Day Zero

by James Swallow

  Holden turned and ran for the kitchen. Sarah almost followed, but common sense kept her in place as Albion burst into the café and spread out with military precision. Every patron who hadn’t already fled was held at gunpoint, as were the staff. Shouted commands dropped people back into their seats. On the other side of the café, a child started to cry.

  Sarah ignored the guns, and the shouts, and went to help Jenks to her feet. Her nose was busted, and Sarah grabbed a handful of napkins. She sat Jenks down. “Doesn’t look broken,” she said, passing the napkins to her bodyguard.

  “Adding field medicine to your resume?” a familiar voice growled, behind her.

  Sarah turned and put on an icy demeanour. “Sergeant Faulkner. Is there a reason you’re waving a gun in my face? I trust I haven’t done anything to make you fear for your life?” She looked around. “I would put them away, before I’m forced to take this up with your superiors.”

  “Sit down,” Faulkner said, gesturing to a nearby table.

  Sarah sat, smoothing her dress as she did so. “He went out through the kitchens. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him.” She looked around. “As it stands, this isn’t looking good for your reputation.”

  Faulkner grabbed a chair and sat down opposite her. “Why were you having coffee with a wanted terrorist?”

  Sarah paused. “I wasn’t aware he was such. As far as I knew, he was a potential whistle-blower.”

  “And you wanted to hear him out, did you?”

  “Obviously.”

  Faulkner frowned. “You should take this more seriously, Ms Lincoln. Holden is a wanted man, and we could hold you as an accomplice.”

  “Unless something has changed in the last twenty-four hours, you can’t hold anyone for anything.” Sarah considered her next words carefully. “But, you know – let’s go.”

  “Go where?”

  “Your holding facility, obviously. Take me to wherever you’re keeping the people you’ve been snatching off the streets the past day or so. Take me right now, Faulkner. Right here, in front of all those news drones that followed you here, in front of all the recording devices even now fixed on us.” She set her hands on the table. “Slap the cuffs on me, officer. It’s a fair cop.”

  Faulkner stared at her for a moment, and then snorted and looked away. “I wish I bloody could. I really do.” He paused. “And maybe one day I will.”

  “I’m sure you’re looking forward to it.”

  He laughed and looked at her. “Your parents were immigrants, weren’t they?”

  It was Sarah’s turn to frown. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything. But yes. My parents were indeed immigrants. Law abiding, productive members of society who were nonetheless often treated like second class citizens. One of the reasons I got into politics was to ensure that–”

  “Save it,” Faulkner said, flatly. He studied her. “If I thought for one moment you were serious about all that, I might respect you. But I know your type. I saw plenty of your sort overseas…”

  “I’m sure you did. And I’m sure you shot a good many of them.” Sarah knew she was pushing too hard. She also knew that she had stay on top of him. To keep him angry, rather than thinking. From the look on his face, it was working.

  “Why were you meeting Holden?” he growled.

  “He said he had something to tell me.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know. You came in guns blazing before he had a chance to say anything.” She made a show of looking around, at his men standing on guard. “Well done, by the way. You’ve pacified an upscale expresso bar. Nigel Cass would be so proud.”

  Faulkner’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

  “Like the Americans say, the best defence is a good offence.”

  He looked away. “Holden is no longer employed by Albion. He is a rogue element. A terrorist, as I said.”

  “Like DedSec?”

  His eyes strayed back. “Maybe. My orders are to apprehend him.”

  “And turn him over to the proper authorities,” Sarah said.

  He smiled. “We are the authorities.”

  “Not yet. Not ever, if I get my way.”

  His smile widened and he stood. He looked around, his eyes passing over Jenks and settling on Hannah. She shrank back and he turned back to Sarah. “I would reconsider involving yourself in our affairs in the future. And if you happen to see Holden again, it’d be in your best interests to report it to us.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  He leaned over the table towards her, no longer smiling. “Then our next conversation will end poorly for you, Ms Lincoln. MP or no MP.” He straightened and turned, signalling his men to withdraw. “Let’s move.”

