Chains of Freedom

by Selina Rosen

  "She'll come 'round," RJ said gently.

  "Yeah, I'm part of her rotation now," Levits grated out.

  "Give her some time," RJ reassured him.

  "I'm not sure any of us have a hell of a lot of time," Levits said. He looked at Sandra and then down at his drink. The drink was attainable, so he drank it.

  Chapter Twenty

  Spring brought warmer weather, and with it trouble for the Reliance. Weekly messages from the Rebels brought the work units into a frenzy. It took all of Zone 2-A's manpower just to quiet the civilian uprisings. In the commotion, RJ's prisoner army had no problem at all completing its tasks. They blew up alcohol plants, raided caravans, destroyed Reliance bases and strongholds. They used stolen goods to supply their army. They used the surplus to feed half-starved work units. A kind—and very politically sound—practice.

  As the Reliance military force in zone 2-A dwindled, the Rebel army grew by leaps and bounds. It was only a matter of time till the armies of the New Alliance would march across their borders, spilling into the zones of their continental neighbors. The disruption would spread like a cancer over the face of Earth, and then there would be only one place left to take it.

  That was the reason for this meeting.

  As the World Commissioner cleared his throat, the sweat rolled down Jago's fat cheeks, and he shot an angry look at Governor General Right and Senator Kirk. Right pulled on his collar as if it were shrinking, but Jessica just smiled with confidence and acknowledged Jago's attention with a casual nod of her head.

  Then the World Commissioner began to speak. He spent the next hour running down every crime the New Alliance had committed. He ended his speech with, "Jago, things have gone from bad to worse. Things have been allowed to get so out of control that we have drawn the attention of the Council of Twelve. It would appear to me, and indeed the majority of the other leaders assembled here, that you have ignored—indeed, turned your back upon—what has quickly become a very serious problem."

  For the most part, Jago's older brother was a cool customer. The only visible sign that he was upset at all was a slight trembling of the left side of his lower lip. It was so slight that no one in the room noticed it. No one but Jago, because he had been looking for it, expecting it, and he knew what it meant. "Have you anything to say, Sector Leader Jago?"

  "With all due respect, World Commissioner. The problem is contained in Senator Kirk's Zone. I have left it in her hands, and given her the assistance of Governor General Right . . ."

  "Enough, Jago. Before me, I see not one, but several requests for more arms, more supplies, and more manpower. Now, the blame is no more yours than theirs or anyone else's. We are dealing with something the Reliance has not had to deal with in centuries, namely an uprising of the civilian work units. We are dealing with something we are entirely unprepared to deal with, something our soldiers have never been trained to fight—an enemy from within.

  "Our enemies are very cunning. This RJ hides herself and her face, and gives their cause an air of mystery, makes herself almost godlike to the people. Meanwhile, David Grant speaks directly to the rebel in each and every work unit, and it is beyond our capabilities to shut him up without closing down the entire viewscreen system. If we do that, we'll have riots on our hands for sure. The viewscreen are the work units' only sanctioned form of entertainment. We've been using them to feed the people a steady line of propaganda and subliminal messages for generations. Without them, things will get worse, not better.

  "David Grant is the real threat. I have watched him, and . . . Well, I personally don't believe his story about being a work unit. His speeches are those of a well-trained politician. He knows exactly what to say, and when and how to say it . . ."

  Jessica shut him out after that. The smile left her face. She had actually believed she would get some help from this council, but if they were stupid enough to think that David Grant was any more than a minor annoyance . . . She was going to have to take care of RJ herself.

  They had only put two of them at the rear gate, and these days that alone was enough to make them jumpy.

  "You hear that?" the man asked his partner.

  "Yeah," the woman answered and readied her gun. "Sound the alarm."

  "Isn't that just a little premature?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

  Just then, the tiny group broke through the brush and charged. The woman fired, and one of the men went down. The man sounded the alarm, and the other Rebels fled into the brush. After sounding the alarm, the male guard ran over to where his partner was kneeling by the man's body. He looked down at the man's face in disbelief. He removed his own helmet and visor to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

  "Hurry, go tell the captain I've killed David Grant," she said excitedly.

  Before he had time to react, Reliance personnel stormed out of the base and Rebels ran from the woods to meet them. When the smoke of battle cleared an hour later, he found his companion dead and the Rebel's body gone.

  "You're sure the body you saw was that of David Grant?" the Captain asked for the tenth time.

  "Yes," he said through gritted teeth. Then added, "Janice died a hero." He wiped the tear from his eye, and hoped it was unseen. "She put two bullets in his chest. He was quite dead."

  The Rebels retreated to their camp. David lay still on the ground, his shirt covered in blood.

  A figure clad in a Reliance uniform made its way through the crowd.

  "Enough is enough." RJ took off the helmet and visor and shook out her platinum-blonde hair.

