The Perfect World (The Perfect World Series Book 1) (39 page)

“As well as I can be, I suppose,” Eldrick said with a sigh. “Anyway, I hear you’re the one who started the petition for the raids.”

“I am,” Cyrus confirmed for him. “But, when I looked online I saw that it had been shelved. Can you please tell me why, sir?”

“I can, though I wish I had some better news for you,” he admitted. “It was actually brought to the floor yesterday. I led some discussion on it, with Huo chiming in every now and again. However, as I feared, many people in our leadership are still too afraid to do anything substantial about the raids. There was at least a discussion this time, but nothing could be decided. The petition was put aside for the time being so that we could discuss other matters.”

“What other matters?” Scott inquired.

“Oh, we have budgets to decide, and the worldwide census, along with elections and changing leadership around the world.”

“That’s it?” Cyrus couldn’t help the incredulousness that crept into his voice.

“Yes, sadly,” Eldrick admitted.

“How is any of that more important than getting the raids started up again?” Cyrus asked, feeling angry and disappointed.             

“It’s not, at least not in my opinion or Huo’s.” Eldrick closed his eyes. “It’s unfortunate that our fellow politicians don’t see it that way.”

Cyrus balled his fists and looked down at the floor. “I thought  that if I got the petition going, the politicians might have a long discussion about it. I mean if so many people are willing to sign the thing, wouldn’t they think that it was important enough to everyone in the dome to take it seriously?”

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” Huo Shen laughed unkindly. “Petitions have been around since before the perfect world was installed. They were useless then, and they’re just as useless now.”

“Huo.” John Eldrick tried to admonish the other man, but he waved it off.

“Keep your protests to yourself, John, you know it’s true. Petitions are nothing more than a lazy man’s way of trying to get your opinion heard. Think about it. All you have to do to get a petition going is sign your name and write a few sentences. Then, you just have to wait for other people to sign it enough times and hand it in. What an achievement.” He snorted. “It’s nothing more than the piece of paper equivalent of a self-congratulatory pat on the back. A way to show someone’s pride in themselves by pretending that they actually did something by being lazy. That’s all.”

Cyrus’s face burned. He glared at the leader of the Hong Kong and China Domes. “That’s not why I did it!”

“Oh? Then what noble reason did you have to do it if I may ask?”

“I did it to help a friend of mine who’s still in the perfect world. I want to save her.”

“So, in other words, you want to risk the lives of dozens of people just so that you can save one person.” The stern man shook his head, his braid waving back and forth at the motion. “That’s almost worse than just being lazy.”

“It’s mostly for her, but I want to help the others too.” Cyrus refused to back down. “Besides, if I want to help her, what is it to you? If my reason and efforts get the raids started again somehow, then hundreds of people could be saved. We could even get on the way to ending the perfect world for good.”

That caused Huo Shen to laugh and sneer. “Ah, the feckless optimism of youth in all its self-important glory. You, one person who has barely been in the dome for a few months, is somehow going to convince hundreds of politicians worldwide to take up the raids again. Oh, but that’s not all you’ll do. Your very presence is going to be all it takes to get rid of the perfect world. A despotic government system that’s been around for decades is going to be broken by your very hands. What a special little snowflake you are. If only the rest of us had your talents, life would be so much easier.”

Cyrus shut his mouth and looked at the ground. He hadn’t meant it like that! Why did this man have to be so nasty about it? He just wanted to help. Cyrus was about to say something again, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Ms. Linda clasping his shoulder firmly in support before planting herself in front of Huo Shen. Her face was impassive, but her eyes glowed with a cold fury.

“So, Mr. Shen, if you’re so intent on tearing down Cyrus’s efforts, what is it that you’re doing instead?”

“For your information, my domes are one of the few in the world  that still run the occasional raid.” Huo’s voice was calm and even, meeting Ms. Linda’s fiery eyes with his own dark ones.

“Occasional?” Ms. Linda repeated calmly. “You mean those once a year farces that your country does that won’t even make a dent in the real problem?”

Huo Shen tilted his head at the challenge. “I am one of the few politicians of my country who tries to get the raids done correctly. Unfortunately, the fear spread from other nations has infected my own people and their widespread stupidity has influenced my politicians to put all kinds of fool regulations on our raiding teams. Those spineless men whom I have to deal with every day are to blame.”

“Are they? Truly?” Ms. Linda’s face darkened. “Is blaming others the only excuse you have for your failures?”

Huo Shen opened his mouth to counter, but Ms. Linda didn’t let him. She strode right up to him until she was inches from him, her eyes fixed on him with unwavering resolve.

