Fail-Safe

Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

King collapsed onto his chair letting out a deep breath. He lent forward, his face in his hands. Six quietly closed the door behind him, staring at King.

"Sit down," King muttered, face still in his hands. Six complied.

King took another deep breath and finally looked up at Six. "Sammy did a trace on the IP address the email was sent from." Six remained silent. "It was sent from within the Deck." King leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "It was sent from the unnetworked computer Nine of Diamonds setup for Queen."

"But how?" Six demanded.

"Sammy thinks the email had been set up with a time delay, so it was sent at a predetermined time."

Six couldn't think of anything to say. He knew King was dismayed by the news, the Deck was his life and to have a traitor within his own building must have hit hard. But he didn't know how to console him. He let the logical side of his brain take over.

"She can't be working alone. The person in the video was clearly male. Maybe she's been blackmailed into sending the email?"

King sighed, "Regardless, pulling a gun on a senior member isn't a good look." He looked back at Six. "Tell me, did you find anything in the subway?"

Six told him about the mechanical spiders and the arm. King interrupted abruptly when Six explained about the Ace of Clubs. "Kyntak contacted the black building as soon as we had reception. A team of Spades and Clubs are going to Ace of Club's address," Six said. King nodded. "I've had a few of the mechanical spiders and the arm sent through for the Diamonds to analyse. Grysat is organising it now."

King cursed. "You know what this means, right?"

Six nodded grimly. "Whoever is behind the emails is the one who lead us into the subway."

♥♦♣♠

He shrugged his jacket off as he stepped inside the small house. It was silent but he knew it wasn't empty. Placing his jacket up on a hook, he turned to walk down the hallway. He jumped slightly as a child appeared in front of him. Blue eyes looked up at him.

'One day you will give me a heart attack doing that,' he chuckled. 'Here.'

He threw a book at the child. The child caught it in one hand without looking away from him.

'You're only 31, surely you won't die from a heart attack,' the child replied monotone, gaze travelling down to the object in his hand. It was a book. 'Whitman's Encyclopaedia of Physics and Chemistry,' the child read.

'Yes,' he said, eyes searching for any sign of emotion from the child before him. 'I thought you would find it interesting.' He thought he saw a slight smile tug at the child's mouth before his expression became neutral again.

'I will.'

He sighed. 'Come on.'

The child followed him into the house. He collapsed onto the couch in the living room. The child remained standing.

'Get over here and sit down,' he muttered. The child sat at the other end of the couch, spine straight.

'The company I work for is being sold to a larger company – ChaoSecurity Solutions. I'll still keep my job but I'm worried.'

'Why?' the child asked.

'Because this is happening all over the City. And it's not just security companies being sold. It's department stores, grocery stores, service stations. All being bought by the same company – ChaoSonic.' He sighed and looked over at the child.

'Why does this concern you?'

'Because power should be spread equally. If one person or one organisation holds it all, then their power becomes absolute. It will create a dictatorship.'

He knew the child understood what he was talking about. He had picked him up 'The Politics of Modern Society – A Study of Anarchy' from the second-hand bookstore last week. He looked over at the child. 'How about we go for a run by the coast tomorrow?'

He definitely saw the child's blue eyes brighten at that.

A year later, the coast was gone. ChaoSonic begun construction of a colossal wall around the City which was completed in a matter of weeks. The news praised the company for protecting citizens against the other continents who threatened to invade. He felt rage brewing inside him as he turned off the TV. He looked over at the child, he thought he saw disappointment in his eyes.

'This isn't right,' he grumbled, placing back and forth across the living room. 'Do people seriously believe that bullshit?'

He had meant it as a rhetorical question, but the child replied, 'Yes, why else would they allow it?'

He fell back down onto the couch looking up at the ceiling. 'Save us from ourselves,' he muttered.

'I didn't know you could read,' a voice scoffed behind him.

He turned around, placing the book down. Hazel eyes glinted mischievously at him; one eyebrow cocked up. A hand snaked around and grabbed the book. 'The World Since 2000...that's some heavy reading for a security thug like you.' The man laughed.

He snatched the book back. 'Shut up, Garic.' He handed a few notes to the girl behind the counter. The second-hand bookstore was one of the few shops left still accepting cash. Most places only accepted ChaoCredits now.

'Oh, come on. Don't be like that.' Garic said, trailing after him. 'How about we grab a beer? I have enough Triple C points stashed up that it's on me!'

He gritted his teeth and tried to release the tension from his body. He hadn't even realised Garic had followed him from work. He turned around and smiled. 'Another time. I'll see you at work tomorrow.'

He saw Garic roll his eyes. 'Fine, I don't know what's got you so busy recently. Got some girl you seeing?" Garic teased, punching him on the shoulder.

He smiled. 'I'll see you tomorrow, Garic.' He continued down the street.

He turned down a dark alleyway, book tucked under his arm. A streetlight flickered above him. He saw the glow of a cigarette in the darkness. A woman in a long beige overcoat was leaning against a dead streetlight, a hat pulled low over her face. She gave the cigarette a flick, ash falling to the ground. He walked down the alley, stopping in front of her.

'Are you Ms Canasta?' he asked voice low.

The woman didn't say anything. She dropped her cigarette and crushed it under her shoe. She walked off down the alleyway ignoring him. A small suitcase sat by the streetlight where the woman had been. He picked it up and walked back up the alleyway.