by Aline Riva
Then she thought of the young woman who had comforted him in his final hours as the power line burned out – Violet Silver was controversially being granted the temporary right to stay in Bullet on the understanding that no deal would be made with Freedom, because her actions had clearly showed whose side she was on. Later, Joy planned to meet with her and ask her what Jekel had said in his final waking hours, but not today, because soon, Elise would need her and the more she thought about it, the more certain she felt that she ought to be down at the Wired Circuit when the sentence decision was declared.
“After we've been up to the church,” Joy said as they drove along, “I want you to go with Fi – take her over to the mansion for a while.”
“But won't she be worried about her Dad?”
“Yes Travis, she will – but I don't think Elise will tell her exactly what today is about until she knows what is going to happen. There's still a chance the governing circle of Freedom could let him go.”
Travis turned from the open window as he had watched the sea view speed by, looking to his mother with hope in his eyes.
“Do you really think they will do that?”
Joy met her son's gaze as her optimism faded.
“No,”she admitted sadly, “Probably not...”
Then they drove on, towards the end of the long and winding road that led up the hill to the old church yard. When they reached their destination, Joy parked the motor home outside the gates and got out, and her son followed.
“This way,” Joy said to him, “Let's walk down to that bench by the church wall, I want to talk to you about something.”
Travis walked on ahead, looking about the place, recalling the church from when he was much younger, and remembered the day his parents had married here. He recalled his mother's dress and the confetti and the way his father had kissed her and then they had stood together beneath the shade of a tree for some pictures.
By the time Travis had sat down on the bench on the lawn area at the side of the church, Joy had crossed the pathway and sat down next to her son.
“Do you ever remember me mentioning a man called Captain Murdock?” she asked.
Travis looked at her, in and in that moment so much of Murdock reflected in his eyes that her heart ached as she wondered if he need to hear the truth – how much of it did he really need to know, when Ash had been the only father he had ever known, and done such a fine job of it too?
“He was a Captain you knew in the war, I've heard you mention him. Felix Lynch remembered him too, he said so once. He said he was a good soldier.”
Joy smiled.
“He still is,” she said fondly, looking to the skies as she thought of Murdock out there somewhere in space, journeying onwards.
“He was a good friend of yours?”
“Very,” Joy replied, “And...” she paused, looking into the eyes of her son, “And I just wondered if you ever remembered me talking about him, that's all... its important to remember people even when they're gone.”
“Where is he now?” Travis asked.
“Outer space...Out there...Up there somewhere.”
“If he comes back one day, I'd like to meet him,” her son told her.
“Maybe one day you will,” she agreed, casting her gaze over the peaceful churchyard as her thoughts switched from the stars to here on earth and the man she had vowed to love until death, who she was sure she would love beyond that, because she had always known Jekel would never leave her heart.
“I know why you said that about remembering people,” he added, “It's because Felix might be executed today. Don't worry about me – I'll never forget him, I like Fi's Dad, he's nice.”
Joy thought back to the Felix Lynch of old, the fierce fighter who had refused to die after losing half his body to an explosion, going on to defy Freedom City rules, becoming a cyborg folk hero in the process.
“I don't know many people who would say that about him, not if they knew him years ago when he was an army man, but yes, he's a nice man now – I think it's because he's got a family. It's important, you know? It matters that we have people around us who love us, we all need that.”
“If my Dad dies, we'll still be a family,” Travis said, “And we'll miss him – not just you and me, but everyone. I think the whole Valley will miss him – and some of Freedom City too, because he's a celebrity and so many people love him.”
“You're right about that,” Joy agreed, “Everyone loves him. It sort of helps knowing that.”
Then she drew the communications device from her pocket.
“I used this to call Captain Murdock when Sanctuary went to war, and he said, “Keep your eyes on the skies, my dear...and I did.”
“And then what happened?” asked Travis.
Joy smiled at the memory.
“I was trapped in a tower room with Kait at the time. We were planning to escape and I kept looking out that window, up at the clouds,” Joy replied, looking to the clear blue summer skies as she recalled the memory, “And all of a sudden the War Bird cut through the skies -”
“Like that!” said Travis excitedly, pointing skyward as the war bird shot across the sky, climbing higher as it flew onwards at top speed.
Joy got up, her jaw dropped at the sight of the craft as it flew off in the direction of Freedom City.
“Someone stole my war bird!” she yelled.
“Maybe not,” Travis said as he jumped up from his seat and stood beside her as the two of them looked small against the green lawn beside the church to the pilot of the war bird , who was now heading over the border out of Cyborg Valley.
“My war bird!” Joy said again, “Some thieving -”
“No, mum,” Travis told her, “Someone must have borrowed it...Riley told me about needing an android. Maybe he found one...”
Joy turned from the sight of the war bird which was now a speck on the horizon as it headed towards Freedom, looking down at her son in surprise.
“When did Riley tell you that?”
“When I spoke to him on his private line...”
She stared at her son.
“You hacked his line?”
“He didn't mind,”Travis replied.
