FAI (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Well, it’s certainly nicer than the last Henderson prison. A little more color, nicer restrooms, and the guards don’t seem as inclined to hit people in the head.

The entertainment is still a little lacking.
There was a place on the wall in her room that still had connections for an old television. She wasn’t sure if it had been removed before she arrived, or if it had been missing from the room for years. Either way, she longed for it to be there. Even though it was such a crude and unimmersive way to be entertained, there was a certain amount nostalgia about it that reminded her of watching a movie in the back of the Pratts’ manual truck.

Before I got it eaten by killer nanobots.

There were a few other signs of removed amenities in the room, such as doors ripped off cabinets, and no bed sheets, but the hastily converted room was serviceable as a prison cell. Henderson had been careful not to reveal too much information, but she knew they were at an air force base. The symbols were plentiful, the drones abundant, and the sound of unmanned military jets taking off were frequent.

The air was thin, which told her they were still at a high elevation and the glimpses of soldiers she saw showed obvious signs of resentment. That told her they were at an air force base that had not been on Henderson’s side during the Civil War.
Unless they are just really good about knowing when a person is a dirtbag. Odds are, they were fighting against him just a few years ago, and those wounds don’t heal quickly.

They’ll probably forgive him before I do. Even if he technically saved my life two days ago, it doesn’t change anything. He could have stopped those madmen long before they had the chance to shoot up a hyperloop station.

Kari lay down on the old, thin mattress and tried not to let any of her skin touch it. From a quick examination, she wasn’t sure if it was older than her parents or not. They had arrived at the air force base late last night and Kari had spent the entire day in solitary confinement in her room.

She kept trying to check the Internet only to realize that, once again, she was without a functioning mind chip. She wanted to know what was being reported about the League of Humanity attack and if anyone had been killed. She also desperately wanted to know if David had made it out of the Bay Area without being captured by Vision.
If he got himself captured or killed, I’ll kill him.

Kari heard a small crackling noise coming from the barred window above her bed. She ignored it at first, but as the noise grew, she slowly rose from her bed and stood on top of her mattress to look out past the steel bars. The window was so stained and dirty that it was impossible to see more than a blur of the outside world.

That’s a crack.
The steel bars had gaps in them only wide enough to sneak a hand through, but Kari stared through as the crack slowly grew. Within a couple of minutes, it had spread around in a circle shape. She checked the door behind her to make sure no one had noticed she was standing on her bed staring out the window at night.

She quietly jumped off the bed and walked over to the bathroom in the corner in the room. She sat on the toilet and tapped her feet on the ground over and over.
How long is this going to take?
She was convinced she was going to go crazy or that the armed guards standing just outside of her room would come in before the hole being cut into the window was finished.

Finally, she heard a clink. She calmingly walked over to the window where a circular hole in the glass had fallen forward against the steel bars. She slid it out of the way to find that a small drone just outside the window was carrying a strange-looking device with a note attached. Kari carefully reached through the glass and pulled the device inside.

“BLOCK THE DOOR WITH THIS. STAY IN THE CENTER OF YOUR ROOM UNTIL WE COME FOR YOU. —DP”

Kari turned the device over in her hands a few times as she quickly walked to the door. If anyone was watching on the camera feeds to her room, they would know something was happening. But she didn’t want to run, in case they hadn’t noticed. She made it to the door and held it against the center of the wall. The device activated and, like a spider with elastic legs, it spread across the door. When its legs reached the wall, they dug into the stone and wood, bracing the device against the door.

That should keep anyone out for a few minutes. But why would I want to secure the door if they were going to be coming for me?

The siren started bellowing for a moment before she heard heavy thuds against her outside wall surrounding the window. Kari backed away into the center of the room as the guards outside started pounding on the door, demanding that she let them in.
Sorry boys, no can do.
She turned around to look at the outside wall. More heavy thuds came from the back wall. It sounded almost like someone was hitting it with a battering ram from the outside, trying to knock it down.

That would explain why they would want me to stand in the middle of the room . . .

The siren stopped for a second before it started screaming its high-pitched wail into the night air again. She heard energy blasts outside her room and she looked back to see the door shattering beneath the attack. The device they had used to brace the door stood strong, but as the door fell away behind it, she realized it wouldn’t be long until they could just shoot her directly.

Better hurry with that battering ram, David . . .

Bright flashes of light shone through the hole in the barred window and sounds of small explosions poured into the room. Kari winced.

“Don’t move! Hands up!” The guards from outside the room had managed to obliterate enough of the door that they could see through the opening.

“Which one?” Kari said, slowly turning around. “I can’t stay still and put my hands up. Those are contradictory commands.”

The two guards outside of her room had turned into three. One of them kept his gun focused on her while the others destroyed the device she had used to barricade the door.
Great plan, David . . .

With the door now free, the three heavily armed guards poured into the room, searching around for any intruders before circling around Kari. She held her hands up motionless in the air while the sirens continued to blare in the background. Occasional sounds of gunfire came in from outside, but there were no more thuds or explosions.

“Tell us what is happening,” yelled a guard who didn’t look to be much older than Kari.

“Beats me,” Kari said. “I had nothing to do with this.”

“Knock her out,” the guard ordered his companion behind her.

