Ascendancy

by Karri Thompson

  “Please help us find them,” I begged, giving Michael’s hand a squeeze.

  “I will,” said Magnum with a nod. “I’ll search Liaisons’ databases, poke around a bit and see what I can discover.”

  Michael added, “Just don’t get caught. Don’t do anything to make anyone suspect you’re helping us.”

  I imagined Trail in one of the cells at GenH3, his body slumped, his head in his hands as he sat awaiting word of his fate, and I let my hand slip free from Michael’s. “So, how did you know we were here at Trail’s house?” I asked Magnum.

  “I didn’t. I knew you were on the run in Region Three, and I assumed you’d come here. So far, this house hasn’t been reassigned to another energy-plant employee. I think it has something to do with the fact that Trail chose the ‘right to purchase’ option over a traditional lease when he was given the use of this house.”

  I’d heard of the “right to purchase” option. What a joke. So-called “buying” a house basically meant that the owners had the “right” to live in the property until they died or decided to leave the residence at their own will, instead of taking the chance to “lease,” which gave the government the “right” to take away or reassign properties at their will.

  “In the meantime, the electricity has been reduced, so the only thing running is the food preserver. You need to do everything you can to make this house appear empty. You’ve turned off the obscuras, but it probably won’t be noticed since they were already in sleep mode.”

  Michael said, “We can’t stay here forever. They’ll eventually find us. Is there somewhere we can hide for now?”

  “There is a place where you can go until things settle down.”

  “But it will never settle down.” A chill grew as the base of my spine, working its way up until I trembled. “They won’t stop looking for Victoria or me.”

  “They will. At some point they have to, because…” He lowered his head and squeezed the bridge of his nose like he was fighting a headache. “Look, I can’t say much more, but I can say this. Something big is going to happen, and after it does, you won’t need to hide anymore.” He looked at me, his eyes so intense I shivered again. “And there is something else I need to say, something I need to do, something I’ve been regretting.”

  “What?” I asked scooting away from him.

  “I intercepted communication between Harrington and one of his security leads. Harrington knows you’ve somehow left Tasma. Although he thinks the two of you are here in Region Three he suspects you will try to get to Region One to meet with people who might help you.”

  “Who?” Michael asked skeptically.

  “You mean people with these?” I lifted the armband on my wrist.

  “He doesn’t know about these. None of the presidents do, and they never will,” he said, making a fist. “When I said people, I meant everyone associated with your case: Ella, Dr. Love, Dr. Leo, Kale. Even Dr. Little won’t escape an interrogation and an extra dose of daily obscura views. Harrington thinks you’re on your way to Region One so you can meet with some of them.”

  “Damn.” Michael crossed his arms hard. “The last thing we want is Ella and Dr. Love implicated in any of this,” he said.

  “But he doesn’t suspect you’re involved?” I asked, placing my hand on Magnum’s shoulder.

  “Not so far. I’ve done an excellent job of covering my tracks,” he said with pride, “and I eagerly fulfill every electronic security upgrade I’m assigned, especially when I know the orders come directly from Harrington. I’m a pretty good actor”—he winked—“Hopefully that will be enough to keep a security team from recording my every move. But just in case that does happen, you two have to get out of here as soon as possible.”

  “Like Michael, I’m worried about Ella, Dr. Love, and the others. Do you think they’ll hurt them?” I asked. The thought of anyone harming any of them sent a burst of heat to my cheeks, and I clenched my jaw until it subsided.

  “They might get scanned by a brain augmenter, but they didn’t have any contact with either one of you after you left, and since they never conspired in your escape they won’t be forced to give anything up that would incriminate them or you. They should be okay. Their memories of you aren’t fresh.”

  “But yours are. If anything happens to you—” I shuddered and the muscles in my neck tightened. Michael put his arm over my shoulder and rocked me against him in a side hug.

