The Quantum Gate Trilogy Read online

“I wasn’t careful,” Frees said. “It’s my fault. I should have checked…I should have known. Peacekeepers in your apartment. They weren’t just waiting for you. They were waiting for me.” His hands had balled into fists and he slammed them down on to the edge of the building, cracking the concrete. “Goddammit!”

  “They put a tracker on my stuff, didn’t they?” Arista asked.

  “They must have. They must have known you’d need it. And one of us would come for it. I thought they were just there to guard in case you came back. But they were really there to make sure I picked up what you needed to survive. Brought it right back to home base.” He turned away. “I should have picked up a tracker! They must have set up charges in the base of the building. Or maybe not. The Cadre has control of military applications.”

  “That’s what we felt down in the tunnels.”

  Frees nodded. “When the building fell, it collapsed on those coolant tanks stored beneath the building, creating a massive concussive blast. We shouldn’t have survived it.”

  “Why destroy the whole building? Why sacrifice all those people?”

  Frees stared at his hand. “It was an irrational decision. Not like the Cadre at all. Maybe they’re scared. I don’t know. But I do know they just killed over four-hundred residents. And who knows how many more on the streets surrounding it.”

  “Frees, all my supplies were in there. I have no way to eat anymore.” Her mouth had become dry and scratchy again and she had the urge to climb back down into that atrium where there was at least a source of clean water if nothing else.

  Frees remained stone-faced. “How long can humans last without food?”

  The Device displayed the information for her even though she didn’t need it to. “Three weeks in ideal conditions.” She turned away from the view. “Less if conditions aren’t ideal.” She’d already been incredibly hungry when he’d brought her the meal earlier in the night. If she’d have known it was going to be her last one she would have savored it a bit more.

  “That doesn’t give us much time,” he said. “But once we complete our mission we can find some food for you. Outside of the city. Nuts, berries…something.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Something.”

  Frees made his way back to the roof access door. “C’mon. We need to keep moving. They’ll be sifting through the rubble to verify our deaths. We need to make sure we’re nowhere close when they don’t find them.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To the Cadre. We have to free everyone now. We’re running out of time.”

  Arista didn’t move. “No.”

  He turned back, sneering. “No?”

  “We had a deal. Maybe I only have a few weeks to live, but I need to use those to help my parents. Their spans are up in two months. And I’m their only hope for a future.” She pulled the phone implant out of her jacket pocket. It was still inactive, it would be her only chance to contact them again. And with the scanning equipment destroyed, she had no other way. They would get the bodies, find a place to store them, then she’d try one last time.

  “You can’t be serious. They just destroyed my entire building trying to kill us!”

  “If my only function on this planet is to make sure the two people and raised me when I needed it most continue to live a long life then so be it. I made them a promise and I’m not about to let them down.”

  Frees walked back to her, his eyes down and shaking his head. “How can we even hope to keep them from the Cadre? We’ve just lost our only storage option. And don’t forget, my own power supplies were in there as well. All I have is the one I’m currently using.”

  “Yeah,” she said, defiant. “And where did you get that one?”

  He perked up. “You’re right. Jill.”

  “Does she have the ability to store them for us?”

  His features creased into a frown. “I…don’t know. I’ve never been to her place.”

  Arista pursed her lips. “Do you know where she lives?”

  “I have her address...” Frees stood still, his face blank for a moment. “But she’s not going to like uninvited guests. She isn’t what I would call completely stable.”

  Arista stared out over the buildings. “How far?”

  “Twenty-seven blocks. She’s over on the west side of town.”

  She turned west. “And how far is the production plant?”

  “Another twelve blocks to the southeast.”

  The Device automatically oriented her via a compass and she turned back toward the southeast, seeing a large, flat complex of buildings out in the distance. “Is that it?” she asked.

  Frees nodded. “The McCormick Facsimile Production Facility. It’s massive.”

  “We’ll need a transport of some kind then. It will be too far for you to carry two bodies back to Jill’s place, unannounced or not.”

  “I still think we should go after the Cadre first. Free everyone.”

  She turned to him. “And what happens when I need to get two bodies who already have living consciousnesses in them? Remind me again about the sanctity of life?”

  Frees did not protest further.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to talk to your friend, get you some backup power. Then we will get the bodies from the production facility. Once all that is finished, we take down the Cadre.”

  “I don’t need the power yet, I can just call…” Frees reached toward his forearm. Arista snatched his hand back with her own.

  “You can’t call. We can’t risk them monitoring. If they destroyed your building looking for us I don’t think they would hesitate to do the same thing to her place if they overhear we’re going there.”

  “We just show up? I don’t think she’ll like that.”

  “Extreme circumstances,” Arista said. “The only problem is getting there.” She eyed the rooftops. Could Frees make that many jumps? Some were quite far.

  “I’m not jumping those roofs,” Frees said, seeming to read her mind. “The odds of someone seeing are too great. And there’s a perfectly good underground path we can use.”

