"I will make this up to you. I promise. Now let's get out into the wasteland before those pesky Outlander Force guys show up." Blice steps inside the garage and tosses Isidore a set of keys. "You drive."
Blice has never let him drive. Isidore looks down the rows of cars and motorcycles. "Which one?"
"Take the red Ferrari."
Isidore grins as he goes to the car and runs his fingers over the hood. There are so many things he wants to do with this car. It's beautiful and perfect. The longer he stands here watching the lights reflecting off of the windshield and glossy paint, the more he needs it.
"Come on, Niko. You can fantasize about my car later."
Giving the windshield a quick kiss, Isidore gets in the driver's seat and starts the engine. God, that sounds so good. He smiles and puts on his sunglasses. Time to traverse the wasteland Inquisition style.
* * *
The sand and pebbles kick up around them as Isidore hits maximum speed and slams on the breaks, sliding to a stop feet away from the crashed silver space transport. Blice is laughing and they both leave the car. That was the single greatest three minute drive of Isidore's life.
Blice puts his hands on his hips. "What the hell is this? What are you doing here, Montgomery?"
Damien shakes his head as he looks at the car and the cloud of dust it created. "This is in the wasteland, in the vicinity of Rubble City, and has Inquisition written all over it. This is Outlander jurisdiction."
"This is clearly an Inquisition spacecraft." Blice says as he slides his sunglasses up on his head. "If you weren't so stupid, you would know that. It's Inquisition jurisdiction."
"Oh really?"
"Really." Blice presses some buttons on his watch. "Now, if there is any trace of radiation in or around this transport, this is a matter for the Inquisition."
"Fine. Go for it." Damien steps out of the way.
Blice walks around the transport and his watch begins beeping rapidly. "Hear that beeping, Montgomery? Radiation. Now step back and let the proper authorities investigate this."
Damien picks up a note from inside the empty transport and holds it up. "Oh, what's this? It's addressed to President Evans. Sad day for you, McSage."
"The president is my father."
"Doesn't matter." Damien says with a facetious grin. "We work directly for the president."
"I swear, I will kill you." Blice threatens.
"You swear that a lot, but you never do anything about it. Even when you stabbed me in the back, you still couldn't finish me off. Why should we entrust you to finish this job?"
While they are arguing, Byron pulls Isidore over to the side. "Hey man, talk to me. What's going on? He did hurt you, didn't he?"
Isidore leans close and whispers. "He did. He has a new program that he can-" He falls to his knees in the sand. Grabbing at his legs, he screams and Byron attempts to help him.
Blice glares at him. "Stand up, Inquisitor Williams or I will do it again. You are not to tell them anything. Is that clear?"
Isidore holds onto Byron who pulls him to his feet. "I'm okay now. It's over."
Byron and Damien look at each other.
"I need your help over here, Niko." Blice calls to him. "We need to record some of this and send it back to President Evans."
"I don't think so." Damien says as he hands Byron the note. "What do you think of this, Byron?"
President Evans,
We are experiencing some interference from Inquisition forces. Our oxygen supplies have been depleting at an abnormally fast rate and if we don't find a way to either stop the Inquisition from siphoning our oxygen or get more here, we will be forced to evacuate. We trust in your judgment on the matter and are awaiting your response. Forgive us for the use of a transport to deliver this message. Our communications have been tampered with by an inquisitor who identified himself as Inquisitor Dark. We have never seen him before, but he had the security clearance codes and an authentic insignia. He claimed he was under orders from Inquisitor Allen. We let him in as we were ordered to do. If this was legitimate, we apologize for the interruption.
"Give me that." Blice says as he takes it from Byron and glances over it. "Inquisitor Dark? Who the hell is that? How is he taking oxygen from the T.I.M.E. space station? They have a filtration and production system. How is that even possible? None of this makes any sense."
"As much as I hate to admit it, I think this might be both of our jurisdictions, McSage."
