“How the hell do you expect us to go up against an army of droids?” whined Mac. A human combined with greyhound, his pointy face nearly touched Gatz as he questioned him.
“Look, I know this seems insane.” Gatz looked around at the assembled group. A soft pattering rain had started to fall. “I have something that seems to be knocking out the droids. I have three of the devices. I’m not entirely sure how close you need to be, but the girl and I were able to get four droids down from within fifteen feet.”
Jinks, who had the head and tail of a crocodile and the treacherous teeth to match, took the device from Gatz’s hands. “What do you call this thing?” he asked, inspecting it.
A northern wind had settled in the city. Lucy stood in a borrowed long coat from Gatz. She had the collars turned up to shelter her from the wind and light rain. The fabric smelled like Gatz—cigar smoke, spice, and a faint hint of cologne.
The scene unfolding in front of her seemed surreal. She’d been around Gatz long enough to get used to his appearance, but now there were new creatures to take in. Hybrids usually kept to themselves, segregated in Section Z. They had their own financial ecosystem, their own legal structure, and mainly governed themselves. Some, like Gatz, had ventured out to start businesses and try to live with humans. Lucy found it hard to stop staring at the crocodile hybrid.
Two of the newcomers had not spoken at all yet. Lucy quietly observed them as Gatz tried to explain the situation. One creature was birdlike—an owl hybrid. Wearing a black baseball cap, he turned his head and stared at Lucy while listening to the conversation. Perhaps he wasn’t used to seeing many humans, Lucy thought. Maybe I look just as strange to them.
She looked at the last hybrid to arrive. She hadn’t seen much because the creature wore a hood drawn closely about the head, scarf wrapped tightly around the neck, and a long, dark blue quilted coat. Whenever Lucy tried to make eye contact, the creature looked quickly away. Best she could tell, it was part mouse or rat.
Cursing herself for not taking more of an interest in her school studies when they talked about the history of the hybrids, she vowed to learn more and seek out information about these fascinating creatures. If she made it out of this alive.
Lucy realized that she was prepared to die if she had to. She would stop at nothing to try to save Paul and Ida. She felt there was no other course of action, and she was glad Gatz felt the same.
Lucy snapped out of her own head, dazed, as Gatz said, “…and that’s how we’re going to beat the ever-loving shit out of Drem Corp.”
She sensed Gatz was going over the top to make a point. He was putting on a brave face, she realized. He was good at persuading others, and he was making his point.
“Are you in?” asked Gatz to each one of them individually.
They each accepted, except for the last—the mouse-like creature who remained well-disguised.
Gatz stood, still making his points, when suddenly a sharp beeping noise sounded three times. Gatz said, “Quiet, we have company.” He went over to the edge of the roof to peer down. “Stay here. I’ll go down.” He drew a pistol from his pocket. Mac, the greyhound, drew a gun and followed.
Feeling some courage and figuring she didn’t have anything to lose, Lucy walked over to the rat hybrid. The creature stood taller than Lucy by at least two feet. Lucy looked up and asked, “What are you waiting for? People are going to die. More are going to die from Vance Drem once he becomes indestructible. Are you going to help us?”
Close up, Lucy was surprised to see undeniably feminine features staring her back.
A female voice said, “I want to help your friends, I really do, but I think it’s a losing plan.”
Lucy was taken aback at the strange beauty of the rat woman. She stepped back slightly. “Well, what do you think we should do differently?”
Just as her question was about to be answered, Gatz walked back in with Mac and two others. “We have company,” said Gatz in his deep voice. “Don’t worry, it’s a good thing.”
Lucy saw two men in dark suits covered by raincoats. One smoked an electronic cigarette, and the other had a long, deep scar running down one side of his face.
“I believe you’re all acquainted, at least by name,” said Gatz. “Gentlemen and ladies, I’ve been working with Brown and Nealon for some time now. We can trust them.”
“We’ll see about that,” said the rat woman, who now had her arms crossed.
The group was tense, and Gatz tried to intervene. “I know we’ve all had our differences in the past.” He looked around at the group. “But this is our chance to come together. To stop Drem. You’ve all seen what he’s doing to this city. The force of his police. He’s amassing them like an army. Soon there will be droids and cameras on every corner, and that’s the end of folks like us.”
A few in the group nodded or lowered their heads. They knew he was right.
Gatz had the momentum and was about to continue speaking when Lucy grabbed his arm. “What?” he asked, annoyed at being interrupted. She whispered something to him.
“Pilar,” said Gatz to the rat hybrid. “She says you have a different plan? Care to share with the rest of us?”
The woman stepped forward. “I believe in the same things. I want to stop Drem too. But your plan is worthless.”
“What would you have us do?” asked Gatz, rain dripping off his furry, pointed ears and onto his face, dampening his fur, and making him look intense.
She smiled and lowered her hood, revealing an elegant neck and wise face. “I’d smoke them out. That’s what people do to rats like me.”
Chapter 36
Vance stood admiring himself in the floor-length mirror in his private bathroom in The Phoenix, his nightclub and restaurant. That evening, he was entertaining several beautiful models visiting from New York City. Sipping on martinis and enjoying the city views and gorgeous company, he felt alive again.
