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As soon as Jason and the rescue team returned to the lair, Seattle called a meeting of the Council. As the twelve members filed into Seattle's area and seated themselves around the outer perimeter, Jason studied each one's face. So young, he thought, to be taking on such responsibility. In many ways, it was insane to think that these young children could make any difference in such a superstructure as the Patriarchy and the ULC.
But, as he studied their faces, something else became apparent. They were determined. Yes, they were the faces of children, some of them not yet in their teens, but underneath the youthful appearance, there was a seriousness and determination well beyond their years.
When the last Council member had been seated, Seattle entered the room and took a seat between Jason and Tinker. She gazed around the room at each member, smiling and nodding at each one, speaking to a couple of them that she had not already spoken to earlier.
"Okay," she said in her warm, husky voice. "The Council meeting is called to order. I called this meeting to welcome Jason back and to make his inclusion into the family official, as well as to get an update as to what his trip to the surface was like.
"But before we get your report, Jason, we have a little ceremony of inclusion into the Lion Family. It starts with you making a request to be brought into the family."
Jason nodded. Seattle had previously mentioned to him that she would start the meeting this way, so he was ready to respond.
"I am requesting that I be allowed into the family," he replied, glancing around the room to each member.
"And who is sponsoring this applicant?" Seattle asked.
"I am," Tinker replied, as he stood up and placed his hand on Jason's shoulder.
"Being included in the family is an act of honor and an act of your word. Once you are in the family, you become an integral part of the family for life, and the family becomes an integral part of your life as well. It is not something to be entered into lightly. You are bound by your word to care for the other members of the family. Bound as tightly as though bound by blood, as in the days before the Great Revelation."
Jason turned and looked inquisitively at Seattle. She hadn't gone into detail about the ceremony. What did she mean, "as in the days before the Great Revelation?" Now was not the time to ask, but he made a mental note for later.
"This sacred bond includes the willingness to lay down your life for another member of the family, if necessary. Do you agree to honor the bond of the family?"
"I do," Jason replied, surprised to find it difficult to speak through a lump that was suddenly forming in his throat.
"Is there anyone of the Council who questions the wisdom of this inclusion?" Seattle paused to give anyone an opportunity to speak.
Jason glanced at Wompun, who sat across from him, remembering back to that first day when Wompun and Cinder had guarded him. Was there anything left over from those early times?
Wompun saw Jason staring at him and nodded, a brief curl of his lip creating the closest thing to a smile on his face that Jason had ever seen.
I guess I pass, Jason thought, as the Council remained quiet.
"If there is no one who speaks against this inclusion, I do hereby welcome Jason Joval into the family of Lions. From this moment forth, Jason Joval is no longer. The man who sits before us is Jason Lion. Welcome, Jason Lion, to your family."
With that, the entire Council burst out in a loud cheer, and everyone scrambled to be the first to shake Jason's hand or to give him a hug of welcome. The festivities lasted for several minutes until, finally, the children resumed their seats. Seattle turned to him.
"Welcome," she said simply, as she leaned over and gave him a big hug and kiss. As the two embraced, the children made cat-calls and jokes. Although thoroughly embarrassed by the public display of affection, Jason found it a refreshing end to the ceremony.
"Now," Seattle said, as she leaned back and straightened her outfit, "on to the business at hand."
As she spoke, Jason noticed a twinkle in her eye that he hadn't noticed before. It would be good to be alone with Seattle later and to explore the meaning behind the gleam.
"Please, newest member of the Lion Family, give us a report of your escapades on the surface."
All eyes turned to Jason, as he cleared his throat, unsure of where to start. "I'm afraid you may regret including me in the family after I tell you how my trip went. I guess, to be very straight about it, I'm completely broke. I've no worth credits or life credits left in any of my accounts. I am a fugitive from justice and wanted by the Patriarchy and the ULC, as well as the Sleeper Stations. Not only that, but while I was down here the past few days, the lady who I had hired to watch Carmiel entered into business with him and she, along with her associates, assassinated the Archangel, making my father the highest ruling official in the ULC."
The murmurs of the Council grew louder as Jason spoke until Seattle raised her hand for silence. "Everyone will have the opportunity to ask questions or make comments in a moment. Let's just give Jason a chance to tell us everything that happened. And by the way, Jason, Carmiel is no longer your father. When you came into the Family, all other familial ties were dissolved."
