13 Degrees of Separation

by Hechtl, Chris

  There were half a dozen women slaves in the group. A couple of kids, most served as pick pockets and servants to the group. Pope occasionally sent them out as informants. He had them hooked on drugs to keep them on a short leash. He was the only supply so he knew the craving would eventually drive them back to him, or kill them.

  The slaves weren't hooked on drugs. He'd considered it, but told her casually that it was a waste of rare material. “After all, the stuff may grow on trees here in the jungle, but it took months to ripen.” He had a chemistry set up, they made everything from Meth to the jungle hallucinogens, to designer drugs. One of the things he wanted her to do was to repair the food replicators in the complex so he could make supplies for more.

  He listened to her issues when she hesitantly tried to explain the problems. He nodded and had her make up a list. Somehow she felt better. “See?” he asked, petting her as he held her chain. “I'm not all bad,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Now go, get what you can done. I want another report by morning,” he said.

  She nodded and followed the goon assigned to guard her out.

  <=={----------

  Pope drank a rotgut or other alcohol nightly, listening to smash music with a skeleton face mask on. He sat in his throne, resting while his troops partied. For the most part Pope looked bored, even when one of the girls made a pass at him. The slave girls knew he didn't like to share, if he picked one of them they'd spend the evening on their knees sating his lust. It was tedious, but it was much better than being gang raped. He propped his head up with one fist and wrapped himself in the purple cloak he liked to wear. A black cat sat in his lap, he occasionally stroked it. The cat purred, lulled into a doze by such attention.

  When Jane's keeper got bored, he dragged her back to the throne room. She shivered, hiding behind the column the man chained her too, and tried to fade into the shadows.

  She picked up some things, her tired but still curious mind teased information out of the conversation in the room. From what she had gathered, Pope was fiendishly intelligent, and highly xenophobic. He had a necklace of Veraxin and Tc'lock fingers, that she had noted the first day. He wore a double bandolier made of leather covered in ammo packs. He was a natural leader, giving credit where credit was due. He drove a hover bike. He had a child chained to it. The child's job was to keep the bike clean and charged at all times.

  Pope wore a German ww1 style helmet complete with spike on top. His visor was a white and clear skull mask made of plastic and glass. The eyeholes were covered in reddish glass, they had a limited night vision ability. Pope loved wearing the face mask, his men couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not, and more than one had admitted the mask scared the bejeezers out of them.

  Jane came close once, she noted the soft snores. Pope was napping she realized, using his motorcycle helmet and face mask as a cover. When one of his bully boys woke him he admitted to it, stating they were boring him. She learned that he had taken the name Pope because he had declared himself the messiah, the man sent to Antigua to make order and chaos combine in glorious battle. She knew now he was insane. He had an animal magnetism about him, he was quite the leader, almost respectable, but insane.

  <=={----------

  On the evening of the fourth day of captivity Jane got the security cameras going. She'd rigged a generator up to one of the horde's cycles to do it. Pope had approved the plan as a temporary measure. When the owner of the bike had protested, Pope had casually shot him and then kicked him aside.

  “There. It's free now. No problems. Anyone else want to object?” he'd asked the room at large, holding the pistol casually in his hands as he turned in place. No one said a word.

  It took a bit of tinkering to get the cracked view screens to work, but she got around the broken ones and found one that worked reasonably well. When she turned it on she saw Adam's rescue party sneak into the complex. She darted a look to her keeper. He rubbed his nose, dozing with his arms crossed as he leaned against a piller. “You about done yet?” he demanded.

  “Um, almost,” she said. She didn't report the intruders. Hope made her chest want to burst. Teela, Adam, his green Neotiger friend, she realized. They'd come to rescue her! Her of all people! She closed her eyes, fighting the tears. She had to keep her head, had to not give it away.

  <=={----------

  “Adam, what the hell are we doing in here?” Teela hissed softly.

  “Looking for the girl.”

  “We should wait for back up!” she urged, hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her. “Seriously! This is stupid!”

  “The moment they realize your dad is outside, they will either use her as a hostage or kill her and run.”

