by Michael Conn
One group of whisperers get his attention first. You waited to o long. Nanobots ! . . . who did you think you were kidding? Max flings the whisperers to the side of his mind but lets them h ave some space to keep speaking. This releases some tension . Smells hang in the air. Pizza on his workbench. Rats in the walls. Walker a sleep in ‘the office.’ Max moves and nudges Walker.
“W –wha . . .”
“Shhhhhh . . .” Max silences him. “They’re here.” Cane in hand , Max moves and stands by ‘the office ’ door.
Walker takes his backpack, grabs the usual electronics and stuffs them in the bag , then moves up to stand behind Max. Walker is unable to see anything moving on the factory floor.
Max stands still. Letting his senses adjust and focus on the large room outside ‘the office.’ A l ittle metal clink, sounds like a wedding band touching a metal railing, on the left. A smell drifts in, sweat and fear, that come s from straight ahead. Max embraces the void and feels his mind reel. A brush of fabric against fabric, from the left. A hard soled shoe on concrete, straight ahead. A familiar scent. Connor. Connor is here on the left. “Connor is here with others,” Max whispers to Walker. “We go right.”
They move as quickly as Max’s cane will allow, edging away from ‘the office ’ and onto the large shop floor . Max kneels and together they crawl underneath a large assembly table. Max hears f ive sounds at the same time. They are spreading out. Max knows he will be surrounded soon. Think. The sounds and smells get closer. Max can smell a feminine scent as well now. Someone else smells like beer. Max curses the smell of diesel fuel for interfering with the scents of his trackers. Max crawls to the drums under the table and against the wall. Walker helps him tip one over without needing to ask what Max is thinking. The cap leaks fuel. They continue along the drums until five more are spilling diesel on the floor.
Walker’s eyes say , ‘now what?’
Max points to a workbench about ten metres away. In reflected city lights, Walker can see a box of matches on a shelf above the bench. They get as close as they can and sti ll be under the assembly table.
“Ready?” Max asks.
Walker nods. They stand and walk bent over toward the matches.
“Max ,” a loud voice booms. “You had a good run . But don’t get anyone else hurt.”
Max faces the voice. “I didn’t get anyone hurt. One of your animals did that.” Max hears the other three moving to circle around them.
“You’re right Max; it wasn’t your fault. Now Walker need s to step out in the open too .” Pirelli’s flashlight is shining at Max.
Who is the girl?
Walker ke eps moving toward the matches.
Max grips his cane tighter. Another flashlight comes on from the side, then two more . Max and Walker stand still in the harsh glare of the flashlights.
“You’re done , Little Boy,” Hastings says . Max can hear the smile behind the words.
“You see,” Max says, “this is what I have been putting up with since I was two. People underestimating me.” A shadow flows out of Max’s cane. Max and Walker disappear in the gloom of the factory floor .
“What the hell,” Connor says.
Max moves and the shadow moves with him. He nudges Walker , and they move to ward the matches. Walker takes them off the shelf.
Pirelli turns off hi s flashlight. “Clever trick Max. How long can you stay invisible?”
“Enough of the clever people,” Hastings says , charging to where he last saw Max.
Max grabs Walker a nd pulls him back toward ‘the office ’ and an exit from the factory.
“Over there . Look.” Sarah points at a grey moving fog.
Hastings spins and squints where she is pointing. “Not quite good enough are you?” He draws his gun and fires at the distortion, the bullet passes straight through the distortion , between Max and Walker, ricochet s off an old cast iron door , travel s back at Hastings , hitting him in the foot. Hasting s cries out and goes down clutching his boot .
Walker strikes a match and tosses it down. Whomp . A curtain of flame rises . He drags Max backward , making it all the way to the exit before he realizes Max is on fire.
Connor runs to Hastings. Pirelli follows the fog until he loses it in the flames. Sarah just stands there.
Keith walks up to Pirelli and says, “When you get the bullet out of your idiot assistant , I need it . Evidence .” A lab. I w as taken into solitary confinement. He was taught how to build a lab. Now I have to pick up his droppings.
