When All Else Fails (A Push of a Button Novella)

Chapter Three

"They can. We both know they do it all the time." Her lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "Tolerance is their weapon, anyway, as you're well aware. It won't protect you if you don't conform. That's why conformity and tolerance go hand in hand, right? You're tolerated and welcomed into the fold if you conform. If you don't, you're reprogrammed or, if you're deemed a big enough threat, discarded."

He flopped back onto the grass beside her and hung his head in his hands. Unfortunately, she was right. "I just can't wrap my head around this. Any of it." He hesitated, wanting to ask her why she'd included all the other things, but then he just left it be. Did it really matter why?

But she hummed in response, inviting his unspoken questions.

He rubbed his temples. Well, might as well find out. "Why not just tell me about the kill order?"

A tiny laugh sputtered out of her. "If I had, you wouldn't have believed me about the Supremacy. You needed to see they weren't even a little bit credible in order to believe."

He winced. "Still... This is a lot to wrap my head around."

She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "I know. We'll figure it out together though. But hey... Don't tell Dane about this. He doesn't know yet, and I'm not sure he should."

He nodded but didn't say anything further. They lapsed into silence, and he just sat there. The wind ruffled the bluish-green grass between his legs, and he watched that. His mind reeled, but the longer he thought about things, the more life and everything he'd been seeing since he was a child made sense. The more he thought, though, the more questions he had.

THE MAN IN the shadows stared at his subordinate with a twisted smile. "Agent B702. You came with a report?"

B702 crossed his arms and nodded.

"Speak then." He stared into his agent's deep set blue eyes. "Before I drag it out of you myself. I haven't got all day."

"Of course, Supreme One." He bowed his head. "I am at your disposal, as any humble servant of the Supreme Council would be."

Supreme One laughed and shook his head. "Spare me the pretty words, Agent. What. Do. You. Have?"

"Your assassin failed, sir."

Supreme One clenched his fists. Failed? Failed! Agent A309 never failed. He always managed to take down his target. Always. A puny upstart of a businessman from a rich family of pansies shouldn't be a challenge. Auclaire should have been easy to kill. "Did A309 manage to intercept the target?"

"A309 is in Ward 230, Supreme One."

Ward 230? How had he sustained life-threatening injuries? "What?"

"Sir, he failed to take down the target and was gravely wounded in the attempt."

"Ridiculous! What could possibly do that much damage to him? Not only is he highly trained, but his button should have—"

"Obliterated his opponent, sir?" B702 smirked. "It did, sir. Unfortunately, that opponent was not the target."

"Did Auclaire have help?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"I have no patience for riddles either, boy." Supreme One clenched his fists. "What do you mean in a manner of speaking?"

"Sir, the button you ordered installed..." B702 spread his hands in a palms-up gesture of appeal. "A giant bird attacked A309 before vanishing in a puff of smoke just before he could activate his button. The target got away with no more than a few broken ribs, a broken nose, and a concussion. Nothing a good healer couldn't fix."

Supreme One's stomach clenched, and he gritted his teeth. Heat boiled in his cheeks and spread to his ears. "You will fix this."

"Fix this how, sir? Your best assassin failed."

"My best assassin was apparently incompetent."

"True, sir. He attacked the target in broad daylight in one of the residential areas, but from what I can ascertain from his garbled speech, he did almost succeed. No one seems keen on helping the target. I had the police and Regulators smooth the issue over, and everyone is back to their conforming, tolerant selves."

"Why haven't you hunted him down and finished him off?"

"We couldn't without raising the fuss. Also, there's the matter of Vivian, sir."

"Vivian? What's the matter with the girl now? She's been keeping her nose squeaky clean since the incident in the Archives, from what I understood." Supreme One frowned. "Unless you haven't reported everything to me about what goes on in the McGayen household."

"She likes Auclaire, sir. And she still doesn't support the Supreme Council. She's keeping her head down, but she's not done playing with fire. Your instructions were to make sure she didn't know about the contract and our plans until her reprogramming at the end of the year."

"We'll have to move it up if you don't find a way to fix this. Keep her out of trouble."

"Yes, Supreme One." B702 bowed low, a hint of a smile on his lips. "And if she insists on getting into trouble? If she helps Auclaire?"

"Then get rid of her too." Supreme One's lips curved into a tight smile. "Auclaire is a threat, Agent B702. I want him gone. If that means killing the girl, so be it."

That smirk disappeared, and the man's head came up, anger written all over his features. "We agreed Vivian McGayen was not to be harmed. You promised me."

"Plans change. Don't make me change these ones. Keep her out of the way and get rid of Auclaire. We will keep up our end of the bargain and make sure she doesn't remember him or what happened." Supreme One's smile twisted into a cruel grin. "If you can't do that, I won't promise she'll be safe. And if you fail me with Auclaire, I'll get rid of you both."

B702 schooled his features back to a placid mask, but the spark of anger still burned in his blue irises. The boy was trouble, and a closer eye should probably be kept on him. But he'd been a model agent so far. Mostly brainwashed like everyone else, but with just enough capacity to think that he could understand the need for the Supremacy's rule. Most of the others didn't see why the Supremacy existed. But B702? He knew enough secrets to be dangerous, and that knowledge made him excellent at what he did. Beneath his anger, there was acceptance and calculation. The man knew what he needed to do, and he'd do it so long as he got what he wanted.

For now, his work was done here. He turned his back on B702 and melted into the shadows of the tunnel. "Make sure you succeed. I'd rather not lose one of my best agents."