Anarchy [ Watty's 2016 ]

XV: Alex

After twenty-five minutes of silence, I decided to make conversation. "So, where are we going?" I asked.

Taylor glanced back at me. "The hell outta dodge," she replied. "I've got a place in Hyde Park, by the river in West Street Park. It's not much, but it's sure as hell better than sticking around back there."

I heard Mordekai mutter, "West Street Park? Why there?"

Ignoring him, I nodded in agreement. "What are you doing back in town, anyways? You sure had expert timing on saving us when you did."

She laughed. "Yeah, well, I came back because I heard of this big scandal—something about someone stealing files from ARCH-CORE headquarters?—and wanted to find out more. There are other underground groups that want the CORE taken down, y'know. Anyways, figured you lot would be the ones causing trouble, so I decided to check the school first. Which reminds me, y'all know my name, but I don't know yours."

Mordekai answered first. "First name Mordekai, last name Sanders," he declared with a snort.

"Uh, Jade Ryder," said Jade.

"That leaves me," I said, "I'm—"

"Alex, right? Nichols?" Taylor finished. I nodded. "I remember you! You were a little tyke when I was still 'round."

"Well, uh, yeah. I was ten when I joined, so that means when you left I was eleven. What have you been doing since you left?"

"That's a story for another time, kid. Besides, we're here," Taylor announced, a hint of defensiveness creeping into her voice.

Not wanting to push the subject, I got out of the car and followed her down to the river. She led us to a rustic-looking cabin—that also appeared rather ominous considering it was pitch-black outside—which turned out to be anything but. Although it wasn't the largest place in the world, Taylor really knew how to maximize space. Inside, the cabin was ultramodern—a large flat screen TV, a tower with a quad monitor setup, and...

"Is that a holo-maker?" Mordekai asked, voicing my thoughts. He pointed at a round device in the corner; it was roughly the size of a scale—big enough to stand on. A control panel lined with rows of buttons sat next to it.

Taylor grinned, her cheerful manner returning. "Yep. It took me ages to get ahold of one of those puppies. It's pretty sweet."

"Uh, what does it do?" Jade asked. It was easy to forget that she didn't know about this technology.

"Basically," Mordekai explained, "you stand on it, press the buttons according to what you want, and a hologram will generate around you—generally a disguise or an entirely different person. From then on, you can move freely with the hologram for up to eight hours, as long as you avoid water, or unless you stay in a CORE sensor's range for too long. Press another button, and you can remotely control the hologram without having to actually be in it."

"Huh." Jade nodded, still staring at the holo-maker like it was a bomb about to go off.

"Well, anyways, welcome to my humble abode! Food's in the kitchen—obviously—shower and toilet's your first door on the left, and there are three bedrooms y'all can use," Taylor said, pointing out each area as she went along.

I looked over at Damien, who was snoring in a disgraceful heap on the floor, his rear pointed skyward. It made me feel a bit better. Still..."What are we going to do with him?" I wondered out loud. I didn't like the thought of having him around, considering. Who could blame me?

"Oh, that jackass? No problem." Taylor grabbed something off the coffee table—an electronic device about the size of a pack of gum. She pressed a button on it and tossed it in Damien's direction, and a glowing blue aura encircled his wrists and ankles. "Electric cuffs," she clarified. "Won't hurt him unless he tries to escape. Won't keep him from yellin' though."

I nodded, and Jade said, "Well, I'm going to take a shower. I brought a change of clothes for me and Alex, but...sorry bro, couldn't get you any." The last part was directed at Mordekai.

"'s fine," he replied, falling onto the couch. I'm pretty sure he set a new record for the quickest time anyone has ever fallen asleep.

After Jade finished taking her shower—I found it a bit odd, but she locked her bag in the bathroom with her—I hopped in; I found it strange that the first real shower I'd had since the hospital wasn't even in my own home. When I was done cleaning off dust, makeup, and blood, I changed into the clothes she'd brought me—a loose-fitting shirt and leggings, along with a gray scarf that I wrapped around my neck to cover the now-healing cut on my neck.

I bumped into her on the way out and took the opportunity to say, "We need to walk and talk. Riverside?" She nodded reluctantly, and we met by the river five minutes later. We started walking.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked warily, like she knew what was coming. I noticed she still had her backpack; she was clutching the strap so tightly, her knuckles were turning white.

"You know what I want to talk about. The files. You trying to get yourself killed to buy us time—especially when you knew Pierce wouldn't stay true to his word. What's in the bag, Jade?" I stopped walking and turned to face her. "No lies."

She sighed resignedly. "You want to know what's in the bag?" she asked rhetorically. "Well, here." She crouched down and dumped the contents on the grass. Inside was a collection of papers—sketches, I thought, but it was too dark to see for sure—her BB revolver, her laptop, her pistol, her knife, a flashlight, and...a picture of her family.

"Oh," I said stupidly. "I'm sorry for—"

Jade cut me off, shaking her head. "No, don't say anything yet. Because I need to show you this." She turned over the picture and took it out of the frame. Alongside the photo, a USB drive and a slip of paper fell out. She handed me the paper.

"You want to know what it says?" she asked, addressing the fact that, unless I took her flashlight, it was too dark too read it. "It says,

"'Jade,

Don't worry; both of us will be fine, although we miss you dearly. Trust your instincts, and you won't fail. The CORE system needs to be brought down before we can come back. Direct yourself towards the people you trust, and they will prove powerful allies. Or else, you will be alone, and nobody wants that.

With love,

Mom and Dad'"

"Wow, that's..." I stumbled over my sentence, trying to form the right words.

"Odd," Jade finished. At my confused look, she added, "My parents have never written a note like that in their lives. My mom wrote this—I can tell the handwriting—but see how each sentence is on a different line? My mom never writes like that, and the word choice is really weird."

I shrugged. Now that she pointed it out, I did find the structure of the note strange. I squinted at the note—using moonlight to read it—trying to find some clue, when it hit me like a brick wall.

"That's it!" I exclaimed, surprising myself. "But...that doesn't make sense..."

"What?" she asked, leaning over the note to try and pick it out herself. "What is it?"

"The first words of every sentence. They make a message. Don't, trust, the, direct, and or. But, what could it—oh. Oh. This can't be good," I mumbled, shaking my head in disbelief. "I'm pretty sure it's supposed to read, 'Don't trust the Director.'"

"Shit," Jade muttered. I had to agree.

"And I guess that the flash drive is the files? You hid them in the frame?" I pointed to the USB drive.

She nodded. "I'll confess. The other night, when you asked me to stay at the underground, someone broke into my house and attacked me. Thing is, I'm pretty sure it was Pierce—the real Pierce. I was going to wait to give it to the Director until you got out of the hospital, but...well, y'know. And now—" she broke off, a look of dismay and fear forming across her face.

"We have a problem," she said. "We need to get back-now."