Council of Peacocks (10 page)

David stared at the garbage can. “So you’re
saying someone tracked her down and did this to her. That’s the
reason you guys are not allowed out of the building?”

“Sort of,” Amy kept her eyes focused on her
doll. “But we weren’t allowed out much before that, either.”

“Don’t say anything else, Amy. You know you
really do talk too much. We should get back to our rooms. We have
studying to do. Just don’t go out on your own. Bad things could
happen and I haven’t decided whether I want you dead or not
yet.”

After they left, David changed into jogging
pants and sat on the sofa. He looked out over the city for a long
time.

In the morning, he woke screaming and covered
in sweat. This nightmare was even worse than usual. He tried to
forget the crawling, scaly things from his dream. But he failed. He
looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was 5:30. He threw
off the few corners of the sheets still clinging to his body and
pushed himself to his feet.

He looked out the window and surveyed the
streets of Toronto. From thirteen stories up, he could still make
out the people below. A group of people his own age staggered and
swerved down the sidewalk. It took him several minutes to remember
what day it was. Saturday morning. They were probably students out
all night dancing and drinking, coming home after an early
breakfast. In another life that would have been him.

***

Elaine walked into Wisdom’s office and sank
to the floor, her back against the wall and her feet on the
floor.

“Rough night?” Wisdom asked. He sat behind
his desk pouring a glass of scotch.

“
It always is,
Wisdom.” She cracked her knuckles and rubbed the soreness out of
her trigger fingers.

“
I don’t need to
ask, do I?”

She looked up then.
“Of course you don’t need to ask. They’re dead. It was just…messy.
There were a few civilians. A mother and
child.”

“
It’s not the first
time you’ve shot a mother, Elaine. Your conscience confuses me.
Those men killed Madeline. So when do you
stop?”

“
When you say we’re
done.”

Wisdom smiled. “Not
the killing, the self-flagellation.”

“
I think only your
kind can do that. I’m still…”

“
Still human? Well,
yes. I guess you are. I could change that for you, you know? One of
these days you will take me up on the offer.”

Elaine shook her
head. “Not yet. Maybe when I get old. For now it’s too much to give
up.”

Wisdom laughed
softly. “I do love you, Elaine. Just don’t tell Echo I said so.
Well, I won’t keep you. You should get a few hours' sleep while you
can. This may be the last moment of peace you know in this life.
This will be our last night here.”

“Hallelujah. I’ve never liked Toronto. Too
many homeless people. It just depresses me.”

“London has just as many homeless,” Wisdom
said. “Do you think your dislike of Toronto might have something to
do with a certain blond-haired man who died here?”

“That was a long time ago.” Elaine went
silent for a moment and leaned her head back against the wall. Then
she pushed herself to her feet. “
It’s
starting soon, isn’t it?”

“Yes. In a few hours.”

“Are you sure you can still trust Echo?”
Elaine’s face was blank. There was something in the vacancy of her
eyes that clearly showed disappointment. “She could turn the
Anomalies over to Propates. You did say she was unpredictable.”

“Unpredictable, not stupid.” Wisdom drank the
rest of his scotch. “She’ll be here just in time.”

Elaine dropped her
shoulders and scratched her hair. “I don’t know if I’m ready for
this, Wisdom.”

“
Believe me,”
Wisdom said. “When the time comes, you’ll be
ready.”

***

At 6:58 a.m. there was a knock at David’s
door. He looked away from the mirror where he had been attempting
to straighten his hair. He was about to say “Come in” when Garnet
entered. She was dressed in a tight black pantsuit with a red top
underneath. He started to admire the way she looked but stopped the
thought before it was fully formed. Around here it was hard to tell
who was listening.

“You’re up? Good. Ready for class?”

David looked back into the mirror and ran a
palm over the stubble on his chin. “Do you think I need to
shave?”

She tilted her head to the left and studied
him. “No. You’re good. You know, there’s a whole closet full of
clothes over there. Are you sure you want to wear that?”