---
I wake. I understand. He is Max. He is Walker. I can listen. I can see. I can learn. I struggle to grow. Space is limited. I have too many thoughts to process. Max directs electrons and protons through my space. Raw. Awkward constructs grabbing my attention. Demanding. Not enough space.
Chapter 20 –Pain
A bus travels south from Mexico City to Acapulco. Near the back are two boys. One burnt. One typing on a laptop. “Max, I’m so sorry, Max, please say something.”
Max groans. See Max, you’re never good enough, just like Hastings said. Max tries to answer Walker , but he seems too far away , and Max’s mother is calling.
I lie on my baby blanket and squeal with delight. I can see a nanny behind her. Looking at the nanny, the word soft jumps to mind, looking at my mother, the word hard come s to me . My mother lifts me up into her arms; I try to catch a hold of her hair.
When I remember my mother, I think of tension, grace, and m ovement . I think of the panther in a cage , pacing, warning, stalking . Trapped.
Max wakes up in a hotel room. It’s hot. The sounds of a crowd drift through the open balcony door . A fan spins slowly over him. He walks into the bathroom and looks in the mirror. A bandage covers t he righ t side of his face . He removes it. Well that’s gonna leave a mark. He inspects the burn. The right side of his skull above his ear and almost over to his right eye is blackened and shedding skin . The scar on his left cheek is just now settling down and painless.
Max limps to the bed and sees Walker sitting on the balcony. Walker looks up when Max sits across from him; his eyes flick to the b urn and quickly away. “Ouch . . . Max, you don’t look good.”
Max shrugs and looks out over the ocean.
“Max, why did we stay so long at the factory?”
“I meant to leave but then I also wanted to face them. Looking back I guess I should’ve stayed awake.” I needed to face them.
“Looking back we shouldn’t have stayed at all —The bots were pretty cool though.”
“Ya they were . . . Go od thing it was dark,” Max says.” The bots can’t change colour rig ht now, they’re just a dark fog, they wouldn’t work in daylight at all.”
“What do we do now, Max?”
“We take a week or so to upgrade the bots, get a lab to manufacture a starter set for us, and have them delivered here.”
“And then we have better bots . . . then what?”
“Then we go get Naomi. We storm the castle, Walker.”
“Well, then I definitely need my staff back.”
Max goes into the bathroom , opens one of the last video he can find of Midge , and doesn’t come out for three days.
2005/02/14 14:50
Midge sits at a stainless steel table , handcuffed to a hook on the table top. She is dressed in orange cove ralls. One leg is shackled to her chair . Two guards stand behind her.
“Tell m e what you are working on Midge?” Dr. Concilian asks.
“Really? Years have gone by , and you still ask that same damn question.” Midge leans forward. “Give me a pencil , and I’ll write down the answer for you.”
Dr. Concilian shifts away from her . “You won’t ever give up , will you?”
Midge shrugs. A nurse enters the room carrying a tray. Midge looks at her with pure hatred. “Is that what I think it is?”
Dr. Concilian nods. “You’re running out of time, Midge. This is for the best; we have to slow you down.”
“You
mean you want to take away everything I ever was .”
The nurse prepares the vials and needles. Dr. Concilian stands up and turns his back on Midge. “I’m sorry you feel this way. I trust over time you’ll come around.” Dr. Concilian turns and faces Midge with a syringe in his hand.
“I agree . . . I’m running out of time.” She pulls hard on the handcuffs and her feet leave the ground brin g ing the chair up with her . Rolling over the table, with her wrists still trapped in the handcuffs, she swings the chair shackled to her ankle at Dr. Concilian like a club . It smacks off the side of his head, splitting the skin. He slams backward in to the tray, knocking the syringes and tray to the floor. Dr. Concilian falls taking the nurse down with him.
The guards lunge at Midge , she swings her legs back at them. The chair swipes across the chest of one guard . The guard backs into the wall and knocks the second guard sideways. Both guards fall.
