by Kyle Andrews
In that moment, he knew that victory was possible. He knew that the night could be won.
The video feeds from the drones were starting to show the city from above, giving Collin a better idea of what the city looked like than he could have gotten from the street cameras. He saw the bodies littering the ground and the fires. But beyond that, he saw Freedom members standing on the steps of the HAND building.
The image zoomed in and Collin saw that the fighting had ended. It was over, and Freedom was still standing. He couldn't believe it.
“Angle up a little on drone three,” Aaron said to Simon, leaning closer to the monitor.
Collin watched the drone's video pan up, toward the sky where three helicopters moved away from the city. He kept his eyes on those helicopters, wondering who was on them. Whoever they were had to be important. The Mayor? The Governor?
As Collin watched those helicopters fleeing from the battle, he wondered what those people would report to their bosses back home. How would they explain that Freedom had won the day?
“Ready weapons,” Aaron ordered. “Take them out.”
47
Justin was sitting in a helicopter with the Governor, looking out the window at the city that he had lived in since the day he was born. There weren't many lights on in the city, so most of what he could see came from the glow of fires. Even as they flew far above those fires, he could smell the smoke.
Below, people were celebrating. Freedom had won the battle. The city was theirs. They could walk the streets without fear of being arrested. They could say whatever they wanted to say, live wherever they wanted to live, and eat whatever they wanted to eat. Justin had dreamed of that day for years. Now it had finally arrived, and where was he during the celebration? Sitting mere feet away from the Governor, on his way to some other city where there was no such thing as Freedom. A city where his mission was of absolutely no use to anyone, because he would have nobody to feed intelligence to.
Everyone in the helicopter was quiet, except for the Governor, who was barking orders into his cell phone on one call, and then switching over to grovelling and begging forgiveness while on another.
Marti knew something that Justin didn't. He could see it in her eyes. She was not the type of person to tremble over nothing, so whatever she knew would probably have him trembling as well.
As he looked out the window, Justin saw drones flying through the air, breaking their normal patrol patterns and swooping down toward the streets. It didn't take him more than a second to understand what that meant, and as soon as he did, Justin's chest tightened.
He looked away from the window and saw that Sim was watching the drones too. Even though he had no sympathy for Freedom, Sim's brow was furrowed. He had worry in his eyes.
Justin looked toward the Governor, who was now on a third call and once again barking orders. The Governor never looked his way, but Justin wanted to say something. He wanted to do something, but he couldn't find the words.
Marti shifted in her seat, and when Justin looked toward her, he saw that her eyes were darting from person to person in the helicopter, as though she were about to make a move of some sort. When she looked at Justin, he tried his best to dissuade her without speaking a word. The two of them had perfected the art of silent communication over the years, and now she was arguing with him, pleading with him, screaming for him to do something—all without opening her mouth.
Next to her, the Governor's son was looking down at his hands, as though he could make the atrocity that was about to take place go away, if only he ignored it for long enough.
Justin had to do something. He had to kill the Governor. He had to crash the helicopter. He had to find some way to change what was about to happen, but the fact that he had seen the drones moving toward their targets meant that the order had already been given. The Governor could die a horrible, painful, bloody death right then and there, and nothing would change when it came to the drones and their mission.
There was nothing that Justin could do except sit back and watch as celebration turned to death down below.
As soon as he came to this conclusion, Justin pulled himself together and remembered his mission. He may not have had anyone to report back to—Freedom may not even exist by morning—but as long as he was alive, his mission would go on. He would destroy the authorities. He would make them pay for the lives that they had taken. He would make them watch as their own homes were burned to the ground, if it was the last thing that he ever did.
He leaned back in his seat, wiped the emotion from his face before he made a fool of himself, and looked out the window once again.
The drones were far behind them by this point. The city could be under attack at that very moment and he would have no way of seeing it. All Justin could see was another helicopter flying next to them, escorting them to the airport and out of danger.
Justin watched the helicopter flying next to them and listened to the sound of engines spinning blades which lifted them into the air. He focused on the sounds, dragging his mind away from the city and the carnage that was taking place back there.
Then he watched as the helicopter next to them made a sharp turn and left his field of vision. The sounds of the engines were then mixed with the sounds of machine guns firing. The helicopter that he was in began to fly erratically, as though they were trying to avoid something.
Justin turned to look out the other side of the helicopter just in time to see something shoot past. He couldn't imagine what that thing could be at first, but as another shot past the window, he realized that he was seeing missiles.
“What the hell?” he muttered under his breath, before realizing that the only people who referenced Hell anymore were theists and he would have just blown his cover if anyone could have heard him over the sounds of the helicopter engines.
The helicopter turned downward and every one of the passengers let out an involuntary gasp as they began speeding toward the ground.
