Chapter 10 as it appeared
Part 2: In the Dark of the Night
Authors: Gabby, PCat
Acknowledgment: Based on an idea by Ian, Extra input from BD, Kulko and Tarrok
Malton +52
"Get them up to the third floor!"
"What?" Gabby shouted into his radio.
"Third floor. We have a zip wire set up. "
"What?" Gabby reiterated.
He distinctly heard Cat sigh. "We have a zip wire. Vicky and I weren't sure about those `cleaners' Kulko's contact set us up with, so we organised a different route out."
"What?" Gabby said again and then realised he was repeating himself. "Why wasn't I told?"
"You wouldn't believe it might be trap. We just laid on contingencies. Now get the MPs up to the third floor. First Office by the stairs."
"OK. Listen up. I'm Gabriel Mallows and this place is about to blow!" Gabby bellowed at the assembled ranks of the opposition.
"What are you still doing here?" Gabby was aghast to see Cat fighting her way back down the stairs against the flow of people.
"Same as you, I expect. You're not going to get them all out Gabs. The wire is too slow."
"I know." Gabby felt a grim kind of despair. "But there's no reason for you to stay here too. I can't take the wire before them. It's my fault."
"We have a route out that's not available to them. It was my fall back plan. But we have to go now."
"Fall back plan?"
"The underground station."
"Shit Cat! There's a reason we didn't come in that way. Have you seen the schematics for the automated defence system. It's like the only thing they were worried about when they built this place was an invasion of killer hobbits."
"It's a 10 yard field of automated weapons coverage. Hot lead. We go through it fast enough we'll survive."
"Fucking hell!"
"You got a better idea? If this building falls on us you know we've had it."
"How the fuck do we go through this fast enough? Neither of us is going to be moving much after a few dozen bullets have hit us."
Gabby stared gloomily at the wide open space and the white marbled floors that lead to the underground ticket booths.
"Rappelling wire on a dead man's switch. We tie ourselves on and let it drag us across." Cat had fished what looked like a small crossbow from her pack.
"Jesus!"
Cat fired across the space. Concealed weapons immediately opened fire, alerted by the movement of the arrow. The dart embedded itself in the far wall, a thin wire crossing the space between them. Cat attached the end to her utility belt. Nervously Gabby hooked their belts together. They lay on the floor, arms round each other and then Cat hit the switch.
The pain was incredible, like hundreds of drills were burrowing into him. Which wasn't actually far from the truth. Cat screamed. Or possibly they both did. A long slick of blood trailed across the floor to where they lay slumped against the far wall.
"They'll know which way we went," muttered Gabby. He realised he was coughing up blood. Unsurprising really, his internal organs probably looked like swiss cheese.
"Not once this place comes down," whispered Cat. Half her face seemed to be missing. When Gabby thought about it, he realised one of his eyes didn't seem to be working either. "We just have to get into the tunnels."
"Fucking Hell," muttered Gabby again, aware that every movement was going to be agony. He staggered to his feet, clawing his way up the wall and helping Cat after him.
Leaning against each other they stumbled and fell down the steps and into the underground tunnels.
"This is Chan Mei, reporting live from Beijing for Fox News. There have been reports of a biological threat on the World Parliament building. Imperial forces have locked it down, but for the past few minutes, opposition politicians have been evacuating one-by-one down a zipwire to the street. Now - "
There was a solitary loud bang. The reporter hesitated and her eyes widened. Then she turned around, apparently at a gesture from the cameraman, his hand just visible in shot. A plume of smoke rose through the roof of the World Parliament.
"Ai!" cried the reporter.
A wave of explosions tore through the building, tearing out from the glass walls as they made their way round it. Subsequent explosions shook the ground. Chan Mei ducked and then fell to the floor. The camera juddered, but somehow remained erect.
Finally, two blasts went off outside the Parliament. The great sweeping horns of glass and black steel that crowned the door came crashing to the floor.
