“But it can’t be the elections yet,” I say.
Sebastian Cook shrugs. “It is. Probably you lost track with the amount of running around you’ve been doing recently.”
So that’s why the news footage showing Senator Hammond promising aid was on TV. It was part of the campaign to make him look good. That, or a commentary on the probable winner, because even a quick glance at the screen shows that he’s currently on course for a landslide. He’s there addressing party supporters, his wife beside him. One person is notable by his absence, though.
“Johnny isn’t there,” I say. “They must have taken him off to fade him.”
“Then we have to get to him first,” Grayson insists. “We’ll need to tell Location Ten.”
“We have already notified them,” Sebastian says. “As soon as I got word from Jack about what was happening, I warned Lionel about the potential dangers.”
“Lionel?” I say, not quite able to believe it. “Lionel’s at Location Ten?”
“Yes,” Sebastian says, “and he should be able to give any of the Others who show up a nasty surprise or two. Why?”
“Didn’t Jack tell you what he and his people tried to do to us at the farmhouse?” I ask.
To my surprise, Sebastian nods. “He told us that some of Lionel’s people had attacked you, and that you believe Lionel feels that you are dangerous. What you have to understand though is that when you went missing, it was Lionel’s people who told us. They would not have done that if they had been involved, would they?”
“It was one of Lionel’s people who attacked me and Celes,” Grayson counters. “They were trying to kill us. Why would they do that if Lionel was loyal?”
“When you went missing, I asked myself the same kind of questions,” Sebastian says. “I looked into Lionel, and it’s true that he’s cautious where the safety of other Faders is concerned, but I don’t believe he would ever do anything to risk Jack’s wellbeing, or the organization as a whole.”
“So you don’t think he’s a traitor?” I say.
Sebastian shakes his head. “I think someone has done a good job of making it look that way though.”
“Who?” Jack asks that. “If someone were able to make it look like Lionel is working with the Others, then that would mean…”
“That the Faders had been infiltrated,” Sebastian says. “I know that. We believe that one of Lionel’s people was a double agent. She appears to be dead now.”
“Because Celes burned her,” Grayson says. “Are you really telling me that you think Lionel is innocent? That he wouldn’t have known what was going on?”
Sebastian shrugs. “We didn’t, so why should he? I know I’ve told you in the past that Lionel and I don’t see eye to eye on some things, but he is loyal. I’ve had proof of that loyalty again and again over the years. There is no one better suited to holding off the Others at Location Ten than him, and I won’t hear anyone say otherwise.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say. “If Johnny is faded, it could be bad.”
Jack nods. “I think we’re just going to have to trust that my father is right on this one.” He turns to Sebastian. “Will Lionel be able to hold Location Ten against a serious attack? Will the Others be able to get to the machine?”
“It should be fine,” his father says. “Lionel called in people from other Locations to help guard the place, so nothing short of an army should be able to get through to the machine.”
“That’s good,” Jack says, his eyes on the screen in front of us. “Because I don’t think we’ll be able to head for Location Ten anytime soon. I won’t, at least.”
“What?” I ask. “Why not? Don’t you want to get to Johnny?”
Jack nods to the screen. On it, Senator Hammond is celebrating. On it, the words ‘opponent concedes election, Hammond victorious’ roll around and around across the screen. He’s won. The guy who kept us all locked up, who had us beaten up and threatened, who wants to fade Johnny’s memories. He’s won the presidency.
Jonah does something with the controls for the projector and one of the news reports fills the center of the screen. Senator Hammond…
President
Hammond, is addressing his supporters.
“I’d just like to take a moment to thank everybody here,” he says, looking out over the assembled crowd to the cameras. “I’d like to thank all of you for putting in so much hard work in the past few months. I’d like to thank everybody who has helped to get the vote out today, and everybody at home who has voted to make a real difference to this country. I’d especially like to thank my lovely wife for agreeing to deal with the kind of constant exposure that a presidential campaign means, and for seeing just how important what we’re trying to achieve is.”
Well, yes, I think. I guess the end of the world would qualify as kind of important. I’m pretty sure though that bringing it about didn’t form part of his election platform. Though it might have made for some interesting presidential debates.
“Now isn’t the time for making promises,” Hammond says to the waiting crowd. “I’ve only just heard that my opponent has pulled out of the race, and in any case, I’d guess that you’ve all heard far too many promises from me over the past few weeks. Today is about celebrating the success you have all helped to bring about, and about being thankful that the people of our great nation have entrusted me with such a great responsibility. Today is about enjoying this moment.”
Hammond’s expression turns a little harder then. “Tomorrow though, we’ll start working to make the changes that we all need, and that you all voted for. I promise that I will work as hard as you all want me to in order to build a safer, better country. In order to build a future that we can all be proud of. Thank you.”
