The Last Revolution (13 page)

“What choice do you have?”

That was good enough for him. Alden grabbed hold, and jumped on to the bike behind the rider. He’d barely touched the seat when the bike shot forward down the alley. They were bathed in light as several Special Forces bikes and a few cars came around the corner. Bullets ricocheted off the brick walls around them.

Alden held on to the rider’s waist with his left hand, and fired at their pursuers with his right. The anti-gravity drive on the nearest squad car exploded. It crashed to the ground in a pile of destruction. It also served to block the alleyway from foot traffic.

They were running out of space, ahead of them was a sealed entrance to a warehouse. Instead of slowing, the biker punched the controls and they vaulted through one of the giant windows on the side of the building. They landed inside the decrepit space and swerved through several heaps of trash. The driver pointed towards a control panel next to the only open door at the other end. Alden raised his gun and fired. There was a shower of sparks as the door started to close.

Several more crashes echoed through the building. Alden turned;multiple hover bikes had followed them through the building. The massive hangar door was almost shut. The driver leaned over and laid the bike on its side. Alden grasped onto the driver to maintain his balance and then followed suit, leaning into the ground. Sparks flew as the metal skidded over the concrete. They passed underneath the closing door and Alden could feel the rush of air and dust billowing up just behind him as it made contact with the floor. The driver popped the bike back up, flew off the loading dock and gunned the accelerator.

“Where are we going?” Alden yelled over the roar of the engine.

The driver glanced back slightly and said through the same modified voice, “Out of the city, it’s not safe.”

“Who are you?” Alden’s head whipped back as the driver jumped a small curb and headed up a ramp and onto the freeway.

Insinuating towards their wrist decks the driver said, “A mutual friend sent me.”

Alden thought back to the original communication he’d had with the stranger over the device;
the Council is compromised
.
27 people dead
. How did he know he could trust that person? What if they were playing him? If they had really been attempting to capture or kill him, they would have asked his location. Instead they helped him get the information he needed. Then his mysterious friend sent someone to back him up.

At the moment he was short on allies. If this person was willing to help him find the stolen fusion reactor and the person responsible for killing Father McKinley, then that was all he could ask. If they had wanted him dead, they could have done it already. Whoever was communicating with them wanted him to find Darar Khasim. If that was the case, then their goals were aligned for the moment and that was enough.

Thereon. Green Dragon Pub. Apollo City. His whole life had been spent training for missions on the lunar surface, eliminating terrorists and protecting Council interests. He thought back to the holographic vids he’d seen in the school. A giant canyon came to mind, cutting through the lunar surface. He remembered that nano-carbon windows that lined the interior rock walls, providing sunlight and views for the inhabitants burrowed inside. Charges placed in the corners would dislodge the windows and neutralize any threats inside. It was the first city established on the moon and the volunteers had been forced to build under the surface in order to protect themselves from solar radiation.

Giant helium-3 mining rigs and large sub-surface structures lined the upper edges of the canyon wall. They had served as the first processing facilities for the resource before being loaded onto transport rockets for energy back on Earth. It was the oldest lunar colony and, as a result, the territorial government had been established there, where it remained to this day. Council weapon stashes were located on the 2
^nd
and 7
^th
levels, which also doubled as the military offices and barracks. Both would be good locations for backup if needed.

The city lights faded away, replaced with the spotty glow of the sprawling suburban hills. The bike dipped off the freeway and down one of the narrow off-ramps. The streets were deserted and only the occasional lamp lit their way. Every house they passed was completely dark—energy rationing. A sleek police car shot across the street just a few blocks away.

The rider swerved the bike into one of the side streets and sped down several more blocks before turning into one of the driveways. They coasted past the side of the house and around the back. The driver stopped, killed the engine, and then dismounted. “Follow me, we have to get out of sight.”

The rider turned and walked up to the back door. Using its wrist deck, it hacked the security settings and then pushed forward into the darkness of the house.

