Agent mother other, p.30
Agent. Mother. Other., page 30
I sat upright in bed, panting. The space was dark and quiet. I gripped the blankets with my fist, letting reality seep back into my mind. Sam still lay where I had last seen him, completely unconscious to the world in his bed, with a healing strip firmly attached to his forehead. I threw my covers down, and while still trying to shake off the echoes of the dream, went outside the tent. The chem-lights were dimmed, simulating nightfall. Cool cavern air brushed against the sweat around my neck, and I smelled something cooking. Something rich with spice. The smell drew me towards it, and my stomach started grumbling. I had no idea how long I had been out for, and I was hungry.
Led by a saliva-inducing aroma, I found the communal eating space where a pot with something delicious-smelling in it happily bubbled away on a fire, surrounded by a ring of rocks that were used as seats. The pot was tenderly cared for by a young man who stirred its contents with a calm reverence, while two familiar figures sat on nearby rocks, hunched over their bowls, contentedly sampling the pot’s contents. I hesitated for a moment, but my hunger drove me forwards in hope that Megan and Peter could hook me up with some food. I knew that there were also a lot of conversations I couldn’t put off any longer. I needed answers.
Megan was the first to notice me emerge from the darkness and urged me to the seat next to her. ‘You feeling better?’ she said as I rested my sore joints on the cold rock.
‘Yeah, I am actually.’
‘You must be starving. Hold on a sec.’ Megan walked over to the young man at the steaming pot and started getting me a bowl. My stomach grumbled in anticipation. While she was gone, a strained silence stretched between me and Peter as he continued to avoid eye contact. Megan returned with a bowl of stew, and I fell upon it with excited enthusiasm. The hot stew was comforting, and I soon felt more like myself, meaning I couldn’t put off my questions any longer.
‘Obviously there’s some sort of understanding or shared knowledge between the two of you I don’t know about, otherwise I can’t explain how you’re so forgiving, Megan. Not after everything.’
‘You’re right,’ said Peter, bolstering himself and finally looking at me. ‘There is more you need to know.’
‘Have you both known everything this whole time, and just chosen to keep it a secret? Was watching me struggle and fight to survive through everything fun for you? Or was it some sort of sick consequence of wanting to relive your golden days? Tell me the truth about everything!’ The words came out with more venom than I meant, but I was mad and the food had re-energised me. I hadn’t wanted to re-enter a world with danger at every corner. I just wanted a quiet life with my son, and these people had somehow dragged me into this ridiculous, violent, painful and politically messy web. My son was hurting because of it, and I was mad.
‘Peter didn’t mea—’ started Megan.
‘No, I need to tell her everything. I owe her that,’ said Peter. ‘Yes, I’ve known about the messy politics and power plays since the start. A while ago, I started hearing rumours of secret meetings Vivian was holding with various companies and political figures. I didn’t think too much of it until I noticed that a lot of our new assignments involved targets that were threats to either La Panta or the Grove. Sure, the targets were guilty and charged with legitimate offences, but the pattern ate away at me. I knew Megan was helping some underground movement or something, so I tried to get in contact with her as the more I looked into things, the messier and more disturbing it got. The Agency wasn’t operating like the Agency that I love. Megan sent someone from the Hidden to meet me, and they told me everything about the Entity and their suspicions of how far its reach had stretched on Tir-na. They thought even the Agency had fallen under its influence, and that idea terrified me. The Agency exists to help keep the peace and protect people from untoward interests. That’s what I signed up for and what I believe in. So, to make sure the institution I believe in, and that means so much to me, isn’t used for nefarious purposes, I started passing bits of information to the Hidden. I would visit the Grove under the pretext of trying to recruit new Grovian informants, but really, I was meeting contacts from the Hidden. I didn’t even know the name of the Hidden contacts, as they always changed. We went along like that for five months until your name popped up. We had an order in the Agency to confirm your location and establish a pattern of life for Vivian. Around a month later you came barrelling into the Agency office. That’s when I knew something was up. I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I knew I didn’t want you facing it alone. I’m so sorry Rachel. I should have told you, but at the time, I thought it would be better to keep it from you until I understood why it was all happening. I’m an idiot, I know.’
‘And when you betrayed us and turned us over to that demented pervert who tortured and experimented on me and my son? What was that? Did you know that was going to happen? You had already experienced what he could do, and you just left us to it?’
‘I never knew that shithead Velor was involved until we were captured in La Panta. I had no idea about their stupid plan of using stress to activate your powers. Then, at the base, leading you to Vivian and letting you be taken was the only way I could save you. Well, save as many as I could. It made me sick to do it, but they knew we were there and, reading the situation, we would have all been killed if I tried anything else. There was no way out of that, so I made a way out. I still feel sick about it all. I couldn’t save Lilli. I still see her face. Then I couldn’t get to you and Sam for a couple of days. I can’t even imagine what you went through with that sick son of a bitch. What you both went through. I’m so, so sorry Rachel.’ Peter put his face in his hands and roughly wiped away tears.
