by Bob Blink
"We were starting to wonder if you'd been grabbed," Ray informed him.
"No problems," Greg said. "Has something happened?"
"Morales was tailing Jessica," Ray told him. "It's likely they have discovered her involvement, and possibly mine. Did you learn anything?"
"A lot, and you're not going to believe some of it. Sam finally got a look at where they have been keeping Joe."
"He's alive?"
"Not anymore, but I think he just passed. So they won't be learning any more from him, but I can't say what he might have been able to tell them over the last couple of days."
"I'm surprised he lasted so long," Ray admitted. "This sounds bad."
"It's worse than you can imagine. Sam learned they disposed of Joe's body the same day you delivered him to the Cloning Clinic. They've been keeping him alive inside a machine."
"What?"
Greg nodded. "According to Sam it's some kind of a robot. Big thing. Taller than a human. Sam thinks it is something designed to support human minds. Something that's been here all along, but never needed. Walker and his friend Dr. Ho have been using it to try to keep Joe's mind viable until they can create a new body. Sam says they have already started one."
"What are these things for?" Ray asked.
"Anyone's guess. Sam says they are big, strong, and somewhat armored. He's never seen one moving on its own. He barely caught a glimpse of the one they were using when they hauled it out of the room where they'd been keeping it for the past couple of days. That's when he overheard that Joe's mind had failed. He assumed that they might be taking it back to where it was normally stored.
"Do they have more of these things?" Jessica asked. "Walker has never even hinted that such a thing exists."
"Sam believes there must be a number of them. It wouldn't make sense for just a single unit to be made. He's been everywhere in the Cloning Clinic and can't imagine where there would be a place for them, except, unlike the other buildings where they have the labs, the main building only has a two-level basement. That's always seemed strange to him, and now he wonders if there might be a third level, but it's not readily accessible. He's going to do some poking around. From the direction they were headed he's guessing there might be access to where they are hidden near Dr. Ho's office."
"I hope you warned him to be very careful," Ray said. "They are probably suspicious of everyone just now. He won't want to earn their attention."
"Sam's pretty crafty," Greg promised. "I think he'll be alright."
"Speaking of alright, where is Dale?" Ray asked. "You said he wouldn't be gone long. "It's getting late. Too late. The fool never should have left here."
"I am thinking that he might be in trouble," Rao agreed.
That was when Ray's communicator beeped alerting him to an incoming message.
"It's from Walker," he said. "They have grabbed Dale. He wants me there when they question him."
"It's a trap!" Jessica warned.
"I don't think so. If he was suspicious of me, I think he'd question Dale first. But just in case, give me one of the guns. The stunner won't be enough if I have trouble."
Chapter 31
Sequoia Facility
Earlier
Dale Nesbitt knew he was in serious trouble. He was also certain that he had probably exposed Matti's location by his unauthorized trip into the Residential Zone. Now, he scurried between shops, hoping he could elude the man he'd seen come after him as he'd made the turn onto the main thoroughfare. Even though the place Matti was staying was more than a block away, he knew they would search the area for her. He used his communicator to warn her that she needed to flee immediately. He knew they had a secondary place arranged for just such an emergency.
He wished he knew the area better. The few months he'd been in this miserable place he'd spent little time wandering the streets to learn what was here. Only when Matti had taken him out to shop, or for an evening's entertainment had he gotten a chance to see some of the area. Heart hammering in his chest, his throat dry from his hoarse breathing, he dodged between a couple of buildings and came out a street over. He felt like his legs were made of lead, and he hadn't really exerted himself. Just the thought he might have to run had him almost paralyzed with fear. He didn't have a clue where he'd run. Rao had been right to chastise him about coming here. Unfortunately this street was another apartment block and, as a result, was far too quiet. At least he couldn't see anyone following him, which was easier without the crush of the evening crowds. Rethinking the matter he decided that maybe the quieter streets were better. Dale decided he'd shift over another block and get even farther from the crowds of people.
Mark Savage was pleased that his target had broken away from the busy street and headed into an area where fewer eyes would be on what went down. Walker wanted this man to disappear, so he could be taken where answers could be obtained. When he'd spotted the man he'd toyed with the idea of trailing him to see where he went, but then realized if for some reason he lost him, which briefly had happened, Walker would have his ass. It would be better to grab him, and sweat the information they wanted out of the man. He wasn't likely to be very tough.
Mark watched the programmer as he moved between a couple of residences, obviously believing he'd be safer on one of the less inhabited pathways. He smiled. Not the right choice. Once he was certain where Nesbitt was headed, Mark adjusted his course so that he'd end up ahead of the clumsy engineer. As he walked he pulled out the handgun and held it by his side where it would be ready. He didn't want to use it, but simply brandishing it should be more than enough. If the bastard gave him trouble he would smack him alongside the head to calm him down.
Soon Dale could hear the man coming. His fast breathing gave him away even before Mark saw him. Waiting until the fool was almost beside him, attention focused where he'd been instead of where he was going, Mark calmly stepped out and rammed the pistol into the man's side. He jumped nearly a foot.
