under her arm. She crept onto the walkway though she lingered within the shadows that formed at the foot of a boarded up building. Trash littered the streets, rolling about in the wind.
She paused when she realized that someone was trailing after her. It was a lone man. His clothing was worn and old but not so much so that he appeared destitute. There was a sense of purpose in his stride and there was a sense of desperation within his eyes. He looked down at her as a smile reformed his expression.
“You are that girl they are looking for, the one worth all that money, Mary, no Maria. Your name is Maria.” he told her as she backed away.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” she told him abruptly then continued on walking.
“Wait, I know who you are. I never forget a face and I know that I have seen your face before.” he explained.
“Well you must be mistaken.” she informed him though she clutched Snickers close, knowing this man could be trouble. Maria increased her pace but the man would not be ignored that easily.
“You are not from around here. People come here for family and for business. I know everyone around here well have for I am often invited to cookouts and I recognize many of their relatives’ faces.” the man said as Maria began to wander if she could out run him. She glanced at his long legs that still moved with a youthful spring in every step.
“Stop following me!” Maria snapped, rounding on the man.
“Many people believe this area is dangerous. An outsider would not simply allow their child to wander these streets unsupervised. You must be lost. You do not belong here.” he stated as she backed away uncertain about her course of action.
“I am going to tell my father that you are threatening me,” she warned but he continued closing the distance with a sliding shuffle.
“It would be irresponsible for me to allow you to wander around here alone. I will take you to the police.” he offered as he grabbed her arm.
“No let go of me!” Maria yelled when she saw a police cruiser, rounding a corner as if on cue. The man released her as the cruiser stopped in front of them and a robotic cop emerged.
“I can explain. I was just trying to…” the man stammered but the robotic cop was not focused on him.
“Maria Rivera, you are to report to the station.” the cop stated in an amplified electronic voice. Maria glared at it, willing it to retrain the man with her mind. The machine quivered then silently neared them.
“You are that girl they are looking for, I knew it.” The man exclaimed before the robot grabbed him. “Hey what are you doing? She is over there.”
Maria turned away when she saw someone down the street waiting for her. It was a person she wished to never to see again. He was wearing a rather stylish shirt that had been crinkled as if retrieved from a hamper and stained with sweat. His hair was wild and he was in need of a shave. His eyes were inhumanly cold and mechanical like an android’s.
“Not you,” Maria whispered to herself as the man walked over to her calmly.
“Yes, it seems even you can’t hide forever. We found your stolen auto-flyer. The others are coming I already informed them of your location but you must already know that because you can intercept any transmitted thoughts. It’s over so just surrender.” he explained when she glanced at the robotic cop then commanded it to release the man that had been stalking her.
“Wait, are you controlling that cop?” the stalker asked as the cop stood next to her but she did not even acknowledge that he had spoken to her.
“Never!” she whispered under her breath as her father’s killer smiled.
“It’s always difficult with you.” he stated before he advanced toward her. The machine raised his gun as he paused.
“You wouldn’t,” he assured himself as she squeezed Snickers a little tighter, out of anger.
“You killed my father.” she reminded him, her eyes hardened by past events.
“Yeah and I am going to capture you. There is simply too much riding on my success.” he stated without any sense of regret as the machine aimed at his knee then fired. He toppled over with a yelp, barely bracing himself with his hands. He snarled before he pushed himself back upright.
“How dare you. I would have thought that you were smart enough not to wound what you don’t have the guts to kill.” he said as he limped forward, “You should have just given up but you chose to defy me even though you are too weak to save yourself, like your pitiful father.” he sneered as the robot adjusted his aim.
“My father risked everything to save me and I am not going to allow myself to be stopped by you.” Maria stated before the gun fired and Ricky fell back into the grass. His arrogance was vanquished by the bullet lodged within his chest. A blood stain formed over his heart as his limp body slammed into the ground. His eyes stared at her in shock, forever frozen.
