Brink (Spark City Book 1)

by Cameron Coral

  “We gotta do something,” said Lucy, tense with fear.

  “Quiet,” he hissed.

  Lucy realized there was little they could do to intervene. Vance, his men, and the droids were all heavily armed. And they were everywhere.

  Even with Gatz’s arsenal and if they hit some targets, they’d be swarmed by drones and droids, and outnumbered quickly.

  “We can’t draw attention to ourselves,” he whispered.

  Lucy breathed heavily, stressed from the ordeal that her friends were facing.

  Gatz pointed his rifle and set his sights on the cage. He focused on the lion and then moved over to the glass booth. “Bullet-proof,” he said.

  If Gatz tried to take out the lion, their position would be revealed.

  “What can we do?” asked Lucy, frantic.

  “Quiet,” he said again. “We’re outnumbered. Hold on, something’s happening.”

  Chapter 30

  “No!” screamed Ida. She stepped in front of Paul, trying to act as a shield against more shots from Vance.

  Vance moved back a foot, surprised at the intensity of Ida’s protective stance. He raised his hands to indicate retreat and slid his gun back into its holster.

  Ida glared at him, hate and fury in her eyes. “How could you? He’s just seventeen.” She moved over to Paul’s side. He was still conscious, but barely. He was bleeding profusely from his chest wound. Ida looked up at Vance again. “Monster.” The hate in her voice echoed in the still night.

  Vance looked down at them and crossed his arms. “Let me see the healing begin.” He turned slightly to address Nancy and the two men. “We’ll see if she can pull this off.”

  “Bastard,” Ida muttered under her breath. She removed her gloves, and her fingers found their way to Paul’s bullet wound.

  “It hurts,” mumbled Paul.

  “I know it does. Hang in there. I’m going to make you better.” She closed her eyes and focused all her thoughts on his heart.

  She became very small and seemed to travel from her core down to her fingertips, then jumped into Paul’s body again. Small, powerful bursts of energy radiated, and she was inside his chest.

  Finding the bullet, she drew it toward her until it disintegrated into pieces of dust.

  Tiny beads of light wrapped up the place in Paul’s chest where the bullet had torn through. She was a stream of light, everywhere inside his chest, repairing him and leaving him stronger.

  Above her, Vance observed what was happening. For the first time since he was a child, his mouth hung open in wonder. “Incredible,” he murmured.

  Beside him stood J-Man, Singlet, and Nancy. None of them could believe their eyes. As they looked down, they saw a small glowing light coming from beneath Ida’s hands onto Paul’s chest. They saw his pallor change from ghost-like pale back to normal. A half smile crept across Paul’s face, and he seemed to be in a dream-like state.

  Ida removed her hands, and they saw smooth skin beneath Paul’s torn shirt.

  “What you’re witnessing here is history,” said Vance, breaking the silence. “With her by my side, I will be unstoppable.”

  When Vance Drem shot Paul, Gatz had to restrain Lucy from screaming and running to them. Hand clamped across her mouth, holding her back, he said, “She’ll help Paul. She already saved his life once. She’ll do it again.”

  His words calmed her, and he let her go.

  As they watched, Lucy saw that Gatz was right. Vance observed as Ida healed Paul.

  The minutes seemed to go by like the last drops of molasses from a jar. Lucy bit at her fingernails and fidgeted with nervousness.

  Paul was okay. He was picked up by two men and carried by his shoulders. Ida was taken away into a waiting car. The entourage left.

  “They’re getting away,” a desperate Lucy stated the obvious.

  “Let them,” said Gatz. “Now we follow.”

  Chapter 31

  Ida woke in the middle of the night to find herself in a hotel room in Vance’s headquarters. Locked in for the night, she’d been separated from Paul, and her nanowatch had been confiscated. She wore her own clothes, having refused to wear any clothes provided by Vance. Her boots stayed on, including the one recovered after it was pulled off by a lion android sent to murder her. Despite a few scratch marks, the boot still fit.

