Escape From Metro City

by Mandel, Richard

  "What's that?" Lisa said, feigning ignorance.

  "You getting your driver's license back," Cy said, pretending to be authoritative. Only two things had changed about Cy since Lisa had first met him. Those was the extra chevron on his upper uniform sleeve and the extra colored bar on the ribbon rack he wore in front. He had been promoted to sergeant and given a medal by the Army for the part he played during the Outbreak, among other honors he had received. He hadn't let any of it get to him, and he remained the same old Cy that Lisa had grow to love. He now spoke to her in a mock deep-voiced Amerind manner. "Cherokee girl driving again is good medicine." He grinned and then added in the same tone, "May need to drive down future life path to come."

  "Oh, Cy!" Lisa said in mock exasperation, playfully trying to punch him in the arm. He caught her fist and held it. They looked at each other, and then he drew her close. She did not resist, and with that the two of them kissed.

  Their lunch was done but their day together was not yet over. There was one more place they had to go, and that was to a local vehicle storage facility on the outskirts of Kramerville. That was where General Ryan had deposited her recovered 1971 Plymouth HemiCuda on the Army's behalf, paying them well to keep it and maintain it in good shape for the day when she would recover, and come to reclaim it as her own.

  The stern-faced man in the light blue flannel suit stood at the main gate to the Kramerville AutoPlex along with Del Cutter, the owner and manager of the facility. The two had hardly spoken a word save on business since the stern-faced man had arrived. Del didn't like him and the stern-faced man didn't care. He was there on official business. Del was there because he had to be there as part of that business, and he was determined to get this government creep out of his establishment as soon as possible. His unwelcome guest checked his watch, and then looked back at the highway. Less than a quarter-minute later, a late model Ford LTD Crown Victoria painted in drab olive green, and with U.S. Army identification stenciled on its front doors, came into view from the city end of the highway. It drove up to the main drive, turned onto it, pulled up to the main gate, and stopped.

  The front driver's door of the car opened along with both of its back doors, and three people got out. One was the driver, an Army private in working dress as bland as nondescript as any other, and he quickly went around to the left back and helped the passenger there get out. She was a beautiful young woman with long black hair and distinct American Indian features, dressed in black racing leathers and with the boots to match. She was wearing a leg brace around her left knee and had to use a cane to walk, which she did with a noticeable stiff-legged limp, and she also had a black eyepatch over her left eye. The other passenger, who had been sitting beside her in the back and got out to the right, was a tall black man also wearing Army working dress, but bearing the triple chevrons of a sergeant on each shoulder. He too quickly came around the car, thanked the private, and then took over for him in trying to assist the young woman. There was a brief exchange between the two as the driver returned to the car, and after that the young woman walked on her own towards the two men at the gate. The sergeant walked right beside her, grinning at the young woman the whole time. She was smiling back but said nothing. Del allowed himself to smile. So this was the famous Lisa Stanridge, and he was about to both meet her in person and do her one very big favor. That other guy must be the Army boyfriend she had picked up during the Outbreak. Cy Rappalo. Yeah, that was his name. Man, oh man, Del mused. What a shame to single men everywhere, Del thought to himself. However he was married, and all he could do was wistfully window shop. His wife would have clobbered him had she ever found out what he was thinking during this piece of business. At least this special visit by Ms. Stanridge herself was going to help keep his mind off the federal whack job standing next to him.

  Both Lisa and Cy stopped in front of the two men, while their driver backed up the Army sedan and then parked it off to one side of the main gate's drive. The stern-faced man came forward to greet them, but Del was ahead of him and already offering his hand. "Ms. Standrige? It's an honor, a real honor. I'm Del Cutter, the owner here."

  "My pleasure," Lisa responded politely, in a voice as smooth as silk. She took his offered hand, Del could have sworn he felt a charge when she did, and he fancied hearing her voice tickling his ears while the words went into them. "I understand you've been taking care of my car for me after the Army retrieved it from Metro City. Thank you."

  "You're welcome!" Del said proudly. He shook her hand, and then let go. He didn't want to, but he didn't want to be a total goofball either. "And me and my people have been keeping it in top shape too! Why we've—"

  "That will be all, Mr. Cutter," the stern-faced man cut in. His voice was a smooth monotone, yet it grated on Del's ears like frozen asparagus. "I will let you know once we need you again. Thank you."

  Del gave the man a stare. Lisa and Cy gave each other an amused look, but said nothing. After a bit, Del bit his lip. "Yes, sir," he said huffily. A bit of his smile returned as he looked at Lisa again, and she back at him. "Well, I'll go get the paperwork ready. I'll see you later."

  "I'm looking forward to it," Lisa responded kindly. "Until then, Mr. Cutter."

  That wonderful look that Lisa gave Dell with those words made him tingle all over. He didn't want to leave. He would have stayed if he could, but that government freak was making him leave. "Until then" he said back, with a grin on his face and a bit out of breath. He took one more look at Lisa, nodded at Cy, who nodded back, gave the stern-faced man another cool-eyed stare, and then turned and headed for a small side gate beside the main gate. The building that housed both his office and the autoplex's service garages sat beyond that on the other side of the fence surrounding the place.

