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Okay, this is something I've started writing recently, and I'm hoping to turn it into a full - lenth novel. Soooo...if I don't add on to it for long stretches, never fear! That just means I'm seriously busy as usual, and I am trying to find the time to work/think/write on this story. So, enjoy the first two chapters (and a little of the third) and tell me what you think of it thus far. And no, it has nothing at all to do with The Matrix.
EDIT: Er...it doesn't seem to be showing my paragraph indents, so I hope it doesn't become too confusing for you.
NEXUS OF CONSPIRACY
Looking for an answer to
The question you have found
looking for
an open door
Well you don’t get something for nothing
You can’t have freedom for free
- rush
Something for nothing
CHAPTER 1
TOMORROW...
5: 37 am
Just off the horizon, the sun was beginning to peek its head. As it rose majestically it spread its light into the vast city below, leaving no part untouched. Streams of golden radiance floated through the air, spilling onto massive skyscrapers, then around them, wiping them clean of darkness, then moving on. Immense highways, roadways, and even back alleys were lit up in the warm rays of the sunshine. The sun glinted off of streetlights and off of the windshields of the thousands of Flitter-cars already flying down the roads, and crisscrossing above and underneath each other, through the sky and between buildings in the AirLanes. Then, filtering slowly at first, then blazing at full light, the sun shone through Lexi’s window and illuminated her apartment, finally giving her what she needed.
Feeling the warmth cast across her body, Lexi could do nothing but smile contentedly. She swung her legs up onto the chair, and with her free arm she pulled them snug against her bosom and rested her chin on her knee. With the other arm she readjusted the book she had been reading so that the pages were captured in the sunlight, illuminating an imaginary world that Lexi had already began to lose herself in.
A soft ‘mew’ broke her attention away from the book for a moment, and she gazed over at her bed to find it had been hastily occupied by her three cats. Kitty was nestled in the sun and blankets, directly underneath the large window that doubled as a wall. Just down from Kitty was her mother Dina, and her sister White Kitty, who was getting a good bathing. White Kitty’s face was humorously contorted as Dina’s tongue squished across her ears and nose. Kitty rose her head and ‘mewed’ again.
Lexi sighed softly.
“You’re right of course, I really should be getting ready for work,” Lexi said, addressing herself as much as she was the cat.
She uncurled her legs and rose slowly from her seat, setting the book down on the bed.
“I can’t think of everything, you know,” she said, her English accent making her voice seem like a beautiful purr.
She supposed she owed her accent to her great-great-grandparents who had lived in England before the World Government was created. After the plague they had moved elsewhere, then having children who had moved again, and finally it came to Lexi, who lived not ten miles from the W.G.’s hub; the United Nations. Living so close to the center of everything was a constant reminder of not only her own past, but the world’s as well.
Her hand hovering over her closet door, Lexi paused for a second and reflected on just how much the world had changed since those days of her great- great- grandparents.
A long time ago, even before the invention of the Flitters and the AirLanes, there was a major disease that had spread through the Earth’s population in only a few years. Families and homes were ravaged, streets and alleys became the residence of hundreds of homeless men, women and children who were stricken with the plague. Those who did not have a house of their own, and didn’t stay on the streets, made homes in underground subway rail stations, most of them abandoned with the brink of a new technical revolution on the horizon. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was faced with the task of trying to contain this terrible outbreak, but their efforts were useless. The plague spread to every corner of the Earth, to every conceivable nook and cranny of the world. Finally, when morale was nearly destroyed, and when hope was crushed, a solution was found. A mixture of chemicals, immunities, and pure samples of the plague were combined, tested, and re-tested until a serum was created. The serum didn’t kill the plague, but it rid the individual of all of the symptoms and effects for a short period of time - then the plague would return and another shot of Serum was required. A temporary cure was deemed better than none, and the creators were set upon a task of how to distribute it to the world.
