by Aline Riva
Further down the vehicle, behind the curtain that led to the medical area, in the single bed jammed up against a tight corner, Joy was wrapped in Jekel's arms. The sheets that covered them were crumpled and Jekel shifted closer to her as he lay with his head on her shoulder.
“I've missed cuddles,”he said, “It's been so long...Making love, closeness...” he raised his head from her shoulder, his hazel eyes sparkled as he smiled, “Kisses,” he said fondly and suddenly as emotion overwhelmed him,he blinked away tears, “I love you, Joy! I really do...I never thought I'd ever say that again to someone but I do...hold me...”
Joy pulled him closer, pressing her lips against his hair as she kissed him and gave him a tight hug.
“You're not hard to love, Ash,” she whispered, “Maybe I always did...I think we were meant to meet back in that ruined town. I know I never forgot you. I always wondered what had happened, I hoped you were alright...”
He laughed softly as he blinked away his tears.
“I am now,” he assured her, “I'm just fine, Joy...”
The Jekel rolled on his back and breathed a sigh of contentment. He turned his head and looked at Joy and that sparkle was still in his eyes.
“So tell me, Ash,”Joy said as she ran her fingers through the soft hair that covered his chest as her touch made him smile, “Why you? How come you became Riley's prototype?”
“I was in a car accident,” he replied, “And I was dying. Blake saved my life by using his new cyborg design plan.”
Joy's hand had settled over the left side of his chest as she felt the beat of his heart and recalled the day in the war bird when Murdock had picked up a life sign...Jekel's.
“So what did you do after that?” she asked him, “It must have been life changing.”
“It was!” Jekel exclaimed, “I went from making a modest living as a stage magician at a holiday camp in Skegness to being a famous illusionist with my own show! I made so much money I bought a mansion in Finchingfield in Essex!”
Joy started to laugh.
“So...let me get this right... you became the most sophisticated cyborg in the whole world, and... used it in your act to become famous?”
“Of course I did!” Jekel exclaimed, “Can you imagine what a gift that was, being a magician who could really vanish on stage?”
Joy laughed harder and he looked puzzled.
“What's so funny?”
“It's a military stealth mode!”she exclaimed.
“It was part of my act,” he replied, “And it made me money and it made me famous.”
Joy shifted closer to him, looking into his eyes as she knew in her heart this man was already in there, his name firmly etched inside her soul as sure as she would never forget Captain Murdock.
“You're a sweet man,” she said softly, “You have so much potential built into you for combat and you chose to use it in your stage act?”
“I'm not a soldier, I'm an entertainer,” he replied, “And I hate violence, anyway.”
“Me too,”Joy whispered as she wrapped her arms about him and rested her head on his chest listening to the sound of his heartbeat, “I hate violence too...But these days...some of us don't have a choice...”
Then she closed her eyes, listening to the light rain fall and the hum of the engine as the vehicle travelled onwards and as she rested in his arms and sleep beckoned, all she heard was the sound of Jekel's heartbeat that reminded her of the war bird and the day Captain Murdock had picked up a life sign on the ground below...
Morning over freedom City brought with it darkened clouds that promised to blacken further and summon rain, and much reflected the mood of the Premier, as Josh stood at the window in his office on the floor above the conference room, where he stood looking out across half built city that promised a future as he crushed his hand into a fist and thought of how that future had been soured.
The look in his eyes darkened along with the troubled skies as rain began to fall, and he turned from the window and looked to the man who stood by his desk, awaiting his reaction to all he had learned.
It had started off as an ordinary day for Josh – waking late, going up to his office, tossing aside petitions and paperwork connected with the pro cyborg cause because the stack of anti cyborg protests and letters and petitions were higher in volume – people didn't want them in the city, they didn't trust the cannibalisation of UNA equipment, the equipment and designs that had potential perhaps to develop hostile life if its own – cyborgs were not welcome here... His day would have been peaceful save the paperwork, he could have done nothing all day long while he waited to hear the latest news on more building plans.
And now this...
“I'm sorry, sir,” Captain Bracken said quietly, “To be the one to deliver such news....but it would have been disloyal to have said nothing, Premier.”
For the briefest moment, Josh was in a bad place. His home was being burned, his family taken from him...he had gone through hell believing they were dead and to find Steph alive and well....He had once clung to her afraid to let go in case it had been a dream. He had been afraid to let her out of his sight and now....now she had done this to him, after all his hard work to give them both the life they deserved after the hell they had been through...What the fuck did she want from him? He was Premier, she couldn't get a higher position in society...Wasn't that enough for her? What did she see in a city guard, a nobody like Kaden Silk?
As he met the Captain's gaze, his own eyes were clouded like the angry skies. He felt as if his blood was boiling as he thought of Kade, that young and arrogant prick who had the nerve to put his hands on another man's wife...not just any man, either, the Premier's wife...
“Are you certain?” he said, feeling sick at the thought.
Captain Bracken paused for thought.
“I saw him leave your apartment. The Vice Premier came out and I think she challenged him...she seemed angry...”
Knowing nothing of Sylvia's family link, he jumped to his own conclusion.