"You're right. Either way, we have to get up there and find a way to stop this madness. It's probably just a leak, but we can't take any chances. I will meet with my father tonight and we will discuss the best course of action. You need to meet with Outland Investigator Thompson and find out if there is anything encrypted on this note. Check for any encoded messages, any signs of strange elements, etcetera. You know what to do."
"What is the preliminary plan?" Damien asks.
"As of right now, we need to get this transport back to Paradise and do a full strip down and see if there is anything weird going on. Then once we are fully prepared to address the situation in space, the Inquisition will send a small group of qualified individuals to investigate and fix the problem."
"And what impact will this have on W.A.N.D.?" Damien asks.
"Well, we can move forward with the first step of the plan. There's no reason to waste more fuel getting Isidore back up there on his own later. I'll send him." Blice says as he types something on the screen of his watch.
"Is it safe for him yet?"
"Perfectly. They're T.I.M.E.s just like him. He'll be able to fit in just fine."
"I don't know if now is the best time for that." Damien says.
"It will get Isidore's mind off of other things."
"What about him?" Byron asks. "Did you ask him what he wants to do about all of this?"
"He doesn't know anything about W.A.N.D. yet."
"You still haven't told him?" Damien asks.
"I have no reason to tell him. He will obey my orders and do what needs to be done no matter if he knows what is going on or not. He's a computer and I programmed him to obey me."
Damien glares at him. "I don't like this, McSage."
"You don't have to like it." Blice says. "Niko knows I won't tell him to do anything that will hurt him. I always want the best for him. We're buddies."
"Buddies? God, Blice. You are so twisted. I can't believe you."
"What? Can I not be friends with my computer? Would you rather I keep him locked up and torture him every day?"
"It's obvious that you do that anyway." Damien says.
"Don't you dare speak to me like that. You don't know anything that goes on between me and Isidore. At least I don't beat him like you did and leave bruises and cuts on him."
"How long are you going to keep going back to that?"
"As long as I need to because I care about my friend."
"Everyone knows what your grandfather did to his computer." Damien says. "You're becoming just like him."
Blice pushes Damien out of the way and begins examining the transport. "Shut your mouth, Montgomery. That was decades ago."
"But brutality runs in your family."
"Just because my grandfather killed thirty T.I.M.E.s in two years doesn't mean that I am the same way. He didn't value their lives as I do. He kept them in cages and refused to give them clothes. They got one meal a week. They had to work for everything they got. That's not me. I treat Isidore like a person."
"A slave." Damien says.
"Slaves are people too." Blice gasps and turns to Isidore. "I didn't mean that, Niko. You're not my slave. You know that, right?"
Isidore doesn't say a word.
"Niko?"
Nothing.
"I demand you answer me."
"I'm not your slave, Blice." Isidore mutters.
"See?"
"You just proved my point." Damien says.
"Just get back to work."
"What's wrong
with Isidore?" Byron asks.
"Nothing. Now, let's get to work."
"Something is wrong. He's not saying anything."
"Leave him alone." Blice shouts. "He's not feeling well today."
"You hurt him." Damien says.
"I didn't hurt him. Isn't that right, Niko?"
Isidore sighs. "He didn't hurt me."
Damien grabs onto Blice's coat. "He's lying!"
"Tell them you're not lying."
"I'm not lying."
Blice punches at Damien. "Don't touch me, M.A.G.E. You may be still employed by my father, but I can have the Inquisition get rid of you faster than you can blink. I suggest you and Mr. Erikson leave and let me tend to this. I already have a group of inquisitors headed this way to take this thing back to Paradise. I don't want you and Seth anywhere near this. So I will be in contact after we run all the preliminary tests."
5
Isidore has had enough of this back and forth from Blice. He's hiding something and Isidore aims to find out what that is. Are Damien and Byron right about everything? Is Blice secretly hurting him? And what about his memories that continually elude him? There's only one way to find out.
