by J. G. Martin
“You inside, we have you surrounded. There is no way out and nowhere to hide. Give us the device and we will let you go. All we are interested in is the device. You have ten minutes to throw the device out or we will come in and get it.” The Voice informed them.
“Let’s give them the device.” Rora whispered.
“We can’t. They’ll blast this place apart and kill us once they have it. We, I, killed a bunch of their friends and anyway I doubt they want anyone to know they have the device.”
“Can’t you just kill them like you did everyone else?”
Derek gave her a glare. “I’m not Superman you know. A bullet will still kill me and these guys have us seriously outgunned. Even if we get by the troops outside we still have the choppers to worry about. And even if I did manage to kill most of them, at some point they will decide to destroy us so no one can have the device. I don’t know what this thing does, but it seems like everyone else wants it.”
“So what do we do?”
Derek searched through his pockets to see if he had any tricks left when his fingers struck the phone. The phone, he had completely forgotten about it. Maybe the voice on the other end could help them. He powered up the phone, shoved the earpiece in, and pressed the send button. The smooth voice on the other end answered almost immediately as if he had been waiting for Derek’s call.
“Major! Where have you been?” The Voice demanded. “What have you been doing? Do you have the device?”
“I’ve been busy fighting my way to the device but I don’t have time for a play by play.” Derek informed him testily. “We have the device, but we are trapped in an abandoned solar facility by Outfit troops. We have about three minutes left before they come in and take it. We need some help!”
There was brief pause before the Voice answered. “The Outfit. How could they possibly know about the device?”
“Does it matter?” Derek interrupted him. “They are coming in soon and I won’t be able to stop them.”
“OK, OK.” The Voice soothed. “Let me see what assets we have in the area. Hang on.”
That was interesting, thought Derek, the Voice said we not I. Whatever this thing was, there were sure a lot of people trying to get their hands on it. Annoyingly they all seemed to know what it was even though he didn’t. Even more annoyingly, Rora didn’t seem to have a clue either. He hated doing someone else’s dirty work and not having any clue why. That hadn’t really worked out for him in the past. The Voice came back on the line with a brief pop.
“The closest asset is hours away, but you are going to have other company very shortly. Something far worse than the Outfit.”
“What could be worse than eighteen heavily armed men and two gunships?” Derek asked.
The answer was provided shortly when he heard the distinctive hiss crackle of energy weapons being fired. Only the Collective had access to those, adding one more player to the very crowded mix. Derek and Rora heard screams outside from the soldiers and a loud crescendo of gunfire. They could hear the choppers move closer and add their fire to the incredible racket of the battle raging outside. The gunfire actually increased and they heard loud explosions, including the distinct sound of rockets being fired. The firefight ended with two large explosions that shook the building and Derek realized that the choppers must have gone down.
In the silence that followed, Derek and Rora waited for some sign of who had won. When they heard nothing, Derek risked using a piece of mirrored glass to look outside. What he saw stunned him. The crumpled and burning wreckage of the two choppers lay just inside the solar farm, black smoke billowing up into the sky. The bodies of the Outfit soldiers lay scattered around the building amongst the panels and smaller outbuildings. Walking amongst them were men in metallic silver full body armor and helmets that encased their heads. They carried futuristic looking rifles that had to be pulse rifles. None of the silver armored troops looked to be wounded, nor were any down.
Another man caught Derek’s eye. He was walking towards the control center scanning his head back and forth. He wore similar armor, except his was metallic gold; and unlike the others his head was bare. His hair was close cropped and Derek could see metal glints on his neck indicating cybernetics. He was a Humek, Collective agents that had willingly accepted cybernetic implants to “improve” them.
They were fanatical followers of the Collective, and while they were a part of the LINC they still maintained some of their independence. Humeks had been the first to flock to the Collective, people so obsessed with technology that the idea of being always connected was like a wet dream for them. The Layered Integrated Neural Connection or LINC made that possible. It had started before the Collapse with the advent of smartphones and then wearable smart devices. Becoming a cyborg was the next logical step, making the technology a part of you. Humeks believed that they were superior beings, the next evolution of mankind. That made the others combat drones.
The Collective had managed to turn normal human beings into robot-like slaves they called drones. They all had a chip implanted in their heads that controlled all of their thoughts and actions via the LINC. Some were clones, but many of the drones were people who were implanted either unwillingly or under duress in the Aftermath. Most were used as laborers on the Collectives farms and in their factories and mines, but some were specially outfitted for combat. Unfeeling and unafraid they made excellent shock troops. The U.S.T.G. had found that out to their great dismay when they had entered Collective territory in an attempt to gain a Pacific port.
The Humek looked familiar but Derek couldn’t place him. His eyes glinted slightly as he looked towards Derek and Rora’s hiding place. Derek realized the cyborg was using implants to scan the buildings for them. Eventually he would discover their hiding place and come for them. Derek knew there was no way he could fight them, they had wiped out two squads of heavily armed men and two gunships without getting a scratch. They needed a miracle.
“Derek!” The voice in his ear startled him. “You need to use the device.”
