by Ian Williams
Anthony broke his gaze away from the relay and glared at Saul, his eyes a blaze with reflecting light and static. “Keep it going. Give it more.”
“Are you sure –”
“Do it!”
Saul again returned to the machine, while Crag monitored things from his tablet. Phoenix could see the readout dial from behind Craig, who now stood just in front of her. The digital needle hovered at the middle mark with an occasional drop-out that sent it racing back down to nothing. She could have sworn it was close to snapping each time it returned to the bottom.
“Increasing output to 55%,” Saul said, with a twinge of nerves to his voice.
Anthony spoke while engrossed by the flashes above him. “I need it stable at just above 89%, before we send out the Beacon Code. Keep turning it up.”
“Sir, it’s struggling at this level. I think it needs to be re-calibrated. Let me dial it back a little first.”
“No, I said keep it going.” By now Anthony had to shout at the top of his voice too just to be heard over the racket.
Everything was happening so fast that Phoenix found herself left out and only able to act as a spectator. Her ears were hurting despite having her hands held and desperately covering them from the onslaught. She could just about hear the enthused exchange between the others, but it all sounded like random words strung together to her. It was all too much to take in. The only thing she had paid any attention to was the suggestion that things were not quite going right.
“Anthony?” she called. “What’s it doing?”
“Not now, dammit,” he replied with a sharp growl.
“Nearing 74% effective output. Sir, the fluctuations are pushing the spikes outside operating capacity. We may blow the relay if we push more.”
There was no answer from Anthony at all, he became mesmerised by the tiny bolts of electricity arching away from the top of the relay. The others joined him in watching them form and then fizzle away, clearly enjoying the sudden performance. Phoenix, however, had automatically stepped back further. She was seeing the warning signs well before the others had.
A large bolt of lightning shrieked as it burst out of the relay and up into the sky. After that another came from the other side. Both disappeared into the ether. With it came an increase in static electricity that tugged at the hairs on Phoenix’s head. She had wet her hair down earlier to keep it in place and now that was slowly being undone with each bolt that escaped. Without the need for a mirror, she knew some were probably standing straight in the same way they did when people rubbed balloons on their heads at parties.
“Fuck.” The word had broken free from Craig’s mouth almost uncontrollably. “Output just dropped completely, sir. I’m seeing nothing.”
“That’s it, I’m shutting it down,” Saul said.
Before he could even begin thinking over the procedure for doing this, Anthony rushed ahead and forced him aside. Saul stumbled away until he found his footing and stopped himself dangerously close to the relay. He did not appear to appreciate being pushed out of the way. Of course, only his face told of this, his body became rigid as he buried an urge to fight back, such was Anthony’s command over them all; however crazy he got, they would not dare retaliate.
“I’ve not come this far to stop now,” Anthony said as he frantically dialled up the settings.
The two other men joined Phoenix in moving away without causing a fuss. They all watched as the relay began to struggle even more with the power running through it. A huge amount of electricity was being drawn through the relay and sent wirelessly out into the world, much more than it had been designed to handle.
The fusion reactors providing all of the country’s power may have already reached fifteen years old, but that did not mean much. They still produced an almost unlimited amount of power to the national wireless power grid. That was a dangerous thing indeed. Knowing this she continued to back away slowly. She did not much fancy being vaporised if things got any more out of control.
“What’s the output now?” Anthony called from the manically buzzing machine in front of him.
“It’s still at zero, sir.” Craig spun his tablet around to prove the figure was right. “It doesn’t matter how much you turn it up, the power isn’t usable at this frequency.”
The noise continued to build. The humming, the crunching sound of an increasing static charge, the tiny bolts of lightning, all of it was growing in strength. Even the loose stones and pebbles had started to react by excitedly bouncing about the floor. The power relay now threatened to tear the roof apart with the vibrations that were thundering through the surface under their feet.
Anthony still stood far too close to the fingers of electricity extending from the top of the relay, and he appeared unwilling to leave his position. He was hell-bent on getting the result he wanted and nothing was going to stop him. Phoenix knew this about him, so her response was to begin edging toward the door. Had the opportunity she waited for finally arrived? Surely no-one would miss her with such a thing going on?
At less than three paces from the door, she saw how Saul and Craig had seen sense in her movements and were slowly following her. They did the same, all while keeping a cautious eye on the power hungry figure of Anthony, surrounded by his cloud of electricity. They could only watch as things inevitably began to go wrong.
The relay had finally had enough and began to give in. Like a tap being turned off, its flow was cut short and nothing but an occasional splutter could be heard. The silence became almost as loud as the humming of the machine from seconds earlier. A tinnitus like ringing was all that Phoenix could now hear. Complete quiet was unobtainable to her.
For a second or two it seemed that the failure had only affected their power relay, with only devices linked to it suffering the consequences. Phoenix’s wrist screen being one of them, had stopped working entirely after the wireless power and data feed had stopped fuelling its operations.
