When she first stepped through the main doors at the C-Zone, jaws dropped.
“Miss Adoni!” cried the young receptionist. “What an honour!”
Ivy smiled, adjusted her sunglasses and used her walking stick to find her way. Several other workers gawked in awe. When Ivy found herself in front of the reception desk, she held up a basket of blueberry muffins and said,
“Hi, I was wondering if I could speak with the person in charge here?”
“Oh yeah, of course!” replied the receptionist. “Just, hold on a sec. One minute.”
He then pulled off his headset and dashed away behind closed doors. He was gone for a while, but then a man wearing a maroon uniform came strolling through the backdoors, grinning ear to ear. The receptionist resumed his position behind the desk while the uniformed man strutted towards Ivy.
“Hi, I’m Gerald Kowalski,” he said, shaking her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for everything – I just – I admire you. I truly do.”
“I appreciate it,” she replied, and then she lifted the basket towards him. “I respect the good people at the C-Zone as well, so I have brought along some homemade muffins as my way of saying thanks.”
“Oh! Cheers, you’re the best,” replied Gerald, accepting the gift. “That’s very generous of you.”
“No problem. It’s just a small gesture of my gratitude.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
Ivy lowered her voice.
“So, you’re in charge here? I’d like to talk with you privately.”
“Of course. Please, follow me.”
Gerald then handed the gift basket to the young receptionist, instructed him to take it to the staff room and to hold off all calls. He nodded vigorously and disappeared. Gerald then guided Ivy to a quiet room branching off from the main reception area.
They sat down in armchairs. Ivy was the first to speak.
“I know I probably shouldn’t have turned up to the C-Zone unannounced but I have a favour I want to ask of you.”
“Name it,” said Gerald, slapping his hands together. “It’s done.”
“I wish to speak with Ashley Griffin. Alone.”
Gerald’s smile concaved into a frown.
“Ah. I’d love to help you, truly – I would – but Ashley is strictly off-limits until his trial. I have orders from a higher power. I can’t put my job in jeopardy.”
“I understand that,” she replied, nodding. “But what if nobody knew?”
Gerald shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It was a surprise to see the country’s most honoured World War III hero at the C-Zone to begin with, but her demand had completely caught him off guard.
“Oh, I can’t defy orders. I’m sorry. I’d lose my job.”
“That would only be a risk if you weren’t discreet. If nobody knew you’d let me, you’d keep your job and I’d be satisfied for the rest of my life.”
Sweat started beading on Gerald’s forehead. He refused to bend the rules.
“Look, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do,” he said, folding his hands. “Besides, Ash Griffin will never listen to you anyway – he’s a total nutcase. He roams around his cell like an animal, screaming and carrying on.”
The statement caught her by surprise.
“He screams?” she asked.
“Oh yeah, like a banshee,” said Gerald. “Sometimes he yells out gibberish, or laughs, but mostly he just shouts to himself.”
Aside from a few faint murmurs of life, or heavy breathing – Ivy had never heard him scream or laugh. Maybe his time in the C-Zone had destroyed his mind? Or perhaps he’d broken through his conversion disorder? It only made her want to see him even more, and she was not going to back down.
“I know I’ve put you in an awkward position. For that, I apologise, but I urgently need to speak with Ash. Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“It’s not that simple, Miss Adoni,” he said, speaking firmly. “There’s a lot of paperwork, so many rules and regulations, and far too many eyewitnesses to report my misconduct. Also, this entire building has security cameras in every corner. We could never do it on the down low.”
“Yes, we could. Switch off the cameras. Remove all personnel from the site.”
“My life is here at the C-Zone. I’m really sorry, but I just can’t.”
Ivy hung her head. She gasped a few times and then began sobbing. Gerald sat and watched. He lifted his hand to make a comforting gesture, but then knowing better, he retracted it and remained still.
