Chapter 3 #3
But it occurred to her that her roommate had not only thought about getting a fake ID, but had also gone through with it.
The hochlen who had been keeping Rosalia had been violent towards her.
More than enough reason, as far as Hallie was concerned, for her friend to want a new life.
Rosalia had been taking steps to set up an escape for herself, keeping a bag ready to go, and getting herself fake papers.
But having false travel papers, or a fake paper ID wouldn’t deal with the information that was embedded into the chip in her arm.
The information coded on that was secured by layers of encryption in ways Hallie didn’t pretend to understand.
But Rosalia might have had a plan to deal with that, too.
“Rosalia, you had an unregistered phone and fake ID. How were you going to manage the ID chip?” Hallie asked.
Rosalia blinked, looking startled. “Why are you asking about that?” there was a hint of defensiveness in her voice and her shoulders stiffened.
“I’m sorry. That was a really abrupt change of subject,” Hallie said.
“I was talking to the director earlier. There were bodies on a previous case which didn’t have an ID in them, and it just got me thinking.
The director thinks they might have come from outside the city, which seemed weird to me. Why would anyone want to come here?”
“Oh, right, so you’re curious,” Rosalia said, the tension leaving her. “For a moment, I thought you might be wanting to report me.”
“Saints, no,” Hallie said immediately, and with enough force that Rosalia smiled. “I wouldn’t do that. I was just being nosey. I’m sorry if I worried you.”
“It’s alright. You know, I haven’t thought about it for quite a while. I remember when I was getting everything ready, thinking I was going to need to leave and planning where I would go. And, yes, I wondered about the ID chip as well. The papers I had came with a chip as well.”
“Oh, really?” Hallie sat forward, interested.
“Yes. Kind of a patch that would go on my wrist, like a second skin, with a chip to match my new ID. It was quite clever, really. There was some kind of shield under the new chip so that the old one wouldn’t show up.”
“That is clever,” Hallie said. “I don’t suppose you still have it?”
“No,” Rosalia said, shaking her head. “When I got the lease for the bakery and realised I had a future here, and a life I could build on my own, I destroyed them.”
She was telling the truth. And if Hallie was a little disappointed not to be able to see the device Rosalia had mentioned, her heart warmed at the idea that her friend had destroyed her escape plan, instead settling into the new life she was building.
“I might still have the contact information for the person I got the papers from. It was one of those word-of-mouth things, but I might be able to recreate it.”
“That would be good, thank you.”
“You’re not planning on faking your ID as well, are you?” Rosalia asked, laughing.
“No, not me,” Hallie smiled back, “but I was just wondering how someone would go about that. All the skips I went after stayed in the city and didn’t try to leave.”
“Well, leaving is expensive. I mean, eye-watering amounts of money,” Rosalia said, and then laughed again. “So, basically, I destroyed at least two years’ worth of rent and food when I got rid of the ID.”
“I’m really glad you decided to stay,” Hallie said. And not just that, but follow her own dreams and live in a way that made her roommate light up. The bakery, and now this run-down house that she was quite sure Rosalia would turn into a beautiful home, given enough time.
“Me too. Now, let’s eat.”
A couple of hours later, Hallie was laughing along with Rosalia at the televised play her roommate had found.
It was a truly ridiculous, light-hearted comedy with a group of hopelessly incompetent thieves trying to steal an object, and being foiled at every turn by their own missteps as well as the accidental intervention by the police officers trying to protect the object.
Hallie had already forgotten what the thieves’ target was, and it didn’t really matter.
The shrill ring of her phone snapped her away from the nonsense on the television. She saw Girard’s name on the phone screen with some surprise and a little flutter in her stomach. She got to her feet and moved across to the kitchen to try and avoid disturbing Rosalia.
“Hi,” Hallie said, answering the phone.
“I’m sorry to disturb your evening,” Girard said.
Hallie frowned slightly. She’d had a lot of conversations with Girard over the past couple of weeks, both in person and on the phone, and was used to hearing a certain warmth in his voice when he spoke to her.
It had been almost absent this time, which suggested this wasn’t a personal call. “It’s not a problem. What’s up?”
