The Radical Chronicles

Chapter 19

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“Before the Sedition Acts, before the rendition...before the Central Government began breaking down the doors of private citizens, Radicals could walk down the streets like any other citizen. We could hide in plain site since no centralized network existed. Retinal identification software wasn’t a requirement at businesses, public transit stations, or government building entrances. Back then, we didn’t know how good we had it. Had we known then what we know now, stopping the network would’ve been every Radical man and woman’s duty.”

Radical Archive – excerpt from the History of the Centralized Network & Central Archives

When Veronica heard the rapid-tap on her suite’s metal outer door, she jumped up on her bed. For the previous several hours Veronica poured all of her attention into completing a new shadow drive in order to hide all the evidence against Todd she’d been collecting. Somehow, 8:00pm came and went, and she hadn’t even begun getting ready to leave for surveillance.

She rubbed her tired eyes, wishing she had time for a quick cat nap, and stood up to answer the door. “Molly?” she said aloud.

“Hey!” Molly said in her usual exuberant tone. “You’re not ready.”

“Sorry, I lost track of time working on something. We need to wait on Lorelei anyway,” Veronica said. She walked over to the bathroom and turned on the light to begin an abbreviated clean-up and prep before leaving.

“Must be something important,” Molly said from the main room of the suite.

“What was that?” Veronica said. She stuck her head out of the bathroom door.

“You losing track of time…you used to do that when you were focusing on something important in the facility. Remember?”

“I guess I did,” Veronica said. She smiled at the recollection. “Actually, I need to talk to you and Chad about that… what I’m working on, that is.”

“Can I take a look at this?” Molly said as she picked up Veronica’s tablet.

“You should probably wait until…” Veronica began to say, but realized it was already too late.

Molly’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She nearly dropped the tablet in the process, too. “What is this?” she said in a horrified whisper.

“It’s top secret,” Veronica said. “Only you, Chad, Ruby and I have clearance to access that information.”

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…” Molly said in a whisper as she sat down on Veronica’s bed. She held the tablet out at arms length as if the information was radioactive. “You mean your suite mate doesn’t know?”

“No, I don’t want to bring anyone in I can’t trust implicitly,” Veronica said. “Besides that, she’s green. I’m not sure she could fake it in front of Todd if she knew.”

“You’re probably right,” Molly said. “Chad definitely needs to know about this though.”

“He already knows somewhat. He was there when I put the tracer on Todd’s computer terminal,” Veronica said. “He wasn’t very happy with me.”

“So that’s what you two were fighting about,” Molly said. “That answers a lot of questions.”

Veronica felt relieved she was standing out of sight in the bathroom since her face blushed at the recollection of their actions around those few days. Though she and he fought, the passion behind it was more about their not being together more so than his reluctance to believe her.

Before Veronica could continue the conversation, the suite door opened and Lorelei walked into the room. “Hey Molly,” she said. “How exciting is this going to be? I’m thrilled.”

Molly smiled awkwardly, trying to regain her composure. “I’m a little nervous… tonight is a stepping stone to history.”

“How so?” Lorelei asked.

“Just think… if we’re able to stop the network from going live, it’ll be a coup for the Radical resistance movement. It might be what we all need to achieve Veronica’s vision.”

“Vision?” Lorelei said.

Veronica stuck her head out of the bathroom. “Unification.” She peered over at Molly and nodded toward her tablet. “Could you power down my tablet and put it in my shoulder bag? It’d be a great help.” She looked over at Lorelei. “I’m running a little late.”

“We still have plenty of time,” Lorelei said. “So you really think we’re ready to form some sort of organized movement?”

“Wholeheartedly,” Veronica said from inside the bathroom. Her voice echoed against the walls, bouncing out of the bathroom in a more hollow tone. “We have strong leadership in most cities, trained men and women, and most importantly, it will take us off the defensive. We can finally take the fight to the Central Government instead of waiting for them to show up and take us all away.”

“How does thwarting a Central Government initiative accomplish all of that though?” Lorelei asked. “I don’t mean to be a pessimist, but it seems more like we’re holding the status quo rather than advancing our cause.”

“You have to be able to see opportunities everywhere – not just where it’s convenient,” Veronica answered.

“That’s both vague and mysterious,” Lorelei said. She let out a half-laugh, half-sigh and walked across the suite to grab a jacket. “Are we wearing any particular color tonight?”

“Dark colors,” Molly said. “Outside of that, wear what you like.”

“Brilliant.” Lorelei pulled a designer black jacket out of her wardrobe along with a matching black knitted hat embroidered with the letters L and T.

