17. Kian
KIAN
T urner arrived first, as he usually did, which was no surprise.
"You're early," Kian said, dropping into the chair next to his at the conference table.
"That's because I want to get the best seat," Turner said.
Was that a joke?
Turner didn't tell jokes, but the conference table was oblong, so how did he decide which seat was the best?
"I'm not even going to ask." Kian lifted the coffee carafe and poured Turner and himself a cup.
"It's the one next to you," Turner explained. "When I come before the others, chances are that you will pick the chair next to mine."
Kian lifted a hand to his chest. "I feel so special."
Turner frowned. "You are the leader of this community. Of course, you are special."
That sounded like another joke, or a tease, but since it was coming from Turner, it was neither. The guy lacked a sense of humor.
Onegus came in next, followed by Lokan and Kalugal, who came together, but Kian doubted they had coordinated their arrival.
Toven got there last. "So, we are calling Losham again." He pulled out a chair. "Better brace ourselves for it."
"I expect a tantrum," Kian said. "We destroyed two tunnels, cutting the military side off from the resort side, and we blocked the secret tunnel that led from the mansion to the harem. Losham is crippled, and probably in full panic mode."
Next to him, Turner nodded. "He's not in a good place, that's for sure. The Eight were his most valuable asset."
Kian shifted on his chair so he could face him. "What's their status?"
"Volkov prepared the drug they depend on the same night they arrived. The Eight helped him set up the lab in the keep's kitchen and got their first dose no more than an hour later. Petrov joined Volkov the next day, in a limited capacity. He's still recovering from the gunshot wound."
"How are the Eight doing?" Kian asked. "Any complaints?"
Turner tilted his head. "They are settling in, and I haven't heard them complaining about their accommodations, but Volkov's girlfriend is upset about how they are being treated.
She thinks it's unfair they're kept in the dungeon level while she and the scientists get a penthouse.
I did my best to explain why precaution was necessary, and she understood, but she still thought that it was unfair and that they should be given the benefit of the doubt. "
"I feel bad about that too." Kian rubbed a hand across his jaw. "But I'd rather feel bad than sorry. What's your read on them?"
"Hard to say." Turner leaned back. "They were jittery as hell before the first dose, but tried their best to hide it, which indicates control.
I was looking for the signs of withdrawal, so I noticed the tremors and twitching.
I was there to see them getting the first dose, but I didn't stay, so I don't know how fast it worked. "
"The Guardians stationed with them say that they are much better today," Onegus said.
"They are calm, cooperative, and polite, which is surprising for males that grew up in the Brotherhood war machine.
Doomers are not known for their good manners.
" He glanced at Lokan and Kalugal. "No offense, but you two do not represent the average Doomer. "
"No offense taken," Kalugal said. "And I agree that Doomers usually are not polite.
I'm curious to meet them." He turned to Kian.
"Can I visit? I'm a council member, but I wasn't told where the hidden entrance is.
" He smirked. "Just so you know, I could have figured that out with ease, but I didn't bother. "
Kian didn't doubt that Kalugal could have found the entrance, but he doubted very much that he hadn't.
"You forget how well I know you, cousin. You wouldn't have been able to sleep at night until you solved the mystery."
"That is true, but I also know how upset you would be if I discovered your secrets, so I let it be."
"In any case, don't go. If you even suspect where it is, they can pick it up from your brain, and the village is the only thing I can still protect from them in case they are not what they seem."
Kalugal sighed dramatically. "Fine. How long until you decide that they are okay to join our community?"
"I don't know," Kian admitted. "Two or three weeks at least."
Turner tapped his pen on his yellow pad. "Frankly, I don't know what you hope to learn from watching them for a few weeks. They will be on their best behavior because they know they are being evaluated."
Turner was right, and Kian had no definite answer. "I will know or at least get a sense. We bring their mothers and sisters in for visits, let them interact, and see how they behave. People can put on an act only for so long. I will ask Andrew to watch them as well."
He wasn't sure that Andrew could tell anything from watching them remotely. Usually, he needed to be in the vicinity of people to determine whether they were telling the truth or lying, and the Eight presented an additional complication because of their shared hive mind.
He turned to Lokan. "Perhaps you should watch them. You will know to look for tells that I'm not aware of."
Lokan nodded. "I can visit them. I don't know where the entrance to the tunnel is, and whatever they can pick up from my mind will not help them in any way. I can probably get a better feel while interacting with them and talking to them in their native tongue."
"Good idea," Kian said. "When we arrange for the first visit of their mothers and sisters, you can go with them."
Lokan shook his head. "I'd rather wait, let them get settled and drop their defenses. Perhaps in a week or two."
"Can I at least watch when Lokan goes?" Kalugal asked. "I mean through the surveillance cameras. You can wear an earpiece, and I can feed you questions."
Lokan frowned at his brother. "Do you really think I'm so incompetent that you need to guide me through the interrogation?"
Kalugal didn't look the least bit apologetic. "Not at all, brother. It has nothing to do with your competence. You are just not as diplomatic as I am. I can get people to talk. Lay the charm on thick, if you know what I mean."
