by Adam Bender
Danny smiled proudly. “You were expecting the desert?”
“Where are we?”
“On the coast, a few miles outside the Capital. My family came here often for summer retreats.”
“Beats camping,” interjected a breathy and familiar female voice.
Seven’s head spun right and took in a tall, slender woman with short auburn hair, tortoise-shell glasses, and piercing green eyes. “Ana?” he made out.
He hadn’t seen her since the attack. Ana looked like just another pretty face, but actually was an efficient and deadly spy for the Underground. Her only weakness, as far as Seven could tell, was poor taste in men. She was the type of girl who, faced with a crowd of suitors, always seemed to pick the biggest jerk in the pile. He knew that because he briefly had a crush on her. It hadn’t worked out.
Ana pulled a skinny cigarette from her burgundy lips. “Hey, Seven, looks like you made it out of the city in one piece.”
“More or less.” He shrugged. “But what are you doing here?”
Young coughed, and then appeared to choke a little bit on it.
Ana shot him a look. “Danny and I are…old friends,” she explained slowly. “I called him up after I got out of the city.”
Seven looked around but couldn’t locate Ana’s most recent jerk-friend. “Is Eric here?”
She took a quick puff and considered the smoke curling up to the ceiling. “After everything that happened…our arrest, the escape from the Tower…I guess he decided that he’d had enough.”
Seven’s eyebrows rose. He tried to think of something comforting to say, but couldn’t come up with anything. He still felt guilty for getting her in trouble with–and nearly killed by–the Guard. The surveillance he had unwittingly done for the Guard exposed Ana as a Heretic.
Danny tapped Seven’s back with his gun. “You can thank–or blame–Ana for your presence here today,” he said. “She practically begged me to bring you into the loop after it became clear you’d escaped the Capital.”
Seven shot his old teammate a puzzled look. “But…but it was my fault…”
“Danny told me about the tapes and your involvement with the Guard,” she said. “But I know you didn’t know what was happening. And anyway, you saved our lives.”
“Yeah, after I got you arrested.”
“We were a team, and you did so much to help us,” she said. “No matter who you may have been before, I don’t know how I could ever doubt your heart is now with the Underground.”
Danny cleared his throat with such force that Ana looked concerned.
He waved her off. “I hate to break up the reunion,” he said, “but we didn’t exactly bring Seven here for pleasantries. Ana, could you please find Shaan and Talia and tell them we’re having a meeting in my office.”
Adopting the accent of a pirate, Ana returned, “Aye aye, Cap’n Young.”
He laughed and told her to shut up. Then he jabbed Seven with the gun and pushed him out of the room into a bright hallway wallpapered with wildflowers.
“So your summer vacation home doubles for Underground HQ?” asked Seven.
“What?” Young shot back. His eyes narrowed and then lit up quite suddenly. “Oh! No, no–you were brought to this particular location because I happened to be in the area. That’s all. The truth about HQ is that it’s everywhere and nowhere all at once.”
“I…see,” Seven said hesitantly. He was starting to wish Young was capable of giving answers that weren’t long-winded.
Young took Seven’s response as a request for more information. “You see, it would be child’s play for the Guard to locate us if we kept everything in a single, centralized location. Instead we have an extensive network of small locations, each contributing to the whole. Are you familiar with cloud networks?”
“Not really.”
“Shaan could explain it better…” said Danny, head swiveling wildly around. Shaan was nowhere in sight. “I know, think of it like a plant!”
First a cloud and now a plant; Seven was beginning to grow tired of all the metaphors.
“So imagine a large plant with, I don’t know, how many leaves does a large plant have? Fifty or sixty? We have more bases than that, but for the sake of this analogy, let’s go with that. So, what happens when one leaf turns brown? Does the entire plant die? No! Likewise, if one of our locations is detected, we can avoid having the entire Underground compromised by issuing a simple disconnection command, pruning the found station like the dead leaf.”
“But you’re the leader now, right? Isn’t wherever you are the central base?”
