The Novida Code (11 page)

The sight of him with Josiane hit me like a bombshell. I realised instantly that he was lost. Like Stephane, he would disappear without any explanation. And there was nothing I could do.

I had to stay and flirt with Oniar, smile, maybe sleep with him, while someone else was perhaps being imprisoned, tortured, or killed. I wanted to scream, to hit out, but I carried on smiling and pretending to be cheerful. I talked about the next party, raving about the proposed theme, which was to be completely Efeghi.

Anyone else would have been fooled by my smokescreen, but not Oniar. He stopped me mid-sentence, taking me gently by the arm.

“What's the matter Lauren? What's bothering you?”

I couldn't hide my agitation from him, but I could at least disguise the reason for it:
              “It's Olden. I'm upset by his attitude towards Auxana.” I replied.
“What has he done?”
“I think he's seeing other girls.”

In actual fact, I knew he was. I'd caught him “reassuring” a new recruit in our class. His new plaything was only 17. Clearly, Olden didn't share Oniar's scruples regarding young girls.

Auxana couldn't care less about Olden playing around, but this was likely to make it harder for us to obtain information. If I'd correctly understood my importance in the eyes of the Efeghis, Commandant Amar wasn't going to let Olden abandon Auxana, thereby giving her best friend a bad impression of the Efeghis.

“
I'm sorry. I shall see what I can do.” 

I smiled at him: “Thank you, Oniar.” I was trying to focus on showing him nothing but gratitude and tenderness. He gazed at me for a moment, then sighed:

“Something else is bothering you, Lauren. I would like you to trust me enough to tell me about it.”

I was at a loss what to do. He could read me like a book, and had sensed I didn't trust him. I gently withdrew my arm and moved away from him. He followed but I turned my back on him, without replying. He remained beside me, saying nothing for a long while. Then he held out his hand and placed it on my shoulder.

“Lauren, forgive me. I have no right to demand anything from you.”  He took me by the shoulders and gently turned me round to face him.

He was smiling, but his eyes were sad, and drop-dead gorgeous. So gorgeous. Oniar was the only Efeghi I fancied. Looking into his eyes was like sinking into a well of tenderness. As though on auto-pilot, I moved towards him and he took me in his arms.

It felt good, too good. For someone who shied away from physical contact, I could have stayed in his arms for hours. He whispered softly in my ear:

“
I shall be very happy if you honour me with your confidence one day. But I can wait. Take as long as you need.”

I raised my arms to respond to his embrace. Then I pulled away slightly: “Can we go into the park? I feel like lying down for a bit.”

Oniar gazed at me, as though to reassure himself that this really was what I wanted, and then nodded.

“
Come on”, he said simply, taking my hand.

He steered me to the Saint-Etienne park, which was a few streets away from the market. It was one of the city's most beautiful parks, where I'd often strolled before the invasion. Everything was so normal there that day that I could almost have forgotten about the war.

People walked by with smiles on their faces, children ran around shouting, surrounded by adults, and a few elderly folk were resting on benches. Everyone studiously ignored my companion's uniform and I could almost have imagined I was walking hand in hand with my lover.

That, of course, was a dangerous thought. But everything about Oniar was dangerous: his smile, his gentleness, his kindness. Everything I'd ever dreamed of, and which was now coming to haunt me in the shape of an enemy.

We stopped beneath a tree, a little distance from the crowds. I sat down first and Oniar settled beside me. I took his hand, and stared at the ground as I told him the story of my childhood and adolescence.

The death of my Dad when I was seven. My Mum's reaction to this event, going so utterly to pieces that for months on end I'd had to force her to eat. Her remarriage to Leon when I was eleven.

When I began to tell him about my stepfather's nocturnal visits, his hand clenched in mine. But he remained silent and listened attentively. Of course, I didn't tell him everything. I didn't mention my fury at my mother's neglect and the way the institutions had deliberately turned a blind eye.

How my continual running away had given me a keen insight into life on the margins of society. How I'd resorted to stealing in order to eat, first of all with my hands and then – at less personal risk – by hacking into logs. How I'd obtained my freedom by blackmailing my stepfather. Instead, I pretended to owe this to Auxana and her family.

When I'd finished, I kept my eyes lowered. He gently lifted my chin. His face was grave, and I could see such tenderness in his eyes, such understanding that I felt tears stinging my eyes.

Slowly, he leaned forward and placed his lips on mine. I acquiesced and then began to respond. We then kissed slowly, and I'd have preferred not to have enjoyed it quite so much. It felt so good, so incredibly tender. My heart was ready to burst and I forced myself to think of Marc and Stephane in order to rein myself back in. He felt me stiffen and pulled away from me:

“Forgive me. I shouldn't have.” he said.

“
No”, I replied, shaking my head. “I liked it; don't worry. It's just that we must take things slowly.”

“
I'll take all the time you need.” He paused, and then continued, in a harsher tone: “Would you like me to do anything about your stepfather?”

The worst of it is that I felt tempted to accept. Sorely tempted. But I didn't want to be indebted to the Efeghis for my vengeance. And nor, I imagined, would this be in keeping with my role play.

“No, please don't. He isn't worth it”, I murmured.
He nodded.

“
Would you like to lie down with me?” I asked softly.

“
Yes, of course”, he replied.

We did so, leaving a small gap between us. Then, I took his hand and placed it on my cheek. He caressed my face, gently tracing my eyebrows, my eyelashes, until his fingers brushed over my lips and I responded with a kiss. Then, I moved over and placed my lips on his.

This time, I abandoned myself totally in his arms, and he sensed it. He clasped me more tightly and our embrace became more eager, more passionate. I allowed myself to succumb, refusing to listen to reason any more.

