by Aline Riva
As she sat beside her sister who was in the driving seat, Violet looked at her nervously.
“So...this plan...maybe we should go through it one more time.”
Jasmine's gun was in her lap. Violet had been aware of that loaded gun ever since they had left Freedom, knowing Jasmine would not let it or her out of her sight – making raising the alarm impossible without taking a bullet for her trouble. Now as she watched the hillside and waited, she felt her guts twisting into knots as Jasmine began to speak:
“When he reached the path way, we call him over like a couple of regular fans. You get out of the car first, start talking to him and I'll get out too and get behind him and smack him with the gun.”
Violet's eyes widened in alarm.
“No, you mustn't do that - he's dying. It's something to do with wiring inside his head.”
Jasmine looked at her younger sister thoughtfully, and for a moment Violet wondered if she had seen through her act.
“Why would you care? He's just a cyborg.”
“Yes I know that – but I don't think Jet would be too happy with us if we bring him a body instead of a hostage,” she added, and to her sheer relief, Jasmine agreed.
“I'll use this instead,” she said, holstering her gun and drawing a small hand held device from her pocket as she smiled, pressing a small trigger as the transparent barrel of the weapon lit up with dancing sparks, “It's a stun gun suitable for use on heavily modified cyborgs. I've heard it can even take out androids.”
“It might kill him,” Violet warned her.
Jasmine turned down the setting and tested the weapon again.
“No, it will just knock him out cold for several hours, give us enough time to get back to Freedom. We should be back by nightfall.”
“As long as this old heap of junk doesn't let us down! If this car breaks down -”
“It won't!Stop thinking about what could go wrong and – oh look...there's our target!”
As Jekel walked down the hillside towards the path, Violet felt sick with fear for their unsuspecting victim as she got out of the car, smiled and called to him, and he approached her and smiled warmly.
“Hello ladies,” he said, “Are you looking forward to the festival?”
Violet looked into his eyes, unsmiling as she wished she could silently convey her warning.
“We're a week early...which is odd,” she said in a nervous, hushed voice as behind her she heard the car door close as Jasmine got out, but Jekel had not noticed the flash of a warning in her eyes.
“Well you have plenty of time to enjoy the Valley -”
“No...it's a trap,” she whispered, and her frightened voice was so low he didn't quite catch her words as he looked at her, wondering if she had just said something about a trap...
“Oh wow, Ash Jekel! I've always wanted to meet you!” said Jasmine as she joined them, and with a sinking heart, Violet knew it was too late.
“I'm Jasmine,” her sister said, standing beside him and smiling warmly, “And this is my sister Violet...I love your suit...” she ran her hand up the fabric as Jekel caught a warning look in Violet's eyes, which came too late as something cold pressed to the back of his neck with no warning.
“You're now a prisoner of End Cyborg Life,” Jasmine stated and fired the weapon, sending a shock wave through his body as Jekel gave a gasp and fell forward.
As he slumped, Violet caught him, hoping that preventing a nasty fall would have helped to limit the damage – she didn't want to think about what a shock like that would have done to his already failing wires. Then Jasmine grabbed him too and between them, they loaded him on to the back seat of the car.
Violet watched as Jasmine tied his ankles, cuffed his wrists behind his back, then she slammed the door shut.
“Let's go,” she said urgently, “We'll throw a blanket over him before we reach the border,”and she dashed around to the driver's side.
As Violet got into the car, she glanced in the back, Jekel was out cold but she was relieved to see he was still breathing. Then the car took off at speed, heading for a border in a newly liberated land where security was yet to be tightened up.
A searing pain that ran from the back of his neck and deep inside his head woke Jekel from a dreamless darkness, and as the motion of the car made his head throb he felt a flicker of pain from his stomach as the side effect of the shots kicked in and he coughed, trying not to gag and panic at the same time as he realised he was on the back seat of a stranger's car, and tied up, too.
“Please let me go...” he said weakly as he tried in vain to activate his stealth mode, only to be informed power was not fully recovered yet.
As he looked between the front seats and through a windscreen that was slightly cracked, he saw the sky had darkened, and in the distance the gates of Freedom City loomed.
“Be quiet or I'll shut you up forever, okay?” Jasmine said sharply, handing a blanket to Violet as she glanced back at her captive. Jekel looked at her with fear in his eyes as he nodded, knowing to be a cyborg in Freedom would automatically mean trouble – maybe even worse than the trouble he was already in.
“Stay quiet,” Violet told him, then she covered him with the blanket.
Jekel froze, his breathing shallow as they slowed at the check point. There was a brief pause, and as he tired again to struggle he realised he could barely move – whatever had been in that weapon they had hit him with had no doubt worsened the wiring condition...the shot had been to the base of the skull, the last thing he needed...
He thought of Joy and Travis and closed his eyes, trying to stay calm because he knew staying calm would most likely be his only chance of getting out of this situation alive...if he lived long enough, if that wring didn't burn out now, while he was tied up in the back of a car held prisoner by End Cyborg Life...
As the car moved off once more, Jekel drew in a shaken breath.
