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The man’s pulse was racing as he darted around the dark room, yanking out drawers and searching for anything that even resembled a manuscript. There was nothing. Nothing! No matter how he searched, he hadn’t even seen any bloody notes.
A loud crash from the other end of the flat made his blood pressure skyrocket. The man darted to one side of the room and threw up the lower sash. As soon as the window was open, he hurled himself through and braced for impact. Luckily, the flat was at ground level, and the man only tumbled a few feet through the air before landing hard on the cobblestone-and-brick surface beneath.
He knew that he had to run. He had to get away as fast as he possibly could. The blood was pounding in his ears as he darted down the alley and into the street. Night-time was coming, and the anonymity of dusk cloaked the man in a familiar haze. When he was a few blocks away from the flat, he ducked into an alley and pulled out his mobile. There were a few new texts, all from an anonymous number. They used disposable phones, easy to dump and hard to track.
The first read: “Seven, check in at 17:00.”
The second read: “Seven, where are you?”
The third read: “Seven, if you don’t call within the next half-hour, you will be disciplined.”
Seven straightened up and mopped the sweat off his brow. Even though the sun had gone down, the day was still unbearably hot. Taking a deep breath, he dialled the anonymous number and held the mobile up to his ear.
It rang exactly twice before someone picked up.
“This is Seven, calling in.”
“Seven, where have you been?”
He wouldn’t tell them he’d almost been caught breaking into the flat. He’d been tasked to follow the chap and use him to find out anything that would forward their mission.
“I was taking initiative, sir,” Seven swallowed hard and struggled to fight off a rising wave of anxiety. “I searched his office for anything that might help us.”
“And?” The voice on the other end was disguised—Seven could not tell if he was speaking to a man or a woman. “What did you find, Seven?”
“Nothing.”
“That is unacceptable,” the voice hissed.
“I did everything I possibly could,” Seven whispered.
The roar on the other end of the mobile was almost enough to make him drop the mobile. “There was nothing to find. Maybe he doesn’t know as much as we thought.”
A passerby strode past the alley, whistling and oblivious. Seven waited several nerve-wracking seconds before holding the mobile to his ear once more.
“I don’t believe you, Seven. This man is hiding something. He’s told everyone that he has information. And you were unable to find notes? An outline?”
Seven cringed. “I know that I wasn’t able to fulfil my assignment. I hope that you and the others will be able to forgive me.”
The voice on the other end of the phone laughed, which scared Seven. He knew what discipline meant. They’d disciplined his very identity right out of him, making him nothing more than a number.
“Oh, Seven, don’t be naïve. We have a plan. We’ve always had a plan. We just wanted as much information as possible, and were hoping you’d be able to provide it. Seven, if you are unable to produce anything...” The voice trailed off, and Seven shuddered. “If you are unable to produce any results, we will have to terminate your service.”
Seven swallowed. “Yes, I understand.”
The voice laughed again. “Seven, there’s a lot you don’t understand. Come to headquarters, and we will discuss further plans.”
The line went dead and Seven stood with his mobile in his hands, staring down at the screen. Something powerful welled up in his chest. Was it shame? After all, he’d failed to get what he needed from the flat. He wasn’t proving to be a good Human. No, maybe it was a mixture of disappointment and adrenaline. He clung to that self-reassurance. Since the OH had another course of action they wanted to discuss, Seven hoped his discipline wouldn’t be too harsh...or at the very least that it would be less painful this time around. Seven found it encouraging that even though he’d screwed up, there was still a way. There was still a plan. Of course the Master would have a strategy, and it would be better than anything Seven could have designed.
Closing his eyes and tilting his face toward the sky, Seven uttered a silent prayer: I promise to be a better Human from this day forward. I won’t disappoint Master again. I’ll do whatever it takes. He could practically feel forgiveness coming from the Master as he stood in the darkened alley. I made a cock-up of the whole plan, and Master is still willing to forgive me and involve me. Seven swallowed and pulled the collar of his jumper up around his neck. He had to get to headquarters as soon as possible, but part of him wanted to savour the walk and let the adrenaline subside. This was his life now. Ever since giving up everything he owned to become a part of the OH movement, Seven’s existence had been radically different.
We will succeed. Seven stood on the street across from the flat and thought he heard laughter. The lights were on, and he watched the pudgy man bustling around inside, tidying his office, which Seven had destroyed. Seven’s lips curled into a smile. We’ll get it right next time. You’ll see.
