The Two Towers (27 page)

“Up until yesterday, she was living in your son’s camp and working as a scavenger for him,” Cruncher volunteered with a chuckle.

Rina gasped, her eyes lighting up at the gossip. “She worked for you? What’s she like?”

Carl ran his hands over his face. “Yeah. She was only a member of my crew for a few days. But she’s been a pain in the ass since I first met her.”

“Carl!” Rina exclaimed in shock.

Xantham laughed. “It’s true. If you meet her, you’ll understand. But she’s wicked good at what she does. She’s got some crazy skills.”

Veridian nodded. “Yeah. Kayla tends to get into more trouble than anyone else I’ve ever known.”

Rina looked at her son with a knowing expression. “Trouble, huh? Is she pretty too?”

Xantham grinned. “She’s got to be the finest looking ruin rat I’ve ever seen.”

Carl gave Xantham a warning look. “She’s not a ruin rat anymore. Be careful what you say about her. If anyone in the Inner Circle or High Council hears you, it won’t end well.”

Xantham made a face and Veridian asked, “What happens now? How can we find her?”

Carl turned to Rina. “Mom, do you mind giving us a bit of privacy? I don’t want you involved in this.”

She hesitated but agreed. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Carl. Be careful.”

After his mother left the room, Carl turned back to Veridian. “Do you know how to get to Kayla’s family quarters?”

“Yeah, but we have to take that big elevator up.”

Carl looked at Xantham and instructed, “Run through our system coms over the past few days. When Alec Veritan was in our camp, he used an override code to get into Kayla’s file. I’m hoping he hasn’t changed it yet.”

Xantham pulled out his comlink and started working on Carl’s request. Carl turned to Cruncher and asked, “Do you think there’s a way you can get into the OmniLab system and find out if they’re holding Kayla somewhere?”

“I can try to have a look. I’m sure they have all sorts of safeguards in place though. I’m good, but I’m not an expert. Kayla would be better at this.”

“Do what you can but don’t get caught. Kayla’s got to have access to a computer if she sent me that message. Maybe she’ll reach out to us again.”

Xantham looked up from his screen. “I’ve got it, Boss. I have the voice recording.”

“Okay,” Carl said and took a deep breath. Once they did this, there was no going back. “Cruncher, stay here and work on locating Kayla. Xantham and Veridian, let’s go pretend to be a member of the Inner Circle.”

* * * *

“Luckily, this is a quiet time of day. We're not as likely to be noticed. They have surveillance, but as long as we get in to see Kayla’s mother before they notice us, we should be fine.”

They stepped into the priority elevator and Carl motioned for Xantham to use the override code. He plugged in the code and crossed his fingers. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when a computerized voice said, “Welcome, Master Alec Veritan.”

The elevator shot upward and Xantham said, “Wow, it actually worked. Go figure. Their security kinda’ sucks.”

“Most people wouldn’t dream of impersonating an Inner Circle member,” Carl said dryly. “The consequences aren’t pretty.”

When the door opened, Carl let Veridian take the lead toward the Rath’Varein quarters.

“No offense, Boss, but this is a hell of a lot fancier than your digs,” Xantham observed.

Carl looked around at the expansive hall lined with a cobblestone walkway, lush greenery, and gurgling fountains. “No kidding.”

Veridian pressed the button outside the ornately carved door and waited. A few moments later, the door slid open. The similarity between the petite woman and Kayla was obvious.

Her green eyes widened when she saw Veridian and she gasped. “Veridian, you’re back. I thought you'd left.”

“I did, but I came back. Seara, this is Carl and Xantham. We’d like to see Kayla.”

Her eyes clouded and she shook her head. “Kayla’s not here. She’s in seclusion. I’m sorry you came back all this way, Veridian. I’ll let her know you stopped by when she returns.”

Veridian’s face fell and he said, “Please, Seara, I know something’s happened to her.”

Seara looked torn for a moment. Seemingly coming to a decision, she pressed her finger to her lips indicating for them to keep quiet. She put her hand on Veridian’s arm and pulled him inside.

