A Shadow On The Sun

 

 

Jake Sloane was dreaming. Or at least he thought he was. It was pretty vivid, this dream. It was violent. And everything was brighter than the sun allowed things to be. There were two people he did not know and one that he did. But for the life of him, he couldn’t put names to the faces. It was chaotic.  There were strange weapons and odd noises. Nobody died but nobody was thrilled with the outcome. It got so weird that it finally woke him up, or at least he thought it did. At that moment he wasn't sure about anything. 

He was floating on an air mattress in his pool. The air was dry and what little sun there was popped through the haze and was fairly warm, but Jake was shivering. 

‘What the hell is going on?’, he asked himself. This was the third time in the past week or so where he had just zoned out like this and had the same violent dream. He slipped off the air mattress and drenched himself in the cool water. He sat down on the steps at the end of the pool immersed up to the middle of his chest, and he thought about it. But there was nothing. 

Maybe he was just stressed from work. He’s been going pretty much non-stop for the past month or more. Maybe he was stressed because he would have to go to the city to turn over his work and collect his credits. He hated the city. He had become a real hermit, he thought. But it wasn’t that either. It was something else. It wasn’t in Jake’s psyche to dwell on mysteries. It would resolve itself all in good time, he thought, as he shrugged it off to the general weirdness of life.

~ 1 ~

The year was twenty-one something, more than three-quarters of the way to twenty-two. Nobody really gave much of a shit what year anymore. The desert was dusty and bone dry and took up a lot of what used to be the North American continent, but nobody called it that anymore. Boundaries were pretty much non-existent. It was all one big ugly turf war. The shells of rusted-out machinery littered the landscape. Mostly oil rigs, that corroded away after the oil ran out and the Great Cataclysm came. The sun was an orange ball in a hazy grey sky, and only did a half-assed job of powering the millions of acres and solar panels that fed Hogarth City. Every so often, as you travelled over it by copter, because you wouldn’t want to try it on the ground, small oases of green periodically appeared, each with a one-story prefabricated, large-windowed house and swimming pool in the centre.

This was where Jake Sloane lived. His oasis was surrounded by a ring of high-intensity solar sheets and ribbons of condenser coils that provided the water for his house and pool. But best of all it was as far away from the teeming mass of humanity as he could get. 

Later that day, Jake was sitting at the console of his Applecom system. He was tapping furiously on the keyboard. His body language was not unlike that of a concert pianist. Finally, he rose up out of his seat and typed the last few words. He read over what he had just completed and hit a key on his keyboard.

Jake was about thirty-five, give or take, but it was hard to tell because he got a little laser touchup from time to time when he went to the city. He still had all his hair and kept it long and tied back in a ponytail. He had strong facial features that gave him a ruggedly handsome look. He could have been an actor or a writer, but he chose writing because it got him out of the city because the city was a shithole. He remembered watching an ancient flick called Bladerunner and thinking, how prescient. Nowadays, he cranked out vid series that painted the world in a completely different light. He didn’t mind that it was all anime bullshit. It financed his little oasis and a bunch of other perks because his vids were highly rated. And he had every intention of keeping them that way. 

“Medusa.”

The computer responded. “Yes, Jake.”

“I want a master disk and a safety by 0600 and I’ll take it to town.” 

“I could just encrypt it and send it along to Mr. Rosen.”

“No, I have to go into the city for supplies and get my credits updated in person. I don’t trust the Internet as far as I can throw it. Too many hackers that will steal your ideas and resell them.”

“Your paranoia is not a healthy thing, Jake. I do have adequate shielding, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. But what the hell, call me old fashioned but I’m more of a hands-on guy, you know what I mean, jelly bean?” 

Yes, I do, Jake. Don’t forget Larry Kramer’s party tonight.”

“That’s why I want the disk today. You never know I might get lucky.”

“Formatting now.”

“Thank you, Medusa.”

Jake grabbed a Gatorade from the small fridge in the corner of his office, chugged it down and then stripped naked. His body was lithe, with very little body fat, and not overly muscular. He walked outside. “Medusa, switch on the pool current. 12 knots,” he shouts. The pool quickly started  to churn. Jake jumped into the shallow end and pushed his way into the middle of the pool. The churning water was just above his chest. He leaned forward and began to swim, working hard to stay in the same place. Soon he developed a rhythm and got lost in the mesmerizing repetitiveness of it all.

A few hours later, Jake was in his copter, flying low into the purple sky. He fiddled with the radio, stopping at different places on the dial. He found some electronic music that he liked and left the dial set there. Suddenly the frequency clouded up with static as a powerful voice broke through sporadically, but it was all static that hurt his head. He shut the radio down. “Fuckin’ Kronies,” He said to no one in particular.

After ten minutes or so he came up on another oasis. He steered through the two bright floating glow balls and veered right. He quickly arrived at a house, more or less identical to his own. A man with a high-intensity lantern directed his copter to a parking area out behind the house. Jake jumped out of the copter carrying a bottle of wine and walked toward the house. He turned the corner of the building and walked into a noisy party atmosphere. The swimming pool was lit with coloured lights and filled with drunks and stoners. Jake exchanged greetings with several of the guests but kept walking toward the house.

 Sitting at the edge of the pool was a beautiful girl clad in a skimpy bikini draped over with a thin gauze-like shawl. Jake noticed her right away. Long auburn hair, high cheekbones, small but perky breasts, long thin legs. Obviously not a waif of any kind. And she had her eye on him as well. Plenty of time for that, he thought, as he entered the brightly lit house. He walked through a huge playroom where people were drinking, smoking, eating, playing Monopoly, video games and pinball, or watching antique porno flicks projected on the wall. Jake crossed the room and walked casually through a swinging door that led to the kitchen. He came to a group of several people standing by a pastry tray munching and chatting. One of them was a large man in a colourful kaftan. 

“Mr. Kramer, I presume?” said Jake. 

“Mr. Sloane I presume?” said Larry Kramer.

The two men gave each other a friendly hug. Then Jake handed Kramer the bottle of wine. “Happy birthday pal, may your next century on this rock be as kind to you as the first.” Kramer burst into laughter as did the people around him.

“Where did you get this?” Kramer said studying the label.

“Rank has its privileges, Larry. And I choose to share them with my friends whenever possible.”

“Well, this is very much appreciated. Unlike these deadbeats who merely come bearing precious stones. Stones are nice, but wine, that is true brotherly love.”

Jake slaps Kramer on the shoulder. “Don't drink it all in one night.” 

“Trust me, this will last a while. So tell me, how’s the fickle world of anime?” 

“Well, I’m still there. That has to say something about the audience’s pain threshold.” 

“You should come on the show. I’d love to do a piece on you.” 

“I don’t know. I kinda like just cranking it out and having a bit of mystique about who I am.”

“I understand. If you ever change your mind,  The Kramer Beat would love to shatter that mystique.” 

Jake and Kramer kibitzed around for a few minutes, and while that was happening, he caught a glimpse of the female he saw when he walked by the pool. She was standing by one of the pinball machines watching one of the other girls go to town on it, along with keeping her eye on him. Jake then took a spliff from a small tray on the counter and wandered into the playroom. He sat down on the couch and lit the spliff, inhaling deeply. The girl was at the bar now, sipping a martini and still staring at him. A few seconds later, she polished off her drink and walked over to the couch. She sat down and picked up a game console. She fired up a game video game on the large screen on the wall. It was a genuine antique called Space Invaders. 

“You’re very good.” Jake said, after watching her for a few ticks.

“Thanks. I get lots of practice.”

“What’s your name?” 

“Crystal. Crystal Franklin.”

“Jake Sloane.”

“I know. Everybody knows Jake Sloane. Creator of Lilli the Spy. I’m a big fan. Seen every ep at least three times.”

“Well, it’s nice to know I have one fan.”

“You have your own oasis. Therefore you must have many fans.” 

“I don’t really keep track.”

“Oh, I’ll bet you do.” 

Jake took a hit off the spliff, then offered it to Crystal. She took the spliff and sniffed it. And hands it back. 

“I don’t do UV grown.” She said. “Too addictive.”

“So you only do organics? And where do you get that?” 

“Up in the mountains. Grow my own.”

“Hmmm. You live in the mountains? Must be nice. You know, there’s a scientist named Sam Franklin who lives up there. I interviewed him once back when I was a reporter for Larry’s show. Any relation?”

“He’s my dad.”

“You don’t say? Well, I’m a big fan of your dad’s work on desalination. I think it’s gonna be the next big thing.”

“Somebody had to do something when the rivers started drying up and the rain got all dirty.”

Jake was suitably high now and he challenged Crystal to a game. Crystal looked deeply into his eyes and shook her head. 

“You won’t last one round.” she said.

She restarted the game and handed Jake the controls. Jake fumbled around, killing off a few invaders but quickly realized that Crystal was right. Fucking UV shit, he thought. Really clogs up your brain. The game ended rather quickly and he handed the controller back to Crystal. 

“When you’re right, you’re right. How did you get here tonight?” 

“Heli-cab. I was planning to get good and pissed and didn’t want to fly.”

“How about we grab a bottle get out of here and head out to the plateau?”

“Do you always come on like this to every female you meet?”

“No…just the ones with the famous daddies. Besides, I’ve done my good friend duty and truth be told, I fucking hate social gatherings.”

They both started to laugh and Crystal said. “Lead on Mr. Sloane.”

A few tics later, Jake and Crystal were flying low over the desert. There was a faint red glow on the horizon, but the landscape looked empty and ominous.  Crystal lit a small cigar, and passed the wine bottle to Jake.

“Sometimes down there,” Jake said, “You can see ghosts that are maybe three hundred years old. Pony express riders. Comanche warriors on painted colts. The full moon seems to suck them out of the ground like worms to the dew.”

Crystal offered a cigar to Jake, but he just shook his head.

“There aren’t any more worms, Jake.” Crystal said. “And there isn’t any more dew either.”

“I wax poetic. Is that real tobacco?”

“So you do, Tennyson. And yes it is. Cost me a few credits too.”

Jake inhales deeply, savouring the aroma. “Hardly anybody believes in ghosts anymore. That’s sad.”

“We can’t all be dreamers, Jake. Some of us see ghosts and get enchanted. The rest of us see corpses and get sick.”

The plateau was high and dark. And the sky above was about as clear as it got in the summer. Up above, the stars, millions of them, glimmered through the thin haze that covered the earth. Off in the far distance, the lights of Hogarth City burned through. Jake reckoned it was more than one hundred klicks and light years away from his life. But he relied on it. The anime factories were all there. All the little Eurasian dweebs slaving away creating flicks from his scripts and those of another fifty or so writers who fed the voracious entertainment machine.

They sat in the copter staring out into the night sky. 

“Hogarth City,” Jake said. “It used to be called Los Angeles way back in the day. It meant City Of The Angels. It’s gone a long way down from the ancient times.”

“Everybody works for Hogarth. Including my dad, and you too.” 

“And who do you work for, my dear?”

“Fortunately, I don’t have to work.” 

“Lucky you.” 

“I thought about trying my hand at writing an anime series. But well, that never really worked out. So I just take care of the house for my dad. He doesn’t like to have house bots.”

“Well, we have that in common. I enjoy housework. Nothing stimulates the brain like the sound of dirt being sucked up a vacuum hose.”

“It’s pretty clear tonight, even the carbon film looks close to transparent.”

“I have a friend who swears up and down that the carbon film is the only thing that keeps the world from catching fire. Guess we owe that to your dad too, since he figured out how to congeal carbon into that gauze.”

“He told me that it was such a simple principle of physics that he was amazed nobody thought of it until he did, probably a hundred years too late. To tell the truth, I think he’d much rather have sold it to Waldo Krone.”

Jake laughed. “Waldo Krone? Come on, Crystal, the dude is just a myth. No one has ever seen him. And anybody who swears they have, well they’ve all been proven to be a bunch of nutbars.”

“Then, I guess I’m one of them.” Crystal said. Jake refused to play along. He knew better than to admit the reality of Waldo Krone in front of someone he had just met. Because he knew Hogarth had spies everywhere. Sometimes they were beautiful girls. 

“The whole myth of Waldo Krone was something that somebody like me dreamed up about fifty years ago.” Jake said. “It’s nothing more than an idea for a series that never got produced because the Hogarth Entertainment Committee would never sanction anything that smacked of insurrection.”

“That may very well be. But I’d like to believe that there is something out there that’s more enlightened than what we have now.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Jake said. “But you know how it is. He who controls the water controls the world.” 

As the night progressed, Jake and Crystal flew to Jake’s house where they had a swim, fooled around for a couple of hours and then crashed. The next morning Crystal came out onto the patio where a brunch was spread out on the table. She and Jake watched a game show on the vid screen.

“You’re a pretty good romp, for a dreamer.” Crystal said.

“You lay a lot of dreamers, do you?”

“No. But I have been with a few in my time.”

“How did you, uh, find your way to Larry Kramer’s party, anyway?”

“I crashed. Caught the e-vite off a hack I did on his site.”

Jake said nothing for a while. He just leaned back in his chair and stared up at the haze.

“So how do you like slummin’ out in the dunes?” He said.

“It’s passable. The oases are all pretty nice. I imagine you all have to sell your souls to keep them running.”

“Pretty much, he said, to the girl who lives on the fucking mountain where the trees are still green and it even rains every so often.”

Crystal just looked at him and then shrugged her shoulders. She obviously didn’t give a shit what he thought of her, and that let him know.

“So tell me, any passions?” Jake asked.

“Just one. Metaphysics. You know, Paranormals. Telepaths, Clairvoyants. That was where my interest was when it came time.”

“Mutants, you mean. That’s not science, that’s bullshit.”

“I’m writing my seventh-level Metaphysics docu-drama on the prophecies of the “Last Book”.

Jake chuckled. “The Last Book, huh? Wow. When you’re out there you’re out there. You honestly don’t believe Waldo Krone is real, do you?”

“I know he is. And I know something else too.”

“Oh, yeah. What’s that?”

“I know that you and Krone are connected. I haven’t figured out how yet. But I haven’t just been watching your vids, I’ve been studying them. You know stuff about the Deadland that you weave into them, and that’s the kind of stuff you can only find out from someone like Krone.”

“So you’ve got me all figured out do you?” With that Jake became fidgety and anxious. He got up from the table and walked over to the pool. “Look, I’m gonna swim a bit and then I’m going into the City umm...is there anywhere I can drop you?”

~ 2 ~

Jake and Crystal were riding along above the desert floor in silence. Jake’s silence was stony and cold. Crystal was nervous and agitated.

“Look, I know what you’re thinkin.” Crystal said.

“You don’t know jack shit.”

“You think I’m just some rich brat from the Mountains down here playin’ head games with you.”

Jake does not respond.

“Well, I got over head games in second level, alright. I’m a serious student, and there aren’t many clairvoyants who aren’t already working for Hogarth’s Intelligence Corps...I know about the tests you took at Southwestern.”

“Who’d you fuck to find that out?”

“You’re being macho and petty and it doesn’t look good on you.”

“I have nothin’ to say to no fuckin’ Kronie.”

“What’s the matter? Afraid some pure thought’ll upset your nice little life?”

“The only thing a Kronie will upset is my digestion.”

“But you know Waldo Krone still lives. And you know it is written in ‘The Last Book’ that a clairvoyant will help him return to power. And that’s the connection that interests me.”

“Listen, as far as I’m concerned, you were a welcome and lovely bit of nookie after a load of hard labour. But I don’t give even the slightest shit about your political motives, or your belief in ancient myths.”

The copter hit the foothills. There was a noticeable difference in the amount of vegetation as they climbed. After about a minute of climbing, the Franklin mansion came into view on Jake’s scanner. But there was something else on the scanner as well. Three black blips moved away from the mansion. Jake flipped on his cloak and took his copter down in a small clearing keeping his eye on the scanner screen. After a moment the three blips exited the screen’s range. He took the copter back up over the trees.

“That your house down there?” Jake asked. 

“Yeah.”

“What about those three Crows headin’ out toward Hogarth City on the water?”

“Who knows? Brass from the World Energy Syndicate, I guess. Could be special couriers. Daddy hates going anywhere.”

The copter swept down and circled the house. The copter pad sat adjacent to a large detached greenhouse. Jake set the copter down on the pad next to a screaming pink Windrunner, obviously Crystal’s, and a silver-grey Executive Eagle. They sat in the copter while the rotor wound down. Suddenly, the greenhouse exploded. Shards of glass bombarded the copter, and the force of the blast caused the copter to rock over onto its side, almost to the point of tipping. As the force subsided, the copter flopped back to an upright position jolting Jake and Crystal roughly.

