The Hunt for Pierre Jnr (39 page)

Which kind of island did they mean?

‘They know, Pete. Oh, the gods, they know.’ She sobbed, barely getting her words out.

He hushed her and sat with her on the couch, ordering water from the kitchen.

Did you get word out?

I never had a chance.

What about the friends you told me about? Are they safe?

I haven’t told Services anything, I swear.

Of course you didn’t, but can they help you escape?

Maybe, but they wouldn’t expose themselves just for me. It would be too risky. They don’t even know where I am.

‘It’s okay. It will be alright,’ he repeated. 
Why have they brought you here? What do they want from you?

They haven’t told me. I was just told that you would be here.

I think you might be a reward for good behaviour.

What do you mean?

It’s part of their process, Anchali. This reorientation is just behavioural conditioning. That’s what they’ve been doing since I left the hospital, teaching me to follow orders. If I do wrong, I get punished. If I do well, I get rewarded.

She pulled away from him and retreated back to the window. 
What do they think I am?

I think they just know how I feel about you.

Pete tried to take her hand, but she pulled it away. 
Did you tell them about me?

Anchali, no. I would never. Look inside me, you can see I haven’t betrayed you.

She looked directly into his eyes and took both of his hands in her small fingers. 
Did you tell Services about me?

‘No,’ Pete answered.

Her eyes were still wet, and she blinked to clear them. 
My life is over
, she realised and collapsed into deeper misery. Pete steadied her wavering balance until she managed to take hold of herself again.

Who is that man?

Gock had been standing behind them the whole time. Greasy smile and fondling eyes sliding over Anchali’s backside.

‘Let’s go to my room.’ 
That one is always near me. He is the Prime’s proxy.

I don’t like him.

I’m not sure it is possible to like him.

‘How long will you be here?’ he asked when they were alone, though aware that he was still watched in his room.

‘I don’t know. I know that you’re leaving again tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow?’ He needed rest. 
He is wearing me down, Anchali. Since you saw me
 ... ‘It seems you know more than I.’ 
I’m not sure how much longer I can do this.

You must be strong, Peter. Don’t let them break you.

It may be too late for that.

No. I can see you have changed since I saw you last. But you are still strong. Still you.

I have done things that I regret. I’ve turned against my own kind, just to earn the trust of the Prime. I do everything he asks me to and he only becomes more suspicious.

Peter, you don’t gain trust by doing what people say. It is only when you put your trust in them that they may start trusting you. If you want his trust, you have to give him something.

You mean, something that gives him more power over me?

That is how it works.

It doesn’t matter now.

What do you mean?

He’s done it already. I am full of doubt now. What if he is right? What if Pierre Jnr is not the only threat? What if this psi rebellion is just as bad? Whose side will you be on?

You have to ask?

They had lain down next to each other for their silent conversation. Her eyes were so close to his, soft as butter, her mouth near enough to feel her exhales on his lips.

‘You are beautiful.’

‘Shhh, Peter.’ 
Don’t let them see you weak.

‘Oh, why not? He knows my weaknesses. Don’t you, Prime?’ Pete snarled at the ceiling. ‘He’s got me all figured out. That’s why you’re here.’

‘Please stop.’ 
At least I am happy to see you.

But he knows now. He knows you are a psi and he’ll never let you go.

Who knows how long they have known?

And what does he expect of you?

Does it matter? Forget the Prime. Forget everything. It may not be the best circumstance, but we are together. I care for you. And I know you care for me.

Of course I do. I wish I didn’t. I wish he didn’t know how much I needed someone.

Peter. The reasons why don’t matter. You don’t have to be alone.

You were an excellent nurse.

She kissed him softly and then deeply. Peter didn’t resist. He was so hungry for contact.

~ * ~

It was the final morning of Peter Lazarus’s scheduled reorientation, the day after he had accepted his reward so readily. Ryu did not watch the ménage, leaving that for Takashi to peruse.

Ryu had Gock waiting for him to wake. Gock was a loyal and accurate messenger and watched his subject like a toad.

Whenever he spoke to Peter Lazarus, he put the surveillance feeds from the needle and his proxy’s eyes up on the wall screen of his command room. A spread of six cameras and microphones that gave the discussions a near-sensorium experience. It was much more visceral than talking face to face with somebody. The close-up shots revealed so much more than was possible in person; so much more intimate, but still objective and perfectly one-sided.

Ryu studied Peter as he waited for Gock to speak. Gock was waiting for Ryu to tell him what to say. Everyone waited for the Prime to speak first. He started brushing his hair for washing.

Divide each problem into two steps: definition and solution. Which for the psi problem meant: identification then pacification.

These were the principles that had got him through thus far. 
Confine the problem,
 Ryu told himself. 
The first step in complex problem solving is to clarify and identify all components.

But he knew that that wasn’t the only way of understanding. And it wasn’t the right way to understand a systemic problem that required a holistic approach; holism didn’t allow such separation of factors. The psionic situation had certainly gone beyond reducible components.

A grave fear was creeping up on Ryu. The testimonies and abilities of Sullivan St Clare and Arthur Grimaldi had given this situation a new worst-case scenario. The Will was under threat of being artificially manipulated. Although the Will was the Will and it was always manipulated, this was different.

Geof’s contagion theory, the infection model, was on his mind and Ryu couldn’t help now being suspicious of anyone who came near him. Any of them could be a psi, or could have come into contact with Pierre Jnr. He wondered if he could reduce his human contact even further, for security.

