City 55

by William Pinecroft

  ****

  There was no playing coy in Sheila’s office. “Ms. Carpenter, I presume?” said the same gentleman in the three-piece suit, as he entered her office. “We need to continue our investigation. We will need access to your computer. Oh, and would you please login,” he said casually as he sat down at Sheila’s desk.

  Sheila logged back in for him. Most companies used advanced biometric logins due to the proven security advantages. Sheila stood over the desk after she had provided access to her workstation. He was preparing to start his analysis but then stopped, looked at up at her, and gave a nice warm smile. “Ms. Carpenter, please take a seat over there,” he instructed as he motioned to a chair across the room.

  Sheila complied and the man continued. He sat there analyzing the traffic on her computer. His associates, who accompanied him to her office, were rummaging through other sections of the office, offices across the hall, and throughout the entire data analysis section of the company. Evidence was catalogued and copied for later scrutiny. Additionally, interviews followed evidence that had been pulled from this computer, that soft drive, or another open report. Everyone was exceptionally cordial, as had been the pattern. The employees of The Corporation were compliant, mainly due to the fear that their jobs hung in the balance.

  After finishing, the man looked up, pocketed the devices he had been using, and stood to leave. As if by afterthought, the man gazed down and opened Sheila’s top drawer. Sheila’s heart sank. In it, there was a folder with her recording device that had everything logged during her time with Sam. She had been careful to encrypt incriminating evidence on the device but from the impression thus far, this man would be able to access whatever he needed from it. He picked it up, attached a single device to the auxiliary port, pressed a button, and then separated the two. He pocketed that device, put Sheila’s hardware back in the drawer, and then came over and warmly shook her hand expressing his delight and appreciation for her tolerance and patience during the entire process. He continued with his business and walked out of the office.

  ****

  The investigations were relentless over the next few days. The open snooping turned everything inside out. The lot was fair game. In the words of Dr. Helena Buscher, “No one is immune. I can replace anyone.” The teams worked with impunity, without care of recourse for they were a separate entity under the orders of the central office. The Corporation’s San Francisco office received no reports. No summary of actions taken. The company had no idea what information had been gleaned from the billions of files analyzed. They also had no idea if or when they would lose their comfortable jobs. Needless to say, the general mood within The Corporation had changed from what it was this time last week. No one felt the same as Sam and Sheila though. The two of them went home each day expecting it to be their last. They hadn’t seen each other or any of Charlie’s crew for fear of observation.

  The same was happening across the world, to include the streets and throughout sections of every city outside The Corporation. Dr. Buscher had made sure the technical crews in Istanbul isolated every possible interference threatening the natural collective consciousness driving The Proxy. Now the majority ruled once again. The swing in policy was extreme as Dr. Buscher sought to undue the public practices that had flourished without the guidance of her system. The backlash from any previous decisions made under the guidance of Fred, Charlie, and the rest of the crew, was extreme. It was being undone with a cruel vengeance. Reversed laws. People prosecuted for previously overlooked infractions. Shops, stores, and corner markets shut down again in favor of conglomerates. Splashed across news stations were the repercussions that occurred if the populace did not accede to the whims and policies of The World Government.

  ****

  Everyone Charlie knew was under examination. Fred and his group had vanished without a trace. No one could imagine what they were enduring or if they were even alive to endure. Sam and Sheila were unreachable. Charlie’s worst fear was that those two were under twenty-four surveillance, tailed in the hopes all other opposition would be located. The only reason he knew they still worked at The Corporation was because Jerry fed intermittent updates to Charlie and Dan. Aside from feeding this intelligence, Jerry had distanced himself from the group. He couldn’t afford anything happening to his family, and Charlie didn’t blame him. The most important people in Jerry’s life were safe right now but that could change in an instant. The Guardian Element and The World Government didn’t care if someone’s family was complicit. In their eyes, the family presented a loose end that could only end up being a problem. Timber had also quit. She had benefited enough from the arrangement, and for her, continued involvement wasn’t worth it. Charlie was losing everyone, and the next to go were Dan and Pam.

  ****

  “Who are your compatriots?”

  “Water.”

  “Mr. Canseco, who are your compatriots?”

  “Water.”

  The hood came back on. Fred was on his knees, bound to his box once more, the effect of the bitterness creeping into his body. He reflected on his friends, those in this hell with him, or those who had long since perished. Weeks of despair were beginning to bear down on his soul. He wasn’t sure if the others could have made it this long.

  Focus. The doorknob was cold.

  CHAPTER 10

  AN UNBIASED ACCOUNT

  “Come with us,” Charlie pleaded with Sam and Sheila.

  “Charlie, if we do, they’ll know. Right now, we don’t have any idea what they know. If we flee and change our routine, they’ll surely see that as a confirmation of their suspicions,” replied Sam. He paused for a moment. Sam had risked a meeting with Charlie. He knew it was dumb, especially with the doubt he had been feeling since their run in with the contractors. Charlie and his friends were putting their lives on the line too, and he struggled with the thought of something happening to them. He also didn’t want them to do something stupid, which would then confirm the suspicions that fell on Sheila and him.

