10
Somewhere in Libria, a man waited in the nervous shadows. He
rubbed his hands together and peered into the distance.
"Thank you for meeting me here." The voice was calm,
cultured.
The man gasped, "For pity’s sake, don’t do that. You almost
gave me heart failure!"
"I’m sorry." Cleric Errol Partridge smiled slightly. He
understood why his friend Jurgen was spooked. Grammaton Clerics did
that to people.
They began to walk along the darkening back streets.
Partridge knew the Sweeper routines and they were safe for a while.
"We don’t have any information yet," Jurgen told him. "This
Cyrus has been operating outside the City for months. He’s just as
dangerous to our cause as you are, I mean, as the Tetragrammaton. He’s
well armed and totally unscrupulous."
Partridge nodded. "She’s an innocent, Jurgen. We have to
find her. The Tetragrammaton needs to eradicate this group, so we can
use their resources once we know where to look. Keep trying."
"What about your partner? Isn’t he going to be suspicious if
you suddenly know where to go?" Jurgen paled slightly at the mere
thought of a suspicious Cleric Preston.
Partridge shook his head sadly. "We both know it’s only a
matter of time, my friend. Deep down, he knows. He’s always known. It’s
just a question of how long before he puts it all together. Until then,
I will be your eyes and ears." Partridge patted his friend’s shoulder
and moved away into the darkness.
11
Kyra dreamed.
She was playing with
brightly coloured building blocks, seeing how high she could get.
Her mother was handing
her the blocks, laughing sweetly at how serious Kyra was. When the
tower was so high she couldn’t reach, her father lifted her up, telling
her what a wonderful little girl she was…..
She woke, disoriented. The sun streamed through the dirty
window panes, sending the shadows from the iron bars scrambling up the
wall at the back of the room. She was alone. She knew that at least a
dozen people were scattered around the building. Suze and Tash were
next door.. She’d heard their frenzied moaning for hours last night. At
one point, Marty had come in ‘looking for a little action.’ He was now
limping in both legs. She heard Suze repeat Cyrus’ words. "Don’t touch
the merchandise!" It chilled her.
Her parents. She hadn’t thought of them for 25 years, not
since they’d been arrested and incinerated. The memory of the dream
made her feel warm, but she shook it off. No. She did not want this.
She would not become like them. Without her realising, a small tear
made its traitorous way down her cheek.
12
Father’s insistent message of faith and faithfulness to the
great society insinuated itself into Preston’s consciousness as he
scanned report after report on the new faction. He allowed himself to
admit that Administrator Flynn’s abduction disturbed him, but he was
unable to pinpoint why. The Council had decreed that the Clerics could
use any and all resources to purge Libria of this new ‘cancer’. He
thought it reasonable to include finding Kyra Flynn.
13
Kyra dreamed.
She was in the EC-10 offices, sorting
and filing written items. She would be here for six months as part of
her ongoing Administrator training. There were several young women in
the offices, but she was the only one on fast track.
Kyra was never tempted to read the
EC-10 items beyond the title. She saw no point. They were unnecessary.
However, she had noticed that one of the other women spent a
questionable amount of time on each item.
It was after the mid-day nutrition
break, when Kyra returned to the office. She came in so quietly, that
her colleague did not hear her. Kyra was shocked to see the woman
reading a book, even stroking the pages. The book was titled ‘Black
Beauty’. For split second, Kyra hesitated. Perhaps she was mistaken.
Then she saw the tears running down the woman’s cheeks. Kyra turned and
went straight to her supervisor to report what she’d seen.
She was not told the outcome but she
knew what transpired. She never saw Viviana Preston again.
Kyra woke, shaking. She felt the hot, salty liquid on her
face. Oh God! What had she done? The guilt washed over her and she
curled herself into a tight ball. She thought of her parents and
couldn’t remember her mother’s name. Do Robbie and Lisa remember their
mother? Oh God! John! How could she face him again? One simple act of
conditioning and three lives lay in ruins.
Realising she had been holding her breath, Kyra exhaled
slowly. She inhaled slowly. After a few moments, with self-control
returning, she tried to rationalise. At the time, it was the right
thing to do. What was it the Vice-Council said? ‘Faith. Do you have it?’
