Herculanium, p.33
Herculanium, page 33
Whatever assignments lay ahead, surely none could compete with his.
The inside front entrance was unusually empty when they disembarked from the monorail, devoid of people and vendors who were there just a few hours before. The chorus of earlier funeral processions was replaced with wind whistling through the trees and buildings, creating an aural moan that was almost too eerie to describe. Water darkened the pavement in a deep volcanic gray, while puddles created mirrors that reflected the ominous sky.
“Is it closing time?” asked Preston, looking around from the top of the station steps. “I guess this is the worst place to be caught alone in at night, huh?”
“There are no such things as ghosts, Preston,” said Jayna. “21st century people were a superstitious lot, weren’t they?”
“Fine by me,” he said with a shrug. “You stay here; I’m going home.”
“Not if I reach there first!” she said, laughing as they raced down the steps.
The remaining park-goers streamed out of the front entrance, leaving Jayna and Preston to bring up the rear. As they were about to exit through the turnstiles, Preston abruptly turned around and took one last look behind him.
“Show me how to use the computer in the Hall of Records. I want to visit my family again next week. This time, I’ll have flowers.”
“No problem, love. I took the liberty of writing the coordinates down of their location. You can bypass the Hall and go straight via the monorail.”
Preston inhaled deeply and smiled, then followed Jayna through the turnstiles and into the front rotunda. What had been a virtual freeway off-ramp had turned into a yawning parking lot, with the few remaining cars and buses quickly spiriting its passengers away. Only a few taxi cabs were left, waiting for potential fairs and stragglers. Max the cabbie slowly pulled his car in front of Preston and Jayna, raising his hand up in a celebratory thumb’s up position.
“Need a ride, folks?” He opened the passenger doors by remote control, leaning sideways and greeting them with a smile.
“Glad to see you’re still here, Max,” said Jayna. “I’d hate to be stranded here right now.” She gripped the door handle and motioned for Preston to enter first.
“Do you know why everyone left so fast?” asked Preston, sliding into the backseat. “It’s like everyone decided to leave in a hurry.”
“It’s closing time. I don’t think they wanted to get caught in the rain. Them rain clouds look like they’re about to bust.”
Jayna entered the cab and firmly slammed the door. She barely had time to position her bottom when her cellphone rang. “Corporal Jayna Rogers speaking. How may I help you?”
Static sizzled from the earpiece, drowning the voice in oscillating clicks and pops. She pulled the phone away from her ear and tried to decipher the message from a distance.
“Captain Barrows, is that you? Your message is breaking up. Hello?” She turned to Preston. “There’s too much interference here.”
“It must be the cab’s new satellite com system,” said Max. “It operates on a pretty powerful frequency. It’s blocking your incoming signal. You might need to step outside to receive the call. When it starts to rain, you can forget it.”
Jayna rolled her eyes and unlatched the door. “Excuse me please, Preston. This call might be important. Max, stay put, okay? I’ll be right back.”
Max raised his hand up again in a thumb’s up position as she slammed the door shut.
“Handle your business, girl,” said Preston with a wink.
Jayna looked up at the sky and took several steps away from the door, spinning in place to get the best reception. “Is that better? How about now? Hello? Oh, bloody hell.” She turned to Preston and shrugged her shoulders. Preston raised his hand and motioned briskly for her to come back in. Jewel droplets of rain started to bead the windows.
Preston reached for the door handle to let her in, but instead heard the ominous click of all the cab doors simultaneously locking shut. He grabbed the handle and pulled it back as far as it would bend, but to no avail.
“Yo, Max, I think you locked the door by accident. Jayna’s ready to come in now.”
The cabbie spoke into his own cellphone, then gently lowered it back in its receptacle. “The contact is secured,” he whispered.
Max speared his foot into the gas pedal while turning the steering wheel over itself, away from the curb. Preston slid across the backseat and slammed against the door frame, nearly shattering the glass with his shoulder. He immediately sat up and turned into Jayna’s direction, only to see his friend quickly receding in the distance.
