James realized Wolfgang was right. He couldn’t get away with the cell. If the cell is this important, he thought, then it’ll be greatly missed. He held the cell up, above his head as he examined it. Power cells were durable, but to a point. He grabbed one end of it, pulling as hard as he could. The top metal plug came loose, coming apart from the rest with a pop that caused a small amount of clear fluid to spill onto the ground. The dreg had a strong chemical smell that reminded him of ammonia. He poured the rest of the dreg that was in the cap onto the ground, and tossed the cap to one side.
With the top of the cell exposed, he could see an even brighter glowing green. It caused him to squint when the light pulsed its brightest. Crystal fusion cells were a constant chemical reaction that created energy as a result, but with a byproduct of dreg. The reaction was contained in the cell, as long as it had a drain built into it for the dreg. If it was destabilized by being exposed to air, then it caused a massive reaction that led to an explosion. Just like the power cells.
He flipped the cell upside down, holding it above his head and over the ground. He wanted everyone to see.
“Wolfgang,” James spoke with his mind, projecting his voice into everyone’s head, including all the soldiers, “what would happen if you lost this cell, if it overloaded? How large of an explosion would it make?” Wolfgang was about to yell for the soldiers to fire as James slammed the cell into the ground. It hit the concrete with such an impact that it created a small hole where it sat. The protective plates around the edges cracked, and a green glowing ooze leaked slowly onto the ground. James looked up at all of them with a glaring smile in his silver eyes. “I guess we’ll find out.”
The pulsing light from the liquid started beating faster as the liquid started to react with the concrete and air around it. There was the sound of sizzling, and smoke vapors appeared where the liquid touched the pavement. Wolfgang yelled for them to fire at James, who was already climbing the building behind him. Only a few shots were fired, before everyone was interrupted by a loud noise that sounded like the blades of a gunship being run through a speaker system. It was coming from the cell as it overloaded. The light had stopped pulsing and was now burning so bright that it was blinding to look at. All the soldiers had stopped firing, and everyone had begun to flee. The men driving the tanks couldn’t drive fast enough to get away, so many of them started climbing out and running with everyone else.
James didn’t need to look at the cell because he could see the light it was giving off all around him. It looked like there was a small green sun in the street below. He’d reached the top of the building now. He opened his wings, knowing everyone was going to be way too distracted by the cell to notice him. He ran to the edge of the building away from the cell, and jumped off. He flapped his wings and moved as far from there as he could.
It was only seconds before he heard the ringing stop, and all the light and sound around the block seemed to be sucked into the destabilized fusion cell. For those few seconds it was pitch black and dead silent as James flew away as fast as he could. Suddenly a bright light was released from the cell. It happened so fast that there was a delay with the sound that followed, and the explosion rattled the entire block. James was two blocks away and he felt the force of the blast push him forward.
The blast hit him in the back, pushing him in the air. He could see beams of light creating stark shadows from his silhouette and all the buildings and debris nearby. He almost lost control of his flight, but the blast was short lived. He regained his balance in the air and continued forward, but could see the destruction that had occurred behind him. At least a hundred Civic Protection soldiers had not made it out of there in time, and he couldn’t sense Wolfgang or Damaine. He was sure they were at least still alive, though. The buildings all around where the fusion cell had destabilized had been essentially disintegrated for half a block, with the half dozen blocks or so that surrounded that area in shambles. Half the windows in Capitol District had been shattered in the blast.
As he flew away, he tried scanning the area for survivors. He found no one, living or dead among the ruins as he flew away. He knew that no civilians had been around; he would not have tried something so reckless if there were any. Ironically, it seemed Capitol District had the least amount of civilians as residents. He continued flying until he saw a manhole in an alley that he could reach. In moments he was underground.
78
Dante walked through a street that ended in a large crater that went about ten feet deep into the ground. The blast had occurred only two hours ago, but Civic Protection and their emergency services had already scanned through most of the area. There was surprisingly little debris left, due to the fusion cell’s disintegrating effect. Most of the debris was due to the initial blast. Dante was stunned; none of them had ever seen a fusion cell destabilize like that. They knew the blast would be powerful, but this was impressive. Especially for such a small object.
There was smoke everywhere, but it was mostly dust that hadn’t yet settled. The fusion cell had created a cold blast, and Dante could still see places where ice had formed on the left over concrete. He stood at the edge of the crater, looking down into it. Water from sewer pipes had been draining into it, but it quickly froze over when it came in contact with the dreg residue that was left over. This dreg was different than the normal residue from power cells and even the fusion cell. It was chemically altered from the destabilization of the cell. Dante wondered for a moment what kind of properties it held now. It’s amazing, he thought, how much technology mankind uses that even he does not fully understand.
Wolfgang approached him from one side, walking around the edge of the crater from another street. It took him a few moments; the crater was around twenty yards in diameter. Wolfgang was quiet as he approached Dante, but had a sullen look on his face. He had dust all over him, but otherwise seemed untouched from the blast.
“So,” Dante said as he approached them, “what’s the damage?”
