"Mr. Golightly, I expected better from someone as politically wise as you." Disappointment laced every single word the Minister spat out.
Ian winced internally. It would not be a politically wise move to anger the Minister for Recovery, possibly now the most powerful person in the United Kingdom, but it was apparently the only move left to him.
"I'm sorry I can't help you, Minister. If Abel Township is now working on a cure for the zombie virus, writing about it would only cause a widespread panic as people stop killing zombies hoping for them to be cured soon, or at least when the inevitable follows after that, that is. After the entire political news team got eaten, I have had to take on a lot of responsibility for the New Times, and I'm afraid it goes against my ethics to do something like this, even if as you say it is for my country."
"Very well." Not wise at all, but if Ian was proud of anything about himself, it was his journalistic integrity. He loved to spice up the stories he wrote, after all, it was a difficult time for everyone and even the smallest entertainment he could provide went a long way. But outright lie that Abel Township had a cure for the virus and wasn't releasing it to the public? That was a leap he wasn't willing to make.
He was very distracted when he took his leave, almost forgetting the pack of Viscounts he had brought with him to wait with. He didn't think the Minister noticed.
"And thanks to you all, I've got the makings of an excellent 4,000-word feature. Quite a shot in the arm for the paper after our entire political news team got eaten last month." Ian was delighted. He'd thought his career would be coming to a very premature end, being eaten alive in a dumpster, but Runner Five had been the hero again and he was not only alive but in danger of becoming incredibly famous.
Dr. Myers had to cut into his fantasies. "Er, yeah, about that feature. So that we don't put more lives at risk, perhaps you could say that there certainly isn't a cure?"
Ian tried not to roll his eyes. "Everyone knows that a denial means that the allegations are true."
At this point, another voice piped in. "Journalism is complicated." Ian tried not to sneer in his direction. Sam Yao, the ever present bumbling annoyance, always so cheerful and innocent and popular. Sam Yao, who had probably never stepped out of the guarded township or risked his neck for anything. Why did everyone like this guy again?
His mutinous thoughts were derailed by Dr. Myers and Janine De Luca working out the finer aspects of the Abel feature. Ian was slightly sickened by their do-gooder attitude. Always patting themselves on the back for whatever reason, usually for fixing some trouble they had brought upon themselves. These were the people all those legendary stories were building up about?
Ian had not felt this hopeful in a long, long time. He had spent the better part of the morning running towards the Reunion Centre. The Ministry had set this office up here as the first in an initiative to get information about lost souls, and reunite friends and loved ones. He had initially not bothered with it but it was only a couple of hours' worth of an easy jog from the New Times office and, without a big team to do the research now, work had slowed down.
He had been looking for his twin sister, Susan, ever since they had gotten separated after the virus spread like wildfire. He hadn't expected anything when he went to the Reunion Centre on the way back from an interview, but he did give them a description and the last few locations he'd seen her. It had been awfully quiet there, but it was also quite late. What did he have to lose by telling these people to keep an eye out for her? Susan was the only thing left in this world that he would genuinely want to die for. They had faced many challenges together - their neglectful grandmother, their foster parents, the school bullies, unemployment. She had never lost faith in him, and he'd never had anyone else who stood by him so steadfastly. It had nearly broken him when he couldn't find her in the emergency centre they had gone to after the zombies attacked their town, so he was trying (and failing) to keep his excitement tamped down ever since he got the message from the Reunion Centre.
"Ian Golightly. I heard there was news about my sister, Susan Golightly." There were more people here today, and an actual queue. Almost like old times.
"Golightly… Oh, yes, they're waiting for you in 203. Up the stairs and third door on the left."
All Ian could hear as he climbed the stairs was the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. He reached 203, braced himself and knocked twice.
"Come on in, it's open." A vaguely familiar voice that he couldn't place sounded from inside. He didn't think too much of it and went in, and sat down.
"Mr. Golightly, I'll get right to the point. We were able to locate your sister and have had her brought to this facility. However, because of our safeguards from people unknowingly bitten, she is still in quarantine. You cannot be in the same room with her, but would you like to go see her?"
"She's… she's here? And alive? Ye- Yes, I would like to see her. Please." Ian's heart was hammering like a woodpecker trying to burst from his chest. She was here?
They went down a few flights of a different set of stairs and into a dark room. The vaguely familiar lady beckoned him to a chair. "If you could wait here, she'll be with you in a moment."
She left, closing the door.
Ian sat in the dark, feeling very uneasy. This seemed a bit over the top, even for a dramatic personality such as himself. Before he could follow that thought through, the door opened… and in walked the Minister.
"Mr. Golightly. How providential to be running into you again."
"Minister… what is going on? Why are you here?"
"Mr. Golightly, please stay seated or my guards here will not hesitate to kill you. Perhaps a better question to ask would be why you are here."
Ian was trembling. What was he expected to do, and was there anything he could say that would get him out of here alive?
"Very well." It looked like the Minister wasn't waiting around for his brain to signal his mouth. He winced internally. "You are here on suspicion of treason. I am here because I am the one charging you with it. You see, Mr. Golightly, you were given numerous opportunities over the past few months to prove yourself trustworthy by publishing the truth about Abel Township, but time and again you have refrained from it, doing whatever it is you do that passes for journalism instead."
