Authors: Kurt Bartling
Her
gaze
abruptly move
s
from
Michael’s
fa
ce to engage something
behind him.
After a moment, s
he
turns her head to the right
.
U
p the
street,
a
black
limousine
approach
es
slowly
, pulling to a stop a short distance from their
location
.
She redirects her
attention back behind Michael.
Noting
her
actions
,
Michael
shifts
his position to her left, turn
ing
to addre
ss whatever approached from behind him
, while keeping an eye on the car up the street
.
Standing at her side, close enough that he can feel body heat radiating
off her, Michael assesses the situation.
He
identifies a well-dressed man,
having
just stepp
ed
out of the same building he just exited.
“Friends of yours?
” He
whispers.
“You should go.” She responds softly, never taking her eyes from their new guest.
The man, middle aged and fit,
watches
her and
Michael
as he
continues
out onto the street
.
Studying the pair for a moment, the man
step
s
forward, a
ddress
ing
them
as he a
pproach
es
,
“Impressive
display, both of you
… m
y
employer
…
wo
uld like to extend
each of you
…
an invitation
.”
Michael
tilts
his face toward
the redhead and
whispers
, “Shit,
s
cout.”
The world ha
s
changed much in Michael’s lifetime. What was a geographically segregated world of c
ount
r
ies,
providences,
and territories
has
evolved
. The global economy took hold,
al
though probably not how many anticipated. The growth of the financial fortunes
of new industrialized countries,
coupled with the debt of Europe and America resulted in
the
d
estabilization of governments.
In the Uni
ted States,
laws
continually shifting to
promote
business growth
weakened business ethics
and
oversight. Business financial controls
deteriorated
,
allowing
profits
to avoid taxation;
caus
ing
the
government
to run out of money
.
A downward spiral of spending cuts accelerated the process.
More and more of the wealth shift
ed to fewer and fewer people.
Eventually the rich became so powerful
and the government so weakened that the wealthy just stopped acknowledging the government alt
ogether …
the ‘Secession’.
The ‘
SuperElite
’
took over, having built up their
own militaries, their own
régimes
. The US government could do nothing
to prevent it
, here or abroad. Once the United States finally fell,
much
of the world quickly followed.
95% of the world’s
wealth is held
by 5% of its populace. L
ess
tha
n 1% of the
population,
comprising
the “Elite” and “
SuperElite
”
control
most of that
. There are only a handful of
SuperElite
in the world
,
acting
as
sovereignties
unto themselves,
unrestricted by geographic bo
rders
.
Existing within pockets of prosperity, the Elite live like lordships among the peasantry,
lawlessness,
and destitution of the world, no care for their fellow man.
Scout
s
, ‘Talent Scouts’ as they are more formally known,
agents
of
the
Elite, their job is to
identify
people with skills
that might be of use. F
or the most part
,
t
he rest of the world
’s
population
harvested
for
talent
, w
h
en they find it, you are ‘invited’
. To some, the scout
can be a way out,
to others, especially with families
, it
’
s
abduction. Someone identified as talent, really doesn’t have much choice
in the matter
. The
Elite
is not a sound existence,
constantly at r
isk of hostile takeover by their competitors
.
Once
identified
,
a
talent
cannot
decline
the
scout’s
invitation
for fear
a
competitor’s
scout might
also
identify th
e same
talent.
Michael
understands
what comes
next, as he suspects
,
does his new acquaintance
.
He takes stock
of their surroundings, noticing o
ver
his shoulder
,
behind him,
two more
well-dressed
men appear on the sidewalk a sh
ort distance from them
. Scanning the sidewalk beyond
the young woman
, a fourth man has just emerged from t
he open door of the limousine.
Michael knows h
e could
get away, but leaving
her
alone, unprotected,
is not
in his nature
.
He’s resourceful
;
an opportunity to escape
might present itself
, just not at this time.
He might even
find a way to get her out too. He
has no family
,
never really had anyone close, no o
ne to miss him when he leaves.
Michael looks down at his companion. She too seems to have become acquiesce
nt to the situation.