  “Nothing’s going to happen to me.” Magnum tapped his left temple just below a pink circle the size of a small button. “It’s an inhibitor. I implanted it this morning and doing it wasn’t recorded in Liaison One. If they interrogate me, they’ll have no idea what I’m telling them is a bunch of lies.”

  “Be extra careful. Don’t take any chances,” said Michael. Wrinkles of worry developed between his eyebrows and his hold on me tightened.

  “Don’t worry. I will. And I won’t.” He winked again, but even his self-assured smile wasn’t enough to stop a feeling of fear and repulsion from rippling through my chest at the thought of any one of my friends being questioned by Harrington’s security team.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am right,” said Magnum. “But now, you need to focus on getting to your next location. I have a mover ready to take you there. A blue Model Three.”

  “A Model Three?” Michael smiled. “How did you manage to get hold of one of those?”

  “I have my ways, and certain modifications have been made. No hoverment blockers, tolls automatically met without being recorded between divisions. I mapped out your route. You’re going to Sector Nine, Division Forty-Six. It’s normally a twenty-hour drive, but in order to avoid as many obscuras as possible, it’s turned out to be more like twenty-four.”

  “We can handle that,” said Michael confidently.

  “There’s also a 320 mile stretch across a two-lane road,” explained Magnum. “That particular section isn’t operated with road regulators, and auto steering and navigation isn’t available, which I know you don’t like, Michael. But it also means no obscuras.”

  I nudged Michael. “It’s in the Outback.”

  “I’ve never been on that road myself, but I’ve heard about it,” said Magnum. “Take plenty of supplies. Apart from a few mover-boost stations, there’s nothing out there except the largest on-shore oil fields in the region.”

  Magnum handed me the E-Pin. I unrolled the E-Paper and inserted the pin. A map of Queensland developed, glowing in various shades of green, and our route, a line that zig-zagged through each city and straightened once it hit the Outback, burned pumpkin orange on the paper.

  I was so sick of everything in this world being based upon numbers—from one’s genetic code to one’s address. To the clones, it was a matter of convenience; to me it was a matter of making everything conventional.

  “Thank you for helping us.” I kissed Magnum’s cheek. “You will always be my dreamy rebel without a cause.”

  “Without a cause? I’m not so sure about that. Believe me, I have a cause,” he said, and his eyes drifted to the armband on my wrist. “Before you thank me, there’s something else I need say.” He took a deep breath. “You two are going to go into hiding, but not Victoria. I’m going to take her with me. I can’t tell you where, or for how long, but from this moment on and until it’s time, she can’t be with you.”

  My face boiled, my throat closed, and my heart felt like it was being pulled from my chest. Michael rocked forward, the muscles in his face tight and a vein rising on his forehead.

  “What? No way! I won’t let you take her! I’ll never separate from her again—ever!” I screamed.

  “You have to.”

  “Why?” shouted Michael as he squared his shoulders.

  “I can’t tell you why. You just have to trust me.”

  “No!” I stood and backed away from Magnum. “How can you do this? I thought you were one of us. That you—”

  “I am, and that’s why this
is the only way this can work.” He took a step forward.

  “Don’t you dare touch her,” I said, my lips tight, and my heart pounding with indescribable panic.

  “I am so sorry, Cassie, but I have to. At some point you’ll understand, and you’ll be reunited with her, I promise.”

  “No!”

  “You’re not taking her,” said Michael, stepping in front of me as I held Victoria. “Leave,” he said. “We’ll figure out what to do on our own. We don’t need you.”

  To my surprise, Michael gave Magnum a shove. Magnum stumbled backward and regained his balance.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this, Michael. Let me take her, and then the two of you can—”

  Michael’s fist met Magnum’s face. Magnum jumped backward, dodged a second blow, and shuffled forward, landing a jab against Michael’s jaw in a combination punch that left Michael struggling to stay on both feet.

  “No, leave him alone!” I screamed at Magnum. But he proceeded with another shot that dropped Michael to the floor.

