Chapter 5: The Forgotten People
As opposed to the dank, bleak corridors that make up Sub-Kyoto, bereft of all traces of human life other than the occasional beer can and newspaper, Megaopolis teems with activity. It seems as if every street corner has some vendor selling products to the general public, aircars mingle above the throngs of foot traffic on the thoroughfares and boulevards, and most people have smiles plastered on their faces. But still, the taste of war is still fresh in my mouth like blood. I know most people can still feel it too. After the Gamilon base at Pluto was wiped out, our war ended overnight. But its side effects, the real danger, remained. I can believe we've been above ground for less than five months.
"Sam?" Malaya looked over at me. I glanced back. Even in her dress uniform Malaya looked combat-ready, tense, primed. Amongst the sea of pedestrians in the "Victory Garden" (otherwise known as the Isoroku Yamamoto Public Greenbelt, a five mile long corridor placed within the city's center) Malaya and I sat on a bench facing the EDF Central Command office.
"Yeah. Sorry. Just adding a bit to the next chapter. Give me a second." Even though the tube trains and Yamaha hoverscooters had a distinctly urbanized Japan feel about them, I couldn't help but picture Dayton as it was, all those years ago. The humid air, the masses of people, it all contributed to a very American city. I looked back up at Malaya. She still looked anxious, as always, probably because of the meeting ahead.
"I think that can wait a minute. Listen, whatever you do in that meeting, don't flat out accuse her of being in charge of it. That's not going to get us any closer to solving this whole deal."
"Yeah, yeah. I wasn't planning on walking in there, guns blazing. I'd advise you to do the same to Commander Stone, though I doubt he'll even show up. Drunken asshole." Stone had a somewhat notorious reputation for drinking off-duty, attributing much to the boneheaded, trigger-happy deputy commander of the EDF. Most officers simply got out of his way whenever he actually came to work, as he normally had a terrible hangover. Malaya laughed. Despite our collective terror, I felt as though both of us were going to enjoy our meetings, regardless of who conducted them.
"I hope you know what you've discovered down there, Sergeant," Commander Nakano looked across the table at me, holding a mug full of piping-hot Java Roast in one hand and a datapad in the other. "Because we don't have any records of its existence. If you believe that it's EDF, facility, then I don't know if we can help you." I smiled slightly. The tightrope I walked was a very thin one, and it seemed like Nakano was at the other end, readying a butcher's knife to slice it, sending me tumbling into the abyss. None of us knew if she had known about the facility's construction, and the very fact that she had overseen a similar project made her a prime suspect in this whole ordeal.
"Commander, with my highest praise for your handling of the DSPF project-"
"-Forget the ego stroking Hudson. I want answers." She cut me off.
"Well, I'd be able to give them to you if you would let me finish my sentence, ma'am."
"Yes, but there'd be no point. I knew what you were going to say." I was puzzled. Why was she toying with me?
"And that would be?"
"You must have some connection to the facility that we discovered."
"Actually, no."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm not pinning any blame on you, ma'am. The evidence we found at the facility was too inconclusive to suspect any one EDF officer."
"But you suspect the EDF nonetheless."
"Yes ma'am."
"So why did you call this meeting?"
"Wait, what?"
"Commander Stone informed me that you had requested to see me at my earliest convenience. When I asked him to see the request in ink he forwarded me this." She held out her datapad across the table. I took it in my right hand and looked down at the screen. Sure enough, a request had been filed under my name to meet with her.
"That can't be right. I was only informed of this meeting through the DA. He said you wanted to speak with me about the facility." I stopped for a second, hearing a large amount of movement out in the hallway. Nakano must have heard it as well, as she started clearing her desk and opened a drawer out of sight to her right. "Something's going on out there. Hold on for a second." I whispered, and walked to the closed portal. Without making a sound, I cracked the door open, just enough to peer through. At the end of the corridor, a guard stood at attention, almost glowing underneath the recessed incandescent lights.
