Page 53 of Xerxes Ascendant
Kyle fidgeted on the chair, not enjoying being the only one tied up when the remainder of the room roamed free, yet not sharing Akira’s impressive lockpicking skills meant he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“The Coterie is aware, I expect,” Sinead began, “of the thousands of people who went missing in the weeks prior to the Fall?”
Kyle had only known of one: Aleisha, the sister of one of the House Epsilon staff members. According to Ben, the career Diver had been kidnapped on her return to the city, and no one had seen her since.
Wait, no. There had been others. Bensen’s supervisor had vanished too, Kyle recalled, and it was the abrupt absence of several key Xerxian Engineers that had given Indira her promotion. And then there had been Vin’s sudden disappearance...
Akira didn’t so much as blink, not bothering to acknowledge what the Coterie was or was not aware of. But Sinead didn’t seem to need nor expect an answer, merely massaging her throat accusingly before flicking her fingers to order her men back into their places. Sheathing their guns, the pair didn’t take their eyes from Akira, wisely identifying him as the real threat in the room.
“Our estimations gauge around ten thousand people were abducted,” the Carrion leader continued, “all chosen for their skills in critical fields. Medicine. Engineering. Diving. Cellular agriculture. Specialisations and professions necessary for the sustaining of a population...a substantiallyreducedpopulation.”
Kyle’s breath caught as he grasped the implications. “You’re saying...you’re saying Mayor Mackenroth was behind the disappearances, too?”
Fuck that guy.
Sinead inclined her head. “In preparation for casting off Xerxes’ lower levels to the Earth, Mackenroth was plucking diamonds from our garbage heap. The surface may be many things, but it is not equipped with an abundance of capable workers or industry expertise, so he knew he’d need Lowers to keep his diminished city functional.” She gave a humourless smirk. “It seems the irony was lost on the pompous ass.”
“Is this mere speculation?” Akira’s voice was sharp and Kyle saw Sinead’s expression transform into affront.
It may have sounded accusatory, but he knew it was just Akira’s way; he could come across as sceptical or overly oppositional when in fact the opposite was true. The man was just processing what they’d been told, and didn’t want to commit to a conclusion until he had all the facts – but it didn’t mean he disbelieved it. The more distant he sounded about something, generally the more emotionally invested he was.
“It’s only a question,” said Kyle quickly, sensing the gang leader was about to issue more threats – and maybe this time follow through on them. “We were just wondering how you’d managed to put it all together when it’s been a complete mystery to everyone else.”
There. Flattery, combined with a broad and comforting smile, worked wonders.
Sinead’s posture relaxed. “The Carrion managed to establish contact with some of those who were taken,” she admitted. “They’re being held in a city block on the surface’s northern side, with armed guards keeping them contained.”
“They’re all alive?” Kyle asked, scarcely daring to hope.
“We’re unable to verify exact numbers, but it seems so. The surface was largely undamaged by the Fall, as was Mackenroth’s intention, so other than for occasional executions to keep the rest of them in line, we understand the group are unharmed.”
Occasional executions.It was spoken so blithely, like the fear of being marched against a wall and shot was really nothing to get upset about.
Kyle supposed that when you were the head of a criminal organisation and risked being murdered at any moment for your bloody crown, it might seem that way to Sinead Gallagher. He hoped he could never be that callous.
Even Akira, who liked to pretend he was, was squeezing Kyle’s shoulder so hard that his fingernails were biting into his skin beneath his shirt.
“Why do you even care?” Akira asked coldly. When Sinead visibly flinched, he hummed a soft sound of recognition. “Ah. Your wife.”
The two Carrion guards were shooed out of the room so quickly that Kyle barely had time to blink. Sinead threw the door closed behind them and turned to face her captives with a frosty glare that was as fake as any of Akira’s, for it was undermined by the anguish in her eyes.
“Benedict Mackenroth took Marlene?” prompted Akira, when she failed to speak. “Does he know what she is to you, or...?”
Shaking her head, Sinead clenched her fingers as if imagining wrapping them around someone’s neck. “No, it doesn’t seem so. I believe Marlene was instead chosen forher...unique scientific knowledge of chemical compounds in less orthodox substances.”
Kyle frowned. “Do you mean she manufactures drugs for your gang-”
“Kyle,” admonished Akira. “You heard the woman. Marlene is ascientist.”
“Right,” Kyle quickly agreed, realising it had been his turn to misspeak and feeling a rush of fondness for how well he and Akira complemented each other. They were both fuck ups, butoppositefuck ups. Akira had fewer social graces than a teaspoon, and Kyle would reluctantly admit – especially after his littlethe-Carrion-hacked-your-runepadrevelation earlier – that he wasn’t the best at acting appropriately...uh, wary.
“...and you’re going to help me free them all,” Sinead was saying to his boss, and Kyle blinked. A big bad gang leader known for murder, exploitation, and organ trafficking...willing to play superhero by rescuing thousands of victims?
See,thiswas why Kyle was the way he was. People liked to pleasantly surprise you, given the opportunity. There was always good in them somewhere.
“We can take out the guards, but there’s a security grid in place around the city block that can only be disarmed from one place,” she continued, now looking a little grim. “The Rise.”
“The mayoral office,” Akira said.
