Sons of Abraham: Pawns of Terror (11 page)

The trio said nothing as they went back and forth with the hoverboards, bringing in all the supplies from the outside. Jenna did her best to sort the supplies on the long, metal table, noting that the food supplies were lower than she would have hoped. The medical supplies were lined up next to the food, with bulk packages stacked neatly on top of one another. The guns and their appropriate ammo rested in the center of the table, leaving little room for the women to place their personal belongings. The tools and medical equipment were left on the boards as well as the cryo chamber.

Sandra and Jenna slumped down on the couch, looking at the heap of supplies in front of them. Sandra shifted in her seat, thankful that it was more comfortable than it appeared as Jenna curled up on her side, resting her head upon her sister’s thigh. Her eyes slowly closed while Abraham searched through the screens of the wall terminal, determining where everything lay within the outpost.

“The outpost is much larger than it appears,” Abraham stated, keeping his voice hushed as he noted Jenna’s vital signs were slowing. “Those two doors over there lead to the mess hall and storage rooms. Two of the three on the left are meeting rooms, with the third one leading hall to the medical and mechanical labs. The stairs lead up to the bedrooms. There are five of them, so it seems that we will have plenty of room. I’ll take Cybill to the lab if you can get the food put into storage. I’ll come back for my tools and the medical supplies. Just get the food put away and then get some rest.”

“You don’t want to talk about it, do you?” Sandra whispered, stroking Jenna’s hair as she slept. “You haven’t even asked why we came with you rather than leave with Quaid. Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

Abraham continued to edge the board carrying Cybill’s chamber into the doorway, which he pried open with another board. He hung his head down, not wishing to answer the question. His mind told him that the girls had chosen the best of the possible scenarios, looking down the path to their futures. His heart, however, told him there were personal reasons that he was not considering. He slowly turned to face the seated woman, noting that Jenna had rolled over, her head still on Sandra’s thigh, though with her back now turned to him. There was something peaceful about the scene though he wasn’t sure if it were the resting girl or the sense of a home that made the scene what it was.

“I had only considered that you wanted something more than Quaid could offer you,” Abraham replied, taking a seat next to Sandra. “Since you’ve started the discussion, though, I’m left with few options other than to ask. Why did you choose to remain with me, rather than remain with Quaid?”

Sandra shifted slightly, enabling her to look at Abe without having to strain her neck. Jenna offered a moan in retaliation though remained asleep. Her eyes peered into the black discs, trying to decide where she should be looking. She opted for the dead center, the black circle that lies inside the thin orange lights.

“I could hear you guys arguing,” she whispered. “You were right about the expiring ring code. The Hopper will be stuck in whatever system Quaid is in when the time comes. I never thought about him lying about his name, but it makes sense. He always stuck to secluded planets with weak governments and security. I never really put it together why he kept a low profile, but I guess I was trying to keep myself in the dark.”

She looked down, continuing to stroke the long, dark hair of her younger sister. Jenna sighed, snuggling her head further into the thigh of her older sister.

“The real problem is why we were with Quaid to begin with,” she continued, still looking down at Jenna.

“That question had crossed my mind,” Abe whispered. “You two don’t seem like the type to be hiding from society. I’m guessing it has something to do with your father though I can’t imagine what that would be.”

“You’re right,” she muttered, tucking a lock of hair behind Jenna’s exposed ear. “You’re always right. I told you that Dad used to take medical supplies around to those who needed them. What I didn’t tell you was how he got those supplies. The man was a thief. He’d break into private doctor’s offices and steal everything he could get his hands on. He always targeted doctors who treated the wealthy, always making sure that they had insurance that would cover the theft. He’d take the supplies to shelters and free clinics in the city and drop them off by the back doors after he took all the tags off.”

Abraham remained silent as he listened to the story, imagining this modern day Robin Hood breaking into rich practices, then trekking to the broken down areas of the cities to ensure that everyone had access to the medicine they required.

“He took what work he could find,” she continued. “Always making sure we had food on the table and clothes on our backs. One day, the police showed up at our door while Dad was out dropping off a load. They took all of us into custody, leaving a message for my father to turn himself in. We were released the next morning, but we never saw him again. Our mother passed away long before then, leaving us girls on our own whenever Dad was out. So there I was, eighteen years old with my little sister, not even a teenager yet. We had no way of making money. I tried working at restaurants and factories, but it was impossible to keep a job. I kept Jenna in school, but I didn’t have time to take care of her. I had to work double shifts in order to make ends meet. They charged monthly fees for school, making it impossible to pay the bills, the rent, and get food for the two of us. I can’t tell you how many nights I went hungry while I forcefed her. She’d cry and beg me to split the food, but I wouldn’t allow it. I was done growing.”

Abraham’s brow lowered. He knew that Sandra came from a harsh background, given the tone she’d used when she described her father a few days ago, but he’d never suspected how hard she’d struggled at such a young age.

“The hunger is what got me,” she continued. “I got caught stealing food. I was fired, my employment card permanently marked as a troubled person whom shouldn’t be hired. I couldn’t get a job after that. They shut off our power, threatened to turn off our lights, and eventually threatened to kick us out of the apartment. We ended up in a homeless shelter for about a year. Jenna would disappear after school, doing God knows what with God knows who. She started to resent Dad for leaving us, started hanging out with the wrong crowds. One day, I went through her bag when she was sleeping. I found two data pads, some jewelry, and a little vial of something. We fought til the sun came up. Needless to say, we were kicked out of the shelter once the police showed up after they’d traced the pads. I dumped her bag on the bed and shoved her out the window. We were homeless, traveling from city to city on the open roads. I got desperate. Started breaking into homes when people were working, stealing food and whatever I could get my hands on. Jenna taught me how to hack through security systems, how to access data streams, all the crap she’d learned from those jackasses she hung out with after school. Those friends of her started our fighting, but what they taught her kept us going. We got pretty good at stealing. We found an old dentist office on the edge of the city and turned it into a makeshift home. Started stealing from vehicles, houses, businesses, just about anywhere with anything of value. One day, I found a ship sitting in an empty lot. I didn’t even hesitate. I broke into it and started to pull the Eden tech out of it, figuring I could sell the artificial gravity device in the alley markets. I guess I don’t have to tell you what happened.”