  The stern-faced man waited until Del was well out of earshot, then turned and addressed Lisa and Cy. "Sergeant Rappalo? Ms. Stanridge? I'm glad you could make it today."

  "So are we," Lisa said in reply. She too had assumed a formal air, in contrast to how she had treated Del, and the tone of her voice was all professional. "I'm very grateful to General Ryan and the government for retrieving my car and keeping it for me until I was well enough to claim it back."

  A smile now passed over the visage of the stern-faced man. On him it had a bit of a ghoulish air to it, but it was a smile nonetheless. "We were glad to be of service, Ms. Stanridge. You've done our country a most important service. The least we could do was perform a favor in kind."

  Lisa eyed him for a bit before responding. "You don't approve of what General Ryan did, do you?"

  The stern-faced man's expression went bland again. "It is not my place to approve or disapprove the actions of one who is outside both my service and my chain of command. I will say that what he did for you was not normal procedure in similar past cases. However, he has made his reasons clear for doing so and my superiors have approved his actions. It is not for me to judge."

  "I see." Lisa was not fooled for one minute, but she decided to let the matter drop. "I understand you have my keys too."

  "Ah, yes." With that, the stern-faced man reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar looking set of car keys. He held them up and then handed them to Lisa, who took them. "I am sure you are aware that all of the other vehicles which were present in Metro City when it was cleared out were eventually disposed of, save for yours."

  "And we're glad General Ryan made sure that didn't happen," Cy quickly said, before Lisa could respond. "Her car's kinda rare, you know."

  "Indeed," the stern-faced man said. "The last of the old-style American muscle cars." He now smiled again with that same slightly ghoulish smile. "It would have been a shame to crush it up."

  Lisa was beginning to feel about the man before her the same way that Del Cutter had obviously felt. She decided to cut to the chase. "Well, they didn't and it's here, and now I've got the keys. Can we go take a look at it, and then I'll sign the papers and get both it and us out of your hair?"

  Th
e stern-faced man nodded. "You may." He waved the both of them toward the side gate. "This way."

  The group had first stopped by Del's office, since it was on the way. The stern-faced man had brusquely informed Del that he was to come with them, and to bring both the key for unlocking the storage bay that housed Lisa's car and the necessary paperwork she needed to sign in order to reclaim it. Del complied, and seconds later he was walking with them on the far side of the stern-faced man with a large jangling ring of keys clipped to his belt and a clipboard with a pen and clamped-on paperwork under one arm. The only time he looked happy was whenever he would sneak a look at Lisa. She caught him doing this once and smiled at him. Del smiled back, and after that his dark mood dissipated somewhat, although it never went away completely. It would not until the stern-faced man was long gone from his premises.

  Lisa and Cy talked as they made their way across the autoplex, with the other two remaining silent. "I like that new outfit of yours," he said while they walked.

  "You do?" Lisa answered.

  "Yeah," Cy said. His eyes twinkled as he continued. "You want to know something?"

  "What?" Lisa said.

  "The way you look right now, with that outfit and eyepatch, leg brace, and cane, you look like a really sexy female version of a cross between Mad Max and Snake Plisken."

  Lisa gave him a look as they walked, and then chuckled. "I see what you mean." She reached up and fingered the Cherokee talisman she wore around her neck. It had been her father's, and it had been found amid the zombie bodies he had left at the family farm once the search began for his remains. "Sometimes I feel like them too, you know. Like I've been run over, that the truck that did it backed up over me, and then ran over me again for good measure."

  "But you survived, and that's the important part," Cy said reassuringly. "It's one of the things I like about you, Lisa. You're a survivor. You don't give up no matter what."

  "Just like you," Lisa said. They looked at each other and their eyes locked. "Maybe that's why we go together so well."

  "I'm not going to argue with that," Cy said.

  It was at that moment that the stern-faced man cleared his throat. "Pardon me, Ms. Stanridge and Sergeant Rappalo, but we are almost there."

  "Oh yeah. Right," Lisa said, turning away from Cy in an effort to hide her blush. Cy now had his own face locked with its eyes front. Del was grinning, and the stern-faced man simply looked stern as they finished their walk.

  Lisa's car was located inside the fifth storage bay of a set of twelve inside a long building that was but one of three of similar construction. Del led them to the bay and unlocked it, then stood aside and waved his hand at Lisa and Cy. He made a point of not even looking at the stern-faced man as he spoke. "Would you like to the have the honor?" he said cordially.

  "Cy?" Lisa said, looking up at him. "My left arm is still a bit weak."

  "Of course," Cy said. He stepped forward, leaned down, grasped the handle of the cantilever door, and pulled upward. Daylight now filled what had been a dark automobile storage bay. With that, Lisa laid eyes on her prized 1971 Plymouth HemiCuda for the first time since she had been forced to abandon it during the Outbreak.

