by Gideon Mills
14
The Resistance
The ride with Ihor had been long and tedious. He kept Marcus blindfolded, but it was clear that Ihor drove down to level two and around for a while. Marcus wasn’t the best with directions, so he was lost other than the level.
Marcus wanted to figure this out more than ever. In the back of his mind, he had this aching feeling that Amita was doing something stupid. Why did he think that? He couldn’t place it, but the nagging feeling was there. Marcus didn’t like leaving her and was worried she would take it the wrong way. He was doing it for her, trying to figure it out.
Once he knew what was going on, he’d tell her. He’d let Amita know what he’d found out. Marcus was sure his new best friend would appreciate it. Amita was that special, that smart.
The car stopped, and Ihor removed the blindfold. They were at a warehouse, one Marcus didn’t recognize. It was large and had nothing to do with the Mara Corp, at least not that Marcus could tell.
“What is this place?” Marcus asked.
“You will see. Follow me.”
Ihor exited the car, and Marcus was right behind him. Inside, Ihor walked past several men and women who worked hard sorting goods, used droids, and other robotics. If Marcus had to guess, this was some sort of recycling center.
They arrived at an office, and Ihor knocked. A stern-faced man answered it. “Is this him?” the man asked.
Ihor nodded. “It is.”
“Okay.” The man gestured for both to enter. It was a large, spacious office, nearly as big as Marcus’s father's at the Mara Corp headquarters. The man was about Marcus’s size, just over six feet and well-built, but with less hair. “I’m Jonathan.”
“Marcus.”
Jonathan sat at the front of the desk instead of the chair, his arms resting at his side. “I know. You have been on our radar since you and the girl returned.”
Marcus turned to Ihor, who shrugged. “I heard about it, but I couldn’t tell you when you showed up.”
Marcus was more confused than ever. “What is going on?”
“We are the Resistance.”
“Resistance? To what?” Marcus wasn’t sure what they could be resisting. Deep down he suspected, but it was hard to accept. He was new to this way of thinking. A part of him was still fighting it.
“You know,” Jonathan said. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”
“Keres.”
He nodded. “Keres and her company. It is seizing control of us. Making a play.”
“It already has control,” Marcus said.
“You’re right,” Ihor said. “She does. We need to get it back. We need to be free and live up to what we are supposed to.”
“What does Amita have to do with that?” Marcus asked. That was his primary concern. It wasn’t that Marcus didn’t want the rest of Detroit or the New Republic free. He did, but Amita was close to him. This was personal.
Jonathan shrugged and turned to Ihor. “I’ve been trying. It’s not in her system, at least one I can get into.”
That wasn’t what Marcus wanted to hear. Keres cared for Amita or feared her. Marcus wasn’t sure which it was. That troubled him. He loathed not knowing. “So, you have gotten in?”
“Of course,” Ihor said. “It wasn’t that hard. The way they talked in school—I think it was to scare us away.”
It wouldn’t surprise Marcus that the Mara Corp would use tactics to trick and frighten students into not hacking them. His father did that on a regular basis, even with his own family. It was why Jameson was under his thumb, working at the company and toeing the line like a good boy.
Marcus wanted nothing to do with it. He never had. Perhaps deep down, he had been against the Corp without realizing it. Now, it was at the surface, forcing Marcus to look at things differently.
“What do you know is going on?” Marcus asked. He both wanted to know and didn’t want to at the same time. He wanted to know what his family was involved in almost as much as why Keres cared for Amita, why she wanted her. It worried him that Keres was so involved with her. He had to get to the bottom of it.
Jonathan glanced at Ihor, who nodded. “Since Ihor trusts you, I will take a risk. It isn’t in my nature to trust a Ward, but at least you aren’t a Mara.”
“I am not my family.”
“I know,” Jonathan said. “I’ve done my research. If you were, you wouldn’t be here. I would never allow your brother here. The problem with you is that you are reckless. You take dares and do dangerous and unwise things.”
Marcus never considered what he did hazardous, at least not until his trip to the street level. That was scary stupid. Otherwise, he didn’t think he lived an unsafe life.
“I understand. My family is part of the machine,” Marcus said.
“It really is,” Jonathan said. “But Mara Corp is using the Security Force and the warnings to kidnap and experiment on the people of the street level. They systematically have installed a caste system. Those at the top like you don’t see it. Even those at the bottom don’t really understand. They have been undereducated to the point they don’t have a clue. Like your friend Amita.” The way he said friend, it was clear he knew that Marcus cared for her. “She is one of the smarter ones. The Halo Home taught her to read and write better than the others. We can’t figure out why.”
Back to her and being special. It was clear she was smart and educated. Marcus hadn’t realized that made her unique until now. “What do they do to the people?”
“The lucky ones? Slave labor. The unlucky ones are experimented on, test subjects for new and improved modifications.”
Marcus couldn’t believe his ears. That wasn’t possible. His family wouldn’t be involved in that. “My family?”
“Your father knows but isn’t directly involved. Your brother works at one of the places they test. He has to know.”
