by Nathan Pedde
A metallic click echoed from the door. Elsie pushed it open, revealing a small room with a second door inside.
“Come in,” Elsie said.
Chapter Eleven
Des followed her into the small tight room. The door shut behind him, clicking locked, engulfing them in darkness. A moment later, the light turned on as the second door clicked unlocked.
“That’s weird,” Des said.
“Security system,” Elsie said. “There’s a keypad over here.”
The door clicked open as Elsie led Des into the back room, filled with boxes, chests, and shelves. The shelves were empty of items, while a layer of dust coated everything else.
“A keypad can be easily hacked,” Des said.
“Fingerprints and biometrics as well.”
“How is it letting me in here?”
“Station Security has access to these rooms,” Elsie said. “But Captain Kusheeno doesn’t let you guys know.”
“Probably doesn’t want to owe any favors to the Feds.”
Elsie walked up to a chest, entered a key code into the keypad, which clicked open. She opened the lid to reveal piles of different sized clothes.
She moved over to the next three chests, opening each with a key code. The second was filled with an assortment of weapons, while the third was full of supplies.
“We have dry clothes,” Elsie said. “We should change first before we decide what to take.”
“Sounds good,” Des, glancing down into the chest.
He picked through the black tactical clothes, and grabbed a set. The attire wouldn’t fit into what normal society would wear but would be suitable for tonight. He would have to find something more non-descriptive before he ventured out in the daytime.
Des stripped off his wet shirt and slopped it onto a nearby shelf.
“How are we going to do this?” Des asked, then turned around to face Elsie.
Elsie had her shirt off, the wet fabric in her hands. Des wasn’t looking at her hands. Her pair of soft round breasts stared him right in the face. Des felt his face turn red as she looked at him into his eyes. She stepped up to him, setting her shirt next to his. Elsie grabbed Des’s chin and pulled him close to her.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Elsie whispered.
“About what,” Des said. “Not thinking clearly.”
“Not this,” Elsie said, pointing at her naked chest. “But the situation. Sheemo and now Susan missing. I have the feeling things are going to go badly.”
Des leaned in, kissing her on the lips. The sweet-hot sensation filled him from head to toe. Des was lost in the moment, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck, not wanting the kiss to end. Every instinct told him he needed to stop and complete the mission. He felt her tongue slip into his mouth. Lost in her lips and breasts, Des wrapped his arms around her, keeping supple body close.
Des stopped kissing her and stepped back.
“Wow,” Des said.
“Thank you,” Elsie smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
“Let’s get dressed. There are cameras.”
“Cameras? Are there people watching?”
“Watching now?” Elsie asked. “Maybe not. However, when we entered the room, someone will probably look.”
“So—”
Elsie giggled, pointing up to the ceiling. In the corner above Des’s head, was a directional camera pointed at the door. Des scanned the other corners of the room, and there was only the one.
“So, no one saw—”
“Situational awareness.”
Des relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Now turn around so I can change,” Elsie said. “And no peeking.”
He turned around, listening to the rustling of clothing. A wet set of pants flopped over his shoulder onto the shelf. Des craned his eyes to behind him, hunting for a glimpse of Elsie. He knew he shouldn’t. However, it was something he couldn’t help.
“You can turn around now,” Elsie said.
Des did so, and Elsie stood in a set of black tactical clothes with a black jacket included. On her feet were a set of black hard leather boots.
“You’re next.”
He walked over to the chest full of clothes. Elsie took his place with her back to him as he changed. He felt embarrassed being naked next to a girl, especially Elsie.
Des pulled his pants on and did up the button.
“Oh,” Elsie said, “I was enjoying a show.”
Des’s face turned red, glancing at Elsie, who had turned around as looked at Des with a grin on her face.
“Elsie,” Des said. “How—”
“Oh, hush,” Elsie said, walking up to Des, kissed him on the lips.
Des felt himself melt into her as her lips caressed his.
“Once this thing is over,” Elsie said. “Then, I’d like to continue this thought some more.”
“Okay,” Des said. “I’d like that.”
“Perfect,” Elsie said, turning to the second chest. “Finish up, then we need to gear up.”
Des threw on a shirt and jacket. It was loose-fitting, and Des found out why. It was designed to hold an assortment of weapons throughout. He could hold his stun gun, extra magazines, an electro-baton, as well as a dozen other small items.
Between Des and Elsie, they loaded up with an assortment of gear in their jackets and into a single backpack.
“Is it too much to ask for wheels?” Des asked.
“We aren’t in the proper dump house for it,” Elsie said.
“Then we get to go on foot.”
“I wish we had disguises.”
“If we had the necklaces,” Des said. “I could put something together when we get back to my hideout. I need access to a computer and software to configure the disguises. But it needs time.”
“Right,” Elsie said, pulling out two necklaces and stuffed them into her jacket pocket.
Des turned to the door, ready to leave.