“What?” He whispered in response.
“The device; it was designed to evade the Collective surveillance, to effectively become invisible to them. You need to turn it on.”
“How is that possible?” Derek asked.
“You don’t have time for me to explain the science to you. You need to become invisible. They will discover you any second.”
“How do I do that?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen the device and I don’t have schematics. That’s why you are retrieving it for me. Just turn it on and start fiddling with it.”
It looked just like an iPod so he turned it on like one. The small screen flickered to life. A simple menu displayed with sliders for on and off along with a slider measured in meters. Derek slid his finger on the screen changing the menu option Cloak from off to on. Nothing seemed to happen so he wasn’t sure if it worked or not. Well, they would find out shortly.
He heard an amazed laugh from the voice. “It worked, I can’t believe it. You are invisible. They shouldn’t be able to see or hear you now. I can still see the girl, have her get close to you.”
“What if they come into the tower with us?”
“As long as you don’t touch or interact with them directly, it will be as if you don’t exist.”
Derek pulled Rora close to him and they waited in silence as they heard the Collective agents enter the building and begin to search it. Both Rora and Derek held their breath as they heard the heavy footsteps approach the door to the tower. It opened slowly and the Humek looked into the room. He looked directly at Derek and Rora. Neither one of them moved, waiting for a reaction from the cyborg. But it simply closed the door and left. Both of them let out a big sigh of relief, somehow the device had worked.
Derek stood up a few minutes later when he heard the sound of an engine start up. It didn’t sound like a regular engine because it was quieter and smoother. He saw the Humek take another look aroun
d and then get into an armored van. A few minutes later it headed out from the complex and left in the direction of Jonesboro.
He quickly grabbed Rora and hustled down the stairs to the damaged Humvee. Derek shoved a backpack at Rora and grabbed as much gear as he could carry. They would have to leave some of the camping gear and tools behind because it was too much to carry. They needed to move quick so they could be gone before anyone else came to investigate.
“What happened?” Rora asked breathlessly. “He looked right at us.”
“The device. It supposedly blinded him to seeing us.”
Her eyes widened in response to that bit of information. Derek thought he heard her whisper. “So it does work.”
The voice in his ear startled him again, he would have to get used to that. “Major. Bring me the device as soon as possible, before anyone else can come after you.”
“I want triple what you were paying me.” Derek demanded.
“Done. Just bring me the device.” The Voice agreed quickly.
Derek hesitated. The unknown buyer had agreed way too quickly and sounded desperate, this thing must be worth even more. It looked like the U.S.T.G. was after it as well as the unknown buyer and the Collective. The Humek had probably hired all those goons to come after them because the Collective was trying to keep its involvement secret. Just like the U.S.T.G. was using the Outfit. Although the Collective had just abandoned that pretense and come out into the open. Maybe making the bearer invisible to the Collective was just the beginning of what this thing could do.
“Help us get to NASA and I will hand it over to you.” Derek bargained.
“Major, you are testing my patience. There is a closing window on the value of the device. If I don’t get it soon, it will be worthless.”
“All the more reason to help us. The faster we get to NASA, the faster you get the device.”
“Fine.” The Voice agreed reluctantly. ”I will help you get to Jacksonville. You can meet my asset there and hand over the device. He will take you to NASA.”
“How are we going to get to Jacksonville?”
“There is an Express Station about twenty miles away as the crow flies. You will have to walk there and then trade for a car. From there I can guide you to Jacksonville.”
“Guide us?” Derek asked confused.
“Yes. Leave the phone on and the earpiece in. That will allow me to track you and stay in constant communication with you. I will be able to warn you of obstacles or any pursuers.”
“Why didn’t we do this before?” Derek asked.
“Because I couldn’t risk anyone detecting the signal. But with the device active that should be a problem.”
“What about the battery? It’s not like I have a universal charger.”
The Voice laughed. “It has an Eternity battery. That thing will still be powered long after you’re dead.”
“That might not be so impressive.” Derek muttered to himself. At the rate this mission was going he would probably be dead soon.
“I forgot to mention that with the earpiece in, I can hear what you hear and you can subvocalize to speak to me.” The Voice warned him.
Derek groaned internally. Great, now he had big brother in his ear. But, he had his deal. All he had to do was get a car and they would have a good shot of making it to Jacksonville. That was only a few hours north of Cape Canaveral. He would decide about handing the device over when he got there. This thing might be priceless or potentially worthless if the Voice’s deadline meant anything. So they better get going, someone else was bound to come looking here. Best they are long gone by then.
“All right, we have an arrangement. Send me the location of the Express Station on the phone.”
The phone vibrated to indicate a new message. Derek checked the map and the heading. Twenty one point three miles over rough terrain and in broad daylight. He would be ok, but Rora was going to struggle. This was going to be fun he thought sarcastically.
Rora had silently watched him talk on the phone and waited until he had finished. “So, what are we doing? Is he sending a ride?”
“No, we need to take a short walk to go get one. Put on that backpack and let’s get going. We don’t want to be here when the next wave arrives.”