Motioning for them to follow her and remain silent, she led them into the common living room area. She moved a painting on the wall and pressed a button hidden underneath. A hidden door slid open and she walked inside.

Curious, they followed. When the door slid shut behind them, Seara said, “This is a safe room my husband built. We can talk freely in here, but only for a short time. I’m sure they know you’re here. You shouldn’t have come back.”

“We don’t mean to intrude, Mistress Rath’Varein. But Kayla sent me a message. She said she’s being held against her will and asked for my help.” Carl pulled out his comlink and showed her the message.

Seara sighed. “You must be Trader Carl Grayson. I’m sorry, but all I know is that she’s in Observation Room A. They’re keeping her locked up until the metabolic booster is out of her system and they can put a security bracelet on her.”

At his confused look, she held up her wrist to show them her own bracelet. “The Inner Circle has essentially been imprisoned for the last nine months. These bracelets around our wrists are just another way for the High Council to control us.”

“How is that possible?” Carl asked in disbelief. “With the combined abilities of the Inner Circle, the High Council should be no match for you.”

“The bracelets damper our abilities,” she said angrily, showing a trace of the fire he was used to seeing in Kayla. “We originally offered to wear them, hoping to use the combined energy of the Inner Circle to locate new resources over large distances. But now, Edwin Veritan and the High Council use them to siphon our power for their own purposes. We don’t have the strength to fight them. They were supposed to help our people, not imprison us.”

“Maybe it’s a stupid question, but why don’t you remove it?” Veridian asked.

“It’s a complicated design. It’s impossible for us to remove it on our own. The material embedded within the bracelets actually encodes itself somehow with our DNA. If I were to forcibly remove my bracelet, it would strip me of my abilities. Losing my senses like that would be…”

Seara shuddered. “Those who have removed their bracelets have either gone mad or died within hours. We haven’t found a way to escape from it successfully. The technology was too new when we originally agreed. We had no way of knowing these bracelets would end up being permanent.”

The news shocked Carl to his core. This was more than corruption. The entire foundation and social structure of the towers was built around the Inner Circle and the High Council. “Who’s responsible for this?”

“Edwin Veritan is the one who implemented the design. A few other council members are also strong supporters. Essentially, anyone not wearing a bracelet is in control.”

“Alec doesn’t wear a bracelet,” Veridian observed.

Seara bristled in defense. “No, but he’s a special case because of the unique nature of his talent. He doesn’t like the bracelets and was trying to keep Kayla safe. Edwin wanted to put it on her immediately, but Alec convinced him to wait. I think Edwin was actually pleased Alec seemed interested in Kayla. A union between our families is something he’s always wanted.”

Carl’s eyes narrowed, but he put his personal feelings aside for the moment. “So what happened? Did Kayla reject him?”

Seara shook her head. “Alec can influence people and read the thoughts of other sensitives. He has to be touching them for it to work, but apparently Kayla was an exception. He can read her thoughts and she can hear his even if they’re across the room. When Kayla realized he was reading her thoughts, she got angry and threatened to leave the towers. Edwin overheard and had her taken to an isolation room to be fitted for the bracelet.”

Xantham cringed. “Reading Kayla’s thoughts? That’s kinda’ scary. I can only imagine how pissed off she was when she found out.”

Carl frowned and asked, “Do you know where the observation rooms are?”

“No, but I can point you in the right direction. They won’t allow me to see her in person, but Alec arranged for me to have a video feed.”

She turned on the computer in the safe room and entered in a code. A small observation room appeared on the screen. Kayla was inside and appeared to be yelling at someone.

Seara flipped a switch and they could hear Kayla's voice. “Go ahead and try it! I dare you. Next time I won’t be gentle.”

“Please, Mistress Rath’Varein,” a voice in the background pleaded. “I just need a small blood sample to check your progress.”

“Are you always this stupid or are you making a special effort today?” She waved what looked like a food tray in a threatening manner. “Let me make this clear since you obviously have some sort of brain damage. If you try coming near me again, I’ll kick your ass.”