“The dirty bastard was probably banging her as well,” he said bitterly.
For a moment he fell silent as the rage within him swirled. Then he remembered he was Premier and head of the City Guard, and that just about made him the most powerful man in Freedom...and obviously, Kaden Silk needed reminding of that fact...
“Bracken,” he said.
The Captain met his gaze.
“Yes, sir?”
Cold rage shone darkly in his eyes as Josh spoke again.
“You will have a promotion within six months and an upgrade to better living quarters than you have now. This is a reward for your loyalty and discretion. But first you must carry out an order: Make Silk pay for what he's done. Make it look like an accident. You don't have to kill him, just make sure you shoot him in the face. Make sure no woman will ever want to look at him again.”
Captain Bracken's face paled, but as he looked to the most powerful man in the city he nodded.
“Yes, sir,” he replied in a hushed voice, “It shall be done, as you wish.”
As he dismissed him and the Captain left the room, as the door closed it dawned on Josh that he had just ordered Captain Silk to be maimed for life. And he knew he ought to feel some level of remorse or at least a degree of guilt at his actions - but instead all he felt was fury and a burning desire for revenge as he pictured Kaden Silk making love to his wife...
Many miles away as the sun rose higher in a sky pitted with cloud, the motor home took a steep uphill climb after following a winding road that had left behind the view of a valley part shrouded in mist and part standing like a crazy paving of fields of dark shrubbery and green interwoven with old wheat fields, as the vehicle went on, the mist and the murk and the reminders of all that had happened to tear this land apart seemed to be fading out, the further they went, the greener the grass, even the odd ruined cottage and farmhouse along the way had seemed to be in lesser states of ruin than the places they had passed earlier. J
ekel felt awkward, sitting behind Elise and Lynch simply because they had invited him up for a better view, the two of them had been talking softly and now he had sat down, their conversation had stopped.
“So this is Wales?” Jekel said as they reached the top of the hillside and began to drive down, where more winding roads were snaking between patchworks of open land, as in the distance, an old house stood stark and lonely on the slope of another hillside.
“According to the map we have been in Wales for around twenty minutes,” Lynch replied as he kept his gaze fixed to the lonely country road, “Taking these back roads makes for a long trip but its the safest route – less chance of being challenged by hostility and also less chance of a Howler attack. I know they're still out there but their numbers, in remote parts, tend to be smaller – they hunt where the food can be found. No people, they're more likely to move on...” then as he considered all possibilities, he glanced briefly to Jekel, adding, “Mind you, if there are any out here they're probably burrowers...under ground dwellers. And I'm willing to bet they'll be starving!”
A look of alarm registered in Jekel's eyes as Lynch looked back to the road.
“But don't worry,” Lynch added as he smirked and a look of amusement shone in his blue eyes, “We can take care of ourselves. I'm sure if the worst happened someone would protect you. Not me, but someone.”
Jekel glared at him as Lynch exchanged a glance with Elise and she gave him a look that said his remark had been somewhere between cruel and amusing.
“Stop it!” she said playfully, her dark eyes widening with a hint of friendly warning. Lynch chuckled and continued to drive. As the scenery became a blur in shades that ran from brown to sea green and through the dull green into slashes of lime and back again to dark, as Lynch and Elise said no more, they exchanged another glance and a smile, unaware the passenger sat behind them was fuming with anger.
“I've survived a Howler attack!” Jekel said suddenly, “There were hundreds of them! I can even tell you how bad they stank too! I got hurt, those bastards ripped into me -”
The wind coming in through the open window blew her long dark hair in a cascade of chestnut as Elise looked around and smiled at him.
”Of course you did...”
She turned away and Lynch chuckled again.
“You could barely cope when that crazy broke in,” Lynch remarked, “I'm amazed you didn't get yourself shot. I guess you've just been lucky.”
“Lucky?” he said angrily.
Elise looked round in surprise to see the willowy man in the elegant suit glaring at her as anger burned in his eyes.
“I'm not a soldier!” he protested, “I'm not trained to fight to survive in this terrible world any more than I know how to kill – not that I would want to anyway!” he paused, dragging in a breath as he blinked away tears, “I detest violence. I never chose any of this, I never chose to become a cyborg, either...but I did survive a Howler attack...five years back, in the beginning when everything I knew and everyone I loved was destroyed!”
“He's telling the truth.”
On hearing Joy's voice, Jekel's shoulders relaxed as he breathed out heavily, thankful to feel her hand on his shoulder as she stood beside him briefly, then took the seat next to him as she related the tale:
“Another story about the bravery of Captain Murdock, Lynch,” she said as he glanced at her in the mirror and then looked back to the road.
“Another tale of the great Murdock,” he replied with admiration in his tone, “Please, do share this, Joy. As I've said before to you, I knew that man long before the liberation of the former London capital. He was an outstanding soldier and I will forever be in his debt for his actions on that day. But I'm intrigued to know how his path crossed with Jekel!”
The wheels of the motor home made for a smooth ride over cracked road surface as Lynch drove on, leaving the other side of the steep hill behind and the road began to twist, snake-like through open, empty land.