“The surrounding three blocks are just about beyond repair,” Wolfgang said, “and we lost nearly a hundred soldiers. Surprisingly few wounded though. Those that didn’t get far enough away from the blast were gone. No trace of them, except for residual auras I can see with my mind’s eye.” Dante nodded as he listened to Wolfgang. “I don’t know if we lost any civilians at all. This area had been clear of people for a few months. I believe you headed up the relocation of all those people back then.”
“Yeah,” Dante said, “I almost with I hadn’t. If there had been people in those buildings, he would have probably hesitated at least before doing something like blowing the fusion cell.”
“I still didn’t think he would do this,” Wolfgang said, “I didn’t think he’d go this far. I thought you said he tried not to kill people.”
“Civilians,” Dante said, “and there aren’t any of those around here. In a way, we were probably fools to keep the blocks surrounding the plants empty. We thought we were creating a more secure perimeter.” Wolfgang nodded as he understood.
“Instead,” Wolfgang said, “we gave him a license to hesitate less. The only civilians were those on the streets, and they were long gone by the time this happened.” Dante shook his head with his arms crossed. They stared around at the destruction for a moment, contemplating what to say.
“I guess, the cell is lost now," Dante said, “and the auxiliary power countdown has begun. We have less than sixty hours before Father awakens.”
“That’s correct,” said Ares as he walked up to them from another direction in the smoke.
“I was wondering when I’d see you again,” Dante said as he crossed his arms. The man walked into view as Dante spoke to him. Ares nodded at him, but was careful to avoid dust or debris from getting on his suit.
“I’ve been monitoring the progress on the new prototype,” Ares said, “and I think Father will be pleased. It’ll be another day or so be
fore we receive the first of the new models, but they’ll be what the original should have been.”
“Wow,” Dante said chuckling, “talk about cutting it close. So the first will be ready for Father.” Wolfgang turned to Dante.
“Why don’t you tell him,” Wolfgang said to Ares, “he needs to hear it from someone who isn’t a failure.” Dante shook his head as he stared down at the empty crater. He looked up again at Wolfgang, who had a looked of disdain as he also stared at the crater.
“Our job isn’t finished,” Dante said, “we need to end this war with the Vanguards before Father wakes. He won’t want to deal with them again.”
“Things are different now, but you’re right," Ares said. "The Vanguard line must end. None of us thought it would go this far. I’ll let Father know. I hope whatever you’re planning is better than the wave of destruction the Vanguard Hunter and his resistance has caused. I heard about what happened at all the supply depots. They’re obviously well-coordinated, which means there is more talent and skill there than just the Vanguards. Good luck.” He turned and left, disappearing through the smoke down the street he’d met them on. Although they could hear the sounds of sirens around them, the scene felt eerily still. Wolfgang stared at Dante impatiently.
“Well,” Wolfgang said, “what is it? You know something, something you’re not telling me. You have to, because so far we’ve been on the losing end of this fight.” Dante smiled slightly.
“I knew his original name was Alexander Vanguard, since by his own admission he was the surviving son of Elijah Vanguard,” Dante said, “and so I had my people start going through the city records for an individual that would fit his age and demographic. You know what they found?”
“What?”
“Nothing. Apparently he’s been deleted from just about every system in the city. Almost. Whoever it was, they were good. They couldn’t reach the city’s central servers, though, and those hold a record of every individual. I had Lucien crosscheck the records supplied by my detective with the city’s central server and two names were missing.” Dante paused for effect.
“His current name is James Alexander."
“The Hunter?”
“Yes,” Dante said, “I know who he is. I also know who’s closest to him. A person who’s been feeding him lots of information from the inside. This is a person that means a lot to him. Tonight we’ll stop them both.”
79
James walked through the outer hallway into the lobby of the underground facility that had become the main base of the resistance. There was a small crowd in there, waiting for him. As he walked through the metal doors, a hushed silence came over the group. Luke was sitting at the desk, with his two daughters next to him. Khaleel was standing nearby as well.
“You’ve been busy,” Khaleel said, “but we’ve been busy also.” He smiled slightly as he crossed his arms.
“I know what I’ve been up to,” James said, “as well as the rest of Civic Protection. What have you been up to?” He looked at Khaleel inquisitively.
“You stirred up the hive,” Khaleel said, “none of us have ever seen Civic Protection as mobilized as they were today. It’s just the beginning, too. They’re gathering all of their forces, the entire army. They have tanks, gunships, those new rifles.”
“High velocity rifles are what they call them,” James said.
“Yeah, a group of us saw that coming when you challenged them on that rooftop, or at least your hologram challenged them," Khaleel said. “We mobilized as many of us as possible and made several quick strikes on the smaller Civic Protection depots littered around the city. Our main objective was to get enough equipment to defend ourselves against them, while disabling all the communication equipment and supplies that we couldn’t keep.”
“What’s the count?”
“Well,” Khaleel said, “we have enough weapons and ammunition now to equip our own army, minus the really heavy weaponry.”
“Good,” James said, “what do we have in manpower now?”
