Gerda and Alexis watched the viewer. Alexis shook his head, annoyed at the failure. He tapped the screen away with his finger.
“He’s given up,” he said. There was stillness for a moment, almost as if news of death had broken.
“We know what we have to do,” Alexis said. Gerda nodded. The two shook hands.
“He’s very dedicated. He won’t give you any trouble,” she said, before leaving to begin her journey home. Her time away would be dismissed as a sabbatical and only Lien, Eve and the most senior Elders would ever know it was more.
Alexis summoned the other board members who had signed off on his plan.
“Are we ready?” he asked, receiving nods from every member. He tapped his inner ear piece. A voice came from a speaker in the room.
“Yes, sir?”
“Have the young man in holding cell 31-142 brought to me.”
“Yes, Sir,” came the reply. Alexis began to pace. A few minutes passed until the large wooden doors opened and two guards brought forth a shackled captive. It was Ky, and there was plenty of fight left in him.
“Let me see his wound,” Alexis commanded. One of the guards went to undo the loose pants Ky was wearing. Ky shied away forcing the second guard to grab him by the shoulders and square him up. The pants were unbuckled and slid down Ky’s legs. Alexis stepped forward and inspected the fresh scar on his leg, now well healed.
“You aren’t nearly as savage as you make out,” Alexis said staring into Ky’s eyes. Ky began to struggle again. Alexis ignored his efforts.
“We’ve known for a long time how advanced and well established your communities are. You’re not the first Outlocked to confirm this under sedation. Don’t think less of yourself; it’s impossible not to talk. It’s our chemical technology. We know you came into our city to kill the young man named Callen. You were trying to stop him revealing the truth about your world to us.”
Ky stopped his struggle and stared with horror at the chairman. He mentally berated himself for giving up so much information. The guard, who had only moments before cuffed Ky’s arms within his own, let him go. Apart from pulling up his pants for the sake of dignity, Ky didn’t move. He looked to the Chairman intently. He didn’t like what he heard and feared what it meant.
“We’ve known these things for almost one hundred years, my board and I. The general population still believe your world offers certain death. It’s allowed us to maintain stability, but this young man, Callen, has started people thinking. Some of them believe what he’s told them. Every day more people believe.”
Ky was shocked by this news. His mind was re-educating itself as fast as it could, but the enormity of the change made it difficult to comprehend.
“We have Callen, by the way. We have him in a cell not far from yours.”
“Then kill him,” Ky said, coldly. The comment brought a smile to the Chairman’s face. He was pleased they had a warrior in their midst; a man not afraid to kill for the good of his people. The Chairman was dealing with one of his own and immediately began to grow in confidence at Ky’s involvement.
“That would be the worst thing we could do. He’d be a martyr. It would raise the possibility in people’s minds we’re trying to hide something. It wouldn’t matter how much we spent convincing them we’re not; they’d want to see for themselves. If that happens, you’ll find yourself with ninety million people on your doorstep looking for the promised land which, by the way, would no longer exist.”
Ky was beginning to understand he wasn’t a prisoner, but an ally to the city, a situation that didn’t make him comfortable. He looked at those in the room with utter contempt. The extent of the lie they were feeding their people was extraordinary, but Ky also knew it was a lie that gave the Outlocked the advantages they enjoyed. Circumstances made them bedfellows. The city leaders also wanted Callen stopped from spreading news of the world beyond the walls, although they wanted it for entirely different reasons.
“What do you want from me?” Ky asked.
Alexis threw his arms in the air and laughed an exuberant laugh as he turned to his board members.
“Not savage and not stupid either!”
The others laughed loudly at their leader’s wit. Alexis turned to Ky and came close, taking him into his confidence.
“We want you to kill Callen. Our people need to believe he escaped, that he tried to leave the city and met with a horrible fate at the hands of one of your people; a terrifying savage, just as we’ve always warned would happen if someone strayed outside our walls. That Outlocked warrior will be you. We have everything planned to get you to the border, but we can’t afford anyone from the city playing a part. If word got back, people would read it as confirmation of Callen’s message.” The Chairman walked to his desk and picked up an antique letter opener, a primitive looking knife, fashioned from bone.
“Do it with this,” he said, handing the weapon to Ky. “His end needs to be disturbing, so no one will ever try to follow.” Those in the room waited nervously for Ky’s decision.
“How do I know you won’t kill me?”
“I give you my word,” Alexis said. Ky laughed. His reaction unnerved Alexis. These two men hated each other and yet, here they were, close to working together to give each what they wanted.
“How do I know you won’t escape with Callen?” Alexis countered. Ky thought this over.