“You are a monster.” the man, questioning her earlier, yelled before running off terrified. She watched him then remembered she had to get away from that area. She jumped into the cop cruiser when she saw a group of cops surround her with their lights blazing and their alarms blaring.
“Maria Rivera surrender.” someone commanded as she sent the robotic cop, she controlled, to face them. She slammed the door then turned on the engine. The other auto-flyers rose around her as she shot straight up. She bumped into one of the auto-flyers above but no damage was done.
She held Snickers close to her chest then guided the craft into traffic. She triggered the cruiser’s sirens that forced all the civilian craft to freeze as she zipped by the lanes with the others in close pursuit.
She tried to confuse them by rising up over traffic suddenly though they would not be thrown off her trail that easily. They bobbed in and out of the frozen traffic like breaching whales. She sped toward the heart of the city hoping to lose them in the crowded streets. She accelerated then vanished around a corner. She spotted an underground parking dock, which she veered into. The change in speed was so violent when combined with the jerk of the initial turn that she was thrown across the cabin. The auto-flyer skittered over a small craft then crashed into the cement wall, flinging her forward. Her head banged into the padded seat.
She sat up slowly then rubbed her head and picked up her only companion, Snickers. She squeezed the plush toy as she waited for the others to surround her but she could hear nothing but her own breathing. She slowly opened the door then crept out of the auto-flyer. It seems that she had finally lost them but she knew they would find her soon enough if she did not hurry.
She ran across the parking dock with Snickers swinging limply in her arms. She had to get out of there. She had to escape.
Elusive Knowledge
A man sat at his desk with his head propped on his hand as his tired eyes scanned over the papers laid out before him. A report about Lisa Rivera’s death, Antonio Rivera’s messily written notes, and mystifying brain scans that defied all his previous knowledge, were set out before him. He had stared at every page in bewilderment for hours. He had practically commented it all to memory by now.
It just did not make sense how all these things could be connected but he knew that they must be. There had to be a way to explain why Maria Rivera could do the things that she could do. There had to be an answer hiding among the confusion of information, something that he was missing.
Someone entered the room as the man looked up dully, blinking back sleepiness in an effort to appear alert. The man standing in his doorway was the General that was in charge of leading this mission.
“Dr. Shaw, I need to inform you that we have lost our claim to Maria Rivera because she managed to escape from our facility and she has recently killed Rick Harris. The only way we can use her to win this war is to use the secrets that you have discovered about her abilities.” he informed Dr. Shaw, who looked away ashamed of himself.
“I was unable to find anything.” he admitted when the General advanced towards him.
“But it is your job to find information,�
�� he stated harshly as Dr. Shaw nodded.
“Yes sir, but I can’t make sense out of it. Maria Rivera seems to me like a fluke of nature. She shouldn’t be able to do what she does.” Dr. Shaw explained.
“Everything can be explained. You simply need more time.” the General reminded him as Dr. Shaw looked up.
“Um yes sir maybe that is it.” Dr. Shaw agreed, ashamed that he temporarily believed Maria to be beyond scientific knowledge, beyond the physical realm.
“And I will form a team to report directly under you to ensure results.” the General continued.
“Thank you sir,” Dr. Shaw responded, pleased because suddenly he wanted to solve this mystery more than anything else. He wanted to be the one who figured out the nature of her odd abilities and to use that knowledge to bring peace to his country. It seems honorable like something a soldier would do.
“I will inform the others to check Lisa Rivera’s side of the family for any documentation of genetic illness or abnormities and I will also send someone to Antonio Rivera’s job to see it they have a report of all the equipment he brought home with him or any projects he mentioned in passing.” the General informed him, refusing to give up when Maria’s ability meant so much.
“Yes sir that would be very helpful.” Dr. Shaw agreed.
“There is still time. The other agency insisted that we continue to help them capture Maria since she has proven herself
The Paradoxical Nature of Knowledge Page 17