Veronica walked out of the bathroom a few moments later as Lorelei seemed to be modeling her surveillance outfit for Molly. “That’s a good look on you,” she said. The hat gave Lorelei a different look… something new yet familiar. The initials on her hat seemed to be focal point though – the one thing Lorelei had on nearly everything she owned like some kind of branding-gone-awry scheme.

A while later, after meeting up with the rest of the group, Veronica peered silently out of the front passenger-side tinted window as Chad drove toward the surveillance destination. While everyone in the rear of the van seemed to be lost in light small talk and official introductions for Lorelei, Veronica contemplated deeper topics. Above them, storm clouds began rolling in from the northwest darkening the now moonless sky.

Veronica pulled out her tablet and booted it, keeping an eye on the approaching storm. She wanted to review all the building specs one last time before arriving so she could devote all of her attention to the events and lack thereof in and around the target location.

“We’re almost there,” Chad said. “So what is this place, anyway?”

“It appears to be an office building… just your run of the mill corporate purgatory,” Veronica said.

“Why this office though? Does anyone know?” he asked.

“Nope, no idea. Perhaps there’s something inside they want to network before anything else,” Veronica said.

“Or someone,” Chad responded.

Drops of rain began tapping the top of the van, dribbling slowly down the windows. Around them, the downtown area seemed to be completely cleared out for the evening, leaving a smattering of official vehicles in front of their accompanying businesses, emptiness, and silence. Chad eased around a corner, sliding the van quieting up against the curb as he slowed to a stop.

“This is your stop,” he said. “I pull into the garage after I let you out, than I’ll join you in a moment or two.”

“I’m going to get a first look at the site while you’re parking. Make sure everyone’s ready,” Veronica said. She turned and looked back to the rowdy group in the rear. “I need everyone’s attention. As soon as Chad parks, I need you to meet me across the street from the target site. You know the roof; it’s in your mission plans. Lorelei, Molly… follow Maria and Robert’s lead. Chad, I expect to see everyone in one piece when you all arrive,” she said. She smiled, opened the van door, and stepped out into the wet, cool evening.

Veronica watched the van pull away from the curb before starting her one block journey to the non-descript thirty-story office building just down the street. On the opposite side of the street, the Blithe Spirit surveillance team would already be set up on the roof of a three story flat converted into a deli and coffee shop.

She pulled her jacket close and shoved her hands into her pockets as the drizzle hardened, turning into a full blown downpour. The rain didn’t bother her; rather, it reminded her of home back west by the border wall. If she closed her eyes she could almost smell the salt in the air.

About halfway to the surveillance point, Veronica’s wrist transmitter began vibrating. She stopped, pulled her hands out of her pockets, and pushed up her sleeve so she could activate the transmission. She leaned over her arm to block the rain, and awaited a response after she answered.

“Veronica? It’s Marco on the surveillance team,” he said. His picture came in and out on the small view screen as it intermingled with snow and interference.

“Hey Marco, I’m almost there,” she said.

“Perfect,” he said. “Don’t come up though… we have a situation.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked. She moved off the sidewalk instinctively, knowing that whatever was wrong, her being in the open probably wouldn’t be safe for much longer.

“A rogue team,” he said. “One of my team just spotted a faction from the south side of the city approaching the building. What direction are you coming from?”

“How did they know about this?” she asked. “No matter; I’m coming from the west. How close are they now?”

“They’re entering the building now. Veronica, this is bad. They just walked right in the front revolving doors. The surveillance cameras are always on at that entrance.”

“Which means the off site security may already be en route,” she said, finishing his thought. “I’ll be there in less than a minute. When we disconnect, immediately call Todd and Ruby. Issue a code red. Tell them I’m taking my team in immediately.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “There’s a one hundred percent probability of engagement at this point.”

“This will also be our only chance to get a crack at their system without them knowing we know about it already; after tonight, they’ll always be expecting us, and it’ll be all the more difficult and dangerous,” Veronica said.

“Is there anything else I should relay to them?” he asked.

“Tell them I’ll make sure Lorelei is safe. I’m going to have her stay behind with your surveillance team and Maria. I’m out,” she said, and disconnected the transmission.

Without hesitating, she pressed a speed dial button on the side of her transmitter and waited. Chad answered a few seconds later. “What’s up? You can’t be there already. We’re just now pulling into our spot in the garage.”

“Code red. Have Maria and Lorelei report to the surveillance team. I need you, Molly and Robert to meet me immediately at the designated entry point.”