“What the fuck you doing?” he yelled, switching his gaze forward and back. “We have to go back and get her.”
But Max the cabbie was eerily quiet.
Jayna barely had time to release her grip when the taxi cab peeled away from the curb. She would’ve lost a few fingers had she been a nano-second slower. She instinctively retrieved her gun from her bag and ran after the cab, but it had already sped off beyond her range. Her skill of instant memory retention kicked into high gear.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Max?” she yelled, calling him while trying to maintain visual contact. “Bring the goddamn car back here now.”
“This isn’t funny, Max,” said Preston with a sneer. “Either you stop this car now, or I’m going to hurt you. Bad.” He could tell just by the cab driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror that he, too, was smiling.
Jayna waved her arms and flagged down another taxi cab conveniently driving nearby. She slid into the rear passenger seat and immediately began barking orders.
“Driver, this is official Combattra business. Follow that taxi cab that just turned the corner onto the main road. It was cab number 2G000783, Tunisia class, Saffron Yellow, four-door. I am ordering you to pursue and overtake. Is that clear?”
In her haste, she all but ignored the passenger already seated in the cab next to her. “I’m sorry to divert you, mate,” she said without taking her eyes off the road. “I’ll make sure to take you where you’re going once all this is done. In the meantime, enjoy the ride.”
Jayna’s cab screeched out of the winding rotunda and immediately gave chase. She was surprised at this cab’s obedience, considering her method of procuring the ride. She didn’t notice the remaining two taxicabs in the parking lot following suit.
“Corporal Jayna Rogers, serial number Alpha 2914 Beta Beta Gamma,” recited a disembodied voice beside her, “by order of the Military Bureau of Investigations, you are hereby ordered to stand down and voluntarily submit yourself to arrest pending a criminal investigation.”
She initially stared at the passenger in disbelief, but then slowly smiled at the humor of his words. “Very funny, smart-ass. How would you like us to drop you off right here, just a stone’s throw away from the cemetery? I’m sure it’s a pleasant place to be lost in while waiting for another ride.”
“My name is Special Agent Barrett, Arrest Administrator,” said the passenger, now holding a badge up in front of her. “I repeat, you are hereby ordered to stand down. Your gun, please.”
“I don’t recognize your authority. On what charges are you arresting me?”
“You’re under arrest for violating Civil Immunization Code 2RBR700A, aiding and abetting a known contagion.”
“Are you daft, man? Who’s a contagion? Me?”
“Your ward, Preston Jones.”
Preston cupped his hands around his mouth and pressed his face against the glass plating separating the driver from the rear passenger seating. “This is your last chance, Maxie,” he said, his breath creating swirls of condensation. “Stop this car, or I’m going to get you.”
Max the cabbie kept his eyes squarely on the rain-soaked road.
“Fine,” said Preston with a smile. “Have it your way. Nice knowing you, bitch.”
Preston tucked his chin into his shoulder and lurched forward, slamming the glass repeatedly with his upper body. Sensing the panel budge slightly from the impact, he then struck it with his palms and elbows, erratically swinging and angling back and forth. The glass panel continued to shake in place, splintering at the seams that kept it secured within the cab frame. Needing a series of powerful impacts to finally shatter the glass, Preston sat back on the cushion and raised his legs high in a bicycle pedal position. He cocked his legs and readied to kick like an angry mule.
Preston could tell just by Max’s eyes in the rearview that he was more than a little concerned.
“Why wasn’t I told this of this?” asked Jayna, now giving full attention to the agent. “Who else knew about his condition?”
“Moot. It’s inconsequential.”
“But why am I under arrest?”
“Because we’re not sure of the extent of your contact with Mr. Jones. What type of relationship did you have with him exactly, Corporal?”
“Strictly platonic, I assure you. We’re best friends.”