"You realise they're gonna blame you for this?" Sam murmured, glancing down at his friend in the hospital bed. Gabby nodded grimly.
"'If it goes well, you were my glorious comrades behind the scenes. If it all goes wrong, I was the sole culprit'. That was what I said, no?" Gabby said hollowly. His sides still hurt. The painkillers weren't much use - his body didn't like them. Cat was still unconscious. Vicky was leaning on the window, her cheek pressed against the glass.
"This is awful, you know?" Vicky sighed.
"I've been fielding calls from resistance groups since this went public. They pretty much all want you out of the picture, new resistance structure, formation of an umbrella council, yadda, yadda," said Sam.
Gabby was toxic material. It had been two days since the Beijing attacks. They were hidden in some private hospital in Shanghai, but just because the Empire couldn't find them, didn't mean they got any shelter from the media. Their latest gambit was edited footage of the attack: Kate (anonymous in her balaclava) warning Gabby that Besancenot was present, Gabby (clearly identified by name when Lan spoke) saying "there's no-one important here - let's just blow this place the bleep up!". They alternated it with age old footage of Gabby discussing revolution taken from an interview, backstage, some thirty years back. But this was tweaked too, so now he was talking about "maximising civilian casualties" and "breaking as many laws as possible". The sad thing was that, while he had never said those words, the tone of the discussion was not unlike what had happened in the weeks before the attacks. So the resistance wanted to disassociate themselves from him. And Gabby was resigned to it.
"We talked about this. Whoever it is, you say yes," Gabby grunted.
"Yeah, I know. And the Bear's talking about taking your spot, co-ordinating it all," said Vicky
"Wanker, why can't one of us do it?" Sam demanded.
"We're tainted," Vicky muttered. "Whatever Gabby's done, we were equally involved. The resistance know we're part of the same team. Besides - if it wasn't for the Bear, I don't think we would be in this nice hospital - probably in some shitty flat. I'm amazed how fast you two are recovering but even so, the hospital has helped enormously."
"I'm just amazed we got out at all," said Gabby. "I can hardly move without pain. I can't believe we got down three flights of stairs and 100 yards down a tunnel."
"Super adrenaline boost," said Sam. "Similar to the way the zombies keep moving when you shoot a limb off. It's been studied. As long as we're not dead we can keep going a long time before we collapse."
Vicky grimaced. "Anyway - the little groups trust the Bear. The Resistance needs someone. It could have been Ian, if he hadn't vanished. But for years it's been Gabby - you brought all those little groups into the fold, that was your big success - now, the Bear can keep them working together, to keep undermining Simon."
"Suppose. But this is shitty." Gabby slumped back into the pillow.
A week later they were in St. Petersburg. Cat had spent most of that week under sedation in one make-shift hospital or another while Vicky struggled to remove all the bullets. When she was conscious they'd been moving west as fast as they could putting as much distance as possible between themselves and Beijing, without risking air flight. In some ways that had been a blessing, the rawness of the tragedy and the vitriol of the news reporting had lost a little of its edge, only a little though. Gabby, unsurprisingly, was taking it worst. His mood swung between black despair and impotent anger.
Even though she was still in bandages Cat had retreated into cooking. At least it gave her something to do while he was ranting.
"Be careful!" Just right now, Gabby was blaming the whole disaster on BD. "How was I supposed to fucking know what `Be Careful' meant?"
"He obviously couldn't risk anything more explicit because of the filters." Cat felt forced to point out.
"What fucking filters? We all know they went down six months ago. God alone knows who did it, but they did us all a favour."
"They're back on the major backbones. You know that," said Cat, doing her best to be patient with him. He had taken killing the cop hard enough, being responsible for close to a hundred deaths was eating him up.
Gabby bore down on her. "Why didn't you point that out before?"
Cat blinked, surprised to suddenly find herself the target of Gabby's ire.