“You speak of feckless optimism, Mr. Shen, but I would rather have that than pointless defeatism. I confess myself rather disappointed in hearing you talk about others keeping you from doing what is necessary. I had heard that you were a horse’s ass but that you had the leadership qualities to back it up. Now, I see that only half of that rumor was true.” She smiled unkindly at him. “Perhaps if so many people are telling you you’re a horse’s ass, then you should consider taking a good long look in the mirror.”

Huo Shen just smiled at the jab. “And if all I see is myself?”

“Then, all the more reason to saddle up.” Ms. Linda eyes locked with his. The hard fire of Huo’s eyes met the cold stone of Ms. Linda’s and neither one backed down. When it was clear Huo Shen would say nothing more, the small woman turned to Mr. Eldrick and said, “Thank you for your time and your efforts, sir. It was good to see you again.”

“You’re welcome. I only wish I could have done more.”

“That makes four of us,” Ms. Linda remarked sadly. Then, she turned to Cyrus and Scott. “Let’s go home boys.”

Ms. Linda placed a hand on both of their shoulders and made them turn around. As they started walking away, Cyrus saw Huo Shen glaring after Ms. Linda. John Eldrick seemed to be laughing about something, but Shen didn’t look amused. Cyrus turned away again as they exited the building.

“I can’t believe you said that!” Scott said at last, laughing to himself in unconcealed glee. “Did you see the look on his face? It was great!”

“It was satisfying,” Ms. Linda admitted, smiling in spite of herself. “Though I’m afraid I’ve set a bad example for you boys. I lost my temper a bit.”

“Who wouldn’t? I was about to lose my temper too!” Scott said as they walked together. “He shouldn’t have talked to Cyrus like that.”

“I agree.” Ms. Linda nodded. “Granted, some of the things he said had merit. That being said, there were better ways to say the things he did. There is no good reason to talk to someone like that, whether you have a point or not.”

“I’m glad you stood up to him,” Scott commended before looking at Cyrus. “I’m also happy that you didn’t give in to him. There aren’t many people who can claim that they didn’t back down from Huo Shen.”

“I guess,” Cyrus muttered, his mind far away from Huo Shen and his words. “What are we going to do about the petition?”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do, Cyrus,” Ms. Linda explained gently. “We can’t force the politicians to look at something they don’t want to focus on, much as we’d like to. We’ll just have to hope that one day they’ll get back to it or something else will get the raids to resume.”

“I suppose.” Cyrus sounded heartbroken. He felt heartbroken.

His mother placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Remember what I told you? About the future?”

“Yes.”

“Hold on to that now. Don’t let yourself be dragged down by this. Okay?”

“Okay.” Cyrus tried to sound optimistic for her. Not because he was focusing on the future that she wanted for him, but because he had another purpose now. If he couldn’t save Melody with the raiding team formed by the politicians, then he had to take action.

Later that evening after dinner, Scott and Cyrus sat in the living room together. Cyrus was staring at their living room computer screen brooding over the petition that had been shelved. He closed his eyes and breathed a long sigh.

“So, now what?” Scott asked him.

“You already know what,” Cyrus replied quickly.

“I guess I should rephrase that. How are we going to do this?”

“If the politicians won’t even consider forming a raiding party, then we have no choice. We’re just going to have to create one ourselves.”

“I know you’re really passionate about this Cyrus,” Scott started, clearly trying to be careful, “but you know the local government isn’t just going to let you make a raiding team without their approval.”

“Officially, no,” Cyrus agreed, but he was grinning in spite of it. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t start training one for the time being.”

“How do you figure that?” Scott asked him, clearly confused.

“I figure that the old raiding teams had special training sessions that they did here in the domes, right? Xavier said as much.” Scott nodded. “A large number of the people who signed the petition to start the raids again are already taking the Physical Training course. If I point this out to General Gray and ask if he can open a class to train students as potential raiders, I don’t think he’ll say no.”

“And you think the local government will approve of this?”

“No,” Cyrus admitted, though his grin only grew wider, “but I don’t think that will matter.”

Scott eyed him curiously as he went on. “The politicians in the domes are mostly concerned with keeping their jobs, right?” Scott nodded. “This petition got the number of signatures required, but they’re not even going to look at it. Once I start spreading the word, I’m sure there will be a lot of people besides the two of us who are disappointed in them.

“So, let’s say I put a happy face on the situation and make an effort to show that I’m serious about getting the raids back together. If I try to start a class to train potential new raiders and the government steps in to stop it, what do you think will happen?”

“The public will be very displeased with them and might vote them out,” Scott stated as he caught on.

“Exactly. They don’t want to disappoint the constituents who are against the raids, but they also don’t want to anger the ones that are. That leaves them with only one option.”

