Sleeper Protocol

by Kevin Ikenberry

  “In the eighteenth century, to have it become the State of Franklin,” I blurted. “Is that right?”

  “Dead on. That’s where my family is from.”

  If I hadn’t been seated, I’m sure my knees would have given out. The sense of Tennessee being my home had never been stronger. “Mine, too.”

  “That’s what you said that night. So, I told you I’d get you something to help you find your home, if you can.” Reaching into his vest, he pulled out a large paper folded like an accordion—a map, coated in thick plastic but still foldable. “They made these as a commemorative in 2154, when the Terran Council dedicated the preserve. They started removing all of the buildings and structures in 2106 when the remains of Oak Ridge were cool enough. That’s when I was born. Took them less than fifty years, but they got almost everything out of there.”

  “Almost?”

  Mick shrugged. “Some things like dams and bridges stayed so people could enjoy the scenery when nature rebounded. A few roads but nothing like it used to be.”

  “Can I see it?” I got the feeling Mick had been through hell to get it for me.

  Mick chuckled. “Of course. It’s from the library.”

  I glanced at the bar and met the eyes of the lone patron through the mirror. Mick caught my glance and looked at the bar. The man turned away.

  “Nosy bastard.”

  Unfolding the map, I saw that the eastern third of the state of Tennessee had been circled in red marker. “That’s the boundary?”

  “Yeah, surrounded by a fifteen-foot fence to keep most of the bigger game in.” Mick pointed to a few ticks along the boundary. “These are entry points. Not all of them are manned with park rangers or game wardens, but they still record you entering and leaving the preserve. The limit for a stay is thirty days. After that, they come after you.”

  “And that?” I pointed to a star near the center of the preserve.

  “A small supply-transport terminal—no passengers there unless you have a diplomatic pass. You go into the preserve on foot with only what you can carry on your back. Makes it less likely that you’re going to foul up anything.”

  “Can I take this?”

  Mick chuckled. “I borrowed it from the library. My sister is a data-collections technician there. I have to get it back to her today. Take a picture of it.”

  “Take a picture?” I squinted, but when Mick pointed to his head, I felt like a complete idiot. Mally, can you commit this to memory?

  <>

  Not right now. I’ll spend some time studying it.

  <>

  I reached over and shook Mick’s hand again. “Thank you, Mick.”

  “You’re welcome, Kieran.” Leaning back against the dark wood of the booth, he pointed at the door. “Here comes Chastity.”

  “She’s early.” The crawling feeling in my stomach worked its way across my face.

  “If you don’t want to be around her, get out of here.” Mick picked up his coffee mug. “Never, ever let a woman fuck up your life.”

  He was right. I watched Chastity bouncing down the street like a tornado clad in pink leopard skin. She sauntered through the door toward us, with a wide sneer on her face, and I made my decision. Arranging to meet here had been a mistake. As she closed the distance, she smirked at me. None of this was going to end well.

  Ten feet away, she started yelling. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  I looked at Mick, whose face was impassive, and then back into the maw of a harpy. Gone was the cute pixie I’d woken up to. She obviously did not want to lose my never-ending credit. The map in my hands meant the end of her free ride. “I paid my bill, and I’m leaving,” I said.

  “Like hell!”

  Wrapping my fingers around the warm coffee mug, I wished that I had poured more whiskey in it. “Yes, I am. I’m leaving Memphis today. I paid my bill and tipped you. What more do you want from me?”

  She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. The effect almost like that of a cow chewing cud. “I want 20 percent.”

  “Fine.” I shrugged. “We were having a conversation.”

  “I’m not leaving until you give me my credits.”

  <>

  Opening my palms, I smiled. “Done. Check your balances.”

  “I said thirty!” She pointed a painted nail at me.

  Mick rumbled to life. “He paid you twenty, whore. Get out of here.”

  “Fuck you, Mick, you piece-of-shit broken veteran! Nobody wants you around here!”

  Shooting to my feet before Mick, I gestured him back down into his seat and faced Chastity. Lowering my voice, I asked, “What do you want, Chastity? What will make you leave here now and never look back?”

  Sneering like a hyena, Chastity stared through me. “You can’t buy me off, Kieran! I’ve got something you want.”

  “What is that?”

