s some kind of delusion perhaps. Although it probably doesn’t help that the people here have turned the Others, or Ozoku, into some kind of wacky religion.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Angela says. “Quite the opposite. Moreover, I know that you believe it, and you’re a strong-willed individual, Reece. Which is all the more reason for me to hedge my bets when it comes to ensuring that you set my needs amongst your priorities.”
Darn…did this just backfire on me? I’ve got to remember Queen Angela has been playing this politics game way longer than I have and is a quick study to boot.
“So you really don’t care that everyone in Citadel could die and make this infighting you’re so concerned with a moot point?”
“It’s a matter of timing,” she says. “Your threat is still on the horizon, mine is in my face. And, assuming that you’ll make it back home and save the day, that still won’t change my situation here. So, while I can appreciate your struggle and won’t hinder it, I still need to safeguard my interests. While you’re just passing through, you need to appreciate that this is my home, Reece, and I’ve been fighting a long time to make it a better place. I’m not throwing my chance to make that happen by letting everything fall apart again…no matter how admirable the goal.”
I ponder that a moment and admire her conviction and reasoning. She’s definitely not crazy or flippant like Braxus. She’s thought this through and I wonder if she’s not the one persuading me at the moment. But at least she’s admitted that she doesn’t want to stand in our way when it comes to saving Citadel. I just need her to see this from a whole different angle now. “You said I needed to step up as a leader, didn’t you?”
She furrows her brow a moment. “I did.”
“So let me lead,” I say. “Do you realize I had to quell a mini-rebellion just now with my own team? They were ready to face-roll Lance and blow this whole thing off.”
“Is that right?” she says, looking unconcerned.
“And do you know who the only two people to stand up to them were?”
“I’m sure you’ll tell me…”
“Myself and Rembrandt,” I say, ignoring her nonchalance. “And that’s who’s going inside that labyrinth. When I tell you, I’m asking you this for a reason, it’s not for me or him. It’s for the rest of my team. So they can focus on winning that race without the duress of one of their teammates being locked up and held ransom. Yo
u say you don’t want to stand in our way, but if you want us to fail, then keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll likely all die on that racetrack long before any of us even reach the labyrinth.”
Your Barter increases by 0.7!
Skill Up! Your Barter is now 13!
Queen Angela looks at me for a long while, the gears of her mind turning behind her chrome eyes. “I’d be lying if I said you haven’t impressed me, Reece. Not just with your prowess on the battlefield, but with your growth as well. You’ve taken on the role of leader quite quickly…and aptly.”
I feel almost uncomfortable with the compliment, given the circumstances, but it sounds sincere. “Thank you…I guess.”
“I know you must think me mad for what I’m doing,” she says. “But I have my reasons. And not all of them I can reveal at the moment. But know that there is more than just what I want at stake here. This amnesty was built upon a price to be paid. If we fail to show and pay that price, it’s not Rembrandt who will suffer. It’s my entire faction.”
I think back to King Axel and his threat to take over her territory if we lost. “But how do you expect Rembrandt to win? He certainly doesn’t think he can.”
“Just trust the process, Reece,” she says. “Our laws may seem strange to you, but they always work in the end.”
“Trust,” I say. “A fine choice of words. I’d like to ask the same of you. Trust me to bring Rembrandt to that arena and let my brother go.”
Her eyebrows arch upwards. “Oh, upping the ante are we? I thought you were happy with just a house arrest.”
“I came through for you with the Gun Queen. Trust me that I’ll come through for you for this. On my word as the leader of my team. I will ensure that Rembrandt makes it to his trial.”
“Fine,” she says. “Your brother is free to go and come as he pleases. But I will insist on Lance keeping an eye on him from time to time.”
Better than nothing. “Deal.”
I rise and shake hands with the Queen, her cold metal digits clenching mine in a firm grip.
