Conduit - Season 2

Ch. 12

"The power's out," Ezekiel snorted. The sound of his footsteps echoed as he finally moved. I switched to night vision and blinked to adjust to the black and green hues. Immediately, I made out Ezekiel. He walked to the exit, hand on the handle.

I cleared my throat. "Where are you going?"

Frank turned, but as dark as it'd gotten, I wondered if he could see anything. There were dim lights from the few devices that hadn't been connected to the building's power source directly. Still, their internal batteries were weak. Parts of the studio were covered in black, as well as dark grey.

As Frank squeezed my arms, Ezekiel turned, returning his hands to the pockets of his pants. "I'm sure this building has a power board," he said. "Shouldn't I find it and flip some switches?"

Victoria and Reggie turned. Reggie flipped the camera in his arms before placing it on the table beside them. He passed his hand over his head and looked at Ezekiel. With the darkness, I couldn't make out his expression, but I picked up on his thoughts. They weren't clear, but they were as grey as the room. Distrust, while just an emotion, had a taste. If breathed in, a bitterness settled on the tongue. I opened my mouth, hoping the air in the room would help, but it was there. Do you think Ezekiel has something to do with this?

Victoria folded her arms. "After the broadcast, I do not think it's wise that we split up. If you zoom in on your city radar, heat sources are approaching."

Ezekiel faced her. "Are you saying it's Daniel's team or someone else?" He sounded questionable. It didn't matter if they were Daniel's team, other androids, or people who didn't agree with us. They were coming, and as my broadcast recommended, we needed to work together.

"I'm only saying if you need to check the breaker, we should all go as a group," she said. "I am not identifying who is walking toward the station."

Ezekiel's image wasn't clear, but I saw the change in his eyes. They flashed for a moment before he stepped toward Victoria. Letting go of Frank, I did the same thing. No one touched her, but I wasn't sure what he'd do. Something was off with him and had been since he came out of the elevator earlier.

"So, you're telling me," Ezekiel lifted his chin, "that you've detected the heat sources a mile away but not the groups next door."

Reggie's head snapped up. With his hand on his neck, he spun in a slow circle. Light flickered in his eyes. When he stopped moving, he faced me.

Frank grabbed my hand. "Am I missing something?"

"No." I passed my other hand over his shoulder as I turned, moving him with me. I made out the green and black outlines of Reggie and Victoria. Both faced Ezekiel with the same amount of distrust I felt in the air. "It's obvious and you knew this would happen."

Frank had been the one to warn me. He didn't believe Ezekiel came to help us and with all of the information he knew about me, it was right to think that he was just here to turn on me. I just didn't think it would be so quickly. It'd only been days, right? He already jumped ship, returning to the side he left. I can't believe anything else.

"The nearby heat sources are from Lyons," I said. "Those are people on our side, androids who work with me."

"Oh?" Ezekiel lifted his hand and laughed. "Sorry, I didn't know you had it all under control. It's good to know your team would never turn on you, hm?"

Turn on me? I quickly looked at Frank and squeezed his hand. Was Ezekiel hinting that there were androids on my side following Daniel now? It couldn't be. I checked in with everyone and did it daily. I tried my hardest to make sure everyone was okay. If one slipped through the cracks, sure, I could accept it. But as I turned to and focused on the station's exterior. I saw closer heat sources. What Victoria mentioned was coming, that was obvious, but there were others. Closer. Right next door.