“Tell that grave-digging son of a bitch to fuck himself!” the Prime thundered into the phone. Some ambient energy in the atmosphere gave the connection an annoying hum. “And none of your pandering! There is no voting block to consider, no sympathetic public conscience that you have to suck up to. You answer to me! ”
The Prime rubbed a fat-fingered hand across his brow. Mayor Barnstable called to deliver an ultimatum from that lunatic Captain Jack Updike about redistributing Westprime’s wealth. Easy to do when it isn’t your money! It would be laughable if the corpse-hugger didn’t carry a sizeable supply of public goodwill to underwrite it. All those families reunited: all those fresh-cheeked zombies. Insanity !
But he knew enough about Updike to understand that the disgraced army chaplain would not make a demand like that unless he could back it up. Redistribute wealth? Give me a fucking break.
“Prime, sir.” Barnstable’s voice continued clear and firm. The Prime had bullied any sycophantic qualities out of him long ago. “Of course, Updike’s ultimatum is ridiculous. I am simply stating that local Enforcement Division has kept an eye on Updike’s Rebirth Foundation. He has close to a half million followers that we know of-with the vast majority of them dead!”
“So what?” The Prime drew a reassuring breath into his heavy chest and an electric thrill ran up his spine. His Demon Ally was right then: An army of dead will start the final war. All of this fit the captive’s prophecy too, that the First-mother would one day be his: With the loss of her guardian the world would begin again. And his terrestrial and Infernal agents were working on the second part: When you know the God-wife Cawood before me, all the world will tremble. Then the bitch disappeared.
Trusting his intuition had paid off. Wait until those bastards see how far I’m willing to go. And if they win they’ll see that I’m redefining the phrase: take no prisoners.
“Barnstable, you make me sick. I am aware of the numbers at the Foundation. I ordered the investigation into his organization! It’s called taking the initiative. You keep getting caught down memory lane-glad-handing the population, and they haven’t had a fair vote in decades. I told City Authority to keep tabs on all those dead bastards. I’ve been watching them for years. And Operatives recently reported an exodus of the dead from Zero and One. They’re all headed into the countryside.”
He held the phone away to chuckle. “What did you think, Barnstable? They were just going to disappear? They have their own towns and militias for Christ’s sakes! I’ve got Operatives everywhere, and I know Updike’s forces are digging up any artifact, commandeering any vehicle, and siphoning every drop of gasoline from every abandoned gas station they can find. Do you know what he plans to do?” The Prime let his tirade hang in the air a moment. “Start giving out ultimatums!”
“Sir!” Barnstable blurted.
“And he’s got a bigger force gathering south of us, and one to the west. While Updike built this army you sat on your hands. I can tell you their locations and numbers. They tried to hide by breaking their forces into smaller groups to settle different abandoned towns like they were just poor old dead folk. But my Operatives have collected enough information to prove that they’re quite capable of attacking the City!” The Prime smiled inwardly. The Rebirth Foundation was on the list of targets that he’d given to General Topp.
“Prime, sir.” Barnstable’s voice was shaken. “How should I respond?”
“Tell him we don’t negotiate with terrorists!” The Prime’s anger blew out of him like steam.
“Won’t that provoke him?” Barnstable’s voice shook.
“That’s the idea.” The Prime threw his bulk out of his chair. “I want a war with them. This kind of insurrection is the last thing the City needs. There are other powers in the world with weapons pointed at us-and we have to worry about civil war? Believe me, our enemies abroad are watching how we handle our enemies at home. We have to show them we’re willing to make the hard choices. I want every potential enemy on this godforsaken planet to wet his pants remembering what I do to Updike’s army of the dead.” The office suddenly seemed cramped and confined to the leader of Westprime. The ceiling weighed down on him.
“And the beauty is, they’re already dead.” He chuckled. “The bleeding hearts will balk but it will be token criticism-what dead couples do you invite over for dinner?” He twisted the phone cord around his thick knuckles. “If Updike’s forces show any indication of trying to make his threat real, we’ll do whatever it takes.”