Danny shook his head. “That’s a common misconception, actually. Truth is no one is really the absolute leader. My dad founded the Underground, but he only directed activities in the Capital and surrounding region.”
“Then who makes the decisions for the entire group?”
“Well, Dad was chairman on a board with several other directors. But his vote was equal to theirs. When he died, I took over as chairman.”
“Interesting,” said Seven. Finally, he worked up the courage to complain about the object that kept bumping against his back. “Hey, if I’m going to be your adviser and everything, is the gun really necessary?”
Young eyed his hand as if he’d just discovered a mysterious growth. “Oh,” he said, dropping his arm. “No, I guess not.”
Ana caught up with them. “They’re on their way,” she said. “Arguing about something trite, as per usual, but they’re coming.”
Danny pulled open the door to his office and wandered behind a big oak desk. The workstation was immaculate–so much so that Seven wondered how much use it got. Young grabbed the computer mouse and shook it furiously until the machine beeped. Satisfied, he fell into a red leather chair and motioned to a single chair near the door. “Have a seat,” he told them.
Seven squinted awkwardly at Ana until finally she offered the chair to him. “Please, Seven, after everything you’ve been through today, you probably need it more than me.”
A hushed warbling in the hallway of Young’s vacation house turned to emphatic chatter. Shaan and his sister entered the room.
“Why does he get the chair?” Talia protested immediately, indicating Seven with a point of one of her long, slender fingers. “What happened to chivalry? And isn’t he supposed to be our prisoner or something?”
Danny clasped his straw-like fingers and peered at them over his black flat-panel monitor. “Well, only in the philosophical sense.” He guffawed for a long time by himself.
Shaan scrunched his lids tight, as if he expected his eyes to pop out otherwise. “All right, that’s it!” he exploded. “What’s this all about? Why is Seven here? When we knocked him out and drove all the way here, I thought we were bringing in some kind of traitor!”
“Seven’s not working for the Guard, anymore,” tried Ana.
“What do you mean, anymore?”
Young held up his hands as if trying to stop an oncoming bus. “Seven is one of our spies, and he’s provided some very valuable evidence that we believe can help us take down the Guard. There was a bit of a…um…misunderstanding, which was why I needed you to use force to bring him here. But that’s all cleared up now. Isn’t that right, Seven?”
“Um,” he hesitated. “I guess so.”
Danny slicked back his blond hair. “Anyway, Shaan, it’s good that you’re here. We could use someone with your technical expertise. It’s getting harder to come by good agents, what with the attack and everything…”
He peered down at the big man’s sister. “And Talia, um…well, it’s good to have you here as well.”
She stuck her thumb up and offered a rather patronizing smile.
Young’s eyes fell mournfully to the keyboard and for a while he said nothing. Finally, he spoke. “I’m not my father. I didn’t…I didn’t even really work with my father when he was alive. I always believed in the cause, but…I guess what I’m saying is I’m a bit new at this.” He lo
oked up at everyone. “I appreciate you all bearing with me as I try to figure all this out. I want to involve all of you in the decision-making process, at least until I have things under control again.”
Ana smiled. “That’s what we’re here for. Just tell us our first move.”
Danny turned to the monitor and fiddled again with the mouse. “Well, the situation’s changed a great deal since the Enemy attacked. A new option has presented itself. You see, the Enemy sent a message to my father.”
Talia gasped. “They what?”
“Listen.” He clicked and the light fuzz of radio static filled the room.
“Hello, Mr. Young,” boomed a heavily accented voice. “Our intelligence indicates that you lead a rebel movement in your nation known as the Underground. We would like to make our intentions known to you, because we believe our interests may align. In one hour, we will launch a ‘shock-and-awe’ attack on your Capital. We then intend to come to shore and take it.”
Seven glanced briefly at Talia, whose mouth now hung wide open.