"Gabby," Vicky said warningly. She and Sam were curled up in a corner, also trying to keep out of his way.
"Fuck off Vicky! I'm not going to nursemaid her. This is important. Cat why didn't you say it? Why did you piss about making contingency plans behind my back?"
"You said to forget it!" said Cat helplessly, watching out of one eye as Gabby helped himself to all the cheese she had just carefully grated.
"The fuck?"
"You said to forget it!" Cat said more forcefully. "What was I supposed to do? I thought you were wrong."
"Well why didn't you fucking say so?"
"Because it was the middle of the night. We had the op the next day and you had clearly decided to go ahead anyway. What exactly would have been the point?"
"I'd have taken you seriously, if you explained your reasoning. I'm not fucking stupid." Having eaten all the cheese, he was now starting on the chopped mushrooms. Cat fought to take deep breaths. She was not going to back down on this, even though every instinct was screaming at her to do so.
"I didn't know I was right. It was just a hunch. I didn't want a stand up row."
"Fuck Cat! When are you going to get over this `never contradict anyone' shit. A hundred people just died because you seem to be incapable of standing on your own two feet. Shit! It's not like I haven't noticed you hanging around making puppy eyes at me ever since I split up with Vicky, desperate to get another man in your life."
Cat sucked in her breath, feeling the rejection like a slap in the face. "Fuck you Gabby! You're a little shit. I think better of myself than to be the next woman to get treated like a servant, while you play around behind her back, and generally fuck her over."
Gabby stepped back and threw his arms wide, a smirk on his face as if to say, `hey, this is me! no woman can resist'.
Cat scowled at the arrogance and fought to keep calm under the mounting anger. She tried to remind herself that this was all worse for Gabby. "You wouldn't have listened to me and you know it. I did the best I could in the time available."
"You were treating me like a fucking baby, like everyone does. Going behind my back because you didn't think I could play with the grown-ups. Stupid fucking bitch."
Cat snapped. "Well if I was it's because you are a fucking baby; a spoiled, over-sexed, irresponsible, brat. You were suckered in with the promise of an easy hit. You ignored the warning and now you're trying to get me to take the blame for your mistakes just like fucking Simon used to. And you've just eaten all the supper ingredients!"
"Yeah! You so don't want to sleep with me, that you're cooking my supper. That adds up!"
It was at that point Cat threw the frying pan at Gabby.
"Is Gabby OK?"
"Surprised. A cut that isn't serious and he'll have a bruise but he'll live."
"I'm sorry though. I know everyone is feeling terrible. I was just so angry."
"Believe me, it was worth it to see you throw a frying pan at him."
Cat sighed. "It was suddenly all too much for me. All those people dead and Gabby carrying on being Gabby. And I know Simon had a hand in this somewhere."
"Cat about these rages."
"Yes."
"You know they're a classic symptom of abuse recovery right?"
"Yes, I guess I just wait them out and it'll pass."
"Cat, it's been over five years. You've been on the run nearly all that time. You have to stop and get some help."
"Vicky..."
"I'm serious Cat. You've got to take some time out. You need to be in one place for a bit. Get some proper counselling. Everything is going to have to go quiet for a bit anyway so now is as good a time as any. No one will blame you for stepping back for a while."
"Gabby will."
"Well, as you pointed out, Gabby is a little shit."
"That's not entirely fair."
"Still your knight in shining armour, eh?"
"Well the armour's a little dented and tarnished but yeah, I guess."
"But he's still a little shit with women. You know that right? You weren't just saying it."
Cat closed her eyes and shook her head.
Vicky sighed. "Sometimes I'm not really sure what's going on with you and Gabby."
"Me neither," confessed Cat. "It all got confused and mixed up somewhere along the way."
"Take some time out. I'm serious, Cat. For a while you needed us around just to hold you together and keep you out of Simon's hands but you'll do fine now. Take some time off. Get your head together a bit more."
"We need to find Ian."
