The World After (2 page)

October 2025

Hong Kong

Taylor and Jinhun were quickly pulling off the wet diving suits on a narrow stretch of beach. The neon lights of Hong Kong flickered across the dark sand but the two men didn't have time to enjoy their surroundings.

“Hurry up, a few minutes is all they need to locate us,” the Chinaman said, kicking away the diving suit. Without further delay, Jinhun made his way to the small car park just above the beach. Taylor followed him silently. Just as he stepped on the concrete steps leading to the car park, the beach was illuminated by the powerful lights coming from the two police cutters heading at full speed towards it.

The two men started running and hid as best they could between the few cars around. Leaning their backs against one futuristic looking Hyundai, they caught their breath.

“That is our car.” Jinhun pointed towards a dusty black Audi Q7 parked about ten feet away. This type of old vehicle was an extreme rarity in the modern world; the last time Taylor recalled actually seeing one of those on the road was during a parade of old cars that didn't have autopilots or computer operated engines and were actually able to operate without commands from a brain implant. One of the main reasons why millions volunteered to be chipped back in 2017 was that, simultaneously, all big car manufacturers started producing their new models with computer chips that could only be accessed by people with brain implants.

The floodlights from the fast approaching police cutters lit the car park. With sirens also easily distinguishable now from the dark sky and the busy road up ahead, the two fugitives knew that they must act fast.

“Let's go,” Jinhun said and, without waiting for his partner, ran as fast as he could towards the Audi. Taylor followed suit. Despite the short burst of fire that came from the boats, they made it safely to the car. It took them less than two seconds to jump in. Jinhun started the engine while Taylor was fastening his seatbelt, a commodity that, once again, couldn't be found in any cars produced after 2020 since, in the modern world, suckers were keeping the passengers pinned to their seats. The big jeep-like vehicle came to life with a roar, but Jinhun managed to shout over it, “We must cross the border with China as fast as possible and make our way to the Base.”

The Audi accelerated out of the car park, crashing into the barrier and breaking it into thousands of pieces. Jinhun turned the wheel sharply and caused three smoothly moving computer-operated vehicles to also turn sharply and grind to a halt. He headed in the opposite direction away from the blue lights of the fast approaching police cars. The hectic Hong Kong traffic was designed to keep all cars in certain lanes, depending on the speed they were maintaining, Jinhun used this to his advantage very well and, using some risky maneuvers, he started weaving his way towards the hill beyond which was China.

“How will we get past the barriers?” Taylor asked.

He was referring to the traffic-control barriers which had been introduced four years earlier in every country member of the UN in order to monitor and control traffic jams and speed among the rapidly rising amount of drivers on the roads. Of course, the main idea of these barriers was to collect more tax. Machines automatically scanned the brain implant of the driver and, after that, authorized the traffic authorities to collect the tax from the driver's bank account. The barriers were placed two miles apart within every city and ten miles apart on the highways.

“You will see.” Jinhun grinned at him while still overtaking cars that were moving a great deal slower than the Audi.

Barely a minute had passed since they left the car park.They could tell without looking that the police cars were closing on them. The sounds of the sirens were increasing constantly. Taylor's eyes closed in fear as the flashing sign for the barrier up ahead warned him what was coming. He squeezed the handle of the door so hard that his knuckles turned white.

“Calm down,” Jinhun said, spotting that. “The local police and authorities don't worry me. In no matter what state Russia and the USA are, they still have the best prepared and equipped agents.”

“I know.” Taylor's eyes were fixed on the fast approaching nano-steel strengthened barrier that was just a few yards ahead of them now. He knew that the obstacle ahead of them had one single weakness – fire – and no matter how heavy a vehicle was, it simply couldn't break it. His hand squeezed the handle even tighter.

The Audi was suddenly illuminated by a helicopter that appeared right above them. Two police cars weaved through the traffic and made their way right up behind the car. The wail of the sirens seemed to have angered the gods and a downpour started again. Jinhun made a dangerous maneuver to squeeze the Audi through two other cars and, with nothing left between them and the barrier, he stepped on the accelerator. Taylor closed his eyes.

