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My brain seemed to freeze. “What did you just say?”
“Her twenty-four-year-old eldest son is a true telepath,” repeated Elliott.
I made a faint whimpering sound. There was the chance of another true telepath arriving at our Hive! I turned to look at Lucas, and the dazed expression on his face drew me into linking to his mind. I found it blazing bright with a multitude of thought trains, all racing past so fast that I could only catch a few fragments of them.
... having another telepath would make a huge ...
... projections for the months Morton’s unit will be out of action show a rapidly rising death rate which ...
... arriving before the crucial third month would save hundreds of lives. Possibly thousands. It just takes one attack on vital life support equipment to ...
... but Elliott is right. If Keith finds out about this, he’ll certainly try to sabotage our Hive’s claim to ...
... by far the weakest of our telepaths. He’s only able to flout Gold Commander Melisande’s orders because the Hive is so desperate ...
... difficulties of dealing with a telepath from another Hive, but ...
... just handling check runs would be enough to ...
... language issue will be a major ...
“Hive Genex speaks a different language to us,” said Lucas aloud. “We couldn’t risk imprinting a telepath with our language, so ...”
“We’ve been told he’s bilingual,” interrupted Elliott.
I retreated to my own mind to ask a question. “What does bilingual mean?”
“He’s fluent in both our language and the language of Hive Genex,” said Elliott. “He grew up living with his mother, and the family spoke our language at home.”
“Our Hive ideally needs eight telepaths to keep order,” said Lucas. “We’ve been teetering on the edge of disaster for years with only four or five. We can’t lose this chance of another telepath.”
I nodded urgently.
“Our claim has to be successful,” said Lucas. “I can’t keep calling you to discuss problems, so we need to make a plan that covers all the potential complications right now.”
His voice took on a decisive note. “Amber needs to read Bruce’s mind as soon as he arrives at our holding cells. We’ll then rescue Forge, and retrieve the game master stack for Blue Upway. We’ll obviously need to remove all Bruce’s memories of Michaela’s involvement in Blue Upway.”
“And that’s going to be a major problem,” said Elliott. “You’ll have to send Bruce to a Therapy Unit for assessment and treatment, and he’ll grab his chance to tell everyone about Michaela and Blue Upway.”
“We’ve got a forensic psychologist in our unit who can handle this for us,” said Lucas. “Amber can truthfully tell her that Bruce learned the full facts about telepaths nearly three years ago, which made him grow increasingly dangerous. That will mean his memory is reset to before Michaela joined the surfing team.”
“Your forensic psychologist will still want to do detailed questioning of Bruce before coming to a decision,” said Elliott.
“Our forensic psychologist is a borderline telepath who bases most of her decisions on her insights,” said Lucas, “and I’m sure she’ll get some very nasty insights from Bruce. She’s also going to be furious about Bruce kidnapping Forge, so I’ll hopefully be able to convince her that Bruce needs to be reset without delay.”
“Forge is our forensic psychologist’s boyfriend,” I explained.
“I can see that might simplify the situation,” said Elliott. “You’ll need to ensure the game master stack for Blue Upway is totally destroyed as well.”
“Actually, I’ve got a different plan for the game master stack,” said Lucas. “When we’ve retrieved it, I suggest that I send a formal request to the head of Hive Politics.”
Elliott raised his eyebrows.
“That request will say that our unit was assigned to deal with a Teen Game called Blue Upway,” continued Lucas. “We now have the Game Commander and the game master stack, but I’m concerned that abruptly closing down Blue Upway will leave us with thirty thousand frustrated teen players causing trouble. Running the game ourselves isn’t possible because it involves a level of delegation beyond our abilities. I’d therefore like Hive Politics to assign someone to run Blue Upway until the new games start up next Carnival.”
Elliott smiled. “And I reply saying that the task would be most suited to someone who’d recently left Teen Level, and suggest Michaela. That’s a brilliant cover story. If Joint Hive Treaty Enforcement does discover a link between Michaela and Blue Upway, we may be able to explain it by her new assignment assisting a Telepath Unit.”
