Kings and Crowns: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 2)

by Chris Yee

  They stopped talking and continued down the path. When they reached the end, they turned the corner and immediately saw the red tent. Tully pulled out his watch again. Six minutes left. He signaled for the others to follow his lead and cautiously approached the back of the tent. There was a back entrance. He pushed through the opening and poked his head in. Humming came from the other side, behind a partition.

  “Wait,” Saul whispered. He pointed down at the tripwire at Tully’s feet. He grabbed Vince and waved the others back. He pulled the capsule from his pocket and held it up. “Wait here,” he mouthed. “We’ll do it.”

  Vince shuffled through his pocket for his own capsule.

  Tully nodded. “We’ll keep watch,” he mouthed back.

  They carefully stepped over the tripwire and along the side of the tent. Boiling water from behind the divider steamed up and dripped from the ceiling. The alluring aroma filled Vince’s mouth with saliva. His stomach began to rumble as he realized how hungry he was. He ignored the smell to focus on his task.

  Saul peeked around the corner. There was a man in front of a gas stove, humming a jovial tune. As Saul began to step out, the man spun around, flipping the pot in his hands. Saul swung back behind the barrier, listening to the tune move along the side of the tent. They both stood like rocks, waiting to see where the humming would go. It moved away, back towards the stove, made a sharp turn to the left, and left through the front of the tent. Saul peeked around the corner again. The chef was gone, and the steaming pot remained over the hot flame.

  Saul leaned his neck down, towards the microphone. “The guy left the water boiling on the stove.”

  “Perfect,” Greene said. “The capsule will easily dissolve in hot water. It will be virtually undetectable. Drop it in and get out of there.”

  Vince kept his eyes on the front entrance as Saul stepped towards the boiling water and plopped the capsule in. It floated for a short second and disappeared in an instant. He turned back and gave a thumbs up.

  A blaring ring sounded from the top of the tent. Vince and Saul slammed their hands over their ears and ran towards the back. The tripwire was tripped, and both Tully and Charlotte were gone. Charlotte’s journal lay on the ground, covered in dust and dirt. They heard the chef, running back into the tent.

  “Come on!” Saul yelled, praying that Vince could hear him over the deafening alarm. “Let’s get out of here!”

  Saul hunched over to pick up the journal and followed Vince, sprinting back from where they came. Behind them, the chef emerged from the tent, shaking his fist in the air. They came to an intersection, but could not remember which way to go. In the chaos, they had both become completely lost.

  “Greene!” Vince yelled into his microphone. “We’re at the cross! Which way do we go?” There was no answer. “Greene!”

  “Damn it!” Saul yelled as guards came running towards them. He grabbed Vince and turned right.

  In the distance, they saw the door to the main floor. They dashed with all of their speed, but guards cut them off in front of the door. Guards ahead, and guards behind. They were trapped.

  “Don’t give up!” Vince yelled. “If they’re going to stand in our way, we’re going to ram right through them!”

  They picked up speed and put their shoulders forward, bracing for impact. They slammed into the guards and toppled over, falling to the ground and scrambling to get back up. Before they could recover, the guards from behind lunged forward and piled on top of them. They struggled to break loose. Vince punched a guard in the neck. Saul kicked a guard in the shin. They both put up a fight, but there were too many. The chef strolled up in front of them, looking down at their faces, which were smothered into the ground. He walked up to Saul and kicked him in the face with his heavy boot. Saul went limp. Vince watched the chef saunter over, his boots clunking on the ground with each step. He raised his foot and slammed it down into Vince’s nose.

  THIRTY

  VINCE OPENED HIS eyes. His blurry vision grew clearer as he blinked. The only thing in sight was an empty wooden chair, sitting directly in front of him. He lay on his side, hands and feet tied behind his back. A tight gag was wrapped around his head and stuffed inside his mouth. He tried to call for help, but his cries were muffled by the saliva-soaked cloth. His eyes darted back and forth. In the corner was a foot. It was Saul. He was tied up and gagged as well. Vince could hear his grunts of desperation.

