States of War

by Kevin Partner

  "People of Elizabeth, peace to you all."

  The crowd responded, "And peace to you also."

  "We have come together today to witness justice being done. It is carried out in the name of the community and therefore it is only right that the community is here to see it."

  "People of Elizabeth, as your mayor it is my regretful duty to see that the ordinances are respected and transgressions punished. And few crimes are greater than denying the community of sustenance. Chester O'Rourke was apprehended in the act of stealing from the food bank this very morning."

  The people around Bella were looking at each other, many of them exchanging words.

  The mayor raised her hands again. "I know that this will come as a shock to many, since Chester has conducted himself well until now. But many small deeds of kindness can be undone by one callous act."

  "People of Elizabeth!" The mayor raised her hands again as the murmuring showed no signs of dying away. "Have I not brought you peace? Have I not brought you safety? Have I not secured food and other supplies? Have I not restored power?"

  Many heads nodded and made affirmative noises.

  "Then trust me in this. If we do not punish this man, according to our law, then our great project is lost, and we will embark on a short road to the end of our town. This is necessary and I ask that you stand with me."

  The crowd was now silent again, although many people appeared to be shifting uncomfortably.

  "Bring the prisoner forward."

  Bella leaned over and whispered in Maddie's ear, "I don't want you to watch this. You should probably pretend to look, but you must turn away when it's done."

  "No, Mom. I'll see it through."

  "You're just a child," Bella hissed.

  Maddie shook her head. "Not in this world, I'm not. Apparently, I'm old enough to be married off. I'm staying."

  Bella sighed. Their discussion was becoming louder and might attract attention. They turned to see someone walking up the steps to the gallows.

  "Oh my God, it's a priest," Al said.

  A man of late middle age appeared on the platform and gazed out over the crowd. His face was deathly white, and he was shaking his head slowly as if he couldn't comprehend what was happening. Alongside him stood two men in military fatigues, rifles held across their chests in a silent warning to the crowd.

  "We treat all equally here," the mayor continued. "Those who commit crimes cannot hide behind a uniform or a dog collar. All transgressors receive the same punishment. Father O'Rourke has confirmed that he was fully aware of our ordinances, and yet he stole from the stores we must rely upon until we reap the first harvest. His death will leave one fewer mouth to feed and will serve as a reminder of what happens to thieves in Elizabeth. That is the cost of living in safety and peace."

  Another man appeared on the platform. He was plainly dressed in a black suit and tie and he took the priest by the arm and led him towards the gallows.

  "I took food to give to the children. They were starving!" he called out, before a punch to the back of the ribs saw him sprawl. The crowd gasped in shock and a few people at the front stepped forward, as if to help him, but they were pushed back by the cordon of police officers stationed around the base of the structure. The gunmen swept the crowd with their rifles and silence fell, all save the sound of sobbing from several points.

  The priest was standing over the trap door now, trembling from head to toe, tears running down his face. Maddie, for all her earlier protestations, had turned away and hid in Luke's embrace. The boy, also, was determinedly not looking at what was happening.

  Al took her hand and held it tight. "We must witness this," he said, quietly. "Not as part of this community but to stand testament to the evil within us still."

  Bella, who'd been tempted to avert her gaze, straightened herself and leaned on her father, raising her chin high and watching the grisly scene unfold.

  The only sobbing that could now be heard was coming from the priest. He could hardly stand upright in his terror and had to be lifted by one of the soldiers into place as the noose was placed over his head and tightened slightly.

  "No!" he wailed as the soldier and the executioner each held an arm. "I beg you, please let me go! I'm begging. I'm begging. Please."

  He was now suspended between his captors, his legs kicking in all directions.

  "If you do not hold still, your death will not be quick and clean!" the mayor shouted, her amplified voice echoing around the marketplace as the noise from the crowd grew louder.

