by Gavin Zanker
‘Weapons,’ Julian said. ‘We stick to the original plan. We need weapons to arm our people.’
‘Where do we get them though?’ Grace asked. ‘The only decent stash of reliable firearms in the city belonged to the police and now that’s under Samuel’s control.’
‘What about Kendal in Kiln Commons?’ Leigh said, speaking up from the corner. ‘She always has weapons. We could radio her and see what she has in stock.’
‘The Dawnists will be listening,’ Grace said. ‘Now they’ve taken over my radio station they can monitor everything on the airwaves. If they get wind of a weapon order, they’ll crash through those doors faster than you can say “knock knock, who’s there?”’
‘So someone needs to go see her in person then,’ Julian said. ‘We’d need to send people to collect the weapons anyway.’
‘Kendal is a good choice,’ Aiden said, ‘but Kiln Commons is a long trip on foot. It would take days to get there and back.’
‘You and Leigh seem to be on friendly terms with Kendal,’ Julian said.
‘We’ve traded a few times over the years.’
‘Then how about you head up there and speak to her on our behalf?’
‘I can’t do that,’ Aiden said, shaking his head. ‘I’m not leaving the city until I’ve finished my business here.’
‘What business is that?’ Grace asked.
‘I already told you, it’s personal.’ Aiden felt all eyes in the room on him. He pressed his lips together.
‘Aiden here is a very secretive person,’ Travis said, waggling his eyebrows at Grace. ‘A friendly heads-up though, if you ask too many questions he has a tendency to take a swing at you.’
‘We’re all on the same side here,’ Julian said. ‘For now at least. That’s all any of us needs to know.’
‘I’ll go north,’ Woody volunteered. ‘I’ve dealt with Kendal before. It’ll take a few days, but me and my boys can ferry back the gear unnoticed.’
‘By your boys, I assume you mean your friends in the circus?’ Julian asked.
‘Is that a problem?’
Julian shook his head. ‘Not at all, as long as they keep their hands to themselves. I’ve seen what magic they can do when it comes to disappearing other people’s property.’
Woody smirked. ‘I’ll have a word with them. As long as they’re paid fairly, you won’t need to worry about that. What sort of order are we looking to place?’
‘Come speak to me after the meeting and we’ll go over the logistics.’
‘When we get the weapons back here, what then?’ Aiden asked. ‘We still need to get inside the compound if Samuel won’t expose himself out in the city.’
‘There is another entrance to the compound,’ Travis said, picking at his fingers, ‘but it’s probably not a good idea.’
‘Another way into the compound?’ Aiden said, sitting upright. ‘Why didn’t you tell us this before?’
‘It’s more of a last resort type thing. Not even worth mentioning really.’
‘Let us be the judge,’ Aiden said, a spark of new hope flaring inside him. ‘Spill it.’
‘It’s in an old limestone quarry. South of the city. Far south of the city.’
‘The Sinking Dust,’ Julian said, shifting in his seat.
‘Is that bad?’ Leigh asked as an uncomfortable atmosphere filled the room.
‘Outlander territory,’ Grace explained. ‘People don’t come back from the Sinking Dust.’
‘I’ll go,’ Aiden said, surprising himself.
Travis rolled his eyes. ‘You’re an idiot.’
Aiden stood up, ready to walk around the table and slam the Dawnist’s head into the hard wood, but Woody stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Easy. We’re all in this together, remember?’ He turned to Travis. ‘If you’re done insulting people, do you think you could tell us where this second entrance is?’
‘I’ve never travelled there overground,’ Travis said, tilting his head from side to side, ‘but I could probably give you general directions if you showed me a map. It’d be dangerous though. I remember hearing about… anomalies down there. Places that warp your mind; change you. Oh, and mutants that attack while you sleep, leaving nothing behind but blood and bones.’
‘It’s just wild animals and overblown stories of radiation,’ Woody said. ‘People’s fear gets the better of them when they don’t understand a threat. But better be safe than sorry: whoever goes will need gas masks, some radiation pills, maybe a Geiger counter or two.’
