The World After

by Sonador Snow

  “They must be inside the market already,” Ademar Gamejro observed.

  They tried to keep up with all the other people fleeing the chaotic scene as they headed down the road. With both the local police and agents from the ATU certain to seize all exits and block the entire neighborhood in a matter of minutes, there was no time to waste. Once they turned the corner, Carolina pulled her father towards a nearby bus stop on the opposite side of the street. They dashed through the traffic as a city bus was slowly approaching the stop. Just as they stepped on the sidewalk, the bus came to a halt, its doors opened with an inviting hiss. The two of them jumped in; Ademar's chip was scanned by the driver as they were passing him to verify he could pay the price of the tickets. Ten seconds later, they were moving slowly in the opposite direction of the fish market.

  “We must get off at the next stop. I'm sure the moment my chip was scanned, red alerts flashed all over. It won't take the police and the Agency long to locate the bus and stop it.”

  “I have no way to contact Fabio in the plane from here. My safe house is on the other side of the city,” Carolina said.

  “Well, we're out on our own then, my love. We just have to make sure that we reach the airport with enough time to get on the plane and get away.” The next bus stop was drawing near. “If the worst comes to the worst, we'll simply have to make our own way out of Athens and, after that, think of ways to contact your companions.”

  “Any ideas as to how we'll make it out of the city?” Carolina asked as their driver passed the last traffic-control barrier before their stop.

  “I have no idea at the minute. One good thing is that my personal assistant lives very near. I suggest we go to his place for a start.”

  “Do you trust him?”

  “Yes, he's a loyal and faithful young man, or at least that's how he presents himself in front of me. You know better than that. In our world, you can't be a hundred percent sure about anyone.”

  The bus stopped and they quickly disembarked. The doors closed behind them and the vehicle smoothly continued its scheduled tour. They didn't have a lot of time to look around. A few seconds later, the indigo car emerged from the traffic behind them and with lightning speed started driving towards them.

  The two turned their backs and ran towards a nearby narrow alley connecting two streets. Just as Ademar Gamejro pulled his daughter into the shady alley, two bullets hit the brick wall where she stood a second ago.

  “So much for we want them alive,” Carolina said as they stumbled over bags of garbage heading towards a more appealing sunny street in front of them. The passage behind them was now blocked by the front of the indigo car. As the doors opened, two trained agents drew their weapons and took aim at the running targets.

  Nine

  Taylor was using all his skills in order to stay in touch with Jinhun's vehicle. The Chinese rebel was skillfully maneuvering his wheel-like all-terrain vehicle through the rocky landscape with ease; but, for the novice Taylor, it was extremely difficult to follow the same line and to keep up with the tempo.

  Going down a steep slope covered with sharp rocks wasn't exactly what they had planned. About ten minutes earlier, an air patrol from the Chinese Special Forces detected them after flying twice just above their heads. They both knew that it wouldn't be long before they were completely surrounded and captured.

  At the bottom of the valley, they were literally flying towards a small stream and a cluster of trees. On the other side further down was sprawling vast woodlands. Just as Taylor's vehicle took a heavy hit from the top of a sharp rock and, for a split second, was airborne, a military helicopter appeared over them. The flying machine followed their hectic decent, but at least for now, the orders were not to open fire but to track their movement. Both men knew that this could change very quickly, and their time was running out quicker than the speed they were flying down the slope.

  The earphone in Jinhun's ear crackled and Taylor's broken voice said, “We mu-st make o-ur way in-to the trees.”

  Soon after, the two fast-rolling, massive vehicles splashed through the shallow stream and, slowing their speed, entered the shade of the green trees. These rapidly grew in size and density as they continued between the trunks for another five minutes before eventually stopping under three century-old oaks. The two men stepped out of their not hugely comfortable seats and stretched. Jinhun said, “Very soon, they'll send land forces.”

  “I know.” Taylor stopped talking as the roar of the helicopter was heard right above them as it headed further into the woods.

  “Don't worry. Even if they have thermal scanning equipment on board, it will be hard for them to locate us quickly. After all, there are at least half a dozen animals in the near proximity and this usually confuses their scanners,” Jinhun said while opening a small map on the soft grass in front of him.

  “When do you think the land forces will be here?” Taylor knelt next to him.

  “Unfortunately, very soon. We're already too close to the China-India border and a lot of forces are concentrated around us.”

  In 2025, when the world was pretty much run by the UN's One Army and all global matters were resolved by the UN Council, superpowers like China and India had their own powerful forces of specially prepared soldiers. As it had been for thousands of years, tension between the neighbors escalated from time to time.

  “Ideas?” Taylor asked as the helicopter flew once more above them. Even they were unable to see it through the thick leaf-cover that gently whispered in the wind.

  Jinhun focused on the map for a while. Even though he knew the area very well, he still couldn't see a safe route for them. Taylor noticed the desperation written on the face of his partner and decided to help. “Brief me about the area we're in,” he said.

