Commandos (9 page)

Her space plane was steadily drifting towards Freestation. Jo had enough water, food, fuel and weapons to secure her on her trip for a long time. She also had the disc and plenty of other things she might need.

She had waited for this opportunity for many hours. She was initially planning to take David along, but his exhausted body could not have taken another contact with Earth and it was better that the terrorists did not have another chance at capturing him. She had decided to drop him off at the base before returning to Earth, but things had turned out differently. So far, she had been lucky.

She could not imagine a more breathtaking sight than that of the Earth seen from two hundred kilometres. It overwhelmed every human being closing in on the miracle of creation embodied by this planet.

As the computer knew the exact location of the Freebase station she allowed it to fly the plane towards the landing site near Old Cairo.

The city was the last free zone remaining in that part of the world. It continued to fascinate people with both its rich history and the harsh climate, unchanged throughout the ages despite all the technological advances of the human race. In fact, technology had not influenced this place as much as it had many other cities. Since the dawn of history, the city had been a centre of political and religious authority. Now, it was one of the main areas of focus for the enemy. Great Cairo used to be a giant metropolis, a home to over twenty million people, of whom today little more than five million remained. This once great city of Africa was now being gradually destroyed by countless terrorist attacks, a problem faced by all the capital cities of the countries united under the flag of the United Nations.

As she cut through the atmosphere, Jo began descending over the free zone of Old Cairo. She flew over the partially preserved mosque of Sultan Hassan and marvelled at the sight of the pyramid complex in the distance. These ancient structures concealed secrets unknown to anyone outside the UN military. The old Egyptian saying ‘everyone fears the time, and time fears the pyramids’ was now more true than ever.

Jo quickly established contact with the military base of Freestation.
“Please enter your security code,” she heard from the speakers.
Jo punched in her identification code and a moment later was allowed to approach for landing.
“Welcome to Freestation, Captain.”
Jo could not stop smiling as she was one step closer to revealing the secret of her own past and identity.

* * * *

Alec knocked quietly at Margaret’s door and walked in hesitantly as soon as she opened it. He saw Diana feeding the baby at the back. Margaret frowned as she watched him walk up to his wife. He was going to probe her mood, hoping to find her in better spirits, but before he could speak, she broke out harshly, “I know Jo’s past. I know almost everything about the last five years of her life, her feelings and thoughts.” Diana looked deeply into her husband’s eyes. She was bluffing. She and Margaret knew perfectly well that only a fraction of Jo’s memories was uploaded before she’d stopped the process.

“Diana…” He tried to put his arm around her. He was genuinely concerned about her, but she pushed him away. “Those procedures can be harmful, mentally,” he added.

“You’re a bastard!” she exclaimed. “Love someone one day and cheat on her the next!” She handed the baby to Margaret. “You stopped caring for the love of your life overnight!”

Alec did not answer. He’d never stopped loving her. That was what made this whole thing so difficult. He was completely lost for words.

“You know what hurts the most?” she went on, shaking all over.
“Diana, please, calm down.” He wished to somehow embrace and silence her.
Margaret left the room discretely, taking the child with her.
“When Jo was breaking up with you, you told her I was only a one night stand! An adventure! Some sort of a mistake! You said I never meant anything to you and a few hours later you were giving me the exact same lies!” Only now was she beginning to realise his perfidy, and this was the man she’d married.
“Will you calm down already!” He knew he’d done wrong, but he was only human. He was not infallible. He’d often made mistakes, particularly when it came to the women he loved.
Diana slapped Alec’s face. The pain broke him from his stupor.
“I know one thing. You’re a liar and a cheat. Jo saw right through you and now so did I! Get the hell out of my life!”
“We have a son.” Alec tried to pretend at least for a while longer that he cared about this marriage.
“Yes, and that is the only thing that we still have in common. I’ve opened my eyes and I don’t want to see your face ever again!”
Suddenly, everything began spinning in front of her eyes and then darkness engulfed her. She fainted. Alec immediately jumped to his feed, picked her up and rushed towards the hospital zone.

* * * *
“What do we do now, Commodore?” Leon asked. David still seemed to hold a grudge.

“We’re returning to base. That’s what we’ve been ordered to do.” He looked down at the commando, but he would not give in so easily.

“Let’s try to get through to Jo. We must do something!” David was strongly agitated. He had waited so long to return to the base, to his son, but now his relief was overshadowed by his concern for Jo.