I took a moment to absorb everything. It was all so messy, but I knew who had caused all this pain and suffering. ‘Is Vivian part of this Entity group?’ I asked.
‘We think she’s vying for a position. They make potential members prove themselves before full admittance,’ said Megan, matter-of-factly.
‘And the Master is in charge of the Entity?’
‘Not quite, but he’s pretty high up,’ Megan replied.
‘So, what are we going to do about it?’ I asked. Peter looked up and I could see in his eyes both pain and the hope that there was something he could do to fix everything. I knew it wasn’t helpful dwelling on what had happened, so instead I tried to figure out what to do next.
‘Well,’ said Megan, ‘we have some ideas, but what are you thinking, Rach?’
‘I’m thinking we take these bitches down and make them pay.’
25
The Road Home
We spent the next week plotting and scheming, and I had to admit, having access to the resources of the Hidden was extremely useful. They knew details about bases, patterns of life and security systems we never could have known. Calista also proved to be an extremely gifted and reliable leader. She knew so much and her eye for detail was meticulous, so each time we came up with a plan, she would examine it and point out any potential faults or risks. She was able to mobilise and encourage people like no one I had seen before, and simultaneously offer them the care and attention they needed. I could see why people stayed here, and why people fought for her.
After waking from his drug-induced sleep, Sam had split his time between our planning efforts and helping at the Zinke’s fix-it-shop. I checked in with him a couple of times to make sure he was okay about being there, but he said it made him feel useful, that helping keep the little shop going seemed the one thing he could do for them. He also wanted Mr and Mrs Zinke to know someone truly cared about Lilli, and they weren’t alone in their pain. It was during his time working at the shop that he learnt the full truth about Lilli. She had received a scholarship through the Master to attend university in Crayn, and she had started informing on us because of threats to her family. All of that was true. What we didn’t know, though, was that the Zinkes were already part of the Hidden. They had used Lilli’s position as a scholarship recipient to their advantage, and reported everything she knew back through Calista’s network of informants. The Zinkes had moved their little shop from the Grove to the Hidden’s cave after the questioning from Raph Merton’s goons became a bit too intense and personal. They had known something was up and were smart about keeping themselves safe. During those hours spent in the shop, Sam learnt that Lilli had been so much braver and more complicated than any of us ever realised, and it made the pain of losing her even more potent.
In our spare moments, Sam and I would seek a private spot in the cave system to practice using our abilities. We learnt a lot about our surroundings by practising our ‘sonar’, discovering that the Hidden had a separate cavern filled with transportation vehicles, including lo-vehics and e-vehic trucks. There was even a server room hidden off the main living cavern, which was mostly set to receive mode, with messages coming in regularly, and very few going out. Out of curiosity the two of us poked around a bit in the messages coming in and found that they were almost exclusively reports from on-the-ground operatives with little snippets of information about various Entity targets. One specific message caught my eye. It mentioned Serena Fabrica becoming increasingly annoyed that the Entity hadn’t come through with its promise of delivering their next upgraded AI, said to be OmniAI. The agent reported that Serena even threatened to withdraw La Panta resources if the Entity didn’t fulfil their half of the contact soon. My son, being who he is, became fascinated with the presumed-mythical OmniAI and spent a fair bit of his spare time rummaging through the servers, gleaning anything he could, until he found out what none of us wanted to hear. OmniAI was the system the Agency used. No one knew if OmniAI was developed in-house at the Agency or if it was gifted from somewhere, but it enabled the organisation to sidestep any system protection or safety protocols to access information about anyone and anything. It also proved the horrible depths of Vivian’s betrayal, as OmniAI in the wrong hands would threaten the freedoms and safety of all citizens.
By the end of the week, my head was throbbing from tracking the connections across the tangled web we were caught in, but the information about the AI made things click together. The motivations finally made sense. What would motivate a powerful conglomerate to assist an unseen, nebulous organisation like the Entity for decades? The promise of constant access to the most advanced AI systems available to ensure economic domination would probably do it. Then there was Vivian and her connection to it all. She had always been extremely capable, and even though we didn’t like each other, I had always thought she was smart and highly skilled, but I never would have imagined her in a leadership role at the Agency, let alone its Head. It had been a meteoric rise for Vivian. The previous Agency Head was quite young when he retired. Through Peter, I found out there had been rumours of an affair and blackmail surrounding his departure, which was strange, as he didn’t seem like the type for that kind of thing. The Entity obviously needed access to the Agency’s OmniAI to maintain the cooperation of La Panta, including having access to La Panta’s vast resources. That was when a sick feeling hit my stomach as a thought took root in my mind. Vivian’s promotion and the agreement between La Panta and the Entity for OmniAI were connected, with the Entity also involved in Vivian’s rise to power as the Agency’s Head.
