by L T Anderson
Curtis folded his arms and turned to Johnny. “Don’t try to school me. Changers are information and technology. We control it all. That’s what makes us powerful. Our technology dictates what the Bystanders see, hear and believe. The poor little Bystanders are tools for us. The Punks are like a boil on the ass of our progress.”
Johnny scratched his head. “No offense, but you’ve become one ruthless bastard.”
“That’s laughable coming from you,” Curtis said. “But how else would I be? When your heart’s been fucked over by everyone you ever cared about, you’ll be ruthless, too.” He glanced up one last time before turning to leave. “We have a lot of work to do. The repopulation of Tremayne is behind schedule.”
“How do you figure that, boss?” Johnny said, following Curtis toward the door. “Levi set the timeline for incursion at the end of the month.”
“Another stupid decision,” Curtis said. “The Bystanders need to be hit hard, fast, and now.”
The two exited the room and turned down the guard-lined corridor. “Dang, dude,” Johnny said. “I agree with you about the Punks. But we still need Bystanders. We can’t survive without them. They hold our life source.”
“Get off your high horse, Logan. I never thought I’d have to listen to your heart talking.”
Johnny stopped. “Dude. Everyone’s got a heart. Even being a Changer, you always love somebody. Hell, your parents are Bystanders.”
Curtis stopped three steps in front of Johnny. He didn’t turn around. “Mention my parents again and you’re a dead man.”
Chapter 45
Boy in the Cage
A seven-foot-tall cylindrical steel cage rested atop a sturdy steel platform inside the Hangar at Punk headquarters. A large padlock secured a heavy hasp on the cage’s door. Tim, the thirteen-year-old boy apprehended in Tremayne, sat knees up on the cage floor.
Pops stared up at the damaged front suspension on a BearCat from Inspection Pit Two. “Gonna take some parts we don’t have to fix this one.”
The boy in the cage looked up. “You guys have shit for vehicles, man.”
“Hep.” Geezer whipped his glasses off and looked at the boy. “And you got shit fer brains, Little Man.”
“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out,” the boy said.
Geezer squatted down and peered under the crippled vehicle. “We could salvage some parts from them totaled Cats.”
“Looks like that’ll have to be the plan for now,” Pops said as he mounted the steps up to ground level.
A heavy surge of cold air drifted into the Hangar when Fred and Thomas entered with Felix.
Pops wiped his hands on a grease rag and tucked it into a back pocket. “Check that, Geeze.” He motioned to the trio. “Must be that doctor from the Underground.”
Fred smiled and waved as the three approached Pops and Geezer. “Hi, guys. Got somebody to introduce to you.”
Felix stopped at the steel cage and crouched in front of the boy.
The boy looked up from his cell. “The fuck are you looking at?”
Felix remained fixed on the boy’s face. “This is a SOUL Chybrid, gentlemen.”
The boy raised a middle finger to Felix, then went back to tapping on his cell.
Fred turned around as the doctor stood up. “Seriously? That explains a few things.”
Geezer pointed a rag at the boy in the cage. “Explains why he hasn’t eaten a thing since he got here.” He looked at Pops. “What’s it been, ’bout two weeks?”
“About that,” Pops said. He looked at Fred. “Krys brought him from lockup a few days ago and had him put in the cage.”
“Probably anticipating Felix’s arrival,” Fred said. “Speaking of, I’d like you two to meet Dr. Felix Yaz. He’s a Rogue, like us.”
Pops extended a calloused, greasy hand. “I’m Pops. Nice to meet you, Dr. Yaz.” He motioned to Geezer. “This is Geezer. He’s smarter than he looks.”
“You little shit.” Geezer tossed a rag at Pops, hitting him squarely in the face. “I’ll introduce myself.” He held his hand out to Felix.
Felix shook Geezer’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Geezer.”
Pops couldn’t hold back a hearty laugh. “Meet Dr. Yaz, Mr. Geezer.” He shook his head and tossed the rag back at Geezer.