“That remains to be seen, soldier. In the meantime, if you verbally submit right now and surrender your weapon, we will allow you to communicate with him. We will even put you together in the same quarantine cell. You’re one of us, Corporal, which is the only reason why you’re not in handcuffs. We take care of our own.”
“And if I don’t capitulate?”
“I’ve studied your record. You’ve spent some time with the Special Forces. You already know what the answer is.”
“Preston Jones,” announced Max by his cab’s intercom system, “by mandate of the United States Military Bureau of Investigations, you are hereby ordered to cease and desist all hostile activities against government property and submit yourself to incarceration. You are formally being charged with Attempted Grand Health Infection. Do you understand the nature of the charges being leveled against you?”
“A little bit too late with the double-talk, Maxie,” said Preston. “Let me show you what I do understand.”
Bracing himself prostrate against the seat cushion, he cocked his leg as close to chin as possible, then stomped his heel forward against the glass. With each thrust, he felt the glass panel shudder a bit looser than the moment before. Preston then switched legs, slamming his shoes alternately as if he was running a sprint on his back.
Special Agent Barrett tapped the glass behind his driver’s seat. “Agent Willis, please catch up to Agent Victor, per Corporal Rogers’ request. We’re nearly to the rendezvous point.” Within a few short moments, Preston’s cab quickly came into view.
“Max is an agent,” said Jayna with a realizing sigh. “I should’ve known. He was a bit too accommodating.”
“Max? Is that Agent Victor’s name this week?” Agent Barrett looked at Jayna and laughed out loud. “Last week, he was Sven. I told him he didn’t look like a Sven. He was more of a Larry. Or a Piolo.”
“So what happens now, Agent Barrett? You have us both together. What’s going to happen to Preston and myself?”
“We’re headed to a quarantine van up the road. We had to keep your…detention discreet. It would be rather tasteless to stage a proper abduction inside a cemetery, don’t you think? Besides, Necropolis jurisdiction and zoning laws are quite specific when it comes to dealing with bodies.”
“Agent Barrett,” said his driver, “Agent Victor is signaling the subject is out of control. His life is in peril.”
“Tell him to stay at his post. We’re near the rendezvous point, and our escorts are flanking us now.”
The two taxicabs trailing behind them suddenly broke formation, with one tailgating from the near and the other pulling up in front of Max’s cab.
Preston admired the spider-web patterns he created against the glass plating, kicking different areas to crisscross the concentric orbits together. “I’m going to huff,” he sneered, “and I’m going to puff, and I’m going to kick the mother-fuckin’ door down!”
With a blood-curdling kiai, he shattered the clear plating, collapsing it into a shower of glittering debris. Max hunched his shoulders into a ball while Preston reached through the cab frame and grabbed him by his collar. Desperately, Max spun the steering wheel into a screeching circle, driving the car dramatically off the road and into a dirt embankment.
“Agent Victor just pulled off the side of the road,” screamed Agent Barrett’s driver. “We have a Code Red. I repeat, we have a Code Red.”
“Point Car, block off the trajectory and subdue the subject.” Agent Barrett shook his head and slammed his phone on his door, nearly shattering it in half. “Use utmost caution. Subject is contagious. You can do whatever you want with him; just don’t let him bleed.”
Jayna smiled smugly in her seat, rapping her fingers on the cushion. “I guess this wasn’t as easy as you thought it would be, correct Barrett?”
“Corporal Rogers, we are in the process of apprehending a dangerous felon. Can we count on your help and backup? While it is true that you are also under suspicion, I will appeal to your loyalty to the Combattra order to support us on completing our mission. I will stand by your side and plead for leniency.”
She glared at him. “You just kidnap and arrest me, and now you expect me to help you?”
“You are one of us, Corporal. We are a special breed in Combattra. Despite our circumstances, I have full confidence that you will do the right thing.”
She could see between his eyes that he was afraid, a rookie on one of his first assignments.
