Primal Gambit

Chapter 37: Renault Lands

The great cruiser pitched to one side as it curved around toward the destination. This gave Renault a rich perspective on what lay below – there in The Dark City. Dense yellowed clouds obscured his vision, yet he could make out the dark spires and the tips of skyscrapers that cut through the heavy fog. From above it looked as if it were devoid of all life; the entire city had gone dark for the night. The ghost city was where Renault needed to go, yet at this point it seemed too perilous to traverse. Perhaps upon landing he would be proven otherwise. The mysterious man he had talked with on the phone was based out of Pittsburgh, though Renault wished it could have been someplace different. The Dark City was a hub of technological marvel and human progress, at least that's what it claimed to be. Beneath the masquerade were ugly truths just begging to be brought to light.

He recalled the cab ride from his home in the boonies to the airport. The sludge, the stench, the death. Replaying in his mind was his last interaction with his wife, the last time he saw his daughter. Renault hadn't landed in The Dark City and already he missed their company terribly.

His head pounded briefly from the change in pressure – his ears crackling, sound muffled. He could still feel the goliath engines beneath the wings. All four of them droned on as white magma spewed out the tails. From the ground, the trails in the night sky probably appeared alien. Renault drew his eyes from the city below to inside the cabin of the double-deck plane. Most of the seats were empty, the few people who shared the flight with him either read from tablets or slept through the turbulence. Those who read from their tablets were illuminated in blinding white light, small auras pronouncing lifeless faces that read aimless articles. Renault preferred to stay in the dark; he shrunk down in his seat whenever the stewardess would push a cart by. He didn't want to be identified, didn't want anyone to know what he was doing there.

For the duration of the entire flight, while the others remained glued to their devices, Renault wrote. He had brought a small leather-bound journal with him – it had been a gift from his wife from some anniversary of theirs. Initially, he had used it to jot down numbers and data regarding the distances at which the Charlie were. It served as a combat log on many missions, though now it served a much different purpose. He spent most of the flight writing about home, about Ellie and Grace. They were the only two on his mind, the only people keeping him from backing out of the deal. They both pulled him in and pushed him away.

He sat, slumped in the uncomfortable chair. The entire row to himself – alone with his thoughts. They festered within the very core of his being, gnawing away at his conscience.

The events he would miss while on this job were the catalyst points of his torment. The amount of money removed from his wartime affairs by taxes was criminal. The man was left with nearly enough to put food on the table. They deserved more – deserved better. He was going to miss two of the most important coming days of his life – his 25th wedding anniversary, as well as Grace's fourth birthday. Renault wondered how Ellie, in his absence, would celebrate the two.

He could see the day of their wedding so clearly – the dim-lit cabin helped. The ceremony was small, overlooking a quaint lake in Utah where the two had grown up. They had known each other for years, and as water droplets peppered the otherwise still water, Renault looked soulfully into her eyes and knew she was the only one there would ever be. Rain on a wedding used to be a sign of good luck, of good things to come, and to the couple being married in a world where everything around them was becoming spoiled daily, it still rang true. Their families surrounding, they exchanged vows:

"I don't know what this world has in store for any of us, but what I do know is that I'll feel safer, more loved, and more complete if I spend the rest of my time here with you. It has always been you, John." She looked up at him and smiled, tears racing down her pronounced cheeks – he reciprocated the smile before touching a nervous hand to her face, wiping them away and voicing his own: