|
Chapter 27 |
|
|
“They hunted us. They tore us down. They tried to destroy us…but we survived. We lived to tell the story, scraping together lives hiding and barely scraping by. It would be during this rebuilding period that we began coming together and learning from our past mistakes while the Central Government mostly overlooked our dwindling numbers.” Radical Archive – excerpt from the Life as a Radical commentaries
The following evening, Veronica finally had a chance to talk to her friends in the second bedroom. They’d slept through the prior evening and most of that day, giving her the time to scout out a more permanent location they could camp out at rather than bouncing from flat to flat within the city. Light from the candles carefully set around the room gave the small quarters a glowing, warm feel. The otherwise drab, sparsely furnished room looked more like a hospital room than a bedroom with the medical equipment set up between the two beds Veronica’s companions lay in injured. She looked down from between the two beds, staring at the end result of Todd’s plans. “At least we’re still alive,” Alex finally muttered, now awake. Veronica shook her head. “That’s no consolation. I don’t even know if we can get a death toll the numbers are so staggering.” “But some people survived. Enough to remember… enough to fight back,” Alex said. “Fight back?” Chad finally chimed in. “You need fighters for that. And weapons. And some kind of leverage.” “Though you have a point, we’re still going back,” Veronica said. “We have to… one more strike and then I’m through with all of this. I just can’t live like this anymore.” Chad sat up in bed and looked around. “Where is she?” he asked. “Vicky’s tucking in her daughter in the next room,” Veronica said. “No… Molly,” Chad said, still looking around the room like he expected her to pop out of the small closet. “You don’t remember?” Veronica asked. “I suppose not though. You’ve been too cooperative up until now.” “What are you saying?” Alex asked from Veronica’s left. “She was taken. She made it out fine on the other side, but Todd’s men were all waiting for her. They had every exit covered, so each time a scout would surface, her group’s numbers would decrease. Finally, after she’d scoured miles of sewer tunnel and had only a handful of men and women left,” Veronica said. She paused and lowered her head. “She led a charge on his soldiers. She knew they’d be there… they’d been at every other surface juncture, and she had no reason to believe that one would be any different.” “She’s alive though?” Alex asked. “Did you hear her? They captured Molly!” Chad sat up in his head, eyes wide and full of anger. “We can’t do anything right now Chad,” Veronica said placing a hand on his chest to calm him down. “You need to heal and I need to plan.” Veronica spent a few more minutes calming her friends down before joining Vicky in front of the fire. The more Chad and Alex protested her call to wait, the more Veronica felt like they were right. She couldn’t let her words or expressions give that away though – especially since she meant to keep them safe. It was something she could do for them that she hadn’t been able to do for anyone else entrusted to her protection at Blithe Spirit. “Penny for your thoughts,” Vicky said. She rubbed her hands in front of the fire and looked back at Veronica from the blanket on the floor. “Just trying to figure out how to do the impossible is all.” Vicky laughed. “Just another day then, eh?” She looked back toward the second bedroom. “Susie asked for you tonight. She wanted you to finish the story you’ve been telling her little by little.” “I don’t know if I can tell her the rest though. It’s not a happy ending,” Veronica said. “We don’t live in a time filled with happy endings. She’s used to it,” Vicky said. “How am I supposed to tell her I abandoned my own friend though? How can I explain that?” “You didn’t abandon her,” Vicky said. “You had to make a decision, and you chose the logical option. You saved the two friends you had with you… the ones you knew you could save.” “And I have to live with that forever if they hurt her,” Veronica said. “Did you tell them about the transmission?” she asked. “They must have been curious about how you knew she was alive.” “They didn’t ask, thankfully.” Veronica collapsed in front of the fireplace into a mess of self-pity and blankets. “How was I supposed to tell them she called? What was I going to say? Oh, by the way, Molly called begging for my help and I listened as they took her into custody? I sat there and listened to them kill everyone but her, and then as they bound and gagged her before disconnecting the transmission. I had to sit and listen to all of that.” “Like I said, you made a decision. I know it was awful and you don’t want to think about it in these terms, but there was nothing you could’ve done even if you had left Alex and Chad and gone to save her. She was too far out.” Veronica leaned back on her elbows and stared into the