by Aline Riva
Joy leaned over her husband and ran her hand over his hair then fondly kissed the engraved veneer on the side of his head.
“See you tomorrow, Ash,” she said softly, then she and Travis left the room and Joy closed the door behind them. As they walked off down the corridor towards the surface, Joy looked at her son and forced a smile.
“Cheer up, Dad wouldn't want you to be unhappy, Elise said we can borrow the motor home tomorrow morning...I thought we might drive over to Bullet, I want to go back to the church where me and Dad got married. It's nice up there, peaceful...We could spend a couple of hours up there.”
“Okay,” Travis said quietly.
They said no more as they made their way out to the surface, as Joy's thoughts remained with Jekel and she tried not to think about returning to the house and the room they shared, the room full of his suits and the scent of him, a room that would carry his presence forever as she spent the rest of her days grieving for his loss...to Joy, it felt as if had already gone.
Chapter 11 : Execution Day
It was almost nine pm when Kade Silk knocked on Riley's office door. He entered the room with a small metallic case in his hand and placed it on the desk.
“This is for you, it opens with your thumb print, and you never say a word to my Mum about me being involved in this because that contains a copy of the Premier's pass card – it links to his channel, used from another channel it can project text to the main screens in Freedom City. I don't know what you can do with this, but Steph's leaving Josh and coming here to the Valley. We're going to start a new life together.”
Riley pressed his thumb to the screen and the case opened up, and he took out the ID card.
“I have no idea what I can do with this either, but thanks, it's appreciated. Anything I can potentially use in our favour is useful to me – although I'll have to lock this away for now and have a think another time. I'm still trying to plough through these records...I'm trying to see if there's an ex UNA android around these parts...You're former UNA, would you know if -”
“I haven't recognised any android UNA here in the Valley,” he replied, “Only cyborg folk. Does it have to be specifically a former military unit?”
He nodded.
“Yes and very high spec too. I need a former ESBA unit capable of taking a Protocol Five device.”
Kade raised an eyebrow.
“Fine tuned war machine? I would imagine they were shut down or eliminated, certainly the command units would have been removed and destroyed...”
“If that's the case, we have no hope of sending a rescue in for Lynch.”
“But wouldn't that be a declaration of war?” Kade asked.
“No, I'd fine tune the android to perform at optimum on a zero casualty command. But we can't find one in the whole of the Valley.”
Kade fell silent for a moment, wishing he could help. Then he turned his thoughts to the reason he had called in to see Riley.
“I just went in to see Jekel again, and you know what? All those years I wanted to be like him, I wanted to have his job... I guess I'll have the festival now, I'll be hosting the whole thing. But I don't want it. He's my friend, I just want my friend to be okay. I want him to be out there in front of the crowds while I'm watching from the side feeling slightly envious, I want see him out there where he belongs...I don't want to lose him, Riley.”
“Neither do I,” Riley said quietly.
“I'll stop by again tomorrow, I know you said he can't hear us but I need to keep trying.”
“Yes,” Riley agreed, “We all need to do that.”
Then Kade left the room and Riley turned back to his screen and started to scroll through records, once more in search of an android.
Then a light blinked in the corner of the screen. He gave a sigh, vowing if this was the Premier, it had better be a change of heart about the size of the fine because the amount he had proposed was impossible to raise...
He pressed a button and switched to communications, and looked in surprise at the sight of his own office up at the house, and young Travis Jekel sitting in his seat looking into the screen.
“How the hell did you hack my line?” he demanded.
Travis looked at him apologetically.
“I saw you use it once before and you put in a three digit code. Then I remembered you press two for second line to get from the house to the med centre.”
“Well done, Travis. And what's the reason for your gross misuse of my equipment?”
Travis lowered his voice.
“Mum told me to go to bed but she's in her bedroom with the door shut now and I heard her crying over Dad. I didn't think I can say the right things because I feel like crying over Dad too. Melissa went to bed...she shares with Dorian and he went to bed too. Everyone is sad in here. I think if you come back to the house maybe you could talk to Mum -”
“I will as soon as I can, I'm doing an important search through a lot of old records right now,” Riley replied.
“What are you looking for?”Travis asked him.
Riley looked at the boy who, according to Joy, was the image of his real father, the legendary Captain Nathan Murdock, and he laughed softly.
“Oh, what do I have to lose by asking the advice of a nine year old...If you must know, I need to find an android – not a regular one, a special one, with very special design specifics – and I can't find one. So I don't know what to do.”
Travis answered right away.
“I don't know what I would do, but I think my Dad would have said compromise. That's what he said when I asked what would happen if he couldn't cope with the festival this year, he said he would have compromised and shared the hosting of the show with Kade.”
“Right...” Riley said, thinking carefully about all Travis had said, “Actually Travis, that could be a good idea... Thanks for that! I have to go, I'm sorry but I won't be back at the house for a few hours...I've got to work on this. I'll speak to you later!”
