"You can't get married. They were just your whores."
Byron's hand tightens around his neck. "They were my friends and my family. You had your men rape them and shoot them in the head. They didn't do a thing to you."
Inquisitor Allen glances over at the fire that is quickly spreading across the carpet. "Don't do this, Mr. Erikson. Listen, I know we came across a bit harsh, but I apologize. If you let me live, you can be an inquisitor. We can use someone like you. We can help the M.A.G.E.s and bring about a new future for everyone."
Byron stops and puts his shotgun on the table. He holds out his hand to Inquisitor Allen. "Sure. That sounds great."
Inquisitor Allen breathes a relaxed breath and manages a smile. He takes Byron's hand and stands to his feet. "Really?"
"No." Byron sends his magic into the inquisitor's arm who flails and screams as the flames spread up his arms. "I wouldn't join you bastards if my life depended on it. Now die like the demon you are."
He spots a bottle of water on the table and picks it up. "Do you want some water? Too bad." He opens it and takes a long drink as Inquisitor Allen falls to his knees and the flames overtake him. Byron smiles. "Tell the devil I said fuck you."
Damien calls out to him. "Isidore? Byron, get a medic. Isidore's down."
"What happened?"
"He's not responding."
Someone rushes down the hallway. "Out of the way. Move. You can arrest me later. I said move!" An inquisitor with an Uzi in hand pushes past the Rubble Rebels and into the room. He kneels down and takes Isidore in his arms. He takes Isidore's Inquisition insignia and presses it against Isidore's forehead. When nothing happens, he turns to Damien. "Use your electricity to restart his heart. It's mechanical and is messing up. Get it going again."
"Why should I help you?"
"Help your friend. You can kill me later."
Damien sends a pulse of electricity into Isidore's chest.
Byron notices something familiar about this man, but his red sunglasses prevent him from seeing his eyes. "What's your name?"
"Can you not tell by my voice?"
"Blice McSage." Byron says.
"The same. Now get going before he shuts down completely. I have to remotely restart Isidore's backup battery. Something isn't working right after the operations. Whatever you do, don't let him die." Blice runs off and the Rubble Rebels chase after him as the sound of his Uzi echoes in the vaulted room.
A few minutes pass and Isidore opens his eyes and gasps for air. He grabs onto Damien's arm. "I'm okay. I'm good."
Damien helps him to his feet. "Are you sure?"
"Just a bit dizzy. Did you restart my heart?"
"Don't thank me. I owe you more than that."
Commander Allen comes up the stairs then signals for them and pulls his shotgun from his back. "Byron, Blice is in the back room. What do you want to do with him?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"He just saved your friend's life."
Byron tries to find a reason to save Blice's life, but the pain from the dark matter in his leg reminds him that no matter what he does, Blice is a traitor and traitors must die. The thick smoke from the other room is filling the air and he knows they don't have much time for plans or regrets. "The plan is still the same. McSage dies today."
"This way." Alexi leads them all to a large wooden door.
Byron runs and rams his shoulder into the door. He kicks away the splintered wood and steps into the blue carpeted room. "McSage!"
Damien and Isidore join his side, Damien with his electricity already sparking on his left hand and a knife ready to be thrown in his right. Isidore watches the computers around the room and remains silent.
Blice stops typing and looks up at the monitors with his back turned to Byron. "Nice to see you too, Erikson. Is saving your friend not enough for you? What happens if you kill me and Isidore has another accident? Do you know how to do anything for him? If I hadn't been there, the world would have lost one of the greatest people to ever live. And now you repay me by storming in here with your henchmen at your back? You think you can do this, don't you? The Inquisition has always been more than you and all the M.A.G.E.s combined can deal with. You can't even begin to understand the science behind it all. That's the true god we worship. The god of science and technology. You would take that blessing away from the people who need it? This world needs the Inquisition. Don't you see that? If you experiments would have obeyed and done what we asked of you, there wouldn't have been all of this killing and pain in the first place. But you had to assert your independence. It's a shame. We could have worked together, you and I. Though, the president doesn't like to ally with traitors." He turns around and his red sunglasses glint in the light from the computer monitors lining the walls.