“What’s happening?” he asked in a voice one octave higher than normal.

“A rogue team just entered through the front doors,” she said. “And people wonder why the hell I always preach unification.” She sighed, awaiting any other pertinent questions.

“I’ll fill them in on the way, be there in five.”

“Make it three. And bring weapons.” Veronica disconnected the transmission and took off at a sprint toward the alley on the west side of the building. She could duck into it, access the entry point from the ground level, and avoid crossing the camera line of sight in front of the building in the process.

As she approached the building’s west corner, Veronica’s transmitter began vibrating again. “This is Veronica,” she said.

“Veronica, it’s Ruby.”

“Thank goodness. Speak fast… Robert, Molly and Chad are going to be here within a minute or two,” Veronica said.

“I just wanted to acknowledge receipt of the code red, and to give my go ahead to move the entire mission to tonight if you can pull it off. I won’t be able to give you any more men and women, so you’ll have to use the resources you have there now.”

“This is a large op Ruby; and besides that, we both know there are larger considerations at the moment,” Veronica said.

“This is more important. Bring the surveillance team in and use them as needed. I’ll contact them and have the entire team assume your team’s original role in the mission. You and your team will have to assume my original position,” Ruby said. “Did you study up on that part enough to carry it out?”

“Of course,” Veronica said.

“As I thought you would,” Ruby said. “I’ll contact Maria and relay the new orders to the other team. Do you want Lorelei on your team or theirs?”

“Mine; she’s my responsibility out here, so I want to ensure her safety personally.”

Ruby paused a moment. “Thank you,” she said. “Anything else?”

Chad, Robert, and Molly arrived before Veronica answered. She looked up at them, nodded, and said, “Just get them all down here so we can get this mission started.” She disconnected the transmission and looked up at her friends and team mates.

“Mission?” Chad asked. “I thought this was us stopping the rogue team.”

“Too late for that now,” Veronica said. “The Central Government is going to know we’re onto them after tonight, so this will be our only sneak attack opportunity. Once their building security arrives tonight and sees the break-in, the CJ Guild will catch wind, and by tomorrow this building will go into lockdown mode.”

“And that destroys the mission,” Robert added. “Are we taking the A position?” he asked.

Veronica nodded. “And the surveillance team will take our orders. We’re in the driver’s seat now, Robert.”

“What’s the difference in orders?” Molly asked.

“Ruby’s team was supposed to take out the network while our team was supposed to sample coding for potential future evolutions of the system. We were also tasked with ensuring Ruby’s team succeeded, even it meant drawing fire away from them,” Robert said. “So we’re focusing on the former then?”

“I am,” Veronica said. “You’re leading the B team in this, Robert.”

Robert’s face went pale. “I don’t think I’m ready for this,” he said.

“Yes you are. We only have three surveillance team members to work with here, and none of them have live engagement experience. You’re going to have to get them in and out. Plus, you’re the only one who knows the mission parameters.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I can do this,” he said to himself. He ran a hand through his dripping blond hair and opened eyes. “Are we still meeting in the same place afterward to regroup?” he asked.

“No, that’s a change in the plan. Take your team to the sewers. Trace them all the way back to Blithe Spirit and use the western underground emergency exit to get inside. We can’t take any chances of someone following us back tonight.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“If the Central Government is already expecting us, this would be the perfect opportunity to smoke us out of hiding. Don’t you agree?” Veronica said. “We run out of here, regroup at the meeting point at the edge of the city, and they just sit back and watch, hoping we’ll be as careless as they predicted.”

“I see. The only issue I see with that is transmissions,” Robert said.

“I know, but it’s the best option right now. We’ll need to work on trans silence as long as possible anyway.” Veronica peered out of the alley and saw four figures approaching. “It looks like they’re almost here.”

“What do you want us to do?” Molly asked.

“You and Chad just stick to me like my life depended on it,” she said.

Marco, his two surveillance team mates, and Lorelei entered the alley and joined Veronica. Marco held out a pouch, motioning for Veronica to accept it.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Maria thought you might need this; it’s my team’s emergency incursion kit. It comes with a basic lock decoder, a mag-interrupter, and a two-way wireless radio headset so you two can stay in constant contact.”

“Thank you, this will definitely come in handy,” she said. “Robert’s going to brief you all on what comes next. As an added addendum to that, I need you four to find the rogue team before you do anything. That’s priority. The more damage they do, the faster the CJ Guild will swoop down on this place.”

“Yes ma’am,” Robert said.