"What the fuck? I thought you wanted nothing to do with him?" BD dumped the book he'd been reading on the bed side table.
They were cooped up in yet another hotel room somewhere in Europe. Some time the next day they were due to hook up with Gabby and his group. BD imagined there was going to be something of a shouting match.
"I don't," said Kulko. "But it's clear we need a diplomat; someone to work the political angle. We've been blowing shit up for over five years, nigh on ten if you count the work I was doing in the Appalachians. We've nothing to show for it. Nothing!" Kulko slammed the wall in frustration.
"People in the Appalachians who didn't starve," suggested Danny.
"Not enough," Kulko shook his head.
"We need to carry on with what we're doing. Just be more careful not to fuck up like Gabby did," said Danny.
BD shook his head. "I agree we need to work the politics. Not sure Ian's our man though. Are we even sure he's alive?"
Anton shrugged. "Hard to say. Sheva might be a better bet."
"Give me a break," said Kulko. "She's what? Vice President Armed Forces or some such made up title? She's like one step down from Simon."
"She's the reason the military haven't been a lot harder line than they are," snapped Anton, "and she's in the system. Perfect person."
"One of them," said Kulko. "If she were in this room I'd put a bullet through her head."
"Good job she isn't then," said BD. "Otherwise I'd put a bullet in yours. Anton's right. We should put out some feelers, see if we can back her up."
"Sell out, you mean."
"Not quite, but she's much, much better placed than we are to make a difference and she's no yes man for Simon."
"No!"
"No?" BD stood up and squared off at Kulko. "This keeps coming up. Who put you in charge?"
"No one put you in charge. I don't even know why we're wasting time here. You want to consult with Gabby? He's poison. This is just an excuse for you to check up on Cat. Tomorrow morning, I'm out of here looking for Ian. You guys can come with me or not as you please."
There was a silence. BD glanced over at Anton, who nodded. "Ant and I are going to see Gabby, then we're contacting Sheva."
BD and Kulko both looked across at Danny.
"I think you're both crazy," he said. "I'm hooking up with the musketeers again. I've been away too long and, if the rumours are correct, Sam and Vicky are together again. The whole soap opera thing should be done and dusted."
"Pigs might fly," muttered Kulko.
"Where's Kulko?" asked Gabby.
"Gone to find Ian. He's not coming."
"Not talking to me huh? Figures, not many people are."
"It's not actually about you Gabby," said Danny. "The world doesn't revolve around you, you know."
"Hello Gabby, good to see you again, sorry about the whole Beijing disaster, could have happened to anyone. Fuck off Danny. Why are you even here?"
"Beijing couldn't have happened to anyone Gabs. You let yourself get suckered in by the idea of a big target and you know it. And since you ask I'm here because I wanted to hook up with you guys again. Looks like I'm not wanted."
Gabby seemed to collapse somewhat. "Sorry Danny. It's good to see you again, just the situation is so shit. It gets to me."
"What are you guys going to do?" asked Vicky, looking over at BD and Ant.
"Ant had a girlfriend in the military, down in Africa. She's now some kind of high up in Simon's government. We're going to put out some feelers," said BD.
"Sounds risky," said Sam. "You trust her?"
Ant shrugged. "Not sure, we'll go slow and careful. But we need a change of tactics. Beijing played right into Simon's hands and I really thought we were making some progress before that."
"You could try Tarrok," suggested Cat.
"Too dangerous," said BD. "I'm amazed he managed to keep his job at all. The merest whiff of contact with us and he'll be court-martialed and that means the death penalty."
"He's got backers and he's been working black ops. He was in touch with Jim for a bit, then I took over. It was Tarrok who took out the filters."
There was a small silence in the room and then Gabby exploded. "Why the fuck didn't I know about this?"
"Need to know. Tight lines of communication. I wouldn't have said now except if BD and Ant are working the military angle they should try Tarrok too."
