Pandemonium Read online

  I land in his stead on the now free pilot seat and take manual control of the flying car. I am less than a second away from the incoming fighter still shooting at me. I have to go evasive and spin wildly; this proves to be a much simpler move than the previous one, now that I am on the right side of the traffic. I mentally recall my jet bike as I’ll need it soon; that is if I survive my next move.

  I don’t really have a choice; it’s a case of do or die, and I have zero tolerance for me dying as a general rule. So I keep avoiding incoming fire until the last second, playing a game of chicken with my foe, who doesn’t seem too worried about it. After all, his heavy shield can protect him from impact with the Mercedes. Or so he thinks. When I am sure that I’ll hit my target, I use my super strength to jump outside of the convertible, aided by my repulsors at full power. When I am high enough, I switch to blaster mode, shoot the power cell of my short-lived rental, and overload it.

  Hope you’re insured.

  The Mercedes turns into a fireball and impacts with the fighter that is still firing at it. The explosion is massive and damages a multitude of cars around; some explode as well, and others spin out of control before eventually managing to regain their trajectories.

  The fighter passes through the explosion, and its shield has protected it from the impact as expected. My HUD informs me that the ship is adjusting its course to match my position. I line up my next repulsor shot and blast through the fighter’s canopy, hitting the pilot in the torso. This saves me from being cut in half by one of the fighter’s wings, which I believe was the pilot’s intention based on his trajectory. Thanks to my repulsors, I land on the back of the fighter, but because of its high velocity, I lose my balance. I magnetize my boots and forearms and manage to stick to the ship’s metallic armor.

  I get back on my feet and hurry toward the cockpit a couple of meters away. I don’t know if my shot was lethal or if the pilot’s armor, if he had any, could have saved his life. I don’t intend to find out one way or another. I grab a sonic grenade from my belt and activate it. As I pass near the canopy, I throw it in the hole I had punched earlier with my repulsor as I demagnetize my boots and jump away from the craft.

  I dive downward, letting gravity do its thing when I hear the ship explode. In the midst of my daring move, I hadn’t seen the skyscraper coming right at me. Or more precisely, I’m free-falling right toward it. My jet bike is still on course to my position, and it swoops me right before I impact with the building. The building’s Plexiglas windows wobble but don’t break.

  “Do you actually get pleasure in taking the most dangerous path in accomplishing your goals? There were at least ten other strategies that could have achieved what you have just done with fractions of the risks involved,” says Tanya.

  “What’s the fun in that? I’ve got to go with my gut, dear.”

  “Obviously, but I’m worried that one day it’ll get us both killed.”

  “Perhaps, but not today.”

  “Better not, Cole. You still owe me a date.”

  I smile as I set the bike’s trajectory back toward Eleanor and Drone Two and hit the afterburners.

  Seven

  Mission completion time: T minus 182 minutes

  I am only a few seconds away from catching up with Eleanor’s fighter. She is still pounding Ahmed’s ship, but he manages to keep his shields up with some fancy flying maneuvers, and by throwing her curve balls in the form of sonic mines, smoking her, so she has trouble maintaining a visual lock on him.

  He is one crafty bastard, that’s for sure. The drone is still scoring hits here and there, but Ahmed’s turret is firing back and giving the drone a hard time. Tanya knows I’ll probably need the drone later, so sacrificing it is only a last resort measure. And since I am almost there, I ask her to make sure Drone Two survives the engagement.

  My heart is pounding heavily in my chest. My previous encounters were filled with adrenaline, and all I want now is to deal with Ahmed once and for all and to change the course of history. This day cannot end up with a mushroom cloud over New Geneva, but that’s not all. I’m willing to go the extra mile to rid our planet of Ahmed Al’Hasi in the process.

  “I’m almost there,” I tell Eleanor.

  “I can’t seem to do enough damage to his fighter. His shields are incredibly strong!” she barks back with the evident weight of frustration.

