YEAR 2030 - LONDON COMPOUND
The assignment that had been set to Otto, Numen's second in command, had been a relatively simple one. He was to follow the UCCA's Director of Security and Surveillance, Frank McQuaid, and he was to report on any anomalies in his behaviours to Numen immediately. Otto was to be Numen's eyes and ears on the ground as he delivered the package collected at Porton Down to President Dupont in the Outlands.
For the past few days it had all been very simple, Frank would start out with his morning bagel and coffee from Mack's, before heading to headquarters where he would spend the majority of his day. He would return to his compact studio room for the night, before following the same routine the next day. It was boring and treacherous and Otto longed for the chance to get back to his Chimera operations as soon as was humanly possible.
He was now sat in his black nondescript car outside of Mack's Coffee Shack, keen to not rouse Frank's suspicions, waiting for the director to arrive with coffee and bagel in tow. Otto was dressed like the dream walkers, grey suit, and tie, ginger hair slicked back and neat and a pale expression that suggested routine and monotony was the order of the day. He was not used to being so exposed like this and was itching for the comfort of his commando black fatigues and mask to cover up his emaciated skin.
The role of an average, everyday man was a far cry from leading covert special operations anywhere in the world. He missed the days when they started wars in far-off lands, tangling feeble governments up in knots as they tripped over themselves to restore order and build democracy whilst his men robbed the countries of their wealth and infrastructure. He and his men had played such a vital role in getting the Empire their foot-holding in every key corner of the globe and the chance to kill off these walking parasites on the planet lent itself to his murderous proclivities. A few nights ago he had erased two worthless humans from the face of the planet and now he was here, babysitting the old man.
Frank now emerged from Mack's with his coffee cup and wrapped bagel. Otto groaned with hatred and got ready to follow him to the headquarters for what looked like another tediously pointless day ahead. The director now clambered awkwardly into his car a few car-lengths down and started the engine.
As Otto watched him pull away, the director blissfully unaware that he was being followed headed for work. Otto turned the key in the ignition, roaring the engine into life and then waited for a few cars to pass him before he pulled out into traffic, ensuring that he kept a reasonable distance between himself and McQuaid.
The journey to the UCCA headquarters was uneventful. No traffic violations of note, not even the hint of hostility on the morning commute. The dream walkers just shuffled along the streets or drove without haste towards their respective places of business like a smooth running and well-oiled machine. The dream walkers were mere worker ants, carrying out the necessary tasks to ensure the Empire's interests were protected and the next phase of their evolution moved steadily into place. It was the picture of perfect serenity and enough to make Otto feel sick, he looked forward to the days when these useless insects were eliminated permanently.
Frank had pulled into the secure entrance to the UCCA headquarters and Otto was now behind him waiting to gain entry. The large robotic security soldiers carried out their routine inspections, checking over the vehicle and ensuring the occupant was who they claimed to be and had the appropriate security level to gain entry. Frank would soon be off to take up his designated spot and Otto would keep a watchful eye on his car from the other side of the car park until he returned later. That had been the routine of the past few days, but today something was a little different.
Frank was still in his car at the security post and the foot soldiers had completed their usual checks and were now stood to attention, waiting. Otto could sense that something was wrong, but did not want to cause an alarm, any extreme movement would surely draw the guards' attention and before he knew it the fires of hell would come raining down on him.
He maintained his position in line, considering a quiet reversal back into the street, but as he looked into his mirror a UCCA operative car pulled in behind him. He checked his rear view again and there seemed to be little activity from the officer in the car, he clearly was just waiting like the others to gain entry. Otto began to look beyond the guard post into the car park. A small group of human officers from Frank's team were now headed to the guard post with a handful of additional foot soldiers in tow.
It was clear that something was wrong, but Otto opted to maintain a cool exterior, he had the credentials to gain entry and had no reason to panic. He toyed a little tentatively with the gun at his side knowing that any sign of aggression would be met with a showing of force that would obliterate him and this stupid undercover car he had chosen. Had Frank actually made him? Or was this just a slight change to protocol? Otto relinquished his grip on the gun and waited, readying himself to play his latest role.