  Sarah let out a slow breath as they departed. She turned to the others. “Is everyone all right? PC Jenks – Moira?”

  Jenks nodded, dabbing at her nose with a handful of napkins. “I’m alright, ma’am. Been knocked about worse by bigger.”

  “I’m sure. Hannah?”

  Hannah nodded, her eyes wide. “Sarah, I–”

  “Later.” Sarah took a deep breath, composing herself. The remaining patrons had their Optiks out now, and were recording. She put on a confident smile. “Right now, I have to speak to my constituency about the gross abuse of power they just witnessed.”

  20: Lock-Up

  It only took one phone call for Danny to find out where Ro was living these days. His mum was only too happy to share. Danny thought she was hoping this was the first step to her children’s reconciliation. She was probably going to be disappointed in that regard.

  He and Ro had never gotten along, and there was too much time and bad feelings between them to change that. He still wasn’t sure what he’d done, or not done, to piss her off. Sometimes he wondered if Ro herself even knew. Maybe she just liked hating him.

  But this, whatever it was, was bigger than them. Danny had been a soldier long enough to know when something was up. There was a feeling in the air, like when you were riding down a stretch of mountain road and knew – you knew – that there was something bad waiting for you up ahead. But there was no way to tell what it was until you ran up on it.

  Faulkner was up in arms about something. Some drone technician named Holden was on the run. Danny figured he was carrying a load of proprietary information, the way Faulkner was acting. Or maybe it was something else – something related to the shootings. He couldn’t see how, but that didn’t mean that the connections weren’t there.

  Danny was torn between his desire to investigate, and his desire to keep his head way down. Curiosity got men killed. Danny had seen it more than once. He didn’t intend to suffer the same fate. All he wanted was to do his job, get paid and maybe visit his mum more than once in a blue moon. But if Ro was involved – if the Kelleys had her doing some shady shit related to what he was looking into – keeping his head down wasn’t going to be an option. That was why he’d come all the way out here without telling anyone. There would be no record of this visit, and nothing to tie Ro to the scene. He’d made sure of that.

  Ro’s flat wasn’t far from his mum’s. It was on the second storey of a new build council estate, set atop the bones of old row houses and corner shops. Wide boys lurked in the corners, watching him with hooded gazes. He was thankful he hadn’t come in uniform, and equally thankful he had his sidearm holstered under his coat.

  He stopped. The door to Ro’s place was in front of him. All he had to do was knock. Maybe she wasn’t in. Maybe she’d just kept running. That’s what a smart person would have done. Ro was smart, but not that smart.

  He knocked on the door and waited. A moment later, the door cracked open. Ro peered out, jaw set, eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

  “Are you going to let me in?” he said.

  “Are you alone?”

  “Of course.”

  The door shut. He heard the jangle of a chain, and then it swung open in invitation. Ro gestured impatie
ntly. “Well?” she said. “In or not?”

  “In,” Danny said. She closed the door behind him, after a quick look down the corridor. “I told you I was alone.”

  “Yeah, forgive me for not trusting you.” Ro fell back onto an overstuffed couch that had seen better decades. She indicated a wicker chair nearby. “Sit, if you want.”

  Danny sat. They stared at each other in silence for several moments. Danny tried to think of how best to begin, but the longer it took, the more pugnacious Ro’s expression became. He cleared his throat. “Nice place.”

  “Cheers.”

  “The Kelleys own the building, don’t they?”

  Ro looked at the ceiling. “What does that matter?”

  “You’re paying your bosses for a place to live.”

  “And you stay in barracks.”

  “I get paid to stay in barracks.” He raised a hand, interrupting her retort. “Never mind. Colin Wilson’s flat,” he said, finally.

  “What about it?”

  “Don’t fuck with me, Rosemary.”

  “Ro,” she corrected. Danny met her glare and held it.