  She lay on the king-sized luxury bed for a long time, fighting the urge to sleep but also trying to save her energy. Exhausted from healing Paul, she considered various escape scenarios. While being led to her room, she had noticed the building was heavily guarded, with droid sentries on every floor and in every stairwell.

  Ida was losing hope. There wasn’t much chance of breaking free and making a run. And she had no idea where Paul was being kept. Not much good in running if he wasn’t with her.

  One option was to go along with Vance and heal him. He’d probably keep her alive for further use, and maybe he’d keep Paul alive to use as her carrot stick.

  She was grateful that Vance didn’t have Lucy. The situation would have been much worse.

  How did I get mixed up with these people? She thought about how avoiding people for so many years had worked until now. Even during her time in the military, she had always been civil, but never became close to anyone.

  And yet somehow Lucy had wormed her way into Ida’s life. Even Gatz, for all his freakishness, had turned out to be a nice guy. She didn’t want to see them hurt, and that’s why she found herself in Vance’s hotel instead of escaping from the city like she had planned.

  Restless, she got up and walked to a large window. From the 27th floor, the view was incredible. There was a small balcony. She tried sliding the door open, but it was welded shut.

  She went over to the room’s only door and put her ear against it, listening for any movement. Through the peephole, she could see a droid positioned in the hallway across from her door.

  Ida sighed and thought about the droids. Maybe they were the key somehow. Vance seemed to be turning his body into one. If only there were a way to hack them or disable them somehow. Find their kryptonite. She wished she’d had more time to work with Gatz on a good plan. Or any plan at all.

  Had she been impulsive to head out on her own? She could practically hear Gatz’s voice answer in her head: “Definitely.”

  Chapter 32

  The next morning, Vance sat in his favorite lounge chair on his penthouse rooftop. The day was unseasonably mild, winter was starting to release its grip, and the sun was starting to fight back with longer days.

  Vance wore sunglasses, a dark green-and-blue checkered suit, and, for the first time in many months, a genuine smile.

  Nancy sat across from him in another chair. He had ordered celebratory mimosas and a lavish breakfast, and had insisted Nancy toast him.

  He could see she was still uncomfortable. But he had instructions for her, as she was going to be an integral part of his plan.

  “Do you understand what it is I need you to do for me?"

  Nancy started to speak, hesitated, and looked away.

  "Why do you still seem so uncomfortable? Is it because of what I did to your boss at the television station?"

  Nancy looked at her hands.

  "I have only tried to give you a fresh start. Can't you see I tried to help you?" Vance stood. "Look at this, Nancy." Arms outstretched, he said, "This is a billion-dollar view.” Vance breathed in deeply. "This is what I have worked so hard for. I was an orphan after all." He looked back at her. "I came from nothing, and I created this. The universe even tried to take it away from me with this sickness in my brain.

  "But then a miracle happened," Vance went on. "I found her. How this happened, I don't know. What do you think, Nancy? Do you think it was fate? Do you think I was meant to live?" He looked at her, this time waiting for an answer.

  “Yes. I think you were meant to live.” Nancy’s voice sounded as monotone and lifeless as the droids. “You were meant to find her."

  Vance
leaned against the edge of the rooftop, a waist-high steel fence the only thing separating him from a plunge. “That's the most intelligent thing you've ever said, Nancy." He smiled.

  "And so you will help me?" He moved over to her chair, kneeling next to her.

  Taking her hand in his, he said, "Will you do this for me?” He stared at her intently. “Somehow, Nancy, I feel that I know you. I know that it wasn't under the best circumstances that we met and that you came into my employment. But in the time I've known you, I’ve come to trust you.”

  Nancy’s hair fluttered in the breeze on the roof. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. He was finally getting through to her, winning her to his side.

  “You are smart. You are gifted,” he said. “You see beyond what others see. There’s something I haven’t told you. You remind me of my mother, Nancy. My mother is everything to me.”

