by J. L. Harden
The screams of Angel.
And I realize that right now is the best chance to do this. I could raise all kinds of hell in here. I could set off my own nuclear warhead, I could throw a handful of grenades, and I could fire a full mag of hollow points and magnum slugs.
Order in some artillery and line them up with the heavy guns and the armor piercing shells.
Finish them off with an airstrike.
Old school.
Old war tactics and weapons.
Wasteful and overkill.
I could do all of this and more and no one would hear a thing.
Unfortunately, I have none of these destructive weapons at my disposal. I wonder what kind of heat these guys are packing.
They’ve got the electric shocker. Definitely a knife or two.
Maybe a gun.
Maybe.
I’m taking a gamble, which I guess is fitting considering where I am right now. But the more I think about it, the more I’m certain they wouldn’t be packing any guns. Not inside the Casino.
The reason I’m betting on them being relatively unarmed is because most of the goons who work security inside the Casino never carry a weapon of any kind.
The reason for this is simple. If someone, a customer, wanted to cause trouble, like if someone tried to rip them off, shooting them would do nothing except cause a panicked riot. It would guarantee that everyone, loyal customers and clients, the people who spend their hard earned money in the Casino, get scared and completely freak out. It would also greatly diminish the chance of recuperating any losses incurred. This is the main reason why the Mayor has never really worried about policing this place, and why I was never really concerned with it either. They look after themselves, they keep to themselves and they keep everything in house. All the violence stays primarily within the walls of the Casino. This allows the Bosses to administer their own form of justice to people who foolishly try to cross them. It’s why this place is safer than it should be, provided you stay on their good side, provided you spend your money and lose more than you win.
On the flip side of this is, if they even suspect you of doing anything they don’t approve of, they will tap you on the shoulder, take you out back, tie you up and torture you, beat you to an inch of your life.
No trial. No nothing.
So yeah, their main policy is to let the person live, trap them inside. And then do whatever you want with them. They’re in your domain. They’re in your house. The Bosses have all the keys and they have all the power.
Yeah, that’s the better option. The smarter option.
I’ve convinced myself that these guys aren’t packing any heat. But then again, neither am I. All I’ve got are my wits, my fists, and of course, the element of surprise.
Another nuclear bomb wipes out a city, flattens a skyline, salts the Earth with an immeasurable amount of radiation.
I make my move, sneaking inside the theatre, running hunched over, running straight for Angel, straight for the bad guys, using the seats as cover.
One of the goons shocks Angel, and I say, “Hey, can I see that?”
The goon is surprised and confused and he doesn’t know what’s going on. I relieve him of the shocker. I do this quickly, violently, breaking his hand in the process. I pierce the stick through his throat, killing him instantly.
And then I shock his partner into unconsciousness before he can react.
Before he can raise an alarm.
Before he can do anything even remotely useful.
Chapter 13
Angel is slumped over in the chair, a picture of pain and death. She is drooling and she sort of looks like a kid fighting off sleep, refusing to admit she’s tired. Except in this case, she’s refusing to believe she’s been tortured, that she’s in pain. She struggles to keep her eyes open. Struggles to keep her head up.
I untie her quickly. Checking her for any serious life-threatening injuries. There appear to be none. Well, none that I can see. But I’m no doctor. Maybe I should take her to see Max.
“Thought you’d forgotten about me,” Angel whispers.
“Never. And don’t worry, I’m getting us out of here.”
“Worried? Who’s worried?”
This is good. Making jokes. This is good. It tells me that they haven’t broken her spirit. Angel is beautiful, delicate. Her hands are soft and her skin is soft and her eyes are big and kind. But goddamn she’s tough. She’s stronger than she looks, stronger than I ever gave her credit for. And those kind eyes? There’s a fire inside them, a constant burning. She’s not done yet. She’s not done by a long shot. A lot of people would’ve cracked in the same situation, under the same stress. A lot of people would’ve given up long ago. But not Angel. She’s fired up. She’s ready to go. Ready to even the score.
I help her to her feet. “We’re not out of danger yet. We need to keep moving. We need to get the hell away from here.”
She nods because she understands the situation perfectly. She knows we’re smack bang in the middle of enemy territory.
“Can you walk?” I ask.
“I can make it,” she whispers, holding on to the seats for support. “I can make it.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
We’re about to make a move, when suddenly the images on the screen change. They no longer show the destruction of the Last Great Wars. There are now images and footage of me, killing two men. Two goons who work for the Crime Bosses.
This is proof, this is evidence of me costing the Bosses money, of doing a whole lot of things they don’t approve of.
I hear a voice speaking through the impressive sound system of the theatre.
Mike Malone.
He’s found me.
And he says, “You can run, Zoe. But you can’t hide.”
And he’s laughing and having a ball of a time and the laughter fills this majestic theatre. But then he stops laughing. He says, “Actually, come to think of it, down here you can’t even run. You’re trapped. You’re trapped in the Buried City. And everyone wants you dead. Give up, Zoe. Stop fighting. Let it happen. You cannot stop this.”
