Adika and my whole Alpha Strike team were in the lift. None of them moved or said a word, but I could sense the tension in the air. I wasn’t sure whether I was picking that up telepathically or just from their body language.
“Be aware that we may be dealing with multiple targets,” said Lucas. “If so, we can expect at least one of those targets to be in the Security Unit, but possibly not all of them. We can’t risk Amber setting foot on Level 20, but there’s the point that people who don’t work closely with telepaths always forget. Walls, floors, and ceilings are no barrier to telepathy. You may not be able to see a telepath, but they can still read your mind.”
He paused. “We have a choice between positioning Amber directly above or below the Security Unit. Below the Security Unit is a very busy Level 21 shopping area, and above it is a Level 18 park. Like any park, that extends to take up the space of two levels above and one level below it. The area on the levels above is taken up to give the park its extra height, and the area on the level below is taken up by soil.”
“The park is a much better location than a crowded shopping area,” said Adika. “I don’t want my men scattered among what may or may not be innocent shoppers. I want them close around Amber.”
Lucas nodded. “I totally agree. We couldn’t risk closing the shopping area because our target may be monitoring Law Enforcement systems. Whatever excuse we used, the target would be suspicious of a closure so close to the Security Unit. We can keep people at a distance in the park by simply getting the park keeper to mark an area off as closed for new planting. Being a level further away from the Security Unit won’t make any difference to Amber when there are no minds on the intervening level, just soil.”
“Ah,” said Adika, “so that’s why my team are all carrying spades. We’re supposed to be gardeners working on the planting. I’m glad there’s a good reason for issuing us with the spades. I was worried you were about to make a sarcastic comment on the problems we had apprehending the last target, and tell us you’d armed us with spades so we could hit people over the head.”
Lucas grinned. “I leave the sarcasm to you, Adika. You’re far better at it than I am.”
“Shouldn’t we have plants as well?” asked Eli.
Adika groaned. “Why did you ask that question, Eli? You know what Liaison are like about details. They’ll want to load us up with seed trays now.”
“Liaison did suggest we brought plants,” said Lucas, “but I overruled them. You are gardeners digging a new flowerbed. In the unlikely event that anyone asks why you haven’t got any plants, they’re being delivered tomorrow.”
“Has the area of the park already been closed for planting?” asked Adika.
“We’re calling the park keeper now,” said Nicole’s voice over the crystal comms. “We decided it was best to leave it to the last minute.”
Our lift doors opened on Level 18 and we transferred to the belt system. Lucas stood next to me, his arm round me, and started explaining the bit of the plan that was troubling me. Bystanders would believe he was just quietly talking to me, not that the scattered groups of muscled men were all hearing his words too.
“Normally a target mind is very distinctive because they are in extreme emotional crisis. This target probably isn’t, so will be harder for Amber to identify. We also have the problem that Amber can’t directly access someone’s memories herself, she can only see their current thoughts. Fran was killed nearly a week ago. For the following day or two, the memories of that would have constantly been in the target’s mind. By now, there will be long periods of time when they are thinking of completely innocent things. We need to make sure the target is thinking about Fran when Amber checks that unit, so once you’re in position in the park I’m going to pay them a visit.”
I wrinkled my nose. I really didn’t like the idea of Lucas going into that Security Unit.
“Turning up unannounced might trigger the target into a panic reaction,” said Lucas, “so I called the unit at nine o’clock this morning. I said we’d failed to find Fran’s killer, and unfortunately our heavy workload meant we now had to follow standard procedure and suspend the case until there were further signs from the target responsible.”
He shrugged. “I said that I realized this was a small Security Unit, with less than fifty people, so everyone would know Fran well and be disappointed by this news. Since they’re my fellow workers in Law Enforcement, I felt obliged to visit and address a meeting of the entire staff, to give them my deepest apologies and assure them we’d done everything possible.”
“A personal apology is a little unusual, Lucas,” said Adika.
“Very true, but I made the point that Fran had worked with us too. Anyway, the meeting has been arranged for eleven o’clock. Everyone in the unit has been messaged to tell them to attend. Our target will now be torn between two responses. Fear that I’m coming because we suspect something. Hope that I’m telling the truth and we’re abandoning the case. The target has to make a decision. Whether to give in to fear and make an excuse to leave the unit, or stay hopeful and go to today’s meeting.”
Lucas laughed. “Our target has had an hour to think through their options. That’s enough time to work out that if we’re truly suspicious of people in that unit, then doing something like claiming to be ill and going home would attract attention to them. Our target’s only real chance of escape would be to leave the unit and immediately go into hiding, but they’ll know how hard it is to hide for long periods in the Hive.”
He paused. “Even if we’re dealing with multiple targets, and the one inside the unit can call on someone outside to hide them, they’ll be unwilling to abandon everything to spend the rest of their life cowering in someone’s spare bedroom. Their other option is to gamble that I’m telling the truth, in which case they’ll just have to sit through that meeting and they’ll be safe. That’s a far more attractive thought for them, so I’m expecting hope will win over fear and they’ll come to the meeting.”
