by Ian Rodgers
Zane swallowed nervously but held his tongue. The middle-aged agent narrowed his eyes before rolling them and walking out of the room. Immediately afterwards two more entered.
These agents were just mooks in Zane’s opinion, since all they’d done since he’d gotten to this penitentiary was escort him to and fro. Now was no different, and the pair of bland government drones led the young coder down sterile hallways and eventually into a loading bay where a large armored truck was waiting.
“Get in.”
Zane complied wordlessly, clambering into the large rear end holding part of the vehicle. He had a bit of trouble due to his hands still being bound but he managed to get inside without any outside help.
Once inside the doors slammed shut and with a clunk a large deadbolt slid into place, effectively barring any escape. There was a hatch on the far side where the driver and guard would be, but it was closed.
In no time at all a rumble signaled the activation of the engine and Zane leaned back to endure the ride. The metal bench he was sitting on was not very pleasant on his posterior.
“So, are you driving me cross country, or are we getting on a plane at any point?” Zane asked, tired of the silence.
“Quiet back there.”
“I’m just curious,” Zane said. Any grumbling on his part was cut off as the truck jerked to a stop and he barely avoided braining himself as he tumbled to the floor.
“What the hell?!” He shouted, struggling to his feet. No answer. Only a shout from the driver’s spot and a burst of static followed by sizzling and a squeal.
Silence. Then the odd scent of bacon wafted into the back of the transport.
“Clunk.”
Zane spun around, staring as the deadbolt on the doors unlocked. He remained unmoving though, not trusting this to be a trick of some kind. The agents hadn’t done anything like this before, but there was a first time for everything.
“Well? What are you waiting for, get out of there!” a voice laced with static called out from the other side.
“Rob?”
“That is my name, don’t wear it out.”
Zane rushed over and kicked the doors open, jumping slightly as they impacted the sides of the vehicle and caused the armored truck to shudder. A wide smile split his face as he stared at the floating robotic eye that was before him.
“Rob? What are you doing here?” Zane asked as he stepped out of the truck’s backseat. He was vaguely aware of trees and lush greenery around, so the armored transport was apparently in a wooded area. He could also see out of the corner of his eyes the unmoving shapes of the two agents who’d escorted him out of the facility, and been his drivers.
“Well, that’s a bit of a story,” Rob said as it floated over to one of the men –merely unconscious, thankfully – and stripped his suit off before passing it to Zane.
“See, two days ago I was hiding in the fields, waiting for the medicine’s delivery. And it came on time and in perfect condition!”
“So what was the problem?”
“I detected a Planetary Alliance spy drone following the shipment, and I was only able to notice it because the shipping drone’s gravity bubble disrupted its own stealth field.”
Zane blinked. Then went pale. “They’re on their way, then?”
“Oh yes. I’d give it just a few days before the Alliance officers arrive.” When Zane looked at the droid, wondering how it knew that, Rob coughed awkwardly.
“I may have zoomed up to the spy drone, tackled it out of the sky, and ripped it open to obtain all the info I could…”
“Geez, Rob!”
“I panicked! What else could I have done?!” the droid protested. Zane took a calming breath as he got dressed in the stolen uniform.
“OK. OK, that’s fine, no need to worry. You came to rescue you me, didn’t you? Thanks.”
“No problem, Zane. You’re a friend. Here, these are yours.” Rob passed over three items: car keys, likely belonging to the truck Rob had hijacked. An injector module that probably contained Veronica’s anti-cancer drug. And finally, the alien medal from his father’s foot locker.
“I figured we might be able to use the medal as a bargaining chip,” Rob explained when his human friend looked over in confusion. “Since it belonged to a member of FIST, and was likely freely given, you may have a potential ally who’d vouch for you on behalf of your grandfather. Couldn’t hurt, right?”
Zane shook his head and smiled before climbing into the truck’s driver’s seat.
“Come on, Rob. Let’s get to LA.”
