Renegades

by Joanne Sexton

  In her three years at Gov-Com she’d rarely seen anything to report. The renegades had probably worked out how to disarm the chip without disabling the phone.

  As she rushed into the building, Mackenzie again let out a relieved sigh on arriving without incident. She went to stand in the long line of employees waiting to scan their code, verify their identity, and gain entry. Gazing around the large and sterile glass-walled entrance hall, Mackenzie cast her eyes towards the huge reception desk running along the far left wall.

  Her mother sat with three others at their assigned post. Their job entailed directing incoming calls and attending to visitors. Half of the desk sat to the rear of the BIT readers where Mackenzie was awaiting her turn. Astor worked on the secure side, answering calls on a wireless switchboard system.

  At last she became next in line. After scanning her wrist and sending a quick wave to her mother, Mackenzie went up with the streamlined, high-speed elevator to her mundane work station, where she found her oldest friend Sasha waiting for her.

  “About time you got here. Hilda’s been looking for you. I covered for you. Again.”

  “Thanks, Sash. Ryder held me up.”

  “Speaking of your brothers …” Her sea-blue eyes twinkled as they always did when she asked about Cody.

  “No, I’m not setting you up with Cody.”

  “He’s so hot and you know I like them tall.” With a sigh Sasha examined her perfectly manicured nails.

  “He doesn’t date, remember. I think if he could marry the army he would.”

  “I just want one chance to change his mind.”

  Pleading eyes ensued. They went through this often. Mackenzie shook her head laughing. If anyone could convince Cody to have a personal life, it would be Sasha. Short, curvaceous and blonde with a perky nature to match, she captured a lot of attention, and frequently dated GAP soldiers.

  “Sash, Hilda’s coming.”

  “Think about it,” Sasha whispered, winked, and darted off to her station.

  Mackenzie sat, opened her assigned log and attempted to concentrate on the tedious task. Hilda scowled at her as she passed. Mackenzie pretended not to notice.

  After another long and boring day without any information to report, and a headache from staring at her screen and reading all day, Mackenzie logged off and rushed to the elevator, eager to return home before dusk turned to darkness.

  Astor had finished hours earlier and, until recently, waited for Mackenzie to finish so they could walk home together. They felt safer in numbers. A few months ago she’d insisted her mother not wait the two hours for her to finish. It seemed pointless. For a few weeks Astor would return or send Ryder to walk her home instead. After strenuous insisting, they’d stopped coming to meet her. She disliked having to put them out.

  When twilight arrived, there were extra troops out anyway, and her walks were, the majority of the time, uneventful. In the past, when approached for what little valuables she carried with her, she handed them over without a fight. Stories abounded of sexual and physical assaults and although they could well be true, she didn’t know of anyone who’d experienced it. Mackenzie hoped it was myth or Cody’s way of scaring her into being extra cautious.

  When she stepped out onto the street, she was thankful to see troops patrolling. Mackenzie walked a little slower than usual towards home, feeling slightly safer knowing the GAP would be about, whilst enjoying the waning sunshine and cool evening breeze. Being outside was always risky, and Mackenzie liked to savour it when she could.

  The vacant houses appeared eerie in the dark. She ignored her imagination, which had her seeing shadows.

  About a block before her estate, an alleyway ran to the rear of an abandoned office building, which always spooked her. Her apprehension intensified as she approached. If she was going to be mugged, it would be here, a blind spot from the road. She held her breath, double checked over her shoulder to ensure troopers were still in sight, and picked up the pace.

  Apprehension became fear when a dark figure stepped out from the shadows. The glint from his knife froze her to the spot. Two others stepped out, encircled her before edging her backwards towards the darkness. Her scream was muffled by a dirty hand clamped hard over her mouth.

  Groping in her bag, she pulled out her taser. Before she could use it, her wrists were grabbed from behind. Her taser crashed to the paved ground in a scattering of pieces. A menacing laugh sent a chill up her spine. Intense fear dimpled her skin.

  “We found us a pretty one,” the big one standing in front of her said. The others sniggered. “Check her bag.”

  When her bag was ripped from her shoulder, Mackenzie realised she was being held by only one of her assailants. Perhaps she could break away and make a run for it. She wriggled her hands, but the assailant’s grip held. She determined he only held her with one hand as his other was clamped over her mouth, yet she couldn’t break free. Her continued attempts at dislodging her hands proved futile; he was too strong.

  Mackenzie’s heart pounded as thoughts flashed through her mind about what they planned to do with her.

  A thud sounded further down the alley. Mackenzie guessed this to be her handbag being disposed of. Now they’d robbed her, would they let her go?

  The hand roughly pressed against her mouth was released, but before she could scream the tall rogue behind her pushed her further into the alley and shoved her face first against a wall. Her wrists were shoved above her head. Her forehead scraped against the cold hard bricks, but she ignored the sting and the trickle of blood winding down her nose. Air squeezed from her lungs as she was shoved harder against the solid surface.

  A scream died on her lips. Fear gripped her. Drawing a breath continued to escape her. It was almost impossible to inhale. Dizziness assaulted her. Bile rose in her throat. They were going to do just what she hoped they wouldn’t.

