CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Slade's Bunker, Palmyra, UT December, 13, 2308 09:07:16 (Plus 00:03:07:16)
Hotaru couldn't see. It was dark. Or rather, as more of her consciousness came awake, she was blindfolded. Trying to move, she found that her wrists and ankles were bound. She wasn't in a chair - that much she could tell. Her arms were over her head, but she couldn't discern whether she was hanging. Using as many of her senses as she could, Hotaru finally decided that she was tied to a bed.
She pushed against the pillow behind her head, trying to dislodge the blindfold that someone (No, not someone, he) had tied around her eyes. She heard movement, and stopped instantly, pretending to sleep once again.
"I'm glad you're awake," a voice, his voice said. "I've been worried about you. You've been out for almost forty-eight hours."
A quiet "What?" was all she could manage, her throat dry and feeling like it was full of eighty grit sandpaper. Fear gripped her heart in a stranglehold. Two days?
There was the noise of metal scraping on stone followed by the creak of metal. Had he just sat in a chair? Another scrape, this time closer, and she could feel his presence beside the bed.
"I'm going to remove the blindfold. I have some food and water for you. I can only imagine how thirsty you are. Will you cooperate with me?"
Water? The thought of a drink was like manna from heaven. She nodded fervently, raising her head so he could get at the knot at the back of her head. As the blindfold came free from her eyes, she instantly wished she had said no. The over-brilliant glare of the fluorescent bulbs tore into her eyes, sending searing tendrils of pain all the way through the optic nerves. She reflexively tried to cover her eyes, then winced as the restraints dug against the flesh of her arms.
Slade realized what was going on.
"Computer, lights at ten percent. Amber only."
The room instantly dimmed, and a soft amber glow suffused the room.
"Better?" He asked.
Taking a full minute to open her eyes, Hotaru nodded, a raspy "Thank you" coming from her lips. Slade nodded in return, and held a glass of clear liquid with a straw toward her. He brought it toward her, angling the straw to her mouth with his hand. She took a tentative sip, not fully trusting him. There was no aftertaste, and she sipped hungrily at the liquid, draining the glass in seconds. When she stopped to regain her breath, Slade grabbed a second glass, swapping the straw from the first to the second.
The second glass fared no better, and the contents were gone before you could sing happy birthday. Slade placed the glass next to its mate on the table beside him.
"Here's the deal. I'm going to allow you to sit and eat the food I've prepared for you. The room you're in is secure, and cannot be left except by using the key that I have hidden. If you try anything silly, I will knock you on the head again, and we'll see what happens when you wake up. Understand?"
Hotaru nodded, eyeing the plate over his left shoulder. She could see toast, but her nose was picking up something that smelled tremendously good. Bacon? Using a pair of side cutters, Slade cut the zip ties that held her wrists and ankles to the bed. She sat up, and then winced as blood began to flow back into her arms, and the tingle began. Feeling in her hands came back first, and she began rubbing her legs and arms, restoring circulation.
With his help, she shuffled to the table, and sat at the seat he offered. She started timidly, taking small forkfuls of the eggs and fruit that were on the plate beside the toast and bacon. Her hunger quickly won out, however, and she polished of the rest in record breaking time. He offered her a second plate, which she accepted, and managed to eat slower, pausing to look around the room she was in as she finished the plate.
"Where am I?" She asked between bites.
"You are in my safe house." He replied calmly.
"A safe house? Why would you need a safe house? You're an Emissary. Why would you even consider one?"
"I knew that there was always a chance that something might go wrong, and I just wanted to be prepared for anything."
She eyed the shelves full of ammunition, food, water and clothes. "You look rather prepared. You've got enough here to keep yourself off the grid for at least a month."
"That's the idea. Especially when someone's after you."
"Like me." Hotaru said, seeing where the conversation was headed.
"Exactly. Did they tell you why you were coming to kill me?"
She shook her head, finishing the last bite of toast. "Only that you were to be made an example, 0247893."
