Location: The Madalahara Iron Works…an abandoned metal factory…Downtown Polynea.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1400 Hours.
Landra sobbed as he saw her three friends lying on the dirty floor in pools of their own blood.
“No…no it wasn’t supposed to happen this way…”
Landra gasped as she looked at the blood on her hands. It was her blood, and it was pouring out of a deep gash in her stomach. She felt herself trembling. She was about to go into shock from the loss of blood and the only thing she could hear was the sound of heavy boots crushing the bits of broken glass on the floor as they walked closer and closer toward her.
“No…please don’t…please just go away.”
She felt her heartbeat slowing down as she remembered what had just happened. They had all screamed when the man in black broke down the door and started shooting at them. She gasped as she remembered how her three friends were instantly cut down in a hail of laser fire.
She had no idea why she had been left alive. She choked and coughed up some more blood as her shaky hand reached for the keyboard. The sound of heavy boots stepping on broken glass was getting closer and closer. She typed as fast as she could with her one good hand as the sound of footfalls stopped.
She gasped and moaned as she fell back to the floor. She looked up and saw the man in black standing over her. She saw his glowing red eyes underneath the brim of his black hat. She didn’t see any emotion on his scarred face.
As she saw him raise his gun barrel to her face, she saw the last year of her life flash before her eyes. She heard her friends speaking and felt her heart racing faster as their voices burned in her mind.
“We discovered what they plan on doing to our planet…we cannot let this happen!”
“We were able to convince Rex Broadstein to help us…he’s given us a lot of money…”
“What are you going to do with this money he gave us?”
“We found a man who can help us…a dishonorable man named Marco…”
“Marco didn’t uphold his end of the bargain, and now we have to steal what we paid him for!”
“We have them! We have our merchandise!”
“We have to do this!”
“Some of us…are having second thoughts…”
“We can’t do this! This is wrong!”
“We have to do this! This is the only way to send a clear message to our enemies!”
“Are you people insane? We can’t go through with this!”
“If you are not with us…then you are against us…”
“Like I said folks, when they come for you, be creative! Leave a lasting impression! Why go out with a whimper, when you can go out with a bang! It’s time to awake the Prisoners of Paradise! It’s time to set this world on fire!”
She felt numb as she saw how his eyes burned red as he looked at her. She saw him bending at the waist. She heard a metallic sound, and moments later, she realized he had just set of couple heavy objects down on the floor. Landra looked at the man in black’s dark boots and noticed how he was standing right next to two of the three silver objects her friends had stolen from the warehouse.
She gasped as she realized that those silver objects had been hidden. She thought about how she had suggested the perfect hiding spot as she said, “Who are you? How did you find us…how did you find those things…what are you going to do with them?”
There was a small voice of reason in the back of her mind whispering in her ear, “You have been betrayed…we’ve all been taken for fools…what you did for Jacob played right into their plan…they got you good…and guess what…those assholes finally got the last laugh, didn’t they?”
“The idea was to cause an event that would get the world’s attention…to make them realize the level of desperation the government was creating within its people…the idea was to create a sense of fear that would make the Aurorians think twice about investing their money in our planet,” She coughed and said with a wheezing voice, “I guess this means that Wallace was right after all…someone else had their own idea of what this world should become…and they are using us to achieve it.”
The man in black simply stared back at her, his scarred face was unbearably disfigured, and despite all that was hideous about his stoic stare, she felt as if he was at least being honest with her.
He spoke softly as he cocked the hammer on his gun, “I don’t care about your revolution…and I don’t care about his plan…and I don’t care about this mysterious person, who did this to you, so that they could become rich and famous beyond their wildest dreams…for me, it’s all about the money they’re paying me…nothing more. This game, which you got yourself into…it’s just business…none of this…was ever meant to be… personal.”
She said, “We thought we were doing the right thing…honestly…we thought this would help…”
“Nothing you would have done would have helped…there is no turning back the tide,” He said as he aimed the gun at her forehead.
“Well, I guess I’ve had my epiphany about all of this…” She coughed and winced in pain as she looked him straight in the eye and said, “And now…I know what I did…was misguided. But what about you…don’t you ever get tired…of all the killing?”
Oddly enough, the man in black nodded his head with sympathy as the mysterious voice in his ear said, “Let her send out her distress call…and when she’s done calling for help, don’t kill her right away…she helped Wallace, and now she has complicated what should have been a simple plan…and because of that…I want to listen to this traitorous bitch scream.”
The man in black’s face didn’t change as he said, “this isn’t personal…it’s only business.”
“There are more of us!” She shouted, “Whoever you are, I know you can hear me! I know you can see me! I know you hired this guy because you are too cowardly to pull this trigger yourself! This is not over! There are more of us out there to carry out our mission! You might have won this battle…but you will not win the war…I promise you that!”
“No one here was innocent…and it’s only business,” He thought as closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. His gun went off with a blast and her body went limp.
The man in black kept his eyes closed as tight as he could. The image of the young girl in Dr. DeWolf Miller’s house was haunting him again, and he wasn’t about to give his latest employer, the satisfaction of seeing this young girl’s last painful moments on Ailana, no matter how good the money was.
Location: Undisclosed.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1500
Van Dien stared at his monitor with an expressionless face. The news channels were very busy at the moment. The channel he was now staring at was featuring a large press conference, in which High Senator Wram Karamotzain was speaking belligerently.
Wram’s bushy eyebrows shuttered angrily as he said, “We are outraged. Simply outraged. Someone has to be held responsible for this terrible tragedy which has killed Chief Tipsy and thousands of other innocent people, who simply wanted to have some fun at a concert. There are government agencies that are going to have to explain this. There are some government officials, who need to be held accountable for not being able to foresee and prevent this outrageous action that has resulted in such a massive and tragic loss of life…as well an untold number of injuries.”
Van Dien changed the channel, and saw Rammy Klunka looking positively horrified, as he said, “These people, whom we put into these positions of authority, they made us promises! They promised us that this sort of…horrific act of terrorism…could never take place on Ailana! This world, is a paradise, these kinds of things don’t happen in paradise!” His eyes looked ablaze as his voice rumbled. “This is what happens when we have leaders in law enforcement that allow Immorals to infest our great society? Now we must hold these leaders accountable for what has happened here today!”
Van Dien’s concentration was interrupted by the ringing of his com. He answered it in a voice that seemed to be filled with boredom. “Yes?”
“Sir, we think we might have something…we just intercepted a text message.”
“Show it to me.”
The screen on his monitor turned blue, and some words scrolled onto it.
Audrey, two of those nut jobs, who were working with Jacob Colombe, just contacted the police to tell them that it was not their fault that bomb went off. Their names are Wallace Horanano and Ignesia Kunani, and they told them their location. They are at Wailuki Apartments in Room 23-876C. Something tells me that WE better get to them first! This is a D Squad mission now.
Jack.
Van Dien smiled as he placed his hand on a shiny, silver object that was now set in the seat next to him. The admired the shiny object as he said softly to himself, “This was not supposed to be part of my plan…two of these things is still unaccounted for. Someone will to have to die for this. Oh quiet night…oh sweet death, tell me for whom the bell tolls.”
Location: Wailuki Apartments. Room 23-876C.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1800 Hours.