Every single leader of every country, province, and continent were called to the United Nations for peace talks. For nearly a year debates raged, politics were discussed, abolished, and re-instated again, until finally a solution was reached. It was agreed that the only way to successfully manufacture and distribute to everyone on the planet was create a singular place where everything derived. Individual countries’ politics and laws would make it nearly impossible to distribute the serum, the red tape involved was nearly atrocious. So, effective immediately after talks were concluded singular laws, ruling areas, individual countries and areas were eradicated. Everyplace on Earth was united under the rule of a singular world order - the World Government. The government was centralized in the UN, and every leader of the former countries made it their home. The building was radically expanded and a universal constructor of the serum was created and was run from the newly built World Science Laboratory underneath the UN. Scientists from every part of the world worked and slept out of the Laboratory, manufacturing the serum to be widely distributed.
Spearheading this endeavor was the United Nations Anti-Crime Force - or UNACiF. Every police force, military force, and militant group was removed and replaced with UNACiF. The purpose of UNACiF was to serve as the world’s police force. One job of that force was to oversee the weekly shipment of serum to the major industries, businesses, and companies. Sabotage and theft of the shipments were always a threat from the homeless. It was even rumored that they had organized into their own rebellious sanction, but the rumors were never proven fact.
A soft rubbing on her leg jarred Lexi from her internal history lesson. She glanced down at Dina, who was happily massaging her calf.
“Yes, yes, I’m leaving. Give me a minute, would you?”
Lexi opened the wide, wooden doors of her closet and in an instant decided what she would wear. At the forefront of her clothing racks was the outfit she had just recently purchased. Today will be its maiden voyage, she thought to herself.
Lexi took a pair of pure black, leather pants and slid them on over her undergarments. She tied the short strings in front that replaced a zipper, and grabbed a grey cloth shirt from the next rack. She slipped off her undershirt and tugged the grey shirt down over her head; her curvaceous and lean body showing briefly in the mirror that hung on the closet door.
Lexi tossed the undershirt on the bed, which happened to make a perfect tumble through the air and drape itself across Kitty’s head. She rose in surprise, then casually shook the shirt free of her fur and nestled back into the covers, letting a long purr of pleasure escape its small muzzle.
Finally, Lexi grabbed the black leather jacket that matched the pants, and shoved her arms through it, closing the closet door with her foot. She adjusted the collar, and was about to zip the jacket up when she decided to leave it open. Strangely, she thought, the two ends of the coat almost served as a frame, with her body in the center of the shot.
She walked into the bathroom, sidestepping Dina on the way. In the mirror above the sink she fixed her hair, running her fingers through it until it fell into place. Her smooth, black hair ended just above her shoulders, and she slid one side of it behind her ear, leaving the other side to hang free, brushing gently against her cheek.
She quickly studied her face, looking for any blemishes or maybe dark circles under her eyes. She found neither; her curvy yet strong jaw and her soft face was almost a picture of perfection, with her full lips almost serving as a centerpiece. Her clear green eyes were free of any shadows, and they shone with energy and intelligence. Not bad for twenty seven, she thought.
On her way out of the apartment she grabbed her portfolio for work and opened it up briefly to shuffle its contents back into order. The line graphs had fallen into place with the documents on binary code usage, and the colorful bar graph had infiltrated her research on the new software chips her company was working on. She sifted the pieces of paper back into their proper places, then glanced at her clock’s display; she was almost late to the office.
Lexi cursed silently to herself as she rushed out the door into the hallway, then forgetting something, stopped and opened the door again.
“Bye, guys,” She called to her cats.
Her farewells in order, she closed the door firmly and locked it, tucking the keys into her jacket as she turned to leave.
The elevator at the end of the hall was already crowded with morning commuters on their way to work. Some were impatiently shifting their weight from one leg to the other, others were calmly sipping Styrofoam cups of coffee, and one man was repeatedly pushing the call button as hard as he could, as if he could will it to come with sheer force.
