by T K Eldridge
The rest of the ride was mostly quiet. Neither one of us was happy about the whole situation and didn’t see a damned thing we could do to fix it.
It sucked.
Chapter Five
We dropped off the SUV in the garage and got checked back in by five that evening. As we headed to the commons room, Cutter and I both noticed how quiet it was. Usually, the team was in the commons, hanging out with a game or reading or watching the TV. No one was in there. I grabbed a bottle of juice and one of water, then headed to my cell to stow my bags. I took the fruit and chocolate out as I decided to visit each member and give them the treats. I started with Kit’s cell as it was next to mine.
I tapped on the door frame. “Kit, you awake?”
I heard her voice in the shadowed room. “Yeah, I’m awake.”
“Can I come in?”
“Just don’t turn the light on,” Kit said.
“I brought some fruit and chocolate.”
“Thanks. Just put it on the table by the door?”
Her voice sounded odd and I set two pears and a bar of her favorite chocolate on the table before I blinked and adjusted my sight. I may not be able to see as far as the hawk-eyed, but I could see really well with minimal light. What I saw stopped me in my tracks. Kit was on top of her bed, not underneath it, and curled on her side. The arm and the side of her face I could see, was bruised looking.
“Kit, what happened?” I whispered and crouched near her.
“I’ll be fine in a couple of days, Jericho. Let it go, okay?”
“Let what go, Kit? You look like you’ve been beaten.”
“I was. It was a test. They put me and one of the guys from B block in a ring, said the first one knocked out would spend a week in the Box. I dropped him. And the next three. Then I was allowed to shower and rest. I’m not in the Box and I don’t have any broken bones, so I’m good.”
My anger flared and the growl that spilled free made her flinch. “Sorry, I’m not upset with you, Kit.”
“Gideon has two broken ribs. Kane broke a thumb and a finger. I don’t know about Rico.”
I opened the bottle of juice and handed it to her. “Take a few sips. Have you eaten anything?”
She couldn’t sit up to drink the juice so I helped her.
“No, I hurt too much to eat.”
“I’ll check on the others and then I’ll get food and drinks for all of you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to stop this.”
“I don’t think you could have, Jer. They said it was because we let those trafficking girls go free.”
I set the bottle of juice on her bedside table and got to my feet. “Just rest. Did they give you pain pills?”
“No,” Kit said. “And I didn’t ask. But if you want to get me something for the pain and a muscle relaxer, I’d be grateful.”
I left Kit’s room and checked on Gideon and Kane. They were in similar condition. I left them each some fruit and chocolate, then went to Rico’s cell. He lay on his bed, a book in hand and an empty pint of ice cream on his side table.
“Hey, Rico,” I said as I tapped on his door. “Doing okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, why do you ask?” Rico said.
“I ask because the rest of the team that stayed behind, are all beat to shit and suffering. Yet, you’re here with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and not a bruise on you.”
“Huh. Imagine that,” Rico said, his sarcasm made my already strong suspicions into solid proof.
“Yeah, imagine that,” I replied, voice cold. “Imagine this, too. I find you’re behind them all being abused, and you’ll find out how difficult it is to breathe with your head shoved up your ass.”
Rico just laughed and jerked his head at his door. “Get out of my cell, Dante. You lay a hand on me and they’ll make the rest of your short, miserable life even more miserable.”
I left his cell before I snapped his neck, and no, I didn’t leave him fruit or chocolate, either. At least now I had undeniable proof of who the mole in our group had been. It also made me wonder if he’d missed that shot back in Afghanistan on purpose, so Aden would get taken out.
It made me wonder about a lot of things.
* * *
Four days had passed and the team healed slowly. Faster than the average human, but still too slow for my liking – or theirs. I’d managed to get food and medical attention for each of them as they needed it. I even got a curtain rod and a blackout curtain for Kit’s bed corner. That way, she could sleep on the mattress on the frame and not on the floor. With her injuries, it was hard for her to get up off the floor and she couldn’t sleep in the open. When the doc said it was a medical necessity for her to have it, she finally got it. It cost me a session with the testing team, but for my family, I’d do anything.
