Authors: Kyra Anderson
“No, it’s not!”
“When was this?”
“Three days ago.”
“Well, then, if it was true, you would
have been tracked and arrested already,” Kailynn said, trying to force the card
back into his hands. “They probably have tracers on that.”
“Did you see that there’s a corner
missing?”
Kailynn blinked twice at her brother,
silent, feeling the card become heavier in her hand. Slowly, she turned the
card toward her, looking over the information, struggling with the words
written on the card.
“What does this say?”
“It’s Golden Elite Isa’s ID card, Lynni.”
Kailynn looked up at her brother, feeling
the fear swell inside her.
“Are you fucking mental?!” she hissed.
“You guys have the ID card of the most powerful Elite in the
entire fucking system
?!”
“Just listen, Lynni—”
“No, I don’t want any part in this!”
“Just hear me out, please,” Theo said,
grabbing her arm as she tried to walk back inside. “We’re gonna get her.”
“What do you mean you’re going to get
her?”
“Venus. We’re gonna find her and we’re
gonna shut her down.”
Kailynn was so stunned she could only
stare at her brother’s enthusiastic green eyes for several long moments, her
mouth hanging uselessly open. She glanced once each direction and then leaned
closer to her brother.
“You’re going to shut down the computer
that runs the entire damn planet?”
Theo nodded quickly.
“Davi cracked the codes on the card. He
found all the addresses classified under Syndicate and found one that is
completely out of character with the rest of the buildings. Golden Elite Isa is
the
only
one who can access Venus, so
the card has to open the door where Venus is. We have the location of Venus.”
“I find it hard to believe that the
Elites would be that careless with information.”
“Everything is computerized. It would
make sense that there is no way to get to Venus without coming across some
electronic lock. We get in there, we unplug Venus, and the Elites fall.”
“Along with the rest of the planet,”
Kailynn growled. “I hate Venus and the Elites as much as you do, but this is
suicidal.
”
“Where is your Trid pride?” Theo hissed.
“It was those asshole Elites in the Syndicate that kept us from becoming
citizens. It’s the reason we’re all freezing and starving to death, and why the
raid teams come and kill anyone they find in the streets of Trid. Don’t you
see? If we can shut down Venus, everyone else will have to do what we do just
to survive! We’ll all be equal again.”
Kailynn sighed heavily.
“Theo…”
“Please, Kailynn, we could use your
help.”
“What could
I
do?”
“The gang needs a distraction while we
get into the building. There’s probably guards and we just need them to be a
little distracted for, like, five minutes.”
“C’mon, Theo,” Kailynn whined. “I’ve been
working here for seven months. I’m starting to get my life back together. I
don’t need to remind you that
you’re
the
reason I fell into such deep shit.”
“You think they’re going to let you go
out of Anon?” Theo hissed, pointing at the door to the warehouse. “I bet, even
if you let Brad fuck you, he wouldn’t let you go anywhere. You’re a Trid.
Everyone knows it. You need fucking papers to get out of Anon.” Theo shook his
head. “This is as far as you’re going to get, Lynni. Unless we find a way to
tear down the Elite Syndicate and shut down Venus, we’re going to die in an
alley like Dad.”
Kailynn shied away from her brother, her
fear turning cold in her belly.
Theo sighed and pulled his sister into a
hug, kissing the top of her head.
“I’m going to be with the others
tonight,” he whispered. “Think about it and let me know tonight if you’re going
to help us.”
Everyone on the team noticed the change
in Kailynn as they drove on their route to the schools in Anon. She was
thinking over everything Theo had told her, hating that she saw the truth in
his words. She would never get any further than the warehouse. She was a Trid—a
non-citizen—one of Anon’s Forgotten—the black spot on Tiao’s glittering
surface.
For the first time in several months,
Kailynn stared out the small rectangular window in the side of the transport, watching
Anon pass by her. As usual, only transports were on the streets in the middle
of the day. There was no reason for a well-off citizen of Anon to leave the
house. All work was conducted in NCB chairs, devices that allowed people to
have a virtual presence for whatever job they worked. There were some lower-class
citizens who had to travel for their jobs, but in the middle of the day there
was no one on the roads.
It was very common for people to go days
without seeing another live human, or speaking to another person’s face. That
was why there were businesses like Companion and Secret Partners Inc. that
specialized in providing human interaction—for a price. Kailynn had heard
rumors of the companion prostitution in Anon, but she could not tell what rumors
had been exaggerated and which were fact. She had heard that those who worked
as a Significant—as they were called—were asked to do all sorts of sickening
things for the people who paid them, such as acting like the child of their
client, or the wife or husband. The work of a Significant was always very
secretive, so it was impossible to know what Significants actually did with
clients.
When they returned from their run to the
schools, Jenn walked up to Kailynn and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, you’ve been quiet all afternoon. Y’alright?”
“Yeah…”
“Try ta be less enthusiastic,” Jenn
teased.
“I’ve just been thinking, that’s all,”
Kailynn murmured. “Do you ever think that…maybe the planet would be better
without the Elites? And Venus?”