“Half an hour; that’s all the time we have here. Anything more than that and we risk a building lockdown. If anyone’s left inside after that, you can count on being interrogated inside the bowels of some CJ Guild dungeon. Am I clear everyone?” she asked.

Everyone nodded silently. The air around them changed significantly from the time they pulled up to the curb earlier. The light, gregarious tone disappeared and in its place anxious fear and trepidation took the wheel. Above them, the rain poured down harder now, nearly in sheets. The sky lit up with lightening every few seconds as the storm’s full fury beat down on downtown New Chicago. Veronica turned and walked to the entry point since she believed she’d said everything she could. Once at the loading dock door, she took the mag-interrupter out of the pouch Marco gave her, applied it to the door lock, and opened the door a few seconds later.

“Everyone inside, I’ll cover the rear,” Chad said.

Veronica took point and walked into the building with her blaster drawn. The room was pitch black and silent. Veronica pulled the miniature flashlight from her belt loop and shook it to charge the power cell. As the light began pouring out, she got a better look at the room. It seemed to be a typical loading dock set up with lots of space for forklifts and delivery machinery. On the far side of the large room, she could barely make out an office or entryway with a glass door. The glass refracted the light back oddly, but still Veronica a destination.

Behind her, other flashlights came to life and the room began to take on more shape and life. Veronica kept moving through the dimly lit path in front of her steadily, making her way to the center of the building so she could find some exit into the bowels of the basement. From there she’d work her way up to the target – the 21st floor.

The air smelled stale, like the room hadn’t been used in some time. It made sense since the majority of the structure seemed to be offices now; perhaps it had a more retail function in a former incarnation. Veronica shook her head, trying to focus rather than letting random thoughts distract her.

As they all reached the opposite side of the room, Veronica held up a hand to halt their forward motion. She placed a finger on the receiver in her right ear to contact Maria. “Veronica here. Can you double check to ensure there’s no alarm systems set up down here?”

“The plans don’t show any,” Maria said.

“The plans could be wrong. Cross reference the surveillance logs and ensure no contractors have entered in the past few days.”

“Yes ma’am,” Maria said.

While she waited, Veronica scanned the wall and traced the door frame with her flashlight. She didn’t see any wires, any tripping devices, or anything remotely alarm-like. On the other side of the glass panel in the center of the door, she could see a hallway with an elevator bank at the end. Everything had a rough, unpolished appearance like no one ever came downstairs.

“Veronica?” Maria said. “You there?”

“I’m here,” Veronica said. “What’s the verdict?”

“It appears to be clean.”

“I’ll let you know if you’re wrong,” Veronica said. She placed her hand on the lever, pushed, and waited for the bells and whistles to go off. Thankfully, nothing happened.

She pushed her way through the door and moved quickly down the narrow passage toward the elevator bank. On either side of her, Veronica passed closed doors with no signs or labels. Each door was gray, metallic, and the same as the next and previous doors around it. The air smelled even staler in the hall… like the basement hadn’t been used in years.

At the end of the hallway, Veronica found a bank of four elevators. She punched the elevator call button and waited.

“Are you sure taking the elevator is safe?” Robert asked. “It’s not protocol.”

“We have to cut corners tonight, and this is a necessary corner,” Veronica said. “We can’t waste time avoiding security cameras.”

“I see. Anything other changes from the game plan?” he asked. The irritation in his was anything but subtle.

“Change anything you need on the spot. We’re operating in extenuating circumstances tonight,” she said. “Start in the lobby and do a floor by floor sweep. Once we disable the network, we’ll work our way down.”

“What about the secondary mission objective?” Robert asked.

“If we have time,” she said. “It’s not priority.

The elevator arrived and they all boarded, filling the small compartment to capacity. A moment later the elevator arrived at lobby level.

“Good luck. Contact me if you encounter resistance,” Veronica said.

“From the other cell?” Robert asked.

“Them or security, either way,” Veronica said. She watched the team exit and look back one final time as the elevator doors closed.

As the elevator began ascending again, Veronica looked at her companions and felt a pang of regret at inadvertently having pulled them into the current mess. An outsider wouldn’t be able to tell they weren’t a team though from simply looking at them. Molly stood stoically, blaster drawn, peering at the digital floor display as if it had hypnotic qualities. Chad stood by her, blaster also drawn, focusing his attention on the door and waiting for it to open. Both he and Molly demonstrated a practiced cool from countless prior missions. Lorelei, despite her relative green status, seemed to also be ready for whatever awaited them on the other side of the elevator once the doors opened at twenty-one. Her face had a steely demeanor… almost empty. Veronica tried not to stare at her, but the hollow concentration felt creepy.