fire. “I wish that made me feel better.” “Have you figured out the other transmission yet?” Vicky asked. “Not a single piece of it,” Veronica said. “I haven’t even been able to trace it, let alone put a name or face to the sender. Whoever warned me, he or she went to great lengths to mask the transmission.” “Well you have plenty of time to spend on deciphering it. Those two will be out of commission for at least another week, and you’re in no condition to fight either.” Vicky took a sip of her coffee and sat forward in her chair. “I know that won’t stop you from trying though, should the opportunity present itself.” “How is it that you know me so well so fast?” Veronica said smiling. “It’s the mother in me… I have to be able to judge people’s intentions rather quickly these days for my girl’s protection.” Vicky moved away from the fire to her Spartan wood chair, leaned back into it, and picked up a tablet from the end table by her. “The Undernet is quieter than usual tonight.” “I suspect it’s fear more than action that’s causing it. The further out from the attack we go, the more they’re all going to hide and revert back to the original cell and disconnection mindset.” Veronica continued to stare into the fireplace watching the flames dance cross the orange embers. “That’s how you can help, by the way.” Vicky looked up from her tablet with a confused expression. “What do you mean?” “You’re already a pro at navigating the Undernet, I can tell. You asked all the right questions when I contacted you, and you’ve managed to elude the Central Government’s detection. I need you to help me build the movement again.” Veronica changed gears, hoping she could sway Vicky. “I’m not counting on surviving this…I imagine my offensive to rescue our friends has a high chance of complete failure, especially since my army of resistance fighters was mostly wiped out with little effort on the Central Government’s part.” “Then why try?” Vicky asked. “Because I have to…I owe Ruby and Molly that much.” Veronica refocused her attention on her tablet. She unconsciously bit her lower lip, frustrated she couldn’t be more honest with her new friend. She still didn’t know who she could trust at this point, and over-sharing didn’t seem to be the best of ideas. In fact, she wasn’t sure of much at this point in all the turmoil and confusion. She knew this much though - the Blithe Spirit control room transmission originated from the one place she’d hoped never to return to again: Seattle. Before taking off and leaving her friends in search of a faceless ally though, she needed to do more research. She had to know if the person had a solid link to the Central Government or if it was all just a fluke. Mid-keystroke as Veronica worked at data-mining the remnants of the increasingly stale transmission, her tablet froze momentarily. A second later, an instant message window appeared, confusing Veronica since she didn’t use any instant messaging programs. “You’re not going to find anything that way,” the message said. “Who is this?” Veronica typed. “Just consider me a resource. It’s safer for us both that way.” “As much as I appreciate your assistance before, I could really use some help now.” Veronica knew she probably sounded pushy, but desperate times required as much. “Your friends.” “Yes,” Veronica typed. “They’re no longer in New Chicago, so mounting an attack on the headquarters there would be pointless and suicidal.” “Please don’t tell me they’re there,” she typed. “You know where I am?” Veronica smiled. “Perhaps I am going to find something then if I wasn’t supposed to know you’re somewhere around my old stomping grounds.” “Regardless, you need to get out of New Chicago. All three of you. And you can trust Vicky.” Veronica peered up from her tablet at Vicky, then back down at the chat session. “How do you know these things?” “I’m paid to know these things.” “You work in the CJ Guild,” Veronica typed simply. “Yes. We keep files on everyone we come in contact with. We came across her when we took her husband.” “She told me as much.” “I’m sending over an instructions packet. Follow it to the letter. I’ll be in contact again when it’s safe.” The transmission window closed a few moments later, before Veronica could think up a response. Veronica opened the file, read over the instructions, and looked up with a tired, pained look on her face. “Vicky, I need you to do me a huge favor.” The following morning, Veronica double checked everything she had with her before walking out the door of Vicky’s flat. With her two friends in tow, she traveled light and fast, making her way to the first of two stops. After leaving Chad and Alex at the next coordinated safe house with instructions on what to tell them when they came out of their sedative-induced haze, she began making her way downtown. She reached up and tried to run her hand through her thick red hair and a pang of remorse shot through her. She flashed back to the conversation she had the previous evening with Vicky before all the