Crystal kicked open the door of the copter, jumped out and ran toward the greenhouse. The heat of the blaze repelled her before she could get too close. She turned and grabbed Jake who was right behind her. She stared at him, horror-struck. She turned back to look at the burning greenhouse, then started to run toward the main house screaming for her father. Jake followed, entered the back door and walked along a hallway. He came to a large kitchen. He looked around. He could hear Crystal running through the house calling for her father. He was not sure what to do so he just sat down on a stool. Soon Crystal came into the kitchen. 

 “He’s either dead in his lab or they took him.” she said, crawling into his embrace.

“Why would they want to kill him. He’s like the most important human on the fuckin’ planet.”

Jake rocked her gently in his arms while she sobbed.

Later, Crystal and Jake lay in the darkness of her room. Crystal was out like a light but Jake was awake and restless. Quietly he got out of bed and walked over to the window. He sat down on the window seat and stared out at the late-day sky. The purple sun was just touching the horizon. Off in the distance, he could see the lights of Hogarth City. He looked down at the smouldering greenhouse and sighed heavily.

Suddenly, he heard his phone beep. He got up from the window and walked over to the dresser, where he deactivated the beeping phone. He walked back across the room to the window. He pushed another button on the communicator.

“Seymour.” Seymour was Seymour Rosen, Jake’s agent and old friend.

“Where the fuck are you? You were supposed to be here at 0100 yesterday.”

“Takin’ care of a sick friend. No biggie. I’m four days ahead of schedule. I’ll be in tomorrow or the next day.”

“Like shit you will. Don’t you watch the goddamn news, Jake? There’s an indefinite Level 4 Curfew in effect.”

“Level 4! What’s goin’ on down there, mutant riots?”

“The Freedom Fighters blew up a marine depot this afternoon. A reciprocal action. They say Hogarth snuffed some Science Celeb who was about to defect.”

“Sam Franklin?”

“Yeah, that’s right...hey how’d you know that? There haven’t been any leaks to the Deadland.”

“How long do you reckon this curfew will last?”

“Nobody knows. But the production line’s talking at least a week of reruns. Almost every other agent is in the same fix. There’s nothing to do but wait.”

“Nothin’ to do but wait, huh?”

“But I want you at that fuckin’ gate when it opens!”

“You got it.”

Jake cut off the communication. He stared over at Crystal, sleeping on the bed. He heaved a heavy sigh and got up off the window seat.

“Fuck!” he said softly to the window.

A few hours later, Jake and Crystal walked out to the shattered greenhouse. They were both wearing dark green decontamination suits. There was still some smoke but essentially things had cooled down. They entered and wandered through the rubble, sifting through the debris with long sticks. Jake could tell it must have been a beautiful place, judging by all the burnt-out plant shafts. Crystal walked to the far end of the greenhouse and shifted some rubble aside then pulled the lever on a trap door and descended the stairs with Jake close behind her.

Crystal opened a door at the bottom of the steps to reveal a large concrete-walled room. The walls were lined with vid discs, canned and dried foods, containers of clean water, and a communications/entertainment complex. On the far side of the room sat two cots and two small trunks. Crystal walked to the disc wall. She selected a disc from the hundreds on the shelf. 

“What is this place?” Jake asked.

“My dad called it a fallout shelter. They built them back in the 20th century because a lot of people were terrified of a nuclear war.

“Nuclear, as in nuclear fission?” 

“Yeah.” 

“And they thought something like this could keep them safe from radiation with a half-life of 500 years. What idiots.”

They left the greenhouse and walked back across the yard to the kitchen. Crystal plugged the disc into a console on the counter.“Why blow the place up?” Jake asked.

“This way nobody will know for sure what happened. It’s how Hogarth operates.”

“What about your mother?”

“Don’t have one. She was a kid donor. My dad wanted a child, not a marriage or a wife or in-laws.”

“What’ll you do now? Chances are pretty good they’ll come after you too, sooner or later.”

“Yeah, I know. First things first.” With that, she activated the disc Her father’s face appeared on the screen. He was a fat-faced man in his fifties.

“Hello, Crystal honey...well, I guess I must be, how shall I put it, no longer of this earth or sitting in a small room somewhere in Hogarth City.

The real reason for this recording is much more important than my life, or yours or Hogarth’s or anyone’s for that matter. It has to do with the project I’ve been working on these last three years.

“The project, as you know, was to find a method of salt water detoxification on a mass scale. You also probably know this but there’s hardly any fresh, uncontaminated water left on the planet. Some of the more remote areas are already reporting mass deaths from dehydration and starvation. I’ve discovered a fiendishly simple distillation process that will do the trick. Unfortunately, as of this recording, I have not been able to devise a test to prove my method is free of harmful waste matter. I have a suspicion that I could be creating hydrochloric gas as waste from the distillation process, so I need more time. And obviously, Hogarth was not prepared to give it to me. 

The formulae for the process are compressed on this disk. If anything has happened to me, get to David Sample with the formula. He’ll know what to do. Goodbye, darling. Your daddy loves you. If I’m still alive, well the best thing for you would be to just disappear. I’ll see if I can negotiate something with Hogarth. If I’m not already dead, that is.”

The recording ended and the menu appeared. There were two files. One was the recording, and the other was a folder with several files in it. Crystal stared at it for quite a while.

“He seems like a good man, Crystal.” Jake said.

“Yeah, he’s the best.”

“Look, I think we should get out of here before Hogarth’s men come back to search the ruins. But first, you should make a couple of copies of that disk, and hold onto them for insurance.”

~ 3 ~

Jake’s copter was flying low over the surface of the desert. To the port side, huge mountains loomed. To starboard, a bleak sun, the colour of a dirty copper penny in the grey haze. The copter flung itself up into a mountain pass. At the edge of a conifer-covered plateau, a large house appeared. It sat on the far edge of the cliff side of the plateau. The copter swung around and settled on a large wooden terrace in the rear of the house next to two other copters. Jake and Crystal got out and walked toward the house, which was massive and made completely of logs. They were met at the door by a small oriental man He greeted them with a bow.

“Miss Crystal, always a pleasure to see you.” The man said.

“Thank you, Mr. Lee, this is my friend Jake Sloane. Jake this is Ron Lee, Doctor Sample’s assistant.”

“Ahh, the famous anime writer. A pleasure to meet you, sir.” Lee said as he bowed.

“Same here.” Jake said as he nodded deferentially.

“We need to see David,” said Crystal. “I’m afraid it’s rather urgent.”

As Ron Lee walked them through the house, Jake was overwhelmed by its antique elegance. Lee showed them into a beautiful library filled with books. Jake walked to the bar and grabbed a bottle of yellow tequila. He looked at Lee, who nodded, then poured two glasses. He walked over to the window, where Crystal was standing and handed her a glass. She threw the tequila back in a single gulp.

Lee disappeared and through another door on the far side of the room, David Sample entered. He was a big man, with a shock of red hair that made him look kind of jolly to Jake. He was wearing a white lab coat, with a monogrammed breast pocket. He opened his arms up to Crystal. She ran to him like a child and was engulfed in his embrace.

“Ah Crystal, you light me up like the Ninth of November.” he said, releasing her from his bear hug. Crystal gestured to Jake. 

“David Sample, this is my friend Jake Sloane.”

Sample grabbed Jake’s hand and delivered a punishing handshake. “Pleased to meet you, son.”

“The pleasure’s all mine, sir. It’s not often one gets to meet a living legend.”

“I could say the same about you. Big Lilli the Spy fan.”

Sample turned to Crystal. He put his huge hands on her shoulders. “I’m so sorry to hear about your pa, Crystal. It’s all over the news now. They say it was a lab explosion. You know I loved him like a brother.”

“It was no lab explosion,” said Jake. “He was targeted and we don’t know what the hell happened to him, because he was nowhere to be found.”

“Well that’s great news,” said Sample.

“Yeah, and I think the three Hogarth copters we saw flying away from the house might have had something to do with it.” Jake replied.

Sample was taken aback by this. “Are you sure they were Hogarth’s copters?” 

“Nobody else is allowed to have black,” Jake said. “I know. I have some clout in the city and I couldn’t do it. They were pretty adamant.”

“Wow. Then they have him at the fortress. Probably monitoring him constantly and whippin’ his ass to finish the design.”

“I’m pretty sure that will take a while,” Crystal replied. “I have his original disc. His long range sensors would have picked up the Hogarth copters and he would have had time to stash it. He’ll be buying time by telling them he’d have to reconstruct everything. That was the drill we worked out.”

Crystal reached into her bag and pulled out one of the discs. She handed it to Sample. “This is dad’s research to date on the mass desalination process. He told me you would know what to do with it. I sure as hell don’t.” 

Sample takes the disk. “Give me a little time to look this over. Please make yourself at home. There’s more tequila in the cupboard if you run out. If you’re hungry, Ron’ll fix you something.”

As Sample left the room, Jake poured another couple of glasses and handed one to Crystal. He started wandering around the room. The walls that weren’t covered with books were filled with framed photos of Sample with all kinds of black-suited people, and others in white lab coats. But dominating the entire picture wall is a large oil painting. It’s a portrait of a strange-looking man. His hair was white and flowed down the side of his face and over his shoulders. His beard was also white and trim. On his head, he wore a New York Yankees baseball cap. His mouth was curled into a strange smirk.

“Who the hell is that?” Jake said.

Crystal walked over to Jake, now taking her drink in small sips. “That, my dear, is Waldo Krone. Leader of the Krone Guild and the rightful ruler of the continent of California. David Sample knows him personally. They went to graduate school together.”  

“So Krone is a doctor.

“A very famous heart surgeon, or at least he was until Hogarth took over. He and Hogarth were going to run the show together, but Hogarth had other ideas. So when the democracy fell apart, Hogarth took over and put a price on Waldo’s head. He fled into the Deadlands, with several metric tons of gold and lithium. Down towards what used to be Mexico. He built a palace on the Gulf Coast and equipped it with cloaking so good, you couldn’t find it if you were sitting on it. From there he started taking pot shots…co-opting science brains from all the fields and building a whole other empire. Dad was the key to it. Because fresh water is worth its weight in lithium.”

“So, Krone really does exist.” Jake said. He was starting to trust her.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, silly boy. You need to get out more.”

“And how does David Sample fit into all this?”

“Well, he is a master chemist. He will attack the problem dad encountered from the chemistry side. Dad was pretty sure there would be an easy fix. He was planning to bring this idea to David before he got…well, whatever happened.”

“You certainly seem to know a lot about this idea. Thought you were more on the metaphysical side of things.” Jake said.

“I just kept my eyes open, Jake. I like learning things. Always have.” 

She walked over to the bar and poured another glass of tequila while Jake just stared at the weird painting of Waldo Krone.

A few tics later, Sample came back into the room. He poured himself a glass of scotch from an antique decanter and took a slug. “Well, he was 99% of the way there, Crystal. The last 1% was a piece of cake. It will take some time to do the trials but I’d say this can be ready for fabrication and manufacture within a couple of weeks. I assume you want to take it to Waldo.”

“That would be the logical thing to do.” Jake said. “Then Krone can take down Hogarth.”

“That’s a lot of supposition, son.”

Crystal said. “Jake’s a clairvoyant.”

“No, It’s just a feeling. Like the feeling I have that Sam Franklin is still alive.”

“I looked you up, Mr. Sloane. Seems like you’re quite a celeb in the Hogarth Empire. Ten successful anime series and before that a short but impressive career in journalism, or what passes for journalism these days, with Larry Kramer. But I have to say, if Crystal thinks you’re clairvoyant, then that gives you a real advantage over Hogarth, who is a vision-challenged lout.”

“None of that matters at the moment,” Crystal said. “We need to get to Waldo Krone and you’re the only conduit I have.”

“Actually,” said Jake, “there’s another way.”

Back in the far corner of the house, Ron Lee sat at the desk in his room. He was looking into a small monitor that was showing a single angle of Sample’s study. A light in the corner of the screen indicated that he was recording the conversation. When he had heard enough. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a small headset and microphone. He then got up and locked the door to his room. He sat down on the bed and tapped on the earpiece.

A voice in his ear said, “World Energy Syndicate. Please state your name and numerical code for voiceprint ID.

“Lieutenant Major Ron Lee. Code Alpha three nine seven four.”

“You are cleared for priority three communications.”

“Connect me with Baron Hogarth, please.

“Yes, sir.”

In his office on the top floor of Hogarth Tower, Jason Hogarth stood at the window with his arms folded. He was a severe-looking man in his early fifties. His uniform was crisp and well-tailored but strictly in the fascist mode, and black, right down to the laser pistol on his hip. He was standing in front of a large window looking out on his city down below. The city looked like a gigantic slum that went on for miles. The only vehicles moving were scooters running quietly on hydrogen cells and a few taxis for the rich. Hogarth’s office was sparse, severe, striking and handsome, like the man himself. His intercom sounded. He walked over to the large plexiglass-topped desk and pushed a button.

“Yes?”

“Lieutenant Major Ron Lee, sir.”

“Put him through.”

Several large screens around the walls of the office light up. Ron Lee’s face comes into focus.

“The ever-inscrutable Major Lee.”

“Good evening, my Lord.”

“And just how are things in our scientific community tonight?”

“Most interesting. Most interesting indeed, General.”

“How so, Major?”

“Let us say that the spirit of Sam Franklin is prowling the hills.”

Hogarth pushed a switch beside his phone as the monitors dimmed and picked up a headset. He then walked back to the window.

“No need for cryptic conversations, Major. What exactly is the point?”

“The point is that Franklin’s daughter, Crystal, has the formula which you and your heavy-handed atomics squad do not.”

“She came to Sample with it?”

“Yes.”

“But why? She could have taken it to Elizabeth Roy in Australia and been paid a king’s ransom for it.”

“Apparently, there are a few small kinks yet to iron out. Then I suspect they will try and make it to the Deadlands. They have been talking a lot about Waldo Krone.”

The mention of Krone’s name set Hogarth off. “No! No! They will never do that! Do you understand me, Major? NEVER!”

Hogarth backed away from the window and took a few deep breaths to regain his composure. “When will Sample have the problems solved?”

“He’s talking ten to fourteen days.”

“But he has solved the hydrochloric gas problem?”

“I believe he has sir. He needs the time for testing.”

Hogarth starts to pace the room. Suddenly he stops. He turns to the monitor. “Alright. This is what I want you to do. And I want these commands carried out to the letter.”

“Yes sir.”

“Now listen carefully. First of all, you must access all of Sample’s experimental data….”

~ 4 ~

It was just before dawn the next morning. In a bedroom in the far corner of Sample’s house, Jake and Crystal lay in each other’s arms sleeping. Suddenly Jake felt an involuntary twitch in his neck. It jolted him into consciousness. He freed himself from Crystal and slid off the bed. He walked over to the window and stared out at the blue-black sky. The haze over the ocean was thick and no stars could be seen.

“What’s the matter, Jake?” Crystal asked, her voice smokey from sleep.

“I don’t know. Just a little restless I guess. I’m feeling very uncomfortable about all of this.”

“Want some levellers?”

“No thanks. I think I’ll wander down to the lab and check on Sample.”

“Alright.”

Suddenly Jake began to shiver involuntarily. He walked over to the bed and lay down beside Crystal. Crystal was wide awake by this time and could sense something wasn’t right.

“Jake, are you all right?”

“I had this dream,” Jake said. “It was very realistic. More like a vision than something I felt detached from. I hear this voice. Deep and rich. Like, you know Darth Vader from the old days. It felt like… I don’t know. It was just weird.”

“Do you remember what the voice said?”

“Yeah…I feel the hot breath of the dragon, I sense the loss of friend and foe each one, you are the darkness, I am…uhhh… the light to come…I fight to light the shadow on the sun…” Jake’s voice trailed off as if he had fallen asleep.  Crystal shakes him. “Jake, Jake. Come on back, Jake.” She slapped his face gently at first then harder and harder still. “Don’t you slip away on me!” Finally, Jake regained consciousness. He grabbed her hand and stopped her slapping him. She collapsed on him.

“What the fuck was that?” he asked

“I don’t know, but you scared the hell out of me. You were talking about a shadow on the sun. Chapter and verse from the Last Book.”

“Aww man…too much mescal in that gold tequila.” Jake sat up and got his bearings. “I was going somewhere.”

“You were going to check on Doctor Sample.” Crystal said.

“Right.” And with that, he got up.