“One final point,” said Lucas, “I’ve now made two calls to Michaela, both of which were answered by Paula. As far as I know, our Hive doesn’t keep any record of calls made. If the Joint Hive Treaty Enforcement inspection team does somehow find out about them, I called because Amber wanted information about the negotiations related to the kidnapping attempt against her. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” said Elliott briskly. “I think we’ve now covered everything. Let’s hope that our plans succeed, and Joint Hive Treaty Enforcement rules in our favour.”
The six holo figures nodded their heads respectfully at me, and then vanished. I shook my head and looked at Lucas.
“What did Elliott mean when he mentioned the Council of Gaia?”
“I’ve only heard the word Gaia once before,” said Lucas. “Osric said Gaia was a name used to refer to the collective gestalt of over a hundred million minds in the Hive. A logical guess is that the Council of Gaia is a group that makes decisions on behalf of the Hive.”
I frowned. “What sort of decisions? Gold Commander Melisande makes the decisions for Hive Defence and Law Enforcement. Senior Ambassador Elliott makes the decisions for Hive Politics. All the other divisions have people to make their decisions too.”
Lucas shrugged. “There must be times when a more general decision needs to be made. You’ll find out the truth when you meet one of the Council of Gaia.”
“That will never happen. Elliott said that our Hive stops telepaths meeting these people.”
“Elliott said that our Hive stops most telepaths meeting these people,” said Lucas. “He didn’t have to refer to the Council of Gaia at all. I think he mentioned them as a heavy hint that you might eventually be allowed to meet them.”
“Oh.” I considered that for a moment but was distracted by the realization Lucas was still dressed in red and black. “Why didn’t Elliott comment on your hunter of souls costume?”
“Elliott seems to have researched a lot of information on our unit,” said Lucas. “I expect he knows we’re running a Teen Game called Halloween.”
He paused. “Now it’s time to put our ear crystals back in and check what’s happening with Bruce.”
I instantly forgot about everything but saving Forge. “Yes.”
We stood up, put our ear crystals in place, and turned them on. “Amber and I are back on the crystal comms again,” said Lucas. “We now know exactly what we’re dealing with. When will Blue Zone group arrive at the holding cells?”
“In about ten minutes,” said Penn.
“Lucas, you’ve been emphasizing the point that Bruce is extremely dangerous,” said Adika. “I’d like Amber to stay in the unit to read his mind, rather than coming down to the holding cells.”
“Yes, Bruce has the potential to cause incredible damage to the Hive,” said Lucas. “I agree that Amber mustn’t go anywhere near him. I don’t even want to risk letting Bruce regain full consciousness.”
“So how should we handle Amber reading Bruce’s mind?” asked Adika.
“Amber and I will go back to the Tactical office now,” said Lucas. “She shouldn’t have any problem reading Bruce’s mind from there. Once Bruce arrives, you can reduce his sedation level to the point where he can hear us but not speak or move. We’ll then get you to ask questions, so he thinks of the information we need. I’ll want you to ask about Forge first, and then the Blue Upway game master stack.”
“I’d rather focus on Forge for now, and leave worrying about the game master stack until later,” grumbled Adika.
“I’d rather Amber gets all the information we need now, so she doesn’t have to read Bruce’s mind again,” said Lucas.
“That’s a good point,” admitted Adika. “Megan is here to help me with the sedation adjustments. We’ll let you know when we’re ready.”
Lucas and I went back to the Tactical office. As we went in the door, I noticed Buzz frown sharply at us and then stand up.
“I’m going down to the holding cells now,” she said. “I might get a useful insight.”
Once Buzz left, there was an oppressive silence. Lucas and I sat down on a couch, and I linked to Emili’s mind to check what was going on. I discovered that Buzz and the Tactical team had just been having a furtive discussion with their ear crystals set to receive only.
