Revolt

by Tracy Lawson

  Good enough for government work. She glanced at the clock. Six minutes left. She opened the medicine cabinet for tweezers, and then got her medical bag out from under the sink.

  When she emerged she found them in the living room, watching television. Seamus was seated in a chair, hands tied, while Mitch glowered at him from the sofa opposite. Trina walked up behind Mitch. “Did you call the car?”

  “Yeah. It’ll be here in four—”

  She jabbed a syringe into his neck, pushed the plunger, and then backed out of arm’s reach. Mitch clapped his hand over the spot as he turned around. His heavy brow furrowed as he stared at her.

  “What did you do?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Call it a preemptive strike. You’ve been sneaking around making secret plans and doing goodness-knows-what. I don’t trust you not to mess up the Resistance’s plan.”

  He rose from the sofa and took an unsteady step toward her, then sank to his knees and fell facedown on the carpet.

  Seamus stared in horrified fascination. “What did you do to him?”

  She untied the boy’s hands. “Intramuscular diazepam. Should knock him out for at least a few hours. I’m not sure we can get him back on the sofa. Just tie him up where he is.” She knelt and, with the tweezers, pulled out the earpiece that connected him to Kevin. “Better tie his feet too. I have some therapy bands and a jump rope in the hall closet. I’m sorry to leave you with him, but I’ve really got to go.”

  5:32 PM

  Quadrant DC-005

  Tommy led his family, Eduardo, and Careen to the conference room where he and Atari had met to plan Careen’s rescue with Jezz a few weeks before.

  His father laid a hand on his arm. “How have you been?”

  “Fine, I guess, but in the dark. Atari hasn’t let us watch the news for a week. Danni was here yesterday, and according to her, it’s pretty bad out there. Dad, what’s really going on?”

  “The protests and rioting have definitely eclipsed the food riots. The OCSD has used Careen’s disappearance to convince people that an activated Link is the only thing that can truly protect them. The whole country seems divided on the issue. There are plenty of adults who don’t want their children Linked, while others are demanding Links for themselves.”

  “I thought the Resistance had things under control! Once Madalyn’s arrested, though—”

  His father shook his head. “Garrick’s case against Madalyn is anything but ironclad. He’s got enough evidence to bring charges against her for Stratford’s murder, but the evidence is mostly circumstantial.”

  Eduardo chimed in. “At best, the scandal could be enough to remove her from the director’s post.”

  Tom nodded. “She’s wiggled out of plenty of scandals, including the most recent one with the contraband coin, so nothing is certain at the moment. We didn’t want to say anything in front of Jaycee, but Mitch’s behavior has been erratic. He seems to have cut emotional ties with the girl and doesn’t communicate with us anymore either. David and Grace fled BG-098. They believe he’ll make sure Trina confronts Madalyn at the State of the Union, but he’s not trustworthy. We came here to make sure the State of the Union address runs smoothly.”

  Tommy’s nerves got the better of him, and he laughed.

  His parents looked at him like he was the one who was crazy. “What’s the matter?”

  “Dad, we’re just as worried about Atari. He’s been acting stranger and stranger since you left. I mean, you saw him just now. He doesn’t seem to be sleeping or eating much, and he’s quit taking care of himself. Danni was here and told us he’s been ducking Mitch’s calls. She was supposed to help us get in touch with Mitch, but she left.”

  “That may have been all for the best, if you believe David’s assessment that Mitch has gone, how did he put it? Oh, yes, ‘plumb crazy.’”

  “Atari’s been acting paranoid. He hid in Command Central when he heard the elevator. We heard him arguing on the phone a couple of times.”

  “With whom?”

  “We’re pretty sure it was both Mitch and Madalyn. He won’t say what’s going on. Danni thinks Atari wants to activate the Link, but he won’t do it as long as Careen’s here, because it would give away the location of his safe house.”

  Lara seemed taken aback. “Surely Atari wouldn’t give control of the Link to Madalyn.”