“The ‘Last Book’ says the Prophet is the instrument of change, Jake. The one who will determine all.”

“I’ll be happy just to get out of this fucking mess in one piece.”

Jake left the bedroom. Crystal laid back down on the bed but she was awake and sprang back up. She walked over to the dressing table and sat down, staring at herself in the mirror. Behind her, the bedroom door slowly opened. Ron Lee’s face appeared in the dimly lit doorway. The pistol in his hand glimmered. He raised it and fired. A small dart lodged in the back of Crystal’s neck. She instantly tumbled to the floor. Ron Lee entered the room, removed the dart from Crystal’s neck and dragged her limp body back over to the bed. He then left as quietly as he arrived.

The house was quiet as Jake wandered through the lavish rooms touching the sculptures and marvelling at paintings, striking even in the dim light. He entered the basement stairwell and went down. He walked along until he came to the glass door of the lab. He looked in and saw Sample hard at work. He heard the scientist humming to himself. He was about to enter the lab when a doorway at the end of the hallway caught his eye. He walked toward it. He opened it and saw another flight of stairs leading down. 

In the lab, Ron Lee entered, carrying a tray with a teapot and a mug on it. Sample did not notice him right away. He was facing away from Lee, staring at data which was being displayed on his analyzer. The analyzer shut itself off, and a miniature disk ejected from the machine. Sample grabbed it and turned around, startled to see Ron Lee standing there.

“Ah, Ron. What a nice surprise.” Sample said.

“My special blend, sir. I know how you like it.”

“Thank you, Ron.”

“Have you solved your problem, sir?”

“Yes. And would you believe it, Sam Franklin was only three hours away from the solution himself. I’ve recorded all the steps.” He said, as he showed Ron the mini-disc in his hand. “Mind you, we still need to test it, but I’m quite optimistic.” As he was talking. Lee produced a pistol. 

“I’ll take the disk, sir.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’m just following orders, sir. From my General.”

“Sample charged at Lee in a rage. Lee fired the pistol and Sample dropped to the ground from the dart that hit him square in the chest. The disc went skidding from his hand across the floor. Lee picked it up and put it in his pocket. 

On the next level down Jake entered a cavernous room that looked like it was carved out of the side of the hill behind the house. Jake wandered through the room. There was a fully equipped kitchen at one end, opening into a beautiful spacious recreation area. Couches and easy chairs were scattered around. There were antique tape machines, monitors and bookshelves filled with old hardcover books. On one wall, there was a collection of antique semi-automatic weapons. Jake wandered over and took a large, pearl-handled H & K pistol off the stand. He ejected the clip and the chambered round, looked down the barrel. He inserted the clip and released the safety. He cocked the trigger and left the room, When he got up the stairs he looked in the window of the lab and saw that no one was there. He didn’t notice Sample on the floor. He climbed up to the ground level, walked out onto the terrace and stared out at the ocean. Suddenly he became aware of another presence. He turned around and cocked his head, listening to the darkness inside the room. The sky was slowly brightening as the feeble dawn approached.

Ron Lee entered the large study. He killed the lights and slithered along the wall. He spied Jake in the open doorway and manoeuvred around to get a shot. Jake was unable to see into the room, but his instincts told him to get down, which he did. Above his head, a dart pinged and entered the wooden railing. Jake took a quick look at it and realized what was happening. Fear screamed in his brain. Perspiration involuntarily broke out on his face. But he held his ground.

Inside, Ron Lee crawled into the middle of the room to get a better angle of fire. He fired three darts that pinged into the lawn furniture behind where Jake was crouched. Jake checked the angles of entry and stared into the darkness. Suddenly, insanely, he stood upright, pointed the gun at the centre of the library floor and fired off several shots. There was a dead silence after the gunshot sounds echoed away. Cautiously, Jake entered the darkened room. He turned on a light. Ron Lee was lying face down in a pool of blood, the dart gun still in his hand. Jake flipped him over with his foot. The disc tumbled out of Ron Lee’s pocket. Jake picked it up and put it in his own pocket.

“First rule of mystery fiction. Never trust the fuckin’ butler.” he muttered to himself.

Slowly, Jake’s shock wore off. He dashed down the stairs to the lab. He found Sample in a heap on the floor. He grabbed the original disc containing the formula and left the room. He headed back up to the first floor and down the hall to the bedroom. His brain was screaming. Fight or flight. Fight or flight. 

He saw Crystal lying on the bed. He slapped her face gently. Then he went into the bathroom and soaked a towel in cold water. He came back and laid the wet towel over her face. Almost immediately she began to stir.

“Jake…what’s going on?” 

 “Ron Lee. He drugged you and Sample. I think he was planning to knock us all out and blow up the house. Fucking Hogarth.”

“Are you sure? Where’s David? Where’s Ron?”

“No longer with us. David is down in his lab. And I imagine that Hogarth’s rangers are on their way here. So we have to skedaddle.”

Crystal got to her feet. She was a little shaky, but she quickly gathered up her things and followed Jake out of the room and down the hall.

“We’ll get Sample out of the house. But then we have to leave.” Jake said.

“What about the desalination data?”

“I’ve got it and I also have another disc from Sample. Let’s hope it’s what I think it is. But we really have to go.”

Over the next few minutes, Crystal revived David Sample and got him sitting up on a stool in his lab. Jake dashed down the stairs to the gun case. He loaded several clips into a pillow case and took another pistol a 9mm Ruger and a couple of its clips. He also grabbed a nifty-looking hunting knife with a formidable 25-centimetre blade. He lugged the bag up to the lab and out the rear door. He unplugged the chopper from its charging stand, then tossed the bag of guns and ammo in the back. He ran back to the lab and he and Crystal brought Sample out to the copter pad. Sample had pretty much come around by that time and could walk on his own. Crystal was behind him carrying her bag.

“I take it you have both the discs.” Sample said

Jake nodded. “You need to get out of here too, David. They’re coming, I can feel them. Thanks for your help, but we all gotta go.” 

Crystal gave Sample a quick hug and got into Jake’s copter. Sample got into his copter and the two machines fired up and lifted off, then veered off in different directions. Sample headed down the coast where he could get lost in the foothills. Jake and Crystal headed inland.

“Where are we going?” Crystal asked.

“As far away from here as we can get. I don’t know what Lee told Hogarth, but we can cruise by my place. If it’s still there, that means he didn’t mention me. At least that’s the assumption. We have one thing going for us right now and I don’t know if it was the adrenaline rush of all this or what, but I can sense when those motherfuckers are coming.” Crystal laughed. “Of course, you can Jake. You always could. You just never let that part of your mind out to play.”

“Well, it’s out now, and it’s about the only thing keeping us from getting splattered by whatever shit Hogarth is tossing.”

Jake banked the copter around over a steep hill. On the other side, and off in the distance, Sample’s house sat in the early morning light. Jake landed the copter in a small clearing and switched on the cloak.

“Here they come.” he said.

Three Crows, hydrogen-powered bomber copters, flew in formation up the coastline. The three Crows came up on the house. They flew a wide circle around it, then began to fire missiles into the windows, doorways and walls. They broadened their circle and increased their height as a series of explosions began to occur. In a matter of seconds, the house was a raging fireball. One of the Crows flew in close to the house, did a quick circle and then joined the other two in formation. They then headed off in the direction from which they came.

“Yep.” said Crystal. “You certainly are our secret weapon.” 

Jake uncloaked and started the copter. Once they were airborne he turned it toward the Deadlands.

~ 5 ~

The copter moved low over the barren landscape. Jake was studying the ground below looking for something. Finally, he saw it. He pulled up and landed on the mesa.

Jake looked over at Crystal, who was out cold from the residual effects of the stun dart. He jumped out of the chopper and reached into the back where he unhooked his first aid kit.  He opened the kit and pulled out a small, heavy gauge plastic bag. He then took the two discs he had and the three copies from Crystal’s bag and inserted them into the plastic bag, which he then zipped shut. He took a small spade from the area behind the seats. He climbed one of the rocks close by and did a 360. The mesa was empty and flat. He jumped down to the ground and moved to a spot shaded by the overhang of one of the boulders. With his spade, he started to push the dirt aside until he hit metal. He dug some more and unearthed a small metal box. 

Jake cleared the dirt and opened the box. In it were a couple of passports, a credit card a small number of gold coins in a plastic bag, and some paper documents, all of which he shoved into his shoulder bag. He dropped the plastic bag containing the discs into the metal case and closed it back up. He then covered the box with dirt and brushed the dirt on top until it looked smooth. As he backed away from the area, he swept his foot back and forth to erase any telltale tracks. He climbed back into the chopper, lifted it off the mesa and headed for home. 

As they approached Jake’s oasis, Crystal started to wake up. 

“Where are we?”

“Just a few klicks from my house.”

“Any crows in the area?” 

“None that I can see. I’m gonna do a wide circle and then contact Medusa.”

“Medusa. That’s cute.”

Jake activated his headset. “Medusa wake up please.” 

“Hello, Jake. It’s been a few days.”

“Yeah. Listen, has there been any traffic in the vicinity?” 

“Yes. Last night. Three Crows. They came into scanning range at oh one thirty hours. They made a single slow pass and left without landing.” 

“OK, that’s good. Activate your long-range sensors. We’re coming in.”

“Will do, Jake.”

Jake landed the copter and plugged in the charger. He and Crystal, who was still a little groggy, entered the house. Jake told Crystal to go have a cold shower. That it would help shake the effects of the stun dart. She disappeared into the back of the house. 

Jake sat down at his desk. He rummaged through his drawers and pulled out some documents, a small box of discs, another bag of coins and a couple of headsets and stuffed them all into his bag. 

“Medusa. I have to go away for a while. If someone who isn’t me should try and access you while I am gone, I am ordering you to perform a complete system shutdown. I have all my files backed up, so you don’t have to worry about that. I just don’t want anybody messing with your programming. Planting any worms or horses. Got that?”

“I understand Jake. Will you be gone long?” 

“I don’t know. The situation is not predictable at this point.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” 

“Yeah, text me a map of the entire southern section of the Deadlands and a password to re-activate you.”

“Will do, Jake.” 

“Thanks, Medusa.” 

Jake got up from the desk and walked down to the bathroom. He stripped down and joined Crystal in the shower. Half an hour later, they were flying over the desert. Heading south and east. The desert terrain was barren below them. They fly very low. The odd wild dog pack was scavenging down below. Strange rock outcroppings appeared from time to time but mostly it was just barren desert.

“I’ve never been this far from the coast. Crystal said. “It’s scary dry looking.

“When the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers dried up,” Jake said. “this whole area went to hell pretty quickly. It was too far from the city to be of any use. What little fresh water there was was up north in Canada and they weren’t parting with it. They got all armed up and defended the border. Those Canadians are not people you want to fuck with.”

“Where are we heading?” 

“Down to the Gulf. There’s someone there who can hook us up with Waldo Krone.”

After about three hours in the air, Jake spotted a truck stop with a motel attached. The lot was filled with overland rigs, trucking produce from old Mexico. Out in the back were several hundred acres of solar panels, and high-efficiency wind turbines. 

“We can eat here, charge up and get some sleep. Tomorrow we should be able to make it to the Gulf.”

Jake circled around and landed in the parking lot. The place was pretty busy for late in the day. Jake and Crystal jumped out of the chopper. He pulled a credit card from his pocket and scanned it, at the charging bay and punched in the number for his copter. The name comes up as Gerard Fornier. 

“Who’s Gerard Fornier?” Crystal asked, squinting at the small screen. 

“Just an alias account I set up,” Jake said. “In case I ever had to deal with the kind of shit we’re dealing with now. The identity traces back to Europa somewhere. Just in case somebody’s looking for me through the commerce web.” 

“That’s very clever.”

“Better safe than sorry.”

They walked over to the motel office and registered. They came out with a key and then went into the restaurant. The place was filled with truckers and weekend warriors. The menu was surprisingly varied for a restaurant this far from either coast. Jake ordered a veg burger and fries. Crystal had the same. They ate their meals more or less in silence. They were both whacked out from the travel and the stress. They headed to their room and collapsed onto the large bed, too tired to fool around. They slept like logs until early the following morning.

When Crystal was finally awake, she saw Jake sitting at the desk with his laptop. She got up and walked over to him. She put her around him and hugged him gently. 

“Whatcha doin’”?

“I just did a scan of my place. It’s still clean. And according to my roofcam, there’s been no activity since we left yesterday.”

“You’re a pretty cautious man, aren’t you?”

“Did you ever see a series I wrote called ‘The Chasers?’”

“Yeah, I saw it. Everybody saw it. It won a Hogie for Best Ficseries that year.”

“Well, if that series was bein’ made today it would be a docu-drama. And if that docu-drama was bein’ made right now, we’d be starrin’ in it, you know what I mean?”

“You mean there are real ‘Chasers’?”

“Yeah. They’re called Tracers these days, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a couple of them trying to figure out just where the hell we are right now. Life imitates art. I figure we’ve got another twelve hours before they put it together and pick up our trail.”

“So that’s why you hid the discs.”

“A little insurance never hurts.”

“But what about Krone? Why can’t we just go to him?” 

“We’re going to Krone. But we’re not going to make a sloppy dash for it. It’s gotta be set up from his end.”

Suddenly, Crystal started to become angry. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. “You know, I didn’t want to get involved in the goddamn revolution. All I wanted was an interview with you for my dissertation vid.” 

Crystal started to cry. Jake moved around the table to comfort her. She pushed him away. “No! You’re usin’ me. You’re usin’ me to win control of the world or the pieces of it that are left and I think it stinks. And you stink too.”

Jake sat back down. He leaned forward and took Crystal’s hand in his. In a calm voice, he speaks to her. “Listen to me…I’m not usin’ you for anything. Your paranoia is a by-product of whatever Ron Lee shot you with. I’ve seen it before. You just have to wait it out. You can be as pissed off at me as you want, but just remember who picked up who at the party. And to be honest, you don’t really have any option. If Hogarth’s people get hold of you, they’ll just use you to threaten your dad. The best thing we can do is get to Krone, you understand? You’ve got nowhere to go but with me. I’m trying to save our asses here, ‘cause, like it or not, we're both in this together.”

This seemed to calm Crystal down. She went back to the bed and lay down until Jake was finished with whatever he was doing to plan their next move.

Later that morning, they were up and off. While they were flying Jake sent a text message. When Crystal asked who he was texting, she was simply told that she would find out soon enough. After a few hours, Jake banked the copter through a narrow canyon and up to the crest of a high peak, then swept down the other side into a lush green valley. The copter circled a small village made up mostly of colourful tents. He set the copter down at the far edge of the village. Then he and Crystal got out and walked toward the tent city.

“What is this place?” Crystal asked.

“It’s the future.” Jake replied.

As they entered the village, they were greeted by a beautiful woman in a long white robe. She was carrying a one-year-old baby on her hip. She kissed Jake passionately. Jake took the baby up in his arms and cuddled him. They continued on toward one of the larger tents. 

“Alana, this is Crystal. Her father is Sam Franklin.”

“Please to meet you, Crystal. Your father is a great man.”

“How do you know my father?”

“We were both Hogarth execs. I was the head of botanical science before the Scourge. I got out shortly thereafter. You would have been very small then.”

As they walked through the village, Crystal began to notice a number of children and women. But something seemed off to her. She said nothing, however, but fell slightly behind Jake and Alana, who were talking furiously to each other. Alana showed them into a large, screened-in tent, Jake finally set the young boy down on a carpet and started to rummage around in his bag. He pulled out a small child’s toy. He handed it to the baby, who took it with a squeal of joy. He and Crystal sat down on the carpet beside the child. Alana, who had disappeared, returned with a tray of tea and fruit. Jake started to roll a spliff as Alana poured the tea. Jake lit the spliff and passed it to Alana. She takes a long lingering toke and inhales deeply.

“Ahhh, lab-grown.” Alana said “I’ve always maintained you have the best agent in town. How is Seymour?”

“He’s fine. A bit pissed with me at the moment. They’re in lockdown over there and I was supposed to deliver a new season of shows.” 

“Yeah, well, things are starting to speed up. I understand that Sam finally cracked the desalination challenge.”

Crystal signalled for a time-out. “Whoa, hold on. Jake, who are these people? What is this place? I am so fucking confused right now.”

Alana passed the spliff to Crystal, who just shook her head. “I don’t blame you, Crystal.’ Alana said. “This has to all be a shock to the system, everything that’s happened to you.”

“And how do you know about everything that’s happened to me? Good god, can I please have a few answers?”

