Shadows Read Online Free Page A

below.
    “ They must
have been waiting in the wings, ” he
whispered. “ Forget the mayor,
forget the sheriff, that ’ s where the real
power lies. Control information and you control
everything. ”
    Susan was shocked. The
security guards had their nightsticks out, holding them by their
sides as they spread around the edges of the room. For the most
part, they were ignored. All eyes were on the mayor and the
sheriff, who by this time had pushed Xavier into the open
airlock.
    “ If things go
bad, ” Charlie whispered, “ stay close.
We ’ ll take refuge in the storage rooms behind the
kitchen. ”
    Susan felt her heart
racing.
    Mayor Johns
continued, saying, “ No one wants this. I
don ’ t want this, but we must have order. Without order,
the silo would tear itself apart. ”
    “ See, ” Charlie whispered. “ He ’ s smiling. ”
    Susan
didn ’ t ask who he meant. She instinctively knew who Charlie
was talking about. Hammond was trying to suppress a grin as he
leaned against the wall beside the mayor's office. He whispered
something to Barney, unable to hold back his glee. He was enjoying
this. Normally, Susan wasn ’ t one to subscribed
to scuttlebutt and conspiracy theories, but the unrest before her
was choreographed, she was sure of it. Hammond was pulling the
strings, giving the crowd Mayor Johns as an object to hate, while
having Sheriff Cann carry out his dirty work. Hammond was directing
traffic. He sent Barney off as a runner, carrying a message to
others within the IT team spread around the edges of the crowd.
Murmurs rose, anger swelled as the crowd focused its dissent on the
wrong people.
    “ Everyone
cleans, ” the Mayor continued, talking over the
crowd. “ No one wants to, but every one does, and why?
Why clean when you ’ re sent to your
death? Because cleaning is all there is when your life is coming to
an end. Once you're outside, cleaning is the only purpose you have.
To clean is to give. To clean is to seek repentance. To clean is to
ask for forgiveness, to admit to one ’ s mistakes and offer
recompense to those that gave you life. Cleaning is making peace
with the silo. ”
    Charlie
whispered to Susan, saying, “ I
don ’ t know if Xavier will clean, but I
wouldn ’ t. ”
    As if in
reply to his seditious comments, the Mayor boldly repeated, “ Everyone cleans. ”
    The sheriff walked out of
the airlock with his deputy. Behind him, a suit technician stepped
out and pushed on the thick steel door. The airlock hatch shut with
a thud; steel clanging against steel. The crowd fell silent as the
sheriff spun the locking wheel.
    “ This is what
I came up here to see, ” Charlie said, but he
wasn ’ t looking at the airlock. He was looking back at the
grand staircase, watching as the IT security team slipped quietly
back down the stairs.
    Susan could barely
breathe.
    “ And there
goes Hammond, ” Charlie added, his voice barely a
whisper. Hammond and Barney were making their way around the
outside of the crowd, heading for the stairs. “ Their role
in all this has come to an end. ”
    “ I ...
I, ” Susan began.
    “ I know,
right? ” Charlie said. “ You think you know
how this place works, then you see something like this! Scary
stuff, huh? ”
    A yellow flashing light
pulsated above the airlock. Pipes clattered as gas purged the lock.
All eyes were on the wall screen.
    “ It ’ ll take a few minutes, ” Charlie
explained, pulling Susan close. “ The airlock will
open and a rush of gas will keep contaminants out.
Xavier ’ s then got about thirty seconds to get the hell
out of there before they turn on the burners. If he stays,
he ’ ll be fried to a crisp. ”
    Charlie paused, as though
he were mentally keeping time with events.
    “ Once
he ’ s outside, there ’ s a concrete ramp
leading up to the surface. The slope is pretty steep, and
there ’ s no steps. He ’ ll be able to see
beyond the fog by now. Once he ’ s on the surface,
the choice is his. He can make