* * *

William Grant and Shimi Levy's flight had just taken off from Dallas with a loud roar from its ultramodern engine that blasted hot air through the two massive cooling turbines just under the tail. The AX1C had left the tarmac just over ten minutes earlier, but it was already flying through the air at over a thousand miles per hour. This was hardly half of the full capacity of the massive engine. Levy's order was to reach their goal ASAP. The pilot estimated that if he pushed the plane to fly at eighty percent of its capabilities they should land in Sao Paolo in two hours.

Directors Grant and Levy were sitting in comfortable armchairs in the spacious passenger lounge. The room looked more like the interior of a seven-star hotel than a plane. The newest technological gadgets and all sorts of equipment were spread over two medieval mahogany desks in the far corner, while the two occupied armchairs were placed next to a table of heavy Venetian glass, all of that sitting comfortably on top of the finest Persian carpet money could buy.

Shimi Levy was a man that forgot what it was to live an ordinary life a long time ago; and despite decades spent in different Agencies and Special Military Units, he was used to luxury. Levy was an ancestor of a famous banking family that set foot on American soil at the beginning of the twentieth century. With rapid speed, every generation of the opportunistic Jewish family created a multibillion empire that eventually crashed when the first part of the New World Order's implementation started. Shimi Levy felt no remorse about causing major financial losses to his family. He swore many years earlier that one day he would avenge the strict, bordering on torturous, education he was given by the private teachers hired with the sole purpose of keeping his boisterous character under control. As a boy, Shimi Levy was a dreamer that was even involved in a series of anti-war demonstrations before his values and beliefs changed with time. Shimi befriended the future director of the CIA, and this friendship and the feelings that developed between Levy and his friend's sister shaped the man that turned into the main leader and icon of the New World Order.

The tireless, grey eyes of Shimi Levy studied with cold precision the flashing list of recent assignments for Agent MacGeady.

“Stop,” he said just as William Grant was about to scroll down the long list. “Tell me more about this mission in La Pas from two months ago.”

Grant cleared his throat and in a passive voice started to explain, “One of our informers in the region gave us an update for a small village near La Pas in which about sixty families without brain implants were living. The village is actually located in the Bolivian rainforest.” Grant gave a command with his implant and a small red dot marking the place appeared on the screen. “The mission was a success. From nearly two hundred inhabitants, only three escaped; everyone else was captured and chipped before being sent for the standard five-year punishment in the working camps in California.” Grant drank from a glass of açaí berry juice and continued, “Of course, a hunt was organized for the capture of the three escapees. After two days of hide-and-seek in the jungle, two dead bodies were found. The terrain there is relentless, as you know very well. Even with all our equipment and training, the agents struggled to make serious progress through the thick vegetation. Nevertheless, the last survivor managed to escape somehow. Agent MacGeady followed him personally all the way to La Pas, but this was where he lost his trail. MacGeady spent a whole week searching for clues, but all he could find out was that the fugitive had been helped by the Yuyuan.”

Levy's face remained expressionless, but a fleeting shadow ran across it when his colleague mentioned the last name. Yuyuan was the most well-organized resistance group of the untraceables and, naturally, enemy number one of the Agency. The members of this organization were reported to be from all areas of society and many of them with impressive backgrounds – ex-military, physicists, chemists, biologists, computer specialists, engineers, and many others. Founded in China and India the moment the obligatory chipping of the population was introduced, the organization attracted at least forty thousand members under its wings. The latest reports suggested that currently Yuyuan had significant financial and technological resources. In fact, they also suggested that its members had developed some kind of ultramodern weapon, which was highly possible considering the fact that latest estimates suggested that this final core of rebels have at their disposal over six tons of pure gold.

The Agency had lost a significant number of operatives over the years in their endless attempts to destroy the organization. The constant failures showed how well-equipped, trained and hard to find the Yuyuan members were.

