Between Two Minds: Revelation

by D C Wright-Hammer

  “She’s right about the cops,” Junior said.

  J-A turned to him. “If anyone would know…”

  Junior shrugged to soften her insult.

  “Enough.” Ryan had anticipated the question. “We’ve discovered that ADG is currently training the street soldiers from Pure Minds United. Rough estimates put their city numbers around one thousand, but they could easily call in thousands more members from chapters in nearby cities.”

  Simon is involved, J-A thought. She knew his thugs weren’t really soldiers, but she also knew it wasn’t hard to aim and shoot a laser at someone’s face. Still, some things didn’t sit well with her. Ryan had been so naïve and immature when they’d first met that she’d seriously doubted he was anything special. Then, suddenly, he was acting like an experienced squad leader. He was unquestionably heeding the warnings of R-J and some random hacker, who refused to show his face. She debated going with her gut and calling the whole thing off. But she knew if any of the things Ryan had revealed were true, it would have a major impact on the FPR invasion. Given that potential, she thought she’d try a different approach, to get a better feel for this new Ryan.

  J-A raised her hand. “Can I talk to you in private, Charlie-Ryan?”

  He nodded.

  As their leaders walked away, an awkward silence fell over the rest of the group.

  Lucy often joked when she was uncomfortable. “So, is it true? Are two minds better than one?”

  Junior groaned. Helen rolled her eyes, and the shifters shook their heads. The silence became more awkward.

  J-A and Ryan moved down the hallway, stopping far enough down the dim corridor to be out of earshot of the others.

  She turned to him and said, “Why do you believe R-J? Why do you believe this Robin_King?”

  “I saw it, J-A.” Ryan pointed back to the group still looking at the holo diagram. “That weapon nearly wiped me out.”

  J-A shook her head. “How? When?”

  “After we escaped, I discovered that Junior’s father isn’t dead. He found me, and he had some PMU grunts with him. They had two of these laser rifles, and they were aiming for my face. They missed, fortunately.”

  She sighed. “But doesn’t that make it even more suspicious? R-J busts you out, you see this weapon, and then, a hacker comes out of nowhere telling you what you already know?”

  Ryan shook his head. He knew he’d better make his next statement a good one or he’d risk losing J-A and the Alliance. Fortunately, he’d been prepared for this very situation. “Robin_King is the ally we need, and frankly, he’s the one we deserve. We’ve all busted out—”

  “What did you just say?” Confusion creased J-A’s face.

  “I was saying, we’ve all busted our—”

  “No, before that. ‘He’s the ally we need and deserve.’ Did he tell you to say that?”

  Ryan tilted his head. “I can show you the message. He said the Alliance was the ally that the resistance needed and deserved. But I thought it applied to him just the same. Why?”

  Still scowling, J-A took a deep breath and looked around. Memories of Rex Martin were flooding her mind. Their work. Their love. Their last minutes together.

  She was more than conflicted. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that this Robin_King would say a phrase so near and dear to her, and yet, it reminded her of a time in her life that she’d long since put behind her. Since then, she’d struggled through unspeakable horrors, fought countless battles inside and out, and she’d come out strong enough to know that she couldn’t take on the world’s evil alone. She’d built the Alliance with numerous safeguards against corruption. If she let herself suddenly be wooed by the mere words of a stranger, she’d begin undoing everything from the last ten years of grueling effort. With that thought, she’d made up her mind about how she’d proceed.

  “J-A? Are you alright?”

  She turned back to Ryan, and her face relaxed. “You have a plan?”

  He nodded.

  “Then, you have our support. Let’s get back to the others.”

  Ryan smiled. “Thanks.”

  They walked down the dim corridor, and J-A motioned for everyone’s attention. “Shifters, pay close attention to what Charlie-Ryan has to say. We’ll be following his command for this mission.”

