x
When Dexter departed, Shannon appeared in his place. "Everyone looks down, dirty, or desperate," she said. "And it looks like we're in for some new scenery. Aside from the fact that everyone's packing, I overheard Monarch and that one dude. They said Asgard knows what we have."
"As we thought," said Jessica, crossing her arms pensively. "Looks like we're reacting now."
"We just got here, too."
"You!" exclaimed Raptor.
Jessica cranked a bitter gaze at Raptor's stiff advance, then decided to play dumb. "Who, me?" she mouthed.
"Yea you, red vest." He stopped directly in before her. "Monarch tells me you're the premier egghead."
"I resent that!" Amon said in passing. Both Jess and Raptor's irritated faces reflected off his sunglasses, as Shannon chimed in.
"You sound upset."
"Incredible understatement," said Raptor. "Understatement, but it has nothing to do with you. I wanna know if you'll be as useful as he said you'll be. Dead weight's not gonna work in this outfit. Neither will beating around the bush."
"Well, it's as simple as this, Sarge," Jess began condescendingly. "Valerie, AKA Wildcat, brought me the chip that is mission-critical to Sub Terra. And chu know what? I cracked it. You wanna know how I cracked it? First, I found holes in a wall of hashes the space elves considered unbreakable. Then, I manually reconstructed a Goliath administrative document, did a bait and switch, then fooled an alien into applying his signature. Now, if I simply knew where to look—in other words, if I was inside Goliath's centrifuge—and if my theory is correct, I could compromise all of their secrets.
"Since a portion of the data was corrupted, I had to go analog and sift through lines of code to reconstruct chains of evidence pointing to the Union's guild. Do you understand base computer language? The difference between a bit and a qubit? Do you know many people who do? I don't either, but if you can point me to anyone who would've managed all of the above, then sure, I'm dead weight."
Silence.
Shannon began a slow clap.
"You just got served!" said Valerie, who was apparently standing behind Raptor the entire time.
During the next pause, Raptor closely scrutinized Jessica. He was the complete opposite of Dexter with his intensity, but then his brows lifted. "Believe it or not, I actually feel better now," he said. His chin swiveled to Shannon. "You..."
"Me."
"She's with me," Jessica warned.
"Can you drive?" he asked.
"Depends on how big it is," said Shannon.
"Very manageable."
"Then I guess I'll manage."
"Go with Wildcat. She'll help you set up."
Valerie jumped. "Let's do it!"
"And you..." Raptor returned. "Your name is Jessica?"
"My friends call me Jess. But since we seem to be using monikers, you can call me Lynx."
"You look like a Lynx," he said. "You can do as you please, but we're not staying in the city. Get your bearings and make your peace."
Jessica inwardly flinched as Raptor walked off. "Well, alright then," she said in self-approval. She was not alone. Behind her stood little boy Boros, the computer-savvy kid from Dissent. Slouched, his eyes slanted in an upward glare—glaring at her for some reason. Or maybe that's just his face. He suddenly fell on the verge of tears. "Hey. what's wrong, man?" she soothed, leaning forward. "Ah!"
Beelz inserted herself between them, as if out of the nether. "He has tried and tried but never secured access to Goliath's database," she said. "So, after hearing your little rant, he's feeling pretty inadequate right now."
Boros cried.
"And I just remin—goddammit!"
Jessica broke into a sweat. "What do I do?"
"Hey! We still need you, Boros, okay?" Unfortunately, Beelz's nurture voice had no effect. Boros ran past the crates. That's when the redhead leered at the raven-haired nerd. "It's your fault but in a good way." She chased after the boy.
***
Their final hour under the city, Jessica observed the eager and greasy machine that was Sub Terra. Everything not nailed to the ground was hauled and loaded for transport. Computer rigs were carried into trucks, every viable weapon stashed under a car seat. Some rebels seemed eager to leave, while others resented the fact. Chris most of all. He sourly waved goodbye to the hangar, the way a geek would farewell their lifetime collection.