  The man at the bar watched us intently. One hand stayed in his jacket pocket.

  “Lots of stuff you want. Like, all kinds of soldier information and all that.”

  Blinking, I stepped closer. “What did you say?”

  “Your protocol tapped me, and she left a bunch of data spillage. I’ve got a shitload of information you’d love to have.”

  <>

  “I’m not buying anything back from you. I paid for my services, Berkeley.”

  Her eyes widened. “Who the fuck is Berkeley? You said you loved me, you cheating sonofabitch!”

  The slap brought a quick explosion of red into my vision, and the heat of her hand on my face felt hotter than the sun for an instant. My head had turned toward the bar, toward the customer. He’d left his seat and was walking toward me, hand still inside his jacket. Chastity was screaming incoherently in front of me, and she slapped the side of my head again, right on my ear. Mick stepped between us, blocking her next set of blows.

  The man stepped up, hand still in his jacket. “You some kind of special person? A soldier, I hear?”

  I nodded. Chastity stopped screaming and stepped over to the side of the stranger, hands on her hips. The pose almost made me laugh. Instead, I squared my shoulders to him and felt immediately better as Mick stood up next to me.

  “That’s right, I am. Who are you?”

  “Nobody.” His shit-eating grin made me sick. “I’ve got orders not to do anything to you, but there’s plenty that I want to say.”

  <>

  I blinked Mally’s words away and looked at the man. Whoever he was, he knew something I didn’t. “Say what you have to say.”

  “You’re a coward, whenever you came from. The only reason you and your kind were celebrated was because everyone pitied you. Poor little soldier. Can’t make a decision for themselves, so they listen to others like stupid animals. The generals sent you out to do the things they didn’t want to do. Poor baby. Makes my heart bleed for you.”

  “Like you could do any better.” There was a hint of anger in my voice. I wished for the anger to grow, knowing full well that my body would do only what it needed to.

  The stranger squinted, acting tough. “You saying I’m a coward, boy?”

  “Worse.” I swallowed. “If I’m a coward, you’re nowhere near as good as I am. You talk a good game, buddy, but when it comes down to it, you couldn’t fight your way out of a w
et paper bag.”

  The man sneered. “We don’t need your kind around here. The way I see it, the only good soldier is a dead soldier.”

  Mick rumbled to life. His mechanical fist clenched, and he stepped toward the man. “What did you say?”

  “Yeah!” Chastity snapped. “Now give me my money, Kieran…” As if in slow motion, Chastity’s eyes rolled up into her head. She fell in a heap, head crashing into the floor with a thud.

  “What did you do?” The man drew his hand from his jacket. There was a flash of metal. It could have been a gun, but I lost sight of it as Mick stepped in and leveled the man with a single blow.

  Mick pushed my backpack into my hands and shoved me toward the door. “There’ll be more of them! Go!”

  Starting toward the door, I looked back at my friend. “What about you?”

  “I’ll be all right. Just go!”

  <> Mally chimed as I hit the door of the bar and broke into a sprint.

  Where do I go?

  <>

  What happened to Chastity?

  <>

  Eventually? I vaulted over an autocar. The two inhabitants stared in disbelief at me flying over the roof like a hurdler.

  <>

  Six to eight months? God, Mally, how could you do that to her?

  <>

  Will I ever find someone that I don’t end up hurting?

  <>

  What? By whom?

  <>

  Why would they want to kill me? They’re the ones responsible for bringing me back!

  <>

  She was right. I should have listened to her from the start. I wanted away from all of it—the future and the people in it. A cold, sulfurous rain began to fall as I ducked into an alley and ran as hard as I could. At the end of the alley, a thoroughfare opened to the east, and I kept running past the squalor of Memphis. There were sirens behind me, and at each corner, robotic cameras watched my every turn. With Mally giving directions, I wove through the streets so that no one could possibly follow me. She urged me faster and always to the east toward the mountains and the preserve. An hour later, I jumped a six-foot fence without breaking stride. A doe, spooked, dashed in front of me, her fawn trailing on shaky legs. I twisted around the small deer and kept running.

  Thirty miles away, the flat lands of the Mississippi River floodplain began to give way to gentle rolling hills, devoid of crops but filled with acres of trash in all directions. Thunder echoed above me as the rain intensified. Amidst the trash were thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of cars. Recycling is all the rage now, Mally.