Gabby punched the wall. "You never really trusted me at all, did you Cat?"
"Well," said Vicky hurriedly, "Gabby's going to have to keep a low profile for a bit, so it looks like it's me, Sam and Danny running this show for a while."
"What about you Cat?" asked BD. "You're not staying with them?"
Cat shook her head. "Hali's fixed me up with a new identity. I'm going to drop off the radar for a while."
"What?" said Gabby. "When was that decided? The fuck is going on round here?"
Cat glanced across at Vicky for support. "Vicky thinks its time I put down a few roots. Stayed in once place for a bit."
"Cat doesn't need us just to keep going from day to day anymore," agreed Vicky. "She needs to get away from the action though."
Gabby threw up his hands. "Good riddance then. I can't see why you were with us in the first place and I don't know what the fuck I'm doing here any more!" He left the room, banging the door shut behind him.
Vicky grasped Cat's hand. "You're doing the right thing Cat. Don't take any notice of Gabby."
"Good call, Sis," agreed BD, giving her a hug. "He's always been trouble and right now every policeman on the planet is after him."
Malton +53
Vicky paused as she passed Gabby's room. She heard a guitar being tuned. It had been years since Gabby had even touched a guitar, as far as she knew - probably during the recordings for Fight the Man. She knocked and then popped her head straight in.
"Thanks for knocking," Gabby remarked, not looking up from the acoustic guitar on his lap, by his feet, a hard-shell guitar case, and an overflowing rucksack.
"Going somewhere, Gabs?"
"I'm going, yeah, but... nowhere in particular."
"Wait, what?"
"There's nothing else for me to do here. You and Sam have got each other, Cat's left, I've been booted off the resistance council. I'll just be dead weight, and to be honest, I don't see the use in me hanging around all these crappy safehouses - I'm going to travel again."
"Does Hali know?"
"Yeah, I've sorted it all out with him - catching a ride on a cargo ship from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, then just making my way south."
Vicky sat down next to him, avoiding the guitar's neck as she laid a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll miss you, Gabby. Can't you hang about and do some behind-the-scenes work?"
"C'mon, Vick. When have I ever been behind-the-scenes?" Gabby said dryly. Vicky smiled.
"This isn't about the resistance, is it? It's because Cat's gone," Vicky said quickly. Gabby shrugged and put the guitar into its case.
"OK, I won't try and squeeze some emotion out of you, Gabs. We'll miss you though. Things will be a lot less funny without you around." Gabby snapped the clasps shut and turned to her.
"I'll try and stay in touch."
"Promise?"
Gabby hugged her tightly by way of an answer.
Malton +54
"Brother Simeon, eh? You've taken vows then?"
Ian was placid as ever. "No. I wanted to, but the Abbot wouldn't let me. He said this isn't my vocation however much I may think it is."
"And do you?" Kulko was curious in spite of himself.
"Some days I do, but then I thought politics was my vocation."
"You were good at politics. It hurts me to say so, but you were. But hell, you were good at shooting zombies too."
"I entirely missed what was happening with Simon. Look where that has landed the world."
"Is that why you're hiding here? guilt?"
"I don't know. I've talked it over in confession many times and I still have no answers. I think that may be why Abbot Mantle won't allow me to take vows."
Kulko scratched his beard thoughtfully. "Does the Pope know you're here?"
"I don't know."
"I figure he must. There's been so much trouble between him and Simon - that's what gave me the idea to start looking for you in the Church."
"You've been very persistent. We've been getting reports of you for six months now."
Kulko laughed. "And you didn't think to help me out and let me know where you were?"
"I figured I'd let God decide. If you found me then I'd listen to what you had to say otherwise..." Ian shrugged. "It wasn't meant to be."
"Pain in the... well, sorry to disturb your solace. Well I've come to ask you to get involved with the resistance. But I'm sure you worked that much out already."
"I don't approve of the violence."