  He looked in her brown eyes, inhaling deeply. “And now I am trusting you with my life. With my resurrection."

  Chapter 33

  Ida was brought to the rooftop by J-Man and Singlet. Eyes squinting from the sun, she stood in front of Vance and the woman from the zoo, who was introduced as Nancy.

  “Nancy.” Ida was surprised, but didn’t let it phase her. “I was looking for you. Milt and Howard from the station say hello. They think you’re in danger. I guess they were right."

  Ida saw a flash of recognition cross Nancy's face, but it was brief. She was guarded. Ida chalked it up to too much time spent with the unpredictable Vance. It was enough to put anyone on edge.

  "Hmm. Well, your detective skills are not on par with your powers of healing. She's been right here all along, in case you were looking." Vance focused his gaze on Nancy. "Nancy works for me now. She's here entirely of her own free will. Aren't you, Nancy?"

  Nancy slowly looked at Ida, smiled, and said, "Yes, I work for Vance now. There's no problem."

  "If you say so," said Ida.

  “On to more important business," interrupted Vance. "How exactly do your powers work? Do I get on a table and you put your hands on me?"

  Ida smirked in disgust. "I can't predict my power."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I've only ever used it on people who are wounded or unconscious." She paused, wondering how far she could take this. If she could keep putting doubt in his head, she had a chance. But she couldn't take it too far either, and make him suspicious.

  Vance considered, then said, “So to be safe, I need to be put under.” He looked at Nancy as he said this.

  She looked at him too and nodded. Then she whispered something to him.

  Ida couldn't help but be surprised at the calmness that Nancy seemed to exhibit. Perhaps she had warmed to Vance. Or maybe she had been brainwashed.

  Vance directed his attention back to Ida. "What else? Do you need knowledge of my condition?"

  "Yeah. I need to study it for a month."

  "Don't mock me. Paul wouldn't like it," Vance sneered. "Rest assured, I have Paul hidden safely for now. If you fail to heal me, Paul will die. It will be a slow and painful death. You will not be around to help him." His tone sounded like a teacher reprimanding a student. "Furthermore, if you try any tricks while I'm under, Paul will die. Again, slow and painfully."

  Ida's body tensed. She started calculating in her head whether she had enough time for a running leap to grab Vance and take him over the roof with her.

  "Lastly, if I die, or if you fail and I'm still sick, my droids have instructions to go find your Lucy and your pet panda and destroy them.” He paused, checking for a reaction. “You will cooperate. You will not try to escape. You will not attempt to locate Paul. Heal me and your friends may walk out of this alive. Questions?"

  Ida swallowed hard.

  "I asked if you had questions."

  Ida's heart sank. This was hopeless. “No. No questions.”

  Chapter 34

  “Nancy,” said Ida. She was surprised to see the woman alone, without Vance’s tight leash on her.

  She had unlocked Ida’s room and entered later that afternoon. Nancy’s face was serious. “I don’t have much time. He’s in his workshop getting a tune-up, as he calls it.”

  “Are you hurt? I mean, has he hurt you?” Ida asked.

  “I’m fine.” Nancy adjusted her glasses. “Shaken up a little. You really saw Milt and Howard? They told you about me?”

  “I went to apply for a job and must have shown up just as Vance left behind his mess.” Ida hesitated, unsure what Nancy was seeking perhaps a reassurance that someone was watching out for her, that someone cared. “They were definitely concerned about you. They asked me to find you. I told them I would try to find you, but I had no idea where to start. And as it turns out, Vance found me instead—”

  “He’s a monster,” Nancy said abruptly and quietly.

  “You work for him. You must know things now. Do you want out of this?”

  Nancy turned away. She seemed to be considering something important. Her frown lines and anxious body language made it seem as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

  “You’re to put Vance under tonight, right? Can’t you up the dose and make it lethal?” asked Ida.

  “No, he thought of that. He has one of his medical droids measuring out the precise dosage. I won’t touch it.”

