Zenith Rising

by Gavin Zanker

  ‘I need to tell you something,’ she said, wiping her runny nose as she remembered the note in her pocket.

  ‘Soon,’ Aiden said, squeezing her shoulder. ‘I have some important news first.’

  ‘It’s nice to have you back, guys,’ Grace said, standing up and smiling. ‘Come and sit with us.’

  ‘Want to clue us in on what happened down there?’ Julian asked. ‘Where are the rest of the team?’

  ‘It’s just us two,’ Woody said, limping over and sitting beside Orlen. ‘And barely at that.’

  ‘Welcome back, Woods,’ Orlen said, slapping his friend on the back. ‘Got yourself a bit of an injury there? What happened, you trip and fall on your vacation?’

  ‘Something like that. Nothing a few nights rest won’t fix though.’

  ‘A few drinks probably wouldn’t hurt either, right?’

  Woody nodded. ‘A strong drink would go a long way right now.’

  ‘What about Patrick?’ Grace asked. ‘Surely he made it?’

  ‘He was injured. We did what we could but… he didn’t pull through,’ Woody said, sharing a look with Aiden. ‘We made sure he was put to rest.’

  Grace’s smile faded. ‘But his little brothers. Who’s going to look after them?’

  ‘If you’re thinking orphanages, I don’t recommend the Sisters of Grace,’ Aiden said, stepping up to the table and leaning on it heavily.

  ‘So the mission?’ Julian asked impatiently. ‘What happened?’

  ‘The mission failed,’ Aiden said flatly. ‘We found the quarry, but it was heavily defended. There were too many Faithful. We lost almost everyone in the attack.’

  ‘We figured something must have gone wrong,’ Grace said.

  ‘How?’

  ‘Travis was just executed in Oldtown.’

  ‘Travis was…?’ Aiden trailed off. ‘You mean Samuel…?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Orlen said. ‘But not before the bastard hung his wife, right in front of the poor sod. While the whole city watched as well. That Samuel’s a damn monster.’

  ‘He killed Emily as well?’ Aiden felt a stab of regret for Travis and his wife. Their past had been chequered with questionable acts, but in the end they had just been trying to carve out a better life for themselves. He pushed the feelings aside — there was no time right now. ‘I’m sorry that happened, but we have a bigger problem.’

  ‘Bigger than Samuel?’ Julian said. ‘How are you going to top a raving loon with an army of fanatics at his disposal?’

  ‘Another army,’ Aiden said, pausing as he gauged everyone’s reaction. ‘An army of Ravagers.’

  ‘Don’t pull my leg,’ Orlen said. ‘I’m not sure I could take it right now.’

  ‘No joke. South of here in the Sinking Dust. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands.’

  ‘You saw them?’ Grace asked in a whisper.

  Aiden nodded. ‘I wish it weren’t true. There’s only one reason they would mass like that. They’re going to attack the Rim.’

  ‘Oh fantastic,’ Julian said, throwing up his arms. ‘So we’re all screwed anyway.’

  ‘That sounds a bit far-fetched,’ Zachary said, shaking his head. ‘The Ravagers were wiped out years ago. If there are even any left, why would they come back?’

  ‘If they were wiped out, who wiped them out?’ Aiden countered. When Zachary had no answer, he continued. ‘They’ve just been biding their time. Gathering their strength.’

  ‘Well I don’t believe it,’ Zachary said, waving his hand.

  ‘You’ll believe it when they’re chewing on your throat.’

  ‘I need that drink,’ Orlen grunted, heading for the bar.

  ‘How can you be sure they’re coming here?’ Grace asked.

  ‘What other reason would they have for gathering so close to the city?’ Aiden said. ‘It’s just a matter of time before they arrive.’

  ‘But they’ll murder… everyone,’ Grace said. ‘They’ll tear the entire city to the ground. We have to start getting people to a safe place.’

  ‘A safe place?’ Julian snorted. ‘There is no safe place. At least the city has walls. You think anyone will be any safer out there in the open?’

  ‘Maybe we should leave,’ Woody said, rubbing the nape of his neck. ‘With Samuel running the city, we really don’t have a reason to be here. We could get out the people we care about, maybe come back later if the place is still standing.’

