CHANGERS-Prologue

 

CHANGERS

VOLUME I: CHANGERS

By Adi Teodoru

PROLOGUE

            Charlie Lee's hands were sweating. Something must be really wrong, the voice inside his mind whispered. He agreed, what else would warrant an armed escort at one in the morning?

It was one thing to have an emergency in the hotel's plumbing, or an oven exploding in the kitchen, but there were three of them and they had guns, dammit. And they're walking really fast, the other half of him whispered. The guards had woken him in the middle of this night of all nights, and taken him with armed guard out to the service elevator.

Something's really wrong.    

"Hello? Charlie?" Sam was practically tripping over himself to keep up with the group, and was rattling off about pipe angles and drainage systems, but Charlie just couldn't focus.

"This isn't strange to you?" Charlie whispered, unsure of the escort's intentions. "They wake us up the night before the Centennial, and take us down to the basement with a guard?" If the guards had been instructed to keep them silent, they showed no sign of it. "The basement, Sam."

 Sam looked a little pale, but that could have been the lack of rest. Neither of them had slept properly in weeks, overburdened with preparations for the celebration ahead. Considering the recent flood of sabotage, this midnight meeting was even more disconcerting. Charlie tried hard to remember the advice his mentor had been stuffing down his throat since he was a small child. Keep it together, keep it all together.

"I thought Lamb sent for us," Sam said.

"Ephraim Lamb is dead." The voice stopped them both in their tracks and Charlie felt a shudder all over. No! His mind refused to believe it, but Camden King the Head of Security, who was at that moment walking down the hallway towards them, was not a person known to jest.

"That's impossible!" Sam looked thunderstruck.

"I just spoke to him only two hours ago," Charlie tried, hoping against hope.

"And half an hour ago," Camden retorted, "someone threw him off the top of the waterfall."

"Clean up crew?" Charlie said automatically and immediately felt shocked at is own callousness. His mentor, the person who had been like a parent to him for over a decade, was dead and he was worrying about who would see the mess.

"Already in place," Camden nodded, nonplussed by Charlie's coldness. "It seems like you're going to receive a promotion.”

Charlie's head snapped up.

"What?" Sam's mouth had dropped. "But-but he's a-a..." he trailed off looking with pity at Charlie.

"I know what he is, but a member of the Council made the decision."

"How does the High Council even know who I am?" Charlie asked, feeling like everything was shifting under him.

"They know everything they need to know. You and Lamb worked side by side on this thing for over a year. You're the only one who knows what needs to be done, Charlie. The High Council is well aware of the sabotage that's been happening for months now. They want it to stop, and they think you're the best person to do that right now. After the Centennial, there will be another discussion about your continued presence here."

"Camden," Sam's voice dropped with gravity. "Let's not kid ourselves, he's a Gender." The offensive word made Charlie recoil. "Not to me, and maybe not to you, but to everyone arriving at this hotel tomorrow, he's a walking infection. Best
case scenario is no one even talks to him, worst case, someone calls the Guard to have him taken to a Quarantine Zone, or worse The Camps prison. How the hell is he supposed to run a hotel?"

"That's your problem. I follow orders, and the orders are to give you the keys." Camden pulled out the ornate, jade pin and attached it to Charlie's black silk robe.

"Congrats," Sam whispered, with a frightened look on his face. Charlie ran his hands across the exquisite pin and felt a sharp prick. A tiny bubble of blood burst from the punctured skin and he placed it in his mouth to stop the flow, tasting iron and sweat.

"Your Security level has been raised significantly," Camden continued, though Charlie was only half listening. "I'll come tomorrow by your office and brief you."

 "My office?" Charlie gulped

"Yes, the Head Concierge's office."

"But that's Lamb's office," Sam added with a blank look.

"Lamb is dead," Camden repeated, sounding irate, "Now, Charlie, you have a call from The Council."

Charlie felt like he was in a daze. The weight of the responsibility that had been placed on him was overwhelming. How was he supposed to pull this off when most of the people that were coming were expecting, counting on, dealing with Ephraim Lamb? Lamb had been the kind of person who would put even the
most restless at ease and Charlie had learned a great deal from him over the years. What Charlie had not yet mastered, was Ephraim's innate calm. He was shaking all over.

Camden led them through his office and into a lift which only took moments to arrive at its destination, somewhere in the bowels of the hotel. The trio traveled down the long hallway to a small room, where on the table was an old rotary phone. Charlie had never seen one in person, and he wasn't sure what it would be doing in such a Modern place as the Oasis.

"We'll let you do your thing," Camden nodded at the phone and closed the door, leaving Charlie alone and confused. He sat at the table and picked up the phone with a shaky hand. There was a short tone followed by a click.

"State your name and rank please," a robotic voice said.

Charlie took a breath and plunged. "Charlie Lee, Gender Class M, newly appointed Head Concierge of The Oasis Hotel and Casino Resort."

"Please hold while I transfer you. This call may be monitored and recorded." There was a moment of awkward music, and then the line began again to ring. Someone picked up the other end and breathed loudly into the mouth piece.

"Hello? Are you there?" The girl on the other end sounded irate.

"This is Charlie," he answered, feeling bile burn the back of his tongue.

"Yes, I have a recorded message from The High Council. It's one minute and forty-eight seconds long, then the line will shut off. Don't ask any questions because you won't get any answers and you might miss something important. The recording will now begin, thank you for Choosing TA&A Secure Colony Communications Service, where your message is our priority." The line once again went dead, and finally the message began.

"Lee," the male voice sounded efficient, professional and cold. "I refer to you by your formal name not because I have some great favor for your kind, but simply because I wish us to start on equal footing and understand each other profoundly. Much like you, I have recently been assigned to take over this office, and the first of many items on my list seem particularly related to The Centennial Event that will be taking place at your fine establishment this week. Now, preconceptions
of your Affliction aside, I have a great deal of respect for your new position and the amount of work involved in planning, and smoothly executing such a large scale event. The success of such an event could mean a great deal of recognition, even for someone like you, and I would be a powerful ally in that
department. Unfortunately, this is where things become difficult, you see. Because of the strains that my job entails, I absolutely cannot afford to have even the slightest misstep this week. Unfortunately, calling in the City Guards to do a murder investigation, counts as bad press. I have given you Ephraim Lamb's position on one condition. You will use your considerable skills and high-standing in the Afflicted community to discover Lamb's murderer, and once you have, it will be your task to dispose of them, very quietly. You are forbidden from sharing this endeavor with anyone, and I hope you understand how important your adherence to this one rule is. I hope your mother is in splendid health, and I look forward to news of your success."

The line fell dead in a moment, but it no longer mattered, because Charlie's throat had already seized up. He was no fool, he knew what even the mention of his mother meant. Hope her health is splendid indeed, he thought.

Charlie felt sick. The one person whom he could ask for help was dead, and now Charlie had inherited Ephraim's responsibilities. Not only that, but he was supposed to conduct a secret investigation into the brutal murder, and Charlie had no idea where to even start. And if he did find the killer, would he have it in him to... He couldn't even finish the thought. The enormity of the task dwarfed him, and now his mother's life was on the line as well. The room suddenly felt small and suffocating. He needed the night air, a moment to escape from the weight that had been thrown on him.

Charlie lurched from his chair and bolted out the door. He didn't give Camden or Sam a chance to ask what happened, but walked right past them. The three armed men made no move to stop him. Charlie stepped in the cool elevator, his heart pounding, and pressed the top button.