Isidore slips into Blice's room, drops down to the floor, and crawls across the carpet to the large bed. He reaches up under the blanket and touches a smooth leg. A woman moans in her sleep. Damn. He forgot Blice had a woman come over last night. This just got more complicated. Isidore crawls around to the other side of the bed and tries again. Isidore rubs his hands together so his fingers aren't too cold. He follows the edge of the bed up to the pillow and touches Blice's prickly face. Just a little lower . . . to his chest. There it is. Blice's Inquisition insignia. Where is the clasp? Blice moves in his sleep and Isidore freezes. If he gets caught, it's over. Be patient, Isidore. He tries to calm himself until Blice stops moving. He immediately finds the clasp and slides the necklace from around Blice's neck. Step one complete.
As much as he wants to run as fast as his legs will move, Isidore knows that's not the way to do this. He crawls agonizingly slowly and silently across the floor to the door then stands and goes to Blice's office. He closes the door behind him and locks it. The sky is already lightening to the east outside the window. Isidore doesn't have much time. This is his one chance and he will take it. If he's lucky, Blice will be preoccupied with his female friend again and will stay in bed a bit longer. He doesn't have to go into work today because it's Sunday. Isidore covers his mouth to keep from laughing. A priest stealing on the Sabbath. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. And Isidore is more desperate now than he ever has been. He turns to the computers. How did Blice do this? Come on, Isidore's a computer. He should know how to do this. He presses a power button and a blue hologram appears. He puts Blice's insignia inside and the screen flashes green then it all starts up. When he's able to, he searches through the documents and files until he finds one that reads Blice and Isidore. He opens it and finds fifty video recordings each labeled by date. He picks one at random and plays it. The image shows on the screen.
* * *
June 16, 2290
A younger Blice is relaxing in a hammock between two trees in the greenhouse reading a book. The person holding the camera turns it to face him and giggles as he places his finger over his mouth. It's Isidore back when he was barely a teenager and still had his black hair. He sneaks up behind Blice then screams. Blice screams too, loses his balance, and flips out of the hammock to the floor.
"Damn it, Niko! You'll pay for that." Blice runs up and tackles Isidore to the floor.
They wrestle until Isidore pins Blice down and sits on him. "I win."
Blice laughs and hits at him. "Get your computer ass off of me before I make you harvest the apples."
Isidore puts his hands on his hips and mocks him. "Maybe I'll just eat the apples."
"You're insane. Come on." He pushes Isidore off of him. "Get your bags packed. We leave in an hour."
Isidore helps Blice to his feet. "Where are we going?"
"We are going to go surfing. Just you and me. Pack some sunscreen for you and some suntan lotion for the ladies. I'm gonna find you a lady."
"Really?"
"You bet." Blice puts his arm around Isidore's back and smiles. "We'll be the sexiest men on the beach."
* * *
November 17, 2290
Blice is standing over Isidore crying. "Don't make me do this. He's my friend."
The voice behind the camera speaks. "He's a computer. He doesn't even know what friendship is. Now hit him."
"No." Blice says.
"Do it or I'll have the Inquisition scrap him."
"Please, Father. Don't. I need him."
"Then punish him. You have to be a responsible owner and train him to obey you."
"He didn't do anything wrong!" Blice steps in front of Isidore who is curled up on the floor naked and shaking.
"Then get out of the way and I'll do it."
* * *
March 03, 2291
Isidore is on his hands and knees in the kitchen as Blice paces back and forth with a whip in his hands. A chain is secured around Isidore's neck and he's tied to the table.
Blice slides a bowl of food towards him. "Are you hungry, computer?"
"Yes, Owner."
"Did I say you could speak?" Blice hits him with the whip. "You don't deserve to eat. Say it."
"I don't deserve to eat." Isidore mumbles.
"Good boy. You can eat from this bowl, but don't use your hands."