  “We’ll find a way.”

  I’m not surprised Ahmed is protecting himself so well. He is a master at acquiring the latest high-end technologies, which always helped him stay one step ahead of us in our previous encounters. In fact, some of the tech we faced seemed better than our own, a detail that always bewildered me since I thought Rewind was using the most advanced tech on the planet. I always wondered how and where terrorists could acquire better tech than ours.

  I am only a few seconds away and now have a visual on the craft trio: Eleanor’s short-range fighter, Drone Two on its wing, and farther down my line of sight, Ahmed’s medium-sized getaway cargo fighter. Rogue turret blaster fire is screaming past me, now that I’m about to enter firing range.

  My jet bike’s onboard computer alarm wails to signal a missile lock. A second later, two rockets fly from Ahmed’s ship as I am gaining on the trio and engage his ship. I go evasive as the missile lock alarm grows louder and with shorter intervals. When it’s almost a solid tone, I release countermeasures and dive my jet bike into a near free fall descent. When the rockets find the decoys and explode overhead, I pull up and vector back on target.

  That was clearly a message from Ahmed letting me know he saw me coming. I open a channel to his craft.

  “You’re a very persistent cockroach, Agent Seeker,” he says preemptively.

  I feel anger explode inside of me.

  “Feck you, Ahmed! You’re the cockroach, and before this day is over, you’ll be smashed under my boot. No matter what, I swear I will take you down.”

  “I admire such passion and determination, Agent, as misplaced as it may be. A shame really, as you would make a formidable ally. Too bad you’re too blind to the truths of this world.”

  “If you think blowing up people by the millions is the right way to rebel against the system, you’re not very smart.”

  My comment is met with silence, and I am now on Eleanor’s right wing, adding my firepower to hers in an attempt to lower Ahmed’s shields, but she was right earlier and the damn thing seems impenetrable. We are making a dent, but as soon as he manages to evade our locks for a few seconds, their quick recharge nullifies all our efforts.

  “Please explain something to me, Agent Seeker. What is so great about this world? We have destroyed most of the atmosphere and ecosystem. And now the mega corporations have enslaved the world even more than they did in the past two centuries. You’d think the people would learn, but no, they seem content with being told what to do. What is there to look forward to under such rule? Where is the freedom man once had?”

  “It may be an imperfect world, but people are alive; that should count for something.”

  “Is that what you think from the top floor of your crystal tower, eating fine food in your luxurious living quarters? Do you ever stop to think about how others are living? Or are you content with what you have and you don’t care that the majority lives in toilet-sized accommodations, eating insect protein bars as their main food intake?”

  That last hits home, of course, since I’ve asked myself such questions.

  “I’ve seen the size of your associate’s place downtown,” I retort. “You guys aren’t faring badly either, so spare me from your hypocritical bullshit.”

  “I don’t know what she sees in you, but well . . . I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

  What the feck does that mean? Is he working for someone else? Someone I’m supposed to know?

  “What are you talking about? Who are you referring to?” I demand, adding two rockets to my heavy rain of blaster fire at his craft.

  Kee
ping him engaged verbally does seem to diminish his evasive acrobatics, and we manage to bring down his shields down more.

  “You know very well who I’m talking about, Agent Seeker. You have seen her today; she is trying to make contact with you, but you’re so sure you know everything that instead of accepting the truth, you’re looking for a glitch in your own AI’s system.”

  “What is he talking about?” asks Tanya.

  “Couple of times before, your holo-image and vocals were replaced by another woman.”

  “Is that why you wanted me to run diagnostics?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Who did you see, Cole?”

  “Vassiliki.”

  “As in your dead wife Vassiliki?”

  “The one and only.”

  “How is that even possible?”

  “I wish I knew. Since it was a familiar face, I thought it had to be some sort of bug between your AI matrix and my neural link; some electro-neural leakage of some sort.”