All his plans had come tumbling down.
“I know this woman.” Levi set the course for Atlantis. “I know her well enough to know she’s probably flying over Old Cairo as we speak.”
“But Freestation is under permanent attack by the terrorists.” David would not let them forget that even for a moment. “An air force commando, alone in that city, no terrorist would ignore a ‘treat’ like that.”
“Especially if it’s a woman.” Levi nodded sadly, but did not alter the course. “Still, we must go back.”
“We have to go after her!” David was not ready to accept the commodore’s decision.
“First, we have to get back to Atlantis. They’re waiting for us. The Defence Council is going to issue our orders. They have a plan that needs to be implemented. When Jo returns, she’ll be reprimanded and stripped of her badge. At best.”
“Kicked out of the force more likely,” Leon added.
They knew Leon was right. Any action taken without the authorisation of the Defence Council, even as much as leaving the base, was punishable by loss of badge followed by being sent off to Earth as a civilian.
“You’re scared.” David’s discontent with Levi’s judgement was growing even stronger. “You think they’ll take our badges as well if we follow her. Is that it, Charles?”
“No, David. We’ll fly to Atlantis and as soon as things settle down a bit, I’ll ask a senator for the permission to fly to Freestation.” He turned back and looked at David meaningfully. He was obviously tired of discussing the same thing over and over again. “Let’s go. We’re wasting time.”

* * * *
The hospital ward looked grim and not very friendly. Grey, metallic, fully computerised and relatively small.

Only several patients were being hospitalised, mostly members of commandos’ families. The soldiers themselves were usually in impeccable health. Lying on a bed, Diana was still unconscious. She was being drip fed. Her medication was also administered intravenously.

“Anything else I should know?” a doctor asked Alec, visibly saddened by what he had already heard.
“I don’t think so. Do you think it will be possible to erase that memory?”
“I’m afraid not. This sort of procedure would also remove her own memories. The loss of consciousness, headaches, general aggressiveness and even depression are all typical symptoms in these sorts of cases. It will pass eventually, but might take a while. Things just have to settle down on their own accord, as in life. Once things become more distant, we stop recalling them on a daily basis and start forgetting, getting on with our lives. Regaining mental stability takes time.”
Alec’s reader began beeping. He put his earpiece on, lifting the small microphone to his mouth.
“Thanks for the info. I’m coming.” He switched off the receiver. “Thank you, Doctor. I’m sorry, but I must go. Levi’s just landed.”
He walked briskly down the base’s streets towards the landing site. He saw Leon and David in the distance, the latter hugging his son who’d wrapped his arms around his neck. The commando was kissing and cuddling the boy and the child was absolutely overjoyed. Alec walked up to Levi who saw that he was dirty and unshaven. His eyes were dark-circled and bloodshot. He was steaming with fury.
“Where’s Jo?” he demanded, with no intention of saluting the officer.
“She didn’t come back with us. She flew to Freestation.” Alec froze. “She was looking for Magdalena.” By telling him the truth, Levi simply wanted to cut the man to the quick.
“For fuck’s sake! I can’t believe it! Weren’t you supposed to take care of her? What the hell! You’re telling me she set off to the very centre of terrorist activity!” Alec lost it completely.
The two never really got on with each other, but this time the commodore decided Alec had gone too far and he would bring him to account for such obvious lack of respect.
“And you?” He grabbed David’s arm as he tried to walk past him. “You just left her alone in that plane and waved her goodbye!”
“You know what?” David jerked his arm out of Alec’s grasp. “Go fuck yourself!” He went on caressing his son in his arms.

* * * *

Jo landed safely at the Freestation airport. The plane touched down gracefully on the dirt-covered tarmac and stopped exactly where it was supposed to. She got out and marched to the commander’s quarters arrival.

Although surprised, the Egyptians temporary stay permit and agreed to take custody of her to register her

granted her a space plane, already surrounded by a curious crowd. Then she walked to the hotel suggested by the commander. On her way, she heard sounds of almost non-stop reports in the distance. The hotel was of typical Egyptian culture with only a little modern technology here and there. Like every establishment of this sort, it had water and air filters installed all over. The terrorists would sometimes release toxins directly into the atmosphere. Hotels for the military personnel, such as this one, had computers installed in every room to allow direct contact with the whole world, often also those drifting above it.

As soon as Jo reached her room she dropped to the bed. She was exhausted. She allowed herself a moment of rest before getting up and switching on the computer. She typed her password from the identification card she’d received at the airport. This gave her access to Freestation data bases.

She next entered the search keywords, ‘Magdalena hacker’
,
the first thing that came to her mind. Not surprisingly, the computer returned an unknown message.

She looked out the window and reached for a banana on the table. Enjoying the delightful taste of the Earth fruit she went out into the dusty road at the back of the hotel.