The monitor, on the small desk, was flashing a multitude of brightly colors words,
What the hell happened?!
What the hell happened?!
MY GOD!! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?
THEY SET OFF THE DAMNED BOMB!
THEY KILLED KARA!
THEY’VE KILLED ALL OUR FRIENDS WHO WERE HELPING US!
THEY KILLED CHIEF TIPSY! THEY DID IT AS A MEANS TO START THEIR PLAN!
CHAOS IS ON ITS WAY!! THEY NEED CHAOS FOR THEIR PLAN TO WORK!!
YOU GOTTA GET THE WORD OUT!! THE ENSLAVEMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!!
THE DEVICE? DO YOU HAVE THE DEVICE THAT SHE STOLE FROM THEM? THAT
DEVICE HAS SOMETHING VALUABLE THAT WE NEED TO PROTECT! BE SURE TO
PROTECT THAT DEVICE AT ALL COSTS! CHAOS IS ON ITS WAY!!
Audrey stormed into the room with her gun drawn.
“It looks as if someone broke down the door before we got here!” Audrey shouted.
The light, from the hallway, pierced the empty room. The light shined upon the monitor on the bare desk. The chair, beside the desk, looked like it had been kicked over.
“Someone left this room in a panic,” Audrey thought as she realized how the words on the monitor continued to scroll on with implications of someone double crossing someone else.
Jack followed close behind. “CLEAR!” He shouted to the team behind him, “THE HALLWAY IS CLEAR!”
With a stern look on his face, Jack quickly entered the room, rapidly pointing his gun in every direction he could, until something caught his eye.
“Look at that monitor…” Jack said as he strode quickly across the room, his gun leading the way.
Audrey shouted “NO JACK! STOP!”
Jack was less than a meter away when the monitor exploded in a blaze of blue and orange flame.
Location: The street below the Wailuki Apartments
Ailanian Standard Time: 1800 Hours.
“SOMBODY HELP ME!” Ignesia screamed as she ran down the dark alleyway. Her heels ached as she pounded her feet down on the pavement. “SOMEBODY HELP ME!”
In this undesirable part of Polynea, the first twenty floors of the residential buildings were solid cement blocks. A multitude of elevators allowed the residents of these low-tech buildings, to get to the floor they lived on. Ignesia saw that one of the elevators was rising. She jumped up and down, waving her arms as she screamed.
“DOWN HERE! HELP ME!”
Ignesia began to feel her panic growing as she saw the people inside with their backs still facing her. No one turned around or looked down as she screamed.
“PLEASE! HELP ME!”
As she saw the elevator get farther and farther away, she became despondent when she realized that they could not hear or see her. She began running as fast as she could. She felt pain in her chest as she gasped for breath, her Bontune lungs could not cope with the dryness of the air.
She started crying and began running again until the alley suddenly became darker, and Ignesia found herself looking at an immense wall. The alley had ended blindly.
“DAMN IT!”
She became silent and her eyes became wider as she heard the heavy footsteps behind her.
“NO!” She screamed and whirled around.
She saw the man in black coming toward her. His long strides seemed to make him glide out of the darkness. The shadows completely engulfed his face, but a thin slash of light fell across his chest and made the metal parts of his clothing glimmer.
“NO!” She covered her face with her arms in fear.
His eyes glowed red. He said nothing as he approached. When he was within arm’s reach, he stopped, and remained silent. He held out his left hand, and handed her a small monitor that was the size and thickness of a playing card.
The monitor was turned on and she heard a strange voice coming from it.
Ignesia froze. She didn’t make a sound as the voice from the monitor said, “Do you people have any idea what you have really done? We have no more time for such useless prattle! Don’t you see what is going on? Someone on this planet has to cover up their mistakes…they need to have someone to blame…and YOU have been chosen to be the lucky winner of the patsy prize because you have made our lives so very difficult. So here is the deal…you might be useful to us…if you are…you get to live…if not…well, let’s just say that we are reasonable people.”
She began wailing, “PLEASE! DON’T HURT ME! LET ME GO!”
The man in black, backed up, spun around on his heels, and began to stride away. Suddenly, but quite expectedly, his internal cranial com began buzzing. He activated it by blinking his eyes. Instantly, he heard an angry voice shouting, “DO IT!”
The man in black, stopped dead in his tracks, and sighed as he let his shoulders slouch a bit.
“DO IT NOW!” The voice from his cranial com said, “I just found out we need her dead! She knows too much! Kill her and destroy the body!”
The man in black simply stood there for a while longer. The voice in his head became more irritated, and a bit frantic, “Look man, she knows too much! We can’t have any witnesses!”
His deep, raspy voice was nearly sympathetic, “She’s just a kid…they were all just, kids…”
“What?! Don’t tell me you’ve never killed a civilian before! Don’t start this compassionate bullshit now! Look, she’s a witness, and she could be very dangerous to us all! We know that you only care about the money! She could jeopardize our ability to pay you! KILL HER NOW!”
Ignesia suddenly realized that she might have a chance as she reached into her pocket and grabbed her small, pink com and began dialing as fast as she could. Less than a second later, she was whispering frantically into the com, “If anybody can hear me, I’ve been compromised! You have to proceed with Plan Seven! Do you hear me? Plan Seven! Someone has to stop this shit from happening before it’s too late!”
The man in black picked up on her voice with his sensitive computerized ears.
“That must mean there are more of you people…a sleeper cell exists somewhere on Ailana,” The left of his human brain registered a sad, disappointed emotion. “Shit…why did you have to go and do that?”
She screamed as she saw him turn his head. She cried out, “OH MY GODS! HELP ME!”
The man in black unholstered his side arm with lightning speed. He extended his arm and shot Ignesia in the head, splattering her brains all over the wall. Her lifeless body flopped to the ground like meat in a slaughter house.
“Sometimes…I wished this life could just be over…” His thoughts were mixed with brief sensations of guilt and remorse as he tossed a couple of metal spheres from his utility belt to the ground. The balls exploded, and instantly, the girl’s body and the garbage that surrounded it were ablaze. Moments later, the fire began creeping up a large pile of scrap lumber that was piled up at the end of the alley.
The entire alley was soon awash in the light of the quickly growing fire. The man in black felt the heat intensifying as he walked away from the flames. Within a few moments, he stood next to a large pole that was attached to an elevator lift. According to his sensors, no life forms were in it. He looked up and noticed the lift was about twenty meters off the ground and rising quickly. Without hesitation he produced a tightly wound, steel cable from under his coat sleeve. He attached the cable to a spear tip, and inserted the device into the barrel of his gun.
He raised his arm and took a shot. With a bit of relief, he saw how spear-tipped device flew upward and pierced the bottom of the elevator. The cable became taunt as the elevator lifted him off the ground just as the flames that were creeping down the alley were about to singe his boots.
Location: Mele Entertainment Headquarters…Uptown Polynea…Ailana.
Ailanian Standard Time: 0100 hours
The party that had started after the last live news broadcast continued to rage in the Penthouse suites.
“I’ll be out in a minute!” Grant shouted to his friends as he ran through the entrance. He entered the next room and the thick door slid shut behind him. He became a bit giddy as he saw how the bathroom was an electric blue colored spectacle that looked more like a lounge, complete with a private wet bar.
