The Legacy (20 page)

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Chapter Twenty-three

The silence was electrifying as the lift containing Pip, Derek, Jude and Sheila shot up to the fifth floor, to Richard Pincent’s suite. Jude felt as though he’d been kicked, punched, picked up and punched again. Pip had been like a surrogate father to Peter. All Jude had wanted to do was to earn his respect, to prove himself to Pip – and for what? Had the Underground been a sham all along? Was that why it had never come close to winning? Had Pip been Derek’s agent, forming a resistance movement to ensure that all rebels, all those who disagreed with the system, could be carefully managed, contained, kept at bay?

He couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it. Even now as Pip walked in front of them, even now as Derek pushed them roughly down the corridor towards Richard’s office, Jude was waiting for the look, waiting for a twitch, something – anything – that told him Pip was playing a game, a complicated game that he didn’t understand, a game that explained everything, that made it all OK.

Pip didn’t even turn round; he just walked slowly, shuffling along the corridor like an old man. Jude hated him. He hated him more than he’d ever hated anyone – even Richard Pincent. Because Richard Pincent had never pretended to be someone he wasn’t. Because Richard Pincent had never earned Jude’s love and then smashed it into little pieces.

As Jude approached the office, Pip stepped aside and Derek moved forward to knock. Slowly he opened the door to reveal Richard leaning on his desk looking terrible, his skin a strange green colour, his eyes bulging. At the sight of Derek he stood up and smiled. ‘Derek,’ he said. ‘You have the Surpluses?’

He saw Jude and Sheila and frowned uncertainly, then his eyes lit up. ‘You have these ones as well? See, Peter? There’s no one left now.’

Peter’s face was white as Jude and Sheila were pushed into the office. Sheila stumbled and fell to the ground. Peter immediately held out his hand to help her up but she shook her head, wrapping her arms round her knees and hiding her head in them. Peter looked at Jude searchingly, but Jude could barely meet his eyes – he had nothing but despair to communicate.

There was another knock at the door, another guard, another delivery – this time Anna and the children. Jude flinched as she walked in, her pained eyes seeming to bore into him. She saw Peter and walked slowly towards him, faltering on her feet, the children in her arms. Ben immediately reached for Peter’s neck and Anna released her hold as Peter’s arms wrapped around him, around her, around Molly, like branches – a silent communication, a bond that inspired both awe and jealousy in Jude.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Peter said.

‘No,’ Anna said. ‘Don’t be. He should be the sorry one.’

She turned towards Richard, who staggered forward. ‘The ring,’ he said to Derek. ‘You have the ring?’

Derek nodded, taking it from Pip and handing it to Richard. ‘Here it is,’ he said.

Richard took the ring and exhaled loudly, then closed his eyes for a second. ‘Yes,’ he breathed. ‘Yes.’ He stared at it, turning it over and over in his hands. ‘But where is the formula?’ He frowned, then shrugged and pressed a buzzer on his desk; two seconds later a scientist appeared at his door. ‘Here,’ Richard said, giving the ring to him. ‘The formula is on here. Find it. Use it. Reboot the system. Do it now.’

The scientist nodded urgently, took the ring and left. Richard looked around grimly. ‘You’ve done well, Derek,’ he said. ‘Very well.’

Derek smiled silkily.

‘How has he done well?’ Hillary asked suddenly. ‘Richard, will you please tell me what’s going on? What is this ring? Why are these people here, in your office?’

‘The ring?’ Richard laughed. ‘The ring is our answer, Hillary. We will be reborn.’

‘Reborn? What are you talking about?’ She looked piercingly at Richard, but he wasn’t listening – he had poured a large glass of water and drank it down in one before refilling it.

There was another knock at the door and everyone swung round. It was the scientist. ‘Mr Pincent, sir,’ he said tentatively. ‘We’ve looked at the ring. Several of us. It doesn’t appear to have the formula on it, sir. Just the initials A.F. and a rudimentary engraving of a flower.’

Richard looked at him angrily. ‘Look again,’ he barked. ‘The ring has the formula on it. I know it has.’

‘You know?’ Pip asked quietly. No one seemed to have heard him apart from Jude, who froze. There was something about his voice. Something different.

‘We have looked. We have scrutinised it,’ the scientist continued, his voice shaking slightly. ‘But there is nothing on it, Mr Pincent. Nothing that suggests a formula of any sort.’