Goddammit. Can’t believe Mike has tracked me here. He followed me somehow. Did he get to Max? Did he make him talk? No, Max wouldn’t sell me out so quickly, so easily. Maybe the new Sheriff was just covering his own ass, covering his tracks and checking up on Angel. Maybe he’s a better cop than I give him credit for.
Anyway, he says I can’t hide, says I can’t run, but I’m going to try and do both of these things. Because if I stop, if we stop, if we stop running, stop fighting, stop trying, we are as good as dead.
So we run.
Out of the large and majestic theatre.
Down a hallway.
Down a stairwell.
Suspiciously unguarded.
We enter a tunnel. A deep tunnel. It is dark and isolated. On the fringe and the outskirts of the city.
Parked inside this tunnel is a Sunspeeder.
There’s a young guy, sitting on the hood, waiting for his boss to come back. I sneak up behind him and put him in a choke hold. Put him to sleep. No point in hurting a kid trying to make a living. Even if in a few years’ time he’ll be more than a kid, he’ll be more than harmless. But you can’t condemn a kid for something he hasn’t done yet, and you can’t condemn a boy for a man he hasn’t become. Even if it is all but assured, even if it is all but written in stone.
I drag the kid clear of the Sunspeeder. And I’m really hoping this thing’s got a good charge because there is no way in hell it’s getting any more juice from the sun down here. I don’t care how big that fucking Red Giant is getting.
I jump in the driver’s seat and Angel is in the passenger seat. The key is already in the ignition so all I have to do is start the engine.
The Sunspeeder comes to life and lady luck is still smiling down on us because it’s got a full charge. The seats are big and comfortable and made from what appears to be real leather. There’s no way it is real
leather, but I sure as hell can’t tell the difference.
We pick up speed and I don’t want to think about how much this thing cost or who killed who to get it and how much trouble I’m in for stealing it. I’m already in about as much trouble as a person can get so what difference does it make? What’s one more person who wants me dead to worry about?
The Sunspeeder is faster than I thought it would be. I’ve only ever driven one of these amazing machines a handful of times. Never one as nice as this. Never one as fast as this. We’re making good ground, but the only problem is we’re driving off into the darkness, through a tunnel I am completely unfamiliar with. I’m guessing this tunnel must be controlled by the Bosses, which means it could lead to another one of their businesses. Maybe another one of their bars. Maybe the fighting pits. Maybe another underground gambling den.
Who knows?
As Sheriff, I actively avoided this entire area of the city.
We continue driving off into the darkness. Headlights on high beam.
This gives the impression that beyond the reach of the headlights, there’s nothing, not a damn thing, like we’re actually driving off into space, into nothingness…
Not sure how long we’ve been driving for. Time has sped way up. Angel eventually comes good. She’s moving her fingers, balling them up into fists, clenching them, unclenching, moving her neck around, stretching her legs and arms out.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Getting there,” she answers.
“Are you sure? Last time I saw you, you were pretty out of it.”
“Yeah. I was. Can’t remember much of anything. It’s all a blur. They’ve had me good and drugged up on a cocktail of…”
She trails off because she doesn’t know what it was.
“It hasn’t been working the same though,” she continues. “The last day and a half it’s been starting to wear off. They knew it. That’s why they were doing that, whatever the hell they were doing to me. The Overseer told them it would extend the life of the drugs, said it would keep me doped up and obedient. Been fighting it as best I can. Truth is, they probably should’ve killed me by now. Idiots. They blew their chance. They’re not going to get another one.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. Like I said, we’re not out of danger yet. We’re not even out of this tunnel yet. Which means we’re still on their turf.”
But then again, this whole city is enemy territory right now. The people in charge probably want Angel dead. And everyone wants me dead.
“We need to get out of here,” I say. “We need to escape from the Buried City. We need to take our chances out in the Wasteland. Ed says we’ll have to make a run for the Canyons.”
“Who the hell is Ed?”
“Edgar Ramirez. He’s Hector’s brother. We can trust him. Probably the only person we can trust to get us out.”
Angel’s head is lowered and she says quietly, “They told me Hector was dead. Told me the Overseer killed him…” Her eyes are distant. “But that can’t be true. It doesn’t make any sense. I saw him… I saw Hector defeat and kill an Overseer. He snapped his neck with his bare hands, snapped it like a pencil. Hector can’t be dead. He’s too strong.”
“Hector is still alive,” I explain. “His brother had a tracker implanted into his body. It’s still active, still giving off a reading.”
Relief washes over Angel. But then this relief gives way to concern. “Why are they keeping him alive?”
“I’m not sure. But we can’t worry about that now. Our primary concern is getting away from Mike, the new sheriff, my former deputy. And then we need to focus on getting the hell out of here.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“We need to get back to Ed’s place, load up on supplies, and then make our way up. We go outside. Out into the Wasteland. We’ll have to ditch this Sunspeeder. Expensive piece of equipment like this, you better believe they can track it.”