He was on the edge of resurrection. Imagine being cured of his brain disease and having a person able to heal him no matter what situation befell him.
As he smiled at the beautiful women, ignoring their simple-minded chatter, he thought about his future. He could achieve so much beyond even his wildest dreams.
He would have more than just Spark City, which he had worked so hard for. He was going to take over all of the major cities and more.
He would rebuild the American nation that had once been the greatest power on earth. He would build it again, restore it to its former glory.
And build it in his image.
Vance was giddy. He couldn’t think of a time he had been happier, more optimistic about the future. He returned to the table with the models, this time without the suit jacket and hat that obscured most of his metal body.
This time he had on a sheer black shirt that revealed his muscular steel chest, his cybernetic arms, and what little of his human abdomen still remained.
One of the girls who was getting drunk started laughing when he sat down. Another model’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “What the…?”
The bravest and most sober of the three models dared to touch his arm. She ran her finger along it, tracing the steel. “Is this some kind of joke? One of your ads? I heard you were into some kinky stuff, but this is something else.”
Vance rocketed up from his seat, knocking her aside. He pushed her to the ground, before realizing people were staring at him. The restaurant was packed that Saturday evening with Spark City upper class and VIPs from other important cities.
He quickly contained himself and helped the fallen model back to her feet and to her seat in the booth. “I didn’t mean to offend,” she muttered. “Just, you don’t even look human anymore. You’re like a hybrid.” This last part came out breathy, as if she regretted the words leaving her mouth as soon as she said them.
Vance stood and looked at her, making a mental note to have his men stage an accident for the woman. He turned to leave and noticed people staring in wonder and revuls
ion. He heard someone say “So it’s true—” too loudly, before being quickly hushed by someone.
These people are nothing. Vance quickly left the restaurant. As he entered the elevator, he spoke into his nanowatch, “Move up the start time. I want the procedure to start now.”
There was a sudden banging on Ida’s hotel room door. Singlet said, “Showtime.”
Surprised, she headed back into the room and pulled on her leather jacket. She made sure the two pills were in her pants pocket and ready to grab when she was ready to take them. This was happening earlier than expected, and she wanted to be sure this was the real thing and not a false alarm.
But then she reconsidered. This might be her last chance alone. She eyed the men in the doorway. They might search her. In the small bathroom, she shut the door and took one of the pills, swallowing it with some water from the faucet.
On the way down, there was silence in the elevator. That was how she preferred it; Ida hated small talk.
The men walked her through a long fluorescent-lit hallway. They were below ground, basement-level.
When she entered the room, she took in the large gymnasium size and immense ceilings. Nancy had been right. We must be a few levels below ground, realized Ida.
If there were any chance that Gatz was looking for her, she doubted they would be found down here. This must be why Vance preferred his dirty work to happen far below ground, away from the prying eyes of hotel guests and fancy restaurant people.
She wondered whether she would have gone after Gatz had their situations been reversed. It was stupid to think about it. I knew I couldn’t count on anyone.
Her heart was heavy. She felt anxious, of course. She was about to cure a madman of a terminal illness, and cause the death of thousands of others who would suffer a lifetime of his abuse.
That, or she would fall into a coma because of a pill given to her by a desperate, abducted woman who had been brainwashed by her cruel, sadistic captor.
The situation was completely screwed any way you looked at it.
Chapter 37
Dark figures moved through underground tunnels. Lucy tried her best to keep up with the hybrids. They followed Pilar, the rat-human hybrid who knew the underground like no one else. She knew the tunnels that were cut below the river bed.
Gatz told her the underground had been built by a past government as a bunker in case they needed to hide away important officials and businessmen. The network of tunnels and cavernous rooms rested below the city’s sewer system. It must have taken decades to build, all done in secret. Lucy wondered how those who built it managed to get away for so long without people knowing.
Pilar and her people knew about it. Lucy learned that many of her kind preferred to live down here, alone and undisturbed. As leader of her clan, she was risking a lot by revealing the tunnels to others. She asked for respect and secrecy. Everyone agreed.
The group made their way through the tunnels toward Drem Corp. So far below ground, the world seemed different. The air was damp and heavy, and smelled of soil. Strong, concrete walls held back the deep earth surrounding them.
Once they were close to the first of Vance’s twin towers, Lucy and the group ascended to the upper underground levels. They were within the sewer level.
One of the rat men laid an explosive. Pilar looked at the group and said, “Now it begins.”
Chapter 38
Vance had an edgy smile, and his blue eyes were fierce with excitement. He went over to Ida when she was brought in and looked her up and down. Standing in front of her, his face inches from hers, she could feel his hot breath and sense a lingering vodka smell.
He reached out one of his metal hands, brushing it across her face gently. She shivered. The gesture lasted only a moment, but was enough to make Ida grab and swallow the second pill.
She did it as Vance’s back was turned, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
“What was it you just swallowed?” He was in her face again in a flash.
She swallowed it dry, quickly. “Aspirin.”
