Alive
Book 2
Pt32
1
18 minutes, 12 seconds… 11 – 10 - 9…
The building is dark. No sign of life. David's Familiar has been asleep since he left Manhattan. After sending a last taunting message to 101, he'd shut it down so nobody would see where he was headed. But with it off, he is unable to detect any data flows or the electronic signatures of any pods that might be active inside the silent building.
But he is sure they are here. There is nowhere left for them to run.
He toggles down his thrusters and sets the Vayu down in a clearing that lies before the building's entrance. Ordinarily the air would be alive with cacophonous music and the chatter of flocks of restless teenagers. But there is only the whisper of chilly breezes moving through the branches of the trees that line the nearby road.
Police had already initiated their part of David's plan. All across the inland, CJ gathering spots had been raided, along with the innocuous safe-houses that deal-seeking informants had told of.
All, that is, but this one establishment. As per David's instructions, this place was to be spared… until the time was right. If things were going according to schedule, the local cell towers should already be shut down. 101 will be blind here, and no one inside will be able to warn it that David had arrived.
It is time to end this game of hide & seek.
David blasts the Vayu's spotlights. They light up the entrance to Club 101 like an early sunrise. He pops open the canopy of the Vayu and climbs atop the craft.
"You can come out now!" David yells.
There is no response. No movement beyond in the dirty windows that border the aged doors. He tries again.
"I'm not police!" he yells.
Still nothing.
"C'mon out!" David screams. "It's over! There's no place left to hide!"
He sees a face in the window, just for a second, but it quickly disappears. It was gone too fast, and the window is too dirty for David to be sure who it was. But soon the twin doors slide slowly open, just a foot or so, and a voice issues from the darkness within.
"What the hell you doing here, Pork Chop!" the voice demands. It's Animal. Just as David had hoped. There is anger in his old friend's tone. But David hears uncertainty there too… and what sounds like fear.
He knows that Animal carries a gun. He doesn't think the man will try to use it on him, but doesn't want to take that chance; doesn't want to be forced to use the neutralizer. He takes a lighter tone.
"I didn't come to fight," he replies. "We go back a'ways. Been through some shit together, you and I."
"And that's the only reason I'm lettin' you leave in one piece!" Animal barks, furiously. "Now go on! Before I let these Jammers loose on you!"
Animal cannot see him behind the glare of the Vayu's spotlights, David knows this. But that doesn't mean he won't try a wild shot. He quietly unsnaps the holster strap of his neutralizer… just in case.
"I know about you and Myron," David says calmly, unfazed by Animal's threat.
For a time there is only silence from beyond the door. David can imagine the man's mind working.
"Is that some kind of threat?" Animal finally replies.
"Just the opposite, old friend," David says. "It's a chance for you to-"
"It's been a long time since I called you friend, Shiny boy!" Animals yells, interrupting him. "And don't try that 'Boy From Between' shit again. You betrayed the cause! You betrayed me! The Man let you walk outta here the first time, but it won't go down like that again."
It's David turn to be silent. He thinks for a moment and then has a sudden idea. It's crazy, this thought. Irrational. It makes absolutely no sense. But neither does anything else about his bizarre existence. So why not?
He slips into the Vayu to retrieve the thing he had decided to bring along at the last minute, and climbs atop the Stratocruiser again.
He takes a moment to prepare. Then he starts to play.
"What the hell is that?" Animal yells, confused.
"In Darkness Let Me Dwell," David replies casually, as he fingers through the slow mournful chords. "A 16th century song for lute by John Dowland. Heard of him?"
Animal finally peeks out the doors. His face is only visible for a second, but David sees that it is bruised, as if the man's been on the losing end of a fight. His expression is one of bafflement and disbelief.
"Are you freeking serious with this?!" Animal barks, incredulous. "I'm giving you a chance to save your ass, you little dumbshit! Take it and go!"
David sighs and stops playing a moment, to adjust a string that's gone flat.
"Hold on a sec," he says as he tunes his lute. Animal peeks out a few times but quickly moves back into the shelter of darkness. David can hear other voices inside, whispering urgently. But he can't hear what they're saying.
"I don't know what game you're playing," Animal yells, "But this is your last chance, kid. These Jammers want to rip you to pieces!"
"This is not an easy piece," David replies, as if the man hadn't even spoken, "It's got really weird syncopation and chord phrasing. So you'll have to excuse my flubs… and I don't have the best singing voice either, but I can generally stay in tune. Here goes."
Then he began to play again, adding his voice to the slow mournful melody. It's is a bit out of his range and his falsetto is rather thin. But he gives it his all.