I softly caressed his neck and his chest, and felt his hands responding. I moaned softly as his hand brushed lightly over my breast. He withdrew it immediately, but I took it back and returned it to its rightful place. He pushed himself away to look at me and smiled.

He leaned over again and gently continued kissing and caressing me. Very lightly, he stroked my body, just enough to make me want to go further, and I whimpered a protest into his lips, which were pressed against mine. He tore himself away from our clinch to reply: “We cannot continue here, Lauren, this is a public place.” His eyes shone with joy, and I smiled at him. I was happy, impatient, and burning with desire for him. Then, I heard a little cough nearby.

I turned towards the intruder and saw Auxana watching us. I didn't know how long she had been there. Judging by the look she gave me, I supposed she'd seen enough to tell her everything. It wasn't a look of accusation, just one of pity. But I didn't need her to tell me that I had embarked on the road to hell. And that, from then on, there would be no turning back.

I didn't say anything to Lauren when we came back from the park. There wasn't anything to say. I knew she wouldn't lie to me, or pretend to have been just playing around with Oniar. But I couldn't bring myself to force her to face reality. Oniar could never be for her, and she couldn't be his.

The pity of it was that in different circumstances, Oniar would have been perfect for her. He would have been worthy of her love and trust, and allowed her to open up. It was cruelly ironic that such a man had to be an enemy. Obliging Lauren to lie to him, to betray him. But I was in no doubt whatsoever about Lauren. Nothing on earth would keep her from doing her duty.

So I pretended to have seen nothing and gestured to her that I'd got hold of the siphon. I'd used the security procedure she'd taught me, and, as she'd predicted, it had been infected with a tracking program. Our supplier seemed a little too curious about the future use of his gadget.

But I wasn't worried; I knew Lauren wouldn't have the slightest trouble neutralising it. However, this did indicate that he knew one of his men was in the general HQ, within range of his tracking device.

Although this was probably a member of the Resistance, it still worried me. Of course, I knew we weren't the only ones to have infiltrated the enemy, but this meant that someone else now knew we weren't innocent little collaborators. Someone who could be captured and who might talk. But, as Lauren said, you can't win a war without taking a few risks. I only hoped that this wouldn't cost us our lives.

Our greatest problem was finding somewhere to hide the siphon. We couldn't keep it in our bedrooms for any length of time. But I could think of nowhere safe enough to hide it.

We went into our respective rooms to put our uniforms back on. We'd taken them off before going out as Commandant Amar thought it wise for collaborators not to leave the general HQ in uniform.

The majority of the population may well have accepted the invaders with equanimity, but they were less tolerant towards earthlings who collaborated with them. Two collaborators who had been foolhardy enough to go out alone in uniform had already been assaulted. True to his policy of tolerance, Commandant Amar had not taken out any sanctions against the population and had recommended caution to us.

I was beginning to understand why Lauren was so determined to destroy that man. He was too smart by far. He was a master at playing on human weaknesses and cowardice. He provided the population with no reason whatsoever to rebel.

Efeghi doctors had started to move into our hospitals, bringing with them their scientific miracles to treat diseases for which we had no cure. Even the freedom of the press was respected to some degree.

Only calls to arms were censored, but articles criticising the invaders were tolerated. Of course, we no longer had a government. Ours had been replaced by a puppet government run by the invaders, but this didn't seem to bother too many people. We had plenty to eat, schools and businesses were still running, and there were no more wars anywhere in the world.

The only way you could come to any harm from the invasion was if you rebelled against it. In this, Amar proved ruthless: Resistance fighters were imprisoned, and authors of leaflets and newspapers calling for rebellion were publicly arrested and incarcerated alongside criminals and murderers. The Efeghis even indulged in the luxury of helping out the families of their prisoners.

But the great majority of the population didn't rebel. And with time, the resistance fizzled out. There were still some diehards, but these met with little success due to lack of support from the population, who in fact censured them for their most bloodthirsty deeds. My only hope lay with Lauren. I didn't know how she'd manage it, but I knew that she would change all this. She was simply unstoppable.

I met her in the corridor at dinner time. She was in uniform but was still carrying a pretty handbag that I'd bought her during my peregrinations whilst waiting for the supplier.

The main purpose of this bag was to hide the siphon, and my heart stopped when I saw that she intended to take it with her under the very eyes of Commandant Amar. We only sat at his table at lunchtime, but eating dinner with this device just a few metres away from him scared me to death.

She began talking excitedly about Oniar, revealing that things between them had “developed considerably” and that she was sure of her feelings for him. Then, whilst still talking along these lines, she signalled to me to activate the crystal she had just slipped into my hand.

Auxana,

I've found the perfect hiding place for the siphon where no-one would look: the refectory. I need your help for this. When I give you a big smile, you must faint. You'll only recover consciousness when I grab your hand and yell “Auxana, can you hear me?” I'll take care of hiding the siphon in the wall sculpture near our usual table.

I pushed away any thought of all the things that could go wrong with this plan and just had time to recover my composure before reaching the refectory, which was already crowded as we made our way through it. I had hoped to arrive before the officers but their table was full up. I forced myself not to think of Amar, focussing only on Lauren.

We were within sight of our table when she turned to me and gave me a huge smile. I was so nervous that pretending to faint was no problem at all. My plate flew from my hands and I fell. Just before crashing onto the floor, I was caught by a soldier standing nearby. I heard Lauren and then a few others scream, but I kept my eyes closed and remained impassive.

I heard Olden close to me, distraught and calling for help. Then, Amar's soft and sinister voice in my ear asking if I could hear him. I blocked this voice out along with the terror it aroused in me and remained passive as I felt someone taking me in his arms.