BLUEMANTLE by Karen Langston (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud TXT) 📕

a stand,” he said, stifling a yawn. “They’re obsessed with the swallow holes. Apparently, the state isn’t doing enough to protect its citizens. Whatever that means. But they’re not even saying anything. They’re just hanging around on street corners, looking gormless.”

“They are restless. Look at their eyes. Most are probably high.”

Wulfwin smirked at the hypocrisy. He studied Blix’s wrought-iron posture and sculpted steel bun, searching for cracks in composure. “Whilst they appear to have the potential for mischief, I assure you their pathetic gesture is harmless. We’ve Special Forces on the ground, plenty of muscle to set the tone. A few carefully crafted messages will ease their minds.”

“Perhaps. But we must be on guard.” She stared at the biopsy’s shadowy forms. “They gather, multiply. Bacteria, feeding off each other, bloating and spreading. A contagion.” She pulled her gaze from the screen to scrutinise Wulfwin. “The man behind Bluemantle is still at large. Whilst Intelligence succeeded in decoding part of the last edition, they failed to crack it entirely. His skills in cryptography outsmarted our entire unit.”

“He uses a different key each time, but we’ve found connections. The team are still on the case. I hear they are close to establishing a pattern.”

“Comprehensively missing the boat. Meanwhile, he walks free.” She turned back to the monitors. “He’s an insurgent. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s agitating these packs of rats – a vector, spreading paranoia about the holes.”

“We have his papers, a full description and control of his quarters. Surveillance have marked him a priority target. We’ll find him. Besides, he can’t be that smart. He’d stashed a copy of every single edition of Bluemantle under his bed. Vanity may be his own undoing.”

“While you find hope in his failings, the fact he’s still out there is yet another failure on the part of your men.”

Wulfwin gritted his teeth. “Is that all, Governor? I have matters to attend.”

“No.” She glanced around her at the various Comms officers, all studiously occupied. “Follow me.”

She walked out of the room and down a long corridor, into an empty office at its far end. She turned and perched, arms crossed, on the edge of a desk that stood in the centre of the space.

Wulfwin entered the office, closing the door behind him. He slumped on a chair opposite the desk.

“You’ve been working on her for two days,” said Blix. “She must have nothing left. If she’s still alive, that is.”

“Touch and go.”

“You’re under orders, Commander. I want her kept alive. Everyone has a breaking point.”

“And I would have argued the same, before I had the challenge of finding hers.”

“Don’t tell me she’s winning.”

“She’s playing tough, but I will not be beaten.” He stood up, his mood altered by an aggravated nerve. “So yes, I have every intention of keeping her alive, regardless of my orders to do so. I’ve left her to recover, wherever that is physically possible. Tomorrow, we’re down to the ultimate test. I’m confident, she will break.”

“Make sure she does. The search of the caves concludes tomorrow. The following day we gas them. We need the location of the Music Makers from her to avoid casualties. I’d rather breathing prisoners over poisoned corpses. The end will ultimately be the same, but the former makes for a far more impressive trophy to parade.”

“I will do my very best.”

“And I want Commander Lore to watch. In the context of interrogation, you at your inimitable best is something I want him to see.”

“If he can pull himself together by then.”

“Explain.”

“He didn’t show for duty this morning. Signed himself off sick. Lily-livered wuss. Kept chucking up.”

“You’ve gone to see him.”

“No, of course I haven’t. He’s authorised to sign off. And I don’t give a shit about what state he’s in. The man needs to toughen up. That ain’t going to happen if I start checking up on his bloody wellbeing.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“Which is the distinct impression I get, Governor. What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”

She shot him a glance. “Nothing, Commander. And watch your language. You’ve a mouth like a cesspit amongst the troopers, but keep it clean in front of me.”

Wulfwin glared, his nostrils flared. “Of course, Governor. I apologise.” He stared ahead, through Blix, to an imagined point in space.

“And I don’t accept your reading of the citizens’ behaviour. I recognise the signs. You have to learn lessons from failures like Rideout. Early detection is a preventative measure. Then it’s a matter of swift intervention. Containment. Stop the disease from spreading. And, from what I just witnessed on those monitors, the symptoms are there. Do something about it.”

“As you wish, Governor. Do you have specific orders?”

“I have specific demands. Total control. Your suggestions.”

Wulfwin hesitated, weighing the options. He was tired of managing her paranoia. Frustrated, he decided to abandon the attempt entirely and, instead, indulge her need. “Chromatofen,” he said, deadpan. “We dope the city. Ensure unwitting compliance.”

Blix was captured. “Continue.”

“The water supply. We use Project Alpha. The excavation shaft cuts through the water source that feeds the spring in Spire Wells. We halt production at the purification plants, so that the spring is the only source of drinking water. As a gesture of the Authority’s goodwill, while the plants are closed for unspecified repairs, we increase production of bottled spring water and distribute it gratis. After two or three days’ worth of consumption, the citizens of Wydeye will have enough Chromatofen in their system to be eating out of our hands.”

“This is genius.” She could barely contain her delight. The prospect of such control, however deviously achieved, was giddying. She grasped the plan with greedy hands. “Do it. Implement immediately.”

“The protocols?”

“Bypass.”

“As you wish. Taking into account the time it will take for sufficient contaminated water to reach the spring, plus production time for bottling, I’d say we are looking at a week to ten days.”

“I want it distributed on the streets in four.” She held up a hand to stave objection. “And Wulfwin, this is strictly between us. Keep quantities