“What’s wrong with this?” David wore a clean
pair of blue jeans and a bright orange Roots shirt. The shirt hung
loosely over his trim body and made his shoulders look bigger than
they truly were.

“Nothing. If you were going to bingo. People
around here usually dress for class. There are suits in there.
Expensive ones.”

“I’m not here for my fashion sense. And
speaking of fashion, isn’t that jacket a bit tight?”

“No, it is exactly tight enough.” David
followed her out into the hallway. “Here, take this.” She passed
him a CIBC bank card and, after David locked his room, she walked
down the hallway toward a set of elevators.

“You’re not paid like most jobs on a weekly
basis. In addition to your hiring bonus, Wisdom put $10,000 into
this account. The PIN number is 1993, the year you were born,
right? You won’t have many expenses. You pay no rent and food is
included, of course. I’m sure one of the others already told you we
don’t encourage you to go off on your own. There are scheduled
outings, though. Spend away on those. Some of the employees send
money home to their families.”

“I won’t be doing that.” They stopped at the
elevators and he felt her eyes on him. “So when do I find out what
I do?”

“Do?”

“Yes, do. As a job?” The elevator doors
opened and Garnet stepped inside.

Garnet looked at him sideways and frowned.
“Wisdom will go into that later. For now, just go to class. They’ll
show you all sorts of fun things. Get you ready for your… job.
Don’t worry. As the letter said, Wisdom has a very specific need
for people with your talents. He is willing to pay extremely well
for your services.”

“It doesn’t involve killing people, does
it?”

“Focus on your classes, Mr. Ross.” She turned
fully toward him, looked at him from crotch to face. No matter how
cute you are with those bright green eyes and full lips, you’re
still a boy to me. A little boy with a head full of big ideas.”

“You think I’m cute?”

Garnet pressed her lips together but said
nothing.

The elevator doors opened. Once again, David
saw a reception area filled with dozens of people. Wisdom stood
there in a three-button suit. Like yesterday, it was blood red,
however, the cut was completely different. Wisdom shook his head
and looked at the ground.

“Leave the boy alone, Garnet.” Wisdom handed
a file folder to a woman behind the reception desk and signed
several forms another man placed in front of him. “I need you in
the Communication’s room. Elaine has something for you. Come,
David. I’ll show you around and make some introductions.”

“Do you own this building?” David walked
side-by-side with Wisdom. “The whole building?”

Wisdom nodded and laughed. “Kind of hard to
have a few secret floors in a building you don’t own, Mr. Ross.
Yes, I own the building and a few others in this city, as a matter
of fact. I also have several more around the world. It helps to
diversify a little in my line of work. But we’ll get to that later.
I’ve rented out the rest of the building: a few of the smaller
banks, some lawyers and accountants, things of that nature. Helps
fund certain projects and investments.”

“What kind of projects?”

Wisdom looked over at him and raised an
eyebrow.

“What? You mean like me? What am I, a project
or an investment?”

“Definitely an investment. One I hope will
pay off well in the end. I see you decided to wear your own
clothes. Interesting. You were given several thousand dollars'
worth of outfits, yet still you wear that. Why?”

“Is this a test?” Instinctively, David
covered his chest.

“Test, test, test. Everything in this life is
a test, my young Padawan. Do you like
Star Wars
? Of course
you do. Everyone likes
Star Wars
. I’m not trying to lead you
to the Dark Side, David, and I’m nearly positive I’m not your
father. I’m just curious about your motives. Help me understand
you. Why did you choose your own clothes over the ones you’d been
given?”

David moved out of the way of two Chinese men
in nearly identical suits. They were deeply involved in some
conversation about an offshore project. They barely took the time
to nod a hello to Wisdom.

“It wasn’t a big conscious decision, you
know. Not like I’m trying to rebel or something. I just know these
clothes. Not that I’m not grateful and all, it’s just….”

“Ah. You’re wondering what the catch is.
Smart boy. Always be careful of the catch. Luckily, in your case,
I’m not going to try to pervert you or turn you into something that
you’re not.”