“Ignoring the problem.”

“Right again. My guess is if I get a training class open, the politicians will simply ignore us. Since they don’t know we’re actually forming our own raiding party and it can just be tacked on as an extension of the Physical Training course, I think they’ll choose to let us have our fun. After all, they’re still the ones who have the power to Yea or Nay a raiding party in our dome. Or at least, that’s what they think.”

Scott whistled. “That’s actually fairly clever.”

“Yep. I think it might just work.”

“One more thing though. Who are you going to get to join this new class of yours? I’m not going to be taking Physical Training until my internship ends next year, and they’re not just going to train you.”

“It’s simple,” Cyrus said confidently. “We’ll start by recruiting our friends, like Xavier and Priscilla. From there, we can use their connections to find more people like us who are willing to join our raiding training course. Then, we’ll select the most trustworthy members of the class to be part of our secret raiding party.”

“Sounds good,” Scott told him, running a hand through his dark hair, “but are you sure people won’t get suspicious about what we’re doing? What if we get caught or someone tries to rat us out?”

“I don’t think anyone will,” Cyrus admitted, “but If anyone does, we can just say that we’re doing extra practice in a smaller group to hone our techniques. It will just make us seem dedicated.”

“That actually sounds plausible,” Scott conceded after taking a moment to try and find a flaw in the plan.

“I thought so. In addition to the raiding class, everyone in physical training is doing really well. I think we should be able to get into the advanced weapons training without arousing much suspicion on that front either.”

Scott looked at Cyrus with something like amazement. “You’ve really thought this one through, haven’t you?”

“I have, these past few weeks.” He gave Scott a determined look. “I wanted to be prepared for the worst. After all, I never really expected the petition to work.”

Scott seemed a bit sad at that. “I wish this could have ended up differently.”

“Me too, but here we are.” Cyrus shook his head. “Wishing that things will work out isn’t going to help us now.” Cyrus looked Scott dead in the eyes. “Are you still with me?”

“Of course,” Scott replied with no hesitation.

“Thank you.”

“Hey, none of that,” Scott told him with a wave of his hand. “You’re my best friend. What other choice is there?” Then his eyes settled on Cyrus as he thought of something else. “Speaking of friends, have you discussed this with the others, yet?”

“No, I kind of wanted to go over it with you first. One, because you’re my best friend, and two, I know I can count on you to tell me when you think I’m crazy or if you think my plans are stupid.”

“Always. Everyone needs a good ego bruising every once in a while. At least, that’s my philosophy.”

“A philosophy that you don’t employ for yourself,” Cyrus added snidely.

Scott brushed it off. “I can’t help it if I’m always right.”

Cyrus decided not to answer that for the sake of his sanity. He  was silent for a moment and then he said, “We need to tell the others tomorrow. I think I’ll tell them at physical training in the morning and meet them for pizza tonight. You in?”

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

Cyrus was relieved at that answer, knowing now that all he could do was wait until the evening. He called all the others whom he wanted to be present there, and all of them said they would be there tonight. When the time finally came, Cyrus donned his jacket, and he and Scott left together.             

They traveled in silence to the pizza place, both of them feeling somber as they made their way there. They brightened as they saw the smiling faces of their friends, who didn’t know the reason for their meeting.

“Hey, took you guys long enough!” Xavier rubbed at his stomach. “I am so hungry right now.”

“Well, that’s your fault for being early, isn’t it?” Scott quipped back. “We told you to meet us at six-thirty, and it’s only six-fifteen right now.”

“He’s got you there,” Priscilla remarked, and Xavier swatted her  arm.

“Don’t blame Xavier too much,” Sahane put in, folding her hands in front of her. “None of us wanted to keep you waiting. Not in this cold weather.”

“Oh, I’m just kidding, Sahane,” Scott reassured her. “We’re both glad that you’re early. It would have been way worse if you were late.”

“I would never—”

“I know, I know,” Scott interjected, patting her lightly on the shoulder. “You’re too nice of a person to blow somebody off. It just isn’t who you are.”

Sahane turned a little red at the words, and both Cyrus and Xavier shared a grin behind her back. Priscilla, sensing Sahane’s embarrassment, cleared her throat loudly and said, “Shall we go in? Xavier’s not the only one who’s hungry, you know.”

“Exactly what I was about to say,” Julian put in. “I could eat a whole pizza by myself, and I will if we have to stand out here in the cold any longer.”

Cyrus went over to the door and held it open for his friends, “Let’s go.”