Travis shrugged. ‘If you say so. It’s your neck that’ll get chewed on.’
‘Climbing gear as well,’ Woody continued, ignoring the comment, ‘to get over the Falls and down into the Sinking Dust. Those sheer cliffs aren’t for the faint of heart. Do you have any of that stuff here?’
Julian nodded. ‘We have plenty of climbing gear, it’s used for repairs around the city. But none of the exploratory stuff — there’s no need for it around here.’
‘Carson Waters sells gas masks and stuff from that old war,’ Leigh said. ‘I saw it when me and Aiden went there.’
‘She’s right,’ Grace said. ‘We could go and pick up what we need there.’
‘Aiden, feel like a walk over to Carson Waters?’ Julian said. ‘I know you don’t want to leave the city, but no one’s heading south until we get those supplies.’
Aiden hesitated, stroking his chin. ‘Okay fine. I want a spot on that trip south though.’
‘Don’t worry, I doubt there’ll be much competition. I’ll arrange for some Syndicate men to head west with you to Carson. Orlen can go too if he’s up for it, Grace tells me he knows more about that sort of equipment than all of us combined.’ Julian looked around the room. ‘Where is he anyway? And where’s Zachary for that matter?’
‘Orlen is still sleeping off last night’s drink,’ Woody said. ‘He was, er, celebrating the prison break. I don’t know about Zachary though. I haven’t seen him since before Samuel’s little speech.’
‘I’ll go wake Orlen up,’ Grace said. ‘He’s a bear with a hangover, but I’m sure he won’t have a problem going if I ask him nicely enough. I’ll throw in a bottle of something to persuade him if needs be.’
‘Good, then we have a plan,’ Julian said, beaming at the group. ‘Weapons from Kendal, and gear from Carson Waters. We’ll finalise the expedition south when everyone gets back. In the meantime, Travis can map out a route south until we reconvene in a few days. With any luck, we’ll be rid of Samuel in no time.’
CHAPTER 23
‘DO WE HAVE to go through this every single time?’ Aiden asked with a sigh as he stuffed a waterproof jacket into his backpack.
‘You’re always ditching me now,’ Leigh moaned as she lay on the bottom bunk.
‘I’m not ditch—’ Aiden paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Look, I don’t want to go without you but it’s just dangerous. If it was just you and me that would be different, but I don’t know these guys I’m going with and I can’t afford to keep an eye on you the whole time. You keep telling me to trust people more, how about you put some trust in me?’
Leigh pursed her lips at having her own words used against her. ‘I suppose.’
‘You like Grace, right? What’s wrong with staying here with her for a couple of days?’
‘She’s not going with you?’
‘Not that I know of. Why, you’d rather be rid of her?’
‘Seems like she’s really into you,’ Leigh said, watching Aiden as she spoke. ‘She’s always touching you.’
‘She’s just affectionate. If it helps, she’s got a boyfriend and I’m not interested. Not that it should matter.’
A knock came at the door and Aiden opened it to see one of the Syndicate guards. ‘Zachary wants a word before you leave,’ he said.
‘What for?’
‘He didn’t say. He’s in his office when you get a moment.’
Aiden nodded his thanks and closed the door. ‘What a
bout you?’ he said to Hitch who was lapping from a water bowl in the corner of the room. Hitch sauntered over to Leigh and laid his muzzle in her lap. ‘Fine, you two can keep an eye on each other then.’ Aiden shook his head. ‘You know, he used to be my dog.’
‘Probably because you didn’t used to keep ditching him,’ Leigh mumbled.
‘I’m going then,’ Aiden said, shouldering his pack and ignoring her comment. He walked over to the bunk and hugged her. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
‘Bye,’ Leigh said coldly, before rolling away from him.
Aiden turned and left, he didn’t have the time or energy for childishness; he had enough to worry about at the moment. He made his way through the hallways, heading for Zachary’s office. He found it easily enough, with Zachary Dunston printed across the frosted glass pane of the door in self-important black letters. It reminded Aiden of the old noir films — gumshoe detectives and dames that always turned out to be trouble. He knocked and entered the office, finding Zachary sitting at a desk reading a small note.