  Careen spoke up. “We think he’s counting on Madalyn being arrested. Then once she’s out of the picture, he’ll activate the Link and run it himself. He’s been really unpredictable.” She glanced at Tommy, and he shook his head as a signal not to say anything about Atari’s attack on her.

  Tommy added, “He and Mitch have been arguing about the Link ever since I got here.”

  Tom looked concerned. “Should we delay our meeting with President Wright and Garrick?”

  “If you all stick around watching him, he’s sure to be suspicious. I get the feeling he’s going to try activate it after Madalyn’s arrest at the State of the Union. You have to go. We can handle him for a few more hours.”

  Lara shook her head. “What if he tries to hurt you?”

  Tommy pulled the gun out of his waistband and tilted his head toward Careen. “We both know how to use it. Besides, Atari’s more of a punching bag than a fighter.” He grinned. “Careen broke his nose last week.”

  His mom looked like she wanted to laugh and scold at the same time. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Even Dad socked him when he was here last time.”

  Lara shot Tom an are-you-serious glance, and he shrugged.

  Eduardo nodded. “All right. As soon as the State of the Union address is over, we’ll bring Garrick back with us and help you deal with Atari.”

  They filed out of the room and up the stairs to the lobby, where Atari was waiting on the black leather sofa. As they approached, he looked away with catlike disinterest. Tom spoke first.

  “This is an impressive facility you have here, Atari. I don’t think I had time to appreciate it on my first visit.”

  Lara chimed in. “We’re grateful to you for hosting Tommy and Careen.”

  Tom continued. “We have a pending appointment, but before we go, could we get a look at what you’ve done with the video Mitch and Trina sent up?”

  “Of course.” Atari swept into Command Central, and they all followed. He pulled one of the keyboards within reach and bought up a file on the large center screen.

  They watched in silence as it played.

  “Remarkable.” Lara nodded. “I’d never have guessed that footage was shot in the bunker. How clever of you to make it look so convincing. And have you sent this along to Kevin?”

  “Yes, of course. I like to think my skills are put to good use for the Resistance.” Atari popped a chip drive out of one of the machines and handed it to her. “A souvenir of your trip to the capital, milady.”

  “Thank you.” She put it in her coat pocket.

  “Excellent. Well, we’re heading out to meet with Garrick.”

  “Right on. Let me see you to the elevator.” In the lobby, Atari reached inside his shirt for the elevator key and inserted it to summon the car.

  Chapter 27

  6:45 PM

  Quadrant DC-001

  Trina hurried out of her apartment just as the black town car pulled up. The last time she’d gotten into a car with a stranger, she and Kevin had ended up at Resistance headquarters. This time, the driver was taking her back into the belly of the beast.

  As they drew near the Capitol building, Trina stared through the tinted windows at the groups of protesters outside in the chilly, overcast evening. Lights winked from Links on many of their wrists. They held signs with slogans like LINKED FOR SECURITY and LINKS LIGHT THE WAY splashed across them. Others raised their bare left wrists and carried signs with CXD, LIBERTY, and PRIVACY on them. Even as she watched, a fight broke out. Someone crossed the open space to bash another protester over the head with a PEACE-LOVE-LINKS sign. The crowd pushed and shoved, roiling
like a stirred-up anthill.

  They passed the scene, turned the corner, and pulled into a restricted area where a lone figure was waiting for them. Hoyt Garrick opened the door. “Come this way. I’ve cut the security forces to the bone so we could sneak you in unnoticed. We’ll get you into position in a few minutes.” She followed him, the chilly breeze whipping her skirt and coat around her knees. Inside, her heels clicked on the marble floor as he escorted her through a metal door, down a long corridor, and into a room with a conference table. A grid of eight television monitors mounted on the wall showed the House of Representatives chamber from several different angles.

  She’d be meeting her greatest enemy there, in a place where many historic things had happened. She hoped when it was over history would be on her side.

  “Trina!” Lara Bailey got up from the conference table to greet her, and they embraced. Tom and Eduardo also came to shake her hand.

