The Radical Chronicles

Chapter 23

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“The Central Government history archives no longer reflect the events of that fateful event. With the slate wiped clean via the Sedition Acts in 2801, the 2746 riots suddenly became a minor skirmish; the subsequent Rendition never occurred; and the fate of those affected by the 2760 Great Purge finally gave Radical cell leaders reason to begin believing the lone voice in the dark calling for unification.”

Radical Archive – excerpt from Radical Government Origins

Veronica opened her eyes and squinted at the dimly lit room around her. Her head was swimming, still dizzy from the medications running through her system. She strained trying to remember how she got there…or at least the last thing before she passed out and stayed that way. It had to be somewhere in the sewer, she thought. She had to have passed out sometime before reaching Blithe Spirit.

“Welcome back sleepy head,” Chad said from the shadows. He appeared from the other side of the medical ward where he’d been half-asleep in a chair. “They said it could be days before you regained consciousness. I guess you proved everyone wrong yet again.” He smiled warmly.

“What day is it? How long was I out?”

“You’ve only been sleeping for the remainder of the night and the morning. I bet it must feel like longer to you though. They said you were hallucinating pretty heavily when you arrived.”

“I don’t even remember arriving,” Veronica said.

“You were screaming something about getting Lorelei off the train. They had to tie you down just to get meds into you.” He chuckled.

“Wait, where’s my shoulder bag?”

“Why?” Chad asked. “Lorelei must have taken it back to your room for you.”

“It has the tablet in it, and I have to go over that information.”

Hearing the conversation, a nurse walked over and interrupted, “I’m glad to see you’re awake!” She smiled and patted Veronica’s hand. “I’ll page Todd.”

“No, that won’t be necessary,” Chad said.

“Nonsense! I just heard Miss Quibs ask about her shoulder bag, and I know for a fact Todd helped Lorelei with it upon their arrival.”

“Wait, Todd was there?” Veronica asked.

“He’d been waiting up all night for you, and met you here in the medical ward the moment you two arrived. I distinctly remember him taking the shoulder bag from Lorelei so she could help position you on the bed. Everyone was extremely worried about you.”

“So he has my bag?” Veronica asked.

“I’d imagine, unless Lorelei picked it up on her way to your suite. She needed some rest though; she was half asleep and looked dead to the world by the time you two arrived. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll page Todd.”

Veronica bit her lower lip. She needed that tablet, but really didn’t want to face Todd right now. “Like Chad said, it’s really okay, I’ll be fine.”

“Todd insisted I contact him the moment you regained consciousness,” she said. “I’ll just be a moment. I’ll be back to check your vitals afterward.”

She watched the nurse walk away, out of earshot, before commencing with whispered conversation. “That whole not-telling-Lorelei decision might not have been wise.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Chad said.

“Fault is irrelevant. If he discovers we know what we know…” Veronica trailed off as the nurse returned. “Hi again. When exactly can I get up out of this bed?”

She began taking Veronica’s vitals before answering “I’d like to keep you for at least another day,” she said.

“Let me rephrase that then. When is the last dose of antibiotics going to be administered?”

“The last dose has already been administered. You just need to rest up now to recuperate.” The nurse crinkled her brow, sensing Veronica wouldn’t cooperate.

“Thanks, you’ve been a great help.” Veronica plastered a fake smile across her face hoping the nurse would take the hint.

“Todd should be up shortly.” She finished by entering information on the medical tablet, placed it in its bedside holder, and left.

“You’re in no condition to deal with him right now,” Chad said.

“I’ll be fine. In fact, you should probably clear out of here so he and I can be straight with one another…or at least, as straight as either of us can be given the circumstances.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. Thank you for being here for me though.” Veronica leaned forward. “Could you try to find my tablet? I need to know what that informant left for me, and if Lorelei did manage to get it back before Todd rummaged around its drive…”

“Sure thing.” Chad faux-saluted Veronica, laughed, and stood to leave. “Just be careful, ok?”