"I know. It's not working. Simon's tricked us into serving his ends twice now."
"And you killed innocent people in the process."
Kulko grunted noncommittally. "Look Ian, I'm no politician but I can read the signs. The economy is headed for a down-turn. Fuel prices are about to go even further through the roof and no one is prepared. The proposals to extend the American rationing system and have it replace the one you put in place elsewhere will cause widespread unrest. Simon's more secure than ever just now, but its not going to last long is it?"
"Maybe not."
"So it's time to come in out of the cold. I've never liked your policies, but you're the best chance we have to take Simon on at his own game and I'm out of other options."
Ian smiled ruefully. "So this is my sign from God? My old comrade and more recent enemy seeking my aid?"
Kulko grabbed Ian's wrist and with his free hand shook Ian's. "No sir, Commissioner" said Kulko. "I've got your sign right here."
Left in Ian's hands as Kulko stepped back was the former commissioner's old DHPD badge.
"Here's where I'm staying. Come find me, I'll buy you a beer or an orange juice, if you prefer, and we'll talk about what happens next."
Ant took a slow drag on his cigarette. They were hard to come by but he figured he needed the calming effect.
"I don't even know why I'm here," said a low voice.
He turned. For a moment he didn't recognise Sheva. Her hair was grey, where once there had been tight brown curls.
"'Cos you love me?" he suggested.
"Get over yourself Anton Weissenberg. You were good but not that good. It's not like you've got in touch any time since you did that bunk ten years ago."
"Things got complicated."
"International terrorism will do that. I should have you arrested."
"But you're not because I was such a good lover."
"I'm not because I trust you wouldn't get in touch without good reason. There are rumours that Ian Carlyle is back in play."
"And if he were?"
"Makes a difference to moderates. We've had a hard time keeping the military council from becoming too hard line. If Ian can organise some political pressure to back us up..." she tailed off and shrugged. "Emergency is long over. It's time that was recognised."
"They say General Chan is due to retire in a few years."
"Maybe."
"How many votes do you need on the council to get Commander in Chief?"
"Put me in touch with Carlyle Ant, and then we'll talk." Sheva reached out one hand and touched him lightly on the cheek, and then she was gone.
Gabby didn't usually watch the Super Bowl. But he was in Houston, and every bar in town was showing it, so he joined in, sipping weak American beer and feeling his brain melt as he watched the game unfold, frowning at the score occasionally, and wondering what it all meant. Then came what he would have called "half-time". The camera moved up to the massive 3D projection cube hanging over the pitch. Something was up. Gabby muted his music and turned up the TV's volume.
"Subjects of the Empire!" It was Ian's voice. "I am interrupting your enjoyment to open your eyes for a moment. Some of you may remember this." Simon's face floated in the cube, leaning on a lectern which read 'Global Presidential Acceptance Speech'. The blond man spoke, a false smile plastered across his face. "The Brankin administration promises a stay in office governed by honesty and loyalty to the people. We will bring safety to the world, and economic stability. We will feed the hungry. We will protect the weak. Thank you."
"Very big words!" Ian said mockingly. "Remember this?"
Simon again. "There is no popular uprising in Southern Africa! It's just terrorist propaganda to destabilise the regime!"
"And yet... look at this," Ian suggested. The screen was filled with images of desert warfare, government helicopters soaring over seething masses of angry people, their cannons tearing into the crowds. Tanks rolling into Harare and surrounding what had once been the presidential palace. Bomber planes levelling the slums that surrounded Cape Town. Gabe had seen these images before - they had been gathered by Andy and Anton. But the crowds at the Super Bowl reacted with horror. Ian had obviously got hold of some of the documentary-style 3D extrapolation algorithms, which fleshed out the images but made it clear what was actual footage and what was filled in. In some sense it made the images feel more real since the gap between real footage and computer trickery was so marked.
"Not pleasant is it? To discover you've been lied to. Well there's more. Economic stability, yes?" Ian shook his head sadly.
