I delved into Lucas’s mind, and was even more alarmed by the thoughts behind the words. I’d always been aware of his sense of urgency about getting the unit operational, but I’d never caught him thinking through the specific reasons for that.
Now he’d laid out everything neatly in his head for me to see. The numbers and patterns of incidents, the grim current statistics, and the logical future projections that were terrifying every Telepath Unit Tactical team.
The simple truth was that four true telepaths weren’t enough. The Hive was heading out of control, moving steadily towards the point where the incidents were too many to cover up, the nosies were unmasked as fakes, and we descended into anarchy. The Hive needed me to help stop that happening. It needed me right now.
I pulled out of Lucas’s head, and tried to rally my panicking thoughts. The Hive needed me to get out there and chase wild bees, and I didn’t even know if I was capable of it. I forced away that doubt. I was capable of it. I had to be.
I tried to look calmly confident as I nodded at Lucas. “We’ll make Nicole temporary team leader then.”
The meeting ended. Adika went off to inflict more suffering on the Strike team, and Megan and Lucas exchanged glances. Lucas seemed to lose, because he wandered off, leaving Megan looking at me anxiously.
“Amber,” she said. “You mustn’t be upset by what Fran said.”
“I’m not,” I lied. Fran’s comment about mutants had struck deep, because I’d always thought of telepaths as frightening, inhuman creatures. I had to forget about Fran’s words. Forget about the hatred and disgust in her face that was mirrored by part of my own mind. My Hive was in deep trouble and needed my help.
Chapter Fifteen
I was still deeply asleep at six the next morning, when a warbling sound filled my bedroom and dragged me awake.
“Unit emergency alert,” said a calm, computerized voice. “Unit emergency alert. We have an incident in progress. Operational teams to stations. Strike team to lift 2.”
Emergency alert? I sat up, gasping in shock. What was happening? Were Adika and Lucas throwing a special training run at us? I reached out past the thoughts of the other people in the unit, to find one familiar mind with glittering express thoughts.
Waste it, this was a real emergency! I rolled out of the sleep field, pulled on my mesh body armour first, then threw clothes on over the top of it. At the last minute, I remembered to put my crystal unit in my ear before sprinting for my front door.
Outside my apartment, I saw people running at top speed, heading for either their work stations or the lift. Mostly the lift, since the Strike team’s apartments were clustered protectively around mine.
I was the last to arrive at the lift. Adika started it moving the second I was inside. I gasped as I felt it dropping at higher than even express speed. The lift was rated to hold up to sixty people, but it seemed crowded with tense Strike team members.
“Strike team is moving,” Adika said, his words echoing from my ear crystal.
“Tactical ready,” the voice of Lucas responded from the Tactical office.
“Liaison team ready,” came a shaky, female voice. That was Nicole, speaking from Liaison’s operations room. She must be even more shocked than me. Last night, she’d been told Fran had gone and she was acting team leader. Now she’d been dragged out of bed by an emergency alert.
Adika’s voice prompted her. “Tracking active, Nicole?”
“Tracking status green for all Strike team,” she said.
I remembered I was next on the checklist, and fumbled for my dataview. The glowing dots of the Strike team were packed tightly together, since we were all in the same lift. I tapped my circuit button and checked the scrolling lists of names. Chase and Bodyguard assignments were still set from our last training run.
“Tracking green here too,” I said.
The checklist completed, Lucas’s voice started briefing us. “This is not a drill. I repeat: this is not a drill. We have a major incident in progress. Sapphire and her Strike team can’t take it, because they’re already committed following a target. Keith and Morton both had emergency runs yesterday, so their units are in mandatory recovery time. Mira’s unit had a bad run two days ago that ended with Strike team injuries, and Mira is still very distressed. That means we’re up.”
Lucas sounded reassuringly calm, as if he’d done this dozens of times before. Of course he had, though as deputy rather than Tactical Commander.
“Incident location is 480/1877 Level 54,” he said. “You can expect one target. Evidence suggests male and armed with a knife. There are two reported stab victims.”