“You aren’t going into that unit alone, Lucas,” said Adika.
“Everything I say and do in the meeting will be aimed at reassuring the target or targets that we’ve given up the hunt and they are safe,” said Lucas. “They will sit there and quietly listen to me. If something unexpected happens that makes them turn violent, I have my ear crystal, gun, and body armour. No one will see the gun or body armour under my clothes, and if anyone spots my ear crystal then that’s easily explained by me needing to keep in touch with my Telepath Unit in case we have an emergency run.”
“You aren’t going into that unit alone,” repeated Adika. “You need someone to protect you.”
“Should the extremely unlikely scenario unfold where multiple targets attack me at once, there will be over forty other Security Unit staff at that meeting to help me subdue them. We may be dealing with two targets, conceivably three, but I really can’t believe an entire Security Unit has gone rogue.”
“You aren’t going into that unit alone,” said Adika, for the third time. “Rothan’s going with you.”
Lucas sighed. “I’m Tactical Commander in charge of unit operations. That makes me your boss, Adika.”
“Of course you are,” said Adika, “but your safety is my responsibility. Rothan’s going with you, sir.”
“But …”
“Rothan is going with you, Lucas,” I cut in. “You’re Tactical Commander, but the telepath is in overall charge of the unit, and I’m giving you a direct order.”
Lucas laughed. “All right. I’ll tell people that I’ve brought Rothan with me because he was on the emergency run. He personally retrieved Fran’s body, so can answer any questions they have.”
We had a long ride south on the express belt after that. I held Lucas’s hand tightly. He was usually the one staying somewhere safe while I went into danger, but this time the roles were reversed. I told myself that Rothan was Adika’s best man. He’d take good care of Lucas.
“Approaching scene.
” Adika’s voice alerted me to the fact we’d finally arrived at the park.
We went in through the park entrance, followed the main path for a while, and then took a side turning past a small notice saying “Closed for new planting”. The path led into an area of trees. We kept walking for a couple more minutes until Lucas checked his dataview and stopped.
“We’re now directly above the Security Unit,” he said. “I’ll leave you to enjoy your digging.”
“You and Rothan will leave us to enjoy our digging,” said Adika pointedly.
“This isn’t a good place for a flowerbed,” said Eli. “There’s too much shade from the trees.”
“I’ll make sure we send shade loving plants to go there,” said Nicole.
“And the soil will be terribly dry with all these trees around,” added Eli. “The plants will need watering for weeks. We’d be much better digging the flowerbed over to our left.”
“We’re digging the flowerbed here because it’s right above the Security Unit’s largest meeting room,” said Adika. “Why are you such an expert on flowerbeds, Eli?”
“My uncle is a park keeper,” said Eli. “I used to help him out sometimes as a child. When I was on Teen Level, I used to think that maybe Lottery would make me a park keeper too.”
“It’s not too late, Eli,” said Adika. “I’m sure our unit park keeper would welcome an assistant. Just say the word and the job’s yours.”
“No, no,” said Eli hastily. “Being on the Strike team is much more fun.”
There was laughter from the rest of the Strike team. I didn’t join in because I was hugging Lucas.
“Be careful,” I said.
“This check run is far more hazardous for you than me, Amber. When you’re reading minds, be ready to pull out the second you see any images of Fran’s death.”
“I promise I will.”
I reluctantly let Lucas go, and watched him and Rothan walk off through the park. When they were out of view, I sighed, and sat down by a tree. Eli was quite right about this being a bad place for a flowerbed. The dry ground was rock hard.
I leaned my back against the rough bark of the tree, closed my eyes, and reached out with my mind. Adika was disconcerted by how difficult it was to thrust a spade into the ground here. Eli was happily enjoying a reminder of his childhood. Kaden was trying to pull up a tree root and losing. He hacked it in two using the edge of his spade instead.
I moved on past the thoughts of my Strike team, down through the blankness of the earth-filled area of Level 19, and on to the minds scattered around on Level 20. I was searching for one with the colour, scent, taste of stress and tension, and there were several. I picked one at random. A man was staring at the contents of a box, and thinking about Fran.
… visitor from the Telepath Unit can take Fran’s things to her family for us. Avoid the whole issue of …
… barely anything in this box. Just a few efficiency awards. The woman was …
So glad I won’t have to talk to her family and pretend I liked her.
I moved on to the next stress-filled mind. A woman was sitting at a desk, her fingers drumming on the top of it, her eyes focused on the clock. Another couple of minutes and she’d have to go to that meeting. She could cope with listening to the man talk about Fran, but …
Please don’t let him ask me to speak! Please don’t let him ask me to speak! I was Fran’s team leader, it would be perfectly natural for him to ask me to say something, but please don’t let that happen.
The words were on the level of pre-vocalization. I was confused, because it looked as if the woman was forming the words in her mind just before saying them aloud. There wasn’t anyone in the room with her, she wasn’t making a call, and she wasn’t working on a document, so … I suddenly realized she was desperately, fervently praying.