In anticipation of an exodus, most personnel switched from uniforms to civilian clothing. Hence, they looked like the most disciplined ensemble of tourists in a museum. It screamed one fact to Jessica; they were returning to the city. By the great double doors near the barracks, an entire convoy was energized and ready, comprised of everyday vehicles.
Punctually, Jessica made her way to Valerie and Shannon near the head. Sub Terra had settled on a rendezvous for their entire rebel army. Considering the thoughtful organization of their base, someone had to have an impeccable plan in mind.
"We don't know where we're going," said Valerie.
"The hell?" exclaimed Shannon.
"Mira. In cases like this, Sub Terra moves by following checkpoints. Monarch is one of the few jefes who knows where they are. He follows the clues; we reach the next base."
"Keeping things compartmentalized," Jess thought aloud. "One base can't reveal the whereabouts of the other. Makes sense. But from what you're telling me, you're never privy to info, Val. Que pasa?"
"I started from the bottom, now we're here, okay? Starting from the bottom, now we're here. I'm just a cog in this machine, so I can't know everything."
"Why are you rhyming?"
Monarch's voice thundered from a megaphone.
"Sixty seconds, people!"
Valerie led Jessica and Shannon to the vehicle they'd be sharing, a white sedan with "standard hover functionality and unlocked navigation," as she put it. Every modern car from every retailer came with GPS and automated navigation that set limitations on drivers. Thanks to an interconnected, locked interface, no one accelerated beyond designated speed limits. Moreover, built-in sensors stopped anyone from steering off-road. Since the GPS in Sub Terra vehicles was unlocked, Jessica and her friends could driver wherever they desired, at whatever speed they desired, potentially. Theoretically.
The interior held polymer seats, spacious and clean enough that Jessica suddenly felt irked by the possibility of a fourth person. That's when Dexter appeared in a new change of clothing: a black bomber jacket, black shirt, and dark blue denim jeans. He looked more like the schoolboy she remembered.s
"Hey," he said bashfully. Before Jess could reply, however, Raptor appeared directly behind him.
"All of you ready?" he queried, startling Dexter as much as the rest of them.
"We've got everything we need. Cuando quieres," said Valerie.
To be safe, Jessica instinctively checked her belongings: pockets, board, backpack, and more. Everything was where it needed to be, except for her peace of mind.
Raptor met Dexter's gaze and pinpointed another car down the line. "You're in the next one. With Ike."
"Are you kidding me?" Dexter sneered.
"You'll both be too preoccupied to be at each other's throats," Raptor insisted. "And Ike's a soldier, first; not a wild card, unlike somebody. So, he's not the one I'm worried about."
Dexter's mug shot a protest. Opening his mouth to say more, nothing came out. He walked off with a solemn glance in Jessica's direction.
"I'll see you soon."
At Raptor, Jessica tried to stifle her bitterness. "So, you're riding with us?"
He whimsically dropped against the passenger seat. "Monarch's idea."
"We'd better hope Monarch's decisions don't end up biting us in the butt," said Shannon. "I don't suppose you know how long this is going to take, Valerie? Raptor?"
"Nope," they both said.
"Then y'all better get comfortable." Shannon settled into the driver's seat.
Beelz and Boros entered the cargo truck of stashed computers. In the center of the convoy, Monarch's grey sedan was perfectly unremarkable. Dexter's slick blue car seemed dirty enough to avoid attention, like Ike's glare. As questionable as the pairing seemed, at the very least Ike didn't seem so belligerent anymore. And before Dexter grabbed the wheel, he spared one last look in Jessica's direction. His eyes bestowed a single ray of warmth.
Amon leaned on his own vehicle when he, too, made eye contact. With a two-finger gesture, he warned Jessica to keep both eyes open. Why did she get the feeling he knew more than everybody else?
Sixty seconds finished, and the alarm rang. Every member of Sub Terra and Dissent waited for the metal doors. They grated sideways, inviting the entire convoy into a hollow. Jessica stared past the dashboard, at the invitation of darkness.546Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlcucDC9qh
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