Swan Song (Book Three of the Icarus Trilogy) (45 page)

"We don't have to tell you shit," Templeton said from Ryan's left, which made the messiah figure want to smile.  The three of them got within two meters of the executive before they stopped, each one of their rifles trained on the man's chest.

"No, you don't, I suppose, but I'd like us to be a little more friendly.  I
am
here to help," Darren said as he sighed again.  This was more difficult than he'd hoped; these men more stubborn than he would have liked.

"Carver.  That's Templeton.  I'm sure you know of us," the veteran said from Ryan's other side, which shocked the leader of the revolution.  He didn't know why the old man was giving him anything, but then Carver spoke again.  "Where's Montgomery?"

"See?  Jonathon has the right idea.  This is a conversation here, not an interrogation," Darren said with a sly smile before turning his head slightly and nodding to the blood on the wall behind him.  "And as far as Jasper goes he's not going to be a problem."

Ryan furrowed his brow as he considered the statement, but he chose to investigate.  When he rounded the side of the desk, leaving his two comrades to cover the executive, he found Jasper's corpse still staring at the city below.  He turned quickly towards Christiansen before realizing there was a gleaming pistol by the terminal.

"He's not lying," Ryan started.  "Jasper's dead.  I'm guessing you killed him with that?" Jenkins said before motioning towards the pistol.  Darren looked behind him and then laughed briefly.

"Indeed.  Will wonders never cease?" he asked before rubbing the flash drive in his hands.  It was his only real bargaining chip.

"A change of heart, Christiansen?  Did you hope to make it out of here because you killed the head of the Trade Union?" Darius asked, his voice angry.  Montgomery should have died from an EFI bullet.  The businessman scoffed before turning to Templeton.

"Would it be that easy?  And here I had prepared to negotiate further...." he said before bringing his right hand to his face and shaking his head.  He lowered his hand and then sighed again.  "No, no, no; nothing like that.  It's just that there's a threshold for every man where it's just .... too evil.  I wouldn't say I'm a good man, gentlemen, but I'm not going to be party to another planet-wide genocide."

"Another?" Ryan asked, his breath quickening.  Darren looked at him out of the side of his eye.

"I'm afraid so, Ryan.  I was there for Eris.  I .... I tried," he said before looking at the ground in front of him, ignoring the three guns still aimed at him.  "If you believe it I tried to end this whole thing with the least bloodshed.  Instead of allowing the EOSF down to Eris and killing everybody, I convinced Jasper to just send the Hammerheads against you," he said, not realizing how angry it made the three men fully-intent on killing him.  "When that didn't work, I tried to stop him but.... he didn't listen."

"That's why I did it, gentlemen," Darren said as he broke his staring contest with the floor and looked at each Crow in turn.  "I tried to reason with Jasper again, but he was already starting up the program for Gaia.  I had to kill him," he said before ending his turn by staring at Ryan.  "I'm sorry you didn't get to do it."

"So what's the conversation you want, Christiansen?" Carver asked, wanting a direct answer.  He knew Ryan and Darius wanted their personal revenge, but the old Crow was satisfied that Montgomery was dead.  On the other hand, he knew that Darren had more to tell.

"You really do have a way with words, Carver.  Alright then," he said before holding up the flash drive in his left hand.  "This is all of it."

"All of what?" Jenkins asked the young executive.  He was keeping an eye on the handgun behind him, but Ryan was confident that the three of them could kill Darren before it was an issue.

"This is the Trade Union.  This is all of the documentation of War World Entertainment and Jasper's puppet companies.  All the financial ties and paper trails that make up the spider's web that is the Trade Union.  Every single scandal, piece of blackmail, bribe.  Every employee's contribution and salary, every contingency plan and every little shred of suppressed news and details."

"This, in short, is all you need in order to destroy the old world and create the new.  Here," Darren said as he tossed the flash drive towards the messiah figure.  It caused the three soldiers to retrain their rifles in alarm, but Jenkins was able to catch the small object with his left hand.  "Amazing what they can fit into those things, don't you think?"

"How can we trust you?" Templeton asked, wary of any possible deception.  Darren shrugged at that before turning to the one-eyed revolutionary.

"I guess you can't, but really, what reason would I have to deceive you?  You won.  Jasper's gone, no one has to know it was me who did the deed and now the people will be singing your praises.  What power vacuum that will be created will not be filled by any of Montgomery's associates.  They will be running like cockroaches as soon as the EFI puts its flag on this tower, so to speak."

"What's in it for you?" Ryan asked, skeptical of anything this handsome man would say.  It was hard to trust a man who had killed his boss only a few minutes ago.  Darren shook his head as he turned to the messiah figure.

"Pretty much nothing, Ryan.  Even if you let me go today, I'm a dead man.  I don't think you understand the aftermath that will come from this.  The French Reign of Terror will seem like a joke.  There are thousands upon thousands of executives and bureaucrats that will be hunted down for sport," Darren said as he stared into space again.

"Then why would you help us?" Ryan asked, but before Darren could break himself out of his gaze he was interrupted by Carver, who had lowered his rifle.

"This is his redemption," he said, which caused the executive to look at him with a sad smile.

"Something like that.  I can at least ease the transition," Darren Christiansen said as he picked himself up from the desk, turning so that he could grab the handgun near the computer terminal.  Immediately, he heard the three Crows raise their rifles in a hurry.

"You can count the bullet holes in the old man over there, but I'm letting you know there's only one bullet in the magazine.  I was keeping it for something special," Darren said as he turned, seeing each man peering at him through their iron sights.  "And I'm sorry, Ryan, but for once you're not the special one."