“The executive piss-room,” Grant cheered to himself. “I’ve finally made it.”
Grant strode into the first available stall. He saw how the walls that surrounded the toilet were wall-papered and the floor was carpeted. Everything was immaculate. The toilets gleamed with a sparkle that suggested very few people ever used them. They matched the spotless sinks and the mirrors were completely streak free. The lighting was soothing and soft music played in the background.
Grant made sure the quiet that he now heard was from the fact that he was alone before he closed the stall’s door. He blinked a couple of times, and produced a small glass vile from his suit coat pocket. This was a time of personal celebration for him. He was celebrating the fact that he looked stunning. His suit was smooth, shiny, and completely paid for. His hair was perfect, his eyes glimmered, and when he smiled, people noticed. Women adored him, men feared him. His newly acquired life had just become the perfect ruse. He now had the perfect cover story and the perfect fortress in which to hide his stratagem for his newly acquired ulterior motives.
It was time to celebrate all he had accomplished. Grant opened up the vile and snorted its contents. His heart raced, his pupils dilated, and the room spun while time seemed to stand still.
“What a rush.”
“I’ve got an idea for a story,” A voice said from the next stall.
“I’m so sorry!” Grant said in a loud, apologetic voice. “I thought there was no one else here.”
“Do you want to hear the story?” The soft voice said, “It’s about a group of young scientists who think they have stumbled upon a secret plan by a shadow government agency to enslave the people of their home world. They discovered how someone, with a lot of power, had convinced the local government to hand over the planet’s food production to a handful of very large, multiplanetary corporations.”
Grant’s ears perked up as the strange voice said, “The young scientists learned how this shadow government’s leader also has another secret plan, which could cause the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. These young scientists decide to team up with a group of cyberspace terrorists and hackers to stop this evil plan before the men in black get a chance to pull it off. Does that sound like a story you would like to make into a movie to show to the millions of families who live on Ailana?”
“I don’t know if this is the best place for a meeting,” Grant said. He stumbled a bit as he walked to the door. “But that does sound like an idea for a good script…we should talk…now that I am the President of this company…it could be your story’s lucky day.”
Grant chuckled to himself. All these so-called writers in the universe made him laugh.
The voice replied, “but this could be an even better story…imagine this…Makula Pilikoa, a notorious Ailanian gangster, pays a boot-licking, junior executive, a hundred thousand dollars, so that he could have the pleasure of killing Loko Kalaheva himself.”
Grant gasped as he felt his heart suddenly beating a lot faster from anxiety.
The voice continued speaking, “Loko hated gangsters…his monitor programs like, ‘Ailana’s Most Wanted Immorals’ were always putting Makula’s sons, daughters, nephews and nieces in prison. Which some people find rather odd, because Loko actually did some business with Makula. Loko also helped to bankroll another gangster, named Marco, who was planning on putting Makula out of business. To make a long story short, Marco helped us out tremendously when he tricked Makula into thinking it was Loko who was stealing from him…it was so much fun watching everyone kill themselves off…it made things so much easier for us to sneak into this game without being noticed.”
Grant felt himself unable to breathe normally as the voice said, “And we need to give you some credit as well, Grant…you helped us out tremendously, since it was your jealousy of Loko, which helped convince you to open the door for his killer. If Loko had lived and gotten caught by the CIA…he might have spilled his guts about what he knew about the Prisoners of Paradise…and my plan to become rich and famous…”
“Yeah right, pal. What the hell would you know about that?” Grant said as he walked out of the stall and saw a big man, dressed in black.
“Holy shit,” Grant said softly as he saw how the man stood at least two heads taller than he did. Grant’s eyes became wide with fear as how saw how the man’s shoulders seemed immensely broad.
“Oh my gods,” Grant gasped as he looked up and saw how the man’s face was covered with deep, red scars.
The man in black handed Grant a small, plastic card, which had a tiny monitor in it. Grant reluctantly took the card and stared at it with eyes that could barely focus. As he held it between his thumb and index finger, the monitor came to life. Grant almost lost control of his bowels as he saw Loko Kalaheva’s face and heard his voice.
“Grant,” Loko said. “I just wanted to be one of the first people to contact you, after the cops dragged you to jail. It’s too bad your little plan failed eh? Well, I wish you luck in your future endeavors, but I am sad to say, that I must terminate your employment with Mele Entertainment.”
Grant’s face froze as he heard a sharp noise that sounded like a sword being drawn from a scabbard. He felt a jolt of pure adrenaline sting his heart as a silver blade pierced the center of the card he was holding.
“Holy shit!” Grant shouted and came down from his high immediately. His heart leapt from his chest when he saw how the blade had emerged from the top of the man’s fist. The man in the black flexed his bicep and withdrew the card from Grant’s trembling hands. He stood there for a few menacing moments, before a spring loaded device withdrew the blade back into his fist.
“Oh my gods…” Grant’s brain pulsed with fear as he saw how he pierced monitor floated to the floor. He began breathing faster as he saw how the monster in front of him then presented him with another card.
The man in black stood there silently as Grant began to breathe harder and harder. The monitor came to life. The first image was the serious face of a tight-lipped man. Grant dropped the card on the ground after he noticed the white hair.
The voice from the monitor then proceeded to say, “Or we could spin the truth a little more…I say we make a headline that explains how the death of Loko Kalaheva, is still being investigated? What a strange turn of events…I suppose you want to know what this BULLSHIT been all about anyway? What the hell has been happening on this planet?”
Grant’s eyes felt as if they were drying out as he took a slow, steady breath.
“Well, if you haven’t noticed yet…there appears to a secret war being fought out there…and the winner of this little war is going to determine the fate of your insignificant, little planet. And what is the greatest weapon of all in a war such as this one? Well, public opinion of course! The pen is mightier than the sword, Grant…and do you know why? This is a war of words!”
Grant tried not to breath. He tried not to think as he realized he would need to put on his best game face and bluff his way through this newest assault by this latest, unknown opponent.
“It’s going to be up to you to make sure this war of words doesn’t have to become a war with guns and bombs. What do your headlines say, Grant? Do they mention that Chief Tipsy was killed by a terrorist group in retaliation for the deal he made with Loko Kalaheva? Did you know Loko was paying Chief Tipsy to distract potential voters by getting them to attend his concert festivals all day long while the voting stations were open? I guess anyone can be bought off, but for some strange reason, WE have a problem because those concert goers decided to vote anyway. Could you explain to us why that happened? What do you know about this situation, which has forced us to rethink our plan? That election set us back a bit, Grant…and we are not happy about that.”
Grant felt his throat getting tighter. He found it harder to breath as the voice said, “Be honest with me, Grant…are you really on our side? After all we did for you it would be a shame if you did something to screw us over. Remember, we brought you to this dance…you aren’t secretly planning to step on our toes and go dancing with someone else now are you? What’s going through your head right now?”
“This shit is getting complicated…but there is still a chance my plan could still work…”
Grant’s eyes became hazy and his brain began to ache as he remembered the e-mail re had received a few days ago from someone, who had written a note in pen, and then scanned the note into a computer that he couldn’t identify. He remembered how the communication, from the unknown source, had clearly stated;
They are going to call us terrorists…but some of us believe we deserve a lot more credit
than that….
We started this whole thing with a brilliant idea and lots of determination.