Veronica waited until Chad was out of sight before attempting to fully sit up in her medical ward bed. She could feel the pain medication beginning to wear off; she didn’t want another pain killer dosage though as she needed to be coherent when she confronted Todd. She pushed herself up using all the strength in her uninjured arm she could muster. The pain searing through her hip seemed to burn even hotter as the muscles there contracted with her movement.

“You shouldn’t be straining your muscles so soon,” Todd said. He appeared from the side curtain and moved to the foot of Veronica’s bed. “How’s my patient doing?”

“Sore, but alive.” She decided to play along. “Did everyone make it back okay?”

Todd nodded. “They did, and I want to commend you for that. You ran a level-headed operation given the circumstances.”

“That’s all? A level-headed operation?” Veronica tried to mask the contempt in her voice, but it didn’t work too well.

“Well you did botch the mission,” he said. “Your tablet had nothing of interest on it, save for a few files our tech guys couldn’t figure out.”

“What about you?” she asked. “You know what they were, or you wouldn’t be here so soon.”

“You’re right.” He reached down and pulled her tablet out of a bag he’d placed on the floor by his feet. “Tell me what’s hidden on your shadow drive. I can’t access it.”

“That’s the point of a shadow drive, isn’t it?” She smiled wryly. “I mean, if I just went and showed just anyone top secret Central Government networking information…”

“So you did find network information then,” he said. “I was under the impression you found something else.”

“Lorelei?” Veronica asked.

“She said you mentioned there was something else there…something bigger.”

“I was hallucinating when I said that Todd,” Veronica said. “They hadn’t installed anything of value yet when I accessed the servers.”

“So what’s on your shadow drive then?”

“Personal information, information about my team…stuff that needs to be under lock and key if it fell into the wrong hands.”

“Well that certainly doesn’t exclude me from seeing it though,” he said, pushing the point.

Veronica had to bite her tongue to prevent a laugh from hurdling out of her mouth. “Perhaps when I’ve recovered. I have a few safeguards I’d have to bypass using two other systems.” She hoped the lie seemed plausible.

“Fine, get some rest then,” he said reluctantly. “Shall I send for the nurse to administer some pain meds? I’m sure sitting up in bed like that has to be taking its toll.” His seemingly concerned tone sent a small chill down Veronica’s neck.

“No, that’s fine. I think I’ll just catch up on some briefings on my tablet since you were so kind to bring it by. It’ll help me pass the time.”

“Well sooner or later you’ll need to get some sleep. Don’t fight the nurses when they medicate you…it’s for your own good.”

Veronica knew how to read between the lines, and didn’t like the message she was receiving. She simply nodded, smiled, and clutched the tablet against her chest waiting on Todd to leave the room. She waited an additional five minutes on top of that to ensure he wouldn’t come back, and then went to work.

She popped the lower carriage case off the tablet and took at look at the inner hard drive area, knowing exactly what she was looking for. It didn’t take long to locate it either – a small, nearly undetectable tracer key. She knew Todd handed over her tablet way too soon, and accepted her shadow drive excuse too fast without question. Something smelled of a set up, and that key confirmed it.

She plucked it off the hardware, crushed it between her fingers, and dangled the mashed-up bits of metal along the side of her bed on the floor. With the bug taken care of, she replaced the casing and booted her tablet, preparing to access the download information she thankfully had the forethought to save directly to her shadow drive.

Once she accessed the shadow drive and the file of downloaded documents, Veronica could feel adrenaline begin pumping through her body – filtering out the pain, the exhaustion, and the tension of the previous couple of days. She opened the folder and browsed over the files to see which one seemed most pertinent. What she really wanted though was another simple text file note from her mysterious insider.