With the arrival of the UCCA officers and foot soldiers, Frank's car slowly pulled off into the car park towards his parking spot at the front of the building. It looked as though a shift change was taking place and the officers were headed for vehicles near to the guard station. Otto breathed a sigh of relief and pulled into where Frank's vehicle had been just moments before. The two new robot guards began to carry out the checks, just like any other day. There was a tap at the driver's window and the robot was now stood looking down upon him, faceless and with a thin visor where its eyes would be.
'Credentials please' the robot said in a flat and emotionless tone.
Otto reached for his identification and badge showing that he worked as an agent for the UCCA. The robot scanned both before returning them to him, clearly satisfied of their legitimacy.
'Biometric identification' the robot then said before scanning Otto's iris and taking an imprint of his hand on the electronic scanner.
'So what's with the hold ups this morning' Otto enquired as each check was carried out in turn and he successfully passed each one.
'Changes to protocol, new shift change pattern sir' the robot responded. 'All clear Agent Lawrence'.
Just as the guard soldier waved him through, he saw Frank's car now passing out of the exit beside him. He had been distracted by the change of routine that he had not noticed the director swing full circle and then come to the exit. Otto knew he had to move quickly, he accelerated away from the guard post but was brought to an abrupt halt by the two vehicles reversing into his path. The officers who had crossed the car park had now pulled into his only way ahead. In anger, he sounded the horn and began to shout profanities at the drivers who were looking at him in utter confusion. He then tried to reverse back, but the other UCCA vehicle that had been queuing behind him had now pulled up to the guard post. He tried to catch a glimpse of where Frank had gone, but he could not see the director's car anywhere.
The situation had not gone unnoticed and now the two sets of foot soldiers from each of the guard patrols were slowly closing in on his black undercover car, guns at the ready. Otto was becoming increasingly panicked now and could see no way out. He tried to accelerate forwards again, but the UCCA agents had stayed in position. The agents had stepped out of the vehicle and were now moving in towards his car, his erratic behaviour causing alarm. Otto pondered the idea of charging through the middle of the two cars that now blocked his path, but he knew that he would be unable to crash through them with such a small distance between them. He then considered drawing his gun and going out in a blaze of glory, but that would only create even more suspicion. So he did the thing he had least wanted to do and did nothing.
The foot soldiers surrounded the black saloon and the UCCA agents moved in on the car with their guns aimed at Otto.
'What exactly appears to be the problem officers?' Otto said in his most polite possible voice.
'You cleared this guy' one of the officers called across to the gathered foot soldiers.
'He's one of yours' replied the foot soldier who had cleared Otto just a few moments ago. 'Agent Lawrence'.
The UCCA agents now looked at one another, suspicion and intrigue etched upon their faces. None of them showing a sign of acknowledgement of the pasty-faced, ginger-haired man in the car.
The lead agent now came up to the window, pointing his gun in Otto's face. 'In a bit of a hurry there Agent Lawrence?' His face was unfriendly and his tone suggested that he was not in the mood for messing around.
'Look, let's all calm down a bit' said Otto raising his hands in submission. 'I apologise for my outburst, just need a dose of caffeine. Low blood sugar that's all' he feigned apologetically.
His explanation had not lowered the level of tension and now he had three foot soldiers with their pulse rifles locked on him and four armed UCCA agents up close and personal. One opened the passenger door and grabbed his identification and badge, the second removed his gun from him whilst the lead officer continued to stare into his eyes.
'Now you want to tell us who you really are?' The lead officer continued having taken charge of proceedings.
'Look, guys, there has been a big misunderstanding here' said Otto trying to worm his way out of the situation. If he could get moving in the next few minutes he might still have a chance in catching up with Frank. 'How about we all take a breath and forget about one guy having a crappy start to his day and just move on'.
'How about you quit messing us around and start talking' growled the lead officer, his stare never flinching. 'Agent Lawrence is no longer with us. I knew him personally and you know what, you aren't him' he snapped. 'So, who are you?'