Chapter 21
“How did he escape?!” a furious man shouted at a pair of shamefaced agents, one of whom was dressed only in undershirt and boxers.
“We don’t know. The GPS was on the fritz and we received garbled instructions to pull over from someone on our frequency. We did so in the middle of the woods as ordered, but this floating eyeball appeared and zapped us with a Taser. We then woke up on the side of the road,” the fully dressed agent revealed.
“Floating eyeball? What the Hell were you two smoking beforehand?” The director sighed, dismissing the pair with a wave of his hand. As they left the man looked over the various reports on his desk.
Zane Pendon: Twenty seven years old and working as a coder at an IT firm based in Chicago. Moved out to Colorado after his grandfather’s death and inherited the house. Single, few friends, a younger sister with a niece and a nephew. No criminal records on file save for a pair of speeding tickets a few years back.
So how had he gotten highly advanced technology and then escaped federal custody and, if his two dunderheaded agents were any clue, in possession of a stolen government prison transport.
“Have we traced the truck’s location yet?” the director asked the other man in the room. Agent Frank Denver stepped forward, that same knowing smile on his face.
“Not yet. Whoever is helping Mr. Pendon is clearly adept with technology. They disabled the GPS tracking system, and we think they have changed the license plates on the truck as well since they aren’t appearing in any cameras.”
“Damn it!” The director snarled, holding back the urge to pound his desk.
“Don’t worry sir. We might not be able to track them, but we do know where they’re going.”
The director looked up at Agent Denver in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Veronica Pendon is currently a patient at the St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital in LA. And from what I have investigated, Zane Pendon is nothing if not loyal to his family.”
“But why would he go to them? Surely he couldn’t think they could hide him, he seemed far too intelligent for that,” the director mused, running a hand through his hair.
“Most of the money our fugitive made went towards ensuring his sister’s treatments, and his family’s comfort. Now, what if he somehow possessed some kind of technology he believed could help cure his sister? I believe whoever is helping Zane Pendon may have something like that, and he would hurry to his sister’s side to heal her,” Agent Denver said.
“Alright, that makes sense. We have no other leads at the moment, so I’m ordering you to round up a few other agents and head on down to LA to stand watch. I’ll join you once I’ve made a report to DC and Langley.”
Frank Denver saluted before heading out, an eager smile stretching across his face. The chase was on!
“Brrr! Did you turn on the A/C, Rob?” Zane asked a shiver ran down his spine all of a sudden.
“No, I didn’t. Now, you’ll want to take a left at the next exit. It’ll allow us to cut off the highway while still keeping decent time,” the droid instructed as it ran through the onboard GPS, checking for the best routes to take.
Of course, the tracking system had been disabled earlier, and more recently transferred into a car that had cut them off a few miles back.
“I still cannot believe we’ve made such good time. Never done the trip to LA from New Mexico, either,” Zane mentioned as he drove. He shi
fted a bit, trying to get some feeling back into his rump.
They’d been driving for hours now after Rob had helped Zane escape. He’d been held in a facility in Albuquerque for some reason, which had been a long trek for the droid. Sand and delicate hardware do not mix well.
Rob, being a metallic eyeball of alien origins, was lying on the floor of the passenger’s seat in an attempt to stay out of sight. He had a tendril lodged in one of the sockets on the dashboard, manipulating the delicate technology within. Not to mention he had hacked into the various stoplights and ensured they’d all turned green for their stolen transport, while also making sure the various cameras scattered around the country did not register them.
“How much further?” Zane asked. It was getting dark, and as much as he wanted to keep driving he felt himself growing tired.
“We just passed Phoenix, Arizona, and it’ll be another hour or so before we reach the California border,” Rob said. “Are you feeling tired?”
“Somewhat. The facility they’d been holding me in was decent, and they let me sleep and eat, but it was about as pleasant as airline food, or sleeping on a plane,” Zane stated.