Alarms were going off on the pilot's dashboard. The Governor was still holding the phone to his ear, screaming for whoever was on the other end of the line to help him. The Governor's face was pale, and he had pure fear in his eyes. Justin couldn't look away. It was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen in his life.
The helicopter flying to Justin's left was hit by a missile. The tail of the helicopter exploded. The helicopter started to spin out of control, and fell out of view.
Once again the helicopter twisted and turned and Justin felt as though he might throw up at any moment. He looked toward Marti and saw her gripping something so tightly that her knuckles were white. Her eyes were on the pilot. Her mouth was pressed into a thin line.
As the helicopter dove once more, Geo Garrison put a hand on Marti's arm. She closed her eyes and put her empty hand over his, holding onto him in a futile attempt at stabilizing herself. Though Justin was sure that Marti was just as willing to die that night as he was, she did not seem to be enjoying the ride.
When Marti looked his way, Justin locked eyes with her. He silently asked if she was all right, and she gave him a firm nod. The helicopter took a sharp turn and Marti closed her eyes again, for a moment or two. When she opened them, she looked to Justin and took a deep breath.
Justin subtly tilted his head toward the Governor, who was panting like a dog and sweating like a pig. He was terrified of dying and green with motion sickness.
When Marti looked toward the Governor, Justin saw the corner of her mouth curl upward just slightly.
Next to her, Geo had his eyes shut. He looked almost peaceful as the helicopter shook and bounced, and weapons fired all around them.
One of the other men in the helicopter was crying like a baby. Justin noticed Sim watching that man and then Sim's eyes met Justin's and widened in a way that conveyed a one-word message: Wow.
Then Justin saw Sim's eyes shift toward something behind him. When he turned to see what Sim was looking at, Justin saw one of the drones from the city, fl
ying toward the helicopter.
“Everyone hold onto something,” the pilot ordered, just as the helicopter looped upward, turning everyone upside-down for a moment. As soon as they were once again righted, the helicopter turned on its side and dove downward.
Outside, the world was spinning. Justin saw dozens of what looked like flares shooting out of the helicopter that they were riding in. The drone's missiles were drawn to these flares and exploded in midair.
The one other helicopter that remained came into view, placing itself between the attacking drone and the helicopter that Justin was in.
As his helicopter fled the area as quickly as possible, that other helicopter exploded, sending flames and twisted metal to the ground below.
After that, there was nothing but the sound of their helicopter's engine. Everyone inside of that helicopter was breathing heavily, waiting for their stomachs to catch up to the rest of their bodies after the ride that they had just endured. Most of them were also staring straight ahead, waiting for the attack to continue.
Instinct demanded that Justin feel relieved when there were no more explosions or missiles flying past his window, but at the same time, he was disappointed.
Somehow Freedom had taken over the drones. They had attacked the Governor's helicopter, and if they had taken the Governor down in that way, it would have sent a clear message to the authorities. Logic and duty pushed instinct aside and anger began to boil up inside of him. How could Freedom have failed to kill the Governor? How much longer could he go on pretending to be a loyal HAND officer? It should have been over that night, but it wasn't.
The helicopter flew for a little while longer before landing at the airport. They landed safely and exited the helicopter, greeted by a swarm of HAND vehicles and officers who were ready to fight, despite the fact that they were miles away from where the battle had already been fought and lost.
As he walked away from the helicopter, Justin turned and studied the damage that had been inflicted by Freedom. There were countless bullet holes in the side of the armored helicopter. There were burn marks. The windshield was cracked. Freedom had failed to take down the Governor, but it wasn't for lack of trying.
It began to rain just as they entered the airport. Marti moved from person to person, treating wounds and giving out medication to calm their nerves.
She reached Justin last, and they sat together as she looked over his damaged body. They were far away from everyone else, so they could talk quietly.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
Marti nodded and said, “You're worse off than I am.”
“You shouldn't be here.”
“Neither of us should be.”
“You should have stayed back in the city. You would have been safe.”
“I didn't get into this to be safe.”
Justin looked past Marti and saw Geo Garrison looking in their direction. He gave Justin a quick smile before turning his attention elsewhere.
“He likes you,” Justin told Marti.
“I know.”
“You can use that.”
“Are you telling me how to do my job?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Be careful.”
Marti looked Justin in the eye and cocked her head, as though he had just told a funny joke.
Taking out a bandage and placing it over one of the cuts on Justin's head, Marti asked, “Have they told you where you're going yet?”
“Sim is talking with one of the superiors now.”
“Geo was talking about getting you and Sim for his security team. Secret Service. That could be good placement.”
“Why would he want us?”
“Apparently he was impressed by your work today—or yesterday. I have no idea what time it is anymore.”
