Walker walked into the apartment and saw Edwards sitting on the couch, looking shattered. She was drinking a glass of white wine. The android was sitting by the window looking out into the city. Walker said to Edwards,
“Are you okay?”
Edwards nodded and took another sip of wine. The android looked at Walker and said,
“Detective, I have not been able to break the computer code. Shall I continue?”
“Yes.”
Walker began to pace the room. An idea came to him. He said to the android,
“Joe? Are you connected with the prison computer system?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now I want you to check something out. There’s going to be a breakout on Friday of prisoners but Rocco needs help on the inside. Can you check and see what prison guards are receiving any large amounts of money?”
Edwards perked up. She asked,
“What’s up?”
“There has to be a guard on the inside who’s helping Rocco.”
“Detective, I found someone.”
“Put the information up on the wall monitor here, Joe.”
The giant wall monitor came to life and it showed a picture of a guard with a beefy face and puffy eyes. He didn’t look too intelligent. The android said,
“His name is Carl Evans. He has been receiving large amounts of money in the past six months and he has been spending his money on gambling and drugs. He lives in a high rise in midtown.”
“Bingo!,” said Walker. “That’s our guy. I’m going to pay him a visit. Is he at home?”
“Checking. Yes, he is at home. His address is 225 Jefferson St, #12A.”
“Okay. Sam, call Hernandez. Tell him what’s going on. Joe, I want you to monitor his phone. I’m going to shake him up. Let’s see what he does.”
Walker ran out of the apartment and took an elevator down to the garage where his car was waiting for him. He jumped in and told the computer where to go. He also said,
“Computer, connect me with the android.”
The android’s face appeared on the screen. Walker said,
“Joe, watch my back.”
“Yes, detective.”
The car drove through the city and came upon a very tall apartment building in the middle of the city. The car parked itself and Walker got out and walked over to the entrance to the building. There was a robot doorman wearing an expensive black suit and tie and a top hat. The robot opened the door and asked politely,
“Yes, sir? Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m a friend of Carl Evans. Is he in?”
“Yes, I believe he is. Shall I let him know you’re coming?”
“No. I want this to be a surprise.”
Walker walked over to a bank of elevators and took an elevator up to the 12th floor and walked down a long hallway. He found the door and took out his gun and knocked on the door. A man’s rough voice asked,
“Yeah? Who is it?”
“Hi. I’m John. I have a message from Rocco.”
“Uh, hang on a minute.”
Someone walked over and unlocked the door. The door swung open and Evans stood in front of Walker and said,
“Who are you? I never saw you before.”
Walker pointed his gun at Evans’s thick face and said,
“Inside.”
Evans put up his hands and walked backwards. Walker closed the door behind him. The apartment was very well furnished. Evans asked,
“What is this? Who are you?”
“I’m Detective John Walker of the NYPD and I’m here to give you a message. The deal’s off. We know what you’re doing this Friday. You’re not going to let any prisoners loose – you hear me? You keep them in their little cages – got that? You tell Rocco that I said this! If you don’t do as I say, I’m coming after you! Got that?”
Evans’s face was wet with sweat. He said thickly,
“But – but Rocco said – “
“Fuck Rocco! I’m calling the shots now! Tell him the Feds are arriving tomorrow with the Marines! He and Governor Ryan are going down! You know, this is a really nice apartment! How can someone like you afford something like this? I think you’ve been a very naughty boy! Maybe I should run you in right now! You’ll be skinned alive! Nah – I’m not going to do that. Just call Rocco and give him my message! I”ll be back later for you, okay?”
Evans was shaking. He nodded weakly. Walker left the apartment and went back down to the car. He said,
“Computer, connect me with the android. Well, Joe – anything happen?”
The android said,
“Yes, detective. Evans just called Rocco and Rocco was very upset.”
“Good. It’s time I paid him a visit. I’ll check in with you later.”
He gave the computer an address and the car put itself into gear….