“Please don't let me die like this...” he whispered, fighting pain and fear and weakness as he thought of home and desperately hoped he would live long enough to see it again.
The journey lasted thirty minutes – Jekel timed it by the internal clock he called up at the back of his mind, watching as the display timed the minutes and the seconds. Then he guessed knowing this duration would do him no good at all because he didn't much know his way around Freedom City at all – he had only ever been there once, back in the days before Lynch had found him wandering in the wilds – being outwardly human, it had been easy to blend in – and easy to charge his then rechargeable battery as he sat near electrical points in public places in the city, reading a book or pretending to watch the world go by.
But the atmosphere back then had not been good for any cyborg – he had witnessed the many violent protests at the time cybernetic fluid had been banned, and while he sympathise with those who did not share his unique design, he also knew it was time to get out, because he had seen members of the City Guard clash with unarmed cyborgs using batons and stun guns...
The ache was still throbbing at the base of his skull as he thought about how easily that weapon had knocked him out...He thought again of his failing wiring as he silently hoped that the shock that had left him out cold had not accelerated further damage – Riley had warned him weakness would be the first sign of imminent burn out, and he was weak now, he could barely move...
Then the car stopped and the door was opened and the blanket tugged off him. Jekel raised his head and blinked, looking out into a darkening evening with a falling of darkness about the skies that already made room for stars to shine between patches of cloud.
“Get up,” said Jasmine, and he saw the stun device in her hand once more.
“I can't,” he protested as she grabbed him roughly by his jacket, dragging him to a sitting position as she untied his ankles, “I can't walk...I feel heavy as lead! Please believe me!”
He looked pleadingly to Violet, recalling how she had tried to warn him of what was to come, and felt hugely
relieved as she spoke up for him.
“You shouldn't have used the stun gun,” she told her sister, “He's got failing wiring...for all you know that shock could have damaged something inside him -”
“And when did you become such an expert on fucking cyborgs?” Jasmine said angrily.
“I just don't want to let Jet down, and I'm sure you don't either!”
Just then as a man stepped out of the shadows near rubble close by an old derelict row of shops, Jekel tensed as he saw that he too was armed.
“Mr Ashley Jekel,” he said in a polished English accent, “Let's make something perfectly clear: You are only here as our prisoner because you chose to become a cyborg. You chose to borrow alien tech and use it to become sub human.”
As Jasmine dragged him from the car with his hands still cuffed his legs buckled and Violet quickly went to his aid, holding him upright as their leader stepped closer.
“Man is a unique design,” Jet stated, “Fashioned by the hand of God himself – not for man to tamper with and desecrate with wiring and programs. You brought this on yourself, Mr Jekel...” he looked to the two women, “Take him inside...I shall contact Riley via his private line. We must keep this out of the press – I want a quiet deal struck with the Valley and I don't doubt the valley will want the same. I shall demand that Lynch is gassed in exchange for our prisoner... I can't wait to watch Riley do a U-turn on defending one of his own to have the festival host - his best friend – back by his side.”
“And then, can I please go home?” Jekel said tearfully as Jasmine held him roughly and he leant to the woman on the other side of him, because Violet's touch was so less brutal, “Please...Let me go home...I'm dying, I just want to be with my family...I don't think I have long!”
“Take him away,” Jet said, ignoring his pleas, “Oh, and Violet – I don't think he will be too much trouble. You can watch him for us.”
As she looked back at their leader, Violet breathed a relieved sigh.
“Thanks Jet, I won't let you down,” she replied, forcing a smile that seemed warm enough to be taken as one of gratitude.
Jekel knew little of the journey into the darkened tunnel as the two women forced him to stagger onwards, leaning heavily against them. All the while the back of his neck throbbed and the pain went deep into his head as he thought again about that wiring and hoped this wouldn't be how his life would end. He was led through a broken wall and through a shop, then another, where he saw many people, all with guns, all murmuring in low voices as they watched him pass and he sensed hostility from each of then as they laid eyes on their cyborg prisoner. Then as his head swam and Jasmine shoved him hard in the back, the shock of the blow brought him back to his senses as he kept on moving, letting them take him through another broken wall and into an old tailors shop.
His body felt like a dead weight as he looked about the place, seeing fine suits on mannequins left over from the days before to the old world had ended, then he was forced up a narrow flight of stairs to an attic room, where he fell to his knees and hit bare boards as he started to weep quietly.
“I can watch him,” Violet assured her sister, “It's an honour. I'm so glad Jet chose me.”
Jasmine smiled warmly at her.
“Of course he did, you're my sister. He has high hopes for you,” she replied, then she glanced to Jekel.
“He won't give you any trouble, he's weak as a lamb.”
As Jekel doubled over, feeling a stabbing pain in his stomach thanks to Riley's pain shots, Violet hid her concern as she looked back at her sister.
“You're right...he's dying anyway. I think we should unlock his cuffs, we need to keep him alive for now...if he dies on my watch I'll be in big trouble!”
“Good point,” Jasmine agreed, and stepped forward with the keys and unlocked the cuffs, freeing his wrists at once. Jekel was still on his knees, barely able to hold up his aching head as he rubbed at his wrists.
