One Dark Future

by Michael Anderle

  “Figures,” Erik grumbled. “Can’t make things too easy.”

  After some abrupt course changes, Emma came in for a low and fast strafing run. Jia, Erik, the captain, and the agents took the opportunity to sweep through the men in front of them. Erik’s first burst struck a man square in the chest and he jerked back but didn’t fall, revealing a tac vest. It wouldn’t survive Emma’s turret, but that wouldn’t help if Jia and the others didn’t take out the exoskeletons.

  A follow-up headshot finished off the target. Erik switched back to single-barrel mode and cut through the masses with one bullet per man. Captain Ragnar snatched a rifle off the ground from the first wave of dead men and added his contribution. Apparently, he’d had enough of taking people alive.

  Already disrupted by Emma’s earlier efforts and with one of their flitters already half-destroyed, the syndicate survivors weren’t in a position to repel the attacks.

  The men fell to the ground screaming or groaning—or silent—as bullets cut through their heads or necks. A tactical vest was a marvel of protection, but it wasn’t a full-body shield. The small number of men who survived the assault threw down their weapons and sprinted in the opposite direction.

  So much for the bravery of the Adriatic Support Association.

  One of the exoskeletons lowered its aim, now less interested in trying to take out the MX 60 and more in countering Mara’s protection detail. They’d cut through half the new reinforcements before dropping back to the ground. A burst from the other exoskeleton nailed the MX 60 on the bottom, followed by a shower of sparks. The vehicle shuddered and dipped.

  “Get the hell out of here, Emma,” Erik ordered. “We’ve got this, but keep your drones. We might need them.” He fished out a plasma grenade. “I’ve got two left. Jia?”

  She pulled out another grenade. “This is my last one, but I’ve got a couple of smokes.”

  Agent Niels shook his head. “Did either of you ever consider carrying stun grenades?”

  “We’d have been completely screwed if we had.” Erik shot him a huge smile. He turned back to Jia and ducked a deadly burst from one of the exoskeletons. “Remember that little exo-killing training session we did last week?”

  “The prophecy is fulfilled,” Jia muttered sarcastically.

  Agent Niels ejected his magazine and took a look before slapping it back in. “I don’t have many rounds left.”

  Agent Wan slid him a rifle from a syndicate enforcer with a shrug before ejecting the magazines from those around him and stuffing them in his pockets. He then gave a firm nod and a thumbs-up to Erik, who was polite enough to not laugh at his sudden bravado.

  “Whatever you’re going to do, do it.” Captain Ragnar finished off two more men with quick shots. “Niels is right. We’re not going to last long without your flitter as cover or air support. You two are tough, but they’ve got exoskeletons.”

  “We don’t need to last long if we take them out.” Erik dropped his rifle to yank out and prime both grenades. “Same play as in training, Jia. You want front or back? And left or right?”

  “I’ll take front and left,” Jia replied with a look of weary resignation. “You give the count.”

  “Emma, can you give us specific outlines of the pilots?” Erik asked.

  “I borrowed some useful drones,” Emma replied. “I don’t even need to launch any of my own. The smoke isn’t a significant problem in this case.”

  The targeting highlights changed from the large exoskeletons to the exposed parts of their bodies. That was all they would need. The advantage of constant training was that Jia already knew what she needed to do.

  “Three,” Erik counted, “two, one. Grenade out!”

  Jia hurled her plasma grenade in a careful arc, followed by a smoke grenade. Countless hours of practice had perfected her aim, and Erik didn’t doubt she could land a grenade within a couple of centimeters blindfolded. The exoskeletons moved closer together and overlapped their shields like a mighty twenty-third-century phalanx. Erik took his chance and risked standing to pitch his two grenades toward the targets but angled for a quick fall to the side. He released both grenades before ducking back down and avoiding a round ripping through his arm.

  The first grenade released its deadly white-blue explosion, which spread across the shields and pushed the reinforced exoskeletons back. Smoke poured from Jia’s second grenade, the cloud all but consuming the two enemies by the time Erik’s grenades arrived. They hit the ground and bounced up, making it past the shield to the more exposed but still armored backs of the exoskeletons.