The car approached a tall building in the middle of the city. He stopped the car and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes and focused his mind upon Rocco’s apartment. Rocco was sitting on a couch, drinking a martini. He was wearing a black suit with gray stripes and a red tie. Across the room was Governor Ryan, who was standing behind a bar and mixing drinks. Walker also saw a man with white hair standing by the window. The man was wearing a black suit and a blue tie. Walker decided to go upstairs and pay Rocco a visit. He said to the computer,
“Computer, put me through to the android.”
The image of the android appeared on the monitor. Walker said,
“Look, Joe, I’m going upstairs to Rocco’s apartment. Can you connect with the building security?”
“Yes, detective. I have accessed the security system. I am looking at Rocco’s apartment right now.”
“Okay. Keep your eyes open. If anything happens, notify both Chief Hernandez and Detective Edwards. Got that?”
“Yes, detective.”
“Okay, I’m going.”
Walker took out his gun and placed it in the glove compartment. He got out of the car and walked across the street to the building entrance. There was a robot doorman. It stopped him and asked,
“Excuse me, sir. Who are you visiting?”
“Johnny Rocco. I’m a police detective. I have to talk to him in person. It’s very important.”
The robot walked over to a wall monitor and pressed a button. A moment later, Rocco appeared on the screen. The robot asked him,
“I’m very sorry to bother you, sir but there is a police detective here to see you. Shall I send him up?”
“Yes.”
The robot turned to Walker and said,
“You may go up. He’s on the 9th floor, apartment #9D.”
“Thanks,” said Walker and he walked over to an elevator and took it up. When the doors opened, he was met by a giant bodyguard who frisked him. The bodyguard said,
“Follow me.”
Walker followed the man down a long hallway to a half opened door. The bodyguard walked in and said,
“Boss, he’s clean.”
“Okay, show him in, Ace.”
The bodyguard stepped aside and Walker walked into a well furnished apartment. Rocco said, sitting on the couch,
“Well, well, well! The famous Detective Walker! It’s about time we met in person! Ace, you can leave us now. Close the door behind you. So, detective, you’ve proven yourself to be a real pain in the ass! You’re scaring people and that’s not good for business! They’re coming to me and asking me, what’s he doing on Mars? Is he going to shut everything down? And look what happened to my good friend, the DA Robert Anderson! He was my lawyer! He was so stressed out when you arrived – I thought he was going to piss in his pants! But he was always weak.”
Rocco leaned back and sipped his martini. He said,
“So, what to do about you? I can’t buy you off, I know that. Now look at Boris Petrov! He’s a survivor! He knows what to do to protect himself! He approached me – you know that? He offered his services to me! And I couldn’t turn him down! He provides really good intelligence and he kept me up to date about what you were doing! So, you went to see Father Johnson, eh? What did you talk about? Never mind. I’ll ask Boris. He’ll tell me. No, I’ve got a real problem on my hands. The freighter is arriving this Friday and you contacted the government. I knew you would. That little rat bastard Clemons told you what was on that ship, right? It has about twenty combat robots. Did you ever see them in real life? They’re huge mechanical monsters – they’re the ultimate weapons! Except for of course those commando robots. They’re even bigger! God, the military has such great toys, doesn’t it? They can even teleport weapons! Well, look, just to let you know, I’m going to have to kill you now. You’ll be dropped off in the desert without any water and you won’t last a day out there. Do you have any last speeches to make?”
“You won’t get away with this!”
Rocco laughed and said,
“Is that it? Well, anyway, I knew you were coming tonight. Boris told me. So, I had Boris go to your apartment and take your girlfriend hostage! Boris explained to me that he can block your thoughts and vise versa. It’s really quite interesting! Uh, Pat, would you mind?”
“No problem.”
Governor Ryan walked over to a wall monitor and pressed a button. It came to life and it showed Edwards tied up in a chair with Petrov pointing a gun at her head. Rocco said,
“So, what do you think? If you do anything stupid and she gets it! Understand?”
Walker seethed with anger. He said,
“Yeah, okay, Johnny. I’ll play along. What do you have in mind?”