  “Listen, Charlie. They’ve taken over everything in The Corporation. No one is above reproach. Sheila and I are trying to stay alive right now.”

  “Have you seen her? How is she?” asked Charlie.

  “We haven’t met since they ransacked our offices. It’s unfortunate, but right now is not the time to draw attention. That goes for you too.”

  “Yeah, I know,” said Charlie. “We have some vacation time, and we’re going to use it now. I’m losing my mind. Dan is freaked. Pam is constantly looking over her shoulder. We need to get out of here. I also have no idea what they pulled from Fred and his gang.”

  “All right, Charlie. Don’t give up on us,” finished Sam as he grabbed Charlie by the shoulder. Sam left. He traveled back to his apartment, stopping at a few specialty stores not available in the area he lived. He wanted to ensure he could answer any questions about his whereabouts, and why he had specifically decided to travel to the opposite side of town. He used common transportation. It did highlight the fact that he was out but coupled with his purchases at the stores, he meant to show there was nothing to hide. All this was probably for naught, as employees of The Corporation hired to track persons of interest had more training in tradecraft than Sam could ever hope to fake. He made it home, and it appeared that for the rest of the night, he was in the clear.

  ****

  “Here you go,” Jerry said as he handed over the campervan keys to Charlie. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Of course. Your wife and kids are the priority. You don’t need to be taking road trips with us. You’ve been under the radar so far. Besides, you’re a valuable resource in The Corporation. I need you passing info. I have no idea what’s going on.”

  “Charlie, you’ll be the first to know. The contractors are wrapping up their questioning. We’re expecting the final decisions to be disseminated any day now.”

  “You going to see those?”

  “Yeah. So far, about five percent of the
company has been laid off. I see ninety percent of those cases. Everything comes through legal. I have the awesome job of reviewing severance packages. Oh, and I get to listen to the employee arguments. I feel for them, but The Corporation is what it is.”

  “Anyone been…you know, arrested?”

  “Not yet. Everyone has just been let go. Don’t worry, man. I see everything that is filtered from those contractor assholes. It all ends up at legal.”

  “All right… Well, we’ll see you.”

  “See you, Charlie. Take care of the others.”

  Charlie picked up Dan and Pam before they were off again to Death Valley. Charlie had decided it was time for them to get back to the reasons why they went on this crusade in the first place. Yes, he had lost himself in this misguided endeavor. Yes, it was the support from his friends that got him through so far. But there must have been a reason deep down within Charlie that drove him to leave a comfortable life and pursue this dangerous road that had changed the course of so many people’s lives.

  He was dealing with that realization too. The fates of all those people were on him. The fates of good people, willing to risk everything to follow an idea that Charlie had championed, based on what? He and Dan were idiots. They weren’t heroes. Charlie’s closest brush with heroism was administering an IV or stopping a bleed. Yes, he saved people’s lives but there was no danger to him. This new course that he had led his friends down was turning the world upside down. That IV they were administering was threatening the current existence of the world, in the form of The Proxy. That IV was intended to help this world fight off the virus that had come to feed from its people. Unfortunately for Charlie, this virus fought back, often times under the guise of carefully crafted laws meant to protect its enforcers in the name of a cause worth more than the freedom of its own people.

  Charlie lost himself in such contemplation as he drove the bus through Yosemite National Park, cresting the same curves they had previously traveled. This time the bus was silent. The air seemed cooler and the ominous weather foretold impending tragedy. A lingering doom enveloped the bus, guiding it to certain destruction. The happiness and love, which they had once experienced, was gone. No one cared about the views over a lake or the hot springs that had allowed Charlie to peek at the perfection of Pam. No one cared where they were going. They only cared that they were going. They didn’t want to revel in the journey or pursue adventure along the way. They instead needed to get away from the darkness that had overtaken their lives.

  Charlie glanced over at Dan in the passenger seat. He was normally jamming, as he called it. He was the best navigator, a DJ primed to find the next epic song to play. He’d point out sights along the way. He’d talk nonstop about the adventure and what it meant to be free and alive. Now, he was quiet, lost in the darkness he had witnessed. He stared out the window, his eyes glazed over, letting the wind prevent him from falling away into oblivion. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. The clouds that loomed before them ripped the icy air down upon the bus, enveloping Charlie in foreboding disaster. Charlie drove on, not caring. Despair does that to someone. It takes a hold of them and kills the hope, which drives those to do great and be great.