Cutter and I took shifts. We stayed awake and on protection duty for our team. Everyone except Rico. In fact, when he was out of his cell, we moved all of his things to the farthest end away from everyone and put Kane in Rico’s old cell. Sure, he bitched about it when he came back and found his stuff dumped in the middle of the darkest, coldest cell in the block, but one look at our faces and he shut up. He was persona non grata and he knew it.
It was my shift to watch and listen, and I had my lights off as I lay in my cot. I had been practicing with my hearing, seeing if I could tell who snored or rolled over, which tech was cursing at the printer, stuff like that. Yeah, I was bored, but it was fun to stretch my abilities and see if I could push them further.
It must’ve been close to midnight when I heard the footsteps of two men.
“Dr. Locke, I am done playing games with you. This is not how I saw this proceeding,” Dr. Thorpe said.
I knew Dr. Alan Thorpe, but I had only heard of Dr. Locke’s existence. I had not yet met him.
“Well, then. Maybe you should have been more specific about how you wanted things to go? Or maybe you should just realize that you had no idea of what you were creating?”
That voice had to be Locke’s, since I didn’t hear any other people in the corridors.
“I created this because of my son. Michael killed himself because he couldn’t bear to live without his arm and legs. His hearing, eyesight, and will to live were taken by that IED. I wanted to keep other parents from having to deal with the kind of loss Milly and I have suffered.”
“How charming. Heart-warming even. And how blind,” Locke said. “You created the perfect killing machines and we had them give up any connection with their families in order to get their new bodies. So, those you supposedly saved so their families wouldn’t suffer your loss, have suffered for never having a body to bury.”
Thorpe sucked in a breath and I heard his feet shuffle.
“That’s it, Dr. Thorpe. Go ahead and have a heart attack and join the rest of your family in Forest Hills Cemetery.”
The sound of a hand slapping flesh rang out and Locke snarled. “Do that again and I’ll snap your old neck. I think it’s time you retire, Doctor, before you die at your desk.”
“Now you’re threatening me?” Thorpe said.
“No threats, Doc. Just promises. I suggest you get yourself retired before you get yourself dead, Thorpe. The rest of us are done tiptoeing around your archaic rules and morals.”
I heard the sound of Locke walking away, then a door opened and closed.
A few moments later, I heard Thorpe speak again. “Jericho, you heard that, yes?”
I got to my feet and moved towards the glass wall where the tray holes were. “I did, Dr. Thorpe.”
He walked towards my cell and paused at the corner where he could stand in the shadows. “It’s not safe for them to see us talking. Grab a book and sit on the floor near the corner here and look like you’re reading.”
I grabbed the latest Tigner novel and slid down the wall as I opened the book. “Okay, Doc.”
“I’m going to retire, but not because of Locke. My health is failing and it’s time. But I wanted to tell someone what was going on.”
“Okay, but Dr. Thorpe, did you really insist that we tell our families we were dead in order to get this treatment?”
“For the first few, we did. We didn’t know how it was going to work or how long it would take. Then Locke and his friends got on the board and made it a mandatory thing just before we were about to release the first survivors back to their families.”
I could hear the anger and frustration in his tone as he spoke. It wasn’t like we got close to those that made us or housed us, not really. There were a few that I managed to be somewhat cordial with, but mostly it was us and them, in my mind. Dr. Thorpe’s words were changing that for me.
“My son, Michael, came back from Iraq so badly damaged, he couldn’t stand his existence. He killed himself. It broke my wife’s heart, and she died a couple of years later. For me? It made me work harder on finding a way to fix the damage. I’m sorry that it has cost you and the others so very much. I’m going to do what I can to try and help from the outside. I’ve set some things up on the inside that Locke and his cohorts don’t know about, but I’ll be able to do a lot more out there, than I can accomplish in here. I will fix this, Jericho, or die trying.”