"The percentage of the world population below the poverty line is lower than ever, thanks to my policy of working for welfare!" Simon was insisting - a speech from ten years back. His face was replaced by images of an overwhelmed soup kitchen in Paris, actual 3D footage this time - there must have been cameras in the building. Then the cube flattened out to four separate screens to show 2D images of the food riots in downtown Chicago that had killed so many; the favelas in Sao Paulo, stretching from the outskirts of town to the state limits - it was estimated that more than 50% of the population of Sao Paulo state now lived in "improvised housing" as they called it.
"The press is free!"
Images of the Guardian headquarters in Manchester being taken by storm by Simon's elite police. Journalists emerging, their hands on their heads.
"So, tell me, people. Do you think this is a leader you can trust? Really?" Ian asked, a small smile on his face. "Remember that in the coming years - when the resistance take to the streets, consider joining them. Fight for what is right. Fight, so that our children may be governed by an honest leader!"
The screens went black as he said that. The authorities had finally intervened. But too late. Gabby grinned broadly. Around him, the bar was buzzing, and it was all outraged mutterings, fueled by alcohol. Gabby let his grin subside to a contented smirk, and ordered another beer. The resistance had just scored their first goal of the game. Or try. Or whatever the Americans called them.
Malton +55
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."
"Hey, Gabe."
"Anty?"
"Yes," Anton said gruffly, rolling his eyes at Gabby's nickname for him.
"How did you...?"
"Got in touch with Hali. You've been travelling, it's been difficult to find you."
"Well, I've been out of Brasil for too long," Gabby said ruefully, with a glance out at Copacabana beach.
"So, you're just being a beach-bum?"
"Playing guitar, doing odd-jobs. Sleeping wherever I find a bed."
"Regardless of the occupants of said bed, presumably."
"Oh yes. No fun in bed-hopping if the bed's empty." Gabby smirked. Anton sighed.
"So what brings you to these beautiful shores, Anty?"
"I've been looking for you, man. We need to talk."
"'Bout what?"
"You. What are you doing?"
"As I've explained, playing guitar, odd-jobs, frequent sex. Poor hygiene too," Gabby said proudly.
"That's it. So the great figurehead of the resistance has become... nothing?"
"As was decided by the resistance. Remember, I'm a liability? I was forced out, dude. I'm fucked if I'm going to go crawling back to those cunts."
"Hey - I'm one of those cunts, man. To be fair, you blew up the opposition."
"Yes, I'm aware of what happened. I was there," Gabby snapped.
Anton held up his hands.
"So. What would it take to get you back?"
"Back where?"
"Where we can find you, if needs be."
"You having trouble with something?"
"Contacting Tarrok is proving a bitch. He's been posted to Greenland and the whole place is in comms lockdown. The inuit have some hacker dude on their side who keeps locking horns with Hali and won't believe we're all on the same side. We're working on it."
"And you need me for this, why?"
"Well not really. We're just stalled so I thought I'd take some time out and track you down. See if you could be found."
"Well, you just did find me, so I guess that's that answered. I'm not completely disappearing when I travel."
"OK. Fine. I'll be straight with you. Bulldog's been agitating us to go and reel Cat in and keep her under our thumbs."
"That'll be popular. I thought she wanted out... and it's not like the two of you have ever got on."
Ant shrugged. "She's all right, I suppose, but I wouldn't want to rely on her in a tight spot. I don't like the way she takes up half of BD's attention worrying about her. Since we've been tied up waiting for Hali, he's got nothing better to do and it's driving me nuts. He wants her moving around with us."
"So?"
"I want you to go in there and stick with her, look after her, you know the deal."
"And this will reassure who?"
"Me. And Bulldog does trust you, on some level."
"Oh yeah. So I'm to be Cat's bodyguard? Presumably when she's not chucking frying pans at my face and calling me a little shit?" Something in Gabby's voice told Anton those remarks had been burning him since he had left.
