Ascendant Unrest

by Matthew S. Cox

  “Sarah!” yelled the same man.

  Maya looked back across four lanes of traffic and down two-ish blocks on the cross street.

  Pope shoved his way through the crowd toward them.

  “Aaaaaah!” screamed Maya. Her throat closed up. Unable to speak, she bawled like a three-year-old and pointed at him. “Saaaaaah!”

  Sarah looked in that direction. “What? I don’t see―”

  Flashing red and blue lights exploded all around them as three Authority drones swooped in. The sea of drab grey ponchos around them burst apart, people fleeing in random directions. Sarah’s curtain-dress whipped in the downblast of fans, which threw Maya’s hair in her face.

  “Attention, juvenile females. You are hereby detained by order of the Authority. Place yourselves on the ground immediately with your arms and legs apart. You have four seconds for compliance or you will be shot.”

  Drone Two emitted a mutter barely audible over the fans. “Shot? Really, Jim? They’re kids.”

  Maya looked back toward where she’d seen Pope emerge from the crowd, but he didn’t seem to be anywhere. Had he ever been there?

  “Two seconds,” said Drone One.

  “Maya!” screamed Sarah from the ground.

  “Okay,” yelled Maya. She dove to the sidewalk, arms and legs open in an X.

  “Do not attempt to move,” crackled the electronic voice overhead. “Authority officers are on their way to collect you. Any attempt to resist or elude will result in lethal force.”

  Sarah, cheek to the concrete, stared at her, shaking so hard she seemed likely to pass out from terror.

  “It’ll be okay,” said Maya. “We didn’t do anything.”

  “You are not authorized to speak,” said the drone.

  Maya fumed inside, hoping that bitch in white wasn’t close enough to see them. No pedestrians came anywhere near the area, giving the drones a good half-block distance. Fans blasted them with a continuous buffeting of air; Maya closed her eyes to keep sand out of them.

  After hugging sidewalk for a minute or two, the crunch of rubber tires rolled to a halt so close she risked lifting her head to look, fearing the car would run her over. The blue-and-white marked Authority patrol vehicle had come to a stop by the curb not too far from her left foot.

  The driver’s door opened with a hiss and blast of fog. A blueberry climbed out, his attention on his left forearm while he poked at an armor-mounted terminal pad. The three drones stopped leaning forward at the girls and leveled off, their .50 cal machine guns resetting to neutral as they hovered a little higher, lessening the windblast. He walked around the nose end of the car, visor up exposing a thirty-something face with a light brown goatee.

  “For f―lying out loud. What the—” He put his hands on his hips. “All right you two, get up.”

  Maya gathered herself into a squat and eased her way standing, careful not to move too fast. “I think my father is over there…” She again scanned the flow of people across the street, but Pope had vanished. Sarah took a little longer to risk moving, but obeyed. As soon as she got on her feet, she clung to Maya from behind.

  “Where?” asked the blueberry, glancing in the same direction.

  “Umm. I thought I saw him by that bus stop.” She squeezed Sarah’s hand. “Did you see him?”

  Sarah shook her head.

  “He had to be there. I saw him.” I’m not seeing ghosts.

  “Why would your father be there one minute and gone now?” asked the blueberry.

  Maya shivered. “I… guess I didn’t really see him. Must have been someone who looked like him.”

  “Do you live nearby?” asked the blueberry.

  “No. We’re from the Hab.” Maya pointed.

  “So you’re out here alone? No parents?”

  “I…” Maya wrapped her arms around herself. “We’re alone.”

  “All right.” The blueberry opened the back door of the car. “Get in.”

  Maya stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds that he hadn’t put her in binders. Without a word, she bowed her head and crawled into the patrol car’s back seat. Sarah followed, refusing to let go of her hand.

  The blueberry shut the door, not quite slamming it, and walked back around the front end, shaking his head. Maya huddled against Sarah, eyeing the heavy-duty steel mesh over the window separating the front from the back. As far as she knew, the Authority had no law banning poor people from any specific area in the Sanc. Granted, if they wanted to be assholes, which often proved to be the case, they could charge Sarah with assaulting that woman. As the drive jostled them about, she weighed the benefits and shortcomings of claiming Sarah just tripped trying to get away from the aggressive snob versus being honest and saying the bitch deserved it.

