YEAR 2030 - LONDON COMPOUND - TOWER BRIDGE
The truck that Jake and Max had been in just moments ago had been completely obliterated by the guards at the final gate on Tower Bridge. They were now just about thirty yards away from the sole entry point to the London compound. Things had not gone according to plan at all. The question was how were they going to get past the black and green armoured guards and more importantly through the thirty foot reinforced steel gate?
In the commotion, they had managed to jump out of the driver's cabin scaling the left-hand side of the bridge towards the gate. They had briefly considered jumping over the side and into the river below, but it was unclear how safe an option that would have been given the amount of debris that had accumulated in the Thames over the years. The river no longer flowed freely and was strewn with remnants of many of the other bridges that had been destroyed to ensure that this was the only access point from the south. It was also believed that many bodies had accumulated in the water following horrific events from the past.
Jake had heard the collision behind them just a few moments ago but had not looked over his shoulder since. He was unaware that Numen was just a short distance behind them.
I'll draw their fire, you try to scale the gate. Max's voice rattled in Jake's head as the American Staffordshire Terrier bounded into action.
Max stuck to the left of the bridge running along the railing, the black water below just a slip away. The four remaining guards now unleashed bolts of fiery lightning at him. He was too quick for them with their shots flying off into the night sky or hitting and destroying the railing. Like a parkour pro, Max flew effortlessly from the railing to the road, bounding and jumping away from the stream of fire from his attackers. He was a supreme athlete, with ballerina grace and razor sharp precision.
Jake had taken the path right, using the fallen truck to block the guard's view of him as he loomed near to the gate. He had not yet figured out exactly how he was going to get over it, but that would be of little consequence if he was struck by one of the guard’s nuclear-powered shots. Max had done an excellent job of drawing their attention and now Jake was out in the open, just a short sprint from the reinforced steel gate.
'Here goes nothing' he sighed, taking a deep breath and hoping that his own parkour skills were at least half as good as Max's. He lurched back and tried to propel himself forwards to get maximum speed. In spite of his efforts, Jake was rooted to the spot sinking deeper into the Deja vu vacuum that had now emerged in the pit of his stomach.
'Not so fast boy' came Numen's voice from behind him.
Jake spun involuntarily to face the general who stood near the corpse of the truck, palm raised towards him looking worse for wear.
'Consider yourself caught, the game is up'.
Jake used his peripheral vision to see where Max was, but it was clear he was running out of options himself, with the foot soldiers getting ever closer with their pot-shots.
Max, get out of here. He said telepathically. I'm trapped.
I'll try and get him caught in the crossfire. Max replied, having clearly assessed the new circumstances that they found themselves in, all the while still dodging and clambering away from the soldiers' fire.
No, get away now, try and find Isaac and get him to come here. Jake responded lips not moving so as to not alert his captor.
Numen watched on with a smirk as Max obediently followed his master's order, running through the legs of one of the footsoldiers who then was struck in the crossfire. The muscular dog then used the guard post to spring up onto the supporting wall and to the top of the gate. He peered back at Numen and growled before jumping from the top of the gate to the freedom and darkness of the ghetto.
'Quite the little trick you two have' he said moving in on Jake who was locked in a state of total paralysis. It explains a lot. Numen's voice said, but his lips were no longer moving. His voice had penetrated Jake's mind to the boy's total surprise.
The remaining three-foot soldiers moved in on Numen and Jake's position awaiting orders.
'Secure the area and clear this mess up' he said indicating to the burned out truck and the array of scattered limbs from the surrogates.
'What about the other one?' enquired one of the foot soldiers.
'Leave him he is of no consequence, I've got the jackpot right here' he replied smiling smugly.
His moment of victory was interrupted by the sound of an engine on the other side of the gate.
'Are you expecting anyone?' he called to the foot soldiers who were now alert to the engine and sound of brakes behind the gate.
'There's nothing on the manifest' replied the foot soldier.
Numen maintained his invisible grip on Jake and waved the soldiers towards the gate to identify the unexpected visitors. The engine beyond the gate then roared back into action and then seemed to reverse slowly away from the gate. Numen gazed suspiciously towards the sound, even if the vehicle on the other side was backing up just to accelerate and smash it's way in, there was no way they would be able to breach the heavily fortified gate which was considerably more secure than the two checkpoints down the road. The foot soldiers were now at the final fortification and the truck beyond it was still reversing.
'Looks like it was a false alarm sir' said the lead guard.