preparations for her current trip began. “”You want a what?” Vicky asked. “A light brown wig, or a Halloween costume hat with hair attached so it looks like I have hair.” “But you already have hair, silly,” Vicky said jokingly. “Not after I shave it all off.” She rubbed her right index finger along the base of her skull where her neck and head met. The freshly shaven scalp felt unnatural, especially under the wig Vicky swiped from the hospital cancer ward’s collection. She didn’t want to chance buying one outright at the store, and she figured no one would miss one wig if it disappeared from the hospital’s complimentary wig stash. While she was there, she also stocked up on meds for Chad and Alex she could pass along with them to the next safe house. As she approached the Tube station external entrance, she blinked a few times in rapid succession and adjusted the forged identity contacts in her eyes. The more advanced the Central Government’s identity programs became, the easier it seemed to be to fool them. Wearing contacts was certainly easier than changing fingerprints, for sure. Veronica smiled at the guard as she approached the front of the entry line, held her eyes open wide for the scan, and waited while the agent verified the identity that would show her as Regina Smith. In accordance with the newly initiated law requiring all citizens to file travel destinations and travel intentions, she would show as traveling to Las Vegas to meet up with her sister for a weekend of catching up and fun. “Have a good trip Miss Smith,” the guard barked. She didn’t bother to even look up to confirm the picture on her screen matched Veronica’s appearance. Veronica nodded appreciatively and walked through arch of the body scan machine, waited for the affirmative results confirming she was weapon-free, and continued toward the westbound train. She repeated the instructions in her head on a continuous loop since she had to bury the information in her tablet, protected by the shadow drive she previously installed. To any onlooker or security agent, her computer tablet would look like anyone else’s upon cursory inspection. Once at the train yard, Veronica veered off course as planned and boarded the Seattle-bound train. Instead of taking a seat with the other passengers, she moved toward the rear of the train, back to the luggage car, and used the entry code her accomplice provided her in the instruction packet. The train car didn’t have much light, and smelled like leather and dust. Packed to the brim, it looked like the rest of the train would probably be full, leaving no seat for her to claim as her own should someone accidentally find her stowed away there mid-trip. She wouldn’t be able to fake her way through it, and that left her only one other option: violence. She found a cozy spot to squat toward the rear of the car, behind a large crate with the word “fragile” stamped in every imaginable space. As she slid down into her travel position, her shoulder bag began vibrating across the floor. She reached in, grabbed her tablet, and answered the incoming text-only transmission. “Good, you made it,” the message read. “How are you tracking me?” Veronica typed. “Before I just used the city’s surveillance equipment; this is easier though. I attached a geotag to the information file I sent last night. I can track you anywhere you go now.” “Thanks for letting me know,” Veronica typed. “I figured you’d search the file top to bottom for trickery and would either remove it or trust that I have your best interests in mind.” “I was a little busy shaving my head and deserting my friends last night.” “I told you in the packet why they had to stay behind. Rest up for now. You may have to fight your way out of the Seattle train station.” “You mentioned nothing about this before,” Veronica typed, increasingly worried. “They’ve stepped up random searches there, and anyone without a valid transport itinerary is immediately suspect. Save your energy. Be sure you have a weapon of some sort when you arrive. Meet me at the address I provided last night.” The transmission disconnected immediately after the last message arrived, leaving her staring angrily at the screen. Veronica pulled the itchy wig off her sweaty scalp, rubbed her hand slowly over the freshly sheared surface and quietly wept. This wasn’t supposed to be how things turned out. This wasn’t how she pictured herself when she liberated her friends from the Seattle facility. Her life was supposed to be normal and quiet by now. The emotion poured up her being in waves, spilling out across her red cheeks and the back of her hands as she wiped away the sorrow. She had to get it all out of her system now before they arrived in Seattle. She needed to be mentally and physically ready to revisit that city…that train station. It was where all of her current situation began. It was the scene of so many nightmares. It would be the beginning of the end of her journey. |
|
The Radical Chronicles is Copyright © 2009 by Tim Peacock.
