Beluga Fay (Dragon Bone Hill) (26 page)

“But our number...” Bannly began.

“Losers! I’m sorry, but we’ve been gathering into our bosom every failure about the city that hasn’t been exiled to the Hill. Many of them came to us because they feared that would be the city’s next move.” More silence, which Titus took to mean they agreed with him.

“Your solution to our problem of being surrounded and undermanned is radical.” Bannly again.

“No one would agree with it,” Synon answered.

“Not now—what I am proposing is not an alliance, but a first contact. Setting some groundwork for a future negotiation when—or if—it becomes necessary.”

“I don’t know.” Synon was obviously hesitating, perhaps waiting to see how Bannly would fall.

“Blacklisting,” Pym continued encouraged by the prevarication, “was a bad idea. All Salazar has managed to do by sealing off the district is create a bigger problem for himself and the city.”

“What do you mean?” though Synon sounded as if she knew what Pym was thinking.

“I mean, if you do that and give them no option but to turn into wild, hardly human creatures, that sort of thing never ends well. We have an opportunity to take a first step in reaching out and making contact with a group that has known nothing but hatred and violence. If we can get them on our side, we might not only be able to take over the city—but we might be able to use them to get out of the city.” This had not occurred to him until he said it, but now he was warming to the idea.

“You’re getting pretty far ahead of yourself.” Bannly, though objecting, appeared to be warming to the idea.

“But it is a possibility,” Synon offered hopefully. Everyone that Pym had met since entering the city had wanted out of it. To date, all he had offered was a way for them to survive, but now he was suggesting there was a way through the gates. It was an extreme remedy, but it was one no one else had offered.

Not even Lander had been brash, or mad, enough to suggest such a plan. For the remainder of the trip, Synon and Bannly offered obstacles, then all set about overcoming these. Whatever else they might have disagreed about, all three agreed that this would have to be kept amongst the three of them until the city got much worse and they had a working relationship with Dragon Bone Hill in place.

There was still the occasional police and militia presence to deal with, especially since Solomon’s murder, but both Titus and Glenna were back in the Timog apartment. Neither had been able to come up with a better place to live where they’d not be bothered. How much longer Timog would be viable was an open question—even when they stashed their cars a few blocks away. More and more Pym was using a horse. Getting one of these raised fewer eyebrows back at the warehouse than did a car—even the few electric jobbies they’d kicking about. Lander and his crew, even after the success with the markets and the excursion to the North, were still pushing back against Pym’s command. For the most part, the Fay was no longer listening. But it would only require one significant setback and Lander’s star would again be poised to eclipse his own. Titus wanted out—badly; needed out—badly. Glenna and her crew seemed his best chance. How real that chance was, was another matter.

“Why do you care so much?” Glenna asked, sitting at the kitchen table in a silk bathrobe she’d put on once they’d finished in the bedroom. It had been awhile since they’d seen each other. Pym wanted to be careful in answering this question. He trusted Glenna when their agendas seemed in sync—
almost
trusted her. However, in the case of the Beluga Fay, they were at odds, and he needed to make certain she believed he was just maintaining his cover with the Fay until Colonel Torres cleared them. Neither put much faith in Tomás after Pym’s last meeting at the Wall.

“It’s not a matter of caring.”

“Then what is it a matter of?” her voice sharp and suspicious.

It was apparent to Titus that Glenna was about as trusting of him as he was of her. Each seemed ready for whatever curve the other threw them—perhaps over prepared. “While we are still here,” Pym thought he ought to throw the collective in there, “it will be necessary to maintain appearances. Tell me you are not doing that in Makati?”

“Don’t turn this back on me—if
we
,” he didn’t like the English she threw down on that, “are getting out, why do you bother to deal with the politics of the Fay at all?”

“If I do not, then Lander will take the Fay, and I wouldn’t last a day out of power.”

“Move in here full-time.”

“Not that simple. If I disappear from the Fay and the warehouse, Lander would have his crew, and anyone else attempting to curry favor, after me. With the resources at his disposal, he’d find me in no time. Then, of course, there is everyone else I’ve pissed off—Salazar, your father, the Cartel, and anyone else out there looking for me.” He didn’t want to go into what he’d run up against on the Beluga Fay or in the fish markets. These no one knew about, or at least not what they were really about, and he preferred to keep it that way.

“If we’re almost ready to leave...”

“There’s,” he interrupted, “no way to be certain what schedule Torres and the Wall are working off of. Soon for them may be a lifetime for us—me, specifically.”

She didn’t look convinced or happy with the answer as she played with the cup of mint tea in front of her. “When,” her voice tight and twisting her cup, “are we getting out?”

Pushing off from the sink where he’d been leaning desultorily staring into his own cup of tea, Titus sat across from Glenna. “That is not under my control.”

“Things are getting iffy in Makati.”

“In what way?”

“Father’s position has become precarious, and Chrislann’s business is even shakier.”

“What has happened?” He needed Glenna to believe he felt for her but wasn’t certain whether or not he was pulling this off.

