by P. S. Power
“We need to get out front at seven. We can eat in town, if everyone can wait a few hours? I set us up to go into Renton, which is further away, but has better shopping options. It’s…” She looked over at the clock on the wall, which said the same thing as the time that Ben saw flash up in his head. Exactly.
“Time for us to go now. We’re running a bit late. Come on.”
Their trip to the front of the compound was easy enough, since the whole thing had been cleaned up again. There were a few patches that could have been done a bit better, since they represented a potential slipping hazard, but no one spoke about it. Most of the path was actually well cleared, if in the distinctive pattern that he’d used the day before.
Clark patted him on the shoulder, which was dry, thanks to the fact that nothing was falling on them at the moment.
“There we go. It looks like we got Bluebell? She’s my favorite auto.”
That they had names seemed different to Ben, but he didn’t doubt that people called the van something like that. She, if that was her gender of choice, was a nice two tone blue color, and her lines were sleek, being designed for aerodynamics that they weren’t going to be using that day. Not if the road might possibly be slick in places.
As they approached the side doors opened, to let them in, the computer sensing them walking up, and clearly having at least one of them, probably Mags, set up as the primary controller for the day. At least it made sense that she might have checked the thing out.
Bluebell, Ben corrected himself.
If she was an AI, it would be beyond poor form for him to call her anything else. If she wasn’t, then no one in the world would care, so it was the better plan to try. True, he’d never heard of a vehicle that was a true AI, but there could be an exception. It wasn’t like the Cymed compound wasn’t filled with high tech things that most people didn’t have.
Supposedly they even had really high end drugs there, which he only thought of because Mags handed some out to everyone.
“Elaptrin. It’s safe. Mainly. It should help today. We need to be sharp. It will basically help us bond too, as a group.”
Ben didn’t know that they needed to do that really, or that he wanted to, but it didn’t seem like a horrible idea either, so he swallowed the pill, dry. The others did the same, though Lenore had to fight hers down harder than the rest of them.
Then they just chattered and rode along for what seemed like a very long time, but was only about two and a half hours when they pulled into the city. It wasn’t a huge place, and while they had snow on the ground, it wasn’t nearly as deep. Bluebell still drove like they were the most precious cargo ever, the female voice sounding almost like a girl when she spoke.
“We have arrived at the primary destination. Where would you like to go first?”
The others were all silent, so Ben spoke up, trying not to seem like he was clueless.
“Some food would be good. Is there any place nearby that’s fairly cheap and not too horrible?” He didn’t know the area, but there was almost no delay from the front of the vehicle.
“There’s a nice doughnut shop about a half mile from here that has excellent reviews. Some of them mention very reasonable prices.”
Ben nearly said no, since he wasn’t allowed to eat sweets, but Lissa perked up enough that he held his tongue. It was good to see, he realized, even if they were at odds every now and then.
That mainly came from her, not from him.
“I’d kill for a jelly filled!” She looked around, and then seemed to be a little guilty about it. “It was the only thing that I didn’t associate with those pills my mother made me take. I don’t know why. All doughnuts, not just the one kind. Probably because I was just never allowed near that kind of place. Anyway, let’s go?”
Clark cleared his throat, but seemed happy enough for the silver haired woman to be having a good time already.
“Sure? Anyone?”
Ben just nodded, and smiled. If he had to go hungry for the morning, he could. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Oh, he was starving, but that didn’t outweigh his desire to see Lissa have the one thing that she could eat without feeling like she was going to gag.
The van got them into place after a bit. It was city traffic, but orderly, even with the snow on the ground. None of the vehicles went too fast, and that meant there were no accidents to get in the way. Plus, the roads had all been plowed that day, it seemed. They were slightly damp in places, which meant something. Chemicals being used, most likely. It was too cold out for that kind of thing otherwise, unless the roads were heated, which was a bit too much to ask for. Some places had them, but it was too expensive for common roads.
So stuff had been dumped on them, probably within the last four hours, or less.
It was early, being a bit before ten when they got into the shop they were headed to. The place was an actual bakery however, which got him to smile. They had bagels too, which he could eat. They even served little dishes of softened cream cheese with them. The others all got sweets, being evil people that didn’t have to worry about what they ate, due to not having had eating disorders for most of their life. Except Lissa, who got several of the things, and then asked for a dozen assorted, to take with them. No one had to ask why that was.
They were eating there, but no one pulled a scan card out, or had a phone with them. That meant they each had to use the thumb reader, which was attached to their accounts. Mags bought for him and Lenore, smiling as she did.
“We all have accounts, but I’d rather not have it known that both of us are here right now.” Her tone was serious, but she looked at Lenore, who nodded.
For a moment he thought it was about him, that she didn’t want any record of her being out with Ben, but that wasn’t it. It was clear on her face. That left the fact that they were both Presidential daughters. Not that anyone sane would be going for them, but it could tempt someone if they weren’t all together in the head. Really, they needed to get a lookout going, but it was kind of clear that no one was going to want to drop out of the null field in a large city like they were in.
