Kings and Crowns: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 2) (7 page)

“Our tests help many people. Your very own vitality injection has led to some great breakthroughs in life expectancy. Simon looks past all of the good we do and focuses on false accusations. He antagonizes us. Turns the people against me when I’m only trying to help. He is a virus. An infection that grows in the form of the Crowns and attacks our peaceful society. He needs to be eliminated. Taken out. Exterminated.”

He pointed to Vince and Saul. “That’s where you two come in. He was going to make you the face of the Crowns. I plan on doing the exact opposite. You will be a success story for the Spire. A triumph for the people of the City to look up to. A shining example of why we do these tests.”

“And what do
we
do?” Alan asked.

“Support them. They’ll need all the support they can get. There are going to be conferences and meet ups. We’ll get the two of you out into the public. Meet people face to face. Vince and Saul will be all-stars, and being all-stars is a lot of work. They’ll need good friends by their sides.”

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Saul said.

“It will most definitely be a lot of work, but I assure you it will not be in vain. Your hard work will bring us closer to our goal. It will help tear Simon down from his throne. We will ease you in with the conference. You don’t have to say anything. Just show up, stand on stage, and let me do the talking. We’ll take it from there.”

“When is the conference?”

Victor looked at his watch. “In about twenty minutes. I spent all night planning it. I’ve opened it up to all Spire employees, as well as the media. Your story will be broadcast across the City.”

“Isn’t this all a bit fast?” Ella asked. “We only just got here yesterday. Can’t we have some time to rest?”

“There is no time to rest. Simon attacked us and he did a lot of damage. We managed to ward him off, but with our first wall down and our defenses scattered, he is bound to attack again, and soon. There’s no way he would give up this opportunity. We have to hurt him before he can hurt us. This conference will boost the morale of our people and hopefully convert some of the Crowns.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Rupert asked.

“Then it doesn’t. No harm done. It will still help my employees feel good about their work.” He looked at his watch again. “We should make our way to the auditorium. We don’t want to keep them waiting. Ms. Marble will show you the way. I need to make some last minute preparations, but I will see you up on stage.” He walked to the door and turned around. “You’ll all do great. I know it. Let’s hit Simon where it hurts.” He turned his back and left.

Charlotte studied their faces. “What do you think? Is he what you expected?”

Alan shook his head. “He was a lot nicer than I thought he would be.”

“He was very enthusiastic about his plans for us,” Vince said. “Simon was the exact same way.”

“Trust me,” Charlotte said. “Greene and Simon are not alike. They’re opposite ends of a spectrum, and it looks like you’re caught in the middle. You may have your doubts about Greene, but in this fight, you want him to win. Like he said, the City in Simon’s hands would be chaos. Many people question the tests we do here, but Simon is the wrong person to lead those people.”

“That’s why we’re helping you,” Ella said. “You already know we don’t support the tests, but Simon needs to be stopped.”

“And he will be,” Charlotte said. “Greene is a powerful man with the drive to achieve the impossible. If he wants Simon gone, it’ll happen. He always gets what he wants.”

FIFTEEN

THEY STOOD BACKSTAGE waiting for the conference to begin. There was a hum of chatter coming from the other side.

“Well this feels familiar,” Alan said. “First Simon, now Greene. People really want to make you guys famous.”

“With good reason,” Rupert said. “I take it most people around here don’t see outsiders very often. Vince and Saul have a connection with Harry Hedcrown. And they’re successful test subjects. They serve as role models for both sides.”

“I know that, but we’ve been here only two days, and we’ve already been to two of these things. At this rate, the whole world will know Vince and Saul by the end of next week.”

Rupert ignored him. “I’m actually quite curious to see how this crowd reacts. It will most likely be positive, but how positive? They seem more reserved than the crowd at Simon’s rally.”

“That’s a good thing,” Vince said. “We don’t want to fight through another angry mob. We got lucky last time, but if
this
crowd turns on us, we won’t have Greene to save us. In fact, if things go wrong, he’ll have every reason to kill us.”