  She looked around. “Where’s Kevin? I had something I wanted to talk to him about.”

  “He’ll be arriving shortly, but he’s bringing Madalyn to make sure she gets the pertinent information.” Lara squeezed her arm. “We saw the completed video. You were quite convincing. We’ve got no way of knowing exactly how she’ll react, though we expect her to be so focused on you that she makes herself vulnerable. You’ve got to be ready for anything.”

  Trina felt like nothing could stop her now. “Don’t worry. I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment. I’m going to give Madalyn her birthday present and get what I came for.”

  7:08 PM

  Quadrant DC-005

  Atari headed back to Command Central as soon as the elevator door slid closed, and Tommy’s scalp prickled at the look he gave Careen as he shut the door. He hoped Atari didn’t have another bamboo shoot for his blow darts. Just don’t turn your back on him. Now that his parents and Eduardo were gone, he wished he’d asked at least one of them to stay behind to increase the numbers against Atari in their favor. He took Careen’s hand and tried to sound upbeat. “Now we just have to wait it out. It’s going to be okay.”

  Careen looked around. “Wait. Where’s Jaycee?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “She said she needed to talk to me about something. I completely forgot!” She motioned for him to wait out of sight and then opened the door to Command Central and asked Atari if he’d seen Jaycee.

  “She’s in the solarium. There’s a lovely view of the capital from up there.” His voice sounded normal, and she responded as though she had no concerns at all.

  “Yes, there is. It’s my favorite place here. Okay, thanks!”

  Tommy started to follow her, but she shook her head. “I’m not sure what’s bothering her, but why don’t you give us a few minutes alone for some girl talk? We’ll meet you back here.”

  The stairwell door had barely closed behind her when Atari hurried out of Command Central. He looked around and glanced at his watch. “Where did she go?”

  “You told her to go to the solarium.”

  “Oh yeah, right.” He motioned to Tommy. “Can I show you something?” Tommy shrugged and followed him inside. Atari stood in the center of the room and stared at the white Pong ball ricocheting around the television screens. The oniony odor of Atari’s sweat reminded him of a middle-school locker room. His eyes watered. Jeez, how long has it been since he’s showered?

  Atari was silent for so long that Tommy wondered if he’d forgotten anyone else was there. Then he spoke. “Madalyn is a rat who exists in the maze I designed for her. It’s full of roadblocks and red herrings. It was hard to predict what she’d do. That made it fun.” He looked over his shoulder at Tommy. “There aren’t many people who challenge me.” He picked up the Rubik’s Cube on the shelf above his desk and began twisting the faces without seeming to look at it. “But it’s not because she has a superior intellect. She’s certainly not my equal. Not even close. Her self-centeredness and her ignorance are what make her unpredictable.” He tossed the solved puzzle onto a pile of papers on the desk.

  “She knows almost nothing about her pet project. She was shocked when the clasp on her Link locked and she couldn’t take it off again. Duh. I mean, how else could you guarantee people would wear it? I figured she’d freak out and scrap the program right then and there, since full disclosure and transparency would be bad for her image. The Link doesn’t discriminate or differentiate between people. It simply identifies. Yet she still believes she’s above it all.

  “When she had me Link Careen, I realized she wasn’t going to give up the program. So I did the only thing I could. I got ready to launch it.”

  Tommy’s heart pounded. “So, wait. You’re okay with condemning millions of people to a lifetime of being monitored and watched?”

  “Information is power, Brainless, but it’s also freedom. People will have access to all the information and the freedom that comes with it.”

  “Doesn’t sound like anyone will be free.”

  “Take away the secrecy and surveillance will become an ordinary part of every Linked person’s life. They’ll learn to self-censor. They’ll invent sneaky little ways to gain some privacy. I wonder what your life will be like with Careen. You know, if you remain an unLinked person.”

  “That’s none of your business, is it?”

  Atari’s look was pitying. “It will all be my business. You’ll be on the outside looking in on my relationship with Careen. You may think you share everything with her, but I’ll know things about her that you won’t. I won’t have to wonder whether her pulse races when you touch her … or not.”

