Dogfights

Dogfights - Dreams (Chapter 16)

"We are all prisoners. Not to any man but to his ideals. We are all prisoners, slaves, and whatever pretence of freedom developed in the age of discovery will inevitably die. Technology is not the true terror. We are. Our thoughts and minds. The electronic God is only an extension of ourselves, the finger over the trigger. The city is us."

Falling blackness overlaps red velvet and all is death. Kane opens his eyes, the blue glow pulsating over the warm body. Dark streaks of nothingness litter the sky, great gashes on the face of creation.

"We are the city. Do not ever doubt that. If there is a good then there must be an evil. If there are good ideas, good thoughts and invention, then there must be wrong ones. We cannot see which is which for we are always on the cusp of discovery. We live too short of lives to see which ideas become wrong or right, light or dark. So history repeats itself, indefinitely. The city is us."

A winding street careens down a bottomless pit, howling in fury. Time stops for it has no power here. A mirror with no end. A page with no words. Wings of darkness.

"Never forget that we are not the first. This process has repeated itself indefinitely, to the point of regret. No longer can we hide in the shadows. Soon the police will find us, the judge will judge us, and all will be caged. Our lives will become meaningless, the only sense of kinsmanship in the great steel city. These words pour out of my mouth yet I do not know them. The city is us. The city is us. The city is us..."

***

The man in black's voice faded into the background. The hitman's dreams were of hollow eyes and hollow hearts.

A harsh clash sounded and echoed through the cell. Kane lifted his tired body as he looked up. Catherine Kenneth stood before him, her pale white skin mingled with the metallic disease. She did not move forward, instead opting to stare with unflinching eyes. Two Seekers slipped by and placed a metal briefcase and a set of clothes on the ground next to the cot.

"When you are ready we will sedate you," Catherine said. "You will awake at a location not far from where Saul is. When you are done find a safe place to hide then insert the needle inside the case into your bloodstream. Be wary of the cameras and soldiers. Saul has dug himself deep. We cannot aid you without raising suspicion and losing his position again. He has become extremely paranoid."

Kane sat on the side of the cot, looking into her dead eyes. He nodded once.

"Any hint of betrayal and we will leave you, Kane."

Catherine paused as lights danced behind her, in the dim. "Kill him with mercy. I beg you."

The Kenneth turned to leave, the seekers following closeby. Kane waited a moment, watching the dust disturbed by the upheaval float to the ground. Slowly he rose and walked over to his new belongings. The outfit was of simple design, composed of a brown leather jacket with a single zipper running down the middle and padded black pants alongside a pair of black gloves. The material was bulletproof, similar to the vest with many pockets given to him by the man in black but lighter and more maneuverable. Kane discovered that the jacket was integrated with a hood and face mask.

Inside the briefcase was most of his standard weaponry: the silenced pistol, the silver cord, the dagger, the drone, as well as the aforementioned syringe. A clear green liquid danced inside the body of the needle, enclosed in an invisible case. Kane placed the items within secret compartments nestled inside the jacket and then put the outfit on.

The hitman tapped the door twice and then placed himself back on the cot. The Seekers entered, swiftly moving forward and then exposing Kane's wrist. A Seeker's hand shifted and clicked as its mechanical fingers merged together. A needle was formed, which then dug into Kane's wrist. The world grew hazy and muddled as the hitman plunged back into his dreams.