The sheer number of files seemed daunting, so she began organizing them into sections before randomly opening files as she’d done back in the server room. When she finally made it to opening the first file, over an hour had passed. On first inspection, the file appeared to be some sort of internal memo about the Blithe Spirit plan:

Based on recommendations from our field operatives, Operation Blue Haven (“OBH”) has a green light. After the Blithe Spirit field operation reaches its conclusion and the majority of its adept field agents are in our custody, place OBH into action at each location.

Veronica looked up from her tablet. “Oh my...”

“What’s wrong?” Chad asked. He’d appeared sometime between Veronica booting the tablet and her looking up with the worried expression she was still wearing.

“When did you get here?”

“I’ve been sitting here watching you work for a few minutes. I didn’t want to disturb you…you seemed like your normal self there for a while.” He seemed to be glowing.

“What’s going on?”

“After the mission, things seemed a lot clearer for me. I had a talk with Molly today and we came to an understanding,” he said.

The blood drained from Veronica’s face. “You did what?”

“I told her she and I had been working toward a friendship for a lot longer than we’ve been willing to admit, and that this marriage charade was the best example of us trying desperately to hold on to something that should’ve ended a long time ago.”

“I can’t believe she just sat back and allowed all of this to happen,” Veronica said.

“She’s been oddly complacent about it. It felt disquieting at first, but it makes sense. She’s smarter than we all give her credit for,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “You two made a great couple.”

He reached out and wrapped his right hand around Veronica’s hand. “You and I make a better one though.”

She instinctively pulled away. “You just broke off your engagement!”

“I did it for you Veronica!” he said petulantly. “I’ve had feelings for you since you arrived. And you know that!”

Veronica lowered her head and looked off to the side of the bed. She couldn’t make eye contact with him and truthfully deny it. “That doesn’t change the fact that you were with Molly.”

“I want to be with you though. You’re single, I’m single…it’s okay for us to at least talk about it now.”

Veronica suddenly flashed back to her dream about leaving Alex behind. “I guess I have been single for some time now.” The train in her head began leaving the station. “We can’t tell Molly about this right away.”

“What, do you think I have a death wish?” he said. He leaned down and kissed Veronica’s forehead. “You really should get some sleep. You look exhausted.”

“You know, that’s just a nice way of saying I look like crap, right?”

“Well of all the people who look like crap in Blithe Spirit, you’re the only one I’d take home to meet my moms.” He stood up from the bed. “I’m going to go check on Molly and see how she’s doing. I’ll bring you by some dinner later.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Could you do me a favor on your way to see Molly?”

“Anything.”

“I need you to have Ruby stop by as soon as possible.”

After Chad left, Veronica wanted to stay awake to read more, but ended up drifting back into a dream-filled sleep. When she opened her eyes, Veronica found herself back in Seattle.

“Well crap,” she said to the faceless crowd of people mulling back and forth.

She turned around and began walking through the crowd, away from the train, finally willing to risk missing it for a change. “Alex?” she called out.

No one answered. The restless hordes of people thickened, forcing Veronica to push through them to continue moving further away from the train. Out of no where, Alex appeared in front of her as the crowd cleared a small half-circle.

“Alex!” Veronica rushed to jump into his arms, but was stopped as he held up a hand.

“You're going the wrong way Veronica,” he said.

“I've been looking for you.” Veronica could feel her heart breaking. “I've stopped looking though. I'm so sorry.”

“Don't be sorry Veronica, be aware. Be cognizant.” His face appeared exactly the way Veronica remembered it from the last day she saw him in the Seattle train yard.

Dreams...she was dreaming. Yes, that had to be it. This is all a memory, she thought. But he never said those words to her.

Veronica turned and walked back toward the train. As if on cue, the sky lit up as a bolt of lightning ripped the heavens open and began watering the parched earth. Veronica paid no attention, walking almost on autopilot now. Ahead, a whistle sounded last call for boarding. Veronica quickened per pace, rushing to get to the door before the magnetic locks engaged.