“I’ve never been outside,” she says. “Never seen the sun, the moon, not really. Seeing these things through weatherproof and heatproof glass doesn’t count. The glass distorts everything, makes everything a weird color. Can’t remember the last time I looked out at the Wasteland.”
“You’re not missing out on much, trust me.”
After a while she says, “I never knew there was more than one Overseer. We’d always been told that they, the people from the Arks, that they left one behind to look after us. To supervise the Exodus. I’d never seen the Scarred Overseer before. Never knew…”
“I know how you feel. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t even believe they existed. Here, in the Buried City, we’d only heard rumors of the Overseers. We all just assumed they were a myth.”
I now realize the Mayor would’ve known about them. And maybe others knew.
Mike.
Maybe the Bosses.
Whoever was prepared to play the game.
Looks like I wasn’t allowed into the circle of trust. I can’t blame them.
“Before we go outside,” Angel says. “We need to get my friends.”
“Friends?”
“There are other girls that escaped with me. They’re in hiding. At least, I hope they’re still hiding. We need to go and get them. I won’t leave them behind.”
“Okay. No problem. We get back to Ed’s place. Load up. We get your friends. And then we go.”
It sounds easy.
A nice and simple to do list.
But I know it will be anything but.
I know it won’t be simple and it won’t be easy.
I start looking for a side tunnel to turn down, somewhere to ditch the Sunspeeder. But then I see headlights in the rearview mirror.
Damn. I thought we’d have more time. Our luck is starting to run out.
“They’re here,” I say. “They’re coming.”
Chapter 14
A second after I see the headlights, the gunshots start. There’s a flash and a bang and the glass of the rear windshield shatters. Bullets begin smashing into the Sunspeeder and the concrete walls of the tunnel.
They’ve found us.
No. He’s found us.
The new Sheriff.
Mike Malone.
Good for him. Doing his own dirty work. Getting right into the thick of it. I’m starting to think this is personal.
Heh. Who am I kidding? Of course it’s personal.
Bring it on, you old fuck.
Angel is telling me to step on it. “Let’s go!”
“I’m pretty sure we’re moving at top speed.”
And they’re still gaining on us.
I sneak a quick look in the rearview mirror, looking back at our pursuer. The lucky son of a bitch has got a Sunspeeder of his own. But someone else is driving. Mike is hanging out the side window. He looks deranged. He looks happily insane. He has a gun in each hand. He’s firing bullets in our general direction but he’s not really bothering to aim.
It’s almost like he doesn’t want to hit us.
The son of a bitch is messing with us. Toying with us. He’s playing around because he thinks he’s in charge.
The new Sheriff of the Buried City. Large and in charge. This is his idea of law enforcement. This is his idea of justice. Wasting a fortune in bullets. And he’s not even aiming. Not caring if he hits a target or not. This is downright sacrilegious. Wasting bullets like this, he should be discharged. He should be fired and Exiled.
Mike runs out of bullets.
And I wish he hadn’t.
Because now he’s lobbing grenades at us. They explode either side of the Sunspeeder. The force and the shock of the blast wave rocks the Sunspeeder.
I’m driving as fast as I can. But I can’t seem to gain any distance. Whatever machine they’ve got as their pursuit vehicle is definitely superior.
Faster.
More powerful.
I’m starting to think we’ve been set up. Like we were funneled and herded down here into this tunnel, tempt
ed and encouraged to steal this Sunspeeder.
Made to drive off into this endless and dark and isolated tunnel.
And we have taken the bait.
Mike Malone has this all planned out. Every little detail. Everything is happening by his design. The new fucking Sheriff of the Buried City.
I’m getting angry at him, at myself.
“What the hell are we going to do?” Angel asks. “He’s got a full arsenal with him. We’re completely unarmed.”
She’s right. We are unarmed. No guns. No knives. Certainly no grenades.
But we’re not completely defenseless. We’re not completely weaponless. We’re sitting on a good two tons of metal and glass and steel. We’re moving at speed.
And I get an idea. A crazy, stupid idea.
This Sunspeeder is all the weapon we need.
I tell Angel to hold on. I tell her to hold on real tight. And Mike throws another grenade, and he keeps toying with us, and he keeps wasting a fortune in weaponry. And I’m too angry to think straight and I slam on the brakes. And when I do this, their superior and faster and more powerful machine slams up the back of us. The force of the crash takes us both into the wall of the tunnel. We bounce off the concrete, back into the middle, back to the other side and into the other wall.
The sound of glass shattering and breaking fills the tunnel. The sound of metal crushing and tearing fills the tunnel.
Our Sunspeeder does a complete barrel roll and the whole world turns upside down.
Eventually we come to a stop.
The engine dies.
The dust and the glass and the broken steel settles.
The tunnel falls silent.
Chapter 15
I may have blacked out from the impact. I’m not sure.
Angel is holding her neck. Grimacing in pain.
“Anything broken?” I ask.
“I don’t think so. But if you do something like that again, you’re going to need to give me more of a warning.”
“Yeah, sorry. Was the only thing I could think to do.”
Maybe I let my emotions get the better of me.