She looked down at the boy with Murdock's eyes and started to smile as she recalled how Murdock had always been good at tinkering with controls.
“Come on, let's get back to Sanctuary, I bet Riley knows what's going on!”
Joy ran back down the pathway as Travis thought of something Joy had missed, then he ran to catch up with her and climbed up into the motor home beside her.
“Keys...keys...” Joy was saying as she searched frantically, “I just want to know that who ever took my war bird is bringing it back! Keys...Where are they?”
“In the ignition, Mum,” Travis told her, then he closed his hand over hers as she looked to him with tearful eyes. In that moment she saw so much of Murdock in her son as she realised she didn't need the Captain at her side – he had never left, he was right here, in Travis...
“It's okay,” he said, letting go of her hand, “Calm down, Mum. No one could take the war bird without asking. Riley's guards wouldn't let that happen.”
Joy brushed away her tears.
“That's true,” she agreed.
“So who ever took it was authorised,” he added, “And the War Bird was headed for Freedom – I know the flight route because I've watched when we were occupied by their City Guard – their carriers used to fly the same route straight towards the border when heading back.”
Hope shone in her eyes as she thought of Elise and Fi.
“That's a rescue mission!” she exclaimed, “Someone is trying to save Felix!”
Then she laughed as she looked to the skies once more.
“Oh, this is going to be a good day, I can feel it! I think there's every chance Fi will see her Dad again! Oh, I wish I knew who was up there in my war bird!”
“Ask them,” said Travis, “Use the communicator?”
Joy took the device from her pocket and switched it on, looking skyward.
“Oi,” she began fiercely, “You've got my war bird up there! You'd better look after it! Did you hear me?”
The device's cracked screen flickered, and through it she saw the pilot – wearing a battle suit like Murdock's – a spare that was left on board. But the pilot's helmet was up, and she could not see more than the visor as the pilot of the war bird looked down at the screen. For a brief moment, Joy thought about a faint, crazy possibility that maybe, just maybe that message she had sent before had reached its destination...
“Murdock?” she said, “Is that you?”
There was a crackle and the audio came through loud and clear.
“No love it's your other boyfriend,” said a familiar voice, “The one you married!”
Joy clutched the device tighter.
“Ash?” she said in disbelief, “But...how?”
“Riley figured out my wiring was unique enough to take the Protocol Five unit. He opened up the wiring inside my head, used living metal to bond the unused wire cluster and bingo, I stabilised!”
Joy was still looking to the skies as she blinked away tears, now out of sheer relief.
“The cluster permanently fixed the problem!”
“Yes it did and the Protocol Five unit will lock on permanent shut down after the mission, which I'm glad about because I've got this big red circle at the back of my mind telling me what to do ...its annoying...but the unit shutting down won't hurt me – it just goes back to being a spare part. But the wire cluster will keep going as long as I do... don't worry, ask Riley if you need to know more.”
“I get that,” she said as she clutched the device and spoke into it, “But why didn't he tell us this morning? We came to see you!”
“I was still unconscious. He was waiting for it to kick in and he wasn't sure if it would work...Then it did, now I'm on my way to Freedom. Don't worry about me, Joy – all I have to do is follow the program inside my head...”
As she spoke into the device again, Joy's heart was filled with relief to know that Ash was okay – but the fact that he was headed into danger terrified her in equal measure.
“You'd better come back in one piece,” she warned him, “And look after my war bird – not a single scratch, do you hear me?”
He laughed softly down the audio.
“Okay, Joy, I've got that...”
“And Ash?”
“Joy, I don't have time...I'm heading towards Freedom.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Tell Travis I'll be home soon, I'm bringing Fi's Dad with me... Go to go, lots to do and no time to chat. Speak soon.”
The call ended, and Joy smiled as she looked to Travis, whose eyes shone with happiness to know that his father was alive and well.
“Your Dad's okay!” she said, then worry clouded her eyes.
“And Riley's sent him on a rescue mission...with a Protocol Five unit inside his head! We need to get back to Sanctuary!”
She started up the engine and turned the motor home around, heading back towards home.
Elise had seen the war bird take off and soar through the skies, and as it thundered over the town of Bullet her hopes had soared with it as she had looked to her daughter.
“Fi, I think somebody is going to save your Dad!”
Then as Flynn and Kait had joined her outside the bar, they had looked skyward in time to see the war bird heading off on the route to Freedom City.
“I think Riley found an android!”said Elise, and Flynn shook his head.
“That would have been near impossible.”
“Well he found someone,”Kait replied.
“I wonder who it was?” Elise murmured, looking to the skies as the war bird faded from sight as it sped off into the far distance.
Suddenly as the motor home rolled up, Elise didn't feel saddened by the sight of it – not now she had a spark of hope in her heart.
Joy leant out the window and called down to the others.
“Did you see the war bird?”
“Is my Dad going to be rescued?” Fi called back.
Travis laughed as Joy gave her reply.
“Oh yes he's going to be rescued!” she exclaimed proudly, “By a cyborg compatible with Protocol Five wiring...My Ashley Jekel!”