Preston secured his grip on Max’s collar and pulled him backwards, raking the jagged frame with his jacket. Max held Preston’s wrists and resisted, jamming his legs into the steering column and seat to lock his body inside the driver section. Preston slowly ran his left hand from the collar to Max’s face, gripping it in an open-handed claw.
“Alright, I want some answers. Who are you? Why the hell did you just try to kidnap me?”
Preston had his attention split between his hostage and the cab that had just parked in front of them. He wasn’t sure if it was another hostile car or just a helpful bystander. Heralded by skidding tires on wet gravel, high-beams suddenly flooded his cab from behind. In the heartbeat that it took for the lights to distract Preston, Max broke his grip and was already out the door.
Preston immediately exited the cab through the front driver-side door and pursued Max, only to see him vanish behind the lead cab. He turned around and faced Agent Barrett’s headlights, unsure of what was to come next.
“You can keep your firearm, Corporal Rogers,” said Agent Barrett as he retrieved and cocked his gun. “Just back me when we corner and subdue your ward.”
“What exactly is going to happen to him after all this?” asked Jayna, retrieving her own gun and getting ready for action.
The special agent smiled from ear to ear as he grabbed the door handle. “The life expectancy of plague carrier is about as long as my cum squirt. His miserable life is forfeit.”
Jayna cocked her gun and paused. She knew she shared Preston’s fate, and this fool just signed his death warrant.
“I remind you that you are an officer for Combattra, and as a government operative, I am ordering you to obey my command and subdue Preston Jones, soldier.” Special Agent Barrett turned around and slowly opened the door, scouting his surroundings for a successful tactical offensive.
Jayna briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She lowered her gun and discharged it at Agent Barrett’s lower back, sending him quivering in place before folding limp to the floor. Without missing a beat, she turned and fired through the cab’s glass plating. The panel cracked instantly into a giant crystal spider web, with the bullet sending the driver’s head splattered in strands through the steering wheel and dashboard.
“Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy,” she repeated to herself. “Didn’t compensate for the recoil.”
Jayna crawled over Agent Barrett’s body feet first and kicked the passenger door wide open. She aimed even before she saw the rear cab’s windshield, firing instantly the half-second she had a clear visual. Three bullets cratered the windshield, while fourth and a fifth took out a front headlight and a tire.
Scanning the car with her gun, she approached it slowly, mentally trying to anticipate every dangerous contingency that could catch her by surprise. She had two bullets left in the gun chamber, and the few seconds it would take to reload might give her attackers the opening they needed to pay her back.
With rain streaming down her hair and face, Jayna stood frozen in place.
Preston was ecstatic at seeing his friend emerge from the car behind him. Although he wanted to scream her name out loud with joy, he knew better than to distract her in the middle of an armed confrontation. He took two steps in her direction when an unexpected voice cleared its throat behind him.
“I wouldn’t be turning my back if I were you, slick. You have plenty to worry about in front of you.”
Two hulking military guards stepped out of the lead cab and stood in front of a cowering Max. Preston momentarily froze in place, caught off-guard as he surveyed the two approaching bodybuilders from top to bottom. Even with the rain drenching their loose clothing, he could tell they were unnaturally chiseled and quite fit for combat.
“Gentlemen,” he said with a smile, quickly changing his demeanor from fear to exaggerated kindness, “let’s be civilized about this. Maybe we can work this out. I just want to know why this nice man tried to kidnap me. So…who here is from out of town?”
“We’ve been given direct orders from General Cube to kick your ass,” said the lead guard, his flattop slowly flattening from the downpour, “and we never disobey orders.”
The second guard pulled out two pairs of arm-length gloves from his pocket and handed one to his partner. “Here you go, Mac. Just so’s we don’t leave any marks.”
“Put that away, Murphy. I’m going to administer an old-fashioned ass-whuppin.’ I really doubt we’re gonna leave any kind of mark on that dark skin of his.”
The lead guard took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. “I can use the practice; I haven’t beat up a black man in a long while.”