Ben spoke softly as they got back to the table they’d staked out. It was by a window, but off toward the back, away from the door. The whole place was windows, so that part couldn’t really be helped.
“I have an account, too?” He hadn’t been told about that yet, really. That he got paid, but not how, or where the money went.
Clark nodded.
“Yeah. Thumb scan, retina, or DNA check, if you have to verify who you are that closely. You can get a card for it. No one does though, since everyplace uses bio-scans now. You’ve been around for four months and haven’t spent anything yet?” There was a bit of a grin to go with the look he was giving Ben, like it was too hard to believe that was true.
“Yep. I’ve only left the compound twice so far. I didn’t have to pay for anything either time.” One of them was going to jail, on false charges. They couldn’t even legally bill him for the sixteen hours that he was there, since to do that the arrest would have had to have been valid.
The bigger man, muscle playing under his sweater, just a bit at the bicep, bit into a delicious looking apple fritter. Watching the sticky brown and lumpy confection glint a bit made his mouth water.
“Right. Well, it will work and you should have some built up that way. We’re paid decently, and since we get twenty-four hours a day for the job, seven days a week, it does add up.” That left out what the hourly was for it, but Ben didn’t ask, given that it might be crass to speak about in public. Otherwise Clark would have told him more, instead of just suggesting that he had enough funds for the day.
The bagel was fresh, and the cream cheese nearly room temperature, which was perfect really. The others ate their forbidden sweets, while he held fast and spread the gooey white goodness on his food. A bit at a time, so it wouldn’t make too big of a mess. He also managed to wipe his mouth with every bite and keep it off his clothing.
&nb
sp; Which meant he wasn’t a huge mess when the cameras got there, pointed at them openly. It was a news crew, which from the van outside, a white thing that was cheaper looking than Bluebell, belonged to channel six. Probably locally, since the woman with the microphone, who was an adorable blonde with rosy cheeks, in a red long coat and black knitted gloves didn’t look old enough to be working for one of the national networks. Except YT, but they took submissions from anyone that had the skills for it. Children could and sometimes did, get on there.
“Casandra Banks! A sex tape recently leaked out onto the web starring you. Do you have any comment about it?”
Ben blinked, but then took another bite of bagel. He was hungry, and if Lissa was making sex tapes… Well, it had sort of been his idea. He just hadn’t thought that the woman would take him seriously on it.
Lissa brushed her hair back and looked right into the camera.
“I’d prefer not to? After all, my friends aren’t public figures. If we could have some privacy, that would be great. Thanks.” She looked down, humbly. Almost like she was embarrassed about being caught out like she was.
The others were easy enough to read, really. Mags looked away, as if trying not to be seen, meaning that she’d been in the thing. Lenore acted surprised, but wasn’t upset, and Clark blushed, a brilliant scarlet color.
Micha was watching him, but was harder to read, her face very controlled. Also, she kept eating too. Ben doubted she’d be starring in the thing. No one would trust her enough to let them put anything on their bodies that close to her naked.
It was a bit mean to consider, but probably close enough to being true for the day. That left him, who was both innocent and not aware of when they would have had time for that kind of thing. He’d been with Mags every night, and they probably couldn’t have managed it without him being at least nearby. Not that it was that big of a deal. If Mags had done that, then he’d just have to sleep with her sister, that was all.
Possibly on video.
“People want to know; where have you been? Are you currently working on any projects? There are rumors of bringing back ‘Maisey Knows’. You… Really, I didn’t believe it was you at first, you look incredible!” There was a bit of fangirl gushing from the reporter, as Lissa pretended to be gracious about being interrupted at her sumptuous repast.
“These others were in the tape. Maggie Richards and…” The woman looked at Clark, her eyes drinking him in for a bit, then she made a self-depreciating face. “I’m sorry, we don’t have your name yet. Though…” That got Lenore stared at as the camera person, a less attractive, rather heavy set lady, swung the small device around to capture them all. “Lenore Richards? That’s special isn’t it? Do you know anything about the terrorist events that took place a few weeks ago? Inside information?”
It wasn’t asking about when her sex vid was coming, but also made no sense. Being related to the President didn’t get you Ultra-clearance or anything, as far as Ben knew. So he was a bit surprised when she put her food down and nodded.
“There’s a special international task force being put together. They have access to the best gear and technology, and are made up of some of the best military men and women from the entire world. The President is very concerned about this issue, and is working on it non-stop. That of course doesn’t even cover the secret things that I wouldn’t know about.” She smiled, and managed to be charming about it. She was cute, Ben decided again. Enough that it wouldn’t be that hard to have a bit of revenge sex with her.
That he was kidding was just true, but also not something that he had to let Mags know about. She was clever enough to understand that Ben got what the woman had meant by her being in it. It wasn’t just that she’d run the camera, for instance. There was only so much real anger he was allowed over that however, because they weren’t officially dating. It was kind of real, but not so much that he had control over what she did. Or should, even if it kind of hurt anyway.
