Dead Planet Book 1 Exodus

by Drew Avera

  "Did you see if they harmed Kara at all?" I asked.

  "I'm not sure. After they busted through the door I tried to stand my ground. Like I said, there was too many of them. I did hear Kara scream and I think that they dragged her out of the door. That's the last thing I remember before waking up here."

  I could see that he was visibly shaken by the experience. I patted him on the shoulder to acknowledge him as I struggled to fight back tears. My hope for Kara being alive was still holding on by a thread. I was afraid of what she may have had to experience once she was abducted though. She was not a warrior like Thom and I, trained to ignore pain and suffering. She was a scientist, she was soft hearted. She didn’t condone violence so I figured she most likely would not fight back. Now she was alone, afraid, and quite possibly hurt. I had to go out there and find her soon.

  "Thank you for standing up and fighting for her," I said. "I know it was a lot to ask of you to defend my sister, and you did as much as you could. You did more than most men would for another person and I really do appreciate it."

  "What are you going to do now?" Thom asked me.

  "I'm going to go back to White and see what he can dig up. I don't think that this was a hit. She was abducted and I think it was to send me a message," I said as I walked over to the window and looked out. The morning sun shown bright through the glass and I could see the water reflecting the sunlight in a million different shimmers. "My hope is that she is alive and that I can find her. If I can save her then I will. Regardless I promise you that I will kill whoever is responsible."

  Thom groaned in bed from his injuries while he tried to sit up. He was grabbing at his belongings on the night stand next to his bed.

  "What are you doing?" I asked.

  "I'm going to go with you," he said.

  "No, you need to stay here and rest," I replied. "Lay back down!" Thom grumbled as he laid back and rested his head against the pillow. "I'll find her and I'll let you know when I do," I said. I went to walk out of the door and stopped before leaving. "Thom?"

  "Yes, Serus?"

  "Please let me know if you need anything. I owe you one," I said before I walked out of the door. I was thankful that my friend was alive and that he would be alright. Still I was just worried that the same could not be said yet for Kara.

  I left the hospital and began walking towards the square. I knew that White did not want me to risk coming to his palace, but given the circumstances I couldn't afford to wait for him to contact me first. I walked down the street in long determined strides and kept my eyes open for danger. I was a fugitive who was walking in open daylight, defiant to the Syndicate, and I swore to myself that I would stay defiant to the end.

  Chapter 15

  It was about midmorning when I arrived at Pontiff White's palace. The square was buzzing with people carrying on about their daily lives like bees in a hive. There was a huddle of protesters crying foul about the lottery and blaming the Syndicate for their dire circumstances. A quick scan did not lead me to believe that any policemen were in the area. Apparently in my haste I misjudged my environment. A blue beam fell upon my chest and my immediate reaction was to jute out of the way. A laser blasted pass me and struck a chunk of marble along the outer wall of the square.

  My right arm reflexively lifted and I pointed my Armed gauntlet in the direction the laser had come from. There was a scattering of civilians who were screaming for their lives and it took me some time to figure out where the policeman had been. I could see him skipping sideways trying to get a fix on my position and a better vantage point to fire upon me. I watched him intently and I could see that he was a rookie. He wasn't paying attention to his own position and he was waiting until he felt that he had a good shot on me. By that point I had already had my sight set on him. I fired my gauntlet a fraction of a second before he had me sighted. My laser beam penetrated his chest at full blast, killing him instantly. I was without remorse. The stupid kid had it coming. I was on a mission and he got in the way, now he was history.

  I continued moving towards the entrance of the palace amongst the sound of frantic screaming and the chants of protesters ringing out from the square. I wanted to scream out for White to come to me so that I wouldn't trigger any kind of alarm to alert the Agency of my presence in the palace, not that another dead policeman wasn't going to be obvious enough that I had been here. I walked into the elevator for what seemed like the hundredth time in a week and I was lifted to White's office.

  I stopped myself from stepping out into the lit hallway leading to White's office. The sound of the elevator had alerted him of a visitor and he looked up at me from his desk. His face had a slightly irritated look drawn upon it, either by my presence or by something else completely unrelated. I wasn't concerned with his opinion of my being here because I had my own concerns and my own agenda to follow. Kara was the most important thing to me right now, and all else can be damned.

  White stood up from his desk and straightened the front of his suit before he walked towards me. He was dressed in a charcoal suit with a black shirt and white tie. The wardrobe made him look at least ten years younger and he carried himself with confidence as he approached me. White stepped into the elevator and did not speak to me, instead he just pressed a button that lifted the elevator to another floor. We stopped at what looked like a storage room or an attic at the top floor of the palace. White stepped out first and I followed him out onto the hardwood floor that was covered in a light film of dust. This place had obviously not been seen by human eyes in quite some time and it was cluttered with boxes and other miscellaneous junk.

  "What brings you here today, Serus?" He asked without the hint of frustration that I thought would be evident by my unsolicited arrival.

  "It's Kara," I said.

  "What about Kara?" He asked obviously not knowing about the recent turn of events.

