To Be A Leader

Chapter 57: Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

The sounds of Nadia's motorbike are loud. As nice as her bike is in terms of transportation and allowing her to go on missions with us, that's its one downside. I'm surprised I can hear Sam so clearly through my headset.

"Yeah, I know what Amelia says about Valmont, but-"

"She keeps saying it," Nadia interrupts. "Not in an 'I want to convince you' way, just in an 'I want it to be on the record that I said this' way. Same voice she had when she said, 'Hatten Hill has been working with the Ministry for months, you mark my words.'"

Veronica hums. "Oh. Amelia says Valmont is a very bad person, doesn't she?"

"Yeah," Sam says. "It's really hard to work out what Amelia means when she says he did bad things. I mean, sometimes with her, it's a compliment. But anyway, look, I know what she says about him, but look! Whatever he's done, he did make a fully life-sized the Village from the 1960s classic TV show, The Prisoner, and used it as a recreation facility for his employees. I mean-I mean, just look at it!"

Milo huffs in my headset. I don't know if it's from Sam repeating this for the tenth time, or if it's because he was told he couldn't come with us on this mission. "I don't-1960s TV show? Aren't you like, twenty-three?"

"Yeah. I just watched a lot of classic shows."

"Why?"

"Why not? I mean, The Prisoner was a great show!"

"'Where are we?'" Nadia asks, a smile on her face.

"'You're in the Village!'" Sam answers enthusiastically.

"'What do you want?!'"

"We want to use an old A.N.N.I.E. terminal here to analyze the vials of the cure the Exmoore Militia gave us," Veronica answers, not seeming to get the quotes. I don't really understand them either, but I at least know they're quoting the show. "I've been working on reproducing it since the day we got it, and I don't think it can possibly work the way it seems to."

"So, in a way, 'You want information!'"

She nods. "That's right."

"'Whose side are you on?'"

"People keep asking me that. I... I don't think I'm on anyone's side, apart from finding out the truth." She looks troubled, sad almost, and I remember the vision I had on my wedding day. It worries me.

"Oh, ugh, sorry," Sam says sheepishly. "It's just a quote from the-oh, never mind. Guys, you've picked up a few zoms on your approach. They must have been Prisoner fans. They're wearing the little hats and capes. Still, time to speed up. Try to lose them."

"'By hook or by crook, we will,'" Nadia quotes, and Milo sighs dramatically.

"Why did I have to be friends with wannabe old people?"

"We're not wannabes, or old," Sam argues, and Milo scoffs.

"Says the guy with gray hair."

"Hey! Five, can I ground him?"

"You can't ground me. Right, Mum?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe? I mean, I guess by marrying me he's sort of a parental figure to you now-"

"No, he's not."

"Hey!" Sam shouts, clearly offended.

"What? I mean, no offense, but it's really hard to see you as a respectable parent figure when I know that you know more about cartoons and classic tv shows than you do about engineering, which is what you majored in in college."