The young officer tried to break free from Marr’s grip, then gave up. “Nothing, in particular, sir. She pulled up. We spoke for a minute, then she was gone.”
“What did she say?”
“Life after the academy. Where she went, where I ended up. A little bit about the terrorist, then she was gone.”
That piqued his interest. “What did she say about the terrorist?” he said, pulling the officer a little closer.
The officer shrugged. “That she thought he was probably dead from the fall earlier. Then she was gone. It was a bit weird if you ask me.”
Marr let him go. “I’m not,” he said, rolling his window back up. He drove away from the two uniforms, their silhouettes growing smaller in his rear-view screen as he sped away. He would find out what she knew.
Hopefully, for her sake, it wasn’t too much.
XXI
Lex rolled over, immediately regretting it. She gasped; her battered body, unprepared for the sudden movement. She couldn’t pinpoint a particular wound that was causing her the most discomfort – due to there being so many. It felt as though her entire body was one throbbing haematoma, never alleviating; a constant companion.
There’s not going to be much of me left by the time I’m done… if I get the chance to finish what I started.
She appeared to be lying on a soft mattress in a dimly-lit room which was not much larger than her bedroom at home. For the first few seconds, she’d thought she was actually there until she’d noticed the bed was the only piece of furniture in the room.
She sat up, wincing from the pain it caused her. She swung her legs over the edge and touched the coarse carpet with her bare feet. She had no memory of how she’d ended up in this strange room. The last she remembered was being overpowered by superior numbers in the park, after her flight off the Freedom Bridge… then nothing.
She became aware of the absence of her combat suit. Instead, she appeared to be garbed in an ill-fitting boiler-suit a few sizes too large; her captors had presumably relieved her of her scribe and combat suit – or what was left of it when they’d brought her to the room/cell she now occupied.
She pulled the zip down and climbed out of the garment. Fresh bandages lined her body. Whoever had taken her had spent a considerable time patching her up which raised some doubts on her suspicions of the group in the park being members of the Inner-Sanctum.
Those bastards had me chained up, naked as the day I was born when they took me the last time.
All was not as it seemed, she thought, pursing her lips and pressing her hands down onto the soft sheet, covering the bed. This was something different, something new and possibly unexpected. She didn’t like it; the unusual feeling of not being the one in control.
She was interrupted from her self-inspection and inner-reflection as the door on the other side of the room opened. Lex squinted at the sudden brightness which filled the room. A silhouette of stood in the doorway, holding what looked like a clipboard. She stood up, her instincts taking over.
“Ah, you’re awake,” the silhouette said, cheerfully. “Please, sit down, I mean you no harm. My name is Doctor Simon Oliver, I’ve come to change your dressings and inspect your wounds.”
Lex remained silent. She glanced over the doctor’s shoulder. He wasn’t alone, he slowly entered the room, flanked by two armed men. Doctor Oliver looked to be in his mid-fifties. His hair was a mix of grey and white; cut short. He had an unusually long nose, but it seemed to suit his facial features. she noted he had kind, trusting eyes. Lex nodded in the direction of the doctor’s chaperones. “And them?”
Oliver turned to his guards as though he’d just noticed them. He chuckled, raising his hands. “I hope you’ll forgive the armed escort. They’re supposed to be for my protection. After the altercation in the park, my colleagues insisted I was to be accompanied by…” He paused, struggling to find the right words. “…bodyguards.”
Lex snorted. “Altercation? You mean abduction.”
He smiled at her. “My dear, you must understand it was for your own protection. The police were closer to your position than you know. If we hadn’t intercepted you when we did, you’d be God-knows-where by now.” He pointed to the bed. “And not in as much comfort as you are now.”
Lex narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “I thought the Inner-Sanctum worked hand in hand with the SPD… not that the police know they do.”
The doctor chuckled once more. “Is that who you think we are? The Inner-Sanctum? No, my dear. We fight the same fight as you… just not as brazen as your good-self. May I see your injuries?” He took a few steps towards her.
She waved the offer aside. “I’m fine if it’s all the same to you. I’d like to leave.”
He held his hands up. “Very well, you are free to leave whenever you wish, though if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to take you to our commander before you do. I think we have more in common than you think.”
Lex glared at the two silent guards that still held their rifles aimed in her direction. “Well, seeing as I don’t exactly have a choice on the matter, lead the way.”
He ignored her waspish tone. He turned to leave then stopped abruptly. He gestured to her current state of undress, chuckling. “Would you mind putting the boiler-suit back on? We’re not used to having naked women walking around our compound.”
~
Lex followed the doctor in sullen silence as they made their way along dimly-lit corridors of dull grey concrete. The two guards followed in their wake keeping a safe distance; out of her reach. She wondered where she was, she noted there were no windows, only ventilation pipes fixed to the ceiling on steel brackets.