“You don’t understand, do you? You wouldn’t believe the things I had to do just to survive another day…” winced Ivy, in between her wails.
“I know what you went through. I’ve read all the articles and watched your TV interviews. You endured so much.”
“Ash Griffin tried to kill me, Mr. Kowalski.”
“The guy is a dog, no doubt about it,” said Gerald, nodding. “I assure you he gets severely punished every damn day.”
“Then maybe you’ll understand...I have to speak with him. I need closure.”
Gerald licked his lips, and then folded his hands together. Sweat stains drenched the shirt under his arms. After scratching at the back of his neck a few times, he tried to mentally work through the possibilities. It was several minutes before he spoke again.
“Maybe there is something I can do,” he said, lowering his voice.
“Please,” urged Ivy. “It would mean everything to me.”
“I’ll make a deal with you,” began Gerald, sitting forward. “I’ll let you speak with him from the control room. You can talk with him through a microphone. He’ll be able to hear you from his cell.”
“And we can forget the paperwork?”
“What paperwork?” asked Gerald, followed by a nervous laugh. “That was a joke, just in case you didn’t know. I’m pretending I don’t know anything.”
“Ah, sure,” she said, wiping her tears away.
“Just give me a minute, and then we’ll go through to the cells. Ash is still our only inmate here at the C-Zone, so I think it’s possible to do this quietly.”
Ivy reached out and placed a hand on Gerald’s knee.
“Thank you,” she uttered. “Nobody knows I’m here either – I know there would be grave repercussions for me if anyone knew I’d come to the C-Zone.”
Gerald pressed his lips together and made a zipping gesture.
“I’ll tell my colleagues to keep quiet. They’re good people. You’ll have our discretion too.”
Ivy gave her most sincere thanks and then waited to be escorted through the facility. Gerald, trying to wipe sweat away from his face, gave himself a moment to find his composure and then led Ivy back into the main reception area.
Almost a dozen men and women wearing maroon uniforms had gathered by the main doors, keen to catch a glimpse of Ivy in the flesh.
Some gasped, some cheered. Everyone stared in wonder.
“Please!” said Gerald, raising his hands into the air. “No one can know Miss Adoni is here. This is an order from head office. Everyone must keep this to themselves.”
“Thanks for the muffins!” called out one of the workers. “They are bloody delicious. The best I’ve ever had.”
Before any other workers could make another comment, Gerald pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it.
“All personnel, excluding the cell monitors, are to report to the staff room,” he said. “You must remain there until further notice. Thank you.”
Gerald’s colleagues then slinked away. Ivy, tapping her walking stick on the ground tried to gauge her bearings. Gerald scooted back to her and linked arms.
“I’ll take you through,” he said, earnestly. “Sorry about the commotion.”
Ivy brushed it off with a humble chuckle as he escorted her past reception, into the main block of the C-Zone. Gerald briefly stepped into a surveillance room, shutting down the internal security cameras, and then he ushered Ivy to a mandatory checkpoint.
“Before we go any further, I have to do a security clearance,” explained Gerald.
“Of course,” said Ivy, surrendering her walking stick.
She was told to empty her pockets. She complied. Taking her by the hand, he directed Ivy to the scan portal. She almost removed her sunglasses too, but Gerald said he’d make an exception given her disability. He stood behind a barrier, in full view of the scan screen.
Once the portal started up, Ivy stood still, spread her arms and legs and let the machine examine her.
A red light started blinking. An alarm sounded.
“Uh, just a moment,” said Gerald, sounding unsure of himself. “Are you sure you emptied all your pockets? Something is flashing up on my screen here. It’s detected something unusual inside your pockets – both of them.”
“Oh,” said Ivy. “I don’t have anything in there.”
“Umm, may I check?”
“Sure,” she replied. “I don’t have anything to hide.”
