Chapter 19 Mattie #2
To that, Dave smiled, all eight of them. "You forget what we can do." He tapped his temple. "The Tarik who attacked you will confess his crime."
Mattie grimaced. "What if you force a false confession?"
"I won't." All eight of Dave turned toward the door. "You will not have to worry about that particular Tarik anymore."
As the door closed behind them, Mattie was left standing in the middle of the lab, the Brotherhood phone clutched in her hand, wondering what she had just set in motion.
"Sran' gospodnya!" Petrov exclaimed. He'd been so quiet during the exchange that Mattie had almost forgotten he was there. "What just happened?"
Mattie looked down at the phone in her hands. "Dave just gave me a way to contact him," she said. "And I think he's going to kill Tarik."
"Probably not just Tarik." Dimitri sounded more satisfied than grim. "I wouldn't be too surprised if the Eight eliminated the entire group."
"Because of me?"
Dimitri ran a hand through his hair. "Dave doesn't think the way we do, or even other immortals.
He doesn't see individuals. He sees patterns, systems, and threats to be neutralized.
Tarik attacked you. Tarik's friends are loyal to Tarik.
Therefore, Tarik's friends are potential threats. To him, that makes perfect sense."
Mattie felt sick. She hadn't asked for this. She'd answered Dave's questions because he'd left her no choice, compelling her to tell him everything he wanted to know. And now people were going to die.
Did they deserve that for what they had almost done, but didn't?
Would it be better to eliminate them so they wouldn't do that to other helpless females?
Who was going to miss them?
They didn't have families.
And yet, she felt sick to her stomach knowing that she was the cause of their demise.
Or maybe not.
Dave hadn't said that he was going to kill Tarik. He'd only said that Tarik wouldn't bother her anymore. Perhaps he would just send him off island on some mission.
Yeah, that was what he'd probably meant. A mission somewhere far away from the island.
Which reminded her of what was clutched in her hand.
She held the phone out to Dimitri. "Maybe we can use it to contact someone on the outside?"
At his workstation, Petrov activated the portable speaker, and the lab filled with the blaring strains of Russian folk music.
Mattie flinched at the sudden noise, then understood. The cameras. The microphones. They were always watching, always listening.
Dimitri shook his head. "It's too late." He pitched his voice just loud enough to be heard over the music. "Whoever was watching the feed saw what Dave did. They saw him give you the phone. Besides, it's most likely restricted."
"So, what do we do?" she asked.
"I'll help you carry that furniture upstairs," Petrov said. "And if you want my decorating advice, I'll provide it free of charge." He winked.
There were no cameras upstairs.
What Petrov was offering wasn't help with furniture. He was offering them a private talk away from the surveillance that monitored the lab.
"That would be great," she said. "Thank you."
Petrov killed the music. "Let's get started, shall we?"
Dimitri and Petrov hefted the dresser, and Mattie followed them with the two lamps.
There was barely any room left to move around after they positioned the large piece of furniture against the wall, and the three of them sat on the edge of the bed.
Mattie set the phone on the filing cabinet. "Do we even try? I'm sure all calls are monitored. I'm not even sure we should keep it around. They might be listening to us through the device even when it's closed."
Dimitri chuckled. "We are not that important. What are we going to do, start an uprising?"
"True," Petrov said, reaching for the phone. "It's just that it has been so long since I had one of those. It feels like holding on to a piece of lost civilization."
"I wouldn't worry about the surveillance downstairs.
" Dimitri tapped his fingers against his knees.
"I'm sure Dave will take care of it in his special way.
I just wonder about the Eight's motives.
They don't experience emotions the way we do.
Not anymore. Perhaps they still remember what it felt like when they were individuals, before they merged their consciousness, and because they miss having feelings, they are trying to recreate them by forming a friendship with us. "
"Maybe he's just lonely." Mattie turned to Dimitri. "You said that he can't get stimulation from his other selves because they're all the same person, and it seems that the only real interaction he gets is with us."
"The Eight spend a lot of time with Losham, but I doubt Losham treats Dave as a person. To him, they are just a tool to be used."
"And vice versa," Petrov said. "Dave is more powerful than Losham, but they don't have the knowledge and smarts that Losham has. They need to cooperate to rule this island in Lord Navuh's absence."
"Right." Dimitri ran a hand through his hair. "We are the closest Dave has to friends." He turned to Mattie. "He cares about you enough to give you a phone so you can call him when you need help. Do you know what that means?"
"It means we have an ally," she said with a smile. "A powerful ally. One who's willing to kill to protect us."
"It means more than that." Petrov leaned back, propping himself on his forearms. "It means Dave is changing again. Evolving in unexpected ways." He shook his head. "Whether that's good or bad, it's hard to say. But it is certainly interesting to watch."