by SW Matthews
Doc turned back to Tuck. “Yeah, okay… What the fuck?”
The three of them exited the truck.
“Hey, Doc, Rosie, Jaq,” said Tuck.
Doc hugged him, then Rosie did the same. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
“We need to move,” said Jaq.
Doc nodded, then reached back and pulled back the tarp.
“You can ride in the back,” he said.
Tuck didn’t hesitate. He climbed in the bed, squeezing into what little space was left. “We haven’t really met,” he said to Kat. “I’m Tuck.”
“Hi, Tuck,” she replied. “Sorry I can’t shake your hand. I’m…”
“Ripley?”
“What? No, I’m Katherine. Billy’s sister. Everyone calls me Kat.”
“Nice to meet you, Kat.”
“Likewise.”
The truck proceeded down the alley. An overhead door opened on the left, and Jaq pulled the truck in. The door closed behind them, and everyone got out—though it took all of them working together to slide Kat out onto the tailgate, from which she was able to step down to solid ground.
Rosie inspected the suit. “It’s a little scratched up, but everything looks like it’s working,” she said.
“So, is this the safe house?” asked Doc, looking around.
“No, this is just one of the garages,” Jaq said. “We need to go down. Way down. Follow me.”
Chapter 37
Braxton and Roni had just finished lunch and were strolling along the deck when a servant appeared.
“Mr. Braun, Governor of Colorado, on the line for you sir,” said the man, holding out a silver tray with a personal communicator on it.
“Thank you, Mac,” replied Braxton. He activated the device. “Hello, Eli! You have some good news for me?” he asked cheerfully.
“I’m afraid not, Will,” the governor replied somberly. “The Guard lost them.”
“Lost them?” Braxton exclaimed. “How?”
“I had troops all around the hospital, including six interceptor teams with high-performance armored cars, but they still disappeared. It looks like they had some help.”
“What kind of help?”
“They were in a purple and yellow racing truck, like the kind the kids race on the back streets here. Apparently they made it through a couple of roadblocks before they were noticed. The Guard pursued, but whoever the kid was driving must be local, and must’ve had a hiding spot.”
“Who exactly was being chased?”
“Kat, Billy, Rosie, and the driver, some young guy.”
Braxton was quiet for a moment, trying to control his temper and think. He had assumed his son was on the drone, or maybe his granddaughter, but apparently not. So who would they have sent?
Roni, apparently sensing the tension, slipped away, leaving Braxton alone.
“So you’re telling me that an old, fat man, his daughter, and a bed-ridden woman who hasn’t moved in twenty years escaped your Guard in a bright purple and yellow truck because some kid was driving it?”
“Well, uh… when you put it like that…”
“How else should I put it, Eli? Isn’t that what happened?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“But what?”
“They said the woman was in some kind of suit.”
“The med exo-suit?”
“I guess. I was just told she was throwing things around, including my troopers, and she was fast.”
“That suit is huge, and bright white. And it has blue lights all over it. It should make it easier to find them, Eli, not more difficult!”
“Look, Will. I know you’re pissed, but I’ve still got everyone out looking for them. I just wanted to give you an update.”
“Fine, fine. Keep me posted.” Braxton ended the call and initiated another one. He impatiently paced as he waited for Sullivan to answer.
“Sully!”
“Yes, Will.”
“I want you to pull every officer, agent, soldier, and trooper who’s out farther than five hundred yards from Porter’s podium.”
“Pull them? For what?”
“To hunt for the fugitives in Denver.”
“Your son…”
“And daughter, and granddaughter. And don’t give me any shit about endangering the president. We haven’t had a president assassinated in almost one hundred years, and we’ve never had one shot from beyond five hundred yards.”
“Okay, Will.”
“Call Braun to get an idea of where his Guard lost them and start there.”
“He lost them?”
“Yes, they’re on the run.”
“I told you not to leave any loose ends. This could be disastrous for us.”
“That’s why I called you.” Braxton hung up and looked out over the water. “Goddamn kids,” he muttered.
Chapter 38
Just before the drone exploded, the reinforced cabin was ejected from the fuselage—but the force of the detonation generated a shock wave that sent the capsule tumbling end over end. The parachute automatically deployed, and should have helped to stabilize the descent, but debris from the explosion ignited and tore at it. As a result, the escape pod hit the ground hard, tumbling and sliding down a snow- covered mountain slope for several minutes before finally coming to rest against a large ledge of granite.
All three boys lost consciousness. When they awoke, the flames of the parachute had died, and only the darkness of the very early morning remained. Cold air filled the compartment through broken windows.
“What happened?” Leef asked.
Pol was tapping on the nonfunctional console. “Maybe something knocked us down, or a malfunction?”
Gill released his safety strap and started trying to open the canopy. “I think we were shot down,” he said.
“Shot down? Why would someone shoot at us?” Leef asked.
Gill shrugged. “Maybe they thought we were a missile or something.” He forcefully tore the canopy apart, exposing the night sky and allowing a rush of colder air into the cabin. Clouds blocked the stars, but the moon was partially visible and provided some light.