Marcus didn’t want to believe it. He couldn’t believe it. This was horrific and frightening. The New Republic was about equality. Not this. If this was true, everything Marcus knew and held to be true was a lie.
“I need to see it,” Marcus said.
“In time, I can prove it to you,” Jonathan said.
15
Seeing the truth
Over the last week, Amita had grown used to her new life. The routine wasn’t all that different from before. Go to work, do a tedious job, come home. At least now she had some fleeting moments with Marcus.
He visited most days, and they talked. At times, Amita did all the talking while he would watch. She didn’t mind. In fact, Amita loved it. His presence made her happy. Amita easily got over him rushing away the first day.
Today, he sat next to her on the couch at her place. “I want to ask you something.”
In Amita’s limited experience, when conversations started that way, it wasn’t good.
“Go ahead.”
He turned to face her and placed his hands on her knees. “What do you know about the people who are arrested on the street level?”
“Nothing,” Amita said.
His almond-shaped eyes, today a green color because of his mood, held concern and fear. He was scared of something.
“I always assumed they were either dead or rotting in prison,” Amita added.
“Okay. I just was told some stuff last week, and I’m not sure.”
“What stuff?” Amita asked.
He looked away. It was a moment before he spoke. “Apparently, the lucky ones are forced into slave labor. The others are test subjects for the Mara Corp. They are trying to advance the cybernetics they create.”
Amita’s jaw dropped. It shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. Keres Mara was indeed a monster. Anyone who was involved in that had to be. Amita gritted her teeth. Many of the people taken were those she had talked to, people Amita knew. Not really friends but still people she had seen on a daily basis. “That can’t be,” Amita said.
“That is what I said, but they assured me it was the
case. I asked for proof and was told I would get it tomorrow. I was hoping you would go with me.”
“Yes. I have to know too.”
“Good,” Marcus said. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
Amita wanted more than that, to cuddle, to hold him. But she didn’t tell him that. What he told her had shaken her. She was going to be strong now. Amita wouldn’t let him see her be weak, but the news rattled her to her core.
The next morning, Marcus showed up at her apartment. It was the weekend, a time for her to sleep in, but Amita was so used to getting up early that it wasn’t a big deal. She never got to sleep in. Getting up early on a day off was fine since she was still getting used to having days off.
He had the motorcycle again. The first time, Amita had enjoyed it more than she thought she would. This time, Amita was ready for it. She did like being this close to Marcus.
He hadn’t told her what they were doing. That worried her. Amita had begun to like knowing what was going to happen. Not knowing drove her crazy.
“Who are we going to see?” Amita asked as she put the helmet on.
Marcus shrugged. “A college friend.”
That was vague and didn’t help. College was an incredibly foreign concept for her. That was never an option for people on the lower level.
The wind hissed around them as they rode. Marcus took them straight to the elevator and down to the second level. Amita hadn’t been to it since she had arrived here. Going there and seeing the differences would be interesting. She should have gotten out more.
As it was, Amita wasn’t really able to take it in this trip. Marcus weaved them in and out of the thick traffic until they arrived at a warehouse.
Climbing off the motorcycle, they were greeted by a tall, dark man with glasses. Only the lucky ones on the street level had spectacles. She had figured the upper levels wouldn’t even need glasses.
“You decided to bring her,” the man said. He looked just like what Amita thought a friend of Marcus’s would.
“I did. Ihor, this is Amita. Amita, Ihor.”
“Hello,” Amita said and reached out to shake his hand.
“Hi,” Ihor said. His grip was firm. “I’ve been reading a lot about you.”
Amita didn’t like the sound of that. People reading about her? That couldn’t be good. She scanned him and was relieved to see that he was a lot like Marcus. That at least calmed her a little. “Uh, why are you reading about me?”
“It is interesting that Keres has taken such an interest in you. I am trying to figure that out. I want to see if we can use it to our advantage.”
Amita raised her eyebrows with a confused expression on her face. “I thought Keres’s interest was because of the testing or because Marcus paid for me.”
Ihor shook his head. “No. She was there the moment you arrived, according to the reports from our spies. She monitors the Security Force closely. She heard your name and left in a hurry.”
That was odd. She couldn’t explain that. Until her testing, Amita had never seen Keres in person. That was the only time, in fact. Keres hadn’t visited Amita or talked to her at all. Just the rumors that Marcus had of her trying to keep track of Amita.
“Oh,” Amita said.
They entered the warehouse and walked to a large office. Inside was another man. He was older but not that much.
“This is Jonathan,” Ihor said. “The Leader of the Resistance.”
Her jaw dropped. Amita couldn’t believe it. On the street level, there were rumors of a Resistance, a group of people trying to free them, but she never thought it was possible. Urban legend. Here Amita was, in the presence of it. She just couldn’t comprehend that.
“Uh. Hi,” Amita finally said.
Marcus pushed her deeper into the room. “She is in awe,” he said.
“Don’t be,” Jonathan said. “We haven't done much resisting. More like collecting information.”
