Chapter 44 Chapter 44: The Thinkers
I left the room with a bitter taste in my mouth. None of this was my fault, I didn’t create this madness, this so-called New Eden. Yes, everyone I care about dies, but is that because of me?
“Tilly!”
Nina rushed toward me, wrapping me in a crushing, bear-like hug. No, not her. I couldn’t let her be next.
“Nina, I need to speak with your father. Now.”
She pulled back, eyes flickering with hurt. “Are you okay? What did Mum say to you? Are you, are you dying or something?” Her voice wavered.
“No, nothing like that. I just need to talk to him.”
She hesitated, then sighed. “He’s still in the meeting with the Thinkers.” A flicker of embarrassment crossed her face before her usual grin returned. “But I have an idea, follow me!”
She took off, darting through the crowded street toward another building. Inside, the place looked like a hybrid of a schoolroom and a science lab.
“This is the physics lab, my old classroom. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid,” she said, dragging me past workbenches and equipment to a door marked MAINTENANCE ONLY.
The room beyond was cramped, lined with dusty shelves and forgotten boxes. Nina didn’t hesitate. “We have to climb up here,” she said, scaling one of the shelves and pushing open a hidden hatch in the ceiling. “Stay quiet and don’t worry, I’ve done this a thousand times.”
We slipped into the darkness of the attic. The hatch clicked shut behind us, sealing us in black silence.
When my eyes finally adjusted, I could make out the ceiling rafters, the insulation stuffed between them, and the tangled web of wires and pipes snaking overhead. There was enough space to stand, but crawling kept our weight spread across the beams. Nina took the lead, and I followed in silence.
After twenty meters, she stopped, peering through a small hole that let in light from the room below. At first, all I heard was a muffled hum of voices, indistinct chatter. But as I focused, the sounds sharpened into words, then full sentences. Nina motioned for me to look. I leaned in, and suddenly, the world below came into horrifying clarity.
Niels’s voice: “Jonas, my dear friend, we’ve made a mistake. The city is in chaos. The riots are already cutting off supplies.”
Another voice, Jonas, perhaps: “True, Niels. But the system has worked until now. We’ve run the numbers a hundred times. For three generations, we’ve balanced politics, greed, religion, and necessity.”
A third voice cut in: “The idea of merging the Mayor and Sheriff roles was doomed. That man, Charles, has grown too powerful.”
A fourth: “Paul is right. We need to eliminate Charles.”
Paul, if that was him, added, “Adam and I disagree on many things, but here, I must concur.”
Jonas sighed. “Killing him would create a vacuum. We need a new Mayor, or Sheriff.”
Niels spoke again. “Nate would be perfect as Sheriff. The Sectors trust him.”
Adam chimed in. “But he can’t be Mayor. We need someone weaker; someone we can control.”
Nate cleared his throat. “If I may…” The others nodded. “Guy has the church’s backing, but he’s easily swayed.”
My stomach twisted. I hadn’t told Nate what Guy had done to me.
Niels sounded pleased. “Excellent. But first, we remove Charles, clear Nate’s name, no easy task while he holds so much power.”
Paul’s voice was urgent. “We must act fast. Before the Overseers intervene and replace us.”
Adam agreed. “Speed is essential.”
Jonas laid it out. “Fine. We kill Charles, exonerate Nate, make him Sheriff, and install Guy as Mayor.”
Paul hesitated. “Killing Charles won’t be simple.”
Then Niels asked the question that turned my blood cold. “And the girl, Tilly?”
Jonas scoffed. “She’s nobody. No one would miss her. Just end her.”
My muscles tensed. I needed to get out of here.
Niels disagreed. “No. She must live. I owe her that much.”
Jonas dismissed it. “She’s worthless.”
Nate interrupted. “If I may…” They nodded. “I know Tilly. She has a unique skill set. Used correctly, she could be a powerful weapon.”
Niels agreed. “By all accounts, she’s a skilled assassin.”
Paul sounded doubtful. “How do we know we can trust her?”
Adam smirked. “If she kills Charles, we’ll have leverage over her.”
Paul and Niels murmured agreement.
Jonas scoffed. “How do we know she’s even capable? Her reputation is just hearsay.”
That was enough. They’d either kill me or force me to prove myself. I glanced at Nina, her face was pale, her eyes wide with panic. Slowly, I stood, testing the beams. Then, before she could stop me, I pulled out my knife and jumped.
The ceiling shattered. Plaster and dust exploded as I landed behind Jonas in a crouch. Before anyone could react, I yanked his head back and pressed the cold steel of my blade to his throat.
The room fell dead silent.
Nate was the first to speak. “Tilly…don’t.”
The others sat frozen.
I tightened my grip. “Jonas,” I hissed, “you doubt my skills as an assassin?” A thin trickle of blood ran down his throat.
Niels forced a chuckle. “Now, Tilly, there’s no need for that. You’re among friends.” The others nodded frantically.
I didn’t lower the knife. “So, it’s decided? Nate becomes Sheriff, I kill Charles, and my name is cleared?”
