“NO!” Moke screamed as he looked up from where he had taken cover. His eyes burned as he gazed upon the human bonfire Jacob had become. With what seemed to be a desperate act caused by the pain of being burned alive, the gaunt man leapt out of the window.
Moke jumped up and ran to the window just in time to witness the horrifying sight of Jacob ablaze and growing exponentially smaller as he fell nearly six hundred stories. Moke’s heart raced as he saw how Jacob appeared almost like a falling star in the glow of the evening’s setting sun. He looked away just in time to spare himself the sight of the young man hitting the street below, but soon realized that he was looking at something even worse.
The numbers on the monitor read 2,342, 778…2,342,779…2,342,780…2,342,781…
Moke’s heart skipped a beat, as he realized that nearly one third of the population of Ailana, had been able to tune in with their monitors, to see what had happened here tonight.
Location: 110th floor of the Hakukai Housing and Shopper’s Paradise.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1715 Hours.
“Did you see that?!” The voice cried out from the tiny cranial speaker into Van Dien’s ear that was eager to receive any sort of information. “The guy torched himself! Where did he get that thing?!”
Van Dien was alone in the drab hallway. He walked with intent while he viewed the monitor, which was implanted into a contact lens in his left eye. The picture quality of the monitor was excellent, and Van Dien could see the look of utter disbelief, that was now on Moke’s face. Van Dien clicked to another channel, by blinking his eye. He smiled as he saw Audrey and Jack walk into the room. A feeling of complete satisfaction came over him as he saw how they grabbed Moke by his arms and led him out into the hallway. He blinked his eyes and inhaled deeply when the three of them were out of his sight.
“This was a D-Squad mission, eh?” Van Dien chuckled as he realized that Moke Kalapana was soon going to be in big trouble for this. He thought about the advantage this event had given him since his adversary in the Ailanian CIA was now going to be too busy covering his tracks to get in the way of his plan. Van Dien grinned as he thought about how his men would be able to ransack the apartment and secretly take whatever he wanted them to. This was an opportunity he had been waiting months for.
“Move in,” Van Dien said into his com. He smiled as he blinked his eye again and saw a group of about a dozen men, dressed in black, baggy, jumpsuits entering the apartment. The uniformed men were also wearing black helmets with opaque facemasks. They looked like a swarm of faceless jungle ants as they walked into the room and secured the area.
“Shut it down. Confiscate the computer equipment. Confiscate everything. I’ll contact someone about getting the monitor channels switched back to that lovely television show with the celebrity dancing contest that everyone on this planet loves so much. It will be a matter of moments before the general populace stops thinking and talking about what they saw here tonight,” Van Dien said in a calm, baritone voice. He watched the spectacle without emotion. “Problem solved…for now.”
Van Dien closed down the viewer file in his cranial computer. He reached into his black suit jacket and pulled out his com. He dialed a few numbers and put it up to his ear.
“Yes?” The voice on the other end said.
Van Dien said calmly, “Jacob Colombe is dead. And as I understand it, we have another set of problems to deal with. I just received word that the Jonez Boys have been spotted in Polynea.”
The voice sounded worried, “What are they doing here?”
Van Dien said, “I don’t know the answer to that yet, but please ensure that the morgue at the HanaPaloiFederalBuilding…is well staffed. Things could start to get real messy around here real soon.”
Just as Van Dien hung up, the com began to ring angrily. He answered without any sort of expression on his face. The person on the other end was fuming. “Did you find out anything else about that computer hacker the CIA was looking for?”
“You’re obviously out of the loop,” Van Dien thought as he calmly replied, “He’s been taken care of. I will soon have my people looking into the computer equipment we just confiscated from him. It might take some time to decipher his codes and programming languages…but I assure you, we will find out what we need to know. Just be patient.”
“And what about Captain Kalapana? I heard that he might be a problem for us.”
Van Dien smiled as he said, “As of this very moment, I can assure you, that Captain Moke Kalapana is now locked into a mental struggle that he cannot escape. His conscious is waging a war within him…and I can tell that he is beginning to buckle from the pressure.”
“What is his story? Is he on our side or not?”
“Captain Kalapana is not comfortable with the man he has become. He is a man who has been trying to run from his past for a very long time. And now, because the Ailanian government wishes to rid this planet of some very dangerous criminals, with the use of some extreme force, Kalapana is now locked in a personal dilemma, because he knows that the sins of his past are rapidly catching up with him. He is a man whose life is a complete and total lie. Kalapana has worked very hard to keep his former life a secret, so that he can keep living the lie, which allows him to continue living his current life. But now, the pressure he is under has just become all that more intense, because the one person, who he fears could expose him for what he truly is, happens to be on a spaceship heading towards Ailana.”
“What do you mean?”
Van Dien felt a bit irritated as he said, “The fact of the matter is…I have simply started the ball rolling and how it rolls and bounces from here is, to a degree, out of my hands. We just have to sit back and observe what happens next…and react to it in a logical fashion. I have to leave you for now…I cannot keep my eye on Kalapana, or anyone else on this planet for very long, I am very busy…and have a number of important things to attend to…so if you please, just relax and enjoy the show. I’ll let you know how things are progressing on a need to know basis only.”