  “That would be detected by my internal sensors, Cole. How sure are you that your wife is actually dead?”

  “One hundred percent sure, Tanya. She died in my arms.”

  There’s silence, but soon Ahmed breaks it.

  “She is very disappointed in you, Agent Seeker.”

  “Shut the feck up! You’re using her likeness to try to confuse me. Make no mistake, though. I will kill you!”

  My anger turns into a rage with the force of a thousand tsunamis. There’s so much adrenaline and testosterone flowing inside my body that it feels like it’s about to explode. I’ve never felt rage this intense before. My nemesis is talking to me about my dead wife as if she would know someone as vile as him. All I want to do is punch his head off.

  “I’m not deceiving you, Agent Seeker, but believe what you will. I told her you’re not the man she thinks you are. She got it into her head that you could actually be a force for change in this world, but you turned out to be the biggest thorn in the side of it as far as I’m concerned. Poor Vassiliki! She really believed in you.”

  “Don’t you dare utter her name! I’m going to pay for this.”

  “We’ll see about that, Agent Seeker; maybe you will, maybe you won’t. As resourceful and fearless as you are, you are blinded by the veil of lies that controls your entire existence, if one can call this existing, that is.”

  Each and every word he speaks is like venom spit onto me. It burns my insides and only fuels my hatred to the maximum.

  This has to be a trick. He’s gone through my file and found ways to exploit my weaknesses. There can’t be any other explanation.

  “Can’t there be?” says Tanya.

  “Don’t tell me you’re taking his side?”

  “Of course not, Cole, but you have to admit this is more than strange.”

  “It’s a desperate attempt to make me lose my shit so I make a mistake, designed only to provide him with an escape plan once more. Crafty bastard.”

  “Not to add insult to injury, Cole, but it seems to be working. Your vitals are all over the place—again; you’re definitely not your usual cool, albeit crazy, self. All signs point to you being completely out of control, and I don’t like this one bit. The mission objectives and their chances of success are low enough as it is, but they were calculated assuming you could keep a clear mind. In this compromised state, I just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

  Could Tanya be right? Could what Ahmed is doing be geared toward breaking my concentration, making sure I act emotionally instead of logically?

  Ahmed, once again, breaks the silence.

  “I have a proposal for you, Agent Seeker. If you’re so fearless, why don’t you prove it to me? Just the two of us, hand-to-hand combat. None of this tech shit we’re employing at the moment. Firing at each other is so uncivilized, don’t you agree?”

  “Sure thing, Ahmed. Land that craft of yours and let’s deal with this like men.”

  “Who said anything about landing? Both you and I are perfectly capable of fighting on our vehicles, but you need to ask your friend to back off of my craft.”

  This gives me an idea. While I know for a fact he has something up his sleeve and that this is some sort of ploy to get rid of me so he can finish his mission, perhaps we can use this to our advantage. In knowing this is a trap, I can use it to tip the scales.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Have your friend and drone stop firing upon my ship. I’ll deactivate my turrets as well. Then I will drop my shields. Then you and I can have our fight, but I want you to give me your word you’re not going to use that opportunity to shoot me instead. Let’s see if you’re a man of honor or just a dumb drone blinded and bought by the mega corporations. Prove me wrong.”

  I think about it. My word is my bond, so it’s not something I give willy-nilly. Though part of my tells me I have to finish this, even if it means I have to break of few rules, included some of my own.

  “You have my word,” I say between clenched teeth.

  Eleanor, please stop firing on my signal.

  What? Have you lost your mind? His shields are almost down now. Another three minutes and he’s history.

  Are we that close at shooting him down? Is it why Ahmed is using this new tactic? It doesn’t matter; if I can get my hands on him, I know I can send him straight to hell.

  Just do it please, Eleanor. Tanya, same for Drone Two; cease fire when I tell you.

  I sure hope you know what you’re doing Cole, says Tanya.

  Yeah, so do I.