“Where are we exactly,” she asked, breaking the silence.
“All will be explained,” Oliver said. “Just through these doors ahead.”
The doctor pushed through the double doors to reveal a massive space, which to Lex, resembled an aircraft hangar. She gazed up at the ceiling a hundred feet above them. Lights hung from thick chains bolted to the concrete, bathing the area in a faint yellow hue. Small wooden shacks lined the floor in columns which resembled little streets. She felt the eyes of the shanty town’s occupants scrutinise her with a mixture of fear, awe, and hostility.
“It’s like a town,” she said, catching the eye of a little girl standing in one of the doorways. Lex smiled at her, but the child scurried inside.
Oliver arced his head in her direction maintaining his pace. “Oh, it’s much more than that, my dear.”
Lex also noted there was a distinct lack of the technology society was used to. In some ways, it felt as though she’d stepped back in time. Oliver smiled and said a few words to those he clearly knew. They replied to the doctor’s comments and greetings with good humour, but their expressions immediately darkened when their eyes settled on Lex. It didn’t bother her. If anything, she understood.
They traversed through the small community to a larger shack at its centre. It was raised onto a metal frame which was fenced. Sentries were stationed around its perimeter; all armed with automatic rifles, blades, and resting expressions of hostility. They nodded to the doctor as they passed through the main gate and up to a stairwell, which led to the main entrance to the building. He knocked once and pushed the door open without waiting for a response.
Inside, the walls were lined with screens, all showing areas of Sanctum-One. Hunched over a bank of monitors on the opposite side of the room, stood a small group. They all turned to face her. The man standing at the group’s centre smiled at the new arrivals. He looked to be the leader, given the way the others seemed to look at him.
“She’s finally awake,” he said, cheerfully. Lex recognised his voice. It was the one who had spoken to her in the park. “Welcome to our quaint little community. I hope you’re not feeling too beaten up from our last meeting. I’m sure the good doctor explained why we had to take you.”
One of his entourage smirked at the light jibe. Lex balled her fists. The leader caught
her sudden tension and gave a warning look to the perpetrator. He held up his hands in mock surrender. “I meant no offence. If I’m being honest, I was surprised we were able to subdue so easily; you’re well known in our little community.”
“I’m not surprised,” a woman said, behind him.
The leader rounded on the woman who had spoken. “That’s enough, Li,” he snapped. The woman, named Li, rolled her eyes but remained silent. Lex glared at her, wanting her to say something, to give her an excuse to smash her face through one of the monitors.
Lex managed to take her eyes off Li to address the leader. “And where is this ‘little community’ exactly? Beyond the city walls…” She paused and turned, ignoring the two guards flinching from her sudden movement, and looked out to the compound, with its lack of natural light, its coldness. “…no, underground?”
The leader nodded, impressed. “Well deduced. We found this bunker amidst the ruins of the old city, whatever it was called before. It seemed the perfect place to base our operations without molestation from the powers-that-be,” he said, gesturing above.
As she’d walked through the shantytown with Oliver and her chaperones, Lex began to believe the doctor’s claims they weren’t part of the Inner-Sanctum. There was only one other possibility as to their identity, given the size of the compound and their numbers. “Sapien-Republic,” she said as much to herself as the group in front of her.
The leader took a few careful steps towards her, extending a hand. “Jonathon Brooks, I lead this ragtag group of… how does Sanctum-One refer to us? ‘Treacherous terrorists’,” he said, emphasising the last two words with a hint of mocking.
“Why am I here?” she asked, staring at his hand. “I’m in no mood for extending pleasantries with my captors.”
Brooks shrugged letting his hand drop down by his side. “I believe we can help each other. You and Sapien-Republic are the only ones who know what Sanctum-One really is. The only ones with their eyes open to the truth. Prime Vonn is a dictator veiled as humanities saviour, a wolf among the sheep.”
“We’re doing just fine, Jonathon. We don’t need interference from some psychotic bitch with a vendetta,” Li said.
Lex took a step forward but stopped at the sound of the automatic weapon being cocked, behind her. Brooks seemed not to notice. He faced Li. “Christ, Li, she’s done more damage to the Inner-Sanctum in the last six months than we have in the last ten years.” He waved his hand, exasperated. “How many agents have we sent to NewHaven, only to find their broken, bloodied bodies dumped on our doorstep after the bleeders were done with them.” Li was about to respond, but Brooks held up a hand. “Have you forgotten about Jennings? Cruz? Alberta?”
Li dropped her head, the fight for an argument draining from her. “Of course I haven’t.” She raised her head, looking him in the eye. “I’m sorry.”
“And where do I come into this?” she asked, breaking the horrible atmosphere that was beginning to settle in the room.
“I want you to join us. To help us free our society from the unbeknown bondage it’s in.”