The situation was spiralling out of control and Otto had nowhere to go. The officer asked him a third time to reveal his identity but Otto fixed his sight away from them and refused to speak.
'Right then, you wanna do this the hard way. Get your ass out of the car and put your hands on the bonnet' said the lead officer. 'Do it slowly' he warned.
Otto complied reluctantly with the commands and he was now face down on the bonnet of the car. The lead officer now waved his colleagues into position to secure the vehicle and the armed robotic guards across to supply backup.
'Take him into custody. Perhaps some time in the cells might jog his memory'.
The guards complied with senior figure’s orders, binding Otto’s hands and feet together and securing them together behind his back to ensure his movements were entirely secured. They then lifted him off the ground and began to carry him into the building.
Otto turned to the lead officer as he was carted away. 'You are making a big mistake Agent' he paused waiting for the lead man to identify himself.
'It's Agent Paulsen' he replied. 'Now you know my name, let's go figure out exactly who you are'.
Otto knew he would be released soon enough. It would be a matter of time that he was discovered as an undercover Chimera agent and once the jurisdictional bullshit was over and Numen had vouched for him, Otto would find out what Frank was up to. Otto was not worried by his arrest or the procedural minefield to come, but when word got to Numen of his failure he would be a marked target. The general was not renowned for giving second chances and whilst Otto had built up a lot of karma points with his boss over their many years together, there was no guarantee that he would be allowed to survive the night.
ABANDONED ARMY BASE - HULLAVINGTON
Frank had not ascended to the position of Director of the United Crime Control Authority because he was some “Yes Man” or puppet to the regime. He got there because he was smart. He knew the moment that Numen had left London that he should be on guard and on the lookout for anything and everything. When Jake's message had come, requesting a meeting, he knew that he would need to be extra cautious.
Frank had established his daily routine for the simple reason that he knew he would only have a few variables to control. He was aware of the pasty-faced man with slicked-back ginger hair tailing him and he had played along with the farcical cat and mouse game in an effort to give Numen the feeling of control. He had lulled him into a false sense of security quite brilliantly. He guessed that his morning bagel and coffee had probably been spiked with an isotope tracking device, he had used such things himself in the past. Their lifeline was quite short though and eventually passed through the system within a twenty-four hour period. He had grudgingly disposed of both the coffee and bagel a mile or so out of the compound, as well as disabling and replanting the tracker on his car which was now headed in the completely opposite direction to his current location on board a disposal vehicle.
Changing the shift patterns of the guards had been a stroke of genius and he had timed it perfectly with his routine. The added insurance of alerting his officers to a potential incident taking place in the city centre could not have worked out any better. The fake scenario had been meant to slow the pace of his follower, allowing him time to get beyond the eyes and ears of the compound and enough of a head start to send him off in the opposite direction. For all of his brilliant and meticulous planning, Frank could not have predicted the sequence of events that had taken place at headquarters, not that it mattered. He had set a hidden stinger in the path for his pursuer, to give him some additional problems, just outside the compound, but this unbeknown to him would not be required given what had happened.
Frank had set the meeting time and place with Jake when he was on his way to the old and abandoned military site a good couple of hours drive outside of London. He knew that Isaac's hideout was in the vicinity and it would provide them with ample time to respond to his communiqué and to meet him there.
He had not come across any vehicles along the country roads off of the main strips of the motorway. Traffic was never particularly dense during the middle of the week and was mainly restricted to large vehicles carrying food shipments or supplies from one compound to another. During daylight hours, attacks by rebel groups were very rare as this might expose their own fortifications and location given the heavy presence of the Empire's eyes and ears through existing CCTV infrastructure.
Frank had nothing to worry about, though, his diary highlighted a routine inspection to the base which still had many assets that the rebels might want access to. Visiting in daylight hours would not rouse any suspicion or lead to any awkward questions as to why he had come alone and to ensure complete anonymity of the visit he had reset the daily surveillance priorities so that he would be well on his way before his team realised that security cameras in the area had been on the blink again.