If not for their raised position up on the shopping complex’s roof, she would have missed the real results entirely. Across the expanse of the city were flashes of bright light – brighter than the sun above – that gave away the locations of all of the other power relays nearby. When the bangs then followed, it was clear the same had happened to them all. The city was suddenly shut off, all because of Anthony’s reckless push for success.
“What the hell, Anthony?” Phoenix yelled. “You’ve knocked out the entire city, you asshole.”
Anthony turned to face her. Oddly he did not return an angry shout or even argue with her at all, he began to laugh instead. He raised his arms behind his head and clamped his fingers together round the back of his neck. “Holy shit! I’ve never seen anything like that before,” he said. “You two -” He said pointing to the frozen figures of Saul and Craig. “- check it’s OK. I want to try again as soon as possible.”
“Didn’t you hear me, Anthony? The power’s out, you blew it.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic, Phoenix, it’s fine. The network will just reset, give it time. What you saw was no worse than a couple of lightning strikes overcharging the system.” He wiped his face in a prolonged fashion, drawing his cheeks down, then slapped his hands down by his side. “Next time we’ll hit the 89%, no problem.”
His confidence sent a shot of adrenaline surging through Phoenix’s body. He wanted to try again! Was he mad? The attempt she had just seen had been a total failure, nothing had worked correctly. Yet he was ready to try again without delay. She began to doubt her decision to see things through this far. If she stayed much longer she could see herself inadvertently fried like a pigeon sitting on a live power cable.
While Saul and Craig went about fixing whatever had blown during the sudden shutdown, she took in the silent cityscape spreading out in the distance. She could make out the Mag-Lev lines weaving between the buildings and the static cars that had been racing around on them. The poor bastards inside the cars would surely be panicking at the prospect of being s
tuck there for hours. Of course she was only guessing at the time frame ahead of them. Without really knowing at all, she estimated it could be a while before the system reset itself.
Chapter 11
20 minutes earlier
After walking for what felt like at least an hour to Graham, he and Ruth arrived at the location Dino had been telling them about. He kept specifics to himself and had only told them who to ask for, yet somehow he had talked the entire way. Out of nerves or as a side effect of his drug habit, Graham could not tell.
The place he had taken them to was a grubby looking bar, with moving and highly tasteless depictions of half-naked women projected onto the glass of the windows. Blinking and colourful advertisements for the alcoholic beverages and gambling opportunities within swirled around the women’s writhing bodies. Not much free space was left on the window; God forbid they should leave some part of their lurid business untold.
The thumping bass line from the music they played seeped through the walls. It was much louder than necessary; another obvious attempt to entice those passing by to venture inside. Lingering in the air was a curious whiff of burning that escaped the door each time the bouncer let in another questionable individual. The patrons of this small establishment were engaged in the smoking of all kinds of illegal compounds. It was as good a place as any to house a drug dealing enterprise.
Those inside were numerous and more raucous than would ordinarily be deemed as appropriate for the time of day. Graham could hear as much from outside. Beyond the stocky figure of the door guard lay a seedy world of debauchery that did little to prevent any possible noise pollution. It perfectly matched the mental image Graham had been forming in his mind on the walk there. He suspected that as long as those who visited did so with pockets full of cash – only on the way in of course – then everything was fine.
“This is as far as I go,” Dino said.
Graham studied the dirty and stained windows, and instantly thought the same as the semi-naked imagery floated by his face once more. He was not someone who ventured into these parts of the city without a damn good reason. His usual watering hole would be unhappy with a men’s toilet this filthy. The snobbery surprised him. He always considered himself a down-to-earth kind of guy. He had fought to be where he was today. Although if he had to fight through such crowds each night to get a pint, he would have given up long ago.
“How do we know this is the place?” Ruth asked. “I mean, this could be any old random shithole.”
“Hey, that’s all I agreed to tell you, lady. Just go in and ask to see Petra. She’ll be fine with it. She’s a lovely woman, I promise.” The laugh at the end of Dino’s sentence told them that the opposite was probably true.
A weary approach and a tentative look through the door did little to alleviate Graham’s concerns either. There appeared no room to move let alone to get to the bar and ask for someone who possibly was not there, and certainly would not be happy to see them. Dino knew the woman and it stood to reason that he could get them past this problem, and possibly even be forced to vouch for them too.
“Ruth,” Graham said, flashing his eyes to the Taser-stick she kept in her sleeve for easy access. She instantly got his point and handed it to him without Dino seeing. “Sorry, but it’s time we made something clear, Dino.” He kept his back to the nearby bouncer and held up the stick, sending a quick burst of electricity popping through it.
Their drug-dealer friend jumped in response. “Oh come on, man, I did what I said I would. If I go with you she’ll string me up.”
“We’re not going in without you. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re still conscious or not. This Petra woman won’t be happy to see us two asking about her. You’re our ticket in.”
“I wish I’d stayed in bed,” Dino said before giving in and cautiously stepping toward the bouncer. He was met with a deeply scrutinising look from the guard.
“You lot coming in or not?” the bouncer asked, revealing a silver tooth in the centre of his mouth.
Dino flashed a smile and nodded. “Yep.”