“Well that puts my mind at ease,” Saul said. “I didn’t realize our lives depended on this conference.”

“It very well may. We must be very careful how we handle this.”

“Greene wants you to succeed,” Ella said. “He wants the crowd to like you, so just let him do all of the talking. Don’t say a single word up there.”

Vince nodded. “I agree. We’ll stand up there, let Greene introduce us, and hopefully that will be enough.”

“And if it isn’t?” Alan asked.

“Then I guess we’ll have to say something,” Saul answered.

“Remember,” Vince said. “Greene knows why we’re really here, but the people of the City don’t. They think we look up to him, admire him. We have to act as if we do. Put on a show. If they doubt our relationship with Greene for even a moment, our lives are at risk. Greene is powerful and dangerous, but as long as we have the people on our side, he can’t touch us.”

The lights of the auditorium dimmed. The low hum of chatter faded. A voice projected from above. “The conference is about to begin. Please refrain from talking during the presentation. There will be time for questions afterward. Now please welcome your fearless leader, Mr. Victor Greene.”

A light applause spread across the floor and dissipated as Greene took the stage.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We have some big news here in the City, which I’m sure you have already heard. But before we get to that, I would like to go over the Spire’s test output for the year. We have had a good one. Performance is at an all-time high, and we’re seeing more test subjects than ever before. This will help us pave a path to a better future for the City. Our cosmetic sector has innovated in exciting ways, advancing in cosmetic surgery and artificial enhancements. With surgery, we can now look exactly how we want. There are a few minor flaws that we are ironing out, but once development is complete, people will have exciting opportunities in the world of beauty.

“In our defense sector, we have enhanced our evacuation pods. They are now faster and safer than ever before. With the attacks from Simon, we have made our safety procedures in the Spire a priority, so that you can feel safe while you work. You all experienced our lockdown exercise the other day, and you did a wonderful job at following protocol. Everyone was safe and secured in their designated safe rooms, just as planned. Your compliance is much appreciated. As you all know, the first wall has fallen, but I don’t want you to worry. We have assessed the damage and aim to build it back up even stronger than before. We will fortify the wall to ensure that Simon never breaks through it again. Our tested cannons proved a great success in driving his forces away. This is all thanks to the head of our defense sector, Dean Morton. We are working closely with him to develop an even stronger version of the cannon. We will keep you updated as more news comes.

“And finally, the big news from our vitality sector. Mr. Vigo. Mr. Shepherd. Please come on stage.” Another light applause began as they walked up to join Greene. “As you have heard in my broadcast the other day, these two boys…well, they’re not boys anymore…these two gentlemen have come from the outside world, all the way from a place called Rodin. They volunteered as test subjects over two hundred years ago, and now they have journeyed to the City to thank me. To thank us. The Spire has given them the opportunity to live past death. This is a shining example of the great things we can achieve. Our tests help better the world. We are not the monsters Simon makes us out to be. We have one goal in mind, and that is to help the people. These two are living proof that we can succeed. Please join me in welcoming our new friends.”

He clapped his hands, and the crowd joined along. The applause grew, as people cheered and whistled. Ella, Alan, and Rupert cheered from backstage with the rest of them. Vince and Saul smiled and waved, peering out at the massive crowd, shocked by the overwhelmingly positive response. Perhaps this would be easier than they thought.

When the applause died down, Greene continued. “It truly is a great time for the Spire. The future looks bright for our people.” He turned to Vince and Saul. “Before I take questions from the audience, do either of you want to say anything?”

Vince began to respectfully decline, but a voice echoed from the crowd. “Speech!” The single voice was joined by others as they started to chant. “Speech! Speech! Speech!”

Greene chuckled. “It looks like they want a speech.”

Saul reached for the microphone, looking to Vince for approval. He nodded. With the microphone in hand, Saul moved to the center of the stage. “I will say a few words. We have come—”

“Sorry,” Greene interrupted. “Please hold the microphone up so these fine people can hear you.”