This realisation only intensified our resolve. These people would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and it looked like Sam and I were directly in their sights. In that moment, I had two options: we could either flee and hope hiding was enough to keep us safe, or we could do something to make sure we stayed safe. I had run away before, hoping for a quiet life, but it hadn’t lasted. My old life and the past had caught up with me, so this time I was determined to make sure my son was safe to have the life he deserved. Not as a test subject for some power-hungry, faceless organisation, but as a free person. I would do anything to give that to my son. So, I planned and plotted with the rest of our small team. I still didn’t trust Peter, or maybe I just couldn’t forgive him for what he put my son through. Either way, he was useful for our scheming. His knowledge of the targets was impressive, but I guess that comes with working in a place that can provide you with information about any target with the swipe of a finger.
After many arguments and discussions, the plan was finally set. We were going to take them down, and with the support of the Hidden, we might actually pull it off.
The day before we put our plan into action was a quiet day. Sam spent most of his time with the Zinkes again, and I found myself in the company of Calista.
‘What will you do after this, Rachel?’ Calista asked me while we chopped tubers for the nightly meal in the community kitchen.
‘I truthfully don’t know,’ I replied. ‘I’ve thought about me and Sam staying in Crayn, but I don’t think I feel comfortable there anymore. The Grove isn’t for us, and I don’t think we can stay here with you. Even though it would be great, I think there are too many painful ghosts here to give either of us a real chance of a fresh start.’
‘You speak of the terrible loss of Lilli Zinke.’ No question in it from Calista, just a statement. We both looked up from our rhythmic chopping in the direction the Zinke’s fix-it shop. We couldn’t see the shop from where we were, but I knew that’s where Sam would be.
‘I think Sam feels guilty about what happened. We all feel guilty, but I think he feels it more sharply. If we stayed here, I’m not sure he’d ever be free of it.’
‘I believe you might be right. I have noticed him often at the Zinkes’, helping them with their shop. He has been so very kind to them, but it would be a shame to see such a bright, smart and kind young man tinker away in a fix-it shop and never realise his full potential. I believe the drive to see their child reach their full potential is what led to the Zinkes letting Lilli go to Crayn, despite the risks. They had faith in her and were determined to do everything in their power to secure a brighter future, not only for Lilli, but for all children. After all, doesn’t every parent want to see their children take hold of opportunities that were never available to them? To live the dreams we could never have?’
‘You’re not wrong.’
‘And I believe that’s why they joined us here at the Hidden, and why I hope in time, they will continue the fight alongside us.’
We let the conversation drift away and sat, chopping in silence, letting our own thoughts consume us.
‘Have you thought where you’d go if not back to Crayn?’
‘Truthfully, I haven’t. I haven’t let myself make plans too far ahead since everything has been so uncertain.’
‘Well, there are some beautiful cities on Tir-na. Cities without dust that clings to your clothes.’ Calista slapped some dirt out of her skirt. ‘I’m told some of them are really a sight to behold and are also big enough for people to truly start a new life.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ I simply replied and went back to my chopping. And think about it, I did. I wondered and speculated while cutting each tuber. Calista left to do her rounds of the camp and I started weighing the pros and cons of Aeir and Uishka, the other large cities on Tir-na. Two beautiful cities I had only passed through on missions. I even considered the idea of heading off-world, but I didn’t think I was ready for that. I hypothesised about what each option would mean for Sam and what type of life it could give him. But I mostly thought about how we could start afresh in a place where no one knew us. It was an interesting and exciting thought that I took to bed with me that night, holding it as a promise that there would be something bigger and better for us after tomorrow, if we survived tomorrow.
The next day, our plan swung into action. Kitted up with oxy-masks, we headed back to the surface. Coming out of the cave system was a shock and my eyes winced painfully from the bright daylight. A fearsome wind had picked up and was lashing us with grains of sand. I pulled Old Blue around myself a little tighter and rushed over to our stolen lo-vehic with Sam, using one arm to buffer my face from the sandy gale. Only Peter and Megan came with us on this trip, as we didn’t need many for this part of the plan. Lucas and his team had already loaded the stolen lo-vehic with explosives. It was now Sam’s job to use his skills to program the lo-vehic so that in perfect synchronisation with our advance on the Palace, it would fly haphazardly around the Wastes in before returning to its home base with a bit too much enthusiasm.
We ran over to the side of the lo-vehic and opened it up, then rushed inside, happy to escape the blasting abrasive winds of the Wastes. After coughing and spluttering to clear the sand from our throats, Megan and Peter took up defensive positions in the body of the lo-vehic while Sam and I headed for the cockpit.
‘Alright, you know what to do?’ I asked Sam after settling into my seat.
‘Yep. I studied transport coding last term, so this shouldn’t be too hard. I just need to send it home, right?’ He said with a half-smile.
‘Don’t forget, we need the timing to work.’
‘Yes Mum, I remember. Don’t worry. You just do your thing to keep us safe.’ He closed his eyes and settled back. His breathing becoming slower and more rhythmic. He looked like he was meditating. I realised this must be what I look like every time I used my powers.
‘Oh! Almost forgot, kid,’ said Peter suddenly. ‘You’ll need an access ID. Hold up.’ Sam looked at me quizzically, but I had no idea what was happening. Peter started tapping on his wrist-comm, then suddenly said, ‘Remember this number, 573592.’