Did John know? If he did, he never mentioned it. But he
wouldn’t, would he? He would have felt what Kyra felt – nothing. So why
did she still feel so awful? Such a waste. It was only a book.
Hearing Suze and Tash moving around, Kyra again tried to
calm the storm within her, preparing herself for the day’s torment. Her
only consolation was a little voice in the furthest recesses of her
mind telling her over and over, "He will come for you."
14
Jurgen was reading the latest copy of The Insensate at the
far side of The Freedom Reading Room, when Partridge came in. The
Technician mumbled something and shuffled out, unwilling to be party to
the meeting. Partridge stood at the other side of the table and began
turning pages. This was not a safe place, but the two men only needed a
moment. Jurgen glanced around, then slid a piece of paper across the
polished surface. Partridge nodded and quietly exited the room.
15
Preston did not question the source of the information which
Partridge divulged. His only concern was how long it would be viable.
"It will take time to organise, if we are to hit three
targets at once." Cleric Ryan sat across from Preston in the meeting
room. He and three other Clerics had joined Preston and Partridge to
formulate a plan.
"Agreed," nodded Preston. "However, we have a least six
Sweeper teams available, which should be sufficient. I would suggest
that you and Cleric Morgan take the powder plant in Sector 12, Clerics
Nelson and Brandt take the weapons store in Sector 4. That leaves the
HQ in Sector 6 which Cleric Partridge and I will deal with. Any
questions, Clerics?"
Cleric Andrew Brandt raised his hand, but after regarding
Preston’s resolute expression, changed his mind and nodded assent.
"Excellent," said Preston, rising from the table. "Raids are
set for 07:00 tomorrow."
16
Kyra dreamed.
She was practising in
the Hall of Precision. She was calm and controlled, allowing the Kata
to flow through her mind. Once in the mind-set, she would be able to
predict attacks and block them before her opponent could complete them.
Preston controlled the
practice, gradually increasing her skill level with each set. He
feinted, she parried. It was fluid and graceful. She felt powerful.
Suddenly, somehow, she
missed her footing. Preston dropped and swung his right leg around,
tripping her. He caught her arm and threw her to the ground. She lay
there, slightly winded and a little cross.
Preston leaned over,
but instead of pulling her up, his fingers brushed her face. She
watched the gentle smile form on his lips as he bent down and kissed
her….
Kyra woke. She was shaking again, and this time her whole
body was flushed with heat, sweat dripping down her back. What the hell
was that?
She raised a hand to her mouth. She could still feel the
touch…..NO! What the hell WAS that! It never happened. Could never
happen. How could she possibly admit to feelings for her Cleric. Her
Cleric? This was getting worse by the second. She’d start gazing at
stars and quoting poetry soon! Anger rose up and she kicked the chair
violently across the room. Actually, that felt pretty good.
Suze and Tash rushed in, stared for a moment, then started
giggling. Again. They found her transition to ‘technically an offender’
highly amusing. With her new found feelings, she could not understand
their cruelty and said so.
"Hey, babes," drawled Tash. "Just because we’re off the dose
don’t mean we’re like those goody goody resistance guys, banging on
about a new Libria. Cyrus got back last night and he’s brought some
serious stuff. Hell, I don’t care what happens so long as I’m OK.
Right, Suze?"
"Yeah. Cyrus takes care of us pretty good. We’re cool."
Kyra looked at the two women. She couldn’t help but smile at
their definition of being taken care of. Both were in desperate need of
personal hygiene training and their dress sense was decidedly dubious
even in Kyra’s limited view. It was going to be a long day. The
prospect of Cyrus however, filled her with dread.
17
Tash had just picked up the chair when Armageddon happened.
Suze screamed as deafening gunfire erupted. Throwing herself forward,
Kyra rolled to the corner of the room, making herself as small a target
as possible.
Panicked footsteps clattered down stairs. Men yelled and
fired whatever guns they had. Once again Kyra heard the Kata patterns
and her heart leaped. The door flew open and she looked up in
anticipation. And froze.
Cyrus, cursing and bleeding profusely from a shoulder wound,
charged across the room, waving his gun. Tash and Suze launched
themselves at him, only to be hurled back. Grabbing the tether, which
was still around her ankle, he dragged Kyra to the centre of the room.