  “What were you doing there?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  “I was conducting an investigation.”

  She laughed. “You a plod now?”

  Danny looked around, taking in the lack of furnishings, the peeling paint, the stains. “Why were you there?”

  “Wasn’t.”

  “You literally punched me.”

  “Didn’t.”

  Danny sank back into his chair. “You think this is funny?”

  “I’m amused,” Ro said.

  “Five different CCTV feeds caught you running away. Three caught you entering the building. Six drones spotted you making your way down the street. Do I need to go on?”

  Ro wasn’t smiling anymore. He could tell she was rattled. She hadn’t thought about it. She never really did. “Are you here to arrest me then? Mum will be cross.”

  “I’m not here to arrest you.”

  “Then why you here, bruv? You ain’t missed me.”

  “Maybe I did,” Danny said. “Maybe I’m worried about you. Maybe I don’t want some trigger-happy operative to put a bullet in you, because you’re standing next to one of the Kelleys at the wrong time.”

  Ro looked away. “That won’t happen.”

  “You don’t know that.” Danny leaned forward. “You don’t know anything. Otherwise you wouldn’t be messing with this shit, yeah?” He paused, forcing himself to stay calm. “Why were you there?”

  Ro was silent. Then, “Had to be, innit?”

  “The Kelleys sent you?”

  “Yeah.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Bloody Mary wants to know what Colin was up to. And since I knew him…” She met his eyes challengingly, but he didn’t speak. She went on. “Since I knew him, I got the job.”

  “You saw him get killed,” Danny said, softly. He’d seen the CCTV footage from the pub – what there was of it. Ro had been talking to the victim when he’d been shot. She nodded. “Was he a friend?”

  “No, I just knew him, like.”

  Danny could hear the tremor in her voice, but didn’t press her. “What did you find?”

  “What makes you think I found anything?”

  “Because you were running like you did.”

  “Maybe I just didn’t want to get caught.” Ro looked at him. “If you’re not here to arrest me, or take me into custody or for questioning or whatever bullshit you call it – why are you here?”

  “Maybe I wanted to check on you.”

  “I wasn’t the one who got my arse kicked.”

  Danny bit back a retort. “But you were the one on the cameras. Or you would be, if I hadn’t dealt with the footage.”

  Ro stared at him. “You what?”

  “I’m the only one who knows. I haven’t told anybody, and as soon as I can figure out how to erase it, or copy over it or whatever, I will.” He paused. “I’m risking my job, maybe more than that, for you. The least you could do is tell me what you found.”

  “I didn’t ask you to do that.”

  “You didn’t have to,” he snapped, raising his voice. “You’re my sister, remember? What am I supposed to do? Just leave you to it?”

  “It’s what you’ve always done before,” Ro snarled back.

  Danny opened his mouth. Closed it. Looked away. Arguments with Ro were circular things, always going back around to old hurts. She couldn’t let go of the past, couldn’t see that he wanted what was best for her. Finally, he said, “I’m not dad.”

  Ro jerked as if he’d slapped her. She fell silent. Danny looked at her. “You’re mad because I went away? Fine. I went away. But I went for you and mum. We needed money and I got some. And I never expected a word of thanks…”

  “And you won’t be getting one,” she said. “We didn’t need money, we needed you. And you ran away. You went halfway across the bloody world – for what? Not for us.”

  The words stung because there was some truth to them, however much he wanted to deny it. It had all been too much for him. Everything had been on him, or at least it had felt that way. Mum had been working all hours, Ro acting out, and school… well. Danny had never been the best student. Under different circumstances, he might’ve ended up with the Kelleys as well. Joining the army had almost been a relief. But he didn’t say that.

  “I don’t have to justify myself to you,” he said.

  “Same,” she said, arms crossed.

