Elysium Falling (ONC 2024 Long List)

Chapter 9 Monster

The thing about secrets, Rowan thought as he stared at the barrel of several guns, was the fact that sooner or later people wanted to know what they were. Especially in the digital age where every scrap of information was stored in binary just waiting for someone to dig it out.

He blinked and the world wide web which had been denied him since he'd entered that dark corridor came crawling through his scalp.

The palace's digital presence was surging on the web. Gone was their intricate web of secrecy. Rowan had seen to that, tugging a few strands of code here and there. The seal was broken, he could even reach out and make a call himself. So he did. 

There wouldn't be much on the news yet - but conspiracy sites. Those were all abuzz with the rumblings.  

He blinked, his focus drawn back to the room where the guards had their guns pointed at him but were glancing between him and Dana. He didn't move. The guards nervously shifted their weight, fingers twitching near triggers, time was on his side. Rowan figured they had a few minutes before total chaos struck.

The building shook. 

The other thing about secrets was that in their society there were plenty of factions willing to exploit them. Not everyone enjoyed living under the thumb of the Watchers. And now there was blood in the water.

The sharks were going to show up any minute.

Dana stood up buttoning her shirt. Her brown hair slicked back with perpetration. "Keep an eye on him. Get him some clothes." She turned to the man nearest her. "Status?"

A recruit tossed him a pair of black pants, socks, shirt, and boots. They were his from what felt like a millennia ago. Ignoring the stares he slipped them on with quick efficiency while maintaining his connection to the mainframe of the palace. 

The guard blinked, his right eye lighting up as he communicated with digital. "Not good," he said. "Systems are down all over the place. Barrier is down, we're visible."

"Damn," she turned to him. "What exactly did you do?"

"I made a call," Rowan smiled. "I told you, I'd take this place apart if you didn't give me Miranda. You don't listen."

Dana's jaw worked. For a moment Rowan allowed himself a brief moment of sympathy. There was something he was missing here. He tried to wrap his mind around it as the building shook around them. This woman had studied him with the notion that she was going to take him down. And yet the basics, his abilities seemed to have escaped her notice. He filed that information away for later. There was something bigger at play here. He could feel it. His intuition was ringing off the charts since the discovery that Miranda and Dana were sisters.

"Last chance," Rowan said.

"Dik," Dana made a call. "We have a situation, my office, package number 59. Guard it with your life. We'll be there shortly."

Rowan stared at her. If it was a ruse, it was a good one. "Wrong answer," he whispered. 

Dana's guard exchanged glances. "Shoot h-" 

Rowan's hand clapped her jaw. Dana tried to block it but was a hair too slow. The blow flung her back into the nearest guard. They collided with the wall, the guard breaking her fall. 

The room went black. 

Rowan crouched as the first gun went off where he'd been standing, mere nanoseconds before. His scanners were on, giving him a readout of the room. He knew they were doing the same. He was still wearing Dana's biometrics from his hack and he used them to affect now.