Chapter 25 - Tiago Lawton - Abandoned
November 17, 3040 3:01 AM
"How are things going, Candy?" I ask her. She's on her infocube looking at some monitoring programs. She, Ace, Alex, and I got here about two hours ago and went to work right away. The teleporter wasn't going to start itself.
When we arrived, she disabled the security systems. It was easy enough, at least for her. When we were hiding, she had hacked into the central security mainframe the teleportation stations use. Since it's all maintained remotely on a cloud, she got access into their servers, changed some of their code, and set an open window of time to disable the locks. She put a thirty minute window of down time between 1:00 AM and 1:30 AM. We arrived at 1:10 AM, and disabled the security programs for the rest of the evening.
Candy also covered any traces of her code that could be detected by the guys upstairs. She said big companies, like the transportation ones, usually had programmers constantly on duty to make sure there are no security irregularities occurring. There are no cameras or visual recorders inside, everything is done through the cloud and programs. If you have a smart enough hacker, and I mean really smart, like Candy, masking your moves, you won't have anything to worry about. Those guys in their comfy chairs won't even know what's going on.
We did the same for the Gonzalez station, so Curtis could get in and out with ease. Candy disabled it an hour ahead of ours, since he arrived earlier to his location.
With all the work she's been doing, I'm surprised she's not stressed. Even under these circumstances, she's easygoing. Candy has this way about her that's nice. Everyone gets along with her and she's straight forward in her opinions. Her motives for supporting me are different from Ace and Alex. Those two joined me out of pure allegiance. Candy is a true believer. She knows that my plan to the Moon sounds crazy, but it's also the best shot we have at staying alive.
"They're going on schedule," she says, answering my previous inquiry. "The power modulator is charging up as we speak. It will probably start up in thirty minutes. All I had to do was move the scheduled start time from 3 AM to midnight. These things normally charge for three hours before the station opens. That charge supplies enough energy for these transporters to run on until closing time, which is ten at night. Then they cool down and the whole process starts over again."
"Why do the stations need separate power sources to do all this?" I ask her curiously. "Why can't they get power from the energy companies?"
"I think it's a political thing," Candy says ambivalently. "It takes a lot of power to run these stations and the energy companies are worried about putting too many resources into the operation of these teleporters. There are so many now and this could prove costly. There are two of them in Primm and we're just a small town. Imagine how many are out there in the world. The only way these things could operate without the globe running out of power is if the transportation companies offered to sustain it themselves. That's why these things aren't open 24 hours, at least in Primm, they need the time to cool off and charge."
"But we're kind of jump starting things, so they won't have enough time to cool. Won't that damage the source?"
"Probably, but I guess it doesn't really matter to us. We'll be long gone by then, right?" She asks this with a hopeful smile on her face.
"We sure will," I respond.
"I wonder how the others are doing?" she asks me earnestly. "I hope they're okay in their hideout."
I want to avoid her question, because it reminds me of the things I've done to get us four to this point. We started as a family of eleven, now only a few of us remain. The faces of Leonard and Lombardi flash through my mind. For so long, I had deemed them useless members of my family. But was that enough justification to use them in my schemes? Yes, it was. If they had continued on with us, they surely would have slowed us down.
Then I think about Curtis, a brother on the brink of suicide. I saw him about to take his life and I didn't save him. I pushed him over the edge. I could've helped him, I could've veered him away from ending it all. Instead, I sent him on a suicide mission, knowing that he wouldn't return. I loved, love my brother. I've tried to help him for a long time. I know him better than any of my siblings and I knew persuading him to live would be a pointless cause. Eventually, he would break and we would mourn. At least now he can die a hero. My brothers and sisters will remember him for his bravery, not his cowardice. I gave him the chance he wanted. I even made sure he could bail out anytime. But I know for him, there's no looking back.
And then there's Oscar and his followers. My younger brother has been a great ally, but also a great enemy. He couldn't accept the choices that must be made if you want to survive. In a time where we have to make tough decisions, this difference is what drove our family apart. He lives in a fantasy world that doesn't exist. If only he could see the reality in front of him, then perhaps we'd be leaving this godforsaken city together.
It's too bad he took the twins with him. They, especially Iris, are special, and when they decided to leave us, it burned a hole in my soul. I will forever be hurt by their decision.
I ratted out Oscar, but that's the decision I had to make to buy us time and get the agents off our tails. I don't know if my ruse worked, but Oscar and the rest are dead if it did. A part of me feels the guilt, but another part of me knows he made his choice when he decided to leave. When we make it out alive, the regrets I have will sting, but eventually they'll subside.