  Ida sat on the bed. “Could we lock ourselves in the room and somehow disable the droids, do something to fight back?”

  Nancy looked at her. “Don’t you see? He thinks of everything. His men will be there too, and they always have their guns ready to pull, especially since you’ll be there. I’ve spent a lot of time with them. They were already on edge, and now it’s worse since you’re here.”

  “Leave the bodyguards to me. What about the droids? Is there a way to disable them? How does Vance control them?”

  “They are self-automated. He commands them with his voice too. They don’t listen to anyone else unless Vance tells them too.”

  “If only I could get my hands on a weapon,” said Ida.

  “You won’t. Like I said, Vance thought of everything.”

  “Describe the room we’ll be in,” said Ida, thinking there must be some detail that had been overlooked.

  Nancy closed her eyes as she thought back to the room where she had seen Vance emerge in his new cyborg state. “Large, tall ceilings the size of a basketball court. The walls are concrete, perhaps to block out the noise of the machines.” She opened her eyes. “There are many machines on the walls. The droids make themselves and assemble more droids every day.”

  “Right.” Ida listened and envisioned the room. “How many droids will be there?”

  “Maybe a dozen, plus his two men, and me.”

  “Where are they keeping Paul?” asked Ida suddenly.

  Nancy wrung her hands. “I don’t know.”

  Ida shook her head, stood, and walked to the window. “I’ll take the two men—subdue them, grab their guns, and hold Vance hostage while he’s under.”

  She looked back at Nancy, who shook her head slowly. “No, he designed a special chair for you. You’ll be restrained while the process takes place.”

  Ida’s heart sank. Unless a miracle happened or her power somehow failed, she was doomed to heal Vance.

  “I told you he thought of everything,” said Nancy. “But he didn’t think of this.” She held out her hand to Ida. There was something in her closed fist. “Take it.”

  Ida held out her hand. Nancy dropped a small pill bottle with two small pills. Ida held it up to study them. “What is this?”

  “Take these ten minutes before the procedure. They will put you in a coma. Your power won’t work if you’re unconscious, right?”

  “I suppose not. Where did you get these?”

  “One of Vance’s many doctors gave them to me—he felt sorry for me, I think.”

  “How do I get out of this coma?”

  “It wears off after six hours,” said Nancy. “Or I have
the two pills that will bring you back immediately. Vance has no idea. He’ll just think you’ve fallen ill. You said your friends might come to help you?”

  “So, we’re just buying time then?” Ida received a quick nod from Nancy. “My friends aren’t necessarily…they don’t know. They can’t help us here. This place is crawling with droids. They’d be shot and thrown into the river before they ever got to us.”

  Nancy thought carefully. “I don’t have much time. Vance’s men will miss me and know I’m up to something. What other choice do we have?”

  Ida looked at Nancy’s eyes and saw desperation, but something else too. The woman was unraveling. “Where do you keep the antidote pills?”

  Nancy stood and raised one leg onto a chair. She pulled up her pants leg and revealed a small pouch secured around her ankle by a strap. “When the time is right, I will bring you back.” She lowered her pants and placed her leg back on the ground. “Or you wake up in six hours.”

  “Can you bring me back without Vance knowing? If you can unlock my restraints, I might be able to surprise Vance and take him hostage. You and I could escape that way.”

  “Yes,” said Nancy. “That could work.

  “You’re asking a lot from me,” said Ida.

  Nancy looked her in the eyes. “Please trust me. I want Vance dead as much as you. This is our only hope.”

  “I don’t trust anyone,” said Ida.

  Nancy left the room, locking it again from the outside. Ida kept the pills, turning the little bottle in her hand, wondering what other choice she had than to put her life in the hands of this captive woman.

  Chapter 35

  Two bridges downriver from Drem Corp Towers, five hybrids and Lucy stood on the rooftop of Dox River Bar. The hybrids had all arrived heavily armed and ready to work on a plan to infiltrate the home of the wealthiest and most powerful man in Spark City.