Zeke closed the door, hung up his jacket and walked over to the counter, chucking his keys down on the worktop. He opened the refrigerator door, selected a beer from the top shelf and downed the amber liquid in one. He immediately reopened the door and removed another. Spying an aluminium container, he took that out, also and removed the foil-lined cardboard lid. The aroma of the four-day old, chilli and rice didn't yet smell offensive, so he grabbed a fork from the drawer ate it cold. A red flashing light caught his attention, so with his meal completed in five mouthfuls and two further beers downed, he decided to listen to his phone messages.
"Mr Matheson. This is Marie from HR. Could you please call me to arrange a meeting to discuss the next...?" Zeke pressed delete.
"Zeke, It's Mark. I tried getting you on your mobile today. Can you call me ASAP? We need to arrange numbers for Thursday. Briggs wants an update on Tuesday. Not sure what he has planned, but he has told me to use the entire division. Do you know what's happening?"
Zeke pressed save and listened to the message again. What the hell did Briggs have planned? The current embargo on information was working surprisingly well. Normally the odd nugget of information would always slip out, more often than not from Briggs' closest aids, but this time everyone was remaining tight lipped; this worried him. He pressed for the next message.
"Zeke!" Shit! "Your daughter wants to know if she's ever going to see her father this month. I am sick to the back teeth of providing excuses on your behalf. Sort it out or stay away...permanently!"
Zeke pressed the machine off. He turned to look at the picture of Emily on the near-by shelf. With three baby teeth missing, his little girl grinned back at him. She was wearing a sugary pink ballet costume, her hair tied up in a bun. His heart ached as he remembered the day the photo was taken. She'd been so nervous and yet the nerves had been completely unwarranted. Emily sailed through her dance exam and bounced out of the classroom, excited.
"Daddy, I did it."
"Well done baby girl, I knew you would." Zeke remembered squeezing her tightly as he inhaled the sweet scent of honey in her hair. He'd then picked her up and placed her over his shoulders. As they bounded out of the dance school, Emily squealed with delight. At her request, he took them to her favourite restaurant right across the street and they pigged out on burgers and strawberry milkshake. He also remembered the reprimand he'd been given when he dropped Emily back at her mother's. Apparently, lateness and sugary treats were a crime these days.
Zeke looked at the picture a while longer and promised himself he would ring her tomorrow. It'd only been nine days since he had seen her last, but contrary to his ex-girlfriend's belief, he felt every passing hour and it hurt being separated from his daughter. The job demanded almost everything from him, always had and always would, if he didn't make changes. He couldn't just walk away from his work, especially now.
Trying hard to shrug off his parent guilt, Zeke reclined in his favourite leather armchair. The warm glow from the side lamp, gave his apartment an illusion of warmth, but all Zeke felt was cold and alone. He reached for the television remote and flicking back and forth, not finding anything remotely interesting. He paused on the nightly news report.
"We are told that Thursdays' announcement comes on the back of the yearly financial review. Several commentators have suggested that General Briggs is sure to announce further austerity measures, in the wake of recent events. One thing, viewers, you can be sure of, is that whatever measures General Briggs decides to take they will be in your best interests. So let's go over to Suzanne Chung for an update on the anxiously awaited SPR test carried out today."
"Thanks, Rob," said the woman, with bright toothy smile. "Well, what a day it has been! Hannah, we are told, arrived under armed guard for her SPR test, just after midday. It would be fair to say she looked a little nervous as she got out of the car. Shortly after four o'clock, General Briggs issued the following statement:
Following a thorough and validated SPR test, it is with great delight and pride, that we announce that Hannah Page has scored one-hundred per cent. Hannah is the first in our society to have ever achieved this score. Such a score, in light of her unfortunate relocation to the Flawed at birth is remarkable. Her score should serve to remind everyone, particularly those, whose recent, nefarious actions caused the death of a number of most highly valued members of our society, that perfection will always be the corner stone of our society. Now, the bar for perfection in our society has risen. We now know it is possible to be more; that we now have, living amongst us, the blueprint for our future. As leader, I see it as my mission to raise the average SPR score in this country. On Thursday, the government and I will announce measures in accordance with this."
Zeke turned off the TV. He wasn't surprised by Hannah's score in the slightest. She was special; he could see that the moment he first spoke to her in the lift. Her score did however cause them problems; her profile would now rise further. How would they be able to use her when the eyes of the world were constantly looking at her? Zeke also knew that keeping her safe would now prove more difficult.