Justin considered the possibility. Being on the security team for a Governor's son could mean access to other VIPs, and possibly the ability to obtain information that he wouldn't normally be privy to. The elite tended to talk freely around their guards, as though they weren't even there. It would be a great opportunity.
“You should go lean on him,” Justin told Marti. “I'm fine here.”
“You're still bleeding. Not only would I look like a bad girlfriend if I walked away right now, I would look like a crappy nurse. I can't afford either of those things.”
Justin nodded. The two of them fell silent for a moment as Marti fished through her supplies. When she pulled out another bandage, Justin locked eyes with her. Without saying a word, he expressed the range of emotions that came with Freedom's victory that night—pride and joy, and sorrow and anger. Even if he did want to put all of those things into words, he didn't think that he would know how.
Marti nodded in agreement. She looked away for a second before turning back to Justin and saying, “The Governor is safe.”
And in those four words, Marti reminded Justin that while Freedom may be celebrating victory that night, the two of them had nothing to be proud of. They had failed.
48
Collin remained in Aaron's office, observing the efforts to take down the helicopters that were fleeing the city. He still didn't know who was on those helicopters, and he would have been willing to bet that Aaron didn't know either. The fact remained that nobody with Freedom had access to a helicopter, so whoever was on board was the enemy. They needed to be stopped, and taking down those helicopters would have sent a message to anyone who tried to strike back against Freedom.
Gone were the days of the powerless citizens, cowering in the shadows. Freedom was no longer a faceless entity. Now they had an entire city. They had weapons. They had vehicles. They had technology. More than that, they had taken away the ability of the authorities to rely on technology that they had taken for granted for decades.
Two of the helicopters went down in flames. They managed to take one of the drones with them, but Aaron could have easily ordered others to take out the third helicopter. Instead, Aaron watched that last helicopter escaping into the distance and he said nothing.
“ I have a weapons lock. Should we take them out?” Simon asked.
Aaron didn't answer right away. He thought about his decision very carefully. Collin could tell by the look in his eye that Aaron wanted to see that helicopter burn just like the others, but when he finally responded to Simon, he said, “Have the drones resume patrol over the city. Make sure they're ready to counter anything that the authorities send our way.”
Simon nodded and typed the orders into his computer. Collin would have expected people to control drones with joysticks and steering wheels, like an old fashioned video game. Instead, Simon's people were doing it all with lines of computer code.
“We need updates from the ground,” Aaron said loudly enough for his whole team to hear.
Across the room, one of Aaron's other team members reported, “Radio chatter's telling us that Freedom has taken the docks. HAND patrol ships are burning. We have reports of fights all over the city. HAND vehicles overturned. Officers shot or beaten to death.”
Another member of his team chimed in and reported, “Train station is secured, but they did manage to get a train out of the city before our people reached them.”
“What kind of train?” Aaron asked.
His team member shook her head, telling Aaron that she didn't know.
While Aaron looked upset about the train getting out of the station before it could be taken, Collin's reaction was the opposite. The docks and the train station hadn't been part of the plan. Freedom went after two buildings. Everything else was icing on the cake. These were missions undertaken by citizens who realized how valuable those targets could be. The people weren't just giving themselves over to new leaders. They were taking initiative. That was everything that Collin had ever fought for.
Simon walked away from the desk that he had been working at all night, and went to one of the other computers, where another one of Aaron's team members was working.
&nbs
p; Aaron went to Mig and began talking with her in hushed tones, undoubtedly preparing for the aftermath of the battle.
It was something that Collin needed to consider as well. If the fight was over, he needed to prepare his own team to move out. He needed to get reporters to the locations of those other fights that he hadn't been expecting. He needed to get an idea of what the average citizen was thinking. He needed to prepare a statement to the citizens of the city, letting them know who was in charge now and what they could expect in the days to come.
That last part was going to be a challenge. Collin had never lived in a world without the authorities presiding over them. He didn't know what to expect. The future was full of possibilities, both exciting and terrifying. How could he express those possibilities to the people without making them second guess the actions that had been taken that night?
He walked out of Aaron's office, running headlines and commentary through his head. In the hallway, he found Freedom members celebrating their victory and he wished that he could have allowed the party to go on all night, but there was work to be done.
Pulling as many of his team as he could find into the Secret Citizen office, Collin began giving them orders and sending them out. He told them to document everything. What couldn't be captured with a camera or an audio recorder should be written down. Most of his reporters were already on the streets, so he ordered his people to pass along his message to any of the others that they saw out there. This was no longer just about reporting the news and countering the voice of the authorities. Now their job was to document history and make sure that it was never forgotten.
As his team prepared to move out, Collin saw Mig standing in the doorway. Without saying anything to her, Collin picked up a backpack full of his notebooks and half-written articles.
“Where are you going?” she asked him.
With a smile, Collin said, “As far away from this place as possible.”