Sighing, the woman continued turning the cup for a moment; then looked up, brushing back her long, black hair. “No one thing, but the government is under assault from every quarter in the city. However,” he knew this was coming straight for him, “since you’ve taken over the southern fish markets,” these were not the only ones in the city, but they were the major source of seafood, “the rest of the city has been strangled for food. Agriculture is not making up the difference, and you have not allowed anyone else access to the markets. As a result, starvation is being felt by the Cartel and all districts of the city—even Makati is experiencing shortages.”

“I had to feed the Fay and everyone that works for us—sorry.” He wasn’t, but this had to be said. Secretly he wasn’t upset by Salazar’s suffering, but he should have known it wouldn’t be a direct shot to personal Armageddon. On the way down, Henry was likely to take a lot of people with him.

Even before his demise, it would be likely that he would destroy all those he thought might be responsible for it. In all likelihood, Salazar would want to shift the blame to others in order to stretch out his tenure a few more months, weeks, days, or hours. What the Governor hoped to do with the time was unclear—Pym supposed they were hoping for a miracle or support from the Federals. But with the city sealed off from land and sea, there seemed little chance of that. Who’d want to enter a plague city with no chance of exit until it was over? As things were going, what would the chances be of anyone walking out of the city at the end of the Sweats? Bad to nonexistent, if what Titus had seen to date was anything to go by.

Slowly he came to realize he was being intently stared at. Looking up, he gave her a blank expression, not wanting to inspire an outburst—since it appeared she was looking for an excuse. Instead, the woman sighed and looked back down at the cup and table.

“I’m trying to stay out of the way as much as possible, but father and Chrislann are making that very difficult. If we don’t get out soon, I’m fearful of what Chrislann may do or say to save himself.”

“What’s going on with him?”

“His,
our
, company is being investigated for black economy activities and for trading with enemies of the State.”

“Enemies of the State—treason?”

“Yes. They’ve nothing conclusive, but that is no longer necessary. Suspicion is equal to guilt, and with the state of emergency, the Governor has been given sweeping powers. It is possible that my entire family could be expelled.”

“From Makati?”

Glenna shook her head without looking up. “To the Hill.”

There was a quiet fear in her voice that corkscrewed up the man’s spine. His situation was delicate at this point. The woman had just told him they were to be sent to a leper colony, and it may be all his fault. “Before that happens you should join me.”

“All of us?”

“Your brother, certainly.”

“What of father?”

“He’s too dangerous—the risk is, he may turn me in hoping to curry favor with Salazar.”

“I understand—but we’re not there yet.” They were very close, though, and this worried Pym.

This news represented a shift in goals and an exposure to danger her family had never known. Certainly she would want to pursue escape more than ever, and that was a good thing, but if this did not materialize soon, she would surrender him to Salazar in hope of maintaining her family’s position in Makati—even if the enclave was now more vulnerable than ever. “Then,” he spoke quietly, needing Glenna to believe him, “I will have to light a fire under Torres.” She smiled up hopefully, but Titus knew this was at best a short reprieve—the first serious shock from the Governor and he’d be offered up to her fear. “For now, let’s get some lunch.”

“Let me get a shower, first.”

The choice had been Glenna’s, but it gave Titus no peace—even with her reassurances. It was a nice place, but it was only a few blocks south of Makati and, thus, heavily patrolled by the police/militia columns. It had reached the point that Titus no longer could distinguish between police, military, militia, and Cartel forces. The amorphic mass appeared to suggest a metaphor for what was happening in the city generally and with the classes specifically. At the moment, however, he was more worried about being noticed for what he was. Though it was true, as far as he knew, he was unknown by appearance to the government and their troops. This seemed a foolish risk when alone and with a woman that he could no longer trust—not until he proved he could fulfill on his promises.

“Are you certain of this place?” rubbing a hand across the brilliant starched linen tablecloth.

“You’re perfectly safe with me.”

He looked askance at the woman, and she smiled at him. “You are, but maybe you know how I feel whenever I’m more than a kilometer away from Makati—especially in Timog.”

“Yes, but you’ve been making threatening comments.” Looking up, there appeared to be shock on Glenna’s face, but he’d seen how many faces she’d offered the public to believe this one.

“When did I do that—what I shared with you is how dangerous it has become for my family.”

“Bringing me here is as good as a threat.” She looked back down at her menu and smiled. He was not to have noticed the smile, but it was there.

“Look at the menu, what do you see?” Glenna spoke without looking up.

He did and sighed. “A lot of cancelled meals.”

“All of them seafood.”

“Yes, well I told you why.” He was glad she’d had them moved away from the rest of the lunch crowd—he supposed the restaurant and most in Makati had not learned of the investigation of her family’s business and maybe her father’s fitness for a Cabinet position. A part of him wondered if any of it was true. This had not occurred to Pym until now, and he tried to keep the observation to himself for fear of alerting Glenna to an opinion that may not work in his favor—if anything from this moment could work in his favor.

“It will help you understand my position if you see this sort of thing is having a devastating impact on the psychology and wellbeing of the elites.”

“Breaks the heart.” Titus didn’t bother to keep the cynicism from his voice.

“Of things which are not helpful, to either of us, that attitude is first.”

“What do you expect? There are people in this city who are really starving—many of whom have lost their lives to hunger or a disease, which was a direct byproduct of their starvation.”