As she reached the outer door, Veronica stopped and looked around. Everything seemed the same. Everything. What was he talking about? She pulled herself up onto the entrance walkway and entered the same car she'd been in so many dreams past. The red plush seats still sat in rows with three seats on either side, filled just as sparsely as they had been her first trip. She looked through the window on the back door of the car and peered into the adjoining car. Everything seemed to be the same. What was she missing?

Veronica walked through the cars toward the rear, taking in the familiar scenery car by car until she found herself in the car she'd met Todd in so long ago. Though his desk wasn't here this time, he was definitely there, sitting in the same seat he sat in during the original trip. She walked toward him, ready to engage in a little conversation. Even if he was the Todd in her head, she still needed answers. Without asking if she could do so, Veronica took a seat next to Todd and looked over at him as he ignored her. He had his tablet in hand reading over some kind of communiqué.

“Aren't you even going to say hello?” Veronica asked.

“Haven't we been here enough to skip formalities?” he responded.

“Where's she at? You're always harassing her here.”

“Where's who?” Todd asked.

“Lorelei.”

“Hey you!” Lorelei said from one row back. “I didn't know you'd be on this trip too!”

“How is it she never remembers me in these dreams and you always do?” Veronica asked Todd.

“Perhaps she represents a different part of your subconscious.”

Veronica shook her head. This still made no sense.

“While you two catch up, I need to use the restroom. If you ladies will excuse me,” Todd said. He stood, placed his tablet in his seat, and walked down the aisle toward the bathroom at the opposite end of the car.

Veronica stared at the tablet. It was all happening again – nearly just as it had in real life.

“Well don't just sit there, what does it say?” Lorelei asked.

“What?” Veronica said. She felt a million miles away.

“The tablet, what does it say?”

Veronica opened her eyes and saw Lorelei sitting at the end of her medical ward bed. “Tablet?”

“Your tablet, silly! It's all you could mumble about as I carted you back here. And here you are, sleeping and not reading after all that trouble.” Lorelei patted Veronica's foot through the blanket. “I bet you haven't even looked yet, have you!” She laughed. “I'm sorry; it's rude to tease injured friends.”

“I haven't had a chance to look it over yet, no. I'm sorry.” Veronica wasn't sure why she lied, but it felt right. She wasn't sure who to trust these days – friends and foes alike. “I have a strange question for you since you're here actually.”

“Sure!”

“What cell were you in before you came to Blithe Spirit?”

“Oh just a small little cell on the south part of the city,” she said.

“Which one?”

“It's not even there anymore actually, but it was the one on Calderoni Street in the basement of the deli. Why do you ask?”

“I've been dreaming about you so much lately, I figured it'd give me more to talk to you about in my dreams.” Veronica laughed. “Every time we talk, it's like the first time since my head just doesn't have enough information to go on I suppose.”

“Oh, how interesting!” Lorelei said. “Hey, I'm about to head to dinner. Want me to come back later to check in? I can bring you some leftovers!”

“Chad is bringing some by already actually, but thank you for offering. I'll hopefully be up and around by tomorrow mid-morning though if you'd like to grab a coffee to catch up.”

“Sounds perfect. Sleep well tonight!” Lorelei wiggled her fingers in Veronica's direction as she walked toward the medical ward outer door.

Veronica waited until Lorelei cleared her line of sight before going to work at the electrodes on her temples. She peeled off every wireless-feed monitoring electrode one by one as quickly as she could, and then pulled back the sheet and blanket on her bed. She looked around for the on-duty nurse, and noting no one seemed to be paying attention, slowly stood up off the bed, planting her trembling feet on the floor.

At first she had trouble standing. Entropy seemed to have her feet and legs in its grasp after so short a time incapacitated. She stood at her bedside a moment waiting on feeling to return to her tingling limbs, marching in place while keeping a firm grip on the bed mattress. When she finally believed she could stand on her own, Veronica pushed off from the bed and walked slowly toward the medical ward door. Pain began showing signs of return, breaking through the sedative barrier still surging through her body.