  Out of breath, his fists bloody and his right eye beginning to swell, Magnum turned toward me. Why was he doing this? I trusted him. Loved him like a brother. And now…I lifted the laser gun I’d pulled from my pocket seconds before. My hands shook as I pointed it at Magnum’s chest. It was surreal—Magnum demanding Victoria, and me threatening to shoot him.

  I swallowed hard, and my insides trembled as violently as my hands. “Don’t make me use this,” I screamed. Victoria was awake now and crying, her face hot and wet with tears, and I realized I was crying, too, as a set of angry tears dripped to my upper lip. “Because I will. I won’t let you take her.”

  Magnum put up his hands and came toward me. “Just relax, Cassie. It’s not as bad as it sounds. You just have to trust me.”

  “No, I don’t trust you—not anymore,” I said, my whole body shuddering as I backed into the corner of the room.

  “You won’t do it. You won’t shoot me.” His face crumpled, and as he came closer, I saw that his eyes were watery.

  “Yes, I will,” I said through tight teeth and steadied my trembling arm to keep the gun aimed at the middle of his chest.

  “I don’t want to hurt you like I did Michael. I didn’t want to hurt him, either, but there was no other choice. Now lower the pistol and hand me Victoria.”

  “No!” I said and let my finger wrap around the trigger.

  His dimples were gone, sunken somewhere in the mess of his trembling cheeks, and his blue eyes, begging me to give in, blinked, but remained misty.

  He was right. I couldn’t shoot him, but I kept the pistol raised, sizing him up, wondering if I could get him close enough to cold-cock him into unconsciousness and then run away with Victoria. But where would I go without Michael or the key to the mover?

  Magnum’s mother had risked her safety to care for Victoria and to keep her hidden for us once before. Magnum had been a constant friend, jeopardizing his life on more than one occasion. In fact, he’d had many prior opportunities to take Victoria, so why now?

  But I’d come to learn the only person I could trust was Michael. How was I so certain Magnum was true to his word? That he wouldn’t hand Victoria over and not rat us out?

  “I have to do this. It’s for your own good. For Victoria’s own good. You’ll understand, and then you’ll forgive me. I already told you, something big is going to happen. I wish I could tell you what that is, but I can’t.” His lips came together, he inhaled deeply through his nose, and swallowed hard. “I’m only doing what’s best for all of us. Having Victoria with you increases your chances of getting caught. You’ll see her again. I promise. And in the meantime, she’ll be protected and loved. Then if Harrington finds you, at least he won’t have Victoria.” He reached toward me, but I stepped back.

  “I’ll personally guarantee Victoria’s safety. Harrington will not be able to find her.” He tried to touch me and I flinched away.

  “How?” I sobbed.

  “You need to give me your trust. I’ve never let you down before, and I won’t now. I’d never do anything to put you in harm’s way. Please,” he urged.

  What choice did I have? As much as I threatened to do so, I could never shoot Magnum. His tone, the gentle glint in his eyes—they told me he was only doing what he thought was right, what he had to do in order to protect Victoria and make things better in this world. He could take my baby, overpower me and rip her from my arms, since I wouldn’t be able to find the courage to kill him. But he hadn’t. He was trying to reason with me first.

  And what if he was right? If Michael and I were captured, and Victoria was with us, I knew that I’d regret not turning her over to Magnum when I had the chance.

  I lowered the pistol and sank to the floor, sobbing as I held Victoria against me, kissing her forehead and her cheeks. “I love you,” I told her again and again as she cried, and her little fists shook.

  “Cassie,” Magnum said softly. He was on the floor next to me. He set his hand on my shoulder, and I jerked away. “You’re doing the right thing. Now let me have her.” But I tightened my grip and continued to cry into her blanket.

  “Have faith in what I’m trying to do, what I’m involved in, what I can’t make you completely privy to—at least not now.”

  I loosened my grip and Magnum lifted her away from me. It felt like he was ripping my heart from my chest.

  “It’s okay, Victoria. Remember me?” he said in a baby-talk voice. He stood up and rocked her as he spoke.

