The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (38 page)

“You could have asked.”

“You would have yelled at me for
interrupting. You think we could use any of that?”

“Don't see why not.” She finished off with a
sweeping of her vidmat stylus and saved the document to her cloud.
“Not to change the subject, but I meant to tell you what happened
to Matthew last night.”

“Now what did he do?” he asked. “I know he’s
been flat out these last few weeks, but please tell me he didn’t do
anything stupid.”

“Watch the road, Alec,” she pointed ahead.
“You’re not going to like this, but it seems Saisshalé caught up
with him last night. Nearly drained him, too. Little prick fought
back though, managed to keep himself from serious damage like the
others. Long story short, Saisshalé screwed with his head, fucked
with his system, and literally left him out to dry. And get this:
he went so far as to call the BMPD to have him brought in. North
Main collared him just past two in the morning.”

“You're kidding,” he said, caught somewhere
between a gasp and a nervous laugh. “Does that mean...?”

“It gets better,” she continued. “Not three
hours later, Rieflin himself gets the arrest overturned, and hands
him over to one Dylan Farraway for safekeeping in the ARU lockup at
Branden Hill.”

He stared ahead in a daze, not quite sure how
to process all that.

“The Governor gave him to Farraway, Poe. He's
in our holding. He’s safe and exactly where he needs to be right
now.”

“Dare I ask what he's being held for?”

“Farraway got creative,” Caren said, flashing
him a grin. “Psychic felony, sensed and admitted…basically reading
Mendaihu minds for ill-gotten gains,” she said with a hint of
amusement. “Low-level charge, enough that the CNF won't be called
for it, but enough to have him held until his court case. Which is
as yet unscheduled at this time.”

Poe started laughing. “That poor bastard,” he
said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Disconnect

Caren and Poe entered their office to find
their team two already there, hard at work. Sheila sat at Caren's
desk, busily typing away at the desk keyboard as Nick leaned
against the far wall, arms crossed and head down. They were more
irritated than concerned about their absence. “Where the hell have
you two been?” Sheila asked, lifting her head and huffing at them.
“Farraway’s been paging us every half hour, looking for you.”

“We called in,” Poe offered. “Did Cilla
forget to tag us?”

“You were on the clock, but no status,” she
said. “Said you were doing interviews.” She raised an eyebrow and
hummed again, her fingers tapping the desk impatiently. “Anything
we should know about?”

Caren looked at the clock hung above her
desk. It was eleven already. They’d spent over two hours talking
with Madeleine. It had gone by so quickly they hadn't even noticed.
“Personal,” she said.

“Previous Embodiments, then?” Nick asked. He
pushed himself off the wall and strolled over to Poe’s desk. He
leaned up against it, shoving his fists in his pockets with a
scowl. “Good,” he said. The word came out like a bark. “Let's hope
you found something the other agencies haven't, because we haven't
much time.”

Caren waved her hands at them. “Alright,
enough with the drama. What’s got into you two?”

“We are screwed,” Sheila said. “The whole ARU
is. Rieflin plans to shut down the Edwin-Akandia Energy Sensor
Device in a week’s time.”

Poe stopped short and twitched. “Are you
fucking serious? What the hell is he trying to prove?”

“Officially it’s a maintenance issue,” Sheila
said. “But everyone knows that’s bullshit. He knows what’s coming,
and he’s scared as hell. He’s trying to keep damage to a minimum.
He knows it’s a weak point, and he knows it could be corrupted. If
anyone can get at it, then no one will.”

The room turned cold. Goddess, what was that
man thinking? Did he not realize just how many ARU and police
officers depended on the Edwin-Akandia? Hell, Caren wouldn’t have
seen Saisshalé that day if it hadn’t been for Cilla using the ESD.
She may have rarely used it, but it had saved countless lives since
it went live twenty years ago.

In a perverse way, it explained why Matthew
had been handed over to Farraway so quickly. Rieflin must have
planned this shutdown long before today. He must have realized that
if this Embodiment season was escalating this quickly, he wanted to
take out all the loopholes while he still had the chance. And
Matthew as the last piece. He was in ARU hands now, because Rieflin
couldn’t get rid of him, not yet. He was too valuable to everyone.
The ARU was the only entity he could trust with the job.