Most of the people she knew, some of them worked in her building, others were fellow tenants on her floor. As she came nearer she could hear the normal morning chatter passing amongst the group, but it was mostly inaudible from her position.
Lexi strolled down the grey carpet that covered the floor, her boots making soft patters on the coarse material. Apparently her footfalls were more audible to the group than their own conversation, and they turned in her direction, then quickly they averted their eyes again. The soft roar of chatter died down, and everyone went back to looking impatient.
Lexi felt a slight pang of unease. That was strange, she thought.
“Good morning. How is everyone?”
Answers were murmured, but no one looked in her direction.
“What is wrong with everyone today,” she half laughed, half questioned, “Long nights?”
The man who had been beating on the call button pushed through the crowd and approached her, a smile on her face. Lexi recognized him as the guy who worked just a few desks down from her. She was kind of undecided about him, though. Sometimes he could be really sweet, other times he was a smarmy jerk. As he met her, she put a smile on her face and tried to guess which one he was today.
“Hey, Lex.”
Lexi had to force herself not to wince. Lex was his pet name for her, and she hated it.
“Morning, Alec. How are you?”
The smile still plastered on his face, he waved off her comment with his hand.
“Listen, how are you this morning? Get a good night’s sleep?”
Lexi, a touch of unease still planted in her mind, replied. “Actually I didn’t get much sleep, I read most of the night. Insomnia, I guess.”
“They have pills for that you know,” He said, then rapidly continued before she had a chance to say anything.
“Well, anyway, what I wanted to say was I really hope you have a good day today...” He paused for a second, as if not sure on how to articulate his next comment, “...and I really hope everything works out okay.”
A bit confused, Lexi smiled briefly and thanked him, then went around the man and entered the elevator that had came in while they were talking.
She entered last, and pressed the button for the parking level. She stared straight ahead, studying the mirror-like quality of the steel doors. Several of the men and women behind her were staring at her back as if they had never seen anything like it before, and many were whispering to each other. Lexi suddenly turned and addressed them.
“Just what exactly is going on here?” She asked, her English accent getting heavier under stress. “You all are staring at me as I’m some kind of Martian, and whispering behind my back about God- knows -what.”
The tension in the car was almost visible, and some were about to answer when the ‘PL’ light above her head blinked on, and they were brought to a halt. The doors opened and people shoved past her, rushing for their Flitters, doing all they could to avoid confrontation.
Finally it was just Lexi and Alec in the car, and they stepped out together.
“Come on, Alec, what is it? Am I getting fired at work today, and everyone else was notified but me, or what?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” His eyes rose to met hers, then quickly looked away again.
“Look,” He began, “I like you Lex, I really do. I know you think I’m a jerk sometimes, and maybe I am, but I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
“Something bad, Alec what are you saying?”
“Everyone at work was notified last night, for safety reasons, I guess. And, well, you weren’t notified for obvious reasons. I can’t tell you anything more, because I could get in big trouble. But,” His eyes rose to her own again, “I will tell you - please don’t make it harder on yourself. I’m sure they have their reasons, so just hear them out before you do anything rash.”
He left her standing there in confusion, almost sprinting to his Flitter.
Lexi turned and starting walking through the dank, cement pillared basement parking garage, trying to make sense of what was just said. She ran all of the words through her mind again, but none of them connected; none of them added up to anything she could think of. She decided to push it out of her mind: there was nothing she could do about it, at any rate.
She arrived at her Flitter, and she pressed her thumb onto the small rectangle box just beneath the glass dome. Her identity was confirmed, and the side of the car slid upward, and Lexi climbed inside, plopping down in the driver’s seat.