Adika glanced round at the Strike team. “Half of you look like you’ve been in a fight. Cover up those bruises before people see us. We’re supposed to prevent panic, not cause it.”
Several of the Strike team urgently dabbed makeup on bruises and cuts. Those who’d already remembered their makeup, or had no visible injuries, watched smugly.
“And why has everyone got crystal units on visual?” added Adika. “You may be used to seeing people wearing cameras at the side of their heads, but the rest of the Hive aren’t.”
Smug looks vanished as everyone, me included, hastily switched their ear crystals to audio only. The camera extensions folded themselves neatly back into the crystal units, becoming virtually invisible.
“Changing to belt system,” Adika said, as the lift doors opened. He led the charge to the express strip. “Setting assignments now. Kaden is in charge of Bodyguard team. I’m taking red group, Rothan takes blue, Matias takes green, Forge takes yellow.”
I glanced at my dataview, and saw the Chase and Bodyguard lists had changed to match the new assignments. I had the standard five bodyguards, who went into formation; three ahead of me, two behind. There were four men in each of the Chase team groups.
Any lift we used would be automatically set to priority usage, not stopping to pick up anyone else, but we had to share the belt system with everyone else in the Hive. Bewildered early morning travellers stared at us. We were in casual clothes, bruises were no longer visible and weapons were hidden, but a group of so many heavily muscled men was still an odd sight.
We rode the belt for perhaps ten minutes before Lucas started talking again. “The first stab victim is a boy aged sixteen with severe but non-fatal injuries. The second stab victim is a woman aged forty-eight with minor injuries. We believe that the sixteen-year-old boy was the original focus of the attack. Our target then ran from the scene, stabbing the woman who was blocking his way. We estimate our target’s age at sixteen or seventeen. Previous warning signs in this area had only been strength two. This is a sudden, violent escalation to strength five. The escalation has probably been triggered by a personal event, such as a relationship crisis.”
Lucas paused for a moment. “Your destination is a small shopping area. The corridors north and east are residential. There’s a park to the west, and a hospital one cor south. Medical and hasties are already at the scene.”
Nicole spoke, her voice calmer now. “Liaison is securing the shopping area and the park. The hospital is in lockdown. We’re issuing local area announcements advising people to stay in their apartments due to a coolant leak.”
“Jump belt,” said Adika. “Crystal units to visual.”
We all followed him off the belt and adjusted our ear crystals. The camera extensions unfolded at the right side of our faces.
“Visual links green for all Strike team,” said Nicole.
“Strike team is approaching scene via upway from Level 55,” said Adika.
We were going past a notice board with a red border flashing. There was a group of hasties there, but they moved aside to let us through, their eyes turning to me in open curiosity. I was a lone, slightly built girl, conspicuous among the Strike team. What were they thinking about me?
I caught myself reaching out to check their minds, and gave myself a mental slap. I had to focus on doing my job. The Strik
e team swept me onto the upway with them. I caught a glimpse of another flashing red announcement about a coolant leak as the moving stairway carried us upwards. We went past the blank walls of the maintenance interlevel between Level 55 and Level 54, and then shops appeared around us. We’d arrived.
I stepped off the stairway with the Strike team clustered around me. This was the first time I’d ever seen a totally deserted shopping area. I was reminded of the emptiness of Hive Futura. There was a row of lifts immediately to my left. In front of them, an abandoned bag lay forlornly, its contents scattered across the ground and its handle trailing through a patch of red liquid. Blood!
I felt a sick lurch of panic. Despite everything I’d been told, everything I’d seen in the minds of my unit members, part of me had still been clinging to my old belief that the Hive was a safe and secure world, patrolled by the hasties and the nosies who made sure that nothing bad ever happened. The sight of the blood made me finally let go of that reassuring fantasy. The grey-clad nosies weren’t real. There were only five true telepaths. Right here and now, there was only me.
