Metal Deep: Infinite - Metal Wing: Episode 5 (4 page)
Read Metal Deep: Infinite - Metal Wing: Episode 5 Online
Authors: GX Knight
I broke out into a run down the middle of the street toward the rear police unit. My feet slapped against the pavement and I felt every stinging footfall shoot needles of pain up my leg. I was sore, but I was determined. I had played Laser Ball while injured plenty of times. This was no different.
They were too busy looking where their light shined to notice me behind them. I consider this to be a flaw, and I would take advantage of it. I was confident, but I had to hurry. The first patrol unit, a car, turned left at the T-intersection. The utility vehicle I was chasing was preparing to turn right, but a darting cat caught their attention. This caused the pause I needed. I pushed my body harder than I should. My side ached, my bandages were painfully twisting around my burns, and my stupid face still felt like I had a thousand crawling bugs nesting inside it. Despite that, I made it to the objective, and with a quiet leap just before the vehicle started moving, I managed to precariously find footing on the rear bumper. It took some of my crazy balance training to get on there without shaking the vehicle, and even more to keep from falling off.
I crouched just under the window. I hazarded enough of a glimpse to see there was only the one officer. He was so intently focused on his search light, I knew that he was going to be the baby, and I was going to make his ride the candy I steal.
After we turned down another avenue, I held on to the bumper, and with my good arm, I hit the back fender as hard as I could. I pulled my arm back just in time to be missed by the light that darted toward the back of the vehicle. He slowed, but not enough. The light lingered on the corner for a just for a moment, and then it went back to scanning the streets. I couldn’t help but to laugh at this guy. He was looking so hard, but he was missing what happening right under his nose. I thumped the fender again and got the same response. He paused, looked, and then went back to his scanning. I gave him another two storefronts before I finally just yelled, “Hey!” If that wasn’t going to get him out, nothing was.
Sure enough, the door swung open and I heard a very eager set of boots hit the ground. Feeling lighter than snow, I slid off the back, still crouching, and backed toward the passenger side of the vehicle. The guy was looking all around, but when he found nothing he went for the sidewalk. After he put a few more paces between us, I reached up, lifted the handle, and as quietly as I could, cracked the passenger door open. I was going to just
borrow
his ride. He could have it back when I was done.
Little did I expect the small heavy boot that caught me right on the left cheek. I fell to the cold ground and groaned in concert the rippling waves of hurt that rolled from the epicenter of my face.
A small female guard who had been crouching down in the seat, so that I couldn’t see her from the back window, stood over me. She had a weapon in one hand and an infrared scanner in the other.
She made no attempt to hide her prideful smile. “Did you really think you could hide from us?”
“What is your name?” The male guard asked me after they had me handcuffed and placed in the back of their utility vehicle. We were driving to the nearest police station, but at a slow cruising speed. Their attention was half on me and half on the buildings along the rest of their route.
“What’s yours?” I responded.
“We’re not playing.” The guard explained, “Do you have any idea how long people are going to jail for the breach in curfew? They make the sentences in decades, not years. Cooperation would behoove you. Everyone is considered potential terrorists at this point.”
“I just woke up,” I said. I didn’t like the curfew thing, but to hear of how the system was being abused. Sending violators away for
decades?
I knew the general liked his control, but that seemed a bit ridiculous. “I’ve been out of it for a while, but it sounds like you’ve got yourself a nice little empire here. So much for a free and democratic society.”
The female officer with the iron boot chimed in, “Nobody likes it, but would you rather have more bombers out there on the street?”
“No, I love them,” I said sarcastically. “How do you think I got so banged up?”
“Me, kicking your face?” The female goaded.
“Try an exploding cake.”
The guy guard seemed like a genuine fellow, “I’m sorry, but we still are required to process you.”
“Who are you?” The girl asked, “Why have I felt like I’ve seen you somewhere before?”
There were times when being famous was handy. “Rayce Rycard,” I said flatly. “Of the Boom.”
“Yeah, and I’m Queen of Indreni,” she mocked. She looked a little angry, “And I don’t think that’s very funny.”
I laughed a dark laugh that brought the smell of dead friends back. My stomach churned, and I did everything I could not to expel my last horrific experience of hospital meat all over their back seat. “I don’t think it’s funny either. I’m the one who lost my friends and ended up unconscious in a hospital.”
We screeched to a stop. The lady looked confused as the other guard jumped out, opened my door, and ordered me to get out. I had just started warming up when the sudden chill skittered across my skin like a giant stabbing spider. I did what the guy said, and the girl joined him as my back was placed against the vehicle. The both pulled their flashlights, shined them right in my eyes, and just stared at me for an uncomfortably long amount of time.
“I saw every game this past season,” the guy said to his partner like I wasn’t even there, “I think it’s him.”
“No way, he’s taller.”
“I’m telling you it is.”
“But he was reported to have died along with the rest of the team.”
“Well that wouldn’t be the first lie we’ve been given from the administration since this whole mess started.”
“You have a point there.”
“What should we do with him?” He asked.
“I don’t know.” The girl looked concerned. “Remember when Patrol Five got transferred and then disappeared the next day when Admin found out they were documenting inconsistencies over the reasoning for the extreme measures being taken?”
“If we know that he’s alive…”
I decided to finish this conversation about me that I had yet to be invited to join, “…Then they’ll likely have you
reassigned
to protect the information.” I decided to overplay things a little and bend the rules of my classified job, “I am part of the military, you know. Would you like to know you’re interfering with highly sensitive workings? That could be bad for you both.”
