Prisoners of Paradise

by Brandon Lars Erikson

  With the voice of a true believer, Audrey said, “Moke, you have not lost your ability to protect people. You are going to have many more chances to protect your people from harm. Think of all the people you’ll be protecting by declaring war on the Ailanian drug cartels. Moke, I know you are upset about Jacob, he had a good point, but he was a radical! Thinking the way he did would never be able to change anything for the better. Forget about him. Let’s concentrate on our part in Operation Shade, which is going to make Ailana free of the influence of drug kingpins, who manufacture Cutz and peddle it to our people, enslaving them in addiction. Come on Moke cheer up! Tell me about your friend, Captain Ronald James Harris, the soldier from Earth who is coming to Ailana. Don’t you think it’s great that he’s coming here to help us fight the bad guys? Aren’t you looking forward to seeing him again? Aren’t you looking forward to seeing some real bad people get what’s coming to them?”

  Moke felt as if the world was spinning beneath him and he was floating farther and farther away from it.

  “Not especially,” he said with remorse in his voice.

  “Why? Wouldn’t it be great to see an old friend again and dispense justice with him?”

  Moke felt his breathing come to an abrupt stop. He felt as if there were knives in his chest as his palms began to sweat. He heard a voice from the past cutting into his thoughts like a laser beam.

  “So Moke…what happened to your friend, Harris? Was that his name? Harris?”

  There was a bit of silence as Moke remembered how a stern voice had once said to him, “Ronald Harris…he was a bad boy…and he got what was coming to him. He got sent away. Far away…and he won’t be coming back. He got what he deserved, didn’t he? And soon…you’ll be getting what you deserve.”

  After a bit of silence, Moke remembered how he had put a great deal of thought into what he was going to say next. “Justice was served.”

  He heard her soft voice, “don’t you want to see your old friend?”

  “Audrey,” Moke sighed, wishing he didn’t have to explain something that he really wanted to keep a secret, something, that he felt must be kept a secret. His thoughts were a silent panic, “I’m committing treason against the Ailanian government…and I believe that they might have ordered Captain Ronald James Harris, a man who was once my dear friend, to come back home to Ailana…and kill me.”

  Moke paused to catch his breath. He allowed his mind to clear before he said, in a melancholy tone, “It’s been over ten years since Captain Harris and I last spoke or saw each other.” He paused to stare at the moon beams bouncing off the ocean as the pangs of guilt worked their way through his aching mind and body. “I doubt that he thinks much about me anymore…at least I hope he doesn’t.”

  “What do you mean by that? Wasn’t he your best friend when you were growing up?”

  Moke sighed and said, “That was so long ago. We were different people then. Something happened…and we ended up not speaking to each other…and then before we knew it, we were both off to fulfill our destinies. We set aside our childish ways and set upon the roads we needed to follow to become the men we are today. No one stays friends forever Agent Winters. People move away. People drift apart. We grew up on a Military base together. When people moved away, it was just a part of life. Never seeing someone ever again was just the way things were. We all thought like that. I’m sure he thinks like that too. So why would a reunion between us, make any difference?”

  “But you knew this guy since you were five years old,” Audrey said in a caring tone. “You two did everything together, I saw all those pictures…you went to school together, you went to the beach and would go surfing together. He lived with your family after his parents died…you two were practically brothers since you were young kids. I don’t think ten years of separation can erase well over ten years of good memories and feelings from a solidly forged friendship.”

  “I think it could.”

  Audrey felt her curiosity growing as she said, “What do you mean?”

  His voice was gruff and annoyed as he said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She kept prying, “come on, Moke. I know you are harboring a lot of pain right now, and I just know that Ronald Harris is part of that pain…so please…tell me why.”

  Moke said, “Let’s just say that Ronald Harris used to be a good friend of mine, a very good friend. And the reason why he is where he is today…and doing what he is doing right now, is because of me…and something I did a long time ago.”

  “So what’s really troubling you about him?”

  Moke paused and felt his mind going numb as he took a deep, contemplative breath. And in a soft, almost cathartic tone, he said, “I just hope he can forgive me for what I have done.”

  Location: A Penthouse in Uptown Polynea.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 2315 Hours.

  Cigar smoke permeated the room as a small group of rich, well-dressed men and some Ailanian High Senators watched a large monitor while footage of Keiki Karatau’s earlier campaign speech played on the late night news channel. Karatau was an older Hokupi gentleman with streaks of white running through his shiny, purple hair. He looked handsome and regal as he said, “for far too long, the Ailanian economy has sunk into despair, and the richest people involved with its biggest corporations have profited from the Ailanian government’s corporate welfare system. And even though these corporations continue to take money from our government’s coffers, in the form of tax breaks and bailouts, they continue to lay off workers, while the High Senators in charge of it all, still get re-elected despite the fact that the broken system, which they have implemented, has proven to be a failure…”

  An old, Bontune High Senator turned down the volume and looked around the room at the other Elite men and High Senators, who appeared to have solemn looks on their faces. After taking a puff from his cigar, the wrinkled High Senator said, “and this is just the beginning…it appears that Liberal candidates, like Keiki Karatau, are gaining popularity and political strength…while we continue to defend and support the unpopular likes of High Senator Klunka, along with scoundrels like High Senators Glik and Semnor, because we have no other choice in the matter.”