"Director Walker would like to speak with you," Mark whispered in the man's ear. He could almost sense the man's increased panic.
Holding onto his arm, Mark showed him the gun.
"No trouble, or I'll shoot you in both legs. That'll eliminate any thoughts you have of running. Understand?"
Nesbitt's eyes were wide with panic and he nodded his head repeatedly up and down showing he got the message.
"Let's go," Mark directed, and pointed with the pistol the direction they were to take.
It soon became apparent that it would be obvious that Nesbitt was his prisoner when they tried to move through the crowds toward Walker's place. He needed a better way to move the man.
"Hold up," he commanded, and pulled out his communicator. It took only a moment to get in touch with Walker, who indicated he'd send Luke Morales with the car to meet them. He was to bring him to the Command Center, coming in through the rear entrance and going directly down to the special rooms on the lowest level.
Mark directed Nesbitt into a dark corner where they could wait for Luke to arrive with the vehicle without being spotted. It seemed to take a long time for Walker's new number two man to arrive, but eventually the car came nearly silently up the street, the driver obviously trying to locate them. Mark stepped out and flagged down his friend.
"You got him," Luke said happily when he saw the disgruntled and frightened programmer. "Walker is ecstatic. Now maybe we'll get some answers and find out just what is going on." He rubbed his head where he'd been clubbed early and grimaced.
The verbal exchange between Walker's two henchmen wasn't much of a distraction, but Dale knew he wasn't ever going to get much more. Once he was stuffed into the car, they'd haul him off and he had little doubt his immediate future would be unpleasant and his long terms prospects nonexistent.
Seeing Mark's attention wasn't directly on him or the gun the man was holding, Dale made his move. If he could grab the gun, fire a couple of shots, maybe even wound one or both of the men, he'd have a chance. Unfo
rtunately, despite the fact he now had a youthful body, Dale still was saddled with a forty year-old's mind and reflexes. Since awakening in the Facility, he'd done little to become adjusted to his new physical situation. He fumbled the grab at the weapon, instantly alerting both men to what he was attempting. Luke reached for his own weapon, and Dale and Mark struggled for control of the gun that Dale had failed to grab outright.
A loaded weapon with a finger still inside the trigger guard is an accident waiting to happen, and as pressure was applied trying to strip the weapon from Mark's hands, the inevitable happened. Only a single shot was fired, but the gun discharged while the muzzle was pressed up against Nesbitt's chest. The round passed under the rib cage and up into the upper chest cavity, punching through the programmer's heart, killing him almost instantly.
"Shit!" Mark cursed as he finally managed to gain full control of the weapon. "Is he hit?"
"He's more than hit," Luke said after checking the prone form on the ground. "He's quite dead. Walker isn't going to take this very well."
"People coming," Mark warned.
A number of locals had heard the weapon's discharge, and several were slowly coming to see what happened. It was quite obvious they wouldn't be able to get away with the body. Walker's car probably would be recognized even if they fled leaving the body.
"You better let Walker know," Luke said, not wanting to be the bearer of the bad news.
Unhappily, Mark made the call.
"What did he say?" Luke asked.
"What do you think? I'm in for a tongue lashing later, but for now he said stay with the body and wait for Ray Burke. He's with security, and Walker wants him to make this official, and blame Nesbitt for the theft the other day. Put away your gun. This one is supposed to be Nesbitt's. Walker will tell Ray how to handle it. The other weapons that were used to kill our guys will also supposedly belong to Nesbitt and his friends."
Luke shook his head wondering if anyone would believe such a story, but dutifully did as Mark instructed. He didn't need the weapon at the moment, and it would be better if the residents didn't see any more weapons than they had to.
Ray took the call as he was approaching the Command Center, surprised that Walker was calling again. He immediately wondered what had happened.
"Change of plans," Walker told him as soon as he answered. "Nesbitt has been shot and killed trying to escape. I need you to go there and put an official blessing on the whole thing. Nesbitt is the bad guy, who was armed and it's his gun that he got killed with. Make people believe that. Then you and the others bring the body to the Cloning Clinic for disposal as usual." Then he gave Ray directions to where the shooting occurred.
After disconnecting, Ray cursed. He hated himself for the thought that Dale's getting killed gave the rest of them a break, but now wondered just what his situation was going to be. He still didn't know if his cover had been blown, and if it had, then Mark and Luke would almost certainly take action as they returned to the Command Center after cleaning up the mess in the Residential district. He reached back and checked his weapon snug in the holster at the small of his back. He'd have to be alert to anything that suggested the men might have orders to take him in place of the now deceased programmer. If they did know about him, he'd have to alert Cindy, which would mean the core of their resistance network would all be in hiding, which didn't bode well for their futures.