* * *
Isidore can't watch any more. He feels sick and he realizes with both surprise and dread that the memories are returning. He has to know everything. He attaches the USB cable to his head and to the computer. He begins to download everything until he comes to an unnamed file. He opens it and gasps. Inside are five million other files all labeled Isidore's Memories Age 13-19. This is it. So Blice has had these all along. He'll never be able to look through all of them.
Isidore skips through until he finds the one he has to see.
* * *
Unlike the ones from the camera, this is exactly how Isidore would have seen it. It is his memory. Isidore is on the floor and holds up his hands to protect himself from Blice's Uzi. Dark blood trickles down his arms from his wrists. He coughs and blood splatters on the floor.
Blice kicks him in the side. "Stand up."
It is all he can do to pick himself up and he looks back to where he was lying on the floor. A large pool of blood is spreading across the tile. He can't breathe and his vision is going dark.
"Clean that mess up. Why do you think you get to bleed all over my floors? I'm going to bed. If that's not cleaned up by morning, I will finish the job. You don't want me to stab you again, do you? Answer me!"
It takes all of Isidore's willpower to speak. "No, Owner."
Blice grabs Isidore's face and screams at him. "Never wake me up. Is that clear? Next time I'll tie you down in the middle of the road and drive over your sorry ass. Now get cleaning."
Instead of cleaning, Isidore manages to make it down to the door and slip out into the night. He stumbles as he limps past the people who only watch him and offer no help. Once he makes it into the garage, he goes to a black van and finds the keys in the ignition. Once he starts the engine, he drives as fast as he can through the streets and tosses his Inquisition insignia at the guards who stop him at the gates. They pass it through the hologram and Isidore speeds out into the wasteland.
* * *
Once the memories are all downloaded, Isidore turns the computer off and disconnects the cable. He sits in the darkness and tries to piece everything together. He decides it will be easier on his mind if he doesn't open all of the memories at once. He can't deal with it if they are all like that. This explains so much and now he wants nothing more than to get out of here and run until he can't run any more.
An hour passes until Blice and the woman move down the hallway talking and giggling with e
ach other. Once the house goes quiet again and the front door shuts, Blice starts looking for him.
"Niko! Wake up. Today is a big day. We are going to figure out a plan for you to go into space. Isn't that exciting? You can finally meet all the other T.I.M.E.s." A door slams and Blice calls out again. "Isidore? Where are you? Please answer me. I'm getting scared."
Isidore opens the door to the office and screams at him. "McSage!" He can't hide his anger any longer. Today he gets answers and confronts the man who tortured him.
Blice runs down the hallway and stops when he sees Isidore in the doorway. "Niko, what's wrong? Is that my insignia? Oh my God. Just calm down. I can explain everything. What have you been doing in my office?"
"I didn't get lost in the wasteland. I ran away so you wouldn't kill me. I remember everything now."
"You found your memories and the video recordings. When you got rid of your insignia, I was able to still control you a bit and erase those final memories then store them here. You didn't have an operating system because I couldn't chance you becoming aware of me messing around in your memories. I could control you completely. I'm coming clean about all of this. I'm sorry."
"You tied me up like an animal." Isidore shouts.
Blice shakes his head. "I was young and stupid."
"I was starving to death and you made me eat off of the floor."
"Yes. Okay? Yes, I did that back then. But that's not me anymore."
"Then you . . . you-"
Blice holds out his hands to Isidore. "Yes. Don't say it. I'm not proud, okay? I feel awful. My father told me to treat you like that and do those things or you would try to kill me."
"I would never kill anyone!"
"I know that now." Blice says. "My father came from a different time when things were different and everyone regarded T.I.M.E.s as inferior and not even a little bit human. You were supposedly worse than animals and if people were to be safe around you, then we had to put you in your place. You know I don't do those things to you anymore."
"Do you not?"
"Isidore!" Blice cries out as he drops to his knees.
"You know, I almost believed you. I almost believed that we were friends and had done all of those great things together."
Paradise of Lead Trilogy Page 31