Curtis, Lombardi, Leonard, Oscar, I did all these things for the sake of survival, for the family I love, for the family that can make it to the end. This is for Candy, Ace, and Alex, this is for those who are loyal to me, who share my vision. In the long run, whatever has happened, whatever sacrifices I made, it'll be worth it.
I realize I haven't responded to Candy's comments.
"I'm sure they're fine," I tell her. Sometimes, the truth is best when it's hidden from the world. "I'm going to go check on Ace. Good work so far, sister."
"Thanks, Tiago."
I make my way towards the exit of the station and press a button on the wall to open the outside door. I see no one, so I raise the transmitter on my wrist and press a button. It sends out a signal to a receiving one and I hear footsteps hurrying my way. Within seconds, Ace appears in front of me.
"You called, Tiago?" he says.
"Yeah, just want to see how things are going out here," I respond.
"Nothing unusual. I haven't encountered anything, not even a raccoon."
"That's good."
I have Ace patrolling the perimeter. If anything suspicious is going on, he has a transmitter to warn me. I don't expect any visitors, though, especially after all the plotting I have done.
"You think your plans worked?" Ace asks me. He's well aware of what I did to Curtis and Oscar's group, but he doesn't care. Loyalty will make you look past the worst atrocities.
"I don't know," I say. "I haven't gotten the signal from Curtis and I don't even know what's going on with Oscar."
"I can go to their hideout if you want me to scout."
It's a good idea, but not worth the risk. Ace is far too valuable at this stage of the game.
"No, that's not necessary," I say.
"Okay," he responds.
"You're doing a good job Ace, keep it up. I'm going back inside."
"Thanks."
I can tell he's elated by my approval. That's always been the case, I'm the big brother whom he idolizes. I'm not sure if it's a feline thing or not. Or maybe it's an inferiority thing, because he isn't exactly the brightest bulb. When I trust him with responsibility, he probably feels smarter than he really is. Whatever the case, he gravitates towards me.
And, in all fairness, I treat him pretty well. I'd do anything for him because I know he has my back.
I open the door and walk back inside the station. The last person I approach is Alex, who is tinkering w
ith some of the weaponry that Ace smuggled from the supply depot. There's a pile of pistols and a large stash covered by a musty old blanket.
"How are the preparations going?" I say to Alex. My tone is much more serious than when I talked to Ace. It's always been like that when talking to him. He's much bigger than me and I could be overpowered in seconds. Yet, I'm the boss. It's small things, like the way that I talk to him, that allow me to grasp power and reinforces my leadership.
"Good. I've tested the pistols, they're the real deal. Let's hope Curtis was able to use them."
These are the same pistols I put in Curtis's pack. Alex raises one in the air and inspects it. He points it forward, shooting at an imaginary target.
Alex is my other right hand man. I tell him what I tell Ace. I need Ace for his speed and grace. I need Alex for his intimidation and brute strength. He is the last line of defense I have if it ever comes down to that.
"And have you prepped Candy's bombs?" I ask him.
"Sure have, they're under here. You sure had a lot of work in store for Candy this week."
He lifts up the blanket and reveals a cache of ten metal cylinders.
"Well," I say, "it's good to be prepared."
These bombs are slightly different from the ones that she made for Lombardi and Curtis. It's not a squeeze and explode type grenade. There are strings attached to the trigger device. If you pull the string hard enough, it arms and explodes.
I sometimes wonder how Candy was able to assemble all this. She said it was easy given that our hideout used to be an industrial chemical plant. As she explained, there was enough stuff to play with that she could've made an array of homemade explosives, if she had more time.
Once we're almost ready to leave, I will call Ace back in and instruct Alex to set these around the perimeter. The teleportation stage of my plan is fragile and can't be interrupted, so if someone does crash the party they'll walk right into my trap. A simple trip on the strings and they'll be blown to kingdom come.
"What about this one?" Colbo says. He presents me another cylinder shaped canister, but it is much bigger than the others. It's similar to the one Curtis has and it's just as powerful.
"Give it to me," I say. "I'll be the last one through the teleporter. Before I go through, I'll toss this one into the station to make sure this place is destroyed. It'll be much harder to figure out where we go if they don't have anything left to inspect. I'll make sure this place is burned to the ground in order to secure our safety."
Suddenly, my transmitter lets out an earsplitting beep.
"Ace?" Alex asks me.
"No, this is for the other thing," I say.