“It was before the battle,” Joy replied, “Murdock was flying the war bird towards the city and we picked up a life sign on the ground. So we landed and we found Ash in the ruins of a town. The Howlers came, Murdock tried to pull him on board -”
“I remember that day, I'll never forget,” Jekel added, silently recalling how Murdock had been on the ramp of the war bird, reaching out as it hovered above ground and behind the Howlers were in pursuit as Murdock yelled to him to take his hand...
“He saved my life that day,” Jekel added, “He had to do it from the air – he managed to manipulate the horde.”
“He used a reworked UNA inhibitor to control them,” Joy added, and somewhere at the back of a memory made foggy by the wiring that had been placed into his brain long ago to link with his cybernetic functions – poorly placed due to inexperience, something clicked in his mind and he recalled a conversation long ago with Joy, about the day Murdock had controlled a pack of Howlers.
“I remember you told me that!” Lynch said in surprise, then he looked up to the mirror at the former illusionist, “You were there, Jekel?”
All trace of anger had faded from Jekel's eyes, now there was a look of relief mixed with uncertainty in his gaze as Joy once again wondered how this man, who was not a fighter, had survived for so long in this world gone to hell...
“Of course I was, I wouldn't make it up!” Jekel told him, “While I was on the ground they swamped me, they piled on and clawed at me – I managed to get free. Then Murdock found a way to control them and I was free to go on my way.”
As Joy thought again on that day so long ago, she recalled that hellish town and the frightened man in the suit they had found in the ruins...that man in an ordinary suit, who had gone on to survive the impossible...that man who was destined to become so much more to her when their paths crossed again...
“I always wondered what happened to you after that day,” she said, and she turned her head and looked into hazel eyes that reflected too much gentleness to belong in the harsh and dreadful place this world had become. Ash really hadn't changed one bit, not in the five years since they had last met, that meeting being thanks to Murdock who had picked up a life sign on the ground...As warmth and fondness flooded her heart along with a beautiful wave of love, she wondered how she could have looked back on times of such chaos and carnage with such fondness, but it was there, as sure as she had kept Murdock in her heart, she now knew she had also kept Ashley Jekel there, as suddenly that chance meeting seemed to mean so much more.
“I'll never forget that day,” Jekel said fondly as gratitude shone in his eyes, “You and Murdock saved my life...” then a sudden thought struck him as his eyes widened in surprise, “Where is he, by the way? Is he okay, Joy?” he asked her anxiously.
Seeing Ash had brought back a flood of memories that remained surprisingly warm considering the turbulent times they had lived through, and there was a flicker of sadness in her eyes and then it was gone.
“He's...doing just fine with Sasha, his partner,” she replied, “After the battle was won I was busy looking after Lynch... back then, my association with Josh the now Premier of Freedom City was on a civil level. By that I mean you could have locked us in a room and one of us wouldn't have wound up dead. But we fell out rather quickly when he started to object to my insistence on the use of compassion – so I trained in cybernetics put two fingers up at his offer of a role in the army and here I am now – caring for what's left of the cyborg population. As for Murdock, he's doing his own thing – our paths went in different directions. I can contact him if I ever need his help and I know he'd be there for me, but after the battle we went our own ways.”
“And I'm sure Captain Murdock will continue to do well on his chosen path,” Lynch added as he took the motor home around a tight corner and carried on down a road that cut between miles upon miles of fields, some shrouded in mist but others were clearer, and in these clear patches, sheep grazed freely.
“It's definitely getting
brighter,” Elise remarked as she looked out, “The further we go, the less devastation we find.”
“Everything is devastated,“ Lynch murmured as his gaze remained on the road but his thoughts shifted to his own wrecked, half machine body that he hid beneath his clothing, outwardly seeming whole while on the inside he wished for an end to his suffering, “Everything's wrecked, Elise – even if it doesn't show on the surface...”
As Joy and Jekel looked on, Elise placed her hand on her lover's knee and as he glanced at her, compassion shone in her eyes.
“Not everything under the surface is bad,” she reminded him, and then a sparkle came to his eyes as Felix Lynch laughed, and Elise smiled, knowing the reminder of her origin had been all he needed to draw him away from his dark thoughts.
Jekel looked down at his hand linked with Joy's, and then as he thought of the moment she had taken off her helmet five years back in that ruined town, he smiled.
“You've changed a bit since I last saw you,” he said to her.
“You haven't!” she said in genuine surprise.
Jekel looked into her eyes and smiled again as his guilt weighed heavily as he wished he hadn't kept his cyborg status secret from Joy on their reunion.
“Well you have. By that I mean you look very good...considering the state of the world around us.”
Suddenly his hand felt too comfortable in her grip and Joy let go gently, still trying to get used to the notion that Ashley Jekel was definitely having the kind of effect on her that she hadn't expected to feel again for a man – she was certain of it, as sure as she had been as they had woken together wrapped in an embrace and she had kissed him awake – yes, she was in love with this man.
Then the world jarred harshly with a squeal of tyres on road surface as Lynch slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a sharp and sudden stop.
Elise looked to Lynch in alarm.
“What did you do that for?”
Lynch glanced back as he heard a door open and looked up the walkway to see Spike look out.
