They moved fast through the back routes of Shelf City that Avocado had spent three
months memorising: service passages, climate-control access corridors, the maintenance
network that connected the tiers via a system of freight elevators. On Tier Four, they found
Whole Milk waiting in a cold storage bay. Beside him stood Turmeric, Mango, and Captain
Cornflake with Lieutenant Raisin two steps behind him. And beside the door — in a
posture that suggested she was not there to follow orders but had decided independently
that this was where she should be — stood Sergeant Chickpea.
CAPTAIN CORNFLAKE: "The Ripened One, in the flesh. Thou art shorter than
rumour suggested."
AVOCADO: "Rumour is notoriously generous with height. We have a
complication."
TURMERIC: "I know. The Frozen One hath moved. She hath made contact with
the Pantry Authority's lead investigator. She is claiming the Accord hath been
found — and that the person who took it is standing in this room."
WHOLE MILK: "The broadcast tower hath been prepared since yesterday. All
that is required is the signal. And thy voice, Kale."
AGENT KALE: "There is one matter I must resolve first. There is an informant
within the Republic's service. If I do not act, the broadcast will be interrupted."
She stepped aside. She made the call. It rang four times before it was answered.
DIRECTOR BROCCOLI: "Kale. I was wondering when thou wouldst telephone."
AGENT KALE: "Director. I know about the Frozen One's contact within the
service."
DIRECTOR BROCCOLI: "So do I. I have known for six weeks. Why dost thou
think I sent thee? The contact hath been removed from the communications
network as of seventeen minutes past. The network is clear. Proceed, Kale."
She returned to the storage bay.
AGENT KALE: "The network is clear. We proceed. But first — there is a door in
Tier Zero. Avocado and I must go there before the broadcast. Alone. It will take
forty minutes. I need the rest of you to hold every approach to the Archive Tower's
lower levels. The Frozen One will try to reach Tier Zero before us. She cannot."
SERGEANT CHICKPEA: "I can take the southern approach."
LIEUTENANT RAISIN: "My people have the northern passage since this
morning."
CAPTAIN CORNFLAKE: "The Bran Flake twins hold the central corridor.
Nobody passes them. Nobody has ever passed them."
MANGO: "And I shall have a conversation with Pepperoncini that will occupy his
attention for the next forty minutes. A negotiation of sorts. He has been wanting to
discuss certain Kingdom trade preferences. I have been finding the timing
inconvenient until now."
The Frozen One appeared at the building's entrance in the same moment they were
departing it. She was tall, pale as frost, and composed with the steadiness of someone who
has been certain of her purpose for a very long time.
THE FROZEN ONE (CRYOVAK): "Cousin. I had hoped we would not come to
this point."
AVOCADO: "And yet."
THE FROZEN ONE: "The document belongs in a vault. V's legacy was a
warning, not a gift. The peace of three hundred years hath been maintained
precisely because neither nation knew. Is one broadcast worth three centuries of
peace?"
Kale looked at her. An honest look.
AGENT KALE: "The peace was purchased. The citizens paid for it without
knowing the price. That is not peace — that is management. And the management
is ending, whether we choose it or not. The only question now is who tells the
story."
The Frozen One looked at her for a long moment. Then, with the precision of
someone who knows when a position is no longer defensible, she stepped aside.
THE FROZEN ONE: "Do not say I gave thee no warning."
AVOCADO: "I shall record that thou did. It is the least I owe thee."
They went into the building. Downward. Toward Tier Zero.