‘Formula?’ Hillary asked. ‘What formula?’

‘Look again!’ Richard screamed, ignoring Hillary. ‘Look again and again and again! It’s there. I know it is.’

‘You know nothing, Richard.’ Again, Pip’s voice. Again, quiet, different. This time Richard heard. He looked at Pip curiously.

‘You,’ he said with distaste. ‘Pip. What sort of a name is Pip?’

He turned to Derek. ‘Have you not been torturing this man? Why is he still able to speak? Why is he still able to stand?’ He lurched forward and steadied himself, grabbing hold of the corner of his desk.

‘Pip is not my real name,’ Pip said. ‘But of course you knew that.’

‘I don’t care what your real name is,’ Richard said through gritted teeth. ‘I care only that you suffer. That you are tormented.’

Jude looked down at his arms, which were covered in goosebumps. Peter was still wrapped around his family and Sheila was rocking gently backwards and forwards on the floor. But Jude felt like an electrical current had suddenly entered the room, a current only he could feel. He and Pip. He didn’t understand it. He just knew a storm was coming. He just knew that lightning was about to strike.

‘I have suffered,’ Pip said quietly. ‘I have suffered for many years. Too many.’

‘You have suffered?’ Hillary asked, her voice shrill. She walked over to Pip, surveyed him as though he were an animal being taken to market. ‘You murdered people. You are a terrorist of the worst kind. You are despicable. Richard is right – you deserve only to suffer, to feel pain.’

Pip nodded slowly. ‘You are right,’ he said, his voice soft, hypnotic, ‘but not for the reason you think.’ He lifted his head and looked back at Richard. ‘The ring,’ he said. ‘It isn’t what you think it is. It isn’t the eternal circle of life. You have been chasing a chimera, chasing your tail. There is no formula to be found on it.’

Richard’s eyes bulged with anger. ‘How dare you!’ he shouted. ‘How dare you talk to me! You know nothing. You are a criminal who knows nothing.’ He glared back at the scientists. ‘I thought I told you to keep looking!’ he shouted. ‘I thought I told you to –’

‘The eternal circle of life is the circle of life and death, Richard. That is what needs protecting. That is what I have been trying to protect all this time. The circle of life and death. I knew that Longevity would not work for ever. Nature can be interrupted by man – we can build dams, we can create drugs, we can erect houses, bridges. But it cannot be stopped forever. Nature finds a way through. Even through concrete, Richard, a weed will grow. The virus, the epidemic sweeping the world – it is not a result of Longevity being copied. It is a result of Nature finally finding a way in. Longevity has stayed the same while Nature’s army has morphed, mutated. It has won, Richard, as I always knew it would.’

‘Copied?’ Hillary asked, beady-eyed. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Longevity was not contaminated,’ Pip said gently. ‘It simply ran out of steam.’

Richard stared at him. ‘How dare you!’ he seethed. ‘Who are you to tell me –’

‘You know who I am, Richard,’ Pip said, walking towards him. He glanced over at Jude, his blue mesmerising eyes communicating something important that Jude only seemed to understand subconsciously, filling him with a warmth, with the knowledge that he had not been betrayed. ‘You recognise my voice,’ Pip continued gently. ‘You are trying to come up with an explanation, trying to tell yourself that your memory is playing tricks on you. But you know it is me.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a madman. You’re –’ Richard said, but Pip didn’t take any notice.

‘The ring never had the formula on it. It was a wild goose chase, Richard – something for you to focus on, something to absorb you as your world crumbled,’ he continued, still moving towards Richard, his voice soft, gentle. ‘And even if it had, the formula is not what you need. Longevity cannot fight the virus. Your reign is over.’

Richard shook his head desperately. He was looking at Pip as though he’d never seen him before, as though it was a surprise to find him in the same room.

‘Scrutinise the ring again,’ Richard pleaded. ‘There must be something . . .’

‘It’s over, Richard,’ Pip said. ‘You know it’s over. You can’t lie any more. There’s nothing to lie for.’

‘What’s over?’ Hillary demanded, looking at Richard fearfully. ‘What is he talking about?’

Richard didn’t appear to hear her. Instead he walked towards Pip uncertainly, real fear on his face. ‘The eyes,’ he said, his voice barely audible. ‘Your eyes.’

