by Robert Boren
“Nope,” Jaak said. “Not for a few months, anyway.”
“Whoa,” Adrian said. “Probably some kind of reactor, knowing Jared.”
“No comment,” Jaak said. “Who’s going to try first?”
“I will,” Justin said.
Todd laughed. “Of course.”
“Hey, don’t you want to?” Tyra asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t care about going first.”
“Well Justin, step right up,” Art said. He stood aside, Justin getting in. “No seatbelt? Isn’t that against the law?”
“The restraints come on automatically when you start the vehicle, and adjust when it changes shape,” Art said.
“These must have been very expensive,” Quint said.
“Oh yeah,” Jacob said. “I can only imagine. Do all of Jared’s teams have these?”
“Can’t talk about that,” Jaak said. “Sorry.”
“What happens if this changes shape while there’s somebody in the passenger seat?” Justin asked.
“There are sensors in the passenger compartment,” Art said. “It won’t work if there’s somebody there.”
“Good to know,” Ava said.
“I’m bummed,” Dave said. “Thought it might be a good way to get Ava on my lap.”
Gavin busted up. “Why don’t you just ask her?”
“It was a joke,” Dave said, glancing at Ava. “Kinda.”
“Stop,” Ava said. “We need to talk, Dave.”
“Somebody’s in trouble,” Ashley quipped, Ava shooting her a sly smile.
“Ready?” Art asked.
“Hell yes.”
“Gather around, everybody,” Art said, showing him the controls, which were basically like any car, except for a small lever on the center console. He went over the transition and the weapons, which consisted of rail guns and lasers.
“This will operate like a normal car, right?” Sunshine asked.
“For long distances, that’s the way to drive her,” Art said, “although you could go long distances in narrow mode. You’ll find it more relaxing to drive in wide mode on the tollway. Justin, drive her around in wide mode, and park back here. Get a feel for her.”
“Why call it her?” Ava asked.
“Men do that with things they love,” Ashley said. “Boats, for instance. You know.”
“Exactly,” Art said, not turning away from Justin, who was driving the vehicle around the structure, finally parking in front of the others, hitting the window button, which did nothing. He opened the door.
“The windows don’t roll down?”
“Nope, because the glass is bullet-proof,” Art said. “It’ll stop most rounds under .50 caliber.”
“No way,” Adrian said.
“Let’s try the narrow mode,” Art said, watching Justin get back into the vehicle. “Roll her forward about twenty yards and flip the lever, putting both hands on the steering wheel. Don’t try to turn when she’s narrowing. You’ll hear a beep and get a green light on the dash when it’s locked into narrow mode.”
“Got it,” Justin said, shutting the door and driving forward, the vehicle transitioning as he went, rising due to the wheel diameter change. He sped up, zig-zagging back and forth, then making a quick turn, both wheels turning, the vehicle changing direction in a split second and blasting forward in a straight line.
“How fast does that thing go?” Adrian asked.
“In wide mode, she’ll do about a hundred and ten. In narrow mode, more than a hundred and eighty.”
“What?” Todd asked.
“You heard him,” Tyra said.
“Good way to get in trouble fast,” Trinity said.
“The sensors and computer control keep you out of trouble pretty well,” Art said.
Justin came back, parking in front of the group, flipping the switch to go to wide mode, then getting out. “Unbelievable. This sucker has a lot of power.”
“You aren’t done yet,” Art said. “Weapons. There’s a selector for railgun or laser mode on the steering wheel, and the trigger is below about half an inch. Feel the nub? There’s one at Ten O’clock and one at Two O’clock.”
“I only feel the one, though, not the trigger button.”
“When you push in the button once, it will go into railgun mode. If you push it again within a second, it will go into laser mode. The trigger button will extend, and the dash display will rise, showing crosshairs and front or rear direction.”
“Why are there buttons on both sides?” Sunshine asked.
“If you’re left-handed, push the left-side selector and the trigger for that side will extend. Ditto if you use the right side.”
“Fascinating,” Justin said. “How do I target?”
“Get in, select laser, and then look at the screen. The target reticle moves on the screen as your eyes move. Look at what you want to hit and the reticle will move.”
“Okay. What’s fair game?”
“There are some soft-drink cans lined up next to the dumpsters across the lot, see them?”
Justin looked over there. “Yeah. Can I shoot in narrow mode only?”
“Nope, you can fire in either vehicle orientation,” Art said. “Give it a try.”
Justin got back into the vehicle and took off in wide mode, heading across the parking garage, hitting the left button, then focusing his eyes on the target, looking at the first soft-drink can on the right of the row, the reticle following his gaze. Justin fired, burning a hole in the can. Then he made another pass, much faster in narrow mode, firing the railgun this time, sending a second can through the air.
Art gave each of the group a lesson.
“I’m liking these things,” Dave said.
“Ready to get assigned to your unit?” Art asked.
“Let’s do it,” Todd said.
Art took Todd to his unit, a blue one, telling him to sit in the driver’s seat and stare into the dashboard. Then he stuck his hand through the door, holding a small device, pushing a button on the side, the vehicle beeping three times.