Jake took the spliff from Crystal and took a long toke. “Most of what you know about the world is shaped by the fact that you haven’t travelled much beyond your home and Hogarth City. And because you were told that the rest of the world had been obliterated in a Great Scourge of sixty-five. And honestly, that’s what Hogarth wants everybody to believe. But the smart people, like your dad and Alana and David Sample, to name a few, knew that a lot of the world had been spared and was carrying on, in a limited way, but carrying on all the same. I found out all of this quite by accident when I was doing some research on a series a while ago. This is when I happened across this place, and met Alana for the first time. This colony, for want of a better word, is a hive. Women from all over have been brought here to bear children from the seeds of the enlightened people.” 

“This place is a matriarchy and the children here will be raised to take over the reins of power in the world and rebuild it again.” Alana said.

Crystal just stared blankly at Jake. She was having a lot of trouble believing this. “So there’s nobody here but women and children. How do you defend yourselves?”

“Against whom?” Alana asked. “Very few people even know we exist. One of the girls, from the Ministry of War, brought a small cloak with her which David Sample helped to modify, so it cloaks the entire area. To any of Hogarth's scout teams, it simply looks like more scrubland.”

Crystal took a deep breath and then turned to Jake. “So what does this have to do with Waldo Krone?” 

“This was Waldo’s idea in the first place.” Jake said. “When he and Hogarth came to a parting of the ways, he moved to Old Mexico, Carribbea now, brought several scientists with him and started building colonies like this one all along the gulf coast. Your dad and David Sample stayed behind as kind of double agents. ”

“So you know Waldo Krone and you knew David too?” 

“Yeah,” Jake said. “Waldo actually gave me my start in the vid business.”

“Why did you keep lying to me?”

“Because I didn’t know you. And because of that, I didn’t know if I could trust you. But surely you must know that’s all changed.”

“It’s a lot to take in, sweetie,” Alana said. “But the changes have already begun. With the desalination process, we can start to regrow the land and restore the weather patterns. It will take years, but it’s certainly better than living under the thumb of a tyrant.”

“But the tyrant isn’t going away.”

“Eventually he will,” said Jake. “It will be my job to take him out.”

“And just how are you going to do that?” Crystal asked.

“Right now, I’m not 100% sure, but evidently Waldo knows what I should do and I am willing to try, for the sake of the earth and for my son here.” 

Crystal leaned over and started pounding on Jake with her fists. “You son of a bitch, playin’ dumb with me all along.” Jake restrained her. Crystal looked him straight in the eye. Her mouth is curled in an angry pout. 

“Sorry love, but it’s the price you pay for livin’ in a glass house all your life. up there in the green hills of progress. Well, you’re gonna meet the great man, alright. But Alana needs to make the introduction. Mr. Krone is very careful, as are we all.”

Crystal started to cool down. Jake released her and picked up the baby again. Alana got to her feet. “I’ll get going,” she said. I’ll message you when I get there. They all got up and left the tent with the baby.

Jake, carrying the baby, and Alana walked hand in hand. Crystal trailed behind them looking around at the village in all its peaceful tranquillity. 

“The time draws near, Jake,” Alana said. “Events are unfolding precisely as they are written.”

“Yeah, I guess they are.”

Jake smiled and pulled her close. But Alana sensed something was wrong.

“What’s the matter, Jake? What are you feeling?”

“I don’t know...last night, I dreamed…I dreamed that I was dead. I was lying on flat ground. The sun shone, burned, into my eyes, brighter than it has ever shone. Two faces stared down at me. One was Crystal. The other was Waldo Krone.”

“You don’t trust Krone, do you?”

“After what’s gone down these past few days, I don’t trust anyone, Alana.”

“But you can’t sidestep Krone. He keeps the Needle of Hope. You are very strong, Jake. Strong and wise. You will prevail through all the changes to come. You make the changes. Change belongs to you.”

“Let’s fuckin’ hope that’s true.” Jake said.

 

~ 6 ~

Alana’s copter approached the huge castle from the desert side. It banked around the side of the castle, through a barrage of hot spotlights to a copter pad. Below, two men rushed towards the pad from the back of the castle. They were carrying 20th century submachine guns and dressed in khaki fatigues. Alana landed the copter and got out. The two men recognized her immediately. She embraced each one and they walked toward the castle with her. 

Inside the castle, Waldo Krone stood at the window and looked down at the copter pad. Krone was a thin man in his early sixties. Lines of age were prominent on his face, but he did not look aged. His white beard was trim and his white hair billowed down over his shoulder and chest. He wore a Harvard University sweatshirt and a New York Yankees baseball cap. He turned and walked across the room. The room itself was filled with pre-war mementos, thousands of books, a 16mm film projector and a shelf filled with cans of film. He took a small recorder from his dresser and walked over to a doorway, leading out onto a terrace.

Krone was quite agitated as he sat down at a table and activated the communicator’s record function. He stared out into the night. He talked to the sky. “This is the twenty-third day of the eighth month of the year 2187. The sun, or what is left of it, moves into the house of Virgo with its departure this evening. Perhaps it forsakes the Lion. But perhaps not, for today I have had a vision! A cryptic flash across my consciousness that could almost have been an accident, an acid flashback, a peyote nudge, but it was not! It was not! The Last Book talks of a cataclysm on this day. The arrival of the Lion. The birth of the New Order. And the Greening of the Earth…some vision to be sure. A vision of the sun, as it used to be, as it haunts my dreams, for I remember the yellow sun. The hot scorching sun. But, alas, there is a shadow on the sun. A darkness. A mutant infection in the soul of mankind. But I have had a vision! and I hope to hell it can be realized.”

Krone was extremely agitated now. He rose up out of his chair, unsure what to say or do. He paced around his chamber, and out to his terrace, rubbing his hands together and muttering to himself. He then walked back inside. He started to pick up his tape recorder again but stopped when there was a knock on his door. The door opened and, Vic Lomax, a small rodent-like man in a pin-striped suit and fedora entered.

“Sorry to bother you Waldo, but there’s someone here to see you. She has been fully scanned.” 

“Show her in, Vic! Show her in!”

Lomax disappeared, closing the door behind him. Krone hustled himself over to a mirror and primped himself a bit. The door opened and Alana entered and closed the door behind her. She walked over to Krone.

“Hello, Waldo.” she said.

“You look lovely my dear, very lovely indeed.”

“You’re looking quite healthy yourself.”

“I feel like a million credits. How are my sons and daughters?”

“All beautiful, all healthy and strong children of the New Order.”

Krone opened his arms and Alana moved closer. They kissed passionately, then held each other tightly.

“Your arms are strong and your body is warm, Waldo.”

“And my heart is light as a cloud of feathers.”

Alana pulls back. “I assume you know why I have come.”

“Yes…Yes, I think I do.”

“I’ve come with Jake Sloane and Crystal Franklin. They are on their way. Jake wanted to be sure there were no Tracers on them.”

“Crystal Franklin…Sam’s daughter? What’s she doing with Sloane?”

“It’s a long story which I’m sure Jake will be happy to tell you.”

Krone walked over to his desk. He pushed a button on the communications console. A voice crackled through the speaker.

“Yes, sir.”

“Vic, can you come in here a moment?”

“Yes sir.”

Krone walked back over to Alana. “Give Vic the necessary information. He’ll get Sloane here safely. Then meet me in the dining room. It’s lunchtime.” 

Krone left by a door at the far side of the room as Vic Lomax entered through the main door.

~ 7 ~

A few hours later, Jake landed his copter in the lot of a highway truck stop on what used to be the Mexican border. The copter landed in the parking lot, next to a customized Purple Martin. He and Crystal started walking toward the restaurant. On the other side of the parking lot, Jake noticed a couple of sleazy-looking characters leaning on a stripped-down Hummingbird copter. Jake hooked up the charger to his copter and scanned his card. Crystal and Jake then entered the restaurant through a side door.

Outside one of the sleazoids, Leroy, turned to his partner, Rence. “That’s them alright, he said. “That deb is a fine bit of gash.” 

“Oh yeah, fine bit of gash for sure. But we’re just following and reporting, right. No takedowns. Nothing physical.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that.” 

“If we take him down and he doesn’t have the goodies, we’re well and truly fucked.”

“We’ve been fucked before. That don’t bother me.” 

Inside the restaurant, Jake and Crystal took a booth in the back. Jake scanned the restaurant. As he did, Vic Lomax dressed in a khaki safari jacket and cargo pants got up from another booth and walked towards them. He was flipping a coin. When he arrived at their booth, he dropped the coin and bent over to retrieve it.

“Excuse me, Mr. Sloane. Meet me in the head.”

Lomax walked on. A moment later, Jake got up and sauntered to the washroom. As Jake entered the washroom he was immediately assaulted by the foul smell. He saw Vic Lomax standing by the paper towel dispenser. Jake turned on the tap at the sink, but the liquid that flowed out of it looked putrid.

“You’ve come a long way in a very short time, Mr. Sloane.”

“Tell me about it.”

Lomax took a small disc from his pocket and laid it on the counter in front of Jake. Jake looked down at it, then up at Lomax.

“What’s this?”

“A guidance program. To get you to Krone. In a roundabout way. In case we get separated.”

“What about those two animals out in the parking lot?”

“I saw them. Tracers, no doubt. Don’t worry about them. Just move slowly in the air.”

Jake shrugged his shoulders. “If you say so.”

“You and Miss Franklin leave together. You get in your copter, and she’ll get into mine.”

“That Purple Martin?”

“Right.”

Just then, two truckers burst into the washroom, laughing and kibitzing. Lomax slipped out. Jake pocketed the disc and left shortly after Vic Lomax. Jake sat down at the table. He took the disc out of his pocket and looked at it. 

“What’s that?” Crystal asks.

“A nav guidance program. Destination Waldo Krone. Do you know how much Jason Hogarth would pay for this?”

“What do you care? You wouldn’t be around to spend it anyway.”

Jake stared at the disc, then slipped it back into his pocket. “Ain’t that the truth. Finish your java and let’s go.”

Jake and Crystal walked toward the copter. Jake sneaked a look over at the Tracers, then climbed into his copter. Crystal jumped into Lomax’s copter and both copters took off.

Leroy and Rence watched the copters. “Son of a bitch, they fuckin’ split up.” said Leroy.

“Stay with the guy. He’s got the goodies, I’m sure.” said Rence.

“Alright, but if you’re wrong…"

“Have I ever been wrong before?”

“Only on every other job.”

“Then have a little faith, Leroy.”

“Sure enough.”

They took off in the same direction as Jake’s copter.

Jake’s copter travelled south, parallel to the low mountain range. He was carefully not to move too quickly, although he could if he had to. The Tracers were following at a discreet distance. In the Tracer’s copter, Leroy worked the radarscope, while Rence piloted and scanned his short wave for conversations.

“What about that gash, Leroy, and that faggot in the safari suit? Where they gone to?”

“They just slipped off the scope, headin’ west through them hills. He shot a thumb off to the right.”

“Yeah? Well, you just keep your eye peeled in case they should all of a sudden like pop up behind us. I don’t want no surprises, you hear?”

But Lomax wasn’t heading west at all. He was using the hills for cover and he jetted along to a box canyon. He set the copter down on a mesa at the edge of the canyon. Off in the far distance, he could see Jake’s copter approaching and the Tracers about two kliks behind.

Lomax reached into the back seat and pulled out a long, rectangular case. He opened it to reveal a custom-built Remington 30-06 rifle and all the accessories. There was also a special slot for cartridges in the case. It was filled with brushed steel bullets, with small white tips. Lomax fits the sight onto the rifle.

“Wow, what a relic.” Crystal said, while Lomax got comfortable with the rifle. 

“Jungle Jim used to hunt elephants with this baby. But the ordinance is strictly new age. Magnesium tips. The heads explode on impact, and can shatter steel. Kind of like a twin-barrelled 410 for long distances.”

“How do you know all this stuff, man? You can’t be over thirty.”

“Waldo Krone. He’s a student of the dark ages.”

Jake moved through the narrow canyon. The navigational program started the copter banking away from the mountains in a long slow circle.

In the Tracer’s copter, Rence said, “That sumbitch’s headin’ north again.”

“Maybe he fergot to go pee pee.”

“Or maybe you just picked the wrong copter to chase, toad!”

“Shut your gob! Keep your eyes on that fuckin’ scope!”

Jake’s copter started to pick up a bit of speed as it sailed through the narrow canyon. Behind him, the Tracers picked up speed as well.

“Alright, now we’re gettin’ somewhere. You got any spare blips for me, man?” Leroy asked.

“Negative. Just him and us.” said Rence.

Suddenly several shots exploded the cabin of the copter, blowing it, Rence and Leroy virtually to smithereens. What was left of the copter hit the canyon wall with a loud splat that echoed for a good three seconds, as the copter hit the canyon floor.

Jake heard the gunshots and the crash. He disengaged the guidance program and swung around to see the Tracers’ copter, a burning ball, at the floor of the canyon. He banked his copter around. When he arrived at the mouth of the canyon, he slowed down to survey the damage. It was complete mess. Overhead he saw Lomax’s copter pass him. Jake turned to follow it.

~ 8 ~

An hour later, the two copters landed in the courtyard of the Krone castle. 

Vic Lomax showed Crystal and Jake into a large room where Waldo Krone was waiting to greet them. The two men stood and stared at each other for a moment.

“It’s been a long time Jake. I hear you have made quite a name for yourself in the vid biz.” said Krone, walking over to a table and pouring out scotch for himself Crystal and Jake. 

“I suppose so, Waldo. I see old Mexico agrees with you.” Jake said. “Oh, this is Crystal Franklin, Sam’s daughter.” 

Krone walked over with two glasses and handed one to each of them. “The last time I saw you, my dear, you were, quite literally knee high to a grasshopper.

“It’s an honour to meet you, sir.”

“No sirs, my dear. Just Waldo will do. We don’t stand on a lot of ceremony here in Carribbea.” Waldo walked back and got his glass. He came back and raised it in a toast.

“Here’s to the New Order and the end of the Hogarth Empire.”

Jake and Crystal raised their glasses and took sips of their scotch.

Waldo walked over to a pedestal where a copy of The Last Book sat open more or less in the middle.

He read “and on the cusp of Leo and Virgo, a young man shall enter the Deadland. His heart is brave. His power, a force of the highest magnitude. He shall seek out the Keeper of the Needle of Hope, and learn from him the secrets of its power. Then he shall ready himself in body and mind for the battle. And with the Needle of Hope, he shall pierce the Shadow on the Sun.” Waldo took a sip of his scotch. “And here you are right on time.”

“Yeah, I’ve read that mumbo jumbo on the ‘Net’. But Jason Hogarth is a total paranoid, who lives in a black tower. I hear he never comes out of that place.”

“Nobody said it was an easy task. But then, you’re looking at it through the lenses of fear and ignorance. That will change.”

“Hogarth isn’t gonna get any less paranoid no matter how much training I go through.”

“True. But perhaps you can make him more paranoid.”

Jake thought about that for a moment. “Maybe.”

“No. Definitely. I have faith in you, my boy. And you obviously have a modicum of belief in yourself. It’s not an easy thing to bring yourself forward in a matter so fraught with danger.”

“I wouldn’t call it bringing myself forward.”

“Nonetheless…you are here. It is now. There is work at hand.”

Waldo walked over to a small picture hanging on the wall. He took the picture down to reveal a wall safe. He opened the safe and took from it a rolled velvet cloth. He carried the cloth over to the table where Jake and Crystal were sitting. Reverently, Waldo unrolled the cloth to reveal a beautiful dagger. Its blade was about a foot long. Its handle was moulded gold. Waldo picked up the dagger and handed it to Jake. Jake ran his finger over the blade and examined the handle.

“This is the Needle of Hope.” said Waldo.

“Very classy.” said Jake.

“Hold it in your hand, Jake. Let its power fill you, dissolving your fears and apprehensions.”

Jake got to his feet and took the knife in his hand. He moved away from the table and began what looked like a graceful tai-chi-style exercise with it. As he did this, he began to feel the power of the blade. He moved faster and faster, without any loss of grace. And just as quickly as he started to move with the blade, he stopped.

Waldo is smiling ear to ear. “My God, son, you are the real fucking deal, pardon my French.”

Jake put the blade down on the cloth and sat back down again. 

“Something tells me it’s gonna take more than a little fancy dancing to get that blade into Hogarth’s heart, Waldo.”

