by Adam Bender
“Fascinating. Well, Roger, we’ll check back with you later for updates. Thank you for the report, and stay safe out there.”
The background noise cut out as the radio returned to the news studio. “We’ll have more after the break,” the newscaster announced.
Eve was surprised to hear that things were getting worse. Maybe she had been naive, but she thought that by now it all would have been over and done with. The Enemy certainly had used the element of surprise to their advantage, but certainly the Guard should have been ready. How could the Guard’s defenses possibly fail in the Capital of all places?
What had she and Jon been working for all these years if not to secure the nation from attacks? What had they accomplished by rounding up Heretics? People were dying, and it was obvious to Eve that the country’s Heretics had nothing to do with it.
“I just hope the Enemy lets us live long enough to fix things,” said Ana. “I mean, this whole mission–if the Enemy wins the war, it won’t mean anything, will it?”
“That’s not something we can control,” Danny said with a level of tranquility that astonished Eve. “But we sure as hell aren’t going to wait around twiddling our thumbs while our president tries to use a war to tighten his grip around the people of this country. Our work will be important in preventing tyranny, no matter which side comes out the victor.”
The purple minivan fell into silence as the rebels absorbed their leader’s statement. Suddenly, Seven let out a short, falsetto whoop of approval.
“Yeah!” added Talia. “Fuck the man!”
One by one everyone lost it.
The six of them stepped off the parking lot blacktop onto a barren concrete avenue. The only color came from a line of orange flags strung along the roof of a gas station to a fading plastic palm tree.
Eve coughed on the fumes that Engine Valley residents regarded as air. It was hard to imagine why anyone would want to live here, but this city employed more working class men and women than any other in the country. From an aesthetic standpoint, it felt wrong to refer to the Valley as the heart of the economy. A more accurate description, perhaps, was that it was the blood and sweat.
“Where the heck is everyone?” Talia asked.
Shaan shook his head. “Perhaps Haru can say.”
Young and Ana kept close to Eve. They had freed the double agent of her handcuffs, but Ana was making it clear with her body language that she still considered Eve a prisoner. Shaan pushed on ahead, increasing his distance from the women with every step. Seven and Talia lingered behind the pack.
Ana held her nose. “For some reason I expected the Guard’s most well-protected science facility to be located somewhere a bit–I don’t know–greener, I guess. And more…campus-y.”
“Well, it’s not exactly a wind farm,” replied Eve.
Ana retrieved a smoke from her crimson clutch and lit it. “At least tell me they’ve got some good strong men here. They’d have to in a place so…industrial, right?”
Eve shrugged with a glance back at Seven. “I guess. They’re not really my type.”
“Really?” Ana smiled mischievously. “I like factory men–they’re aggressive. Not even a sparkly ring stops them.” She pointed to Eve’s hand. “It’s pretty, by the way.”
The fiancée of Jonathan Wyle gazed sadly at her finger.
Ana exhaled a cloud of black air. “So I guess your little chat this morning didn’t go well…”
That’s it, thought Eve furiously. “Okay, what is your problem with me anyway? I can understand why Talia’s ticked, but you’ve just been bitchy to me for no reason.”
“Whoa-kay!” exclaimed Danny, walking alongside them. “I think I’m going to go try and catch up with Shaan.”
Eve didn’t notice him go. “Well, Ana? What is it? What did I do to you?”
Ana gritted her teeth. And then out of nowhere came tears. “You people killed Eric!”
Eric? The name was familiar, but where had she heard it?
Suddenly, she remembered. When Seven was doing Underground missions with Ana back in the city, there was an Eric on the team. He and Ana had been romantic. The Guard had been holding them in the Capitol Tower when the bombs struck. Seven rescued them from the building, but Eve wasn’t sure what had happened to them after that. Frankly, she had been a little surprised to see Ana at Danny’s house.
“I’m sorry, Ana, I didn’t know,” she said. “What happened?”
Ana shrugged her shoulders pathetically. “We were trying to evacuate. We got to the blockade and the Guard stopped us. They wouldn’t let us through. Eric went ballistic and they…they just shot him.”
Eve gasped. “How did you get through?”
Ana sniffed. “They let me turn back to the Capital. When I was far enough out of sight I hitched a ride in this guy’s trunk. It was humiliating, but what else was I supposed to do? I just wish I could have seen Eric one more time.”
Eve shook her head sympathetically. “I want you to know I don’t approve of the blockade. I think that was an absolutely ridiculous policy.”
“Look, I know you didn’t pull the trigger. But you’re the reason we got added to the Watched list. And…and you make such a goddamned big deal over losing Seven, but the reality is you didn’t lose him. Not really. At least he’s still alive.”
Eve nodded. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to make up for it the best I can.”
They didn’t say anything more to each other. Eve glanced at her wristwatch, but quickly remembered that Shaan had taken it along with her cell phone. She was pretty sure her timepiece wasn’t a tracking device, but then again it had been made by the Guard. She had to admit this motley bunch was thorough.
Now Eve looked at the sun for clues about the time, but the great ball of fire was hidden beneath plumes of smoke. She was about to ask Ana when a digital 3:13 PM flashed at her in red from a building on the corner of the next street. A few seconds later, the black board provided the temperature.
