Walking Dollar Bills

Chapter 42: Pursuit

There are people who believe that the Dictator's underground prison is his biggest secret. Those people are wrong. The biggest secrets are not kept with the living, but with the dead.

Two government workers flank Dictator Beneficence as he arrogantly strides down a long pink cement skywalk nearly thirty feet high. There are no rails along the skywalk protecting Dictator Beneficence from a drop to his death. This is intentional. His government workers are his rails. They walk closest to the ledge.

Massive support beams rise from under the sand and uphold the pink skywalk. A second massive structure sits at the end of the skywalk. This structure is held up with support beams and a circular base made of cement.

The second structure is recognizable to Dictator Beneficence. He smiles as he approaches it. His rails swallow hard.

The pink skywalk leads to a building sculpted in the image of Dictator Beneficence's face. Rather than blood, skin, and bones, the face is constructed out of brick, concrete, and clay. From a distance, the entire structure resembles a long pink tongue sticking out of the Dictator's mouth, which is also the entrance to the building.

During this time of rebellion, the Dictator is literally retreating to his thoughts.

A metallic figure waits for Dictator Beneficence at the building's entrance. A young-woman with a coat of sand over her skin is on the floor beside the figure. A metal tail wraps around the woman's ankle. Her leg is purple below the tails' grip. Circulation has cut off. Her foot is no different than a phantom limb.

Dictator Beneficence motions his hands to clap, but stops before they ever touch. He sends a nasty look at the girl. She is incapacitated and does not react.

"There is only one pill left. That's what the filthy Viper told me" says Dictator Beneficence.

The sight of Amara's red bird feather tattoo on her back shoulder interests the Dictator. A rush of glee overcomes him as he remembers what he did to Cloud. He runs his lips over his teeth hoping that Cloud's children received the surprise he left for them.

"I need to know who has it."

The blue-eyed android's eyes glow intensely. Unlike its red-eyed counterpart, who charged into battle, this android chose to observe. It was programmed to be patient. Daedalus refused to create two identical proto-types. That's why he used the bones of the most violent and dangerous inmates to build the red-eyed prototype and he used the bones of the Nationalist spies and other imprisoned agents from other countries to build the blue-eyed proto-type.

This android is not only powerful; it is intelligent.

"Bring the girl inside. She must know something if Daedalus' toy brought her over to my secret HQ" says Dictator Beneficence.

The two government workers sprint over to the girl and drag her inside. The Dictator waits for them to travel out of earshot before proceeding. He reaches out his hand and rubs the outside of the proto-type's gun-barrel arm.

"There are supposed to be two of you" says Dictator Beneficence with a frown, "And Daedalus has stopped responding to my calls."

He slides his hand from the gun-barrel arm to the slick metallic chest of the proto-type,

"There's only one pill left, which means there are two gods. Bring one of them to me. I want to see this power for myself."

The smooth face of the proto-type nods before crawling to the ledge of the skywalk and diving into the pool of sand beneath it. Dictator Beneficence watches the android burrow through the sand until it disappears deep underground. He turns his back and steps inside of his HQ.