They’d decided that Lucas and I must have a good reason for all the dashing off into meeting rooms, and agreed not to ask any questions about it until Forge was safe. They’d also agreed they shouldn’t mention any distressing theories about what Bruce might have done with Forge in front of me, so that left them struggling to think of anything to say.
Emili’s thoughts drifted into worrying about Forge, her anxiety mixed with guilty thankfulness that it wasn’t Rothan who’d been taken prisoner. I pulled back into my own head, and stared gloomily at the wall while the seconds went slowly by. Finally, Adika spoke on the crystal comms.
“Prisoner transport pod has arrived at the holding cells.”
“I’ve just had an insight from that pod,” said Buzz’s anxious voice. “Bruce is still fully sedated, so it was hazy, but there was something obsessive and malignant.”
“Megan and I are sorting out Bruce’s sedation levels now,” said Adika.
There was another long pause before Megan spoke on the crystal comms. “I think I’ve got the sedation level right.”
“You’d better wait outside the room while I talk to Bruce,” said Adika.
“You may need me to adjust the sedation level,” said Megan.
“I’ll call you back in if necessary,” said Adika. “Go outside now. Bruce has taken Forge hostage. I’m not risking him taking you hostage too.”
There was a sigh that presumably meant Megan had gone outside.
“I’ll start checking Bruce’s mind now,” I said.
I closed my eyes and reached out with my thoughts. The holding cells were two levels down, and slightly west of where I was sitting. The glows of the dozen minds there were conspicuous because of the empty blackness around them. I drifted past the familiar thoughts of members of my unit and found the mind of a stranger. The distinctive look, sound, taste of a wild bee was tempered by the fact Bruce was hovering in the blurred borderland between being conscious and unconscious.
I entered the fringes of Bruce’s mind, and found there were only a couple of conscious thought levels. Below them, the subconscious levels were swirling with clouds of the obsessive malignancy that Buzz had described from her insight. At the heart of them was an unnervingly distorted image of Michaela’s face.
I remembered the words Lucas had planned for me to say. “Bruce learned the truth about telepaths nearly three years ago and started growing increasingly dangerous.”
I heard Adika’s voice speaking through my own ear crystal, as well as through my target’s ears. “Listen to me, Bruce. What did you do to Forge?”
A memory sequence triggered. Waiting until the blond-haired Forge had come out of the waves and was towelling himself dry, then walking along the Teen Level beach to smile at him. Having the fun of pretending I hadn’t recognized him. Asking if he’d be interested in joining a surfing team, and solemnly sighing when he said there was no point when he was only a few months away from Lottery. The critical moment when Forge had finished dressing, and stooped to pick up his surfboard.
There wasn’t just a mental memory at that point, but a physical one too. The satisfying feel of my hand stabbing the pressure jet against Forge’s back. The sudden lack of resistance as Forge threw himself forward onto the sand and rolled sideways. The agonizing pain as he reached up to clutch my wrist, and twisted the hand that was holding the pressure jet.
The protein scum had nearly broken my arm before he passed out. I’d had to ignore the pain as I hastily stabbed him with the pressure jet several more times to make sure he’d stay unconscious for a long while. Worried bystanders were hurrying up by then, so I had to reassure them there was nothing seriously wrong with the boy. He’d just forgotten to take his afternoon medication, so I’d given him the injection myself, and he would be all right once he’d rested in my office.
By the time I’d got a wheeled stretcher and towed Forge past my office to the freight lift, my arm was blazing in agony. Once we were inside the freight lift, I took my revenge by kicking Forge in the ribs. I felt Bruce’s savage joy at that memory, and then my own rising panic brought me back to being fully Amber.
“I don’t like this,” I said shakily. “Bruce caught Forge off guard, and stabbed a pressure jet of sedatives against his back. The sedatives were strong enough to knock Forge out within two seconds, but Bruce still used the pressure jet on him several more times when he was unconscious.”
“Adika, ask Bruce how many doses were in that pressure jet,” said Megan sharply.
Adika repeated the question, and I saw Bruce’s thoughts respond with disinterest.