"Traitors?" Byron yells at him. "You call us traitors? All three of us were betrayed by you and now you pretend to be our friend. I don't know why Isidore means enough to you for you to risk you life in order to save him, but your little performance is over, McSage."
Blice holds out his hands to Isidore. "You won't harm me, will you, Isidore?"
Isidore bows and stares at the short blue carpet. "No. I can't."
"That's right. Good computer. Now go back outside and let me deal with these bastards. I don't want you getting hurt."
"Yes, sir." Isidore says and turns to the door.
Byron tries to stop him. "Isidore? Where are you going? We need you."
He pushes past Byron. "I can't fight him. Do what you think you need to do, but I won't be a part of it."
Damien glares at him. "You can't abandon us here."
Isidore returns the glare. "I don't have a choice, remember? I'm only a computer." He throws his revolver down at Blice's feet then leaves the room.
Blice picks it up and holds out his arms. "We can fight over this if you really want to, but I will warn you that no matter what you do, you won't be taking Isidore away from me this time, Montgomery. There is no way in hell I am letting him be involved in your little deathtrap you call W.A.N.D."
Damien gasps. "It was you. You were the dark matter manipulator who attacked my agents in Styx two years ago."
Blice laughs. "And it has taken you this long to figure that out?"
"Wait. That means that Isidore is-"
"Precisely. Now, how do we want to do this?" Blice asks.
"We kill you and burn down Paradise. That's how we're going to do this."
"Oh. Well, that doesn't sound very advantageous for you and the Outlanders."
"What are you aiming at, Blice?"
"Oh, I don't know. First off, what would my daddy say about you killing his only son? You get your orders from him, do you not? How about we give him a little call right quick?" Blice dials a number on his watch and President Evans's face appears on the monitors. "Hello, father. We have a bit of an invasion on our hands."
"Damien Montgomery. I should have known you would be behind this."
Damien's magic fades and he bows. "Mr. President, I had no idea-"
"Save your excuses. You would dare attack my city?"
"And he threatened to kill me." Blice says.
"Is this true, Montgomery?"
"Mr. President, you know about the fighting between the factions. Are you aware that your son is the Master Director of the Inquisition, the very enemy you have been trying to covertly take out?"
"Of course I know that Blice is Master Director. Who do you think appointed him?"
"Oh my God."
President Evans continues. "Byron Erikson already killed the rogue leader who we have been trying to assassinate out in the field. Inquisitor Allen is dead now, is he not, Mr. Erikson?"
"Yes . . . yes, Mr. President."
"Good. Thank you. While I would have preferred to not watch a third of my city be ransacked and burned down in the process, you have done Paradise a favor."
Byron almost loses it. He can't stop laughing. They did Paradise a favor? Either things around here
are more screwed up than he first believed, or he went insane a long time ago and this is some sort of twisted hallucination.
"And Mr. Montgomery, I would have thought the developer of W.A.N.D. would value Paradise more highly."
"Sir, I-"
"Wait. I'm getting a report in. Blice, you're about to have company."
Men in tan trench coats and red sunglasses step through the splintered remains of the door and fill the room. They hold up their machine guns.
"Father, it's the Inquisition." Blice says.
"Another uprising? I thought you had this under control, Blice."
"I swear, I thought I did."
One of the inquisitors steps forward and bows. "Master Director, squad four is down."
"The entire squad?" Blice asks.
"Rubble Rebels."
"Oh. Well this explains it." President Evans says. "Code Black. You know what you have to do. I have to go. Eliminate Erikson and Montgomery."
"Yes, sir."
What? What's going on? "I thought we did Paradise a favor."
"It seems that you've outstayed your welcome." Blice says. "Your band of rebels just killed twenty of my most loyal inquisitors. I can't let you get away with that. Do you always shoot blindly and ask questions later?"
"How were we to know who's an enemy? You're all alike."
Blice holds up his hands and the dark matter membrane swirls between his fingers. "Wrong thing to say, Mr. Erikson. How's your leg, by the way?"