Squinting at the name under the sign, Eve realized they were heading for a DAY Bank. On his mission back in the Capital, Jon had spent days in the basement of one of these, she recalled. Apparently this financial franchise, owned by Daniel Alexander Young, was a popular nesting spot for the Underground. This, of course, had all been in her report to the Guard.
“You know, you Underground types might want to reconsider your policy about hiding in places named for your leader,” she suggested.
Ana smiled. “Oh, we’re not so predictable. That’s not where we’re going.”
Seven felt obligated to walk with Talia for the same reason he’d felt obligated to sit next to her in the van–he felt guilty. She seemed to be mad at him, even though it seemed to Seven that he should be mad at her. After all, it was she who had dismissed last night as nothing at all, wasn’t it? Seven didn’t think he was being overly clingy. It wasn’t like he needed this to turn into a relationship or anything like that, especially if that wasn’t what Talia wanted. He just wanted things to be cool between them.
If only it weren’t so damn impossible to start a conversation.
“Kind of windy today,” he tried, immediately regret-ting it as an opener.
She shrugged.
“Is everything all right?”
“Yup,” she replied without even a glance.
“Is this about Eve?”
“Nope.”
She was only giving one-word answers and they weren’t even insulting. Talia wasn’t being herself; things obviously weren’t cool.
“I really don’t have feelings for her anymore,” he said.
She looked at him skeptically.
“It’s difficult. I’m sorry.”
She provided an expressionless nod. It wasn’t encouraging.
Seven sighed. “Look, let me know if you want to talk about it later. What happened between us last night…Well, I don’t regret it, and I’d do it again.”
That last line made her laugh. Seven wasn’t sure he was out
of the woods, but the smile was nice.
“How’s your shoulder?” she asked.
“It’s a little stiff.”
Actually, it hurt like hell, especially when he moved his arm more than forty-five degrees. The stiffness came mainly from the pile of bandages which further restricted his movement. There was so much tape hidden beneath his T-shirt it looked like he had developed a strange growth.
Talia stroked the bump gently with the tips of her fingers. “Does this hurt?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “To be honest, I can’t feel your hand at all.”
“You’ve got to be more careful,” she scolded him. “What were you thinking, running off after an Elite Guard without even taking a weapon? Why are you so stupid all of the time? I can’t believe I slept with such a moron. I hope you didn’t interpret it as some kind of encouragement to be dumb.”
Seven smiled. He wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but he had the old Talia back.
Eve reached for her bare arms as the wind picked up. Across the street up ahead, Shaan paused by a shop with the words Harry’s Donuts written across the window in pink florescent tube lighting.
“Shaan always did have a soft spot for sweets,” remarked Eve.
Talia, catching up to the other women, regarded Eve like she was expired milk.
Eve returned the stare. “What?”
“You talk about him like the two of you used to be B-F-Fs!”
“Excuse me?”
Talia groaned. “It means best friends forever.”
Eve shrugged. “I know him pretty well. I watched him for years.”
“And you don’t think that sounds creepy?”
“I guess I never thought of it like that,” she reflected. “I was just serving God and country.”
“Oh, okay, well as long as you were serving God and country,” she retorted sarcastically. “By the way, my brother is not getting donuts; that’s the base.”
As it turned out, Eve wasn’t completely wrong about Shaan’s intentions. While Harry’s was indeed a cover for a secret Underground hideout, to maintain appearances the shop really did sell fried pastries. Shaan was quick to take advantage of the situation. When the girls finally caught up with him inside, they found him munching on a powdered jelly.
A languid teenager manning the store counter perked up upon their entrance. He adjusted a humiliating string-and-paper cap and sputtered out a greeting: “H-hello, may I…may I help you, ladies?”
She thought that Seven, standing alongside him, looked a bit put off by the statement.
Shaan swallowed a thick gob of jelly and answered, “They’re with me. We’re here to see Haru.”
The kid turned red. “Oh, I didn’t realize…if I had known I wouldn’t have made you pay for–”
“It’s not a problem,” said Shaan. “Good donuts are worth paying for.”
“Hey, write that one down, cutie,” said Ana. “You could get rich with a slogan like that.”
The teen appeared dizzied, as if he’d found black-and-white pinwheels swirling in Ana’s tortoiseshell frames.
“Right,” said the boy. “Well, Haru’s expecting you. Come around back. Take the stairs down to the basement.”
Shaan thanked him, and the team shimmied past a refrig-erator of iced tea and lemonade.
The stairwell was quiet except for the occasional drip. Also, it was hot. “What is with you people and cellars?” Eve remarked. “Is it really that important for you all to live up to the name Underground?”
Seven and Danny laughed while the others groaned.
They came upon a thick steel door at the bottom of the steps. Danny pulled at the handle but it didn’t budge. “Haru?” he said, tapping the door.
No answer.
“Let me try,” said Eve.
But the door spoke before she got the chance. “What’s the password?” it said.
Danny laughed. “Fuck you, motherfucker.”