‘Surgeons can’t do much with eyes, I’m afraid,’ Pip said, smiling now. ‘Jawlines, noses, chins, the shape of cheeks, but not eyes. Not really. Still, I rather like my eyes.’

‘No!’ Richard said, shaking violently. ‘No, it’s impossible. You’re dead.’ He looked at Derek. ‘He’s dead. You killed him.’

‘No.’ Derek shook his head. ‘No, Richard, I didn’t.’

‘Who’s dead?’ Hillary enquired anxiously. ‘Who are you talking about?’

Richard opened his mouth then closed it again. He stared at Pip as though encountering a ghost. Then he started to shake.

‘Albert Fern,’ he whispered.

‘Hello again, Richard,’ Pip said, the smile leaving his face. ‘It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?’

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Chapter Twenty-four

For a minute or so, it felt as if the world stood still. No one said anything, no one moved. Then suddenly Richard ran at Peter, wrenching Molly from his grasp and holding her up in the air. ‘Give me the formula, you bastard!’ he shouted at Pip. ‘Give it to me now or she dies! They all die!’

Molly’s screams filled the room as Richard shook her. Anna stared wide-eyed, then leapt at him, kicking and biting him like a wild animal. ‘Give me my child!’ she screamed. ‘Give her to me!’

Peter snatched Molly from his arms as Richard fell to the ground, and Anna continued her frenzied attack until Peter gently pulled her away.

‘Derek,’ Richard gasped. ‘Derek, kill them! Kill them all!’

Derek turned slowly to look at him, then shook his head.

‘Derek,’ Richard said, his voice strangled, staring at his head of security uncertainly. ‘Derek, don’t do this. Not now. We’ve got Albert. He’ll give us the formula. We can rule the world again, Derek. You and me. We can do it – you know we can.’

‘No, Richard,’ Derek said. He walked over to the desk and leant against it. He took a deep breath and let it out, then held his head in his hands.

‘He’s ill,’ Hillary said cautiously. ‘Guard’s, he’s –’

But before she could finish her command, Derek straightened up. ‘So long,’ he breathed. ‘Too long. It’s been too long.’

‘What’s been too long?’ Richard seethed. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’ve been doing this so long I hardly know who I am,’ Derek said. He looked around the room wildly. ‘Who am I? What am I?’

‘You know who you are,’ Pip said gently. ‘You know, Derek.’

‘I don’t know,’ Jude said, his voice level, ‘but I want to know. I want to know everything. You . . . You’re Albert Fern?’ he asked Pip incredulously.

Pip nodded.

‘You invented Longevity?’

‘No!’ Richard yelped. ‘No, Derek killed him. Albert Fern is dead.’

‘Not dead,’ Derek said. ‘He’s not dead, Richard. I didn’t do it.’

There was a shocked silence. ‘You couldn’t do it,’ Pip said gently. Then he took a deep breath and walked over to the window, before turning back to Jude. ‘Derek understood,’ he said simply. ‘Richard paid him to kill me, but he wasn’t a killer. He was a security guard. He was a man. A man with insight, with intelligence. A brave man. A man who could see, like me, that it was already too late to stop Richard, that the wheels were already in motion, but that whatever happened, the circle of life had to be protected. That however Richard’s new world played out, new life must be created, so that when this day came, all would not be lost. Humans are destructive animals, Jude, but they are also wise ones. They couldn’t be allowed to die out simply because of the aspirations of one man.’

Jude was trembling and tears filled his eyes. ‘I knew you were messaging Richard,’ he said, his voice catching. ‘I thought at first it was Sheila. But then she ran away to find her parents. She’d thought it was me. I realised . . .’ He looked over at her beseechingly. Slowly, she uncurled herself and stood up, then reached over and took his hand.

‘You realised that you’d thought what I’d encouraged you to think,’ Pip said gently. ‘I’m sorry, Jude. I couldn’t tell you what was happening. It was a long game. A very long game. And the end was in sight. I had to keep Richard preoccupied while Derek and I implemented our endgame.’

‘You sent me that message?’ Peter looked at Pip uncertainly. ‘You let them take Anna?’

Pip nodded. ‘I didn’t expect you to come to London. When we discovered . . . We knew Anna wouldn’t be safe. Knew we had to get there before anyone else did. Richard was closing in. We had to act fast.’

