by Aline Riva
He met her gaze and knew instantly that every measure of anger and rage he saw in her eyes was justified.
“Have you forgotten some of the people who had no choice but to turn to cybernetics? People like General Felix Lynch, who lost his lower body in the Battle of London! Felix is a war hero, he deserves respect, not to be treated like a criminal -”
“And where is he now?”Josh demanded, hating himself for using such a low line of defence – Felix had been forced to go on the run after being involved in the theft of a large amount of cybernetic fluid from a manufacturing plant and he didn't doubt that Joy knew his location, but even after she had been taken in for questioning she had denied everything...
“No doubt somewhere safe,” she replied, “And what gives you the sodding right to speak about him like he's a criminal? He's just trying to survive!”
“Yes, by committing theft! More than that, Joy – theft of banned parts and or substances for the purpose of cyborg or android creation or maintenance is considered an act of terrorism! That's the company you keep these days! Remember, he's out there somewhere on with Elise, his partner – a former employee of the android UNA.”
Joy wanted to ball her hand into a fist and lash out, but she held back on her anger even as she recalled Felix and the pain he had been through, the suffering – Josh had suffered in wartime, she knew that - but Felix had suffered horrific injuries and Josh would never understand what it had been like to come back from something like that...
“Elise was employed as a photographer! They hired her from the outside to take photos for the tabloids and the glossy magazines, she was their paparazzi, no more no less! She fell in love with a General and she's with him now on the run because she still loves him! Remember that word, love? That thing you feel for your wife? And while we're on the subject Josh, remember when it was the other way around and it was you being hunted? Does that mean it can happen to anyone, and maybe we don't all deserve it? Don't just stand there like a prick, you're not like the others – at least, you never used to be! Is this what powers done to you, did you have your balls removed when you signed up for the job? I remember when you first took this job on – you promised to make a difference! This is your chance to prove it!”
Guilt shaded his gaze as he looked away, but Joy hadn't finished.
“You used to be in this job for the people, for the rebuilding, Josh. When did you lose your way?” she said accusingly.
He looked into her eyes past the anger and thought only of all that had gone before in times of trouble. She deserved the truth even if she wouldn't like what she heard...
“No one will stand with me on this, Joy. I've been told if I object to current legislation, I will lose everything. I can't put myself or my wife through any more loss. We've suffered – I've suffered enough! It would be a pointless and futile gesture and I have nothing to be gained by trying. I'm sorry.”
Joy stood there on the street, looking at the man who had once been such a hero. He had gone on to be a leader, and now....he was just like all the others, too afraid to speak his mind because the subject was a sore one and nobody wanted to open up the wound.
“You're a coward, Josh. I never thought I'd say that about you but that is what you've turned into -”
“That's the last thing I'd ever be!” he said angrily.
She shook her head.
“No,” she replied as her rage simmered down, “You just stopped fighting for what's right and you've settled for a quiet life. You keep on closing your eyes, keep your head in the sand and people like Lynch will keep fighting to survive because they have no other choice! Now go to your meeting – drink your tea and sit in a big room and talk about plans for new houses. Forget the days when you used to be a hero, it's all gone now. I'm going off to find a true hero...he goes by the name of General Felix Lynch!”
Josh wanted to call her back, but Joy had already turned away and now she was crossing the wide road, as she got to the other side sleek vehicles began to pass by and as a second moved across his line of vision, he looked again and Joy Thorn was no where to be seen.
Chapter: 2 On the Road
As day turned to evening and shadows fell over Freedom City, many miles away and deep in the wilds where old roads were cracked but still led their way through darkened countryside, as the sky darkened down to dusky gloom, a single figure made his way down the cracked surface of a narrow road that quickly turned into a dirt track. As he walked along, Ashley Jekel cut a dashing figure in his dark, tight fitting suit that only served to emphasise his willowy build as his hips swayed and the breeze blew back his open jacket and the last of the dying light shone on the pistol holstered at his side. Up ahead, the woods loomed dark. Somewhere at the back of his hazel eyes inside his cleverly engineered but hidden cybernetics, a message flashed up:
Scanner detects armed vehicle approaching. Activate Stealth Mode?
He gave a weary sigh, noticing the battery symbol beside the message was showing only twenty percent power. But then he heard the rumble of wheels and the sound of a heavy engine, and turned to see an armoured vehicle in the distance. He ignored the battery warning and zoomed in closer, feeling mildly surprised. It was a big vehicle, might have once been a luxury motor home back in the old days, but now it looked beaten up and so did the armour plating that protected it, the sides were marked with bullets and someone had sprayed Welcome to this Crazy Life on the side of it, the wording standing out white against its black and battered exterior. And it was heading closer, at speed...
“Activate!” he said in panic, and precious battery power was consumed as he entered Stealth Mode and vanished.
He watched as the vehicle came closer, its headlights cutting through the gloom. And then the warning flashed up behind his eye:
Battery critical. Stealth Mode Deactivated.
And his shield dropped, just as the headlights shone on to him and he just stood there, frozen like a deer in headlights as the vehicle screeched to a sharp halt.
As he stood illuminated in the headlights, Jekel raised his arms in surrender.