The Fitter was the new-age version of the very old automobiles used in the past. The front of the car was curved like an egg that was laid horizontally, and the curve consisted of the glass dome that enclosed the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat. The rear of it was entirely flat, nothing but several metal panels that contained the Flitter’s circuitry and mechanics beneath. The underside was also flat, and was pockmarked by four large fans, receded into the Flitter and covered over with steel grating. When the vehicle was switched on the fans lifted the car sixteen inches above the road, the standard hover-height for all road vehicles.
Not all Flitters were road bound, however. For as many cars that traveled on roadways, there were just as many that traveled in the AirLanes. AirLanes were the term given to the pre-determined paths that the Flitter’s on-board navigation system was programmed to follow; almost like an invisible highway. Before leaving for a certain destination, the person operating was required to punch in the desired address into the computer panel in the dashboard. The Flitter would then decide which roads to take, and the rate of speed required to make it on time. If it decided that flying through the AirLanes was quicker and would avoid traffic on the standard highways and roads, then that is the path it would take. Manual control of Flitters was out of the question for civilians, and was agreeably way too dangerous. With the amount of cars on the roads, and with the speeds at which some were traveling, an accident was almost guaranteed for anyone trying to go manual. Not to mention the types of accidents that could occur were a person to try to fly in an AirLane manually, not only could they collide with another car, but with buildings as well: some AirLanes reached heights that were equivalent to a building’s 150th floor. With the removal of manual control, road accidents were reduced by almost 98 percent. The accidents that did occur were always cases when a driver tried to take control of his or her Flitter.
The only person or persons that were allowed to fly manually were UNACiF. There was intense training involved, the bulk of it on how to effectively maneuver the Flitter through both AirLane and roadway traffic at high speeds, a very hard thing to do considering the amount of cars that were in use on any given day. UNACiF used the manual flight privilege to pursue criminals that were flying on paths that were outside of the officer’s own pre-set plan, and even on rare occasions to pursue a fleeing criminal that was on foot.
Lexi adjusted herself in the seat and then turned the starter key. The Flitter let out a roar, then hummed to life. It briskly rose off of the ground and hovered in place, waiting to be given a destination. She typed in the address to CyberTech, her current place of employment, and settled back in her seat.
The Flitter zoomed out of its parking space and raced forward towards the garage exit. At the gate it jerked to a stop, and a small camera rose from its security box and sensors quickly blinked over Lexi’s black and silver car, identifying it with a matching car in its ‘authorized access’ database. The camera matched the car and determined it was authorized to leave. The large metal gate in front of the car rattled upwards into the roof, and the Flitter flicked itself out of the garage and straight into the rushing traffic of the highway.
Lexi let her eyes wander around the scenery outside, the strange events of the morning already almost forgotten. She watched the other Flitters hum past her at high speeds, colors and shapes flashing by. Above her, high in the air, other Flitters raced back and forth through the sky, weaving through spaces between buildings and over and under other ‘Lanes.
Buildings raced by her as she sped along, and she still was amazed by some of their architecture, even at her age. Huge feats of glass and metal lined the highways, stretching high into the sky, their windows sparkling in the light and some reflecting the scene from across the street in their clean glass. Large walkways made of steel and glass occasionally stretched across the space above the highway, connecting one building to another opposite the road. Some of them Lexi passed under were only a few feet above her Flitter, giving her the unsettling impression that she was going to hit them each time she flew underneath.
A deep hum came from the bowels of the Flitter, and Lexi closed her eyes and let it calm her; slowly lulling her to sleep. Her seat vibrated and jounced up and down slightly as the Flitter raced along the highway, the fans hitting small pockets of disturbance on the road occasionally. She silently wished she would get at least a few minutes worth of rest before arriving at work. What little sleep she had been getting was not enough to keep her at one hundred percent, and it was beginning to wear on her.
Eyes closed, listening to the soothing sound of the engine and her head slowly being rolled back and forth by the bouncing of the car, Lexi tried to remember back to when she first had trouble sleeping at night. It had been about a week ago, and she had just put her book down for the night...