Zeke switched on his non-work phone and waited. When the phone bleeped with a message, he wasn't surprised, he knew who it was from and what they wanted. If he could just try and stall them some more, reassure them that things were in hand. He pressed the button to return the call, but the phone uttered three small bleeps and the battery died. He looked over to his other phone and for a split second contemplated ringing on that. Zeke shook his head, laughed quietly his own stupidity and then went to look for the charger.
After a hot shower and two shots, he turned out the light, his stomach warmed by the fiery liquor. Sleeping these days without the help of alcohol was rare. Zeke visualised his body and mind relaxing; he tried to slow his breathing down, but the actions of the last few days swam around his thoughts. Both anxiety and alcohol gnawed at his gut. After an hour, his sheets now a tangled heap at the bottom of the bed, he got up and went to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom for an antacid. Zeke caught a glimpse of himself in the mirrored cabinet door and the sight shocked him. He looked old and he looked like shit! Zeke opened a small white canister and palmed two pink antacids. He then opened a brown bottle and tapped out a yellow sleeping tablet. He chased all three down with a swig of water from tap. For the third time that evening he walked around the apartment, checking that all the doors and windows that could be locked were locked. And when he was finally back in bed, he relocated his revolver from inside his bedside cabinet and placed it on the pillow beside his. A final last swig of whisky, straight from the bottle and then, with the lights out, he marvelled at the efficacy of the candy-coloured medicinal cocktail he'd taken, as the pain in his gut eased and everything around him seemed to numb.
Mr Matheson!"
Zeke, was climbing the steps up to the Council offices. He turned as his name was called a second time.
"Hi, Tucker, what can I do for you?" Zeke continued to climb the steps and Tucker caught him up quickly and fell in step.
"I went over to Hannah's last night, but she wasn't there. I've been back to pick her up this morning for school, and Diana said she never came home last night and that Briggs had called to tell them she was busy on important council business."
Zeke stopped walking. Why didn't he know of this? He remembered back to his phone conversation with Scott, late yesterday afternoon. Although Zeke had been assigned to escort Hannah home, Briggs had apparently requested Scott take her. Scott never mentioned anything else.
"I've tried calling her phone, but she isn't answering. Her family isn't worried, but I am. Where is she?"
"I don't know where she is Tucker, but I'm sure everything is just fine. Why don't you head off to school? I'll track her down, find out what's going on and call you later.
Zeke tried to give a reassuring smile; Tucker didn't buy it.
"I think I need to find out if she's ok, before I head off. Can I come in with you?"
Zeke looked up at the guarded double doors and back down at Tucker. He knew something about Hannah was amiss and wanted to find out what quickly, but having Tucker here could prove problematic.
"Look, you can come in. But you sit where I tell you to sit, don't touch anything, don't go off anywhere and for god's sake don't say anything to anyone. Got that?"
Tucker smiled and him and bounded up the remaining few steps. "Thanks Zeke."
Zeke followed behind. "That's Mr Matheson to you."
"Ok, Zeke... I mean, Mr Matheson."
As they approached the double doors, a uniformed guard approached Tucker and blocked his path.
"Morning, Eric. This is Tucker, he's with me", said Zeke.
"Morning, sir. I'm afraid your guest isn't allowed to enter. General Briggs orders."
Zeke tried to hide his surprise. "It's ok, Eric. Tucker is here to update his witness statement. His recollections of the attack the other night might prove invaluable. I'll be sure to clear it with the General when I meet him later."
Eric looked from Zeke to Tucker and back again, but didn't move aside. Zeke considered telling Tucker to leave.
"Eric, thanks for your continued vigilance, but I can take it from here."
"Yes, sir," Eric replied to Scott who was standing behind him.
Eric moved aside and let Zeke and Tucker pass.
"Agent Scott, have you seen Hannah?"
"Great move, Matheson," Scott interrupted, ignoring Tucker entirely.
The three of them went over to the reception desk where Zeke signed in and gave Tucker a visitor pass. After a short journey in the lift and they entered Scott's offices.
"Hold my calls, Anna," he said to a middle-aged woman at the desk outside. Zeke followed Scott into a further office, Zeke trailing behind.
"Is she here?" asked Zeke.
"Well, if you'd answered my calls yesterday, you would know."
"I was dealing with something. So where is she?
His question met with silence.
"Scott, what's going on?"
Scott took a deep breath. "Briggs has her in custody."
"What?" Tucker asked, "You're kidding right?"
Scott turned to Zeke. "Briggs wouldn't let her see her parents, Hannah threatened to leave."