"An example? That's a neat way of putting it. And they told you why I was to be made this example? One second." Slade stated flatly, steering the conversation in the direction he wanted.
"I'm sorry?" Hotaru was confused.
"One second is why you're here. Because, according to Control, I Delivered one second too late."
"So you should be sentenced to time in prison, and then reestablished."
"I would agree with you. Here's the kicker: I had over two minutes remaining when I Delivered. Imagine my surprise when I looked at my Tablet and saw that it read plus sixteen seconds."
"You obviously were late, 0247893, or Control wouldn't have sent me after you."
Slade winced. "I do have a name. Wouldn't they? What if someone fixed my Tablet to frame me?"
Pausing to think for a second, she finally asked: "Why would they do that?"
"What if I found out something that I shouldn't have? What if I had information that would implicate a Principal?"
Hotaru looked him straight in the eyes. "Even if you did, it seems a stretch to kill you over it. Imprisoning you I could see, but sending an Emissary after you seems like overkill."
"Or just another statistic that no one questions because of the infallibility of the Emissary Program. Are you saying that you've never questioned a Target? That you've blindly followed orders?"
"I have completed every Delivery..." she trailed off, looking away. Thoughts of the information from Abujamal's office flashed in her mind.
"But?"
"What if I had information that questioned the existence of diseases? Diseases that we deliver on a daily basis. Diseases that have been cured for over fifty years, but are still prevalent in our society?"
"If you had information like that, I wouldn't be surprised if Control sent someone after you.
She looked at the floor, thoughts of the man in the truck rushing from her memories into her consciousness.
"They did. You're driving the truck that he tried to run me over with."
Slade checked his chronometer. "And now that you've missed your Delivery deadline, they're going to send another to find you to--how did you put it?"
"To make an example of me." She finished quietly.
Slade nodded. "Just like they want to do with me. But now they're going to be after both of us."
Her head snapped up, realization mixed with shock and fear in her eyes.
"If I go back, if I explain, they'll listen to me. I have a great track record. I've never missed a Delivery. They'll have to listen. I can make it right."
"Tell that to the guy in the truck. I'm sure he was listening to you when you tried to explain."
Hotaru put her head in her hands, thinking. Slade crossed the distance, squatting beside her.
"Hotaru, think about it. If they wanted to talk to you. If they wanted to listen to you, would they have sent someone after you? You were in the middle of a Delivery."
She looked up, confusion and despair playing across her features. Hotaru struggled to recall anything out of the ordinary that happened during the mission. Aside from the attack in the washroom, there was - wait: the information from Abujamal's office. She jumped up from the chair, pacing the room, trying to organize her thoughts. As she neared the chair again, Slade reached out, taking her hand in his.
"Relax," he continued. "We're in the safe house, remember?"
"What's so safe about it?" Hotaru was starting to tremble. "All they have to do is t
rack our chronometers, and we're done for!" She stood, and started walking toward the exit hatch.
"Hotaru, calm down. We're safe. Trust me."
"But all they have to do is feed our coordinates to whoever they have trying to find us, and BOOM we're fried and dead. You know how easy it is! You've tracked people for twenty-five years. We won't even know-"
Slade slammed his hand down on the table. Plates and cutlery jumped up off the table, rattling back to their positions. Hotaru jumped also, despite the fact that she was two meters away.
"Would you listen for a minute? Sit." He pointed to the chair she had recently vacated and she slowly ventured back to the table, sitting.
"You've been tracking me for what, a week? Did you ever notice that my signal disappeared? Or stayed in one place? Or both?"
She nodded.
"This safe house is shielded from all GPS tracking. I've switched out my chronotag once, but I'm due for another switch. When I do, we'll switch yours, assuming you want to find out more about the information you're not supposed to know."
"But the Tablet...?" She said uncertainly.
"Tablets are still traceable, but not while we're down here. They're also easily swapped out with any other out there. I have copper phone wire that gives me dial-up untraceable internet, but the trade off is that it's slow. If you want to find out what's going on, this is as just as good a place as any to do research and gather intel, and Control can't find you unless you go outside where the retinal scanners can pick you up."