Ian was confused. "I don't understand, Minister. What opportunities?"
"Your new anonymous source? That was us. How do you think this source had access to Pandora Haze files, Professor Van Ark's research notes and copies of Janine De Luca's MI6 records? No one could have their hands in all of those things without us knowing about it. We've been testing you, Mr. Golightly. And you have failed colossally."
"You… have been feeding me information against Abel all this time? But why?" Ian was desperately trying to understand what was happening. He realised that this situation had not been in his control from the start. "And what does treason have to do with it?"
"You abjectly refused to serve your country when I politely asked you, Mr. Golightly. And you've blithely ignored every other opportunity you've had to do so, blinded by your adoration of the heroes of Abel. Do you know what your heroes have done?"
Before Ian could answer, lights shuddered to life on the other side of the room. It looked like there was a glass partition he could see through, into another room similar to his. There was someone sitting there too, on the floor in the corner.
They looked like a mess. There was no other word that could encompass how caked with dirt their hair and clothes were. As the lights came on fully, they turned their head to try to shield themselves from it. That was when Ian saw the blood- and tear-stained face of his Susie.
"Susie? Wha- SUSIE!" He completely forgot himself and ran to the window, banging on the glass and screaming her name. The figure sat listlessly. He couldn't hear much from the other side, but he could clearly make out her face.
"Susie! I'm here! It's Ian! Are you alright? Susie!" He couldn't remember feeling so happy, scared and worried all at the same ever in his life. What was going on? Why wasn't she getting up?
"Mr. Golightly, get a hold of yourself. Yes, that is indeed Ms. Golightly. You are not going to be audible from this side of the glass so please, compose yourself."
Ian looked at the Minister. "What is she doing here? Why does she look like that? What do you want from me?" His mind was racing a mile a minute. Had they found Susie and were just showing her to him, or had they kept her here to get leverage over him? He knew the Minister was powerful, but he was quickly realising that he'd not had a clue how much. What was this facility and why weren't people looking into it?
"I want what I've always wanted, Mr. Golightly. Your loyalty, and your talents… such as they are. I have respected your publication for a long time - I think you are doing good work, giving hope to the people. When I heard that they had found your sister, I took an interest in the case as I was, admittedly, expecting you would be able to give us a positive feature in the New Times. What I was not prepared for was what I found out about her."
"And what was that?" Almost afraid to ask, but unable to control his interview reflexes, Ian whispered while still staring through the glass.
"She struck out on her own to try and find you, and got as far as Abel Township. However, as she wasn't much of a runner and didn't have any other, how did they put it, "usable skills", Abel turned her away. She had to try to survive on her own. Which explains how she came to be in this wretched state." The Minister was using a conciliatory tone that he knew well, the one where people are trying to handle you with kid gloves, expecting you to blow your top. Well, Ian was better than that.
"How do you know all this? Did she tell you this?"
"I have my ways, Mr. Golightly. The reason I am telling you this is that I have some bad news for you. Susan was bitten just before we picked her up. This is why we asked for you to come urgently. I am sorry."
There was a ringing noise in his ear. The Minister had said something that he was trying to grasp, but his body was refusing to cooperate.
"Initially we held out hope that she was naturally immune to the virus, because she hadn't turned immediately. However, the lab reports that the virus is only slowly killing her from the inside, waiting to take over at the moment of her death. What am I now about to tell you is for your ears only." The Minister shook her head at her guards, who stepped outside the room.
"I have a research team that has been working on a cure for the virus in Finland. I had some of their latest test samples available to me, and I ordered them used on her. They have delayed the onset of the disease, but I am afraid it is only delaying the inevitable. Your sister will soon fade and one of those creatures will take her place. This is why I am granting you the opportunity to see her before she turns, even though our quarantine procedures do not allow for it."
"I… I am finding it difficult to process everything, but I am grateful, Minister. You must believe me." Ian could not think straight. So much was happening all at the same time. The one thing he was sure of now was that the Minister was the most powerful person possibly in the world, and she was standing here doing something out of compassion for him. He was overwhelmed.
"I'm glad you feel that way, Ian. I am sorry indeed about your sister. I hope that you are able to bring yourself to help me, in her memory, to bring to light the truth about Abel Township and the false heroes in it. They have abandoned your sister without a second thought, and they will abandon their country. We have to stop them."
"Yes, Minister. Thank you, Minister."
She smiled a little at that. She nodded, and took her leave. Ian was left to wait. And watch.
Ian cleared his throat and ironed his unwrinkled statement once again. I can do this. Ian can do this.
"Hello. Hello? Is this... is this loudspeaker working?
This is Ian Golightly of the Rofflenet New Times. You all know me. You've read my reports from all around the country. You know I can be trusted to tell the truth.
I'm here to speak on behalf of the Ministry for Recovery. We know that there are traitors in Abel. I'm saddened to say that some people I thought were my friends are among them. Abel's commander, Janine de Luca. Abel's operator, Sam Yao. Abel's head of runners. You are all to stand trial for highest treason against the country.
But not all of you have to suffer. If you have information that can help us, I urge you to come forward with it now. People of New Canton, there is no need to stand with Abel now. Tell the Ministry all you know, bring us the leaders of the treasonous rebellion, seek them out wherever you find them and turn them over to the proper authorities. And then we can all work together to build a brighter Britain."