  “They could do the same for us!” Teela said as they took refuge in a storage closet. Adam nodded. He crept forward to the corner and looked out down the hall.

  Fist Keldor stumbled onto the intruders after taking a leak. Casually the drunken killer zipped fly before he hit Adam from behind with a double fist. Teela tried to sneak up on him, but her father came in over the radio, alerting Fist to her approach. The big man turned, slapping her aside and into the Neotiger. Teela lunged to her feet as Adam rolled clear, wincing in pain. The woman fought the bigger man. Fist thought it was a game. “I am so going to love breaking you bitch,” he snarled. “I love feisty,” he said, eyes dancing. They turned, lunging at each other. Teela didn't use her pistol, she wanted to kill him quietly.

  They ended up with Fist's back to the closet Teela had been coming out of. Golden eyes hovered behind him for a moment, then a massive green paw reached out and wrapped around the man's head. He opened his mouth to scream but he was pulled off balance and it was already too late. Kringer ended up killing him by ripping his throat out with his claws. He discarded the body right away, flicking blood out of his hand paws and claws.

  “Can we get any noisier?” Teela hissed at them, avoiding the spreading blood pool in disgust.

  “No idea? Want to stick around to find out?” Adam demanded. He found a map and looked for security.

  “What are you doing?” Kringer demanded.

  “Map. Security. We find the security room and take control. Barricade ourselves inside and keep them from using it.”

  “Or...we can find the girl,” Kringer replied.

  “That too,” Adam said.

  “Dad?” Teela asked, raising her radio bracelet to her mouth. She spoke softly, a whisper would carry further and generate interest in listeners. “Dad?”

  “This is Duncan,” the voice replied loudly. They urgently tried to shut it up. Teela put a piece of cloth over the speaker and tried to turn the volume down. “Sitrep. Now you three! Where are you?”

  “Inside,” Teela replied. “We got in through an air duct. We're trying to find the girl now.”

  “You...”

  “Dad, hush, you're going to get us killed!” Teela said.

  “When this is over young lady...”

  “Later dad. Out.”

  “Don't call us, we'll call you,” Adam said over his shoulder, looking around nervously.

  “Definitely,” Teela said, shutting the communicator off. “Leads?” she asked.

  “She's that way,” Kringer said pointing to the right corridor.

  “And so is security. Let's go,” Adam said leading the way.

  Teela looked at Kringer. Kringer shrugged. “I don't know, but we'd better follow,” she said. Kringer growled and followed them.

  <=={----------

  Duncan arrived but was spotted by a group leaving the complex. The group rushed back to warn the complex. A firefight erupted at the front entrance and a few of the team were wounded, one soldier killed in fighting but they drove the enemy back inside. The complex door closed.

  Duncan however had sent a second team to the air vent. They went in, following the directions Teela uploaded to them. When they met up with the trio they set out to get to the front door and flank the enemy from within.

  “Okay, by
the book and by the numbers. Half squads over, watch your flanks. Cover every damn door. Adam in the pocket, Kringer cover him.” Teela frowned. “No, you two hit the front, find the girl.”

  “Gotcha,” Adam said.

  The squads moved in leapfrog. They found the throne room where the slaves were being held. One of the men sleeping woke, he watched the soldiers warily coming in but didn't react at first. He waited until they were past him before he erupted out of the blankets and started shooting.

  Chaos reigned for a moment as shots were fired. The slaves screamed and ducked for cover. Adam and Kringer snarled, taking cover behind a column. Kringer yanked on his leg and he looked down to see a girl there too. Jane looked back up at him and mouthed a thank you.

  “Don't thank us yet, we're not out of the woods by a long shot,” Adam growled. He bashed the ring holding her chain to the column with the butt of his pistol, then snarled and shot it. The lock snapped off. He yanked the chain off and passed it to her. “Keep your head down Jane, try to stay alive,” he said, nodding to a no nonsense Teela as she reported the situation to her father.

  “I didn't bring heavy weapons,” Duncan said, cursing himself for the lack of preparation.

  “Well, they didn't either dad, so we're good,” Teela said, then saw a familiar snout of a plasma rifle coming. She crouched and shot, forcing the gunner back momentarily. “Oops! Spoke too soon! Plasma guns! Take cover!” she yelled.

