Rejin turned and studied him. They were standing on steps leading away from the ruins of a twenty-first century bank, its palatial columns long since crumbled to rubble. "Go where? We are nowhere. We are abandoned amongst the dead, reduced to history like everything else."
"But if we stay around here..." DuNoye began, watching the shadows as pallid faces leered from them. They were everywhere. He backed away, head turning from side to side. "We've got to get out of here."
"Father, please, they'll kill us," Ramona pleaded.
"They are the ghosts of our pasts, come for revenge. We cannot deny them their vengeance."
DuNoye started to run, all thoughts of loyalty forgotten. His footsteps clattered in the oppressive silence as he descended towards the street, but he didn't get far. Another spear fired out of the darkness and sank into his thigh, sending him tumbling. He yelled in pain and fright, trying to crawl to shelter, but the underground dwellers now emerged, their misshapen forms like something from a nightmare. They wore only rags to cover their pale, scabrous skin, carried flint axes and daggers, and they gibbered to each other in a guttural, impenetrable language.
DuNoye tried desperately to escape them, but they descended upon him with ease, the forerunners swinging their weapons above their heads with a whooping noise and burying the blades into his back. The impact laid him out flat, and they grabbed his arms, pulling him into the shadows, DuNoye struggling weakly. The hunger got too much for one so he hacked off a hand, bringing the severed wrist to his mouth and tore at the flesh.
When another beheaded him, Ramona screamed.
The two Judges entered into the slate-grey environs of the Undercity when they heard a shout rebounding off the ruins. Trager recognised it instantly.
"Ramona!"
The Wally Squad officer tore off at speed, following the scream's dying echoes, Dredd trying to catch up with him. They ran up a main street, spotting a group of troggies descending on a pair of figures ahead. Dredd fired his Lawgiver in the air several times and the subhuman creatures scattered instantly, shielding their eyes from the muzzle flash. He put a bullet through a couple of them to make sure they'd keep their distance.
Trager was the first to reach the pair. Rejin was pulling his daughter close to him, slowly retreating. The undercover Judge halted a few feet away from them, breathing heavily.
"Step away from him, Ramona," he ordered.
"She is not yours to command," the old man said.
"It's over, Rejin. Your little business is finished." He turned back to the daughter. "Please, Ramona, come with me. I can help you."
She looked at him, wary and scared. "I trusted you... and you lied to me. Everything you told me was a lie. You used me."
"I know," Trager replied, feeling his guts churn with self-loathing. "And I'm sorry. But this had to be stopped. Your father, DuNoye, they all had to be stopped. You can see that, can't you?"
"We don't have time for this," Dredd growled. "Troggies are gonna be back for more, and grud knows what else." He levelled his Lawgiver at the couple. "You creeps are under arrest. Hands in the air, now."
"Dredd, please," Trager said. "Can I just speak to her for a sec-"
"Trager, the operation is over. Your role is done. Now these two are lookin' at serious cube time."
Rejin suddenly crouched and grabbed a flint dagger from a nearby troggie corpse, jamming it against his daughter's neck. "We created such beauty, and you infected it all with your lies," he said to Trager. He studied her ashen face. "You even corrupted my flesh, to the point where I don't recognise this creature as being mine."
"F-Father," Ramona whispered, "I never wanted to hurt you..."
"Ramona, you don't owe him anything!" Trager yelled, fury boiling out of him. "Everything you've been brought up to believe in, everything you've been told, is a sham!"
"Don't listen to the deceiver," Rejin murmured.
"What did he tell you about what happened to your mother? That she left when you were a child? Was that it? That bastard murdered her! Strapped her down and filmed himself killing her!"
"No..." Ramona said quietly.
"I saw the film myself, Ramona. Anna was just another of his victims."
"You don't understand..." She started to weep.
"How can you carry on defending him?"
"Because she knows the truth," Rejin retorted. "Because you only saw what you wanted to believe."
Trager felt himself pause. "What?"
"Once she was old enough I had to teach my daughter how purity lies within the human body. That could only be done if she were to discover it by her own hand."
A terrifying realisation slammed through Trager like a ten tonne truck, stunning him to silence. The movie flashed back in his head and he remembered how he never saw the hands that wielded the blade or the camera, only the fear on the woman's face. Was it horror as she watched her own child approach her?
"Ramona," the Wally Squad Judge pleaded. "Tell me that isn't true..."
She looked at him directly, tears flowing freely, but there was a steely hardness behind her gaze. "What do you know about truth?"
"She is her father's daughter," Rejin said. "And you will never have her."
"This has gone far enough," Dredd barked, shooting a warning glance at Trager before turning his attention back to the old man. "Drop the weapon and step away from the girl, meathead."
"You think I will allow you to corrupt her further?"
"Drop it!" Dredd demanded again.
"Better that she is free, away from your touch," Rejin continued. Ramona closed her eyes as if in resignation. "Better she remain unsullied." And he plunged the dagger into her throat.