Leef turned to look at Pol with concern.
“We may have been shot down,” Pol said. “But I doubt whoever did it knew we were on board. Otherwise they would have known it wouldn’t kill us.”
“Can we call Uncle Doc?”
“The electronics aren’t working.”
“We’re on our own,” said Gill, poking his head out of the ruined craft.
“Let’s wait until the sun comes up, then we’ll figure out where we are and where to go.”
Gill looked around. “It looks like there’s a cave over there. Maybe we could use it for shelter until morning.”
***
The “cave” turned out to be little more than a gash in the stone, barely big enough for the three of them to huddle together and stay out of the wind and cold. After an hour, there was still no hint of daybreak, but a small light had appeared in the distance, slowly growing larger. It soon became clear that a person was approaching; the light bobbed with each step.
Thirty minutes later, the boys could make out a hooded figure carrying a staff with a light on the end of it. The figure walked straight to the aircraft, studied it for a moment, then followed the footprints in the snow, stopping a few feet short of the boys’ location.
“If you have come to stop us, you will not succeed,” the figure said. The voice was male, and sounded young . “Our motive is too powerful.”
“We have come to stop a war,” replied Pol from the darkness.
The young man stabbed his staff into the ground so that it could stand alone. He stepped forward and lowered the hood of his green cloak, exposing a smiling Asian face. He lifted his arms, palms up. “Then you have nothing to fear from me. Come, let me help you.”
Pol, Gill, and Le
ef looked at each other. Pol nodded, and the three exited the cave and approached the young man.
As they stepped into the light, the young man’s eyes grew wide. He stared silently at them for several seconds, looking back and forth between them, clearly unsettled by their appearance.
“It’s… it’s…” he stammered.
“I know we appear unusual,” said Pol.
“And at our time of greatest need…” the young man said. Tears were forming in his eyes.
“Can you help us?” Leef asked.
The young man wiped his face. “Of course, of course. I am sorry. I am Mr. Bo, and I am at your service.” He bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Mr. Bo. My name is Pol, and these are my brothers, Gill and Leef.”
“It is my greatest honor to meet all of you. Please, let us hurry back to the workshop.” Mr. Bo turned and started walking back in the direction he had come from.
The three brothers exchanged a curious look, then followed.
“Are you taking us to Vice President Zhen?” Pol asked.
“Zhen?” said Mr. Bo. “No, we are going to see Mr. Ken.”
“But we need to see Zhen, to stop the war,” Leef said.
“We were supposed to meet with him, but we were shot down,” Gill explained.
Mr. Bo nodded. “I witnessed the explosion and the burning beacon of your descent. I was surprised to find any survivors.”
“Well, if you’re planning on killing us, you’re going to have a bad time of it,” said Gill.
Mr. Bo smiled. “Kill you? No, of course not!”
Pol studied the man. “Who are you?” he asked. “And why are you here in the mountains?”
“This is my region to monitor, that is all. It is no mystery. As to who I am, I already told you: I am Mr. Bo.”
“Monitor?” Pol asked. “For what?”
“For invaders. We have expanded the scrutiny of our outlands since we increased our encounters with the Chinese government. We know they are searching for us.”
“Who is ‘we’?” Gill asked.
“We… the Xanwiti.” Mr. Bo gently patted his chest.
“What is the Xanwiti?” Pol asked.
Mr. Bo looked confused. “You don’t know?”
All three boys shook their heads.
Mr. Bo shrugged and smiled. “No matter. Mr. Ken will explain all.”
“And who is Mr. Ken?” Gil asked.
“He is our leader, although he would never claim that title. He would simply call himself… an advisor. He will be very pleased to meet all of you, of that you can be sure!”
“But why?” asked Leef.
“I will let him explain everything. Now we must hurry. The sun will rise in an hour, and we really need to be at the workshop early!”
The foursome trudged through the snow up the side of the mountain. Mr. Bo led, cutting a trail in the snow that Pol, Gill, and Leef could follow. The wind was cold, and snow blew down the mountainside, so that the boys had to pull their hoods down around their faces.
After an hour they reached the summit of their mountain. By then the sunlight was touching the peaks and burning away the morning clouds.
Leef paused to survey the dawn. “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he said. “The blues, and yellows, and purples. The sun and the mountains… I have never seen anything like it.”
“Me neither,” said Pol and Gil.
“It is this beauty that the Xanwiti strive to retain, and return to the earth,” said Mr. Bo.
“Where exactly are the Xanwiti?” Pol asked.
Mr. Bo pointed across a valley. There, on the next mountainside, a series of buildings were built into the stone.
“That is where we are going, Mr. Pol,” said Mr. Bo. “That is Workshop One.”
Chapter 39
The group had been walking for a very long time, mostly down stairs, but occasionally through hidden doorways or along cramped, poorly lit hallways. But Jaq never hesitated. He was clearly familiar with the area.
Eventually they entered a cavernous tunnel with small lights placed sporadically along the wall. Jaq turned toward a small glow in the distance, and quickened his step.