"In darkness let me dwell; the ground shall sorrow be,
The roof despair, to bar all cheerful light from me;
The walls of marble black, that moist'ned still shall weep;"
David stops singing as he reaches an instrumental part of the tune. As his haunting music issues into the night, he hears that the other voices have grown louder, angrier. They ask Animal 'what the hell is going on'? Should they attack? Should they run?
David does not hear Animal respond to them.
"Is he freekin insane?" comes a hushed voice from the darkness beyond the door. It is Myron's voice. David hears Animal quickly shush the boy. He obviously doesn't want David to know his brother is here.
David also knows that Animal has been bluffing; trying to scare him off. Whoever is inside with him is in no condition to fight anymore. He starts to sing again.
"My music, hellish jarring sounds, to banish friendly sleep.
Thus, wedded to my woes, and bedded in my tomb,
O let me living die, till death doth come, till death doth come."
Slowly the CJs begin to step out of Club 101 and into the light. They are brandishing bats and metal pipes, bracing their eyes against the Vayu's spotlights as they glare at David with menace and suspicion.
Animal finally steps out to stand in front of the gang of kids. He is gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, but David is glad to see he does not have the gun. He stops playing.
"I really don't know what this song is about," David says thoughtfully as the gang looks on, dumfounded, unsure whether to attack or to flee.
"It's really dark and sad," David continues "But then… I dunno…. there's something about it, something intensely human. Wouldn't you agree?"
He gazes fearlessly down on the gang of CJ kids. There are only a handful of them, no more than a dozen; bruised and beaten. One of them is rubbing his shoulder and leaning against the wall of the club, as if he can't support his own weight.
It's obvious their war did not go quite as planned.
"Sadness and loss are fundamental to human growth," David continues as the CJs glare up at him. "But these emotions are vulnerable to exploitation. They can make us tools for manipulative minds."
"You've completely lost it Pork Chop," Animal says, shaking his head in amazement. "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't beat the shit out of you right now."
'Because I have a neutralizer,' David thinks. But that would end the conversation. Instead he says:
"Your revolution was a ruse, Animal." His tone is patient, almost sad. "It was never real. And neither is 101. It's a mimic. You been played. You've all been played."
The CJs chuckle and guffaw. But they don't attack.
"This bullshit again," Animal moans. "You're a breath away from a serious beat down. You better have something better than that."
"I came here to save your ass!" David yells. The CJ's step back, seeming to be surprised by the strength in David's voice. Animal narrows his eyes, but says nothing. David continues softer.
"Because when I was lost you saved mine. All of you. Sy and Nance, Wizzy and Darek and Tank and every one of you crazy crooks. I wouldn't have made it, Animal. I was on the brink. Then you all found me. Stole from me. Beat on me. And then taught me how to survive. Became my friends… my best friends."
Animal was still clenching his jaws and fists. But something in his eyes had softened. He was listening now. David continued.
"So I came to repay the favor. Because now you're the one who's lost, man. Seriously lost. And you don't even know it."
David leans into the Vayu and drops his lute on the seat. Then he jumps to the ground and walks fearlessly towards the group of CJs. They back away a bit, surprised by David's boldness; looking to Animal as if for a signal to pounce. But the man just stares at David, uncertainty in his face.
"Do you know what it was built for?" David says as he approaches. "This thing you call The Man…?"
"Not buyin' it, Pork Chop," Animal snaps. But there is no force in his voice.
David stops a few feet away, just outside of Animals punching range. His hand is at his side, by his neutralizer, shielding it from the view of the CJs. He doesn't want to use it. But he is ready if he has to.
"It's a spy," David explains, calmly. "Or it was supposed to be. Somebody got cold feet and the contract was pulled. It was never finished. It was supposed to be scrapped, but the thing was smarter than they thought. It actually created a false relocation order and had itself shipped out of the building. Escaped in transit. They been trying to catch it ever since."
"Bullshit," Animal says with a dismissive chuckle. But David can hear his resolve failing; can see the first hint of doubt in his eyes.
"Oh, it's true," David replies. "And I would know. My Dad built the damned thing."
Animal's mocking sneer disappears.
"Your… Dad?" He repeats the word hesitantly, the first trace of acceptance barely cloaked by his feigned incredulity.
"Yeah, my dear misguided father," David says sadly, almost apologetically. "He gets so wrapped up in what he can do, he never bothers to ponder if he should. You might have heard of him… Alan Hobby? CEO of Cybertronics Inc?"
The CJs gasp. Animals eyes go wide, his jaw drops. David can see the man's mind working, piecing things together. The Stratocruiser. The money. David's in-depth knowledge of trinary processing… and his strange resemblance to the robo-boy at the Cybertronics website. Realization finally sets in
"Oh shit," Animal moans as he raises a trembling hand to point an accusing finger at David. "Those kids…. those fake kids at that website… they were made to look like you!"