  Ryan picked up the presentation where he’d left off. He flipped the holo to a picture of strange sunglasses. “Obviously, everyone should avoid eye contact with the laser at all costs. But to be safe, we’re going to fit everyone with transitioning arc welding goggles. The instant the beam hits the lenses, they’ll darken to block the ultraviolet light as well as the infrared radiation that would otherwise enter the eye. Our analysis shows that this should provide the protection we need. Since we should engage the facility late tonight, we’re going to modify the goggles to include night vision.”

  The holo changed to show a grenade.

  “Quick science lesson. Lasers are made up of photons, which are invisible to the human eye. Unless the beam reflects off something like particles in the air, you won’t know it’s shining in your direction. R-J acquired a decent stock of smoke bombs that will make it possible to see the lasers before it’s too late.”

  The holo shifted again, showing various angles of a military-style base with a large garage, possibly an old hanger.

  “This is where ADG completes R and D off the books. It’s where the weapon is being developed. As you can see, there are guard posts,” Ryan pointed on the 3D image, “here and here, on either side of the entrance. There’s also one in the center of the compound, here. It’s assumed they’ll be using the latest auto-guard technology as well as waves of PMU soldiers armed with laser rifles. We’ll need to breach the perimeter with a combination of strategy and force. Then, we’ll need to gain access to this building.” He pointed to the hanger.

  As Ryan spoke, Helen wasn’t sure who was more out of character; him playing a military commander or her swooning over him for it. Though certain pregnancy hormones were playing a role in her mood, there was no arguing that Ryan was convincing.

  He continued. “Unfortunately, the interior is a mystery. Once inside, we’ll need to search the entire facility to ensure nothing’s missed. Not only do we need to destroy their prototypes, but we must insert a Seek and Destroy command on their network to remove the weapon’s plans from storage and memory. Obviously, they’ll have backed up the schematics offsite, but this should slow down production significantly.”

  J-A took issue with how simple Ryan was making it sound. “Inside? You see the walls on that place? It’s literally a fortress. We would damn near need tanks to get in.”

  A grin crept across Ryan’s face. “Well, I don’t have tanks, but…”

  The main garage door to Vintage Velocity slowly raised, and everyone filed in.

  Junior walked next to Ryan. “I’m guessing your boss doesn’t know what you’re doing with his shop.”

  “You’re not going to arrest me, are you?” Ryan winked, then went to work turning on lights and starting up the equipment.

  Junior just shook his head and stopped to take in the red Mustang on the lift.

  Lucy came up next to him. “You’re not a cop anymore. Try to relax.”

  Junior smirked and sighed. “It’s situations like this that made it impossible for me to be a cop. But I think you’re onto something. This does feel different.”

  The place lit up, air compressors kicked in, and the shop was ready for business. The six technical shifters wasted no time getting familiar with the Mustang. Ryan headed for the office to obtain the keys and GPS trackers for the cars.

  Ryan emerged from the office. “Two should be good,” he said to J-A, “don’t you think?”

  “Sounds about right.” Her tone was positive.

  Ryan handed a set of keys and a GPS to a technical shifter
. “These go to a gray Dodge Ram with the extended cab. You’ll need to go through the side exit of the building. When you drive toward the gate in the lot, it will open. Just pull the truck into the garage next to the Mustang.”

  The shifter nodded and hurried away.

  “I need four people to help me get the customization parts.”

  Four shifters headed toward Ryan, but Junior stopped one of them. “I got this.”

  “Really?” Ryan smiled. “What gives?”

  “If you can’t arrest ’em, join ’em.” He returned Ryan’s wink from earlier.

  They all headed to the rear of the building, which housed the inventory for the shop. They walked past shelves of standard parts and came to a door with a sign, “Authorized Personnel Only.”

  Ryan tried the console next to the door, but it replied, “Sorry, Ryan, but this area is off limits to you.”

  Junior huffed. “Let me guess. You’re going to break the door down.”