  The sound of leather boots appeared from the end of the room behind them. They grew closer and louder with each step. Saul continued to grunt and moan. The steps moved over to Saul, followed by a sudden thump. He let out a high-pitched whimper and fell silent. Sweat dripped from Vince’s brow as the leather boots came into sight. Simon approached the wooden chair and sat down, leaning forward to look at his face. He held a mug of steaming water in his hand.

  “It’s good to see the two of you. I had a feeling our paths would cross again, though I didn’t expect it to be so soon.” He sniffed the steam rising from his mug. “Man that smells good. Caleb can really make a good cup of tea.” He waved the mug in front of Vince. “Smell that? That’s the smell of victory. Smells good, doesn’t it?” He pulled it back. “But it’s not for you. I think it’s pretty clear that you’ve lost. Greene has sent you to sneak around and spy on me. I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s always avoided facing me head on like a man. Instead, he devises these schemes to operate behind my back. He thinks it works too, but I know about his agents. He has men planted right under my nose. I know exactly who they are too, but I’m not going to tell him that. I’ll just keep on letting him think he has the advantage.

  “Now, before you start thinking that Greene is going to save you,” he held up their earpiece and microphone, “I’ve cut all communication with him. As far as he knows, you’re dead.” He chuckled. “I suppose you will be soon. But not yet. I want to make it public. I want to broadcast your death to the entire City. I want every man, woman, and child to know that the Heroes of the Spire are nothing more than pathetic lab rats.”

  He patted Vince on the shoulder. “So sit tight. Don’t struggle. You might as well relax in your last precious moments of life. Tomorrow it’s over.” He stood up and walked behind Vince’s back. “You know what? I’m feeling generous. Enjoy this nice hot cup of victory.” Vince heard the sizzling sound of scolding liquid on skin, followed by a painful grunt from Saul. The mug shattered on the ground, and his footsteps faded in the distance.

  Vince tried to position his body to see Saul, who was still whimpering in pain. He rocked back and forth, gaining momentum, when the knot in his gag came undone. He twisted his head until the cloth hung loosely from his neck. “Saul,” he said, bending his head back. “Are you okay?”

  Saul answered with muffled gibberish.

  Vince rolled onto his back, flattening his arms and legs under the weight of his body, and flipped over onto his other side. He saw Saul across the room, tied up just like him, gag and all. His face was glowing red, drenched with steaming hot tea. His forehead was bruised, and his shirt was stained with blood.

  “Jeez,” Vince said. “They really beat you up. Just stay still. I’ll get us out of this.” He rocked his body and flipped over again, rolling across the room. With one final push, he plopped down back to back with Saul. He felt around with his hands, looking for the knot around Saul’s wrists. When he found it, he viciously tugged away.

  Saul’s arms and legs came free, falling to the ground beside him. Weak and sore, he carefully rolled onto his back and ripped the gag out of his mouth. He coughed violently and spit a mouthful of saliva onto the ground.

  “You didn’t swallow any of that tea, did you?” Vince asked.

  “I tried not to, but that gag soaked up a lot of it. Do you think that’s the water we poisoned?”

  “I think so.”

  “Damn it!” Saul yelled, walking over to untie Vince. “He didn’t drink a sip of it. This whole thing was for nothing!”

  “Keep
your voice down. We don’t want them to know we’re free.”

  Saul tilted his head. “Free? We’re not free. We’re trapped in this room with no way out, and tomorrow that crazy son of a bitch is going to kill us.”

  Vince stood up, rubbing the irritated skin on his wrists. “Calm down. I’m sure Greene is working up a way to rescue us right now.”

  “Are you sure about that? It looked to me like his boy Tully ditched us back there.”

  “Charlotte too?”

