by Jason Wilcox
“Put your hands where I can see them,” one of the police officers yelled. More cars were pulling up, cutting their sirens. Confused, Caden slowly turned around, putting his hands in the air, the phone still in hand. He could hear Matt trying to say something, but he couldn’t make it out.
“What’s your name?” Another officer asked while walking over to him with a piece of paper in his hands. Three other cops had their guns drawn, pointed at Caden.
“I think there’s been a mistake here. I’m with you guys. I’m here to help,” Caden responded calmly. If they searched him they would find his gun, and that was the last thing he needed right now.
“It’s him. Take him into custody,” the officer holding the paper, ordered. Caden finally saw what it was. It was a headshot of him with details of his name, age, weight, height, etc.
“Wait one second.” Caden lowered his hands slightly, while a number of officers approached him.
“He’s got a gun.”
That was enough for Caden, he moved his arm to hit the Dead Time switch, but before he could, an officer knocked him down from the back. The cell phone hit the ground in his fist while a handcuff slapped against his left wrist. He quickly put the phone in his pocket.
Pulling inwards, Caden yanked down the cop that had cuffed him, hitting his face against the hard pavement. Another officer charged and Caden swiftly kicked him down using the ball of his foot. More officers charged, he wanted to hit the switch but the first officer hadn’t let go of the handcuff.
A club swung at him. Dodging, he grabbed it and brought the cop in enough to land a strong kick to his chest. From his right he heard a gun drawn. He spun, kicking a piece of rubble at him, and then kicked the gun out of his hand. The officer holding the handcuffs pulled Caden backward. The other cop charged him with a nightstick. Reaching out, he grabbed onto a road sign and using brute strength, slung the cop that was pulling him into the one charging him. He could’ve killed them, but they were just trying to do their job. They weren’t the bad guys.
Three more came at him with nightsticks. It was only a matter of time before there were enough to take him down. Using tactical defense, he blocked the onslaught from the first man while stepping to the side of him. The second was so uncoordinated, Caden easily spun him into the sign.
A shot rang out from the third officer, barely missing him and hitting the sign. More officers arrived, and some of them had guns out waiting for a shot. Knowing it needed to end, Caden kicked the man’s wrist after he hit the metal sign. His wrist snapped and Caden took hold of the cop’s now weak spot. He pulled him close and drove fingers into his neck.
“Stay with me or I’ll kill you.” There wasn’t a second to lose. The officer nodded his head in compliance. Caden used the officer as a human shield as they scrambled into an alley. Once he entered the rubble-filled exit, Caden kicked the officer back towards the street and ran for it. A large brick barrier stood in his way, and he jumped up, snatching a metal ladder that hung down. From there, he threw himself over to the top of the bricks, and pulled himself up. He felt a prick in the shoulder.
Not wasting time, he jumped and ran around the building. Everything began to grow foggy. He saw Matt approaching in a car then jumping out. Sounds began to fade as he reached back and pulled a tranquilizing dart from his shoulder. Matt grabbed him just as his legs began to give out. It became difficult to focus on anything as Matt flopped him in the back of the car.
“We’re going to need to figure out which shelter the President’s heading to.” Caden could hear Matt’s voice as he woke, the tranquilizer wearing off. He wasn’t in a car any longer. They were in a large room.
“Good, you’re alive.”
Caden pushed up on the leather couch and turned to see where he was. Someone walked out of the room that Caden didn’t recognize. Matt walked up to him. The room was barren except for furniture along the walls and a large white board with all kinds of information posted on it.
“Where am I? How did I get here?” Caden spoke softly.
“I overheard what was going on over the phone. I brought you back to my secret office where I developed my own team.” His tone gave Caden the impression that Matt was proud of his group.
Noticing pain in his left wrist, Caden looked down and noticed the handcuffs were gone, but he had some nice bruising.
“I’m not sure if secret is a good word to use.” Caden felt awkward, realizing the man he had known for so long was a complete stranger. How do I know if I should trust him?
“Fair enough,” Matt said as he sat down in a chair about four feet away. “How are you doing? You look pretty beat up.”
“I’m fine.” Caden lightly rubbed his head as the pain increased. He debated which would be the best way to address Matt’s strange behaviors.
“Glad to hear it,” Matt said, leaning back in his chair. “I was worried the explosion might’ve gotten you.”
“How did you get out of your cell?” Caden figured it was time to stop beating around the bush. It was time for answers. He tensed.
“Some of the men that work for me busted me out,” Matt answered reluctantly.
“Your men?” Everything was getting worse. Caden felt like he was in a nightmare. Matt had been building a team behind his back.
“Oh, don’t seem so surprised, you were catching on by the end…weren’t you?”
“I knew you had back channel methods to get information that I didn’t want to know about, but no, I had no idea you were developing your own group. And what is it that you and your team do?”
“Simple. I created this.” Matt held his hands in the air as he spoke. “All of it was to take down SDS and overthrow the government.
“Why?” Shocked, Caden struggled to find the right words. His chest felt like something had taken his breath away. He figured Matt was up to no good, but nothing like this. “Why would you do such a thing? Are you behind the bomb?”