"Having a secure place is a great idea, and I'm sure that I would find out more about what I'm looking for. Up until a couple of minutes ago, you didn't know that I knew anything more than my mission. Why would you want to help me?"
"Because you're the key to helping me solve my issue with Control."
"I was trying to Deliver to you. To eliminate you. How can I be the key to solving your issue?"
Slade handed her his Tablet, pointing at the open email:
From: (
[email protected])
To: 0247893 (
[email protected])
Subject: Open for your protection
Emissary 0247893,
It seems that you have run into a bit of a problem after your last Delivery. Know that I am on your side, and I want to help. For your protection, you must track down the Emissary that is after you, and demand answers from her. I know about the missing time from your chronometer, but I cannot divulge more here. Find 0256773 and seek your answers.
OM
"Who's OM? And how can you trust them?"
"I don't know who, but he, or she knew about my missing time. They also told me that you were critical in helping me. That's good enough for me at this point. What do you know?"
"About your missing time? Nothing. I was sent after you because you failed to Deliver."
"I failed to Deliver because of the missing time. But this is getting us nowhere. You said you had information. What do you have?"
"I have diseases that have been cured for fifty years that are still killing millions today. Diseases like Cancer, Heart Disease and Smallpox.
"But those diseases haven't been cured. They've been working on a cure for Cancer since the turn of the millennium."
"What if I could show you research that says otherwise?"
"I'd be very interested in seeing it. My mother died from Cancer just before I became an Alpha."
Hotaru smiled a knowing, sad smile. "And my father died from Smallpox..." she trailed off, eyes widening in realization. "Hold on a second."
"What?" Slade asked, confused.
"Your mom died from Cancer. My dad died from Smallpox. Both are diseases that do not occur in the natural world anymore, and both developed symptoms suddenly after we Delivered."
"So you're saying we gave them the disease?"
"I'm saying that the Letter gave them the disease, we were just the delivery system."
"Why would they do that?" Slade asked, dumbfounded.
"A better question is Who is 'they'?"
"Control. It has to be. They're the ones who give us our assignments."
Slade crossed the room, grabbing Hotaru's Tablet. Taking it from Slade, she switched it on, and waited for it to boot up. Slade grabbed his Tablet also, unlocking the home screen and inputting his password. He connected to the internet, and began to download the data from his cloud calendar and email programs. Opening his browser, he heard a chirp, and realized that Hotaru's Tablet was up and running also. He gave her the login and password to access his router, and watched as she input them, gaining access to the internet.
She accessed her email, expecting to see the dreaded email from Control requesting she turn herself in for questioning. Belatedly, she realized that no such email would come - Control would just send another after her. As her inbox loaded, both Tablets chirped at the same time, and two pairs of eyes glanced down to see the new messages. There was only one, and the subject heading was Greetings.
Simultaneously, they both opened the message:
From: Unknown
To: 0247893 , 0256773
Subject: Greetings
Greetings Emissaries!
You have finally reached the point where I can be frank and instruct you on the things that you need to know based on events that have recently transpired. While I regret that I cannot reveal my identity, please rest assured that I am a friend, not an enemy.
The first step toward taking action is to rid yourselves of any connection to iCorps. I have taken the liberty of sending a courier to your current location with new hardware to keep you off of the grid. Once the package has arrived, destroy the Tablets and chronometers you possess. I will be in contact with you once I see they are activated.
The longest journey begins with a single step. You have taken that step, and the journey will be hard, but immensely rewarding.
Sincerely,
OM
Slade and Hotaru looked at each other, mouths gaping. They swapped Tablets, reading the same message on both.
"What do we do?" Hotaru asked, breaking the stunned silence.
"If a courier shows up at my door, I say we follow the instructions. We can always turn back and proceed with our own projects if we disagree with this one."
She nodded. "Agreed. I wonder how long we'll have to-"
There was a thump-thump-thump-thump-thump, in the "shave and a haircut" rhythm at the top of the metal stairs. Someone was there.
"Wait." She finished.