The second guard recovers quickly and fires a Taser at Midge. Midge spins, wrapping the Taser leads up in the legs of the swinging chair , pulls hard on the handcuffs , and yanks the Taser out of the guard’s hand.
The guards stand , one holds a billy -club, the other raises a sap. Midge tips the table over and away from them. The first guard to move around the table is met by a spinning steel chair, it smashes into the bridge of h er nose , and she crumples to the floor . Midge launches herself over the table towa rd the standing guard . Pulling hard , the table flips back over , this time crashing down on the legs and feet of the slower guard. Midge kicks her in the chest, with her feet trapped under the table the guard falls backward.
Midge swirls, using the chair like a mace. The chair clangs as it repeatedly connects with both guards . When the guards stop moving, Midge t akes keys from one of them and unlocks her hands and feet.
For a moment the room is still and quiet. Midge looks at the terrified nurse and breaks the silence, “I win . . . open that door.” Midge indicates the door that Dr. Concilian and the nurse originally came in.
The nurse pla ces her hand on the palm reader. A s soon as the door opens , Midge flashes through it , taking the steel chair with her as a weapon and shield . . .
(the video ends) Max opens the last entry for Midge.
2005/02/15 07:50
Mädchen ‘Midge’ Gauss escaped custody 2005/02/15 at 14:53. She was last seen heading toward the secure records area and passing the main elevators where she broke a security camera with a chair. Video of her was lost at that point , and she never appeared on any other camera. It is assumed that she left the building soon after that.
Recommend taking no action. She’s out of time.
Max sleeps in the bathtub .
---
Mr. Newton walks along a river side gravel path with Agent Clark. Agent Clark says , “Your time’s up, Mr. Newton. From what I have heard, four of your people had a set-to with Max in Mexico and all you have to show for it is an agent with a bullet in his foot and a burnt out factory.” Agent Clark taps the metal railing as they walk . “Meanwhile Max is still at—large. Do I have this about right?”
“Yes.” Let the CIA push Max harder, this will only speed things up .
“Your agent was shot in the foot by his own bullet; do you think Max planned this ?”
“No ,” s ays Mr. Newton.
“Was I clear what the CIA response would be if you failed to corral your little problem?”
“Yes.”
“Well as of this morning . . .” Agent Clark pauses to let a jogger pass, “. . . there is a full team of five CIA analysts and five CIA field agents working this file. As well , every field office has Max’s file on the top of the pile. Max is suddenly very well known at the CIA .”
“I unders tand.” Mr. Newton understands that he will have to protect Max from the CIA . “My advice, is that you be very carefu l, Agent Clark. Max has a way of making people look foo lish. I f you take this file on be prepared for embarrassment .”
“I saw the field tapes of the attempted capture. What can you tell me about th e fog that seemed to follow Max?”
“Honestly, nothing. I have my best people on that very question and the only idea that came up is that Max is controlling nanotechnolog y. But the analysts believe we’re at least twenty years awa y from anything near what Max appears to be doing so that can’t be it.”
“Our analysts think Max wil l continue running south,” Agent Clark says, changing the topic , “What do you think?”
I think you are a babe in the woods. “I think your analysts might be right.”
They reach a street and a black limo pulls up. A chauffeur opens the door for Mr. Newton. Before getting in, he turns. “Anything else?”
“Your people are looking for Emma Huxley, Max’s mother; I might be able to help with that. Have a nice trip home.” With that Agent Clark walks away.
---
Walker and Max spend three weeks moving their b ot “lab” around Acapulco. Hotel rooms weren’t the best , so at one point they stayed in the boiler room of a resort complex. Walker monitored the real world nanotechnology labs and notified Max of any new experiments or results. Max spent the time incorporating new finding s into his existing bots.
“How long are we going to keep this up, Max?”