‘Ah, Aiden,’ the Syndicate man said, rising and slipping the note into his pocket. ‘Just the man I wanted to see.’
‘Make it quick, I have to leave soon.’
‘Right, the trip to Carson Waters. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.’ Zachary pulled out a packet of cigarettes, offering one which Aiden declined. ‘Carson Waters is independent, I’m sure you know that already. They’ve refused all of our efforts to ally themselves with the Syndicate.’
‘You mean efforts like trying to buy out their local businesses so you can muscle in?’
Zachary smiled as he lit his cigarette with a match. ‘You’re a perceptive man, Aiden, but you get things wrong more than you realise. Regardless, that was an idea that failed — those fishermen are too damn stubborn. Now I have a new approach.’ Zachary rubbed his hands together and took a deep drag on the cigarette. ‘I want to destroy the Hermes. Or more accurately, I want you to destroy the Hermes.’
Aiden raised an eyebrow. ‘You want to destroy an aircraft carrier?’
‘It’s already broken, this is just… breaking it a little more.’ Zachary looked at Aiden with a gleam in his eye. ‘Just think how quickly Carson will come looking for allies once their precious carrier gets put out of commission. Most of their trade will cease in an instant. Then we’ll be able to make a favourable deal which will benefit everyone here in the city.’
‘You know people live on the Hermes, right?’
‘Unfortunately, yes. But I’m sure their deaths can be minimised — or even avoided — if the situation were approached by a man of talent such as yourself. Maybe by putting out an alarm to evacuate or some such thing.’ Zachary waved his hand in the air. ‘The details are irrelevant to me.’
‘So let me get this straight,’ Aiden said, ‘you want me to blow up an aircraft carrier, home and livelihood to hundreds of people, so that you can… broker a trade deal with Carson Waters to make the Syndicate more money?’
‘This isn’t a Syndicate thing exactly, more of a personal venture. But it’ll benefit everyone in Lightgate.’ Zachary paused, almost laughing to himself. ‘Or the Rim, whatever you want to call it. Who can keep up these days?’
‘So Julian doesn’t know about this?’
‘Julian knows nothing,’ Zachary said, huffing. ‘He’s all bark and no bite. I’m the only one with the balls to actually follow through around here. So what do you think? There’ll be some serious rewards in it for you of course: tokens, women, property. Whatever you want. This could make us both very powerful men.’
Aiden shook his head, amazed at the brazenness. ‘I don’t work for the Syndicate, and I’m not going to hurt people to line your pockets with more money. I honestly can’t believe you came to me with this.’
‘I see,’ Zachary said, his face falling. He stubbed out the cigarette. ‘It’s a shame, that’s for sure. You have a reputation for getting things done, I suppose I just figured you were intelligent enough to see which way the wind was blowing.’
‘I don’t call killing people for financial gain particularly intelligent.’
‘You think you’re so much better than everyone, don’t you?’ Zachary said, scowling over the desk. ‘I see the way you look at people here; the way you look at me. You think you’re better than all of us while you parade your little morality pet around.’
‘You’re talking about Leigh?’
‘If it wasn’t for her you would’ve gone off the rails years ago, that much is obvious. You don’t deserve someone like that.’
Aiden stared in disbelief, blindsided by the verbal attack. ‘I don’t care what you think, and I’m not interested in arguing with you, Zachary. Find someone else to do your dirty work, I have places to be.’ He turned and left the office to find Leigh stood in the hallway.
‘What’s up?’ he asked as he closed the door behind him. ‘I thought you were sulking in the room.’
‘I’m not sulking. Just wandering around, that’s all.’
‘Eavesdropping?’
She shrugged and smiled, showing her wonky tooth. ‘Not much else to do around here.’ She glanced up and down the hallway. ‘Zachary is kinda shady isn’t he?’ she said, her voice low.
‘We’re in the city, what do you expect?’ Aiden knelt down and she hugged him properly this time. ‘You stay away from Zachary, okay? He’s got trouble written all over him. I’ll be back in a few days.’
