The Free City

by Marius Pitigoi

  “But I have a plan. We’re preparing for it. If you’re not convinced, we won’t pursue it. But it’s mandatory that we prepare for it. You decide. If your gut tells you that our plan won’t work, then we’ll abandon it. You’ve got nothing to lose, but a lot to win. I’m telling you for sure that the sheriffs are prepared to dig. They’ve got the equipment. They got explosives. How long do you think it will take them to get to us? A few hours? Less? I repeat, we are just preparing for the eventuality that they will.”

  “Just preparing, ha?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does this plan include Dylan, too?”

  “Yes.”

  Krugar made but a discreet gesture and the bodyguards walked away.

  Rose Brooks resumed speaking. “My colleagues made a simulation based on Garry King’s psychological profile. As I said, he has access to all of your den’s plans. He knows exactly what you have here and where it is located. He knows exactly where we are. Even more, it’s very likely that he himself will come here to make sure this whole problem ends today and that there won’t be any consequences he can’t predict. We will play this card. If we are wrong and for some reason he doesn’t come, we are all dead.”

  Rose emphasized that last point, hoping to create a little uneasiness among the others—fear to make them more cooperative. But Krugar wasn’t one to impress that easily. Dylan was the most scared of all, but he mattered least.

  “First of all,” said Rose, “we need to make Garry King think that he cornered us, and that we have no other plan. For this to work, your bodyguards have to die for you. Will they do that?”

  “If it comes to that, they will. They will fight to their death.”

  “Good. However, they don’t have to be too fanatical. If the sheriffs face too much resistance, they will send out drones and we’ll run the risk of being killed or wounded.”

  “But that’s crazy,” cried Dylan. “You’re not only sending the bodyguards to their deaths, but you’re asking them to do it while fake-fighting? How can you demand something like that? We are, after all, talking about human beings here.”

  “Dylan, stay out of this. You are here only because Krugar asked me to bring you. And honestly, I don’t even know why.”

  “That’s true, Krugar. Why did you want me here?”

  “It doesn’t matter now. Go on, Rose.”

  “In order for this to succeed, you must close the doors to the compartments in the tunnel. Let them get to this main room. Here, we will surrender and wait for Garry King.”

  “If we surrender just like that, won’t that be suspicious?”

  “No. This is the last room. It will seem like there is nowhere else for us to go. If we are right, we will be summoned. And then, we will throw down our guns and leave with our hands up.”

  “This your big plan? To wait for them to come and take us out of the pot?” Krugar was puzzled.

  “The interesting part is just beginning. In the backpack I brought with me, there is a programmable device that contains trimetaciclon. Trimetaciclon is an odorless and colorless gas which, once inhaled, causes temporary paralysis. However, we will have injected ourselves with the antidote before surrendering. The drug’s effects last for a few hours, so we will have plenty of time. This gas works quickly and is very effective, and since the room isn’t that large, it will affect everyone in it. We will be the only ones not affected and will therefore capture Garry King. We will inject him with the antidote, too. The sheriffs won’t have the courage to do anything to us for fear that we will harm him. We will go out, and we will take him to my colleagues and then we will leave New Hope as soon as possible.”

  Was it a good plan? It was definitely very risky, but, given the circumstances, they had no better options. If they left the shelter, the sheriffs would certainly catch them. They had to wait and hope that the governor would come to them himself. And if they succeeded in getting out alive, then Krugar would collaborate their story.

  “I will program the device to go off five minutes after we surrender.”

  “Five minutes? And what if Garry King doesn’t come in five minutes?” asked Dylan.

  “Our entire strategy is based on the premise that he will come. If he doesn’t come in five minutes, he won’t come at all. He has no interest in wasting time. He knows the NSO is involved, but he doesn’t know to what extent. His interest is to expose himself as little as possible. This is why we think he will come here, as opposed to taking us somewhere else. Pray that he comes; otherwise, we stand no chance. And there’s something else: before he shows up, we will most likely be tied up. The sheriffs are equipped with the standard handcuffs. I have two universal keys that we can use to get out of them.”

  “I didn’t know there were universal keys for handcuffs.”

  “Officially there aren’t any. Only the NSO has them.”

  Krugar sat in his armchair. Could this be possible? The shelter that he put all his hopes in wasn’t, in fact, all that safe? And to think he had ordered the murder of some of the workers, just to make sure its construction would remain a secret! He made a sign to Sarah and she brought him a cigarette and lit it for him. Like in the good old days. They had been back together only for a short while, but she already took her seat back as if nothing happened.

  “He knows us. He might want to talk to us. But you? What if he orders to have you shot?”

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I will pretend to be Dylan’s girlfriend.”

  “My girlfriend? Wait a minute… what does that involve?”