  Ryan nodded, but one of the technical shifters stepped in. “I can get it open.”

  Everyone gave her room as she reached into her bag. When she pulled her hand out, it was closed. When she opened her hand palm up, she had a small metal cube in it. She tapped it, and it turned into a small bug and flew between the wall and door.

  “It’s a lockroach,” the shifter said.

  Junior shook his head. “Of course, it is.”

  The door clicked a few times and popped open. They all headed inside, and Ryan listed the items they’d need. They brought everything back to the garage, and the Dodge had already been pulled inside.

  Ryan closed the main door. “Ready to start building?”

  The shifters nodded.

  Ryan felt like the mood was a bit too somber, so he decided to loosen things up. “Since we’re using his shop, I figured we might as well run it like Bob.” Ryan tapped a button on his new netphone. “Old school.”

  The stereo system in the shop played the loud tapping of a high-hat cymbal and the muted notes of an electric guitar.

  Junior smiled.

  Ryan flared up a blowtorch just as a crash cymbal exploded and ancient rock music boomed throughout the garage.

  “Hey! Hey! Hey!” the speakers screamed as Ryan and his crew got to work on the cars.

  It took a good six hours to finish the exteriors of the cars. The work inside wasn’t going to be nearly as intense or as dirty. Junior had taken Lucy and Helen to get takeout for everyone. As soon as they returned, the smell of food hit all the noses, and everyone went to the locker room to wash the grease and grim off their hands.

  Ryan was walking toward the office where everyone was eating when Helen stopped him in the hallway. It was the first time they’d been alone all day.

  “You’re really doing it, Ryan.” She smiled. “You’re leading these people. I’m impressed.”

  He grinned through a frown. “It’s nothing.” He shook his head. “It’s necessary. Anyway, thanks for getting the food, by the way.”

  “No problem.” She leaned in and got right to the point. “What really happened to you? After the gassing?”

  “R-J helped to open my eyes. There’s a lot riding on FPR’s arrival.”

  She gulped. “Doesn’t it scare you? Things will never be the same.”

  He shook his head and confidently looked her in the eye. “The status quo is what scares me. I may not know FPR personally, but I know one thing. ADG and others like them are prepared to allocate a lot of resources to stop them from setting foot in this country. I’m just hoping my enemies’ enemy is my friend in this case. J-A is pretty certain.”

  “But what about all the innocent people who don’t like our government but also don’t agree with FPR. What about the children?”

  Ryan frowned. “There’s no such thing as a middle ground. To tell you the truth, there never really has been. Neutrality was just something…something people like me used to curl up next to at night to think we were somehow better than people on the extremes. We weren’t, and we aren’t. If you’re on the fence, you’re for the status quo, and that makes you against the resistance, a resistance that’s fighting for human rights. A society that is against human rights is the worst place to raise a child.”

  Helen winced. Surrounded by seemingly decent people, including the man she loved, she’d never felt so alone in her life. She suddenly missed the pushover she’d fallen for, that silly boy in the wheelchair who’d made bad puns to get her attention. She missed giving him shit for obsessing over every little detail and worrying that everything was going to turn out wrong. She knew things would change after the migration, and after they settled down following their encounter with the Padre, but she never imagined he’d throw himself head first into a revolutionary organization. It was terrifying. What if they failed? What if he got himself killed? What if they were all rounded up and shot for treason?

  She shook the morose thought from her head and remembered why she’d started the conversation in the first place. “Can we talk in Bob’s office? There’s something you need to know.”

  “Helen,” he said sounding annoyed, “I’ve gotta get some food in my stomach, make sure the vehicles get finished, and finalize the plan with J-A. We’re pushing off in about three hours. You’re still good to head to Alliance HQ with Junior and Lucy to discuss the data we’ll be uploading from the base?”

  She sighed and nodded.

  “Thanks.” He turned to walk away.

  “Hey,” Helen said annoyed.