“He’s going to call Governor Privilege, isn’t
he,” Poe growled. His fists were still at his sides, knuckles
growing whiter by the moment. Caren could now feel the anger
emanating from his spirit.

“He was given the okay from the Provincial
Governor's Council early this morning,” Sheila said. “Just before
you called in. We didn’t tell you because we thought you were
logged in. It’s all over the ARU comms. Oh, and get this: he's also
been given permission by the Free World Provinces President, as
well as some key members of the CNF.”

“Pashyo,” he said, his voice a forced calm.
“No one on the CNF would call this a safe or logical move. Are we
supposed to wait for Special Forces to march in when it all goes to
shit?”

“That’s still up in the air,” Nick said.
“Personally, I think we’re safe for now — Nandahya Mirades is still
his equal, and she won’t let that happen. That doesn’t mean General
Phillips won’t break that agreement and do something stupid,
however. In the meantime, we've got one week to put our affairs in
order. This means you two had better finish up your Mendaihu
training, or we’re all screwed.”

Caren bristled. “What is that supposed to
mean?”

“Ask Farraway,” he said.

Caren groaned, rubbing her eyes with her
thumb and forefinger in an attempt to stay calm. Anger welled up
inside her — not Shenaihu irritation, not Mendaihu annoyance, but
human frustration — to the point that she wanted to tear the office
apart. She glanced quickly at fragile inanimate objects lying
around — data crystals, cell phones, computer monitors...she was
desperate to take anything and just hurl it against the wall, and
so much the better if Governor Rieflin was standing in the way.
Instead, she let out a loud curse and slammed her fist the
wall.

“Calm down, Caren. Go and talk to Farraway,”
Sheila said as calmly as possible. “He specifically asked for the
two of you. He's already briefed us on what’s expected for Nick and
myself when —”

“That's not the point!” Caren barked. “This
is Rieflin's personal problem! He shouldn’t be putting the rest of
us in danger. He doesn't get it. He’s thinking of himself!”

“We've gone over this —” Sheila started.

“No, we haven’t,” she said as patiently as
she could. “Don’t you get it? Poe and I, we may be able to hold our
own, the two of you, Kai and Ashan. Even Christine and Anando. But
we need to work together now, don’t you get it? It’s not…” Goddess,
how was she going to explain this? She exhaled, shaking her head.
“Look — the point is that we need to be connected. We need all the
damned help we can get, and unplugging the ESD is going to be
suicide. This isn’t about me. This is about our fellow officers
who…who…” Her words died there, her anger depleted.

Nick. Damn it all, he might have his own
strength, but he was going to be the first of the dead, and she
couldn’t bear to handle that. She looked up at him —

“Anando...?” Nick said slowly, cocking an
eyebrow. “How does he fit in?”

His question took her off guard and she could
not find words.

“Connections,” Poe finished, to her relief.
“Like my connection to Vigil. Anando knows Nehalé Usarai, he's
studied under him for a few years now. He knows a lot about what
got us in this mess in the first place. Added to the fact that he's
second in charge down at Moulding Warehouse.”

Thanks
, Caren said within, only to
him. Her anger had already subsided, the vitriol behind her words
leaving before she could utter any more. Perhaps it was for the
best, if she and Poe were going to meet with Farraway. It would be
stupid and senseless to release a tirade of words that meant
nothing.

“You really think Rieflin’s that bad?” Sheila
asked.

Caren laughed bitterly. “Sure, he's a great
politician, but he knows next to nothing about how the Mendaihu and
the Shenaihu work. I highly doubt if he'll ever understand it. I
could be wrong; maybe he's been Awakened as well, I don't know. But
he's going to kill us all if he thinks he can solve this particular
problem using conventional means.”

“Point taken,” Sheila said. “But again, he's
got Nandahya Mirades on his side. She'd take control of those
matters, or at least coach him on it.”

“That's not enough,” she countered. “He'll be
acting alone. He's ultimately responsible for the actions that the
Provincial Governor's Council takes. I'm sorry, but I don't trust
him that far.” She forced herself to keep from saying anything
else, because she knew she'd sound elitist, which was not what she
wanted to do. She'd promised herself early on that she would never
think of herself anything more than human, even if she did acquire
her Mendaihu traits through bloodline.