It was easy to find the guy who could smuggle the bombs here for us.
The feelings about how we were going to use those weapons were not mutual.
We’ve suddenly found a new power within ourselves to do what has become necessary. The freedom of the Ailanian people lies within the Prisoners of Paradise. Since we are all about to die for their freedom…we also figured that telling our story would be quite therapeutic for those that decide to write this chapter in history.
Grant stopped thinking about the cryptic writings he had read as he realized that the out of focus face, on the tiny monitor, was still talking to him in a threatening tone, “Again, Grant…this is a war of words…and we would love to keep it that way. Our operation on this planet depends a lot upon what people think. Do your headlines say anything about how we calculated that the latest mass exodus of Independent voters, who were fleeing Ailana for Earth, in order to find jobs, would free High Senator Klunka of his political rivals in the High Senate?”
Grant swallowed his fear and closed his eyes as he thought, “Oh gods…did I get stuck in the middle of the wrong fight? It’s starting to look as if these two opposing forces might just crush me…”
The voice from the monitor said, “Do your newscasters talk about how our political rivals were going to undermine Klunka and Karamotzain’s plans to gain power and personal wealth from the Economic Revampment Program that the planet Aurora is offering your people? You need to explain this to us, Grant, despite those missing and distracted voters, why did High Senator Klunka lose one of the most important elections of his career? The Moralist party did everything they could to ensure his winning reelection. We can’t piece together what happened. Can you help us figure it out? Who did this to us? We don’t want to have to resort to using guns and bombs if we don’t have to…and speaking of bombs…do you have any idea who blew up that stadium full of innocent people?”
Grant gasped as he recalled what the hand written words had screamed at him.
We figured you would want to know some of the details behind our plan…Well, we knew right away that we would risk being caught, we knew the CIA wanted our asses behind bars…and when those mysterious messages started warning us about how the man in black was coming for us…we ignored the threats…we stayed the course because we believe that the Ailanian Government and their puppet-masters in The Alliance are doing something unspeakable to our home world that must be stopped at all costs…we know who are enemy is…and we know exactly what they are doing so that they can take over our planet and rule our people like slave masters…
Grant felt nauseous. He tried to keep from fainting as he heard the voice say, “Have your reporters been chasing leads that would allow them to discover the real reasons why I am able to tell you all of this information that must be kept secret? Did you know that memos and transcripts were stolen from the offices and meeting rooms of some very high ranking people in the High Senate? Do you know who stole them? I’m going assume it was The Evil. Do you know anything about these people, Grant? Well, thanks to the efforts of someone at the Ailanian CIA, who is very pissed off at these evil people at the moment, my people will soon be making contact with them…and when they find them, the things that my people will have to do…in order to keep those people from exposing my plan…will not be very pleasant. I’d highly recommend you don’t allow your reporters to chase that story…it won’t be fun to tell.”
Grant stood as still as he could, his mind numb with fear.
Plan 1 was to put a decoder in the detonator so the “Proper Authorities” would learn the truth about the shadow government who gives them their orders…Plan 1 was recommended by our friends, who claimed the people of Ailana didn’t truly understand our motives since our “real government” had been so busy trying to make socialism look bad. Plan 1 contained clauses for more educational “propaganda” and mild scare tactics…our simple minded friends, who came up with Plan 1, wanted collective farms growing organic vegetables, instead of Hydroplantations that cheated workers out of a living wage. Our friends simply wanted a government that made sure people acted a bit more civilized and didn’t have to completely fend for themselves. Their socialist ideas were attacked by Capitalists, who made their living by ripping people off and calling it The Ailanian Dream or something asinine like that. Our friends had a great idea, however, it seems that too many Ailanians were buying what the Moralists were selling…
Thus the reasoning for Plan 2…
Plan 2 was bomb the hell out of something and cause chaos that would convince our enemies to stop their evil plan…I think you know which plan got voted on.
Grant felt his spine tingling as the voice said, “Are your news reporters going to mention the fact that mercenaries have been walking around this planet, killing at will? Do you know that some of the members of The Evil were visited by one of these merciless killers for the part they played in all of this? Do your headlines mention any of the ugly truths that would lead the average person to believe that there is a secret war being fought on Ailana between some people, who desire freedom, and some people, who desire power and control? Does it ever bother you that the common man, who simply desires a beer and a good T.V. show after work, rarely notices what is really going on around them? We would sure appreciate any effort on your part to make sure the Joe Six Packs and Soccer Moms of Ailana continue to remain unaware and uninformed as to what is really happening on their planet, Grant…that would mean that those of us, who want to win this war of words, won’t have to resort to using anything that could be considered less mighty than the pen. Guns and bombs…or television and opinion pages…it’s your call at this point in the game, Grant.”
Grant bit into his lower lip as he realized that he knew too much at this point. The words from the unknown letter writer made his mind hurt with fear.
The man in black was apparently given information about us…those of us who had files with the CIA are already dead…we voted on who would risk everything to get our merchandise from Marco and carry out our plan. We knew the man in black was hunting us down…and those of us who liked Plan 2 had a vote to see which of our goody-two shoed, clubhouse rivals would be receiving his visits as a diversion. While the man in black was occupied, we figured that the body count had gotten high enough that those of us who knew about Plan 2 were able to escape off the grid completely. We’ve been hiding out in the open ever since. WE KNOW OF A DOUBLE AGENT! We have the tools to win…
We live like spies…and we plan our next moves…like villains.
The voice from the monitor chuckled a bit and said, “Why did you become the president of this corporation anyway? Is it because you desired to have the power to change things? Or is it just because you desired to be the one with power, for a change? I gotta admit, you do look good in that expensive change of clothes your power has afforded you so far…but guess what, Grant…you are just like all the other Prisoners of Paradise who are a part of the secret plan…only you have a better view.”
Who will die next?
Will it be you?
Grant felt his lungs aching for air. He felt his guts crawling with fear. “Oh my gods. What have I done?”
The voice continued talking, beating itself into Grant’s brain. “What do your headlines read, Grant? What are you going to allow your news agencies to report to the people? What will your op-ed pieces say? Are they going to mention that the Ailanian government should assume some responsibility for the deaths of innocent people, who were caught in the middle of gang warfare, because the government’s hard-line, zero-tolerance policies basically caused this terrible situation? Ailana is a great place for drug dealers to thrive, Grant…do your newspapers and political pundits mention that high unemployment and a bad economic outlook breeds the sort of people, who either do drugs to escape reality, or sell drugs to pay their bills? Do your headlines mention that High Senator Karamotzain denies any wrong doing in the way the government has handling its failed war on drugs lately? Have the Moralists told you how they plan to get rid of their drug problem once and for all? Ironic isn’t? If terrorists get off on blowing people up, what does that make your government? But why should I care? My plan is to profit from your government’s decision to blow some drug dealers up…and if you do your job right, I won’t have to order my people to pull any triggers or press the buttons on any detonators.”
Someday, this world, which our illegitimate government has created, will come to an end…and we know how it will happen…someday, those parasites who wish to profit from our government’s plans to enslave us…will be crushed under our heels…and they don’t even know the worst of what we have in store for them…needless to say, we can’t wait to have the last laugh.