  Ryan spun around with impatience on his face.

  “I love you, Ryan.”

  “I love you too.” He dashed away.

  Everyone ate in a flash, and the shifters got back to the cars to finish the inside. Ryan worked with J-A, and together, they ironed out the last details.

  “So, what do you think?” Ryan really wanted to impress J-A. “Pretty thorough, huh?”

  She nodded. “It should work. But what’s the contingency?”

  He looked at her blankly.

  J-A gestured toward the group working on the vehicles. “You know, what if everything goes to Hell? What if it is a trap?”

  “We leave? Fast?”

  She shook her head. “What does leaving fast look like?”

  Ryan thought about it for a moment.

  “I’ll give you some space to figure it out.

  Ryan sat at Bob’s desk and went to work coming up with a contingency. A couple hours went by, and he was nearly satisfied when Junior stuck his head in.

  “It’s time.”

  Ryan marched into the garage to find the shifters circling the cars to confirm the quality of their work. The vehicles had been mounted on bulky, puncture-proof tires. Steel plates covered 95% of the outside. The plates aligned with the doors, and there was a half-meter slit in the metal covering in both the front and back. One of the shifters had rigged up two arm-and-drop mechanisms for the smoke bombs. They secured one mechanism to the exterior of each car. If the vehicles sustained significant impact, smoke bombs would be armed and dropped in successions of two. They had half a dozen on each car.

  Everything was in place, and the shifters, J-A, and Ryan loaded up into the cars, four in each. They turned the keys and revved the engines to life.

  “Everyone ready?” Ryan shouted over the motors.

  “Yeah!” they all shouted back.

  “Then, let’s roll out!”

  Helen, Lucy, and Junior stood in the garage watching Ryan wave through the slight in the windshield. They all waved back. Helen swallowed hard, having a bad feeling about this night.

  In the security room at the ADG base, four human guards and one auto-guard were on watch duty. Ten security cameras around the facility produced ten different holos to be watched. They also had motion detectors, noise monitors, heat sensors, humidity checkers, and seis
mic trackers fifteen meters in every direction around the perimeter. If anything moved, coughed, breathed, or even slightly disturbed a leaf on the ground, they’d know about it in an instant. That is, if they were paying attention during their intense game of poker.

  “I raise ya five-hundred,” a live guard eyed his mechanical equivalent. “And don’t go using that damn artificial intelligence to figure out what my hand is either. That’s cheating.”

  This auto-guard had been developed onsite, and one of his beta routines included a sense of humor. “No intelligence? So, we’re equal?”

  The three other men at the table laughed, fidgeting with their cards.

  The fleshy guard stood up and got in the auto-guard’s face. “You calling me stupid, ya tin can?!” He pulled his arm back to throw a punch, and the place erupted with sirens.

  The men were startled, but the auto-guard walked over to the holos to confirm which alarms were going off. His mechanical voice chimed over the sirens. “All major and minor alarms have been triggered for the rear of the base.”

  The men finally snapped out of their stupor and darted over to the holos from the rear cameras.

  A guard’s face was twisted. “What the hell?”

  “There’s nothing out there,” another man said while staring at the holos.

  Another man leaned in. “There!” He pointed. “Did you see it?”

  “See what?”

  “There it is again! A small white light. They told us to look out for this.”

  “One of those mind thingies with the eye! Quick, dispatch the punks with the tasers.”

  “Lasers,” a man corrected. “They’re lasers.”

  “Yeah, those.”

  A man pressed a button on the computer console. “All new recruits, grab the special weapons from the armory and prepare for battle in the rear of the building.”

  With alarms still going off, the auto-guard wandered to the other side of the security computer system and pressed the button to mute the sirens. They immediately blared again.

  “Ah, what the hell,” a man said.

  The auto-guard looked at the holos for the front of the buildings. “Something does not compute. What are those…things approaching the base?”