Chapter 19
The prison was in utter chaos, but most of the inmates were caught by the euals, and pressed back into their cages, including Matthew’s men. Elaine learned quickly that not only were Isaac and Todd dead, but the euals she reprogrammed also killed Blake. Colin was missing, and Philip was found cowering in some waste container. Tannis told her that a call for help had gone out, and that within one hour reinforcements should arrive. She headed back to her suite with Oliver, when something stopped her.
“What is it?” asked Oliver.
Elaine stood still, glancing at one of the doors that had a camera on top. She could see the power was down, as it hung lifeless and without the small glow of the status light. She crept closer, her eyes darting back and forth, half-expecting Blake to appear out of nowhere. Finally she stood close to the door, and ran her hands along its surface, as Oliver looked on, confused.
She muttered, “I’ll never get another chance like this.”
“What is it?”
“This door leads somewhere—somewhere I’ve never been.”
Oliver understood her meaning. “Then let’s go. “
They forced open the door with strong, eager hands and the butt of a gun, revealing a dank, brick-lined passageway with a few dim overhead lights guiding their way.
“We can’t be careful about this,” said Elaine. “We need to move as quickly as possible. Those reinforcements could be here anytime, and when full power comes up, the system will come up, and we’ll be done.”
“I’m with you. Let’s move.”
The corridor was narrow and dank, with pools of stagnant water along its length. They ran at breakneck speed, knowing they would never get another chance. Elaine felt like she needed to crouch down, even though the ceiling gave her ample room. She could feel it was leading them away from the prison in an almost straight line.
If this is behind this door, what’s behind the others?
The corridor began a downward slope after they had been running for a few minutes, eventually running into stairs. They could make out a door just ahead, metal, with a sunken-in center and framed with large rivets.
“Must be a blast door,” grunted Oliver. “Hope it opens—I’d hate to have come all this way for nothing.”
They came to a stop in front of it. Oliver pushed it with his shoulder, and he felt it give a little.
“Gimme a hand.”
They both pressed on it with all their weight, and after a few tries, it finally opened wide enough for them both to slip through. A cloud of dust rushed out, and for a moment, they both choked on it. As they went through, Elaine noticed the room they entered was older than the corridor. She could see signs of construction at the entrance.
“This place is old,” said Oliver, as he managed to take a good breath. “I feel as though . . . like I remember this place.”
The room was a large one, with a vaulted ceiling and thin arches rising from the floor and meeting in the center. Several consoles were arranged together as if it were a command center, with one chair set higher than the others, and a large display set in front of them all. Oliver walked along the lower consoles.
“These screens must be either voice or touch activated.” He examined them closer. “Voice activated—I see the microphone.”
Elaine could feel revelation was close, and shouted; “system, identify!”
“I am . . .” replied the machine, with the last words unintelligible.
“Repeat, and enhance the resolution of your voice processors.”
“I am Axe-Nine,” replied the machine, in a clearer, male voice.
“Are your display screens functional?” pressed Elaine.
“Checking . . . checking . . . work console three is active.”
“Illuminate, and display home page.”
A screen nearby came to life, with an insignia of some clawed creature bearing its teeth set on a blue-colored diamond background.
“That’s . . . that’s the emblem of the intelligence wing of the Imperium!” cried Oliver, as more memories flooded back.
“Do you remember any commands?”
“No,” he shrugged miserably. “It’s just as more is revealed so more of my mind clears.”
“What is your function, Axe-9?” asked Elaine.
“I serve as database.”
“And what data is within you?”
“Maps, troop disbursements, financial records, personnel files, strategy for—”
“Wait—personnel files?”
“Yes,” replied Axe-9.
“Display hierarchy of the Imperium, limit to upper seventy-five members.”
The screen flickered, as the command was processed.
“Select display option.”
“Damn, I hate machines,” said Oliver. “Slideshow – speed five seconds.”
An image appeared on the screen.
“President, Mary Abraham.”
Oliver took a deep breath as he remembered more of his mother. Elaine also recognized the face, but for her, it held little sentiment.
“Vice-President, Matthias Ruliche,” said Axe-9, as a picture of Matthew came up.
“At least we know we're right, and not insane.”
Elaine smiled slyly. “I never doubted us.”
“Lucas Druche, General-prime. Oliver Abraham, Senator-prime.”
“Axe-9, do you have optical sensors?”
“Yes.”
