Monsters of Men

But she’s shaking her head. “I thought you’d seen something so bad it made your Noise go quiet. I didn’t think you were doing it on purpose.”

I swallow. “I did see things that bad. This makes it stop.”

“But where did you learn? He’s the one who knows how to do that, isn’t he?”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “I got it under control.”

“Todd–”

“It’s just a tool. You chant these words and that focuses you and you put that together with desire and–”

“That sounds like him talking.” She lowers her voice. “He thinks you’re special, Todd. He always has. He could be tempting you into something you don’t want, something dangerous.”

“Don’t you think I know how much I can’t trust him?” I say, a little sharp. “He can’t control me, Viola, I’m strong enough to fight him off–”

“Can you control people?” she asks, sharp right back. “If you can be silent, isn’t that the next step?”

And there’s the image in my head again, the image of James, lying dead in the square, and for a second I can’t shake it and my shame rushes up again like I’m gonna vomit and I am the Circle and the Circle is me–

“No, I can’t do that yet,” I say. “It’s bad anyway. I wouldn’t want to.”

She pushes Acorn up to me so our faces are close.

“You can’t redeem him, Todd,” she says, a little softer but I flinch a bit at the word redeem. “You can’t. Because he doesn’t want it.”

“I know,” I say, still not quite looking at her. “I know that.”

For a second we both just watch Mistress Coyle and Mayor Prentiss fighting.

“You have more than that!” Mistress Coyle’s saying. “We can see the size of your storehouse from the probes–”

“Can your probes see inside the storehouse, Mistress? Because that technology would amaze even me–”

Viola coughs into her hand. “Are you really okay, Todd?”

In reply, I ask, “Are you really in no danger from the band?”

And neither of us answer.

And the morning just feels colder.

{VIOLA}

The talks go on for hours, all through the morning until the sun gets high in the sky. Todd doesn’t say much and every time I try to join in, my coughing gets the better of me. It’s just Bradley and the Mayor and Mistress Coyle arguing and arguing and arguing.

A lot of things get decided, though. In addition to the exchange of medical information, transports will start twice a day, water going one way, food going the other, the Mayor providing additional vehicles along with the Answer’s carts, as well as soldiers for protection to make the exchange. It would make way more sense for us all to gather together in one place, but the Mayor refuses to leave the city and Mistress Coyle won’t leave the hilltop so we’re stuck dragging water ten kilometres one way and food ten kilometres the other.

It’s a start, I guess.

Bradley and Simone will make flying patrols over the city and our hilltop every day, in hopes of keeping the Spackle back by threat alone. And in the final agreement of a very long day, Mistress Coyle will provide the expertise of some of the Answer’s best women to help the Mayor fight the Spackle’s sneak attacks on the city.

“But only as a defence,” I insist. “You both have to make overtures of peace to them. Otherwise, none of this will do any good.”

“You can’t just stop fighting and call it peace, my girl,” Mistress Coyle says. “The war goes on even as you’re negotiating with the enemy.”

And she’s looking at the Mayor as she says it.

“Quite so,” says the Mayor, looking right back at her. “That’s how it was done before.”

“And how you’ll do it this time?” Bradley says. “We have your word?”

“As a bargain for peace,” says the Mayor, “it’s not a bad one.” He smiles that smile. “And when peace is achieved, who knows where we’ll all be standing?”

“Particularly if you’ve managed to make yourself peacemaker just before the convoy lands?” Mistress Coyle says. “Think how impressed they’ll be.”

“And how impressed they’ll be with you, Mistress, for skilfully bringing me to the bargaining table.”

“If they’re gonna be impressed with anybody,” Todd says, “it’ll be Viola here.”

“Or Todd,” Bradley jumps in, before I can say it. “They’re the ones who actually made this happen. But frankly, if either of you want a role in the future, you’d better start acting like it right now, because as of this moment as far as any objective observer can see, the President is a mass murderer and Mistress Coyle is a terrorist.”

“I’m a general,” the Mayor says.

“And I’m fighting for freedom,” says Mistress Coyle.

Bradley gives a rueful smile. “I think we’re finally finished here,” he says. “We’ve agreed what starts today and what happens tomorrow. If we can keep that up for forty more days, then there just might be a future for this planet after all.”

[TODD]

Mistress Coyle takes up the reins and snaps them on the oxes, who say Wilf? in response. “You coming?” Mistress Coyle calls over to Viola.

“You go on for a second,” Viola says. “I want to talk to Todd.”

Mistress Coyle looks like she expected as much. “Good to finally meet you, Todd,” she says, giving me a long look as the cart pulls away.

The Mayor nods his goodbyes to them and says, “Whenever you’re ready, Todd,” pulling Juliet’s Joy slowly down the road to leave me alone with Viola.

“Do you think this is going to work?” she says, coughing hard into her fist.

“Six weeks till the ships get here,” I say. “Not even. Call it five and a half.”

“Five and a half weeks and it all changes again.”

“Five and a half weeks and we can be together.”

But she don’t say nothing to that.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing with him, Todd?” she says.

“He’s different round me, Viola. Not as whacked-out crazy evil like he used to be. I think I can keep him in line just enough so he don’t kill us all.”

“Don’t let him get into your head,” she says, serious as I’ve ever heard her. “That’s where he does the most damage.”