city of anarchy

chapter five

Avgi propelled herself up the stone steps. A security guard moved to intervene and she slapped her ID in his face, dragging it over his features and placing it back in her pocket before the startled man could react.

The Mayor's secretary in her plum-purple suit glanced up with default distaste. 'Er...you can't just barge in like that!' she said, rising to her feet but not leaving the safe harbour of her curved desk. 'You must have an appointment!' She hissed something frantically into her handheld radio as the guard chased after the Agent.

Avgi made her way down the carpeted corridor. Commander Brutt was just leaving the Mayor's office and smiled roguishly at her as she brushed past. 'I hope you're not planning anything too drastic with that gun, Agent Avgi,' he called back. Avgi stole a suspicious glance back at him as he strolled away. She looked to see if the guard was catching up, but he had not yet reappeared.

She pushed open the large oak double-doors and surveyed the office. Mayor Mawgly was conspicuously not present. The long blue curtains at the window billowed in the breeze, emphasising the barrenness of the room. Avgi looked sidelong at every corner of the room as if to catch each out. She checked under the desk. The Mayor was not there. The Agent made her way reluctantly to the door. There she paused, and looked back at the office again.

The billowing curtains.

She rushed over to the open window and looked down. A coil of black cord lay on the ground below the window. It had been clipped to the sill. She saw Mayor Mawgly walk across the pavement to a black car, smoothing out her green suit with her secretary scurrying after her.

Avgi turned, bolted through the door and down the corridor. Very nearly knocking over another security guard on his return trip from the lavatory, she clattered down the steps as the black car disappeared. Avgi folded her arms, glaring at two completely innocent passers-by as they stared at her.

Her phone buzzed. She retrieved it and set it to her ear. 'Yes?'

'Avgi,' came the caller's voice. 'We have a problem.'

* * *

A small forensics team in white plastic suits was exploring the insides of the abandoned white lorry. Sofia watched them work as she recounted the events to her superior. 'We haven't found anything yet,' she said, 'but I'm guessing that these people, whoever they are, are the ones that had Turnfly so scared. To be honest, this whole thing is freaking me out. I don't like things that make no sense. None of this is... normal.'

At the other end of the line, Avgi was silent. Neither Agent could quite process it. 'Black masks...' Avgi said eventually. 'Have you looked through our catalogue of local gangs?'

'I did. There was nothing. Hopefully forensics will yield something. Where are you now?'

'Outside the city hall. I went to see the Mayor about the Facility.'

'And did she finally decide it might be worth explaining anything about that place?'

'No,' replied Avgi. 'I think she may be avoiding me.' She sighed audibly. 'But we can forget about that for now. When you're done over there, get back to the Tower and we'll see if we can make any sense at all of what just happened with that ambulance.' She ended the call.

Sofia went around to the back of the lorry where a group of the men were dusting and scanning ultraviolet. 'Anything yet?'

'Nope.'

Sofia rubbed her bandaged arm and looked around. It was getting dark.

* * *

'We're going to get caught, you know.'

'Shut up.'

Holly, stuffing her face with a chocolate bar, scrutinised the scene from her position amidst some stacked wooden crates while Angus, crouched beside her, glanced nervously around. 'Are you sure we're approaching this right?' he asked.

'Yes,' replied Holly, not taking her eyes off the moving figures up ahead. 'I entered and left through the front way. I didn't see anybody else there, so that means that around this side is our best bet.'

The police officers patrolled the taped-off area lazily, apparently not doing much. The area wasn't lit, which would at least help for cover, although it would no doubt make finding anything more difficult.

'I need you to distract them,' said Holly.

'What? All of them?'

'Just enough.'

'What do I say?'

'Make something up,' Holly suggested. 'I don't know, something like... someone's being attacked by a group of spiteful, vicious thugs and you've come for their help.'

They heard a distant guffaw.

'I don't recall these people ever being known as the charitable type,' Angus said doubtfully.

'Yes, but,' Holly's eyes rolled in his direction, 'they get to beat the thugs up.'

There was a pause. 'Ah, irony,' said Angus, eventually.

Holly spent another couple of minutes evaluating her plan, and then she poked Angus in the ribs. 'Go,' she said. 'Give me as much time as you can!'

Angus hesitated. Holly shoved him; he left.

* * *

Hermes took a step forward and stood with his arms outstretched to keep balance. He had made it halfway around the room. He repositioned his left leg stiffly and took another step.

The door flew open as if assaulted by a storm and Hermes sought the support of a wall. Framed in the doorway was the dark, curly hair of Agent Avgi streaming turbulently about her head. 'Has Agent Sofia been in here?' she demanded.

'No,' said Hermes.

Avgi turned to leave, then turned back. 'Are you sure you should be walking around like that yet?'