Elise looked at her in surprise.
“Jekel's flying the war bird?”
“I take it the programming is guiding him,” Joy replied, “But yes, he is flying the war bird – all the way to Freedom and back! Now hurry up and get in, I'm heading back to Sanctuary – I need to see Riley!”
Then the door slid back and Elise and the others got in, and Joy drove off once more, heading for Sanctuary and the mansion house of Blake Riley.
The red circle at the back of Jekel's vision rotated as it switched to a dial and numbers lit up that he didn't understand, yet somehow it was guiding him as he held the war bird straight and flew onwards, his own systems working in tune with the android program informed him Freedom City air space was looming closer. He reached out and slammed down a lever, activating shields as he once more set his sights on the city and the circle inside his head rotated, turned flat and switched to a map, indicating a landing space on the rooftop of Freedom City Prison.
His gloved hand hovered over the switches and dials, he let his own thoughts take a back seat as the program guided him, and with each turn of a switch and push of a button, he came to understand this was good practise for what lie ahead – the program was guiding him relentlessly, and he trusted its efficiency as Freedom City grew closer, and he was told the estimated time before hostility was encountered would be three minutes.
“Still got time to kill...” Jekel murmured, and then as he looked down at the controls, he saw there was a light blinking, indicating a message received. His inner guidance system led his index finger to a button to the side of the device, and he pressed it, then behind his visor, he smiled as he heard Joy's voice:
“Murdock? I don't know if you can hear me but if you can... I'm losing Jekel. He's dying and no one can save him and I'd give anything...But you can't help with that. You can help Felix Lynch, though. He's a political prisoner in Freedom and he goes to the gas chamber tomorrow and he doesn't deserve it and...I don't want Elise to lose the man she loves! I'm losing Jekel and it's killing me but please if you can hear this, if you can come back, please save Felix...Please, Murdock?”
For a brief moment as the recording ended, Jekel thought of what he had done in his darkest hour, on the dusty floor of the tailor's shop with Violet Silver, then he pushed that thought aside, remembering his promise of no regrets was one to be kept...he had not expected to survive the hour, let alone to see his wife again...
“Oh Joy,” he vowed, “You won't lose me, not now, not ever...When I get back, it's you and me and I swear as long as I live, I'll never look at another woman again...”
Then an alert briefly flashed to mind and he grabbed at the controls, shifting the war bird sharply right, then upwards, avoiding collision with a missile.
“Oh shit!I really am sorry, Joy!” he said in panic as he wished she could hear him, “I don't want to die...this protocol thing had better not let me down!”
Two more missiles were incoming, he quickly blocked out all thoughts of fear and death and concentrated on the red dial that now revolved in his mind as it guided him. His hands gripped the flight controls, he steered side to side as the ride became bumpy, then let the program guide him again as the missiles chased the craft and homed in, then Jekel thrust the war bird sharply upwards as below him, the missiles collided in a blast that turned the sky below a brief shade of fire and blazing light as the boom resounded below but the shielded craft was merely buffeted as if a passing tornado had missed it by a fraction.
Then as another missile was fired, he turned the craft into a sharp turn and a dip, pulling up straight as below, sho
ts were fired, bouncing off the shields as the dial at the back of his mind began to weave a mesh that pulled inward, directing him to land on the rooftop of the city prison. Jekel kept his sights on the distant target as all the while, he grew to trust the alien designed tech that was wired into his head.
Chapter 12: Protocol Five
The door to the cell opened up and Lynch stepped out. The two armed guards behind him had no need to restrain him, as he glanced to them with not a trace of fear in his eyes, he wondered if the sound of distant explosions and the barrage of shots from the ground meant that Elise had managed to find an android capable of running the Protocol Five unit. Then as he walked, limping sharply thanks to the temporary seal on his severed wiring, and the open door to the gas chamber came into view, he reasoned that perhaps now, rescue was too much to hope for. His throat felt tight as he paused at the doorway in time to see Governor Black shoot him a look of deepest satisfaction.
“Any last words?” she asked him.
“Yes,” Lynch replied, “I had two ways to do this – I could have gone out snapping and snarling like the wild dog I used to be but instead I'll just say this is for the good of Cyborg Valley and its future. And I love my family. That's all you need to know.”
Then as Black left through a heavy door to walk through to the observation room beyond, Lynch was led into the chamber – a white room with a metallic chair and a very obvious vent set into the floor in front of that chair. The sight of it made him tense, but he offered no resistance as he was strapped into the chair.
As the guards departed and the door closed, the heavy sound it made on sealing sounded like the end of everything, this was the final moments of his life and he knew it as he looked to the vent and wondered how long before the gas would start to rise.
Then he turned his head and looked to the window to see Governor Black was seated alone, watching through the reinforced glass. He met her gaze with not a flicker of emotion, then he saw her turn her head in surprise, as she was joined by a tall, athletically built man in a dark grey suit. His hair was short and fair, his face was masculine in a rugged way that said he was probably popular with the ladies – although how long he stayed popular with that hard look in his blue eyes was anybody's guess...he looked like...