Grant squinted painfully as he heard the voice saying, “What do your headlines say, Grant? Is the Ailanian crime rate rising because the poor choices of Immoral people, or because government policy has actually created a demand and a black market for Ailanian drugs? And if so, what are they doing about it? Is the government trying to protect us by taking away our freedom, or are they just trying to get rich off our misery? Is Ailana better off or in worse shape because of the government’s decisions? Are the streets safe to walk on anymore because of this hatred that is building up within all of us? Or is this planet on the brink of chaos because its destruction would benefit some very rich and very powerful people?”
Grant swallowed his saliva as the voice relentlessly said, “Are you catching my drift yet? We don’t know what you are thinking? We aren’t too sure what to make of you, or what you are doing. All I know is my people were forced hire this man in black, who is now standing in front of you, to kill those incompetent bounty hunters and that red-haired slut…Loko wasn’t supposed to die that way…but he did force our hand…and we just reacted in order to protect our interests.”
Grant felt his heart beating even faster as his lungs ached for air while he tried to keep his poker face from melting.
“Why did Loko die the way he did? I guess it doesn’t matter anymore because we got lucky there. Marco wasn’t supposed to meet his end in that manner either…but again, the CIA screwed up and we got lucky. Why do things like this keep happening to us, Grant? So far it’s been good for my people, especially since it is very important that no one know that I am personally involved with this plan we came up with…but personally, I would rather not have to rely on my luck anymore to keep my participation in this little war a secret! Catch my drift, Grant? Loko died because he was becoming a liability…loose lips sink ships…do you understand, Grant?”
“I should have never made this deal with you…what the hell have I gotten myself into?” Grant thought as he bit the inside of his cheek while he heard the voice saying, “And now, because of the need to keep my involvement in this a secret, we have no choice but to buy ourselves an insurance policy against anymore meddling. And that insurance policy just happens to be standing right in front of you. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to piss this guy off, Grant…he’s just in it for the money after all. Please, don’t make us have to use his expertise.”
Grant swallowed his fear and tried not to tremble as he heard the voice saying, “All we know is that so far, things have been working out for the best, despite this problem we’ve been having with someone messing with our plan for their own benefit. That wouldn’t be you, would it, Grant? I seem to recall paying you a lot of money to ensure that certain things happened in a certain manner for us? You wouldn’t by chance be out to screw us over would you? Ya see the guy standing in front of you…did ya think he ever cared about you? Did ya think your emotional pleas would keep him at bay? He’s the epitome of a good Capitalist, Grant…he only cares about the money…he only cares about those who have more of it…and guess what, Grant, I’ve got a whole lot more of it than you do. So, with that in mind, Grant…I’m gonna ask you one more time…was it you who set out to screw us over?”
Grant shook his head as he tried not to blink or make any sudden moves.
“Good, I thought I could trust you. Now, remember, Grant, there are some things about this world that its people must not find out about. For instance, has anyone been asking you questions like, who are the Prisoners of Paradise? Is anyone watching your news channel right now trying to find the answer, or are they just hoping to find out what the weather is going to be like? But what the hell, Grant…does any of this stuff on the news really matter? Play a new music video by Jordan Tache. Play lots of soothing music and show as many reruns of the funniest sitcoms you can find…keep the sheep entertained and ignorant, Grant…give em’ just enough facts to make them blame someone else for all their troubles…but don’t you dare jeopardize what I worked so hard to achieve!”
As if on cue, the long blade, in darkly dressed man’s forearm, sprang out and stopped centimeters from Grant’s lips with an eerie metallic hum.
Urine began soaking Grant’s left pant leg as panic swept across his colorless face.
The voice from the monitor became friendly and the blade retracted itself again. “Oh, I am so sorry. Forgive me for being so rude…I meant to tell you congratulations on your promotion in a more timely fashion than this. Wow, Grant, just think of it…you’re the new President of Mele Entertainment. Watch your step, Mr. President and remember…I held up my end of the bargain…so you had better have the balls to hold up yours!”
The man in the black turned and walked out of the room. Grant took a few moments to steady himself and quickly bolted back into the stall and began vomiting into the toilet.
Location: Moke’s Office at the HanaPaloiFederalBuilding.
Ailanian Standard Time: 0110 hours.
“Moke?” Her voice interrupted his train of thought.
“Yes?” He said as he gasped and shook his head.
Malia stood up and smoothed out her pants suit as she said, “you seem like you’re a million miles away…it’s like you’re off in your own universe or something.”
“Sorry…” He said as he looked her in the eye, “I’ve just got a lot on my mind…”
She seemed put off as she said, “Well…I was hoping we could spend some time together without having to talk shop or worry about everything that is happening…but you’re just so disconnected from me. I know what happened to Kara was horrible, but it was not your fault. She made a choice to be at that stadium.”
Moke fell back into his own thoughts again. The voice from the past began to berate him again as his mind filled up with the memory of how the light shined in his eyes, and blinded him, while the voice shouted, “Who is Fats Manawilli?! Tell us! Who is Fats Manawilli?!”
He shook his head as he tried to think of something else, but it was futile as his thoughts became even more torrid, “It is my fault, Malia, I have a terrible secret. I can’t let anyone know about the secret plan I am trying to stop. I can’t tell anyone because my enemy might find out what I am doing to undermine them. I have to be careful what I say because there are some things in my past that my enemy could use to discredit me if they were made public…there are some things in my past that even you would not understand or be able to forgive me for…and I need all the help I can get right now…and that means that I am going to have to keep lying to those who have been the most loyal to me.”
She sighed and touched his arm. He snapped out of his self-destructive thoughts and said, “Moke…I am very sorry for what they are doing to you…but you have to be able to open up to me.”
Moke closed his eyes and thought, “I have many terrible secrets…I have many skeletons in my closet…but for right now, you must never know about how I was once secretly communicating with The Evil…but when I tried to bring Jacob in for questioning…I made a terrible mistake and exposed their plan…and now things have gotten very complicated. I’m in a race against time to defeat an enemy that has me pinned to the ground…and until I get some things worked out…no one can know what I am really doing…”
She said, “you can trust me…you know that, don’t you?”
“Malia…” He said softly and thought to himself, “I can’t trust anyone…and I wish I could tell you how I am using the people I care about most as pawns in a dangerous game of chess. I wish I could tell Audrey what I am really doing with that medical file and what part she really plays in my plan…but I can’t. I just hope what I am doing works…and no one else gets hurt…or killed because of what I have gotten myself into…but so far…things just are not working out…”
She looked at him as if she understood. “Have a good night, Moke…I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He looked at her anxiously and said, “I love you…”
She looked back at him and said, “Moke…it’s too late for that.” She walked out of the room and left him drowning in sorrowful thoughts.
“Iki…Kara, I hope you both can forgive me. I am so sorry for what my sins did to you…”
Location: The HanaPaloiFederalBuilding.
Ailanian Standard Time: 0130 hours.
“Oh yeah…” Tavin was nearly drooling as he stared at his computer monitor. “Oh yeah…this shit is so hot…I haven’t been able to see this kind of thing since…”
There was a sudden clanging sound as he heard the door to his cell opening. Tavin gasped as he tried not to look over his shoulder while he turned off the web page he had accessed. He froze with embarrassment as he hoped she would not see what he had been looking at.