  David opened one eye then the other. "It hurt, RJ," he whined, "you promised it wouldn't hurt." He sat up, rubbing his ribs. "The vest almost didn't stop the bullets. I still don't see why you couldn't have used blanks."

  "Bitch, bitch, bitch!" RJ tossed the helmet on the ground and took an apple from the bowl that Sandra offered her. "Blanks wouldn't have knocked you down."

  "Blanks wouldn't have cracked all my ribs," David said in an injured voice. "And why did you have to use real blood?" He threw off the shirt, trying not to think too hard about where she had acquired the blood.

  "When they investigate, they have to find real blood so they can be sure you're dead. I don't like to leave anything to chance, David." She smiled smugly, "that's why I always win . . . even when I'm losing."

  The army sucked rocks.

  She had been getting nowhere fast. Same stupid job with no chance of promotion. No special privileges. One day was not a hell of a lot different from the one before. She might as well have been a filthy work unit.

  To make matters worse, you now had to worry about some fanatic Rebel bounding over the wall and blowing your brains out just because you were doing your job.

  Kirsty didn't plan to die that way or any way if she could help it. She wanted the easy life and money. Lots of money. Fine wine and silk robes. There had been a time, not too long ago, when she had believed that the military would give her all that and more. A time when she had believed every word of propaganda the Reliance fed her. But six years in puke-green cotton uniforms and too many glasses of weak beer had dampened her spirit and opened her eyes.

  She'd done everything possible to reach a position of high standing. She'd tried sleeping her way up the ranks. Hell, she'd even tried working hard. Every attempt at getting ahead had failed miserably. She was tired of waiting for the things she wanted.

  So she went AWOL.

  She knew where she was going, and why. She was going to Alsterase, the city of the damned. She'd heard stories of it from spies who had worked there, and it sounded marvelous. All she had dreamed of could be purchased there for as little as her 'services' for a night.

  She had no doubt that she would become the most sought after whore in Alsterase. She'd dyed her hair, but that didn't change what she was. She smiled; finally she was going to have it all.

  She could see the city just ahead of her now. She was home free. She had made it all the way here without being
harassed by either the Reliance or the Rebels, and she felt quite lucky.

  The barricade was so well hidden she almost didn't see it. She screeched to a halt, two well-armed men stepped out of hiding, and she knew she had crowed too soon. Considering the fact that she was AWOL and driving a stolen vehicle, she had believed that she'd rather see Rebels than Reliance. She now realized that at least with the Reliance she knew what to expect. Obviously the Rebels had taken over Alsterase, and it was just as obvious that the reason why the Reliance didn't know this was that no one left Alsterase alone.

  "Halt!" one man ordered unnecessarily.

  "I'm halted," Kirsty said shakily.

  "Get out of the vehicle, slowly."

  "No problem." Kirsty opened her door carefully, keeping her hands in sight at all times, and slowly got out of the vehicle.

  One man rushed forward. He pushed her against the car roughly and started to search her. "She's clean," he told his partner.

  Kirsty mentally patted herself on the back for leaving her weapon in the vehicle.

  "What do you want here?" the man demanded. The second man started searching her vehicle. Kirsty held her breath.

  "I . . . I was a farm worker . . . I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to get a group together to fight the Reliance. To help the Rebellion. They caught me, and I had to run." This she knew was very close to their dead hero's story. Kirsty was no man's fool; she turned on the tears. "I can't believe you guys are going to treat me the same way. I didn't even hope to find you. I was just looking for a place to hide."

  "Look here!" The man searching the car held up a laser sidearm.

  "It's not mine!" Kirsty gasped. "I stole this car when I ran."

  "What do you think?" the one asked the other, obviously skeptical. Before the second had a chance to answer, she increased the intensity of her tears by half, and started to sob loudly.

  "I'm not wanted anywhere! Why don't you go ahead and kill me? Get it over with!" she cried hysterically.

  "Now, now, what's all this?" A third man had arrived. She heard the authority in his voice. She dried her eyes and looked at the newcomer. She damn near fell over with shock.

  David Grant was alive.

  David Grant was alive and well and living in Alsterase.

  She really was going to get everything she had ever wanted, and she wasn't going to have to stay in some backwater slum to get it.

  They were sitting around in RJ and Whitey's room playing bottle caps. The entire game consisted of trying to throw bottle caps into a cup.

  "That's it." Whitey reached over and took all RJ's bottle caps away from her. "You can't play anymore."

  "Why not?" RJ asked with mock sorrow.

  "Because you never miss," Levits said as his shot hit the cup, bounced off the rim and landed on the floor.

  "Poley can't play either," Mickey said from his perch atop the coffee table.

  "Oh, I see," Poley said with a pout. "If you're good at the game, you can't play." He stomped over and lay down beside RJ on the bed.

  RJ stroked his dark hair lovingly.

  "Let him play," she ordered.