  Sarah looked like a ghost. That she appeared noticeably paler got Maya worried.

  “Hey. Don’t be scared.”

  The ‘we’re so screwed’ glare Sarah shot back at her proved she’d lost any hope of seeing tomorrow alive.

  Maya alternated from trembling in fear to feeling sick to her stomach as the car drove on. If Pope had really been there, why would he have just left them? Did he fear being spotted by the Authority after talking to the Brigade? Had he really been scouring the Sanc for them? How unlikely could the odds be that they ran across each other like that? Sarah hadn’t seen him, and for him to disappear after such an improbable meeting didn’t bode well. Maybe he knew where the Authority would take them and planned to be there waiting?

  Several minutes later, they arrived at a five-story precinct building. The blueberry pulled down a ramp into an underground parking area bathed in yellow-saturated light. A black security gate closed behind the car at the bottom, dashing any hope of possibly fleeing on foot once they’d been let out of the car. He steered into a parking spot among a row of a dozen other patrol cars, stopping by a white-painted wall. The main entrance stood a short distance away, a pair of sliding doors protected by reinforced armored panels.

  After powering down the car, the blueberry got out and opened the driver side rear door.

  Maya scooted to the edge of the seat and slid to her feet. Sarah, still shaking, stumbled after her. The blueberry put a hand on her back, guiding her across a section of smooth concrete to the entrance. They walked over a long rubberized strip and into a chilly room with a tall desk. A grey-haired woman in a blue uniform behind it gave the girls a passing look of disinterest before returning to what she’d been reading.

  Their blueberry prodded them down a featureless grey corridor and around a corner to another stretch of hall lined with plain, identical blue doors. He steered them to the third room on the left, which contained a steel table and four chairs. The inner wall opposite the door had a huge mirror that showed off every bit of how filthy they’d gotten. Sarah looked grungier since her dress had once been white (albeit yellowed). Maya’s black shirt and pants didn’t show off the grime as much.

  “Have a seat, girls,” said the blueberry. He pulled his helmet off and set it on a shelf by the door before ruffling his hand back and forth over his hair. “Unbelievable. Who sicced a pack of drones on a pair of little kids? You two sit still and stay in this room.”

  Maya walked around the corner of the table and took the farther seat. Sarah sat on the edge of the other chair as if afraid to touch it.

  The blueberry walked out, closing the door behind him.

  Sarah grabbed Maya’s hand in both of hers. “I’m scared.”

  “This is weird. Isn’t it?”

  “What?” She bit her lip.

  Maya gestured at her. “They didn’t put cuffs on us. They haven’t shoved us around or hit us. He hasn’t even yelled.” She looked at the mirror, fully expecting it to be a window for an observation room. They always had one of those in the movies. “He even looked annoyed that someone sent drones after us.”

  “Umm.” Sarah fidgeted, her toes whitening as they tried to grip the floor. “I dunno. I’m too scared to think. I c
an’t believe they haven’t recognized you.”

  “Maybe I’m a non-person now.” She folded her hands in her lap and couldn’t quite bring herself to care at all what happened to her.

  Watching Genna die had done something deep inside she never expected. Now she understood how the woman could’ve stood at the edge of the wall, staring down fifty stories at certain death and not been afraid. Maya didn’t feel inclined to take that jump yet, but the concept of it had gone from ridiculous to almost reasonable. How Maya felt had to be a mere shadow of what Genna had suffered at the loss of Sam. Her mood spiraled downward over a few minutes of silence while Sarah shivered beside her. Once or twice, Sarah almost threw up, but managed to hold it in.

  The door opened, and the same blueberry walked in carrying a tray that he slid onto the table in front of them. Maya blinked in disbelief at two plates, each with a sandwich and a little carton of milk. After nudging the door closed again, the blueberry dropped into the chair opposite them.

  “Good afternoon, kids. I’m Officer West, but you can call me Mark.”