“I’d rather you didn’t die, Dr. Thorpe, and I appreciate you talking to me like this.”
“Before you go out on your next group mission, a virus will go off in the server farm. Dr. Zahn and his assistant will have to remove the tracking chips. I suggest you take advantage of the situation.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I smiled. “That is some of the best news I’ve heard in a while. Thank you. Oh, and Dr. Thorpe? I’m sorry for your loss and appreciate what you tried to do.”
“Thank you for saying that, Jericho. I wish you and yours the best. If all goes well, I hope we can reconnect down the road.”
I listened as his footsteps moved away, then I heard a door open and close. I stayed where I was for a while, not reading, just thinking. This was the chance we had waited for, and I knew damned well we were going to run when it happened. I just had to make sure we had somewhere to run to.
The next morning, no one came to bring breakfast, but the cells were unlocked so we could access the showers and the common room. The team slowly trickled in to the commons and got coffee or juice from the vending machine. About an hour later, Meyers came to the door of the commons and set a tray of wrapped breakfast sandwiches and fruit on the table, then left.
Cutter got up and passed out food to everyone, even Rico, while we talked quietly or just ate.
“Okay, team,” I said and got to my feet. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we need to stick to our routine for now. Finish up, and we’ll head to the training block and start working. We’ve got to stay on top of things and we’re at our best when we’re fighting ready. Let’s go.”
Everyone cleaned up their wrappers and cups, and headed to the door. There was a passage that led from each cell block to the training facility, and since most of our areas were underground, they left the connections unlocked during the day. None of the teams could go topside or leave the Facility proper without permission. We were watched via our tracking chips whether we were out on a mission, or out running on the Facility’s property. If what Thorpe had said really did happen – then it was our best chance to finally escape.
We had lockers in the training facility and some of us used them for things other than our sweats and gear. I had a couple of books in mine that I’d bought while out on missions, and while I knew the idea of personal belongings in this place was stupid, I at least tried to keep them safe. So, yeah, I was surprised to find one of my books on top of my folded clothes and towel. My copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was in plain sight while my collection of Butcher’s Dresden Chronicles remained hidden at the back, under the rest of my stuff. I used my body to block line of sight and flipped through the book. An envelope slid out and I shoved the book deep once more while I gathered up the envelope in the bundle of sweatpants and running shoes. Adept at hiding what I did from the cameras, I managed to get dressed and read the contents of the envelope. A letter from Thorpe that explained that he would be retiring officially today and that before he left he would set in motion the failure of the servers. It would take about a week before the destruction could be noticed and that we’d know it was time when we heard about the trackers being ‘upgraded’. He also left me a bit more info that I memorized before I flushed the shredded letter.
Once changed, I caught up with Cutter and Kane as they warmed up to lift weights.
“I have an idea of what’s going on. Dr. Thorpe retired and Locke is planning to take over.”
Cutter grunted while Kane sighed. “We’re fucked,” Kane said.
“I don’t think so. Maybe in the short term, but next chance I get, I’ll give you some info. Let the other’s know what’s happening so they don’t worry, please.”
Both men nodded and I moved over to the treadmill to start my circuit.
A quick stretch and I was soon at a steady pace, my attention on the room as my team was slowly clued in. I heard a snort of amusement from the elliptical next to me and I didn’t bother to glance over as I flipped off the machine’s occupant. “I’m not trying to break any records, Z, so let it go.”
“You heard about Thorpe?” Z said.
“Yeah. He said Locke is taking over,” I said.
“And we thought it sucked now. Wait until that prick gets his hands on all of the power. We’ll be dying faster than hummingbirds in a blizzard.”
“You got plans?” I asked.
“Every plan we’ve come up with, fails on the implants.”
My pace stayed steady as I thought about what I knew. “What if I had a way around that?”
