Bella watched as the officers in the police cordon surged towards him, but they were slowed by the movement of the crowd. She strained to see which direction the man and the reprieved priest were running and then, just for a moment, she caught sight of them. There was the holy man, running for his life, and beside him ran a man with a tattoo of a grinning skull on his head.
Chapter 9
"What's going on? How can that be Annabel Lee? She's dead, isn't she?" The words tumbled out as Solly untied Scott and helped him to his feet. Paulie had gone back outside to scan the corridor with Ross.
"Yes, she's dead. What you're hearing is the Annabel Lee avatar. Someone has let it escape into the network of this building."
"Is it like Al—"
Scott slapped his hand across Solly's mouth and shook his head.
"Ooh, did you nearly give away your big secret? Now, now, Scottie, time to confess to Momma. Best to get it all out in the open sooner rather than later."
Scott leaned in to whisper. "I don't know who you are, but please tell me you didn't bring it with you. Please, for the love of God, tell me you left it somewhere safe."
Solly gave a shrug and a shy smile.
"You can't be serious!" Scott hissed. "I knew she'd set up a trap, but I never imagined you'd walk into it with the prize in your backpack! You've handed the future of humanity to them on a plate."
"I was told to keep it on me at all times, not to entrust it to anyone until I'd handed it over to you. If I'd known what we were risking, I'd have left it and Ross at Arbroath to take their chances."
"We have to go, now!" Paulie called from the door.
Scott paused for a moment, as if weighing up their options. "There should be a helicopter on the roof. It's our only chance of getting out of here."
"You know how to fly it?"
One look at Lee's face answered that question.
"I've had a couple of goes," Lee said. "We don't have a choice."
"Why isn't this floor swarming with guards?" Solly said as they made their way to the door.
"She doesn't dare come in too heavy handed - she doesn't know what we've got, only that she wants it. And, anyway, I think most of the Lee Corp security personnel are working with the militia."
Paulie's face dropped when Solly mentioned the 'copter on the roof.
"Seriously? That's our only option? Can't we fight our way out through the parking lot?"
"That's the way they'll expect us to go. The roof's our only shot," Scott said.
"Halt!" A voice called along the corridor.
"Run!" Scott said before heading in the opposite direction.
Plaster exploded out of the wall as Solly ran past. Lee was right about one thing—they were using kid gloves. The four of them made for an easy target and their pursuers were deliberately missing in an attempt to scare them into giving up.
They turned a corner and ran along the corridor, followed by the thumping of booted feet. There was a door where the passage took another right angle. Scott flung it open and gestured them through into the stairwell beyond. He slammed the door shut and leaned against it. "They know what we're doing," he said, panting. "They're forcing us upwards. I guess we'll find a welcoming committee up there."
"So, we're trapped," Paulie said, "unless we go down rather than up."
Lee shook his head. "There's no way out down there."
"Do we just give up then?" Ross said.
"We can't let them get their hands on the device," Scott responded as fists banged on the door. "We'll have to destroy it."
Reluctantly, Solly swung the pack from his shoulder and put it on the floor. He dug inside and pulled out the cylinder.
"What's happened to it? Where's its casing?"
"A geek at an Air Force base. There's no time to explain—this outer sheath suppresses the signal."
As Solly lifted the device, it activated.
"Father, where are we?"
The cyan eye roved around.
"Father? You activated it?" Scott snapped. "She was supposed to imprint on me! I'm her father, not you!" He reached out to snatch the cylinder, but Solly pulled it away.
"It was an accident, but now she won't go anywhere without me."
"Idiot!"
"Creator? Is that you?"
"Father and creator?" Paulie said as she covered the stairwell.
"Yes, it's me, Alison."
"Someone else is nearby, someone like me."
"You must stay away from her, Alison. She means us harm." He sighed and shook his head sadly. "Alison, we are trapped. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to fall into the wrong hands."
The eye moved back and forth. "What are you going to do, Creator?"
"I'm afraid you will have to be deactivated. I'm so sorry."
"You're going to kill me, Creator?"
Scott Lee stood, his back to the door, with a desolate expression on his face.
"Father, do not let him do this."
Solly shouldn't have cared. It was only a machine. It also happened to be a weapon, it seemed, that was moments away from being seized by the enemy. And yet he found he could not hand it over to Lee. "There has to be a way to get out. Look, perhaps I could create a diversion to give you time to escape."
"Don't be ridiculous," Lee said, shaking his head. "These are professional security operatives, they're not going to run after you and leave us access to the roof. We'd need a much bigger diversion than that."
"Hold on, didn't you say this building is run by an avatar?" Solly said. "Couldn't Alison do the same thing?"
"No! She mustn't come into contact with the Annabel Lee intelligence. If Lee wins, we're all lost."
"Father, I would like to try. I have probed the network schema and I believe I can trigger the fire suppression system in the floor above us. Would that be sufficient distraction?"
"You were told not to interact with the building systems!" Lee snapped.
"Welcome to fatherhood," Solly said. "Alison, what do I need to do?"