  “Time is too short. We won’t be the ones on the spotlight here. However, if he asks, I will act as if we are a couple. You don’t have to say anything. Leave it all to me.”

  Chapter 29

  Krugar and Sarah Sanchez went to another room. They left Dylan with Rose Books and the two bodyguards. Krugar figured it was better if they were watched, so that they’d be unable to discuss and make plans. Or if they did, he would know what it was about. But neither of them felt like talking. There had already been about twenty minutes of silence. Dylan was starting to get nervous; his legs were shaking.

  “Are you nervous?” asked Rose.

  “No,” said Dylan.

  “Your legs are shaking.”

  “I do that sometimes. Nothing serious. Makes the time pass by more quickly.”

  “Do you want me to give you a pill?”

  “What for?”

  “For bravery.”

  “Yeah right. There are no pills for bravery. They are called drugs.”

  “Call them what you will, they work.”

  “No, thank you, I’d rather not do drugs.”

  “Drugs affect all your senses. They affect your thinking. The pill I am offering you annihilates your fear, but leaves your other senses untouched. Do you know what fear actually is?”

  “A feeling. An answer to a stress factor.”

  “Cowardice.”

  One of the men guarding them intervened. They both suspected they were listening anyway. And they had probably started to get bored. Bulky, with a body twice the size of Dylan’s and harsh looking, it was best not to look him in the eye. But maybe Rose Brooks had started the conversation specifically for him to step in.

  “Are you never scared?” asked Rose.

  “No,” replied the man.

  “Aren’t you scared of dying?”

  “Let me guess. You could help and give me a pill, right?”

  “No, the pill was only for Dylan. But I am curious. What makes you so fearless? What makes you able to stare death in the face so serenely?”

  “Training. Experience. You have to accept that dying is not the issue. You die, you’re gone, and that’s it. Night falls. The issue is what you do while alive. Because fear stops you from living the way you’d want to. You have to realize fear is an obstacle stopping you from reaching your goals. Fear is for the weak.”

  Rose Brooks was right. A few hours later, Garry King stood with them in that
living room. And he had access to all the den’s plans. It had been a mere formality to penetrate the structure of the building. Garry King had led Krugar to believe he had a safe place where he could find shelter in case he needed it. Garry King came personally to make sure that this whole business ended today. He could have sent a few people he trusted to do this dirty job, but there was a chance, although very slim, that Krugar would have another ace up his sleeve. For instance, he could have a trustee to whom he left the duty of handing Garry King over to the authorities in case anything happened to him. He had to make sure no one would get to him in any way. The most likely scenario would be Krugar fighting right until the end—dying in battle. There was a fight, true, but not as fierce as he would have suspected. It had ended too easily.

  “Help me understand. Didn’t I make you king of New Hope? Didn’t I give you everything you asked for? You had it all and still you wanted to turn against me. Why, Krugar?”

  “Give me a break already. It was clear you wanted to get rid of me. That is why you wanted to send me after Sarah. Why me? And how did you know about this place? Why are we still talking nonsense? It’s obvious you wanted to play me for a fool.”

  “True, I left you under the impression that you had a secret spot. But this is only natural. A player my size must give the impression that he has weaknesses as well. When in fact, I don’t.”

  “Don’t be so sure about it!”

  “Mr. Garry King. I’m so thrilled you are here. This monster was keeping me prisoner. I have nothing to do with him, I am here...”

  “Don’t even bother, Mr. Dylan Smith. We both know whose side you are on. And you must be...”

  “She has no business in this, sir. She is my friend. She helped me...”

  Dylan didn`t have the courage to call her my girlfriend. Rose Brooks cuddled into him trying to fake a closeness of some kind. She realized the gestures didn’t have to be exaggerated. Soon the gas would start working. She wasn’t at all worried that in the room were six sheriffs, all pointing their guns at them. They hadn’t been tied up yet, which was good; they wouldn’t waste time getting loose.

  Krugar continued. “Let me tell you where you went wrong. To begin with, you wanted to get rid of me. I was useful to you when I did all your dirty jobs, but, now I realize that was precisely what made you want to replace me. I knew too much...”

  Garry King wasn’t paying much attention to what was said. He walked up close to Rose Brooks and studied her. He looked at Dylan.

  “Some interesting suit your friend has on. Where did she get it from?”

  No answer.

  “If I remember correctly, you had another girlfriend. You were forced to watch her being executed—in the mansion owned by this monster who now keeps you prisoner. But you know what? This is your lucky day. You can return him the favor.”

  Garry King picked up a gun and handed it to Dylan. Three of the sheriffs who were present had their guns pointed at him. One of the laser beams was pointed right at the forehead. What could Dylan do? Try to stall? No, if he stalled, he would risk something even worse. If only he knew how much time he had until the activation of the drug!

