Authors Note: As usual I am greatly appreciative of any and all reviews, it's good to know you're still enjoying it.
Chapter 7
It was hours later by the time she sought him out. Medics had arrived en masse and had shipped the casualties to various hospitals throughout the nearby sectors, the Halls had been searched for further explosives and had been boarded up, evacuated until the engineers confirmed it was structurally still sound. It would be, the building had been designed to withstand earthquakes, fire and acts of terror and it was likely to be up and running again by morning, nothing was allowed to get in the way of The Law.
Anderson found Dredd sat on top of the barricade where they'd found Hershey, his back to the carnage, his arms resting wearily on his knees as he stared into the distance, the mega-blocks rising out of the sprawling cityscape against the light-polluted night sky.
"Hey, how is she?" Anderson asked as she sat down beside him.
"Third degree burns to her lower face and trachea." He said, the words were clinical but the emotion behind them, for once, wasn't.
"I'm sorry." Anderson rested a hand on his knee. He flinched at the contact, unused to being touched, but he didn't pull away so she left it there, hoping it helped in some small way.
"We need to find this guy." He said.
"I know." Anderson ran a hand through her soot caked hair and took a steadying breath as she calmed her mind and sought out who she was looking for. She started at their position and scanned outwards picking up on random flashes of personality and dismissing them as soon as they didn't fit. She kept going further and further out, the process exhausting and depleting what little reserves she had left. She was only partly aware of her own body but realised that Dredd must have picked up on how much it was affecting her, as she could feel his steadying hold on her shoulders.
When she did find him, it felt like a seeping warmth of satisfaction, the Conduit wanted to be found and she could see him grinning slyly. He was stood on a rooftop, but a relatively low one, perhaps about twenty or thirty stories, mega-blocks towering over him on all sides. There was another presence beside him, hidden in shadow, but she could tell who it was, so alike and yet so different to the man sat beside her. She searched the scene for clues to guide her to a location, she could see the freeway snaking out towards the horizon, still lit with slow moving traffic despite it being long after midnight, there was a billboard advertising the latest reality tv drama on the next block over, but those billboards for those insipid shows were everywhere, so far this wasn't enough. As she delved further into the image, a voice echoed in her head, deep and gravely, "Joe will know where to find us." And then with a jolt that felt like a physical push, she was back in reality, falling backwards with the force of the severed connection into Dredd's protective hold.
"Are you good?" Dredd asked as she regained control of her body, clearly feeling uncomfortable about the physical contact but unwilling to let go until he knew she wasn't going to tip off the back of the barricade that they were perched on.
Anderson nodded, "thanks." Dredd let go, a little too hastily. She wished it wasn't so awkward. She knew that Dredd had always had a hard time being close to people, the way in which he shunned touch almost made her wonder if there was some deep seated trauma that he was still reeling from. What was apparent was that last night hadn't helped, she couldn't imagine what it must be like to have someone take over your body and force you into situations that were so alien to you, so against everything you stood for. She was trying not analyse what had happened to her, the muddy waters of whether or not she had actually consented were something to be navigated another time, but what she did know was that Dredd hadn't stopped thinking about it. His aura, for lack of a better word, had always been an impenetrable wall, carefully constructed out a sort of deep, righteous anger that held everything else in check, but now waves of guilt were washing over everything and making the wall crumble. She was worried that unless he got a grip on it, that his wall would break down and she worried about how he would cope without it. But what could she do? He seemed unlikely to want to talk about it, the only thing she could hope was that by beating this Conduit and his brother, he would be able to find some peace with what had happened.
"I saw them. They're on a rooftop of a small residential block, near the freeway. He said you'd know where to find them." The emphasis she put on 'he' left no doubt as to who she was talking about.
Dredd nodded. "Robin Hood Gardens. It's where I arrested him."
"What happened between you?" She asked before she could think better of it. She was surprised when he actually replied, even more surprised when he took off his helmet and ran a hand through sweat-slicked hair.
"Rico was always the best in the academy, he scored the highest in aptitude tests, always beat everyone in the physicals. The council and the cloning tecs were so proud of him, they thought they'd created the perfect judge. They started looking at me and trying to work out what they'd done wrong. Against the other students I was still outdoing them, but they wanted to know why I wasn't getting those last extra points Rico was. In hindsight I think I just didn't have the same drive to beat him. The attention went to his head, he thought he was indestructible, which was fine until we got out into the real world. He realised that there were pleasures that we were being denied and he was arrogant enough to think he could break the rules and get away with it. He started taking more and more chances, and the crimes got worse. When he realised that I wouldn't join him, and that he was on the verge of doing something I couldn't turn a blind eye to, he stopped talking to me. When the council found out he'd been taking protection money they dragged me in, they thought I was in on it. When they couldn't find any evidence they sent me after him, I had to prove where my loyalties lay. I didn't want to believe it but when I tracked him down to Robin Hood Gardens I found him with his LawGiver to the head of a resident who could no longer keep up with their payment. We fought, he nearly killed me, splitting my skull and causing this scar," he indicated the thick white line that intersected his handsome face. "His sentence should have been death for the assault on me alone, but the council lessened his sentence as they felt their own failings towards us were in part to blame."