“Our wet clothes,” Elsie said. “We’ll have to take them with, dump them into some pile.”
Des grabbed his and Elsie wet clothes.
Des and Elsie left the safety of the dump house and into the alleys. Des hoped their dry boots wouldn’t make too much noise on the pavement. To Des’s amazement, they didn’t make any noise at all.
He walked through the alleys and around the debris. They found a dumpster, tossing their old wet clothes into it. They walked their way through the sector.
“Are we going after Susan?” Elsie asked.
“It is tempting,” Des said. “But our situation is making me nervous.”
Elsie put her hand into her pocket and handed him a small white pill.
“What’s this?” Des said.
“It’s an energy boost,” Elsie said, popping one into her mouth.
“Umtix? Those are illegal and dangerous.”
“And necessary. We are both running on steam, and if we don’t keep our wits, we will end up in a bad way.”
“I don’t know…”
“It will keep you going for forty-eight hours before you crash,” Elsie said.
“Aren’t they addictive?” Des asked.
“They can be if used too often. This will the third time I have taken them in the last eight months.”
Des pondered, staring it at the pill. “I’m going to regret this.”
He popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. A part of him was filled with regret of taking the drug. However, it was only for a moment as the effects of the drug took place. Des felt his mind clear from the exhaustion. When the pill wore off, he would still experience burnout and crash for a few days on end to catch up on his sleep.
“Feels good?” Elsie said.
“Like I have the energy to run a marathon,” Des said.
“We do have the length of four marathons to the green sector.”
“Right.”
The sector with the location of Susan’s kidnappers was half a station away or
a hundred and fifteen kilometers. It would take them days to walk the distance.
“Train starts in six hours,” Des said.
“We need wheels,” Elsie said.
“Any suggestions?”
“Hotwire something?”
“Something legal.”
Elsie shrugged, “Nothing comes to mind.”
Des exited the alley, looking out into the main boulevard between the gray and purple sectors. A parked hover-cab with the light on sat parked on a street corner.
“We could take a cab,” Elsie said.
“I doubt it’s safe,” Des replied.
“That part I understand. However, I don’t see we have much choice in the matter.”
“Do you have money?”
“I borrowed a credit chip from the dump house,” Elsie said.
Des frowned. “Are you going to get in trouble for all of this?”
“Most likely. I’ll make my case and beg forgiveness. I’ll probably get in bigger trouble for letting you in on my secret and making out with you in the room.”
Des blushed, raising his hand up to hail the cab.
The cab lifted off the ground, pulling up to them. The yellow and checkered board paint of the cab contrasted to the starkness of the night. The driver rolled the window down and leaned over to talk to them.
“Where are you two lovebirds going to?” the cab driver asked.
“Out and about,” Elsie said.
“A party?”
“Perhaps,” Des said.
“Hop in.”
Des and Elsie got into the backseat of the cab with Des placing his bag next to him.
Elsie gave an address nearby the one provided by the gang member.
“That’s a bit away,” the cab driver said. “It won’t be cheap.”
“We know,” Elsie said.
Des and Elsie settled in as the cab pulled away. They drove down the boulevard and up onto the freeway. With the speeds getting to the access of a hundred and fifty kilometers an hour, the trip wouldn’t take too much time. However, the price would have taken Des a few months to pay off from the allowance he received from his uncle.
The cab pulled into the Green Sector and down a side street. The entire sector looked different than any other sector of the station. It was filled with tall tenant blocks stretching high into the sky. Debris and other refuse were spread across the sides of the streets. Des counted different gang markings on the walls. Everything about this sector was shady.
“Are you sure you two will be okay in this neighborhood?” the cab driver asked.
“Of course,” Elsie said, handing him the credit chip.
The cab driver said nothing, running the card through his system.
“Good luck,” the driver said, handing her the card back with a small paper card.
“Thank you,” Elsie said, staring at the card.
“That’s my direct number,” the cab driver said. “When you do what you’re going to do, call me, and I’ll pick you up.”
“Who are you?” Elsie asked.
The man shrugged. “Just a cab driver.”
Des and Elsie got out of the cab and onto the street. The cab drove away.
“That was odd,” Des said.
Elsie didn’t reply.
Des walked down the street toward the address given. They were running out of time and had too much stuff to do. The threat of the assignment nerved him. Des peered into every shadow, hunting for people lurking in the veiled darkness.
He spotted a few men, smoking cigarettes and watching the streets. Des saw them for what they were — gang members of some kind. They might have to face them at some point.
A group of four of them walked out from an alley, hands in their pockets, wearing long dark clothing. A couple of them wore balder hats, one a top hat, and another a fedora — the symbol of their gang. The member with the fedora had a glowing red ear.
“We got a tail,” Des said. “One’s a player.”
“Got a plan, player?” Elsie asked.
“We need seclusion.”
