“So what do you say? Are you game?”
“Would I have an official title? I’ve always wanted an official title.”
“How about, my conscience?”
“Yes,” said Penny. “I could do that.”
“But first,” I said carefully, “I have to ask, Penny. Were you a part of the Zero Tolerance faction?”
“No,” Penny said immediately. “They had some good ideas, but I don’t believe in factions within the family.”
“Another good reason why I want you on my side.”
“What makes you think I’m on your side?”
It was my turn to consider her thoughtfully. “You were my contact for years,” I said finally. “You know me better than most. You know the things I’ve done for the family; the missions they gave me because they were too dangerous or too dirty for anyone else. You know I’ve always believed in what this family is supposed to stand for. I want to rebuild the family in its own image, not mine.”
“Against my better judgement, I think I believe you,” said Penny. “I’m not sure I believe in you; we’ll have to see what happens. But I’m…prepared to be persuaded. Someone has to pull this family together, and if the Matriarch won’t…But let me make one thing very clear, Eddie. I never fancied you. Not ever.”
“Of course not,” I said. “You know me better than most.”
We both managed a small smile. I looked at my watch and winced.
“The Inner Circle is waiting for me in the Sanctity right now,” I said. “Come along, and I’ll introduce you.”
“There’s somewhere else we need to go first,” Penny said firmly. “Trust me, Eddie; you really need to see what’s happening down in the War Room.”
“Oh hell,” I said. “It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it?”
So we went down into the War Room. Which meant going all the way over to the north wing, and down underground past all the security measures and the goblin watchdogs, and finally into the huge steel-lined stone chamber that holds the family War Room. It’s always a sight to set you back on your heels; the nerve centre of all our secret wars, and the invisible armies who clash by night and by day. Huge display screens covered all the walls, showing every country and major city in the world, along with a whole bunch of places that only people like us know are important. Bright coloured lights indicated people we were watching, and ongoing problems in which we had an interest.
Family members sat in long rows at their workstations, concentrating on their work so they wouldn’t have to look at me. Farseers covered potential trouble spots with their thoughts, while technicians worked their more-than-state-of-the-art computers for up-to-the-moment intelligence. Most of our secret wars are won in this room before a shot is fired, due to our superior planning and knowledge. And yet something was definitely wrong in the War Room. I walked slowly around the workstations, peering over people’s shoulders, and scowling at the display screens on the walls. Penny strolled along beside me, saying nothing, letting me work it out for myself.
“Nothing’s happening,” I said finally. “The maps on the walls should be lit up like Christmas trees, and the operations-planning table should be a hive of activity, but nothing’s happening. This is … unprecedented.”
“Which is why I wanted you to see this for yourself,” said Penny. “So you’d have some idea of how the world is coping, without the family looking over its shoulder. The threat boards are quiet because everyone else is too confused and too scared to start anything. They don’t know why we’ve gone so quiet, and why so many of our field agents have suddenly dropped off the board. Are we hurt, are we weak; or are we running one of our fiendishly complicated and intricate operations, designed to suck people in and then stamp on their heads once they’ve foolishly taken the bait? We’ve done it before, after all. But look around you, Eddie. See how tense everyone is?”
“I thought that was just my presence.”
“Oh, get over yourself. Everyone here is running on hot tea and adrenaline, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting to see which country or organisation or individual will finally start something, just to see how much they can get away with.”
“None of the lights show agents in the field,” I said suddenly. “No ongoing operations.”
“That’s because there aren’t any,” said Penny. “After you took away the family’s golden torcs, the agents in the field had no choice but to go to ground. They’d been left helpless, vulnerable, without their armour, and we can’t afford for any of our enemies to know that. Not yet. No one’s been killed, as yet. But it’s only a matter of time.”
I realised people all around me had looked up from their workstations to stare at me accusingly. I glared back, and they quickly returned to their work. I stood still, scowling furiously, thinking hard. This was all my fault. I hadn’t thought it through. When I discovered the family’s golden armour was powered by the trapped souls of sacrificed children, all I could think of was to put a stop to it. I hadn’t stopped to consider that I was putting other lives at risk. I don’t think it would have stopped me anyway, but I hadn’t thought. And ever since, I’d been too caught up in running the Hall to think about the big picture. That the world depends on the agents in the field to keep it safe, and the agents depend on the Hall.
“All right,” I said to Penny. “Put out the call. All field agents to come home.”
“That could be dangerous for some of them,” said Penny. “Staying out of sight is all that’s keeping some of them alive.”
“Well, tell them to use their best judgement,” I said impatiently. “But unless they come back to the Hall to be vetted, they won’t be considered for one of the new silver torcs. Tell them they can use the old secret paths; I’ll authorise the extra expense.”
I moved over to the main operations table, picked up a sheaf of the latest reports, and thumbed quickly through them. People around the table looked scandalised. Such material was only for the eyes of the Matriarch. Everyone knew I’d replaced Martha as head of the family, but it clearly still hadn’t sunk in for a lot of people.
“Where’s Truman?” I said finally. “I don’t see anything about him here. Don’t we have any recent updates about Manifest Destiny? They must be regrouping by now, so why don’t I see anything on their new base, their new centre of operations? Come on, people; I’ll settle for a best guess. An organisation that big can’t hope to start up again without leaving all kinds of telltale traces. Follow the leader, follow the money, follow the threads on the message boards; but find them! They can’t just have vanished!”
“Intelligence is working on that,” Penny said calmly. “We haven’t all forgotten how to do our jobs, just because you’re not here to hold our hands. But Manifest Destiny gives every indication of having climbed into a deep hole and then pulled it in after itself. They may be weakened, after what you did to them, and well done you, but their security is still first rate. And Truman…was and is a genius. You should have killed him when you had the chance.”
“I never had the chance,” I growled.
“What do you think he’ll do now?”
“Hard to tell. He’s a genuine fanatic, dedicated to his cause; running the world the way he thinks it should be run, and everyone else eliminated. He was held back in the past by the Zero Tolerance faction…Without them to rein him in, God alone knows what atrocities he’s planning now.”
“His old base, down below the Underground train system, is completely deserted,” said Penny. “We’ve got a few people there, looking around, hoping to turn up something useful.”
“Hold it,” I said. “There were only two field agents in London: me, and Matthew. I’m here, and he’s dead, so who have you got running around under London?”
“Volunteers,” Penny said sharply. “The work has to go on, even if you’re…distracted. Not everyone wants to hide here in the Hall until you get around to handing out new torcs. Some of us still understand about duty and responsibility.”