Upgraded

by Gideon Mills

  The new place to meet was an hour south next to an old highway that had connected the two cities in the past. It was still used today by trucks that drove back and forth. Many of the areas that weren’t cities these days weren’t filled with people like they had been before. The war had ravaged the land and had made much of it unsafe.

  Even a place like Chicago wasn’t the best to live in. Most of it had been destroyed by the war. The only saving grace for Chicago versus New York or some other towns was that it hadn’t been hit with a nuclear bomb. Just a lot of regular ones that had left the buildings in ruin. Debris covered the land, so the Mara Corp had decided it wasn’t worth building or fixing.

  Across the New Republic, there were three types of cities. Some, like Detroit, were built up, and they protected the people, and pierced the skies. At least that was what Marcus used to think. Saint Louis was another example, as was Dallas.

  Then, there were cities like Chicago that had been bombed to high heaven and weren’t really good to rebuild, but people tried anyway. They didn’t live the same life as those in the Mara Corp cities. The other cities that remained were lived in as they had been before, but they had the lowest quality of life. Chicago had a decent life, but not like Detroit.

  That was why they were traveling to it. The Resistance there would be their saving grace. The people they had rescued and moved there would have spread the word.

  They needed more individuals to take out Keres and her army. That was what it was, an army. The Security Force was thought of as a police group, but when the organizations were broken down, it was nothing more than a private military to control the citizens of the New Republic.

  This location had been chosen for the night since it had several houses that Ihor could divert power to, along with easy access to the highway. Before settling on it, they had debated about using the highway since it was used a lot by Mara Corp companies, but speed was more important than stealth.

  Both Marcus and Jonathan had agreed on that. Marcus’s mother and Ihor had suggested using what was left of Michigan Avenue, a street that ran from Detroit to Chicago, but that would be potholed and slow.

  The highway was relatively maintained by the Mara Corp. It was used by regular people as well. That provided a small sense of security to the Resistance. They would need to leave in waves. A large caravan of people would surely draw attention.

  “Wow,” Amita said as they pulled into the Resistance camp.

  To her, it probably looked like a lot of people, but it wasn’t all that many. Sure, more than Sam or Amita had seen in the past.

  They had gained many followers since the freeing of the mine and the attack on the experiments. Ihor had been busy doing his best to show the world what was being done. He broadcasted as much as he could, but every time he hacked in to air a video of the Mara Corp’s atrocities, they hacked back and stopped the video before it fully aired.

  Each time, Ihor got more and more out, but it wasn’t enough. The people of the New Republic didn’t have time to understand what they had seen before it stopped. Those who questioned it and wanted to learn more sought out answers, and those were the ones who were here. It was several hundred. Perhaps even more remained in the city. But they weren’t trained fighters like the Security Force, and many of them weren’t modified at all. That would make it tough to fight the Mara Corp. Modified people had an advantage in so many ways.

  “So many people,” Amita said. “How can this not be enough? You said more stayed back.”

  “We did,” Sam answered from the rear of the car. “But that is about two hundred. The Security in New Detroit numbers in the thousands.”

  The realization sank in for Amita. She hung her head and frowned. “We don’t stand a chance.”

  “Sure, we do,” Marcus said. “But we need more people. That is why we are going to Chicago.”

  “Okay,” she said. She leaned over and kissed Marcus on the cheek. “You and your optimism.”

  Marcus didn’t think he was very optimistic. Many of his friends told him that he wasn’t, but with Amita, Marcus was. His love made him happy, and that in turn made him optimistic about the future. He had to be, since he wanted to spend every day with her. He wanted to be with her for as long as he could.

  While being tortured, Marcus had thought about growing old with Amita. Turning a hundred and making people blush was his goal. He hadn’t told Amita that yet, but he would. He was sure she would do her little giggle at it. Marcus loved her laugh. It melted his heart. The way she did that was the most precious thing in the universe.

  The three stepped out of the car and walked through a group of people. No one noticed their arrival or acknowledged them.

  “How did this get set up so fast?” Amita asked.

  “Ihor and Cynthia talked to Jonathan about it weeks ago. A contingency plan in case Keres found them or we needed to run.”

  “Okay.” Amita still looked confused. “But why run now? It was just Keres threatening me. Not everyone.”

  “When we lost a new location to hide, they feared they would need to run sooner rather than later, and you needed to flee. Marcus talked them into it,” Sam said.

  They walked past a young woman. She had long blond hair and talked a lot. Marcus wanted to reach out and hug the child but refrained. One day, Marcus hoped to have children with Amita. That was something else he was going to bring up soon but not yet. First, they had to take out Keres.

  “Aw,” Amita said. She blushed and reached out to take Marcus’s hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze. “I love you.”

  “And I you. Always.”

  “Forever.”

  “Gag,” Sam said. “I swear you two. So lovey-dovey.”

  Marcus shrugged. It didn’t matter to him what Sam thought. He knew that deep down she was lovey-dovey too, and he was pretty sure she had a major crush on Ihor.

  Speaking of the man, they walked into a house, and the hacktivist was there.

  “You made it,” Ihor said and walked over to Amita. He gave her a hug and then Sam got one too.