  Follow-up explosions knocked them to the ground.

  Jia and Erik were sprinting toward the smoke before the enemy hit the ground, each heading toward their predetermined target. If their plan hadn’t worked, they were both about to get a high-velocity, high-caliber round at point-blank range, one their vests wouldn’t be able to save them from. Emma’s overlay revealed the struggling pilots getting their bearings.

  The exoskeletons tried to stand, the extent of their damage obscured by the residual smoke. Jia and Erik cleared the distance in seconds and leapt onto them, closing their eyes to the stinging gray and black air around them. They didn’t need to see. Emma was seeing for them. They shoved their weapons past the shields and against the heads of the pilots, and their shots rang out as one volley. The exoskeletons collapsed again with resounding thuds.

  Jia jumped off, coughed, and backed away, waving her hand to clear the smoke. “I can’t believe that worked in real life.”

  Erik jogged backward, his eyes narrowed. “Who would expect something so ridiculous? But it can be effective.”

  “Wait.” Jia spun toward him, accusation in her eyes. “When we practiced this in the simulation, you said this was just something you’d thought of.”

  “Yeah, thought of to teach you.” Erik shouldered his rifle and offered her his merriest and most frustrating grin. “It’s not like I’m a tactical genius. Almost everything I teach you I’ve seen or done before.”

  The remaining two agents and the captain just watched the two argue.

  Jia inclined her head toward the downed exoskeletons, now rough shadowy outlines in the clearing smoke. “You’ve done something like that before?”

  “Sure, a couple of times. Sometimes I didn’t have an exo, or my exo got busted, and it was do something crazy or die.” Erik gave a dismissive shrug. “How we doing, Emma?”

  “NSCPD vehicles, including TPST, are closing in,” Emma responded. “I didn’t want to distract you while you were doing the self-described ridiculous things.”

  “Are we sure this time?” Jia asked.

  “The transponders matched, and I’ve gotten facial ID matches off several known officers,” Emma replied. “Of course, I can’t say if they’re corrupt or not. Even my sensors can’t peer into the dark depths of the human soul.”

  Erik turned to Captain Ragnar and explained what Emma had related before adding, “I don’t think we need to be wrapped up in this too much longer.”

  The captain nodded back. “I’ll personally guarantee her safety until we get the true CID reinforcements.”

  Agent Niels stood and surveyed the bodies and holes littering the smoky battleground. He blinked several times as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Jia smiled. She had been just like him not all that long ago.

  “How is Mara doing?” Jia asked.

  “I’m okay,” came the woman’s voice over the comm. “Is it…really over?”

  “Yes.” Jia kicked a rifle out of the way. “That’s the problem with big moves like this. You have to pull them off the first time, or everyone will be ready for it.”

  “No one is ever ready for you two,” Agent Niels murmured with a shake of his head.

  Chapter Eleven

  April 13, 2230, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Municipal Tower 67, Hospital Level

  As Erik observed Jared lying in his bed covered in silver patches, the bed beeping softly, his b
reathing shallow, he couldn’t help but remember when he lay in a similar bed, the only survivor of the troops who had deployed onto the surface of Molino that fateful day.

  Modern medicine could save a man from the brink of death, but it couldn’t do anything about the mental scars. He had his own healing solution, and his first real treatment had started with the death of Sophia Vand.

  And he had Jia. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Yes, he did have her. He kept telling himself he needed to concentrate on his revenge, but it was hard to ignore his feelings for the woman he spent almost every minute of his waking day beside. Those feelings were drifting dangerously close to something more all-consuming than casual attraction.

  “You look like shit, Jared,” Erik tried to push his thoughts about Jia down. “But you’re not dead. That’s always good.”

  Jared managed a weak laugh. “Didn’t stop it from hurting. I’m surprised. I figured someone would come in and smother my ass while I was in the hospital.”

