“Unit 3, I have not received a circuit, I repeat, I have not received a circuit.”
“Forthcoming sir…”
“Roger, we will take care of the review. The update is a go. Please stress the danger to the Castle, no more visitors. Understand? The update is go. Articles 2.4 and 2.6 have been declassified.”
“Roger King, Unit 3 will update the Castle at 12 hundred hours. Articles 2.4 and 2.6 are public domain, roger.”
* * *
Elisa grips the wheel and accelerates over the hill, roaring towards her brother’s estate. He will be there, this is the final act, the end game, when the king is required to take the rook or be forced into defeat. She has not seen him and she must see him, before he completes it, before she can agree to anything. She knows now what he intends and she cannot contradict him, but she will be a part of it. She knows Captain Vincent has been forced to retaliate, to save himself, after the truth, that night of truth she’d covertly prescribed to him, when he’d confessed. The following morning he was not waiting for her to wake, he had left and she had not seen him since. Then, the telephone calclass="underline" “they will strike and you will be sent for rebranding, the whole lot of you will be, and the lost man will be found and the world will continue on. But, Elisa, you don’t have to be there, you don’t have to be caught and I won’t keep pursuing you, all you have to do is say ‘yes’ and you won’t have to be sent away to lose everything you care about. They will be caught and they will be forced to go, but you don’t have to Elisa, not if you’re willing to come with me and to accept my marriage proposal, because then you will be legitimate.” She had hung-up and had drawn her legs to her chest and stared down at the phone.
“Nicholas? They know far more than you thought. They know who you are and what you call yourself; they think you’re the leader. There have been two reports about you drifting around the department; he said they have you listed for rebranding, but that all they are waiting for his an Action Request from Section 2. They also know our future plans, where you’ll be speaking next, they’ve put a stop on your ability to publish anymore books and he said they know about Ghost and Frankenstein and the Captain and everybody.”
Elisa turned onto the highway towards the country. Vincent would be there, waiting for her, for her decision. She tried to imagine what he’d say if she refused, she tried to imagine him arresting her, or ordering an agent to do so. He had to, he had told her everything. Her chest ached considering it, seeing him, finally seeing for herself the proof, even as she had known since the very beginning, now she would see him in his uniform, behaving as an official and she would be required to make a decision: accept his proposal or be taken away, away to the uncertain, the uncertain place where they would turn her into someone else, someone else who would not know she had been anything different before, someone else who would not know what Graham had done to her as a child, someone else who would not know what it was like to grow up an adopted Greene, someone else who would have never met Joseph Moore, who would have never tried to change things, someone else who had never had an impure thought, who had never fucked an agent for information, someone else who had no recollection of all the things that made her who she was.
Joseph would be there too, hidden away, he would be preparing himself for the last phase of his mission, he would need her help and she, at least as one last action, could help him. All she needed to do was find him, or find him before Vincent did.
“Graham, I’m coming out to see you.”
“Well isn’t this a surprise. You’re always welcome here.”
“I’m going to stay for a few days.”
“We’d love to have you, Elisa.”
“I’ll be there in a few hours.”
“Are you all right?”
“Don’t be obnoxious. I’ll see you in awhile.”
“Okay. Drive safely.”
* * *
Captain Vincent had come out to inspect the Greene estate himself. He stood before his men (those not out on patrol) and regaled them with threats, promises and accusations, concerning the invader, the guests, and the protection plan. He had not yet reviewed the guest list, although he knew there was a chance she’d be there, because he was too busy coordinating the operation. The Players had gone underground after the raid. Not one of the leaders was captured. But Section 9 agents had recovered valuable documentation.
The department blocked all further distribution of the company’s books. Godfather was real. Arthur Dodger, a.k.a. Father Nicholas, a.k.a. the Wolf was a general, not the chief. They were all his generals; she was one of his agents. Section 9 was on the rampage. Section 2 was providing support. Section 6 was off the job. They were to guard the Greene’s and maintain their surveillance. If anything happened, Section 9 would be deployed to deal with it.
In just a few days, the maneuver was complete. The rumors and tales finally came to fruition; Section 9 was now the bureau and the department. Grunts of mindless action had overwhelmed the more deliberate and cerebral sections. They were now giving orders. Captain Vincent was a figurehead; he received his orders from any member of 9, regardless of their rank. The director was powerless. She would be picked up soon. Vincent was sure of it. It would not take long for them to find the connection. Then no A-list or Untouchable status would protect her, not even Graham would have a say. It was the beginning of the end for her.
Vincent hoped she’d show; he’d left things badly. He knew she knew who he was, that she was aware that he was watching her, and that he knew of her involvement. He knew she could see through his conversion talks and pleas. She was a traitor that he had come to care for, that was all, still a traitor. He had tried to help her. She had made the choice. She’d be sent for rebranding as soon as they caught her. It was the difference between he and them. He had seduced her and implored her. They would torture and destroy her. When he saw her again, she would be a vessel of her former self. Rebranded, medicated, hollow, but a citizen again.
A red convertible passed Point 3. She is in his car. Why would she come? Does she know I’m here? She does not know herself. She is running. A few more moments…
She never thinks of me, I was just another. She never thought of the Wolf or the father either. But she thinks of him, she has been thinking of him since she first took his hand.
She has been stopped at the gate. She will be here in a few moments. Let her through.
Captain Vincent leaves the guardhouse and begins to walk towards her car as she pulls into a space outside of the garage. She is in a hurry. Elisa steps out of Dodger’s car and absently turns toward the house.
“Elisa!” He is here.
“Yes.”
There he is, his jacket, the emblem of the bureau, the patch of the department, the 6 on his chest.
“How are you?” stupidly conversational…
“Fine. Decided to change careers recently?” she asks Arnoldianly.
“I’m going to ask you one more time, Elisa,” staying his course, ignoring her impertinence, “will you marry me?”
“No. I don’t believe in marriage between the species.”
“There’s nothing else for you to do,” he continues Paulianly.
“I see, you or nothing? You turning me in Vincent?”
“I have to, it’s my job.”