  “I feel so left out,” Marcus said.

  Ihor chuckled. “If you really want one…”

  Marcus smiled. “I’m okay. Just messing with you.”

  “Oh, I know, but the offer remains.”

  “He really doesn’t need one,” Sam said. “These two are unreal.”

  Ihor laughed. “It had been a while since they saw each other.”

  Sam groaned. “You didn’t see it. We could have charged admission to the show, and people would have paid top dollar.”

  “Hey,” Amita said, her face reddening. “We weren’t that bad.”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. I swear, they were about to do it right in front of me.”

  She wasn’t wrong. Marcus had wanted Amita that much, had missed her that much. It took all his willpower not to make love to Amita. Being with her that way completed him.

  He shook his head. Marcus’s desire wasn’t important for the time being.

  “We didn’t,” Marcus said, “but can you blame me? She is beautiful.”

  Sam smiled. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Anyway,” Ihor said, “the first wave leaves at dawn then every twenty minutes after that.”

  “Roger.” Marcus hoped they were in a later wave so he could sleep in and spend time alone with Amita.

  “You, Amita, Sam, and I will be in the last wave.”

  Marcus liked the sound of that. He would have plenty of time to talk to Amita tonight.

  That night in the bed they were sharing, Marcus peered deep into Amita’s eyes. While this wasn’t going to be their home, it was nice for Marcus to pretend, and act like it was. Being with Amita was incredible.

  She was staring up into his eyes as well. They were deep and intense, making him both relaxed and nervous. It was hard to explain, and to wrap his own head around. Everything about this woman was breathtaking and intense.

  Marcus lead down
to her and kissed her. Her soft lips pressed against his, and parted slightly, letting her tongue dart into his mouth, and his into hers. As they embraced, his hands explored her body, and her soft, subtle skin.

  Before he even realized what he was doing, he had her completely undressed, and his fingers inside of her. Pleasuring her.

  “Marcus,” she moaned in a soft guttural voice.

  He didn’t stop. In their short time, Marcus grew to love her saying his name. Feeling her body vibrate in the orgasm. That was something he would never grow tired of. Never get sick of seeing her climax.

  Amita pushed him away, and took off his clothes. Lying down on the bed, she took every inch of his cock into her mouth. Each time she sucked on his dick, she got better, and better. It was incredible how fast of a learner she was. How she managed to make it more pleasurable each time.

  Marcus wasn’t strong enough not to cum in her mouth. Not to climax with her mouth on his dick. Even though he shot his loud into her mouth, he wasn’t done.

  He wanted to make love to her, and she wanted to with him. While he still lay on his back, she jumped on to his member. Taking it all in her tight pussy. She rocked back and forth on his member.

  Each rock of her body on him, sent a chill through him. Bringing him closer and closer to another orgasm.

  “Marcus,” she moaned, her own body shaking as she came again and again.

  Her walls clenched on his dick as they made love. She knew just how to increase the pleasure to the next level. And make him orgasm multiple times as well.

  He shot his load into her. It was beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life before.

  Marcus lay in bed next to Amita. Every time he was with her was better than the time before. She made him whole, and he loved her so much that words left him.

  His hands ran down her exposed body. Her skin was soft and supple.

  Amita rolled over to face him, covering herself in the process. “That tickles.”

  “Sorry. I just can’t keep my hands off you.”

  “I love that. I really do.”

  Marcus smiled. “Good because I won’t ever stop.”

  Marcus leaned over and kissed her. She was all that he saw. The only thing that would have made it better was if Marcus’s real hand was touching her and not the new modified one. He felt her, but it wasn’t the same. He hated that so much had been ripped from him. Marcus pushed that back. It was tough, with how much they had hurt him, but he was here with his love.

  Amita consumed him, her kiss long, deep, and intense. Her lips pressed against his with love and passion.

  Marcus let the embrace overtake him, let the kiss make him better.

  The next morning, Marcus woke and rolled out of bed. He tried not to wake Amita, but she stirred as well.

  “Good morning, sweetheart,” she said.

  “Good morning, my love.”

  She smiled. Leaning over, she kissed Marcus. “How long before we go?”

  “Hours. You can go back to bed.”

  “No. I want to see the people and learn more.”

  “Okay.”

  That was one of the many things that Marcus loved about her. She had passion and a drive to care for people and to get the job done. She wasn’t going to rest until Keres was gone. That was why Marcus was so positive.

  Together, they dressed and went out. The first wave of cars had already left, and the second was about to. Marcus led the way to the house that Ihor took. While not the leader of the Resistance, he was the one that got stuff done.

  Inside, Ihor typed away with Sam leaning over him.

  Amita nudged Marcus and pointed. “Are they…”

  “Not yet but I think it might happen.”

  Amita smiled. “Good.”

  Marcus walked over and peeked over his shoulder too. “You trying to post another video of the mine?”

  Ihor jumped. Clearly, he hadn’t heard them enter the room. The hacker glared at Marcus. “I am. Don’t do that.”

  “Not my fault that you were so engrossed in the laptop that you didn’t notice me.”