  "I don't want to play," Poley pouted. Poley was becoming more and more humanized. Because of this, he was starting to resent being treated differently.

  "You can play, Poley," Mickey said. "Just kidding."

  "No." Poley was adamant.

  "Quit being such a baby," Sandra said in disbelief. "Come and play with us, Poley."

  "Ah, leave him alone," Whitey smiled. "Now that RJ and Poley have quit, I'm winning!"

  Just then David walked in with a girl and upset Whitey's shot. Sandra won the game and started cheering for herself, doing a happy little dance all around the room as she did so.

  They had to be the strangest group Kirsty had ever seen. But it was the woman lying in the middle of the bed that captured all Kirsty's attention. The woman just lay there and sort of oozed charisma out over the room. She was stunningly beautiful, and a half-breed like herself. Her clothing, like that of most of the others, was scant. Only a leather loincloth and a black tank top. Then there was the chain. It was wrapped around her waist and was decorated with coins. It had a feeling all its own, as if it were as alive and vital as the woman who wore it.

  Kirsty didn't have to ask; she knew. This was RJ, the reigning Queen of the New Alliance.

  "She is not one of us," Poley announced.

  RJ nodded. She got up from the bed and adjusted her scant clothing. She nodded her head. "Sandra."

  Before Kirsty knew what was happening, the redheaded woman planted her against the wall and searched her, thoroughly.

  "For God's sake!" David protested.

  "She's clean," Sandra announced.

  Kirsty started to cry again just for good measure. David Grant seemed impressed by this dramatic show of fear, and she was going to play it for all it was worth.

  RJ wasn't impressed. She circled Kirsty, looking her over as if she were a bug she wanted to crush. Then Kirsty felt the pressure on her mind. A pressure she had only felt on two other occasions. She was able to keep RJ out . . . just barely.

  "Where did you get her?" RJ demanded.

  "She just came in. She's running from the Reliance. I don't think . . ."

  "That's right, you don't," RJ said hotly. "She could be a spy or worse."

  Poley got off the bed and adjusted his clothing as was his habit. "Is she a hybrid?" Poley asked.

  "Yes, and well shielded," RJ answered.

  Kirsty was liking this less and less. RJ knew what she was. She didn't know what to do now. She had the feeling that if she did the wrong thing she would end up dead. Just when her whole life was about to come together, too. She threw her arms around David's neck, and started to cry even louder. "What are they talking about? I'm so tired . . . What are they saying about me?"

  "She can't be unaware of what she is," Sandra accused. The way she clung to David was enough to make Sandra hate her on sight.

  "She's dyed her hair," Levits agreed. Of course, Levits would have agreed with Sandra if she had suggested that they all dive out the window buck naked.

  "What's that got to do with anything?" David asked harshly.

  "If she isn't aware of what she is, there would be no reason to try and hide it." RJ scratched her chin. This was a real problem. Usually, she could count on her empathic abilities to give her some insight when she was checking out new people. But this girl had that same ability, and she was purposely using it to keep RJ out.

  The problem was that she couldn't hold that against her, because she herself was well shielded, and would have done the same thing. She was sure the girl not only knew what she was, but had more than likely been a Reliance soldier. Her size would have kept her from going very high up in the ranks; she was only about five-four and petite, but they would have utilized her in some other way. The Reliance didn't believe in wasting a hybrid's talents.

  "What was your rank?" RJ rapped out.

  "I don't know what you mean. I . . . I was a class-two farm worker. I helped in the kitchens, processing sugar beets." Kirsty moved her head off David's shoulder and dried her eyes. Much to her dismay, RJ caught her gaze and held it.

  "You're full of shit," RJ said, matter-of-factly, and lay back down on the bed.

  "I'm telling the truth." Kirsty looked with big, innocent eyes at David. "Why would I lie?"

  There were a lot of reasons that RJ could think of, but only about half of them were treacherous. In the girl's position, RJ herself would probably have lied. But this was not a reason to trust her. Something about the girl troubled RJ. Made her uncomfortable. If she were truly sincere, she could be a real asset. If she wasn't . . . she could be big trouble. The safest thing to do would be to kill her, but RJ knew she would never slip that one by David—or the others, for that matter. It did seem an awful waste if the girl were sincere. RJ thought for a moment. She scratched her chin again, and got comfortable on the bed.

  "I don't believe your s
tory for a minute, and I don't trust you. Still, killing you outright seems a little premature. Sooo . . ." She took a long breath. "You will stay out of restricted areas. You will not leave the city. You will not carry, or even pick up, a weapon. The same goes for a communicator of any shape or form. Failure to comply will lead to your immediate termination. Do you understand?" RJ looked at her nails, but still saw Kirsty nod her head. "I said, do you understand?"

  "Yes sir!" Kirsty said loudly.

  "That was a rather military response to authority," Sandra whispered to Levits who nodded his head in agreement.