  They were lost. What were they going to do? The power they were challenging was too much even for an army and here the three of them decided they had a shot. Now, they were driving a bus to the desert, isolated from the world. They were escaping the threat. They were giving up on the world. And who could blame them? Everyone else was living with the tyranny and the despair that The Government was so apt at handing down. If everyone else could do it, what made Charlie special? Why couldn’t he settle? If others, many smarter than he, were perfectly content with how their lives were being governed then Charlie was a fool to think he should feel differently. Did he deserve something better than all of them? He was a dot in the world, and the world would continue spinning with or without him. He did not matter to how the human race would continue. The best he could do was strive to make this life as comfortable as possible, while it lasted, and look out for his friends along the way. Anything more than that was a pipe dream.

  Charlie, Dan, and Pam pulled into the campsite with little fan fair. They set up camp around the VW bus, arranging the lawn chairs to bracket the open sliding door. An awning adorned the bus, which allowed the three to relax out of the sun’s afternoon heat. It was later in the year than the first time they traveled to Death Valley and thus, the air was noticeably cooler than before. Within an hour or so, the temperature would begin plummeting, bringing forth the desert night with it. Charlie unpacked the food they had brought, while Dan scavenged for wood and stones to build a makeshift fire. Pam hauled out the bedding and arranged the bus for when they were ready to sleep.

  It was strange how the three of them worked together. They had only known each other as a group of three for a few months. Sure, Dan and Charlie had met long before, but Pam was a relative newcomer to their little entourage. Everyone was at ease. Each went about their business without pause. Now, there was a quiet comfort associated with what they were performing for each other. It was partly due to their recent familiarization. It was partly due to the nature of the events that had driven them to Death Valley. Regardless, they each fulfilled their roles with quiet sad determination.

  Charlie knew he was on the brink of despair. He felt as if a tragedy had befallen the family. It was one of those tragedies that felt like an extension of a dream when first waking up. At that instant, everything is right with the world. Then the realization hits that the world is not right and heartbreak still lingers, very much alive and relevant. It was then that Charlie had to relive the initial calamity all over again, coming to grips with how this would affect him and the people he loved. Fred, a mountain of a man in Charlie’s eyes, was taken for doing what? For standing up for the rights of those who can’t fight back. It was Charlie’s opinion that the world had lost something spectacular in Fred’s disappearance.

  Shaking his head of the gloomy depression threatening to consume him, he tried to see the bright side. That being his preparations for this camping trip paying off. He had a standing set of ingredients prepared at all times. Today, he had shoved them all into a set of coolers without much pause. He had emptied his freezer as well. To his joyous surprise, before him lay the foundation for another spectacular meal under the dimly moonlit sky over Death Valley.

  “Guys, are you ready for me to light up this world?” asked Charlie. The three had been so gloomy and quiet over the course of the day that Charlie’s little outburst took Dan and Pam by surprise.

  They looked at each other wondering what Charlie could be ranting about.

  “Look at these plump jalapenos. They’re gorgeous,” said Charlie.

  Again, Dan and Pam looked at each other. They smiled at Charlie’s exuberance, especially when it was directed at, well, at jalapenos. Charlie continued with his preparation. He became adrift in his work, whistling a tune to himself as he mixed and cut. Every now and then, the beat of his knife appeared to augment the tune he was singing. He grabbed three beers from the cooler, popped the tops, and tossed two to Dan and Pam. With a loud, “cheers” he downed half of his before resuming his culinary labors.

  Dan joined in. This was his old Charlie; back again from the dead. Dan did his part to help. He built a fire that soon raged next to the open campervan, threatening to burn the tips of Pam’s eyelashes as she sat soaking up the moonlight. They all ended up congregating around the warmth of the fire, drinking the beverages Charlie had packed, and devouring the gourmet dishes Charlie pulled from its embers. It was a drunken feast in the open wilderness, at one with nature, and clear of the clutches of City 55’s enforcers.

  The traveling companions remained at the campsite for the next three days. Each took turns preparing meals, rotating to refill the ever-dwindling stores. Even though they made a concerted effort to maintain the standard of living all had relished the first night, the quality of meals
started to wane considerably. The availability of good beer was virtually nonexistent and the fresh vegetables Charlie took pleasure in cooking, now sprouted from dusty cans. They loved it though, and Charlie remembered why these two people were so special to him.

  “We got anything left?” asked Charlie as he climbed up into the driver’s seat.

  “No, all done,” Dan said.

  Charlie put the bus in gear and started back to San Francisco with Pam up front and Dan relaxing on the rear bench seat.

  “So, I’m going to miss you guys,” Pam said.

  “Yeah, me too,” Dan responded. “Charlie, how long are we staying apart?”

  “For the foreseeable future. We can’t risk it. Who knows what that company has on us? We still need to communicate. I’m thinking we drop notes at the park between our places. We’ll use the same picnic table where we played chess, Dan.”

  “Where’s that?” Pam asked.

  “Bay Front Park,” Dan responded.

  “Oh, I know that place.”

  Charlie didn’t say anything. He still remembered the vision of Pam under the tree.

  “What about carrier pigeons? We could get a complex arrangement of sophisticated communication going with them,” Dan suggested.

  “Yeah, or maybe a giant light in the sky… In the shape of a beer,” Pam interjected.