Z stopped his movement and turned to look at me. “Don’t you be shitting me, boy. I’m not in any mood to deal with games.”
I glanced his way and then looked back ahead. “I’m not shitting you, Z.”
“How?”
“Thorpe did it. He said it’d take a few weeks but we’d know when they started calling people in to swap out the chips.”
“And they’ll swap the newbies first because they’re the most likely to rabbit,” Z said as he started up once more.
“I hear you and your crew are supposed to join us on this big mission coming up,” I said. “Let’s talk about it more then.”
“Works for me,” Z replied. “I’ll let Affie and Paulo know.”
“Careful. They got to one of mine. We don’t need this blowing up in our faces.”
“Roger that.”
Kit came by and handed me a bottle of water. I chuckled at how she looked with nose plugs in and she shrugged. I used to wear them, but I’d learned how to filter the smells of sweat and dirty socks that filled the gym. Kit was only about three years into dealing with all of this.
I watched as Kit gave Z a respectful nod and moved away. Everyone knew that Z, Affie and Paulo were the only survivors of the first batch. They were the senior team and while there were a couple of others that were older in calendar years, these three were all in their late thirties-early forties and had been at the Facility for almost ten years. Over time, they’d managed to bond as a triad and even shared a cell. I wondered if Locke would let that continue or try and break them up.
A moment later, I felt oddly psychic as Affie ran into the gym and over to Z.
“They moved our stuff,” Affie said. Her brown hair was cut short and showed a bit of gray, but she was still a fit 5’5” fighter.
“What do you mean, they moved our stuff?” Z asked.
“Your stuff and mine have been moved to two different cells. They’re not letting the three of us stay together.” Affie’s face was pale, and she looked more frightened than angry.
Z’s large hands cupped her face and he kissed her before he spoke. “Aphrodite, I swear that no one here will separate us. We might sleep in separate rooms for a bit, but you are my heart.”
“Zeus, Apollo i
s…stressed. We need to go be with him,” Affie said.
Z nodded and took her hand, then stopped near me. “I hope you’re right, Jericho,” he said.
“I hope I am, too.” I told them and watched as they walked away. Huh. Zeus, Aphrodite, and Apollo. Well, the nicknames made more sense now. I just hoped that Thorpe’s plans played out in our favor.
Chapter Six
“Today, on the News at Noon, we have Vice President Wilson in a live interview from his compound on Wilson Island off the coast of Maryland.”
I reached for the remote and turned up the volume. “Yo, front and center,” I called out. Cutter and Kane had been in the hallway while I had paperwork and reports spread out on the table in the commons. While the guys found their seats, I stacked the paperwork and listened to the newscaster. By the time she’d gone through the usual spiel of introductions and pleasantries, the rest of the team had settled around the table, eyes on the screen. Our Watchers knew we watched the broadcast and considered current events something we should be aware of, to “ensure task success in the real world”. Yeah, that was a direct quote. My attention shifted to the camera in the corner of the room, and I smiled before my gaze went back to the television.
“When it comes to the way science has changed our world, there have been many positive advancements and nearly as many detrimental ones,” Wilson explained to the Barbie copy that sat across the table from him. “Advances in medical science have prolonged life and cured diseases that decimated the population just fifty years ago, yet medical experimentation has stepped into a realm that truly only belongs to God.”
“Please explain what you mean, Vice President Wilson?” the woman asked politely.
I got a sick feeling in my stomach and glanced over at Cutter, then Kane. Wilson’s buddies had not been happy with us, and now we were going to pay.
“The government has funded one particular program that, when I am President, I will shut down immediately.” Wilson’s gaze was on the camera now, and it seemed like he was sharing a secret and a promise with the people who watched him. “We are not God. We should not be tampering with matters of creation. The purity of the human race was designed by the Lord God, and is inviolate. He created man in his image after separately creating the “beasts in the fields”. By mingling the genetics of man with beasts, man is weakened. Lessened. This turns man from the face of God.”