It was a fine day in the Wiltshire countryside. Frank was now pulling into the sleepy base and made his way to the empty hangar at the foot of the site. He pulled up next to the beaten up yellow excuse for a car that Jake and Isaac had arrived in and motioned for the two of them to pull into the hangar to ensure that they were completely out of sight. Frank then got out of his car and closed the doors to the hangar. They were now secure and out of view of any prying eyes. As Jake and Isaac disembarked Isaac's heavily modified but vintage Triumph TR7, Frank placed his finger to his lips and began to fiddle with a device that he had placed on the bonnet of his car.
Once the device was operating to Frank's satisfaction he turned to the two of them. It was clear that neither were any the wiser of what he was doing, the suspicious and curious glances evident.
'In my experience, you can never be too careful' explained Frank now turning to the device that was no bigger than a briefcase. 'It disrupts signals and means that if anyone is trying to listen in then they will just be met with a bunch of useless white noise'.
Isaac smirked, impressed by Frank's ingenuity. 'It's been a while, Director McQuaid'.
'Indeed it has' Frank replied now embracing Isaac like a long lost friend. 'I trust this one hasn't been too much trouble' he said rhetorically, now embracing Jake. 'What, no panting mutt with you? The two of you are normally inseparable'.
'He's back at the house resting' Jake lied, his relationship with his faithful friend was still at an impasse. 'Look Uncle Frank we didn't ask you here for a nice little catch up on how things have been'.
His sarcasm was met with a serious stare from Frank who then raised his palms to the air and directed his nephew to take a look around. 'Does it look like I came here for a chinwag Jake? Seriously, because I don't go to this much effort when I'm entertaining. I'm glad to see that Isaac has been looking out for you and I was surprised not to see the dog given the two of you normally resemble conjoined twins. I trust that he's okay too?'
'Max is fine' interrupted Isaac sensing that it might be better for him to take over the talking from here on in. 'Jake has settled in well and I imagine his slightly short manner might be attributed to why we asked you here'.
Jake did little to protest at Isaac’s intervention even though the truth was that he was very much missing his friend, appeared to have lost all of his abilities and had the worst first intimate encounter with a girl. Such trivial events were obviously far removed from the events that Isaac wanted to discuss, but Jake was still a boy after all with insecurities like anyone his age. He sensed that airing such feelings would probably bring little sympathy from these two alpha males so he decided to brood a bit and let Isaac lead the way. He had got Frank here, after all, so his job was done.
Isaac then proceeded to outline all of the things they had discovered up to this point, the cover-ups by senior figures within the Empire's ranks of the execution of innocent citizens; he explained the historical incidents that had paved the way for the Empire to seize control through smoke and mirrors and outlandish conspiracies. At the points where he seemed to be losing Frank, he took out a touch screen handheld device and showed him the images captured by Phoenix.
Frank listened intently, part of him thinking that what Isaac was saying was entirely beyond the realms of comprehension, that such corruption and deception on this kind of scale could not possibly exist or have existed in the past, particularly to the less well-informed. However, he knew that anything was possible and was unfortunately very well-informed. Most people would have treated what Isaac was saying as entirely incredulous and some elaborate conspiracy theory. He had himself rewritten many events in history for the protection of the public and he had witnessed firsthand the lengths that characters like Numen were prepared to go to grease the wheels of the compounds, so he knew it to be true. Seeing the evidence laid out this way in such a measured and well-evidenced fashion told him that Isaac was no lunatic crackpot or conspiracy theorist. If Frank was truthful with himself, he knew the evidence was there for him and everyone else to see, for so long no one had ever asked the key questions and as the evidence, he was being shown suggested, those who did had suffered the consequences.
After a few more minutes and countless more examples of heinous crimes committed by members loyal to the leaders of the Empire, Frank had seen more than enough.
'Look, I get it and to be honest I can't say I have never had suspicions' he said finally, perplexed and trying to regain some sense of perspective. 'God, I have long suspected this kind of stuff was going on, though nowhere near the size and scale that you are suggesting. Could you begin to imagine the ramifications if this got out?'
Isaac's eyes were now fixed upon him. 'Could you?'
