Hannah suddenly put a face to Benedict Sommers. He was the one chewing green gum who she’d met in the lift, on the way to the party. The one who was being questionnaired. What was he doing, working as a Liaison associate in St Placid? Nothing made sense.
– What happens is, we talk about the subsidence for a bit, and he says Mrs Park, you’re known to us as a highly responsible citizen, I note that you’ve been a VIP Customer since the beginning. And I say well, I’ve tried to do my bit, and the loyalty vouchers come in handy, don’t they. And then he wants to know if he could discuss something important with me, as a more senior member of society. Pride in her eyes now; the voice wavering a bit. And a quick glance at Hannah, who allowed her mouth to move in acknowledgement.
– And what was it?
– Well, what he said got me really nervous. Tilda gulped, and the loose chickeny skin of her neck trembled.
– He told me that there’s – She dropped her voice to a whisper. – A sect. Operating here, in St Placid. Possibly all over the country.
– A sect? asked Hannah, puzzled. It was news to her. What kind of sect?
– Terrorists, said Tilda, fanning out her skirt over her knees. It gave her the look of an ancient, cracked doll. – Eco somethings. They’re opposed to the Waste Pledge. Opposed to any type of progress, I think Benedict said. I remember types like them from the old days, before Libertycare. Thought we’d got rid of them, but he says bits of society are mutating, it happens when things are going too well. Anyway, they’re having to bring in a new code, he said, to curb them. They’re going to socially readjust them.
– Readjust them? Hannah was confused. Was this some sort of fantasy? Was her mother beginning to lose her marbles?
– Mass Readjustments, he said, to nip it in the bud.
Hannah sighed in frustration. All she wanted to do was get her hands on Leo’s envelope and then leave. Tilda’s garbled story was making her feel exasperated and restless.
– Nip what in the bud, exactly?
– Well. You know. It. The activities. The criminal activities. They’re ever so dangerous, you see.
– Who are?
Tilda tutted in annoyance.
– Haven’t you been listening? So anyway, he says we’re to keep a sharp lookout, because they’ve got followers everywhere. Tilda dropped her voice to a shaky whisper. – They’re involved in sabotage. It’s very hush-hush. They don’t want panic.
Nothing made sense. Hannah hadn’t heard any of this at Head Office. Surely the Department would be the very first to know of any new social disturbance. Why hadn’t Wesley Pike held a meeting?
– They’ve been funding it with all kinds of fraud, said Tilda.
– Fraud? Suddenly, she was listening.
– I mean, you name it, they’ve been involved, apparently.
– Like what? A weird sickness slapped at her.
– Well, they were experts on money, I know that much. They had zillions of companies, you know, those illegal offshore ones, the Cayman Islands and whatnot.
Hannah gulped back the nausea. The room suddenly felt very hot.
– Benedict says it’s all going to come out soon, though. There’s going to be a thing on TV about it at four, a sort of public-warning programme, it’s called Evil in Our Midst. You could stay and watch it, it’s on soon. Benedict says they keep a low profile themselves, the ringleaders.
– What ringleaders, Hannah said faintly.
Tilda leaned forward conspiratorially.
– They’ve got mug-shots of them. Benedict gave me some posters to put up on my front door, and on all the lamp-posts in the street. He said to wait till after the documentary, then pin them up.
The room seemed to be whirling now. To try and stop it, Hannah clamped her hands on the arm-rests of her chair.
– All the VIPs have been getting them. Tilda’s voice shook with pride. – We’ve got to study their faces, and memorise them, and stay alert. Fanny Urdle’s going nuts, she’s plastered the whole of her lobby with them already, because she reckons she’s actually seen one of them loitering in the street. Anyway, Benedict said to always keep my windows locked, and to get an extra bolt put on the front door. Some of their followers, they’re known rapists.
Hannah tried to keep her voice level. Something was thudding inside her, clotting her thoughts.
– And who are they, these – people?
– There are five of them, said Tilda. Three adults and two kids – just teenagers, I think. They’re all related. They’re a family. It’s all in the documentary apparently, so I guess all will be revealed. I’ll show you the posters though, look. Tilda hauled herself up painfully and slid open the drawer of the coffee table. She pulled out a glossy printed poster and spread it out in front of Hannah. – That’s them, she said.
And it was. Five faces. Mug-shots. Distorted, but recognisable. Staring back at her.
– They’re called the Hoggs, said Tilda. I don’t like the look of them, do you?
EVIL IN OUR MIDST
I’m in the Social Adjustment Office on the seventh floor.
– Sit down, Harvey, says the boy who opened the door, reaching for a pocket scanner and bar-coding the paperwork. He can’t be more than a teenager. – I’m your Social Adjustment associate, Marcus Hooley. Sorry about the heat in here, the air-conditioning’s on the blink, but we won’t keep you long, will we, Georgia? This is Georgia, who’s in charge of downloading the files onto paper.
There’s a girl sitting splay-legged on a swivel seat by a computer terminal.
– Hi there, Mr Kidd, she says, smiling. She’s got little dimples like puckered dough. – We’ve processed loads of stuff on you; your caseload’s running to thousands of pages. It doesn’t often get that big, does it, Marco? She giggles.
– So when’s my trial?
Marcus Hooley laughs at that.
– Nice one! The Georgia girl’s laughing too, and swivels a full circle in her chair. You can see from the way she does it, it’s a thing she’s practised. They’re just a couple of kids fresh out of a playground. – Welcome to planet Earth, Harvey, Marcus Hooley goes. OK. I’ll run the formula past you. The Liberty Machine assesses the evidence, see, and makes a decision on how far to adjust you. It’s probably in the system already, but it’s not scheduled to appear till the designated time.
My mouth sagged open. It hadn’t made sense when Pike’d said it. It’d just washed over me, I guess. I sighed, and slumped further into my seat. There didn’t seem anything more to say. So we waited in silence – him shooting flirty glances at the girl, me watching the clock and wondering when I’d next see Hannah. The minutes ticked by, and then all of a sudden the screen in front of Georgia flashed.
– Da-da! she said, her voice glittery and bright. Twelve o’clock on the button! Told you! She was addressing Marcus, not me. – We do bets, she smiled.
Hooley slid over to where the girl was sitting and leaned over her shoulder, one hand sliding round her waist.
– Looks like I owe you a drink then, he went.
She gave a little squeal. His eyes scanned the screen, and then he tapped a few keys.
– Right, Harvey, he said eventually, sucking in his cheeks. I’m afraid you’ve been declared an Enemy of Liberty. He scrolled down further with the mouse. On account of being the financial enabler of the Sect.
– Sect? What sect? I didn’t get it. – There’s been a mistake, I said. I don’t belong to a sect, I do fraud! Simple honest-to-goodness white-collar fraud!