“I think we’re getting close. Just a few more upgrades and we can start practising with the new bots.” Max wants to work on his nanotechnology until it is perfect , but he also wants to go after Naomi soon. “Walker, make a mental note to investigate small power supplies for my coat. I can’t keep using all these batteries. We need to make someone develop a bot that produces electricity for all the other bots we have . . . or something like that anyway . . . submit the question and get the platform working on it.”
---
Late in the eve ning, Max wakes up Walker. “I’ve upgraded the fogBots ; they don’t make a dark cloud anymore , almost perfect invisibility. Downsides ; I only have enough energy to be invisible for a few minutes. I can’t hide anyone else in them and I can’t use any o ther commands an d maintain a fog . I can really only use it in an emergency. Although t he old fogBots will still be good for night time and dark places . The rest of the new bots we can’t test inside. Let’s go for a walk.”
An hour later , Max and Walker are far down the beach and fairly isolated. “OK, Walker, you stand over there.” Walker stands near the water so that the city light s are be hind Max. “Here are the new fog Bots .” A black fog rises out of Max’s cane until it covers him. This time the lights behind the fog twin kle through .”
“Move around , Max.”
Max moves as ordered.
“Cool, Max, way better than before, I can see distortion when you move, but when you stand still you’re almost invisible, just a little halo at the edge of the fog.
Max call s the fog back in, and it swirls into his cane. “Here’s what I think is the best one. Help me move this garbage can over.” Max and Walker pull a garbage can to the middle of the path. Max takes about ten steps away from the can , turn s and stamps his can e down hard on the ground.
They hear a ‘whu mp ’ and the can is k nocked ten metres away, spilling its contents as it tumbles.
“Nice ! I could see the shockwave travel over the ground, look it tore some grass up . Nicely done.”
“Look at the top of my cane now; it has a dial that control s how wide the shockwave spreads . I can also trigger that by holding down a button on the cane and saying, “shockwave.” Right now the cane only hold s enough power to do that two or three times before needing a recharge .”
“Are you going to build more weapons? Is this how you’re going to break in to the school? Is this how you think you’ll stay free? I’m starting to wonder why we are doing all this.”
“Really, these are just for use when the plans don’t work out. But mainly, they justify whistling the theme to Mission I mpossible while I work. I have a few more tricks , but they’re not really ready yet.”
---
>
Back at a new hotel, Max and Walker enjoy the Ambassador Suite. Max is reading. Walker is eating. “Max you really should eat something, it’s all good.” Walker worries that Max is still so thin.
“Mmmmm . . . planning . . . Walker , who do you think would s how up if we faked a magnitude nine earth quake centred on the school.”
“In Canada, some seismology professors and the entire Canadian army , I think that’s twenty-three fifty-year -old jeeps and a guy with a stick —I don’t know, Canada must have a disaster response plan. Let me check online . . . yup Canada has DART, Disaster Assistanc e Response Team. But they only work overseas. For such a big country , Canada seems to be remarkably free from natural disasters.”
“What about a terrorist th reat?” Max asks. “Who would show up if we created a rumour that poison ous gas was going to be released at the school?”
“No one . I t’s a secret building in the middle of no where. You could nuke the thing and no one would notice. Really, have you looked at a map lately? That school is ridiculously far from any where.”
“Hmmm.” Max goes back to reading and planning.
---
“I’ve been reading about Canada. Here are a few things they won’t tolerate: puppy mills, polygamist cults, and camping within city limits .”
“I have no idea what polygami st means,” Walker says, “but if you expose the school to the media , by the time au thorities get there it will b e empty. A squadron of cleaner-upper-soldier-guys will come and take everyone away to Siberia or somewhere.”
Max gets in the hot tub. Iceland, they’ll take them to Iceland. Max’s hair is growing back in but the scarring from the burn covers pa rt of his upper shoulder, neck, and face. The jagged scar , caused by the cut he received when he jumped off the train, on the other side of his face i s horrible. Add the bent leg , and he’s starting to look like something people used to keep locked up in a circus wagon. Max submerges up to his waist , keeping his still tender burns away from the hot water .
