Behind the reception desk sat the same pointy-chinned man as last time, methodically shuffling through papers. Roman snatched a stack of binders straight out of his hands. The man cursed, then looked up and saw Roman, then cursed again.
“I’ve got a deal for you.” Roman faked a casual, upbeat tone of voice. “You tell me where Juliette is, and I won’t rip these precious files of yours into pieces and make you eat them.”
The receptionist frowned. “I wouldn’t appreciate that.”
“So we have an agreement?”
“For your information, the Captain has given orders to let you see her, whenever you came in. Your threat is quite pointless.”
Roman tossed the binders back onto the desk. “I still don’t regret making it. Where is she?”
“The Captain is currently in the basement.”
“There’s a basement?”
“You can access it by the elevator in that corner.” The receptionist pointed. “Only the first level is still in-use, as the lower levels have… collapsed.”
“Pity it wasn’t the whole damn building.”
Roman joined a queue of employees waiting at the elevator. The employees quickly began moving away from him, switching to other elevators or the stairs. Soon Roman was left waiting alone. He preferred it that way.
The steel doors opened, revealing an empty interior. Roman apprehensively stepped inside. He was tempted to head to the upper floors, break into Juliette’s office and search her documents for more information about Ashton Spencer. But no, if he was caught doing that, he would lose what little chance he had of gaining Juliette’s help.
The doors slid closed and the elevator descended. Roman’s chest tightened. He imagined the power going out and being trapped inside these cramped walls. It would be just his luck.
The ancients may have built an entire city, full of amazing technology and wonders, but Roman didn’t think elevators ranked high amongst their accomplishments. Damn unnatural is what they were. He could only imagine what it must have felt like to be inside an airplane.
He wished he’d brought Tan with him — his friend’s endless stream of shit-talk would have made a welcome distraction from where he was, and who he was here to see.
The elevator stopped. The doors slid open to reveal a dimly lit corridor, empty except for a lone militia leaning against the wall, absently twirling a pistol in his hand.
Roman stepped out of the elevator. “What are you guarding against? Rats?”
The guard dropped his gun in surprise. Cursing, he hastily picked it up and pointed it at Roman, hands shaking.
Roman chuckled. “Not used to company, are you?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Juliette wants to see me.”
The guard slowly lowered his gun, but suspicion was still plainly written on his boyish face — he was barely a teenager, baby fat still in his cheeks. “She didn’t say anything about you.”
“Well if she did, I’m sure it wouldn’t be nice. Where is she?”
“Uh… I’ll take you to her.”
“Lead on.”
The boy kept glancing back at Roman as he guided him down the hallway. One door was open as they passed and Roman glanced inside. Just a bare office. He didn’t know what he had expected. Was this where the Adrenalite experimentation had been happening? He shuddered at the thought.
“What’s your name, boy?” Roman asked as they turned down an adjacent corridor.
“James.”
“How old are you?”
“Old enough.”
“I doubt that.”
James shot him an angry look, but his bright green eyes displayed more fear than rage. It was pitiful really. Juliette must be desperate if she resorted to enlisting kids this young.
“So,” Roman continued, “what made you decide to join the Security Ministry?”
“Why do you care?”
“Call it curiosity.”
James puffed up his chest. He still looked pathetically tiny inside all that body armour. “I joined to protect this city.”
“And right now, stuck in this basement, do you feel like you’re protecting the city?”
“I—” James paused. His shoulders slumped. “No. I don’t.”
“Well, at least you’re honest.”
The corridor came to an end and James pushed open the last door. “The Captain’s in here.”
Roman laid a hand on the James’ shoulder; the kid trembled so much he nearly fumbled his gun again. “If you want to actually make a difference in Legacy, find me,” Roman said, “I can promise more than empty hallways.” He stepped through the door.
It was a hall. An underground hall. He stared in wonder, marvelling at how such a place could exist. A hundred men could have comfortably fit in this room. A single bulb glowed in the middle, its light barely reached the walls. The air was cold and stale. Roman was tall enough to reach up and touch the roof, he gently prodded it — it was hard to believe a place so spacious could be underneath the entire Ministry building. What magic had the ancients crafted that made this roof strong enough to support a skyscraper?
Juliette’s voice. “I wondered when you’d show up.”
She stood to his left, five paces away, holding a bow. It was drawn and pointed at him.
“You’re in my way,” she said.
Roman turned around, confused. Sure enough, hardly visible in the faint light, a target board hung from the opposite wall. Half a dozen arrows already stuck out of it. Her aim was good.
Roman quickly stepped aside. “I didn’t think you’d be one to actually use a weapon. Doesn’t seem your style.”
“You don’t know me at all.” Juliette’s deep voice echoed in the darkness. She took the shot, and the arrow flew the length of the room with a soft whistle, landing just half an inch from the bulls-eye.
Roman raised an eyebrow. “Ruby would have done better.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. After all, she was my best pupil.”
Now that surprised him. He had never imagined Juliette would have personally helped train militia. Maybe Ruby had been a special case? That would explain why Juliette was so pissed off Ruby left the militia to join Roman.
“She sends her regards,” he said.
“She did?”
“No.”
She snorted. “You know, one day Ruby will come back to me. If you haven’t got her killed before then.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“Did you promise the same thing to Harry?”
“Don’t you dare bring him into this.”
Juliette smirked. “You can’t deny it. Ever since Stevens died, you’ve brought nothing but death to Legacy. Harry won’t be the last good man that ends up dead because he joined you.”
It took all of Roman’s self-control not to shoot her.
Juliette drew and nocked another arrow, taking her time as she lined up the shot. “Enough small talk. Why are you here?”
Roman let out a long breath, defusing his anger. Well, some of it, at least. “Because I know where Ashton Spencer is.”
“And yet you don’t have him with you.”
“No, I don’t. I need your help.”
She laughed. A humourless cackle that echoed through the hall. “Oh what a day this is. The great Roman comes to me, begging for help. Maybe he has finally realized he is not the indestructible saviour of the people that he pretends to be.”
“Gavin has Spencer.”
Her laughter died. “Shit.”
“Yeah. Shit.”
She began to pace, moving further into the shadows. “So he’s as good as dead. And we’re no closer to killing Candle.”