Lexi switched off her lamp on the stand next to her bed and slid down inside the warm blankets.
“Goodnight Dina,” She whispered into the darkness, sure the cat would be listening.
“And you too, Kitty.”
Something jumped suddenly into her lap, and she ran her hand gently over the small body, immediately recognizing it as White Kitty.
“And you, you mischievous little thing, let your mother have some rest tonight.”
She settled her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind of the events of the day. She let out a deep sigh and nestled further in the covers, pulling them up to her chin, a small smile of contentment perched upon her lips. As she lay there, she slowly began to drift off into dreams, buildings and places of fantasy taking over her senses, whisking her away to fantastic locations.
A large city with immense structures spread as far as the eye could see, rising high into the sky. Streets ran, dashed, and wound through the base of the buildings, like veins connecting everything to everything else. She could see people in the windows, looking out in curiosity and fascination. Behind some buildings, and beyond the streets were dark places, alleyways of shadows; this was a land of intrigue. At the center of this great city was a pyramid, enormous in its size: as tall as it was wide, its influence touching every part of the city. At the top of this structure was an eye, floating above the pyramid, looking out into the lan -
Lexi’s eyes burst open, jarred from her dream into a state of confusion, her mind now completely awake.
“Something about the pyramid...” Said Lexi, mumbling to herself.
She had seen it somewhere before, she felt as if...she had been a part of it somehow. In the back of her consciousness something stirred, wanting to be awakened. She tried to remember, but she couldn’t; couldn’t bring herself to remember what it was.
The man knocked on the window again, and Lexi started in her seat.
“Ma’am, I don’t think you should be sleeping in your car. This is a company parking area, not a bedroom.”
Lexi shifted to face him, blinking rapidly, clearing the sleep from her eyes.
She must have drifted off on the road at some point.
Lexi took a brief look around: she had arrived at CyberTech, and her Flitter was parked it its designated spot, the engine had already shut itself down. Outside the glass dome of her car, the security guard was bent over peeking in at her.
“I’m awake, I’m awake.” She said, waving the guard away.
The guard stood, a look of uncertainty on his face. He looked at her a moment more, then moseyed back to his post, shaking his head slightly and pulling out a magazine he had stored in his pocket.
Lexi straightened up and pushed the button on the dash for the clock display. The small digital screen came to life and blinked the time at slow intervals: 7:15 AM.......7:15 AM.......7:15 AM.
She brushed her hair out of her eyes and breathed a cursed; she was fifteen minutes late. Lexi slid the door open and picked up her manila portfolio from the passenger seat, careful not to let any of the loose papers drop out.
She locked her Flitter and headed for the parking level’s elevator. Her boots smacked across the cement floor, sending a hollow echo throughout the structure at every step. She stopped momentarily and straightened her jacket, brushing clinging hair and lint off of the new leather. She smoothed the wrinkles out of her pants and then pressed the button for the elevator.
The steel doors slid open with a fast whoosh, and Lexi stepped inside the car with a quick bounce. The doors slid shut fast behind her and she turned to the small camera above the button panel.
A small whirring sound came from the stout little device, then an electronic voice poured out from the speakers.
“Alexia J. Dickson. Electronics division, lead software designer. Access granted. What floor, please?”
“17.”
‘Thank you.”
The voice cut out and the car jolted to a start and began to rise swiftly, stabilizers reducing any notion of movement she might have felt. Within a few seconds the elevator stopped curtly and the doors dinged open. Lexi left the car and headed for her cubicle, throwing ideas around in her mind on just what her boss would say to her.
Maybe Alec will put in a good word for me, she thought.
CHAPTER 2
As Lexi wound her way through her co-worker’s cubicles, past the copier and fax office, and finally in front of the wall made entirely of windows - giving a view of the opposing building and the streets below - the strange behavior of Alec and the others came back to the forefront of her mind.