Once in the main hallway, Veronica began making her way back to her suite. She needed a change of clothes as well as some information from the Blithe Spirit central archive. She couldn't connect to it remotely from her tablet due to security protocols – something they'd installed to prevent remote entry by the Central Government.

Veronica looked down at her laptop as she walked, scanning files and trying to look as nonchalant as a bruised, sore medical ward escapee could given such circumstances. She had clean, comfortable clothes on though thankfully, so she didn't appear completely out of place among the rest of the Blithe Spirit community.

“What in the hell are you doing up and around?” Molly asked loudly. She appeared from behind Veronica. “You're supposed to be in bed! Now back to the medical ward with you!”

Veronica sighed. “I need to stop by my suite. It's important.”

“Nothing is more important than your health.”

“This could be. If I let you help me, will you allow me to go to my suite, then immediately back to the medical ward?”

Molly rolled her eyes. “You're not going to take no for an answer I'm assuming.”

“Not a chance.”

“Well come on then,” Molly said. A few steps into the journey, Molly looked over to Veronica and hesitantly spoke. “Have you heard yet?”

“About you and Chad?”

“I'll take that as a yes.”

“Can you say you didn't see it coming though?” Veronica could barely stand the situation, let alone pretending she could overly empathize. It'd feel like a betrayal at this point.

“He's just under a lot of stress is all.”

“Really Molly?” Veronica shook her head. “Come on now.”

“I know, I'm reaching. He's been different for a while now.”

“How long have you noticed?” Veronica asked.

“Oh, I've noticed every moment of it, beginning with the day you arrived,” Molly said solemnly.

Veronica felt mortified. “I...I”

“Don't worry about it Veronica, I knew it would happen from day one. I knew that if you ever showed back up in his life he'd choose you. I knew that the day you introduced me to him in that dank cell at the Seattle facility. You nearly pushed me out of the room so you could be with him. You don't forget something like that.”

Veronica couldn't find the right words. “Why haven't you said something?”

“Why haven't you? I figured you were still holding on to Alex. I mean, when you moved here, he was all you could talk about. The less you talked about him though, the more I knew my time with Chad would end.” Molly reached out and grazed Veronica's fingers with her own. “I don't blame you.”

Veronica reached out and took Molly's fingers into her hand, and gave it a small squeeze. “I love you, you know. You're my best friend. The last thing in the world I want to do is hurt you.”

“That's what Chad said earlier today,” Molly said. “As much as it hurts, I'm still lucky to have two people in my life so full of love.”

“That's a load of malarkey,” Veronica said, holding back a snicker.

“I know,” Molly said. “I can't face the truth of it all just yet though. I haven't cried yet, just so you know. I think my subconscious is waiting on you to get well so I can burden you with this load of sadness and ice cream eating necessity. If I have to gain ten pounds getting over him, you're getting fat right along with me.”

Veronica laughed – this time heartily. She knew then she hadn't lost her best friend. They turned the corner into Veronica's hallway and approached her suite. “Wait out here, I'll only be a couple of minutes, okay?”

“Sure, just don't be long.”

Veronica opened the door and walked into her dimly lit suite and noticed right away. She looked around the room, expecting to see Lorelei, but only found emptiness. That's around the time Lorelei's voice echoed from the bathroom. Veronica suddenly felt grateful for the bathroom's poorly constructed walls.

“I'm telling you, it's not here.”

Veronica didn't want to be caught eavesdropping, so she walked immediately back out of the room and closed the door.

“Well that was fast,” Molly said.

“Change of plans; I need to go to your suite.”

“What's going on Veronica?”

“Nothing! Why would you say something like that?”

Molly crossed her arms. “You have a look. Tell me.”

“Let's get to your suite and I'll explain.”

Moments later they entered Molly and Chad's suite. Veronica walked directly over to Chad's terminal and tried to crouch down to the floor. Pain seared through her hip, forcing her to grab the desk for support.