  “Cassie, follow the directions I’ve given you.” He rolled up the E-Paper and set it next to me. “You’re going into hiding. The map leads to Chu-Lung’s. He’s not expecting you. Contacting him was too risky.”

  He reached out to me, tilting his head and blinking misty eyes, but I didn’t take his hand.

  Victoria settled against his chest, and her wailing subsided into a whimper. The center of my head hurt, and my eyes were so blurry from crying I could barely see Magnum.

  “When you get there, show him your armband. From now on, you and Michael need to wear one at all times under your clothes. It’s a sign. Wearing one might mean the difference between life and death. Tell Chu-Lung that I sent you, and that he’s been ordered to keep the two of you hidden there until he hears otherwise. Do you understand?”

  My throat was so tight, and my crying so violent, the only thing I could do was nod. But I had to be strong for Victoria, for Michael, and for our twins. I inhaled, dried my eyes with the back of my hands, and rolled back my shoulders with another deep breath.

  “I’ve also left you a card with enough gas credits to get you to Chu-Lung’s. When you go outside, you’ll find the blue Model Three parked a block away at the end of the street and out of view from any obscuras. You can’t miss it.”

  He paused. What the hell? Was he waiting for me to say “thanks?”

  “It’s yours,” he began again. “It’s untraceable and un-trackable, and its operations have been set to respond to this and only this universal key.” He tossed a small, rubber disk onto the table. “Get some rest, pack some food, and leave tonight.”

  He knelt down next to me. Victoria was asleep, but her cheeks were still shiny and red with tears. I picked up her plump hand and held it against my lips as I sobbed. My throat was still too rigid for words.

  “Tell Michael I’m sorry,” he said. He squeezed his eyes shut, wiped them dry with the back of his hand, and stood.

  “Goodbye, Cassie.” Magnum slung Victoria’s diaper bag over his shoulder and walked out the back door.

  I wrenched the armband from my wrist and threw it across the room. Then on all fours, I crawled to Michael’s limp body and wrapped my arms around him.

  “Victoria,” I said when my throat was loose enough. “She’s gone.”

  Would there ever be a time when someone wasn’t stealing my baby from me?

  Chapter Seven

  “Bastard,” uttered Michael as he held a towel full of ice against h
is jaw.

  “How’s your head?” I asked, leaning against his side.

  “It’s pounding enough to make me forget about the fact that my arm still hurts.”

  “So we’re doing it, right? Leaving tonight? I mean, we really don’t have a choice. Where else can we go?” I wouldn’t let myself get caught up in the lost dream of my three daughters and me in that cute home on Tasma with Michael right next door. There was no place for sentiment and false hope, just determination. I picked up the laser pistol and checked its readings. There were twenty laser bullets left. “And maybe I can persuade him to tell us a little more about where they’re taking Victoria,” I added, tapping the pistol against my palm.

  “It’s actually a good sign that he left it.” Michael shifted the ice from his jaw to his cheek.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The gun. Magnum could have taken it with him, but he didn’t, which means he wanted us to have it.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “So, it tells me that despite what he did, he’s still one of the good guys. If he wasn’t on our side, he would have taken it so it couldn’t be used against him or anyone one else who wears one of those armbands.”

  “I thought about that, too, but it still doesn’t make it right that he took Victoria from me.”

  He took my hand. “It doesn’t seem right now, but he said eventually you’d understand. And until that time, we need to stay strong.”

  “I know.” My bottom lip quivered, and just when I thought there wasn’t enough left in me to cry again, a tear dripped to my chin.

  “The sun’s going down,” he said, rising to look out the window. “Did you get any sleep while I was unconscious?”

  “No, I couldn’t sleep.”

  “We should try to catch a couple hours before we go.”

  Sleeping in one of the bedrooms wasn’t an option. We wanted to be in the front room where we could hear if someone or something came to the front or back door, and what we came up with was even more comfortable than sleeping on an air mattress on the rocky desert floor when I was on the archaeological digs with my mom.