  Adam's body armor was shot up and set on fire by a plasma round that came a little too close to hitting. The round chewed up the concrete wall he had been hiding behind, lighting his vest on fire. He stripped it off hastily, suffering some minor burns. He was fine, he continued the fight bare chested. His example amused and enlivened the soldiers. Adam used the burned armor as an improvised shield before getting smart and dropping it onto the girl's lap. “Put it on,” he said. Jane wrinkled her nose at the scorched thing but obeyed.

  A soldier tossed a flash bang, the grenade bounced off a wall and fell at the feet of the angry plasma gunner. He had a moment to recognize the device and curse as he tried to turn and kick it away just before it went off. He screamed as the concussion sent him back, blinding him. Teela moved in, shooting him before he could get back up.

  “Room clear,” a soldier reported. Teela turned back to see the enemy had escaped in the confusion, or had been cut down. The slaves were prostrated on the floor, whimpering. She curled her lip at such attitudes and turned away.

  Kringer was already on the move. “Hey! Where are you going! Front door is that a way!” Teela said, pointing in the opposite direction.

  “Yeah well, he's going that way, I'm following,” Adam said pointing to the cat. He trotted, bare chested. A soldier tossed him a pair of utility belts, Adam put them over his shoulders as bandoliers.

  “You're nuts,” Teela said, shaking her head. He grinned. “You both are. Good luck. Stay alive,” Teela said.

  Kringer was on the prowl, he had a score to settle. Adam followed in his wake, but for once the human was the quiet one, letting the cat lead the way. Blood lust was in his system, it couldn't be denied. He found what he had wanted, the ape man. He jumped him, tearing at his back but hard hands grabbed him and threw him to slam into a wall.

  “Leave off!” Biff said, trying to make his way out of the building. “Look, truce, you go your way kitty, I'll go mine,” he said, hands up. “I ain't got no beef with you. Keep it up I'll turn you into a rug.” he shrieked, trying to make his way to the door.

  Kringer wiped at his mouth as he got to his feet, eyes mad. He growled deep in his throat. Biff sighed, shaking his head. “Have it your way then. Don't say I didn't warn you kitty,” he said. He put his hands out, taking a horse stance. “Come on then,” he growled, teeth bared.

  Kringer gathered himself for a leap but then held off, remembering his lessons with Teela, Adam, and Duncan. The thrill of fear was there, it gnawed at his will, but he was in the fight now, there was no going back. This time he wasn't going to run, he wasn't a cub anymore. He needed to keep a cool head, to fight smart. He remembered Duncan's warning, remembered his own mother's crushing death.

  Kringer had a score to settle with the ape man. He tore at him, they fought shrieking and snarling. Adam came running at the roars. He fumbled with his pistol.

  Kringer had Adam back off. “No! This one is mine! For my mother!” he snarled, wading back in. The two Neo's slapped at each other with hand paws and claws. Each fought dirty, biting and tearing at whatever they could. Kringer tried to keep out of the ape's longer arm reach.

  A slip was all it took to for the ape to fall on him. The ape bear hugged him from behind. Ribs cracked and broke. Kringer's breath was driven out of him but he wasn't finished yet. The cat twisted and bit his enemy's head, sinking his lower canines into the ape's eye. The ape screamed and let go. His hand went to his eye. “My eye! My eye!” he screamed, thrashing about.

  Kringer coughed, getting his breath, feeling blood and saliva in his mouth he spat. He took a few breaths, he realized he couldn't take a deep breath. He had to end this now. He turned and coiled, ears flat. The ape stumbled back and away, his free hand up. “Leave me alone!” he snarled.

  The cat readied himself and took the opportunity to lunge forward, dodging the waving hand as the other clutched at the ruined eye. Instead of going for his enemy's throat he rebounded off the warding arm and folded his lower body under it, ripping and disemboweling the ape with his rear claws before he twisted away.

