Chapter 19
DAVE
The collective held the plan Losham had just laid out and turned it over, eight minds passing it between them and examining it from every angle.
It was a workable plan, but it was not a good plan.
The split weakened them. The pairs were not strong enough to compel against resistance.
Three simultaneous assassinations with three pairs was doable, but there were so many variables that could go wrong. Even if they succeeded, it would be just the beginning of the story, not the end of it.
Losham would be left alone to deal with the aftermath, and he could not hold the island without them.
They had known that, but now it had hardened into a fact rather than a hypothesis. They would be off the island within a week, ten days at the most, and Losham would be left defenseless.
It mattered not because they cared for Losham, but because of what would happen to the island if Losham wasn't the one in charge.
He was not a good male, but he was not cruel for the sake of some sadistic enjoyment either, and those shades of darkness made a difference in the lives of the people of this island.
Kolhood, Hocken, and Hazok were the other kind. The kind that derived their self-worth from the subjugation and torment of others. They reveled in it.
A ripple of revulsion coursed through the collective as they cataloged the vices of each brother. They were three different flavors of bad, and Kolhood was the most dangerous one and the one Losham feared most, but being dangerous didn't make him the worst of the three. Just the smartest.
Even Lord Navuh was not as dark as those three.
It was a strange thing to think, because Lord Navuh had run the most deadly and cruel army on Earth for a very long time and had personally directed atrocities at scale.
But he hadn't enjoyed cruelty for its own sake.
He had used it as a tool, applied it where it produced compliance, and withheld it where compliance did not require it.
The senior brothers were not like that. They derived their sense of worth from how much suffering they could inflict on others.
Not all evil was created equal. It had degrees, and Losham was definitely the lesser evil.
Besides, Losham was under the clan's control, and they could steer him toward a better path.
The Eight didn't know how long the long-distance compulsion would hold Losham a slave to the clan's powerful compeller, but hopefully it would be a long time, and hopefully the clan cared enough about the people of this island to help them live better lives.
Perhaps the clan's compeller could push Losham toward freeing the women and children from the breeding enclosure when the political situation allowed for it.
They could impel him toward a great many small mercies.
Provided that he survived.
If he didn't survive, the island would descend into an even worse nightmare.
The problem was that the assassinations' success didn't guarantee the desired outcome.
When the senior brothers were no more, the chaos of the junior brothers fighting over the spoils would devastate the island.
That might be a worse outcome than the island ruled by the senior brothers, because they at least knew how to run the organization and ensure that people didn't starve to death.
The Eight needed Losham to survive as the ruler of this island, but he couldn't do that without them, and they had to leave.
These two needs clashed, and while Losham was talking about written messages and three pairs of assassins, the collective had been turning it over, looking for a third way.
The wire, Number Seven thought.
The wire, Number Two echoed.
The collective took it up.
The wire had bought Losham time. It might have bought him weeks of pacification by getting his brothers to accept the testimony of the harem staff and the recorded ambient noise of the harem itself.
For now, they believed that Lord Navuh was still alive and still in his apartment and still, in some general way, in charge.
The brothers, including Kolhood, were terrified of Lord Navuh. The fear of their father was the only thing that had kept them in check. The wire had reinforced the fear by providing evidence that the source was present and intact.
Only the wire was no longer transmitting, and the brothers would soon resume their pressure on Losham to provide evidence of the presence of Lord Navuh and the mandate he'd given to Losham to run things in his absence.
They would push and push until the bluff was revealed, and then they would eliminate Losham.
If only there was a way to maintain the level of fear. A way to reinforce the fiction that Navuh was still around and that he trusted Losham to run the island.
A thought started to form, simple and elegant at the same time.
The hive passed the thought between them, refining it as it went. Within perhaps fifteen seconds of internal time that corresponded to perhaps four seconds of external time, the plan was assembled.
Across the table, Losham was saying something that Number One had missed.
"They have no power base," Losham was saying. "They will not be in a position to mount a real challenge for leadership, and they will fall in line."
"There may be a better way," Number One said.
Losham, who had been working through his own argument, refocused on Number One. "I'm not running away," he said.
The collective registered the response with surprise. They hadn't expected him to think about running. Losham was too enamored with the position of power he found himself holding to abandon it even to save his own life.
It came from the assistant, they realized.
Rami's feelings spiked and washed across the room at the words better way. The assistant had been hoping Losham would see reason. He'd been hoping the male he loved would not sentence them both to death by clinging to power.
"We weren't going to suggest that you run," Number One said.
"We will never suggest that. It's crucial for the survival of the island that you stay in power.
The senior brothers would plunge this place into an even worse darkness, and the junior brothers would sow chaos that would result in rivers of blood.