He acted like that was no big deal, but to her, it was. The Resistance was real. It was going against Keres and the Mara Corp. That was amazing to learn and be a part of. Amita hoped she was a part of it now. She was here to join and help with whatever they were doing.
“Were you followed?” Jonathan asked.
“No,” Marcus said. “I had a scrambler out. Made sure to take several streets that would make it impossible to not be spotted.”
“Good,” Jonathan said.
Amita hadn’t noticed Marcus do anything different, though that didn't mean he hadn't. She wasn’t very good with the city, the streets, and the directions. Amita had no clue how long it should have taken to get here.
“We don’t want Keres knowing about this at all,” Ihor said. “That’s why we are keeping it limited. Just us.”
She still didn’t really know what was going on. Marcus hadn’t filled her in. Amita hated that she was in the dark. That had been the norm for her for so long. It was time to be part of the group who knew stuff and what was going on.
“What are we doing?” Amita asked.
All three looked at her. Amita tugged at her shirt. It was soft to the touch. All of the clothes were soft on her skin. She was still getting used to it.
“You didn’t tell her?” Ihor asked.
“I told her some,” Marcus said. “She knows what happens to the people.”
Just hearing him bring that up again made her blood boil. The treatment of people by the government and the Mara group, enslaving them and using them for experiments, that just wasn’t acceptable.
“I know what you say they are doing, but not what we are doing today.”
Jonathan sighed. “We are going to show you. Let you see it, as much as we can, at least.”
Amita didn’t like the sound of that. That would be extremely dangerous. “How do you know all this?” I asked.
Marcus smiled. “Ihor is a hacker. A good one. Plus, they have spies all over the city. They tracked the Security Force to a location, and I have access to it.”
That surprised Amita. “How?”
“I stole Jameson’s access card.”
“They still have those?”
“For some reason,” Marcus said. “Very old-school. It will work to our advantage. You and I can enter. Ihor and Jonathan won’t.”
“Is that safe?”
“No,” Ihor said. “That wasn’t part of our plan, but Marcus is adamant. He won’t change his mind.”
“Seriously?”
“Don’t you want to know for sure?” Marcus stood defensively.
He was stubborn and annoying at times. Amita noticed that, but she still enjoyed being with him.
“I do, but I don’t want Keres to kill me.”
“She won’t find out.”
“This is why you are here,” Jonathan said. “He can’t go in alone, and I won’t risk it.”
Amita nodded. “Very well.”
The first stop was the first level. Amita wasn’t happy about going back to the street level. Her heart raced as they descended to it. Amita both wanted to see her former home again and loathed to see it. Not to mention this was her chance to see Sam.
Stepping off the elevator, Amita was disgusted by what she saw. It was completely filthy, which Amita knew, but it was worse than she remembered. So much worse. The stench in the air made her gag. How in the world had she not noticed it before? It was no wonder that the people who visited from the other levels appeared sick and angry. They had to smell this body odor and feces scent that they weren’t used to. It was overwhelming. Amita’s stomach was nauseous.
Glancing back, she realized she wasn’t the only one who had trouble with it. All of them had that look of "get me the hell out of here."
Jonathan took the lead. They walked a few blocks and arrived at a vehicle that was hidden well. She would have never noticed it.
Before they went too far, Amita turned to Marcus, “That is Samantha’s building.” Amita pointed to the one just down the block.
“Guys. Is it okay if
we make a quick detour?”
“If you must,” Ihor said.
“Please?” Amita smiled at him.
“Very well.”
Amita sprinted to the building and made it in record time. Without waiting to see if Marcus was with her, she entered and went straight to Samantha's place. Amita knocked on the door. Nothing.
Marcus appeared next to Amita. “No answer?”
“Nope.”
Marcus looked around and smiled. A second later he punched the door open. The cheap wood door shattered. They entered the room. It was completely empty.
Amita was completely heartbroken. Samantha had up and vanished. Her being gone depressed the hell out of Amita. Amita had wanted to make sure Sam was okay. And she wasn’t. Amita had failed her.
Leaving, Amita was dejected and needed a distraction. They rejoined Ihor and Jonathan to continue what they were really here for.
Cars were rare on the first level. It wasn't that they weren’t used, but most people lived near work. They walked. Only those Amita considered wealthy had cars. Which was relatively speaking—they were still dirt poor. They were the ones who worked at companies that Mara Corp didn’t own or at least pretended not to.
Amita was more and more confident that they owned them all. Marcus made it seem that way. He had computer skills, just not as good as Ihor’s, or so they were telling her.
In the car, they headed north out of the city. Amita couldn’t resist looking out at the few people they passed, and scanning them. What she saw broke her heart. They were categized more like meat than people. It was sickening. “We are really leaving?” Amita asked.
“Barely,” Jonathan said. “Not far.”
Amita hoped to see the sun again. It would be different from last time. When they left the city and the cover of the upper levels, the sun was blocked by a thick layer of smog. It was what most of the air was like on the street level. Amita should have expected it.
After thirty minutes of driving, they pulled to the side of the road.