Twenty-seven people had perished on the Island. Was this another trap? Alden tightened his grip on the sub-machine gun’s handle. If they were going to kill him, they’d have to do better than a suburban house. Alden moved towards the back door and then disappeared inside.

The augmentation in Alden’s eyes adjusted to the darkness. His other senses were greeted with a thick stale smell that hung heavy in the air. As he moved into a large family room, he realized he was alone. To the left, the basement door stood ajar. Dust covered every inch of the house, but it looked like the owners had left at a moment’s notice. Several dried wine glasses stood on the coffee table, untouched. A plate of decaying food rested between them. A family portrait hung over the fireplace. What had happened here? He was trained for situations like this, but the slightest chill crept up his spine. He turned the safety off the weapon as he walked further into the room.

“You won’t need that.”

Alden swiveled around. The black rider had emerged from the basement.

“No one’s home.” They moved past him towards the large windows that faced the street. It grabbed hold of the curtains and pulled them shut, hiding their presence from prying eyes.

“What happened here?” Alden watched the stranger with intense focus, waiting for a single movement that seemed out of place. “And why are you still wearing a helmet?”

The biker pulled a tiny device out of its jacket, pressed a button and then set it on the table next to the rotten food. The room instantly filled with the green glow of artificial light. For the first time, Alden could start to make out the biker’s figure; curved hips, wide chest, thin frame.

“I’m wearing the helmet because not all of us can see in the dark.” It tipped its finger against the black facemask. The helmet retracted into itself and disappeared into the back of the rider’s jacket. Long black hair fell around the rider’s shoulders. She had full lips, a soft curving jaw line and haunting green eyes. “And I knew that no one was home because there was an SCA sign in the window.”

“Excuse me, what kind of sign?”

“Suspicion of Collusion Act. It lets anyone looking for the inhabitants know they’ve been seized by the government on suspicion of colluding with another nation. It provides a phone number that may or may not be working and the understanding that you will probably never see them again.”

“Can they do that?”

“They can do anything they want, they’re the government.”

“You still haven’t told me who you are,” he added with a blatant undertone of suspicion.

“You’re kind of rude, aren’t you? Don’t forget who saved you.”

Alden was taken aback. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it to come out like that, but I could have handled that situation myself.”

The rider just stood staring at him for several moments in silence.

Alden sighed. “Thank you.”

Finally she responded. “Kira.”

“Excuse me?”

“My name is Kira.”

“Nice name.” Alden smiled. “So, do you always rescue people?”

“No. People pay me to move things from one location to another, usually when they don’t want the government to find out about it.”

“So you’re like a smuggler then?” Alden asked his eyes narrowing a bit. “Do you work for Harkonnen?”

“That pig? I wouldn’t work for him if the Three Nations Treaty depended on it. I work for myself.”

“Is everyone a smuggler?”

Kira shrugged. “The government controls all available energy and as a result that means they control most industries as well. It was a nice way of breaking down the old capitalistic system without having to blatantly seize it. Don’t they teach you anything on that Island?”

Alden returned a sharp glance. “How do you know about the Island?”

“Only enough to know that you’ve just confirmed it exists.”

He was getting so desperate for answers that he’d walked right into that one. He had to be more careful.

“We have a mutual friend, and I owed them one.”

He studied Kira for a few moments, trying to figure out if she was lying or not. Lifting up his wrist deck, he said, “So who is our mutual friend?”

“Not sure, had mine hacked. Almost had the thing wiped, but it’s turned out to be a rather…profitable friendship.”

Hacked!
Was it possible he wasn’t even communicating with anyone from the Council? His deck had to be more secure than hers. Had the Council hacked her deck, thrown her a few contracts to keep her happy and built her into an agent without her knowledge?

“I don’t even know if it is one person. It could be many,” Kira added.

“You blindly follow the orders of some anonymous entity?”