  “This forest is a decent size; I would say forty or even fifty acres of thick woodlands. On the right, it stretches towards a river that is usually shallow; but at times, if it has rained or snowed heavily, the rapids are extremely dangerous. Ahead of us lies a vast open plain with no other cover once we're out of the trees. To our left, there is a small rock formation, and I don't know what lies beyond.”

  “And we have to go to the right, yes?” Jinhun only nodded in confirmation.

  “Well, all I can suggest is to take a risk and see if the river you mentioned is crossable. What roads are there around?” Taylor continued to study the map while his companion explained.

  “The motorway is at least thirty miles in front of us across the open plain. There is one village road to our right where we want to be. It leads to the motorway, and I'd say it is no more than six miles from here.”

  “Most of the forces are close to the border, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are there any settlements along this side road you just mentioned?”

  Jinhun thought for a second. “I think there's one small village just before it reaches the motorway. You know, only houses, I'd say two-three hundred people.”

  “Okay then.” Taylor rubbed his four-day old beard. “I think we have to risk it and head to the right towards the river. After all, there are no better options anyway and India is in that direction. If we're lucky, the waters will be calm. I can't see the advantage of following any of the roads you mentioned. We can't expect to have any advantage speed-wise, and the first thing they will do is block every road leading into India.”

  “So?”

  “I suggest we cross the river and take the side road. After that, we head directly towards the border in a straight line. I'm afraid we'll have to abandon our transport at some point, but at least we might have a chance to escape capture.”

  “Lets' do it.” Jinhun clapped his hands, adding, “Once we cross into India, we'll be awaited by another means of transport anyway.”

  The two men tried to gain as much speed as they could while they were still under the cover of the trees. When they flew out of the woods, their machines were moving at a high enough speed to bounce twice off
the top of the water's surface. This helped them to traverse the deepest part of the relatively calm river. Once the tires hit the river bed, they were in shallow enough water. Despite the huge loss of speed, they continued their forward momentum. A minute later, they were out on dry ground again.

  The two men increased their speed across the vast plain ahead. They had already covered more than half of the six miles to the road when the helicopter finally caught up with them again. Very soon, the ridge on top of which the narrow road led appeared in the distance. As they got nearer, they were able to make out a fast-moving convoy of vehicles coming from the direction of the motorway. Both men knew what was approaching them.

  They reached the narrow road successfully. At that point, Taylor decided to adjust their initial plan due to the circumstances. Instead of going over and continuing forward with the helicopter right above them and a tail of heavily armed forces behind, he took a sharp turn and directed his vehicle straight towards the fast-approaching convoy of military vehicles. With no time to check and no communication, he only hoped that Jinhun had followed him. Out of the corner of his eye, he soon saw that he had.

  It took less than a minute for the parties to meet. The surprise caused by this daring move, coupled with the fact that the terrain didn't allow the Chinese forces to spread out and properly use their firepower, all worked in favor of the two men. Their surprisingly light tires flew over the bonnet and roof of the jeep leading the party, smoothly sailed over the top of the tank, and, in the end, caused serious injuries to the soldiers sitting on the back of the truck that was last in line. The weight of Taylor's tire ripped the canvas cover and Jinhun's machine simply sailed through the two lines of confused soldiers. All this happened in a split second. Not a single shot was fired by the surprised Chinese forces.

  The road ahead of them was clear, and they increased their speed again, quickly opening a gap over the ground forces. However, the helicopter above them never lost sight, and very soon they realized that another serious problem threatened to catch up with them. A missile came from the side of the heli and, with a loud explosion, created a small crater in the tarmac just behind Jinhun's vehicle. On the open and straight road, they were sitting targets. Their luck seemed to have ran out.

  This was when Taylor's attention was drawn to a strange looking natural formation just to their right. The indescribable small mountain looked like a huge pile of very big and heavy rocks just dumped on top of each other as if by an angry god, and with no better option, he turned his vehicle towards it. Jinhun followed suit. Another missile ripped the soil right in front of Taylor's tire, but the amazing machine simply rolled through the hole and continued forward. Less than a minute later, they entered a small natural cave and stopped their overheated vehicles.

  They came out again just as another explosion made the unstable construction of tons of solid rock shake. Obviously, the men in the heli were trying to cause a landslide. At least for now, the rock hill was holding.

  “I think we have to forget about our transport from here on. The antimissile system they're equipped with is not very powerful, and I think its battery has already run out. Out in the open, the next missile will register a direct hit.” Jinhun's face was sober.

  “How far to the border?”

  “I'd say no more than two – three miles. But trust me, by now there will be military forces spread all along the fence.”

  “We can't think about that now. Let's solve our problems one by one.”

  Jinhun walked a few steps towards the entrance of the cave and, to 'cheer up' the atmosphere, said, “I can see the convoy we just flew over. They're coming our way fast.”

  “There's no way we can both travel in one tire, is there?” Taylor asked.

  “I'm afraid not.”

  “Okay then, let's explore where we are and see if there is anything around that can help us.”