  "She has been abducted."

  "When did this happen?" He asked.

  "Last night. It must have happened while I was here with you. When I arrived at the apartment the door was ajar and I could see that a disturbance had occurred. Kara was nowhere to be found. I did find Thom in the bedroom, he had been beaten by a group of policemen." My depiction of what happened sounded very surreal to me.

  "Unbelievable," he said. "Do you think that you may have been followed there?"

  "I don't think so, but I have been so wrapped up in things lately that I suppose that it’s possible that I didn't realize that I had been followed." That thought had not entered my mind until now. What if I had led the Syndicate to our hiding place? What if I had led them to Kara?

  "Is Thom still alive?" White asked.

  "Yes. He is in the hospital now," I said.

  "What are the extent of his injuries?"

  "Mostly cuts and bruises. He also has a broken rib and possible concussion according to the medical record I read in his room."

  "Really? Those injuries aren't very serious for someone who has been attacked by a group of policemen. What do you think?" He asked.

  "The way I see it, I believe they were trying to send me a message by not killing him. I don’t think that they have killed Kara either. At least not yet," I said.

  "I suppose it is possible, but usually if you are a hindrance then the Syndicate has you removed permanently. This leads me to believe that they either have another agenda, or this is not the work of the Syndicate." He had a point that I had not yet pondered. What if this was something far beyond the Syndicate's control?

  White pulled out a small computer device from his pocket and turned it on. A holographic screen appeared in from of his face and he typed in some information that caused the screen to change patterns several times. All I could see was a scrolling list of names with certain ones highlighted in red. After several moments he stopped and secured the device before turning to look at me.

  "There is no information that I can find regarding a hit on Kara in the system, not even the attempted hits that we both
know have already occurred. Someone must have deleted every piece of information associated with it from the database. Let me tell you that there aren't many people who have that kind of power. It is pretty much limited to the Agency and about two dozen of the most powerful men in the Syndicate. I'm sorry, but I don't have any other information than that." He said.

  "Do you think that maybe she is still alive?" I asked hoping that he would agree with my assessment.

  "I'll be honest with you, Serus. There is a chance that she is being held and kept alive in order to lure you into their snares and I hope for Kara's sake that this is the case," He said.

  "Can you give me a list of those names?" I asked.

  "That shouldn't be a problem, but I'm afraid I don't have a clue as to which name to start with," He replied.

  "That's fine," I said. "I'll just have to eliminate each name one by one then want I?"

  "I suppose you will," he said as he switched his device back on. Once the file loaded with the names he transferred them to my communicator. I could feel it buzz once the information had finished transferring and I looked at it and verified that I had received the file. I placed my communicator back in my jacket pocket and walked back into the elevator with White. He pressed the button that returned us to the lobby and I stepped out, leaving White in the elevator.

  "Good luck, Serus. You're going to need it. The names on that list are some of the most heartless men that I have ever known. I hope that Kara is well. Please let me know what you find out," He said.

  "Thank you. I will," I said as I watched the elevator door close around Pontiff White and I turned to leave. The list of names was only a starting point. A means to an end. An end I was looking forward to providing for whomever had abducted my sister.

  Chapter 16

  I pulled my communicator from my pocket as I left the palace. I could see a medical crew cleaning up the remains of the policeman I had killed no more than twenty minutes ago. I supposed someone called it in after the circus of people died down a little. I turned my communicator on and scrolled through the list of names that White had sent me. Most of the names were not known to me, but I could recognize a few who lived here in Archea. The first name I noticed was Martis Ceane, an older, very powerful man in the Syndicate. He ran a company that controlled most of the technological research that we benefited from here on Mars. He shared his business ventures with a short list of other prominent men who had their hands in other businesses. It was a spider web connecting these men to all kinds of business relations that blurred the line between who was in charge and who was merely a participant. Did I think Martis had my sister? Most likely no, but I was sure that with his connections and his name being on the list that there was a greater chance that he knew who did have Kara.

  I headed west towards Ceane's office. It was only a few miles away and he was sure to be at work at this time of day. I walked out in the open daylight keeping a watchful eye out for a potential threat. I didn't want to be surprised by another hit attempt because I was too wrapped up in my thoughts. Now wasn't the time for autopilot or any knee jerk reactions, I was on a mission, and if I wanted to succeed then I needed to stay focused.

  It took me about an hour to reach Ceane's office building. It was about thirty stories tall and I could not remember ever being inside of it. I walked into the lobby which was lush with decorations that showed off his financial power in a much less gaudy way than the palace, but it was still sickening to see that kind of waste. I saw a directory illuminated on a wall next to an elevator and I walked over to see where Mathis Ceane's office was located. According to the directory it was on the twenty seventh floor. I pressed the up button for the elevator and waited for the door to open.