Jason nodded. "In any case, he is now the highest-ranking official, and I'm sure it was his doing that wiped me out so quickly."
"Anything else?" Seattle asked.
Jason shook his head. "No, that's about it. Oh, there is one other small item. According to the newscasts being circulated by the CCC, I am wanted on multiple charges of gambling fraud. That's the story they're circulating. So not only am I broke, but my reputation is also ruined."
Seattle appeared to be fighting back a smile as she spoke. "Well, it seems it was a rather interesting, if not particularly productive, trip."
"It could have been better," Jason agreed.
"What about the book?" Tinker asked, almost jumping out of his seated position.
"Oh, my God, the book! I completely forgot about it in the rush to escape. Yeah, there was a book in the secret compartment. I have it here somewhere." Jason dug down into the inner lining of his coat and pulled out the small black book.
"I have no idea what is in it. I just barely managed to find it before the Sleeper Wagon arrived."
Jason snapped open the metal clasp and started leafing through the pages.
"It appears to be my mother's diary," he said after a couple minutes. "It's only about three-quarters full.” Jason turned to the last couple of pages that were written on and tried to read the strange handwriting. He had never seen so many words written by hand. Other than a rare note or a signature, almost everything was written on computers.
After a couple minutes, he looked over to Seattle. "I'm not sure I can read it. The handwriting is pretty awful."
"Let me give it a try," Tinker piped in. "I've read a fair amount of stuff written by hand."
Jason handed him the book. It felt strange to own a book, especially one by his mother. Where did she get it, he wondered, and why did she decide to keep a journal?
As he watched Tinker pore over the book, he remembered the dream from a few nights before. It had seemed so strange to see his mother again. He thought he had forgotten what she looked like, but there was no question in his mind as he recalled the dream, the lady sitting beside the bed monitoring the instruments had been his mom.
Suddenly, another image flashed in his mind, momentarily replacing the image of Tinker in front of him. A woman sitting at a desk with a small boy standing beside her. It was the same woman and child—his mother and himself at the same age as the dream. As he watched, the small boy pulled at something on the desk, and the woman reached down and gently pulled his hand away.
It was the book, Jason realized. She's writing in the book, and I'm trying to pick the book up. His mother turned towards the small boy and smiled.
"Just a few minutes more, Jason. I'll play with you as soon as I finish this. Now let me be. My handwriting is bad enough without you pulling the book away."
"Jason – Jason." The voice faded from his mom's to that of Tinker. "Are you okay?"
Jason shook his head, disturbed by the clarity of the brief vision.
"I'm fine. Just suddenly remembered when I first saw this book." He turned his attention back to Tinker. "Anything interesting in it?"
"I'll say," Tinker replied, his face beaming with excitement. "This last passage is unbelievable. Listen to this."
I made my biggest discovery to date with my investigation into the corruption of the Patriarchy and the ULC. I have found evidence that there is a series of underground passages – passages that are underneath the deepest levels of the Pipes, and which connect the network of Sleeper Stations with each other and with the Central Church of the ULC.
I have no clue what their purpose is or even if they are still operational, but I feel certain that they are somehow integrally connected to the corruption of the Church. I will explore them tomorrow and report my findings.
Tinker flipped over several pages. "That's the last entry."
Jason took the book from him and leafed through the last few pages.
"The last entry date is only three days before they found my mother's body at the edge of the Pipes." There was a strange tightness around his throat, which surprised him.
"My guess is she was discovered during her exploration of one of the Sleeper Stations," Seattle said. She placed one arm around Jason's shoulder.
"Well, I guess my trip to the surface wasn't so worthless after all," Jason replied. "At least we know what we need to do next. We need to find a way into those secret tunnels."
Everyone in the Council nodded their agreement. Several of the older boys started whispering to each other.
"Quiet down," Seattle said after a moment. She turned to Wompun and Cinder. "I want you to organize everyone into search groups of four each. Assign at least one Council member to each group. Tell them that we are looking for hidden passages, sealed up entranceways or anything that could be a way to get below the lowest level of the Pipes."
Wompun and Cinder nodded. The Council members filed out.