Waldo got up from the table and went to his desk. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a sheath of beautifully carved leather He brought it back to the table and slid the knife into it. He then pushed the knife across the table toward Jake who stopped it but did not pick it up.

“So,” Crystal said, “You’re going to pull off some miracle to get Jason Hogarth into a room somewhere and fight him using only this knife.”

“These are the days of miracle and wonder, my dear. A quote from a great social historian.” Krone said.

“Well that’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard of,” said Crystal. “Hogarth has his own personal army of real bad-asses. What do you propose to do about them?”

“Oh, he will come alone. He’s read The Last Book. So have a lot of high-ranking people in his empire. He knows he has to fight Jake alone, and win, in order to hold onto his goodies.”

“Well, if you say so,” Crystal said. “But I think you’re both out to lunch.”

Vic Lomax led Jake and Crystal to a large bedroom on the next level up. The view out their window was spectacular. Beach that ran for miles, the calm gulf water, and the nearly haze-free skies. A little while later, they were lying together in the darkness. 

“So what happens to us now?” Crystal asked Jake.

“We’ve taken sides. Now our side has to win.”

“But our side can only win if you can kill Jason Hogarth?”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“Nothing personal, but do you think we could change sides? Waldo strikes me as a little out there.”

“Very amusing.”

“Seriously, suppose you can actually kill Hogarth, what happens then?”

“Then we win. Sorry, I can’t be more specific, but there’s a lot of shit to go through before this is over.”

“I was watching him at dinner.”

“Krone?”

“Yeah. He gives me the creeps. And that Vic Lomax, he’s a complete psycho. He was cackling while he was blowing up those poor fucking Tracers.”

“Waldo is a bit of a fanatic. But I don’t get an evil buzz off him. Back in the last century or two, they used to have these people called hippies. They smoked a lot of weed when it was grown in the ground and did drugs like LSD and MDA. They talked a lot of mysticism horseshit, and they dressed to please themselves. I see Krone as one of those old hippies.”

“All he wants from us is the formula. Now I’m glad you stashed it.”

“Do you blame him? Look, one Hitler’s the same as another. I only know that Hogarth City is a prison for everyone who lives there, and Hogarth controlling the water supply won’t make them any freer. If I thought there was any way we could survive without goin’ through any of this…But there isn’t any other way.”

Crystal rolled over and snuggled up against Jake “That’s what I like in a man. Nobility by default.”

“Stayin’ alive isn’t noble. It’s just plain hard work. Let’s try and get some sleep and see what happens tomorrow. We’re still holding a pretty good hand.”

As they shut the lights, a peephole, in the large bookcase large on the wall opposite the bed, quietly closed up.

~ 9 ~

The next morning Jake was introduced to three of Waldo’s lieutenants. They all went for a run along the long beach. It was obvious that Jake was not in the same kind of shape that they were but he managed to hold his own until he didn’t and then collapsed on the white sand.

Over the next few days, Jake was put through a series of workouts designed to quicken his reflexes and improve his stamina. It didn’t take long before he started to show a real improvement. He thanked himself for all the swimming he did. 

He kept the blade strapped to his thigh and the blade did its job of giving him the energy he needed. At the end of the fifth day, Waldo pronounced him good to go.

In Waldo’s den, Jake, Crystal and Waldo sat at the table. There was a spliff burning in Crystal’s hand, and an open bottle of tequila in front of Waldo, who was shuffling a deck of antique playing cards. He stacked the cards neatly in front of him, staring straight into Jake’s eyes, he motioned to Crystal to cut the cards. She did. Waldo took the two piles and stacked them together. He slid the top card off the pile, face down. Jake reached out and ran his fingertip lightly across the surface of the card.

“Six of hearts.”

Waldo turned the card over. It was the six of hearts. He then slid the second card off the top of the deck. Jake ran his finger over the surface.

“Nine of diamonds.”

Waldo flipped over the card. It was the nine of diamonds. Crystal let out a little involuntary gasp. Waldo slid the next card off the pile. Jake, feeling a little cocky now, glanced over at Crystal, with a smirk on his face. Jake ran his finger over the card.

“Ace of spades.” Jake pronounced confidently.

Krone flipped over the card. It was the three of hearts. “Arrogance creates distraction. He said. “Distraction interrupts the flow.”

Jake stared at Waldo. “You’re right, man.”

Jake took a deep breath. Krone slid the top card off the pile. Jake reached out and ran his finger over it.

“Queen of spades.”

Waldo flipped the card over. It was the Queen of Spades. This went on for an hour or more until Jake could read every card in the deck.

~ 10 ~

Jason Hogarth was sitting at his desk in the Hogarth Tower. He was fuming. He leaned forward on his desk, staring hard at the terrified captain standing opposite him. 

“Let me get this straight. You assigned the best Tracers we have. You equipped their copter with the finest aerial surveillance equipment available. You projected a possible pursuit path which checked out to be one hundred percent accurate.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And now you’re standing before me to report that the quarry has escaped?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“We’re talking about a vid writer and a science deb, Captain.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“These are not hardened revolutionaries, Captain, these are middle-class brats. And you’re telling me they escaped?”

“They also destroyed the Tracers, sir.”

Hogarth walked to the window. “Jesus H. Christ!” He then turned to the Captain. “File your report. And get out of my sight before I destroy you!”

“Yes, my Lord.” The captain got to his feet and retreated quickly.

Hogarth remained at the window, looking out over the city. His hand absently fondled the handle of a blade, sheathed at his side.

“Oh, Father. That wretched book is playing itself out.”

~ 11 ~

Very early the next morning, Jake, Waldo and Vic Lomax climbed into Lomax’s copter. One of Waldo’s commandos climbed into Jake’s copter. They took off together and flew toward the mountains. After only a few moments in the air, the landscape below the copters became harsher, burnt-out and scrub-like. The copters passed a plateau overlooking a wide valley. The commando pilot in Jake’s copter set it down on the plateau. Lomax, Waldo and Jake continued on. Jake studied the terrain below, just barely visible in the early morning gloom. Eventually, they set down on another plateau.

Jake and Waldo got out of the copter. Jake put a pack on his back. Waldo handed him an antique Uzi machine pistol and an ammunition belt with four 48-round clips. Jake strapped the belt on. He and Waldo walked to the edge of the plateau and looked out over the dark valley.

“The sun will be up presently.” Krone said. “It’s black as Toby’s ass down there after sunset and the terrain is very rough. But if you can make it through there, you can handle anything. But it will be the longest path you’ll ever walk.”

“And if I don’t make it?”

“If you don’t make it, nobody will give two fucks. You see, it’s just as lonely at the bottom as it is at the top.”

“I guess so.”

“Are you scared?”

“A little.”

“Make it a lot and you just might survive.”

Krone reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small device about the size of a matchbox. He handed it to Jake and said, “Just pullin’ your leg, kid. If you find yourself up against it, just trip this and Vic will come and pick you up. You probably won’t need it, but I’m not stupid, Jake. I know you have stashed Sam’s work and you’re the only one who knows where it is.”

He then turned and walked back to the copter. It took off, leaving Jake alone on the plateau.

Jake walked slowly down the hillside. As he walked he began to feel the landscape close in around him like a thick shroud. Off in the distance, he could hear the sound of two big animals fighting. He descended further and lost sight of the sky. His senses were on the alert now. Off to his left, he heard the sound of a large branch breaking. He stopped, trying to see through the darkness, forcing himself to breathe deeply, quietly and evenly. He heard the sound of another branch breaking. It seemed much closer this time. He dropped to one knee, barely breathing. He heard the snap of a third branch and the faint sounds of animals panting. The sounds were moving closer to him. He heard the growl of a large dog, then a second, then a third. They had caught his scent.

Jake started to run downhill. He could sense that the dogs were moving in the same direction. He came to a clearing in the brush. He looked around and dashed for a rock outcropping on the other side of the clearing. He scrambled up the rock just as the dogs broke into the clearing from different sides. The dogs were very large and black with bright green eyes and constant saliva dribbling down their jowls. They were quite mad. The dogs, frenzied at being so close to a kill, began to agitate each other, growling and nipping and following the invisible scent line. On top of the rock, Jake drew a bead on the largest of the dogs and pumped three rounds into his head. The dog went into convulsions and began attacking the other two dogs, then it fell to the ground. The other two went silent, sniffing at the carcass, then they started snarling at each other.

Jake slipped down to the ground and backed off into the darkness. Then he got to one knee and pumped several rounds into the other two dogs. They fell snarling and howling to the ground and died. Off in the distance, Jake heard the sound of several other animals howling. The noises moved steadily toward the clearing from several different directions. Jake scrambled off deeper into the scrubland.

At Krone’s castle, Crystal sat sipping wine from a silver goblet. Krone entered and poured himself a glass.

“Good evening, my sweet young princess.”

“I’m not your sweet young anything. What have you done with Jake?”

“Something tells me you already know the answer to your own question.”

“I’ve got an idea. But I don’t know for sure.”

“He’s out for a little walk in the woods.”

Crystal walked to the window and looked out at the grey landscape off in the distance. “Out there? Only a maniac would wander around out there.”

“A maniac, or someone with nothing to fear.”

“You seem pretty confident with someone else’s life.”

“Nobody forced Jake to do anything.”

“Oh yeah, tell me another one.”

“You forget my role in the scheme of things, my dear. I must train the Prophet, and train him well. Otherwise, his powers will be useless to him when he needs them most.”

“I fail to see how setting anyone loose in a mutant jungle is going to do anything but get him killed.”

“I don’t expect a suburban debutante like yourself to understand very much of what goes on in the deeper world.”

“Fuck you. I know your game, Krone. You’re just another pre-war con man with a lust for absolute power. You’re just like Hogarth, but with a different wardrobe. Well, I’ll tell you something, Mr. Con Man, you just sent the secret to holding your precious power out for a walk in the woods. For your sake, I hope he doesn't get eaten alive.”

Crystal violently tossed the goblet at a large mirror and shattered it. She then stormed out of the room. Krone shook his head and chuckled. “Ahh the exuberance of youth.”

~ 12 ~

Jason Hogarth was dressed in an evening jacket, He was sitting at his dining table. Beside him, a large dog, a black Doberman, sat alertly awaiting instructions. On the opposite side of the table, a wizened old woman, dressed in gypsy clothes was laying out a series of ancient tarot cards on a lazy susan device. 

When she completed it, she turned the configuration so that it was facing Hogarth, who sucked on a long tube attached to an opium pipe. He was calm and serene. His eyes were glazed over from the opium.

The old woman crossed her hands and spoke, slowly and deliberately, betraying a hint of a Europa accent. “The cards show that your spirit is plagued by a demon. A powerful and relentless one. Another man’s soul perhaps. A very angry young man. A man of strength and determination. But his determination is...I can’t find the right word… manipulated, controlled, involuntary. I feel a chain of control, many years old, many miles deep.”

She pointed to the “Knife” card, just below the “King” card. “There is death in this card. Perhaps a single death. Perhaps many deaths, a universal death.”

She pointed to the “Moon” card. “The spirit, the demon, will appear when the moon is full in the King’s first house.”

“Leo.” Hogarth says. “Leo is my strength, old woman. Surely I will defeat this demon. Surely I will endure.”

“The cards do not indicate victory or defeat. It would seem the spirits want to surprise you.”

Hogarth rose from his seat. He strolled over to the window and looked out at the city

“Be gone old woman. I have heard enough of your lunatic ravings for one night.”

The old woman got up and walked to the door. At the door, she turned to him. “I have read The Last Book many times, Jason Hogarth.” she said. “When the cards refuse to answer, it is wise to sleep with one eye open.”

Hogarth almost instantly became enraged. “BE GONE OLD WENCH!!!” he screamed, then flicked his finger toward the dog. Immediately the dog started after the old woman, but she was quicker than she looked and slammed the door in its face. Hogarth walked over to the table and studied the cards laid out on the turntable. Then in a fit of sudden rage, he picked up the heavy ceramic turntable and tossed it into the wall, where it made a substantial dent before clattering to the floor.

~ 13 ~

The light was high, but the atmosphere felt like a dull grey blanket as Jake pushed out of the underbrush and came to a stream. He was sweating from the exertion of a hard go across the scrubland. He had killed four more wild dogs along the way. 

He crossed the stream and sat down on a rock. He pulled a flask out of his pack and took a long drink. Off in the distance, he heard the sound of splashing, as if someone was trudging up the stream. Jake backed into the bushes and cocked his gun. A large man was approaching. He moved slowly and evenly up the stream. As he came closer he could see that the man was an Indian. He was dressed in what looked to be rawhide leather that had gone grey like everything else in the Deadlands. He was carrying a long stick. Over his shoulder was slung a bow and a quiver of arrows.

As the man came closer Jake saw that he looked familiar but he couldn’t quite place him. His filthy, matted hair hung down below his waist. An antique tomahawk was shoved into his belt. The man stopped about fifteen feet from the rock where Jake was sitting. Jake saw his eyes glowed a pale green in the gloom. The man scanned the bushes and sniffed the air. Jake stepped out of the bushes, his gun levelled at the Indian’s belly.

“Evenin’ brother.” the Indian said.

“Evenin’.”

“No need for fireworks, my friend. I come in peace.”

“Well, that’s good to know.” But Jake had no intention of lowering the gun.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Can’t say as I do.”

“I know who you are. What you are too.”

“Is that so?”

“Sure enough...say, brother, you wouldn’t happen to have any herb on you by any chance?”

“Maybe.”

“Some to spare?”

“Maybe.”

“I’ll trade you for some.”

Jake slipped the gun back into his belt. “What have you got to trade, Chief?”

“Lots of things, my brother. Things you need.”

“How do you know what I need?”

“I know lots of things.”

Jake reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a spliff and a lighter. He lit the spliff. He took a large toke and passed it to the Indian The Indian took a long deep toke. He was in heaven.

“How sweet is that?” he said.

“Now, what have you got for me, Chief?”

“Not so fast, brother. Haste makes waste.”

Jake took a deep breath and started to trudge away into the bush.

“Keep the spliff. Mutants are like junkies, man. And junkies are a dime a dozen.”

“Hold on, brother. I got a story for you. A very interesting one.”

Jake stopped and turned around to face the Indian. “Don’t you know me, Jake? Has it been that long?”

“Who are you?”

“Jonathan. Jonathan White Eagle, Jake.”

Jake was dumbfounded. He laughed to himself. “Legend has it that you’re a dead man Jonathan. Long time dead in fact.”

“Legends are propaganda, Jake. The truth is exile.”

“They said radiation poisoning. They said you were trying to sabotage the atomic generator at Hogarth Place.”

“We came close, Jake. So close. There were seven of us. Five were killed by Hogarth’s conscripts. Jim Grayson and I were picked up later after Hogarth had cooled down. He sent us here. Grayson met up with a pack of dogs a while back. I buried him, what was left of him, on the plateau where Krone left your copter.”

“You were a fool, Jonathan. You were all fools. There were other ways.”

“For you, there are other ways, Jake. You have the power. It shines like a bright red ring between you and the outside world. For us, the choices were few.”

Jonathan started to walk into the woods. “Come on Jake, I’ll take you to your whirlybird. I have some things to tell you that you will find useful in the city. You can learn from my mistakes.”

Jake followed Jonathan into the woods.

The day passed slowly. Jonathan told Jake stories as they walked. Jonathan seemed to know how all the winding pathways connected and it made the trudging a lot easier. Jake could hear the wild dogs, all around him. They were always close by but never attacked. Jonathan walked strong and tall and still had his physical strength, but when they took a break and sat on logs facing each other, Jake could see that the radioactivity was killing him. His eyes were dying, and the rest of the body would certainly follow. The land they were walking through had been bombed with nukes during the Great Scourge. The land was as radioactive as Jonathan. Jake knew he would be safe for a day, maybe two, but after that, it was anybody’s guess.

Several hours and dozens of stories later, they arrived at the plateau. They sat and watched the dull red sun setting in the west, through the haze over the distant mountain peaks.

“Your power isn’t something you can use in just the one battle,” Jonathan said, as they sat beside the copter, drank water and chewed energy bars. “Use it from the time you get to the city to wear the man down, to bother him, make him irritable and bitchy. You need an edge like that. Without it, that fucker will slash you to ribbons. He’s good with that blade of his.”

“That why you never went at him one on one?’

“That’s right. I never had no ace in the hole like you do…Keep him up at night, Jake. Bother the hell out of him. Get him on heavy downers to relax and uppers to get his edge back. If you do that, his brain will be like scrambled eggs when you meet him. Won’t take long for a cat like him to dance over the edge. He’s already three-quarters gone on his own. You want him good and nuts when you meet. Crazies make mistakes and you’re gonna need a few of those if you plan to beat that bastard mano a mano.”