"Well... she can't know that you're her guard. Pretend you've been searching for her to say sorry for that tantrum you threw when she said she was leaving."
"Who says I haven't?" Gabby said hollowly, looking away at the sea.
"Eh?"
"Well, you know, it would be cool if we just sort of bumped into each other, don't you think? Like fate or something."
One of the waiters strolled over, carrying a green, smooth coconut. While they watched, he hacked the top off with a machete, planted a straw in it, and handed it to Gabby. Anton waited until he had left until asking,
"Really? Wait... you're not seriously? Have you actually been looking for her?"
Gabby shrugged. "Well, yes and no. I've been keeping my eye out."
"Why exactly?"
"I dunno. Do you think Andy would hurt me too much if I dated Cat?"
"Dude. I don't even like her and I would fucking hurt you. We all know how fast you go through the chicks. And you two didn't exactly part on friendly terms. I was there. No, bad idea. Horrible idea. Forget I ever came to find you, man," Anton said wearily, turning to leave.
"No, wait. Anton, I always used to unload on you, back in Malton. Can I go again?"
Ant ran his hands through his hair. "You want to talk about you and Cat? Shouldn't you still be all cut up about Vicky getting remarried?"
"Well, yes, obviously I'm cut up about that but, you know, inevitable. I never really stood a chance. But I got kind of used to Cat being around you know. Didn't realise how much I'd missed her not being there until she was again, even when she was so depressed. Then she started to get better and things were getting back to how they should have been and then... well Beijing happened, she smashed a pan into my face, pretty much told me she hated me, and she's gone again."
"Listen. Do you love her?"
"Well, I don't know. She's gorgeous, and we've been friends for so long... so yeah, in a sense, I love her. But 'love her', 'marry her love her'?" Gabby paused, chewing his lip, "I don't know if I'll ever love anyone that way. Still... I dunno sometimes it feels like we've got close to, you know, something, and I just think we owe it to ourselves to see what comes of it."
"And you don't plan to fuck her and then leave as soon as you've gotten bored of the sex?" Anton said suspiciously.
"Well, no, at worst, I'll stay to look after her. What do you think I should do?"
"Me? I think you should stay far away from Cat. If I'd known you wanted to bed her I would never have come. The whole idea's poison."
Gabby's face fell. "I miss her Ant. I really do."
Ant sighed. "Look mate. I don't really know what to say. Go find her. Work your magic. We'll see. And you think about it some more. Keep thinking. Never forget that Cat is Cat, not some faceless slut in a seedy bar. I hope that'll keep you on the straight and narrow. If it doesn't... we'll see you soon, me, Bulldog, Justice and Betty," Anton said quietly.
"So you'll tell me where she is?" said Gabby hopefully.
Anton laughed. "No way! You'll have to find her on your own. Consider it the first test of how serious you are."
He left, patting Gabby on the shoulder. Gabby slumped back in his chair, sucking pensively on the straw.
Kulko burst into the meeting room. "I've got Hali on the line." He tapped his comms earpiece. "He says there's a lot of chatter on the security networks. He thinks we should split."
Ian glanced up from his paperwork and nodded. "I'm terribly sorry, your highness. But I'm sure you'll appreciate your safety is our primary concern."
Prince Faisal nodded and rose swiftly from his seat. His bodyguards closed in behind him. He bowed to Ian. "I look forward to continuing our interesting discussion another time."
Ian bowed in turn. "As do I. Your helicopter is on the roof, I believe. I suggest you hurry."
Kulko scowled at the prince's retreating back as he exited the room. "Any mention of his father?"
"Not at this stage. At the moment the entire negotiation is deniable as a prince gone rogue." Ian shrugged. "That's Saudi Arabia for you. Dealing with them hasn't changed much in fifty years."
A warning light on the desk started flashing. "That's reception," said Kulko. "There are security forces in the building."