KABOOM! The three foot soldiers were sent sprawling under the impact of the explosion and Jake and Numen had been knocked to the ground ears ringing. The gate remained largely intact in spite of the blast but was now sliding open. The fallen foot soldiers were taking fire from an old army truck. Numen could barely make out a figure in the back, but he was firing an Empire issue cannon and it was making mincemeat of one of the foot soldiers. In his slightly dazed state, he could make out two adult male figures storming towards the now opened gate, firing upon the other two foot soldiers with the nuclear-powered rifles that were standard issue for state guards. He tried to get to his feet to repel them but could make out the American Staffordshire Terrier whose angry stare was locked upon him and bounding at pace towards him.
Numen clambered quickly to his feet, Max was passing by Jake who was crawling towards the mouth of the exit to the ghetto. Numen tried to keep his invisible grip on the boy but his power over him was waning. Max had now launched himself head first at Numen, but the general was quick to evade his attack, ducking and spinning out of the way.
Max landed and spun on his heals preparing for another lunge. He crouched low snarling furiously with murder in his eyes.
'I saw you coming you stupid mutt' snapped Numen, pulling a fallen gun from beneath his feet.
'Hey!' came a shout from over his shoulder.
The voice was not familiar to Numen, it was female and young. He had not seen a girl beyond the gate. He turned his head instinctively to respond to the voice, keeping the gun locked on Max. In the split-second that he turned, he saw the dainty young woman, her bright emerald eyes meeting his briefly. Her cropped and crimson red hair accentuated her pale porcelain skin and pixy features and it was at this point that Numen recognised her. The moment of realisation was brief as the girl's foot cracked hard and swiftly across his jaw, knocking him to the ground. Numen rolled dazed onto his back and she was on him in a flash reigning a series of blows to his face.
She got to her feet dusting herself down and then waved for Max to get back to the truck. The red-haired warrior then crouched beside Numen's fallen body. 'Bet you didn't see that coming though did you asshole?'
She pulled a device from her pocket and placed it over her knuckles like a knuckle duster and then punched him full force in the face drawing blood. Numen lay motionless on the ground and the girl quickly scanned the wreckage of the battle and explosion. Her male colleagues had taken care of the remaining foot soldiers and the coast was clear. She then placed her finger in her ear, looking back towards the truck and devastated gate. The boy and dog were clambering into the back with her gang of emancipators.
'Phoe we got a green light' she said readying herself to run. The apparent confirmation came over the earpiece and she now was running through the gates towards the truck.
Numen sat up watching the red-haired girl nearing the truck, he raised his palm in an effort to stop her like he had done to Jake, but he was unable to get a hold of her. He searched for a gun, but it was out of reach, he grabbed at the only thing in the vicinity which was the decapitated head of one of the foot soldiers. He ripped it open and fingered around for the communicator furiously as the truck roared away from the scene.
'Fugitives are getting away' he yelled. 'Where are my fucking drones?'
'Sorry General' came Frank's voice over the headset, 'we've just had a shift changeover and all the drones are charging. I've sent two squads to support'.
Numen slammed the foot soldier's decapitated head to the ground and watched as the truck trailed off into the night. He noted that it was headed west, but without the drones patrolling the sky there was no way of knowing where they were going. Either the rebels had just gotten very lucky, or more likely they had some help. He wiped the blood from the wound on his cheek and headed back along Tower Bridge into the heart of the compound whilst the oncoming sirens of the security teams wailed into the night sky. It was too late, they would never catch up with the rebels especially now they were in the ghetto.
The escape truck, a disused army carrier, cut through the depressing blackness of the night away from Tower Bridge. They had been headed west for approximately ten minutes now. The red-haired girl appeared to be in charge of this particular band of unlikely rescuers. Jake had been unable to get a good look at the driver whom she had referred to as 'Ed', but it was surprising to him that this young woman, who could not have been much older than him, maybe in her late teens or early twenties, was in charge. The two other gunmen on the ground had not made eye contact yet, they whispered conspiratorially together with the other man who was in charge of the rear gunning cannon. All of them Jake guessed must have been in their late-thirties and were all dressed in well-worn combat attire, he assumed that they had once served in the military given the precise and well-managed extraction from the compound.
The emerald eyed girl who had taken on Numen, was peering out of the back of the truck, no doubt to check that they were not being followed either by mobilised troops on the ground or from drones in the sky. The coast appeared to clear.
'Right Ed, pull over' she called to the driver as she took a rifle from one of the older men and pointed it directly at Jake's head. 'Sorry, but we can't go any further without conducting some checks first'.
As the truck pulled to the side of the road, Max was up and snarling ready to rip her arms off and do whatever was necessary to protect his master.
The red head seemed unfazed by Max's threatening behaviour. 'Sam, Mike, Tank,' she said to the three men who now pointed their rifles at Max whose threatening demeanour was far from abating. 'Call off the dog, or we take you both out right now' she warned to Jake.