“Woo! No, thank you!” Kari dove toward the feet of the guard with surprisingly fresh breath that had shouted in her face a moment ago. “I’ve had enough of that already. Can’t I just go with you instead?”

The young guard kicked to free himself of Kari’s grip and backed away.

“Orders. Do it now,” the guard said.

Kari closed her eyes and braced herself for another forced nap, but it never came. She heard some thuds and the start of several shouts, but no one managed to get out coherent words. The head guard collapsed on top of her, smashing her against the floor for a moment before his body was lifted off her.

“We should probably evacuate the area,” Fai said. “I detect that there are numerous more soldiers heading our way.”

“Fai!” Kari said. “What is going on? I thought you were in lockdown.”

Fai pulled Kari off the ground and picked her up. They were out of the room and around the corner before Fai even had time to respond. The sudden movement was a bit jarring, but given the alternatives, Kari was happy to be tossed around a little.

“The drones watching me flew away and the locks on the door opened. There appears to be some sort of chaos or break-in happening outside. That is all I know.”

“Nice, I got a message from David saying to wait in my room until they came for me, but that didn’t really work out.”

“So David is behind this?” Fai asked as they sprinted around the corner to a long hall. On the far end of the hall, a dozen soldiers were approaching, with their guns ready for action. Fai pivoted and ran around the corner before the first blasts could hit the wall behind them.

No head trauma, but I’m pretty sure I have whiplash.

“I don’t think David is capable of this alone. Not hacking the drones and security and stuff.”

“Then who is?” Fai asked. They passed Kari’s room and headed in the other direction.

“My business partner, I imagine,” Kari said. “But who knows. I don’t really know what is going on anymore. And I’ve given up trying to keep track.”

Fai stopped abruptly before they rounded the corner.

“Marshal Henderson is approaching down this hall. He is alone, aside from a few drones. What do you want me to do?” Fai asked.

“You can tell that from here?”

“Yes. What should we do?”

Kari knew the soldiers from the other side of the building would be within firing range of them soon. She would love to avoid Henderson, but given the options she had no other choice.

“You just took out four guards, he shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Right,” Fai said, and they rounded the corner.

Halfway down the hall, Henderson walked directly toward them. He didn’t hold any weapons and Kari didn’t see the drones that Fai had told her were accompanying him. They closed the gap between them in a matter of seconds. Henderson, for the first time she had seen in a while, was not smiling.

“I swear, I am going to kill you once and for all for this,” Henderson growled.

The drones Fai had detected were the same type that he had used to secure Fai. They were armed with explosives and could detonate on contact. It was an attack you could use only once, but an extremely effective one.

“Not me this time,” Kari said. “Promise.”

“I’m going to gut you, girl,” he said.

“That’s no way to treat a friend,” Kari said. “Now order everyone to stand down and shut off that stupid siren.”

“I can’t,” he said.

“You can do anything you put your mind to! Now come on, be a pal.”

“I gave express instructions that in case of chaos they were supposed to disregard any orders from me. Based on past experiences.”

“That seems strange,” Fai said.

“Past experiences,” Kari said. “I get it. My bad on that one. Well, if you can’t do that, be a kind old sir and show us out of this place. I imagine you have . . . instructions?”

Henderson hesitated.
He knows if he stalls they’ll inevitably catch up to us. But if David and Motorcad have him walking toward my room, they probably planned on having him show us our way out.

“Snap, snap,” Kari said. “Or there’s no point in not just using one of those drones on you.”

He spat at Fai’s feet, but he did as he was told. Despite the desperate situation, Kari couldn’t help but enjoy the fact that she was giving Henderson orders this time.

“Way to make yourself useful,” Kari said.

Fai prodded him along until he was moving at a jog. They turned down several halls until Fai stopped them.

“There are soldiers coming this way,” Fai said.

“You will tell them to go away,” Kari said.

“I will not.”

“You will, too, and you’ll like it.”

“I’d rather die.”

“That’s your choice,” Kari said. She didn’t believe for one second that Henderson would sacrifice himself for anything, let alone for something as petty as stopping Kari’s latest escape.

Fai and Kari ducked into a closet as the soldiers rushed by. They hardly slowed down as they passed Henderson, rushing about searching for invaders or escaped assets.

“I knew you had it in you!” Kari said.

Henderson did not look pleased as he brought them to an exit.

“Out there,” he said. “Now let me go.”

“Unlike you,” Kari said. “I’m a woman of my word.

“The next time I see you will be the last time,” Henderson said. “I promise.”

“Don’t get my hopes up,” Kari said.

“Wait!” SeptemberMist shouted.

She was chasing behind them with three explosive drones by her side. Kari almost instructed Fai to take her down, but she didn’t look like she was ready for a fight.

“I have to go with you,” SeptemberMist said. “Or you don’t have a chance out of here.”

“You!” Henderson seemed shocked. “You did this!”

“Don’t take it personally,” Kari said. “She does this to everyone.”

SeptemberMist didn’t even address Henderson as she passed by him. It seemed cold, even for her standards.

“I’m going to hunt both of you down! I swear it!” Henderson shouted at them as they left the building.

There weren’t any guards waiting for them, just an empty auto-auto. The night air was filled with sirens and the hushed motors of drones flying above them. But there wasn’t any more gunfire or explosions.
There’s more chaos than violence. My type of escape.