Jason continued to sit there, his back against the wall, his mother's journal cradled in his hands. He continued to leaf through the book, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He now doubted the report about Carmiel having a rival. Maybe there hadn't been any rival at all. Perhaps his mother had simply gotten too close to ULC secrets, and it had been Carmiel that had stopped her.
Seattle returned to his side and placed her arm around him again.
"We'll find a way into the passages and complete the work your mother started."
Jason slowly closed the book and placed it down beside him. He nodded. "We'll find a way in. It just might not be through the Pipes."
"What do you mean?" Seattle asked. But Jason refused to say any more.
––––––––
THE SEARCH IN THE LOWER levels of the Pipes proceeded for a week without any signs of a secret way into deeper levels. During that time, there were reports of sightings of small bands of attendants exploring the upper levels.
"They're looking for me," Jason said, after one of the reports came in while the evening meal was being prepared. "Carmiel knows I'm with you, and he isn't likely to stop searching until he finds me. I'm endangering the family by staying here. I should go."
Seattle threw a wooden spoon at him, forcing Jason to duck. "Of course, you're endangering us. So what? You're part of the family now. You think we're going to toss you out, or even let you leave of your own volition? I'm sorry. Being family doesn't work that way. Besides, I've grown attached to having Mu-Monk and you around. So, no more talking like that. No one is likely to find us at this level, but if they start getting close, we'll move. We're very mobile, or have you forgotten?"
"No, I haven't forgotten," Jason said with a chuckle. "I think we should call the search to a halt. We're not going to find anything down there."
"But there must be a way into those passages," Seattle said. "If we stop..."
Jason held his hands up. "Whoa. There is a way. It's just not down there."
"Meaning?" Seattle asked.
"It's time to take the direct approach. The way into those underground passages is through a Sleeper Station."
Seattle stared at him, a shocked look on her face. "You've got to be kidding. You're not suggesting...that's crazy. Only one thing goes into a Sleeper Station, and they never come out, or at least when they do, they come out as ash."
Jason nodded. "Still, it's the way we have to go in. It could take weeks or months before we finally found another way in. That's assuming there is another way, which I'm not at all sure there is, and we don't have that much time."
"What do you mean?" Seattle said, as she picked up another spoon and started mixing the contents of the bowl in front of her.
"Tinker and I went over some computer data that he's been monitoring. Remember the cycle of increased mortalities he found?"
Seattle nodded.
"Well, by his calculations, we're due for another one within the next week or two. If we don't do something soon, thousands of people will suddenly disappear with no explanation. Thousands of sixteen-year-olds will have terrible luck at the lottery, and a lot of people's luck will suddenly turn very sour at the life-credit gambling tables."
After a couple of minutes, during which the two of them continued to busy themselves getting the meal ready, Seattle asked, "Do you have any idea how we're going to get into a Sleeper Station? I don't think they're going to simply open their doors to us."
"Not us, me," Jason said.
"What?" Seattle asked, a confused look on her face.
"We're not going in, I'm going in," Jason replied. "Tinker and I are working on a plan right now. He promises me he'll have all the details worked out by the end of the week."
"Since I'm still the matriarch of this family, do you think you could fill me in on the overview of the plan?"
"You are going to turn my body over to the closest Sleeper Station, tightly secured in my very own coffin."
"You must be kidding!" Seattle exclaimed, dropping the wooden spoon in the bowl and walking over to Jason.
"Nope," Jason replied. "Tinker is figuring out all the details. He's quite good at it, but I guess you already know that." Jason's calm voice seemed to agitate Seattle more with each passing minute.
"Wait just a damn second," Seattle said, then stopped and took a deep breath. "Jason, I know you're a new member of the family and being a part of a family is a new experience for you, but you can't just go off making major decisions like this without including everyone in on them. Especially me. What we are up to and up against is too dangerous to have everyone doing their own thing."
Jason nodded. He could see that he had been operating on his own and not including Seattle. Being in a family was so different from how he had lived his life.
"I'm sorry, Seattle. I see what you're saying, and I promise to come to you in the future. I know this is the thing to do in this case, but I still should have come to you with my plan.
Tell you what, let Tinker and me work on this for another couple of days and then we'll come back and clear it with you. If you think that it won't work or see some better plan, we'll scrap the whole idea. And if not, we'll get into action. Will that work?"
Seattle noticeably relaxed as Jason spoke. She agreed with his proposal, and the two of them went back to fixing the meal.