Around her, people stayed huddled behind their computers and desks, none of them rising to greet her as they usually did every morning. Even the few friends she had in the office steered clear of her: almost as if they didn’t want to be seen fraternizing. A frown on her face and a question poised on the tip of her tongue, ready to be unleashed on anyone who would talk to her, Lexi sat down behind her desk.
She swivelled the leather chair to face the computer and tossed the portfolio next to the console, her eyes still wandering about the rest of the office.
“Maybe I am getting fired,” She thought out load. Alec must have just been playing the friend and not telling her, in fear of hurting her feelings.
But then, she thought, what of the other things he had said? None of them had made any sense. Unless...
Her boss came around the corner and approached her desk, breaking Lexi’s train of thought. She stood as he arrived.
“Hey, Bill, what is going on around here today?” She questioned.
The man curtly shook his head, a look of anger and mild distrust on his face “Don’t even give me that, Ms. Dickson. You must have done something to warrant their attention, and I,” He gestured around the office, “We, don’t need people like that here.”
Lexi was bewildered, and she felt her anger begin to rise to the surface. “This is absolutely ridiculous. Warrant who’s attention, Bill? No one is making any sense at all, now stop playing mind games and just TELL ME!”
Lexi, surprised by her own outburst, closed her mouth instantly. She took a sheepish look around her. Some people had risen to peek over the edge of their cubicle walls, and others glanced away quickly when she tried to make eye contact. No one said a word.
Lexi slowly turned her head again and hesitantly met her boss’s eyes, expecting an outburst of his own in rebuttal. Instead, he was silent: taken aback by the honesty in her words. When he did speak again it was almost a whisper; probably the closest thing to an apology she was going to get.
“Listen, did you bring in your portfolio today?”
She lifted it from the desk and jutted it into his outstretched hand.
He slowly nodded at her. ‘Thank you, Alexia.’
He turned to leave, and she was stilled confused. Bill had never used her first name before. She had only a second to ponder his gentlemanly turn of heart when a calm and terse voice blared from the intercom’s speaker system on the ceiling.
“Attention CyberTech personnel: This is UNACiF. We ask for your cooperation, so please remain seated at your desks or work areas while we apprehend the criminal, and we will be out of you way as quickly as possible. Thank you.”
The voice cut out with a squelch of electronic static and almost immediately a parade of boots could be heard ascending the staircase on the far end of the office. Lexi slowly sat down again, her mind racing.
Strange, she thought. Her co-workers behaving strangely, her boss acting weird, and now this: a UNACiF raid on her office. Then, with a rush of thoughts - her and Alec’s conversation, Bill’s words - it hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, and her heart skipped a beat.
They were here for her.
It was the only explanation. Everything that had come before clicked into place; all the words making sense.
But why? Her mind raced to find an explanation, and her heart fluttered in her chest, threatening to self destruct at any moment. I haven’t done anything, she thought. It can’t be the rent on my apartment, I’ve never missed a payment. I’ve never been in a car accident, never robbed anybody, I’ve never been in a fight...
The list continued to roll through her mind like a film reel, each image of a crime she’d never committed cut from the reel almost the moment she thought it up. The blood was pounding in her ears so hard, she almost missed the whisper that came from behind her.
The man whispered hurriedly, and Lexi recognized the voice as Alec’s.
“I know you didn’t do anything, you’re not that kind of person. Forget what I said before about not making it hard on yourself; if you’re innocent they can’t do a thing to you, and you certainly can not prove your innocence from behind UNACiF walls: they’re reputed to be very persuasive. You would probably confess to destroying Mars if they questioned you long enough. Now listen - “
The door to the emergency staircase burst open with a flourish of movement, and UNACiF flooded into the office building, barking orders the minute they were through the entrance.
“No one move!”
“Stay seated!”
“Out of my way!”
