The man was younger than Rosie had imagined. She guessed he was in his mid thirties and he seemed very clean. His skin was pale, his jaw clean-shaven. He had brown eyes and a straight nose and looked just like anyone from Central, except there was an intensity about him that was out of place in his blandly handsome face.
She went towards him warily, Pip beside her.
“You must be Rosie,” he said. “Did anyone follow you?” His gaze went to Pip, who shook his head.
“No, boss, I was careful.”
“Let’s hope so.” Rising from his chair, the man walked towards her and held out a hand as though intending to shake hers. “Give it to me,” he said.
Rosie hesitated, holding tight to the straps of her pack. Now she was here, she was filled with misgiving.
“Please, Rosie.”
Pip took hold of one of her pack’s straps.
“I can get it.” She twisted away from him with a glare.
“Just trying to help,” Pip said, his smile smug.
Rosie slipped the pack from her back and pulled the box out. “Here.” She thrust it at the man who took it as though she’d offered it willingly.
“Thank you. Where did you find it?”
“In the Old City.”
“I’m aware of that. Where in the Old City?”
His face gave nothing away as he regarded the symbol on the lid.
“A tunnel, a long way in.” She wanted to ask him why it was important and, mostly, what had happened to her dad, but his demeanour was unnerving.
He placed the box carefully on the table. Rosie flicked a glance at Pip but he had gone to stand by the window. He appeared tense.
“Tell me exactly where you found it,” the man said quietly.
“I don’t know exactly.”
“And you figured out how to open it?” He hardly blinked as he watched her.
“It was just luck, really,” she said. He said nothing so she ventured a question. “Do you know how to open it?”
He pressed the silver buttons and the lid sprang open. The look on his face as he saw what was inside was impossible to read. Did he know what was supposed to be in there?
The man picked up the grey com. “Did you look at this?”
“We couldn’t figure out the entry code.”
He studied her closely. “We?” he said. “Your friend’s name is Shen, isn’t it?”
A trickle of dread shivered up Rosie’s spine. “Yes. I’d like to try to contact her if you have a com I could use.”
“It’s too late. I’m sorry.” He turned his computer towards her. “I recorded this earlier. I hoped we could have avoided this. If Pip had brought you here sooner, I could have contacted them – told them she didn’t have it.”
What was he saying? Her breath felt short as she gazed down at the blue screen.
Family killed in freak accident. She read the news wave in disbelief: The entire Shen family was found dead earlier this evening at their home in Central East, apparent victims of a faulty generator switch. The explosion destroyed the main part of the home … Unable to read any more, she turned away feeling sick.
“You were lucky you hid when those men came,” he said.
Rosie couldn’t speak. This wasn’t true. It wasn’t happening. If Pip had brought you here sooner … His words repeated in her head and a terrible feeling like bitter acid rose in her gut. If she hadn’t run away from Pip, would Juli still be alive? She stared back at the screen. The news wave was paused on what had been Juli’s house. The remains of the house were smouldering, the bush around it a blackened circle. She wanted to sit down. She was dimly aware of Pip standing beside her, the man frowning as he watched her.
“Why?” she said.
“It’s what they do,” he said.
She shook her head, folding her arms around herself. She wanted to cry. She should be crying, shouldn’t she? But she only felt a dull tightness behind her eyes.
“When you turned on the beacon, Rosie, it was like starting a chain reaction. And the people who did this will start at the beginning and follow it to the end. They don’t miss things.”
“What about my dad?” she whispered. “Is it true they found him because I …” She couldn’t finish.
“Yes.” His tone was quiet, serious, but there was no condemnation, he merely told her the facts. “I’m sorry. I saw too late you’d looked up your aunt’s name. It would have been easy for them after that.”
“Is he okay, do you think?”
“I don’t know. But if it’s any consolation, I’d say he’s still alive. They probably would have just left his body in your apartment if they’d killed him.”
His body. Rosie felt like throwing up. She rubbed a hand across her eyes. Juli was dead, her father gone, all because of something she’d found.
She fingered the pendant in her pocket. Perhaps she shouldn’t keep it. She pulled out the small, green disc.
“This was in the box too.” She held it out to him. A faint smile curved his lips, and a look of recognition lit his face as he took it from her.
“What is it?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. A keepsake.” He regarded her thoughtfully. “Here.” He reached into his case and pulled out a silver chain with a key hanging on it. He took the key off and threaded the chain through the pendant then held it out to her. “You have it.”
Rosie didn’t know what to say. It was obvious the pendant meant something to him. “I don’t want it.” It was part of the trouble, pretty as it was. It was one of the reasons her dad was gone and Juli was dead.
He took a step towards her and forced it into her hand. “You should wear it, Rosie. It’s important sometimes to have something to remind us of the consequences of things we’ve done.”
Was he blaming her for Juli’s death and her dad’s kidnapping? “I didn’t know what would happen,” she said. “It’s not like I wanted anyone hurt.”
His calm expression didn’t waver. “I know, but as you’ve seen, the effects are devastating and it’s not going to end here.”
There was more to come? Rosie swallowed and her voice sounded weak when she said, “What is the Shore beacon?”
“I can’t tell you. The more you know, the more dangerous it is.”
She felt like he’d slapped her. “More dangerous? My dad is gone and Juli is dead! We have to go the Senate,” she said. “We have to tell them what happened.”
“They can’t help you, Rosie. And you cannot tell them.”
“Why? We have to do something!” His calm was infuriating.
“No, I have to do something. And don’t think they won’t stop hunting you down. They know who you are now and they have people in the Senate. There’re probably guards looking for you right now. You go to them and you might as well hand them a gun to shoot you with.”
She stopped, shocked. Was that true? “But what about my dad?” she said.
“If he’s still alive, they’ll use him as bait. In fact they are probably counting on you running to the Senate for help so the people they have in there can just swoop on you. Easy.”
“But who are they?”
He regarded her for a moment and she thought she saw a flicker of sympathy. “They are very powerful and you are merely a small itch to be scratched out.”
“But–”
“I’ll send them a message and tell them you don’t have what they want any more.”
“But what if they don’t believe you?”
“They will.” He sounded so certain but Rosie couldn’t understand why. If these people were so powerful, why would they believe him?
She turned to Pip but he seemed just as remote as the man. She felt like she was in a nightmare that wouldn’t end. Just like when she watched her mum die. You tried to pretend it wasn’t happening, but you knew, all the time you knew, it was real and you couldn’t do anything about it.
“Who are you?” she said. “At least tell me that.”
He hesitated a moment, glancing at Pip. “You can call me Riley,” he said.
“Riley who?”
He shook his head. “Just Riley.” He nodded at Pip. “He’ll take you back to the city.”
“What?” both Pip and Rosie exclaimed together.
“That’s it?” Rosie stared at him. “But–”
“Enough.” Riley’s tone was sharp. “This is not a discussion. Pip, you take her back to the city by the bridge – it’s the safest way. Keep her with you, out of the way of the Senate, until I contact you.”
“But …” Rosie began but the expression on his face made her shut her mouth.
“Go,” he said.
She stood still, staring at him, but he ignored her.
Pip shook his head and jerked a thumb towards the window. Never had Rosie felt so powerless or so lost. She picked up her backpack and followed Pip to the window. Riley had gone back to his computer and didn’t look up as they climbed out.