“Well, neither do we,” Sheila said. “But that
doesn't mean that we should exclude him from whatever happens.
That's out of our hands.”

“So what should we do, then?”

Nick cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“Go see Farraway.”

Caren cursed again, knowing he was right.

Chief Inspector Dylan Farraway steepled his
fingers against his lips and rested his chin on his thumbs, his
brow deeply furrowed as he listened patiently to Caren and Poe’s
concerns. He agreed with them fully, even though he admitted it was
out of his hands. Caren had a hard time believing that, but chose
not to cause a scene. Not just yet, anyway.

“Come on, chief. You know he's just tying up
our hands,” Poe offered. “I'm really having a problem believing
Rieflin would pull something like this on his own. He’s either
scared or he's being pushed into this position. I'll say this much:
he may not be the best choice to lead this province, but he's not a
weak man. He’s not stupid.”

Farraway winced at him. “Alec, I would
suggest you keep your opinions to yourself in the future,” he said.
“Even if it is meant as a compliment in a roundabout way. You
wouldn't want to have it coming back to you, would you?”

Caren stared at him in surprise. “Sir, I
—”

“That will be enough on the subject,
Johnson,” he said gruffly.

She stopped short, mouth open. She knew
better than to push further. “Sir.”

Farraway shook his head and pushed himself
out of his chair with a grunt. “Look…” he said, exhaling heavily.
“Don’t get me wrong. I completely understand your frustration. If
it were any other time, I’d fight like hell to keep the ESD turned
on. I don't want to do this either. But you know as well as I do
that we can't do anything about that. He’s not going to shut us
down. But he’s enforcing a change a lot of us aren’t prepared
for.”

“Sir,” Caren ventured quietly, careful not to
upset him again. “I have to ask. What about the Special Forces
Unit? The Sentinels? How will they be affected?”

“They'll probably pick up most of the slack.
But I doubt they'll get any further than we would.”

“We really are on our own then,” Poe
said.

“We can't petition it,” Farraway said. “Not
this.”

Caren waved her hands at him. Goddess, why
was he giving up so easily? “So what do we do then? Business as
usual? Pretend nothing is happening? Turn into another Vigil?”

Farraway said nothing, but he shot her such
an intense glare she caught her breath. The words had been said out
of frustration and she shouldn’t have said it aloud in the first
place, but they were running out of options. And Denni! Goddess,
what would happen to Denni if the ARU couldn’t back her up? What
would happen to her? She shivered, not wanting to think about
it.

“I’m giving us until the end of the day to
come up with alternate plans before Tigua starts implementing the
shutdown sequences,” Farraway said. “It's eleven-thirty now. We
have twelve and a half hours to get some serious shit done. I don't
know...” he began, and stopped. Turning away, he rubbed at his own
eyes and grunted out of frustration. Was he crying? “I don't know
if this will mean anything...” he started, and cleared his throat.
“Caren, Alec, just use every single damned thing you can, all
right? Use all of your contacts. Including your friend downstairs.
You may even have some people at the Tower, I don’t know. Just
don’t tell me. I’m looking the other way. I don’t want to know.
Just make damned sure that you
survive
when all of this is
done.”

Stunned by his words, Caren to Poe for a long
moment, weighing his reaction before she responded. He’d closed
himself off, however…she could not read any expression or reaction
from him at all. “We'll do our best,” she said quietly, but she
could not look Farraway in the eyes.

“I know you will,” he said.

Goddess...why?

Caren walked out onto the seventh floor deck
and leaned against the railing, watching the early afternoon
traffic make its way down Baird Avenue. It wasn't often that she
came out here. High open spaces made her nervous. More than that,
when she did come out here, rarely did she ever come out alone. It
was usually with Poe, and for a conversation they didn't want
overheard. All of that didn’t seem to matter right now. She watched
the transports and wondered, only for a moment, if any of those
drivers were Mendaihu or Shenaihu, if any of them knew what was
happening at that very moment. She wanted to tell them, warn them
of Rieflin's plans, even if she had to talk within, but she knew
she couldn't possibly reach that many in a short amount of time,
let alone have the strength to do so. Denni would be able to do it
for her — she'd done it during the failed Ascension — but she'd be
asking too much of her.