People had already been stabbed, and their attacker was riding the upway or the lifts right now. I had to find him before anyone else was hurt.
I closed my eyes to avoid the distractions of visual images, and reached out to the minds around us, sifting through them. The familiar ones of the Strike team, wound up with tension at their first emergency run. Adika thinking over his first impressions of Lucas in action as a Tactical Commander, and grudgingly admitting the clown might actually be good at his job. Anxious hasties shaken by the unaccustomed sight of blood.
I reached further out to the minds of relaxed people in apartments. So many, many minds. I could feel myself shaking with panic. I had no idea what I was doing. I’d never touched a genuine target mind. I didn’t know how I’d recognize one.
Arms were round me, lifting me and carrying me bodily. I ignored them. The standard procedure was for the Strike team to place their telepath in the most easily guarded location possible. I was on the floor now, with what felt like a wall behind me. I was still seeing perfectly normal minds. Someone was in the shower. Someone was eating breakfast. Someone was …
… hiding in the dark, panting, frightened …
“About four cors north,” I said.
Adika’s voice was giving directions to the Chase team. They were moving out, while the Bodyguard team stayed with me, but I felt something was wrong.
“I’m not sure I’ve got the … It’s not the target, it’s a victim. A girl. She’s hiding. She’s afraid of someone. She’s afraid of her brother. Her mother left to work early shift as usual, then her brother arrived at the apartment. He was acting oddly. He hit her. She’s hiding in a cupboard. I think she’s been there some time.”
“He must have gone to the apartment before he came to the shopping area,” said Lucas.
“Chase team, pull back,” ordered Adika.
“Can you get a name for the girl, Amber?” asked Lucas.
“She’s very young. She’s alone in the apartment. Her father doesn’t live there. Why do people never think of their own name? No, wait, she’s remembering her brother yelling it at her. Jade. The girl’s name is Jade.”
“All right, Amber, try searching for the target again,” said Lucas.
I left the frightened girl and searched again. I was searching for one mind among a hundred million. One mind that didn’t seem right.
“Girl identified as Jade 2524-1873-966,” said Nicole. “Target is Callum, Jade’s brother, aged sixteen. We’ve found a report of an argument last week between Callum and the stabbed boy, Samuel. Apparently Samuel had started dating Callum’s ex-girlfriend, Willow. We’ve dispatched Security teams to guard both Jade and Willow.”
“Locate and guard any close family members of both Willow and Samuel as well,” said Lucas. “Callum must have either chased or lured Samuel to that shopping area. He’ll probably head back to Teen Level to find Willow now, but if he can’t get to her then he may go for a secondary target.”
“Getting my team on that now,” said Nicole.
My questing thoughts found a mind that was a different colour, a different brightness, a different texture from the ones around it. I touched it, felt the heady mix of fury and delight, and lifted my red and sticky hand to let my nose savour the rich tang of Samuel’s blood.
Samuel got what he deserved for stealing my …
I was deep in the target mind, but I remembered my training sessions and managed to keep speaking. “Target located. He’s five cors east, waiting for a lift.”
The lift doors opened. I hurried inside, leaned my back against the coolness of the metal walls, and felt the muscles of my face stretch into a triumphant smile.
“Target is inside the lift and heading up.”
“Probable destination is Willow’s room on Teen Level,” said Lucas. “Is she guarded yet?”
“She’s not in her room!” The voice of Nicole was shrill with alarm. “Her dataview’s there, but she isn’t.”
I was being carried, but I was still concentrating on that sharp, feral mind. There was the sensation of being in a lift, both in real life and through the mental link.
“Target’s lift doors are opening,” I said.
… the blue of hasties’ uniforms. Back in the lift! Get back in the lift! Go home to Level 100. Hide.
“Callum saw the hasties, he’s back in the lift, going down to Level 100.”
“Excellent!” Adika’s voice rejoiced. I felt the breath of the word against my face. He must be carrying me himself.
“There’s only one maintenance team in that area of Level 100,” said Nicole. “Pulling them out now.” A pause. “They’re in a lift, heading up. You should have a clear run.”