  They walked further inside the cave. Just as the darkness started gathering around them, the next step dispersed it. Very soon, it was clear that this wasn't actually a cave but a two-way tunnel into the hill. They walked towards the second exit and, hidden under a long stone ledge above, they examined the landscape. The terrain was flat and open, just as on the other side, with most of the horizon covered by a massive mountain with pine-tree slopes and low clouds.

  “Those ahead are the thick pine forests of India.” Jinhun said, “If we reach them we're safe.”

  A flicker ran though Taylor's bright eyes as he asked, “How much distance can the two tires cover without anyone inside them.”

  “I don't know. I assume it depends on the speed at which they're travelling and the terrain. But, as you know, they're very stable in general.”

  “What if we direct them towards the road and let them go while we try our luck from this side of the hill?”

  Jinhun's forehead wrinkled as he thought, “Maybe-e-e, it could work. Yes!” Excited, he rushed back towards their vehicles.

  Taylor followed him and stood to one side as Jinhun was frantically working on the manual control boards of the two machines. Knowing the way the tires worked, he was setting automatic directions that hopefully would give them some time. It took him less than a minute to quickly sort both machines and, turning towards Taylor with a smile, he said, “A few seconds after they are out in the open, the two tires will turn in opposite directions. This should slow them down even more.”

  “That's good.”

  “Unfortunately, the autopilot can't control the speed, only the direction of movement, so we'll have to take care of this ourselves.”

  They quickly stepped into the tires, reversed back as far as they could go without revealing the back exit of the mini cave and, pressing hard on the accelerators, gave their vehicles as much speed as the short distance allowed. Just before the tires were out on the open plain, they rolled out of them and, without looking back, jumped to their feet and rushed in the opposite direction.

  The two of them began sprinting across the relatively flat grass plain on the most direct route to the pinewood forest ahead. The nature of the terrain had deceived their eyes, as it turned out the distance to the electric border fence was at least twice what they originally thought. Already tired, they still had quite a distance to go to the first trees. It was at least a minute since the gunshots from the other side of the hill had ceased. Their vehicles had either been blown to smithereens or had stopped after losing speed.

  Jinhun turned to look back at exactly the same time as a shiny black helicopter rose above the rock hill that had covered their escape up to that point. He didn't need to alert Taylor; the deafening roar of the engines of the machine had done that. The helicopter glided towards them as they squeezed the last remaining strength from their tired legs to try and somehow outrun the metal machine.

  The forest drew closer, but a stray ray of light reflected off something metal on its edge. Spotting this, Taylor quickly realized that this would be the end of the road for them. He thought, “Indian military forces must be waiting for us there. The Agency must have mobilized everyone.” His thoughts were interrupted by the tracking bullets that came from the helicopter, drawing a line of easily visible holes about two feet in front of them.

  They knew that the next shots would be fired at them and, despite the fact that the electric fence was no more than a hundred yards away, the two men had only one option.

  With the heli hovering right over their heads, they stopped and with dark expressions lifted their hands high in the air. The sound coming from just behind them hinted that the land forces had also made their way around or through the rock hill and were coming their way.

  Taylor looked at his companion and said, “Well, at least we tried.”

  The helicopter descended even closer over their heads. A bright flash of light exploded right in front of them making them close their eyes instinctively.

  * * *

  Shimi Levy walked out of the Laboratory for Genetic Engineering of Beijing Institute
for Genomic in Hong Kong with a broad smile on his face. He quickly crossed the car park and disappeared inside the indigo-colored limousine waiting for him. The car rejoined the busy traffic of the metropolis as the Director of the ATU relaxed in the comfortable leather seat with a glass of amber whisky in his hand.

  He took a big gulp out of it before using his brain implant to dial a number on the phone conveniently placed inside the door-rest of his seat. A curt male voice answered shortly, and Shimi Levy simply said, “Report.”

  He listened to the man on the other end of the line for a few minutes before asking, “And how are things going in Athens?”

  The information coming through was obviously pleasing; his face relaxed and he quickly downed what was left in his glass. After another minute of uninterrupted reporting from the other end of the line, Shimi Levy was feeling happy. At the end of the conversation, he said, “That's all good news. With plan Omega going smoothly, I want every free agent on alert. We'll speak again later. In the meantime, let me know immediately if anything changes.” Without waiting for any reply he ended the connection and filled his glass with whisky for a second time.

  Another command from his brain implant opened the discreet window separating him from the driver and, leaning forward, he said, “Find a decent restaurant nearby where we can grab something to eat. In an hour, we have to go back to the Lab to pick up several people.”

  As the car turned right at the next crossroads, he leaned back and lit a cigar to go with his whisky. A smile appeared on his face. The plan he had worked on for years had finally been triggered; everything was fitting perfectly into it at the minute. The director closed his eyes, trying to chase away one worrying thought that had just spoiled his bliss – Taylor Swansea.

  Ten

  Carolina and her father, who was holding her hand, dove out of the side alley just as half a dozen bullets flew over them. At least two of them mortally wounded innocent passersby. Ademar Gamejro was first to his feet and helping his daughter. The minister pulled a metal advertising sign in front of them, which proved crucial as two more bullets made dents in it but didn't go through.