Kian knew exactly what Kalugal meant, but Lokan didn't. He didn't know his younger brother as well as Kian did. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to come between them.
"They're not regular Doomers," Kalugal continued.
"Members of the Brotherhood follow orders because they were brainwashed and compelled to be loyal to the organization.
These Eight chose to escape and help the clan extract the chests.
They don't fit the profile, and they need to be handled with care until we figure out what motivates them. What they want."
Kian agreed with Kalugal, and after the additional explanation, Lokan nodded his acceptance.
Kian turned to Onegus. "Lokan can use my old office in the underground for his meeting with the Eight. When the time comes, I'll send Okidu to prepare it."
Onegus wrote it in his tablet. "We also need a proper place for the meeting with the mothers. What do you think about the small council chamber?"
"That could work. I'll ask Okidu to prepare it."
Onegus noted this in his tablet as well.
Kian waited until the chief's fingers stilled on the glass surface. "Let's get Losham on the line."
Onegus pulled the dedicated phone from his pocket, dialed, activated the speaker, and set it on the conference table.
It rang twice before the call was picked up.
"I can't believe your audacity." Losham didn't bother with greetings. "How dare you call me and make demands of me after what you have done? Did you fabricate the story about the chests and the immortals in stasis? Or was it all a smoke screen to steal Dave?"
It took Kian a second to connect the name to the Eight. He'd learned from the returning Guardians that the Eight called themselves collectively Dave. A single name for their hive mind.
"The chests were real, and we took them," Kian said.
"They were too important to let anyone other than us handle them.
As for the eight soldiers who call themselves Dave, it was their choice to leave.
We didn't reach out to them or ask for their help.
They offered it in exchange for accommodations once they were free, and we agreed because it served our purposes. "
"Your purposes." Losham snorted. "You claimed that your purpose was to keep me in charge because I was the most reasonable option and you could control me.
But by taking Dave, you severely undermined me.
You wanted a stable island, a manageable Brotherhood, and it all rested on me staying exactly where I am.
How am I supposed to do that now? Dave manipulated minds for me, kept the army loyal to me.
Without him, I can't control the army, and my days are numbered! "
"The military side of the island is isolated," Kian said. "You should be fine, at least for now."
"The opposite is true, and if you actually understood what's happening here, you'd know that.
" Losham sounded on the verge of hysteria.
"The military isn't isolated. It's coalescing around the junior brothers.
Without Dave, I have no way to compel their loyalty.
If you want me to remain in power, you need to send them back. "
Kian looked at Turner's blank expression and at Lokan's raised eyebrow. Losham might be exaggerating, but he wasn't wrong, and they needed to figure out what to do about the island.
"We'll discuss what can be done on our end," he said. "We'll be in touch."
"Yes, please get in touch. But I can't guarantee that you will reach me. I might be dead." Losham ended the call.
Kian looked at Turner. "Well?"
"He's probably right." Turner picked his pen back up, turning it over once between his fingers. "Compulsion, however diminished in comparison to Navuh's, was the glue holding that whole house of cards together. Losham can't hold it up on his own."
"Correct," Lokan said. "Honestly, this might be the best opening we're ever going to get.
The military side is isolated from the administrative center, which is located on the resort side, cut off by the tunnel collapse we caused.
We could hit them hard right now, from the air, and not have to worry about civilian casualties. "
"The Dormant enclosure is on that side of the island," Kian said.
"It's easy enough to isolate the enclosure from the strike zone. We know exactly where it is. We map the perimeter, we keep the ordnance well clear of it, and we hit the military installations hard."
"With what?" Kian asked. "We have a handful of military-grade drones.
We can fly them out of Safe Harbor, which puts us within range, but a handful of drones isn't an air campaign, Lokan.
And even setting that aside, my mother will never sanction killing off ten thousand immortals in a single strike. You know that as well as I do."
"I'm not talking about killing them." Lokan lifted his hands.
"They are immortals. Most of them would survive a strike like that.
The bombing weakens them, softening the ground enough for a real invasion force.
We could walk in afterward and finish the job without the kind of losses we would have taken going in cold. "
"With what force?" Kalugal asked, and there was an edge of incredulity in his voice.
He reached over and patted his brother's shoulder, the gesture somewhere between affectionate and condescending.
"Breathe a minute before you plan a war, brother.
We don't have an invasion force. We have Guardians, some Kra-ell warriors, and a training program for exoskeleton soldiers that's maybe a third of the way to being battle-ready. "
Lokan's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue the point because he knew Kalugal was right.
"We're not ready to take the island," Kian said. "Not now, maybe not for a long while yet. What we need to figure out isn't how to conquer it. It's how to keep Losham in power. Any ideas?"
"Convince Dave to go back," Onegus said.
"I would if I could." Kian let out a breath. "But I don't think there is anything we can offer them that will convince them to return." He glanced at Turner, who had been writing furiously on his yellow pad throughout the exchange with the brothers. "Do you have any suggestions?"
Turner nodded. "I have an idea that should solve Losham's problems while advancing the clan's interests at the same time."
Kian smiled. Leave it to Turner to find the one solution no one else could even imagine.
"Let's hear it, then."