“Who was the one that got away? Did you identify him?” Levy asked.

Grant's nervous eyes tried to look anywhere but at Levy before answering with a voice close to a whisper. “Yes, the videos from the attack over the village left no doubt about his identity. The escapee was Taylor Swansea.”

This name brought a shiver to the normal icy calmness of Shimi Levy. He jumped out of his armchair. The brainstorm that developed in his head affected the lights, and they started flickering. The mixed signals also reached their chip-reacting computers, causing confusion. Shimi Levy ground his teeth for yet another time, as the mentioning of Taylor Swansea caused serious upset to the Director of the Agency for Tracking the Untraceables. His voice colder than an Alaskan winter filled the room, “Show me the videos. All of them.”

* * *

The Audi flew out of a cloud of dust and debris as Jinhun used all his driving skills to stabilize the vehicle and avoid a collision with the many other cars that had ground to a halt the moment the loud explosion that hit the barrier was heard. Just a second earlier, Taylor closed his eyes, ready for the inevitable-looking collision; but somehow they were through and speeding up the road once again.

“Just had a little help.” Jinhun grinned.

For Taylor, it was clear that someone from a nearby skyscraper's roof had blown up the barrier just before they reached it. He was really surprised that such high-tech military equipment was in the hands of his new friend and partners. Taylor had heard of the existence of missile shotguns, but he had never seen one.

There was no time for further thoughts, though. Just as the Audi sped past the first side street, two police cars raced out of the next turn, and hitting the brakes to turn their cars sideways, they blocked the road ahead. Jinhun reacted very quickly, and using all his energy, he turned sharply. With a squeal from the tires, the Audi squeezed into the side street from which the two police cars had just emerged. Bullets started ricocheting from the back window and the roof, sounding very similar to hailstones. With no broken glass or holes in the roof to be seen, Taylor realized that this was no ordinary Audi.

“Bullet-proof. A gift from our engineers.” Jinhun smiled at him.

The narrow side street soon led to another busy six-lane road and, with the skill of a top-class rally driver, Jinhun maneuvered the heavy car through two gaps in the traffic and joined the fast lane. It took two police cars less than two minutes to get on their tail, and Taylor noticed that the next barrier was approaching fast. He seriously doubted that even the men from the Yuyuan could put a man with a highly sophisticated weapon on every barrier in Hong Kong.

Suddenly the whole car shook violently, and they lost a lot of their speed.

“They are trying to pull us up with a magnetic net,” Jinhun shouted over the roaring engine that was desperately battling against the drags coming from the helicopter hovering right above them. “If they manage to lift us from the ground, we're finished,” he added while rummaging with his left hand in the glovebox. Soon he found what he was looking for and tossed it to Taylor.

The red-haired man looked at the knife, which he recognized as a tool for cutting steel ropes. The small, useful knife had been used mainly in the shipping industry for the past decade, and without needing explanations, Taylor knew what was expected of him.

Jinhun made short sharp turns left and right just to keep the car on the ground, but their seriously decreased speed allowed four police cars to draw very near. Taylor didn't waste more time and pulled himself out of the side window. He used the full length of his arm to grasp one of the octopus-like stooges attached to the roof of the car and climb between them. His red hair streamed in the raging wind, the pouring rain washing his face with waves of cold water.

Two of the police cars drew nearer, and Taylor immediately saw that he was in big trouble. The officers next to the drivers aimed their guns out of the side windows, and left with no cover or options, Taylor closed his eyes expecting the inevitable shower of bullets that would have put an end to everything. He heard the distinctive sound of a machine gun, but to his surprise, nothing else followed. Taylor opened his eyes and saw that bullets coming his way were veering left and right and hitting the base of the ropes attached to the car.

He realized it was the powerful magnets on the end of the eight ropes in-between which he was huddled that attracted the metal bullets, and this perfect magnetic shield kept his life. However, being protected from the bullets fired at him was one thing. With the Audi's constant loss of speed and the ropes tightening by the second, the situation required quick actions.