  They stared at one another in silence for several long minutes. Danny sighed. He’d messed up. He’d come for information, and gotten nothing in return except hostility. And now Ro knew Albion was on the same trail. If she told the Kelleys, who knew what would happen? “You need to stay out of this, Ro,” he said, as he pushed himself to his feet. “Tell the Kelleys you didn’t find anything. Tell them whatever, just stay out of it.”

  “Stay out of what, exactly, Danny?” She rose as well, fists tight. “What do you know that you’re not saying?”

  “Nothing, except it’s probably way beyond either of us. So use your head and stay out of it. For mum’s sake, if nothing else.”

  “Dirty fighter,” Ro said, frowning.

  “Like brother, like sister.” He went to the door. “Don’t get up. I’ll show myself out.”

  He managed not to slam the door – just. He stood in the corridor, still angry, but no way to release it. He glanced back, wanting to go back in, to shout some or maybe apologise, or both. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.

  Ro waited until she was sure Danny had left before she went out. She was sure he’d been telling the truth. Her brother only got that upset when he was being honest. And, too, he’d mentioned their father, something he didn’t often do.

  She could tell he was scared, not just for his job. But if she screwed things up now, Bloody Mary would kill her, and maybe her mum too, and Danny as well. That was the way the Kelleys worked. They took you and everyone you knew, and made you all a lesson to everyone else. That fear was what was driving her now. Danny wanted to protect her – and Ro wanted to protect him. Even if she didn’t like him much, he was still her brother.

  The address she’d found at Colin’s flat proved to be a council estate in Hackney. It didn’t take her long to get there. It was an unprepossessing sort of place, made of grey-brown residential squares surrounding a stretch of dirt and some benches.

  There was a greasy spoon café across the street, and she went in. It was nearly empty, and air smelled of stale coffee grounds and steamed milk. She ordered a builder’s tea and took a seat near a window. She took out the burner phone and turned it on. A few taps later, and she spotted the number listed in the Optik. She hesitated. This wasn’t her sort of thing, really. She didn’t usually have to find the people she needed to hit, or if she did, they weren’t difficult to track down. But this was different. She didn’t even know who this guy was, or how h
e was involved. If he was involved.

  “Only one way to find out,” she murmured. She tapped the call button. After a few moments, someone answered, but said nothing. She could hear them breathing, though. “You don’t know who this is, but I know who you are. And we need to talk. I’m in the café around the corner. You know which one. I’ll be here for an hour. After that, I’ll have to find you. And you won’t like that.” She ended the call and set the phone down. Waited.

  It buzzed and she picked it up. “Yeah?”

  “This is Holden. I’ll be there in twenty.” His voice sounded rusty, haggard. Like he was having a bad day. She smiled, pleased at the thought.

  “I’ll be here.” She closed the phone and sat back to wait. It didn’t take twenty minutes. Whatever else, he was punctual. He sidled in, wearing a suit that looked like it had been slept in, and stinking of nervousness. He was tapping at his Optik even as he sat down.

  “Did I interrupt you?” she said.

  “Shh,” he muttered. “Too many cameras.” He made a final tap and set the Optik down. “There. They won’t see us now.”

  “Who?”

  “Whoever decides to come looking.” He stared at her for a moment. There were cuts on his chin and cheek – not shaving cuts, either. And stains on his trousers and jacket. Like he’d been running. “How did you get that phone?”

  “I found it. In Colin’s flat.”

  “You knew Colin?”

  Ro nodded. “Did you?”

  “He made a few deliveries for me.”

  “Like what?”

  Holden sat back. “Who do you work for?”

  “The same people Colin did.” Ro leaned forward. “They ain’t happy.”

  “Neither am I.”

  “You’re going to feel a lot worse if you don’t tell me what I want to know.”

  Holden flinched. He looked around, and sighed. “Finish your tea. I’ll show you.”

  Ro knocked back her tea and stood. “Lead on.”

  He led her out of the café, and across the street. She wondered if he lived here. Surely Albion paid better than that. “You work for the Kelleys, then?” he said, not looking at her.