Flat on her back, she had no method of righting herself and could only
kick out with her left foot. Cyrus wrapped the tether around her and
yanked her to her feet. The gunfire downstairs was lessening. Tash and
Suze whimpered. He backed against the wall and placed his gun firmly
against her temple.
In retrospect, it was actually quite funny, in a horrible
sort of way. Kyra was scared, but also pumped with adrenaline. She
spoke to Cyrus.
"What, exactly, do you hope to achieve by this?"
"You keep your mouth shut or I’ll do you now!"
"No you won’t. You think you need me to get out of this. The
only problem is that in about ten seconds a Grammaton Cleric is going
to come through that door and you will be dead. It’s that simple."
It was about five seconds and it was even
more simple. Preston walked through the open door, raised his gun
and fired. The gap between Kyra’s head and the hole which almost
magically appeared in Cyrus’s forehead was less than a centimetre. He
slumped backwards and slid down the wall.
Tash and Suze scrambled out of the door. Preston barely
glanced at them, knowing the Sweepers would pick them up. He walked
towards Kyra, who hadn’t moved at all. Raising his gun again, he shot
the knot on the tether and gently freed her ankle.
Kyra didn’t trust herself to speak. Preston asked softly,
"Are you OK? Did they..hurt you?"
"Yes, I think so and no, they didn’t." With that, her
fragile control disintegrated and she collapsed against him, silent
tears betraying her. He came for her.
18
Partridge drove back to the City. Both Clerics would have
detailed reports to write and would have to co-ordinate with the other
teams. For now, it appeared that they had all been entirely successful.
Kyra sat in the back of the car, still trembling. Trying to
steady her voice, she asked, "What will happen to me? You know they
took me off the dose. I’m a mess!"
Sitting next to her, Preston turned and gave her the ghost
of a smile. "You’ll be taken to the Infirmary for assessment. You
didn’t cease your interval through choice. There’s a difference. Once
your dose has been regulated again, you should be fine. In fact," he
pulled Kyra’s PIU from his pocket, "If you wish, you can dose now."
Her fingers were shaking so much that Preston loaded the
unit for her. She grinned at him. "Just like old times!" As she took it
from him, her fingers brushed his hand and the dream flooded back.
"No," she thought, "Not like old times at all."
Raising the unit to her neck, she looked up and saw
Partridge watching her through the mirror. His eyes were pained. He
closed them and turned away.
In that moment of complete clarity and understanding, Kyra
knew. Then she injected, feeling the soothing liquid once again rushing
through her veins
19
Twice she’d tried to pick them up and twice the explosions
had prevented them getting out. Kyra finally drove the car at full
speed onto the factory floor, performed a faultless handbrake turn –the
advanced driving course was definitely paying off-sending barrels of
fuel spinning away. The two Clerics sprinted across the floor and dived
into the car as she hit the accelerator. The building went up behind
them.
"Not the most dignified of exits," breathed Partridge as he
smoothed his coat.
"Indeed," replied Preston, totally unmoved by the experience.
Kyra drove back to the City at a steady pace, observing that
this was the fourth raid in two weeks. Since she had been certified fit
to return to work, the work seemed to have increased.
The Technicians at the infirmary had subjected her to
countless psychological interviews. Her dose had been extremely high
for weeks, leaving her totally numb and unable to function. Gradually,
both she and the levels returned to normal.
She considered it was all about choice. Offenders chose to
cease their interval because of their lack of faith in the system and
the belief that to be fully human, humans had to feel, no matter how
terrible some of those feelings were. It was back to ‘dizzying highs’
and ‘abysmal lows’ again.
She dropped Preston off at his apartment block. They’d
arrived back at the same time as Robbie and Lisa and she watched the
three of them go into the building.
She drove on to Partridge’s block, half-a-mile away.
"I haven’t seen you practising with Cleric Preston,
recently," he commented.
"No," Kyra agreed. "Schedules have not permitted it." That
was her excuse anyway. She didn’t consider it appropriate to practice
with him for quite some time.
"Hmm."
They stopped at the steps and both got out. Partridge turned
to look at Kyra, his eyes searching hers.
"I didn’t have a choice," she said. "To come off or go back
on."
"But you do now." His expression mirrored hers.
"Yes," she said.
Partridge remained silent.
Finally, Kyra whispered, "Will you help me this time?"
Partridge smiled.
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