  Atari snatched his tablet off the desk and shook it in Tommy’s face. “Everyone wants something. Trouble is, they all want something different. They want Links for their kids. They want Links for themselves. Others want no Links at all. Mitch says ‘the Link must fail!’ I could delete the software program and leave the OCSD high and dry. But then all the people who want the protection of the Link will be so devastated. But will they learn anything? No. They’ll still believe they want a life that’s one hundred percent secure. It’s better if they get a dose of reality.

  “The Link technology exists, and we can’t call it back. We can only go forward. Mitch was wrong. Letting the Link fail won’t solve the problem, just as neither will activating it.”

  Where are Careen and Jaycee, anyway? “So you don’t side with either Mitch or Madalyn?”

  “Hah! Everyone knows Madalyn would run the Link into the ground. I’ve decided to take credit for my creation. After all, It’s my magnum opus. That means it’s my most important work.”

  “Hell, if that’s your conclusion, I’ll destroy it for you.” Tommy pulled the gun and aimed at the main computer, but Atari blocked it with his body, the barrel of the gun no more than a foot from his chest.

  “No! Shooting the computer won’t do any good.”

  “Says you. Get out of the way, or I’ll shoot you too.”

  Atari smirked. “Would you?” When Tommy didn’t back down, he raised his hands. “Fine. You’re responsible for whatever happens next, and you have no idea what you’re doing. You can’t brute force your way out of this, Hercules.” He sized Tommy up. “Or maybe you’ll find that you can.”

  He turned and assumed a spread-eagle position on the wall. Tommy dropped the gun halfway and glanced around for zip ties or an extension cord or anything he could use to subdue him. He was unprepared when Atari lunged for the nearest weapon and, with a perfect golf swing, smashed the marble base of his chess club trophy against Tommy’s right leg. Pain like a jolt of electricity radiated from his scarred calf to the base of his skull, and tears welled up in his eyes. Before he could regain his senses, Atari drew the trophy back and drove it like a battering ram into Tommy’s knee. He howled in pain as the leg crumpled beneath him. As he fell, the gun skittered out of sight beneath the desk. He saw Atari raise the trophy and swing again, and everything went black.

  Chapter 28

  7:25 P
M

  Quadrant DC-001

  Kevin double-checked that the video loaded on his phone was ready to play and then gave himself an extra spritz of cologne. He’d been playing double agent for almost a month, but tonight he was perspiring like he had opening-night jitters. If the plan worked, it would be Madalyn’s swan song as director of the OCSD.

  He turned up his collar and lined up the ends of his tie, but his hands were shaking and the resulting Half Windsor knot looked sloppy. He undid it and began again.

  When he was satisfied, he stuck his head out into the reception area, motioned for Nicole to come into his office, and closed the door behind her.

  “All the party plans in order?”

  “Oh, yes, everything’s ready. I was just about to head over to the Capitol.”

  “You don’t need to do that. Actually, I was wondering how much of it you can send back or cancel.”

  “Why? Aren’t we having the director’s surprise party?”

  “Not exactly. But she needs to think we are, so I didn’t want to say anything until the last minute. You don’t have to go to the Capitol. And this place is a ghost town. If you have plans, go.”

  “If you don’t need me, I think I’ll see what food can be donated and then go home. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find an appropriate place for the ice sculptures.” She sighed. “I really liked the ice sculptures.”

  He felt bad that she’d been excited about the party, and that she’d planned the nonevent with such care. “On second thought, don’t get rid of the champagne fountain, okay? We might want to ring in 2035 when all this is over.”

  “All right. Kevin?”

  “Yes?”

  “Happy New Year.”

  He followed her out of his office and headed for the lobby. It was showtime.

  7:45 PM

  Madalyn had initiated the five-million-dollar wire transfer before her hair and makeup person arrived, and she’d been so nervous she’d badgered the woman to tears. But the end result was stunning. Her navy dress was perfect. All she wanted for her birthday was Careen.