“It brought you here, didn’t it?”

Alden kicked himself; she had him there. “So, what does our mystery friend ask you to do?”

“It’s not really like that. More of a support structure, I guess you could say. On occasion they ask me to do things.”

“That sounds ominous. Do you think it’s possible it’s the Council?”

“Possibly. I did one job for them where I airlifted a Council battalion out from a tight spot. In return, I received access codes to the air defense regions between the Three Nations. Now I’m able to move my goods around unencumbered.”

“So, do you think it would be safe to say the Council is our mutual friend?” Alden asked.

“I don’t really care.” Kira shrugged. “If they are, then they’d know I’m not very fond of them. But you know what they say, the enemy of my enemy.”

“That’s an odd expression. What do you mean?” Using someone that didn’t like you was a risky choice for a spy; they’d be the ones most likely to betray you.

“It’s just a saying, don’t worry about it.”

“No, I mean what enemy do you share with the Council?” Alden asked.

“My father was a diplomat for the Alliance. He was visiting a Council base when a bomb went off. It had all the traits of the lunar terrorists, but they never took credit for it. I think that’s why our mutual friend put us together. They know that I’ve been hunting Khasim since I could walk.”

“He also killed someone that was close to me. What do you know about Khasim?”

“All I can tell you is that every major terrorist attack in the last thirty years has been attributed to him in one form or another. Rumor is, he has a different cosmetic surgery every few months. He could be right next to you and you’d never know it.What do you know about him?” For the first time he sensed genuine interest.

Alden wasn’t ready to share what he’d learned in the Island briefing room. “Just what I was able to coerce out of the club owner. Apparently he’d been smuggling for him. He has a contact in Apollo City, at the Green Dragon Pub. It’s not a lot, but it’s a start.”

Her eyes grew wide. “We have to leave immediately! There’s a transport departing first thing in the morning for New Tranquility. From there it’s just a two hour shuttle ride to Apollo City.”

Alden felt a growing suspicion. “Why the hurry? I’m sure there will be another flight.”

Kira shook her head. “The growing instability on the lunar surface and escalating attacks has reduced passenger space travel to a mere trickle. It’s nearly impossible to get a flight off-planet these days. There may not be another commercial flight for a month. How long have you been on that Island?” Kira asked.

Alden ignored the jab. “Why don’t we just take your ship?”

Kira shrugged the comment off. “We can’t.” She turned and walked for the stairs that led to the second floor.

Alden stepped in the way, blocking her exit. “Why?”

She turned and looked off towards the blinds she had closed a few minutes ago. “It was impounded by the Alliance military. I was able to escape but now I can’t get back.”

“I thought you were close with the Council. Can’t they help you out?”

“It’s not like that. Plus I don’t even know if that’s whom I’m communicating with. I don’t reach out to them, they reach out to me.” She brushed past him and headed up the stairs; the leather constrained, yet accented her movements as she climbed. A distant light swept over the drapes.

“So, how are we going to secure a seat on that flight?”

“I know a few people who won’t mind us borrowing their clothes…” Her voice trailed off as she moved beyond the top of the stairs.

What was her angle in this whole mess? He wasn’t sure if a single answer he’d received had been honest. Walking across the living room he eased the curtain aside. A police car slowly cruised down the street, hovering a few feet above the ground as it moved. Looking into the distance he couldn’t see anything but darkness.

By the time Alden made his way upstairs, he found Kira in one of the bedrooms, staring at the closet door. Without looking up, she said, “They’re sealed.”

“Why?” Alden asked.

“My guess is that it’s less about security and more about convenience, probably voice activated. I imagine you haven’t slept in a while.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”

“Suit yourself.” She shrugged off his response. Sitting beside the closet doors she began working on her wrist deck, it looked like she was attempting to hack the home system. They would need those clothes to get to the spaceport unnoticed. Every officer in the German territory would be looking for them by morning.