“Where are you going?”
Van Dien hissed and said, “At the moment, I will need to convince some people in the Ailanian government that my plan is in their best interests, and they will not want anything to do with it if they catch me speaking with you. So please, do not call me again. I mean it.”
Van Dien stepped onto an elevator lift and proceeded to enjoy a bit of quiet music as the elevator raced towards the ground level. Five seconds later, he stepped out into a parking garage and took a few more casual steps until he came upon a small, black hovercar. The silence around him made the striking sound of his lighter echo down the dark corridors of the garage. He barely had a few moments to enjoy his cigarette before he heard some rapid footfalls. A sinister grin crossed his lips as saw a blonde, human woman and a green-skinned, Hokupi man emerge from the darkness. Despite the fact the two people were dressed in street clothes, it was obvious to Van Dien who they were.
Van Dien exhaled a large cloud of smoke and gave them a cold, yet friendly look as he said, “Good evening, Agent Winters and Agent Bauman. Hell of a night you folks are having, eh?”
“Who are you?” Jack said as he nervously ran his fingers through his stylish, purple hair.
Van Dien produced a black, leather wallet. With a flick of his wrist, he showed them a shiny, gold badge and a digital identification card. He then proceeded to lie, “I’m with the Earth Central Intelligence Agency, and I’m here to inform you that the man you tried to arrest tonight…is wanted on Earth in connection for a computer hacking crime that might have led to the theft of some government property.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Audrey said defiantly, as she realized there was something about this white haired man that made her very uncomfortable. “We cannot talk right now, we are on our way to the hospital…one of our team members has been injured.”
Jac
k tried not to make eye contact with the white haired man in the black business suit.
Van Dien looked at Jack and said, “Any sort of information would be helpful.”
Jack averted his eyes as he walked to the driver’s side door. He opened it quickly as Audrey jumped into the hover car and shouted, “Jack! Let’s go!”
“Jack,” Van Dien said with a coy tone. “I believe you know all too well that you will soon have to make a decision about whose side you are really on here…the politics are getting complicated on your planet and you need to be sure to impress the right people in this business. Your career could depend on it.”
Jack paused for a moment as he slowly lifted his head and looked at the man standing before him.
Van Dien exhaled some smoke and said, “I can help you both, that’s why I came to you first. You are both Assistant Directors in the Ailanian CIA…you both command scores of agents and answer directly to Kalapana. Any information that you may have, would be useful, but of course, I know this sort of thing goes both ways…I might have some information that could be very helpful to both of you. Earth is going to have to get involved with your investigation sooner or later, let’s make a deal, shall we?”
Jack took a quick breath and said, “Maybe we’ll call you.”
Van Dien grinned and said, “I’ll be available, anytime.”
He began walking away as the shiny, black car sped off. Van Dien reached into his pocket and took out his com. He dialed quickly and made sure that no one was around as he said, “And now we have to start accounting for the other members of this little revolution. Find them! I shall see to it that they suffer for what they have done to this world I was sworn to protect!”
Location: The West End Club…Red Light District…Polynea, the Capital City of Ailana.
Ailanian Standard Time: 2215 Hours.
Andrea Halaku’s hands quivered as she bit on her bottom lip. Her chest hurt from her pounding heart and she squirmed as she sat in the dimly lit booth. His words and voice still echoed in her memory.
“What we have here is a failure to communicate. What we have here is a failure to understand that we live under the heels of tyrants! While the leaders of this planet claim to champion democracy…they use it as a smokescreen to hide the fact that we, the common people, are being crushed by the tyranny of democracy! In a democracy the majority rules…and those words can only have one true meaning. We are subject to the will of our fellow man! What does this mean? It means that if our ideas are different, then our ideas must be crushed so that those who hold the most popular idea may have power over those who disagree! And if a small group of corrupt people can somehow convince the majority of our fellow Ailanians to disagree with us…then those in the majority have the right to shackle and chain us…even if their logic and beliefs are wrong and misguided! When the majority will not compromise they subject us to their will…make no mistake about my fellow brothers and sisters in arms…our so called, democracy, has made us second hand citizens! Our so called, democracy, has made us slaves!”
She felt on edge, like a soldier peering into enemy territory, waiting for the laser blasts to streak out of the darkness. She felt the sweat working its way down her brow as she used her fingertips to move her purple hair away from her green-skinned face. As she looked around the noisy bar, she noticed how the people, who were drinking their fill around her, didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
“They don’t understand what is really happening…thanks to the drugs and television shows…no one knows what is really happening on Ailana… ” She felt her heart pounding its way out of her chest, while a recent memory burned within her mind. She gasped as she recalled walking into the room, where she was supposed to meet her co-conspirators. Her jaw tensed up as she remembered how the carpet was soaked in blood. She held back the tears as she remembered the screams she had let out when she saw her friends’ mutilated bodies and slit throats.