Geezer pursed his lips and walked over to the main workbench. He occupied himself wiping hand tools and hanging them on a sturdy backboard. “Mr. Geezer…”
“Hey, Geeze,” Thomas said. “We have things to discuss, and you and Pops are going to be instrumental in getting Felix acquainted with your setup here.”
“Yeah, okay,” Geezer said. “I’ll be right there. Just cleaning up after Mr. Messy Pops.” He chuckled quietly at his joke.
Felix stood with his hands folded behind his back. He surveyed the Hangar, floor to ceiling. “I am impressed with your operation. It seems you have many valuable tools for fabrication and custom assemblage.”
Pops turned to Geezer. “C’mon, old man. Let’s give the doctor the grand tour.”
Ace answered the two-way radio at the communications console in the Depot. “Gotcha, Jasper. Go ahead.”
“Yeah, Ace. Got a couple in a souped-up four-by pickup here. Guy says his name is Drew. Says they’re here to see Krystal.”
“Copy, Ace. That’s Drew and Sydney. Krystal’s expecting them. Let ’em through.”
Dion lit a cigarette from behind the bar. “This is a good move, Krys.” He rested his elbows on the bar top and blew a smoke ring. “Bystanders with balls. We need a few more like these.”
Jimbo leaned against a 1960s jukebox in the corner of the room, his arms crossed. “You ever see their setup in Tremayne? Me and Win checked it out a few months ago during the acid testing operation.”
“Never seen it,” Dion said.
“You need to get out more, boss,” Winter said. “Holy hell, it’s high-tech.”
“They’re a good addition,” Krystal said. “When Ryk and I tapped them for assistance, they were more than willing to pitch in. Seemed eager almost.”
“Got that right,” Ryker said. “They both took vacation from their jobs to help us out this time.”
“How long’s their vacation?” Dion said.
Ryker grew antsy. He stepped behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of water. “Three weeks, starting today.”
“So what’s the plan, Krys?” Dion said. “You’re the answer girl these days.”
Krystal swiveled around on her barstool to face Dion. “I don’t have all the answers, Dion. But my strategy is to surround myself with the best of the best, starting right here in this room.”
“She’s following your own rule, bro,” Ryker said. “Damn, look around you. Who’s better than this team you formed?” He studied the faces of his friends seated and standing in the Depot. “You, Jimbo, Winter, Ace, Krystal and me. You got the Three Amigos and Lace in Tremayne. Well, except for Will. Pops and Geezer? None better.”
Krystal softened. “I’m just adding to an already great team in areas where we don’t have expertise, Dion.”
“She’s right,” Winter said. “Punks have muscle. We have brute force. We have determination. But we don’t have the technical expertise to go head to head with the Changers. Not at the level they’ve reached.”
“We’re being left behind, technologically,” Jimbo said. “Comes a time when muscle on might just don’t hack it.”
Ryker walked back around the bar and headed toward the door. “And that time is now.” He lifted his duster from a hook on the wall. “Whatever the circumstances were that brought us Krystal, you made the right choice putting her in charge. She attracted Felix, Fred and Thomas, and now she’s managed to get two of the best Bystanders around to help us out. I call that an A Team.”
Ace spun around from the comm console to face the group. “Not to be a downer, but it’s all hodgepodge, right?”
Jimbo stood up straight and
uncrossed his arms. “Whadda you mean, hodgepodge?”
Ace was unfazed by Jimbo’s posture. “You guys are acting all sentimental, like…” He held up both hands and raised his eyebrows. “…ooh, we’re all family, and that’s gonna win out over everything. I mean, like, whatever we have in technological know-how and all from Felix and them, the Changers have that tenfold.”
“Sounds like you’re giving up without a fight, bro—” Dion said.
“No,” Krystal said. “He makes a good point. Everybody has to remember we’re underdogs here. Let’s not any of us underestimate the power of the Changers.”
“That’s exactly my point, Krys,” Ace said. “The second we let our guard down, or get overconfident, we’re dead.”
“Call it overconfident or anything else you want,” Jimbo said. “I’m puttin’ my money on the Punks, no matter what.”
“Me, too,” Winter said.
A loud triple knock on the Depot door broke the tension. Drew cracked the door open and peeked inside. “Room for two more?”