The door swung open, revealing a friendly looking man with spiky black-and-gray hair. “Fuck you, motherfuckah!” he bellowed back. They performed an elaborate handshake.
It was strange, thought Eve. Haru looked middle-aged but acted like he was fresh out of high school. She decided there was some history here that she was missing.
Ana rolled her eyes. “Boys.”
“Been a while, Ana,” said the basement dweller. “And this is our Elite-in-Crisis?”
“Eve,” she introduced herself.
“I’m Haru.” He held out his hand.
She looked at it. “I’m not confident I can pull off that same dance of the fists.”
“Dance of the fists?” cackled Haru. “That’s funny. I like that.”
“Haru,” said Danny with a wave to everyone else. “This is the gang. Gang, this is Haru.”
Seven and Shaan mumbled introductions. Talia kept quiet.
Ana cleared her throat impatiently. “Well? Shall we?”
Haru waved them in. It wasn’t much of a hideout. There were a couple of computers, a boxy television, and two seedy-looking sofas.
“This looks like a college dorm,” commented Eve. “Do you sleep down here, too?”
“No, no,” Haru replied. “We only use this for biznatch.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what I call business. There’s about five of us who work out of this location, but we all have apartments in the city. By the way, you’re all welcome to sleep here tonight.”
Charming, thought Eve as she fell into one of the couches. Shaan took the other one and Ana sat next to him.
Haru looked upon his reclining audience. “So, what’s the word?”
“Where is everybody?” Talia asked impatiently. “This city’s even quieter than the desert.”
The Engine Valley rebel looked up at a brown stain on the ceiling and sighed. “People are scared the Enemy’s next attack is going to be here. The Guard hasn’t actually ordered an evacuation but a lot of people have left, and still more are hiding out in their homes. The other issue is that this city is fucking boring and no one who has any sense of fun lives here. So let’s talk about something else. I hear you guys want to break into Facility B.”
“That’s the idea,” said Danny. “We have a plan to get Eve and Seven inside without arousing too much suspicion.”
“Well,” said Haru, “I guess that little ace up the sleeve might upgrade this mission to improbable. Let’s hear it.”
With a deep breath, Eve pulled open the door to the bookstore and made a straight shot for the escalator. It was one of those mega stores that were becoming increasingly out of fashion–two floors, the aroma of coffee, and rows and rows of books, movies, and music. She knew exactly where to find her Watched. He was working the music section on the second floor, manning the information desk.
This would be the first time they had made contact since the mission began. Everything had so far gone according to plan but her Watched needed someone to push him in the right direction. Eve’s superiors had assured her it would be a piece of cake, that he would be drawn to her instantly, but she wasn’t so sure. There was no way she could recreate the circumstances of the first time they met. What if he didn’t look at her the way he used to?
Eve’s heart leapt when she saw Jon, and she felt suddenly naked without her engagement ring. He was sitting behind a wooden stand marked Information, reading a heavy-looking book. Sitting next to him was a stylishly dressed man with long black hair and a tight-fitting black T-shirt. She recognized him as Adrian, the musician on the Watched list with whom Jon had become fast friends.
“Excuse me,” she said.
Eve thought it was cute how their heads bobbed up at the same time. For a while the two men just stared at her, but finally Jon spoke up. “Can I help you?”
She had known he wouldn’t recognize her but somehow it hurt all the same. “Yes, I was looking for a particular album–”
“–I’ll be happy to look it up for you,” he said with surpr
ising quickness. “What was the title?”
She couldn’t help but smile. Maybe this wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
“The title is ‘Dark As Day,’ and it’s by Strider.”
Jon tapped at the keyboard. He appeared completely bummed with the result. “We don’t seem to have it,” he reported sadly. “Rock album, huh? Who do you like?”
Was he actually flirting with her or was that just what she wanted? She listed a few bands, but thought he seemed more interested in her lips than what she was saying.
“I was actually planning to see a concert for this local band tomorrow night,” Jon said eagerly. “If you’re not doing anything, I’d like to…”
Adrian covered his mouth in a failed attempt to push back the laughter.
“I mean,” stammered Jon, “would you like to…um, meet at the show and, um…I don’t know…rock out, or–?”
Eve decided it was time to come to the rescue. “That sounds like fun! I’m kind of in a hurry right now, though, so, uh, call me later, okay?”
His eyes lit up as she wrote down her phone number and the name she had made up for the mission.
Jon looked down at the slip of paper. “I’m Seven,” he said.
She found Seven leaning over a light wood fence on the boardwalk, gazing out at the moonlit ocean waves. He was wearing a cute blue button-down and black jeans that were tight in all the right places. She wondered if the clothes were on loan from Adrian.
“Hello there,” she greeted.
He turned excitedly to her. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“It’s going good. How are you?”
“Can’t complain,” he said. “So…dinner…”
“There’s a pretty good pizza place a few blocks down this way,” said Eve, pointing the way. She already knew that he would like the restaurant. It was where they had eaten on their first date.
They walked close together and made pointless small talk. Jon seemed nervous, even more than he had the first time they had done this. He asked her about her job and she made up a lie about waiting tables and studying to be a lawyer.