Des walked along the sidewalk to the intersection and crossed the street. The four gang members following them closed the distance. Up ahead was a small alley. From Des’s angle, it was hard to see what was in it. Des hoped it had the standard debris and garbage.
“Alley?” Des asked.
“Plan?” Elsie asked.
“We ambush them,” Des said, turning down the alley.
Des put his hands into his pocket, feeling for his stun gun with a single shot before he had to replace the magazine. He felt his electro-baton strapped to his waist. The charges changed out.
The four gang members followed into the alley behind them, drawing their weapons. Each had some type of baton, only the player had a stun gun.
“Now,” Des said, stopping.
He pivoted on his heels, drawing his stun gun as Elsie did the same. He aimed at the player, who brought his stun gun up, while the three gang members charged forward.
Des shot first, striking the player’s upper chest. The man dropped to the ground, unconscious. Elsie put hers at the closest gang member.
The two remaining gang members charged at Des and Elsie, with their electro-batons ready to strike. Des pulled out his baton and rushed at the closest gang member. At the last moment, he ducked down low and slammed his shoulder into the man’s legs. He tumbled over the top of Des and crashed into the ground, head hitting the pavement. Des stood up and blocked the last gang members baton with his.
Elsie rose up and crunching her baton into his shoulder. The gang member froze, collapsing to the ground.
“You okay?” Elsie asked.
“I’m surprised that worked,” Des replied.
Des put his baton and stun gun back in their holsters. He touched the player’s ear as he passed the prone player. He watched the red light turn green, another player who couldn’t get points. He wondered which disguised student this player represented. He pondered how they were going to take going back to class with them.
Des exited the alley with Elsie a step behind him.
“I grabbed extra stun charges,” Elsie said.
“I have the feeling that we are going to need them.”
They walked two more blocks down the street into the Green Sector. Other figures were in the distance. None of them making any notice to attack as they passed them.
“How far is it to the address?” Des asked.
“It’s across the street up ahead,” Elsie said.
Des looked toward where she mentioned. The large tenant block had been built in the shape of a large ‘H,’ which then proceeded to stretch up a dozen floors. The poorly built building looked like it needed to be torn down instead of repaired. Des was surprised it didn’t collapse under its own weight when the missiles were attacking.
Standing outside of the building were five gang members. The were guards and lookouts. They would not allow strangers walking around the building. They had taken note of Des and Elsie’s approach, and were taking steps against them.
“Frontal assault,” Elsie said. “Or do you have a better idea?”
“What floor is it on?” Des asked.
“The seventh.”
Des looked at the building, each suite had its own patio. They lined up into a row with the patios over the top of each other. He grinned as a plan came into his head.
“How’s your climbing skills?” Des said.
Elsie grimaced. “Decent. And I don’t like the sound of this.”
Chapter Twelve
Des walked along the street to the nearest intersection. He crossed the road to the other side, away from the target building. Des looked over at the guards and saw a few watching.
Like all the large tenant buildings, each of the buildings sat on a street corner, and all the buildings only had a ground-level entrance on one side of the building. The other door was on one of the flat sides. The inner part of the buildings which faced each other had no
entrance. With no entry, there were no guards stationed on that side of the building.
“Here is the plan,” Des said. “When we get out of eyeshot of those guards, we’ll run across the street and climb the railings up to the seventh floor. I will break into the apartment, and we will make our way to the suite.”
“I don’t like this plan,” Elsie said.
“Why?”
“I’m not fond of heights.”
“Time to face your fears.”
Des glanced over at the apartment. The guards had gone back to whatever they were doing before. Des and Elsie were still in eyeshot, they waited till he was a few more meters away.
With them in the clear, he ran toward the building.
“I don’t like this,” Elsie muttered, following behind.
Des reached the building with no reaction from any of the guards. The ground floor didn’t have a patio. It took all of Des’s reach to jump to grab hold of the bottom of the patio, pulling himself up using all his upper body strength.
Elsie did the same, she managed to grab hold with more natural ease than Des.
“Since you’re insisting on this bad plan,” Elsie said. “I’ll race you to the seventh floor.”
Elsie climbed onto the railing and grabbed hold of the floor above.
Des grinned as he followed. They climbed higher and higher, fear crept into Des, aware of his impending death if he were to slip. He kept climbing though, floor after floor, and railing after railing. The climb started to get more comfortable going higher as the gravity began to lessen. It wasn’t enough to change much. However, it was noticeable to him.
Elsie easily beat him to the seventh floor after ten minutes of climbing. However, Des insisted he wasn’t racing.
Des slipped onto the railing and waited by the large glass door next to Elsie. His arms and legs burned from exertion. Listening to his surroundings, he waited for the call of alarm. Nothing happened. The only sounds Des heard was someone snoring loud enough to be heard through concrete walls and floors.
Elsie investigated the suite beyond the door.
“This one has people sleeping on the couch and floor,” Elsie said, her voice a whisper.
“Alright,” Des said, “Is the door locked?”