Ryker pulled the door open and wrapped an arm over Drew’s shoulder. “Get in here, you two.” He embraced Sydney. “Good to see you, Syd.”
Krystal stood from the barstool and walked across the room. She faced the pair, hands on her hips. “Welcome back, guys. We got temp quarters set up for you. Get unpacked and meet Ryk and me in the Hangar.”
“Copy, Ace? Copy, Ace? Nico here.” The voice on the ceiling speaker mixed with heavy background noise and chatter.
All eyes turned toward the comm console.
Ace spun around in his seat. “Ace here, buddy. Go ahead.”
“Things are blowing up here. Holy shit, it’s ten o’clock at night and I’ve never seen so many people and vehicles.”
“Do you have anything that is automated?” Felix said.
Pops scratched his chin. “Well…not really.”
Geezer placed his hands on his hips and stared up at the two-story-high ceiling in the massive manufacturing facility behind the Hangar. “Welp, we converted this place a while back.” He pulled his glasses from a top pocket on his coveralls and looked into Felix’s eyes. “Used to be an assembly plant for electric cars.”
Felix crossed his arms high over his chest. “Curious…” He surveyed the remnant of row upon row of steel framing, I-beam construction and empty supports that once housed computer terminals. He placed a hand on his cheek and looked at Fred. “This has possibilities.”
“How long do you think it would take to get it close to what you need?” Fred said.
Felix turned to Pops. “There are inoperable mechanical Chybrid bodies outside the Perimeter, no?”
Pops wiped his sweaty hands on his coveralls and pulled a can of chewing tobacco from a pocket. “I reckon there are. We retrieved all our people from the battlefield out there.” He motioned toward the main gate. “Didn’t see a reason to pick up any of them mechanical beasts.”
“Good idea, Felix,” Thomas said. “Fred and I know everything about those suckers.”
Fred snapped his fingers. “Of course. They’re chock-full of transponders and reprogrammable circuitry.”
Thomas’s eyes widened. “Not to mention mechanical joints and—”
“Precisely why I chose you two as my top scientists,” Felix said.
Geezer looked at Felix above his glasses. “Those robots out there’s pretty wrecked up. Not to mention muddy as hell. You plannin’ on salvaging parts?”
“Exactly what he’s planning,” Pops said, glancing at Felix. “We’ll get a team together to round ’em up.”
“All righty, then. Guess I’ll get a place cleared out,” Geezer said. He scanned the expansive building. “Corner over there looks good.”
Felix looked down at the polished concrete floor and began to pace. “Time is of the essence. We need people.”
“Shit,” Geezer said. “We got people. Lots of ’em.”
Felix stopped, turned around and looked at Geezer. “I am not talking about bodies, Mr. Geezer.”
Pops chuckled.
Felix pointed at Fred and Thomas. “I am talking about scientists, technicians. Like these men here.”
Geezer yanked the rag from his back pocket and began to polish his already clean glasses. “We got smart guys, too.”
Felix nodded once. “I will grant you that. And we need the Punks. But I am talking about people who know mechanical engineering, science and technology—”
“We know a lot of that,” Pops said. “We just don’t know what to call it.”
“I need people who speak my language,” Felix said. “I will be calling people from the Underground to join us.”
Fred started. “Wait. Who are you calling?”
Felix poked his hands into his pants pockets. “Never underestimate my connections, dear friend. There are thousands of Rogues in the Underground.”
“And how long till they time out?”
Felix held up a finger. “That’s why I told you time is of the essence.”
The boy in the cage stood to stretch his legs. He rolled up his sleeve, tapped the face of a virtual cell embedded in his wrist and held it to his ear. “Hello, Mr. Logan. The Punks are conspiring with Dr. Yaz to retrofit an old assembly plant at their headquarters. Yes, sir. He is alive and he is here. I am not clear as to the purpose of the retrofit at this time. Yes, sir. It may be advisable to dedicate a percentage of resources to this location. Yes. Dr. Yaz has indicated there are a number of defectors within our ranks that currently reside in the Underground. Of course I will. My next update to you will be at midnight, tonight.”