Trager didn't hear the gunshots as Dredd put half a dozen bullets through the old man's chest. His ears were filled with a roaring sound as he collapsed to his knees, cradling Ramona's head and keeping a hand pressed to her wound. He was shouting for a med-wagon, but his words seemed distant and muted like he was underwater. He was dimly aware of Dredd standing over him, saying something, but all he could do was gently rock the young woman in his arms and sob into her hair, feeling the slow beat of her heart beneath him and her shallow breath brush his skin.
When the med-droids finally arrived, it took them several minutes to extricate her from his grasp, but by then it was too late.
EPILOGUE:
FADE TO BLACK
There was a brilliant blue sky hanging over the Mega-City One skyline when Dredd pulled up outside Resyk. Striding inside the monolithic building, it never ceased to amaze him how quiet it was within; all he could hear were his boots echoing off the solemn corridors and gentle organ music lilting in the background. He knew that massive machines were at work beneath the surface, taking apart the corpses that were fed into its maw and reducing them to their usable components, but you wouldn't know they existed from the tasteful reception area. Here, grieving relatives could be consoled and were led to believe that their loved ones were going to a better place.
But once you entered the cavernous inner sanctum, the factory-like workings of the recycling plant became very clear. A huge conveyor belt dominated the space, upon which hundreds of cadavers travelled to the bonesaws waiting for them, and it was on a walkway above it that Dredd found Trager listening to the final words of the priest droid. There were no other mourners, and the robot was evidently on a default setting, giving a pre-recorded sermon and inserting Ramona Rejin's name where necessary. He supposed there would be nobody to give a personal touch to her passing because nobody ever knew her. Having been brought up in seclusion by her demented father, would anybody in the city actually know she was gone? Like Catalyst's victims, she became one of the metropolis's many disappeared.
Dredd hovered behind Trager until the droid had said its piece and trundled off to the next group of bereaved, then joined him at the safety rail looking out over the belt. The Wally Squad Judge didn't turn to face him, his hard, stern face simply watched the naked bodies tumbling past. Only his eyes betr
ayed his emotions.
"Dredd," Trager finally acknowledged.
"Trager."
"She's down there somewhere," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "I thought I might catch one last glimpse of her before she... before she went." He swallowed. "But there's so many down there, I've lost her. Lost her completely." He gripped the rail, his knuckles whitening.
"How are you feeling? Physically, I mean?" Dredd asked.
Trager glanced at the lawman for the first time and a light smile grazed his lips. "I'll be OK. A spell with the speed-heal sorted me out. I won't lose this," he gestured to the scar down the right side of his face, bisecting his cheek, "but I don't mind. It means every time I look in a mirror I won't be able to forget."
"Trager, you did what you could. You did what was asked of you as a Mega-City Judge. You can't afford to take it so personally."
The younger man shook his head, gazing below him. "It's easier for you, Dredd. You've had your feelings... severed. I just can't turn mine off like that. Every treachery, every lie I tell, is like a knife twisting in my guts. I disgust myself sometimes, the way I sell these people out."
"But justice has been served, that's the important thing. Creeps broke the law and paid the price."
"We all pay the price," Trager said quietly.
They stood in silence for a moment, a muted sobbing coming from the far side of the walkway. Eventually, Dredd asked, "You want to know what the inquiry found?"
"Go ahead."
"First off, they commended your actions throughout the operation, which brought down a major criminal organisation. And the ripples are continuing to spread as we follow up leads from both Catalyst's records and Peat's contacts. There was a big ring of premier-league businessmen involved in the distribution of the Vi-zines, and who helped cover for Rejin in return for substantial kickbacks. So far, seven companies have had their accounts frozen pending investigation."
Trager raised his eyebrows, impressed.
"The inquiry also felt your life was put unnecessarily at risk by Peat leaking Justice Department files, following which the Grand Hall is undergoing a review of security measures. Tek Division ran a source on the MAC infiltration and we've arrested a hacker that was working for the councillor. It looks like, thanks to you, politicians are going to be cut out of the info-loop even further."
It was the first time Trager had heard Dredd sounding genuinely grateful.
"However, my report mentioned certain times where I felt you overstepped the boundaries of being a Judge, and where life was taken at a personal level. Some of these charges were serious enough to warrant a trip to Titan... but given the circumstances, the inquiry edged towards leniency, and the final ruling was that you should be stripped of your badge. Also, that you leave the city."
The undercover officer nodded slowly. "What did Hendry say?"
"He walked out halfway through. Said we were throwing away a damn fine Judge."
Trager smiled. "And what do you think?"
"I think you threw it away yourself."
Trager was silent for a moment. "Maybe. But I won't miss it. I've seen enough death, enough broken lives." He looked the lawman in the eye. "You know how many people you've killed, Dredd?"
"No."
"No, neither do I." He pushed himself off from the rail and started to walk back towards the entrance. "I'll see you around, Joe." Then, he was gone.