“Quaid came back to his ship and found you stealing from him?” Abraham asked.

“Yeah,” she muttered. “Lucky for me, he was impressed that this young girl had broken through his security and got on his ship. He offered me a job, helping him break into abandoned places to salvage whatever had value. We picked up Jenna and never looked back.”

“I saw you had a misdemeanor warrant out for your arrest on Mesa,” Abraham started. “However, I felt it best not to mention it. I wasn’t certain if Jenna was aware of it and I didn’t want to cause more problems than I already had.”

Sandra smiled as she lifted Jenna’s head and slid out from under the slumbering teen. She stretched her aching muscles as she stood then walked over to the open doorway and started pushing the cryo chamber through the corridor. Abraham quickly caught up, opening the swinging doors, they came upon and likewise with the doors to the laboratory. The lights came on as they entered the lab, as well as the workstations and computer terminals. Sandra looked around the room, unable to determine what the tools in the glass cases that lined the walls were. She watched as the Cyber hooked the cryo chamber to a hoist and lifted the large device off the hovering board. He swung it over to an enormous metal table. Sandra’s first instinct was to stop him as she couldn’t believe that the table would hold the weight of the chamber, but the structure proved her wrong as Abe unhooked the hoist and slid open the chamber’s lid.

Cybill looked the same as she always had though the lights in her eyes were no longer lit. She took the lid from Abe’s hands and laid it over the hover board, which she pushed clear from the Cyber’s path. He went to various clear boxes on the walls, returning with various devices and instruments, none of which she had ever seen before. Finally, he grabbed a camera the size of his head from next to one of the computer terminals and held it steady over Cybill’s head. A live image appeared on the computer screen as Abraham worked the device around the unconscious woman’s head.

“Let’s see what’s on your mind today,” he muttered, his black discs focused upon the screen.

***********

“Give me one DAMN good reason not to have you fired,” Vice President Wilkes snapped as she slammed her hands on the glass surface of the table. “You were in charge of those things. I have advisors informing me that you may have been in on the attack on the courtroom. What am I supposed to tell the press?”

President Garber rested his hand on the shoulder of Colonel Andrew Gates, keeping the tall man from lunging at the small woman across the table from him. Garber sighed, realizing that the meeting was taking far longer than he’d anticipated. The hours since the attacks by the Cybers had been taxing, leaving the President little time to rest.

“We’ve shown that the signal controlling the Cybers did not come from within the military facility, nor from any device in Colonel Gate’s possession,” Garber replied. “I asked Andrew here to discuss matters other than where he was when the attacks commenced and whether or not he was involved.”

Gates adjusted his glasses, a bead of sweat forming on his balding head. Per usual, the man wore a black suit, white shirt, and a black tie. His glasses were black as well, finishing the color coordination of his wardrobe. The ring of hair around the bottom of his scalp was still dark though more gray seemed evident over the last few days. Black circles formed around his eyes, showing that the head of the Cybers had little rest since the attacks.

“I’m well aware of why you asked him here,” Wilkes hissed. “However, I told you that the matter needed to be discussed in private. Inviting him here is the same as telling me that my opinion doesn’t matter. Giving power to the man who was in charge of the Cybers when they attacked is an insult to every citizen in this city. You may as well line them up side by side and spit on every one of them as you pass.”

“Now that part I can agree with,” Andrew Gates stated, his voice ringing off the walls. “I’ll swear my loyalties to your administration, but I agree that the public won’t like having me lead this new Department of Homeland Security. They’ll run you out of office for this James.”

President Garber returned to his seat, his heavy frame crashing down onto the chair as he let out a sigh of exasperation. His folded his hands behind his head, leaning as far back as the chair would allow him. The lining of his jacket fell open, displaying two heavy circles of sweat beneath the man’s outerwear.

“Let the public think what they want,” Garber muttered. “The truth is that the Cybers will likely strike again. When that happens, I want the best man controlling our defenses. You know the Cybers and their capabilities better than any technician does, hands down. I want this new department up and running in days. The more time we waste debating over whether or not Gates should be in charge of the DHS is more time the people pulling the strings of the Cybers have to carry out their next plan. I want our defenses up and our soldiers as prepared as possible for handling the Cybers.”

“So if we are ignoring public opinion,” Gates replied. “Perhaps we should start with detection. I’m not stupid enough to believe that every third gen Cyber worked for the military. There HAS to be stragglers out there, perhaps even sleeper cells. I don’t want some school blown to bits because we didn’t bother to check the janitorial staff.”

“Agreed,” Wilkes added. “Detection first, starting with our own staff. Then we go through the heads of every department and their subordinates. Let’s make certain that we don’t have any wolves in the henhouse before we start sweeping the cities.”

Garber closed his burning eyes as the Vice President made her demands. He hated agreeing with the woman on any topic, but she had a valid point. So long as they didn’t check each person within the government and military, they would remain vulnerable to an attack from within. Still, he suspected there were other threats outside of the defecting Cybers.

“Whoever is pulling the strings has human help as well,” Gates replied, practically reading Garber’s mind. “There aren’t enough Cybers to fight a war, which is what they declared when they opened fire on the courtroom. We can’t just assume that the attackers are only using Cybers. They could have any number of people on the inside.”