The Legacy

will want to know what is happening to him. He is the most wanted man in the whole world, the most dangerous terrorist. We can’t just let Derek take him to a darkened room somewhere. We must be seen to punish him. To hang him if necessary.’
    ‘Hang him and he will become a martyr,’ Derek seethed, not allowing his voice to rise. ‘That is what he wants. He has surrendered to save the Underground, to stem the attacks, calm the anarchy that his actions created. Hang him and people will feel safe again, they will become complacent. Hang him and another will take his place. Give him to me and I will root out every supporter, every sympathiser. Give him to me and the Underground will no longer exist.’
    ‘Hillary, you know it makes sense,’ Richard said evenly. ‘I understand that this is an Authorities matter, but this man Pip will have information that Pincent Pharma will find very useful. How they breached our security, what else they had planned –’
    ‘What matters is that he won’t breach your security again,’ Hillary said tersely. ‘The priority is to restore public confidence.’
    ‘But not to restore it too much,’ Derek interjected silkily.
    Hillary pursed her lips. ‘A state of national emergency was declared last week,’ she said tightly. ‘Half the world is threatening to declare war on us unless we put to death the man who murdered their people.’
    ‘Then he dies,’ Richard said with a shrug. ‘But later. He should suffer first. Derek can ensure that. Derek knows all about making people suffer and about getting information from them. Let him have Pip first. We need him.’
    ‘You need to concentrate on containing the contamination,’ Hillary said, her voice low and angry. ‘You said that it was one batch. And yet there are more and more bodies. I have just been on the phone to my counterparts in Sweden, Korea and the US, where the death tolls are rising. You assured me everything was under control. And it isn’t, Richard. It isn’t at all.’
    Derek looked at Richard meaningfully, then he leant forward and lowered his voice so that Hillary had to strain to hear it. ‘If I may,’ he said. ‘The only way to ensure that the death toll does not rise is to ensure that all Pip’s allies are caught before they can attempt more contamination.’
    Richard smiled gratefully at him. ‘Hillary,’ he said, ‘Derek’s right. The contaminated batch was bigger than we’d hoped, but everything is under control.’
    ‘Really?’ Hillary asked, leaning towards him as she lowered her voice. ‘There are rumours of large pits being dug within the walls of Pincent Pharma, Richard. Smoke has been spiralling above your land for weeks. What have you been burning? And where are those affected being treated? You won’t let me see them. You won’t let anyone see them.’
    ‘Of course I won’t,’ Richard replied, his eyes narrowing. ‘No one can see the victims of contamination because they are in sterile units. The contamination has opened their systems to bacteria, to infection which must be contained. Everything we use in those units has been burnt or buried to protect the healthy. And in the meantime, with your help, we have been rounding up all the sick, all the liberals, all the Opt Outs, all those hidden children that people keep like little pets. You know that calls to the Surplus hotline have gone through the roof? People are falling over themselves to point the finger, to voice their suspicions, to snitch on their neighbours. We are winning. But we can’t rest on our laurels. We need Pip to tell us everything he knows. Only then will the world be safe again.’
    ‘So there will be no more Missing?’ Hillary asked tersely.
    Richard shot a conspiratorial look at Derek, who moved his head just enough to encourage his master. There had been another message that morning. The ring was on its way. Things were in motion.
    Richard nodded. ‘Yes, Hillary. They will stop.’
    Hillary blinked slowly; her hands were gripping her bag so tightly that her knuckles were white.
    ‘One week,’ she said. ‘One week is all you have.’
    ‘That’s all I need,’ Derek said, sitting back. ‘That’s enough.’
    An hour later, Jude looked for the last time around the room he’d spent the past two months in. It always amazed him how easy it was to pack up what represented the Underground headquarters, how quickly the spaces that had contained it returned to their former existence – dank,