“Oh my gods, Tavin…” Cindy said with disgust and distain, “I knew it…I knew just what you were going to do with that new security level Ms. Winters gave you.”
“Ah shit…not now!” Tavin thought, “I can’t have these security clearances revoked…”
Tavin’s face betrayed how he felt threatened as he said, “You won’t tell her, will you?”
“You’re looking at porn, Tavin!” She shouted with a bit of delight and disgust. “I knew you were in here goofing off instead of working.”
Tavin gulped down his embarrassment as he realized he had been busted, “Yeah…well, I’m actually doing research for this case…”
“Oh bullshit,” Cindy scoffed as she sat down beside him and started typing on his keyboard.
“Hey, hey, hey now girl!” Tavin said with a giggle, “let’s watch out for the personal space issue I might have with this.”
“Oh my gods, you’ve been holding out on me, Tavin! I can’t believe we’ve been neighbors this long without you letting me know about this,” Cindy said with joy and relief, “You can get it!”
“Get what?”
Tavin suddenly found his eyes growing wide with a bit of surprise and fear as he saw images of neglected city streets scrolling across his monitor. He saw images of what appeared to be hundreds of Ailanian people looking worried, forsaken and downtrodden.
The recorded voice coming from his computer said, “Because of the bomb, which killed and injured so many innocent Ailanians at the Chief Tipsy concert, the government has declared terrorists are now operating on Ailana…but let’s pose this question…‘who are the real terrorists on Ailana?’ Let’s don’t forget that while the Ailanian government made sure the Elite’s bankers received bailout money and the rich received tax cuts…they did nothing to ensure that the small, Ailanian business owner would be able to get access to credit and financial services that would have ensured growth and prosperity in these desperate times. The Ailanian government claimed that it needed to assist large financial institutions and corporations, such as The Hydroplantations, before assisting anyone else to keep unemployment from getting out of hand…meanwhile, the rich didn’t reinvest that money, which they didn’t have to pay in taxes, back into the Ailanian economy…and the failure of thousands of small businesses, which employed millions of local Ailanian people, was the inevitable result…and now the Ailanian government has decided to declare war on Immorals. Because of our planetary financial crisis, our High Senators have decided to cut Social Security benefits and strip Unions of their collective bargaining rights. They’ve decided that teachers and public employees need to take pay cuts, they have declared that government programs to help the poor need to be cut from the budget while and welfare mothers and those in debt need to be imprisoned…all while millionaires who made the right political contribution get to become billionaires, who will personally get to write legislation designed to ensure they stay rich, while the rest of us become poor. Does anything they are doing make any sense? Isn’t what they are doing a form of terrorism?”
“Ya know…” Tavin said as he twiddled this thumbs, “I’m really not interested in politics…never have been and I really don’t understand any of this shit they are talking about…”
“Hush,” Cindy said as she put her hand on his arm, “I want to hear this…The Evil is the only connection we have with what is really happening out there…all the other television programs are under the control of the propaganda machine.”
“Wow,” Tavin smiled and said, “look at you, all educated n’ such. I like a girl with a brain.”
“Be quite, I need to hear this.”
The voice from the computer became a bit more firm and almost angry as it said, “The only thing our government has done is help the pseudo-capitalists create a form of economic tyranny. In a society run under pure Capitalist principles, the government would not have given financial or legislative assistance to large corporations claiming that they were too big to fail. Our Moralist High Senators have been making laws under the false pretense that on Ailana, anyone, who is motivated to succeed, will succeed as long as they stand on their own merits. Only those who are already wealthy and politically connected currently succeed on Ailana. Our current government allows for laws and policies to exist that allow big corporations to take advantage of its citizens and act in an immoral and dishonest fashion while they pass off what they are doing as creating a pro-business environment! Capitalism is supposed to be an honest system, and there is no honesty in using your fellow man as a means to gain wealth. Forcing honest people, who only wish to work for a living, to accept low wages and meaningless work that does not give someone the ability to provide for their basic humanoid needs or spiritual fulfillment is not moral. Threatening to fire people if they object to poor working conditions is not honest…cutting their pay and their benefits and then using your power to create an economic system full fear and frustration does not create a moral society. This world should not belong to the wealthy, who claim that they are doing something good for everyone, when in fact they are doing something that is morally wrong, simply because they are only out to benefit themselves! Using your fellow men and women as a means to make yourself rich and comfortable is not acceptable if you conduct your business in a manner that makes the people you share this world with poor and uncomfortable…the humans and native people of this plant deserve better. We can create a world where everyone is rich and comfortable if we just accept the fact that the status quo is simply wrong and then pursue the means to make our world a better place!”
Tavin joked as he said, “Well, I am in here because I was motivated…I got up real early one morning and started hacking into peoples’ bank accounts. Hey, I did it because I was poor and in need.”
“Then that makes you a thief,” Cindy said quietly.
“You have no idea why I am really here, do you, my dear, sweet girl?”
“Thou shalt not steal…thou shalt not lie, cheat or steal in order to make your way in the world…you broke those Moralist Commandments and that’s why you are in here.”
“My dear Cindy, you have no idea what I went through to achieve this position within the government. You have no idea…of the true extent of the sins, that were committed, so that I might be cursed…and blessed…with this life I now lead…what you and Captain Kalapana don’t realize is that I’m actually here for a very good reason…”
Tavin smirked to himself as he felt his mind working differently. His thoughts were becoming happy, yet dark as he said, “like they said…you’re not considered a thief if you’re rich enough to have a lobbyist making sure you have the right High Senator on your side. At the time, I couldn’t afford to donate to the winning political candidate. So I guess that, was what put me here.”
Cindy just sat there for a moment, listless, yet stoic. “I’m just saying and all,” she reluctantly tried to maintain eye contact with him. “There is something about this guy…I just can’t put my foot on it…but there is definitely something going on in this guy’s head…”
Tavin smiled, yet managed to ignore her piercing stare while he heard the dissident reporter’s voice. The man, who was giving The Evil’s speech, had a coy tone of voice as he said, “Ever since The Alliance came to Ailana, we have been ruled by, and subjected to, the will of people who claimed to be champions of entrepreneurship. They claimed to be Objectivists. They would go on to tell us that real freedom involves taking personal responsibility for one’s life and not expecting their fellow men and women to support them…these people have deceived us like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For nearly a century, we have had leaders, who have vilified Immorals, saying that they live as parasites, who only to live off the efforts and affections of their fellow man. Our leaders tell us that those, who are immoral, prey upon and use their fellow man as a means to an end. It doesn’t take much to realize that those, who call themselves Moralists, are at the very least, the most guilty of such immoral behavior…when corporations rely on bailout money, corporate welfare, tax loopholes and a government who stacks the deck in their favor…they are nothing more than second hand people, they are parasites and they do nothing to advance everyone who lives within the society that they exploit for their own selfish means.”
“Speak the truth…we are tired of all these lies…”
“Our bullshit filters are getting pretty full of this crap…”
The young man’s voice was passionate as he said, “Good citizens of Ailana, you have to believe us…these people are destroying this planet and its people. Our government kept us in line while they allowed large banks and corporations to enslave us with debt. The pseudo-capitalists own us because they gave us credit cards and good paying jobs once…and then they took away the jobs…but insisted that we keep the credit cards”
Cindy and Tavin both sat frozen with confusion and fear as their thoughts became a tsunami of torment.