Chapter 46
The Plot Against Levi
Curtis and Johnny walked swiftly up the wide, brightly lit corridor on Level Nine in the Underground. Their long strides matched perfectly. The cadence of their boots clicked smartly in sync off the polished floor.
Curtis glanced up at one of many surveillance cameras. “You’re positive your quarters aren’t bugged?”
“Positive,” Johnny said. “But I’m just as positive yours are. You haven’t been around long enough to have them removed.”
“Another insane move by our leader,” Curtis said. “It’s a wonder he’s even in charge of dressing himself.”
The pair stopped in front of the door to Johnny’s quarters. He turned to Curtis. “Are you kidding? Considering what we’re about to discuss, it’s no wonder your quarters are still monitored.”
Curtis stepped ever so slightly toward Johnny. The two locked eyes. “Considering what we’re about to discuss, it’s insane your quarters are not still monitored.”
The skin on Johnny’s neck burned as he swiped his hand over the security panel adjacent to the door.
Curtis followed him inside and quickly assessed the huge living space. What’s this? Hollywood Regency? He walked across the room, stepped behind the bar and opened the fridge under the counter.
Johnny smiled as he flopped down on a long red velour sofa. He held a hand in the air. “Hey, toss me one.”
Curtis peered into the refrigerator. “Toss you one, what? Where’s your cold water bottles?”
“Oh. Well, I don’t think there are any cold waters in there. I thought you were grabbing a beer.”
Curtis looked up from behind the bar. “No cold water bottles?”
Johnny sat up straight on the sofa. “There’s some glasses behind you and some ice in the reservoir there. You’ll have to use the faucet for water.”
Curtis snatched a lead-crystal tumbler from the shelf behind him and scooped it into the container of ice cubes next to the fridge. He turned to fill the glass from the faucet.
“Can you toss me one, anyway?” Johnny said.
Curtis walked around the bar and stood next to one of the heavily padded barstools. “Nope. Get your own beer.”
Johnny hoisted his large frame from the sofa just as the door swished open.
Silver stood at t
he threshold, preventing the door from closing. She gazed around the room, hands on her hips, mouth agape. “You. Have. Got to be kidding me.” A smile she couldn’t prevent spread across her face. “Gold shag carpet. Red velour furniture.” Her gaze turned to Curtis as she stepped inside. She ran a hand over a barstool. “And leopard skin on your barstools?” She looked across the room at Johnny and laughed. “Where’s your velvet Elvis painting?”
Johnny jerked a thumb toward the hallway. “In the bedroom.” His eyes widened. “Hey! How’d you open my door? You bypassed my code?”
Silver’s smile turned from humorous to smug. “I have my ways. You know. Security chief stuff.”
Curtis smiled. “Get Logan a beer, Long.”
She tossed her cell on the bar top and stepped behind the counter. “I will not.” She was still smiling. “I’m fixing a drink. But get your own beer, Logan.”
A chime above the door sounded. Johnny bent over and tapped a panel on the side table next to the sofa. A monitor above the bar powered on instantly and displayed Dr. Rasmus standing in the hallway outside the door. Johnny pressed another button, and the door slid open.
Xander stepped inside and walked immediately to the bar. “Before we get started, I’m preparing myself a libation. Would you like a beer, Mr. Logan?”
Johnny walked over to the bar. “Nah, I’ll get my own.”
Curtis stepped away from the bar and seated himself in a large red velour side chair. “When you three are done getting your buzz on, let’s get down to business.”
Silver moved into the main living area and sat in a chair that matched Curtis’s. “Let me remind you, Dyer.” She held her highball glass in the air. “You’re not the boss of us.”
Xander finished preparing himself a martini and popped three olives into his mouth before dropping one into his glass. “Meeting’s at midnight, Mr. Dyer. We have a few minutes for casual conversation.” He looked up at Johnny. “Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Logan?”
“Get your refreshments, boys,” Silver said. “And get in here.”
Xander stood behind the bar and continued to munch on olives straight from the jar. “We can start any time, if that suits everyone. We are talking about the impending demise of our hapless leader, no?”