  ‘I’m not leaving,’ Grace said firmly. ‘I can’t abandon my home.’

  ‘Yeah, me neither,’ Orlen said, returning to his seat with an unmarked bottle of cloudy, brown spirit and a few glasses. ‘I’m too old to set up shop again now.’

  Woody looked at his friends before deflating a little. ‘All right, so say we stay. Options then? What can we do to fight an army of Ravagers?’

  ‘Ravagers,’ Orlen repeated under his breath, deep lines showing on his brow. He poured a few drinks, pushing over to Woody and the other to Aiden. ‘At least those Faithful nuts will finally serve a purpose if the Ravagers do come here.’

  ‘You think the Faithful will help?’ Grace asked.

  ‘I think they won’t have a choice,’ Orlen said, knocking back his drink. ‘They’ll either fight or they’ll die. Just like the rest of us.’

  Leigh stepped up to the table alongside Aiden, feeling less out of place now that he was back. ‘What’s to stop them just going back into their compound and leaving everyone out here though?’ she asked. ‘They have that big door to protect them.’

  ‘Samuel has the city in his grasp,’ Julian said. ‘No way he would give it up now.’

  ‘Oh my god, the homeless camped outside the walls,’ Grace said, her voice almost a whisper as realisation played over her face. ‘They’ll be slaughtered like animals. We have to help them.’

  ‘And how do we do that?’ Julian said. ‘You really think the Faithful will let inside?’

  ‘We could use the tunnel,’ Leigh suggested.

  ‘Out of the question,’ Zachary said. ‘That’s a Syndicate secret. We can’t expose—’

  ‘You don’t get to decide that,’ Julian interrupted. ‘It’s a board decision.’

  ‘What board?’ Zachary asked, with a forced laugh as he spread his arms and looked around the room. ‘They’re all in hiding. None of them have surfaced since this started. They’re all content to sit in their safe rooms and wait this out.’

  Julian looked away, his jaw clenching. Despite having defended the board for so long, even he couldn’t argue. Leigh hoped she would meet one of these board members one day so she could punch them in the face.

  ‘With the tunnel we have the means to move people inside the city,’ Grace said, ‘and if no one is going to stop us then we should help them.’

  Julian shook his head. ‘That tunnel is our way in and out of the city. The moment we advertise it exists, the Faithful will shut it down and we’ll all be stranded. I’m not throwing away our only exit option.’

  ‘Exit option?’ Grace frowned at him. ‘You’re not thinking of running, surely?’

  Julian leaned forward and tapped his finger on the table. ‘When the Ravagers hit, this place will be a bloodbath. Look around you — we’re in a canyon; there is no escape. If they break into the city this place will be a tomb. If it comes down to it, then that tunnel,’ he said, jabbing his finger towards the door, ‘will be the only way any of us survive.’

  ‘But we can’t leave the homeless out there to die,’ Grace protested.

  ‘We can’t help them,’ Julian said, sticking his chin out. ‘We can’t even help ourselves. Someone be the voice of reason and back me up here.’

  ‘I think he’s right,’ Aiden said after a quick glance at Leigh. He probably thought she was going to argue, but at this point all she cared about was having him back safe. ‘We should keep the tunnel as a last resort,’ he continued. ‘If it comes to that, evacuating will save more lives than shuttling more people in here only to be trapped.’

 
‘Maybe we can broadcast an evacuation then,’ Grace said, her fingers drumming together. ‘If we can organise enough people up in the redoubt, the Faithful won’t be able to keep the gates closed.’

  ‘Julian already said it, it’s no safer out there,’ Aiden said. ‘Being inside the city is the safest place for now. If we broadcast the attack, people will just panic. Then we’ll have a whole new set of problems.’

  Grace rested her head down on the table. Woody limped over and put an arm around her. ‘It’ll be okay,’ he said. ‘I know it’s tough, but the best thing we can do is just sit tight for now.’

  ‘What about the Faithful and Samuel then?’ Leigh asked Aiden. ‘We aren’t just giving up on them are we?’

  ‘Not a chance,’ Aiden said. ‘We keep hitting him — we grind him down, no matter how long it takes.’