The road lead into the desert. She took a few moments to admire the horizon and the rusty colour of the Egyptian mountains. It was as beautiful a place as any on the planet. She smiled as she stood there, forgetting for a moment about the difficulties ahead.

* * * *

Levi and David sat and discussed their options late into the night. The commodore informed him of everything that had taken place at the base while he’d been away.

“I went to see the senator,” Levi said, “but we’re not to leave the base for now. Jo’s been suspended from her duties.”

“So what now? We’re not going to just abandon her, are we?”
A strong knock on the door interrupted them. The men looked at each other, frowning. Who could it be at this time of night? Most people in the base were long asleep. However, when the door opened and they saw Alec, the commodore was less surprised than one might have expected.
“I want to help.” He stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. David, whose animosity towards Alec was well established, did not even try to conceal his contempt.
“All right,” Levi agreed, knowing a refusal would be unlikely to stop him.
“Jo may be in the mountains now, if she didn’t get permission to land, or…”
“She was allowed to land. She’s now in Freestation territory,” David interrupted him.
“Yes,” Levi took over, “but, after sunset, she’s bound to either try to cross the mountains or roam illegally around the base, asking around for Magdalena.”
“Well, she’s determined enough.” David sighed into his hands and Alec stared numbly at the floor.
A moment later they looked at each other. Without further words they made a truce for as long as they needed to co-operate, but both knew that once this was over, they wanted nothing to do with each other.
“Okay, I’ve a plan,” the commodore said, his voice lowered as he turned the lock in the door.

* * * *

Jo stretched out on the bed. Only on Earth could she sleep so well. She got up and had breakfast served by an elderly hotel maid. She got dressed and left the room. It was still early, but the sun had already heated the air to twenty degrees Celsius. She hoped to reach the base headquarters before the heat became unbearable. Globally, technology was booming, but in this part of the world not much had changed. Only in the places occupied by the military one could feel it was the year 2143. Everywhere else the same old poverty reigned unchallenged.

At the headquarters, she flashed her identity card and was allowed to see the base commander.
“What brings you to our base, Captain? We have not been informed of your visit.”
“I’m here on private business. I’m looking for a woman named Magdalena.” Jo decided to come clean bluntly and hope for the best. She was not sure whether she risked anything by being so straightforward. Suddenly, she remembered David’s surname, which was likely still the name of his sister.
“Magdalena Scar,” she said.
“I see…” The commander pointed her to a seat and they both sat.
“I’m looking for her because she’s the sister of a friend of mine and I need her help.”
“I understand.” The man took out a cigarette pack and offered her one.
“You haven’t heard of her?” The cigarette smoke flew blissfully down to her lungs. She felt as if she hadn’t smoked for years but it was soothing and relaxing.
So, I’m a smoker then,
she thought.
“I’m afraid not.”
Jo got up and turned towards the door. Every minute mattered. She needed to find Magdalena before Atlantis sent people after her.
“One more thing…” Jo put out the cigarette in an ashtray where it joined a dozen other butts.
Where did he get all that tobacco,
she wondered, before saying, “I’d like to borrow a car with military automatics.”
“Of course. That can be arranged. Follow me, please.” He stood up and led her towards the centre of the building. The deeper they got, the more Arab men they passed who all invariably whistled when seeing a woman.
They stopped in front of a strongbox from which the commander fished out a few car-alarm remotes. He chose one and handed it to Jo.
“I’ll need your identity card.”
Jo gave him the document. It was standard procedure to prevent people from disappearing with the vehicle.
“I haven’t been to Earth for some time…” She hesitated.
The man inserted the card into a computer reader and her data popped up on the screen.
“So it seems. You left Earth three years ago.”
He took out the card and placed it in the strongbox. He would return it to her after she returned with the car. With the remote and registration documents in her hand, Jo started towards the parking lot he’d shown her to.
And so she managed to find out one more fact about her past. She’d been on Earth three years before. Pity she hadn’t asked straightforwardly where exactly she had been, but such a question would have likely given her memory blank away. She pondered on that for a moment. Time permitting, she might return to that room one day and use the reader to get more details from her card.
The road was hardly a pleasant one. The parking lot was located underground and the smell was revolting. The shabby walls were stacked with heaps of discarded garbage. It took a while before she managed to find the car. Luckily the remote opened it. The same button also allowed her to start the engine.
She left the military base following the dark, winding exit of the parking lot. She turned into the dust road behind her hotel and sped down it in a cloud of dust and engine roar, leaving the bemused bystanders far behind.