“What did that do?” Todd asked.
“It locked this vehicle to your retina. Only you can drive this unit, unless I come change that with this device.”
“How could we all drive the other one?”
“There’s a training mode that will allow anybody to drive,” Art said. “You can only go within a hundred-yard radius in that mode. Nice safety feature.”
“Who’s safety is it protecting?” Dave asked.
“The movement’s safety,” Jaak said. “We don’t want this technology in the hands of our enemies. Trust me on that.”
***
Mayor Fine was laying on the bed in his quarters, when there was a soft rap at the door. “Come in.”
Chief Harvey opened the door. “We put a lid on those protesters.”
“You did it nicely, I hope?”
“Yes sir. The counter-protesters were more of a challenge.”
“Why?”
“We had to keep them from tearing the protesters limb from limb.”
Mayor Fine sighed. “I was afraid of that. Does the department have the city back under control?”
“For the most part. The UN left checkpoints set up all over the place. Do you know why they did that?”
“Yeah, Romano’s staff thinks we’re going to use them to control the people in the same manner the UN planned to. They also say they won’t recognize Tracy McCain. I told them to pound sand.”
“Do we have to get involved?”
“The NYPD? I don’t want them leaving the city.”
“No, the resistance.”
“I don’t run the resistance.”
Chief Harvey leaned against the wall of the spartan room. “Okay, I get that, but who does run it?”
“I think they basically run themselves at this point. Don’t worry about it.”
“Given more thought to coming out of our hole?”
Mayor Fine sat up, swinging his legs to
the floor. “I don’t think we have a choice, but I want to use this building if possible. I’ve got a call in to Jared, but he’s been a little busy with California.”
“What’s going on there?”
“The UN is popping up all over the place. More arriving every day. The people are fighting them so far.”
“So far?”
“The resistance is being targeted there.”
“As in killed?” Chief Harvey asked.
“Yep, as in killed. Don’t worry, there aren’t enough UN peacekeepers to lock down the state. California is huge.”
Chief Harvey’s brow furrowed. “Albena is trying to see where those who evacuated the east coast are going. So far she’s not having much luck. For all we know, they might be close by, ready to come back in.”
“We’ve still got control of the MVS system, correct?” Mayor Fine asked.
“Albena is playing cat and mouse with somebody. They’re trying to kick her off.”
“Another reason we have to get back topside,” Mayor Fine said. “We can’t run the city by remote control.”
“Agreed. What do you want me to do with the checkpoint setups?”
“Tear them out,” Mayor Fine said. “As quickly as possible. I assume you’ve already started that.”
“No, that was one of the reasons I wanted to chat. I’ll go make some calls.”
“Thanks,” Mayor Fine said. “I’ll be out there soon. Want to try Tracy one more time.”
Chief Harvey nodded, leaving the room. Mayor Fine pulled out his phone and hit Tracy’s number. It went directly to voicemail again, with a full mailbox message.
***
Ava watched Dave walking towards the group, after finishing his weapons training on the hybrid units.
“Well, what did you think?” he asked her as the others gathered around.
“I’m very impressed,” Ava said. “We need to talk, remember?”
“Talk? Go ahead.”
“Alone.”
“Oh. I’m really in trouble, aren’t I? Sorry, Ava, I’ll knock it off.”
“I still want to talk.”
“Something wrong?” Ashley asked, eyeing Dave’s worried expression.
“She wants to chew me out for my jokes,” Dave said. “All right, Ava, let’s go. I’m ready to face the music.”
“Don’t play this as a joke,” Ava said. “C’mon.” She led him to the elevators, riding one to the main floor.
“Where are we going?”
“My room. Don’t ask so many questions.”
“Shit, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“That is called a question.”
Dave shrugged, following her into the room. She sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Dave swallowed like a scared teenager and sat.
“Why do you do that?” Ava asked softly.
“I’m just messing around.”
“You don’t do that to the other women. Be honest. Is there something wrong with me?”
Dave looked at her for a moment, expecting a harsh expression, but seeing the opposite. His heart banged in his chest. Here goes. “I like you.”
Ava stared at him intensely.
“Sorry, you don’t have to do anything. I’ll leave you alone.”
She rolled her eyes, and put her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. He didn’t return it at first, trembling all over. “Are you into this or what?”
“You like me?”
A soft smile washed over her face. “Duh. Is that okay with you?”
He looked at her, his brow furrowed. “You aren’t just getting me back?”
“Why are you making this so difficult? I’ll meet you halfway. You have to go after me, though.”
He pulled her close, planting a kiss on her, their passion increasing.
“That’s more like it,” she said. “You could’ve just told me, you know.”
“How long?” he asked.
“Months. How long for you?”
He chuckled. “Months.”
“We’ve wasted time. We’re not going to keep that up, right?”
“No. I’m sorry.”
Ava smiled at him. “Stop saying that and kiss me again.”