  Arista shuddered. She didn’t want to go back down underground. It was suffocating down there. The atrium wasn’t so bad, but the tunnels themselves…what if the Cadre decided to destroy more buildings? What happened when they figured out neither Arista nor Frees were in the rubble of his old building? Would they send Peacekeepers down into the tunnels after them? Based on what she’d seen so far the Cadre had no trouble sacrificing a few soldiers to accomplish its goals, though she still couldn’t quite understand why they’d demolished the entire building.

  “What if we use the hyperloop?” Frees said, bringing her back.

  “How? There’s no power down there.”

  “Those lines run close to the underground power supply lines. I could split the power from down into the system. All we need is enough to power a couple of carriages over there and back again. The Cadre will see a power drain on the system but it might take them a while to figure out where it’s coming from and what it’s being used for.”

  “Does the hyperloop have a stop close to Jill’s?”

  “There’s an access station a couple of blocks away. Underground, of course.”

  If it was quick maybe she could make it. Better than trudging through another thirty blocks worth of tunnels. As long as they could get the bodies and keep them safe it would be worth the risk. And using the loop they would be done before the sun came up.

  “Okay.” She sighed. “Back into the depths we go.”

  ***

  “I think that’s it!” Frees yelled throughout the cavernous atrium. “We’re good to go!”

  Above her beautiful ironwork chandeliers flickered on, half the bulbs out on the two massive structures, but it was enough light to see the entire area. Arista stood beside the entertainment booth and glanced at the center of the circular room. A series of twelve rails embedded into the ground bisected the center of the room in equa
l intervals, giving the floor a clock-like quality to it. She glanced back at the tunnel they’d come through noting it was more of an access tunnel than anything else. No pods traveled through there, it was only meant to access the loop lines in case of emergencies.

  Frees climbed down from his perch where he’d diverted the power. It had only taken him forty-five minutes to locate the power supply and divert a small amount.

  “And this will operate the stations we’re exiting too?” Arista asked.

  “I’m only going to activate one line at a time. That way the power drain shouldn’t be enough for them to notice. No need to light up the whole system.” He took stock of the giant room. “Over here.”

  He led them to one of the archways with the label over it proclaiming: “West Loop – Joliet”.

  “It’s this one. The station we need is in North Lawndale.” Beside the archway was a touchpad that had flickered to life. Even as Frees worked his hand over the pad, calling up a fresh pod, the Device provided Arista with schematics on how she could do the same thing. It was a fairly simple process to bypass needing a ticket. Apparently, the system hadn’t had a chance to be in use very long if the security was this lapse.

  Underneath the archway the floor split in two, doors opening to reveal a small red pod shaped like a bean and pointed on one end. The front was all glass and the back completely solid.

  “I’ve set the destination station. I guess we just get in,” Frees said.

  The floor retracted back to solid and the pod set down, the side opening to reveal two seats.

  “Will you be able to call another one at the other station?” Arista asked. When they eventually did procure the bodies, there was no way they’d be able to fit them in this pod along with themselves.

  “I should be able to. Additional pods are stored underneath the floor of the loop itself. We should be able to call up as many as we want. After you.”

  Doing her best to keep her hand from shaking Arista grabbed the edge of the pod and ducked inside, taking the furthest seat. She took three deep breaths as Frees took the seat beside her. When the side slid shut it was eerily quiet inside.

  “What now?” she whispered.

  Frees shrugged, looking all around them. “I’ve never used this technology bef—”

  There was a large metal clang behind them making Arista jump and the pod lurched forward, picking up speed rapidly. A low whine enveloped the whole pod.

  “How long wi—?”

  Suddenly the pod lurched to a stop.

  Her heart had to be running a thousand beats per second. “What happened? Did it break down?” she asked, her voice higher than she intended.

  “I think we’re here,” Frees said.

  “Already?” Arista was incredulous. They’d traveled twenty-seven blocks in what, four seconds? How was that possible?

  The door to the pod slid open. Frees stepped out, then indicated it was safe for Arista to follow. They stepped onto a long platform, similar to a subway station. As soon as they were both clear from the pod the floor beneath it opened up, retracting the pod back underneath.

  “That’s pretty nifty,” Arista said, the only sounds around her a low hum from the loop’s power. “Now where?”

  At the end of the station was a flight of stairs.

  “Up,” said Frees.

  The stairs led to a tiled entrance with a large metal door. A pathetic attempt to blockade it had been made sometime in the distant past, judging by the amount of dust on everything. A piece of metal scaffolding, an old locker, bits of pipe and a couple of briefcases had been haphazardly thrown up against the door.

  “A last attempt to keep the machines out?” Arista asked.

  “A futile attempt,” replied Frees.

  “Let’s hope we have better luck.”

  Twenty-Six

  JONN MADE HIS WAY THROUGH THE CORRIDORS, his head held high. Charlie had tested him and by his own estimation he’d passed with flying colors. It was a shame he and Arista couldn’t spend the rest of their lives together, but he had, through some very tough decisions, secured his own future in the organization. He wouldn’t have to worry about being wiped by Charlie or Xian or anyone else, and if he continued to perform admirably, he might even be granted transference into another body when the time came and his was used up.