  This caused her heart to race. Hot tears spilled onto her cheeks at the thought of this being the way she experienced her first time.

  3

  Scavenge

  As was his custom, Ryan did a final weapons check. Ankle holster, check, shoulder holster, check, knife in boot, check and finally gun in rear waistband. Of course they would all be in place, but a double check was part of the scavenge ritual. Leaving the compound, even under the cloak of night, was always dangerous, but it had to be done.

  Deciding to check on their prisoner before leaving, he shrugged on his backpack, wove through the tunnels and down to sub level.

  The previous evening, when his slumber had been disrupted, Simmo arrived with a captive. The timing was perfect, as they could question him about the patrols scheduled during their planned salvage mission that evening. They would know which areas to avoid. Usually they were flying blind.

  As the GAP soldier refused to speak the previous evening, they’d stuck him in their smallest, darkest dirt cell to entice him to rethink his actions overnight. This morning he’d been a little more forthcoming when offered breakfast, first aid, and a larger cell. They at least now knew where to go hunting. What they still hadn’t found out was when the GAPs planned on utilising the weak point in their fence line, which had since been repaired, or why they hadn’t already attempted to enter.

  Ryan would prise this information from him in exchange for his freedom.

  As he entered their dungeon, the GAP glanced briefly in Ryan' direction before returning his gaze to the floor.

  “What’s your name?” Ryan asked.

  “Eat dirt, sewer rat.”

  “If you want to get out of here you should answer my questions.”

  “You won’t let me go.”

  “Try me.”

  “Harris, John Harris.”

  “Okay, Harris, why test the fence?”

  “I think the answer is pretty obvious.”

  “Yes, but you got caught. You’ll never get close to the compound.”

  Harris shrugged.

  “Look, you can say nothing and stay here
indefinitely or you can spill and I’ll let you go, your choice.”

  He’d started up the ladder when Harris spoke again.

  “We weren’t supposed to try and get in. Our orders were to find weak spots.”

  “When are the rest coming back?”

  “No one is coming. It’s a ploy to test your defences or draw you out from your sewer.” Harris grimaced.

  Ryan realised in his attempt to show bravado the GAP had said more than he’d intended. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “They got their answer. They know you’re watching.”

  “What do they plan to do now?”

  “I don’t know. I’m in here and they don’t tell us anything too far in advance. We get our orders and follow them.”

  “I’m going to let you go, but I want you to deliver a message.”

  Harris waited.

  “Tell your superiors that we will not back down. Stop sending troops to the compound.”

  “You can’t fight forever. Eventually you’ll all be caught. We know you leave for supplies, and if we catch you …”

  “Gotta catch us first.” Ryan offered him a smirk.

  Staring at the prisoner, he debated. Letting him go would show the Government that they understood mercy. On the other hand, he would love some alone time with the trooper before him, but he didn’t work that way. Mind made up, Ryan stepped forward, opened the iron door of the cell, and gestured for him to follow.

  They climbed the ladder and Ryan wove his way through the compound with Harris on his heels.

  “You’re not really going to let me go are you?” he asked.

  “I said I would.”

  “Are you letting him go?” Simmo’s voice echoed through the tunnels behind them as they headed towards the surface. His grim face appeared moments later, blocking the ladder.

  “Yeah, we don’t keep prisoners.”

  “He’s seen our compound.”

  “He won’t tell.”

  “What?” Simmo was disbelieving.

  “There isn’t much to tell. Besides he’s only seen sub-level and the tunnels.”

  “We could keep him here though, for bargaining. I’m sure I could get more info out of him.”

  His eyes flashed with hatred and Ryan knew exactly how much Simmo would enjoy it, probably more than he would. As much as he hated GAPs and would do anything for revenge, he also didn’t want to use the same methods as the government he despised.

  “We could keep him here, true, but we’re not.”

  “But—“

  “Don’t argue with me, Simmo.”

  Simmo shook his head as the trooper climbed up and out of one of their hidden external doors leading to the ground above outside the perimeter.

  Ryan pulled it shut and slid the bolts into place.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Simmo said.

  “We don’t work that way.”

  “Maybe we should.”

  His scowl indicated how much he thought they should. His dark eyes were full of hatred, the same hatred Ryan felt towards the man who had killed his family.

  Ryan shook his head. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Yeah, I’ll get the others.”

  They were on their way towards the east end of town when they saw the scuffle. A rogue gang, led by Blade, dragged a girl into the alley near the Cherrywood Estate.

  Even though he disliked citizens, Ryan didn’t condone the assaults inflicted by Blade and other rogue gangs. These attacks were the reason the renegades, the one’s fighting for freedom, had a bad reputation.

  As the dusk turned to darkness, they used the cover to approach them in the alley.

  “Blade, step away from the girl.”

  The rogue turned to Ryan without letting her go. “Aw, dammit, Taylor. We were just gonna have a bit of fun.”

  “Not today you’re not. Let her go.”

  With a reluctant sigh, Blade released her wrists. “Maybe next time, pretty girl.”

  He motioned to his party and they slinked out of sight.