“But…” A high-pitched quaver entered Barnstable’s voice.
“This is an opportunity for us to show the world we won’t be pushed around- and we’re willing to put the dead problem into perspective.” He nodded to himself. The Prime clenched his thick fingers around Updike’s imaginary throat. “The world is watching.”
“How will we?” Barnstable cherry-picked one.
“Don’t concern yourself,” the Prime said. “I pay you to run the City. I’ve got the country’s back.”
“So I await your orders?” the mayor asked.
“Call Updike now! Don’t let the clock run out,” he chortled. “And don’t worry about the media. I’ll gag the Big Three.” He owned the major media stations and distribution hubs.
The line buzzed and crackled. He could hear the mayor’s faint breathing as the fool puzzled his way through the ramifications.
“I can see your logic.” Barnstable said. “It is extreme, but I can’t see the public-the living-being upset about it for long. Studies have shown that most living people are uncomfortable with the dead. As long as we’re ready for the backlash-if there is one.”
A fucking study! The Prime’s shoulders sagged as he thought that over. There won’t be anyone left for a backlash… Rage seethed in him momentarily. He pushed a pile of papers off his desk.
“Listen, Barnstable. You are beginning to worry me. I’m afraid I didn’t get to you in time. Forget democracy! You work for International Credit Co. The public will be fine. Just shake hands and smile for the camera.”
“Should we give Updike an ultimatum?” Barnstable was thinking; that gave the Prime a little more confidence.
“Just tell him we do not negotiate with terrorists.” He crossed to the office window that overlooked the oceanfront. Cloud and heavy mist covered the distant Sunken City. “We have to draw the line.”
“Very well, sir.” The mayor paused. “I would appreciate updates as the situation progresses.”
The Prime’s mind went blank with rage. His Demon organ uncurled and pushed against the inside of his trousers. Barnstable? Really? He shook his head in silent communion with the damned member. First time for everything…
The mayor grew uncomfortable with the silence. “Thank you, Prime. I will report to you after I contact Updike.”
The Prime dropped the receiver into its cradle. All this talk of war and power agreed with his second penis. He wanted a girl child-badly…but remembered his Ally’s caution. The girl children did not respond well to his intentions, and they rarely survived-and there was the chance that one of them was the First-mother. He needed the girl children for the new age that would come. After the Change, he planned to repopulate the planet in his own image and he’d already been a glutton with the girls at the Orphanage.
Then he thought of the First-mother. If he had her-if he had her! The sending had brought some girls in that matched the Ally’s description…one even had a guardian. The Prime’s special servants would soon divine the truth.
After coming to full power he no longer felt it necessary to keep his game face when it came to the forever children. For years he’d allowed social workers and Children’s Aid representatives access and limited participation in his Orphanage’s programs. But his desires caused him indiscretions and the use of Powers required certain unexplainable disappearances that undermined the ruse. So the participation of interested parties was reduced and eventually stopped. Any legal argument was tied up in court for decades and if anyone pushed too hard, he was likely to disappear or suffer some violent end in the unpredictable World of Change: either at the hands of the Prime’s agents outright-charges of sexual interference on a child were easy to arrange, or the Prime’s other Powers could come to bear and the children’s advocate would be devoured by a Demon.
The thought of enjoying the First-mother caused his Demon organ to grow rigid with violence. He’d have to make do with a secretary. Or better, he’d interview someone from the temp pool of pre-Change twenty-something women-someone with youthful looks-yes…
As he dug into his desk for the personnel file the Prime enjoyed the waves of pleasure rippling through his augmented body. He would answer Updike’s challenge. Apocalypse was being invoked and it would go badly for anyone who hesitated. He smiled at the notion of burning thousands of walking corpses. Then he found the personnel file and opened it. A resume fell out. Gods had to be willing to make sacrifices too.