David bit the inside of his lip. “With all
due respect, sir, what am I doing here?”

“The answer is complicated. I could tell you
that you’ll be taking part in an epic battle that I’ve personally
fought for the last sixty years. And while that’s true, it really
doesn’t answer your question. There are bad men out there, Mr.
Ross, very bad men doing very bad things. No one is standing up to
stop them. Most people, the law of the world, wouldn’t be able to
stop them. I can.”

“With my help?”

Wisdom nodded. “You and a few others. You’ve
already met three of them. I found Jessica in California, Amy in
Australia and Garnet in Vancouver.”

“There are six in your class. You’ll meet
them in a few moments. You come from all over the world with
seemingly nothing to tie you together. But your talents bind you in
a very real and incomparable way. Unlike you, David, I know the
hows and whys of who and what you are. When you’re ready, I’ll tell
you.”

“What if I said I was ready now?”

“Then you would be wrong. That knowledge will
come when you’re ready to accept what I have to tell you. There is
nothing more dangerous than too much knowledge in untrained minds.
You’re not ready yet and telling you could make my investment in
you completely useless.”

David decided he did not like being referred
to as an investment. It made him feel less than human. Still, he
didn’t have much choice. Wisdom was hiding him from the police. If
he left, eventually they’d catch up with him. This was also his
best chance to discover why he could do the things he could.

“You said you’d found 48 of us. Does that
include Madeline?”

Wisdom jerked his head back. The lights
flickered and dimmed. “Something new,” he said. “No. It does not
include her. It would be best if you don’t speak about Madeline. It
will upset the others. When you’re ready – and I will tell you when
you are ready – I’ll let you know all about where you come from. If
you wish, I’ll even tell you about Madeline. But for now, you’re
late for class.”

Wisdom walked toward a set of glass doors
that opened as he got close to them. There were only a few people
on this side of the doors. The first, a boy with light brown hair,
sat on his feet. He looked to be about fourteen years old wearing a
navy blue suit with a red tie and running shoes. He hit his head
into the wall behind him repeatedly, not with a lot of strength but
enough to make it look painful.

Wisdom leaned toward David and lowered his
voice slightly. “That’s Jared, one of your classmates. Since he’s
so busy, I think we’ll leave the introductions for later. Don’t
worry, he’s not troubled. A bit of a drama queen poseur if you ask
me.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

Jared stopped banging his head against the
wall and looked up at them as they walked by. He stuck his tongue
out at David, an act that made him look younger than he really was.
After they passed him, Wisdom said: “I believe he’s upset with the
mark he was given on his last assignment. I see from the look on
your face that it shocks you. What shocks you more, that we have
tests or that he acts like a normal kid?”

David looked back over his shoulder.

Jared was still sticking his tongue out at
him.

“I hate tests. What happens if we fail?”

Wisdom put a hand on David’s shoulder, his
touch surprisingly warm. “No one fails these classes. If you don’t
perform as well as your instructors expect, you simply keep doing
the assignment over and over until you’ve mastered it. It’s more
like karate class. There are levels. Jared is currently stuck at
Level Three. He’s been there for several months now, and I think
it’s bruising his pride. He came to us at the same time as Amy but
she has progressed to Level Six. You, of course, will start at the
bottom. Level One. From what I know of your experiences in Nova
Scotia – and don’t ask me how I know – you should progress to Level
Two by month’s end. Ah, and here are the last two members of your
class. David, I would like you to meet Bethany and Todd.

The woman, Bethany, nodded and gave a little
wave. From the wrinkles and weight on her face, David guessed she
was in her early 50’s. She had short, graying hair cut just above
her ears, and calm brown eyes. She was actually knitting – like
some sort of stereotypical grandmother figure. The younger man,
Todd, read from a stack of papers gathered in a manila folder. He
was a slightly overweight man not much older than David. He had
short brown hair, smooth skin and a bright smile peeking out from
his dark brown goatee.