  “Don’t tempt me.” Jia gestured toward the door. “There are two very large and stern uniforms out there just itching to take down syndicate enforcers, and it’s not like your location is an open secret.”

  “Mara told me.” Jared closed his eyes and sighed. “She’s tucked away in CID custody until they finish off the ASA in town.”

  “Did Captain Ragnar tell you the good news?” Erik asked.

  “What’s the good news in all this?” Jared chuckled bitterly. “That they’re not going to send me to prison since I’m cooperating, but I’m going to have years of probation, and I’ve been kicked off the force in disgrace? I guess that’s good news.”

  “The CID has mostly finished the ASA in Neo SoCal.” Erik walked over to the side of the bed. “Jia and I killed one of their top lieutenants, a guy named Ralic. It turns out one of the sub-bosses came to the party, too. He was piloting an exo, but we ventilated him. They lost a lot of people in the fights, and their local organization’s a mess. Some of their other local tools are turning themselves in, and others are getting smoked out. It turns out the ASA had greater penetration than you might expect, including taking advantage of some leaks in the NSCPD to set up the fake CID agent ruse. If they’d had slightly better timing or intel, it might have worked.”

  “I still don’t get it.” Jared groaned. “Why go through all that trouble to get Mara?”

  Jia folded her arms. “From what I suspected and what the captain passed along, their newfound influence was surprisingly extensive but tenuous. Interrogations of survivors from the different incidents suggest Ralic was worried you would make a big noisy stand and some of the other people they were pressuring would fold. If they made a public example out of you and your family member, it would keep them in line, especially because they were in the middle of trying to set up a major smuggling pipeline. Weapons, drugs, yaoguai, you name it. They wanted to bring it in.”

  “I didn’t know about that. I didn’t dig that deeply into the surveillance data they wanted me to take care of. I didn’t want to flag IA.” Jared opened his eyes. “It seems crazy now.”

  “Do you have regrets?” Jia asked. “If you’d helped them, you wouldn’t have been shot, and your sister wouldn’t have been in danger.”

  “You think I’m garbage, don’t you, Jia?” Jared turned his head weakly to look at her. “That I’m just about saving my skin.”

  Jia shook her head. “No, the opposite. You had plenty of chances to run and save your own skin, but you were worried about your sister, including putting your life on the line. I’m not going to say I don’t have a problem with a cop who was taking bribes, but at least you put your family first when it mattered.”

  “I don’t have regrets,” Jared replied. He let out a long sigh. “I’m starting over. Mara’s happy I survived, but she didn’t know what I was doing. My career’s finished, but I still need to keep my nose clean and stay out of trouble. I think that might be easier somewhere else.”

  “You’re leaving Neo SoCal?” Erik’s brows lifted. “Where are you going?”

  “Not sure yet, and not just Neo SoCal. They aren’t going to sentence me to probationary work, but I’m volunteering to be resettled on the frontier.” Jared looked like he was at peace.

  “Damn. Moving from Neo SoCal to a frontier colony’s a big change.”

  Jared nodded. “I know, but I think I could use it. Being in this place with all these people, all these opportunities and temptations, it’s hard not to go—” He withered under Jia’s glare. “It’s…harder to stay out of trouble. There I’ll have honest work, helping out in an ag dome or with construction or something. I’m not that old. I can still start over. Maybe I can help someone not make the same mistakes I did.”

  “It’s a long trip to the frontier. You might not be able to see your family for a long time.” Jia shrugged one shoulder.

  “That’s probably for the best. I think if I stuck around here, there would be too many bad memories. At least my sister and my parents can remember me mostly as the cop and not the screw-up.” Jared yawned. “I think I need to get some rest, but I want to thank you for your help. Neither of you owed me anything, and I sure as hell know I didn’t deserve your help.”

  “We didn’t do it for you,” Jia replied, glancing at Erik. “We did it for your sister and Neo SoCal. We might not be police anymore, but we still care about this place.”

  Erik nodded his agreement. “Nothing wrong with having some fun taking down gangsters while doing a good deed or two.”