More nods. Niels acted as if I weren’t holding a blade to Jonas’s neck. “A splendid idea. What say you, gentlemen?”
They all voiced agreement, except Jonas. I pressed harder.
“What about you, Jonas? Do you agree?”
He swallowed hard, then forced out a weak, “Yes.”
I loosened my grip on Jonas and drove the knife into the centre of the table, driving my point home. There was no chair for me, so I paced like a caged animal as the final plans were laid out.
The air in the room was thick enough to choke on. Jonas rubbed his throat, his glare burning into me, but he kept his mouth shut this time. The other Thinkers: Niels, Adam, Paul watched me like I was a live grenade, primed to explode. Only Nate seemed unbothered, lounging in his chair with that infuriating smirk of his.
Niels cleared his throat. “Now that we’re all… aligned… let’s discuss the details.”
Jonas scoffed. “You expect us to trust her?” He jabbed a finger in my direction. “She just held a knife to my throat!”
I shrugged. “And yet, here you are. Still breathing.”
Niels shot Jonas a warning look before continuing. “Tilly, we need Charles dead, publicly, decisively. But it can’t be traced back to us.”
“Or to Nate,” Adam added.
I smirked. “You want a ghost to kill your bogeyman.”
“We want you to kill him,” Paul corrected. “Clean. No loose ends.”
Nate finally spoke up. “Charles is paranoid. He’s surrounded by guards, never travels without security.”
I rolled my eyes. “Leave that to me. I’ll need Chids, lots of them and weapons. You do have weapons in your little utopia, don’t you?”
Niels exhaled sharply. “Yes, we can supply you. But we need to know how you’ll proceed.”
I turned to him. “The less you know, the better for you. Plausible deniability.”
They exchanged uneasy glances before Adam leaned forward. “She’s right. But it has to happen soon, before the Overseers catch wind of this mess.”
Jonas sighed. “We need proof of his corruption, something that turns the people against him.”
“And how do you plan to get him alone?” Paul hissed.
I turned with a wide, venomous smile. “By giving him the one thing he wants more than power right now.”
“And what’s that, pray tell?” Jonas muttered.
“Me.” I gave a mocking curtsy.
Paul exhaled sharply. “That’s… insane.”
Adam frowned. “That’s suicide.”
Nate chuckled. “That’s Tilly.”
Niels sighed. “At this point, gentlemen, I see no other option but to trust her. All in favour?” He raised his hand. “Aye.”
Jonas looked disgusted. “If the bitch wants to die, who am I to stop her? Aye.”
Paul and Adam echoed in unison: “Aye.”
“Then it’s settled,” Niels said. “Meeting adjourned.”
Jonas, Paul, and Adam filed out without another word. Niels and Nate approached me, but Niels hesitated. “I’ll… wait for you outside, Tilly,” he said, gesturing to Nate before slipping out.
Nate stepped closer, his hand closing around my arm. His grip was firm, his eyes searching mine. “I’m coming with you.”
I yanked free. “Like hell you are. You’ll get us both killed. Get back to the city, play Sheriff, and help clean up this mess.”
His expression twisted. “Tilly, plea-”
“Go, Nate. Just go.” I wrenched the knife from the table and pointed it at the door. “If you ever felt anything for me…Leave. Now.”
He left without looking back.
Why didn’t he look back?
I steeled myself, sheathed the knife in my underwear, and went to meet Niels.
Niels was waiting for me in a narrow hallway just outside the office, his posture rigid with forced patience. A cough broke his silence. “Tilly… are you ready?” I nodded, and he continued, “Like I promised, I’ve procured some funds and light weapons. Adam’s retrieving a thousand Chids, he’ll meet us in the armoury. Best we head there now.”
I forced a smile. “Let’s go, then.”
The walk to the armoury was tense. Niels spoke in clipped phrases, his nerves fraying the air between us. When we arrived, he punched a code into the keypad, and the door hissed open, revealing a cramped room bristling with firepower. Racks of Heckler & Koch MP5s lined the walls, but I needed something more discreet. “Got any sidearms? Something that whispers, ‘come to war’?”
Niels crossed to a heavy cabinet and swung it open. Inside lay an array of compact weapons, but my eyes locked onto the prize immediately: an M18 Carry, complete with belt and holster. I grabbed it, along with five extra mags and a case of 9 mm rounds, seventeen per mag, plus one in the chamber. “This’ll do nicely. Got any knives?”
He blanched. “Um, no. We don’t stock those.”
Adam strode in just as the words left Niels’s mouth. “A thousand Chids,” he announced, thrusting the bundle toward me. I pocketed them without hesitation. “I need to get to Sector One, as close to the Spil as possible. Can you arrange that?”
Before I knew it, I was staring out the window of a small building across from the Spil. Nina had brought along a dark hooded cloak and had been my escort here. I hugged her goodbye; mid-embrace she asked, “Will I see you again?”
I held her close, Nina, whom I liked, but her childish femininity was nothing compared to the woman her twin sister had been. And in that moment, I realized this farewell wasn’t just to her, it was also to the sister I had loved yet barely known. I kissed her on the cheek, and she left.