‘But people don’t want this,’ Kipper said. ‘Some people maybe, but not everyone. This is just fear and craziness.’

‘Well, fear whispers loudly downstairs, my friend. Come on.’

A bell dinged as the elevator came to a stop. Kip made to step out and head for his office but Culver grabbed his arm and directed him towards another room.

‘I had this one swept fifteen minutes ago,’ he said quietly, pulling the door closed behind them.

‘You what?’

‘Found this…’ Jed pulled a small electronic device from his breast pocket. ‘Don’t worry, it’s been disabled.’

Kip stared at the tiny piece of technology as hackles rose on his back. ‘Sons of bitches.’

‘Nah, amateurs, Kip,’ Culver corrected him. ‘Rank fucking amateurs playing at big boys’ games. Now, come to the window. I want you to see the sort of view you miss when you work indoors all the time.’

The chief engineer followed Culver to the window and looked down on his city. It was a relatively clear morning, the first in a while. A few grey clouds scudded out near the mountains to the east, but otherwise the sky was clear, save for two army helicopters holding position over the bridges across Lake Washington. And then he saw them – a sea of colour, a teeming, seething mass of humanity, streaming onto the bridges and heading for the city centre.

‘What the hell?’

The crowd had already swept past a small army roadblock at the eastern end of the bridge and were beginning to string together a long procession that took up every available lane.

‘The wishes of the people, Kip. I didn’t think they were being heard downstairs either. So I invited them all here to have their say.’

The engineer was speechless.

‘You’re a local – how long do you think it will take them to walk that distance, Kip? To get them here, I mean, beating on the doors of the Municipal Tower?’

Kipper shook his head. ‘Not long, I guess. If they’re allowed.’

Jed Culver snorted. ‘If they’re allowed! What, did I wake up in Soviet Russia this morning? They’re American citizens down there, Kip. Your neighbours and friends. Nobody tells them what they can or can’t do. And sure as shit, nobody tells them how they’re gonna govern themselves.’

Kipper pressed his head to the glass, which felt cool against his sweating brow. ‘How did you do this, Jed, without anyone knowing?’ he asked quietly.

‘Without Blackstone knowing, you mean? I had some friends – some of them friends of yours, actually.’

‘Hey buddy, sorry to keep dropping in like this.’

‘Hello, sweetie!’

Kipper spun around to find Barney standing at the office door. And next to him was Barb, holding Suzie on one hip.

‘Holy crap, Barn, they’ll fucking lock you up, man! And Barb…’

‘Daddy said the rude word!’ squealed his daughter.

He pulled up, realising he’d just dropped an F-bomb in front of his six-year-old child. Damn.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Daddy shouldn’t have done that, darlin’. It’s just that he was a little… surprised. And kind of upset.’ The bomb diffused, Kip turned to the two adult visitors. ‘So, what’s going on here?’

Barney was peering out of the doorway and back along the corridor, where his former co-workers had begun to gather and point at the slow-moving crowd snaking across the bridges. One or two saw him and waved. He smiled back before returning his attention to his old friend.

‘I told you last night, Kip, that there were a lot of people involved in the Resistance. Some whackjobs, for sure – you know, commies and anarchists, just like you hear all the time – but a shit-load more decent folk. Guys who used to work for the media, the telecom companies, the government. Moms and dads.’

Barbara nodded as she carefully lowered Suzie to the ground. ‘You run along, princess,’ she said. ‘Find some paper to draw on. See if you can find Ronnie, she’ll help you.’

‘I like Ronnie!’ Suzie cried before dashing out of the office.

Kip stared at his wife. It was as though he didn’t recognise her. ‘You too, Barb? You were part of this?’

‘I’m sorry, Kip, yes. Well, I’m not sorry for being part of it, but I am sorry I had to keep it from you.’

‘But why?’ he asked plaintively. ‘Couldn’t you trust me?’

She smiled sadly. ‘It wasn’t safe, honey. If you knew I was helping Barney and the others, how could you have come in here every day and faced off Blackstone? You’re a lot of things, Kip, but you’re not a liar. You couldn’t have done it.’

Kipper turned on the lawyer. His head was an angry swirling mess of emotions. ‘You knew about this, Jed? About my family being involved?’

Culver nodded. For once he wasn’t smiling. ‘I’ve had contact with a number of opposition cells,’ he admitted. ‘Your wife’s was one.’

‘You had a cell?’ he asked Barbara. His voice rose with incredulity.

Barbara sniffed. ‘You make it sound like a spy movie, Kip. It was just me and some of the moms from school, and some of our friends. People I could trust.’

‘Jesus Christ…’

‘They’re down there, Kip,’ she added, pointing out of the window. ‘They’re coming. Because they have to.’

Barney walked over from the door and looked down on the massing crowd. ‘We’ve been waiting for this, Kip,’ he said. ‘Waiting for the right moment when those assholes downstairs would go just a bit too far. I thought they’d done it when they locked up the councillors, but people were still frightened out of their minds back then, willing to give up anything just to feel safe. That just isn’t so, now. They’ve had enough and they want their country back. The little bit they have left, anyway.’

Kipper was stunned. Never would he have imagined the day turning out like this. He had kept his opinions private, but he’d been expecting a bleak and wretched day.

‘We need your help, Kip,’ Barney went on.

‘Mine? What do you need me for?’ He waved a hand at the window. ‘Looks like you’ve got it all locked down.’

Culver answered his question. ‘We need you to shut off power to the city, and to Fort Lewis. And we need it done now. We have to knock the legs out from under these idiots before they have a chance to get to their feet.’

‘But they’ll have their own back-up plans,’ he protested.

‘Everyone has back-up plans,’ Culver smiled silkily.