  Sarah gave the food a ‘yeah right’ stare.

  “Thank you.” Maya picked hers up and sniffed it. Peanut butter and jelly. She took a bite.

  “It’s fresh,” said Mark, a hint of a smile on his lips.

  Maya finished chewing, swallowed, and licked the roof of her mouth. “I wanted to know what it was so I didn’t expect cheese and get sweet.”

  He chuckled and nudged the plate closer to Sarah. “Go on, eat. It’s okay.”

  She took the sandwich and nibbled at the crust.

  “Some bad people dressed up like Authority officers abused her. She’s afraid.” The two bites Maya ate reawakened her hunger, and she chomped a huge mouthful.

  “People impersonated the law?” Mark raised an eyebrow.

  Maya held up a finger while she hurried to chew the sticky peanut butter. Glugging a mouthful of milk gave her back the ability to talk. “The ones Ascendant bought.”

  “Oh…” He shook his head. “Well, you two aren’t in trouble just yet. Why don’t you go on and tell me how you wound up out there all alone.”

  “I thought you arrested us because of that awful woman.” Maya bit her lip, hoping truth would work in her favor.

  “Well, we did receive a report of vandalism, involving suspects fitting your descriptions. Another unit responded but couldn’t locate any evidence of vandalism. A few witnesses said this woman tried to grab your friend here and drag you out of the park. Got her outfit all smudged up.”

  Sarah’s head snapped up, eyes huge. “Umm… what?”

  “I had a feeling.” Mark shook his head, then chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Ed fined her for filing a false report. Even if you didn’t, uhh, decorate her jacket, it’s not a violation for the non-wealthy to be in the park.”

  Sarah took a real bite.

  “We live in the Habitation District, Block 13. Some men dressed as workers kidnapped us and brought us to… a hotel I think. A man was going to kill me with a needle. My mom found us and tried to save me, but—” Maya choked up.

  “You’re safe now.” Officer West tapped at the screen of a data pad. “No one’s going to hurt you. It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it just yet.”

  She put a hand over her mouth to help fight back tears, breathing through her nose. Sarah’s expression had hardened to a distrustful glower as soon as he said ‘no one’s going to hurt you.’ She remained defiant, though continued to tremble.

  “I can talk about it.” Maya closed her eyes and tried to tell herself this blueberry actually cared.

  “All right. You said a man with a needle tried to kill you?”

  “Yes.” Maya, in a quiet monotone, explained everything from the workers barging into the apartment to their waking up in a strange hotel room. She left out Ruiz scanning her to make sure she wasn’t an android.

  “This man. What did he look like?” A small blue light from the data pad screen glimmered on the contours of his armor, wavering in time with his voice as if reacting to the sound.

  Maya bit her lip. “Does it matter if he’s dead? You don’t have to arrest him.”

  “You think he’s dead?” asked West.

  “Yes. I saw him get shot. He almost fell on me.”

  West raised an eyebrow. “Who shot him?”

  “I’m not sure exactly. They fired through the windows from outside. More men in armor. It looked like Ascendant security, but I don’t know why they’d care about me. My mom was right outside trying to save us, but the other men kidnapped me again… and they shot her.” She leaned forward, gripping the table. Wide, pleading eyes leaked tears down her face. “Please, did you find her? Is she okay?”

  “I’m sorry. I do see a few incidents in the system at hotels recently involving gunfire. But I wasn’t on the scene. It looks like the Authority recovered a number of bodies at two of them, but I’ll need to check with whoever got the dispatch for any specific identification.”

  Sarah finished off her sandwich, then glugged down her milk in one pass.

  “What are you going to do with us?” asked Maya. “I’m sorry for yelling at that woman, but she was being so mean to us.”

  “Probably drive us back to the Hab and leave us in the street,” muttered Sarah.

  Maya hung her head. “That’s okay. Maybe Zoe an’ Doc will take us in.”

  “Do you have any other family?” asked Officer West.

  “Her father’s in the VA hospital… Umm, Bill?” Maya glanced at Sarah, hand grasping the air as if trying to pluck a word from a tree.