I'm referring to Curtis. That was the signal to let me know his deed is done. Alex looks at the ground and shakes his head. "Poor guy."
Words cannot express the mixed feelings I have at the moment. My brother is dead. Yet, it was what he wanted, it would've happened with or without my interference. I can't turn back time now.
"Yeah, poor guy," I say solemnly.
"Do? do you think he got all of those bastards? Those people who are coming for us?" Alex asks.
"He did send the signal, so that means he got the job done. I trust him on that."
We stand there in awkward silence. I don't know if it's appropriate to continue talk of our plans. Luckily, I don't have to. Ace bursts into the station, astonishing the three of us inside.
"Tiago, you won't believe it!" he yells.
I'm prepared for the worst. I'm expecting Ace to tell us that a full cadre of soldiers are outside our hideout. But to my surprise, it's not that, it's two people I thought I'd never see again.
"Iris, Isaac," I say stunned.
"Hello, Tiago," Isaac replies.
"What are you doing here?" My voice is shaking. I'm not sure what happened with Oscar and I'm worried that Isaac discovered my deceit.
"We, we, were attacked," Isaac's voice trembles. "Oscar and Maddie, they're dead."
All of us look shocked, but only Candy's is genuine. We're not stunned that Oscar and Maddie are dead, we're more stunned that the twins are still alive.
"What happened?" I ask him.
"We were ambushed by a human, a pig, and a dog, agents of the United Species Alliance. They killed Oscar, Maddie killed the pig, and they killed Maddie. We were able to escape in the chaos and came here."
"And the human and dog, they didn't follow you?" Alex asks.
"No," Iris says. "The human tended to the pig, but the dog chased after us. We were able to? incapacitate him."
"Impressive," Alex says.
"So, what brings you here?" Ace asks.
Isaac clears his throat. "After what happened to Oscar and Maddie, we don't have anywhere to go. We only have you guys left. We want to rejoin you on your mission to the Moon. I'm sorry we left earlier, but now, we know. Iris and I, we trust you. You're a good brother and I know you'll help us out."
The last thing Isaac says pierces me like a dagger. He trusts me. I then look at Iris, whose demeanor is a bit more cautious than Isaac's. I'm afraid of her in some sense. She's been different her whole life. She knows things and from what I see, it appears she knows something right now.
I wonder if I should let them rejoin my crew. They'll no doubt be helpful to my cause. Yet, I cannot. When I look at the twins, all I can think about is that they turned their backs on me. They went with that deserter, Oscar. They know how much I revere them, how I think they are extraordinary individuals, but when I needed their support, they let me down. How do I know that it won't happen again? My emotions get the better of me.
"I'm sorry, Isaac and Iris," I say, trying to show as gruff of an exterior as I can, "but you cannot join us. You've made your choice when you left and so did I. We will be making this trip without you."
"Tiago, no!" Candy yells.
"I'm sorry, Candy, but that's my decision."
Candy looks hesitantly at me and then at Iris and Isaac. She walks forward and gives Iris a big hug, tears rolling down her eyes. Iris receives her embrace. She looks heartbroken, while Isaac looks enraged.
"Why are you doing this, brother?" he yells with tones of confusion and frustration. "You would abandon your own kin out of a petty sense of pride? Don't you care about us?"
I do, but I can't trust their loyalty.
"I used to," I say. "But not anymore."
"Where will we go?" Iris asks desperately.
"I don't know and it's not my problem," I say unemotionally. "Walk east, walk west, walk north, walk south. Just make sure it's away from here."
Isaac walks up to me, his fury flushed across his face. We stand eye to eye to each other. He extends his head forward, past my ear, and whispers, "I hope you die for this."
He then does an about face and walks the other direction, towards the exit. "C'mon, Iris, let's go. There's nothing for us here."
Iris starts to follow him and looks behind one more time at the family she'll leave. I expected her to be remorseful, but she isn't. Instead, she looks relieved. I don't fully understand it and part of it scares me. What does she know?
"Where will you go?" Candy asks as they leave.
"Back home," Isaac responds. "Back to where this all started."
The door opens and they leave. I probably will never see them again.
Ace sneaks up next to me and asks me quietly, "Do you want me to follow them? You know, keep tabs, in case we need them?"
Iris's goodbye still haunts my mind. I stand there perplexed, trying to figure out what she was saying with her face. I could get Ace to follow them, to force an answer out of her. But that's too much, even for me. Some think I am ruthless, but I have my limits.
"No, leave them alone," I say. I think about the past night. "I've done enough already."