Thoughts of Lorelei’s past flooded Veronica’s mind. She’d mentioned things didn’t work out before for her… why was that? What happened in her previous cell to make her want to completely uproot herself? Something bad had to have happened. The important question was: who did the wrong to whom? Ruby trusted her though, and for now, that trust would be enough for Veronica. It would give her enough time to learn more about Lorelei and her past, at least, so she could form her own judgment.

Chad interrupted the silence just before the elevator arrived at twenty-one. “I’ll take point,” he said. “Molly, can you cover the rear?”

Molly nodded affirmatively while keeping her eyes trained on the display.

“What about me?” Lorelei asked. Her eyes had substance again now… whatever darkness existed there a moment before disappeared, leaving the Lorelei that Veronica knew.

“Stay behind me. Do you know how to use a blaster?” Veronica asked.

“I’ve used one before, if that’s what you mean,” Lorelei said.

“Good. Keep it in hand and be ready.”

“Ready for what? It’s the middle of the night,” Lorelei said.

“Time is irrelevant in these ops,” Veronica said. “Be ready for anything.”

Molly finally stopped staring at the display and turned back to Veronica as the elevator arrived at twenty-one. “Veronica, I have a bad feeling.”

“What is it?” Veronica asked.

“I’m not sure, but the display made me remember something. I can’t remember what though…I just remember the emotion attached to the memory,” Molly said.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Chad asked. “It’s just numbers going up and an info screen below that for people to read as they wait for their floor.”

“No, there’s something there. I just can’t remember,” she said.

Veronica took a long, hard look at Molly. Something on the display had the poor girl nearly shaking. While she was staring at it, Molly seemed to be in another place, too. The entire situation didn’t bode well. She placed a hand on Molly’s shoulder. “Are you okay to keep going?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Molly pulled off her black ball cap and ran a hand through her disheveled hair.

Veronica nodded to Chad and he began leading the procession out of the elevator. In the elevator bank lobby, they had two hallway options on either side. Chad looked back at Veronica for guidance.

“Give me a second,” Veronica said. “Maria, you still there?”

“Already working on it. I see you’ve arrived on twenty-one. You briefly went off my systems while you were in the elevator. It must have some pretty thick shielding to block our signals,” Molly said.

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Veronica said.

“Ok, here it is. Head left down the south hallway. It should be the third door on the left leading into a room toward the center of the building.”

“Thanks,” Veronica said. She pointed left toward the south hallway. “That direction Chad. Third door on the left.”

They began walking, taking each step slowly and deliberately. Despite the floor’s relatively well-lit ambiance, Veronica still felt something in the air. She couldn’t just write it off as Molly spooking her either; something felt wrong…. felt off.

Chad turned the corner into the south hallway and led the party down the marble-floored hallway. On either side of them, abstract artwork adorned the walls in near-perfect symmetry. The plain off-white walls in conjunction with the flawless floors gave the hallway more of a museum-feel than an office appearance – something that didn’t escape Veronica’s attention.

Each of the doors they passed had frosted glass centered in a metallic frame. On each door, one word designations stenciled in solid white uppercase lettering described the general function of each office. One said “Litigation” while another said “Records.” When they arrived at the front of the third office on the left though, Veronica dropped her weapon. The sound of it shattering against the marble floor echoed through the hallway and made Chad and Lorelei jump.

Chad didn’t notice what the problem was immediately, but his memories soon caught him up to speed with Molly and Veronica. They were already stunned, mouths gaping and in shock, staring at the single stenciled character on the door in front of them.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Lorelei asked.

“That’s the memory from the elevator,” Veronica said aloud to no one in particular. “You repressed it Molly. The advertisement that kept flashing had that woman in it…what was her name?”

“Kinsley,” Molly said in a hoarse whisper.

“This can’t be possible,” Chad said.

“What the hell is going on?” Lorelei said in a raised voice.

Molly’s silent horror intensified as her face went pale. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, nor could she process the information in front of her.

All at once, everything began making sense to Veronica. Conversations, meetings, hunches…they all began tying together into one cohesive thought as she stared at the past and present colliding.

In front of them, the frosted glass door glared at them like a giant warning sign. It may as well have been the storm outside for all the menace contained inside, along with the potential dangers the entire operation now posed. The number seven – the only character stenciled on the front of the door – stared them down.

“This changes everything,” Veronica said.

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