“The Conclave have asked for our help,” Girard said.
Hallie blinked in surprise, then remembered he couldn’t see her.
“Really? The Conclave itself?” She remembered that when she’d spoken to Cotovatre the day before, the lady had been pulled out of a meeting.
Not knowing much about the lady’s business, Hallie hadn’t given it much thought. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s an unusual assignment. We’re being asked to travel out of Daydawn at first light tomorrow, and be prepared to stay away for a few days.”
“Ah. Out of Daydawn? I don’t have papers for that,” Hallie said, moving to the dining table and planting herself on one of the chairs, not wanting to be distracted by her racing pulse and the sudden weakness in her legs.
She’d only been out of the city itself once in her life, and never out of the country.
She had a moment’s half-hysterical thought that she might need Rosalia’s fake ID-maker after all.
“Don’t worry about that. The Conclave have issued permits for us both,” Girard said. Something in his voice suggested that was highly unusual.
“Where are we going?” Hallie asked. In all likelihood, the name wouldn’t mean much to her, but she wanted to know anyway.
“Paradise,” Girard answered, naming the human-only enclave that had been founded perhaps a dozen years before and had quickly grown into a refuge of sorts.
“The Conclave wants us to go to Paradise?” Hallie asked, scepticism heavy in her voice. “Will the residents even let us on the island?” As far as she knew, only humans had been allowed to set foot on the island since it had been settled by them about two decades before.
“The Conclave thinks they will. The community there has applied for a seat on the Conclave, after all.” There was a note in Girard’s voice which suggested he shared at least some of Hallie’s doubts on that front.
The residents of Paradise had made it a core principle of their island that only humans were allowed.
They wouldn’t even let veondken set foot on the land.
And now the Conclave was asking two hochlen to go.
For all that she’d been born human and raised in low city, Hallie was now hochlen through-and-through.
“That’s true. Do you know why we’re being asked to go?” Now she was getting used to the idea, Hallie’s curiosity sparked. She’d hoped that working for the Conclave would allow her to travel, but hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
“Well, us specifically because Daydawn is the closest centre to the island. The other investigation teams are much farther out and on other assignments and the Conclave want this looked into quickly.” There was a pause, and Hallie could hear the hint of humour in Girard’s voice as he went on.
“You’ll find that when the Conclave makes up their mind on something, they generally want it done quickly. ”
“Got it,” Hallie answered, a smile in her own voice. It was in keeping with her limited exposure to the Conclave.
“Beyond that, as to why, there’s not much to go on.
The Conclave has been negotiating with one of the islanders in particular, a man named Waller Howther.
He’s not responded to any of their messages for the past ten days.
They want us to go and find out what’s happening, and why they’ve lost touch.
” Girard paused again. “The director also thought that your presence might help, as you’ve lived among humans for so long. ”
Hallie’s brows lifted at that, even though she could understand the director’s point.
Most of the Conclave Investigators she’d met came across as what she thought of as typical members of the elite - arrogant and self-assured.
She had a hard time remembering that Girard was hochlen sometimes, but any human who didn’t know him would see him as such.
But Hallie hadn’t been raised among the elite and was quite sure she didn’t come across as one of them.
She’d been told as much to her face by Girard’s father.
Verain Abbott had meant it as an insult. It didn’t feel like that to Hallie.
“Ah, Hallie, I hope you’re not offended?” Girard asked.
“No, not at all,” Hallie said. “I was actually thinking that makes sense. But I did wonder, can’t the Conclave send their own staff?
” Hallie asked, then shook her head even though Girard couldn’t see the gesture.
“I don’t mean I don’t want to go. I do. I’ve always wanted to travel.
But it just seems strange that the Conclave would send an investigator? ”
“That’s what we’re here for,” Girard said, a hint of laughter in his voice. “And even though the island is a human colony, it’s still under Conclave jurisdiction.”
“Huh. So, do they want to test whether the community will let us in?” Hallie asked slowly, slightly uneasy at the prospect.
“If that’s the case, what about the tactical team?