“That’s dangerous talk,” Jenn hissed. She
glanced around before leaning forward to whisper, “But I’ll tell you, I would
give my right arm to see those pampered Elites try and survive like us.”
“You’re not even gonna tell me what’s
wrong?”
Kailynn turned to Raphael, surprised out
of her silent stupor and brought back to the loud noises of the club.
“Huh?”
“What’s with you?” Raphael asked,
wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they sat in a booth in the back corner.
“Yeah, ya been actin’ funny all night,”
Viv said, smiling as she leaned forward. “Ya already take somethin’ tonight?”
“No.”
“C’mon, Viv,” Trey laughed, nudging his girlfriend
in the arm, “Kailynn’s all about gettin’ on the straight n’ narrow, now.”
“Bullshit,” Kailynn huffed. “I don’t have
money to spend on drugs since my shit brother’s fuck up last year.”
“Ah, lay off ‘im,” Oggie said, stubbing
out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table. “Theo’s doin’ Trid proud—always
lookin’ for ways to screw over the Elites.”
“And that does Trid proud when he fucks
up and pays for a bomb that doesn’ even work?” Kailynn growled. “Then
I’m
stuck payin’ for it.”
“C’mon,” Alyssa said with a smile. “You
know those asshole Elites don’t give a damn ‘bout us. It’s about time we give
‘em something to give a damn about.”
“Ah, Kailynn, remember?” Raphael smiled
broadly. “You were so proud of him when he put all of Anon in lockdown as they
tried to find the bomb. So what if it didn’t work? It scared the hell out of
them when they thought they were gonna lose those precious Elites.”
Kailynn sighed heavily.
“So what if the Elites die?” she
grumbled. “There’s a thousand made every year. They probably wouldn’t even
blink.”
“Hey, that’s not the Kailynn I know,”
Oggie said. “When did you get so
boring
?
You’re the Wild Child of Trid. I mean, no offense to Raffy over there, but we
all know yer the brains behind this gang. The one who wanted to see the Elites
try n’ survive like we do, ya know? Who gives a fuck if a thousand Elites are
made all the time? They ain’t human.
We
are!
Where’s your sense of pride? When did you conform so much to what Anon thought
of you?”
Kailynn’s jaw dropped.
“Boring?” she repeated. “I’m
boring
?” She grabbed her drink. “Fuck
that, I’m still Trid’s Wild Child!”
“A’ight!” Viv cheered.
“My Trid blood runs thicker than anyone
here!” Kailynn laughed. She pulled herself onto the table, lifting her glass
high and raising her voice.
“Hey!” she called. “I just wanna say
somethin’!” The bar did not completely quiet, but many people turned to her. “I
know this is the Walking District of Anon, but I think a lot of you have better
blood than that!” Cheers greeted her as other Trids agreed. “So, on behalf of
all of us, I would like to turn to the cameras and send a message to our leaders.”
She lifted her glass higher. “
Fuck
.
Venus.”
Another round of cheers greeted her as
she downed her entire shot and cheered loudly. Raphael laughed and grabbed her
leg, pulling her into his lap and laughing.
“Alright, that’s fine in Trid. You do that
too often here and you’re going to bring the raids.”
The drinking continued late into the
night, as always. Kailynn was stumbling, her arm around Raphael’s waist to keep
her steady, when they finally exited the bar. Raphael had stolen a few hundred
credits off some oblivious tourists, so the drinking had continued even later,
which meant Kailynn had imbibed more alcohol than she considered normal.
Raphael took her back to his place where
they climbed under the covers so that the heat from having sex would keep them
warm. While Raphael slept, Kailynn watched patterns float over the cracked
ceiling, feeling the alcohol slowly wear off as she thought over a million
scattered ideas.
It was nearing dawn when she grabbed her
clothes, dressed, and walked deep into the Trid district, where an abandoned
car garage stood near the lake. The garage was surrounded by junk piles from
the landfill around the lake that could not fit within the fenced junkyard.
The Heart of Trid gang had claimed the
garage as their base of operations, though they had much territory around the
lake. Other gangs had not tried to take the land in over a year, but the Heart
of Trid gang never let their guard down. For this reason, Kailynn was sure
that, when she entered the garage, she knocked three times slowly, followed by
two rapid knocks, signaling that she was an ally.
The back door opened loudly, setting
Kailynn’s teeth on edge as the sound aggravated her growing headache. She
stepped in quietly, wondering why the garage was almost silent. She found the
members of the gang unconscious in various areas of the main garage floor,
bottles thrown carelessly, likely from celebrating their plan to shut down
Venus. It did not bother them that shutting down the super-computer of the
planet would leave the entire planet in a state of chaos. To those who had
suffered through growing up in Trid, it was only right that those who lived in
grandeur had to struggle to survive.
Stepping cautiously around the sleeping,
but armed, figures of the Heart of Trid gang, Kailynn found her brother.
“Theo,” she said, shaking her brother’s
shoulder. Theo groaned and tried to swat Kailynn away. “Theo.” The older Evada
sibling grit his teeth and turned onto his back, blinking slowly.