… stay calm, stay calm. The hasties must have been going to Samuel’s room. There wasn’t a nosy near the lift, so they can’t know I was there or that I’m going home.
“Callum keeps thinking about going home to Level 100,” I reported. “That makes no sense. Callum is sixteen, so he must live on Teen Level.”
“He’s got a hiding place on Level 100,” said Lucas. “A nest. He’s used it often. Be careful when you reach Level 100, because he’ll know the area really well.”
“He’s still going down in the lift. He’s not sure whether the hasties were looking for him or not. Better play safe and hide.” I gave the running commentary on my target’s thoughts, as I felt myself being passed from one set of arms to another.
“Bodyguard team stay in the lift with Amber,” said Adika. “Chase team be ready to move.”
“Callum’s out of the lift now,” I said. “Running north down a corridor. Going past a network of pipes.” Part of me felt our own lift stop. Part of me was with the target. “He’s undoing a plate on the wall. He’s on the same level as us, and five cors east, one north, past the pipes. He’s in a tube now. A big tube, curved under his knees, small enough he has to crawl rather than walk. There’s a fan on the left, a very big fan.”
“Is that a fan, Amber, or blades?” asked Adika.
“He didn’t look at it directly. He didn’t think about it. Could be either.”
“I think he’s in the waste system,” said Adika. “Still level with us?”
“Still level,” I said. “Still moving north.”
Adika gave rapid instructions to the various groups of the Chase team.
“He’s reached a chamber, about the size of a freight lift,” I said. “It’s a sort of crossway. There are pipes coming in from four sides, but at different heights. He’s entered through one of them. The place is cluttered with stuff. Bits of metal. Clothes. Boxes.”
“That’s his nest,” said Lucas. “He’ll stay there for a while.”
“I’m positioning men to enter from all four sides,” said Adika.
“Position them but don’t go in yet,” ordered Lucas. “Will he hear them coming, Amber?”
“It’s noisy h
ere because of that big fan thing.”
There was a pause while Adika got the Chase team in place. “We’re ready now.”
“Nicole, any sign of Willow yet?” asked Lucas.
“We still can’t locate her,” said Nicole.
“Waste that!” said Lucas. “Amber, what can you see? What’s Callum doing?”
“He’s sharpening a knife,” I said. “He finds it relaxing. He’s looking down at the blade now. Big curved blade. I think it’s home made.”
“I hope no one was fool enough to forget their body armour,” said Adika.
“I just saw Willow!” I yelled. “She’s in there with him. Tied up and gagged. Her eyes are open. She’s alive.”
“Lucas?” asked Adika, the single word screaming impatience.
“Wait,” said Lucas. “Callum’s got the knife in his hand. If he hears you coming, the girl’s dead. Check your guns are on stun and be ready on my command. Amber, is he planning to kill Willow?”
“No,” I said. “She dumped him for someone else. He’s planning to keep her his prisoner now. They’ve got food supplies, and he’s tapped into a water pipe, so they can stay there a long time. Callum’s putting down the knife now. Walking over to Willow. Kneeling down and smoothing her hair out of her eyes.”
I looked down into the eyes of my prisoner and smiled at her. She would never leave me again.
“Strike time!” said Lucas.
“Going circuit.” I dumped the target mind, and swapped to checking my team, touching each of their thoughts in turn. “Adika, Forge, Dhiren, Rothan, …”
“Target down,” said Adika. “We stunned him. The girl seems uninjured but terrified.”
“Hasties and a medical team are on the way,” said Nicole.
I finished my circuit to make sure all the Strike team were safe, and then checked Willow. “Ugh.”
“All right, Amber?” asked Adika.
“Yes, but I checked Willow’s mind and …”
“Get out of her head, Amber!” ordered Lucas. “Try to forget whatever you saw. Willow probably won’t remember it herself after today. The medical staff won’t just treat her injuries, but wipe any traumatic memories to help her recovery.”