Victernus - Chapter 7
Lynn took a step away from the
transporter when it rematerialized him. There were few sounds in the forest at that
time of the night and the air felt a bit moist, like it was going to rain soon.
But, the quiet ceased when Mahalia stepped out from behind a tree and pointed a
stun gun at him. He chuckled, "Seriously?"
She smiled, "Seriously. Put him
down."
Namara grinned. I'd take her advice if I were you.
Lynn rolled his eyes, "What are you
gonna do, stun me?"
With the gun already charged, she
shot an electric bolt into Lynn's side, causing both him and Namara to convulse
and drop to the ground. She shook her head and laughed, "So this is why Namara
hates you! Ha!" She bent down and produced a rope from one of her pockets,
binding his hands and feet and then dragging him out of the forest. Reaching
her Mustang, she popped the trunk and shoved him in, closing it behind him.
The stun was only temporary, and
both Namara and Lynn were conscious by the time Mahalia returned to the
transporter. Namara was lying down, still recovering from his encounter. He
watched her in the low light of the forest. Thanks
for that. But, you know that Lynn has the sanctuary's location now... We can't
stay there anymore. He said he was going to torch it.
She rested her forehead against the
big tree and sighed, "Darn it... And we can't build another one..."
Namara agreed. All of my assets are probably frozen.
Mahalia struck the tree with her
fist, "They're on our trail now, Namara. Our other facility is going to be in
the range of one of their new towers... There's nowhere we'll be able to hide,
and we can't leave either, thanks to the last immigration measures. We're
screwed..."
Namara raised an eyebrow. What towers?
She turned and slid down the tree
with her back. Namara saw that her face was tired. "Everyone in this country
has to be microchipped, supposedly to keep out terrorists and illegals. They're
putting up towers everywhere, and there will be few blind spots. They'll send
out drones to anyone who doesn't have a chip."
Namara lowered his eyes. Wow... He looked away from her, staring at
the dense trees in front of him. Thoughts raged through him for a while. Of all
things he feared would happen, this - the day when his own country, the one
that claimed to have his best interests in mind, would turn on him - was the
worst. Are you sure there's no way out?
She raised her head, looking
upwards, "I'm sure. This society is trying to choke us, and a lot of people are
on board with it. To them, we are
terrorists."
He chuckled. Well, if we can't escape, we could always become the so-called
terrorists they're looking for. He glanced back at her. And we could bring this system down. How
long do we have, exactly?
Mahalia sighed, "A week, at most.
What kind of crazy idea do you have in mind now?"
We
need to get Theo working on defenses... and weapons. But, I want to find a way to
get a message out to everyone first. That way, they have a chance. And we'll
see what they decide.
She crossed her arms, "You do realize
that if we fought back, it would be
considered terrorism, right?"
Namara sighed and narrowed his eyes.
It's not terrorism if that isn't the
intent. The intent here is to change things for the better. I don't care if I
am labeled that way. What someone else assumes isn't always true. I will not
fold myself under this so-called democracy again. He laughed. I'm already a fugitive anyway. There's nothing
else I can do here.
She stood up and rested against the
tree, putting her hands in her pockets. "I'm not sure what the others would
think about that. That's very risky, you know."
He nodded. Staying here is risky too. If you want, you guys can get chipped and go
undercover. I don't think I'll need to. They're not going to be configured to
detect wildlife. And, while the already-fugitive goes out and commits acts of "terrorism,"
you guys can stay unconnected to me. Or, if you can find a way to get a secure
connection to me, you can direct me to weak points in the system. You know?
She nodded and turned around, beginning the
activation sequence for the transporter, "We'll have to speak with Theo and
Chomp first. Come on. Let's go back and get whatever we can."
Namara watched her, unmoving. If you haven't noticed, it kind of hurts to
move right now...
Mahalia sighed and then picked him
up, returning to the transporter and activating it. The light enveloped them
and they appeared back in the sanctuary. She carried him up the stairs in the
courtyard and laid him down in the center of the first control station. Going
to the edge, she summoned a couple of screens with her hands and started a
video call with Theo. A few seconds later, he picked up. "Hey, what's up?"
She cut right to the point, "I know
you don't like us interrupting your work, but finalize whatever you are doing. Something
has come up, and we need you to work on some new stuff fast."
"You actually caught me at a good
time." He sipped on a bottle of Coke in his hand. "What do you need?"
Mahalia looked back, "Namara?"
Namara began his list. I need weapons that will make me capable of disabling
drones, some tech that'll help me get in and out of tight buildings undetected -
not just my invisibility device - and take out several areas at once... maybe
explosives. I also need a way to hack the news stations. You get the idea.
Theo crossed his arms and leaned back,
his eyes widening, "What in bloody hell are you going to do with all of those
things?!"
Mahalia clarified, "The government
is putting up towers that will send drones out on anyone who isn't microchipped
by next week. You and Chomp have to leave the facility before that time or all
of our research will be destroyed. The sanctuary is compromised, and it may be
burnt down very soon. Namara hopes to stop this from happening." She turned
back, "Right?"
Namara nodded but didn't say a word.
Theo put one of his hands to his
forehead, "I can try. I have a couple things ready that might help, but I wasn't
planning them for this..."
Mahalia tilted her head sternly, "Hey.
We need to do this, or all of our efforts will have been for nothing. Humanity
is going to go down the drain. I'm sure you don't want that to happen either."
He nodded, "Yes. I don't. Again, I'll
try. Bring yourself and Namara over here so I can give a couple things to him.
He'll need time to... adjust."
Adjust?
"You'll see."
Mahalia typed a few things in to the
console, "I'm sending you the entire sanctuary's database. It'll be downloaded
to the backup drives. Once done, the database will be deleted here and the
power will shut off. Got it?"
"Yep."
"Alright, I'll see you later. I'll
be there with Namara soon." She shut off the video, picked up Namara, and
jogged out.