“Well, this man over there is a doctor and he’s going to give you something to knock you out. Then, Ace and another bodyguard will put you into a helicopter and drop you off into the desert. When the sun comes up, it’ll get hot really quickly! And after you’re dropped off, I’ll let your girlfriend go! Such a pretty girl! Maybe I can do something with her. I haven’t decided yet. What do you think, governor?”
“It doesn’t matter to me, Johnny. Well, let’s get this going. I have to get up early. I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow.”
“Yes, you are certainly a busy man. Okay, doc – let him have it!”
The white haired man walked over to Walker and took out a syringe. He put the syringe against Walker’s neck and pressed. Compressed air pushed a drug into Walker’s bloodstream and almost immediately, Walker felt weak. As he was passing out, he heard Rocco say,
“Okay, Ace – take him to the roof.”
Then darkness closed in and he fell asleep….
.
He awoke with a start. He was sitting before the giant red crystal. He looked around the dark room and saw he was alone. He focused his energies at the crystal and it began to glow a dull red but soon the color intensified. The whole room was a bright red and Walker felt a presence. He looked to his left and saw Ka’al sitting next to him. Ka’al said,
Everything will be all right, John. Help is coming. You will meet a young boy who is human but with a Martian soul. He is very powerful. He will help you. We have heard you. We will not allow Mars to die a second death. Have faith. Everything will be fine. Just be patient.
Ka’al smiled and said,
It is time. He is the future.
But my body has been drugged! I can’t wake up!
Yes but we will help you. The drug is now gone from your system. Open your eyes, my friend. It is time to fight back!
Walker suddenly woke up. He opened his eyes and saw that he was tied up in the back of a helicopter. It was dawn. There were two men sitting in front and they were unaware of him. All around him was the vast red desert. The pilot sitting in the left front seat said,
“Let’s drop him off here. It’s far enough.”
“Okay,” said the other man.
The helicopter began its descent and soon it landed softly on the desert floor. The two men got out and carried Walker’s body out and put it on the ground. The helicopter took off and Walker tried to loosen his hands but the ropes were too tightly bound. The sun was slowly rising and it would soon be very hot. Suddenly, without warning, a young boy appeared in front of him out of thin air. Walker was startled. The boy was of medium height, with black eyes and long black hair. He wore a tan outfit and sandals. The boy looked to be about 15 years old. He said to Walker,
“You are Detective John Walker. I was told to help you. They tied you up but I can fix that. Hold still.”
The boy waved his hands in front of Walker and the ropes mysteriously came loose and dropped from his wrists and feet. Walker said,
“Wow! Thank you! What’s your name?”
“Well, my parents call me John. I like that name. Why did they do this to you?”
Walker stood up and said,
“Well, John, it’s a long story. There are some bad people who want to kill me by leaving me out here in the desert to die. Do you understand?”
The boy looked confused. He said,
“No, not really.”
“Well, how are we going to get back to town? It’s too far to walk.”
“Where do you want to go? Just think and we’ll go there.”
“What do you mean? Just think of my apartment in the city?”
“Yes. I can see it. Okay. Here we go.”
Walker frowned and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of the apartment. Edwards was asleep on the couch and Petrov was sleeping in a chair, with his gun in his hand. The android was sitting by the window, looking out. Walker looked and saw the boy standing next to him. It was so quick it was surreal. Walker walked over to Edwards and kissed her on the cheek. She woke up and said, seeing him smiling down at her,
“John! You’re alive! But how did you get here?”
“It’s a little hard to explain. Sam, this is John. He’s here to help.”
Edwards sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at the wide eyed boy and said,
“Who are you?”
The boy said,
“I am here to help. Now what do we do next, detective?”
“Next, we wake up Boris. He has some explaining to do!”
“Wait, John! He’s on our side! He told me everything! He’s a government agent! Don’t hurt him!”
Walker grunted and walked over to the android and said,
“Joe, what’s going on?”
“Nothing at the moment, detective. It’s all very quiet. I thought they were going to leave you in the desert. How did you escape?”
“This young boy helped me. Hey, Boris! Wake up!”
Petrov woke up and rubbed his eyes. He yawned and said,
“John! You’re alive and you brought someone with you!”