“Recognize my face.”
A scanning laser appeared out from two corners of the room, passing over her face, and moments later, a picture of her appeared on the screen.
“Senator Iona, daughter of President Abraham, sister to Senator Oliver.”
Suddenly Elaine felt something in the pit of her stomach.
“Axe-9, display top three-hundred pictures of Imperium hierarchy, thumbnail view, on one page.”
Instantly they appeared. Oliver and Elaine recognized many from the prisoners they had worked with. Elaine scanned down the entire page, but didn’t find what she was looking for.
“Damn!”
“What is it?” asked Oliver, suddenly worried.
“I don’t see Ronald. Axe-9, do you have access to the files of the system located in the structure adjacent to this room?”
“Working . . . working . . . infiltrating system hierarchy . . . working . . .”
“Come on, come on!”
“Working . . . bridge achieved. Link stable. Access achieved.”
“Access, and find the file for Ronald . . . Ronald . . . shit! I don't know his last name.”
“Ronald Friedlauer,” said Oliver. “I have a very good memory.”
“Done.”
“Is he in your database?” asked Elaine, now equal parts anxious and frightened.
“Yes.”
“Show record.”
Ronald’s picture came up, surrounded by a red background. Elaine read some of the text beneath.
Lucius Heeld: a convicted mass-murderer before being recruited by the Imperium as a spy. Convinced by Union agents to switch sides, he served as one of the most notorious double-agents, suspected in the murders of several dozen Generals and Senators in the Imperium. One of the most intelligent and persuasive of the Union spies, he excelled at gaining confidence of his victims. He has been called ‘the empathizer,’ as his tactic as a murderer was to gain the trust of his victims by learning of their problems, commiserating, then killing.
Elaine stumbled back from the screen. “I let him go? I risked my life . . . for him?”
Oliver sat in a chair, unable to speak, unable to help her.
What kind of fool am I? A cackling roar surfaced from the deep recesses in her mind, building from a dim noise to a deafening roar.
“No!” she screamed, “it can’t be!” Oliver tried to hold her, but she pushed him away, screaming and wailing. “I let him touch me – I let him sleep with me! Who am I to have been that stupid?!”
She kep
t screaming, until Oliver knocked her unconscious, giving her temporary peace.
Chapter 20
Elaine woke in some dreamscape, lying in a warm darkness.
“How could I be responsible for so much death?” she asked herself. “I thought I had changed, thought I was able to reject what I once was.”
The voice inside her screamed in her mind; you can never reject me – I am a part of you. I am you, before you ever were!
“No longer! You know you have longed to change – I can feel it inside you. I can feel the hatred you had of yourself –”
Shut up!
“I can feel even that you tried . . . you tried – to kill yourself!”
“No!” screamed the old Agilia, breaking down. An echo of herself appeared in front of Elaine, glowing softly, resting on her knees. Dressed in a black uniform that spoke of murder, Elaine approached cautiously.
“You did, didn’t you? You tried to get yourself killed, tried to take the worst assignments you possibly could. But this power inside you, this ability to avoid danger, kept you alive, even when you wanted to die.”
“Yes! Yes, it’s true. My hands are so soaked with blood, they will never be clean.”
“They why refuse me? Why refuse this life, where there is . . . balance, where there is some calm. Where there is even . . . hope.”
“Because I’ve failed,” said Agilia quietly. “I tried to change the world, tried to make things better, but I failed, and ended up there, as you.”
“You can’t change the world, make things better for others, when you can’t even change yourself.” Elaine reached out her hand. “Apparently I have been imprisoned for six years. Six years! Perhaps . . . perhaps you were sent, into me, to finally break me free.”
“And yet I have failed. Miserably. A traitor has escaped, and we still remain in bonds.”
“It is irrelevant. We, that is, I, am stronger because of you. With this union of you and I, we just might not only escape, but accomplish the task you were sent to do.”
Agilia stood, and looked in her own face. “Why are you so different than me?”
“Am I really that different? Or would you have become me, if you grew up and lived in a different time, a different place.” Elaine drew Agilia closer. “Come, let us become one.”
“I . . . I think I’d like that.”
They stepped into one another, and their bodies glowed with a terrible light. Agilia’s memories fleshed out Elaine’s, while Elaine’s emotional health strengthened Agilia. The newly formed woman stumbled, almost fell, then with Oliver’s help she steadied herself, and stood tall.
THE END
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