"What are you talking about, Christiansen?" Ryan demanded from the young executive, who had raised the pistol into the air to show that he meant no hostilities.  Darren walked over to Ryan Jenkins, curious to see if they would shoot him right then and there, and within a tense few seconds he was within half a meter of the leader of the revolution.

"There's this one line I've always loved.  It was in a British movie, documenting the civil war of China back in the 23rd century.  It was a bit hokey and jingoistic, but one of the writers snuck in this line," Darren said as he gave a smile to the man behind the mask.  "And I've watched some tapes of you, Ryan, back before you were this grand messiah.  Specifically, I'm talking about the one where you committed suicide," he said, seeing the younger man stagger momentarily before gripping his rifle tighter.

"Imagine my surprise when I hear the line coming out of your mouth.  It made a bit of an impression on me, Ryan.  And I think you'll understand me when I tell you this.  I don't expect to live much longer, Mr. Jenkins.  I just want enough time to take care of some things, talk with the people important to me.  To take care of my affairs," Darren said as he extended his right hand.

"You know what they say about freedom, Ryan?" Darren asked, gambling everything on a poetic turn.  He could feel his legs starting to shake, but he kept the sad smile on his face, unwilling to falter in front of the revolutionary.  After an excruciating minute, he saw something that surprised him.  The messiah figure lowered his weapon by the sling and undid the clasps at his helmet before removing it and holding it with his left hand.  Jenkins maintained eye contact as he reached out and took hold of the executive's hand.

"Take your time, Darren.  We were fighting for freedom.  But again, that's your choice," Ryan said as he shook the young executive's hand.  The statement brought a relieved breath from the executive, the man unable to keep his composure.  After he withdrew his hand from the expression of respect, he backed away from the young man.

"Thank you, Ryan Jenkins.  I do wish the best for you," he said before breaking eye contact and turning to the other two soldiers, their rifles still pointed at him.  "Gentlemen," he said as he nodded, walking past them and hoping that he didn't get shot in the back.

"Are you kidding, Ryan?" Templeton asked in a hushed tone, but there was no bullet chasing after Darren Christiansen as he made his way across the office.

"It's one bullet, Darius," Carver said from beside the desk.  "A man can choose."

As the giant double doors closed behind him, Darren breathed out his anxiety.  He was leaving his life behind in that room.  There were no more fortunes to be made; no worlds for him to conquer.  Darren walked away from his past, resolute in his decisions, and wondered how it would feel to die.

After Eris, it was the least he could do.

-

"Yeah, don't kill him.  Let him through," Jenkins said into his helmet, holding it up with his left hand.  After he did he set the piece of plastic and metal down on Montgomery's desk, looking at the dead man lying against the window.  He would have liked to kill him with his bare hands, but, looking at Jasper now, Ryan realized that the anger had left him.  Charlotte and Eris had been avenged after all this time, but the victory felt hollow.

"I still think we should string him up.  Make him an example," Templeton said behind him, but Jenkins turned and shook his head at the man still wearing his helmet.

"No point, Darius.  He's just one guy," Ryan said as he brushed his gloved fingers against the rich wood.

"But,"

"Drop it, Templeton.  There's plenty of guilt to go around.  We don't need to kill everybody in the company," Carver said as he walked over to one of the leather chairs and sat down.  He could feel his bones creaking, but it was fine.  The war was essentially over; the old Crow could rest.

"I still don't like it," Templeton said as he shook his head.  He looked at his two comrades and suddenly felt elated.  It was just now sinking in that Atlas' mission had succeeded.  The EFI was victorious, even if it didn't feel like it.

"Plenty of things we don't like, Darius, but that's beside the point," Ryan said as he set his hand on the leather throne of the fallen emperor.  There was an uneasy silence as the three revolutionaries realized they didn't know how to proceed.  They had been so focused on the battle that they hadn't thought about what they were going to do afterwards.  Templeton was the first to break the silence.

"I ... can't be here.  I'll head down, first.  Get everything prepared for your speech," Darius said as he turned.

"Speech?" Ryan asked behind him.  Darius smiled as he looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes.

"Really, Jenkins?  We just won the war and 'freed humanity.'  You have to make at least one speech.  We know you love them," Templeton said before turning back towards the doorway and walking through the office.

"Hey, Darius?"

"Yeah," Templeton said as he passed by the expensive furniture scattered about the room.

"Thanks.  I couldn't have done it without you," Jenkins said behind him, which caused the revolutionary to stop mid-step.  He lowered his foot and sighed before undoing the clasps on his helmet and dropping the thing onto Montgomery's couch.  He looked over with his artificial eye and smiled at the messiah figure by the expensive desk.

"Any time, Ryan," he said before turning back and heading towards the double doors.  When Templeton pushed through the barrier he laughed.  It was exactly what Thomas would have wanted.

When Darius disappeared behind the closing doors Carver grunted, realizing that the younger generation might have been just as sentimental as his own.  He undid the clasps for his own helmet and then set the thing on the ground beside him. 

"So you think that really holds all of the Trade Union, kid?" Carver asked as he rubbed his fingers against the armrest.  His surrogate son laughed as he walked around the desk and then sat down where Darren had been just a few moments ago.

"I...I actually think it does.  Is that weird?  That I'm hoping and believing in things after all this time?" Ryan said with a relieved smile.  Carver felt his heart becoming lighter; seeing the boy happy was something he could get used to.

"I think we can allow it.  We can take a break every once in a while," Carver said as he looked out the wall of windows.  He couldn't see the ground below, but it was nice to see that the sun was shining behind some clouds.