  Saul shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out her journal. “She wouldn’t have left this behind. This is what I think happened. As soon as I dropped that capsule in the water, Greene ordered Tully to trip the alarm. If things had gone the way he wanted them to, Simon would be poisoned, and the Crowns would kill us. Fortunately for us, Simon wants to make our execution public. Somewhat less fortunate for us, he’s still alive and well. No poison, no quiet death, and he’s going to kill us tomorrow.”

  “Greene will rescue us. He needs us alive.”

  “Not if Simon’s dead. That’s the only reason he needs us, to help against Simon. With Simon out of the picture, he has every reason to kill us.”

  “You’re right. He knows we plan on killing him. The only solution to his problem is to take Simon and us out at the same time. I could turn us into martyrs. Not only will we be the successful subjects he wants, but the men who sacrificed their lives to protect the Spire and everything in it. We would be the symbol he wants, without the threat of keeping us around. He said he would let us free after all of this, but there’s no way he could trust us to stay away.”

  “He has a point. We have no reason to stay away. We would come back and fight even stronger.”

  Vince nodded. “He knows this. So this little mission was a setup. It was a way to get us out of the picture.”

  “And what about Rupert, Alan, and Ella?” Saul asked. “If Greene planned this out, he might have plans for them as well.”

  “Let’s just hope that’s not the case. We can’t do much more than that. Right now, we have to focus on getting out of here. I don’t intend to die tomorrow.”

  Saul searched the ground, felt the walls, and looked up at the ceiling for any signs of escape. “Neither do I.”

  THIRTY-ONE

  THE JOURNAL SLIPPED out of Charlotte’s hand as Tully pulled her wrist and dragged her away from the tent. “Wait,” she said pulling back, but he was too strong. There was no point in resisting. Even with her strong physical background, Tully was an elite soldier, trained by the best. There was no way she could take him alone.

  He led her back the way they came as the alarm went off behind them. They exited back to the main floor, where Greene’s man was waiting.

  “Everything go well?” he asked.

  Tully nodded. “Just as we planned.”

  “Good. Mr. Greene will be pleased.”

  “Mr. Greene ordered this?” Charlotte asked with surprise. “Why would he do that? Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “Don’t take it personally,” Tully said. “The two of us are the only ones who knew. Everyone else was in the dark just like you.”

  “We can’t just leave them back there,” she said, pulling the door handle.

  Tully leaned on the door, keeping it closed. “It’s Mr. Greene’s orders. Let them drop the poison, and then trip the alarm.”

  “But why?”

  “You know why. It’s all in that journal of yours.”

  She searched her body. “Huh, I must have dropped it back there. We have to go back and get it. I can’t lose my journal.”

  “We can’t go back. That place is swarming with guards by now.”

  “You don’t understand. A monitor agent must never lose their journal. There are hundreds of years recorded in that book. If I lose it, I’m in big trouble.”

  “Don’t worry, Charlotte,” Greene said in her ear. “It’s a small price to pay for this successful mission. By tomorrow, two of our problems will disappear. The three people that want to kill me will be dead. Your assignment will be over and the journal won’t matter anyway. You’ll retire and the Spire will move on to better things. You must be looking forward to your big payday. Every monitor agent does.”

  “I certainly am sir. I just don’t feel comfortable ending my assignment like this.”

  “You know I had no other choice. Those two put me in a tight position. They’re stubborn. They were dead set on killing me once Simon was out of the picture.”

  “I suppose,” Charlotte said as her head slouched towards the ground.

  Greene’s voice turned soft and sincere. “Charlotte, I may have kept you in the dark, but I made sure Tully got you out of there because you’re a valuable part of the team. I look out for my workers. Vince and Saul were not part of our family. They were outsiders. Intruders trying to push their way in and break up a good thing we have going on. They were no good to keep around.”

  Charlotte nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry I doubted you, sir.”

  “These are confusing times, I know, but it will all be over soon. Just stick with me until then.”

  “What about the others?” she asked. “Rupert, Ella, and Alan? What about them?”

  “I’ll deal with them. They’ve been sneaking around too much. Exploring places they shouldn’t be, like the medical sector, and the cell room. If they want to get into the cell room, I’ll make it easy for them. I’ll throw them in there with their dumb little bird.”