  Another High Senator said softly, “I agree with you, High Senator Brawnsworth. It appears as if our ability to hold onto power, is becoming questionable.”

  The old, Bontune High Senator said, “And might I warn you, gentlemen…this power, which we cling to, is important for many reasons which we cannot discuss or even question. For many years we have been able to follow the leadership of Wram Karamotzain, our Majority Whip in the High Senate, and we could trust that men such as High Senators Klunka, Glik and Semnor would remain popular because they appeared to protect the ideology of respected Moralist leaders like High Senator Ulu Jinkua. The Moralist voters adore Ulu for her ability to keep Ailanian morality in the spotlight of our cause. However, times seem to be changing…and as we enter this new era…we are facing new challenges to our power. We must keep in mind, gentlemen, that we have been appointed leaders of this planet, because we took an oath to serve an even higher power…if you know what I mean.”

  Another man spoke from the darkness, “and is our devotion, to this higher power, becoming an issue we must worry about?”

  “Yes…I believe so,” High Senator Brawnsworth said as his wrinkled, Bontune face began to appear worried. “That is why I believe we must now reach out to The Clandestine One, who entrusted us with this power…and join in a plan, which one of his agents has crafted…in order to keep our power.”

  The room became deathly silent for a few moments as the men contemplated his last statement. Muffled discussions and mumblings soon broke the silence as Brawnsworth held up his hand and said, “Gentlemen…I believe we all knew it could potentially come to this.”

  A voice said, “But High Senator Brawnsworth, we were supposed to be a
ble to run this planet without such assistance…and the fact that we need to convince the Aurorians to invest in our economy in order to save it…how does this make us look?”

  A handsome, Elite businessman in a blue suit said, “this plan could force exactly what we need to happen…the Aurorian Economic Revampment Program, which our allies have offered to us… is not in the bag just yet.”

  Another High Senator stated loudly, “and don’t forget how incredibly difficult it will be to adopt their economic agenda, to fit our needs, since the Aurorians are sending Chezui Banka, who just happens to be one of the most honest and respected Ambassadors in The Alliance…the man can’t be bought, he can’t be bribed or even made an example of!”

  A worried High Senator said, “Ambassador Banka’s honesty and willingness to serve the common good instead of our interests is just one of our worries. Right now, our biggest problems are with Liberals like Karatau…not to mention that we have an online resistance movement supporting his cause and undermining our efforts to lead the people of this planet as we have deemed necessary…it is because of this, we need this plan to work.”

  Another rich man said, “High Senator Brawnsworth…will this plan allow us to rid ourselves of all these obstacles and problems we have been coming across lately? Will it allow us to deal with the fact that we could lose our majority in the High Senate, all because some radicals are flooding the Internet with propaganda that our own CIA is allowing to happen?”

  Brawnsworth calmly said, “If we do this…our problems will be one step closer to being solved. However, no one must discover what we have gotten ourselves involved with. We are about to sell our souls, gentlemen…and someday, there might be consequences for doing so.”

  “Even so, this must be done,” A voice said softly from the darkness. “All of those in favor of doing whatever it takes to keep what is rightfully ours, raise your hands to vote.”

  One by one, High Senator Brawnsworth could see hands being slowly raised. After the unanimous vote was cast, he sighed and said, “very well…I shall make the arrangements. We are about to enter a new era, gentlemen. And after this plan comes to fruition, a brave, new world will soon be given to us to lead and protect once again.”

  Brawnsworth looked towards the back of the room and nodded his head as a pair of bright, red lights appeared. The man in black stepped forth from the darkness like a demonic aberration. The Bontune High Senator swallowed his fear as he said, “Please, tell your boss…that we are all prepared to do what is necessary…and that we are all onboard. We all want to be included in his plan.”

  As the man in black buttoned his trench coat as he walked out of the room, a few moments of silence hung in the air as the well-dressed men contemplated what would have happened had they not raised their hands in agreement.

  Location: The Go-Go District…Downtown Polynea.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 0230 Hours.

  Wallace hunkered down in a booth that was located a few meters away from the main bar of one of the Go-Go district’s seedier clubs. He needed cover and he prayed that the loud music, flashing lights and multitudes of intoxicated people would hide him from the men in the black suits and ties that had taken away his friends. He had barely been able to sleep, and when he was able to, it was only for a couple of hours at a time as he pretended to be a bar patron passed out at the tables of the clubs where the party never seemed to end.

  As he sat there, drifting in and out of consciousness his memories were saturated with voices he had heard through his com over the last few days. “Wallace, dude! You are in some serious shit now man! I just went to your apartment…it’s been trashed! They must be looking for that data you stole!”