“So many questions.” Letting out a sigh, Matt shifted his weight in the chair. “Yes, I blew the building up. And why…? Well, to make a long story short, I tripped over some information one day about what Robert was involved in. He’s been taking orders from the government, and their plan is an ugly one.”
“How in the world could you blow up the building?” Caden knew attacking now would be a poor choice. He had to wait for a better advantage, and he needed to do it soon. Matt was talking like he was having paranoid delusions. “Are you sure you didn’t just get some bad intel? This is Robert you’re talking about,” he stood up while he spoke, unable to sit still on the couch.
“One of your weaknesses is having too much trust in friends,” Matt said. “You never learned how to keep an eye on those close to you. And in this business, you shouldn’t trust anyone.”
Caden disagreed, he was very observant. The memory of Matt being in his office passed through his mind, and the things that Robert was doing lately entered in as well. So he had been ignoring some things, but it had a lot to do with everything on his plate, like Bridget and the hallucinations. Matt was wrong.
Caden’s heart pounded. How could Matt be behind this? He had always stood by my side, even in tough times, standing for good not evil. Anger raged inside Caden, but he subdued it, knowing he had to keep thinking rationally. His eyes searched the room, spotting a letter opener sitting next to a large lamp on the end table.
Matt pulled out his gun. “Don’t get any stupid ideas. I didn’t bring you here to fight. I brought you here to offer you a proposition.”
Caden looked at the gun. “I can’t believe you’re the spy. I trusted you whole-heartedly. How can you betray everyone like this, especially me, your friend? I mean...were you the one that sent the men to kill us on the plane?”
“I’m not betraying anyone. It’s Robert who betrayed us all. And about the whole plane thing, well Justin got a little carried away. He was only supposed to get your information and divert the plane, not crash it.”
“Justin I t
ake it, is bald and one of your men?” Caden calculated his ability to get the gun out of Matt’s hands. The odds were not good.
“That’s the one.”
“The same one that tried to shoot me at the office?”
“Yes, but I stopped the bullet before it got to you. So, no harm, no foul. He’s just a little too gung-ho. I’m working on that, I’ve told him he’s not to hurt you or James.” Matt had a smile on his face as if he were proud of his man.
“The man is a lunatic.” Caden was growing angrier by the moment. He couldn’t understand why Matt couldn’t see. “How do you know he’s not the one planting the evidence against Robert and the government? If the government were really involved, we would’ve known. We’ve been doing a tremendous amount of observing them. We know almost everything about what the government is doing.”
Matt grew red in the face. “You just don’t understand. Justin would never do such a thing. He is extremely loyal, not backstabbing.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. Listen to you jumping to his defense after you just told me not to trust anyone. The man is anything but trustworthy. He could’ve been manipulating you this whole time to steal your resources and to get you to overthrow SDS and the government.” As Caden spoke, Matt shifted in his chair.
“I don’t think so,” he said with a huff. “You’re not going to play mind games with me.”
Letting out a sigh, Caden realized he wasn’t getting anywhere attempting to help Matt see that they knew the government wasn’t involved. Justin had to be planting evidence and lying to Matt. It was time for Caden to move to a new line of questioning. “Tell me, what was this terrible thing that Robert and the government were doing? So bad that you were willing to kill everyone in SDS?”
“That was an accident. I had no idea that Robert was going to call everyone in, but in the end it saved us time, since ninety percent of the agents were part of the plot.”
Matt’s smile disappeared. “It had to be done either way.” He stood up and lowered the gun to his side. “Like I said, Robert can’t be trusted. That’s why I ended his reign and there’ll be others that will fall with him. I’m sure you can’t begin to comprehend all that has been going on behind the scenes. Robert sold his soul for money and power. He has become entangled with political corruptness, and it is time to show the world what’s really going on. This goes beyond Robert. It goes to the very top, to the President.” Caden shook his head in disbelief as Matt spoke. “I know it’s hard to believe, but in time the truth will be revealed.”
Matt scratched his arm and looked at the floor. Caden could tell that whatever information he was about to give bothered him, if it were even true. “Robert was part of a secret plan to create a perfect society, or at least that’s what they called it. The plan was to kill off people they deemed not good enough, systematically and slowly. You can imagine what that list looked like. Criminals, mentally ill, political opponents, and the list goes on from there. They’re using all types of methods to slowly kill them, from tampering with water systems in towns where a high percentage of the population are targets, to using isolated assassinations.”
“You’re right,” Caden said folding his hands together. “That is rather unbelievable, even if there was something like that going on, which I doubt, Robert would be completely against it.” He was in shock. He couldn’t believe Matt believed such nonsense.
“Believe who you want,” Matt sounded irritated. “But as soon as the records are uncovered from the office, we plan to lead a revolt to get rid of the government and start a new one. And then Robert will pay for the terrible things he’s done. That’s why I kept him alive; to make sure he faces what he’s done. He’ll be a mockery and humiliated.”
“You’re going to build a new government? I can’t believe what I’m hearing…I just don’t know what to say. I mean, wow, so you’re basically setting up to take over this country.” Caden knew he might be hallucinating, but at least he hadn’t totally lost his mind like Matt.