  “Sergeant William Hawthorne,” said Sarah, her voice wavering. “He’s got a prosthetic right arm, a cheap one. He’s in the VA hospital now. I think. Unless they lied to us and he’s dead.”

  Maya put an arm around Sarah’s back and squeezed her.

  Officer West nodded, tapping at the data pad screen again. “That it?”

  “My mother’s name is Genna.” Maya wiped at her face. “Maybe was.”

  “What’s your last name?” West glanced between them. “Sarah Hawthorne, and you are?”

  Sarah’s eyes bulged.

  “Maya. We don’t use last names. Just Genna and Maya.”

  “Why do you think that man wanted to hurt you?” Officer West sounded sympathetic but also skeptical.

  “I’m sorry. You’re asking a nine-year-old why some creep in a Mario Scarpani suit wanted to kidnap and kill her.” Maya fidgeted.

  Officer West reached over and gave her shoulder a pat. “I think I’m speaking with a very mature and intelligent little girl who’s not quite showing her whole hand. How many nine-year-olds would recognize a Scarpani?”

  I am a shitty liar. “I guess you know who I am.”

  “Well, your face was on every TV screen in Baltimore not too long ago.” He chuckled. “You’re even wearing the same outfit.”

  Maya stared into her lap. “I only have one outfit.”

  “Why do you think they tried to hurt you?” asked Officer West.

  “The men who abducted me thought they can take over Ascendant if they kill Vanessa, but I’m still somehow in the way. He said they have to kill me first because of her will. Those men are dead, but they were only hired thugs.”

  He nodded. “All right. I need to go file this report. You two still hungry? Want more food?”

  “Yes, please,” said Maya.

  Sarah nodded.

  “All right. Be back in a little bit.” Officer West walked out, carrying his data pad.

  As soon as the door shut, Sarah pulled her feet up on the chair, wrapped her arms around her legs, and cried.

  Maya leaned close. “I don’t think he’s trying to trick us. If they were going to be mean, they wouldn’t be letting us eat.”

  Still shaking, she lifted her head from her knees and met Maya’s stare. “This is so weird. Why aren’t they being assholes?”

  “I dunno.” Maya plucked at Sarah’s curtain-dress. A
safety pin fell to the floor with a soft click. “Maybe because you look sad and forlorn, and I’m just that cute.”

  Sarah gave her a raspberry.

  A giggle fit lasted only a few seconds. Maya held her friend’s hand and gazed at the door, wondering how long they’d be stuck in a locked room.

  20

  Three Options

  Maya sat in silence, swishing her legs back and forth while frowning at her bare feet. Before true anger took hold, she sighed at Sarah. Her best friend had never owned shoes at all. Being angry at the inconvenience of leaving hers behind at the apartment made her feel snobbish and spoiled, like the woman who’d caused trouble at the park.

  Faint gurgling emanated from Sarah’s stomach, alarmingly loud in the stillness.

  When it happened again a few seconds later, Maya snickered. Her stomach emitted a similar noise. Sarah managed a flimsy smile but no laugh could break past her terror.

  “I don’t think they’re going to hurt us,” whispered Maya.

  Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but clamped it shut at the approach of footsteps outside.

  A woman in a blue uniform rather than armor entered. She introduced herself as Officer Harris while giving them each another PBJ and a small milk carton. Once the girls started eating, she asked a few of the same questions all over again: where they lived, names, ages, relatives, and eventually if they’d been injured, touched inappropriately, or made to do anything they didn’t want to.

  “No.” Maya shook her head and re-told everything from the fake workers knocking them out with chloroform-soaked rags to being chased down by armed drones.

  Officer Harris took notes while Maya spoke. Upon finishing her questions, the woman gave them a warm smile and left.

  Maya looked around at the featureless white walls. She spent a while staring at the mirror, wondering if someone watched them in hopes of catching them saying something that would get them in trouble when they thought no one could hear. Maybe they suspected Maya knew about the Brigade, and that’s why Pope disappeared. But that didn’t make too much sense either. He’d only just met with them; the Authority couldn’t possibly have known of his association.