I was startled. I’d never stumbled across a mind this deep in prayer before. Religion was accepted by the Hive as necessary for the happiness of some people, but only Hiveism – worship of the Hive itself as a collective gestalt – was ever mentioned in public. This woman couldn’t be a Hiveist, because its followers disapproved of prayer. A true believer should have no need for it, because they were content in the absolute acceptance that the Hive knew best.
If this woman was praying, then she must believe in one of the older religions that were forbidden by the Hive. Well, not actually forbidden. The older religions were among those organizations the Hive labelled as non-conformist, but tolerated so long as they operated discreetly.
The Hive Ramblers Association was another example. That had fifty thousand members, who went walking and camping in the countryside, but few other people knew it existed. The Hive wanted its citizens to think of it as their entire universe. The myths about the fearsome Truesun and the horrors of Outside were encouraged to make people afraid of the world beyond its walls, in exactly the same way the myths about the nosies were encouraged to make people law abiding.
I’d gone into Lottery as a typically ignorant eighteen-year-old, expecting to be imprinted with all the knowledge I’d ever need. I’d come out of it as one of only a handful of people in the Hive who would never be imprinted, because tampering with the mind of a telepath might damage their priceless ability.
I would never be imprinted, but I’d picked up a host of interesting facts from the random minds I’d read, and one thing had become clear to me. The Hive controlled information as a way to control people. It wasn’t true that imprints included everything people needed to know. Imprints included everything the Hive wanted them to know.
The woman’s prayer had ended now. She stood up and reluctantly headed for the meeting room. The upper levels of her conscious mind were filled with flickering images of the last few months. She’d been promoted from deputy team leader to team leader, and was just settling into her new role when Fran arrived to fill the vacant deputy position. Fran had made it clear from the first day that she thought she was far more experienced, far more qualified, and far more skilled than the person giving her orders.
Constantly telling me I was wrong, telling everyone else I was wrong, telling them how they should really do things. Making my life unbearable.
This was the reverse of Ashton’s situation, where a supervisor had made his underling suffer. Fran had been relegated from Liaison team leader in a Telepath Unit to just a deputy position in a small Security Unit, and had turned her bitter resentment against her new team leader. Lottery used optimization to assign people to work they loved, but a determined bully could still make them miserable.
I wondered if Fran’s team leader had reached breaking point. Ashton had believed in the nosy myth, and limited himself to smashing bottles, but this woman knew there were only five true telepaths in the Hive. Had she risked murder to free herself of Fran?
Further down in her mind, the thoughts were heavily tinged with guilt. Was that guilt because she was lying to herself about being sorry, or because she’d killed Fran? I went deeper again, to the level where conscious and unconscious thoughts mingled. Here was pure, honest, blissful relief.
Wish she’d just left, not been murdered, but my life is worth living again. Wonder who killed her? Wonder if she was wrecking their life just the same way that she was wrecking mine?
This was no murderer, just someone feeling the same sort of guilt I felt myself, guilt that Fran was dead and I hadn’t liked her. I’d wasted enough time unravelling the levels of emotion here. The woman was in the meeting room now. It was crowded with people, nearly fifty minds jostling close together, and I needed to check all of them.
I dipped into a mind that was making no pretence to itself at all.
Bored, bored, bored. Never even spoke to the woman, and I have to sit here and listen to people yap about her. I have deadlines to meet!
I moved on to a man who was only interested in the legs of the woman next to him.
On again to the woman, who knew the man was looking at her legs, and was getting annoye
d about it.
… thinks he’s irresistible. I’d rather go swimming in a slime vat than …
The next man had worked closely with Fran, and had loathed her.
Not surprised that someone killed her.
Lucas arrived, his mind flaring like a beacon. I couldn’t resist dipping into his thoughts, and saw them racing by on a bewildering number of different levels. Nobody had left the unit since he sent his message. Every member of staff had come to this meeting. If the Tactical team’s theory was right, then our target was in this room.
Lucas looked round at the faces, analyzing expressions and body language, looking for anyone displaying signs of guilt. He’d probably find at least a dozen. From what I’d seen so far, most people who’d worked with Fran had hated her, and were feeling guilty about that now she was dead.
Lucas was talking now. I forced myself away from his glittering thoughts, and started searching for my target again. I could hear Lucas’s speech through my ear crystal as well as through a succession of different ears in the meeting room, but I was too busy checking thoughts to listen to his words.
I usually skimmed over minds when searching for a target, looking for one that had a glaringly wrong shape, colour, or texture. This time our target was rational and logical, so I had to study the thoughts of each person in depth. It was depressing to see how much everyone had disliked Fran. I finally found an exception. One person with a distinctively orderly mind, and thoughts that were tinged with a soft hint of regret.
… couldn’t help admiring her meticulous attention to detail, and when we talked about music she seemed to come alive. We had the same taste in …
I was distracted by a weird feeling, like an itch deep inside my head. I recognized that feeling. I’d had it several times in the past, always at moments of crisis, and by now I knew exactly what it meant. Someone was in danger.