He cut off the channel and then unlocked a desk drawer and took out a metallic box, he placed it on the desk and opened it, tucked down the side of the casing were the codes for the Protocol Five Unit. He lifted the spare parts from the box and carefully studied them, his gaze shifting from the small input command unit to the cluster of wires below it.
“Its never been used...” he murmured, “It's never been fired up, its mint condition...”
Then he switched from the old patient list and dug into the archives once more, glancing back at the spare part Elise had cut out of the android side of her head.
“I wonder...” he said under his breath, “Do we have a compromise somewhere here?”
When morning light broke over Cyborg Valley the same sky was breaking far away over the city of Freedom, and as Felix Lynch sat at the table in his cell, his thoughts were with Elise and Fi as his arms ached to hold them one last time. He had done much reflecting during that sleepless night. He had thought back on a past before Elise, a past that had seen him go through life carelessly from woman to woman, leaving them behind as he moved on to the next, leaving children behind, too.
He had been irresponsible, not cared about who he hurt...until he had met Elise, in the middle of troubled times as the old world was torn apart. Shortly after, they had been torn apart by the war, then half his human body had been destroyed in battle and he had learned what it was like to need to be loved and have someone there for him who would never leave. Elise had showed him just how good life could be, and with Fi coming along, he had finally come to understand that even the hardest and most careless of men could change their ways. His only regret was that the change had come too late because the years he had spent with Elise didn't seem enough, not now he knew the end was close...
He had thought on all of those things as he had sat there not sleeping on what he knew would be his last night on earth. Then he thought of how the Valley would be free because of his choice, and knowing Fi would grow up in a free world brought him comf
ort. He gave a brief thought to the son and three other daughters he had never met many years before – he didn't even know their names or of they had survived the end of the old world. His son would have been in his mid thirties, his daughters in their twenties. But vaguely hearing about the ex lovers who had been left alone to bring up his kids was the closest he had ever got to finding out more.
“I regret so much,” Lynch said quietly as he sat there, his gaze fixed on the darkened monitor, still picturing the night before when he had seen Elise and Fi on the screen for the last time.
Then he closed his eyes, taking deep breaths as he tried to keep calm, remembering that when the end came, to be free of pain and have an easy end, he would have to take that final deep breath knowing the gas would claim his life.
Lynch opened his eyes again, breathed out and fixed his gaze once more on the screen, recalling his last memories of Elise and Fi. He held on to those memories sharply as he waited for the cell door to open. He still had a few precious hours left, and he forced his mind to be still as he focussed only on thoughts of the better part of his life – the years he had spent with Elise...
By seven that morning, Joy had picked up the motor home from the back of the Wired Circuit. Elise had been up and waiting for her while Fi still slept in, and Joy had seen the sadness in her eyes as Elise handed over the keys. Joy understood why she needed the motor home gone on this day – to see it on the day Lynch was executed was just too much for her to bear after all the time they had spent together in that vehicle over the years...
Then Joy drove back to the mansion, where Travis was up and dressed and waiting outside on her return.
“Ready to go?” she asked hopefully, but he shook his head.
“I want to go and see Dad first,” he told her.
“Okay,” Joy replied, “let's do that.”
Then she turned off the engine, got out of the vehicle and with an aching heart walked with her son to the medical centre nearby.
As they approached Jekel's room, Riley came out of his office and walked up to join them. He looked exhausted as he met Joy's gaze with tired eyes.
“Are you going down to Bullet later?” he asked her.
“Yes we are...when it's time...I can't bear the thought of Elise going through all that pain on her own...She's going to need me.”
“Tell her I never gave up,” Riley replied, “She needs to know that. Make sure you tell her.”
“I will. How's Ash? Any change?”
He gave a weary sigh.
“No,” he said, “But maybe you're right...maybe I shouldn't give up hope...I mean, as long as he's breathing, he's still with us...but as things stand, he's still in the coma.”
Joy nodded.
“I wasn't expecting you to say anything else, but it's good to know you're not giving up.”
Then she opened the door and went into his room and Travis followed.
“Morning sweetheart,” Joy said tenderly, leaning over Jekel and placing a tender kiss on his hairline.
She paused for a moment, studying his face, hoping for a flicker of the smallest reaction to her touch or her voice – but Jekel slept on, as unaware as he had been long ago in those awful dark days following the fall from the tower. Joy placed her hand on his cheek, comforted by the warmth of his skin and the feel of his breath as he breathed slow and even, a reassuring reminder that he was still alive.
“We won't give up on you, not ever, my love.... and we'll be back to see you later. I'm taking Travis for a drive up to the church on the hill – the place where you and me got married. It's lovely up there...so many good memories.”
“I love you Dad,” Travis said quietly as he patted the back of Jekel's hand.
“We should go now,” Joy told her son, “Let's spend some time away from here. We need that, even for a short while.”
Then she and Travis left the room, as joy cast a look back at Jekel as she wished he would show a sign of waking – but of course, he showed none. Suddenly she needed that morning trip along the coast more than ever as she longed for fresh air and a quiet peaceful scene away from the worries that were not going to ease any time soon.
They met early in the meeting room as the sun rose on a new day in Freedom.