‘But she was taken by his men,’ Peter continued, shaking his head in disbelief, in anger.

‘Derek’s men. There’s a difference,’ Pip said gravely. ‘I understand why you’re angry, Peter, but we had to do what we did. We had to keep you safe. We hadn’t planned on . . . Events took over – the attacks on the Underground, Richard closing in on your safe house. I couldn’t risk it, couldn’t risk everything unravelling. Pincent Pharma is the most protected building in the world. It may not be comfortable, but it is safe.’

Jude’s mind was racing. ‘The Surpluses,’ he gasped. ‘You took the Surpluses too?’

‘Yes,’ Pip nodded slowly. ‘Left in Surplus Halls, they would have been attacked, torched like everyone else under suspicion. We hadn’t banked on the Authorities blaming the Underground. That changed things.’

‘But Derek,’ Jude said, looking at the man he’d feared for so long. ‘He wanted to kill me. He would have killed us all.’

‘No,’ Pip said.

Derek looked up miserably. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, falling to his knees. ‘I’m sorry. I had to. We agreed. All that mattered was the endgame. The eternal circle of life.’

‘That mattered more than us?’ Jude asked Pip stonily.

Pip shook his head. ‘You
are
the eternal circle of life,’ he said. ‘You, and Jude, and Anna, and Sheila and the children. Especially the children. You are true renewal. Longevity threatened to break that circle; we had to keep the link.’

‘Longevity keeps the human race alive forever,’ Richard gasped angrily from the floor where he still lay. He was shaking, clawing at his throat.

‘No.’ Pip shook his head. ‘Not forever. Life is a changeable thing, Richard. Evolution taught us that adaptation is the key to survival. No drug could ever defy that fundamental tenet.’

‘Derek. My friend,’ Richard managed to say, his voice hoarse and pained. ‘Derek, I forgive you for what you’ve done. We all have our weak moments. Derek, help me. Get me water. Torture this man. Get the formula. Everything will be OK again. Everything . . .’

Everyone turned to look at Derek, whose eyes darted over to Pip and back again. Then he laughed, a terrifying laugh full of pain, desperation and anger. ‘Your friend?’ He shook his head. ‘I have never been your friend, Richard. Never.’

‘Of course you have. You’re delirious, that’s all,’ Richard groaned. ‘You’ve been brainwashed. Albert’s got to you – I can see that now. But you can’t let him win. You can’t, Derek.’

‘Over a hundred years I’ve worked for you,’ Derek said, his voice low and angry. ‘Over a hundred years I’ve pretended. I’ve killed and maimed and done unspeakable things. And all for Albert.’

‘No!’ Richard shouted. ‘No, it’s not true!’

‘For Pip,’ Derek continued desperately. ‘That day you told me to take him away, I did,’ Derek said. ‘I threatened to kill him. I beat him up. I did all sorts. And he just kept telling me that I didn’t know what I was doing, that he forgave me, that his life didn’t matter but that life itself did.’

‘You’ve been . . . You’ve been on our side all this time?’ Peter asked suddenly, staring at Derek uncertainly.

‘No!’ Sheila shouted out suddenly. ‘No, he’s lying. He’s evil. He’s not on our side. He’s not. He can’t be . . .’

‘Hush,’ Pip said softly. ‘Sheila, Derek is telling the truth.’

‘Then why didn’t he help us?’ Anna asked accusingly. ‘Why did he lock me up? Why did he let Sheila . . . let the Surpluses . . . How could he?’

‘Yes,’ Jude said suspiciously. ‘How could he?’

Pip moved towards him and put his hand on his shoulder. ‘Jude, you must understand. Derek had to be closer to Richard Pincent than anyone. He had to be beyond suspicion. We couldn’t risk him being discovered, even if it meant suffering. Even if it meant that we lost people.’

‘Derek told you about Unit X,’ Peter said suddenly. ‘He’s the reason I went in. He helped us save Sheila.’

Pip nodded. ‘He alerted me to many things, but we had to ensure the intelligence appeared to come from other sources,’ he said.

‘All this time?’ Richard gasped. ‘All this time you’ve been working for him?’

‘Albert told me what would happen. He predicted everything,’ Derek said quietly. ‘Even this. He knew everything would end, unless . . . unless –’

‘Unless what?’ Hillary interjected.