“Lynni?” he mumbled, his eyes squinted
against his hangover.
“Okay. I’ll help you take her down.”
“Now I
know
something is wrong.”
Kailynn blinked, startled at the ration
bag that was suddenly in front of her face. She stared at it before glancing
briefly up at Raphael. She took the bag, but did not take a bite out of the bar
inside, her eyes returning to her feet. Raphael sat on the bed with her.
“Did your brother do something again?”
Kailynn turned quickly.
“What?”
“Why are you all the way out in space?”
Raphael chuckled brokenly. “I mean, you’ve always been a bit of a space cadet,
but this is out of character, even for you.”
“Don’t call me a space cadet,” Kailynn
sneered. “I’m just thinking. Is that a crime?”
“Lynni, don’t be like that.” Raphael
sighed, rolling his eyes. “I can tell something is bothering you. You didn’t
even notice that I got the heat working.”
Kailynn shook her head, resealing the
ration bag and tossing it aside, laying back on Raphael’s bed.
“I’m just being stupid today, that’s
all.”
“Today?” Raphael teased.
Kailynn punched him in the thigh. The man
laughed and went to his side, looking over Kailynn’s troubled features.
“Are you really not going to talk to me?”
“Why do I have to tell you everything?”
Kailynn asked pointedly.
“You don’t,” Raphael admitted. “I just
want to make sure you’re not in trouble.”
“I’m not,” Kailynn said. “I’m just sick
of this life, like the rest of Trid. Those dickwads in Anon don’t give a shit
about us, and we’re sitting here celebrating that the heat is back on so we
don’t freeze.”
“You did not know the heat was on until I
told you,” Raphael pointed out.
“That’s not the point, Raffy.”
“I know, I know,” he tried to appease
her. “But there’s nothing we can do about it. You and I were born Trids.
There’s no way for us to get citizenship. Hell, they’ve even stopped giving
citizenship to those who had to move into Trid because they couldn’t afford
anywhere else.”
“And how is that fair?”
“Life ain’t fair.”
Kailynn ground her teeth together. She
wanted to vent all of her frustrations about the upper classes and how much the
Trids suffered in comparison, but she knew that the rant would get her nowhere.
Everyone in Trid had the same feelings, but talking about them never resolved
the problem. It only worked her up and made her angry for days.
“What do you think the world would be
like without Venus?”
Raphael sighed and fell onto his back,
staring at the ceiling.
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “Hard to
imagine what things would be like without her. She runs everything.” He was
quiet for a few moments, thinking about how he wanted to respond. “Maybe it
wouldn’t be much different. I mean, through history, hasn’t there always been a
low class and a high class?”
“I guess.” Kailynn shrugged. “I don’t
care about history. I only care about now.”
“Me too,” Raphael agreed. “Why are you
askin’ now?”
“I’m just wondering if shutting her down
would be a good thing or not.”
“Why would it matter?” Raphael chuckled.
“It’s not like you’ll ever get a chance to shut her down.”
“I know.”
Raphael rolled on top of Kailynn, smiling
at her.
“I know the heat is working, but I can
still screw you so well that you’ll forget about the problems of the world.”
Kailynn barked a laugh.
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
Raphael’s jaw dropped and he laughed.
“What? You think I can’t?”
“Why don’t we find out?” Kailynn
challenged with a devilish grin.
Even though Kailynn was exhausted—Raphael
gave his best effort, and it did take Kailynn a very long time to regain her
train of thought—she went into the cold night air, walking among the neon
lights that illuminated the streets. She normally did not pay attention to the
prostitutes and drug addicts lingering in the alleys of the Walking District,
but she kept a watchful eye on everyone around her that night.
She studying where different alleys led,
being sure she knew the area as well as possible, in case anything went wrong
with her brother’s plan. She wanted to believe that all would go well, but she
knew from experience that her brother’s plans never worked. She remembered too
well the catastrophe of the last one. She did not want to be stuck paying for
her brother’s mistakes once more.
However, she was also watching the area
closely because she was slowly moving out of the Walking District and into
Anon. She had never dared to move past the Walking District. She knew how
quickly Trids disappeared when they were found in the capital city. There was
no way for them to blend in. No one walked in Anon. There was no way to sneak
any vehicle past border patrol. Even then, with the electronic roads, Officials
were immediately alerted when an unregistered car was being driven.
At four in the morning, Kailynn was sure
that she would be safe from the electronic sensors in Anon, but if anyone
spotted her or saw her in the cameras, it would not take long for Officials to
take her into custody.
There was no tolerance for Trids in Anon.
Kailynn was sure that Raphael had worn
himself out enough to sleep for at least seven hours, so she wanted to use the time
to her advantage. She did not want Raphael to know about Theo’s plan. It would
put him in danger and he had already done enough to help Kailynn when it came
to Theo’s botched plots to destroy the government.
The gang was waiting for her in near the side
gates of an enormous warehouse complex.
“Finally! Fuck, where have you been?”
Jamis growled, his hands shoved deep into his pockets to avoid the blistering
cold.