  Jonn reached the bank of elevators and happily pushed the “up” button. There was no one in the carriage when he entered, but then again it was close to midnight and all the husks were in their homes watching late-night entertainment programs, performing their pre-scripted sex actions, or more likely, faking sleep for another five or six hours before the start of the next weekday. He couldn’t believe he’d been just like them not so long ago. Resigned to perform his functions as mandated by the Cadre, blissfully unaware of what life could really be like. He watched the display beside the door continue to count up. There would be no going back. Imagine, trapped in a mind knowing what you had experienced was cut off forever? It was a fate worse than being wiped. He’d rather die than live with the loss for another thirteen years.

  The doors opened on his floor and he strolled down toward his office. The same one he’d run from as soon as the building alarms had sounded and he’d gone to protect Arista.

  Pssh. How foolish.

  Why had he been so concerned? She was just a human and if that renegade wanted to cart her around like some oversized purse then more power to him. Jonn didn’t need the hassle. He’d found somewhere he could belong, somewhere he could thrive without fear of discovery. Working for the Cadre was already leaps and bounds better than trying to hide his true nature in his psychologist’s office.

  As he entered his office and looked out over the city of Chicago he felt a swell of pride for himself. He had done this. He’d made this happen and no one would take it from him.

  He’d no sooner turned back to his desk when his door flew open to reveal Xian, smirking in a way that made Jonn uneasy.

  “Charlie needs to have a word with you,” Xian said, his voice sinister.

  Jonn wanted to cringe, but suppressed the sensation. “What? Why? She gave me a job, I did the job. What’s the problem?”

  “Why do you automatically assume it’s a problem? Do you not have confidence in your own abilities? Perhaps she wants to congratulate you.”

  “If she did you wouldn’t be so damn happy.”

  The smirk left Xian’s face. “Follow me. Now.”

  Jonn sighed. “Back to the top, huh? Fine.” He followed Xian back through the maze of corridors until they reached the very same elevators Jonn had exited not five minutes before. He turned to the stout man. “Did you wait until I was all the way in my office before coming to retrieve me? I’ve been down on twenty-six for an hour.”

  Xian didn’t respond, only entered the elevator as the doors opened.

  Jonn rolled his eyes and followed, making sure not to turn his back on the man. It seemed he was determined to see Jonn fail.

  As soon as the doors closed Xian produced a key from his pocket, inserted it into a lock Jonn hadn’t noticed beside the doors, which opened a small panel. Xian pushed a button inside the alcove, then closed the panel again.

  “What…” Jonn began but then felt the elevator lurch. He watched Xian’s face carefully, surely the man wouldn’t kill them both in here. What would be the sense in that?

  Instead of rising the carriage retreated downward. But Charlie’s office was on the top floor. He must be on another floor working on something else. As strange as the woman was, he’d begun to get used to her. She had certain…mannerisms, quirks even. Little oddities about her which transcended her physical bounds. It was an interesting effect, something Jonn wouldn’t mind studying further if he had the chance.

  The elevator continued to fall at a steady rate, and as they approached the ground floor Jonn reflexively prepared for the elevator to slow. When it didn’t he lurched, making a movement for the stop button, suddenly nervous he’d read X
ian wrong and he was about to smash them into the ground after all. Xian swatted his hand away from the button and before he realized it, they were below the ground floor, into basement levels Jonn hadn’t known had existed. The digital display began counting up again: B1…B2…B3.

  “How deep does this go?” Jonn asked.

  Xian only smirked again, keeping his eyes straight ahead at the doors.

  Finally, the display reached B10 and the elevator slowed, the doors opening for them at last.

  Before them stood a long hallway, bathed in blue light. It seemed the floor, the walls and the ceiling were all made of the same material, with the light glowing from behind raised panels on the walls. It was clean, crisp and myopic in Jonn’s opinion. The hallway extended for at least a hundred feet ahead of them.

  “Let’s go,” Xian said, leading the way.

  Walking down the hall Jonn couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was. Even their footsteps seemed to be absorbed by the material around them, producing very little echo or reverberation. He had the sudden urge to shout out for no reason other than to hear the effect but restrained himself.

  At the end of the hall stood two sliding doors with a small keypad beside them. Xian approached the keypad and placed his hand on the black square. The doors opened with a slow whoosh.

  “Inside,” Xian said.

  “What is this? I thought I was going to see Charlie. You’re imprisoning me instead?”

  “He’s in there waiting, you idiot.”

  Jonn considered this. Was Xian lying just to placate him? Or was Charlie actually inside this strange hallway ten stories underneath the Cadre’s main headquarters? And why? What was the point of meeting him down here? The room beyond was dark, Jonn couldn’t make out any details. No tables, chairs or meeting equipment at all. Just a dark, dark room.

  “Just get in there, you big baby.” Xian placed his hand on Jonn’s back and shoved him inside. He was surprisingly powerful for such a stout man. Though he probably hadn’t become head of the Peacekeepers because he was gentle.

  The doors whooshed closed behind him and Jonn found himself in abject darkness. He’d been forced into a cavern of sorts. The sound in here was different, he could make out a light humming, like that of a refrigerator or mag-lev train.