"Where is she now?" Zeke asked.
"Room two-fifty.
"Stay here," Zeke ordered Tucker and followed Scott out of the office.
"What! You can't leave me here," Tucker shouted, as the door closed behind them.
Zeke stormed ahead of Scott, the thick carpet silencing the sound of their march.
"What are you going do Zeke, bust her out of here and hope Briggs doesn't notice?" Scott said with a laugh. "Or better still, maybe you could contact an ageing blind woman to come to the rescue."
Zeke turned and launched himself at Scott. He grabbed the agent's throat with one hand and pushed him into the wall. Scott's head collided with the wood panelled wall and glass-framed painting. It fell to the floor in pieces. Scott was momentarily stunned, not by the physical attack but more so, the look in Zeke's eyes.
"Don't ever talk about her like that again!" Zeke said, through bared teeth. As quickly as his anger had surged, though, it dissipated. He released Scott and backed away.
Scott rubbed at his throat then touched at the back of his head. He lowered his hand and Zeke saw the result of his assault; thick, red blood coated Scott's fingers.
"We'd better get you looked at," Zeke said, lowering his eyes away from Scott's.
"Agent Scott, please take a seat," the male nurse, said as he slipped on a pair of surgical gloves. "What's happened?"
Scott glanced over at Zeke who was sat uncomfortably in a white plastic chair in the corner of the room. "I tripped on a loose carpet and hit my head on a picture frame."
"Walking backwards were you?" The nurse laughed at his little joke, but stopped when he saw the look on Scott's face.
"Well, you're lucky. It is quite a deep gash but not too long. You're going to need a couple of sutures. I'll just numb the area, first. Do you have any nausea, blurred vision or head ache?"
"No."
"My advice, is to go home and rest up for twenty-four hours and seek medical help if you do experience any of these symptoms."
The nurse deftly applied the sutures, disposed of the equipment and gloves and washed his hands. "If you could just sign this form saying that I've given you the necessary health information then you can go."
Scott signed the form.
"Finally, here is a leaflet about head injuries you should read." The nurse held out a leaflet. Scott stood up, ignored the leaflet and walked out.
"Matheson, you're here as well; how fortuitous!"
Zeke found himself in front of Briggs, with Scott stood to his left.
"Yes, sir."
"Mr Scott, you look a little grey in colour, are you not well?"
"No, Sir." Scott looked pointedly at Zeke. "I took a slight tumble and did a little damage to my head, but I'll be fine."
"Good, good. Well I need to speak to you both. Come." Briggs set off, with Scott following behind, but Zeke hesitated.
"Is there a problem, Matheson?"
Zeke needed to get to Hannah and he needed to get Tucker out of the building as well, but all of that was going to have to wait, so he reluctantly followed the two men,
"It's time I briefed you on my coming announcement." Briggs sat back in his chair. As you are aware, I have asked for the entire armed and security forces to be put on red alert. I am expecting a significant public reaction, which I want to be ready for. We are going to experience a tough couple of months whilst adjustments are made."
"Sir, what does this announcement have to do with Hannah Page being held in custody, downstairs?" The minute Zeke interrupted, he knew he shouldn't. Briggs face darkened and he made fists of his hands.
"I currently have Hannah in custody for her own protection. She is a nice, yet naïve girl, who doesn't yet realise the game we are playing, even though she is the prize."
Briggs was beginning to sound a little unhinged. He thought Scott had noticed this too.
"Gentleman, we are on the cusp of greatness. Our society needs to transform again, we need to aim higher. In fact, we cannot afford not to. From January 1st, the Flawed SPR level will rise to eighty-five. Anyone below that level will be demoted."
Scott's phone rang, though he didn't answer it. Both Zeke and Scott were looking at Briggs as if he had spoken in tongues. The phone rang again.
Scott apologised to Briggs for the interruption, finally acknowledged the insistent ring tone and went into the corner of the room to answer it.
"Sir, did you just say that the Flawed ceiling is going to rise from eighty to eighty-five?" Zeke asked, not trusting his own ears.
"I did."
"Sir, Zeke and I need to leave. A slight problem, nothing to worry about." Scott said, approaching the desk.
"Very well."
Scott walked over to the door and gestured for Zeke to follow. Zeke obliged, glad to be leaving the office. The ramifications of Briggs announcement were only just sinking in. This was going to be a shit-storm.
With the door closed behind them, they set off back towards Scott's office.
"So, what's the problem then?" Zeke asked.
"Thanks to you, Hannah has disappeared."