  ‘At least if we do survive this Ravager attack,’ Orlen said, throwing back another drink, ‘our lives will be much easier with the Faithful thinned out. Maybe then we can take the fight to them.’

  ‘Do you think they know?’ Grace asked. ‘Samuel and the Faithful, I mean. Do you think they know about the Ravagers?’

  ‘I doubt it. And I hate to say it,’ Woody said, ‘but we should probably get the message to him. The Faithful are the best chance this place has now, and they need to be prepared for what’s heading this way.’

  ‘Grace, can you handle that?’ Julian asked.

  She nodded. ‘I’ll think of something. Robin could probably get an anonymous message to him.’

  ‘Aiden. Woody. You two up for a debrief? I could do with being filled in.’

  Aiden turned to Leigh. ‘I know I’ve been away and we haven’t seen each other for a while, but I need to go over the expedition with Julian and figure out a new plan, all right?’

  ‘It’s okay,’ Leigh said, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. ‘It’s been a long day, I might go sleep for a while. You’ll come find me when you’re done though? I still need to talk to you, remember.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Promise?’

  ‘Promise.’

  CHAPTER 48

  AS THEY SAT sharing a whisky in Julian’s untidy office, the sharp scents of after-shave and stale body odour mingling in the air, Aiden went over the highlights of the trip south: from Dion being torn apart by wolves below the Falls, to Travis getting captured in the quarry assault. He was careful to leave out any mention of Havenstead — he had no desire to bring attention to the people that had risked themselves to help him.

  As he was getting to the details of Patrick’s death, Zachary burst into the room. ‘I have information,’ he said, red-faced from exertion.

  ‘You don’t knock anymore, Zachary?’ Julian asked, his irritation obvious. Aiden wasn’t sure why the man still put up with Zachary. He had considered asking, but decided it wasn’t his problem to get involved in.

  ‘This can’t wait,’ Zachary continued. ‘Aiden, you’ll want to hear this too. It’s about Samuel.’

  Aiden sat up straight at the mention of the Dawnist leader.

  ‘Well go on then,’ Julian said, ‘don’t keep us in suspense.’

  ‘One of our agents got wind of his movements: he’s going to be travelling into the city.’

  ‘How is this relevant to—’

  ‘Because word is that he’s meeting the Mayor. At the Deimos Bath House in Oldtown, at three o’clock. Today.’

  They all glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was half past two.

  ‘Samuel will be exposed,’ Julian mused, stroking his goatee.

  Aiden nodded as he rose from his seat. ‘This might be our only chance.’

  ‘Wait,’ Julian said. ‘We should talk about this. Develop a plan. You can’t just charge in there.’

  ‘There’s no time; I’m not waiting around. We tried it your way with the expedition, and look where it got us.’

  ‘Take backup at least.’

  Aiden shook his head as he swallowed the last of the eye-stinging whisky. ‘If he sees any Syndicate over there, we’ll never get near him. If I go alone, I can slip in unnoticed.’

  ‘Ever the outcast,’ Zachary said with an amused grin. ‘Always doing people’s dirty work for them, eh?’

  ‘This isn’t for anyone but myself.’ Aiden pulled his field jacket on. ‘Samuel has information that I need. I’m going to let Leigh know, then I’m off.’

  Julian nodded. ‘So be it,’ he said, raising his glass. ‘Give that bastard one from me then. Just be sure you make it back in one piece. And don’t kill him before the Ravagers are taken care of.’

  ‘Good luck,’ Zachary said, stepping aside as Aiden left the office.

  Aiden ran to his quarters to find Leigh curled up on the bunk with Hitch, both of them sleeping. She opened her eyes blearily as he rummaged for weapons through his pack, still lying where he’d dropped it after returning from the trip south.

  ‘Hey,’ she said, propping herself up on one elbow. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing, go back to sleep,’ he said. ‘I have to go meet someone.’

  ‘But you just got here.’

  ‘It’ll only be for a little while.’ He sat down on the bunk beside her, the comforting smell of sleep reminding him that he still hadn’t rested since getting back. ‘We got some information that Samuel is meeting with the Mayor. I should be able to get to him alone.’