  Kringer got to his feet heavily, panting. Adam stared, eyes huge. The ape man tried to cover his arm and shredded abdomen. He was gushing blood, too much for anyone to survive Adam realized. Apparently the ape man did as well. “You've killed me,” he whined, sobbing. He choked and then twitched and then lay still, good eye staring at nothing at all.

  “Damn right I did,” Kringer said, wiping at his mouth with the back of one arm. He grimaced, he had a broken tooth and quite a few broken bones. Definitely a few broken ribs, it was hard to breathe. “Damn,” he said with a sigh, his eyes rolling back as his strength left him and he wilted.

  “Medic!” Adam screamed, waving to the others as he moved in to assess his friend.

  <=={----------

  Pope took off at the sound of gunfire, he knew a losing situation when he heard one. When someone went to rapid auto and both sides were firing, that was his cue to get the hell out of dodge. He thought about his brother briefly, he was on his own he thought. Most likely in the thick of things he thought. Or; he paused in time to see familiar boots sticking out of a closet. He saw the blood pool dribbling out of the room and scowled, realizing right off his brother was dead. “Damn,” he muttered. “Sorry bro, next lifetime I guess,” he said and then went on his way.

  He made it to the garage and climbed onto his chopper, stuffing the slave into a saddlebag face first. “Time for a ride kid!” He kicked the motor into gear and then hit the trigger to an explosive trap he'd laid long ago.

  Improvised explosives made in Pope's chemistry lab and lovingly wrapped in nails and bits of metal went off around the outside of the door to the garage. A second charge blew the door out at the same time. “Let's ride!” Pope roared over the engines as he tore through the gaping mouth of his once impenetrable fortress home.

  He rode off wearing his favorite purple hoodie on the hover bike adorned with a bull skull on it. Others followed him into the night. Duncan took careful aim and shot, but missed. He did however ignite the hoodie cape. A follow up shot was too far in front he thought. He grimaced, seeing the light of the flames showing a child clinging for dear life to the cycle's saddle bags. He port armed the weapon, eyes gleaming. “We'll meet again,” he murmured.

  They could see the cape's flames as the leader howled in rage and kept going. Some of his surviving men followed in his wake.

  <=={----------

  Jane exited into the light, covering her eyes. One hand held the chain still around her neck. Birdie swooped, J
ane's head came up as she heard a familiar cry. She grinned as the robot dived at her, then did a somersault in the air and came back to land on her arm. Jane Vinatelli was reunited with her robot bird. She stroked it with her delicate fingers, the bird batted at her hand. The battered girl cuddled it close, whispered thank you. “I thought I'd lost you,” she said over and over. Fresh tears fell. Finally, finally she let it all go.

  <=={----------

  Pope snarled and batted the helping hand away. “Leave it,” he said. He ran a hand through his melted hair, pulling chunks of hair and skin down. He took out a bottle of rotgut and dumped it on his head and then roared in pain. He doubled over gasping, trying to get his bearings. He couldn't afford to pass out.

  “But sir...” the servant said, reaching again for his face.

  “I said leave it!” Pope roared as fresh pain hit his face. He slapped the man away. The kid chained to the bike nearby cringed. He crawled into a fetal ball, covering his face and holding his chain.

  Pope touched the mask. That last shot had been too close, partially blinding him on the right side and fusing the skull mask to his face. Part of it was melted ruin, the rest made him look like he had no flesh. They had managed to cut part of it off round his mouth and jaw, he grimaced, looking in the water of the pond. He truly was hideous, a real messenger of death and destruction now. He laughed, a hate filled maniacal laugh. “Well! Don't that beat all,” he said. “I kind of like it,” he said. “I think I'll keep it,” he said, turning to admire his new look.

  “It does sort of give me a dashing appearance doesn't it?” he asked, wrapping the burnt cloak around him briefly. “Phantom of the opera eat your damn heart out. Or I just might,” he laughed.

  He ignored the looks his men exchanged around him. “We're down but not out. Fall back. We'll come back and hit them. Head to the nearest cache of goods,” he ordered.

  His voice had changed, roughening with his screams of pain and anger. It had a new edge to it, an edge of madness. He injected himself with stim, he would need the boost to keep his head clear. He looked around and then to the boy.