“No.” Matt tightened his jaw and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not doing this for power. We’ll hold a vote and make sure honest people that want to take care of this country are voted in.”
“So, you’re going to wipe out an existing government so you can rig the election for a new one?” Caden asked. He rubbed his left temple. “Why in the world didn’t you just bring this information to the proper authorities? They could’ve put an end to the whole thing, if there is such a plot, and then allow the democratic process to work without you tainting it.”
“You don’t get it.” Matt raised his voice. “There isn’t a single person in government right now who isn’t in on this, at least not any longer. They just killed the last one not too long ago. Also, most of those so-called proper authorities are also involved. This thing is huge. And the only way to get rid of all the corruptness is to wipe it out. And the only reason I’m planning on helping the voting process is to make sure someone trustworthy gets into the seat.”
“Even if you’re telling the truth,” Caden said after taking a deep breath, “your plan is idiotic. Manipulating the people to vote for someone takes away the freedom of the people in this country. That’s the beauty of democracy—people can choose who they want without someone else mandating them to pick who they feel is best for whatever reason.” Caden took another deep breath and let it out. “I’m in shock right now.”
“The system is already corrupt; I’m trying to help fix it. Our democracy doesn’t work anymore. You’re wrong and you’ll find out soon how wrong you are,” Matt sounded deflated and agitated. He kept using his free hand to point at Caden while talking. “I came here to offer you a position on my team. This world is going to praise us for doing this, and I want you with me.”
“I…I must not be awake. Maybe I never woke after I passed out from going into Dead Time, and I’m just dreaming all of this because nothing has made sense since I came out of that place.”
“No Caden,” Matt said gruffly, “this isn’t a dream. I’ve been planning this for a very long time. For the last year, I went to your office late at night to steal information. That’s how I always knew about things that were coming up, and Robert made the mistake of trusting everyone not to get into his files. But I hacked into them. So, when we heard about the Dead Time suits, I knew that would make our mission so much easier. It was time to act.”
Matt smiled as he continued. “I’ll have to admit, I thought you finally caught me when you walked in on me at your office a couple of days ago. But once again, your trust blinded you. And all of those supposed phone calls I was having with girls… those were people on my team. However, I have to give a ton of credit to Justin. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think we would exist. He’s been my right hand man.”
“Robert sold his soul for money and power,” Matt spoke harshly as he continued, “he’s become intertwined with political corruptness, and it has come time to show the world what’s really going on.” Caden shook his head in disbelief as Matt continued, “I know it’s hard to believe, but in time the truth will be revealed. We planted the explosives so that when the lower part of the building is dug up, they’ll find proof in the records.”
Caden hit the Dead Time switch and everything went silent. He lowered his head into his hands and let out a deep breath. Confusion swarmed through his tired, drug filled mind.
“I’m not sure what the point of that was.”
“How the…” Caden started while quickly looking up.
Matt pointed to his neck. “You forget that I’m plugged in as well. If you go into Dead Time, I go with you. And I’m sure James is trying to figure out why he’s in Dead Time right now, just like I was when you guys used it on the plane.”
Swiftly Caden grabbed the letter opener next to him and threw it at Matt causing him to flinch. The letter opener stopped in midair, but Caden dove at Matt knocking him to the ground while he was distracted. Caden’s speed was slower in Dead Time, but he was still more
skilled than Matt at combat. Within seconds, he had Matt pinned to the ground in a hold that could kill him. Matt didn’t move a muscle; Caden could tell he knew the position he was in.
“I take it that you won’t join me,” Matt said with his face smashed against the floor.
“You can take it that way. Why didn’t you come to me about this when you found out about the supposed conspiracy?” Caden snapped.
If Caden was a crying man, he knew he would’ve let the tears start rolling down his cheeks. He felt betrayed and hurt. Now he was standing over one of the few men he had trusted with his life, not knowing if he was going to kill him or not.
“You would’ve never listened, just like you’re not listening now,” Matt said then coughed. “Listen, I’m really not here to fight. I just wanted to offer you a spot on my team, because I fear for your safety.” Caden pushed his knee deeper into Matt’s neck. As he eased up, Matt coughed again. “I’m worried for your safety as soon as all the information is released about what’s really going on. This nation is going to revolt against everyone on those lists, lists of those trying to develop a perfect society. Our names are on it. I can keep you safe if you join me. I can clear your name so people will think you’re a hero.”
“I don’t want any part of this Matt,” Caden responded loosening his grip a little more.
“Then I suggest it’s time for you to disappear,” his tone changed, and Caden could tell he was disappointed.
“And what if I just kill you now?” Caden asked pushing his knee harder into Matt’s neck.
“That won’t solve anything…” Matt coughed. “What’s done is done and the truth will be out soon. Then you’ll see that I’m not lying.”
Caden got off Matt and stood. His muscles twitched as adrenaline and frustration ran through his body. Rubbing his neck, Matt stood as well. “If you were anyone else, I would kill you right now and not even bat an eye. But I’m going to give you a chance.”