Gerald stepped out from behind the barrier and approached Ivy. He was just a few feet away when Ivy pulled out a handheld stun gun and jabbed it into Gerald’s neck. He gasped, stiffening as the volts hit him with the desired impact. He lost consciousness on his feet and dropped to the floor. Unresponsive.
The intensity of the shock had been strong enough to knock him out for a couple of hours. It gave her more than enough time to do what she needed to do, but Ivy was quick to press on. She didn’t doubt there were more guards hiding within the C-Zone.
She lowered her sunglasses for a moment – as if removing her disguise – and crouched down beside the body. Ivy plucked Gerald’s ID badge from his top pocket and scanned it in front of the security door. It opened. She stepped out into a long corridor and started to run, searching for the cells.
Buzzing from the adrenaline kick, Ivy scanned the ID badge at an iron bolted door and waited. Ivy walked inside, eyeing a cell door with Ash’s name on it. She gave it a push. Nothing happened. She couldn’t see inside either, but there was another door a short distance away with a light beaming through the crack at the bottom.
Readying her stun gun, Ivy knew the element of surprise was her greatest attack method. She scanned the ID badge to activate the door, and then rolled away putting her back up against the wall. Cautious footsteps edged towards the open door.
“Gerald?” came a voice from within. “You there?”
The moment a uniformed man stepped outside to investigate, Ivy rammed the stun gun under his chin. He went down. She moved into the control room. Two other workers – one man and one woman – shrieked in terror and tried to reach for the panic button.
Too slow. Ivy managed to shock both of them long before they had the chance to call for back-up.
With unconscious bodies at her feet, Ivy tossed down the stun gun and readjusted her ponytail. She stepped towards the control panel and looked through the open window.
He was there. She could see Ashley Griffin lying on his bed, staring up at the sky through a small square on the ceiling.
He was none the wiser of the fate he would soon ensue.
Timing was essential. Although Ivy had taken every precaution to keep her arrival at the C-Zone well under the radar, more workers would turn up in the late afternoon to begin their shift. She needed to get out as quickly as possible.
The gift basket left in the staff room had also been laced with hysteria pills. Anyone that dared to eat the delectable treats would drop into a deep sleep within half an hour.
Ivy reached into her other pocket and pulled out a Compacta-Cutta. She squeezed the bar as it morphed into a blade. It gleamed under the artificial light.
From the control panel, Ivy managed to erase the security tapes and then switched off every surveillance camera – inside and outside the facility.
Lastly, she activated the bridge to link the entrance way to the platform and unlocked the cell door. The foreign sound forced Ash to jerk upright. He sat up on his bed, unmoving.
Pocketing her weapon again, Ivy prepared to visit Ash. One last time.
***
He knew something was seriously wrong.
After six months of his imprisonment, the door had never opened, yet Ash stood staring at the gaping open space just as the bridge rolled out again.
Footsteps clacked furiously along the ground. Then she stood in the doorway.
Ash felt his veins pulse. Dread tightened in his heart.
Ivy slithered through the open door, across the walkway, and stopped at the edge of the platform. Tilting her head slightly, she removed a pair of black sunglasses and flashed her eyes open.
They locked eyes with each other for the very first time.
“Hi Ash,” said Ivy, smiling. “I’ve got to say, you’re so much better looking than I imagined. I mean, the beard looks a bit scruffy, but I can dig it.”
She took a step closer. Ash’s fists stiffened.
“I probably look a little different these days too. I’ve had two eye transplants and several skin grafts. I think the doctors have done a good job, don’t you reckon?”
Ash had no reaction. Ivy pursed her lips.
“Come on, speak up. Gerald told me all about your screaming sessions and incoherent babbling,” she continued. “Surely you must have something to say to me?”
He met her eye, unblinking. Ash had encountered many people in his life that he’d taken a disliking to, but he had never hated anybody with such intensity – until now.
“Look, I’m here today because there are things I need to say to you, but I couldn’t say it in front of other people,” said Ivy, and then added, “Oh, and just so we’re clear – I’m not here to rescue you. I’m here to kill you.”