As his wife looked at him with a stony glare that matched that of the Vice Premier, Josh outlined his proposal on the deal as the others listened.
“I realise the Valley can't raise that kind of cash equivalent to pay the fine, but the gesture will count. And Lynch going to the gas chamber can only help to strengthen our resolve in the eyes of the people that terrorism will not be tolerated.”
“But our forces had no part in the destruction of the ECL head quarters!” Temple said angrily.
“You murdering bastard.”
Steph was glaring at him, and Josh met her gaze awkwardly.
“We can't back down!” he said firmly, “We have to be seen to be making a reasonable demand, yet still have the upper hand.”
“More like you want the upper hand!” Sylvia snapped, “That doesn't have to happen...we could vote you out of power.”
Her words gave him a jolt as he broke out into a sweat.
“It's too late!” he said angrily as he cast a steel glaze about the table, “I already put the offer to Riley. He can't pay up.”
“Let's ask him, shall we?” said Sylvia, and she activated the monitor on the table. The screen rolled and static sparkled, then Riley's image came through clearly.
“Are you able to pay the stated fine on behalf of the cyborg nation, Mr Riley?” asked Josh, “In exchange for the return of General Felix Lynch.”
“Fine? More like a ransom!”Steph exclaimed.
“Nice to know some of you are on my side,” Riley said in a hushed voice, “Thank you, Stephanie and thank you Sylvia...”
“I'm sorry, I tried all I could,” the Vice Premier replied.
“So did I,” added Steph, looking to her husband with eyes like ice as he felt sure she had never looked at him with such malice before.
“If it was possible,” Riley said, “We would pay up - but the amount you're expecting is impossible and I think you know that, Premier. You stated no payment in androids. You stated only precious metals or the equivalent...We don't have that kind of trade material, not in that quantity. We could offer you anything else you wanted – but not in the form you demand.”
“The offer is not negotiable,” Josh stated.
The murmurs around the table seemed more disapproval than agreement, but as Riley shook his head Josh felt sure he had won.
“His death is on your conscience – if you have one, Josh,” said Riley.
Josh turned off the screen.
“Execution is set for one hour's time. I took the liberty of preparing the paperwork earlier.”
And as the meeting fell to a hushed silence, Steph blinked back tears as she looked to Sylvia Payton, whose expression of despair matched her own.
When the cell door opened, Lynch was still sat at the table where he had been all night, alone with his thoughts. He met the gaze of Governor Black and saw the gleam of triumph in her eyes, and knew before she spoke a word that all hope was lost.
“You go to the gas chamber one hour from now,” she told him.
Lynch held her gaze without a hint of fear as he gave his reply.
“I was expecting this outcome. How nice for those who wanted to see me dead to fit me up so well. Your Premier really is a slimy spineless shit, isn't he...But of course it takes nothing away from the fact that I'll forever be a hero and martyr in the eyes of my people. I had no aspirations to die a legend, but so be it...”
As the smug look in her gaze faded away to anger, Lynch felt a sense of victory even though he was facing the end.
“You'll just be a memory, cyborg,” she said.
He blinked, his eyes widened as he realised what she had just said. It was there in her tone, there in her eyes...
“You're ECL?”
“So what if I am? My political inclinations have no bearing on my job but on a day like this, it's satisfying.”
“You support the very thing I'm being executed for.”
“I support the human cause. You're just a cyborg.”
“Were you there when they set off the bombs and killed people from your own city?” he demanded.
“No,” she replied,”I'm just one of the people who support the cause by donation.”
“And I wonder where you would have made those donations from,” he said thoughtfully, glancing to the monitor on the table as he guessed the Governor had her own link to the VIP channel.
There was a look of alarm in Black's eyes, then it was gone as she stepped back towards the door.
“No one will believe you, and the cameras are off today – I made sure of that before I came in because I wanted you to know the truth before you went to the gas chamber. How does it feel to know we are everywhere and your kind will one day be wiped out?”
Lynch laughed as he shook his head.
“It feels sadly fucking predictable, actually – same old story of the rise of the fascist followed by the fall. Your anti cyborg movement won't last, Governor – most were wiped out recently. The rest of you will follow eventually. Now, I'd like my final hour alone, please. No breakfast just coffee, no sugar and I'll see you in sixty minutes.”
There was not a trace of fear about the General as he looked back at her.
“Coffee it is, then,” she replied coldly, “I'll see you in the gas chamber, Lynch.”
Then she left the cell and the heavy door closed behind her and Felix gave a heavy sigh as his false act of bravado slipped and sadness shaded his gaze as he thought of Elise and his daughter, who he would never see again...
After leaving the medical centre Joy and Travis drove off, taking the coastal route around the Valley and heading for the old church at the top of the hill.
As she drove along and looked to the miles that stretched out before them on this long way round that gave the best views of the coast below, her thoughts turned to Jekel once more as she thought of him locked in a coma so deep that Riley said he would never wake. She tried to recall their last conversation but everything had seemed so ordinary before he had been abducted by the ECL...