Both escorted to the limousine,
Michael
and
the
young woman
sit facing each other in the rear of th
e vehicle. The Scout,
the man
who
extended the invitation
,
positions
himself on
her
bench
seat
just behind the driver partition. The three
of them
are the only
occupants
in the rear
of the vehicle
.
S
it
ting
across from
the redhead
,
Michael
studies
her
more carefully
.
S
lim, yet not slight, athletica
lly proportioned, with delicate hands
, s
he has a small tattoo
visible under each
wrist,
symbols,
or cryptic letters
he can’
t make out. Michael l
ooks up, engaging
her
striking
turquoise eyes.
“Rena
.
”
She offers.
He nods,
“Michael
.
”
The scout turns to
consider
them, having
assumed they were acquainted
.
Michael and Rena ride
in relative silence
. Beyond the initial introductions, neither speaks another word the entire
three-hour trip, the limousine
headed east.
Without government resources, most roads fell into disrepair. Only major thoroughfares maintained to any degree, most all in support of Elite interests, financial and recreational.
Therefore
, their destination,
located nowhere near any discernible city or populace,
must warrant some degree of
importance
, evidenced by the superior quality of the passage from Los Angeles. Finally
the car
pulls into
a small airport
and
ultimately
into a
well-lit
hanger.
Inside, a
rather large private jet
waits,
engines r
unning.
Pulling up next to the
aircraft, t
he car door open
s
. An armed soldier leans in, points at
Rena
,
then
Michael.
S
tep
ping
out
, they’re
d
irected to the jet,
signaled
to enter the
craft as quickly as possible. The scout follows, stopping briefly to converse with the soldier.
As they move from the vehicle to the plane,
Michael and Rena observe s
everal well-dressed, well-armed agents positioned inside and outside the hanger.
Rena, b
arely seated
when
the jet
start
s
taxi
ing onto the tarmac
to the runway
,
airborne moments later,
watches out the window as the
y
climb rapidly
into the dark night
.
After severa
l minutes, the jet levels off.
The scout releases his seat belt,
looking back at his guests,
indicating that Michael and Rena, again seated across from each other
in the rear of the
cabin
, do the same.
He
walks over to a chest
built into the forward bulkhead and pours himself a drink
,
return
ing
to a s
eat, joining the pair
.
E
xtend
ing his hand to
Michael,
he introduces himself.
“Alexander”.
Michael just looks at the
man’s
extended
hand
, indifferent to the attempt at civility
.
Alexander
withdraws
,
takes a pu
ll from his drink, sets it down and
takes a deep breath
, exhaling slowly,
suggesting
impatience
.
“Listen, you’ve got a five hour flight to Chicago. You can sit here like a pair
of
sandbags
or you can try to enjoy the trip.
A
t least lighten up, h
ave a drink.
I was
once
in your
place,
many years ago. I kno
w how it is, m
ake the best of it. If you had families, I apologize. If not, you can look at this
as an
opportunity
,
as a way
to rise above the
Hustle
..
. a
ny questions
?
”
Alexander pauses
,
observing
both of them
.
“You can ask me what you want
.
I might be able to provid
e yo
u some answers. I guarantee
;
I will likely be more forthright than almost anyone you meet when we get to Chicago.”
“Who is it?”
Michael
asks
.
“Chango
.
”
“Why us?”
Rena
follows
.
Alexander considers the question for a
moment,
works his way through various answers, finally deciding ambiguity, seizing the opportunity
to
test a theory,
“You
both exhibit, let’s say …
desirable skills. Now, whether those skills can be honed,
and
made
useful
to Chango
,
hard to say
.
I
will say
this …
the fact that I found your unique skill sets at the same time was quite
,
fortuitous. I will also say that I haven’t seen your level of
raw
talent
in a long time.” Alexander takes another pull from
his
drink. “Must also admit, I was surprised you two were not acquainted before last night.
”
Rena and Michael turn to each other, confused
by the implication
.