Frank's expression shifted to one of outrage and utter bemusement. 'It would be total anarchy and everyone would go crazy, that's what. The system would break down and everyone in it would go absolutely berserk' he said gesticulating wildly like an escaped mental patient to emphasise his point.
Neither Isaac nor Jake was particularly moved by his display of mock outrage. They simply stared back at him with their questioning eyes interrogating him to consider what he was saying. It did not take long for the penny to drop.
'You intend to announce this to the world?' His question hung in the air momentarily with no immediate reply. 'You want to open Pandora's Box and unleash hell on earth?'
'No, we want people to know the truth' said Jake.
'And you are certain that is what people want? I don't mean to patronise you boy' he continued doing exactly that, 'but, I've been around for a long time and no one wants to know the truth, they just want to live in their little self-contained bubbles, pissing their pathetic lives away and pretending everything is a-ok'.
'Was Dad's life pathetic? Or what about my Mum's?' Jake snapped bringing Frank's rant to a halt.
Given the restrictions in place under the Empire’s regime where everything was presentational and false just for an easy life, Jake pondered whether that was really what the masses wanted. No freedom of expression, just a cog in a machine to service the desires of the few. Who would voluntarily accept life on those terms?
Jake having had this revelation now began to think of his own life and circumstances. He was starting to see Isaac’s bigger picture view. It would only take a trigger and enough people to react before a whirlwind of unbridled slavery could unleash even the most brainwashed of people into seeing reality for what it was. Action was a certainty.
'Look, Jake, of course, your parents mattered’ Frank continued, ‘but what you are talking about here if you start it, you have no idea where it will end. Who is to say that the grass is greener or that something much worse than Van Duyn and the others doesn't step in to fill the void' he argued, encouraging Jake to really think the consequences through.
Isaac stepped between Jake and his adopted uncle trying to bring some sanity to proceedings and to kerb the emotional cloud that had been infused into the discussions. 'Do you think things could really be worse than they are now?'
'I honestly don't know' confessed Frank trying to regain his composure.
'And what if I told you that there is every chance that without intervention, Jake's life is at risk, as is mine, and all the people who want to set the people free' Isaac pressed. 'We know that they intend to press on with something called False Dawn and from what we can muster they intend to launch it soon'.
Frank recoiled at the name. 'What the hell is 'False Dawn'?'
Isaac shook his head. 'We have no idea, just the name and that whatever it is will have consequences for all the rebels across the globe. Let's face it, Frank, they weren't going to let us co-exist forever and they have been increasingly stepping up their rhetoric in the media. That tells me that whatever they have planned could mean the status quo is maintained with no hope of ever bringing the Empire down. Take the rebels away and they have absolute and unequivocal power to do as they please and who knows what comes next?'
Frank's head was spinning, he had not been prepared for this. The things he was seeing and hearing just showed him how little he really knew as to what was going on in the world. Given his position as Director, he surely should have been in the know, but even with the highest security clearance, he had no idea. It was clear to him at this point, that Isaac's operation had much more capability than he had imagined.
'I'm not saying yes to what you are proposing, I can't see how you are going to make it work' Frank said. 'What is it that you want from me?'
'Well, that's the thing Frank' said Isaac taking a step towards him. 'In order to reveal the truth to all those dream walkers, we are going to need to broadcast the message loud and clear to everyone. We are going to need complete control over the Empire's system'.
A loud, nervous and somewhat derisory laughed escaped Frank's lips. 'You are barking bloody mad. You realise in order to have that kind of access you would need not only my access code but that of that maniacal monster Numen, and the president's too'he said shaking his head. 'It cannot be done. And, even if that miracle were to take place you would need two of the three of us to enter the code manually into the system on the inside'.
'We have Numen and Van Duyn's codes' Isaac said calmly, now showing him the two codes on the touch screen device.
The codes looked genuine and Frank was now getting a little nervous. 'Even if I was onboard with this, you still need to get Numen or Van Duyn at the mainframe terminal for all of the biometric tests. Then the firewall is disabled briefly for a few minutes and the system resets itself. What are you going to do, then?'