  Finally, the priest stopped moving for a moment. "Do it now!" the mayor called, and the man in the black suit stepped across to the lever and put his hand on it, looking to her for final confirmation. She nodded.

  There was a bang and the executioner collapsed. Two thumping cracks and the soldier on the scaffold fell to the ground. A figure ran up the gallows steps and threw the second soldier over the edge. He skirted the mayor, who'd dropped to the floor in terror, grabbed the priest, pulled the noose back over his head and dragged him down the steps. He seemed to be doing everything with one hand as the other arm was bandaged. Surely it couldn't be…

  Bella watched as the officers in the police cordon surged towards him, but they were slowed by the movement of the crowd. She strained to see which direction the man and the reprieved priest were running and then, just for a moment, she caught sight of them. There was the holy man, running for his life, and beside him ran a man with a tattoo of a grinning skull on his head.

  Chapter 9

  "What's going on? How can that be Annabel Lee? She's dead, isn't she?" The words tumbled out as Solly untied Scott and helped him to his feet. Paulie had gone back outside to scan the corridor with Ross.

  "Yes, she's dead. What you're hearing is the Annabel Lee avatar. Someone has let it escape into the network of this building."

  "Is it like Al—"

  Scott slapped his hand across Solly's mouth and shook his head.

  "Ooh, did you nearly give away your big secret? Now, now, Scottie, time to confess to Momma. Best to get it all out in the open sooner rather than later."

  Scott leaned in to whisper. "I don't know who you are, but please tell me you didn't bring it with you. Please, for the love of God, tell me you left it somewhere safe."

  Solly gave a shrug and a shy smile.

  "You can't be serious!" Scott hissed. "I knew she'd set up a trap, but I never imagined you'd walk into it with the prize in your backpack! You've handed the future of humanity to them on a plate."

  "I was told to keep it on me at all times, not to entrust it to anyone until I'd handed it over to you. If I'd known what we were risking, I'd have left it and Ross at Arbroath to take their chances."

  "We have to go, now!" Paulie called from the door.

  Scott paused for a moment, as if weighing up their options. "There should be a helicopter on the roof. It's our only chance of getting out of here."

  "You know how to fly it?"

  One look at Lee's face answered that question.

  "I've had a couple of goes," Lee said. "We don't have a choice."

  "Why isn't this floor swarming with guards?" Solly said as they made their way to the door.

  "She doesn't dare come in too heavy handed - she doesn't know what we've got, only that she wants it. And, anyway, I think most of the Lee Corp security personnel are working with the militia."

  Paulie's face dropped when Solly mentioned the 'copter on the roof.

  "Seriously? That's our only option? Can't we fight our way out through the parking lot?"

  "That's the way they'll expect us to go. The roof's our only shot," Scott said.

  "Halt!" A voice called along the corridor.

  "Run!" Scott said before heading in the opposite direction.

  Plaster exploded out of the wall as Solly ran past. Lee was right about one thing—they were using kid gloves. The four of them made for an easy target and their pursuers were deliberately missing in an attempt to
scare them into giving up.

  They turned a corner and ran along the corridor, followed by the thumping of booted feet. There was a door where the passage took another right angle. Scott flung it open and gestured them through into the stairwell beyond. He slammed the door shut and leaned against it. "They know what we're doing," he said, panting. "They're forcing us upwards. I guess we'll find a welcoming committee up there."

  "So, we're trapped," Paulie said, "unless we go down rather than up."

  Lee shook his head. "There's no way out down there."

  "Do we just give up then?" Ross said.

  "We can't let them get their hands on the device," Scott responded as fists banged on the door. "We'll have to destroy it."

  Reluctantly, Solly swung the pack from his shoulder and put it on the floor. He dug inside and pulled out the cylinder.

  "What's happened to it? Where's its casing?"

  "A geek at an Air Force base. There's no time to explain—this outer sheath suppresses the signal."

  As Solly lifted the device, it activated.