Derek ignored her question of how far they were walking and assessed his load. He could probably carry more and they would need to trade for the car. So he headed out to the still smoking bodies of the Outfit soldiers. He stripped them of canteens and shoved as many as he could in his and Rora’s packs. Rule #8, and they would need plenty on their hike. He noticed Rora staring at the smoking holes in the bodies.
“Pulse rifles” He informed her. “They fire bolts of plasma. Only the Collective has that technology and they don’t usually display it so openly outside their territory. They must want the device very badly. Do you have any idea what it does?”
“No, father never told me anything about it.”
Derek was sure she was lying, but unless he was going to torture it out of her there was nothing more he could do. She would share what she knew when she was ready. He continued to search the soldiers, taking small things of value like energy bars. His eyes fell upon the M-4F3 Carbines the Outfit gunmen had carried. They were in pristine condition and were fully tricked out with laser sights, flashlight, tactical sights, a collapsing stock, flash suppressor, and extended magazines. He had used a rifle like this for almost his entire career. When he had used the one in the bank it had felt like a natural extension of his hand.
Despite the extra weight Derek decided to take one. He slung it over his shoulder opposite the M-14 and loaded up his pockets with clips. He even shoved a few in Rora’s pockets. Rule # 18, you could never have enough ammo. He checked the other weapons. The SAW was too big to carry long distance, the grenade launchers were out of ammo, and ammo for the sniper rifles was too hard to come by. The 7.62mm rounds for the M-14 were very common and it was a very reliable rifle. Satisfied he had everything they could carry; he led Rora out into the dry waste.
Chapter 27
June 13, 2029
Outside Jonesboro, Arkansas
As the van drove towards the nearest populated area of Jonesboro, Maximillian tried to figure out what had happened. He had been tracking the girl and the Major via satellite as they exited the foothills and were attacked by the Outfit gunships. He had watched the soldiers corner them in the solar facility and surround the building. Maximillian and his drones had arrived and made short work of the pathetically overmatched soldiers.
He had enjoyed the thrill of blasting the choppers from the sky as they had moved in to provide support for their beleaguered comrades. He should have been above such things, but the small piece of his old self still loved the adrenaline rush of combat. When he had been a soldier he lived to fight and now that he was more evolved those opportunities had been far between. At least the hunt for the Major had gotten him back in the field again. He would thank him with a plasma bolt when he saw him.
Once they had eliminated the soldiers, Maximillian had searched the facility. His augmented vision should not have allowed them to hide from him. But there had been no sign of them after the battle. They must have escaped during but there was no sign of it on the satellite feed and he had been monitoring it throughout the fight. Where could they possibly have gone? Had he missed something? The only aberration had been a mysterious signal he had detected as he had arrived at the facility.
The signal had been heavily encrypted and he hadn’t been able to break it. He also hadn’t been able to lock down the source or its destination other than the general vicinity of the facility. Then shortly after the battle it had disappeared. There was nothing in the Collective database about a signal like that or anything similar. Maximillian started a search through the other databases he had hacked into, but that would take a while.
In the meantime they would go to the closest inhabited town and see if he could pick up the trail there. However Storm and the
girl managed to escape they would probably head to the nearest town for supplies. Maybe he could even beat them there and ambush them. Storm’s luck had to run out some time.
The van was almost all the way to Jonesboro when it hit him. He cursed himself for missing the obvious. The Major had activated the device and it had worked. The damn thing actually worked. Despite Father telling him how powerful the thing was; Maximillian hadn’t really believed him. It sounded like the boogeyman stories his mother used to tell him. But that would explain how he hadn’t seen them leave and he hadn’t found them in the facility. The Major had activated the device and hidden in plain sight. It must have a radius of effect allowing the girl to be concealed as well.
The fuzzy feeling he had gotten looking into the tower, it must have been an effect of the device. They had been there but the device had prevented him from seeing them. It was just as dangerous as Father had said and Maximillian needed to remove that threat. Hopefully Storm didn’t know how to use its other alleged functions, but the girl might. He had to get it back as soon as possible. But if he couldn’t see them how was he going to track them and get the device back?
He turned the van back towards the facility with a quick thought and put out notice of a $50,000 bounty on the Major and $25,000 on the girl, paid in gold. He added dead or alive to the notice in a rare moment of vindictiveness. That ought to get some people interested. He would go to the facility and see who turned up to collect. Maximillian was irked that he would again be dependent on others to complete his task, but he had no choice. He might not be able to see the Major and the girl, but normal humans could. And they would do anything for money.
Chapter 28
June 13, 2029
Outfit HQ near Asheville, North Carolina
Sergeant Mark Maxwell U.S.T.G.A Ret. stood at parade rest in the shadows and watched as his boss, Al Prinz, stood in front of the giant video screen in his office and stoically withstood the tongue lashing from the President of the U.S.T.G., Rickard Channing. Channing’s bald head was bright red with veins popping out as he screamed his displeasure at the head of the Outfit. Mark was impressed that his boss wasn’t reacting at all to the tirade directed at him.