Predictably, the crowd around him breaks into a standing ovation. I guess that’s what happens in a room full of committed party supporters. And if I’m honest, I guess that a week or two ago, I wouldn’t have been too unhappy to see Wilson Hammond win the election. He came across on TV as a trustworthy guy, with sensible policies and an ability to persuade people that meant things might actually get done. That was before he locked me away, though. That was before I knew what he might be trying to do.
No one speaks when the TV switches off. No one says anything for almost a minute.
“So now he’s the president,” Grayson says at last. “The guy who’s going to end the world is the president.”
“We still have to stop him,” Jack says.
“Is it just me, or does that feel kind of… I don’t know, unpatriotic?” Grayson asks. “I mean, I’m pretty sure that assassinating a president is kind of frowned upon.”
“Speaking as a future president,” I say, thinking of the footage that Sebastian managed to pull from my memories, “I’m not exactly happy about it either.”
“How do you think I feel?” Jack demands in a tone that’s a lot more serious than either of ours. “I’ve spent most of my life keeping Celes alive and safe. I even swore to protect the president, whoever that was. But Hammond… what he’s going to do… he has to be stopped.”
I nod, slipping an arm around Jack’s waist so that I can hold him close. “I know. I know what’s at stake. Well, kind of. But this… it’s a huge thing to try to do, Jack. It won’t be easy. Getting to a senator would be bad enough, but the president is far, far harder. If it goes wrong, you could be killed.”
Jack kisses me, softly. Almost like he’s saying goodbye. “I know that, Celes. I knew that stepping into the fading machine. I knew that, whether I succeeded or failed, I probably wouldn’t be coming back. I thought I had to succeed because it would prevent a great disaster and save our world. Now… now I have another reason.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“You’re here. If I don’t succeed, the Apocalypse will come, and you’ll be here. I won’t risk that happening to you. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe. To keep us all safe.”
“Including killing the president?”
Jack looks up at the screen again. It’s blank now, but I can almost see him picturing Wilson Hammond’s face. “I’m as patriotic as the next person, but I swore to protect one president. If that means doing whatever I have to so that I can stop another, then so be it.”
EIGHTEEN
“
W
hatever you’re going to do,” Jonah says, “you had better act now.” He presses a few buttons, and the screen shows two images. Both look like they’re of the sun, only one is noticeably larger than the other. Not by much, but the difference is there.
“It’s already begun,” I say.
“Don’t worry,” Jonah says. “We’re in a safe house. The materials here should be able to withstand the increase in temperature. At least assuming that the sun doesn’t expand enough to actually consume the Earth.”
“We’ve prepared for this,” Sebastian adds.
I shake my head. “But millions of people haven’t. They’ll die.”
“Only if we don’t stop it,” Jack says, taking each of his guns from his jacket in turn and checking them before replacing them. “Is the chopper re-fueled and ready to fly?”
Sebastian nods. “If it’s what you need.”
“We have to stop Hammond,” Jack says. “He’s the key.”
I know he’s right. I can feel it. This is why I came back. This is what I’m here to do, as much as Jack is. Which means I need to help. I also need to prepare for the worst case scenario.
“We need to get to Hammond,” I say, “but we also need to protect people. There is so much space in the Locations, and I can’t believe the government won’t have other shelters in place too. Hammond and the Others’ places show we’re not the only ones prepared for this.”
Jonah pulls up a screen showing a series of orange dots, scattered all over the world. “As far as I can tell, all these dots represent shelters. Some are ours, but others are run by governments around the world. I suppose people have been prepared for this eventuality for a long time. It’s not that surprising when you think about it.”
“People have been predicting the end of the world for a long time,” Sebastian agrees.
“I don’t think any of us actually expected it to show up now though,” Jonah says. His face is ashen.
“So the first priority is to get people into those shelters,” I say. It seems strange to be taking charge like this, but at the same time, it feels like what I’m meant to be doing. “Can you do it without causing panic?”
“We’ll use the Faders,” Jonah says. “They’re used to being discrete. Even if they’re successful though…”
“Not everyone can fit in the shelters,” I finish for him. “Millions of people will still die. I know, which is why stopping this is the key. And that’s why I’m going with Jack to see Hammond.”
“I’m not sure-” Sebastian begins, but I cut him off. I’m not sure where the confidence to do it comes from.
“I am,” I say. I turn to Grayson before he can say anything, putting a finger to his lips. “No, Grayson. I need someone to get people to those shelters. Someone I can trust. You’re a Fader, and you know how to do this, so it should be you. After all, you were never even meant to come back here.”
“You sound like you aren’t coming back,” he says.