“The city has become divided. About an hour ago I received the final head count of all those who’ve joined us to fight against the city.” He paused for a moment.
“And?” James said in anticipation.
“Nearly 50,000 people.” It was quiet as the number rang out across the room.
“What about support?”
“Around 20,000 people.” James thought about the number for a moment. He shook his head.
“This is only a small fraction of the population of Dirge,” James said, “but that’s still more than Civic Protection. What about all the other civilians?”
“Many of those people can’t fight,” Khaleel said, “you have no idea how many children and widows there are in this city. So many fathers that have disappeared, or were made into examples. Everyone knows what’s happening, what we're on the verge of. People are used to fleeing, or at least getting out of the way.”
“I understand more than you realize,” James said. He crossed his arms and thought for a moment, contemplating their next move. He finally spoke, “If people aren’t happy with their government, then they have a right to make a change. In this case the only way we can do that is with violence. With war.”
“We’ll fight?” Khaleel said.
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow it begins.” James said. “Tomorrow we end this once and for all. We need to do this soon. I fear my actions today have accelerated whatever they’ve been planning.”
“Do you realize what you’re saying?" Luke said as he stood up from his chair, "Do you know how many will die?” He walked around the desk towards James. "Do you know what this will cost? We may outnumber Civic Protection, but where we have pistols and grenades they have tanks and gunships. They outgun us, and their weaponry is far more sophisticated. The only reason we’ve survived so far is because of you.”
“Yes,” James said, “but I was only the beginning. I didn’t build this army.” He pointed at Khaleel and some others standing by him. "They did.” He began to turn when a voice called out to him. It was Alicia. She was next to Luke’s daughters, at the desk with all the monitors. All of them looked at her.
“Look,” Alicia said, “there’s Christina." She pointed to one of the vid screens on the desk. James moved over to the desk, and looked down at the screen. She was handcuffed to a chair in a dark room. Her lip was bleeding and her eyes were blindfolded. Two Civic Protection soldiers stood on each side of her. They were armed with high velocity rifles, and their faces were covered with armor. There was a caption scrolling, saying that Civic Protection had captured one of the terrorists responsible for the explosion earlier that day, and that she was going to be executed at midnight, live in the capital.
“That vid screen picks up signal from the networks in Dirge,” Luke said, “this is being broadcast all over the city.” James starred at the screen, and he felt the rage pushing at his mind, wanting to take control. He held it back, but kept his anger.
“Midnight,” James said. "That’s in a little over an hour.” He turned and headed for the door.
“Wait, don’t you see they’re baiting you?” Khaleel said. “We need you here; we’re on the brink of war. This is a trap to draw you out.” He’d stepped forward, putting his hand on James' shoulder. James shook his head.
“No,” James said, “we’ve been at war our entire lives. I have to go.” Luke shook his head and stepped forward.
“Don’t you understand? This isn’t some game where you can drop out when it gets inconvenient. I don’t want Christina to die, but what will happen if we lose you? What will become of all of this? All of what you’ve done in this short amount of time?” James shook his head as he looked back at Luke.
“You’re the one who doesn’t understand,” James said calmly, “we were always in danger here. I’ve already lost people, too. I lost her before. She is the embodiment of
my hope. Hope that there is an end to this city, to this torment. I will not lose her again.” He turned to Khaleel, “Continue everything as planned. If I see you tomorrow, we’ll end this together. If not, then all of you fight without me. Either way, it’ll end tomorrow. If we don’t win, all will be lost even if we don’t fight.” He turned around, leaving the facility, heading to Capitol District.
80
Christina sat in a chair in a corner of the mayor’s office with her hands cuffed behind her. The mayor sat at his desk, twitching nervously as he looked back and forth between her and the soldiers that also stood guard in the room. It was quiet, and none one spoke, although she detected several glances from the soldiers that made her hope she wasn’t alone in there for too much longer with them. She heard footsteps outside the office, and suddenly the double doors opened. Dante walked in, followed by Wolfgang, Medea, and Damaine.
“It’s on loop now,” Dante said, “if we need to record more of her sitting in the chair with handcuffs, we can. I think this should be enough though; we’re getting the message across.” He had sarcasm in his voice.
“When do you think he’ll show?” Wolfgang asked. They had left the doors to the office open, revealing a large contingent of soldiers outside in the hallways. Christina could see they were setting James up, with him either coming to rescue her, or them executing her. It probably wouldn’t end well for them either way.
She thought about what it would mean for the resistance if his life were lost. She understood what it meant to her, but she’d already experienced losing him. She silently watched them all, giving a glare of defiance. Her lip throbbed from where Wolfgang had backhanded her, knocking her to the floor. He was stopped by Dante, who had muttered something to Wolfgang that she couldn’t hear. It was obvious that although Dante might have been the more cunning of them, Wolfgang was obviously a brute who reveled in strength and domination. She’d known people like him before, people who were essentially bullies that ruled by strength.
City of Twilight Part II: The Fallen (The Vanguard Chronicles Book 2) Page 15