Anderson didn't know what to say. For a start, it was probably the most words Dredd had strung together in his entire life. And the depth of emotion and raw honesty in his story cut her to the bone, but how do you react to that when the man speaking those words had shunned every attempt at comfort and human connection he'd ever been given? "We're going to finish this, and we're going to do it together." She promised.
Dredd nodded his agreement, "But we do it my way. He's still my brother." He looked at her and she felt then that she could almost get lost in his haunted eyes.
"Whatever you need. I'm here for you partner." She smiled.
"Good." He stood, stretching out sore muscles and replacing his helmet. "Let's go rookie." He said with the merest hint of a smile.
They rode in silence towards the building. Having Dredd's heavy frame on the back of her bike threw off her usual balance but she enjoyed the feeling of him nestled against her back and found amusement in the waves of childish grumpiness he was giving off at not being able to ride his own LawMaster.
Robin Hood Gardens was one of those blocks that had never lived up to it's name. Perhaps the architect had imagined something else, a haven of greenery and life in an otherwise grey metropolis, but it was clear that by the time it was built they'd done away with any pretence of a garden and had just made it out of the same rough concrete as everything else. And it had fallen into disrepair quicker than the other blocks, as other larger ones had sprung up around it, over half of it had been decimated by fire, thick black scorch marks up the windowless Eastern side, and the whole thing had been condemned years ago. The former residents had been relocated by the government but it hadn't stopped squatters moving in and now it was just as full as before, thousands of people taking their chances in a block that could crumble at any minute.
As they pulled up and Anderson killed the engine, she could feel the stares of people as they watched from their windows. Thankfully she couldn't feel the same mass hysteria and rage that she'd felt at the other locations. Dredd could feel the eyes on them as well and he looked up, scanning the building for hostiles.
"They're not under mind control here." She told him. "But we're in the right place, I can feel your brother."
Dredd nodded, "Yeah."
Anderson wondered if he could feel his presence there too, a lot of research had been done in the enhanced psychic connection between twins.
Leaving the LawMaster they strode into the block, through the front door which was hanging off its hinges and headed for the elevator across the hall. There were no official shops and services available at Robin Hood Gardens unlike the lower levels of the other bigger blocks, but some had set up a stand serving tacos and another was sat on a blanket spread out on the floor selling bootleg alcohol in the small lobby. Dredd gave him a long look and the guy scrambled to his feet.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. They're not for sale, I'm just..."
"Having a midnight picnic for one?" Dredd finished off with a growl making Anderson and the taco guy laugh. "Just don't be here when we get back."
The man nodded and swept his blanket up into his arms, the bottles clinking together as they were caught up in the material. He slung the whole lot over his shoulder and scurried off. The two judges paid him no more attention and carried on to the elevator.
"You should be funny more often." Anderson commented as they got to the elevator and pressed the button for the top, the 26th floor.
"For some reason, whenever I'm round you, I'm usually concentrating on not getting killed." He grumbled.
"And here's me thinking the same thing about you." She paused and gave him a long look, what she could see of his face was as inscrutable as usual and his psychic walls were back in place. "You ready for this?" She asked as the elevator crawled up the last few floors.
"Yeah." Was his only response.
"You look ready." She teased. But he just grunted at that.
The elevator creaked up towards the top of the building. The tension was coming off Dredd in waves and their slow ascent was making it worse. Finally, just when Anderson was starting to think her colleague would grind his jaw so hard he'd break a tooth, there was an electronic 'ping' and they came to a shuddering stop.
The doors opened revealing a corridor of heavy metal doors, the final floor of the building, a broken window letting in the cool night air at the far end. Two of the doors had been broken when they'd been forced open by squatters and there was the sound of a television playing from one of them. At the far end of the corridor was a service hatch in the ceiling. The lock had been broken and a rusty metal staircase had been pulled down from the open trapdoor, guiding them up.