Jake raised his hands in submission and gave Max a signal to back off. The American Staffordshire Terrier gave out a brief whine of disagreement and then reluctantly resumed a more relaxed seated position in the corner of the truck behind the driver. He showed his lack of appreciation for their welcome by turning his head away from the gunmen and out of the front windscreen.
'Don't mind him. Just not used to this kind of welcoming committee' said Jake trying to break the tension that had engulfed the back of the truck.
'Well, sorry about that' she replied without a hint of sincerity in her voice, 'we aren't used to uninvited visitors, especially one who has a tracking device' she said, taking a step back and turning to the cluster of men behind her. 'Come on Mike, do your thing and then we can get going' she said.
Mike put down his rifle and came alongside Jake with a strange looking device in his hand. He was a square-jawed, tanned, athletic type with salt and pepper hair and deep brown eyes.
'Now hold still' he said in a much softer tone than Jake had expected for such a big, strong man, 'this might feel a little weird'. He took the device that looked like a steering wheel with a cylinder at the base and began to scan it across Jake's body.
Max gave a quick glance at what Mike was doing and then a cursory one at the red-haired girl whom he had decided he did not like very much.
What the hell are they talking about with tracking devices?
I have no idea. Responded Jake telepathically, checking briefly that none of them had picked up on the internal dialogue they were having. None of the group reacted. Just keep cool and do as they say and we'll be fine.
'Anything yet?' enquired the smaller of the two other men called Sam.
Mike shook his head. 'I'm getting nothing'.
The gargantuan third man, who could only be Tank stepped closer puzzled by the apparent lack of tracking device. 'That can't be. Everybody has a tracker put in them. You know that'.
The tension was building in the back of the truck and the group of rescuers was now questioning one another with accusatory glances. Mike continued to check every inch of Jake's body which was uncomfortable for many reasons, not least that he was still dressed like some perverted cowboy having had no time to change since Desire.
'I'm telling you guys, he hasn't got a tracker' protested Mike looking up at the red-head for guidance. 'What you want to do Alexis?'
'Well if he hasn't got one then the mutt must have' she snapped. 'Check him' she motioned to Mike, 'and for the umpteenth time please stop with Alexis crap, call me Lexi. Please'.
Mike moved away from Jake and now swept the device towards Max, whose temper was starting to fray and he was now baring his teeth and growling in a guttural, agitated fashion.
Put that thing near me and I'll bite your goddamn balls off.
Jake smirked, as Mike recoiled, having heard Max's threat. It was clear the translation had not been made by Lexi or the others. They clearly did not speak dog.
'Now then Maxi, be a good doggie' mocked Jake having stepped up and taken control of the situation. 'Nobody here is going to hurt you' he continued playfully, seeking reassurance from the others.
'We just need to check he hasn't got a tracking device' said Mike. 'We can't take you back to our base until we're sure you're clear otherwise they'll come for us'.
'Now Max, be a good boy and daddy will give you a biscuit. Let Mike do the check and then we're done' Jake continued in a forced babyish tone.
The rest of them heard a reluctant whisper, Jake, on the other hand, was quite sure he heard something rather abusive and unflattering.
Max swept the tracker detection device over Max and within an instant the device gave a flickering red light and beeped in alarm.
'He's bugged?' enquired Jake utterly dumbfounded.
'Probably a microchip' said Sam now stepping forward with a knife and a handheld electromagnetic device, 'they were popular back in the day'.
And what exactly do they propose to do with those? Max's voice angrily enquired in Jake's head.
Mike looked at Jake, taking the knife and electromagnet from Sam. 'It's got to come out, and it might hurt' he said a hint of fear in his voice.
Jake shared a brief apologetic look with Max and kissed him on the head. He then grabbed him tightly knowing that he was not going to just take one for the team. 'Help me hold him down' he called to the others as Max began to fight back, reeling off expletives into Jake's subconscious.
Tank and Sam piled on top and Lexi exposed the back of Max's neck so that Mike could extract the troublesome chip.
'Sorry buddy, I'll be as gentle as possible' said Mike going in for the extraction whilst Max continued to scuffle and fight.
After a few minutes of struggling, a slight wail and whimper from Max and a successful extraction later, the bloody microchip was cast out into the desolate road. The truck then lurched back into action, swinging back the way it came before turning off at the next exit and heading in an entirely different direction from the westerly route they had set out upon on leaving the compound. Jack hoped that he had just acquired some new allies to help him in his vendetta against the Empire, even if it meant his best friend was more than a little pissed with him right now. Max would come around, eventually.