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Five minutes later, we were all inside lift 2. As it started moving upwards, I spoke on the crystal comms.
“Nicole, could someone bring a box to the lift for me?”
“What sort of box?” asked Nicole. “Big? Small?”
“A box to stand on,” I said. “I need to make a brief speech. What’s the current status of our Beta team?”
“Our four undercover people have been delivered to their rooms,” said Nicole. “Buzz and the rest of the Beta team are on their way back to the unit now.”
“Please make sure my speech is transmitted on the Beta team crystal comms, and send a copy to the undercover men’s dataviews.”
I watched the lift level indicator swiftly changing, working its way up the hundred accommodation levels, and continuing on through the fifty industrial levels until it halted and the doors opened on my unit.
As usual, there was a crowd of people waiting to welcome us back, but they were organized in a rough semicircle around a large and alarmingly purple box placed in front of the lift. I went to stand on it, and took a deep breath. When I lived on Teen Level, the mere idea of making a speech would have terrified me. I was getting used to it now, but it wasn’t something that I’d ever really enjoy, and I was feeling tired and depressed.
“A lot of teens have been injured playing Blue Upway,” I said grimly. “The inevitable just happened, and one of them died. We have to shut down that game as quickly as possible.”
I paused. “The good news is that six people who lived and worked here when Claire had this unit have returned to give us vital assistance. Vance, Osric, Dex, and Kris have joined our Alpha Strike team to act as my regular bodyguards. Akiko is our new deputy Liaison team leader. Nora is a second deputy for Megan.”
I gestured at Beckett. “We’re also deeply fortunate to have Beckett joining our Tactical team. As you all know, he’s already helped Lucas with the key pattern analysis of Blue Upway.”
I gave a questioning look at Lucas. “Do you want to say something too?”
“Yes.” Lucas lifted me down from the box before taking my place. “Can my Tactical team please gather in the Tactical office to start work on integrating the timeline pattern analysis of Blue Upway? Amber and I need to make an important call to Gold Commander Melisande, but I’ll join you immediately after that.”
Lucas turned to smile at Beckett. “You mustn’t worry about the timeline pattern analysis. Your priority for the next few days should be resting, getting your apartment organized, and doing anything else that helps you settle in with us.”
“What will help me most is completing the integration of the timeline pattern analysis by myself,” said Beckett firmly. “Megan says the quiet room next to the Tactical office is ready for me, so I can work on it there.”
Lucas blinked. “Are you sure you don’t want anyone to help you?”
“I said that I’d have the timeline pattern analysis completed tomorrow morning,” said Beckett. “I can still do that if I work alone, but it will take much longer if I have to keep explaining things to other people.”
Lucas sighed. “Well, if that’s what you prefer, then go ahead. Call me straight away if you find you need help with anything, and please try to get a few hours’ sleep at some point.”
He jumped down from the box to join me, and Megan came hurrying up to whisper to him. “Lucas, you should insist on Beckett taking some recovery time before beginning work.”
Lucas waved both hands helplessly, and whispered back. “You and I may think that Beckett needs recovery time. Standard medical advice may be that Beckett needs recovery time. Beckett is the real expert on what helps him though, and he wants to finish that integration.”
“It’s true that people react in different ways,” said Megan dubiously.
“Yes, and trust me when I tell you that Beckett reacts very badly to being prevented from finishing a pattern analysis,” said Lucas. “Do you remember the time you tidied up the remains of a chocolate crunch cake when Amber was still eating it?”
“Oh.” Megan shuddered. “I’ll show Beckett the quiet room, and then get some food for him and Cee Cee.”
She went to join Beckett, and Lucas and I headed down the corridor to our apartment. Lucas’s dataview chimed as we went inside. He stopped in the hallway to take it out of his pocket, glanced at it, and groaned.
“It seems that we won’t need to call Gold Commander Melisande after all. She’s calling me.”
He tapped at the dataview, and Gold Commander Melisande’s voice spoke rapidly. “Tactical Commander Lucas, Keith has called me to complain that Amber has kidnapped his pattern specialist, Beckett. Keith is demanding that Amber returns Beckett to him at once.”