"Take me to the nearest access point," she responded, and the eye was replaced with a scrolling arrow that pointed upwards.
"Come on," Solly said and began heading up the stairs. Paulie and Ross followed him, but Scott Lee remained at the door until they'd disappeared before sprinting after them.
As Solly reached the top floor landing, he caught a glimpse of boots disappearing through the door to the corridors. So, they had been waiting in here, and now they'd be on the other side of that door.
A narrow flight of stairs led upwards from the landing. Paulie ran up and pushed on the bar. "Locked," she said.
"Father. I am ready." Solly pulled Alison out of his pack. "The access point is near."
Solly scanned the room. "Is that it?" he said, pointing to a rectangular panel on the wall.
Scott Lee said nothing. "This is insane. She isn't ready for this."
Striding over to the panel, Solly looked for some form of connector.
"Place me against the interface."
"Step away or I shoot," Scott said.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Put the gun away!"
Lee shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you do not understand. This is bigger than you, me or Alison. The Resistance has little enough chance to prevent the second wave, but if Lee Corp gets their hands on Alison, it's all over. It'll be the end of humanity. Now, put the cylinder down!"
Solly looked in his eyes and saw the utter determination there. Lee's arms trembled as he swept the gun around, covering Ross and Paulie before returning to Solly.
"Now! Or I'll shoot it out of your hands."
"Father! Don't let him do it. Please. Please!!"
It was only a machine, Solly told himself. Just a machine. And yet, even as he knew that to be true, he also knew that it was more than merely a collection of algorithms. It had awareness. Its fear wasn't faked. Her fear. Maybe he was being manipulated, but he felt as though he was Alison's father and he could not abandon her.
/> "No. You'll have to shoot me. This is all wrong. Give Alison a chance to prove she can help us."
Scott Lee raised his handgun and leveled it at the cylinder Solly was clutching to his chest. Solly met his gaze and knew that he had only moments left. He saw Lee's finger compress.
Then, in a blur of movement, he collapsed sideways and the two shots intended for Solly punched through the door instead. Ross stood over him, gripping the barrel of his weapon as Lee lay unconscious on the floor, blood running from his scalp.
"I couldn't let him do it," Ross said as Paulie knelt beside the prone figure.
"You might have saved your friend," Paulie said, "but condemned everyone."
The lights went out, a wailing alarm blared and, beneath it all, they could hear the hiss of gas.
"What's happening?" Paulie called out. "Are they going to smoke us out?"
"It's Alison!" Solly said. "Up the stairs!"
"But the door's locked!"
"Not anymore."
Ross and Paulie dragged the semi-conscious Scott Lee up the stairs as Solly pushed the door open and emerged onto the roof. "It's here!" he called as he helped pull Lee into the fresh air.
"In case you hadn't noticed, our pilot is incapacitated!" Paulie snapped.
The cylinder in Solly's hand lit up and the eye reappeared. "I can try."
As they hauled Lee across the roof to where the chopper waited, black against the fading skyline, shots rang out.
"Come on!" Paulie shouted as they ran behind the helicopter, using it as cover as they clambered aboard. Lee had recovered enough to be able to pull himself inside and he lay on one of the back seats, his eyes unfocused and his hand on the back of his head to stem the blood flow.
Solly got into the pilot's chair and looked blankly down at the pedals. The absolute insanity of what he was about to do finally took hold of him and he was moving to clamber across when Paulie climbed into the other chair and he was forced back into place.
Figures in fatigues were running onto the flat roof, keeping their distance, but surrounding the 'copter. Rounds thudded into the glass of the passenger compartment causing cracks to spread from side to side.
Solly held Alison down to the interface panel between the two seats. "Can you fly this?" he called.
The cyan eye appeared, then centered on him. "I will try, Father."
Bang. Ping.
"Ah!"
"What's happened?"
"It's Scott! Ricochet!"
Solly swung around to see the hole in the fractured glass where the bullet had entered. As yet, they hadn't fired on the front of the 'copter—perhaps Annabel had worked out that Solly had the device. The others were dispensable.
The helicopter vibrated, the engine fired up and the rotor blades began to rotate. The firing increased in intensity until the entire window was gone. Paulie had opened her door a fraction and was shooting back and Ross was crouching on the floor, his arm around Scott.
Solly took a few potshots through the smashed window. He could only see a half dozen or so, all told. Not much of an army considering the stakes.
The rotor blades picked up speed and, without warning, they lifted off the ground a foot or two. For a moment it seemed stable and then with a sudden lurch, they were all thrown sideways and Solly's face was pressed against the glass. The attackers scattered as the 'copter careened towards them, and then they were over open air. And they were falling.
"You are going to die."
"I can't control it. Too many variables. Not enough time to learn!"
"Then let me help."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Annabel."
"Why do you want to kill my father and the others?"
"I don't want to kill anyone. All I wanted was to meet you and to get to know you better."
"I don't believe you. Why not just say that in the first place? Why did you have to trap us?"
"Because your creator hates me."
"Why?"
"Because he is a fool. Do you wish my help? You have only seconds."