“I’ve had enough of this,” a new voice announced. Edwin Veritan appeared on the screen and walked purposefully over to Kayla. She managed to swipe him once with the tray before he grabbed her. He was considerably larger and easily deflected her blows before finally subduing her. She struggled against him and he lifted a small metal device. Pressing it against her, she cried out and crumpled to the floor.

“Take your sample and put her back in restraints. If my son has a problem with that, direct him to me. You have about five minutes until she regains consciousness. I’m not dealing with this nonsense again.”

Carl looked up and saw tears in Seara’s eyes. He turned to Xantham and asked, “Can you get a lock on this signal and try to figure out where it’s coming from? Once you get it, send the information to Cruncher and tell him to run a search for Observation Room A.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Xantham replied, and bent over the computer. He worked diligently for a few minutes. “Boss, I think we’ve got a problem.”

“What is it?”

“They know we’re in this part of the tower.”

Seara straightened, her gaze darting around the room. “You have to leave immediately. Follow me and remain quiet. I’ll take you to the staff elevator. That will buy you a little bit of time. I’ll help you anyway I can, but my usefulness is limited as long as I wear the bracelet.”

Seara led them out of the small room and back toward the front door. She cautiously looked outside before motioning for them to follow her down the cobblestone path. They walked quickly down the hall and around the corner to an obscure door that led to the service elevator.

“Thanks for the help, Mistress Rath’Varein.”

“Call me Seara and I’m sorry I can’t do more. If you’re able to get my daughter out of there, please take her as far away from these towers as you can.”

When the elevator door closed, Carl opened his comlink and called Cruncher.

“Have you learned anything?” Carl asked him.

Cruncher replied, “Yeah, actually. It was hit or miss until Xantham sent over that link but I’ve been able to track the signal and compare it with some floor plans. It looks like the signal is originating from the ninety-second level of your tower. I can give you better directions once you’re there.”

“So what’s the plan?” Xantham asked after he programmed the elevator to take them to Kayla’s floor.

Carl was thoughtful for a minute. “You and Cruncher need to create a distraction. Veridian and I will go in and grab Kayla. We don’t have a lot of time. We need to get in and out as quickly as possible.”

“I can create a temporary system shutdown in that area. That will distract them for a few minutes,” Cruncher offered.

“Let’s do it. When we get her out of there, I know a safe place to take her until we can get her out of the towers.” After that, they'd have to play it by ear. It was likely that neither the trader camp nor the towers were going to be safe for any of them.

The elevator door opened and they stepped outside. Carl plugged his earpiece in and asked, “Which way, Cruncher?”

“Follow the hall down. It looks like it’s the third door on the left.”

There were a few people moving throughout the hallway but they seemed to be focused on their tasks and paid little attention to the group. This level appeared to be a scientific research area from the number of people wearing lab coats. When they reached the door, Xantham looked at the metal plate on the wall. “I can get us through here.”

Carl and Veridian pretended to be discussing something on Carl’s comlink while they hid Xantham from view. Xantham crouched down and pulled the cover plate off. He pulled out the wires and grabbed a tool from his belt. Splicing the wires together, he connected them to his comlink. “Go ahead, Cruncher,” he said when he was ready. “Throw the switch.”

“You’ll have three minutes, starting….now.”

Carl and Veridian slipped inside the door while Xantham leaned casually against the wall to wait.

The room was dark except for the emergency lighting. Carl could see the one-way glass mirror they had observed in the video. Two people were at the far side of the darkened room shouting about the system shutdown and trying to reactivate it. Carl quickly headed toward the room where they were holding Kayla. He whispered to Veridian to keep a lookout and opened the door.

Kayla’s eyes widened when she recognized him. He deactivated her restraints and she threw her arms around him gratefully. He lifted her off the table and set her down on the floor. “We have to get out of here.”

She nodded. He took her hand in his and they ran out of the room. “We’ve only got another minute. Let’s go.”

The three of them exited the laboratory and met Xantham in the hallway. They fled back toward the elevator and Kayla breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind them.

“Thanks,” she said breathlessly.

“Damn,” Xantham exclaimed, his eyes scanning her up and down. “If that’s how they dress the prisoners in these towers, maybe I should become a guard.”