My tiredness was swept away by outraged fury. I grabbed Lucas’s dataview from him, and snapped into it. “Wait one minute, Gold Commander. I wish to take this call in my bookette room.”
“Amber!” Gold Commander Melisande was clearly disconcerted. “I was told you were away from your unit on a run, so I called Tactical Commander Lucas.”
“Tactical Commander Lucas was on the run with me,” I said coldly, “but we arrived back at our unit five minutes ago. Now please wait while I take this call in my bookette room.”
I put the call on hold, marched down the hallway, and Lucas chased after me. I hesitated in the bookette room doorway.
“You’d better wait in the hallway while I talk to Commander Melisande. I don’t like arguments, but I think I’m about to have a serious one with her, and I don’t want you getting caught in the middle of it. I’m a telepath, so desperately needed by the Hive that I’m effectively above the law and untouchable. You aren’t.”
Lucas pulled an apprehensive face before nodding.
I went into the bookette room, closed the door, and transferred Gold Commander Melisande’s call from Lucas’s dataview to the bookette room systems.
A holo of Melisande instantly appeared in front of me, sitting at an imposing desk. Her personality normally dominated any meeting or conversation, but this time I was far too angry to let her take charge.
I swept into speech before Melisande could say a word. “So, Keith has accused me of kidnapping Beckett. If you’re naïve enough to believe him, then Lottery failed catastrophically when it chose you to be our Hive’s Gold Commander. It’s Keith that’s distant from the Hive’s moral code, not me.”
“I didn’t believe Keith,” said Melisande hastily. “I called Tactical Commander Lucas to find out the true situation.”
“Then I’ll tell you the true situation,” I ranted at her. “We didn’t kidnap Beckett. In fact, it would have been completely impossible for us to kidnap him. Beckett has a condition that makes him highly sensitive to his environment, so he prefers to stay in familiar places. Today was the first time that he’d left Keith’s unit in well over three years, and he didn’t leave it by choice, but because Keith fired him and threw him out.”
I paused for breath. “Worse still, Keith sent Beckett away without his custom-designed headset or glasses. You won’t realize the significance of that, or how vulnerable Beckett would be without them, but ...”
“I do realize the significance of that,” Melisande interrupted grimly. “I’ve met Beckett several times during discussions of cases. I understand exactly how badly the removal of his customized headset and glasses would impact him. I also realize how vulnerable he would feel in that situation. I spent my childhood having a series of operations, and there were periods when I couldn’t move or even breathe without the help of specialized equipment.”
“Then you should also understand why Lucas and I reacted to the news by taking our Alpha Strike team to find and help Beckett. That wasn’t a kidnapping. It was a rescue mission.”
“That version of events sounds far more consistent with the past behaviour of both you and Keith,” said Melisande. “I’ll come to your unit to collect Beckett, and return him to Keith’s unit myself.”
“No,” I said flatly. “You won’t return Beckett to Keith’s unit. I’ve done the initial check on Beckett’s mind, confirmed him as a member of my unit, and I won’t allow him to leave unless he requests a transfer of his own free will. Beckett has already said that he doesn’t want to work for Keith ever again, so he’s staying here.”
“Please be reasonable,” said Melisande. “Keith does have the better claim here. As you just pointed out, Beckett has worked for him for well over three years. It can’t be more than a few hours since you confirmed Beckett as a member of your unit.”
I glared at her. “I am being reasonable. I’m being staggeringly reasonable. Keith’s claim on Beckett ended the moment he fired him. It doesn’t matter if it’s been days, hours, or a single second since I confirmed Beckett as a member of my unit. He’s one of my people now, he wants to stay in my unit, and he’s going to be allowed to do that.”
“I wish I could leave Beckett with you, Amber,” said Melisande. “I’m impressed by your abilities as a telepath. I appreciate your dedication to serving the Hive. I’m physically attracted to you.”
She sighed. “Unfortunately, my job sometimes involves making sacrifices for the good of the Hive. The brutal reality is that Keith’s telepathy may be weak and intermittent, but it’s still enough to make a crucial difference in keeping order in the Hive. Keith is well aware of that and uses the situation to get what he wants. It’s quite likely he’ll refuse to work if he doesn’t get Beckett back.”
