Chapter 7

The Chairman’s Sister

TEA-LEAF HAD VANISHED.

Salt had combed the entire Old School, but there was no sign of her. Now he was back in the upper Academy, hurrying along the corridor from his workshop. He knew that Tea-Leaf had found her way into the Attiring Chamber yesterday. Today, it would be out of use. Maybe he would find her lying low there, feeling sorry for herself.

I wish I hadn’t done such a good job on that suit of hers, thought the old armourer bitterly. He had put great care and skill into crafting Tea-Leaf’s armour so that it would maximize her ability to conceal herself. He had never imagined that he would be first person to test its effectiveness.

As long as she hasn’t gone far . . .

His fear was that in a fit of temper, Tea-Leaf might do something rash. She was a great kid and talented too. He was confident that he – and her medallion – had chosen well. But there was some truth in what Rake had said. She was rather more unpredictable than Salt would have liked.

He could talk to her about that when he found her. The priority was to get her back. While she was missing, in full armour, she was in danger of blowing her own cover, and possibly the whole team’s.

As he rounded a bend in the corridor, Salt nearly charged headlong into a tall, athletically built woman coming the other way.

‘Look where you’re going, old-timer!’ she snapped. ‘Why the rush?’

Salt’s heart sank. This was the last person he needed to run into.

The woman now glaring at him was the older sister of the Chairman himself. Her influence within the Corporation was second only to that of her baby brother. She was also the most famous of all the Arena’s stars – a fearsome fighter, who had cut down opponent after opponent with her cruelly curved, laser-edged ion-sica. She had been beaten only once in her long career, by the very man Salt’s Armouron team was now trying to rescue – Griffin.

This dangerous, ambitious, scheming woman was known solely by her Gladiator name: Lanista. It was from ancient Eurolese and loosely meant ‘she who commands others’. It fitted her well.

‘Well, whatever your business, it will have to wait,’ she told Salt haughtily. ‘Strangely enough, I was actually on my way to see you.’

She was carrying a pair of shoulder guards. She thrust them against Salt’s broad chest, so that he had no choice but to take hold of them.

‘My spaulders. That fool Brand made them. They’re useless.’

Salt remained silent.

‘They restrict my movement when I raise my arms,’ continued Lanista. ‘I want them fixed as a matter of priority.’

When Salt still failed to respond, the Chairman’s sister grew impatient. She was used to immediate obedience from her inferiors.

‘Let me spell it out.’ She took hold of the armourer’s shoulders and turned him forcibly round. ‘You go back to your grimy little workshop now. You don’t leave till my armour works like it should. The moment it’s fixed, you bring it to me. I’ll be at Corporation Headquarters for the rest of the day. Understood?’ She gave Salt a condescending smile. ‘Or is that too complicated for your prehistoric brain?’

Inside his head, Salt was screaming with frustration.

I don’t have time for this! I need to find Tea-Leaf! What about the mission?

But there was nothing to be done. He couldn’t afford to risk going against Lanista’s wishes. It was only likely to raise her suspicions.

He nodded respectfully.

‘I understand, madam. I’ll see to it immediately.’

Clutching the offending shoulder guards, he hurried back the way he had come.

Less than an hour later, Lanista was striding along a very different passageway. It led to the boardroom of Perfect Corporation’s headquarters. The impressive HQ building was in downtown Nu-Topia, not far from the Academy. It was the dark heart of the Chairman’s corrupt organization.

Lanista reached the entrance to the boardroom and impatiently wiped a finger over its DNA-recognition pad. The double doors sliced open, admitting her to the spacious, luxurious office beyond.

The room was dominated by a large black table, surrounded by twelve high-backed chairs. Right now, they were empty, and the office deserted.

At the table’s far end – where Lanista herself always sat – part of its glossy surface was blinking with a red glow. A message.

She crossed to lay her palm on the flashing area. A miniature projection of her brother instantly appeared above the tabletop.

‘Hi, Big Sis,’ grinned the mini-Chairman. ‘Sorry not to be around. I’ve popped out of the office to meet up with Decimal. We’re all set to begin clearing up our little problem at the Epsilon site.’

Clearing up our little problem. Lanista smiled to herself. Her brother had a tendency to make the use of lethal force sound like everyday tidying up.

‘By the way,’ the message continued, ‘from the scans he’s taken, Decimal thinks it’s very likely that your old friend Griffin is leading the Skirter group. Just as you suspected. I’ll try to bring you back a souvenir of his death. In the meantime, hold the fort while I’m gone. Ciao!’

As the hologram cut out, Lanista heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see a man in a black uniform enter the room.

‘Director, I have a report for the Chairman, from the DEM.’

The DEM – the Department for Energy Management – was responsible for checking the use of electricity and computer data by Nu-Topia’s citizens. Some years ago, the Chairman had banned any unauthorized use of electrical power or digital information. You now needed Corporation permission to run any electric device, or even send an email. The Chairman had claimed this was in the public interest. Energy was scarce, he argued, and its use needed to be controlled. In reality, it gave him a stranglehold on the city.

‘My brother isn’t here,’ Lanista told the messenger. ‘You may deliver your report to me.’

The man bowed his head respectfully.

‘Our SeeBlock scanners have recently picked up two instances of unauthorized power usage, Director.’

The SeeBlock tower, which loomed over central Nu-Topia, was the DEM’s centre of surveillance.

‘Fascinating,’ said Lanista dryly. ‘And why, exactly, is that a matter for the Board?’

The man in black was looking increasingly nervous.

‘The location of the surges is unusual, Director. Both occurred underground, in the disused sewer tunnels.’

Now Lanista was interested.

‘Go on.’

The man hurriedly produced a slim display screen, showing a computerized map.

‘The first trace was here – directly beneath sector W14. The second, fifty-seven minutes later, was in sector W26.’ Two small blips blinked on the display. ‘This suggests that the party responsible is moving along this tunnel section.’

‘And if they carried on in that direction? Do we have an idea of their possible destination?’

‘Their projected course leads out towards the West One area, Director.’

And if they continued beyond that, thought Lanista, studying the diagram, they’d pass right underneath the Epsilon site . . .

This was too much of a coincidence. Someone was secretly making their way directly towards where Griffin was holed up. It had to be some form of rescue attempt.

A thin smile spread across Lanista’s face.

And if I follow, they’ll lead me right to him.

‘Captain, I want a squad of Knights at my disposal within the next five minutes, fully equipped for underground exploration.’

‘Yes, Director.’ The man turned and hurried away.

‘Whoever it is sneaking around down there,’ murmured the Chairman’s sister to herself, ‘I think it’s time I paid them a surprise visit . . .’