Then the driver's door opened up and a man stepped out carrying a machine gun. He took up firing stance a short distance from the vehicle, and Jekel looked into his steel gaze with frightened eyes.
“Identify yourself!” the man barked sharply.
At the back of his eye, the inner computer built into his brain told him he was now running on reserve power. Jekel tried to speak but could only nervously swallow as he looked back at the armed man, who was tall and lean and dressed in black, his jacket, like his boots, was made of black leather and almost touched the ground, the coat tails whipped back in the breeze as the wind ruffled his wavy grey hair as his steel gaze remained fixed on his target and a thin veil of mist brought on by the chill of the evening swirled about his imposing figure. His hands were covered with studded fingerless gloves and one of those fingers on his right hand twitched a fraction from the trigger of his weapon.
“Speak!” the man demanded.
Jekel drew in a slow breath, wishing fear would let go of his vocal cords.
The man stepped closer, the breeze still whipped at his open coat and in the glow of the waking moon he saw his white shirt was open at the neck, and he wore a heavy belt about his waist that revealed a holstered hand gun on either side. But what he noticed most of all were the couple of small rips in the man's trousers, one on the thigh and another on the knee - beneath this he saw shining steel...
“You're a cyborg?” he said in a hushed voice.
The man glared at him.
“State your name, rank or occupation! Do it now or say hello to Gloria!”
Jekel saw the wild, fierce look in his eyes as he wondered if this guy was crazy. Since the world had been blown to hell, there were plenty of crazies about...
“Ashley Jekel,” he said quickly, “I don't have a rank. I used to be a stage illusionist....that's magic tricks to you. I'm no threat!”
The m
idsection of the van slid back, revealing light glowing warmly within, as the sound of a man and a woman quarrelling carried out into the night.
“I just want it to stop!” she yelled.
“I can't help you with it!” he shouted back, “Just shut up, will ya?”
Then another figure emerged from the van, she was smaller than the gun man and much younger, too. She had dark hair that fell to her shoulders and she wore a loose fitting blouse and combat trousers that seemed a little too big for her slight frame. She looked to Jekel with big, dark eyes and conveyed a look of understanding that Jekel hoped might spare his life, and then she touched his arm.
“Felix,” she said softly. “Put the gun down. He's scared.”
And he slowly lowered the weapon, still fixing Jekel with his gaze.
“What are you doing out here?” he demanded.
“Travelling,” Jekel replied, “Can I put my arms down now?”
“I ask the questions!” Felix said angrily.
“But my arms ache,” Jekel added, “And I really want to know who Gloria is!”
And as the woman beside him stifled a giggle, Felix shot her a look.
“He's telling the truth!” she exclaimed, “I've seen him before – more than fifteen years ago, Ash Jekel, he was a stage magician - a really good one!”
Jekel smiled.
“Thanks,” he replied as his eyes lit up in gratitude, but all the same he kept his hands in the air.
“You can put your hands down now,” Felix said to him, “And come with me, get in the van.”
Jekel blinked.
“But I thought I was allowed to go?”
He casually raised the machine gun.
“Don't quarrel with Gloria.”
“Oh thanks, now I know who she is!” Jekel remarked, casting a glance to the woman who suppressed another giggle, but her amusement quickly vanished as Felix shot her a look, and then he led Jekel at gun point into the back of the van and closed the door behind them.
Inside the van, Jekel looked up a walkway and saw doors leading off. Where he stood, he was in a comfortable looking living area with tables and padded seating. On one of those seats sat a woman in tight black vest and combat trousers. Her hair was short and blonde and her face bore small, fading scars, and as she glanced up from a medical text book entitled The Controversy of Cybernetics, Jekel stared at her and she put down the book, closing it as her gaze met with hazel eyes that seemed familiar...
“I know you,” she said.
Jekel's eyes widened in surprise as he recalled a dark day long ago as he had wandered the land after the end of everything, when he had been chased down by a horde of Howlers...
He recalled the War bird and Captain Murdock on the ramp, reaching out for his hand...Jekel caught his breath, the memory still playing through his mind of the man who had saved his life on that day, and the woman who had been his companion...
“Joy?” he said in surprise.
She got up from her seat, her eyes growing misty at the memory of the day long ago when Murdock had saved the former stage magician from a terrible fate...She had watched him walk away, wondering if he would be okay. Clearly he had coped, because he was still around, wearing yet another immaculate suit that flattered his slender frame and thankfully, he seemed to be uninjured after five years of wandering, too...
“Ashley Jekel!” she exclaimed and then she pushed past Lynch, who looked on in confusion, still clutching at his gun as the two of them fondly embraced.
As she let go of him, Joy had tears in her eyes and that had taken her by surprise – such a flood of emotion had hit her along with the memories of the day she and Murdock had saved the man who had survived against seemingly impossible odds...
“It's so good to see a friendly face!” Jekel said warmly, and he gave her a bright smile.
“Tell me about it!” Joy replied, smiling back at him.
Then the woman who had told Felix to lower the gun spoke up.
“You two know each other?”