Melisande was going to send Beckett back to Keith. She was making that decision because she believed Keith would cause trouble if he didn’t get his way, while I would meekly do whatever I was told for the good of the Hive. If I didn’t fight for Beckett now, then Keith would know he could take anyone he wanted from me in future.
I waved both hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Well, it’s your decision which telepath you want refusing to work. Keith or me.”
“What do you mean?” asked Melisande sharply.
“I mean that it’s possible Keith will refuse to work if you don’t return Beckett to him, but it’s absolutely certain that I’ll refuse to work if you take Beckett away from me.”
“You wouldn’t really do that, Amber,” said Melisande. “You’re far too aware of your duty to the Hive to take such drastic action over Beckett.”
I looked her in the eyes. “This isn’t just about Beckett. It’s about Lucas. It’s about Buzz. It’s about whoever Keith decides to target next in his attempts to hurt me.”
Melisande frowned. “You’ve learned about Keith trying to get Lucas returned to his unit. I instructed everyone in the other Telepath Units to keep that secret, but I was aware that rumours have been spreading. I suppose one of your new unit members had heard about it.”
“It doesn’t matter how I found out about this,” I said. “I know exactly what Keith is doing, and I intend to protect my people from him.”
“Conflict between telepaths is bad for the Hive,” said Gold Commander Melisande.
I knew that conflict between telepaths wasn’t just bad for the Hive, but put the telepaths themselves in personal danger. When Morton told me about the long-ago mental battle to the death between two telepaths, he’d emphasized that point to me. I remembered the ominous tone of his voice as he said that the greatest danger to a telepath was another telepath.
I finally realized the obvious. It was only a few days since Morton had told me about that battle to the death, and specifically said that telepaths had to avoid conflicts with each other because they could destroy us and our Hive. Morton had claimed he was telling me those things because he was seriously ill. Perhaps that was partly true, but I thought his main reason was that he knew Keith was intent on attacking me.
I hoped Morton had been right when he said only he and Sapphire knew why telepaths mustn’t meet. If Keith knew the reason, and believed he’d stand a chance in mental combat against an inexperienced telepath like me, then he might find a way to meet and attack me.
A mental battle between Keith and me could kill both of us, and leave the Hive in anarchy. I’d no choice about standing my ground against Keith though. I’d tried ignoring his actions, and he’d responded by escalating his behaviour.
Gold Commander Melisande was still waiting patiently for me to reply to her comment.
“I’m well aware of the dangers of conflicts with other telepaths,” I said. “You must know that I’m actively trying to avoid them. When Mira read my brother’s mind, I accepted that wasn’t her fault, and made no attempt to quarrel with her.”
“That’s very true,” said Melisande.
“I don’t want a conflict with Keith either, but he’s decided that he wants one with me. He started by attacking the people I care about. He tried to take Lucas away from me, and you stopped him. He tried to take Buzz away from me, and you stopped him.”
I grimaced. “Now Keith’s changed his tactics. He fired Beckett for two reasons. Firstly, because harming Lucas’s friend would distress both Lucas and me. Secondly, because stopping Beckett from completing the timeline pattern analysis of Blue Upway would disrupt my unit’s work for the Hive.”
“You believe that Keith isn’t just making personal attacks on you, but also attacking your work,” said Gold Commander Melisande. “That can’t be the case. Keith would know that other people could complete the final integration of the timeline pattern analysis.”
I gave her a bitter smile. “Keith did know that. Which is why he erased all the Blue Upway pattern analysis information that was held in his unit, including the backup copies.”
Gold Commander Melisande pressed her lips together in an angry line, and was silent for a couple of seconds before speaking. “Sabotaging your work is unacceptable behaviour.”
“It’s totally unacceptable,” I said. “Lucas believed that Beckett might have a copy of the Blue Upway timeline pattern analysis on his dataview, so we headed north on Teen Level with my Alpha Strike team to find both Beckett and the dataview. At that point, my Beta team was already committed to heading south on Teen Level to put men undercover in Blue Upway.”
I paused. “When we found Beckett, we discovered he had taken a copy of the information, but he’d had an accident on the belt system and had lost the dataview. We had to delay putting our men undercover while we searched for the dataview. Fortunately, it had narrowly escaped being crushed in the belt system machinery.”