'Er. The nurse said I could.' This was not entirely true. He had flapped his arms irritably and she had left the room with pursed lips.

Avgi looked at him. 'Alright,' she said, and closed the door behind her. Hermes noted her gun. Nobody who stabbed innocent people in the face should have a gun.

Hermes managed another two journeys around the room before the door opened again. 'You haven't seen Agent Avgi, have you?' enquired the blonde head of Sofia.

Hermes propped himself up once again and sighed. 'She came in here looking for you just before. I'd be careful, though. She has a gun.'

'Oh, that was probably for the Mayor.'

'She went to see the Mayor? With a gun?'

'Well, the Mayor wasn't there,' said Sofia.

'But why did she take a gun to see the Mayor?' exclaimed Hermes, slightly incredulous. This was confirming all his suspicions that Agent Avgi was insane. 'What was she planning to do?'

'Oh, nothing,' Sofia said dismissively. 'She takes a gun with her everywhere.'

'What, like a comfort blanket?'

'Oh no, it's not for comfort,' said Sofia. 'It's to make everyone else feel uncomfortable.' The Agent departed, shaking her head. 'As if Avgi would kill a Mayor in front of everybody!'

Hermes stared at the closed door. He made his next lap around the room in half the time of the last.

* * *

Angus jogged lightly towards one officer who stood alone smoking. The officer squinted at him through a veil of cigarette smoke, and to Angus, as the boy bent forward and feigned breathlessness, glancing up at him his face seemed apparitional in the murk, his body stolen away by the night, his short hair feral from balaclava use, and his eyes narrowed.

'There's a person,' declared Angus, clutching at his heart, 'being attacked! By vicious thugs!'

Another officer, or at least a pair of eyes, emerged with morbid curiosity from the darkness to see what was wrong with him. The first discarded his cigarette's glowing stub and continued to stare impassively.

'Please,' implored Angus. 'You have to help!'

The first officer turned to the second, who nodded, and then turned back to Angus, who was awaiting their response. 'Lead the way,' the officer said, pulling his balaclava over his head. Then he whistled. Three more joined them from the shadows and the lucky pack of five followed, their heavy boots treading lightly, as Angus picked a direction and nimbly cantered along it.

Holly watched them leave and turned back to the matter at hand. The broken shells of the Conceptual Realisation Facility's three domes stood desolately before her, a skeletal and unwholesome silhouette against the pale light of the moon. Dark figures still roamed at its base, but ahead of her beyond the black tape that closed off the area, the way was for the moment unguarded.

She ducked under the tape and crept low as she made her way across the dirt, the small industrial wasteland that had always surrounded the building and left its domed shape exposed and ugly. Holly scanned the ground as she moved forwards, not really knowing what she was looking for. There were lots of footprints--but police had of course trodden this ground. She tried following a few trails, looking much like a child chasing elusive, invisible pigeons as she maintained her crouched position and waddled investigatively about. Those trails that circled the building or only reached so close to the wall that surrounded it she broke off from and immediately pursued another.

* * *

Avgi entered Secret Room Y. 'Ah,' she said to the Agent before her. 'There you are.'

Agent Sofia turned from the window. 'I told you,' she said.

'You must excuse my reluctance to believe you,' Avgi replied dryly. 'There was I thinking things like that categorically didn't happen.'

'We need an explanation for Turnfly,' demanded Sofia. 'Before my brain explodes.'

'Yes,' Avgi muttered. She made her way over to the window and stood facing the opposite direction at Sofia's side. 'Slow motion...' She surveyed the cityscape once again. 'Slow motion,' she repeated. Then she said, 'Get on our databases and crosscheck it with optical illusions, levitation and party tricks.'

'Well, if it's a party trick, those responsible are professionals,' said Sofia, turning to Avgi and folding her arms. She began to pace about the room. 'Forensics found nothing. Not a single hair or fingerprint.'

In the darkened window, the eyes of Avgi's reflection lost their focus slightly as her mind worked furiously to try and make sense of it. 'We need to find out where that ambulance went. In addition to this, I would like to confirm my suspicions that the Mayor's car did a circle and returned to the City Hall once they knew I'd left. And I'd like to know what Commander Brutt was doing there. They're hiding something. I don't trust Brutt and I don't trust his methods. I'd like to know on what basis that man has been arrested.'

Sofia blinked. She wondered how Avgi would still be concerned with other things.

Avgi turned to Sofia, her eyes becoming sharp again. 'We need a satellite capable of aerial photography,' she said. 'It would solve so many of our problems. Add it to the list.'

Sofia simply stared at her.

'We have to keep our eye on the ball,' Avgi said. 'There will be an explanation for Turnfly. But we can't just forget about everything else.'