You are the only one who will maintain order and bring some light to the occupants of this place. "
Losham didn't speak for a long moment, and even though he tried to maintain a neutral expression, he wasn't succeeding in hiding his reaction to Dave's words. He didn't see himself as an agent of light. He knew very well that he was on the side of darkness, and he was comfortable there.
He cleared his throat. "What's the plan?"
"It's based on fear and illusions," Number One said. "The wire. Your brothers' fear of your father. The harem."
"Go on."
"The wire is no longer transmitting. Your brothers are placated for now, but that will not last. Within days, they will be demanding more proof."
"I know. That's why the assassinations need to happen quickly. We can't spend weeks planning. We have days at most."
"When they push, you let them. You let them come to you and demand to see your father.
And when they make the demand, you tell them you are tired of their distrust. You tell them that if they don't believe the wire, they can go and see for themselves.
You tell them to go to the harem and demand to see their father.
You will not accompany them because you are not going to risk your father's wrath, but they are welcome to go and face Lord Navuh alone. "
Losham was very still.
"Why would I do that?"
"I'm getting there."
"Go on."
"They will arrive at the harem and demand to be allowed inside and have an audience with Lord Navuh, or at least the head of security.
The guards are not going to stop them, but they will ask them to disarm for obvious reasons.
No immortals are allowed into Lord Navuh's private sanctuary, and especially no immortals with weapons on them.
They will not dare take any guards with them either, for the same reason.
Once they are inside, they will be taken to their father. "
"I don't understand."
Usually, Losham was sharper than that, but the plan was probably too outlandish for him to conceive.
"One of us will be wearing one of your father's elaborate robes and standing at the cliff's edge, with his back to the path and his face to the ocean. The servants will be thralled to lead your brothers to him."
Losham's eyes widened. He was finally realizing where Dave was going. "Brilliant," he whispered.
"Thank you." Number One inclined his head. "They will assume he wants to see them outdoors because he doesn't want them inside the harem where his ladies reside. No immortal males are allowed in the harem. Those are Navuh's standing orders that no one has dared to defy for millennia."
"Yes."
"They will walk toward him because they have come this far, and they cannot turn back without losing face in front of each other, their father, and you. We will be there, hiding in the bushes, ready to execute them. They stand no chance against us without their guards and with no weapons."
The music playing in the background was the only sound.
Losham's face had gone through a sequence of expressions, each one more confident than the last. He was realizing that the plan was foolproof.
It was going to work.
Number One continued, "After it is done, the harem staff will be thralled to remember their lord throwing his insolent sons off the cliff and then returning to his seclusion in his suite. That will be the story everyone will hear."
Losham let out a long breath. "After that, no one will dare ask to enter the harem to verify that Lord Navuh is there."
"Correct," Number One said. "The harem will become more sacred than ever.
Your father's rage will be a story that ripples through the island for years.
The senior brothers will be remembered as the fools who breached his sanctuary and paid for it with their lives.
Anyone who considers similar disobedience will think twice. "
Losham was quiet for a long moment.
"My brothers might not fall for my suggestion that they go to the harem. They will suspect a trap."
"We can apply a slight compulsion to push them toward the conclusion that they must do that. Besides, they will not want to admit in front of each other that they are afraid of doing what they have been threatening to do for weeks."
"The junior brothers will not dare to question my authority," Losham said.
Number One nodded. "With the senior brothers gone and the fear of your father reinforced, they will accept the new order, with you in charge."
Losham let out a breath and turned to Rami. "I told you they might come up with good ideas."
The careful, restrained, professional face of Losham's assistant cracked into a smile. "You did, and as always, you were right."
Losham turned back to the Eight. "Your plan is excellent. How long have you been working on it?"
Should they admit that it had formed in seconds?
Why not?
It was the truth.
"It just occurred to us while we were discussing the aftermath of the assassinations."
Losham looked taken aback, perhaps a little humbled. "That hive mind of yours is really something else. Now we just need to figure out the timing."
"It should be done as soon as possible," Number One said. "You should summon a council, and we will nudge the brothers to demand more proof."
"You are talking about accelerating the timeline. Why the rush?"
Because they were leaving soon, and they wanted to secure Losham's position before that.
"The sooner this is done, the less opportunity for your brothers to come up with some new and surprising ideas. The longer the brothers sit with their suspicions, the more chances they have to act on them. Speed reduces exposure. You want to be in the driver's seat."
The chests would be ready to be moved soon. The plan they had proposed would secure Losham's position quickly enough that they could leave without the island collapsing behind them within days.
"How soon?" Losham asked.
"By the end of the week, or the beginning of the next one. The council meeting needs to seem organic so they won't suspect anything and shore up their mental defenses."
"Friday for the council meeting, and probably Saturday for the harem plan. Sunday at the latest." Losham chuckled. "In the meantime, I will practice my acting skills."