They were all dressed in the traditional garb: Greyish - brown pants, baggy on the legs, then pinched off at the calves with buckled combat boots. Around their waist was a belt, where pockets of spare ammunition clips and other devices hung. On the right hip of each man was a holster that was buckled around the leg and looped through the belt; containing a standard UNACiF issue D-13 handgun.
On their torso they wore black T- Shirts, and over that was a vest of ridged armor- shaped like the back of an Armadillo - that was buckled around the shoulders and met on the back in a V shape. In each of the men’s hands was an AD-13 rifle; the lethal version of the D-13. Lexi grimly noted which of the two was held at the ready.
Her thoughts consumed in anxiety at the sight of the soldiers, she almost missed Alec’s hurried instructions.
“ - Take the second window on the left of that glass staircase.”
She glanced over to where he had mentioned. Just to the right of the window covered wall was a steel and glass staircase that wound down the building, similar in concept to fire-escapes that were used several hundred years ago. She counted two to the left, then looked over her shoulder.
“Are you crazy? We’re 17 floors up!” She hissed, bringing her voice down to a volume to match his own.
“You have to trust me, Lex. If you go from there, you may have a chance to get away; it all depends on how many risks you’re willing to take, I guess. All I am asking is that you trust me.”
She heard of shuffle of feet behind her, then Alec was gone. She looked back to the window, wondering just what it was he had in mind. She couldn’t very well escape if she was a puddle on the street, she thought. Still...
She only had a second to think this over when the soldiers were upon her; surrounding her desk and raising their rifles; metallic clicks coming from each as they were loaded. Lexi jolted out of her seat and pressed herself onto the back wall of her cubicle.
“Alright Ms. Dickson, just calm down, “ One of the men in front proclaimed, “We’re not here to hurt you: we just need you to some with us. Immediately.”
Another man tried to reach for her, and she violently pushed his hand away.
“Don’t touch me,” To the man. Then to the rest of them, “I haven’t done anything.”
The soldier who had first spoken gestured to the rest of the men for them to keep their distance.
“We don’t want any trouble, just let us take you in, and this will be all over in no time.”
“All of what!? You have to at least tell me what it is you think I’ve done, don’t you?”
A rustle of movement from behind the men caught her eye, and a very rough and gravely voice came from behind the soldiers.
“No, Ms. Dickson, they do not.”
The men spread to the side to make room for whoever it was who had spoken, and Lexi saw there were two men standing side by side. They were dressed almost identical, and dressed very strangely at that.
They both wore a long grey coat that reached down all the way to the top of the men’s black dress shoes. The coat was reminiscent of the ancient, iconic vison, of the cliched Private Eye detective. And indeed, the rest of their wardrobe only complimented that vision. Underneath the grey trench coat was another coat of equal length; this one coal black. And beyond that, Lexi could just make out a gun-metal colored suit and tie.
On their heads, both men wore grey hats, both were the flimsy style that was made famous by the Private Eye image. Lexi noted the only difference in their dress were the hats. One had the both sides of the rim folded upward, and the other man’s hat was straight rimmed. The grey hats were pulled forward and they jutted down sharply, masking their face in shadow. All that could be seen of their faces were the strong lower jaws, both covered in a five-o-clock shadow.
“Wh- Who are you?” Lexi stammered.
“I am Mister S. And this,” He gestured to the man in the folded rimmed hat, “ Is Mister T.”
The two men traveled down the center of the parted soldiers with a powerful stride, both stopping in front of her desk. Lexi took a breath, then stood up a little straighter.
“That isn’t exactly standard issue UNACiF clothing,” Said Lexi.
“Well we’re not exactly - “ Mister S began.
“ -Standard issue UNACiF,” Mister T’s harsh voice growled out, finishing the sentence. Lexi thought she could almost hear a smile in the words.
Hoping to buy herself some time to think, she spoke again. “What are you guys, twins? Your voices are even the same.”
“I love your voice Ms. Dickson. The British accent is the most beautiful there is. Wouldn’t you say, Mister S?”