Ash never doubted it.
“Before I start though, have you heard the news lately? The war is over. The British have gone. We won.”
Pouring salt in his wounds. He had to bite back on his anger.
“The rest of the world have followed suit too. America and other countries in Asia have also signed peace treaties, and the guns have been silenced yet again. I guess we share the credit for that. Our actions ended the world war. Shit, you and I are going down in the history books,” she said, and then added, “Oh, by the way, they found your diary.”
Ash remained still. With his hands in his lap, he stared directly at her, breathing evenly. He wasn’t sure what Ivy meant by diary, but soon enough she elaborated.
“The Australian army sent boats through the Whitsundays about two months ago, and they found the island we were stranded on. Aside from the rotting bones of two dead British soldiers, the only other thing they found was the diary. You’d made quite a few entries, apparently. I haven’t seen the real thing, but I was given scans of the pages inside it. I admired the fact you were so honest about your religion. That said, I found certain parts of it hilarious. You truly thought you were outwitting me.”
Ash couldn’t remember everything he had written – it was so long ago – but no doubt his words would be cemented along with his memory. He would forever be remembered as the lone Royal Marines Commando that betrayed his entire army.
“I should probably mention the internet has been partially switched on again – just with tighter restrictions. To be honest, I felt it was an unnecessary evil, but I guess it was only a matter of time...”
It came as no surprise to Ash, but it left him indifferent.
“You might be wondering how I contacted my army while I was with you,” she began, burying her hands in her pockets. “There were very few opportunities, but when we briefly stopped in Yalata I had my chance, and I took it.”
In Yalata, they’d stopped over for no longer than twenty minutes to refuel the car and buy a few extra items. Then Ash remembered the payphone.
“I called the RAAF,” said Ivy. “There was an old phone booth out the front of the service station in Yalata, so I called them – thanks to brailed buttons – and confirmed I was still alive. I said I was travelling across the country with a captive – a naïve Royal Marines Commando named Ash Griffin. Of course, my army wanted to intervene straight away, but I assured them I could handle it. Besides, it was a matter of pride – I wanted to bring you to Perth myself. When I mentioned to my army that we’d be stopping at Quorn, I met a soldier in the hotel reception while you were out, and she gave me a mobile phone of my own, some useful cards and badges, plus the ability to directly contact Brock M. Hoffman. He told me the truth about Operation Endurance over the phone. We were in contact for the rest of our journey.”
Ash didn’t want to hear about the signs he’d missed. It was all too painful to have his errors recited to him.
“Here’s the honest truth, you were a tough cookie to crack,” she continued. “I had to play the friggin’ damsel in distress to win you over, and after several months, that façade was hard to maintain – but I did it. At first I was playing hard to get, challenging your masculinity but it didn’t work. Next, I literally threw myself at you – that didn’t work either. So, I changed my approach, playing the scared little girl in need of a hero. You believed it. That’s why I won.”
Ash could remember it so clearly. He didn’t realise the progressive change had all been for show. Ash thought their entire ordeal had chipped away several layers of Ivy’s hard exterior, revealing the beautiful soul beneath – but it was all just a lie.
“Even when I fucked you for the first time on that boat, I thought I had you. I thought you trusted me, but you still didn’t. So, I worked hard to build up an emotional bond with you and bingo! Your complicated mind didn’t seem so complex anymore. You wanted more than just a bang buddy – you wanted love.”
The word made him grind his teeth.
“Like I said before, Ash, you’re a different kind of guy – very emotionally driven, and that of course, is your biggest weakness.”
After several years of service, Ash had tried to detach from all emotional bonds, but she had been the exception. What a foolish oversight.
“On that note, every time I cried? All crocodile tears,” she said, followed by a snort of laughter. “I figured my distress would soften you up a bit.”
He started to breathe harder. His heartbeat was on a sharp incline.