  The elevator was not as nice as the palace but the building was much larger and served as a business that employed thousands of people. Sometimes function was more important than looks. The elevator doors opened on the twenty seventh floor and I stepped out into a large room equipped with large banquet tables decorated with fresh roses. There were bottles of wine set on display and soft music was playing from a speaker system in the ceiling. I stood there a moment trying to figure out which door on the other end of the room might lead me to Ceane's office. All of a sudden one of the doors on the right opened and Mathis stepped out with a double handful of wine bottles. He didn't even notice that I was in the room until I spoke.

  "Mathis Ceane," I said. He stopped and looked in my direction, almost falling over when he realized who I was. He rebounded quickly and composed himself before speaking.

  "Yes. How can I help you," he said in a very business like manner.

  "I'm here to get information about the abduction of my sister Kara." I said to him.

  "I had nothing to do with that," he said as he turned to focus on the placement of his wine bottles.

  "I didn't accuse you of having anything to do with it, but I do know that you are a man well connected. A man who has his hands in many things. I'm sure that you have at least some knowledge of what happened to Kara."

  "I assure you I don't." He said. "Thanks for stopping by. If you'll excuse me." He avoided eye contact with me as he scurried on about his business, ignoring me and my plight trying to find Kara. He was lying and I was certain of it. Mathis went to set a wine bottle on one of the long banquet tables across the room and I had enough of the run around. He would tell me what I needed to hear, I thought to myself. I fired my gauntlet and a blue beam shattered the wine bottle in his hand sending wine all over the table and it dripped onto the expensive carpet in the room.

  Mathis screamed in fear and stepped back. Blood ran down his hand from being cut by the bottle when it shattered. That wasn't my concern. As far as I was concerned his time was limited today.

  "Are you crazy?" He cried. "Do you know who I am? What I have the power to do to you?" He was frantic, afraid, and I liked it.

  "I know exactly who you are." I said. "You are one of the highest ranking board members of the Syndicate. You have the authority to make my life a living hell, which is no small feat considering the training I underwent to become a policeman. Now I have the same question for you. Do you know who I am? Do you know what I am going to do to you if you don't answer my questions?" I asked in a loud voice. I was angry. I was fed up with the charade, the politics. I was ready to end him here and now, but I desperately needed information first. I had to calm down and get what I came for. My emotions were peaked and my programming was making it hard for me take control of my actions. I tried to slow down my breathing and regain control.

  "What is it you want to know?" He asked. "I had nothing to do with her abduction."

  "Is she alive?" My first question came out with a little more anxiety to it than I could avoid.

  "I imagine that she is." He said. “For now at least.”

  "Who took her?" I asked with more control in my voice.

  "Now that's privileged information." He said. Wrong answer. I fired my gauntlet within a few inches of his head, the beam burned a hole into the stone work behind him. "No! Please stop! I'll tell you!" He pleaded.

  "Start talking now or the next one will be on target." I said.

  "It was Sorell." He said. "I have a business relationship with him. He runs the facility that your sister worked at. I don't think he intends to harm her. I think he just wants to use her to try and figure out a way to save the magnetic field." He was lying and I could feel it.

  "Don't you dare lie to me, Ceane!"

  "I'm serious. It was Sorell!" He cried.

  "Where is he?" I asked.

  "He has a office at the university where Kara worked. He is a cautious man who is afraid of tall buildings. His office is on the first floor." Now it seemed that Mathis was being a bit too helpful. I was confused by this and decided to press harder.

  "What is his plan, Mathis?"

  "Just to save the field. Not everyone in the Syndicate wants to leave this planet. It's our home." He said.

  "Kara said t
he uranium wasn't enriched and without that process being performed then the whole planet was doomed. How does he plan on saving the field?" I asked.

  "I don't know the science of it. I just know that is his plan, save the planet and take all the credit."

  I walked around the room pacing. It was plausible but he gave me the information a little too freely for my taste. He was obviously up to something. It was either a set up to trap me or he was setting Sorell up for betrayal. Either way I didn't really care. I believed that Sorell was the one who had Kara held captive. Whether or no she was still alive or if this was a setup to get to me was another set of questions that I didn't want to focus on at the moment.

  Ceane was standing still and starring at me, watching me pace around the room. I didn't like the expression on his face, the thoughts that must have been running through his mind. If I left him here alive he would surely contact Sorell and let him know I was on my way. That action could get Kara killed. I only had one option I thought to myself before I lifted my gauntlet and fired into Ceane's chest. The beam had been set on full blast and it carved a hole in his chest about the size of a grapefruit. Blood and chunks of meat splattered on the stonework behind him.

  I pulled out my communicator and scrolled through the names. Once I found ‘Mathis Ceane’ on the list I deleted it. I then scrolled to find Delyn Sorell. I hadn't made the connection before, but now it made sense. He probably knew Kara personally from the university. He would have the necessary knowledge about her to link her to our father's apartment where she was hiding. That put him next on the list, next to meet my gauntlet. He better hope for his own sake that Kara was alive. Otherwise his death would be drawn out as morbidly as I could make it. I stepped back into the elevator when the doors reopened, leaving Ceane's body to be found by an aid or other business associate. There had been a lot of blood on my hands the passed few days. There would be more before I was finished. I was sure of it.