  Jared laughed quietly. “You two were barely cops, but you’re still both better cops than a hundred of me.” He closed his eyes. “Keep up the good fight, Obsidian Detective and Lady Justice.”

  Erik waited for Jared to say something else, but the wounded man’s head lolled to the side, slumber taking him. It’d been an eventful couple of days, but routine by their standards.

  “What about you, Jia?” Erik asked.

  “What?” Jia looked over. “What about me?”

  “Do you regret getting involved?” Erik nodded at Jared’s sleeping form.

  Jia turned toward the door. “It ended with fewer thugs in the world. I’ll never regret getting involved in something that ends like that.”

  Erik opened his mouth to answer when his PNIU chimed with a message from Captain Ragnar. After reading the message, he smirked. “So much for keeping a low profile. The captain needs one more small favor.”

  * * *

  April 14, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Apartment of Jia Lin

  Jia was curled up next to Erik on the couch with his arm around her shoulders. “It’s almost time, right?”

  Erik nodded. “Emma, just play it once he sends it.”

  “Very well,” the AI replied.

  “I can’t believe we agreed to it,” Jia commented, shaking her head. “It’s ridiculous. I’m still embarrassed.”

  “More ridiculous than what we do for Alina?” Erik raised an eyebrow, a playful smile joining it. “I don’t think it’s so bad. Nothing wrong with using our rep.”

  A holographic image of the police chief in full dress uniform appeared in the center of a landing platform surrounded by armored TPST flitters. He stood in front of an exoskeleton, and soaring brass-heavy music played.

  “In these difficult times,” announced a deep-voiced narrator, “criminals, antisocials, insurrectionists, and terrorists are waiting for their chance to strike and disrupt our careful social fabric.”

  Captain Ragnar disappeared. Images of uniformed officers charging and firing stun pistols gave way to an exoskeleton smashing through a wall and chasing masked men holding rifles. The scene changed to an image of a Zitark chasing down a screaming girl before running away under the withering fire of police snipers.

  “I didn’t know that was going to be in there.” Jia laughed. “Since when does the NSCPD take on aliens?”

  “Hey, it could happen.” Erik shrugged. “That guy probably got fined for parking
his ship on the wrong platform, and so now he’s rampaging because he doesn’t want to pay the fine.

  “In these uncertain times,” the narrator continued, the music swelling, “you can depend on the Neo Southern California Police Department to protect you.”

  Jia’s stomach tightened, and she swallowed. The next part was just too much. The image shifted to drone footage, presenting an overhead view of Erik and Jia firing at the ASA enforcers. Careful angles and editing removed the CID agents and Captain Ragnar from the scene. There was also a notable lack of bodies and blood.

  The scene changed again to Erik and Jia standing with rifles in hand. Neither wore a uniform, which made sense given they’d filmed the footage the day before. They shot stern looks at the camera drone.

  “Remember,” they announced in unison, “the NSCPD will always be watching.”

  Jia groaned, her right hand reaching up to cover her eyes. “That’s even cheesier than I thought!”

  “I don’t know. I kind of like it.” Erik laughed.

  “And it’s misleading.” Jia scrubbed her hand over her face. “It implies we’re still in the department.”

  “We don’t say that, and we’re not wearing uniforms.” Erik stuck his hands behind his head and leaned back. “A little PR for the department never hurt, and it also might confuse the conspiracy.”

  Jia offered him a squinted, dubious look as she turned her head toward him. “I doubt the conspiracy is going to be distracted by something like that.”

  “If we have time to make PR commercials for the NSCPD, it means we’re not running around destroying conspiracy Tin Men,” Erik replied. “That’s got to get them thinking, ‘What are they up to?’”

  “If you say so,” Jia settled back down. “But it’s still embarrassing.”

  “Good thing you didn’t take up that Venusian talent agent’s offer. You’d have to do a lot more embarrassing stuff than that commercial.”

  Jia lightly punched him in the leg. “Very funny.”