Free Control (Shift) by Kim Curran

given his recent growth spurt, that wasn’t very far at all.
    “Well, you know what Fixers are like,” said Aubrey. “Nuts the lot of em. They can’t handle change.”
    “Oi!” I said. “I’m a Fixer.”
    “And your point?” Aubrey said.
    The kids laughed and I was about to put them all in their place with a devastating retort when everything flipped. There was that now all too familiar feeling of being caught between two realities and suddenly we weren’t walking across Tower Bridge. We were all stood in front of a huge golden pyramid. I looked around and tried to get my bearings. The Thames. St Paul’s. We were still in pretty much the same location, but I didn’t know this building.
    It wasn’t as tall as the Shard had been. But it was wider and made entirely from gold-tinted glass. I couldn’t see anything inside as the glass was completely mirrored. I saw my shocked face reflected back in one of the panes.
    Sir Richard was standing on my right, with Aubrey, CP and two of the other kids on my left. But Max was missing and in his place, standing with a huge grin on his face, was Jake. He was in uniform, just like the rest of us. Although it was the everyday uniform: the one without the too-tight collars and mass of gold braiding. And he was wearing trainers, something that had most definitely not been allowed under Sir Richard’s titan rule.
    “Jake,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
    “Huh?” he said, looking up at me. He’d grown a few inches since I’d last seen him, and his previously soft face was starting to develop strong cheekbones like his sister. A few more years and he’d be breaking hearts. “I’m here to meet the Prime Minister, Scott. You know? Like all of us.”
    I spun around and pointed at the bloody great pyramid.
    “What happened to the Shard? What’s that thing doing there?”
    “What?” Aubrey said, looking up at me puzzled.
    “The Shard. Tallest building in Europe. Great big pointy thing. It was right here!”
    Aubrey looked worried. She pulled me away from Sir Richard and the rest of the group. “Scott, are you having a reality attack?”
    “I don’t know. I know I didn’t Shift. But someone else must have.”
    Aubrey went to speak, but stopped as a long silver car pulled up next to us. “Just keep it together. We’ll talk about it later,” she said through clenched teeth.
    The car doors opened and a young man, with slick brown hair and impossibly white teeth stepped out. He smiled up at the golden pyramid and gave a few waves to photographers who were standing behind cordon tape along with a crowd of people. Two men in black suits exited the car and came to stand by his side, eyes darting left and right.
    Sir Richard stepped forward and stretched out a hand to welcome this man I’d never seen before. They shook hands and the man patted Sir Richard warmly on the arm. He then turned to us and smiled, his too-large teeth glinting in the sun. “And you must be the gifted children I’ve heard so much about,” he said, putting deliberate stress on the word “gifted”.
    Maybe he was an advisor or something, checking us out before the Prime Minister turned up.
    “Yes,” Sir Richard said quickly. “Let me introduce you to the children of ARES. Children, let me introduce you to James Miller, the Prime Minister.”
    “Prime Minister?” I gasped looking up at the grinning buffoon. “But you’re not the Prime Minister.”

 
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    There was an uncomfortable silence as Sir Richard and Aubrey gawked at me. Then the man started laughing. Sir Richard picked up his cue and started laughing as well. Followed by the men in black suits.
    “Children, hey?” Sir Richard said, patting me on the shoulder so hard it felt as if he was trying to crush my collarbone.
    The blow actually helped a bit as the jigsaw started to reveal itself. The man flashing a dazzling smile at the press was indeed the Prime Minister. He’d been voted in last year and was