Kingdom Come

xiii. Exit signs

recap: London is trying to help the ONA, but pressured by Mark Hubert, she leaks information from the Everton forum. She had lost the faith of many members of the ONA for a while. However, she earns it back by looking for a whistleblower. In the process, her name is quietly spread among the employees, and apparently, even further. One of the people who comes across her information, contacts her and asks if they could meet anytime soon.

At the same time, London comes across buried evidence from Judge Hart's murder investigation that seems to point directly at Emir.

This is where part two begins.

-----

After knocking on the locker room door, I wait for an answer. The door is fixed at the end of the equipment room; it's a rectangular space with sturdy iron racks carrying kneepads, wickets, balls, and nets. They seem worn out but regularly used.

"You can come in, London." The nurse calls out to me.

I walk in and hang my purse from one of the knobs on the wall, which were meant for towels. There are neat rows of smooth white lockers fixed onto the walls. Black and white checkered tiles cover the floor. Lying on a sturdy stretcher-like couch was the man who had called me to Bex. He offers me a nervous smile, and the nurse directs me towards the empty stretcher next to him. A small card with a few questions and a pen is dropped onto my lap.

What's my name? Do I wish to stay anonymous? Would I be present in the system?

London Capell. Yes. Yes.

I hand it back, and she leaves me with a form to fill. As I do so, the machine drawing a bag of blood from my new informant rumbles with strange mechanical groans. He remains still, with his eyes closed, showing no sign of unease.

Once I've submitted the form and the nurse has left the room to check my ID and password into the MEDI+ system, we find an opportunity to talk.

"Check my backpack," He says.

I crouch next to the backpack, at the feet of his stretcher, and pull out a laptop. He weakly gestures with his free hand to bring it to him. I pull the nurse's chair next to him, angle the laptop in his direction, and he scans his fingerprint to give me full access to its contents.

"The main application should start running automatically. Look for the 'mail' symbol in the upper-right corner. Then head to the section that's labelled 'Private.'" His voice guides me through the steps until I locate the file in question.

It is a memo from Orion's provincial head—quoting an exchange with their CEO, a distasteful joke, and an unrelated update in their customer care policy.

"Is this a company-wide memo?" I ask.

"There is no way for me to know." He sighs. "We aren't allowed to discuss private memos with someone from outside our department."

I nod thoughtfully.

"So?" he asks in a tense voice. My eyes drift towards the tube of blood sticking out of his arm. At least the machine is silent now.

Taking a deep breath in, I read out the provincial head's response to his CEO's comments:

"If the ONA wins and any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, I will be forced to reduce the size of the workforce." I pause and look up at him. "It does read like a threat, but it's not technically illegal. May I take a picture of this with my phone?"