one of Gorman’s death missions.
“The rest of you can leave,” Gorman said.
Mika and Ellie waited while Audrey, Leo, Iman, Santos, and Colette left the room, followed by most of the men with guns. Gorman told Ellie to shut the door behind them.
When she turned around to face him again, he said, “I’m pleased with you, Ellie. You look much calmer. Do you feel better now that Mika’s here?”
“Yes,” she replied cautiously.
“Good,” Gorman said. He ate another Everlife pill.
“The mission I have for you is quite special,” he began. “You could call it a warm-up, if you like. A special favor to me. And ifyou do well, I’ll give your parents ten thousand credits to spend on furniture. I believe they moved into their new apartment with only the gray sofa they brought with them from Barford North. Is that right, Mika?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Do you think your parents would appreciate ten thousand credits?” Gorman prompted.
“Yes, sir,” Mika answered.
“Good,” Gorman said. “So I’ll tell you how you can get it. I’m going to send you over The Wall to the home of Raphael Mose. Raphael Mose is the leader of the World Conservation Club. He’s the most powerful man in the South and he lives in a mansion, a hundred miles from The Wall. When you get there, I want you to show it to me. I want you to walk around the grounds and the house so I can look at everything. You’ll have com equipment and headsets, so everything you look at, I’ll be able to see through my desk and we’ll be able to talk to each other.”
The twins felt confused. Gorman wasn’t talking about killing anyone, which was good, but this didn’t sound like a war mission. It sounded personal.
Ellie glanced at his desk and saw an open folder of … fabric samples?
I know what he’s doing,
she thought.
He’s using us to go house hunting for him. We’re taking him on a guided tour of the mansion he wants to live in!
Perp,
Mika thought.
At least we won’t have to kill anyone,
Ellie reasoned.
It was irritating. While they were off house hunting for Gorman on the other side of The Wall, the implanted armywould be waiting. The twins had more important things to do. Like get rid of Mal Gorman and take his fortress away.
But then Gorman added a detail that would make their mission worthwhile.
“And when you’ve shown me the house,” he said, “I want you to search for something in it and bring it back to me.”
He looked a bit wild now, his eyes hot and his tubes twisting.
“What?” Mika asked bluntly.
“This,” Gorman replied, picking up an Everlife pill. “But much, much better.” He crunched it and his light brightened for a moment. “Everlife was invented by the scientists on the other side of The Wall, but they won’t let us have the good stuff, only this, which is the first version, made forty years ago. It hardly does anything. I want you to find me Everlife-9. I know Raphael Mose will have some.”
“What does it do?” Ellie asked.
“It doesn’t just stop you from dying,” he replied excitedly. “It reverses the aging process. There are people living on the other side of The Wall who look twenty-five but are older than me. Raphael Mose is a hundred and three years old and I bet he looks thirty. Everlife-9 is amazing.”
“So if you take Everlife-9,” Ellie continued, “you won’t need that life-support system anymore? Or the doctors or anything?”
“Exactly,” he said. “If you bring back Everlife-9, I’ll never need this chair again. I’ll be young, fit, and strong. So … what do you think of your mission? Think you can do it?”
“Yes,” Ellie replied.
“You’re not scared?” Gorman asked. “Of going over The Wall? It could be dangerous.”
“We want to go,” Mika said.
Gorman was impressed by the twins’ resolve. “You’ll get all the training you need, just quicker than the others. You’ll spend the day learning how to use your new equipment and I’ll send
“The rest of you can leave,” Gorman said.
Mika and Ellie waited while Audrey, Leo, Iman, Santos, and Colette left the room, followed by most of the men with guns. Gorman told Ellie to shut the door behind them.
When she turned around to face him again, he said, “I’m pleased with you, Ellie. You look much calmer. Do you feel better now that Mika’s here?”
“Yes,” she replied cautiously.
“Good,” Gorman said. He ate another Everlife pill.
“The mission I have for you is quite special,” he began. “You could call it a warm-up, if you like. A special favor to me. And ifyou do well, I’ll give your parents ten thousand credits to spend on furniture. I believe they moved into their new apartment with only the gray sofa they brought with them from Barford North. Is that right, Mika?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Do you think your parents would appreciate ten thousand credits?” Gorman prompted.
“Yes, sir,” Mika answered.
“Good,” Gorman said. “So I’ll tell you how you can get it. I’m going to send you over The Wall to the home of Raphael Mose. Raphael Mose is the leader of the World Conservation Club. He’s the most powerful man in the South and he lives in a mansion, a hundred miles from The Wall. When you get there, I want you to show it to me. I want you to walk around the grounds and the house so I can look at everything. You’ll have com equipment and headsets, so everything you look at, I’ll be able to see through my desk and we’ll be able to talk to each other.”
The twins felt confused. Gorman wasn’t talking about killing anyone, which was good, but this didn’t sound like a war mission. It sounded personal.
Ellie glanced at his desk and saw an open folder of … fabric samples?
I know what he’s doing,
she thought.
He’s using us to go house hunting for him. We’re taking him on a guided tour of the mansion he wants to live in!
Perp,
Mika thought.
At least we won’t have to kill anyone,
Ellie reasoned.
It was irritating. While they were off house hunting for Gorman on the other side of The Wall, the implanted armywould be waiting. The twins had more important things to do. Like get rid of Mal Gorman and take his fortress away.
But then Gorman added a detail that would make their mission worthwhile.
“And when you’ve shown me the house,” he said, “I want you to search for something in it and bring it back to me.”
He looked a bit wild now, his eyes hot and his tubes twisting.
“What?” Mika asked bluntly.
“This,” Gorman replied, picking up an Everlife pill. “But much, much better.” He crunched it and his light brightened for a moment. “Everlife was invented by the scientists on the other side of The Wall, but they won’t let us have the good stuff, only this, which is the first version, made forty years ago. It hardly does anything. I want you to find me Everlife-9. I know Raphael Mose will have some.”
“What does it do?” Ellie asked.
“It doesn’t just stop you from dying,” he replied excitedly. “It reverses the aging process. There are people living on the other side of The Wall who look twenty-five but are older than me. Raphael Mose is a hundred and three years old and I bet he looks thirty. Everlife-9 is amazing.”
“So if you take Everlife-9,” Ellie continued, “you won’t need that life-support system anymore? Or the doctors or anything?”
“Exactly,” he said. “If you bring back Everlife-9, I’ll never need this chair again. I’ll be young, fit, and strong. So … what do you think of your mission? Think you can do it?”
“Yes,” Ellie replied.
“You’re not scared?” Gorman asked. “Of going over The Wall? It could be dangerous.”
“We want to go,” Mika said.
Gorman was impressed by the twins’ resolve. “You’ll get all the training you need, just quicker than the others. You’ll spend the day learning how to use your new equipment and I’ll send
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