“They took away my job…”
“They took away my credit card and told me that I still had to pay the bill…even though I had no money…
“…cause I ain’t got no job…”
“They sent me to prison…”
“…that’s why I work here now…”
“Damn it! What the hell did I do to my life?”
“Is this my fault? Am I in jail for being in debt?”
The young man’s passionate voice touched them both as he said, “A true entrepreneur is an Objectivist, as well as a Capitalist…and the true Capitalists have a moral code. There are truly moral corporations operating within our galaxy, please don’t get us wrong…but on Ailana, we have been plagued with financial institutions and industries that misused the government’s financial and legislative support to enrich stockholders and once the shoddy loans and investment schemes caused the bubble to burst, taxpayers of Ailana have had to foot the bill for the bailouts and suffer from the loss of employment and financial stability…”
“…the bastards…”
“…a true democracy…led by truly moral people, and a democracy, with true Capitalism, would not have corporations and individuals, who scheme with a government, in order to rid the playing field of potential competition or to enrich themselves. A truly moral government would not allow someone to conduct their business in a manner that steals from people and degrades the environment which everyone must have for their personal benefit. A truly moral government would not allow banks and corporations to create poverty and social distress just so that the government can claim it gives its Capitalists the freedom to conduct business. Good people of Ailana, you must realize what is happening on our planet! We have people here with power and money, who claim to be moral, while they do things that are immoral! We have people in our government, who claim to be operating with the interests of everyone in mind, while they secretly make deals only meant to serve their own self-interests!”
“Ya know,” Tavin said as he shook his head with disbelief. “I just don’t understand anything these people are getting at…it seems that all they do is bitch and moan about things that are completely out of our control. I mean, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer…that’s just the way it is. Am I right?”
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Cindy said as she appeared to be getting more comfortable in the modest chair. “If people live by a code of values…then life doesn’t have to be nasty, brutish and short…and despite what those Moralists tell you, one of the best ways a corporation can benefit a society is by paying taxes.”
“Taxes? But that’s theft?” Tavin tried as hard as he could to not sound confused.
“Taxes do not necessarily translate into money wasted by the government…taxes mean paychecks for teachers and money for school maintenance…all kinds of good social programs can be created when corporations pay taxes. The money they pay in taxes can be made up many times over when poor people are eventually able to get off welfare and make money for themselves. Welfare abuse is a bad thing but welfare and social programs more often create stable people, who have the education and means to either start their own business or go work for those tax paying corporations. Even better yet, corporations benefit greatly when people can afford to purchase their products and services. Taxes can make all that possible. Taxes become wasted money when they are used to punish people and keep them in prison. People in prison don’t work, they don’t buy products and services and most importantly of all…people in prison don’t pay taxes and don’t vote. The Moralists have been using the term selfish all wrong when it comes to taxes.”
He wrinkled his forehead in confusion as he said, “So shouldn’t be selfish…and the reason why my ass landed in prison…was because I was selfish?”
“No silly,” Cindy said as she patted his arm again.
Tavin felt his heart racing with anticipation as a strange feeling of happiness spread through his body.
Cindy gave him a kind look as she said, “There is a big difference in pursing your self-interests at the expense of others and being selfish. People think that a brute who robs, murders and steals to obtain his needs and desires does so out of selfish impulses. A truly selfish person lives by a code…one which says that their life does not belong to others…nor does anyone else’s life belong to them. You shouldn’t expect your fellow men and women to live solely for your benefit…like the way a slave has to live for its master…and thus, it is reasonable to expect such respect from your fellow men and women. A selfish person is interested in the pursuit of their own freedom and happiness…but doesn’t jeopardize someone else’s freedom in order to obtain those things…the point The Evil is trying to make is that we have corporations and politicians on this planet who are doing just that.”
Tavin still appeared confused as he said, “So being selfish is good?”
Cindy’s eyes glazed over as she said, “It can be…being selfish can lead to invention…it can lead to discovery…it can lead to a better way of doing things. Those that are forced to live for the sake of the group…those who become enslaved by their community…or those people, who can only obtain their self-esteem and sense of worth from being accepted by others, are often cut off from their ability to innovate and improve something…and now…I realize why I am here…”
Tavin became suddenly interested, “I thought you were here because you got caught with illegal drugs and alcohol…I thought you were a booze-hound, who went through rehab here, and got a job in the morgue as part of your probation.”
“I remember now…”
Tavin looked confused as he said, “Remember what?”
Cindy began to whisper and stare off into space as she said, “I remember what he told me…how he told me…that I was being placed here until I learned how to play nicely with others…he told me I was anti-social…he told me that I needed to recognize that there are things in this world more important than my desires and ambitions…”
“Holy shit…this chick is crazy…and not only is that sexy…it might be useful later…”
Tavin cleared his throat as he pushed a button on his keyboard which shut down the monitor, “I’m sorry Cindy…but we can’t get caught watching this…I mean porn is one thing, but if someone walks in here and we are watching something being put out by wanted revolutionaries…”
Cindy didn’t look at him as she appeared to shutter as she said, “You’re right, Tavin…we need to be good…I don’t want him coming here…please, Tavin…don’t let him take me again…”
“O.K…you’re starting to creep me out a bit, Cindy,” Tavin said as he changed the channel on the monitor, “How about some cartoons then?”
Cindy exhaled and rubbed her eyes, “You’re actually a nice guy, Tavin…when I first met me…I mean, when I first met you…I used to think you were a complete and total tool. But I think I like you a lot better now…and sometimes, I feel like I used to be a whole other person before I started knowing you…I can tell that you are one of the good guys, Tavin. Some guys are jackasses…I mean…I would never date you, Tavin…”
“Uh-huh…yeah. Right…I guess I don’t blame you for…”
“But you are a really nice guy…”
“A lot of people say that about me,” Tavin said with a smirk as his mind raced with much different thoughts, “And I bet you’re gonna love what I am going to do later…”
Location: The Maka Kilo Apartment Building.
Ailanian Standard Time: 0200 Hours.
The man with the gray beard sat hunched over his small, cluttered desk, staring at his monitor. He felt a tear fall down his cheek as he saw himself speaking to a crowd of people. He remembered how sad he felt that day as he heard himself saying, “Jacob believed in many things that cannot be proven. Thus, to counter the rumors and misinformation he has helped to create, we have decided to discontinue our publication, and will from now encourage our fellow activists to follow only peaceful means to change what we believe is wrong with our world, and not go around spreading tales about how the Ailanian government wishes to become a totalitarian regime through mind control methods or by turning people into cyborgs, which would go against a treaty our government just helped ratify. We want to be truthful and honest while we help to bring about change.”
The man with the gray beard felt his heart aching with fear as he heard the sound of his bedroom door being kicked in. He cringed as he heard the sound of metal being scraped against metal. He held his breath and closed his eyes as he slowly turned around on his chair. When he opened his eyes again, he felt his blood burning with fear as he found himself looking into the fiery, red eyes of a man dressed in black.
“I suppose a deal is a deal,” The man with the gray beard said as he slowly stood up, appearing to surrender, knowing that these were his last moments of life. “I am one of those you seek…a Prisoner of Paradise…and I shall die so that others may someday wake up as see the truth. Please…make it quick…make it painless.”