‘Unless we ensured there were children,’ Pip said quietly. ‘Unless we protected the eternal cycle of life. Birth and death, as it has always been. That is what the ring symbolises, Richard. Not the formula to Longevity. It is Nature’s eternity, the right way to live forever. Through our children, through our children’s children. Through Peter, Jude, Molly and Ben, the Surpluses around the world.’

Jude tried to swallow but found he couldn’t – a huge lump had appeared in his throat. Instead he turned to Pip desperately. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I doubted you. I thought you . . . When I saw you with Derek I thought you were on his side. I thought . . .’

‘You were right to doubt me,’ Pip said gently. ‘You are a leader, Jude, and a leader can never trust blindly. You have helped me more than I can say. I am . . .’ He looked down. ‘I am very proud of you, Jude.’

Jude bit his lip. ‘No,’ he said miserably. ‘I let you down.’

‘You could never let me down,’ Pip said, his voice choking slightly. Then he took a deep breath. ‘I have been so hard on you, Jude. I have lied to you, I have kept the truth from you. From all of you. But I only did what I did to protect you. To protect the circle of life. Now I have done what I needed to do; now I have paid the price for what I did all those years ago. It is time for you now. You are a leader, Jude. It is time to lead. You must inspire, you must plan, you must make the world a better place. Peter, you are a fighter. A protector.’

‘No,’ Peter said, shooting a look at Anna. ‘No, Pip. I’m a father. That’s what I should have been instead of coming to London. I’m not a fighter. Not any more.’

‘Yes you are,’ Anna said, her voice small but firm. ‘You are a fighter, Peter. You’re a father too, but you can be both. The children and I – we’re not the only ones who need you.’

Peter looked at her for a few moments then nodded gratefully, as he realised that she had forgiven him, that she understood.

‘Anna’s right – you must be all these things,’ Pip said gently. ‘Fight for the future. Protect those who need protection. Be a father, Peter – to your children, to your future children, to others who have no parents of their own. And Anna?’ Anna looked up, her eyes wide but resolute. ‘You, Anna, must be the mother of all. You need to be the strongest of all, because you will need to lead and protect and fight. You must negotiate, you must convince, you must provide. And you must look after Sheila.’

‘I’ll look after Sheila,’ Jude said tightly, but Sheila shook her head.

‘I can look after myself,’ she said calmly. She walked towards Pip, and her eyes stared into his unwaveringly. ‘I don’t need parents any more,’ she said, her voice catching slightly. ‘I don’t need protectors. I’m going to be useful, Pip. I’ll protect the Surpluses. I’ll help.’

‘Yes, you will,’ Pip said, smiling gently. ‘You are stronger than you know, Sheila, and I wish I could be here to watch you discover that strength.’

‘You can,’ Jude said uncertainly. ‘You will.’

But before Pip could reply, Richard staggered up from his chair. ‘Enough of these lies,’ he seethed. ‘Hillary, do something. Stop these lies. Guard, take them. Kill them all . . .’

Hillary looked at him with distaste. ‘Guard,’ she said, ‘call for someone to take him away. I have heard enough of his lies. Quite enough.’

The guard nodded and seconds later, two masked men arrived. They grabbed Richard by the arms and legs and carried him out of the room.

‘No!’ Richard screamed as he was dragged down the corridor. ‘No! Water! I just need water . . .’

Seconds later the screaming could no longer be heard and the room was filled with silence.

Hillary looked around glassy-eyed, then focused on Richard’s scientist who was standing next to the door, his face as white as his lab coat.

‘So there is no contamination? There’s a virus? It can’t be cured?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘No. Perhaps the symptoms can be alleviated with old medicine, but we’ve carried out hundreds of autopsies and we can’t . . .’ He trailed off, looking slightly ill. ‘No,’ he whispered. ‘It can’t be cured.’

‘And it affects everyone?’

‘Not everyone,’ Pip said gravely. ‘Not Opt Outs. Not Surpluses. Not those whose immune systems have been allowed to function.’

Hillary nodded slowly. ‘Then we need to plan,’ she said, only her shaking hands betraying her emotion. ‘We must maintain order. We must organise.’ She studied Pip carefully. ‘How long do we have?’ she asked eventually.