******
Haylek, aka “Waverider,” paced the small safe house. At this point, he and the others had little else to do, and even their supply of Elation had run dry, as replacements had not been received. It was not a good sign that their employer was suddenly cutting them off. Eventually, the headaches would kick in and he, too, would be fighting the symptoms of withdrawal—he would have to cross that wave when he got to it.
It had been several hours since they enacted their plan, which involved creating a new hacker network comprising the super hackers locked up in prisons throughout the system. The new Brotherhood was a revival of the hacker heyday when they roamed freely throughout the Ocean and accessed the secrets that the government and the corporations kept from the public. The original Brotherhood was all but shut down by the power of the A.I. at the behest of the UEP. Most had been locked up while others went into indefinite hiding. It was a matter of time before the original Brotherhood ceased to exist.
Now, with the A.I. gone and their new ally, Chorus, the Brotherhood would resurface once again. They would make sure the lies of the UEP and the Martian Confederacy came to surface. In order to revive the Brotherhood, Haylek, Freeze, and Doc used the systems that they owned on the Ocean to arrange a special package to be shipped to their prison-bound friends. In the package was a computer terminal that would tie them directly into the Ocean. Their new Brotherhood’s first mission was to get them the hell out of the safe house.
Haylek glanced over at the Waterfall display. He could see heavy activity coming in from the outside via the Brotherhood. They managed to locate the exact position of the safe house hours ago, so now it was a matter of finding a way to get them out.
“Waverider,” Freeze said from his terminal. “Check the delivery box.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, they just said to.”
“The Brotherhood?” Haylek asked.
“Yes! Who the hell else?”
Waverider went to the delivery box’s panel and unlocked it. Inside was a small box that he pulled out. Freeze and The Doc scurried over to look.
“Do you think it’s Elation?” Freeze mused.
Waverider looked at him, bemused. “Is that all you think about?”
Freeze gave him a dumb look. “Well, it would be nice…”
Although Haylek admonished Freeze, he, too, was beginning to feel the urges. It was going to be to keep the group focused once they begin feeling the full effects of withdrawal. He hated to admit it, but he secretly hoped they found some Elation in the box as well.
He opened it up. Inside the box was an electronic device attached to a metal casing and wiring extruding from it. They continued to inspect it curiously, but it was The Doc who figured it out first.
“Big boom!” Doc said, while jumping up.
“An explosive?” Haylek said, standing up and backing away. “What are we supposed to do with it?”
“I don’t know,” Freeze said.
“Well ask!” Haylek said, pointing to the terminals.
Freeze hurried over to his terminal and read something off of it. “We’re supposed to plant it on the door and move away. It will be detonated remotely when we give the word. They said we should move some equipment or something in front of it so we aren’t hurt… too much.”
“Screw dat!” Doc said, scurring to the other side of the room. “Dat shit a big boom!”
Haylek looked at the explosive device and then at the door. It was either sit here and die from starvation—or from who knows what their employer had in store—or take a chance on blowing the door open and surviving the explosion.
“Let’s start blocking the door,” Haylek said. “We’ll create a shield. If we don’t, we’re dead anyway.”
It took some more convincing and prodding, but he managed to get them to help plant the explosive and move the necessary equipment to form a blockade. Haylek looked around the room; little else remained for them to stack in front of the door, and the three of them were winded.
“All right,” Haylek said, “give them the go.”
Freeze hesitantly issued the communication from his terminal, and they all ducked down near the far wall away from the door. Haylek covered his head and waited. A few moments later, he heard a beep, followed by a deafening explosion and then everything went dark…
The shockwave hit him and his skin, pelting his skin with tiny particles. All sound muted, save for a constant ringing in his ears. He opened his eyes to see a shroud of thick dust all around. A hazy light came from the direction of the door, the only source of light now in the room.
They all managed to stand up and check themselves. With the exception of some minor cuts, they were all fine. Haylek peered into the light from the open doorway. When the dust settled, he could see a figure moving into the room through the barrier of dust in the air.
Startled, he backed away, the other behind him. Through the haze, Haylek could make out the details as the figure approached. He was a scruffy-looking man who wore bright yellow prison fatigues and a pair of interface goggles that allowed him to interact directly with the terminal he was carrying. He also held a flicker pistol in his other hand.
“Who are you?” Haylek said, his voice sounding faint to his own ears from the ringing.
“You don’t have to shout,” the man said. “I’m CrazyWold. I’m breaking you out for the Brotherhood. You’re Waverider, right?”
Haylek nodded. “Yeah, this is Freeze and The Doc. Thanks for getting us out.”
CrazyWold smiled, revealing teeth that were black and foul looking. “You broke me out, so we’re even. We need to get out of here. I have a shuttle, so let’s move.”
The other two walked out of the room, but Haylek stopped a moment. “Wait, where are we going?”
“I have orders to drop you off at Aphrodite Springs. Then you’re on your own.”
“Why there? And who’s orders?” Haylek said.
“Orders from the leadership of the Brotherhood. Someone named Chorus said she’ll meet you there. You’re all going on board her ship—it’s called the Sea Wolf. That’s all I know.”
“Come on, Waverider!” Freeze urged from the other side of the doorway. “Before they catch us again!”
Haylek looked around the safe house one last time. The computers were all rubble, the Waterfall no longer lit. Although this was their prison, it was also their home for a time—it now seemed surreal to actually be able to leave it.
He took one last glance at the dust on the ground and the memory of Coredump’s death surfaced in his mind… no one should be made to die like that. He would avenge Coredump’s death somehow, someday. It would be his mission, and that of the Brotherhood.
He looked outside the open exit— the opening to the world beyond. His future waited for him on the other side, and this time he would make his mark; they all would. He walked out with a new sense of purpose. With the Brotherhood and Chorus on their side, they would own their destiny.