Damien stands up against Byron's back and his eyes dart around at the Inquisitors. "What happened to your leg, Byron?"
"Dark matter happened. It's nothing."
"Inquisitors, avenge your fallen comrades. Open fire."
"Now, Damien!" Byron takes Damien's hand and their power flares up together. The flames and electricity swirl together in an inferno around the edges of the room, encircling the inquisitors. Byron pushes Damien down to the floor as the bullets speed by overhead.
Blice screams and runs towards them with his dark matter glittering in the light from the fires. Byron kicks him in the stomach and the mass of dark matter flies off across the room. The wall cracks as the dark matter spreads out on it and the bricks crumble to the floor, spreading the fire out over the carpet.
Rubble Rebels rush inside and engage the inquisitors. As they fight, Byron turns this attention to Blice. He unleashes shots at Blice who reflects them with his purple barrier. Byron tosses down his empty shotgun. It won't do him any good empty. Someone grabs his shoulders and pulls him backwards.
"Watch out!" Damien shouts.
Byron kicks at the inquisitor as Damien's knife flies through the smoky air and sticks in the man's chest. "Nice throwing."
"Thanks. Get on Blice before he disintegrates everyone here."
Blice sends another sphere of dark matter at Byron who rolls to the side and narrowly avoids it. He races towards Blice and knocks him down to the floor. He unleashes a barrage of punches to Blice's face.
Blice screams and kicks at Byron. "Get off of me!"
"Die, bastard." Byron says, but an explosion nearby gives Blice just enough of a chance to slip away.
When Blice looks towards the explosion, Byron grabs Isidore's revolver from the console and takes one last shot at Blice. The bullet hits him in the arm. Byron squeezes the trigger again, but it's empty.
"Haha! You missed." Blice says as he holds the bleeding wound.
"Nope. Lead bullet. Try using your magic now."
Blice's face goes white. "Tricky bastard."
People scream in the main lobby of the building as they hear explosions from around the city. Helicopters race above the streets pelting the streets and sides of buildings with machine gun fire. Byron hears it all, but he knows he has to focus on finishing this. "This is for Leena."
Blice wipes the blood from his face. "For Leena? You aren't the only one who loved her." He ducks as Byron swings at him. "She meant the world to me."
Byron jumps out of the way of Blice's foot. "You experimented on her."
"Only because she let me. I never wanted to hurt her."
"You're not talking your way out of this." Byron picks up the empty shotgun and swings it at Blice. "You can't have Isidore."
"Like hell I can't. He deserves better than you and a man who beats him." Blice kicks Byron in the face and jumps back to avoid a pile of flaming debris.
Byron shakes his head to get the ringing in his ears to stop. So he can kick really hard. "Then tell me why he had a direct link to you."
Blice punches Byron in the eye. "I don't answer to you." He scoops up a book that is on fire from the table and throws it in Byron's face.
Byron slides the table across the floor and it pins Blice against the wall. "Do something now, McSage."
Blice laughs then slips down under the table, grabs Byron's legs, and trips him. In a flash, Blice jumps on Byron and bites his neck. Byron's fist sends Blice to the floor where he goes limp and stops moving.
"Stop!" President Evans shouts over the loudspeakers and the computer monitors. "Cease fire! By the order of your president, cease fire."
The inquisitors drop their guns and bow. Byron drops to one knee to catch his breath and Damien does the same. The black smoke is making it even more difficult and some people begin coughing. Blice is lying face down and motionless in the corner of the room.
"Erikson, what are your conditions for a cease fire?"
Him? The president is asking him? Byron manages to stand and move in front of the monitors. What is he supposed to say? He hasn't thought about this possibility. The Rubble Rebels came into this fully prepared to fight until they died or burned all of Paradise to the ground. He quickly thinks of something. "Rubble City. No Inquisition forces come anywhere near Rubble City. Oh, and Isidore Williams is no longer Inquisition property."
"Rubble City will not be touched by Inquisition forces. I cannot give you Isidore Williams."