He looked at the boy and said,
“My! You are powerful!”
The boy looked at Walker and said,
“He’s trying to read my mind!”
“Yes, he is trying. Okay, people – we’re going to end this today! Joe, where is the freighter?”
“It is almost here. It will be landing soon.”
“Well, this is Wednesday and the Marines are arriving tomorrow. The new DA and the new governor are on that military transport. Captain Parker is also coming on that ship. I want to face Rocco again but this time with John here. It should be interesting. But first, I’m starved! Let’s eat!”
He went into the kitchen and began cooking eggs and bacon. The boy walked in and asked,
“Sir, what should I do?”
“Set up the table. You cook at all, John?”
“No. My mother does all the cooking. I just eat.”
Walker laughed and said,
“Good! Go and help set everything up!”
Edwards walked in and began taking down dishes and Petrov made coffee. When the food was ready, they all sat down and ate.
After the dishes were cleaned, Walker sat down and said to the boy,
“So, John, how much experience do you have in the world? What’s it like where you live?”
“I live on a farm out in the desert. I have a younger brother and sister. Bot of my parents are farmers. We work all day in the fields.”
Edwards asked him,
“So, are your parents human?”
“Yes. I know what you’re asking me, Ms Edwards. I can read your thoughts. I am very old. I was born a human but I am a Martian. I am a sort of a – bridge between both worlds. Does that make sense?”
“Yes,” said Edwards. “Do you remember Mars in the past at all?”
“Yes. I can remember some of it. I can remember Mars when it was green and filled with water. It was like Earth at one time. Then there was trouble and society began tearing itself apart. There was a terrible war and then darkness. I don’t really understand it all. Why are people so mean and vicious towards each other?”
“That’s a good question,” said Walker. “Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for that. Do you go to school?”
“No. I am home schooled. My mother was a teacher back on Earth.”
“Well, maybe one day, you’ll go to Earth and see it for yourself. Maybe I’ll take you there.”
There was silence for a moment and then Petrov said,
“All right, detective – what are we going to do now?”
“We need to stop Rocco from taking over Mars. I need to know what’s on that freighter. Do you have anything about those combat robots?”
“Yes – there are ten of them. They’re big – about ten feet tall and loaded with weapons. There’s also lots of other weapons as well – laser rifles, cannons.”
“So, what’s the plan? Do you know?”
“Well, Anderson was going to coordinate everything. The robots were supposed to take out the police, city hall and the prisoners were going to take over everything else. I do know that the freighter has a teleporter. It’s pretty complicated.”
“Hmmmm…..so, what’s the deal with this landing site?”
“Well, it’s run by pirates that are working with Rocco and Governor Ryan. We won’t be able to get in. It’s pretty well fortified.”
“Well, okay, we’ll let the Marines handle it. Now, I have Father Johnson’s people on our side. They’re going to blow up sin city. It’ll be a nice diversion. Boris, you didn’t tell Rocco about this, did you?”
“No, he doesn’t know.”
“Good. The freighter will be arriving on Friday night. Well, people, there’s not much we can do right now but wait. I’m really tired so I’m going back to sleep.”
He yawned and got up and walked towards the bedroom. Edwards said,
“Wait up, John.”
They both retired and Petrov took out a chess board and said to the boy,
“Well, my young friend – do you know how to play chess?”
“Yes, sir. My father taught me.”
“Show me what you got.”
They sat down at the table and began to play.
He awoke from his nap and got dressed. He walked into the living room and looked around. It was empty. The android was sitting on the chair looking out into the city. Walker asked the android,
“Joe, where’s Boris and John?”
“They went out. Boris said they would be back later.”
“Okay. Are you monitoring the police radio?”
“Yes, detective.”
“Is there anything to report?”
“No. It is all very quiet.”
“All right. Tell Sam I’m going to see Chief Hernandez. I’ll be back later.”
He put on his jacket and walked out the door. He walked outside and found his car waiting for him. He got in and said,
“Computer, take me to police headquarters.”