“You refer to us as the Enemy, but we are not the Under-ground’s enemy. Our mission is not one of destruction, but rather salvation. We are here to free your nation from the tyrant William Drake and his wholly oppressive government. We are here to install you, the Underground, as leaders of this new, free republic.”
The voice of the Enemy paused. “All we require is your allegiance.”
Talia was so angry she was shaking. “Danny! You knew about the attack and didn’t warn anyone?!”
Young stopped the recording. He looked surprised by the charge. “Well, no, I didn’t know. With my dad captured, we didn’t actually find the tape until after the bombing. By that time it was too late to do anything.”
“Whatever,” said Ana dismissively. “All we can do now is decide how to respond.”
Seven wasn’t sure what was more incredible–the message from the Enemy or the Underground’s inability to make a decision about it. “Wait, let me get this straight,” he spoke up. “Are we actually thinking about helping the Enemy take over?”
“Well,” said Ana, “I mean they never said anything about conquering the country, right? They said they’re here to help us overthrow the Guard.”
Shaan considered. “Danny, what do they want us to do ex-actly?”
“As you know, the Underground has a sizable presence in every major city in the nation. We’ve got small armies that can fight the Guard if push comes to shove. And we’ve got people with access to critical infrastructure who can prepare cities for invasion.”
“Prepare…?” Seven squinted at him. “Meaning what?”
“Well, for example, we’ve got insiders who can disable wireless communications, shut down the electric grid, or…um…do something clever with the sewage system. That kind of thing.”
Shaan nodded. “All feasible options. But only if we manage to convince our people to sabotage their own country.”
Danny laughed. “Well, you wouldn’t pitch it like, you know, ‘Hey guys, let’s help the Enemy!’ We could just tell them that we’re enabling the war to continue a little bit longer, so that, when all’s said and done, whoever wins will be so weak we can overthrow them in a matter of weeks, maybe days. And you know, to a certain extent it’s true. Maybe the Guard will pull out a victory. If they do, we’ll still have put ourselves in a stronger position.”
Seven couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No,” he said. “This doesn’t…this doesn’t feel right to me.”
Danny held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not saying we should definitely do it. That’s why you’re here. Clearly, you think this is a bad idea. Why?”
“Look, the way I see it, we’ve got this bitter divide, right? Patriots and Heretics, Guard and Underground. I think it’s what made us vulnerable to attack, and I think that maybe the Enemy knows it’s the key to winning the war. How can we be so sure that, when it’s all over and the Enemy has won, they’re not just going to turn around and be just as controlling as the Guard?”
“I’m just playing devil’s advocate here,” said Danny, “but I’m not sure they could control anyone, even if they wanted to. I don’t think the people would allow it. The Enemy would have to put one of us in charge to keep the peace, right?”
“But ‘the people’ aren’t exactly on our side,” said Seven. “They’ve been taught by the government to hate the Under-ground. If they see the Underground actually helping the Enemy take out soldiers–many of whom, by the way, are just following orders–it’s just going to confirm every lie the Guard’s told. Even if the Enemy makes good on its promise and puts us in charge, the people aren’t going to like it. They’re going to hate us even more than they do now.”
“Seven’s right,” said Talia. “Every soldier has friends and family. Those people are going to care.”
Ana shook her head. “But, I mean, we can’t help the Guard win the war, right?”
“Don’t think of it as helping the Guard,” said Seven. “Think of it as defeating the Enemy. If the people see the Underground defending the homeland, it’s possible they’ll start trusting us. That trust will make them more open to what we have to say. And it’s not just good public relations; it’s the right thing to do.”
Danny exhaled meaningfully. “Okay,” he said. “I’ve got to think about this more, but you may have convinced me. Anyone else have anything to say?”
“Yeah,” said Talia. “What’s that high-pitched bleep-bleep-bleep noise?”
Everyone shut up. Something was indeed producing a high-frequency pulse.
“The alarm!” gasped Young, turning fast to the computer screen. “I think we may have visitors!”