I shook my head. “The number of Blue Upway players suffering injuries is soaring, and one has just died. You wanted our unit to deal with that game before Morton’s unit shuts down for his surgery, but how can we achieve anything when Keith is actively working against us?”
Melisande frowned. “Tactical Commander Lucas hasn’t informed me of any deaths in Blue Upway.”
I could feel moisture welling in my eyes, and swept the back of my hand across them to wipe it away. “Lucas hasn’t had time to inform you about this. The player died only minutes ago. We were travelling on the same belt as their intensive care cocoon, so I felt the moment of their death.”
“Returning Beckett would encourage Keith to repeat this type of sabotage,” said Melisande, “therefore Beckett will remain a permanent member of your unit.”
“Thank you for agreeing to let me keep Beckett, but I don’t believe that will stop Keith from attacking me. The only question is whether he’ll target another friend of someone in my unit, or escalate to attacking a friend or relative of mine, and exactly how much physical and mental damage he’ll do to them.”
I hesitated before putting my worst fears into words. “I’ve heard all about Keith’s past behaviour. What he did to Sapphire demonstrates how easily he can manipulate his Strike team into arresting innocent people. When Mira’s Strike team arrested my brother, and she read his mind, it was by pure accident, but Keith could deliberately arrange for something similar to happen.”
I was aware of my voice rising in panic as I continued speaking. “I’ve just had the situation where one of my Strike team went wild bee, and I had to agree to him having his memories reset a year. Keith could say my brother had gone wild bee, and have his memories reset too.”
I tried and failed to get my voice back under control. “If Keith does anything like that to my brother, my parents, or anyone else I love, then I warn you there won’t be a conflict between us. There will be outright war.”
“That situation must not and will not occur,” said Melisande swiftly. “Your parents and brother can move into the safety of your unit until the problem with Keith is resolved.”
I blinked. “But that could easily take weeks or months. My parents have work commitments, and the Teen Level Equality rules insist on my brother living on Teen Level.”
“Those are minor issues compared to what’s at stake here,” said Melisande. “Our Hive cannot risk outright war between two telepaths.”
She tapped rapidly at her desk. “I’ve dispatched two Hive Defence teams to escort your parents and brother to your unit immediately. My deputy will arrange for your parents to be given temporary leave from their duties, and your brother to have a special dispensation to allow him to stay in your unit.”
I wasn’t sure how my parents and brother were going to feel about moving into my unit, but ... “I suppose that’s the best way to keep my family safe, but there’s also the issue of my four undercover men on Teen Level. They’re isolated and vulnerable there. Keith may have already learned the locations of their teen rooms from the minds of Gaius and Beckett, but recalling or relocating them would wreck our attempts to shut down Blue Upway.”
“I will instruct Tactical Commander Gaius to ignore any attempt by Keith to divert his Strike team to those locations.”
“My men will be visiting other levels and different zones though,” I said. “The whole point of them going undercover is to take part in Blue Upway challenges, and they can’t do that sitting in their rooms.”
“That’s very true,” said Melisande. “I shall call Keith right away and order him to stop these attacks on you.”
Melisande’s holo image vanished. I ran my fingers through my hair, went to open the bookette room door, and found Lucas was sitting on the floor outside. He scrambled to his feet when he saw me.
“What happened?” he asked anxiously.
I handed him his dataview. “Melisande has agreed that Beckett will stay in our unit. We also discussed the possibility of Keith targeting my parents and brother. Melisande wants them to move into my unit until the situation with Keith calms down, so she’s sending Hive Defence teams to escort them here. She’s also telling Gaius not to let Keith’s Strike team anywhere near the undercover locations on Teen Level.”
Lucas groaned. “Having your family move in here is a wise precaution. Our undercover men would know exactly what to do if Keith’s Strike team arrested them, and your brother would hopefully instantly mention your name, but your parents would be horrified and bewildered. It’s going to be difficult hiding the fact you’re a telepath if your family are staying in the unit for a long time though. Has Gold Commander Melisande got a plan to make Keith behave himself?”
I shrugged. “She’s calling him now to order him to stop attacking me, but I’m not sure that will achieve anything. As I said earlier, I’m a telepath, effectively above the law and untouchable, but so is Keith.”