“Waste it!” I said. “Bruce doesn’t know. He didn’t look. He didn’t care. All he knows is that the pressure jet was empty after he’d used it on Forge.”
“Bruce could have given Forge a massive overdose,” said Megan, in a strained voice. “Possibly a fatal overdose. We need to find Forge and give him an antidote immediately.”
“Adika, ask Bruce where Forge is now,” said Lucas.
I waited for Bruce to hear the question, and frowned. “Bruce bound and gagged Forge, and put him in a crate, but he doesn’t know where the crate is now. How can he not know?”
Lucas groaned. “Adika, ask Bruce how he’s been hiding the Blue Upway game master stack.”
“That question can wait,” said Adika.
“No, it can’t wait,” said Lucas grimly. “I think Bruce has used the same method to hide Forge. He took him to a freight lift and put him in a crate.”
“You think he’s sent Forge’s crate off on the freight system?” asked Rothan’s startled voice.
“Yes,” said Lucas. “Ask about the game master stack, Adika. That memory will include a lot more details, because Bruce wouldn’t want to lose the game master stack, but I don’t think he cares what happens to Forge.”
Adika asked the question, and I tried to make sense of the answer in Bruce’s head. “Bruce learned a lot about the freight system from a friend who works at the Teen Level beach storage complex, and thought of a brilliant way to hide the game master stack. Once you’ve set up the codes for a delivery route, you can keep using that code again and again to send items on the same route. Bruce said he wanted to play a joke on someone, and got his friend to set up a special code for him.”
“What does the code do?” asked Lucas, in a despairing voice.
“It sends the item as lowest priority traffic on a complete loop of the Hive before coming back to the Teen Level beach storage complex to be collected by Bruce. Whenever he gets the automated message saying his crate is ready for collection, he takes it to his office, works on the game master stack for an hour or two, and then sends it off for another loop of the Hive.”
“And he’s done the same with Forge’s crate,” said Lucas.
“I’m afraid so,” I said miserably.
“How long does the loop take, Amber?” asked Megan sharply.
“It depends on the volume of higher priority traffic. If things are busy, then the crate could get diverted off its direct route to a less crowded freight belt, or even bumped off the freight system entirely, and have to sit waiting for hours before continuing its journey. That means the loop can take anywhere between five hours and forty hours.”
“Which means Forge’s crate could be virtually anywhere on the freight system by now,” said Lucas. “Liaison, is there a way to locate the crate?”
“We’ve just checked that,” said Nicole. “Freight item movements are only recorded when they leave or arrive at a storage complex.”
“That’s no help,” I wailed.
“What does the crate look like, Amber?” asked Lucas. “Clearly it’s big enough to hold Forge.”
“It’s a long, oblong crate from a big surfboard delivery. Bright yellow. With the code YU0894L on the side and top.”
Lucas’s voice changed to be briskly decisive. “You can leave Bruce’s mind now, Amber. Megan can put him back under full sedation, and I’ll discuss plans for his treatment with Buzz in the morning. We know what Forge’s crate looks like. It’s just a question of searching for it.”
“And how are we going to search every freight belt in the Hive?” demanded Adika.
“We’ll use Halloween,” said Lucas. “I’ll record a new message sequence to send to the players right away. Gideon, we’ll need the holo tree background again.”
Lucas retrieved his red-eyed helm and cloak from where he’d left them earlier, put them on, and strode to the empty end of the office just as the holo red and black trees appeared.
He turned to face us and shouted in anger. “My scavengers of darkness, one of my most valued followers has been captured and caged. You must go to the lowest level of the Hive, and search the freight belts for his prison. There will be dark places there, but the reward for success is great. Whoever finds my follower’s prison must send me its image and location at once, to earn the title of Halloween Champion.”
“Excellent, Lucas,” said Gideon.
“Add the description of the crate and send the message out to all our players,” said Lucas. “How many do we have now, Beckett?”
“Twenty-three thousand, four hundred, and ninety-two including the cheats.”
