Molly - Part 4

Chapter 25

Osiris sobbed, bowing his head, trying to see through the fire but the fire was everywhere. Most of their cover was melted, the hovercars the machines had stacked for them doing little against such a force. The fucking cops; weren't they supposed to be on their side?

Bently flung himself down next to Osiris and shouted something Osiris couldn't hear.

"I said where the fuck is command?"

"They stopped giving us orders," Osiris said, to no one. "They're gone."

"What do you mean they're gone--give me that!"

He snatched Osiris' receiver and began barking orders Osiris didn't hear. The lasers were destroying most of the block; where the fuck had these ingrates gotten so many guns--

"Look out!"

Bently was disintegrated in a puff of smoke, a red mist trailing down then lingering with the fog.

"Holy shit!"

Osiris started running. He didn't care where or if he was in line of fire; his mind was a steel trap that had sprung.

And there was Jesse. Osiris exhaled; they would be fine so long as Jesse was here. But something had changed: no longer was Jesse at the forefront, firing wherever he went. Instead he seemed to be praying, in the middle of a courtyard and there all around him hanging from the rafters like bodies were american flags burning, becoming cinders slowly coming down to Jesse himself who lifted his arms and laughed.

"They thought they had killed me but I'm still here. I'm always going to be here--do you hear me Maxis? Oh, we've killed gods before. We've leveled mountains! Struck the earth and will one day conquer, conquer you all! There is only one path forward: complete control, over everything and everyone, and when the perfect human is made we will do away with god and become titans of the void incarnate! Sing! Oh, words of fire, words of grief and all the numbers and all the--"

The shot went through his head. He fell, face-first.

Silence. Osiris fell to his knees, watching the body. Now Jesse was not so incredible, in fact was very small. A frail specimen forced against this hell.

She had shoulder-length hair and her suit had gashes in it. She had no weapon, her hands covered completely red and so Osiris thought she must be one of the gods Jesse had been so adamant to kill.

A click from behind.

***

The fascist fell alongside the rest of them. Tes observed it all, then observed Jesse. A man who had been dead for a long time.

From the frays of the city appeared Molly Smith and the man who followed her. Tes didn't say anything, just watching in dull silence as the fascists faded away.

"I wonder why she wanted this?" Molly asked. "She seemed so adamant on keeping him."

"Who, Amelia?" Tes snorted. "Amelia doesn't give a fuck about politics. But I don't have to tell you that."

Molly waited with that same serene look on her face.

Tes went over and took Jesse's gun, pressing a boot against his hand so that the hand let go. She put the weapon up to the light and observed the side, the stock. Amelia had been busy; the sidewinder was in good condition.

"No, Molly Smith. None of it has ever made sense and it never will. Amelia stepped to the side--maybe--'cause Hitler over here was getting a little too comfy. I don't care. Maxis didn't stop me, so I figure this is what he wanted."