Myron suddenly bursts out of the building, sweaty and stumbling like he's high. His clothes are ripped and there's a poorly bandaged gash on his forehead. His face is a rictus of rage.
"Kill him! Kill the fucker!" Myron screams at the gang of confused CJs as he moves toward David. Animal turns quickly, thrusts his hand against Myron's chest and pushes him back.
"Stand down!" Animal screams at the others before he turns back to Myron. "I told you to stay inside, dammit!" he hisses at his younger brother.
With Animal's back to him, David can now see the bulge at the back of his pants. The gun!
"The police will be here any minute," David says quickly as he turns to the side so they won't see him pull the neutralizer from his holster and grip it at his side.
Animal stops arguing with Myron and turns to face David again. There is alarm in his face.
"They're coming here?" he says urgently.
"That why I came. To warn you," David explains. "We were friends once. I owe you this much. The police have had enough, Animal. This is a clean up operation. Crash Jamming is over. Come tommorrow morning, there won't be any Club 101. Get away from this insanity. Take your brother and start over someplace new."
Animal is about to respond when Myron suddenly jumps behind him and snatches the gun from his belt. Animal turns, tries to snatch the gun back, but the boy jumps away, fumbling with the weapon, trying to release the safety. Animal leaps on him and they began to struggle.
As the two fight for the weapon, David initiates his Familiar and wakes the two 500s. He knows they will need time to boot up, due to the modification he's made. 101 will be able to detect him now, but it's too late for it to stop what's about to go down.
The CJs are still locked in a confused standby, their eyes jumping back and forth between David and the fight between their commander and his younger brother.
Animal is yelling as they struggle over the gun, "Goddammit Myron! Give it! Give it!" Myron is screaming back, "Kill the shiny bastard!", spittle flying from his lips, enraged eyes set on David as he wrestles with his illegal older brother.
One of the CJ boys finally breaks from his confused trance and jumps at David; the metal bat in his hand held high for the strike.
David raises the neutralizer and pulls the trigger. It emits a bright flash and a loud pop of electricity. The CJ boy stops instantly, like he's run face-first into an invisible wall. Then he falls to the ground.
The battle weary gang steps away in shock. Animal and Myron stop fighting to watch as the boy on the ground curls into a fetal position, moaning like a wounded child.
David knows the boy is only stunned. Part of him wants to assure the gang that their friend will be ok; that, in a few minutes, he'll be up and running off with the rest of them. But the other part of him - the angry part that has taken over now - doesn't care anymore. Let them feel the sense of loss they've been inflicting on others.
"Look at yourselves!" David yells, aiming his weapon at the stunned CJs. "Look at what you've become! What 101 has turned you into! Thugs! Terrorists! Feral maniacs going to war with your own over some ridiculous lie! Pathetic!
"You really believe that Johnson Johnson was some kind of crusader? A hero? That's too stupid to even be funny! He was a carnival barker, a vicious clown who got rich hawking fear and hate! And 101 is even worse! Way worse!... You're think you're the saviors of humanity? Just look at yourselves!"
The gang doesn't know how to react. Some of them grit their teeth, swearing and flipping the finger in defiance. Others glance around uncertainly.
But a few of them drop their heads in shame. Not enough of them. Sadly, not enough.
Animal takes advantage of Myron's stunned silence to snatch the gun. He empties the bullets, uses his shirt to wipe away any fingerprints and then heaves the weapon into the dark field that surrounds the club. He gives Myron a tight apologetic hug before he turns to face David, raising his hands in surrender.
"Ok, so you letting us walk?" he says. David nods.
"Yeah sure," he replies, checking his Familiar's clock. "You got about 7 minutes before the heat comes down on this place. Go now."
But then he steps forward, hand held out to emphasize his next words.
"What happened to you and Myron was wrong," David says. "But this movement you became part of…? That was just as bad. Worse. It was never the machines, Animal. They're only tools. It's always been humans. They build the tools. They control the tools. You've always been your own worst enemy. Find another way."
"Alright then," Animal says with a satisfied sigh. "We're even. But first… you keep calling Orga 'they'… like you're not one of us. So what the hell are you?"
David summons the 500s. The boybots climb out of the Vayu's cargo hold and jump to the ground to stand on either side of him. Their twin Mecha gazes roam coldly over the mystified gang.
Animal is stunned to silence by the sight. Myron backs away, and then turns to flee into the darkness.
"I'm The Boy From Between," David finally replies. "And I came to stop this war."
(cont…)