Chapter 6
1699 Words
4
- 4 -
When Cat had finished, Paskia shook her head. The idea was madness. “You want to break into the Dome?”
Cat nodded. “Authority’s actions make no sense on the surface. They forcibly take over a Dome they already control, then arrange more warriors into attack positions. But we know Authority always has a purpose, and so we must endeavour to uncover their plans. My avenues of information are now limited, and it appears to me that our best source of data will come from within the Dome itself.”
Rodin tilted his head—and it worried Paskia that he was paying more attention now. After his apathy throughout the meeting, once Cat started on his ridiculous scheme Rodin perked up. His participation should have pleased her, but…but it was out of place.
“Use a gate?” Rodin said.
“Too risky. Even the unofficial ones are under surveillance. But there is another way.”
“So go,” Rodin said, waving a hand as if to dismiss the man. “Not like you need our permission.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Rodin rolled his eyes. “Course not. Using us again, right? More lies.”
“Have I ever uttered a falsehood to you?”
“Withholding information is lying by omission.”
“Or it’s freeing individuals up to concentrate on their required tasks without becoming distracted.”
Cat’s voice never rose above a conversational level, and his face displayed no aggression. But Rodin sat back now, and Paskia felt the anger rolling off him.
She reached forward. “This isn’t helping.” She let her hand rest on Rodin’s forearm, and although he flinched he didn’t pull it back. “Let’s hear him out.”
He glared. “You shouldn’t stick up for him. Not after what he did to you.”
It was his expression that made her want to laugh, the pout and the furrowed brow. “You mean taking me under his wing when you left me? You mean helping me survive in the districts?”
“He only did that so you’d work for him.”
“Oh, not this again! You’re acting like a child.”
Rodin’s jaw hardened, like his eyes, and for a moment Paskia saw how he could kill so easily, saw how he could be a monster. But the expression passed in a flash, and he shut his eyes, shook his head.
“Fine. Let him go back under the glass. Let him do whatever he wants to. Not like he listens to anyone else anyway.”
“I’ve been listening to your exchange with great interest,” Cat said.
As if that would calm the situation down!
As if that would calm the situation down!And Rodin sat upright. He opened his eyes as he took in a deep breath, stared at Cat. “Glad we amuse you.” he said.
“I never said I was amused. But let’s return to the matter in hand, shall we? As I implied, there is a way to enter the Dome without using the gates, but it’s tricky. It will require certain equipment, and the route will be dangerous.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Paskia fought the urge to kick Rodin under the table. But Cat smiled and continued.
“Naturally, I put myself forward for this mission—I’m sure neither of you has any complaint about that. However, there is one aspect of the route that is beyond me. I will, regrettably, require some assistance.”
“We’ll do whatever we can to help,” Paskia said. “The warriors have been training others. If you need fighters, we can supply them.”
Cat shook his head. “Blunt force will not be our tool of choice. Much like Rodin’s initial contract on Leopold, this is something that requires a far more subtle approach. I require the assistance of someone with particular advantages, as well as someone who will not stand out within the Dome itself.”
Paskia shook her head, knew Rodin would never agree. She’d only convinced him to attend the original meeting after badgering him for half an hour, promised he wouldn’t have to say anything. And she only did that because Cat insisted Rodin be in the room.
Rodin could join the dots. He’d see Paskia as complicit in Cat’s scheming.
He shot her a sharp look, jaw set firm. But there was a grimace too, and his hand rested on his stomach again.
He turned to Cat. His shoulders rose, then fell.
“I’m intrigued,” he said in a quiet voice.
“What?”
He turned to her and shrugged. “You wanted me to hear him out.”
“Fine. But you can’t volunteer for this.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“You can’t! Ellya told you to rest.”
“She isn’t my boss.”
So that was it. Rodin was restless again, and he wanted to rebel. He’d never liked Ellya anyway.
So that was it“No,” she said, as calmly as she could, even though there was no way to keep the sarcasm from her voice. “The only one who decided what Rodin does is Rodin himself. Doesn’t matter that you were almost killed by a warrior. Doesn’t matter that you’re in no condition to even set foot outside this facility. Rodin’s got itchy feet, so he has to get moving.”
“I need to be useful,” he said, his voice flat.
“You can be useful here. People listen to you. They respect your opinion.”
“You’re repeating yourself.”
“What?”
“Tried that one on me before. Or maybe it was Vanya. Said people looked up to me. You were wrong then, and you’re wrong now. They might be scared of me, but that’s it. And what the hell do I know about running a b****y Factory?”
“You know about defending against warriors.”
“Worked out to the west, didn’t it?”
Paskia almost choked. “Are you serious? You pulled everyone together! Us, Dephloren’s people, Borinoff’s.”
“And they were slaughtered.”
“That wasn’t your fault. You know what the b****y warriors are like!”
But his expression changed. He held Paskia’s eyes, but there was a softening in his face. Nothing much, and she almost missed it. His mouth twitched, and his throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“I can’t stay cooped up down here.” And now, there was a pleading edge to his voice.
“You can help me,” she said, reaching a hand out again. Rodin pulled his arm back. “In the district. You could run surveillance missions. You don’t have to go back into the Dome. Not now, when…when it’s so much more dangerous.”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” he said. “Not in any condition for fighting, so I’ll keep a low profile. I managed it before, right?”
How could she forget?
“Much as I can’t stand this man,” he said, waving an arm at Cat, “he’s talking sense. Can’t let emotions get in the way of what needs to be done.”
She swallowed, and nodded. “Fine.” It was far from fine. “Don’t understand why you want to go back under the glass, though.”
Rodin sighed, and his lips twitched. They were cracked, she noticed, and surrounded by stubble—he hadn’t shaved in a few days now. She wasn’t sure if that was a sign of neglect, or something else.
“Unfinished business,” he said.
Paskia frowned. Rodin shook his head, looked back at Cat. As if that was the end of their conversation.
“You still think you can pass as a resident?” Cat asked.
“They have warriors in there now. Things aren’t the same anymore.”
“Quite. There’s no telling what might be waiting.”
“If we can get in.”
And, with those five words, Paskia knew Rodin had shut out any arguments. Like a fool, he was disappearing again.
“Ah, yes,” Cat said. “The route in. While I still have certain access to systems, I’ve already said that the gates are too risky. But the glass is not a vacuum. The glass might be strong, but air and especially water still need to enter the Dome.”
Rodin raised his eyebrows. “Don’t fancy going into one of those sewers again.”
“The so-called rivers from the districts?” Cat shook his head. “The water passes through fine grilles and filtration tanks—there’s no way a person could gain access. Likewise, where the great river enters to the west, the water is filtered as it runs through a whole tangle of pipes. But what goes in must come out, yes?” He sat back. “You’re familiar with the estuary, I believe.”
“He’s only been there once,” Paskia said. “And only survived because of Vanya and the others. Isn’t that right? Your ship was attacked, and the warriors defended it. And even before that, you needed Vanya’s contacts to get a boat.”
Rodin nodded, but he didn’t turn to look at her, kept his eyes on Cat. “I’m familiar with the estuary. You?”
Cat shrugged. “In all my travels, that’s one area I’ve never visited. But I understand that the crews are hard to convince.”
“They’re open to bartering. Easy to take something they’d appreciate from the Factory.”
“They have a reluctance to work for strangers, I believe. But one who has proved his worth to them…well, they might listen to someone like that.”
The words made little sense to Paskia. But Rodin nodded, and continued to hold Cat’s gaze. And she knew he was leaving her again, with no guarantee that he would be back.
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