"Then no deal."
"Wait! Wait." Commander Alexi steps in front of Byron. "Deal. You can maintain ownership of the computer. However, we will not escort him back here. He must do that on his own or with a prearranged exchange on your part."
"I can agree to this. Now, if you please, remove your bunch of wasteland rebels from my city and never come back. Inquisitors, alert the emergency management that we need fires extinguished immediately and get my son to a hospital. Tell the soldiers they are not to engage any more Rubble Rebels and they are instead to escort them out of the city."
* * *
The remaining Rubble Rebels file out of the gates of Paradise in sea of red and white while they cheer and hold their assorted weapons above their heads. A few sing and dance as the smoke continues to rise above the lead walls behind them. Byron doesn't share in their victory celebrations. He wants nothing more than to find Isidore, get back to Rubble City, find a room that isn't filled with debris, drink an entire bottle of Alezi Blue, then sleep for a week.
Damien runs up to him and puts his arms around Byron's shoulders. "We did it. We survived. Byron, isn't it wonderful? Byron?"
Byron shoves his shotgun in his bag and turns away from the destruction. Let it burn. Let it all burn. Wonderful? No. Nothing about this is wonderful. That's a word that shouldn't even exist anymore. However, there is something barbarically beautiful about Paradise in flames. If he's not welcome there, then no one should be. Today Paradise became hell on Earth.
39
Even only a month after the destruction the Rubble Rebels caused, Paradise is back to being a lively, vibrant, prospering city with all of the luxury and excess that makes them the envy of the wasteland. The debris and burned down buildings have been cleaned up and repaired. Most of the city is back to normal and daily life has seemingly returned to normal. Soldiers and inquisitors still guard some of the more destroyed parts of the city. President Evans has remained good to his word and no Inquisition forces have come anywhere near Rubble City. No more children have gone missing and no mor
e women have been attacked at night. Tensions are still high and the lead walls are still closed off to those outside, except for one man.
Blice's insignia gets Isidore through the security checkpoints and some of the soldiers even address him by his name. They obviously know who he is and it is both surprising and unsettling. Nothing good ever comes from the Inquisition knowing your name. He traces the smooth golden triangle with the tiny daisy inside. For an unknown reason, it doesn't bring him the feelings of panic and anxiety that it did at one time. Instead, those reactions are replaced with calmness and dare he say it . . . hope. He stops in front of the large circular building.
Here he is, at the entrance to the technology center of the Inquisition. He updates his list of traitors: Judas Iscariot, Marcus Brutus, Longinus Cassius, Benedict Arnold, Damien Montgomery, Isidore Williams. Does he want to do this? They could try to kill him, but with the abnormally friendly and warm welcome he has received from the guards, he doubts they would go that far. He's out of options and growing more desperate every day. He needs answers and he needs help. Isidore knows he can't continue living like this. Here goes nothing.
As soon as Isidore opens the doors and steps into the richly adorned lobby, the receptionist looks up from her computer behind her desk where she had been typing. She smiles and pushes her glasses back up her nose. "Have a seat, Mr. Williams. I will be with you in a moment." She motions to the comfy-looking chairs against the stucco wall. How did she know who he was?
Isidore takes a seat and looks around the brightly lit lobby. He has never been in a place so clean and fancy, at least not that he remembers. There is something about the multitude of various flowering plants and fish tanks that he remembers, if only vaguely. The smell of cinnamon and apples awakens something in his mind. Could he have been here before?
After a few phone calls and some frantic whispering to another woman, the receptionist comes over to him and bows. "What can the Inquisition do for you today? We are so glad to see you still in one piece."
Isidore looks her over from her brown hair with too much hairspray to her black pencil skirt and high heels. The men here must enjoy her too much. Wait. Did he just notice a human woman? This is getting worse than he thought. Desperate feelings call for desperate allies. "I need an operating system. I need to understand what is going on with me. I need your help and the Inquisition is the only group who will know what to do. Can you help me? I have nowhere else to go."
Paradise of Lead Trilogy Page 26