“That doesn’t worry me. What worries me is gettin’ a fair fight in the first place.”

“The man’s hated by everyone, Jake. Nobody’s gonna stand in your way if you want to take him out. Nobody at all.”

Jonathan and Jake got to their feet. Jake extended his hand to Jonathan but Jonathan pulled back.

“No touching Jake. Your vax only covers the airborne bugs.”

Jake dug into his bag. He pulled out a small box of weed and a package of papers and his lighter. He put them on the ground in front of Jonathan, who bent to pick them up. 

“Much obliged. Cut him once for me, Jake. Right between the legs’ll do just fine.”

“Jon.…can I drop you anywhere?”

“No thanks, Jake…I’m already home.”

“Thanks for your advice and the guided tour. I really appreciate it.” 

“Come back and let me know how it went. If you don’t show, I guess I’ll know it didn’t go so well.”

Jonathan walked to the path that led down the mesa. Jake climbed into the copter and started it up. His skin was tingling a bit from the exposure to the radioactive Indian and the hellscape where he had just spent the last eight hours. But by the time he made it back to the Krone castle, it had stopped.

~ 14 ~

It was late at night. Its pitch blackness was only interrupted by the harbour at Hogarth City which was lit by the hot white searchlights periodically skimming the surface of the water. The sound of copters was heard, passing over the water and away as the spotlights dimmed. Jake landed his copter in a wooded area close to the harbour and activated its cloak, then he made his way down to the water’s edge, carrying a large nylon bag on his shoulder. 

Back at Krone’s castle, Jake was outfitted with a street uniform, leather jacket, antique black Levi jeans, white T-shirt and black boots called Doc Maartens. His head was also completely shaved and there was a diamond stud in his left ear to indicate his preference for women. 

At the edge of the water, he stripped down and changed into a wet suit. He rolled his clothing into the large rubberized nylon bag and squeezed the air out of it then flung it over his shoulder. Then he slipped a compressed air breathing apparatus over his face. As soon as the spotlights and copters made their sweep he quickly waded into the black water and began to swim out, alongside the fence, which stretched out some hundred and fifty metres into the ocean. 

Jake stayed close to the surface of the water only submerging deeply as the security choppers passed and the spotlights swept over the water above him. A few minutes later, Jake made it to the beach inside the city. He spotted a nook that was out of spotlight range and headed to it. He stripped down and got out his clothes and a smaller shoulder bag. He put his diving gear into the bag and sealed it up tight, Then with a small spade, he dug out a hole in the sand and buried the larger bag.

Jake cautiously ascended a stairway from the beach. He walked along the road until he saw a cab. He hailed it and climbed inside. Inside the cab, Jake looked out at the street life. Most of the people on the streets were men. Most of the men were dressed pretty much the same as Jake. Every now and then, he saw groups of men in long suburban car coats and fedoras. The men in the leather jackets were antagonizing them. They moved quickly and deliberately in tight groups.

“Once around Hogarth Place.” Jake said to the driver.

“Sure thing. It’s your credit, pal.”

The taxi pulled off the main street into what appeared to be a park. As it drove further, the black monolithic building came into view. It was surrounded by a high brick wall, topped with electrified barbed wire. At the centre gates, several guards loitered. Also milling around were a number of large, fierce-looking dogs. The taxi stopped at a light. Two guards walked over and look in through the back window. Jake stared blankly out at them. They motioned the taxi on. It took off down the road that ringed the plaza.

“You from out of town, man?”

“Just drive the fuckin’ hack.”

“Just makin’ conversation.”

“I know exactly what you were doin’.”

The driver became a bit flustered. He drove on in silence.

The cab pulled up in front of one of the apartment buildings in a large block of them about a klik north of Hogarth Plaza. Jake got out, walked around the cab and crossed the street. He entered a building. As he did so he glanced back at the driver through the window. The driver took off. When the cab was out of sight, Jake came out of the building and walked down the street and crossed it again. He entered another building and buzzed a buzzer beside the number 1101. A disgruntled voice crackled through the speaker. It is Seymour Rosen’s voice.

“It’s two in the fucking morning. Go away.”

“It’s me, Seymour. Jake Sloane.”

Seymour opened the door for Jake. He was standing in a long nightshirt and his long hair was in total disarray Jake entered, gave Seymour a hug and dropped his bag on the couch. He walked over to the bar and grabbed a bottle of tequila. He took a huge slug, then another short one. Seymour, standing beside the door, was not quite awake. He rubbed his eyes and walked down into the living room. Jake flopped down on the couch and pulled a spliff from a gold cigarette box on the table. He lit it and took a large drag. Seymour sat down across from him in a comfortable chair. He was staring at Jake incredulously.

“You look like a fucking animal.” Seymour said.

Jake rummaged around in his bag. He pulled out a disc and handed it to Seymour. “How many animals you know make a hundred thou a season?”

Seymour fondled the disk. “You’re right. I shouldn’t fuss if you wanna shave your head like those lowlifes out there. Or break into the city like some kind of Freedom Fighter. You haven’t joined up with those asshole Kronies, have you, Jake?”

“Don’t ask questions, Seymour. Knowing answers can only get you into trouble.”

“Very well, Jacob. I assume this shroud of mystery surrounding your surprising appearance and campy persona will be lifted in its own time. So I will just toddle off to my monitor and have a look at these scripts You know where to crash.”

“Thanks, Seymour….I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Jacob.”

After Seymour disappeared into his office, Jake got up and walked to the terrace. He stared out at Hogarth Plaza several blocks away.

“I’m here now, you sleazy son of a bitch. Do you hear me, scumbag? I’m here now. Get ready to die, Hogarth. Get ready to die…"

In Jason Hogarth’s bedroom in Hogarth Tower, Jake’s words echoed through Hogarth’s brain as he lay sleeping. It jolted him into a stunned consciousness. For a brief instant, the look on his face betrayed total terror. As he woke, he found himself sweaty and breathing hard. He dragged himself out of his bed and over to the window. He stared out at the city. His eyes searched through the night. But he could not see the solitary figure standing on the eleventh-floor balcony a little more than a kilometre away.

Late the next morning, Jake and Seymour were at the kitchen table. They were eating bagels and cream cheese. Jake was nipping at the bottle of tequila. He looked pretty ragged. He was totally consumed in his own thoughts.

“I read your scripts last night. Twice, in fact.”

“Uh huh?”

“Not bad at all. You know with the curfew still on, I wouldn’t be surprised if we could score a hundred and a half or so. Original material is kinda hard to come by these days.” 

“Good, Good. Just don’t submit them for approval just yet. I need a couple days of nobody but you knowing I’m here.

Seymour put his coffee cup down, got up and walked to the window. “Goddamn it Jake, I’m worried about you. You didn’t risk your ass breaking into this city just to deliver me the scripts. You’re not even thinking about your work. Quit stalling me, you little shit. I want to know exactly why you’re here. I know how much you have in your credit bank. It’s not about the money. So what is it?”

Jake got up and walked over to the window. He draped his arm over Seymour’s shoulder. “Listen Seymour, I don’t blame you for bein’ worried. I tell you, if I woke up in the middle of the night and saw me crawlin’ in with my head shaved and loaded for bear, I’d be freaked out too. But I can’t tell you why I’m here. Not till it’s done, then everybody and their uncle’ll know...This is heavy shit, Seymour, earth-shattering stuff. It’s the kind of shit that can get you up to your ass in vipers if anything goes wrong and I don’t want that to happen to you. You’re my friend, and friends just have to take each other at their word sometimes. So just let me crash in the spare room and take care of this business, alright?”

Seymour shook his head. “Fucking writers. You’re all shot from laser cannons.”

“Trust me.” 

“All right, Jake. But I sure as hell hope you know what you’re doin’.”

“That makes two of us, man.”

Later that afternoon, Jake walked through the busy downtown area alone. Occasionally he was approached by another skinhead, but he remained aloof, a fierce snarl his only response. 

Jake headed down a street with a lot of human traffic on it. He stopped and chatted with a couple of the locals. He knew all the right people to talk to from his days spent as a reporter and later doing research for his vid writer career.

Eventually, Jake entered a lowbrow restaurant. He took a seat in the back. It was busy, crowded and noisy. Several skinheads sashayed by his table, checking him out. A waitress came over and took his order. 

As the waitress left, a strange-looking man in a long coat slid into the seat opposite Jake. He had a real Eurasian look, like so many of the dealers in the city. There was only one syndicate, sanctioned by Hogarth who got his cut of everything. Jake stared at him. The man stared back and without taking his eyes off Jake, reached into his pocket and pulled out three bottles of capsules. He also pulled out a small calculator and set it on the table beside the bottles. Jake picked up each of the bottles and read the labels. He selected one and pulled a small digital wallet out of his jacket pocket. Jake punched in some numbers and then pointed the wallet at the strange man's machine. The transaction took less than two seconds. In another instant, the man was packed up. He nodded to Jake as he left the table.  

The waitress came and deposited a drink in front of Jake. Jake pulled out the bottle of capsules and took out two. He popped them both and washed them down with his drink. He then got up, paid for his drink and left the restaurant.

A little later Jake, was walking through a quiet alleyway. He was wired from the pills and extremely agitated. Suddenly, two skinheads appeared at the end of the alley. Jake stopped, bouncing involuntarily on the balls of his feet. The skinheads began to move toward him. Jake held his ground. Slowly he slid the dagger from its sheath. He fondled it and shifted it from hand to hand. 

“Looks like we got ourselves a little speeder here.” said one of the skinheads

“Yes, it certainly looks that way. Maybe he’d like to dance.” said the other

The skinheads simultaneously clicked open their switchblades. They slowly began to circle around Jake. Jake backed up looking a little frightened, then he looked quickly down at his feet. Suddenly he raised the dagger in his hand and moved, with unreal speed, on one of the skinheads, whipping his blade underhanded straight into his throat. The skinhead dropped his blade and clutched his throat, but the blood spurt was powerful and quickly drained the life out of his body. He fell back against the wall of the alley. Jake ripped the blade from the skinhead’s throat. He quickly turned and caught the second skinhead through the centre of his rib cage and into his heart. Deftly he pulled the blade from the second skinhead, who tumbled to the pavement. Jake looked at the two dead men, then down at the blade in his hand. There was not a trace of blood on him or the blade. He marvelled at his work for a brief few seconds, then sheathed the blade and bounced away.

He came out of the alley to the roadway surrounding the plaza. It was late in the day and there were only a few people around. The occasional security police team cruised by in a small three-wheeled cart. Jake sat down on one of the benches and lit a spliff. They didn’t pay much attention to him. His uniform was his camouflage. Jake leaned back and stared up at the top floor of the building. It was completely dark now. He began to concentrate his energy on the top floor. He closed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.

“Hogarth. Wake up you son of a bitch. Wake up and walk the floors till morning. I’m coming for you.” Jake mutters under his breath.

After a moment, a light went on in the top floor of the building. Jake broke into quiet laughter. “Hot damn,” he said to no one in particular.

Half an hour later, Jake entered a bar on one of the side streets close to Seymour’s building. His rush from the pills has subsided but he was still feeling pretty up. The bar was dimly lit and crowded. There were several women scattered amongst the skinheads and suit-and-tie crowd. They all appeared to be hookers. Jake sat down at the end of the bar and ordered a scotch. He whispered something to the bartender who nodded and walked down the bar. As he drinks, he scanned the bar. His eyes drifted to the doorway, where he saw a tallish black man in a sweatshirt and jeans. At his side, he carried a long Bowie knife in a decorative leather sheath. His eyes met Jake’s. Jake nodded. He walked down the bar and took a seat next to him. He ordered a drink, then looked over at Jake.

“Evenin’ brother. Nice night we havin’ tonight.”

“One night’s pretty much the same as the next.”

The black man sips his drink thoughtfully. “I understan’ you havin’ some kinda problem procurin’ plastic.”

“That’s right. You got a solution for me.”

“Could jus be.”

“What do I call you?”

“Tyrone.”

The bartender put a small glass of amber liquor down in front of Tyrone, who slapped a coin on the bar. 

“Well, what have you got for me Tyrone?”

Tyrone lets out a laugh. “Got for you? I got nuffin’ for you man. I jus be your tour guide.”

“Oh yeah, and where might the tour bus be goin’?”

“To the Plastic Man, of course. He be fixin’ you up sho nuff. But, bro, this little trip...well it’s an a la carte item, if you take my meanin’.”

“How much?”

“Not much, brother. But what say we discuss it on the road, you know?”

“Let’s go then.”

Jake and Tyrone finished up their drinks and left the bar. They turned up an alley a short distance down the street. About twenty metres away, a hydrogen powered small sports car was parked. Two skinheads were admiring it. Tyrone unsheathed his knife and walked deliberately up to the car. The two skinheads turn around and freeze. Tyrone walked up to one of the skinheads and grabbed him by the throat. The second skinhead ran and almost knocked Jake over in his flight. Tyrone pushed the skinhead up against the wall and shoved the blade of his knife right up under his throat. “You keep your bones away from my machine, or I gonna scrape your skull clean from the inside.” 

He banged the skinhead’s head into the wall and let him go. The skinhead took off down the alley like the proverbial bat out of hell. Tyrone then unlocked his car and got in, motioning for Jake to do the same. Tyrone unlocked a console and opened it up, to reveal a small computer.

“Jus plug your Little Banker into there and zap me up two cees. Then we be on our way.”

“Jake took out his calculator and transferred two hundred credits into the black man’s account. Tyrone started the car and took off. Jake settled back in his seat. He pulled out a spliff.”

“Mind if I smoke?”

“Go right ahead, man. They your lungs.”

Jake took a few tokes and butted the spliff. Tyrone reached over into his glove box. He pulled out a black fabric bag and dropped in Jake's lap. “Put this on brother. Security.”

Jake picked up the bag and took a whiff. “Come on man, this is pre-war jive.”

Tyrone abruptly stopped the car. “Put it on or get your ass out on da street, man. Dems the choices!”

Jake reluctantly pulled the bag over his head. “I feel like an asshole.” 

“You get over it.”

The car drove into a warehouse area of the city. The streets were dark and deserted. The car stopped in front of a large warehouse entrance. It appeared to be all boarded up. Tyrone looked carefully around, then blinked his high beams three times rapidly. Suddenly the door opened. The car pulled inside and drove across the expanse of warehouse space. It was completely empty and dimly lit. The car pulled up to what appeared to be a side wall of the building.

Tyrone pulled the bag off Jake’s head and they both got out of the car. Tyrone walked over to the wall and took out a small penlight from his pocket. He shined it on one of the cinder blocks. Suddenly, the section of the wall directly in front of the car popped open. Tyrone opened it all the way, then drove the car in. The wall closed behind them after they had passed through. Tyrone then led Jake down the wall a little further. He shined his penlight into another cinder block again and a smaller door popped open. They entered. Tyrone closed the door behind them, then showed Jake into a large, brightly lit area. Half the area was sealed off from the other by a long glass wall. Men and women in white lab coats and surgical masks were working there. They seemed to be engaged in some kind of manufacturing process.

The other side of the basement was a large open recreational area. Several skinheads, lab employees sat around playing video games, chatting, smoking herb and drinking. Tyrone led Jake to the far side of the lounge area and up a flight of stairs. Tyrone opened the door to a large office and showed Jake in. He closed the door behind Jake, leaving him alone in the room.

Jake looked around the office. It was quite an austere place, filled with antiques and books. It looked quite familiar in an odd sort of way.

There were several old wing chairs, a fireplace and two large leather couches. Jake sat down on one of the couches and lit a spliff. Suddenly a door on the far side of the office opened and David Sample strode in, wearing a white lab coat. The two men said nothing to each other. Sample opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine, a corkscrew and two glasses. He sat down on the couch opposite Jake and opened the wine. He poured out two glasses and slid one across the table to Jake.

“It’s pre-war California Chablis. The least I can offer to a man who saved my life.” Sample lifted his glass. Jake did as well. The two men drank their wine down quickly. Jake got up and walked over to the wall of the office that opened onto the lab. He looked down at the machinery.

“Nice setup you got here.”

“After that slime lizard took over, it was obvious I’d have to take my millions underground. So I bought into organic amphetamines.”

“Well, everybody needs their speed.”

“Yes, unfortunately, everybody does.”

“And you’ve got a little sideline for counterfeit plastic too?”

