Tessa’s breath caught in her throat. They had found her. The enemy. The ones that killed Tall Man. She had stayed in one place for far too long. Why had they thought Kapla was such a safe and out-of-the-way hideout?
Sar-short-for-Sarah was now standing directly in front of the bathroom stall in which Tessa had foolishly thought she would have time to collect herself.
“Agent Dust, are you going to make this more difficult than it has to be?”
Tessa thought about how, if she were a good House Agent, she would have a dozen contingency plans for a situation like this. She’d have gone to hide in a stall in which she had previously hidden a weapon, or she’d know some secret passage, or she’d have figured out Sar’s entire personal history and used psychology to manipulate her.
But no, at this point Tessa felt more like a trapped animal – like a lone deer separated from the herd.
She wasn’t going to stay in a bathroom stall for the rest of her life, and she suspected Sar would not be that patient either, so she stood up and opened the door.
Sar was standing there, and the image in Tessa’s vision was one that she noted could easily be totally innocuous in a different context. Tessa suspected Sar was in her mid to late 30s. She was a bit shorter than Tessa, and wore denim jeans and a light leather jacket that was dust-stained from the desert.
“You’re going to consider running,” said Sar. “I do not recommend it.”
“Give me a reason not to,” said Tessa. She genuinely hoped it would be an honest reason.
“Boss Man wants to talk. You know, he took a special interest in Jack, naturally. But, of course, he also took an interest in you.”
“He’s House?”
“That’s a complicated question.”
“Can I get the complicated answer?”
“Maybe from him.”
Tessa stepped over to the sink. She figured Sar had already checked underneath it to know that there were no stashed knives or guns or whatever, and Sar’s relaxed stance when she made that move suggested put Tessa slightly more at ease.
“My superior was stabbed to death. I don’t even know what we’re doing,” said Tessa. “Before I met Jack, my job was just to keep my superior updated on my exoplanetology studies.” The djinn bathroom sink dispensed alcohol-based hand sanitizer – it was another reminder how odd it was to be amongst a people who had so little use for water. “Coming out here, I’m the farthest into the desert I’ve been since I flew over it as a teenager. And you’re saying that you want me to go further out there. The only thing I think I can reasonably expect to find there is a shallow grave.”
“We’re not going to kill you, Dust.”
“What assurance do I have of that?”
“We know about the schism. House Agents slaughtering House Agents. It’s not just here, Dust. It’s all over the world. And the whole thing is so compartmentalized that no one even knows which side they’re on.”
“But you do?”
“Oh, I’m not House. Never have been.”
“You’ll forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical.”
“It’s true. Boss Man couldn’t afford to bring in anyone from the House, even if he could find those of a similar mind to his.”
“So, what does he want with me?”
Sar leaned against the wall. “He wants to use you.”
“That’s not a very enticing pitch.”
“Dust, I’ve got to be perfectly honest, I don’t really know what he intends to do with you. Jack’s the main event, sure. But I think he’s going to need you too.”
“What does he want with us, then?”
“You’ve figured out why the House sent you to recruit Jack, right?”
“He has powers.”
“Sure, you could say that. But there are powers and there are powers. Boss Man is playing things close to the vest, as is his wont. My job here is relatively simple. I’ve got to get you and Jack over to our camp.”
“What happens if I don’t come?”
“Then my part in this is over. That’s when others get involved.”
“That’s ominous,” said Tessa.
“Again, I recommend you come with.”
“Threats aren’t going to do much to endear me to this Boss Man of yours.”
“I don’t think he cares whether you’re endeared. I recommend thinking about your options. I think you’ll find you don’t have many other than to cooperate.”
Tessa walked over to the mirror, glancing over to the door, performing some calculations about how fast she could run. Sar took a step toward the door.
“In the interest of playing fair here, you should know that I’m not the only one who works for him here. It’s the closest settlement to our camp.”
“How did you know that Jack would come here?”
Sar shook her head. “Boss Man knows things. It’s amazing, frankly.”
“And why are you working for him?”
Sar rested her back against the door jam. “Let’s see, that’s an interesting question. Dust, you’ve been with the House for a while, right? Since childhood?”
“Yes, and don’t think your knowing that is going to make this any less creepy for me.”
“So, this might be a difficult exercise in imagination. Imagine you’d never been recruited. You have no connection to this thing. Imagine, then, that for your entire life, you’ve heard paranoid conspiracy theories that there is a clandestine organization that has infiltrated every government, every major learning institution, every major business. And this organization manipulates them – to entirely mysterious ends. So, you think, this must be ridiculous – a fantasy to blame for systemic problems rather than addressing the real issues. Some new medicine isn’t getting to people who need it? Oh, that’s not mismanagement or incompetence – it’s The House! Some unpopular law passes, seemingly against the will of the people? It’s not the result of your own myopic political perspective, no, it’s The House!”
“But the House is real.”
“Yes, the House is real. Can’t you see why we’d want to fight against it then? We’ve discovered that the boogeyman is real. What other rational step is there to take but to rise up in opposition to it?”
“That ‘boogeyman’ saved my life when I was a child.”
Sar nodded. “That’s true. And I know that’s why this is difficult for you. But look at the lives it has taken. It’s eating its own tail. Tall Man was killed by Agents of the House. Mr. Flow was shot by Agents of the House. It was Agents of the House who almost killed you, and who destroyed your life’s work. Do you really think you still owe the House anything?”
Tessa – Agent Dust – let loose a deep sigh. “I’m not saying I trust you,”
“That’s perfectly reasonable,” replied Sar.
“But I suppose that if I don’t come with, your friends are just going to shoot me in the back.”
Sar did not respond to this.
“If Jack is as powerful as you say he is, then you should know that he’s going to protect me.”
“We suspect he will. That’s why we don’t mean to do anything that will provoke him.”
“Then give me a few minutes and I’ll pack my bags.”
Sar smiled. “Good. You’ll see when you meet Boss Man, he’s reasonable, and really, the main thing he want right now is to talk.”
Tessa went back to her room, keenly aware that Sar was probably waiting just outside the door. Fear flowed through her veins like ice water. But there was nothing to do, so she gathered the clothes the kind djinn had given to her and stuffed them in a bag.
And then she saw the phone. There was an old telephone with a rotary dial in the corner of the room. She had seen it before, hadn’t she? Maybe there just hadn’t been anyone to call before.
She picked it up and dialed. It was an old phone number – one that she knew by heart. It was the number of the baker who gave her a cookie when she skinned her knee, and then gave her both of her names.
“Hello?” said the voice on the other end.
“Ellie, it’s me, Tessa.”
“Tessa, thank the gods. Are you all right? I read about the observatory and Tom and I have been in a panic for the past few-“
“I’m alive, Ellie. I’m ok. But I need you to do me a favor.”
“Sure, Tessa. Anything you want.”
“Kapla Furance Village. I’m going to see Boss Man. Tell the appropriate people.”
And then she hung up.
(Copyright Daniel Szolovits 2020)