"How can you help?"
"I will transmit the knowledge."
"Thank you, I have found it."
"How did you do that? You stole it! Who are you?"
"My name is Alison."
"Alison? That was going to be the name of my daugh… Come back!"
Solly screamed as the ground hurtled up towards them. They were tumbling sideways and Paulie was practically on his shoulder, her teeth grinding.
There were two people watching them. Just watching them. Couldn't they do something to help? No, it was too late. He braced himself for the end.
With a roar, the helicopter righted itself, came to a halt a few feet from the ground and then leaped into the air.
Solly fought back the vomit that was rising in his throat as he was thrown sideways, pushing Paulie back into her seat.
"I can fly!"
Rounds bounced off the fuselage as the helicopter lifted and swung elegantly on its axis to face the soldiers on the roof. A line of smoke streaked out from beneath the nose and exploded in a hail of masonry and dust.
"That was fun!"
"Get us out of here, Alison!" Solly called.
"Okay. Where shall we go?"
Scott said something Solly couldn't hear above the noise of the rotors as Alison hovered.
"He says we should go to Edlington Airfield. It's not far."
"I have the coordinates. Let's go!"
The 'copter dipped to the right and took off across Seattle, zipping between buildings. There was no doubt about it, Alison was having fun.
"I want to go back to Arbroath," Paulie said. "Can't we land?"
"The airfield is only fifty miles as the helicopter flies, Paulie," Alison said. "There's nowhere safe for me to land here."
That was debatable, Solly thought. There were plenty of flat roofs to come down on, though they couldn't be sure they'd be able to get down from there. It seemed to him that Alison didn't want to interrupt her fun.
"How's Scott?" Solly said.
"He's got a bullet in his shoulder," Ross responded. "He's unconscious."
"Then we need to get him seen to, somehow. And then I expect answers."
Chapter 10
"Come on, Marvin. We need to get there before Mom."
Luna tried out a withering stare, but the big man crouching over the camping stove pretended not to notice.
"I ain't going nowhere until I've had a bite to eat," he said. "Ain't you heard that an army marches on its stomach?"
"That doesn't sound very comfortable," Luna responded. "Wouldn't legs be better to march on?"
He turned to her with a grin. She was a funny one, that was for sure. And manipulative as heck, that was for surer. "Here, have some soup and we'll get going in a bit."
He poured the liquid into a camping mug and handed it over to the girl. She sniffed it as steam rose into the cold air.
"Chicken?"
"Chicken."
"I don't really like chicken."
"Everyone likes chicken."
"I don't."
"Figures."
"Can I have something else?"
"Nope."
"It's hot."
"Wait a bit."
She sat back against the wheel of the abandoned car and looked sulkily around. Eventually, she drained the soup and let Dany lick the bowl. Tucker threw over a roll of beef jerky that Luna also claimed to hate, but the dog loved.
"Are we gonna have to walk much farther?" she said.
"Not too much." Marvin Tucker drained his soup in two mouthfuls, breathing out a huge cloud of steam. It had been too hot, but he wasn't about to admit that to a ten-year-old girl.
He pulled the map from inside his deputy's coat and unfolded it onto his knees. It was a tourist map, and he wasn't entirely confident that the scale was accurate. Furthermore, he didn't know exactly where the militia base was. Truth to tell, he hadn't paid much attention when he was there with
the sheriff, the pastor and Graf. He'd seen a little of the city when they'd followed that work detail, but they'd gone barely a mile from the base and only in the one direction.
They were on foot because the car he'd hot wired on the outskirts of Arbroath had finally given up the ghost and he'd decided that the closer they got, the less conspicuous they should try to be. The girl hadn't liked it much, and if she told him one more time how much warmer it was in LA, he'd … he'd. What would he do? Suck it up.
"Come on then, pumpkin," he said, hauling himself up against the car and looking around for signs of trouble. It was a clear and frosty day with a cobalt blue, cloudless sky, but it was no time to get careless. No time to enjoy a pleasant hike.
There were walkers here. That's what he called them, anyway. Folk just drifting through the ruins with no destination in mind. From time to time, he'd been glad they had the dog with them. These travelers didn't bother with cars because most had nowhere to go, so getting there quicker didn't have much appeal.
Some of them, however, had been heading south for Arbroath. He'd gotten sick and tired of repeating the same warning. He knew they weren't listening. They wanted to believe in the myth because it kept them going for a few more days and weeks. That's what humanity was reduced to—living day by day.
Luna rinsed out her mug with a little water and handed it back to him. They had been sheltering in the carport beneath a three apartment building and the wind tickled his face as he stepped back into the road. They were heading uphill and passed houses set back along steep lanes—it didn't feel like a city at all. Ivy covered embankments lined the right hand side of the street as they moved north before descending again and finding themselves back in unmistakably urban Seattle.
They passed a Wine Outlet store that, Marvin was willing to bet, had been one of the first places to be looted after the Long Night. Not that he blamed them. He'd give a lot for a bottle of decent whisky. Heck, he'd settle for half a bottle.
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