Three,” said Eve, and the Elites popped out of the car. Rodriguez ducked behind the purple minivan parked outside the ranch house and pointed a pistol at the front door. Eve approached the entrance and pounded with her fist.
After a minute of no response, Eve glanced at her tablet. The blinking red dot showing Seven’s location was still frozen in place about a half-mile away. “This rancher is the only building in three miles,” she said. “It’s the only place Jon can be.”
Nodding, Rodriguez procured a silver key and slipped it into the door knob. Eve glanced down at a pot of flowers on the porch and thought again of her old friend Bill and their last meeting.
“Are you ready?” said Rodriguez. The door was open.
Eve wasn’t–she’d never been so confused in her life. But she couldn’t tell her partner that. “Let’s move,” she said.
“That looked like some kind of tracking app,” said Shaan, eyeing Danny Young’s monitor over his shoulder. “But who the hell is Jon?”
Seven felt his heart race as his worst fears were confirmed. Eve hadn’t let him go even after their scrap in the Capitol Tower. She must have been tracking him ever since, he thought. “She found me,” he murmured aloud.
Ana and Talia sent Seven a collective look of bewilderment. Danny spun around his chair to face him head on. “Wait, Seven, you know these people?”
He struggled to explain. “I don’t know the guy, but the woman is Eve. She…she was the Elite tracking me on, uh…you know…my mission.”
“Well,” snapped Shaan with the face of someone stung by a bee, “it would appear she’s still tracking you.”
“That’s impossible,” said Seven. “The only way they could track me would be if they had…”
He reached into his pocket for the memory stick, but all he could feel was tattered tissues. “Oh shit.”
“What?” snapped Shaan.
It didn’t take much explanation to bring the short-fused engineer up to speed.
“You lost it?!”
“I must have dropped it when you rushed me back at your house!”
Shaan slammed his fist against the desk and bared his teeth. “She was in my house?!”
“Hey, everyone chill,” advised Danny, rising to his feet. “We’ll worry about all that in a minute.
Right now we need to hide.”
Eve nudged open the front door. Rodriguez darted inside and assessed the foyer with pistol outstretched. They edged forward toward an intersection with a long hallway stretching left to right. In the room straight ahead, Eve could see large windows and a windy forest.
Rodriguez gaped into the living room, too. “Nice TV!” he exclaimed.
She rolled her eyes. “Try to focus, please.”
“Should we split up?” he asked. “You go left, I go right?”
She shook her head. “We don’t know how many Heretics are here. Better if we stay together.” She pointed to the right with her gun. “Go that way, I’ll be close behind.”
Rodriguez did as he was told. Eve’s eyes lingered on the weapon in her hand and again felt racked with indecision. She had Seven, she knew it. But something kept gnawing at her. Was her whole mission here really just about Patriot ID? Was the Guard really going to help her fiancé, or did they just want to ensure there would be no backlash against installing chips into more people’s heads?
“Promise me…” she heard Bill whisper in her ear.
“They’re moving for the bedrooms,” said Danny Young, squeez-ing past Ana’s breasts to look at a TV screen displaying the house’s security feed. They were lined shoulder to shoulder behind a faux bookcase in Young’s office.
“Something tells me this room wasn’t built for five,” complained Ana, releasing herself from the wall.
“There’s only two of them out there,” whispered Talia. “Why don’t we just jump them?”
“I think you’re forgetting they’re Elite Guard,” replied Ana. “And more could be on their way. We have to be very careful about this.”
“They’re only tracking me,” said Seven. “The rest of you should make an escape. I’ll stay here and figure something out.”
“No,” said Young. “We’re a team now. We’re sticking together.”
“But we can’t just wait here!” protested Talia. “They’re calling in backup. Maybe this parlor trick of Danny’s can fool them temporarily, but it’s not going to work forever. I’ve seen how the Guard operates. They’ll burn this house down to the ground before they walk away from a possible Heretic nest. And anyway, if those Elites are tracking Seven, shouldn’t it be pretty easy for them to figure out we’re in here?”