“Thank you,” he said in a shaken voice.
“I'll leave you to it,”Jasmine told her sister, “I so need to watch Jet hack Blake Riley's VIP line, I wouldn't want to miss that for the world...Can you imagine the look on that android-loving bastard's face when he realises what's happened?” She smiled and so did Violet, and then Jasmine left the room, closed the door behind her and went off down the narrow stairway.
As soon as Jasmine's footfalls had stopped sounding at the bottom of the stairs, Violet hurried over to Jekel and placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him as she spoke nervously.
“It's okay Mister Jekel...I'm not like the others...I'm only here because my sister won't let me go...I don't believe anything she says about cyborgs being evil. I'm going to try and look after you until I can figure out a plan...Mr Jekel? Are you listening? I said, I'm going to try and work something out...Why are you in pain?”
Jekel looked up at her, blinking away pain that blurred his vision as he looked at the young woman with pale blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and saw kindness in her deep blue eyes.
“I'm in pain from side effects of Trizinaq, Loviva and Zicopion,” he said weakly, “Shots I have to take until my failing power boosting line burns out inside my head...I'm scared its already starting...I think that stun gun did some damage... weakness is the first sign...” he gave a sob as panic filled his voice, “I can't get up!”
“Then lie back,” she said softly, pulling him closer to the mattress and helping him to lie down, “Just lay there and be quiet...I'm going to keep the others away from you...But you have to be quiet...”
Jekel nodded, using every ounce of his determination to stop his tears from falling.
“I don't want to be here,” he said quietly, “I need to go home before its too late...”
She sat beside him and swept his hair off his face as she looked down at him kindly.
“I know, I saw your interview – you have a wife and a son and you love them very much.”
“Yes I do,” he replied, breathing a slow sigh as the flickering pain faded out in his head and the stomach cramps started to ease, “I just want to see them again...”
“You will,” she promised him, “Trust me, I want to help.”
“I'm glad you're on my side,” he said, closing his eyes as he gave in to a feeling of absolute exhaustion.
As he slipped into a deep sleep, Violet ran her hand over his hair again, studying the face of the man she was determined to help. Then as he slept on and curiosity got the better of her, she cautiously brushed her fingertips over the engraved veneer set at the side of his head, it felt warm and surprisingly pleasant to touch, and he stirred, the flicker of a smile playing about his lips as he gave a murmur she didn't catch.
“You sleep, just rest, I'm going to help you...” she promised, then she looked to the closed door as she thought about Jet and her sister and the rest of the anti cyborg fanatics close by.
“But I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet...” she murmured, wondering if a plan to help him escape would end up with both of them shot dead for trying...
As Riley left his office at the mansion house, his face was pale as he thought of his best friend, now in the worst possible situation he could be in – Ash was very ill, most likely didn't have long left in this world, and to think those ECL lunatics had him was ripping his heart to shreds as much as anger rose within him at the same time.
As he saw Joy leaving her son's room and closing the door quietly, he watched as she walked down to her own room, then he followed, paused to knock and on hearing her reply went inside, feeling sure this was the worst news he would ever have to deliver – also of course there was the fact that Joy was a force to be reckoned with, and as much as he hated violence, he would be knocking her out if she even took one step towards a plan to fly that war bird into Freedom's air space with guns blazing and spark a war to end what was left of humanity...
“Riley!” she said in surprise, “Have you seen Ash? He's late home...I was wondering if he might have
gone down to Bullet with Kade after rehearsals but -”
“Joy I'm sorry, I just got a call...They've got him. End Cyborg Life have got him. He's no longer in the Valley and they're keeping him until the Premier of Freedom ensures Lynch goes to the gas chamber.”
Shock registered in her eyes. Then anger and fear replaced it as her eyes glazed with tears that glazed a fire behind them that continued to rage.
“Then I'm going to go in there and get him out -”
“No you can't!” Riley said sharply.
“You won't stop me!”
“Yes I will if I have to!” Riley yelled, grabbing at her arms and pulling her back as she turned for the door, he kept her in a crushing grip that bruised her arm as he fixed her with a wild stare that was usually reserved for enemies.
“I know you love him. He's my best mate, I love him too but Joy, you can't go in there shooting up a whole city! They'll come over here and bomb us including the mansion and your family!”
Joy's eyes still blazed with anger, but as she drew in a slow breath, he knew she had got the message and let go of her.
“I'm not saying we can't go in there and get him out,” he added, and she looked at him in surprise.
“But you just said -”
“I said, you can't take the war bird in there and blow the city to pieces! Now, we need to be calm, we need to plan this and we need to act fast – do you still have the communications device you used before the battle for Sanctuary? The one you used to contact Captain Murdock?”
Joy's eyes clouded with confusion as she looked back at him.
“Yes I kept it for old times sake but Murdock's gone, I couldn't reach him if I tried!”
“I just need the device,” Riley said to her, “Because what can send and receive a signal on long distance can also reach a short range signal many miles away if I put in the right commands...I'm just hoping Ash has the sense to keep his internal communications wire switched on.”