“Show me some cash then. You’re not getting in unless you got some to spend. We don’t take anything else here.”
“We’re just here to speak to Petra.”
The guard laughed. “I don’t care who you’re here to see. Let me see some money first.”
Graham did not bother checking his pockets, he had none. He doubted Ruth did either as there was no need; even paying was done automatically. The place seemed unlikely to accept his finger prints or retinal scans to identify and charge his account, as modern establishments did. Old fashioned paper money was the chosen route for those who would rather not be traced.
“Whatever,” Dino said before removing a folded wad of cash, held together by an elastic band. “How’s this?”
“Fine. You can go in.” The guard smiled once more. “What about you two?” he asked Graham and Ruth.
“They’re with me,” Dino said.
“Alright then. Off you go. Have fun, yeah?”
After taking the lead through the door, Dino turned his head and said over his shoulder, “We will.” He then waved to Graham and Ruth to follow him.
Within only a few steps inside, the full stench of the place hit Graham. It was unreasonably musky and far too warm. They had to make room for themselves as they slipped through the many drinkers all standing and crassly chatting to each other about the entertainment. On display for today’s revellers were two women in see-through lingerie swinging and grinding around a shiny pole, set up dangerously close to the crowd. The lighting was low, with a red tint that only served to reinforce the seedy look of the place.
“A real nice place you got here,” Ruth shouted above the music.
Dino replied over his shoulder. “Your husband should know,” he said sarcastically.
Ruth snorted and shook her head. She was understandably disturbed by what she saw, though the same could not be said of the drunken row of lust-filled men almost dribbling at the sight of the dancers. Nor the ones who spotted a new female recently enter their domain: Ruth.
Seeing their reactions to his sister for himself made Graham’s blood boil. He knew to keep an eye out for any in particular that could pose trouble for them. The level of intoxication in the room – whether drug or alcohol induced – meant he would have to be extra vigilant. Everyone had the breath of hard drinkers as well as a nose stinging odour of body sweat. But it was their closeness that he found the most uncomfortable; nearly chin to chin at times as the room to move just was not there. Any one of them could try it on.
Eventually they made it to the bar counter, its glass surface glowing a dim blue that shimmered before cycling through to purple and then to red. They were left waiting for the attention of the large man tending bar, with an impressive handlebar moustache adorning his greasy face. He jovially dealt his drinks and pleasantries to the waiting patrons, all hungry to be the next one served. The alcohol flowed almost as freely as his jokes. The excessive heat within the bar was not lost on him either as he wiped a bead of sweat from his bald head.
When he finally got to them he stopped for a second to eye up the newbies. His expression was of instant suspicion. “What can I get you?” he said, with the slightest of smiles barely visible in the corners of his mouth.
“We’ve come to see Petra. My friend here, Dino, knows her.”
The barman glared past Graham, to the figure skulking behind him. When he recognised the sunken face of a person he obviously knew well, he laughed and began shaking his head. “Can’t help, sorry. I think Dino has led you lot astray. Order your drinks or leave, your choice”
“Tell him, Dino.” Graham stepped aside and waved him through. “Remember the deal we agreed outside?”
“Fine,” Dino replied. He leaned against the bar, while urging the man behind it to lean in for a more discreet chat. “I promised I’d introduce them to Petra, that’s all. Tell her these two have a proposition to put to her.”<
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Even though the man clearly felt unhappy about it, he arched his back and lifted his head high to look across the room. He then waved someone over. A man in a black t-shirt arrived at the side of the bar and they instantly met eyes. To explain the reason behind beckoning him over, the barman pointed to Dino, Graham and Ruth. This was all that was required to grant a meeting, it seemed. The barman’s approval had been granted. He held the key to a meeting with Petra. “Speak to him,” he said with a flick of his sweaty head to the side.
“Thanks,” Dino replied.
Again Graham stuck close to Dino as he waded through the rowdy crowd. They rubbed shoulders and bashed elbows with the most dedicated of drinkers, each of who were solely concerned with the possibility of losing a precious drop the closer they got. In a protective gesture most turned their back and focused on the glass in their hand rather than politely move aside.
The man waiting for them at the edge of the bar did so without once taking his eyes off of them. If he tried to decide whether they were a threat or not, he was not giving anything away. Graham wondered if he might be the one to throw them out if they did not fall on his favour quickly. It became clear there was more going on in this place than most saw. A command chain had begun to emerge and they were heading straight up it.
“You skinny little runt, what did I tell you?” The man placed his large fist around the back of Dino’s neck and pulled him round. “She don’t speak with you. Be a good little boy and fuck off. And who the hell are you two anyway?”
It was obvious they had overestimated Dino’s importance in this organisation, if there even was one. For all Graham knew they were petty thugs and no more. The chilling realisation that it could have all been for nothing made his palms sweat. He looked the man narrowly in the eyes and tried his best to gauge the correct response he should give. “I need to speak to Petra. She’s been exchanging metal boxes for D-Stims with a friend of mine. I need to know where she sends them.”