  Men like Blade and their gangs needed Ryan and his troops to trade supplies and help protect them from GAPs. This was the only reason Blade let the girl go.

  Ryan stepped forward to inspect the frightened girl, who flinched as he reached out a hand. In the dim illumination from the street light he caught sight of her face, and his breath caught. Despite the injury on her bloody forehead, she was beautiful.

  Scared hazel eyes stared up at him, and for a moment, he was stunned. With a firm shake of his head, he pushed his thoughts aside. She was injured and needed their assistance. She was a citizen, but she still needed their help. He turned to Simmo.

  “Give me your BIT scanner.”

  When Mackenzie heard a deep husky voice command from behind the man mountain’s head, relief filled her body. The owner of the voice knew Blade’s name and she wasn’t quite sure if this was a good thing or not. At least he’d stopped them from further assault.

  After the smaller group left, she looked up into the face of her saviour. Backlit, all she could make out was dark hair and a scowling expression. He was much taller than her, and his physique appeared lean but strong.

  He took a scanner from the one he called Simmo, grabbed her wrist, and ran it over her tag. His reaction to her name startled her. His scowl deepened and his lips thinned. His eyes, an indeterminate colour in the dark, hardened and filled with malice. He seemed, for a moment, to contemplate his course of action as he took in her identification. This filled Mackenzie with confusion.

  “What is it?” the one referred to as Simmo asked.

  “She’s Edwards’ sister,” the raven-haired saviour spat out.

  “Wow. What are you going to do with her?”

  “Can you take the team on the raid while I take her back to the compound?” His deep voice came out as a harsh, bitter timbre.

  Simmo and the others disappeared into the night as the stranger seized her elbow. Mackenzie pushed her fear down low, and summoned her bravery.

  “Who are you? Where are you taking me?”

  She didn’t think he was going to answer at first and then he hissed out his response.

  “Don’t speak or you’ll give us away and get us both killed.”

  Deciding to bide her time, she kept quiet. He had saved her from those brutes, so he couldn’t be all bad.

  They continued in silence, heading south towards the desert plains, towards where she knew the rebels lived underground. His grip on her elbow, though firm, was surprisingly gentle, and he wasn’t causing her any discomfort.

  As they passed under street lights she took in his appearance. Although not offering a lot of illumination, she was able to take in bits and pieces when he turned occasionally to check, she presumed, for GAP troops. She tried not to stare, taking him in under lowered lids.

  She noted his clothes were out-dated combat attire; black boots, dark fatigues and a sleeveless vest, which she assumed to be bullet-proof, over a simple black t-shirt. She pondered the usage of such a vest when GAP troops were armed with laser cartridges as opposed to bullets. It would be useless against their weaponry.

  His dark, wavy hair was tied back with a band and was longish at the front and sides. She still couldn’t determine the colour of his eyes. His jaw was strong and his nose straight on first inspection, but the slight crick at the bridge indicated it had probably been broken at some stage. His lips, particularly the bottom one, were full. Though he maintained the grimace, what she could see was a strong handsome face. His arms, although lean, were muscular and, as her first glance had indicated, his shoulders were broad and strong.

  Regardless, he was no better than the men in the alley, as he was using force to take her somewhere against her will.

  “You have no right to take me anywhere, let me go,” she hissed and attempted unsuccessfully to remove her elbow from his grasp.

  His face remained firm and he stayed silent.

  “At least
tell me your name, you know mine.”

  He said nothing, so she gave up and allowed herself to be dragged along. In an attempt to make the journey more arduous for him, she slowed her steps. This simply provoked him to squeeze her arm, so she picked up the pace.

  She estimated they walked for about fifteen minutes before he stopped at the edge of the arid plains. Using a building as cover, he checked all directions. When he pulled a weapon from a holster at his hip, she gasped. She studied the gun and with great curiosity, noted that his weapon was as old as his clothes and probably contained actual bullets. She’d only ever seen guns such as these in photographs.

  His eyes swept her face briefly. “Try and keep up.”

  Taking off at a quick trot, he dragged her along. She somehow managed to maintain the pace without tripping. In the distance she could see a large metal fence and a shed-like structure within it. The perimeter was huge and she almost couldn’t see where it ended, it was so big.

  As they got closer she realised this was obviously where they were headed. The metal building inside appeared barely big enough for one person and she wondered how many people lived here. The border seemed to make it insignificant. Then she thought it might be where they kept their captives.

  He stopped a little way from the fence line, did a three-sixty, before bending down and heaving open a trapdoor in the ground. He indicated with his gun for her to go first, so she climbed down the ladder into a compact hole.

  Several tunnels branched off it. They didn’t appear to be high enough to walk through without stooping. How did they live like this? Why?

  “This way,” he said.

  With a long, rugged hand he gripped her elbow again, and as she assumed, he had to stoop. Although the roof missed her head by a wide margin, she ducked anyway.

  At the end of the tunnel they came to a barred door. He removed keys from his pocket, unlocked several locks, coaxed her through with his hand and then re-locked it behind them.

  They wove their way along two different tunnels before he sent her down another ladder. The area below glowed with dim light from various lamps.