“There’s something else, I must confess,” said Ivy. “When I accidently fell pregnant to you, I contacted my army and told them about the problem. I explained I’d been simulating my emotions and sleeping with you, using sex as a means to secure your trust. Unfortunately, you knocked me up, but there were no questions asked when I requested a termination.”
The word travelled into his heart like an ice-tipped arrow.
“Yeah, I never miscarried the baby,” she hissed. “I aborted it.”
The confirmation cut him like razors. His mouth dropped open, but she began cackling, thrilled with his reaction. Her lies were endless.
“When we stopped in Coolgardie I phoned my army and asked for abortion drugs. They waited until you left the hotel room, and then they gave me a few pills. I took them. It worked within thirty minutes.”
Tears burned behind his eyes. His bottom lip quivered.
“Oh, don’t get upset now,” she crooned. “In fact, you should be delighted I’ve made such an effort to speak with you today. Seriously, I just knocked out several people and there’s bound to be more today, but it’s all worth the risk. I wanted to see you, face to face, and they never would’ve let me unless I went to extreme measures. And after today, I’m leaving Australia for good.”
Pulling himself back together, he tried to understand the perplexing statement. She didn’t keep him guessing for long.
“There’s just one loose thread in all of this,” she began. “Magenta. I could sense that she never entirely trusted me, and no doubt her version of events would differ to mine – if she ever came forward. Although I doubt she’s even heard the news...”
The possibility brought a flicker of hope. Although Magenta kept to herself, surely she would give her support to Ash in his hour of need?
“She could compromise a lot of things. There’s really only one way to silence her,” continued Ivy, “and we all know what that means...”
Ash narrowed his eyes. She laughed.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to kill her,” she sniggered. “I don’t want the hassle, and I’m not that heartless either. For what it’s worth, I liked her.”
He almost sighed in relief. But Ivy wasn’t finished yet.
“It’s just that – I’m not cut out for this celebrity bullshit,” she said. “I mean, I’ll put it on for the cameras when I need to, but I’d rather just be me. Besides, there’s nothing worth staying for anymore. For the past six months I’ve been subjected to personality tests and they’ve checked my eligibility to become transhuman, but I’ve been denied.”
Ash began to smirk, thrilled by the news.
“Apparently I’m too much of a risk to live forever,” she hissed. “Too dangerous. Too unpredictable. They’ve assured me they can preserve my subconscious, but I don’t want to be a digital memory. After all I’ve done for the country, I know I deserve better, so I’ve decided to leave.”
Ivy then pulled a Compacta-Cutta from her pocket. With a firm squeeze, the device morphed into a blade.
“Once I kill you, I’m walking out of this facility to start a new life overseas,” she said, taking a step closer. “I already have a car parked out the back, with all my bags packed. I’m then driving to Ledge Point, where I’ll meet another group of nameless people, looking to flee the country. I’m then going to board a boat, leaving for Asia at first light. I’ll be gone for good. It’s the fresh start I’ve been waiting for.”
She then paused, before bursting into laughter.
“Oh man,” she chuckled, “I bet you’d give anything for a fresh start.”
Ivy edged closer, barely three metres from him. Ash stared at her with his tortured eyes, and then, he started grinning. Her brows furrowed. She was puzzled by his sudden joy, but during her rambling, Ash had discreetly pulled out his handmade weapon from inside the hidden hole within the mattress.
After stealing a long screw from the showerhead a couple of months ago, Ash then found a blind spot in his cell where he could freely use the floor tiles to carve a prominent spike, while his cell monitors were none the wiser. Ash had sharpened the long screw just this morning. It was more than capable of ending a life.
Ivy held her knife towards Ash. Almost shaking with anticipation, she said,
“Right from the very start, I always knew one of us would eventually kill the other...”
Ash pulled his own weapon into view.
“Yeah,” he said, still smiling. “You’re damn right.”
...---...