The same had to go the other way as well, of course, if those were the rules they were playing by. For his part, he just tried to look interested and kept having his bagel, at least when he wasn’t going to be chewing on camera. That took paying attention and some timing, but he could see the cone of red that indicated where the camera was pointed, which went back to Lissa, where it belonged.
Maisy Knows, a show that he’d heard of but never seen, seemed to be the topic of the day, along with the humiliation of her secret and private sex sessions being released online. Possibly by a hacking crew, or one of the other people in it. That part was hinted at, and was probably even true. One of them had probably been the one to get it released. Not that it mattered in the slightest.
It could have been a thing to be upset about, but other than needling Mags a bit about it, Ben decided not to be that worried. After all, it was just for publicity, and probably about getting to sleep with Clark, who wasn’t exactly hard to look at. True, it wasn’t brilliant as far as he was concerned, since he looked a bit bad now. Like Mags had just been using him the whole time.
Hopefully that wasn’t going to end up being the case. If so, Ben didn’t know what to do about the whole thing. Throwing a fit wouldn’t aid anyone, and storming off was no better. Especially if she was in charge of the transportation for the day. There weren’t that many options left, other than to be calm, and focused. So he let his mind drop into a meditative state, staying aware of the world around them, while not letting himself be distracted by relationship issues. He was nearly certain that Glenda had mentioned that to him once.
That meant he was looking out the window when the Swarm appeared, followed by at least ten people in brown combat armor, and two armored vehicles. It was small for a real terrorist action, but that wasn’t the point, Ben was willing to guess.
“All right. We need to lock the doors, Lenore, you and Lissa need to go and hide. Mags, Clark, I’m going to break the null effect. Somehow.” He sounded confident, but had no idea if anything he’d said would make any sense to anyone. Not until the reporter pointed and screamed.
“Oh, my, god! Those things!”
The guy behind the counter, who looked to be about fifty, and not exactly a fighter, ran forward to secure the door, as Ben rushed it, the flying insect robots getting there almost at the same time.
“Lock it behind me.” Ben nearly yelled the words, kind of wishing that he’d been paranoid enough to bring a weapon with him that day.
Also, getting some training in fighting seemed like a great plan now. After all, the glass windows might slow down the Swarm, but would do nothing to the people in combat armor or the tank like vehicles. So the people inside were all vulnerable to attack, if he didn’t find some way to stop these things.
He considered that as he ran to the right, moving faster than he thought would be possible yet. Thankfully he had his running slippers on instead of boots. Not that it was going to last for long, his running away. The streets were clear of snow, but if he ran in them the cars would stop and the people inside be left open to attack. As it was the entire Swarm, which had at least forty of the bugs, was already after him, as well as most of the people in armor.
They had to work to follow the line he made, given that he turned back at an odd angle and sprinted away from them while they all scrambled to change direction suddenly. Mainly because he didn’t know what was around the blind corner of the building and if he got past the plowed edge of the parking lot, and into the next one, then the null field would break.
Past that, if he could make it, were a field of autos to hide behind, and that meant he could get at least two to three hundred meters away. At less than one hundred, he could use his telekinesis. That wouldn’t help him much, personally, but he could guard the store, where some of the mech armored fighters still stood, Five of them.
The rest of them were coming for him. Probably because he’d run. It was instinct after all.
Even for the machine like Swarm. They were part living creature, and th
at part was their failing. At least if he didn’t get stung by them. It was hard to keep his feet in the slick conditions and that slowed him down enough to show. The armored people were fast, but not doing any better than he was and Ben had gotten a head start. The danger was the robot bugs. Even the troop carrier, which didn’t seem to have anyone in it, being computer controlled, couldn’t follow him over the parking lot filled with vehicles. He ran on top of them, gaining space, until the flying silver things got to him. At that point…
Well, he could fight them. He had before even. The first thing he had to do though was protect the others. There was crashing glass at their location, and part of the Swarm flew back. Only to be smashed to the ground, hard enough to break them, as soon as he had enough distance. Searching around he tried to find something to fight with. A stick, or sign stuck into the ground. All he had were cars, which were too big for him to throw, and piles of slushy, half ice snow.
Which when he tried tossing it, was easily dodged by the Swarm. The brown armored people were closing with him too, even as he dodged and tried to get away from the attack from above. Thankfully, like the others had, all twenty of the things left suddenly hit the ground with a resounding crack.
Which had to be Clark’s work. That actually evened things up a little bit. Not perfectly, since he had five mech troops on him, and they were about to get clever enough to realize that shooting was an option. None of them spoke English, but they all knew that they were supposed to stop the people there and not let them escape. If they didn’t, then their lives would be forfeit. They wouldn’t get the next dose of the control compound, and that would lead to horrible suffering and then death, as their bodies exhausted themselves in pain.
It sounded horrible, and only his running kept him from living the tortures that the men, and they were all male, had been subjected to it, to teach them obedience.
As the first one aimed at him, the line showing next to him in bright red, Ben nodded to himself and ducked behind a small passenger car. He knew what he needed to do.