  Her head slouched towards the ground again. “Yes, that seems logical.”

  “I’m glad you see things my way, Charlotte. It would break my heart to throw you in there with them. Now get out before the guards come. I’ll be waiting for you here in the Spire.”

  THIRTY-TWO

  RUPERT, ELLA, AND Alan watched from the top of the Spire, as Vince and Saul left on their mission, precisely at sundown. Once they moved past the outer wall and disappeared into the cluster of buildings, Rupert turned around. “Ready?”

  Alan nodded. “Ready as ever, boss.”

  “We’re going to the cell room, right?” Ella asked. “How are we getting in?”

  “We need to get through that eye scanner. Maybe that labbie can help us.”

  “Good old Humphrey Jacks,” Alan said. “He wasn’t the brightest person. Think we can trick him again?”

  “I think so. We may even get him to help us find Fred.”

  “He said he doesn’t know where they’re keeping her.”

  “But he does know his way around the cell room. He knows how the cells are organized. He’ll be helpful, regardless of whether or not he knows where Fred is, as long as we can get him to cooperate.”

  Alan laughed. “He loves Vince and Saul so much; we could get him to do pretty much anything.”

  “How do we find him?” Ella asked.

  “The medical sector had a computer to call certain nurses. The testing labs must have something similar.”

  “Great,” Alan said, walking towards the door. “Let’s go then.”

  “It’s sundown,” Ella said. “The labs are empty. He’s probably off shift at this hour.”

  “Right,” Rupert said. “In the morning then. In the meantime, let’s get some rest.” He lay down in bed and let his eyes drift.

  *****

  He awoke to a gun pointed directly at his face. His heart raced out of his chest as he looked around the room. There were six men, fully armed with military-grade weapons.

  “Get up slowly,” the man said to Rupert. “No sudden movements.”

  Rupert did as he said and slowly stood up from his bed. “May I ask what this is about?”

  “Mr. Greene has ordered us to arrest the three of you.”

  “On what grounds?” Ella asked.

  “Treason.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Alan said. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Rupert raised his hand. “Easy, Alan. Just let them do their jo
bs.”

  They flipped them onto their stomachs and tied their hands behind their backs. They picked them up and walked them out of the room, through the hallways.

  “Where are you bringing us?” Alan asked.

  “Where we bring all of our prisoners. The cell room. You’re going to be locked away for a long time.”

  Alan sneered. “Vince and Saul aren’t going to be happy when they hear about this. Do you hear me?”

  The man chuckled. “I guess you haven’t heard.”

  “Heard what?”

  “Vince and Saul aren’t coming back.”

  As soon as the words left the man’s lips, they passed by a room with a television, and Alan caught a glimpse of the screen. It was a news report. The headline read, Vince and Saul Captured by Simon. Public Execution Scheduled Today.

  “No,” he whispered. “It can’t be. They had it all planned out. How could they get captured?”

  The man shrugged. “Something must have gone wrong.”

  “Simon’s going to execute them?” Ella asked.

  “That’s right. Last night he announced it would take place at noon today.” He lifted his arm to look at his watch. “It looks like your friends have about three more hours to live.”

  “Greene has to do something,” Alan said. “He has to rescue them, right?”

  “He doesn’t have anything planned. It’s too risky, and there isn’t enough time. I’m afraid your friends are out of luck.”

  Alan struggled. “We have to help them! We have to do something. We can’t just stay here and watch.”

  “I’m afraid that’s all I can let you do. Mr. Greene gave us strict orders. You’ll be stuck in a cell for a good long while. Although, I suppose there aren’t any televisions down there, so you won’t have to watch after all.” He chuckled, along with the other men.

  “Just let us go,” Alan continued, as they led them into a restricted area. “Let us try to rescue them. If it’s as dangerous as you say it is, you don’t have anything to lose. Simon will kill us and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Just let us try.”