  <>

  People need old cars on Pluto?

  <>

  Even soldiers like me?

  <>

  It’s the truth.

  Mally did not respond, and I knew I was right. I found a rhythm and ran through the rainy afternoon. As I ran, I understood I’d been wrong to come back to an America that was no more, but I couldn’t stop myself. Head down, I lengthened my stride and accelerated toward the Cumberland Plateau. With any luck, I wouldn’t see a soul or have to speak to anyone. No one seemed to understand what I was and where I’d been except for the voice in my head, and everything I’d done seemed to be against her wishes. I was slowly but surely pushing her away, and she was the only one who cared for me.

  I’m sorry, Mally. I’ve been an idiot.

  <>

  Was that guy right about things—about me? Are soldiers all dumb animals? Is that what Berkeley thought?

  <>

  Yes. Another group of sirens screamed to the south, but they faded as I ran into the wilderness.

  <>

  You think I should go? Defend all of this but never feel a connection to it?

  <>

  Has Allan ever responded to my messages?

  <>

  She had, and as much as I understood it, I hated it. Please let it be connection problems and not him ignoring me.

  <>

  What’s that? I asked, but I believed I already had the answer.

  <>

  The forest gave way to a wide corridor filled with dormant tall grass and scrub. In the middle, game trails meandered alongside a trickling creek. I followed to the northeast. I sucked in a deep breath as I ran, thankful for the voice in my head and knowing my heart was right, if broken. You’re my guardian angel, Mally.

  <> Mally cued up more music from my time, and I ran to the driving beat.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Crawley slammed his office door and hurried to the desk. With a tap, he brought up the secured-communications system and let the connection propagate.

  There was worry on the young scientist’s face. The curved fuselage of Crawley’s personal exocraft appeared behind her. She was still in the air, en route to New York. “He left Memphis an hour ago with council authorities on his heels. The null-profile report triggered the Council Security Forces to action. Their lead agent tried to intercept Kieran.”

  “What happened?” Crawley asked.

  “There was a confrontation. Kieran was able to escape, but the cyber prostitute suffered a cerebral hemorrhage from rapid disconnection, and the authorities collected her for interrogation.”

  Crawley frowned. “How serious is her brain damage?”

  “They won’t get much out of her. She has a one in ten chance of survival. I doubt they’ll discover Kieran’s progression before he integrates. Her brain is jelly for all intents and purposes.”

  “Any idea of his location?”

  “He left Memphis over a periphery fence, heading east. I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to find him with Mally shut off to outside communications.”

  Given his course and speed, they could estimate position and send a team, but it was risky. “I want a definitive position before we do anything. What do we know?”

  Bennett sucked in a breath and let it out. “He went to the bar to meet a former soldier.”

 
Crawley smiled. “Our Memphis assets have pulled him in for questioning. The guy broke just about every rule in the book. He showed Kieran a map of the Franklin Preserve.”

  “Why did he do that?” Bennett licked her lips. “Let me guess: Kieran said he thought he was born in the mountains. The guy showed him a map of the Franklin Preserve, and Kieran went running. Anything else from the man?”

  “Former soldier. Lost an arm at Tau Ceti Four.” His team followed protocol to the letter, and former Sergeant First Class Mick Jensen would be on the moon within a few hours and headed outbound to Libretto or Styrah for his own protection. All without the council becoming aware of it.

  Mick Jensen had played his role perfectly. It was too bad that his time as one of Crawley’s assets on Earth had come to an end so soon, but there were several other former soldiers willing to help. Arranging the clandestine transports to get Bennett in and out of North America had been hell, but his team had made it happen. They’d need to do something about the prostitute, too. Crawley ran a hand through his hair and wondered how much longer he could keep up the subterfuge. Sooner or later, the council was going to know.

  “General? I asked what our next step was. Do you want us to move on the Franklin Preserve?”

  “No,” Crawley replied. “They’re likely watching everything in Columbia right now. When he hits the fence of the preserve, he’ll set off the monitors.”

  Berkeley shook her head. “Mally won’t let that happen. He’ll pass into the preserve unhindered. She’s paranoid enough to be a real threat to our finding him.”

  Crawley agreed. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, so to speak. What’s your status?”