The man in black began to walk over to his tall, gray bearded target. He raised his fist and began to calculate where he would stick his blade, so that he could to honor his defenseless victim’s last request.
“Ah hah!” The bearded man shouted as he pointed his fingers at his attacker.
There was the sound of small, popping explosions.
The man in black suddenly stopped as he realized that the bearded man had quickly raised his right hand and had extended his fingers towards him. At first, he thought nothing of it, no danger signs registered in his cyborg brain, until he realized that three tiny cables were shooting out of the bearded man’s fingertips.
“HA!” The bearded man laughed as he saw his cables sticking into the face of his attacker. He then quickly pointed his other hand towards his computer and prayed as he shot another cable from his index finger and into a port in computer’s the LCE driver.
The electricity coming from two of the cables temporarily paralyzed the man in black as the other cable began to download all kinds of vital information from his brain’s digital processor. The information flowed from the man in black’s brain through the bearded man’s cranial computer system and directly into the computer on the cluttered desk.
The bearded man felt a bit of electrical ecstasy as he saw digital images and encrypted messages, which revealed details about a secret plan to steal a bomb from The Military. He smiled as he saw the instructions someone would need to follow so that they could smuggle that bomb into the Kaiser Field Stadium.
The man in black struggled with the paralysis the encrypted data was causing him.
The man with the gray beard started to laugh as he saw the schematics someone else would need to follow in order to implant the detonator’s computer system with all kinds of information about another secret plan. His eyes lit up with hope as he realized this data could potentially be used as evidence for the acquittal of certain people, and the condemnation of others, if the information, which was now flowing through him, and making its way onto the Ailanian Wide Web, could end up in the right hands.
The bearded man’s thoughts raced as he felt the surge of data-rich energy, “We just needed someone to find the damn bomb! It was never supposed to go off and kill all those people! Damn it, Jacob! What have you done? Why did you turn your back on us and give yourself over to the very people you wished to defeat?!”
The man in black’s eyes became consumed with an angry red hatred. His circuits tried to work their way around the data that was flowing into his body.
The bearded man felt his pleasurable rush coming to a sudden halt as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He opened his eyes and looked down to see a red stain on his shirt growing larger and larger by the second.
The man in black snarled in the bearded man’s ear as he ripped the cables out his face. Angrily, he pulled the fist-blade from his bearded opponent’s chest in an artery severing motion. The defeated dissident fell into the puddle of blood on the floor and said, “There are more of us who have dedicated our lives to stopping your masters!”
“They know about Wallace,” The man in black hissed into the bearded man’s ear. “Who are the members of the sleeper cell? They have used you for a decoy, tell me who they are and I’ll reactivate you.”
“Don’t bother…we all made a suicide pact…and you can’t kill us all…you can’t kill us all…”
The man in black used his blade to slash the computer system on the desk. However, he realized it was too late, and the damage had already been done. The digital information he had recovered from the cyborg back at the stadium, had been stolen, and was now on its way to someone else in the terrorist organization.
The bearded cyborg slumped to the floor, his words slowing like a computer being powered down, “Like ripples in a pond caused by one small stone…the effect just keeps getting bigger and bigger. There are others…there are many of us…who are willing to die…if that is…what it takes…to…free…Ailana…we must…wake up…the Prisoners of Paradise…”
The man in black sighed as he realized that he would now have to track down and kill someone else in order to stop them from getting the stolen digital information. He realized that he would have to kill someone else, who could use that data to stop the secret plan, and the powerful people, he was supposed to protect. He then smiled as he realized how much money he could make off those powerful people, who would soon be demanding that he fix this mistake he had just made.
Location: The A1 Laser Highway…just outside of Polynea.
Ailanian Standard Time: 0230 Hours.
Kenny sat back and lit a Makani cigarette while Charlie drove as fast as he could without attracting any undue attention while they fled the crime scene. Charlie looked over at his small framed partner and smiled.
“Ya know, Kenny,” Charlie said with pride in his voice. “In the few weeks I have known you…I grown to respect you a lot. At first, I thought you were just some skinny, selfish, foul mouthed punk with no ambition in life. But your quite altruistic, Kenny…you know how to be a team player. You know what’s good for the group and seem to be able to put your ego aside to do what is good for everyone involved. You’ve helped make this gang a lot of money with your talent for disarming alarms and cracking online accounts. You’ve done real good. We’ve made a great team, you and I.”
“Thanks,” Kenny said as he sat back and relaxed. He was exhausted from the tense hours of cracking codes and uploading computer viruses into security systems. His mind still ached with the desire to keep an alarm from going off, so his fellow gang members could get away before a police officer would get an automatic request to drive by The Hydroplantation warehouse, where he would see several suspicious people loading up bags of chemicals, which would later be used to make Cutz, onto a truck.
Charlie lowered the volume of his voice as he said, “But Kenny…you do seem distracted lately.”
“What the hell, man?” Kenny said in a tone of voice that betrayed the fact that he was clearly stoned, “how come people, like you, don’t realize, that people of high intelligence, like myself…are simply lost in thought a lot. I’m thinking of our next heist, man. I’m always planning…scheming…I’m always on the job. At night, I even dream of hacking computer systems so we can do things like what we did tonight for our gang.”
“Alright…fair enough,” Charlie said softly, “But are you still thinking about your wife and kid all locked up in that government building? I mean, the government’s new welfare system and attitude towards women in your wife’s position has gotten rather harsh over the last few years. Ya ever feel guilty for them being there? Don’t ya ever feel the need to do something about it?”
“I’d hope you’d understand how hard it is to live with this pain,” Kenny said softly as he took a long drag from his joint.
Charlie said, “I do, man.”
“Ya do, eh?”
The undercover agent part of Charlie’s brain began mentally mapping out how much of the truth and how much of a lie he was about to feed to Kenny. Charlie took a quick breath and said, “I got a wife and kid of my own…or at least I used to. She couldn’t put up with what I do for a living…she left for Earth took my son with her. Now, I just kinda get lost in the job…it’s how I get by…I guess you can call me a devoted workaholic. I’ve got a goal I want to accomplish, and I ain’t gonna rest until I’ve accomplished it.”
“Well…I get by in my own way,” Kenny said as he took another drag and exhaled a long stream of the narcotic smoke.
“How’s that?” Charlie asked as he took a sharp corner and sped into another laser highway lane.
“I guess I’m lost in the plan I have to get my wife and kid back…” Kenny said as he realized he might have just said too much.
“So you are doing something selfish after all,” Charlie felt himself swallowing the fear in his throat as he said, “And just what are you planning on doing?”
“My job, Charlie,” Kenny said as his face got serious. “Ya know my first loyalty lies with helping the Pilikoa family…which has now become my family…but what if I told you I have another job planned that will help them out a little, but will help me out a lot more…I mean, there is nothing wrong with looking out for one’s self interests…is there?”
“That depends if your actions get any of us hurt or arrested…what exactly are you planning on doing, Kenny?” Charlie said as he tried to hide his fear.
Kenny swallowed his fear as he remembered what the white haired man had said to him, “I want you to steal something for me, Kenny.”
Kenny gave Charlie a serious look as he said, “can you keep a secret?”