It took a few seconds for Peter to digest what Jude had said, then, bewildered, he could do nothing but stare uncomprehendingly at the dirty, dishevelled young man sitting on the floor.
‘Half-brother?’ he said eventually, staring at Jude in disbelief. ‘Then you’re . . .’
‘Stephen Fitz-Patrick’s son,’ Jude choked. ‘Jude 2124 at your service.’ He tried to throw his shoulders back but his chest hurt and his throat had seized up. He’d rehearsed this speech, this meeting, so many times in his head – now he couldn’t say anything, all he felt was pain.
‘What are you doing here, Jude? I thought I told you to watch yourself?’
Jude stared at Pip in disbelief. ‘What?’ he asked incredulously. ‘I’m helping, in case you didn’t notice. You should have accepted my help before, too, when I offered.’
Pip shook his head, his expression serious. ‘It was for your own good. And us. You know you’re under surveillance by the Authorities?’
‘Jude 2124?’ Peter’s face was still blank with incomprehension, confusion.
‘My cipher,’ Jude said, standing up and dusting himself down. ‘And I can handle Authority surveillance, thank you very much. Guards here thought they could lock me up. Look how that turned out.’ He shot Pip a triumphant glance.
‘And you know Pip . . . ?’ Peter asked.
‘Yeah,’ Jude said, coughing violently. ‘We’ve met.’
‘And you never told me?’ Peter swung round to Pip.
‘I didn’t want to confuse you,’ Pip said quietly. ‘Not when there was already so much at stake.’
Peter turned back to Jude. ‘You’re really my brother? You’re the one who . . .’ He stepped forward, his eyes wide. He reached out tentatively as if to touch Jude, but he pulled back.
‘Yeah,’ Jude said. ‘I’m the one who . . .’ He shrugged. ‘You know . . . who ruined your life.’ He threw a defensive look at Pip.
Pip looked at him curiously. ‘So it was you who caused the blackout? How did you even get in here?’
‘I told you. The red-haired girl. She’s in Unit X. I came to rescue her.’
‘You know about Unit X?’ Pip’s eyes were flickering, as though calculating some difficult equation in his head.
‘Yes, I know,’ Jude said. ‘I saw those guards grabbing Peter. I watched you on the security cameras . . .’
‘How?’ Peter demanded. ‘The cameras aren’t working. Nothing’s working.’
Jude allowed a small smile to creep on to his lips. ‘Sure nothing’s working. But when you’re the person who stopped things working, you tend to know ways to get them working again.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Jude rolled his eyes. ‘Mainframe’s in the ceiling. Put it on emergency mode and you can still operate the cameras, only one by one. It’s a default security measure.’
‘Can you get it working again?’ Pip asked immediately.
Jude nodded, casually. ‘Don’t need to, though. It’ll come on by itself in a while.’ He turned back to Peter, his eyes earnest. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m really sorry. For everything. I’m the reason you were a Surplus.’
‘Don’t be stupid, it wasn’t your fault. Why didn’t you contact me before?’
‘I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to say. I was afraid you’d . . . I was afraid.’
‘Yeah? Thing is, I’ve always wanted a brother,’ Peter said quietly.
Jude grinned. ‘Me too. This is so cool.’
They stood silently, for a few seconds, then Peter turned to Pip. His mind was racing but he knew he had to focus. ‘Anna,’ he said. ‘We have to save Anna. Now.’
‘And the other girl,’ Jude said firmly. ‘We have to get her too.’
‘We?’ Pip turned to Jude. ‘There is no we. This is a job for the Underground, not an amateur.’ He looked at Peter. ‘We’ll get Anna. Then you must get out of here. Both of you. I and my men will deal with the girls.’
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ Jude folded his arms. ‘Not until that girl’s safe.’
‘Me neither,’ Peter said firmly. ‘I’m going to get Anna out and then I’m going to speak at this press conference.’
‘You can’t stay for the press conference,’ Pip said, his eyes staring directly into Peter’s. ‘You have to get out. We have to get you to safety – it’s too dangerous here.’
Peter shook his head. ‘It’s too dangerous not to be here,’ he said quietly. ‘I have to stand up to him. I have to stop him . . .’
‘But –’
‘But nothing, Pip. I’m going to do this, whether you like it or not.’
‘Me too,’ Jude said firmly.
‘See, Pip, there is a we.’ Peter held out his hand; Jude shook it firmly.
Pip shook his head in defeat. ‘Very well,’ he said softly. ‘But you do exactly as I say. No heroics, understand?’
‘Loud and clear,’ Peter said gratefully. ‘And I’m sorry, Pip. About the other night. I’m sorry I didn’t listen, sorry I didn’t believe you.’
‘Sorry?’ Pip smiled. ‘You don’t need my forgiveness. I’m simply a relic from the past who will soon outlive his usefulness, who can be too cautious, too untrusting, who closes doors which . . .’ he looked over at Jude . . . ‘which perhaps should have been kept open. Although I reserve judgement on that.’
‘You’re not a relic,’ Peter said, allowing himself to grin in spite of the tension. ‘Not quite yet.’