“A little this, a little that. It more or less comes with the territory. Not much call for security passes though.”

“Can you get me one?”

“Yes, of course. But do you really think it’s necessary?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re taking a gargantuan risk, climbing into the bear’s cave, so to speak.”

“You got a better idea?”

“Perhaps.”

“Well, what is it?”

Sample walked over to Jake with the bottle and refilled his glass. “Lure him out. Out into the streets where he’s naked. Where everyone can see. Where everyone will know.”

“Fuck the theatrics. I’m only interested in the quickest kill I can get. And the only thing I need from you is a security card to get me into that tombstone.”

Sample sighed deeply. He walked across the office to another cabinet. He opened it to reveal a communications complex. He sat down in front of it. “Come over here, Jake.”

Jake walked over and sat down beside Sample. Sample activated his computer calling up a file. The file is titled “HOGARTH PLAZA-SECURITY”. He opened the file. The computer displayed a schematic of Hogarth Plaza. Red, green and yellow lines traced the security systems from the floors, walls and ceilings of each level to a central security desk. 

The computer ran through the levels again, displaying personnel deployment throughout the complex. The computer then ran through the schematics a final time displaying various automatic weapons systems built into the walls and ceilings of each corridor.

“A security card will get you to the Security Desk.” Sample said. “After that, you can only travel through the plaza on voiceprint ID. If they suspect you, they’ll kill you. That’s their orders. There is no service entrance, basement level freight elevators, no rooftop entry points, no unmonitored underground entry points of any kind. Service personnel are screened by voice print, and work three-month stints inside. The roof is completely wired too. The only civilians allowed to come and go are talk show stars, voice actors and high-end techs. This is a totally self-contained, self-sustaining world, Jake. There really is no way in.”

Jake leaned back in his seat, overwhelmed by the contents of the file and Sample’s dissertation. He stared at David Sample for a good fifteen ticks then he said, “So let’s talk about luring him out.”

~ 15 ~

Several hours later, Hogarth sat at his desk, staring down at his computer monitor screen. His facial expression betrayed anger, frustration and extreme exhaustion. His eyes were ringed in black from lack of sleep. He was studying Jake’s file. He wasn’t sure what led him to open the file. It was just a little voice in his head.

 There was a knock on his door. The door opened and an officer entered and saluted.

“At ease...what is it?” Hogarth said.

The officer handed Hogarth a disc. “This transmission was intercepted approximately one-half hour ago, my Lord. We thought you might want to decrypt it yourself, but we do believe it to be from Jake Sloane.”

Hogarth, agitated and excited, inserted the disc into his computer. “Were you able to trace the origin of the transmission?”

“Unfortunately not, my Lord. It was a mobile transmitter.”

“What about the destination point?”

“It was received nearly 3500 kilometres south and east of the periphery ring. Near the Gulf edge of the Deadlands, northern Old Mex, my Lord.”

Hogarth started opening files on his computer. His screen went snowy, and a high-pitched squeal was heard, then a series of tones forming a random offbeat musical pattern. 

“I recognize that tone code. In fact, I think I have it somewhere in my files.”

Hogarth punched a series of commands into his computer. He sat back in his chair and waited while the machine searched through the cipher files for a solution. The computer then displayed a series of unconnected phrases and then began to unscramble them.

“The cipher is a pre-war antique. That explains why you weren’t able to crack it yourself.” Hogarth said.

“How would they get hold of such programming, my Lord? The pre-war archives are all sealed.”

“Finding that out, Captain, will be your next assignment.”

Hogarth looked down at the screen again. He gasped. The decrypted message displayed there reads:

Waldo Krone:

Time and place set for execution. 

Suggest you commence mobilization 

of new bureaucracy as per schedule.

Jake Sloane

Hogarth stared at the monitor screen in total disbelief. His rage began to well up in him like a volcano. He rose up out of his seat. He glared at the officer. “Get out of here!”

The officer fled the room. Hogarth began to pace frantically, talking to himself.

“Time and place set for the execution? Time and place set for the execution?”

He became uncontrollable. In a matter of minutes, the room was totally trashed. Hogarth walked to the window, talking to himself. “Fucking Waldo. I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance.”

~ 16 ~

Inside the Krone castle, Waldo Krone sat at his table, puzzling over the message on his screen. He got up and walked over to his copy of “The Last Book”. He leafed through a couple of pages. He stopped at a particular passage and read it carefully. He shook his head in puzzlement. 

Through a far door, Crystal entered the room. Krone stopped reading and walked back to his table. Crystal walked over to the table but did not sit down. She poured herself a glass of wine and walked over to “The Last Book”. She ran her finger down the page.

“You’ve heard from Jake?”

“Yes. I assume he’s figured out a way to draw Hogarth out.”

“Is he all right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. Because if anything happens to him…"

“If anything happens to him, the chances of us surviving another sunrise are virtually non-existent. Because Hogarth will move heaven and earth to track us down.”

“Guess that means you’ll be out of the benevolent ruler business.”

Krone walked over to his bar to get another bottle of wine. “But let us not be consumed with negative thoughts at a time when we should be joyful.”

Suddenly, the door slammed. Krone turned around. Crystal was gone.

In Hogarth City, Jake and David Sample sat in a car parked on the street outside the plaza. Jake was fidgeting around. Sample had a small set of headphones on and was fiddling with the dial of a small portable shortwave radio.

“What’s happening, David?”

“I’m not sure. A lot of chatter. Something about a black E-Vette.”

“Shit.” Jake said. “Are we gonna have to wait here an…”

Sample cut him off abruptly. “We’ll wait here as long as we have to. No goddamn sense in creating a plan if you don’t execute it the way you’re supposed to.”

Sample rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Relax Jake. You’ve just got ants in your pants. I wish I could remember ants in my own pants. But bear in mind, a universal truth… nothing in life comes easy.”

“So sayeth the biggest amphetamine manufacturer in the city.”

In his suite, Hogarth stared at his face in the mirror. His goatee was gone. He had shaved his head. His eyes were glazed. His mouth was curled into a speed freak’s “O”. He splashed water all over his head and face. He then grabbed a towel and dried himself off. Behind him, an officer appeared at the doorway to the bathroom. He was shocked and dismayed by Hogarth’s appearance.

“My Lord, the clothing and weapons you have requested are on your bed.”

Hogarth turned and revealed the full extent of his physical alterations to the officer. “Well, what do you think? Can I survive out on the streets among ‘my people’?”

“It’s certainly an effective disguise, my Lord.”

“Good, good. That’s just what I needed to hear.”

Hogarth entered his bedroom. He surveyed the clothing lying neatly on the bed. There is a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a leather jacket, a small calibre pistol, brass knuckles and, sitting on the floor, a pair of black jet boots. Hogarth dropped his robe and began getting into the skinhead clothes.

“Is my car ready yet?”

“Yes, my Lord, But…."

“But what?”

“Forgive me my Lord, but this is sheer madness. You’ve never been out on the streets alone. It’s…”

Hogarth cut him off with a stern glance. For a brief instant, however, the truth of what the officer was saying came across to him. It passed into a controlled rage. He pulled on his jeans and stepped closer to the officer.

“Dismissed, Captain.”

The officer left the room quickly and quietly. Hogarth finished getting dressed. He walked over to a picture of his father on the wall. He took the picture down, revealing a sturdy wall safe. He opened the safe and took out a rolled-up velvet cloth. He walked over to his desk and sat down. Slowly, reverently, he unrolled the cloth to reveal a dagger identical in every detail to Jake’s. He held the blade high in the air, then kissed it, then slide it into the sheath and fastened it to his belt. He walked over to the bed and grabbed the leather jacket and left the room.

A few minutes later, a vintage black Corvette zipped out of the gate and past the car in which Jake and Sample were sitting. Sample started the car, turned it around and began to discreetly follow.

Hogarth drove up and down several of the main streets. He kept a careful eye on the sidewalks, looking for something. He wasn’t sure what. Finally, he stopped in a parking lot adjacent to a respectable-looking bar. He got out of his car and entered the bar. Sample pulled up in front of the bar. Jake got out of Sample’s car and entered a moment behind Hogarth. Sample pulled into the parking lot and turned around. He backed into a spot adjacent to Hogarth’s Corvette. 

The barroom was dark and half full. A three-piece band played pre-war soft rock music in the far corner. Jake spotted Hogarth sitting at the far end of the bar, taking in the atmosphere. He had a tall clear drink in his hand. Jake sashayed down the bar and plopped himself down in a seat beside Hogarth. He was wearing a wool toque and sunglasses. He also had a couple of weeks worth of beard and was quite unrecognizable from his bio picture. He ordered a drink. He looked down at the blade at Hogarth’s side.

“That’s a nice blade you got there.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I said that’s a nice blade you’re wearin’. You want to sell it?”

“Fuck off.”

“No need to get hostile, brother. I was just makin’ an honest query.”

Hogarth glared at him arrogantly. He slammed his glass down on the counter and silently indicated his need for another drink.

“You heard about the big fight?”

“What fight?”

“Some Freedom Fighter. He crashed into the city and now he’s callin’ out Jason Hogarth.”

“Who is this Freedom fighter?”

“Who knows? They say he’s a master bladesman. Took out two sharp muggers in an alley last night. Quick and easy.”

“What makes this Freedom Fighter think he can get Hogarth out of his plaza?”

“‘Cause he’s got something that Hogarth really needs.”

“And what might that be?”

“Rumour has it that it’s the salt water desalination formula that old Sam Franklin devised before he got nabbed or killed or whatever. If Hogarth doesn’t come out to get it, he might as well just make himself a cyanide shake, 'cause he’s done for anyway.”

“What do you mean? Hogarth controls the water and energy supplies for all of Pacifica, what’s left of it anyway.”

“Hogarth did control the energy supply. But not anymore. Not since the 307 Mini Generator.”

Hogarth had obviously never heard of this item. The bartender walked over and Jake ordered a drink.

“What is that?” Hogarth asked. “Some kind of personal generator?”

“Yeah. The one I saw was less than a cubic metre.” Jake held his hands about a metre apart. “It’s powered by a single cubic centimetre titanium ultra cell. They just hit the black market a couple of weeks ago. Everybody’s gonna want one. They make’em down in Old Mexico. I reckon they’ll put Hogarth’s atomic generators out of business in four cycles...Hey, man, this is old news I been tellin’ you. Everybody knows this stuff.” Jake leaned in toward Hogarth. “You know, pal, you really ought to brush up on your current affairs. This place is just crawlin’ with people who’d love to find out why an old guy like you is such a dummy.”

Hogarth was lost in thought now. The news of the mini generator had rocked his brain. His face was was grotesque horror mask. He threw some tokens down on the bar and rushed out.

In his car, Hogarth lit a spliff. He took a deep toke. He was hyper-tense. Suddenly the speakers of his car’s sound system exploded in static. Hogarth reaches for the volume switch, but before he can turn it down a voice booms.

Jason Hogarth! Jason Hogarth!

Hogarth turned the volume switch down and ejected the disc in his deck. He examined it and found nothing unusual. He re-inserted the disc and turned up the volume. The static died down and was replaced by a strange synthesized sound pulse. Jake’s voice begins to speak over it.

“Good evening Lord Hogarth. This is Jake Sloane speaking. I’m aware that the shock of some of the things you’ve discovered tonight might be making you feel a little, how shall I put it, uneasy.”

Hogarth started the car and drove along a semi-deserted four-lane street.

“I wish to talk to you, Lord Hogarth, about a way out of this mess. And believe me, you’re in one hell of a mess. If you’re interested, just do exactly as I say…”

~ 17 ~

Hogarth drove to the outskirts of the city. The area consisted mostly of old apartment buildings and small corner plazas littered with hookers and various other lowlife creatures. He turned into one of the plazas and drove over to the far end of the parking lot. He looked around and studied the area. It was totally deserted. He got out and walked around the car. He rolled his shoulders to alleviate some of the built-up tension. His phone rang.

“Yes?”

“You’re very punctual, my Lord.”

“What is it you have to say, Sloane?”

“A couple of things. First of all, the skinhead you met in the bar tonight, the one who told you about the titanium-powered mini-generator?”

“Yes? What about him?”

“He wasn’t bullshittin’. It’s really true. And it could be the beginning of the end for you, man. Unless you’re smarter than people give you credit for being.”

“What else?”

“Waldo Krone.”

Hogarth felt the rage building inside him “Waldo Krone. He has to be dead by now, surely.” he screams.

“Sorry pal. He’s very much alive. You see it was Waldo Krone who invented the titanium-powered mini-generator. While you were here deluding yourself, he was up in the mountains, workin’ his old self silly, waitin’ for the day he could march into this city with a straw broom and sweep your mad bones away.”

Hogarth was trembling with rage. He dropped the phone on the seat of the car. He wandered around for a moment, working very hard to compose himself. He was breathing very heavily as he picked up the phone again.

“Just what the fuck is it you want, Sloane? You want to kill me?”

“I want to do business with you man. Listen, Hogarth, there’s gonna be an energy war between you and Krone. But at what price, you know? The way I look at it, you guys’ll just end up cancelling each other out in the long run. So the real issue then becomes fresh water. That’s the reason you took Sam Franklin. How’s that working out for you?”

“Franklin will come around. They always do.” 

“Well, I’ve got Sam’s original formula. And according to his daughter, Sam has trouble remembering what he had for breakfast by lunchtime, which is why he religiously records things. I’ve also got David Sample’s finished version, with the toxic gas problem solved. Now, what do you think that would be worth in a head-to-head with Krone?”

“Are you offering this formula to me?”

“I’m offering it to the highest bidder.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Tough shit, then. I’ll sell it to Krone. You’re both assholes, so it doesn’t matter to me who ends up runnin’ the show. So what’s it gonna be?”

“I could hunt you down. I could find you.”

“You’d never find me. Half the city’s a bunch of ‘Kronies’ who are betting you’ll be dead shortly. The rest are just comatose and have no real idea who you are. It’s an underdog’s paradise out there where I’ve been hiding in plain sight for the past two days.”

“What do you want?”

“Sam Franklin. And 50% of all revenues for forty cycles.

“And what do I get in return?”

“You get first right of refusal for the tech that we create. And a rather large jump on Waldo Krone.”

“And when would we make this exchange?”

“Tomorrow night. You bring Sam Franklin. And one, just one, of your scientists to verify the solution. I’ll bring a contract and the formula. And as you have probably figured out, I’m a seer. I will know if you have brought anyone else. And if that’s the case, you lose. It’s a one-time offer, take it or leave it.”

Hogarth was beside himself with anger, wishing he had never stepped outside the tower. “I’ll take it.” 

“I’ll send you the location tomorrow. Nobody but you, Sam Franklin and whatever tech you need to verify. I also want you to end the lockdown because I have to go into the Deadlands to get the formula.”

“Very well.”

Jake disconnected. He looked over at Sample, with a triumphant grin on his face.

“Nicely played Jake.”

“Nicely orchestrated, David.”

The next day, Jake and David Sample drove out of the city heading south. Jake retrieved his copter and he and Sample took off and headed into the Deadlands.

After a few hours, they came to the truck stop where the north-south truck route meets the east-west. Jake landed out back and Sample got out. Jake took off again and headed to the mesa where he buried the discs. On the mesa half an hour later, he dug up the metal box. He took out one set of discs and left the other three. He re-buried it and headed back to pick up Sample. 

~ 18 ~

Crystal lay sleeping in one of the bedrooms of Krone’s castle. She was in a large antique pine bed. Her naked body was half in and half out of the covers. Suddenly a bookcase on the far wall started to silently move. Waldo Krone, in a nightshirt, came stealing into the room. He tiptoed up to the bed and stood looking down at Crystal. He dropped silently to his knees, staring at her upturned breast. His hand extended out and his deft fingers glide smoothly over the skin of her belly, up her rib cage, over her breast to her collar bone. He took a small vial from his pocket and dabbed a bit of a liquid on the end of his finger. He then gently touched the artery on Crystal’s neck. Crystal moaned with pleasure then was silent. Krone tapped her cheek to make sure she was out. She was, and he started to get undressed.

In Hogarth Plaza, Hogarth lay naked in his bed. Beside his head on the pillow lay the dagger. His eyes were glazed over. In his hand, he held the long tube of a synthetic opium pipe burning on his end table. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

In Seymour’s apartment, Jake sat at the kitchen table, watching a television game show. On the table in front of him was a six-course Chinese take-out dinner. Jake was eating it at full tilt.