They exchanged knowing glances and then immediately took me out of my cuffs. Not that any of that wasn’t true. If I had been declared dead it was for a reason. I didn’t want to damage whatever plan General Wyld was cooking with that particular piece of misinformation. At least I don’t think I do. I am not of fan of how he’s running the show. My only hope is that when I get back to base I can get some solid intel on what’s happening.
They looked terrified, and I was finding it somewhat amusing. Not since the playoffs two years ago when we demolished the Wild Cards had I seen such looks of futility. I smiled at them and climbed back in the back seat. “Come on,” I said. “I like you, so give me a ride to where I need to go, and then we can all forget we saw each other.”
They jumped in the vehicle and tore off in the direction I told them to drive as if their lives depended on it. I was going to enjoy being dead.
I told the guards to drop me off at field on the perimeter of the base. It was a well-known “sneak in” spot for troops who needed to get back to base late without checking in. Chances were good that it was monitored, but so long as it wasn’t overly abused, the powers-that-be were happy to allow the flexibility for those few in-the-know. That was the rumor anyway. Considering you had to traverse the base’s dumping ground, I’m sure they got a laugh knowing people had to sift and navigate through a sea of garbage.
The base had been extra quiet. I could only assume everybody had been deployed for Wyld’s big crackdown on freedom. Getting some wheels from the motor pool was easy enough. Before long I was zooming down the “abandoned” road that led to Spec-Ops. I spent the drive wondering how I was going to get past that fence and guard, fortunately the question was answered when I found General Wyld, arms folded, standing in front of the gate like he had been expecting me.
The old general looked tired and angry. Not angry at me, just mad at the world. It was a feeling we shared, and each knew it. I left my stolen motor pool acquisition there and followed him in after he nodded for me to join him.
Before I left on leave, I had spent a huge chunk of my time in classrooms, when not honing my fighting skills. I had not seen any piece of the new experimental equipment they were planning on issuing me. To say that I was still untested was an understatement. General Wyld didn’t seem to care anymore as he rushed me past the training halls and took me back into the “Clockworks.” It was the inner workings of Spec-Ops. I was not supposed to be allowed to go into the Clockworks until I passed an array of proficiency exams. Apparently those had been canceled, because I stood deep in the heart of it all. I found myself trying to keep my extremely sore jaw from dropping as we silently moved into the bustle of countless laboratories and testing ranges. This was where the deadliest weapons on the planet were being created.
We stopped at the end of a hall and entered a pitch black room. The General said nothing until the door was closed and small light burned a dull blue up in the corner. “You’re dead,” he said as soon as the door was sealed. “Your hand selected hospital staff was cleared to know this. Those two patrol officers that brought you here were not.”
Five thousand questions gridlocked at my mouth. I had no idea where to even start. The more immediate concern was for the two cops who knew the government secret. “They’ve already agreed to keep quiet.” I was learning what happened to people who came across government items of business that were not meant to be known. It never ended well for them.
“For their sake, I hope they do,” Wyld said. “Regardless, it’s good to see you on your feet. I’m surprised you were spry enough to get back to base with minimal fuss. I’m feeling more confident concerning your selection.”
“It would have been easier to get here if I didn’t have to navigate
your
police state out there.” My tone may have been accusatory. If anybody had a right to be in arms against terrorist it was me, but I didn’t see the point in locking down entire cities to preserve “freedom” and safety.
The General switched on his military voice, “I’m afraid that’s above your pay-grade,
Captain
. Your job is to follow orders. As a soldier you don’t have the luxury of second guessing command decisions. Is that understood?”
I plopped down in one of the two chairs that were separated by a small square table. It was lightly brushed with blue tint from the corner light so that it looked like it had a slight glow to it. I didn’t feel soldierly, and for the first time I really didn’t feel like playing Wyld’s military game. I could salute, shoot their weapons, and shine my brass later. First, I wanted to know about Star. “Where’s your daughter?” I asked pointedly. “What’s happened?”
General Wyld took the other seat, and in a rare display of humanity, he let his forehead fall into hands. He braced on the table as he slouched from the weight of the question. “She’s going to live,” he said. “But she’s still in a coma.”
“I want to see her,” I demanded.
His head popped up and he just looked at me with a stare that shot a thousand yards, and then some.
“Please?” I added.
He shook his head, “In time. Since you’re obviously mobile, I have an assignment for you first. We’re skipping proficiencies. You’re about to get on the job training with your new toys.”
“Field duty with no shakedown?” I balked.
“That equipment has seen more trials than you have. The tough sell isn’t putting the gear out there… It’s putting
you
out there. Unfortunately, as sad as it is to say, you’re the most qualified, outside our scientists, to use it. With the impending threat of an escalated war in the wake of the bombings, you’re our best hope for stopping this madness before things get worse.”
“
Then
can I see Starshine?”
“We’ll see. She needs to focus on recovery after she wakes. It’s not going to be easy for her, and I don’t know that having you around as a distraction would be overly helpful. But I’m not without heart,” my Scam-O-Meter red-lighted quick as he spoke, “You do well, get this war over for us, and I’ll make sure you’re at her side when you get back.”
I shot up to attention, “Then let’s do this.”
General Wyld’s smile was wide and confident. He seemed certain that he could keep me under his thumb by dangling the carrot of his daughter in front of me. My own smile threatened to appear as I thought about just how wrong he was.