It was tempting, there was no denying that. Brooks had a way of inspiring confidence and solidarity. She could see it by the way the others looked at him. Even Li. But she was no freedom fighter. She’d promised herself she would destroy those who had reduced her to what she was. She’d almost made peace with the fact she would follow whoever was responsible for her son’s murder to the grave.
“I’ll pass if it’s all the same to you,” she said, coldly. All she wanted was revenge. The image of her son’s beautiful blue eyes surfaced to the forefront of her mind, stoking the fire of resolve as to her mission, filling her with a cold rage which could frighten herself at times.
Brooks gave her a hurt, almost disappointed expression. He narrowed his eyes. “I thought you would treat us with a little more gratitude. After all, we’ve done for you, given you the chance to exact your revenge.”
His comment threw her off. She raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Excuse me? I’ve never met any of you in my life.”
Brooks raised his eyebrows, surprised. “You really don’t remember?”
“Remember what?”
“We were the ones who dragged your lifeless body from the harbour after they’d killed your boy, and supposedly drowned you.”
~
The roar of the gunshot reverberated across the harbour and out to sea like thunder, quickly fading to nothing but an eerie silence. It hung in the air, for just a few seconds, before it was shattered by a primal scream of unimaginable pain and suffering. The terrible sound carried out to the small group, huddled together on a small boat, gently bobbing up and down on the calm swell; their presence hidden by the night.
They watched in grim silence – speechless at what they’d witnessed – as the broken woman who had been made to watch her son’s execution was dragged to the water’s edge. She kicked and screamed to free herself from their grasp, to get to the boy. The man in the long overcoat pointed to the prone figure, then in a final act of cruelty, she was hovered above the body of the boy.
Brooks and his team were only a quarter-mile out from the harbour. They could hear the woman’s sobs as the last vestiges of fight drained out of her. The man in the overcoat pointed to the water. The men dragged her away from her son and submerged her head under the water. The man in the overcoat slowly approached as she struggled and put a boot on her head – not that it was really required, Brooks thought.
“Fucking bastards!” a voice growled, behind him.
“Quiet,” Brooks hissed. “She found something, something damaging, and they destroyed her for it. She was our way in. The best chance we’ve had in years.”
The broken woman had stopped struggling. The two men let her go, her body limp and lifeless on the rough concrete. The man in the overcoat spat on her then kicked her in the water. He pointed towards the van they had arrived in and the two men ran over to it. They hurried back with a body-bag and rolled the dead boy into it, all the while the man in the overcoat oversaw, smoking a cigarette.
As the group got into the van, Brooks caught a glimpse of the man in the overcoat’s face. There was no mistaking the face of Samuel Faulks. He scrambled in his pack for a camera. He eventually found it, but by that time the Proxy had climbed into the van.
“We’ve tried taking pictures of these executions before, Jonathon,” Li said. “There’s no point, NewHaven just turns it around and tells everyone its gang-related.”
Brooks wasn’t listening to her. He had to get back to base and tell Oliver. For the moment, they’d keep this to themselves until the time was right. Once the van’s taillights disappeared from view, Brooks ordered Li to move the boat towards the harbour.
“She’s dead, Jonathon.”
“Just move the fucking boat, Li.”
She grumbled unintelligibly but complied with his order. They cut through the gentle curve of the waves, the engine humming louder than he would have liked, though the quiet of the night may have had something to do with it.
Li slowed the boat down when they were ten feet away from the concrete. Brooks pulled out his torch, clicking it on and scanning the area for the body. He eventually found it, floating face-down twenty feet from the harbour wall. He turned to Adams. “Give me a hand, will you?”
They hauled her onto the boat. They had seen that she had suffered from a terrible amount of torture, but it wasn’t until they were this close that they saw the severity of it. Brooks wasn’t particularly religious, but he said a prayer for her soul at the image of the injuries she’d sustained – there was no mistake, in his mind, her wounds had been mostly inflicted by the bleeders.
“Throw me a blanket to cover her up,” he asked. Li threw him a rough cover, soiled with oil and various other unspecifiable stains. He covered her reverently, feeling like he’d returned a small shred of her dignity. He gazed at her face; pale and gaunt; covered in a myriad of cuts and contusions. Her one remaining eye was st
ill open, the other a pulped, swollen mass. He closed it for her.
Then it shot open and she screamed.
~
Lex stared at him, suddenly feeling confused and disorientated. Her head began to throb. She couldn’t remember the events that transpired that night as a whole, only in fragments.
“We brought you here,” Brooks said. “The good doctor treated the worst of your wounds.”
“I’m not particularly surprised you can’t remember us; you were either in a state of delirium or comatose for the duration of your recovery. Unsurprising… given what you were put through. I had to sedate you when administering medical treatment,” Oliver said.
Lex rubbed her temples.
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