  “Wallace…you have to hide yourself! We can’t afford to lose you and let them find out what you know! Stay in the lower levels of the city…we’ll try to find you…we have people that can hide you, but you have to stay out of sight for now! We need you, Wallace! Don’t let them capture you!”

  Over the last few days, his sleep deprived mind tortured him with thoughts, “Oh my gods…what am I doing? This shouldn’t be happening to me! I’m University educated…I should be working in the lab. I should be doing what they tell me and collecting a nice paycheck for it…and now I’m broke, homeless and a fugitive all because I made a choice to be an individual. Why did I stand up for what is right? This might be too heavy of a price to pay for the freedom of my fellow Ailanians…oh gods…help me! Every time I look over my shoulder…I feel as if the men in black are staring at me…following me…watching my every move. This is too much for me to take! But I can’t let them do this…I can’t allow them to win…”

  Location: The Go-Go District…Downtown Polynea.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 0230 Hours.

  “Let me get this straight,” the frustrated voice said as it poured out of Van Dien’s com, “you know where he is and you refuse to go and get him. What about this missing data that could destroy our plan if it gets into the wrong hands? What are you going to do if he has access to it?”

  “They took the bait…along with the hook, the line and the sinker…” Van Dien thought as he cleared his throat and sat back in his comfortable limousine seat and said, “Have you ever played chess? You don’t knock over and destroy your opponents’ pawns and other pieces just to get them out of the way…there is a strategy to it.”

  “Well, we don’t like your strategy! It’s stupid to throw a fish back after you’ve caught him…”

  “And believe me,” Van Dien said as he forced himself to remain calm. “The idea is to make him believe that he is going mad…to make him question his own sanity…but you are not the first to object to my way of doing things.” Van Dien sighed as he hung up. The words coming from the other end of the com had triggered a memory he suddenly found himself being forced to deal with.

  The events in the memory had taken place years ago. He closed his eyes as he remembered how his small transport craft had landed on the ship. He nervously ran his tongue under his front teeth as he remembered how the bearded Captain seemed angry when he met him.

  “I told you…I warned you,” The Captain said, his nervous mouth quivering. “Your policies have upset the natural order of things…and now, we are going to have to own up to what we have done here.”

  Van Dien remembered looking around the ship and feeling furious as he saw the obvious signs of unproductivity. Quotas had not been met in months. He remembered seeing signs of discouragement on the faces of the crew members as he said to the Captain, “You will continue your assigned course of action. Your diligence has brought me what I need…but I still need more…”

  “There is no more! We have taken too much!” The Captain tried to keep the volume of his angry voice low as he said, “What we have done here is unforgivable…what we have done here was…”

  “Completely justifiable….”

  “That’s bullshit! Someday, someone is going to hold you accountable for what happened here!”

  “I know, but there are ways of keeping that day far, far in the future…”

  Van Dien felt his heart racing as he recalled looking out the window of his transport craft. He reflected upon how he felt relieved as he watched the ship explode, killing the Captain and every crew member on board instantaneously.

  “There are still people, who know what we really did to this world, in order to win the war so that this planet could someday be a paradise once again…and there are people, who know what I will have to do in order to make sure this planet stays a paradise…and soon, all the witnesses shall be silenced,” He thought as he shifted his weight and tried to get comfortable as he stared at his floating monitor, which had an image of the club where Wallace was hiding in plain sight, “but not just yet…”

  Van Dien felt his hand shaking as he reached into the inner breast pocket of his black suit coat. His fingertips quivered as he felt f
or his cigarette pack, desperate for some relief from the stress that was overtaking his mind. With his other hand, he pressed a few buttons on his remote control and the monitor flashed to a series of files, which he had recovered from Jacob Colombe’s computers. He pressed play and his hands shook as he pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips while the voice of a madman poured from the floating monitor.

  “I know we have the power to stop him, Wallace…we have the knowledge, we have the technical skills and we have people within our ranks, who are willing to pay the ultimate price for the freedom of their fellow Ailanians.” Van Dien felt his heart racing as his shaky hand retrieved his lighter. His eyes fixated on the spark, which wouldn’t light the flame as he heard Jacob saying, “this plan of ours…some people will condemn us as terrorists for it…some people will praise us for it and call us liberators…but in the end, it is only us who need understand what we are doing and why. Do you want to know what our plan is all about, Wallace? Well, you’ll just have to decide what real freedom means to you if you want to find out…but since you’re so curious and all, here’s what we plan on doing in a nutshell…”

  His lighter clicked loudly drowning out the sound of the monitor.

  Van Dien sighed as the flame finally appeared and lit the end of the cigarette. From the taped conversation on monitor, he could hear Wallace’s panic filled voice shouting, “NO! Are you people insane? You can’t do this!”

  “But this plan of mine, which you denounce as evil, is the only way to save Ailana from the inevitable destruction that is coming…and who are you to judge me? You vermin… you ingrates…I’ve only got one thing left to say to you…” Van Dien thought as he felt his hands stop shaking as the chemicals built up in his bloodstream and his ears filled with the words that he finally wanted to hear.