Chapter 32
Sequoia Facility
It was late the following day when Ray made his way back to the bunker to the south of the Ring. He really didn't like making so many trips there, for fear someone might note the frequency of his trips to that area of the caverns and pay attention to where he was going, ultimately leading to the discovery of their most important safe spot. Unfortunately there was much to talk about, and any form of electronic communication was just too open to monitoring. Cindy had already warned them that the Director had Facilities geared up to monitor any use of their communicators, and a general search for certain types of conversations. After the public events of the afternoon before, he felt he had license to be more open, and had upped the surveillance. Since Ray was off-duty until the evening, he had made the trip on foot, taking the long way, and dressed in jogging gear, had used the rarely driven pathway as his route.
The somber gathering consisted of just four of them. Greg had arrived a short time ahead of Ray, while Rao and Jessica hadn't left since he'd seen them the day before.
"That damn Mark shot him," Jessica said referring to Dale when they sat down at the large dining room table. "He always struck me as a bit of an asshole," she added. Facilities had presented a brief story on the shooting, the second time that anyone had been killed in the caverns since they had been opened, and both events within a week.
"Actually, I'm certain it was an accident," Ray disagreed. "I don't really know Mark, but it was very clear he was extremely concerned how Walker was going to deal with him."
"He shouldn't have gone back to the Residential Zone," Ray said. "Keep that in mind. He should have remained here where he was safe. All of you are vulnerable, and the more time you spend out of our secure locations, the greater risk you place all of us in. Can you imagine if they had taken Dale alive?"
"Was it necessary to make him the guilty party?" Rao asked. "On the report they showed you and you said it was his gun and that almost proved he was somehow tied in with whoever had killed two of the Director's men the other day."
"There wasn't much choice," Ray replied. "I realize that doing so gives Walker more options with opening up the search publically, but from his perspective I am not supposed to know about the guns and what really happened up north. Also, if I were to disagree with him, any hope of remaining on the inside of things would be lost. It would be especially bad, because we are responsible for the shooting of those other men."
"No one's blaming you," Jessica said. "I wouldn't have been brave enough to go out there not knowing if they knew about me."
"Stayed with Cindy last night. She's terrified at what's happening. I don't think she believed it could go this way, with people being killed. She is very nervous they are going to stumble onto her involvement and she'll have to hide like Sarah and Matti, or worse that Walker's goons will break down the door and shoot her."
"But it seems that Walker doesn't suspect you of any involvement?" Jessica asked.
"It appears not. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when we drove up to the Cloning Clinic, but Walker was there, and acted no different than he has all along. For now at least, I can move around freely. It's a good thing too, because our group is mostly under suspicion and that's going to restrict what we can hope to do."
"We need more people," Greg said.
"Agreed," Ray said, "but how do we find those we can trust? We're up against Walker who has been fully in charge since this place was opened, and most of the people have spent their lives here believing in him. Going up against him has to be done carefully, especially after the PR he's getting suggesting there's a rebel group who are targeting his people. He's a clever adversary."
"Maybe we could have Cindy build some kind of news bulletin that we could release to throughout the Facility, showing what Walker has been doing and attempt to undermine his support," Greg suggested.
"I'm not sure how effective that would be, especially in light of recent events," Ray countered. "It would also put Cindy at risk. Walker would soon enough be able to determine the source of such a release."
Ray was uncomfortable with putting her in such a precarious position.
"Walker's got the people, and he's got too many secrets," Greg said.
"What do you mean?" Ray asked.
"They've got a whole room of those robots. There is a third lower level in the Cloning Clinic, and that's where they are. I don't know what else they have down there, but I've been told there are a couple of hundred of the things stored down there."
"A couple of hundred!" Jessica exclaimed. "Whatever for?"
"Emergencies, and to help out when preparations are being made to move back out of the caverns when this is all over. The conditions might be risky, and using the clones was considered a better way to go. Did you know they cloned Ho a while back?"
Ray shot him a look.
"No. When was this?"
"Not all that long ago, and they copied the current Ho and stored her in one of the robots until they could grow an aged version of her so no one would know. It all happened the last time she was on vacation."
"How are you finding all of this out?" Rao asked, impressed.
"Sam has been doing some poking about, and I believe sneaking looks into some of the special records they have hidden away in the Clinic. They aren't online, but from the proper terminals I guess you can learn a lot. I recall the time she was supposed to be on vacation, but she wasn't at the Resort."
"He'd better be careful," Ray warned. "We don't need him getting caught. It's interesting to know, but it's not worth the risk of getting caught. It's not as though the information is going to help us in any way."
"He's a mainstay around there, and people are used to him being seen almost anywhere. He's still trying to find how to get down to this lower level though."
"So we know what they did with Joe and how they did it," Jessica said. "We are lucky he didn't give them more than he did."
"I think we need to act against Walker and his group, rather than just responding," Greg said.
"We don't know how far this effort of his extends," Ray warned. "We know some of the most obvious players, and those he is using within the Sim, but just who else has he brought over to his little revolution?"
"If we take him out, that might be enough," Greg protested.
"They'd just re-clone him like they did Ho," Jessica warned.
"We'd have to make sure he was completely dead," Greg explained. "Then they could only clone him from his Sim kernel, and from what we know about the early years here, that version of him didn't have the same ambitions."