“After taking the exit, I’ll guide you to a spot we can lie low for the evening before continuing on in the morning. It’s a gorge that’s on the outskirts of a national park. We can hide in there, and you can grab some real food and rest.”
Zane nodded happily before checking the dashboard. It declared it was five eleven pm. Definitely time to take a break. He looked back to the road and blinked in confusion.
Some of his grandfather’s words came back to him all of a sudden. ‘Unfortunately, no plan survives contact with the enemy.’
“Hey, Rob, is that Agent Denver?” Zane pointed a finger a man who was standing by the side of the road, smiling disarmingly at all the traffic going by. As soon as the agent saw the truck they were in his smile grew wider and he pulled out a walkie-talkie.
Curious, the drone peaked up slightly before immediately hiding again.
“Oh shit!”
“Language!”
“No time for niceties, Zane!” Rob shouted. Lights began to flash behind them and a siren began to blare.
“How did he find us?! He couldn’t be tracking the truck, I disabled the chip! And I made sure none of the cameras were working as we passed them!”
“Worry about that later, we have a fleet of police on our ass!” Zane shouted.
At least half a dozen state police cars were coming after them, sirens blaring and lights flashing.
“Make it to the border! If we get past they cannot arrest us!” Rob shouted, hastily cycling through various maps and routes for a way to escape.
“What if he has men on the other side of the border waiting for us?”
“Then we go off road! Take a hard right and hold onto something!” the droid declared.
Zane complied, swinging the large, cumbersome vehicle over the edge of the road. The dip wasn’t that bad, only an inch or two, and after some jostling the armored truck was zooming across dry, dusty earth, leaving the highway behind.
“No rest for the wicked,” Zane mused sadly as a sign that said ‘Rest Stop’ vanished into the distance.
“Put the pedal to the metal and complain later! I just picked up a radio frequency,” Rob said. “It’s that government goon who arrested you. He’s calling in back-up to this position, as well as a barricade to prevent us getting into California. Oh, and a helicopter. He’s summoning one of those too.”
Zane swore colorfully and loudly, and the TI didn’t have the heart to scold him. Mostly because it too was swearing, but in binary.
“Any ideas?”
“Keep driving, and whatever you do, don’t stop.”
The fugitive human nodded before glancing at the case that contained his sister’s survival. He gripped the steering wheel. The chase was on.
“Thank whatever gods exist they aren’t shooting at us,” Rob stated. They were within half an hour of Los Angeles’ city limits, and so far the chase had grown into epic proportions.
On the radio, Zane listened with amusement about how dozens of police and government agents and vehicles had tried and failed to stop a single armored truck. It was being hailed as the ‘single greatest vehicular manhunt in decades,’ and Zane was faintly proud of that fact.
With Rob accessing all the data he could, it was fairly easy to dodge the much faster cars and avoid to a degree the high flying choppers. But it was getting harder and harder to do so. The highway was becoming clogged with other drivers, and going off road to get to LA only went so far.
Yes, Zane had to agree with Rob that the only silver lining was that their stolen transport was not being shot at.
“How much time till we reach the hospital?”
“Forty minutes without traffic. I’ll manipulate the stoplights for us, but don’t expect much else. Hacking into the traffic system and preventing my actions from causing any problems is going to take some effort.” A ringing sound echoed through the compartment. “Also, you have a call.”
“Wait, what?” Zane stared at Rob who managed to mimic a shrug while lying on the floor.
“Oh, I transferred your cellphone number to my systems, so if anyone called you, I’d pick it up as well as your cellphone. By the way, it’s your mother. Do you want to answer?”
“Put it on speaker,” Zane sighed. Rob’s screen lit up and Sally Pendon’s number appeared on it in bold letters, along with the words ‘Call in Progress.’
“Hey mom, what’s up?”
“Don’t you ‘what’s up’ me, young man!” Zane winced at the shout that boomed through the phone app.
“I, uh, I’m sorry?”