Sofia's arms unfolded and she strolled over to the whiteboard on the wall. The list began fixed to the top right of the board and gradually detached itself from the edge, diverging and careening in a vaguely westerly direction as the spidery writing became increasingly erratic. Sofia squeakily scrawled the latest addition below 'coffee machine'.

'What next?' said Agent Avgi, mostly to herself. She turned back to the window, made a noise of frustration and thumped the glass. 'What can we do?'

* * *

Angus looked behind him and slowed when he found the officers had disappeared. He turned and cast his eyes about the darkened street, walking backwards with the nervous spring still in his step. He completed the full circle of his rotation wondering if they had given up, only to find the broad black barrier of one of the men right in front of him. The officer's dark eyes glared from his mask.

'Where are they?' he demanded.

'Er,' said Angus. 'Just...just over...well, I swear I saw them here!' He did some more confused looking about. 'They must have gone.' He turned back to the officer and smiled brightly. It was a fragile smile, and as such the officer sought to break it and delivered his large fist to the boy's freckled face. Angus stumbled backwards, only to get caught by his olive green sweater before he had managed to reach the ground, and then there was an unfortunate sound somewhere between a crack and a squelch as he was punched in the gut, his vision still dazzling from the first hit, his internal organs compressed. He issued a groan as a sort of bleary acknowledgement that this had not been part of the intended plan and then felt himself drop to the road.

He made the wise decision of not getting back up until he felt reasonably sure they were gone. When he did, it hurt, and he did so with much effort. He staggered to a wall and felt at his ribs and face. His left eye was swelling up.

'Psst,' came a voice.

Angus looked up and about, but his impaired vision was not much use.

'Psst,' someone hissed again.

'Who's there?' Angus demanded.

'Over here,' came the whisper. 'You look like you need some help there.'

Angus lumbered across the road in search of the voice, his hands reaching out to guide his way. His perception of depth was still somewhat present, and he followed the whispering to where the buildings parted for an alleyway, lurching disorientatedly.

'That's it...just a little further...'

* * *

After a while, Holly attached herself to a trail that looked promising, but had to check herself as she realised she was standing dangerously in view, having encircled the building more than she had thought. She hastily followed the track and pressed herself against the concrete wall, edging sideways to where the shadows enveloped it most thickly. She waited, noting that the trail ended just a metre from the wall in a deeper gouge in the earth.

Then the soft crunch of boots made her muscles tense in a sudden effort to be absolutely still. She waited for the officer to stroll past before she turned her attention back to the ground. She then glanced up at the wall behind her. There was no way she was going to be able to get to it, evidence or not. But what had she been expecting? Holly clenched her fists in frustration and peered around. She wanted to keep looking, but Angus' diversion wasn't going to last long.

As the only nearby officer did a lazy U-turn and walked away with his back to her, after a moment's hesitation Holly ran quietly across to the black tape, climbed over it and sauntered inconspicuously away.

'Angus?' she hissed, looking behind the crates. She hid as she saw his makeshift rescue team return, looking grim but satisfied, and then darted in the direction from which they had come.

'Angus?' she called softly, walking through circles of dirty orange light as she made her way down the street. It was a narrowish street; very quiet, with only one or two lights on in buildings, which were mostly shuttered or had curtains or blinds drawn. Suddenly Holly wondered how late it was.

A tall man with light brown hair and sideburns walked slowly past her, his sleeveless green shirt exposing white arms that swung gently as he moved. He glanced at Holly, who transferred her gaze. She kept walking, staying close to the streetlamps.

As Holly turned a corner, as if on cue a man stepped from the pavement and stood in the middle of the street, casually admiring a building opposite. He was a beanpole of a man; fashionably trampish in a brown jacket, jeans and scarf. His hair, brown, had been waxed into a trendy candle flame shape, and his scrawny beard was almost an exact reflection.

Holly's pace slowed, but she kept on walking. She glanced behind her, then looked again as she realised that the movement in the shadows was the other man. She attempted to walk around the one stood in the middle of the street, even as he turned her way. Her fingers fiddled nervously as she kept her head down and avoided his stare. He took a neat step backwards and blocked her path, and she looked up to see his face right in front of hers.

'Who are you?' she said, sensing with rising dread the inevitable.

'Vicious thugs,' replied the man. His eyes switched to the man behind her. Then Holly was grabbed and heaved backwards. She screamed and lashed out, struggling and squealing like an extremely long-limbed cat. A large white hand cupped itself over her mouth.

'Did you have to go and say that?' said her assailant, although this did not appear to be directed at her. 'Look, calm yourself, eh?' This was to her. 'We're not going to do anything to you, right? We just need to have a word.'

Holly continued to scream, muffled as it was behind the hand, and fighting with her legs they picked her up and carried her off into the night.

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