He looked at her with suspicion spread across his angular features. After a tense few moments, he moved on and began checking several of the machines, including what she assumed was the medical robot that would administer the anesthetic. “Nancy,” he called to his assistant sharply.
She walked over and they talked quietly, out of Ida’s earshot.
Ida took the time to look around, wondering how long the pills would take to kick in. Better be soon.
That’s when they heard and felt the explosion.
The floor beneath them rumbled and swayed. Both humans and robots struggled to stay on their feet. One of Vance’s men grumbled and wondered aloud whether there had been an earthquake.
Suddenly an alarm sounded in the underground room. Vance picked himself up as smoke started to pour in. “That was no earthquake. We’re under attack. Seal off this room.”
Meanwhile, Ida found she was unable to get off the floor. Her stomach was killing her. She felt as if acid was eating through her stomach. She clutched her abdomen in pain.
Vance came over, grabbed her arms, and threw her on the table that was meant for him. “What did you take?” he screamed at her.
Throughout the building, alarms began ringing on every floor. The place was in chaos.
In The Phoenix thirty levels above, the restaurant patrons panicked. The elevators were out due to the fire alarm sounding. A long line of people snaked their way down stairwells.
On the rooftop balcony outside, a creature landed without a sound. The owl human-hybrid crossed the rooftop and opened the door that led into a hallway near the restaurant.
A droid was stationed in the hallway on the other side of the door. The creature threw a black backpack squarely at the droid and slammed the door shut behind him.
He ran to the edge and jumped off, flying away into the misty night sky.
As he soared through the air, the top of Drem Corp exploded behind him into a fireball.
Below, in the underground lab, Vance frantically tried to revive Ida. She was burning up with a sudden fever and moaned in pain.
“Feels like stabbing.” She lay in a fetal position on the bed. She looked at Nancy, who stood nearby, silently observing.
“What did you take? I knew I saw you swallow something,” said Vance, furious. He kicked nearby equipment. “We’re speeding up the show.” He moved toward Ida, ripped open his shirt, and placed her hands on his chest. He looked her in the eyes. “Heal me. Now.”
Tears of pain streamed down Ida’s face. Her hands lay on Vance’s chest, but nothing was happening. There was none of the warmth emanating from her hands, as had happened with Paul and Vera and the others whom she had healed in the war.
“Is it happening?” asked Vance.
Ida pulled her hands away, and pushed them back on her stomach. She cried in pain. Now she understood what was happening. She looked at Nancy. “What did you give me?”
Vance turned his head. “Nancy? You gave her something?”
A few steps away, Nancy smiled. He turned toward her.
Nancy boldly walked to Vance and looked in his face. “She’s dying, and she can’t help you anymore.” She craned her head sideways toward Ida. “It was a lethal dose.”
A cold fury arose in Vance’s face. He knocked her across the room with one hit of his cyborg arm. Her head hit the wall, her neck snapped, and she died instantly.
Vance looked back at the table, where Ida lay immobile with pain. “Antidote,” she barely managed to say. Vance leaned down to hear her better.
J-Man came over to Vance in a panic. “Sir, there are reports of fire and attacks throughout both buildings.”
“Seal the room. Let the droids deal with upstairs,” he said. Vance focused his attention back on Ida. “Antidote where?”
Ida started to drift in and out of consciousness. She eked out, “Her leg.”
Vance ran over to Nancy’s body. He felt along her legs and
discovered the tiny pouch. He looked inside.
It was empty.
Chapter 39
In the hallway outside the underground lab, five droids slumped on the ground. Gatz had pulsified them. The devices were working incredibly well. The hybrid, Mac had been given one to use in the lobby and garage levels to secure their eventual escape route.
Beside Gatz, Lucy held the third device. He had said he would keep her safe; she was to stay by his side at all times. Gatz had joked that Ida would kill him if anything happened to her, and that was a fate worse than being caught by Vance Drem.
Lucy was proud to be a good partner in crime. She had taken out at least ten droids on their way down the deep stairwells. She even had his back when one came up behind them out of nowhere.
They knew this was the room where Ida was being kept. Gatz had slipped a tracking pin into Ida’s jacket one night when they were drinking. He said he did it to keep an eye on her. Lucy wondered whether it was right to spy on people, but nevertheless, the tracker was serving its purpose now.
She wondered what they would find in the lab. Weapons raised, they attached a small explosive pack to the heavy, steel door leading in.
As they moved backward to find shelter from the explosion, Gatz and Lucy exchanged a look. He looked worried, so she said, “We got this.”
She hoped she was right.
The bomb exploded, and smoke billowed from the open door, which swung open.
Inside the room, Vance dragged Ida off the table. She fell to the floor, still gripping her abdomen in pain. She started to see flashes of black in her head, like she was drifting in and out. Had the poison already reached her brain?
She pushed aside the pain as best she could and tried to think. Perhaps this was for the best. Nancy had tricked her, that much was true, but what was the alternative? With me gone, Vance will die too. With this thought, she felt some of the pain she’d been carrying lift away. Time to die.
Brink (Spark City Book 1) Page 16