“You should be! First, you don’t answer your phone for days. Then, when we decide to visit your sister we hear about a massive car chase being led straight to the city. And finally, when one of the nurses turns on the TV in the room, we hear how a certain Zane Pendon is wanted by the FBI, CIA, and New Mexico police for evading capture, possession of illegal substances, and of course, reckless driving!”
“To be fair, the stuff I have isn’t illegal. Well, not entirely. Well, sort of a grey area,” Zane protested.
“That doesn’t make it any better! And Vera, stop laughing, this is serious!” Mrs. Pendon shouted to someone on the other side of the call.
Zane cracked a smile at that. Good old Veronica.
“What is going on, Zane?”
“I’ll tell you once I get to the hospital.”
“The hospit- what do you mean, when you get to the hospital?” Sally Pendon demanded, incredulous.
“I have medicine,” Zane said firmly, narrowing his eyes as he swerved to avoid a police blockade ahead of him. “Medicine that might be able to help Vera. Maybe even cure her.”
“That’s…”
“It’s not impossible, if that’s what you were going to say,” Zane said sharply. He sighed, his tone softening. “Mom, trust me. I’m doing this for Vera. I don’t care if I get arrested after this, but I need to get to her first. I’m sorry. Rob, hang up.”
“Zane, wait-!” Any further conversation was cut off as the droid canceled the call.
“Now what?” Rob inquired.
“Block all incoming calls from my family for now. Can’t afford to be distracted.” A honking horn and a volley of inventive swears could be heard in the distance as Zane cut off yet another car. He’d mostly tuned those out hours ago. Only the more creative swears caught his attention now.
“Hey, Rob? Is it anatomically possible to fit a honey badger…”
“No. No it is not.”
“Well, what about…”
“Neither wolverines or ferrets would fit, either.”
“Good. That’s good.” Zane trailed off a bit. “Do you think she should seek help with anger management?”
“Eh,” was the robotic eyeballs extremely helpful answer. “By the way, take the next left, then left again, then right at the f
ountain. You’ll arrive at the hospital in ten minutes.”
“What are the odds that Agent Denver is waiting there for us?” Zane asked as he drove.
“Fairly high. By the way, watch out for those pedestrians!”
Zane swore under his breath and honked at the crowd of people crossing in front of him.
“Red means stop, you idiots!” Zane shouted at them as he barreled past.
“There! The hospital! There should be a loading dock where the ambulances drop off critical patients! You can use that to get inside!”
“Thanks, Rob!” With a crazy smile, Zane shot into the parking lot and all but slid up next to the emergency entrance.
People were staring, naturally, and the coder could hear sirens off in the distance. Faint, but growing louder with every second.
Without a moment to lose Zane threw the driver’s side door open and paused only long enough to grab the miracle cure before running into the hospital. Rob followed after Zane, no longer caring much about secrecy. It ignored the pointing, staring, and recording people nearby as it floated into the hospital.
Rob hadn’t told Zane, but the droid could sense the massive bulk of the Alliance spaceship above the world, as well as a much smaller but no less well equipped shuttled descending on their position.
There had been more than just a spy drone dispatched. Somehow the Alliance had slipped a tracking device into the drug’s packaging, and were homing in on the intergalactic fugitives.
The droid wasn’t worried though. It had a plan to help his friend, and itself. No one would be getting hurt.
“Sorry! Pardon me! Coming through!” Zane apologized even as he ran through the halls. People were scattering before him, and further retreated when they saw Rob hovering and keeping pace.
“There it is!” Zane cried, pointing at the room his sister was in. He threw the door wide open, smiling in triumph. The smile died a painful death.
“Zane Pendon, you’re under arrest. Again.” Agent Frank Denver was on the other side of the door, a gun pointed at Zane. Behind him, the rest of the Pendon-West family was huddled around Veronica’s bed, scared and watching the confrontation between the government agent and their boy.