Dredd went first, his heavy boots clanging on the metal, making no effort to hide his approach. Anderson could feel the thoughts of the family watching television, listening to those boots, holding their breath, wondering if judgement was coming for them. A closer reading told her the daughter was drug dealing and the father had once hit a man with his car and hadn't stopped. Crimes both, and Anderson considered coming back, but she knew the reality was as soon as she was back on duty there would be a never ending list of murders and kidnappings and home invasions and she'd never find the time to get back.
She followed Dredd up the stairs and came out onto the roof, the wind whipping her hair in front of her face as she stepped out into the night air. Dredd was stood, feet planted firmly on the ground, hand hovering at his LawGiver, ready to draw. She came and stood beside him and stared out across the expanse of roof out to the horizon where the sky was just beginning to lighten with dawn.
"I don't see 'em." Dredd muttered. "But I know they're here."
"The Conduit is using mind manipulation to stop us from seeing them." Anderson explained.
"We know you're there." She called out, her voice sounding loud against the background hum of traffic and electricity in the streets far below. It wasn't a mega-block but at twenty-six stories, it was still high enough to be considered high. The wind carried it away and she felt a surge of vertigo at being reminded just how even at this height it would be a long way down.
They didn't appear, Dredd turned to look at her and then suddenly backhanded her across the face with a gloved hand. The force of it snapped her head back and sent her flying to the concrete with blood in her mouth. She landed heavily, cracking her head back on the floor. Stunned and blinking back stars, she could only hold her arms up to try to defend her face as Dredd loomed over her, dropping to one knee so that he straddled her and delivering a solid punch to her jaw.
"You should wear your helmet, rookie." He growled, punching her again in her stomach, sending all the air from her in a huff and leaving her gasping.
"Dredd!" She struggled with starving lungs. "This isn't you." She struggled to reach for him but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head.
He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "He's listening. He's crying out for you, I can hear him. He cares about you, more than he's ever cared for anyone, perhaps even more than he ever cared about me."
Anderson tried to fight, tried to kick him off or break his hold but he'd had the same training she'd had, and he was just so much stronger. She tried seek out his mind but the Conduit was strong, she'd be unable to break the connection without physical contact. She looked up at his hands pinning at hers, his right one enveloped in his thick leather bike glove, his left bare save for the bulky plastic-cast that came up to his knuckles, and with that thought, a plan was formed.
"You should tell him how much you want him, how much you want to be pinned down and fucked by him again. Admit it's the only thing you've been able to think about since I left you raw and aching for more. When I kill you, the guilt will drive him mad." He smirked and that expression with that mouth was just so foreign.
"He told me about you, you know." She said, controlling her voice so that it was steadier than she felt.
"Yeah?" He asked, grinning evilly.
"He told me how pathetic you were. How you were so desperate for approval you just had to win, even if it meant giving your own brother a beating, just to get a pat on the head and a 'well done' from the instructors at the academy." She added this detail, but she knew just how brutal the academy could be, she was confident she was right.
"Shut your mouth." He snarled at her.
"He said you were top of the class but as soon as you got out into the big wide world you were just another judge and you couldn't cope. Couldn't live without the constant adoration you craved, and so like a sulky teenager, you acted out. You needed attention and you'd get it any way you knew how."
"You little bitch. You're lying." He shifted his weight on her, he was getting angrier, it was working.
"He cared about you, you were his brother, but he never respected you."
And that did it. He drew his left hand up and, ignoring the plasti-cast, or perhaps enjoying knowing how much pain it would cause them both, he made a fist and threw it into her face again. Anderson set her jaw and let him do it. The edge of the plastic caught her lip and split it open, his knuckles caught her nose and blood erupted from her right nostril, but it was the skin on skin contact that she needed so at the moment of impact she concentrated her mind and pushed.
She felt her mind connect with his, felt the burning anger of Rico Dredd and the frustration and pain of his brother buried behind him. With a mental shove, she took Rico and the Conduit by surprise and with the not insignificant help of Dredd who was also fighting against the intrusion, they were forced out of his mind.
As Dredd was brought back to control of his body he almost collapsed onto her, catching himself on trembling arms just before crushing her under his weight. It took him a fraction of a second to recover but Anderson noticed it, as a flare of panic, but then the control was back. There we're underlying emotions too, worry, guilt, but carefully hidden.
He didn't say anything, he knew he didn't need to as he got to his feet and hauled her up with him, resting a hand on her back to steady her as her head span. Up ahead of them stood Rico in jeans and a tight black muscle tee, Anderson could see his face now, Dredd but with a light beard and no scar, although it looked as though his nose had been broken even more often. Beside him stood the Conduit, the mental cloaking gone when they'd been overpowered out of Dredd's mind. Dredd drew his LawGiver and fired.