“What in the hell is going on Veronica?”

“I need you to do exactly as I tell you. I need to sit down.” Veronica pulled the desk chair over and eased herself into it. Despite sitting, the pain remained in her hip, pulsating like a heartbeat. “Open the outer casing on Chad's terminal.”

“While I'm doing that, tell me what this is all about. Something's definitely wrong, and you're scaring me.”

“You have good reason to be afraid. Something very bad is about to happen, if it hasn't already. Do you have the casing off yet? It should just snap off easily.”

“It's off,” Molly said.

“Now pull it out and let me see the insides.” She watched as Molly dragged the large terminal system away from the wall and held it up to the light so Veronica could see. It took only seconds to find what she knew would be there. “See that little microchip attached to that panel?”

“This one?” Molly pointed to the chip in question.

“Yes, that one. Pull it off and hand it to me.”

Molly hesitated. “Will this hurt the terminal?”

“It's not even supposed to be there in the first place.”

Molly's face lit up with realization. “Is this?”

“Yes, the same kind of tracer I put on Todd's machine. They've been tracking our movements, our terminal activity...everything.”

“They?” Molly asked. “I thought you said it was just Todd.”

A thousand memories and thoughts flashed through Veronica's head all at once. “I've known all along, but just didn't put the pieces together.”

The rooming situation. The convenient escape from the botched surveillance mission. The image of that night blazed in her head. The silent alarm sounded shortly after Lorelei left the server room. She needed to stop Veronica as well as call off the troops from making a full-out assault – a phone call is all that would take. And the arrival back at the facility...the need to see what was on her tablet. The visit at her bedside asking if she'd accessed her tablet yet. The note from the insider...it said they have friends in Blithe Spirit...plural! Veronica's head felt heavy yet coherent.

“Lorelei was on the train when I met Todd,” Veronica said.

“How is that possible? She was in another cell when you were out there.”

“My subconscious mind has been trying to tell me for a long time now. Every time I dream, I'm back on that damned train talking to Todd...and Lorelei.”

“Always?”

“Always. She's never absent. And Alex finally steered me in the right direction today.”

“You're making no sense Veronica.”

“He told me to pay attention. Here all this time I've assumed the dreams were about me leaving him behind; they've always been about me stepping onto that train in Seattle. They've been about Todd going to the bathroom, expecting me to read his tablet.”

“You've already gone over all of this though. It was a test.”

“But why would he, a double agent working for the Central Government, leave a tablet with his traitorous secrets there for me to access...unless he had someone else there watching to be sure I didn't get to that information before Todd returned.”

“Oh my God,” Molly said.

“She didn't realize I saw the shadow drive components right away. They didn't put that together until later. That's when she showed up at Blithe Spirit. She showed up the very next day after I placed the tracer on Todd's terminal.”

“I never made the connection, but you're right.”

“I didn't either; she's good. Though I think she slipped up once...the night we were preparing to go on the surveillance mission. She wore that black knit hat. It made me remember something, but I couldn't place it. I dismissed it as being something she wears all the time because it had her initials on it.”

“She had it on when she was on the train,” Molly said.

“That's what it was,” Veronica said. “She was sitting behind me on the train, I'm sure of it.”

“And you need to verify that via our database,” Molly said.

“I need to verify she didn't exist in New Chicago prior to the day I arrived.” Veronica pushed in her chair and turned on Chad's monitor. “It'll be a quick search to see if that cell even exists on the south side of the city.”

“Why didn't we do this in your suite?” Molly asked.

“Because Lorelei is in there rummaging through my terminal looking for evidence that I know what they're about to do. She's on the phone with someone discussing it right now, in fact.”

“What are they going to do Veronica?”

“They're going to attempt another Seattle-style inoculation program across the entire city of New Chicago in every Radical stronghold using the air circulation systems. If their new inoculation formula is anything like I think it is, it could either convert us all into mindless automatons or worse…it could kill us.”

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