Everyone passed inside, and Cyrus brought up the rear. The group was seated in the same place that Julian and Cyrus had been a few weeks ago, only another table was brought over and pushed together with theirs so that they could all fit comfortably. Cyrus noticed that Sahane made sure she was next to Scott, and Priscilla arranged herself so that she was sitting opposite of him. Once everyone had placed their orders, the eyes at the table focused in on Cyrus, wondering why they were brought here.

“So, what’s going on, Cyrus?” Priscilla was the first to speak up. “It’s about the petition isn’t it?”

“It is,” Cyrus confirmed immediately. “We got the signatures required, and I turned it in to our government building. Unfortunately, the politicians won’t even look at it. They shelved it yesterday.”

Collective frustrated groans issued from the table, which Cyrus appreciated.

“Scott, my mother and I went there to get an explanation, and we were told the politicians don’t want to deal with the matter, so they’d rather it be swept under the rug.”

“Unbelievable.” Xavier seemed almost as angry as he had felt when he first saw the result of their efforts.

“But not unexpected,” Julian added with resignation. He looked up at Cyrus. “So, what’s next?”

“What’s next is we form our own raiding team and do this ourselves.”

Cyrus said it seriously and hoped that the others would not laugh at the statement. To his relief, no one did. He saw Sahane give Scott a hesitant look, but she did not protest.

“Okay, so we’re doing this ourselves.” Xavier nodded. “I can live with that. It’s just, well, how are we going to do it?”

Cyrus took a deep breath and outlined his plan, from getting the  raiding class back up and running, to weapons training, to their eventually forming the raiding team and going on the mission whether they had approval or not. When he was finished explaining his plans, Cyrus stared at all of them, confident and full of passion.

I don’t have time for doubts, he told himself firmly. Not anymore. If I’m going to save her, then I have to lead these people. I have to get them to trust in me as a leader.

“Sounds like a plan.” Priscilla was the first to break the silence. “Count me in.”

“Me too.” Xavier placed a hand over his heart. “I’m with you on this until the end. My dad’s always talking about how we should still be doing the raids. Now’s a good time as any to start up again. I can even get more people to come in on this with us. I’m sure of it.”

“I’ll help you too, but I do have a suggestion.” Sahane spoke up and looked at Cyrus. “I think we should keep making petitions to get the raids going again. Each of us can start a new one and try to get different people to sign it every time. If we keep making new ones and giving it to the politicians, it will make them look worse and worse for ignoring the will of the people.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Julian put in as he rested his elbows on the table. “We need to keep the pressure on the politicians. If we have to do the raids ourselves, we’ll do it ourselves. Still, I’d like to keep pressuring our leaders into taking action. Their help would be a great asset to us if we can get it.”

“Also, we shouldn’t just pressure the Pittsburgh Dome government leaders, but as many of the dome leaders as we can,” Sahane added. “My brother Seiya runs a sushi restaurant in the Plymouth Dome in Massachusetts. I’ve visited him several times, and I know people in the area who would probably be interested in signing one. Also, my mother works at a large internet company, and she often travels to other domes to assist them when there are problems. I could convince the people I know there to help us, as well if that’s okay with you.”

“Alright, I have no problem with that, as long as we continue to practice and train our own team with our own plan of attack just in case the politicians fail us.”

“Which they will,” Scott muttered irritably, making Cyrus grin.

“There is one thing we’re going to need if this is going to work though.” Cyrus looked directly at Scott. “We’re going to need surveillance of the perfect world, particularly that building I was looking for.

“I can keep an eye on the building from my workplace. If anything goes wrong in that area, I’ll let you all know.”

“And, can you get us through the dome’s walls?”

“Yes, pretty easily.” Julian nodded. “There are four specific entry ways into the Pittsburgh Dome. Specifically, they’re the Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern entrances. All the personnel at my company are trained in how to open and shut them. It won’t be hard for me to open them since I have company clearance.”

“Let me know if you’d like some help with any of the computer stuff,” Scott said to Julian. “I’m pretty handy at computers myself.”

“I don’t doubt that, but I don’t think you can help me actually,” Julian replied. “The security getting in and out of building is extremely tight. If I started letting you in too often, the other employees might think something’s wrong.” Scott looked disappointed, so Julian shrugged helplessly and added, “Thanks for the offer though.”

“So, everyone’s with me?” Cyrus asked after a moment of silence. “There’s still time to back out now, but once you’re in, you’re in. That’s it. There’s no getting back out. Understood?”

All the heads around the table nodded. There wasn’t one word of dissent or reproach for what he was asking. Cyrus closed his eyes and said, “I don’t know if there will ever be a way for me to thank all of you for this.”

“You don’t have to,” Priscilla said with a shake of her head. “We want to do this as much as you do. You don’t have to thank us so much, you know.”