Saul raised his hand. “As I was saying, we have come a long way. We’ve crossed deserts and traversed snow plains. We’ve sailed oceans and climbed mountains. And we did all of it to thank this man.” He pointed to Greene. “He is a generous man who has bestowed a gift upon us, and we are eternally grateful. We’ve been through a lot, and we’ve seen many things, but the City and the Spire have struck us with awe. Nothing compares to the monumental achievements that you have accomplished. All of you do great work. You change lives. You make them better. The City would not be the same without you.”

He handed the microphone back to Greene, and the crowd erupted. They stood up and cheered and waved their arms around. People in the front row lifted up cameras to snap pictures of Saul as he waved.

Greene clapped along with the audience. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. Inspiring words from our new visitor. You two truly are the pride of the Spire. Once again, I would like to thank all of you for coming to this conference. These are exciting times and I see bright things ahead of us. I will open it up for questions now.”

People stood from their seats and lined up at the microphones that were in front of the stage.

The first person to ask a question was a young woman. “This question is for Mr. Vigo and Mr. Shepherd. Where is Rodin? How far have you traveled to get here?”

“That is a very good question,” Greene said. “I suppose we should get extra microphones. I predict most of the questions will be for you, not me.” He waved to a person off stage who came up and handed each of them their own microphone. “Now that the audience can hear you, would you like to answer the question?”

“Of course,” Saul said. “Rodin is a place very far from here. Almost a lifetime away. We have been traveling since we were young boys, leaving Rodin over two hundred years ago. We took breaks only when we needed to. And we walked the whole way. Thinking back, I am shocked at how far we’ve come. We left as young boys, and we only just arrived, two hundred years later.”

“Why would you travel so far? Is it really just to thank Mr. Greene?”

“He is the reason we could make the journey in the first place. Without him, we would have died a long time ago. He has granted us life. We are eternally indebted to him. We support the work he does, and if he can give more people what he gave to us, we want to do everything we can to help him.”

“Thank you.” The woman stepped away.

Alan nudged Ella as they watched backstage. “Saul’s pretty good at this. He knows exactly what Greene wants to hear. Vince, on the other hand, hasn’t said a word.”

“I don’t think Vince is much of a public speaker,” She said. “They’re doing just fine. Saul has it under control. He’s winning the crowd over.”

The next question came from a large man. “After such a long journey, what do you plan on doing now that you’re in the City?”

“Another great question,” Saul said. He suddenly felt a deep pain in his stomach, where his scar was. He pressed against it with his hand, and the pain slowly faded. “We plan on doing more things like this. Coming to events. Meeting people like you. Promoting the good work you do here in the Spire. Many people already know, but some don’t. The Crowns attacked us the day we arrived because we showed support for Mr. Greene. If we can change their minds and stop their violence, the City will be a better place.”

“What if you can’t change their minds?”

“I believe almost anyone can be persuaded to the correct path, but if it comes down to it, we are willing to do whatever it takes. If that means taking on Simon’s forces head on, then that’s what we’ll do. He can be a frightening man, but he doesn’t scare us.”

“He scares me,” Ella said from backstage. “And we should be scared of him. He’s killed countless numbers of innocent people without even batting an eye.”

Rupert looked at her. “But that’s not what the people need to hear right now. What they need is inspiration. Positive encouragement. They must believe that Vince and Saul can lead them to victory. That’s the only way to get on Greene’s good side.”

“I know it’s all an act,” she said, “but he’s so convincing.”

“That’s a good thing. That means he’s doing his job.”

Up next was a much smaller man. “Mr. Vigo sure is quiet up there. Does he have any words for us?”

Saul looked back. “Vince?”

Vince stepped forward. “I know I have not said much. I am a quiet person. Saul has done a wonderful job of expressing our enthusiasm for this partnership. We are excited for what’s to come. We hope you are too.” He stepped back to let Saul take over.

“There have never been truer words. Mr. Greene has shown us great hospitality. We look forward to working with him.”

Greene stepped in front of him. “Well said. I am sorry to cut this short, but that will have to be the last question. I must speak with these two in private. There are many things to plan for the future. We hope you are as excited as we are.”