  He’s gone loco is what has happened, says Eleanor. We almost had him!

  Eleanor, trust me.

  That’s the second time you’ve asked me this today, and I’m not much more confident this time around than I was at first. You’d better not be screwing with me, Cole. I don’t know what you have in mind, but you’d better have a good reason.

  I do. I will create a diversion by fighting him in hand-to-hand combat, and you need to use that opportunity to grab the data chip from him. Can you do that for me?

  And how exactly do you propose we do that?

  I’ll get the chip from him while we fight, then you grapple onto it. Think you can do that?

  Yeah, but why don’t we just blow him to bits instead? Wouldn’t that take care of all our problems?

  I know him, he might have contingencies in place. Something tells me this is important to him, and it could be invaluable to us to get access to whatever’s on that chip.

  That’s a lot of ifs, Cole, but, well, you’re the boss.

  Be ready to grab the chip the moment I send you the mental signal.

  Very well. Be careful.

  “So, Agent Seeker,” interrupts Ahmed. “Are we doing this or not?”

  “Cease fire, everyone, that’s an order,” I say over an open channel so Ahmed can hear.

  We all cease firing at Ahmed’s ship, and ten seconds later his shields are fully recharged. He drops them soon after, and a side door on his ship slides open. He swings from it and lands on the flat top of the medium-sized craft.

  My finger tightens around the trigger of my jet bike’s plasma cannons. I could take the shot now and kill him where he stands, save the day, and make sure that Ahmed is no more. I’m sure another fanatic zealot would take his place, yet the impulse to kill him is powerful.

  But I’ve given my word, something I never went back on before, and I ignore the voice inside my head screaming at me to just go back on my word and kill the bastard. On the other hand, I’ve bottled up way too much anger, and I need a way to channel it out my system. Beating Ahmed to a pulp with my bare fists seems like an appealing solution to that problem. I loosen my grasp on the trigger.

  I maneuver the bike and bring it in position to hover above Ahmed’s ship. He is standing tall, waiting for me, his hair blowing in the strong wind. I jump off the bike and mentally send it flying next to Ahmed’s fighter left wing. I land on Ahmed’s ship with ease, aided by dynamic control over m
y mag boots.

  I use my internal sensors to locate the data chip. It’s in Ahmed’s back pocket. No matter what, I need to acquire it. I should have listened to my instincts and beaten the shit out of Rasul and taken the chip without any fuss. But until Ahmed made contact, I had no way to make sure if this was really worth it.

  “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” I tell Ahmed.

  “I’m sure you have, Agent Seeker. If only you knew what I know though, your attitude toward me wouldn’t be the same.”

  “Keep the recruitment chat for someone who gives a shit. I am here to kill you, not to have a casual chat.”

  “If that’s all you want from this moment, then that’s all you’ll get,” he says, taking a fighting stance; he then fans and waves his fingers inviting me to make the first move.

  Eight

  Mission completion time: T minus 141 minutes

  I launch myself at Ahmed with a roundhouse kick to the face. He dodges it and swipes my grounded leg from under me with a low circular kick, sending me crashing on my back on the hard metallic top of his craft. I flip back into an upright position and dodge three of his punches, grabbing his arm on the last one, and using his momentum to smash him against the hard surface of his ship.

  Before Ahmed can get back up, I kick him in the stomach, forcing him to roll three times, and he nearly falls off the side of his craft. He regains his footing before I can press my advantage, and we’re both running toward each other. I throw a powerful right jab, and he does the same. Both fists cross, and we both get hit in the cheek. I get thrown backward and so does Ahmed. We get back up and look at each other for a moment.

  I can feel my heart pumping blood and thumping in my chest. I feel the urge to activate one of my repulsors and burn the sucker, but I have given my word. Not to mention I’m nowhere near satisfied with how much hatred still boils inside my soul. I need to exorcize it all, by spilling this man’s blood.