“These are the old subway tunnels,” said Doc.
“What?” Rosie said. “Denver had subways?”
“No, not really,” replied Doc. “But it almost did.”
“What do you mean?”
Doc tried to remember the details. “I was just a small boy, back in the late fifties, early sixties. Denver was really growing fast. I remember Dad and Cinco talking about how the city was going to build a subway to help with the traffic. I remember thinking it would be really cool to go on a train underground, and I think I can even remember a little of the construction.” He paused and shook his head. “God, it seems like a thousand years ago. Like a different life.”
“I don’t remember anything like that,” said Kat.
“You were just a toddler, maybe two or three, and then it shut down.”
“Why?” Rosie asked.
“The modular transport system was introduced. You know, the mod-pods.”
“The same ones we use today?”
“Well, they upgrade them every once in a while, but yes, same system.”
“Wow. I didn’t realize they were that old.”
“Hey!”
“Oh! Sorry, Dad, but you know what I mean.”
Doc nodded. “Yes, I know. It’s okay.”
“So, they just stopped working on the subway?” Kat asked.
“I guess it was cheaper and easier to make the pods and the track than to finish the subway.”
“The mod-pods are a pretty efficient and effective system.”
“I used it every day when I worked at the Institute.”
“I did too. Cregor and I had a double pod we would take to the foundation and just about everywhere else in the city.”
“Still, I just don’t see why they would just leave this huge tunnel down here,” Rosie said.
“I’m sure it was the cheapest thing to do. They probably just blocked the entrances and forgot about them. It’s been fifty years.” Doc looked over at Jaq. “How long have you been coming down here?”
“My whole life,” Jaq said.
“With… a gang?” Rosie asked.
“Yes. But it’s really more than a gang. It’s like a… family.”
“You mean you’re all related?” Doc asked.
“Some of us are, but that’s not what I meant. It’s more like we act like a family.”
“So you’re not criminals?” Rosie asked.
Jaq laughed. “Oh, no, we’re definitely criminals. Mostly computer hacking. Like ransomware, but also stealing and selling information. We also have drug and gun dealers, prostitutes, thieves, gambling, racing… really just about anything you can think of.”
“Murderers?” Rosie asked cautiously.
“Yes.”
“Have you ever killed someone?”
“Yes.”
Rosie took a deep breath, her eyes wide. Jaq took her hand in both of his.
“It’s okay,” he said. “They were really bad. They deserved it.”
Tuck grinned through his beard.
“But… you said you were… clean, now?” Rosie asked.
“Yes. I went to school and worked hard. I made it through nursing school and got a great job at the hospital.”
“Promise me, Jaq. Promise me you’re… not a criminal.”
“I promise, Rosie—but why?”
Rosie glanced over at her father, then toward the ground. “I just need to know.”
Jaq squeezed her hand, then continued to lead the group down the tunnel.
“So your… group… has always used these tunnels?” Kat asked.
“Yes,” Jaq replied without looking back. “These tunnels are how we get around the city. We have them all mapped out. We can also use electricity and data from the buildings above. It’s very safe. And we can tr
avel anywhere in the city with ease. You’ll see.”
“And you said you have hackers?” Kat asked. “People who can obtain information from other computers?”
“The best in the world. Our hackers can get to anything.”
“Even highly secured private computers? Like in a top-secret laboratory?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“What are you thinking, Kat?” Doc asked.
“I’m thinking we may still be able to get some information to try and stop the attack, and maybe send someone to go find my boys.”
Doc nodded. “Speaking of getting information… can you tell us why you’re here, Tucker?”
“I was kidnapped and dumped here by an old friend,” Tuck replied.
“What?”
Tucker shrugged. “I think Bash, our old teammate, is back to even the score with Andy. He drugged me and dumped me here in the city—to keep me out of the way, I guess. The bottom line is, I think Andy and Piper are in trouble.”
“Then we’ll figure out a way to help them too,” said Kat.
***
The light was still very distant when the group encountered their first guard. He was standing off to one side, in the shadows, and held a rifle. Jaq never slowed, though. He simply waved and kept walking.
“Who was that?” asked Rosie when they were out of earshot of the man.
“Just one of the guards,” said Jaq.
“So they know we’re coming,” said Doc.
“Oh, I’m sure they’ve been watching us ever since we entered the garage. There are hidden cameras everywhere. As we get closer to the hub there will be more guards.”
“The hub?” Rosie asked.
“The tunnels are all around the city, like a spoked wheel. The center is the hub, which is where we’re going. That’s the light ahead.”
After passing several more guards, they finally reaching the brightly lit area. As they approached, a woman came toward them. Her long, straight, black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her brow covered with a red bandana. Her sleeveless green tee shirt exposed muscular, tattoo-covered arms, and her jeans were tight and tucked into her boots. Her large brown eyes quickly sized up Rosie before coming to settle on Jaq. She walked right up to him and stopped a foot in front of him. She was about six inches shorter than he was, so she had to lift to her toes as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the mouth.