  “You know darn well to announce yourself to a coder.”

  Marcus did. More than once in his life had he been the one to jump, scared out of his mind. Getting lost in the programming was typical. The code would flow, and a person would be one with it. Marcus missed his job and the work. It was definitely time to start up again.

  “What can I do to help?” Marcus asked.

  Ihor pointed to another laptop. “A double team, copy me but on sector four.”

  “Okay.”

  Marcus did his best to keep up with Ihor. As much as he wished he was as good as his friend, he wasn’t. Too many distractions in his life meant that Marcus just didn’t have the skills Ihor had, but he was able to help this time.

  They broke through and played the message. This time, a clip of the attack droids at the mine played on the screens in Detroit. It lasted for a whole fifteen seconds before the Mara Corp workers blocked it, but it was still the longest they’d had.

  “Nice,” Ihor said. “Making progress. Next, I want to mass email.”

  That would be tricky to pull off, but if he did, sending out that many letters would be worth it. The New Republic had a system in place that would send emails out to everyone. If done, not a single person that was on grid would miss it.

  That would be beyond amazing, but doing that was too much to wrap Marcus’s mind around. “It is that even possible?”

  Ihor shrugged. “Don’t know, but I’m going to try.”

  “If anyone can do it you can,” Sam said.

  They spent the morning going over code and videos. Marcus helped spread the word via messages, just not mass ones. It was a slow, tedious process that bored Marcus to death. By the time they needed to leave, Marcus had helped send out a few hundred emails and one more video, but it only lasted a few seconds. They had been expecting this attempt.

  At times, the connection to the infrastructure was good and others not so much. That made it tough. As they were working, Sam and Amita had gone and walked to the outside area. Marcus lost track of them.

  39

  Old and New Friends

  Amita departed from the two men to spread the word of the Resistance and the horrors of the Mara Corp. Tying Keres to any of it directly was tough. Keres was careful to never be videoed around the mine.

  Or around the test laboratory since it had many cameras. Even the part with all the tests did, but those videos were impossible to find, or so Ihor said. He had tried and tried. They must be kept on a server that was not connected to the regular internet. If they wanted to see them, they would need to go to the building and connect directly. That wasn’t going to happen. Not any time soon.

  “You want to walk?” Sam asked.

  Amita nodded.

  Outside, they stood in the sun. It was bright and glorious. More than Amita had ever imagined it would be. Her pale skin had never seen it. Now, Amita wanted to lie out and fill up on vitamin D. The sun really did give her energy. Amita loved it.

  Most of the people here had no upgrades and smelled like they hadn’t showered in days or even years. That was the life of a Streeter. A life that Amita hated and it hurt to realize so many people suffered it.

  A blonde with a no mods walked by. She smiled at the sight of both of them. The girl had a familiar look about her.

  “Sam, Amita,” the girl said.

  “Hi,” Amita replied as she tried to place the young woman but couldn’t.

  “Anna,” she said.

  Then, it clicked for Amita. The girl had been at the Halo Home and the factory with them.

  “You joined. Wow. That is great.”

  Sam grinned at her, but remained silent.

  Anna nodded. “I did. They asked me to be a spy at the factory. I was for a week, and then, Michael figured it out.”

  “Oh no,” Amita said. “You okay? That sleaze didn’t touch you, did he?”

  �
��He didn’t. I got out. Jonathan put me in charge of a team. We leave soon. Then, I’m going to learn some martial arts.”

  “Good,” Amita said.

  Amita hoped Anna helped. She was a firecracker. Always talking and making others happy. Amita knew she would be seeing Anna in the future. No doubt about it.

  More and more people talked to them. Many of them had been inspired by Amita and Sam. Amita had no idea. Ihor hadn’t told her, but they used video of her being beaten up and rising up at the mine. Some sort of inspiration video.

  Amita made a mental note to talk to Ihor about it. While it was nice to have more people join the cause, her being the reason didn’t seem right. They needed to want to help because of Keres and her evil Corp.

  It wasn’t like Amita was in charge of anything. She was just a girl who loved a guy and did what she could to protect him, to be with him. Sure they, big they, freed the slaves, but that was more Ihor and Jonathan than Marcus and Amita.

  That was what needed to be pointed out. If the Resistance wanted to use Sam and she was okay with it, Amita sure wasn’t going to stop them. She had survived a lot, and that was truly an inspiration. Not like Amita.

  “Wow,” Sam said. “They adore both of us.”

  “They do,” Amita said. It made her uneasy.

  The time arrived for them to leave. The last wave was Marcus, Sam, Ihor and Amita in a car and another four that included Nickolas and three others who Amita didn’t know, placed in two vehicles. Cynthia and Jonathan had been part of the first wave. They stood next to them.

  “How long does it take to get to Chicago?” Amita asked.

  She had never really looked at a map, but knew it wasn’t super close or super far. Her asking that made her think about the awful comment Keres had made about her being uneducated. In the past, everyone could read maps. Now, that wasn’t the case, and it was the New Republic’s fault and the Mara Corp’s. Amita realized many of these issues started before Keres took over, but Keres had made them worse. That was unforgivable.