He left her and headed towards the tunnel to meet with Orlen and the rest of the group when Dion came swaggering in the opposite direction. Track marks lined the crooks of his arms, his eyes were bloodshot, his skin waxy — all symptoms of mainlining too much of something, probably Echo. He fixed Aiden with a grin, flashing the silver grill that covered his teeth. Aiden recalled the countless times they had gone through the same motion in prison years prior.
‘Aiden,’ Dion said, squinting down his nose.
‘Dion.’ Aiden’s hand drifted to the handle of his pistol. ‘Never figured I’d see you again.’
‘I guess I’ve got you to thank for springing all the cats down below.’
‘Just stay away from me, that’s all the thanks I need.’
‘That’s a shame, because you’re about to be seeing a lot more of me.’
‘How’d you figure that?’
‘Syndicate needs all the help it can get at the moment.’ Dion held up his forearm to show the chain-wrapped scythe tattoo. ‘As a ranking soldier in the Lone Reapers, well, I thought I’d offer my services.’ He leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. ‘Word is we’re travelling to Carson Waters together. It’ll be nice to stretch my legs after being stuck down in that cell for so long. Maybe we can catch up on the old days while we’re out there.’
‘Julian put you on the trip?’
‘That’s right,’ Dion said, winking. ‘I just need to grab a few supplies, so don’t be leaving without me, old buddy.’
Aiden watched as the gang member walked off, disappearing around a corner. As if things weren’t dangerous enough, Aiden thought — now he would have to keep one eye open on this trip or risk being shanked in his sleep.
CHAPTER 24
AFTER A FINAL CHECK of his gear, Aiden joined Orlen and a handful of Syndicate men, including Dion, in leaving the city through the tunnel. Aiden was careful to stay in the back of the group where he could keep the recently freed prisoner in sight. Soon after they emerged from the flaking-red barn, Patrick came scrambling out of the hatch behind them.
‘Where’re you running off to, laddie?’ Orlen asked.
‘I want to come with you, if that’s all right?’
‘Fine by me,’ Aiden said.
Orlen shrugged. ‘As long as you carry your share, lad. I don’t see what harm another pair of hands will do.’
Patrick beamed as he joined the expedition. Once they found the old road, overgrown with plants bursting from the broken concrete, they followed it west.
The red-hair
ed newcomer stuck to Aiden’s side most of the way, filling the quiet with stories of old jobs he had done, as well as bragging about some of the trouble him and his two younger brothers had gotten into back in the city. It turned out his father had abandoned the family and joined the Dawnists a few years back, leaving his mother to raise the three boys alone. Unable to support her family on the modest income she earned as a seamstress, she had gone out one night to smoke a cigarette and hadn’t returned. Her body was found a few days later at the bottom of the canyon. Patrick fell quiet for a few hours after recounting that particular story.
During the cold nights, they set up camp and slept under the stars. Aiden took more than his share of watches; Dion was putting him on edge, even though the gang member barely registered his presence. The friction between them was seemingly forgotten, or at least ignored for now.
A few uneventful days of trekking passed, with Orlen complaining about his sore joints most of the way. Then they came to the coastal fishing village of Carson Waters: grey surf surged against the rocky shore as flocks of gulls wheeled over the smoking chimneys; makeshift wind turbines dotted the cliffs, spinning in the blustery wind that carried spray across the village; close to the shore, fishing boats bobbed on the waves, while further out, the broken stern of the old aircraft carrier still jutted out of the water. The group made their way over worn, cobbled streets, heading straight for the beach where the bow of the Hermes lay partly submerged in the tide. The air drifting out of the ship carried the smells of roasting fish, cheap ale, and woodsmoke from the fires burning against the cold.
Orlen had mentioned that he knew someone who could sell them the supplies they needed, so Aiden and the rest of the group followed his lead as they made their way inside the carrier. Down a series of narrow ladders and diamond-patterned metal walkways, they came to a shop on one of the less busy lower decks.
‘Frank, you old sod,’ Orlen said, stepping past the racks of musty clothes.