Alexander smiles, ever so slightly,
“
I’ll leave you two alone …
you might want to at least get to know each other a little before we arrive. Considering timing, skills and development
…
you two might be spending a lot of time w
ith each other in the future.”
“What exactly was it about each of us that
peaked
your interest?”
Michael inquires,
l
ess interested in himself, more so in Rena
.
Alexander
again pauses to consider whether th
at information should be shared,
“Let me think about that a bit, but
,
I’
d hazard a guess,
your
new
friend might be able to deduct the likely reason for the invitations.”
Turning from his guests, he
returns to his
seat in the forward porti
on of the
cabin
,
leaving Michael and Rena
alone in the rear.
Michael turns to Rena, mildly curious as
to
the meaning of the answer he just received.
They
regard
each other for a
moment
,
each not knowing what to
say
next
.
Knowing far more tha
n she suspec
ts Michael or Alexander realize,
and worried she m
ight
give herself away
,
Rena makes the
first effort
,
hoping to direct the focus
away
,
“
Al
though
,
n
ot too sure about me
,
I know why you’re here.
”
“
K
now why I’m here? What are you talking about?”
Michael
exclaims.
“Seriously?
” She states incredulously,
“Y
our fighting
, it
was amazing. How’
d you do that?”
Rena inquires.
“Do
what? I didn’t have to do
much, a
t least enough
to base my fighting skills on.”
Studying him, confused by his ignorance, she
clarifies,
“It wasn’t the content so much as
t
he execution. I’ve never seen anyone move like tha
t. It was
as if
you knew what your opponent
was going to do before he did. You move faster than I’ve ever seen anyone move.”
Michael consider
s
what Rena
said. He had thought there was something different about the
way the fight unfolded.
In his mind, h
e walks
himself
back
through the
bout
,
replaying everything he can remember; but ultimately s
till
unable
to
put his finger on what transpired that made it different.
Dismissing the implication,
Michae
l
redirects
;
“You really don’t know why the invitation was extended? From what I
’ve
heard
, Scouts are looking for military specialists.
D
id you do
anything
tonight
that
might have
relevance
in
military operations?”
Rena answers as best she can
, without
reveal
ing too much
,
completely
understanding
why the
invitation
s
w
ere
extended.
“It might have been how I managed the promoter.
I guess
,
I kind of mani
pulated him
,
to get you paid.
Skills like that
might
be helpful in intelligence.
Right?
”
“Maybe?
” He
shrugs.
Rena leans forward
and
whispers
,
for only his ears
,
“What do you know about Chango?”
Michael considers the question
.
“Only what you hear on the streets. He’s
a very
powerful
SuperElite,
based in Chicago
, o
ne of the first to se
cede from government control
…
B
ad
guy to get on the wrong side of
.
”
Rena
tries
to determine if his
response
is
the extent of his knowledge
, or truncated
.
She wants to expoun
d on his
statement
, but until she has a bett
er feel for
him
,
Rena acknowledges and adds nothing.
C
ertain
he has more information
,
she
suspects
he’
s
holding back some of the more daunting details
,
for her sake,
conclu
ding
he’
s just being chivalrous.
No disrespect intended,
Michael
watches
Rena closely, appraising
her entire person
.
Now in close quarters
,
with more time to consider, he
concludes
she’s
a
bout his age,
with
a
n
air that would indicate a good
upbringing
, maybe even Elite
.
He finds it
curious
she was in the
Hustle
by herself. Most women
, espe
cially someone so attractive
,
would be fearful of the elements that reside there.
It dawns on
him;
he’s never s
een someone as beautiful as her
in the Hustle.
Rena,
noticing
Michae
l
scrutinizing
her, returns the gesture
. He’s healthy, which
considering the conditions,
says a lot about his person
.
He obvious
ly
knows how to survive,
has
probably use
d
his good looks to his advantage.
She assumes
his non-confrontational reaction to the invitation could mean he has n
o family or anyone close to him
he might care for. Considering his display in the cage, he had a good chance to escape
,
yet
ch
ose to remain. She turns away; avoiding Michael’s gaze … he remained,
out
of
a sense of
responsibility
for
her
.