  Leigh shook her head to try and clear the haze. ‘That sounds dangerous.’

  ‘It is.’

  ‘I know I can’t stop you, so… just be careful,’ she said, giving him a concerned look. ‘I only just got you back.’

  ‘I will,’ he said, rising from the bed.

  ‘Oh wait,’ she said, reaching for his arm, ‘I still need to talk to you.’

  He pulled out a fighting dagger from one of the pouches on his pack. ‘It’ll have to wait for a bit. I’m in a rush.’

  ‘Just listen,’ she pleaded.

  ‘I can’t.’ He looped the sheathed weapon onto his belt. ‘When I get back, okay? I promise.’

  Leigh flopped down on the bed. ‘You never listen to me anymore. I thought when you got back things would be better.’

  ‘I don’t have time for a tantrum right now, Leigh.’

  ‘You mean you won’t make time. And I’m not having a tantrum, I just need to talk to you! But no, it’s fine, you go do your thing. Here,’ she tossed a piece of rolled-up paper at him, ‘take this. I’ll be waiting here for you, just like always.’

  There was a worrying edge in her voice but Aiden couldn’t deal with it right now. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ he said, pocketing the paper before quickly checking over the Beretta he still carried, ‘then you can tell me whatever you want.’ He leaned down and briefly kissed her on the forehead, but she blanked him.

  He shook his head and walked out, forgetting all about the paper in his pocket. He had more important things to focus on right now, like finally getting answers from the one man who knew where Kate was.

  AIDEN ARRIVED AT the Deimos Bath House only ten minutes before the meeting was due. He entered the building, almost gagging at the foot odour carried on the humidity. There was no sign of Samuel or the Mayor yet, so he dropped a handful of tokens on the restaurant-style flat refrigerator being used as a counter.

  ‘No weapons inside,’ the clerk said, pointing to the sign — a crudely painted gun, struck through with a red cross.

  Aiden removed and unloaded his pistol before handing it over. ‘I expect to get this back.’

  ‘Everyone gets their stuff back,’ she said in a bored monotone. Her gum chewing was loud enough to hear over the rattle of her locking the weapon inside the drawer of a filing cabinet marked with the number three. She handed Aiden a metal tag with the same number stamped on it. ‘You can collect it on your way out. Men’s locker room is that way.’

  Aiden headed through the doorway where the smell grew stronger. A twitchy man with a patchy beard and xylophone ribs was putting his clothes o
n in front of a long row of mismatched lockers. To blend in, Aiden changed out of his clothes and into a towel. He discreetly tucked the slim fighting dagger from his trousers into the back of his towel, then entered the steam room.

  A couple of brawny men sat on a tiled step with their eyes closed as they relaxed in the steam. They paid him no attention as he took a seat away from them, facing the doorway.

  Then he waited.

  As the minutes passed, the tension building inside him and the lack of oxygen in the room made him feel lightheaded. He wiped away some of the water collecting on his arms and shook out his wrists. Studying the room for possible escape routes, he saw nothing except for the one door. There was a set of small windows, but they were set high up in the wall and sealed to keep the steam inside.

  He caught one of the men looking at him through the swirling vapour. A nagging feeling that he recognised the face reared up in his mind. ‘How’s it g-going?’ the man asked.

  Aiden forced himself to stop glancing at the doorway. ‘Fine, yourself?’

  ‘I’ve b-been better.’

  ‘We had a bit of bad news lately,’ the other man explained. ‘A death in the family. Lost our brother.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

  ‘Sorry, huh?’ The man glared at him. ‘You sure about that? Even though it was you who killed him?’

  As Aiden recognised the two Venkarths, Terrence and Dillon, he realised his mistake. The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. No one spoke. The three of them stood in unison, the hissing of rising steam the only sound. A glimmer of metal appeared in Dillon’s hand; a Bowie knife.

  ‘Samuel isn’t coming, is he?’ Aiden asked, already knowing the answer as his fingers loosely grasped the dagger tucked into the back of his towel.

  ‘It’ll just be us, I’m afraid,’ the shorter Dillon said as the two of them moved to block the door. ‘We wanted to set up a little alone time with you. With Ma getting along so well with those Dawnists, it was easy enough to set up.’