“ Oh, indeed, Mister T.”
“Wha-“ Lexi started to say, when she caught movement in the corner of her eye. She glanced over quickly and found it was Alec. He subtly gestured with his head again, and Lexi followed his movement. She saw the glass wall, but in her nervous state she couldn’t connect the dots.
The window, He mouthed.
She broke into a cold sweat, and she slowly nodded to him. The hair on the back of her neck bristled as she thought about it, glancing again at the window.
The Twins standing front of her were saying something, but she couldn’t hear them, her thoughts were focused on that window, her means of escape. If she took the chance that Alec was right, that she wouldn’t plunge 17 floors to her death, that there was a possibility she could get away; she would become a fugitive. On the run from UNACiF, she would be constantly in fear for her life and capture, and certainly they would not go as easy on her if she tried to flee than if she cooperated.
But what if she did cooperate? She hadn’t committed any crime, of that she was sure, and yet she had a score of soldiers standing at the ready, two mysterious men who were dressed like they had stepped out of an old black and white film, and whose attitudes and motives were just as cryptic as their clothing. What if they took her in? What would they do to her, and more important, what were her chances of proving herself innocent and getting out again?
Apparently Mister S had asked her a question, and when he didn’t get an answer he began to become suspicious. His head swivelled and he tried to follow her gaze, but she looked away from the window sharply.
“Don’t even think about doing anything -“ Mister S said.
“ - You might regret later, “ Mister T finished for him.
Lexi slowly nodded her head, and began to sink into the corner, feinting submission. The two men began to move forward, and Lexi suddenly burst into action, catching them both off guard. She leapt on top of her desk, then jumped down, shoving Mister T and S into the other soldiers, leaving herself a cleared path.
The second window from the left of the glass staircase.
God help me, she thought, I hope I put my trust in the right place.
CHAPTER 3
Silence. The quit flaps of the pigeons’ wings as they fluttered through the air gracefully the only sound. Seventeen floors up, the sound of the Flitters far below were nothing more than a muted hum. The birds slowly glided through the air, sailing on the wind, the small feathers on their rear turning and adjusting here and there to keep flight. Finally they came down, four of them in all, and perched on the edge of a glass staircase that jutted from the side of the building, a perfect place of rest for the small creatures. In front of them were several windows, and one of the birds’ head twitched to the side: he sensed movement behind the reflective veil of shiny material. He suddenly dove into the air and flew away just as the world burst into chaos.
The glass broke, showering outward into the sunlight like a spray of water, each piece spinning like a separate planet, the cloud of iridescence a universe who had lost its equilibrium and was now blowing apart in all directions. At the center of this reflective universe was a flash of black leather, captured by each transparent piece and then flying away to its neighboring sliver of glass.
As she fell through the air, a million thoughts were racing through Lexi’s mind at once, none of them holding its place for very long. Finally a realization pierced through those thoughts: I’m falling from the seventeenth floor, there’s no way I’m going to live, Alec didn’t know what he was talk-
And then it was over and she crashed into a hard surface, her breath was knocked out of her and an instant pain shot up her back. Cringing, she slowly rose to her hands and knees and looked at her surroundings through the hair that had fallen into her eyes.
I’m still alive.
Then she realized where she was: on a connecting bridge from the CyberTech building to the place across the street. Lexi stood shakily to her feet and looked up. She was on the sixteenth floor: she had only fallen about fifteen feet.
MORE TO COME....ALEXIA'S SAGA IS FAR FROM OVER.
__________________
The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
Last edited by Neo is The One : 09-07-2004 at 05:58 PM.
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Name: Necronomicon
Name: N/A
Thank you so much, UT. The next installment make take a while to complete...it seems I never have time to write any more. Plus there is going to be a rather lengthy and exciting chase sequence, so that may take a little longer to do as opposed to what I've written so far.