  Dylan grabbed the gun. He looked at Sarah Sanchez. She looked him in the eyes. She was calm. Too calm. He fired the gun. The projectile hit her in her right shoulder. It was a real bullet, not one from a Taser. Nobody saw it coming. He didn`t mean to kill her, which was why he shot her toward her right, as far away as possible from the heart. It would have been better to shoot her in the leg, but he wanted to be as believable as he could, as if he shot her out of revenge. He wasn’t much of a shooter. In fact, he was quite poor at it. Chances were he might have hit her elsewhere. He took his chances. Sarah Sanchez fell to the ground. She pressed the spot where she had been shot with her left hand. Blood seeped through her fingers. Krugar leaned over her. He held her hand. Although hurt, she was strong enough to tell him clearly, “Kill him.”

  Garry King watched the scene petrified—literally petrified. The gas had taken effect. Rose Brooks grabbed a gun and injected the governor with the antidote. Then she put his hands behind him and handcuffed him. She put a gun to his head. Krugar, too, realized that the sheriffs couldn’t do anything to him anymore. He picked up a gun from the floor. Dylan tried to placate him with his gesture. If only he had waited for a few minutes more before shooting Sarah!

  “Krugar... I didn’t want to... I was forced...”

  Krugar already had the gun pointed at him. Dylan heard the shot ring in his ears. He closed his eyes. Soon he would find out if an afterlife really existed. It was too bad that once you discovered this secret, you couldn’t share it with anyone else. He hoped he would be with Lydia again. And, maybe, they would live together in a place where no evil could get to them. A paradise just for the two of them.

  “Dylan!”

  He opened his eyes. Krugar was lying on the floor. Rose Brooks realized what was about to happen and she shot first, before Krugar had a chance to fire. There was the chance that Krugar’s desire for revenge wouldn’t be satisfied with a single dead body and he would go for her, too. Dylan was still confused. He guessed he would have to wait a little longer until he found out for sure whether there was an afterlife or not.

  “Dylan, come here! Put the gun to his head!”

  Other sheriffs were barging in. The surveillance cameras, imbedded in the uniforms, were sending real-time images to the center, so everyone already knew all that happened in the room. There was no more time to waste. Dylan still had the gun in his hand—the same gun with which he had shot Sarah Sanchez. He did as he was told. Him to the left, Rose Brooks to the right and Garry King in the middle.

  “If you shoot, he dies too!”

  The sheriffs looked on, not knowing what to do.

  “Don’t listen to him. Take them down,” said Garry King.

  To Garry King, it didn’t matter anymore that his life was at stake. If they made it out of here alive, he was finished anyway. He’d better at least try. Play everything on this card. But the sheriffs hesitated. If only one had threatened him, maybe someone would have brave enough to bear the burden of his attempted escape. But there were two of them holding guns to his temple, and that made things very delicate. He needed precision and coordination. The three of them shouldered their way among the sheriffs who had settled on watching them march toward the exit. When they reached the surface, Rose Brooks unveiled her true identity, as an NSO agent. This confused those gathered around even more. Shortly, other NSO agents arrived, waving their badges around. Garry King didn’t protest anymore. After everything was made public and judged, he would return here, as an official inhabitant.

  “Thank you, Dylan. We wouldn’t have made it without you.”

  “No way. You’re just saying that to make me feel good. Thank you anyway.”

  Rose Brooks smiled at Dylan.

  #

  Nathan Green had arrived at the National Security Office. While sitting at a round table, he and Dylan were having coffee. A media channel bought their exclusivity rights for the story, for a pretty hefty sum. For a while, they will live well without needing to work.

  During his interview, Dylan stated that the Island of the Rich should be abolished. His proposition turned into a legislative initiative and then—within just a few weeks—into a law. It was voted by a decisive majority. Yes, it was a significant source of income for the state, but that became the only pro argument. Historically, it was proven that it was impossible to control the huge flow of people coming and leaving the island. And that resulted in the law meaning different things to different people. The rich had too many benefits compared to the less fortunate. If such an area would ever be created again, it would most definitely not be in New Hope.

  Dylan was even offered a job at the NSO. He turned it down. He needed time to get back on track. Only then would he make a decision. He lived the experience of New Hope in his own skin. Was that good? Was it a step forward? The fact that, to him, the wh
ole thing had been drama prevented him from being able to decide.

  Krugar had, after all, collaborated with the authorities. So had Sarah Sanchez who managed to survive. They had even received gratitude for that. They probably still live in the same area of New Hope.

  What would happen if, while walking casually down the street, they encountered Garry King?

  About the Author

  http://www.mariuspitigoi.ro/

  EMAIL: contact@mariuspitigoi.ro

  FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thefreecity/