Dredd stood for a moment, watching the dead pass beneath him. The case still troubled him. The degree of Rejin's insanity and the scale with which Catalyst had got away with mass murder, right under the nose of Justice Department itself, made him uneasy. He couldn't help feeling that McGruder or Silver - who had been strong supporters of the propaganda material in their day - must've realised the extent of his madness, and turned a blind eye, content that his raving anti-Sov films were being distributed all over the world. How much else could they have condoned, in the spirit of a "special relationship"? It was impossible to tell now, just more secrets that had been taken to the grave.
He wandered down the walkway, wincing as his back injury flared up. Getting old, Dredd thought, as he headed out into the light.
THE BIG MEG GLOSSARY
Black Atlantic Tunnel: A tunnel located below the Black Atlantic that connects Mega-City One to Brit-Cit.
Citi-Def: The City Defence Force (a civilian militia): a voluntary civilian army organised on a block basis that saw action against the Sov-Bloc invaders of the Apocalypse War in 2104.
City Bottom: The pre-Atomic rockrete foundations of Mega-City One, littered with the architectural, human and sub-hume refuse of the city. Also known as The Pits, this area is not recognized as one of the three city levels, and is often the last stop for Slummies who do not wish to live within society.
Council of Five (The): The central ruling council of Judges, consisting of the heads of the main divisions of the Justice Department, that acts as the Chief Judge's advisory body.
Cuidad Barranquilla: Located in the former Buenos Aires, 'Banana City' is considered to be one of the poorest and most corrupt cities in the World.
Dave the OrangUtan: Widely regarded as Mega-City One's finest mayor, Dave won a landslide mayoral race after gaining fame by appearing on the Tri-D show Tipsters Tonite. Sadly, Dave's term of office only lasted a couple of years as he and his owner, Billy Smairt, were murdered by Billy's best mate, barman Mo Molinsky.
Heatseeker Round: Also known as a Hotshot, this specialised ammo is made by capping a guided warhead onto a standard execution round, and rarely misses its target.
Hondo City: Also known as Hondo-Cit; the Japanese counterpart of Mega-City One.
Iso-Cube: The standard imprisonment for criminals; a huge block full of very small, plasteen, isolation cubes.
Long Walk (The): A tough journey a retired Judge decides to make to bring Law into the Cursed Earth or the Undercity. Once gone, few Judges are ever heard from again.
Luna-City: Also known as Luna-1, Luna-City is a colony on the moon established and maintained by the American Mega-Cities.
MAC (Macro-Analysis Computer): Referred to as the 'brain' of Mega-City One, MAC can even predict crimes before they happen, as well as being the information centre for all citizens and Judge activity.
Otto Sump: This extremely unattractive citizen won sixty million credits on the Tri-D show Sob Story, and started a chain of beauty parlours with his winnings. When the beauty treatments started turning people ugly, the look caught on and created a subculture of 'Uglies'. As Sump's new products were deemed unhealthy, a hefty 'Ugly Tax' was established. Despite this, demand for Sump's anti-beauty products have still persisted.
Pedway: A pedestrian-only pathway found all across Mega-City One at all levels. Motorised pedways are known as slidewalks and eeziglides.
Power Tower: A controlled volcano, the Power Tower obtains red hot lava from beneath the Earth's crust to provide most of Mega-City One's energy supply.
Robot Wars (The): In 2099, a renegade construction droid called Call-Me-Kenneth waged war against the Judges, killing thousands of cits and Judges. Dredd was able to bring the rebel droid down with the help of other loyal robots and Weather Control.
Sector House: A miniature version of the Grand Hall of Justice, of which there are hundreds located around the city. Sector Houses carry out all routine judging activities for their area.
Statue of Judgement: A massive rockcrete statue of a Judge erected for the second time in 2117, found in Sector 44. Unbeknownst to the public, the Public Surveillance Unit is housed within the statue's head.
Tri-D: The shortened term for three-dimensional holovision; thousands of both legal and pirate channels are available in Mega-City One.
Troggies: The blind descendants of a group of people who remained underground, the troggies have adapted to their dark environment, and have also in the past, made violent and dangerous forays into the city above them.
Umpty Candy: Formerly the most popular confectionary in the
city, it was eventually banned due to its extremely addictive nature. Later, the Mega-City Jong family procured the recipe from its creator, Uncle Ump, before killing him, then proceeded to establish the Umpty black market, selling the substance as a fine powder.
Undercity: Formerly New York City and Washington DC, this area was covered with a huge slab of concrete upon which Mega-City One was built. The Undercity is populated by a small number of mutants called 'troggies', who have adapted to live in the cold and dark.
Wally Squad: A group of undercover Judges who infiltrate criminal organisations. Wally Squad Judges are not well thought of by other Judges, as they are prone to become perps themselves.
Wreckers: Also known as street pirates, these armed gangs raid moving vehicles and rob them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Smith was employed as a desk editor for Pan Macmillan book publishers for three years before joining 2000 AD as assistant editor in July 2000 to work on a comic he had read religiously since 1985. He has been editor of the Galaxy's Greatest since December 2001. He lives in Oxford.
Extract
Other Titles
Indicia
Title Page
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Glossary
Author Biography
The Final Cut Page 22