{ 15 }
Escape
J ohn and Linda sat in their living room, waiting for Salvatore.
“Are you sure about this?” Linda asked.
“No, but it’s worth talking to him. That social score business has me pretty well spun up.”
“Me too.”
John’s phone dinged with a text. “That’s probably him.” He looked at it. “Yep, he’s at the curb.” John went to the door and opened it, a shadowy figure rushing towards the front door in the darkness, slipping inside. He removed his hat and coat.
“I’m Salvatore. So nice to meet you in the flesh.” They shook hands, Linda getting up and shaking too.
“Lovely,” Salvatore said. “Let’s talk, but away from windows.”
“Your men are all around, I assume?” Linda asked.
“They are, but we decided to hide ourselves and not take them out. We ran a diversion to get me in. I’ll need your help getting out. Do you have a car in the garage I can hide in?”
“An SUV,” John said. “You can lay in the back, and I can pull the cargo shield over you.”
“Perfect, thank you.”
“Let’s go into the basement kitchen,” Linda said. “It’s the safest, and it’s clad in stone, for the most part.”
“Ah, this house still has it intact?” Salvatore asked. “Marvelous.”
“We spent a pretty penny restoring it,” John said, leading the way to the stairs, which they climbed down, going into a room from another age, with a fireplace big enough to stand in, populated by hanging caldrons and other tools of the cooking trade from the early 1700s.
“I’m impressed,” Salvatore said as he looked around. “This is like a museum.”
“We’ve actually cooked down here a time or two,” Linda said. “For Valley Forge events. It’s great fun, but it gets smoky. Definitely gives you a sense of how much harder life was back then.”
“Let’s sit at the table.” He nodded to the centuries-old rectangular table, each of them picking a chair.
“This must be priceless,” Salvatore said.
“I don’t know about that,” John said. “It was broken in pieces, with a bunch of stuff piled on it in the corner next to the fireplace. We tried to restore it in a way true to its time.”
“What do you propose we do about this situation, Salvatore?” Linda asked.
“Ah, a woman who cuts to the chase. That will help you in the coming bad times.”
John nodded. “When you said I’d be disappeared, what did you mean, exactly?”
“You’ll either be stuck in a gulag, or you’ll be killed in a way that hides who did it,” Salvatore said. “They consider you dangerous, so I think it’s likely they’ll dispose of you rather than hold you.”
“So what do we do?” John asked.
“I propose that you go into hiding, and I’ve got the resources to make that happen safely.”
“That won’t make us prisoners, I hope.”
“Not at all,” Salvatore said. “You’ll always have freedom of movement. You’ll just have to consider the risk of what you do.”
Linda and John shot each other a glance.
“What else?” Linda asked. “Hiding us won’t fix anything. It’ll just make us live a little longer.”
“We’re preparing to make the Social Scoring web suite open to the public,” Salvatore said. “I have a team working on that now. With your permission, I’d like to point out the situation you are currently in, along with others who are close to the edge.”
“Is that a good idea?” Linda asked.
John smiled. “If it goes viral, my books will take off like a rocket.”
“Exactly, and your message needs to get out. The way you tell it with your stories, it is impossible
to mistake the meaning. You do have a lot of fans already, of course, with plenty of reviews on your product pages. That will make it even easier. Some of the reviews you have bring tears to my eyes.”
“Why?” Linda asked.
“It’s encouraging that so many people understand.”
“Does that to me too,” John said. “There are risks. What are they?”
“Your platform might kick you off, although we can make that very difficult for them.”
“How?” Linda asked.
“The same way the globalist left has been doing it to their political enemies,” Salvatore said. “Public shame on a massive scale. If they do kick you from your platform, we’ll backstop that with several independent distribution points that don’t belong to the social media oligarchy.”
“Can the government shut that down?” John asked.
“The distribution points are based off-shore in a variety of locations, so it will be difficult. We’ll pop up new outlets whenever the government is successful in shutting us down.”
“What are the other risks?” Linda asked.
“Your family might be attacked. That would happen regardless of your departure into hiding.”
“Craig and Pat,” Linda said in a hushed tone.
Salvatore nodded. “Craig will be targeted because of what he’s doing.”
“He has plenty of points left,” John said.
“Yes, but he’ll be considered a special case, because his impact has been so immediate. His first article got picked up by the Anon sites and spread all over. Craig doesn’t yet know that he is becoming a celebrity, and his latest article is even better than the first.”
“It’s out already?”
“It was leaked to 8chan, and from there it went to all of the other alternative outlets.”
“Oh God,” Linda said. “You said something about Pat. Are you thinking she’s with the enemy?”
“No,” Salvatore said, “but she subscribes to the woke culture and goes out of her way to virtue signal. That’s why she’s got a perfect Social Score. The enemy will try to turn her against her husband and you two.”
“She won’t go along,” Linda said.
“She won’t feel that she has a choice.”
“Should we take them with us?” John asked.
“No. If you take Pat, the enemy will eventually get to her. She’ll make a mistake and get all of you killed or thrown into prison.”
