The Dead Planet Series: Exodus (Book 1)

by Drew Avera

  Chapter 15

  It was about midmorning when I arrived at Pontiff White's palace. The square was buzzing with people carrying on about their daily lives like bees in a hive. There was a huddle of protesters crying foul about the lottery and blaming the Syndicate for their dire circumstances. A quick scan did not lead me to believe that any policemen were in the area. Apparently in my haste I misjudged my environment. A blue beam fell upon my chest and my immediate reaction was to jute out of the way. A laser blasted past me and struck a chunk of marble along the outer wall of the square.

  My right arm reflexively lifted and I pointed my armed gauntlet in the direction the laser had come from. There was a scattering of civilians who were screaming for their lives and it took me some time to figure out where the policeman had been. I could see him skipping sideways trying to get a fix on my position and a better vantage point to fire upon me. I watched him intently and I could see that he was a rookie. He wasn't paying attention to his own position and he was waiting until he felt that he had a good shot on me. By that point I had already had my sight set on him. I fired my gauntlet a fraction of a second before he had me sighted. My laser beam penetrated his chest at full blast, killing him instantly. I was without remorse. The stupid kid had it coming. I was on a mission and he got in the way, now he was history.

  I continued moving towards the entrance of the palace amongst the sound of frantic screaming and the chants of protesters ringing out from the square. I wanted to scream out for White to come to me so that I wouldn't trigger any kind of alarm to alert the Agency of my presence in the palace, not that another dead policeman wasn't going to be obvious enough that I had been here. I walked into the elevator for what seemed like the hundredth time in a week and I was lifted to White's office.

  I stopped myself from stepping out into the lit hallway leading to White's office. The sound of the elevator had alerted him of a visitor and he looked up at me from his desk. His face had a slightly irritated look drawn upon it, either by my presence or by something else completely unrelated. I wasn't concerned with his opinion of my being here because I had my own concerns and my own agenda to follow. Kara was the most important thing to me right now and all else can be damned.

  White stood up from his desk and straightened the front of his suit before he walked towards me. He was dressed in a charcoal suit with a black shirt and white tie. The wardrobe made him look at least ten years younger and he carried himself with confidence as he approached me. White stepped into the elevator and did not speak to me; instead he just pressed a button that lifted the elevator to another floor. We stopped at what looked like a storage room or an attic at the top floor of the palace. White stepped out first and I followed him out onto the hardwood floor that was covered in a light film of dust. This place had obviously not been seen by human eyes in quite some time and it was cluttered with boxes and other miscellaneous junk.

  "What brings you here today, Serus?" He asked without the hint of frustration that I thought would be evident by my unsolicited arrival.

  "It's Kara," I said.

  "What about Kara?" He asked obviously not knowing about the recent turn of events.

  "She has been abducted."

  "When did this happen?" He asked.

  "Last night. It must have happened while I was here with you. When I arrived at the apartment the door was ajar and I could see that a disturbance had occurred. Kara was nowhere to be found. I did find Thom in the bedroom; he had been beaten by a group of policemen." My depiction of what happened sounded very surreal to me.

  "Unbelievable," he said. "Do you think that you may have been followed there?"

  "I don't think so, but I have been so wrapped up in things lately that I suppose that it’s possible that I didn't realize that I had been followed." That thought had not entered my mind until now. What if I had led the Syndicate to our hiding place? What if I had led them to Kara?

  "Is Thom still alive?" White asked.

  "Yes. He is in the hospital now," I said.

  "What is the extent of his injuries?"

  "Mostly cuts and bruises. He also has a broken rib and possible concussion according to the medical record I read in his room."

  "Really? Those injuries aren't very serious for someone who has been attacked by a group of policemen. What do you think?" He asked.

  "The way I see it, I believe they were trying to send me a message by not killing him. I don’t think that they have killed Kara either. At least not yet," I said.

  "I suppose it is possible, but usually if you are a hindrance then the Syndicate has you removed permanently. This leads me to believe that they either have another agenda, or this is not the work of the Syndicate." He had a point that I had not yet pondered. What if this was something far beyond the Syndicate's control?

  White pulled out a small computer device from his pocket and turned it on. A holographic screen appeared in from of his face and he typed in some information that caused the screen to change patterns several times. All I could see was a scrolling list of names with certain ones highlighted in red. After several moments he stopped and secured the device before turning to look at me.

  "There is no information that I can find regarding a hit on Kara in the system, not even the attempted hits that we both know have already occurred. Someone must have deleted every piece of information associated with it from the database. Let me tell you that there aren't many people who have that kind of power. It is pretty much limited to the Agency and about two dozen of the most powerful men in the Syndicate. I'm sorry, but I don't have any other information than that." He said.

  "Do you think that maybe she is still alive?" I asked hoping that he would agree with my assessment.

  "I'll be honest with you, Serus. There is a chance that she is being held and kept alive in order to lure you into their snares and I hope for Kara's sake that this is the case," He said.

  "Can you give me a list of those names?" I asked.

  "That shouldn't be a problem, but I'm afraid I don't have a clue as to which name to start with," He replied.

  "That's fine," I said. "I'll just have to eliminate each name one by one then want I?"

  "I suppose you will," he said as he switched his device back on. Once the file loaded with the names he transferred them to my communicator. I could feel it buzz once the information had finished transferring and I looked at it and verified that I had received the file. I placed my communicator back in my jacket pocket and walked back into the elevator with White. He pressed the button that returned us to the lobby and I stepped out, leaving White in the elevator.

  "Good luck, Serus. You're going to need it. The names on that list are some of the most heartless men that I have ever known. I hope that Kara is well. Please let me know what you find out," He said.

  "Thank you. I will," I said as I watched the elevator door close around Pontiff White and I turned to leave. The list of names was only a starting point. A means to an end. An end I was looking forward to providing for whoever had abducted my sister.