” She felt even more uneasy mentioning the heavily armed, highly trained unit assigned to the Conclave Investigators.
They would have no difficulty in dealing with a few stubborn humans, she was quite sure.
“The message that was relayed to me is that the Conclave wanted a low key, light touch. So no show of force.” Girard paused again, and Hallie could almost see his mind turning even through the phone.
“We’ve done this sort of thing before. Gone into a place to investigate, I mean.
Clearly, we’ve not gone into Paradise. It is possible that the Conclave wants to test the response from the island.
It’s also possible that the more conservative members of the Conclave want to find out what the investigators can actually do.
We’ve had some successes lately, but we’re still a new outfit as far as they are concerned. ”
“Alright,” Hallie said, her nerves settling, and anticipation running through her. “Do I need to bring anything in particular? What’s the weather like?”
“It should be a similar climate to the city,” Girard said, “but it’s coming towards the end of winter, so it’s unpredictable. And as it’s an island, I’d expect rain. Do you have some of the outer layers from the Vertiger?”
“I do, actually. Cotovatre and Alys insisted that I bring some all-weather clothing back with me,” Hallie said, a smile in her own voice as she remembered the end of the visit to Cotovatre’s country house.
It had started as a murder investigation but had ended in a few days of unexpected leisure as they waited for the snow to clear enough for the train line to open back to the city.
“I’d bring that, then. Waterproofs and tough boots are always useful. I’ll pick you up,” Girard said, and named a time. She caught the sound of another voice through the other end of the line, the words indistinct. “Oh, Director Roth wants to know if you want a weapon?”
“Oh, goodness, I hadn’t even called him yet to let him know when I could start,” Hallie said, annoyed with herself. Wilona’s unexpected appearance had completely taken over her evening.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll let him know you’d spoken to Regina Talbot. What about a weapon?” Girard asked.
“Ah. Well, I don’t really know how to use one.
So, no, thank you,” Hallie said. She still wasn’t entirely comfortable being around the guns and other weaponry that the investigators carried as a matter of course.
She’d fired a gun more than once, and hadn’t liked the experience.
She couldn’t imagine having to carry one day-to-day.
“Alright. I’ll pass that on. Looks like we’ll miss our dinner tomorrow, but I’ll see you in the morning,” Girard said, his voice shading from his professional tone into the warmer tone Hallie was growing used to, reminding Hallie that he wasn’t alone at his end of the call.
She had a moment’s regret about the dinner, quickly overtaken by her nervous excitement about the mission ahead.
Hallie said goodbye and ended the call, only then realising that the television had fallen silent and Rosalia was staring at her with wide eyes.
“You’re working for the Conclave? Going to Paradise?” Rosalia’s voice rose through the questions. “Tomorrow?”
“Seems like it,” Hallie agreed. “I’m sorry. Short notice. Will you be alright on your own?”
“Of course I will,” Rosalia said, dismissing the worry before it could fully form in Hallie’s mind. “But, Paradise? Will you try to take pictures? Or at least, tell me what it’s like?”
Rosalia had once thought about escaping to Paradise, Hallie remembered, only to realise that because of her past association with one of the hochlen, it was unlikely that the community would have accepted her.
All the same, the island remained a tantalising lure for many low city karlen fed up with being ruled over by elite who were rarely seen outside their hill-top residences.
It was the only place outside the city that Rosalia had ever expressed an interest in visiting and Hallie felt a pang of regret for her friend that she’d most likely never get to see it.
“I will,” Hallie promised. “I’m curious to know what it’s like, too. I wonder if it’s a bit like the old parts of the city?”
“Oh, it might be,” Rosalia said, eyes bright with interest. “And it’s a proper island, too, so I imagine there’s lots of great seafood. You’ll have to try the local food, too.”
“I will,” Hallie said again, laughing. Trust Rosalia to want to know about the food on offer almost before anything else.
“Right now, I need to go and pack.” She got up from the table with excitement coursing over her skin.
She was getting to go to a completely new place, far away from everything that was familiar to her, to see completely new things.
And to witness first hand the community on Paradise, which she had thought would always be closed to her.
She wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep at all.