The car put itself into gear and drove towards downtown. It was getting dark and the street lights were coming on. The car approached police headquarters and drove itself down into the parking garage. He got out and walked over to an elevator and took it up. When the elevator stopped, Walker got out and walked down the hallway towards Hernandez’s office. Hernandez was sitting behind his desk, eating a sandwich. He said to Walker, as Walker walked in,
“So, what’s going on? Tell me what you’re planning.”
“Well, it’s like this,” said Walker as he sat down on a chair. “Rocco has combat robots on the freighter and he’s going to use them to break the prisoners out of the prison. The Tyler Corporation is involved in this somehow. I don’t know what their angle is yet but I’ll know soon. I would like to get a court order to gain access to their files. Can you get this done?”
“Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good. I just hate all this waiting.”
“So, after this is all over, what are you going to do? Are you going back to Earth?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Well, listen – if you do decide to stay, I could really use you and your robot.”
“Thanks. Have you talked to the head of the prison yet? Does he know what’s going on?”
“Yes, thanks to you. He was rather shocked about Evans. Levin has been the head of the prison for ten years now. He’s a good man. He’s asked about additional police help but I can’t spare anyone else. I’m already spread too thin as it is. So, the Marines will be here tomorrow? What time?”
“Around noon, I think. They’ll be landing at McGregor Army Base just outside the city.”
“How many?”
“Enough, I hope. They have commando robots – they’re even bigger than the combat robots, if you can imagine it! They’re huge! Captain Parker is coming along with the new DA and governor. It’s going to be interesting!”
“You mean Captain Tex Parker? Boy, I haven’t seen him in years! He’s lots of fun! I can’t wait to see him!”
“Yeah, he’s quite a handful. Well, I’m going over to the prison. Would you mind called Mr Levin and tell him I’m coming?”
“Sure. See you later.”
Walker got up and left the office and headed for the elevators.
The car was waiting for him in the garage. He got in and said,
“Computer, take me to Clinton Prison.”
The car put itself into gear and drove out of the garage. The clouds were dark – it looked like it was going to rain. Small drops of water appeared on the windshield and people began running for cover. Soon, it was raining in sheets and a strong wind blew. Up ahead was the prison complex – a massive walled compound with barbed wire all around. The car drove towards the entrance and a robot guard walked over and Walker showed it his badge. The robot waved at a human guard manning the gate and it opened. The car drove into the prison. Walker jumped out and ran into the prison’s main building. A robot prison guard walked over to Walker and said,
“You’re Detective John Walker, right?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Please come with me. The warden is expecting you.”
Walker followed the guard through a series of doors and finally walked into a fancy office. Warden George Levin stood behind a huge wooden desk. He was a small man with large eyes and pale skin. He wore a black toupee. Levin extended his hand and said to Walker,
“It’s nice to meet you, detective. Please have a seat.”
Walker sat down and Levin sat behind his desk. He said to Walker,
“So – Chief Hernandez told me you were coming. So, what’s the situation?”
“Waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Marines will be here tomorrow.”
“Yes, I was told that. That’s good. There was a rumor of a major jail break for weeks now. Rocco is behind it, I’m guessing.”
“Yes. He’s been planning this for awhile now. So, how are you going to deal with this?”
“The best I can. This is not the Moon. On the Moon, there’s nowhere to run. Here on Mars, we have millions of acres of desert. People disappear all the time.”
“Yes, I know that first hand. So, how many prison guards do you have?”
“We have about 200. We have 100 robot guards as well. There are three shifts.”
“And how many do you think are working for Rocco?”
“That’s hard to say. There are lots of rumors but I don’t know. The prisoners know more than I do. They have their own network.”
“Well, let’s see how this plays out.”
“Yes. I’m sorry about the DA. He was a friend of mine. Nice man but I don’t know what went wrong. His death was a real shock.”
“Well, he used to work for Rocco. These things happen.”
“Yes, it does. Well, detective, thank you for coming out here. If I need you, I’ll call.”
“Very good.”
Walker stood up and shook the warden’s hand. He left the prison and wished it was all over…..