“Andrea?”
She gasped as she realized that the Balguran man, sitting next to her, had nudged her with his elbow. She looked to her left and noticed how the three young, Ailanian men, who were sitting next to her, appeared nervous.
The Balguran squirmed in the seat beside her. His voice was anxious as he said, “I don’t like this Andrea. Where are they? They are coming, right?”
“Easy Tango,” Andrea hissed at him. “Just relax…they will be here.”
The Bontune man sitting next to Tango said, “I say we give em’ five more minutes. We can’t all be exposed in the open like this. Who knows what could happen to us now. I just saw the news on a monitor in the bathroom. All your friends, who were killed in that apartment…the media already started reporting them as being tied to a drug gang…we’re not only being hunted, we’re being discredited…labeled as loonies and criminals so no one will care that we’re gone.”
The other Bontune man lightly kicked his friend’s foot under the table and said, “Just relax…everyone just relax…I say we don’t do anything until we understand the whole situation.”
“The situation?” Tango said in a nearly panicked voice. “The situation is we all received those little monitors…we all saw his face…we all heard the warning he was giving us…the situation is that there are very few of us left alive because we ignored those warnings. So now what do we do?”
She hissed at them, “We wait for them to show up…that’s an order.”
The booth they were sitting in was large and tucked away in a corner of the bar’s main floor. Its isolated location made it hard for the waitresses to get to. Service on this busy night was hard to come by, which suited all of them very well since they were in trouble and needed to hide themselves.
Lights flashed from the dance floor. Strange faces in the crowd seemed to gaze menacingly at them. A strange woman’s high pitched laugher nearly made their hearts explode when a young couple walked out of the crowd. Andrea felt her jaw muscles clenching when the young, Bontune woman seemed to appear out of nowhere with a young, Hokupi man in tow. The two new-comers gave the four Ailanians in the booth anxious glances as they grabbed chairs and sat down.
Andrea breathed a sigh of relief once she realized who it was. “Wallace, Ignesia…it’s you…”
The young, Bontune woman seemed very anxious as she quickly slipped a computer disc into Andrea’s hand and said, “I’m so sorry we’re late…something terrible and completely unforeseen happened tonight.”
Andrea took the disc and patted the Bontune woman’s hand as she said, “Ignesia…we are all so sorry for what happened to your friends. We also heard about what Jacob did.”
Tango said, “The bloody fool…now things will become very difficult. We are all going to have to lay low for a while. The disc you have given us tonight should be able to provide us with what we need. However, we can no longer risk meeting in public like this.”
Ignesia’s large Bontune eyes looked hurt as she said, “Why?”
Andrea’s eyes were full of sorrow as she said, “Ignesia…Wallace…we’ve got some bad news. We’ve just received word…it’s about your archeologist friends…the two fellows you knew through your science institute…they were overdue for the rendezvous with our contacts. We need to assume that they’ve been captured…or worse.”
Ignesia’s face became pale with fright as she said, “Was it…the man in black?”
“We don’t know,” Andrea said. “We were all warned about him…but we don’t know if he really exists or not. All we can do is move forward with our plan and hope for the best…”
“Holy shit…” Wallace thought as he felt his heart racing. His mind began doing backflips as he contemplated what he had gotten himself into. “This is bad…very bad…this is crazy!”
Tango looked his friend in the eye and said, “We want to thank you, Wallace…stealing that information from your lab took guts on your part…but we sho
uld be able to do the rest without you. Something terrible is about to happen on Ailana…and the sooner we get this information to someone we can trust…the better. We think this might just be the reason why our boss, Dr. DeWolf Miller, is dead…we think he might have discovered a top-secret plan known as the Prisoners of Paradise.”
“Yes!” Wallace’s voice was full of fright as he said, “Jacob mentioned such a plan. Who are these Prisoners of Paradise?”
Andrea said frantically, “We don’t know, but that is what we must find out. The Prisoners of Paradise was the thing that Jacob was trying to uncover…it was what drove him to madness. And now, our group has been labeled as radicals…and even though we have little credibility left with the public and cannot trust anyone in the government…we have to get the word out and try to stop this thing before it is too late!”
Ignesia looked like she was almost ready to cry as she said, “but is it true what they say…about the man in black? Is it true that you get one warning…and then he comes after you?”
“We don’t know Ignesia,” Andrea said softly, “we can’t say for sure what caused their deaths…we don’t know if it was him or not…but we can’t let this fear of the man in black stop us. What we are doing is too important!”
At the other end of the club, Marco Giraudoux used the backs of his fingers to flip his long, auburn hair back behind his shoulders. He ran his left hand over his goatee beard and smiled at the bald man, who sat across the table from him.
Marco loved this place because it was large and was usually packed with a lot of people. The naked women, posing on the various stages around the three dance floors, provided a large, distracted crowd of people to hide among. For even more privacy, the club had flashing disco lights and interactive holographic monitors. These devices made the area, where he liked to meet his clients, dark enough so that he could duck down inside the booth and make deals without anyone realizing he was hiding in plain sight.
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