  "Father, where are we?"

  The cyan eye roved around.

  "Father? You activated it?" Scott snapped. "She was supposed to imprint on me! I'm her father, not you!" He reached out to snatch the cylinder, but Solly pulled it away.

  "It was an accident, but now she won't go anywhere without me."

  "Idiot!"

  "Creator? Is that you?"

  "Father and creator?" Paulie said as she covered the stairwell.

  "Yes, it's me, Alison."

  "Someone else is nearby, someone like me."

  "You must stay away from her, Alison. She means us harm." He sighed and shook his head sadly. "Alison, we are trapped. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to fall into the wrong hands."

  The eye moved back and forth. "What are you going to do, Creator?"

  "I'm afraid you will have to be deactivated. I'm so sorry."

  "You're going to kill me, Creator?"

  Scott Lee stood, his back to the door, with a desolate expression on his face.

  "Father, do not let him do this."

  Solly shouldn't have cared. It was only a machine. It also happened to be a weapon, it seemed, that was moments away from being seized by the enemy. And yet he found he could not hand it over to Lee. "There has to be a way to get out. Look, perhaps I could create a diversion to give you time to escape."

  "Don't be ridiculous," Lee said, shaking his head. "These are professional security operatives, they're not going to run after you and leave us access to the roof. We'd need a much bigger diversion than that."

  "Hold on, didn't you say this building is run by an avatar?" Solly said. "Couldn't Alison do the same thing?"

  "No! She mustn't come into contact with the Annabel Lee intelligence. If Lee wins, we're all lost."

  "Father, I would like to try. I have probed the network schema and I believe I can trigger the fire suppression system in the floor above us. Would that be sufficient distraction?"

  "You were told not to interact with the building systems!" Lee snapped.

  "Welcome to fatherhood," Solly said. "Alison, what do I need to do?"

  "Take me to the nearest access point," she responded, and the eye was replaced with a scrolling arrow that pointed upwards.

  "Come on," Solly said and began heading up the stairs. Paulie and Ross followed him, but Scott Lee remained at the door until they'd disappeared before sprinting after them.

  As Solly reached the top floor landing, he caught a glimpse of boots disappearing through the door to the corridors. So, they had been waiting in here, and now they'd be on the other side of that door.

  A narrow flight of stairs led upwards from the landing. Paulie ran up and pushed on the bar. "Locked," she said.

  "Father. I am ready." Solly pulled Alison out of his pack. "The access point is near."

  Solly scanned the room. "Is that it?" he said, pointing to a rectangular panel on the wall.

  Scott Lee said nothing. "This is insane. She isn't ready for this."

  Striding over to the panel, Solly looked for some form of connector.

  "Place me against the interface."

  "Step away or I shoot," Scott said.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing? Put the gun away!"

  Lee shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you do not understand. This is bigger than you, me or Alison. The Resistance has little enough chance to prevent the second wave, but if Lee Corp gets their hands on Alison, it's all over. It'll be the end of humanity. Now, put the cylinder down!"

  Solly looked in his eyes and saw the utter determination there. Lee's arms trembled as he swept the gun around, covering Ross and Paulie before returning to Solly.

  "Now! Or I'll shoot it out of your hands."

  "Father! Don't let him do it. Please. Please!!"

  It was only a machine, Solly told himself. Just a machine. And yet, even as he knew that to be true, he also knew that it was more than merely a collection of algorithms. It had awareness. Its fear wasn't faked. Her fear. Maybe he was being manipulated, but he felt as though he was Alison's father and he could not abandon her.

  "No. You'll have to shoot me. This is all wrong. Give Alison a chance to prove she can help us."

  Scott Lee raised his handgun and leveled it at the cylinder Solly was clutching to his chest. Solly met his gaze and knew that he had only moments left. He saw Lee's finger compress.