It had been six weeks since he had taken the psi under his control. That was the standard reorientation period for a normal Citizen who had fallen into antisocial behaviour. He had taught him to respond to his orders, he had engaged his abilities in self-defence and he had him aid in the collection of two fugitive psis. Ryu did not, and would never, trust him. But as long as Pete was under control, he would use him.

‘I would like you to tell me about your nightmares. Do you dream of him?’

‘Is that you asking, Gock? Or your master?’ Peter replied, still resistant.

‘Gock does not ask, Mister Lazarus. You must know that by now. Please answer.’

Pete, still dressed in his bed clothes, sat across the island bench, looking the bald man in the eyes. This was the masterful stroke that Ryu Shima had made by acting through a proxy. No telepath could get a read on what the other person would say next, and they would be distracted by the thoughts of the person reciting. He felt sorry for Gock in some ways, but he knew he was being handsomely rewarded.

‘Yes,’ Peter answered, pausing to order a biscuit, caf and juice; the symbiot was second nature to him now. ‘I dream of him.’

‘I am glad you have not denied it.’

‘I know you’ve got sensors on me all the time, so you must know when I’m dreaming something. For all I know, you might have another spy like Tamsin Grey hidden in the walls, reading my every thought.’

‘Please, there is no cause for paranoia. Tell me what happens in your dreams.’

‘To be honest, there isn’t a lot to tell. He just holds me there, in front of him. His eyes burn into mine. That’s all. At least, that’s all I ever remember.’

‘And you have been having these dreams since the manifestation?’

‘Yes. Most nights I have the same dream.’

‘And how do they make you feel? Please, answer honestly.’ ‘Scared. Helpless.’

‘And do you know about the movement following Pierre Jnr?’

‘No. My access to the Weave is limited.’

‘Let me show you.’ He fed Pete’s symbiot with images and footage that the psi then overlaid on his vision. He showed him the offerings that were being placed at the site of the manifestation, and people praying to images of Pierre Jnr. He shared a poster image that was being swapped around: a photo of Pierre Jnr as a newborn that must have escaped the walls of the PDP archive. It had been reconstituted with the heartwarming glow and symbols of religious iconography.

‘How much of this is taking place?’ Pete asked.

‘It is only a small sect. Only a few hundred people.’

‘Can’t you stop it?’

‘That is not the way of the World Union, Mister Lazarus. People are allowed to express how they feel. You are one of the few who have met him. Do you think he is a god?’

‘No. He is powerful. But he is no god.’

‘He has followers, and his followers are building an army.’

‘For what purpose?’ Pete asked.

‘There is only one purpose I know of for an army.’

‘I mean, what will they do? Who will they attack? You?’

‘That would be logical. Me and anyone who is actively opposing them.’

‘But where does it stop?’

‘I’m sorry, Peter. But I cannot see into the future. I presume you cannot either.’ Lazarus shook his head. ‘Do you see now why I have been paying such close attention to you?’

‘To fight fire with fire?’

‘Not exactly. I need more from you than that. I need you to help me stop this war before it can begin.’

‘How?’ Pete asked.

‘In conflict, if you react to your opponent’s actions, it means they are in control. They strike, you strike back. If they strike and you retaliate, then they have provoked your action. Countering is not the same as reacting. Respond. Never react. Only choose the action that will achieve the result you desire.’

‘Meaning we do what?’

‘It means we will take the battle to them. We know where the fugitives are hiding.’

‘And you want me to help capture them?’

‘The word we use is “collect”, Peter. We collect them and put them in a nicer place.’

‘A place they can never leave.’

‘As is the Will. There are worse solutions.’

‘And what about Pierre?’

‘Until we find out where he is hiding, our best course of action is to prepare.’

Pete pondered this for a time. In his rooms Ryu finished his brushing and began rubbing dry shampoo into his hair, rolling the long strands between his palms until the powder disappeared. The script Takashi had generated for this conversation was hardly deviating at all.

‘You’re right. I hate that you’re right,’ Pete said. ‘If there is an army of psis ready to fight alongside Pierre, then we need to be ready to fight back.’

‘Are you telling me this to please me?’ Ryu asked.

‘I know I will never earn your trust, but I have to pick a side, and the side I am on, and have always been on, is that one person shall not have dominion over another.’

‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’

‘May I ask you a question?’

‘Certainly,’ Ryu granted.

‘How could I ever be ready for Pierre Jnr? He is much more powerful than I. You must realise this, so you must have a plan.’

‘Of course. You are just one of many contingencies being co-ordinated. I hope that comforts you.’ He told Gock to smile.

Lazarus nodded almost imperceptibly, though it was huge on Ryu’s screens.

‘Can you help me learn?’

The Prime watched him. Made him wait for the next words. He was in control here.

‘I can only challenge you and prompt you to become more fluent.’

‘But you hate psis. Why help train one?’

‘I do what needs to be done. You are the lesser of two evils.’

‘I guess that is the best I can hope for.’

‘For the record, I do not hate psionics. I am merely an agent of the Will. Our society is not capable of coping with such a drastic change to the status quo.’ Ryu watched his toy for a moment. ‘I would like you to consider something for me.’ He paused for Peter to become curious enough to listen closely. ‘There is a fear I have that once people have been in contact with Pierre Jnr, that even after contact is broken, his influence remains. Have you considered this?’