The hotel room was the last place she should have gone, but there she was, sitting on the worn carpet floor, staring despondently at the impassive priest. A melancholy silence hung over the dank room.
Someone would be along shortly for him and she did not plan on being around when they came. Soon she would take a taxi to her car which was parked just outside the city checkpoint. She had dropped it off at the rest stop before work this morning, flagging down a private car to get back to the palace. From there she would travel two hours to the quaint town of Dubris. The plan had been to bring Tres with her, but now she knew someone had the ability to track him.
The priest
A crusnik.
It's been so long, I started to believe he was a myth. A rumor. A methuselah boogey man. But he's alive. And here in Albion. An angel of death, sitting right there with the colonel, exchanging pleasantries as if he hadn't massacred...
Whatever. Doesn't matter. All I know is that he's here for Father Tres...and this will never work.
Arienne, unsure of what to do, spoke to the android.
"Tres?"
"Yes Arienne." Instead of staring blankly ahead, his eyes now tracked hers.
"I did not bring your firearms with me." His twin pistols had been left in her car.
He nodded, staying silent.
Arienne wished that he would get angry, so she could get angry back at him. She wanted to yell at someone if only to forget the fact that she alone held responsibility for screwing up her carefully made plans. The plans in place could never be executed now, certainly not if the Vatican was involved. The fake identity procured from the Londinium black market was good, but would never hold up to intense scrutiny.
Her front pocket contained a cigarette, it was bent but not broken. She rummaged through her pockets for matches. On finding them, she lit a match and held it in front of her for a minute before lighting the cigarette. She took a long drag, exhaling evenly through her nose.
"Tres?"
"Yes Arienne."
"You...have a secondary tracking system?"
Tres tilted his head slightly, pausing before answering.
"Yes."
"I can't disable it?"
"Not easily, no."
"It's analog? A radio signal?"
"Yes. A receiver must be in close range to pick up the signal."
Arienne sighed. I knew it. I personally handed over the receiver they needed to find Father Tres. The gods of fate might as well stick a knife in my heart, it would be far less cruel.
She got up from the floor and the android rose in tandem from the bed.
Coming here in the first place had been a dangerous risk; staying this long was just plain stupid. Once those Vatican dogs picked up a scent, they were relentless. Using the receiver she'd given Father Abel, the Vatican would find them before midnight, probably much sooner than that. Even with that knowledge, she lingered.
How had the tracking device slipped past her so easily? Going over his programming in her mind, she could not fathom where it had been hidden.
"The second tracking device...is it connected to your main power source?"
"No. It was installed to circumvent my main program and power source. It's a self contained kinetic system - based on an old timepiece design. "
Amusement crept onto Arienne's lips. She dropped her cigarette to the carpet and ground it out.
Like a self-winding watch. Even if he was completely powered down, the secondary tracking system would send a signal for months...
"You're...ticking?"
Tres nodded, but his expression indicated he was less than sure of his answer.
"Where is the device located?"
With his middle and ring fingers he touched his chest - just left of center.
Arienne let out a little snort.
The Vatican has a sense of humor.
Overcoming a sudden feeling of shyness she strode over to the android and bent down, resting her ear over the place he had just indicated.
After a minute she peered up at Tres and gave a small woeful frown, shaking her head.
Tres gently placed a gloved hand over her outside ear and pressed her head against his chest.
She finally heard what she'd been listening for: the soft shick of sliding oscillations. A smile spread across her face.
Someone's given Father Tres a heart.
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