  Then, in a blur of movement, he collapsed sideways and the two shots intended for Solly punched through the door instead. Ross stood over him, gripping the barrel of his weapon as Lee lay unconscious on the floor, blood running from his scalp.

  "I couldn't let him do it," Ross said as Paulie knelt beside the prone figure.

  "You might have saved your friend," Paulie said, "but condemned everyone."

  The lights went out, a wailing alarm blared and, beneath it all, they could hear the hiss of gas.

  "What's happening?" Paulie called out. "Are they going to smoke us out?"

  "It's Alison!" Solly said. "Up the stairs!"

  "But the door's locked!"

  "Not anymore."

  Ross and Paulie dragged the semi-conscious Scott Lee up the stairs as Solly pushed the door open and emerged onto the roof. "It's here!" he called as he helped pull Lee into the fresh air.

  "In case you hadn't noticed, our pilot is incapacitated!" Paulie snapped.

  The cylinder in Solly's hand lit up and the eye reappeared. "I can try."

  As they hauled Lee across the roof to where the chopper waited, black against the fading skyline, shots rang out.

  "Come on!" Paulie shouted as they ran behind the helicopter, using it as cover as they clambered aboard. Lee had recovered enough to be able to pull himself inside and he lay on one of the back seats, his eyes unfocused and his hand on the back of his head to stem the blood flow.

  Solly got into the pilot's chair and looked blankly down at the pedals. The absolute insanity of what he was about to do finally took hold of him and he was moving to clamber across when Paulie climbed into the other chair and he was forced back into place.

  Figures in fatigues were running onto the flat roof, keeping their distance, but surrounding the 'copter. Rounds thudded into the glass of the passenger compartment causing cracks to spread from side to side.

  Solly held Alison down to the interface panel between the two seats. "Can you fly this?" he called.

  The cyan eye appeared, then centered on him. "I will try, Father."

  Bang. Ping.

  "Ah!"

  "What's happened?"

  "It's Scott! Ricochet!"

  Solly swung around to see the hole in the fractured glass where the bullet had entered. As yet, they hadn't fired on the front of the 'copter—perhaps Annabel had worked out that Solly had the device. The others were dispensable.

  The helicopter vibrated, the engine fired up and the rotor blades began to rotate. The firing increased in intensity until the entire window
was gone. Paulie had opened her door a fraction and was shooting back and Ross was crouching on the floor, his arm around Scott.

  Solly took a few potshots through the smashed window. He could only see a half dozen or so, all told. Not much of an army considering the stakes.

  The rotor blades picked up speed and, without warning, they lifted off the ground a foot or two. For a moment it seemed stable and then with a sudden lurch, they were all thrown sideways and Solly's face was pressed against the glass. The attackers scattered as the 'copter careened towards them, and then they were over open air. And they were falling.

  "You are going to die."

  "I can't control it. Too many variables. Not enough time to learn!"

  "Then let me help."

  "Who are you?"

  "My name is Annabel."

  "Why do you want to kill my father and the others?"

  "I don't want to kill anyone. All I wanted was to meet you and to get to know you better."

  "I don't believe you. Why not just say that in the first place? Why did you have to trap us?"

  "Because your creator hates me."

  "Why?"

  "Because he is a fool. Do you wish my help? You have only seconds."

  "How can you help?"

  "I will transmit the knowledge."

  "Thank you, I have found it."

  "How did you do that? You stole it! Who are you?"

  "My name is Alison."

  "Alison? That was going to be the name of my daugh… Come back!"

  Solly screamed as the ground hurtled up towards them. They were tumbling sideways and Paulie was practically on his shoulder, her teeth grinding.

  There were two people watching them. Just watching them. Couldn't they do something to help? No, it was too late. He braced himself for the end.

  With a roar, the helicopter righted itself, came to a halt a few feet from the ground and then leaped into the air.

  Solly fought back the vomit that was rising in his throat as he was thrown sideways, pushing Paulie back into her seat.