'You find a way of getting some of my guys into the compound undetected and they will be able to disable your system permanently, trust me'.
Frank did not like the sound of this one bit. 'So let me get this straight. You want me to give you my secure access code, somehow slip your guys in through security and you want me to stand there and hand over the entire mainframe that secures all the compounds across the world to you and your men' he said checking to see he had it all right.
Frank began to laugh aloud at the ridiculousness of the idea imagining that in a brief moment or two the large framed rebel leader would join him in the titillation of such an outrageous plan. Isaac appeared entirely unmoved, his brown eyes firm and focussed.
'That's absolutely what we want' said Isaac matter-of-factly.
Frank shot him an incredulous look. 'Fine I'll put my life entirely in danger, not to mention all those innocent lives of people inside to help you start your revolution Isaac' he said with a hint of sarcasm. 'But unless you can somehow morph into Numen or Van Duyn, how in god's name are you going to be able to disable the mainframe before your morbid slideshow is unveiled to the unsuspecting world?'
Jake who up until this point had been a bit of passenger in the conversation that was unfolding had understood everything that Isaac said. Frank’s latest question, however, had him wondering too. Was this going to be another expectation of his surrogate father that he had yet to be informed of and would no doubt have zero chance of being able to deliver?
'No one said they would do so willingly. You leave that part to me' said Isaac confidently. 'All we need is access in and for you to be there when we arrive'.
Isaac knew that Phoenix was more than capable of overriding the system once the firewall was disabled and she would be able to ensure he stayed that way permanently. He also believed that if Frank was on board that he would ensure getting her in there safely and play his part. The only part of the elaborate scheme he had to take a leap of faith with was that Jake would be able to perform the puppeteer role in getting Van Duyn to the terminal. He believed in the boy, he had seen him perform similar feats before but had not yet addressed this part of the plan with him. Jake did not need to be able to read minds to sense that this was his plan, though.
Frank had hoped his challenge to this inconceivable plan would have given his old friend pause for thought, but if anything it had spurred him on.
'So are you in?' Isaac asked.
Frank let out an exasperated sigh, casting a cursory glance at Jake before his eyes now came into line with Isaac's dark caramel and calm eyes. 'If it means protecting my boy, then I guess I'm in' he said somewhat reluctant and defeated. 'You'll need to give me some time to organise a way in. Is there some way I can reach you?'
Isaac handed him the touch screen device. 'When you have something for us get in touch with Phoenix, she has the phone you gave Jake'. He then turned away and encouraged Jake to get in the car.
'So why do I need this exactly' said Frank waving the touch screen at him.
'There's a file on there I think you are going to want to see. It might give you additional motivation if you start to get cold feet' Isaac said running his fingers through his afro, before opening the car door.
Frank looked at the device with a quizzical expression. ‘What’s on this file exactly?'
'It shows what really happened to Dad' Jake said from the passenger seat. 'It proves that he had nothing to do with the terrorist incident in Berlin'.
Jake closed the door, flashing his adopted uncle a brief smile. Frank gazed back at him, returning the smile and allowed himself a fleeting thought where they lived together in a world free of all this secrecy and constant state of fear. He felt bad for the kid, he had never had anyone there for him offering him a normal life. The truth was if he could help Jake just as he had promised to when he was just a boy that was motivation enough. Frank was growing tired of all the underhanded nonsense anyway. In truth, in the very empty life he had, Jake was the only thing he cared about and the rule breaches to support the rebels was what kept him going from day-to-day. He was frightened by the thought of the change and all he might lose, but he had not really given any thought to what life might look like outside of the elaborate bubble that had been created. Perhaps now, he should give it more thought.
He turned to leave, holding on tightly to the thought of the boy growing up and having his own family one day. He liked the idea of them visiting old Uncle Frank, bringing a few cold beers to the barbeque on a nice summer's day talking about happier events. That was something he could definitely fight for.
'Hey, Frank' said Isaac, interrupting the trail of Frank's musings on a brighter future. Frank now turned back to him. 'You ever hear of a Project Eden?'
The mere mention of the name sent a shiver down his spine. That was s