A muffled shot rang out, then two, then a multitude of fire from all directions filled the narrow hallway, ricocheting off of walls and portraits, charring the wallpaper black. The guard, not even having time to finish drawing his pistol, took two shots to the chest and collapsed dead. Silhouettes of armed men, visible in the light, approached the corner from the other side, their weapons brandished like teeth. I looked around the room desperately for another exit. Besides the window, leading hundreds of feet down to the city below, there was none. Nakano had pulled out her astro automatic and was crouching behind her desk. I, closing the door silently, made a mad dash for her position and took out my comlink. But only static greeted my unwavering gaze.
I swore under my breath. Communications were cut off. No sirens emanated from below, as evidently no one had gotten the word out about the building's status. Whoever they were, it was clear they were out for blood. Motioning at Nakano to duck beneath the table, I took out my gun and aimed it at the door. A few seconds later, a gun barrel poked through the opening, and after a tense moment, the door burst open, swarming with at least 5 heavily armed, uniformed men. With Nakano on my right, we slid out from underneath the desk, pumping shot after shot into the assembled interlopers as they opened fire on us with their own guns, but, running out of ammo, I ducked back into the temporary abode. I looked over at the commander, who had done the same just moments after me. Her face, wet with sweat and blood from a graze wound to her forehead, was twisted in anger. I, not wanting to be on the receiving end of whatever wrath she had building inside her, peeked my head around the desk again. On the ground, five corpses lay still, smoking holes denoting the locations where our guns had found their marks. I signaled to Nakano, 'all clear', and moved towards the closest body.
His uniform was gray like mine, lightly armored with carbon fiber plates on his chest, legs and arms, hardly enough to stop a projectile from embedding itself into his heart, as mine had. No logo appeared on his armor to help identify what faction he was from, in fact there was no identification on him at all. His helmet, however, had a small, barely visible number underneath its rearmost cooling vent. In tiny, black print, there was what looked like a serial number that read "100520". Taking the helmet off, the dead militant's face came into view. He was young, Chinese and, in lieu of any indicators, it looked like he hadn't been above ground in a long while. His skin, unusually pale, even for modern standards, was marred by a pair of horrible scars on his left side, and underneath the armor, I could tell that he was virtually emaciated.
"Commander, what are the signs of someone who has been in stasis?"
"Well, the skin would be paler than usual, and there would be several scars along his or her arms denoting where IV and vitamin tubes were placed. Not much else." She was visibly shaking. I doubt that she had ever had seen action like this before.
"Alright. When they take these boys down to the coroner's office, have them do a full body scan on him, looking for any traces of nutrient fluid in his bloodstream." She nodded. The other four bodies were splayed around the entryway, encouraging further incursions into Nakano's chambers, but none appeared. Slowly, I advanced towards the doorway, my Astro Automatic out and primed. I wasn't taking any chances this time. As I poked my head out into the hallway, a shape moved to my right, about 30 feet down. Like me, the form was hunched taking cover in the doorway. I called out to it. "Is there anybody there? I'm armed and trigger-happy."
"Sam?" It was Malaya. I breathed a sigh of relief as she came running down the hall towards me. Behind her, Commander Stone, grumpy as usual, followed wearily, a smoking carbine in his right hand. As she approached me, I could see that she was shaking as well. "What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know. Did you and the commander get the same welcoming party Commander Nakano and I did?" I motioned down to the bodies on the floor.
"Yeah. Though it took Commander Stone and I a bit longer to take care of them." She motioned over at the commander. He, breathing raggedly, held his weapon like a trophy, displaying its spent casings like the teeth of some feral beast shot in the bush of Africa. Suddenly, he got an indication on his pager, and looked back up at us. Fear filled his eyes, the look of a hunted animal, and, to be honest, I wasn't surprised why.
"Commander Singleton wants to meet us in the briefing room."