  The car was in immaculate condition. Its body had a showroom shine to it, despite the fact that only sunlight was hitting it. It looked like the way it had been when the Outbreak had started, for all of the blood and other things from hitting zombies at various times had been cleaned away. Even so, Lisa noticed that there had been some slight changes. One of the headlights had been replaced. She remembered that one being broken during the Outbreak, when she had been forced to play road tag with one particular overeager zombie. The tires had also been replaced. They weren't the brand she normally used, although they were close and they had also been matched to her custom rims, with wider and larger tires in the back and narrower normal-sized tires in the front. She looked at Del, who had seen her notice the tires, and he grinned. "Uhhh, your tires were in bad shape, ma'am, so the Army replaced them. Yours are in the trunk and they've been cleaned just like your car, although they're pretty beat up."

  Lisa gave a low but pleasant laugh. She gave Cy a knowing look and then looked back at Del. "I can imagine, the way I had to abuse them during the Outbreak."

  Del smiled back. "Well, you'll find the rest of the car in tiptop shape, Ms. Stanridge. The Army paid us to give it full service and a full tune-up to boot, and to keep it that way until you came to get it. You can drive it out of here right now if you want, and I'm guessing you want."

  "Oh, most definitely," Lisa said cheerfully. "Let me sign those papers for you, and then I'll be on my way." She again looked at Cy and gave him a playful grin. "Do you want to ride with me, or do you want to ride back in your car?"

  "What do you think?" Cy said, with a grin even bigger than Lisa's.

  Lisa laughed, and this time it was a full laugh. Cy also laughed, and Del laughed with them. Only the stern-faced man did not laugh. He simply looked at them, politely remaining quiet.

  It was over in a matter of minutes. Cy spoke waited until Del was on his way back to his office, and then spoke. "I'll go tell the Army driver to take the car back to the base. I won't be gone long."

  Lisa drew in close and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll miss you anyway," she said lovingly. "Hurry back, you hear?"

  "Yes, ma'am!" Cy said. He flipped her a salute, gave a quick glance at the stern-faced man, and then trotted off towards the gate.

  The stern-faced man waited until Cy was gone until he spoke. "I understand that you will not be allowed to race stock cars again."

  "Nope," Lisa said, as she softly caressed one of the front fenders of her 'Cuda. "Vision thing. You can't be a professional race car driver with only one eye."

  "And yet you took the trouble of re-earning your driver's license despite that restriction."

  "Yes, I did," Lisa said, still looking at her 'Cuda and playing one hand over it. "I'm a very determined girl."

  "Which brings me to my point. Would you consider future employment with us, now that you can no longer stay in your past profession of choice?"

  Lisa stopped what she was doing and looked at the stern-faced man. It took a few seconds before she found the words to answer him. "Me? Work for you guys? A federal agent, and all that?"

  "Not quite," the stern-faced man said. "The administration is in the process of putting together a new organization to deal with the threat that Regenschirm technology poses not only this country, but to the world. Your blood may have held the key to saving the present, but there is always the future to consider. The government did not take that into account after the war, and it had to pay in the lives of its own citizens four decades later for that fatal oversight. The current administration does not want to make that same mistake; hence the new organization. We need people for it with your kind of experience and background, Ms. Stanridge, and it is also a definite benefit that you would be bringing with you many of the skills we would need in such people. We need you, Ms. Stanridge. Not just your blood and the things we can make from it. We need you, so you can help us in preventing another Metro City from ever happening again. Will you join us?"

  The service bay fell silent. Lisa looked thoughtful, and stared into nowhere while the stern-faced man waited patiently. She finally looked at him and spoke. "What about Cy?"

  "We intend for him to be part of this too, if he will join us," the stern-faced man said. "I wanted to ask you first. As the situation between the both of you currently stands, his acceptance will depend on your own."

  A wry look passed over Lisa's face. "True," she said, and then her thoughtful expression returned. She again fell silent, saying nothing.

  The stern-faced man waited for a few seconds, and then spoke again. "You do know that the man most responsible for the Metro City Outbreak, Pandora CEO Brian Nye, escaped custody along with most of his senior executive staff."

  "Yeah," Lisa said, and this time anger could be heard in her voi
ce. "It really pissed me off when I heard about it too, but I guess crooks in his class and at his level can pull off stuff like that. From what I understand, and what I've heard in the news about how they got away, that bunch are some pretty cool customers."

  "And they have access to everything they need to set up shop somewhere else, some country friendly to their designs, and restart their work once more," the stern-faced man continued. "Pandora is an international company, and we have not been successful in seizing their assets abroad. A number of those are located in those aforementioned countries. Pandora may have already restarted its work for all we know. If that is true, then it is only a matter of time before the next Metro City falls victim to Pandora."

  "Not if I can help it," Lisa growled. She snapped her head around to look at him just as Cy re-entered the service bay. "Okay, you convinced me. I'll do it, provided Cy does it too."

  "Do what?" Cy asked, raising an eyebrow as he did.