“Yes we do,” Joy said, “We go way back. This is Ash Jekel, and Lynch, you can lower your gun. In fact put it away and while you're at it, put your aggression away too, okay? I know this man.”
“But I don't,” Lynch replied as he eyed him coldly, “And times change and so can people. I'd rather be cautious, Joy.”
Then Lynch's female companion spoke up again.
“I'm Elise Harvey, former photographer for the UNA elite and -”
“Sod it! Bollocks to it! I've had enough of you!” someone yelled from beyond the living area, “I needed the work done, you didn't! Stop asking me to make it stop, we all need cybernetic fluid, we ain't got none!”
Then a door swung open loudly, thumping against the wall, showing a view into a small bedroom. The young man who had opened it stepped out and stared at the new arrival, and Jekel stared back at the guy who was no older than twenty, he was slim and wore ripped jeans and a faded t shirt. His dark hair was spiked and he held a beer bottle in his hand, swaying on his feet as the beer spilt to the scuffed laminated floor.
If he was a cyborg, Jekel couldn't see obvious mechanical work. Then as he shifted aside to look down at the lost booze, a young woman in a short black dress with peroxide hair that fell to her shoulders looked out. She blinked eyes smudged with dark make up as a tear ran from her human eye. The other one was a chessboard pattern and clearly cybernetic, revolving around and stopping sharply as she blinked again.
“Hi...” she said quietly, forcing a polite smile despite her dishevelled appearance, and then she waved with her fingers and Jekel realised her right hand was mechanical, minus the skin...
The young man with the bottle caught a disapproving look on the face of his leader.
“I'll leave you guys to it...” he muttered, and then went back into the room beyond and closed the door sharply.
“And that was Spike Tait and Ruby Moss, basically, trouble,” Elise explained.
“Meet the neighbours... how embarrassing...” muttered Felix, who then walked off towards the front of the van, where he secured the door and propped up his weapon.
Then as a battery warning flashed up again inside his head, Jekel felt a wave of dizziness and staggered forward, placing his hand on the table to steady himself.
Joy looked at him in alarm.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Just shaken up,” he replied.
“I'm not surprised!” Elise exclaimed, “Sit down. Don't worry about Felix, his bark is worse than his bite!”
And Jekel sat down heavily, hoping his reserve power would hold out now he was in resting mode. Then Felix rejoined them, looking down at Jekel as he fixed him with a glare that demanded answers.
“Obviously,” he said, “It's highly suspicious to find a lone traveller out here at night with Howlers crawling the bloody land! What were you doing out there?”
Jekel ran his fingers through his neat, light brown hair and gave a weary sigh.
“I was just...travelling...”
Felix stepped closer to the table.
“I want the truth,” he said, “And you'll give it to me because I'm General Felix Lynch of the former UNA!”
Jekel looked to Elise with a flicker of alarm in his eyes.
“Is he threatening me?”
“Well he hasn't been a General for several years,” Elise replied, “But if he's using rank on you, I'd say you should tell him the truth because it might mean you're in trouble, Mr Jekel...”
Joy walked over to the table, standing beside Lynch.
“He doesn't look too good to me. Are you okay, Ash?”
Jekel fought off another wave of dizziness as his battery warning flashed again, and he realised the question had been directed at him.
“I'm just shaken up,” he replied, avoiding the gaze of Joy, now a medic who knew about cybernetics, as he silently hoped she wouldn't spot that he was showing all the classic symptoms of having
a major battery issue...
Joy frowned as she looked at Jekel, who was perspiring and slightly trembling as he sat at the table taking slow breaths.
“I want answers from you!” said Lynch, and Jekel took another breath as the dizziness faded out and focussed on him as he looked up.
“I have been travelling for a very long time. I'm looking for an old friend – Professor Blake Riley -”
“What do you know of Riley?” Lynch demanded, slamming a gloved hand heavily on to the table as he realised he was slipping into interrogation mode, but quite frankly, didn't care how frightened Jekel looked – he had mentioned Riley, a man of legend, a man said to have worked high up in the field of cybernetics long before the civilized world as it used to be had ended...
“I worked for him -”
“Oh, so you secretly worked for the government, you worked on top secret cybernetic research -”
“No!” Jekel exclaimed, “I used to be an illusionist, he hired me for a big private party and then he got to know me and we became friends!”
And Lynch lunged forward, grabbing Jekel by the lapels of his suit. As his back hit the wall he felt as if all air had been drained from lungs already compromised by his battery issue, that warning light was still flashing at the back of his eye and he knew in a world where cyborgs were desperate for life giving cybernetic fluid, his state of the art fluid would be the answer to their prayers – and maybe they would drain him of every last drop to get their hands on it...
“I've heard of Riley,” Lynch said darkly, ”Every cyborg knows before the old world ended, there was a brilliant scientist called Riley who legends says, had created a prototype cyborg – state of the art, a man with such perfect cybernetic work done that it made the UNA androids look like toy soldiers! If this man is real, he must have a way of reproducing cybernetic fluid. We're all on rations, we have to steal it and that stuff is restricted, we risk our lives just to keep going, and you're telling me you know Riley?”
Jekel looked into his furious gaze and drew in a tight breath.