In Krone’s fortress, Krone was supervising the packing up of his books and mementos. Crystal sat on the terrace eating an apple and looking out over the mountains. She very much appeared to be in a trance.

In Hogarth City, Jake was running, genuinely pushing himself, through the streets. He arrived in front of Seymour’s building and collapsed on the artificial lawn.

Krone, Crystal and Lomax, along with two of Krone’s majors and their women sat at a dining table. Spread on the table before them is a huge feast. At the end of the table, Krone rises and lifts his glass.

“To the inner circle of the New Order!”

Everyone chimed in but Crystal. “Long live the New Order!”

Krone looked over at Crystal. She lifted her glass to him in a mocking gesture. “Sooner or later, you will come around.” he said.

In Hogarth’s apartment. Hogarth was making love to a Eurasian woman. They exploded together in a violent orgasm. Hogarth rolled off the woman and lay breathing heavily, staring up at the ceiling. “Go now.” He said. The woman silently obliged, leaving Hogarth staring at the ceiling of his room.

In Sample’s lab, Jake and Sample were sitting at the table with a bottle of wine. 

“He’s no fool, David. I really can’t believe he doesn’t suspect something.” Jake said.

“Well, he’s made no move to find you. You would know. And judging from his tone of voice last night, I’d say he’s pretty close to being a basket case. This meeting with you could be all that’s keeping him going.”

“It’s pretty sad when all you’ve got to look forward to is dying.”

“We all make our own beds, Jake.”

Krone sat alone on the terrace, staring out into the night. A bottle of wine and two empty glasses sat on the table in front of him. Crystal entered the study and walked through to the terrace.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Yes...sit down, please. We have something very important to discuss.”

“Yeah, and what’s that?”

“Sit down, please.”

Crystal sat down. Almost as a reflex, she poured herself a glass of wine.

“I want to talk to you about your role in the New Order.”

Crystal took a large slug of wine. “I hate to disappoint you, Waldo. But I no longer give a shit about the New Order. I just want to own an interest in the water purification business, and be fabulously well-to-do for the rest of my life.”

“Yes, well that’s what I mean. You see, your father’s formula will give you a great deal of power…”

Crystal began to rub her eyes. She was starting to feel a bit groggy. She looked at Krone and there seemed to be several of him.

“…in the New Order.”

“Hey, what have you done?” Her speech was slurred as her vision became more blurry. Suddenly she passed out.

Krone walked to his desk and got out a small penlight. He came back and moved his chair over to where Crystal sat, unconscious. With one hand he opened her eyelids and with the other hand, he switched on the penlight. It strobed through a rainbow of colours. He did this for a few seconds, then stopped. He put the penlight in his pocket. Then he took the wine bottle and Crystal’s glass to the sink. He emptied both of them and rinsed out the glass. He took another bottle from the counter and refilled Crystal’s glass. Then he came back to the table.

“Crystal,” he says. Then he snapped his fingers in front of her face. Her eyes suddenly opened. 

“What happened to me?”

“I honestly don’t know. We were talking about your role in the New Order then suddenly you just went away.”

Crystal looked at her wine glass, then back at Krone. “You seem to be all right now.” he said, “So why don’t we talk about it.”

“Yes. I remember you asking me about it.” Crystal said. “I don’t know what I would do. I’m still working on my degree in metaphysics.”

“Well then, you have a lot to think about, don’t you, my dear?” 

“Yes, I guess I do.” Crystal heard herself saying the words, but she can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t right. “Are you sure there wasn’t something in that wine?”

Krone shook his head and picked up her glass. “Yes I’m sure, and to prove it.” He drank the entire glass. Then put it down. “Very tasty.”

Without saying another word, Crystal got up and left the room. She was moving very slowly. At the doorway, she turned back and looked at Krone. She was almost smiling.

As she closed the door behind herself Krone smiled. “Gotcha.”

In Hogarth City, the next day, Jason Hogarth was driving through the downtown section of the city. The streets were strangely devoid of people. In the passenger seat sat Sam Franklin. In a car following Hogarth, a docile-looking man in a lab coat sat behind the wheel. 

“I remember Jake Sloane. Came out to interview me quite a while ago for something called The Kramer Beat. Nice young man. Very unassuming” Sam Franklin said. “But he has obviously had an effect on you. The last time you were out of that building unprotected was just before you walked in. I remember that day.”

“You know I could just turn around and draw the formula out of you with the right chemical cocktail. Of course, it would probably make you a vegetable. This is just a good deal more convenient. And I get to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.” Hogarth said.

“I’m afraid that chems wouldn’t work. Don’t think I haven’t tried. I honestly don’t remember parts of the process. This is why I recorded it all. I’m not as young as I used to be Jason.”

“None of us are, Sam. None of us are.”

In David Sample’s lab, Sample sat in front of a bank of six monitors. Beside him was a tech, operating a control panel. The main monitor displayed Jake’s vehicle path through the industrial section of the city. The other monitors showed several different camera views of the area adjacent to a large warehouse. Three more displayed angles of an open area inside one of the warehouses.

Jake’s vehicle, one of Sample’s company cars, drove him toward the warehouse. He was thinking about what Jonathan White Eagle told him what seemed like forever ago. “When you fight with a crazy man, you have to let yourself be crazy too. Insanity is his only advantage. Cancel that out and he will be your victim, not the other way round.”

Almost involuntarily, Jake’s breathing became deeper. He touched the knife in its sheath, and the knife began to glow. He slid the knife out of the case and ran the sharp edge of the blade slowly along the back of his hand, drawing a trickle of blood. He chuckled and re-sheathed the knife. He leaned over and took a look at himself in the mirror.

At Krone’s fortress, Crystal lay naked on her bed. Krone was undressing ritually, smoking from an opium pipe and chanting in a strange tongue. After a moment, he took off his clothes and began to fondle Crystal’s breasts and vagina. She moaned despite the fact that she was barely conscious. He climbed on top of her and began to make love with her. In her delirious state, she called out for Jake. This caused Krone to become agitated and he started working harder on her. He didn’t last very long at all. His orgasm was short but powerful. But he was not as young as he used to be and his breathlessness was proof of that. He rolled off the semi-conscious Crystal. She rolled over, moaned a bit then went quiet. Krone just stared at her exquisite young body and smiled to himself. “Let’s hope one of those swimmers gets upstream.”

In the city, that evening, Hogarth’s and the trailing car pulled up in front of a warehouse. He studied the building for a moment, then got out of his car. Sam Franklin got out the other side. The tech got out of the trailing car. He walked over to the doors and stopped. He pressed the buzzer on the wall beside the doors. One of the doors popped slightly ajar.

Hogarth, Sam Franklin and the tech entered the warehouse. The door closed behind them. They walked around looking at the lights and the cameras, chuckling. Slowly, they moved into an open area.

Jake was sitting on a wooden chair. He gestured for Hogarth to sit in the chair opposite him. Sam Franklin and the tech stood behind Hogarth. Suddenly, a wave of recognition swept over Hogarth.

“You. In the bar last night.”

“Yeah, that was me alright.” 

“So the Waldo Krone story?”

“Oh, Waldo is alive. The rest of it was bullshit. I just wanted to see how desperate you were. Turns out you’re pretty fuckin’ desperate.” 

“But you’re still willing to do business with me. How can I trust you when you have deceived me already?”

“Trust? Coming from you, that’s almost laughable.”

“What the fuck do you really want?” 

“It’s simple. I want you. Dead. So here’s the thing. I have hidden the discs, and written the location on a piece of paper in my pocket.” Jake tapped his back pocket. You can only have it if you kill me. If I kill you, well, it goes to Waldo and a few other people who can use it.” 

“So you want me to fight you for it?”

“Well, yeah. You have a blade, I have a blade. We’ll have a little blade battle. Should be fun. Of course, you have no idea how good I am with this blade. So maybe that gives me a bit of an edge, cause I’m pretty fuckin’ good.”

“Your arrogance is astounding.” 

Jake got to his feet and took off his jacket. “Oh, and just in case you didn’t notice, we have taken the liberty of setting up some cameras and are cutting into the prime-time feed. So all the good citizens of Hogarth City can watch. Wonder who they’ll be cheering for?”

Hogarth’s anger began to boil. He got to his feet and pulled out his blade.

Jake began to circle the space. Hogarth held his ground, turning to be face-to-face with Jake at all times.

“I will spare your life, if you walk away now, Mr. Sloane.”

“You will spare my life? That’s rich. What makes you think I would want to walk away now, when my moment of victory is so near, my Lord? Oh, and I forgot to mention, I’m also a telepath. I know what you’re thinking before you do it. So you should try and keep your mind as clear as possible.”

 

At Sample’s lab, Sample began to bark his camera orders to his switcher. Several employees had gathered in the doorway to the office. They watched the screens in a zombie-like silence. 

In the warehouse, Hogarth and Jake were within feet of each other, studying each other intensely. Suddenly, Hogarth attacked and nicked Jake just below the left breast. Jake backed off, hardly feeling the cut at all. Hogarth laughed arrogantly.

“I’ll cut you a thousand times before I let you die, Sloane.”

Rage built inside Jake like a volcano. Hogarth attacked again. This time Jake caught him with a solid boot in the stomach. Hogarth doubled over and tumbled to the floor. As he did, Jake lashed out with his blade and cut Hogarth behind his right ear. In an instant, however, he was on his feet but slightly shaken. He reached up behind his ear and discovered the gash along his scalp. He made a clumsy dash toward Jake and took a boot in the thigh, which dropped him to his knees. On his way down, Jake slashed at Hogarth’s upper arm and opened up a sizeable cut close to his shoulder.

Jake backed off, laughing. Hogarth examined the large cut on his shoulder. He got to his feet again and began to circle. His movements were laboured and painful.

“It was a no-win situation from the beginning, My Lord. Come to me, I will make death swift and painless for you.” Jake said, in the most mocking tone he could muster.

Hogarth readied himself for another attack. Jake held his ground, taunting him with gestures.

Outside the warehouse, several vans filled with uniformed men pulled up. The men piled out of the cars and begin to investigate the area.

For a moment, Jake found his attention directed inward. He heard a strange sound and saw, in his mind’s eye, images of bodies in the darkness for a brief second. Hogarth noticed Jake’s lapse in concentration and lunged. Jake snapped back into reality in time to ward off a fatal blow, but Hogarth’s blade opened up a large gash in his arm as Jake fell to one knee and quickly got back on his feet. Hogarth closed in again but Jake took a roundhouse swipe at his midsection. The blade tore through his shirt but did not cut him. It did cause him to step back a few paces and regroup. 

Just then the door burst open and Hogarth's men came rushing in. Hogarth stopped them with an arm gesture. He turned to face Jake who was still on one knee. Hogarth closed in for the kill. He was about two metres from Jake when Jake underhanded the blade and sent it sailing into Hogarth’s torso. The upward trajectory, accuracy and speed at which the blade was thrown all combined to lodge the blade squarely in the centre of Hogarth’s chest. He stopped, looked down at the blade then looked at Jake. “Who are you?” are the last words he spoke. He collapsed in a heap, quite dead.

The uniformed men at the door stared in awe at Jake. The people in the control room at Sample’s lab were cheering wildly. All around the city the crowds cheered at the bases of several huge monitors. 

Jake got to his feet. He pulled off his belt and lashed it around his upper arm to arrest the bleeding. He turned to face the uniformed men.

“A New Order is forming as we speak.” Jake said. “It will be anything but the fascist dictatorship you have all lived through. I have seen to that tonight. There is a bright future coming and you will all be in charge of it. I will give you the means to make it work. You will give me your promise that you will do that. Work to become a government that treats all the people with respect. Work to restore the balance that made this planet a paradise and can do it again. I have the means and I will give it to you gladly if you promise to do right by it.”

Jake pulled the blade from Hogarth’s chest. “The New Order belongs to you. Long live the New Order.” Jake said. Jake begins to chan to chant… “Long live the New Order…Long live the New Order.” The uniformed men began to chant along with him. The people in the control room are chanting as well. People on the streets were screaming it.

~ 19 ~

Several days later the central hall of Hogarth Tower was filled with the privileged and well-to-do patrons of the New Order. On the stage, a large curtain slowly rose as the audience hushed and the house lights went down. Spotlights on the stage illuminated Jake, Crystal, Sample, Vic Lomax, Sam Franklin and several of Krone’s majors. The audience was quiet.

Casually, Waldo Krone, in full Yankees baseball uniform, strutted out onto the stage. He walked to the podium in the centre of the stage, as the audience erupted into applause, hooting, whistling and screaming. Krone took his place behind the podium and waited, smiling as the applause slowly subsided.

“Citizens of the New Order, I greet you one and all.”

The crowd broke into cheers with his every sentence. “At long last, the prophesies of The Last Book have been fully realized. The fascist demon Hogarth is dead! The last of his oligarchs are being sought out and converted...and soon, the dictums and governing principles of the New Order will be firmly cemented in place…and a new way of life for the city, and the Deadlands can finally begin!”

Krone basked ostentatiously in the adulation of the crowd. In the background, Jake slid his hand over to pat Crystal’s leg. His action, however, is met with an icy, disapproving stare, as Crystal turned her attention to Krone. A look of curiosity swept across Jake’s face. It quickly turned to frustration and mild anger.

Krone continued. “In the New Order, there will be cheap, plentiful energy supplies, clean water and with the return of the balance of nature, the opportunity for every citizen to move back to the land, and start working to re-build the agrarian roots of this country… the very thing which made it so great before the tragedy of ’65. That is what the New Order is all about, my children! A radical departure from the dark post-atomic age, which since its beginning has threatened to destroy all mankind!”

The audience went wild.

“Finally, dear citizens of the New Order, I wish to share with you some most momentous news.”

Krone turned and summoned Crystal to the podium.

“This woman, heiress to the water purification process, and daughter of one of the true heroes of the New Order, now carries the seed of the New Order in her womb.”

Jake was dumbfounded by the news, but then understood Crystal’s attitude toward him.

“This woman, Lady Crystal Franklin will, at the first rising of the full moon in Virgo, become my wife, and solder the links of the New Order firmly to tomorrow!”

The crowd went wild again. Waldo Krone hugged Crystal, and as he did, his eyes met Jake’s icy stare from backstage.

Later, in one of the many bedrooms of the former Hogarth Plaza, Jake lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The tube from a large water pipe was draped across his chest. Crystal appeared in the doorway. She seemed very calm and placid. She drifted across the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Looks like our side won.” she said.

“Looks that way.” Jake responded.

“You don’t seem too thrilled about it.”

“I’m happy to be alive. Tickled pink, in fact.”

“You know what I think?”

“Not from one minute to the next.”

“I think you’re jealous.”

“And you know what I think? I think you got sucked right in, just like all the rest of those assholes out there.”

“I’m only...fulfilling my destiny.”

Jake sat up and let out a laugh. “Is that what you think you’re doing? It never entered your mind that you’re giving up control of the only thing that can make you an independent creature?”

“Waldo loves me. And I love him.”

“No Waldo loves absolute power, just like his former buddy Hogarth, which is what you’re giving him on a silver fucking platter!”

“I don’t want to…”

“Please.” Jake pats the bed. “Sit down.”

Crystal sat, but looked at Jake a little suspiciously. 

“Give me your hands, Crystal.”

Crystal extended her hands. Jake took them in his then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a few seconds, he let go of her hands. “Thank you. I understand now. It will take some time, but we will fix you.”

“I’m not broken Jake.”

“I’m sorry darlin’ but you are. He has done something to you. The inner workings of your mind, are completely different from the words you speak.”

A tear forms in Crystal’s eye. “You’re lying,” she said calmly. “You want me and you can’t have me.”

"You know I can see you, the you that’s been suppressed. You know that.”

“I just came to ask you for my discs.”

Jake slipped off the bed and walked over to the window. “It’s nice to know that I’ve still got something you want.”

“Can I have them, please?”

“Yeah, you can have them. And you can give them away. And you can have his baby and give away your future too. And then you can be.....then you can be nothing. Nothing at all. But the exchange will all happen on my terms.”

Hogarth’s office had quickly been made over to resemble Krone’s study in the fortress. Krone sat at his table and scribbled some notes in a book. Vic Lomax sat on the window sill looking out over the city. Krone stretched his arms, put down his pen and got up. He sauntered over to the window where Vic was sitting.

“Well, Vic. We’ve finally made it.” Krone says.

Lomax nodded but did not take his gaze from the city below. “I don’t know, Waldo. If that little pussy cat of yours can’t get the detox formula from our boy Jake, those ignorant bastards down there are gonna take you apart like a freshly barbecued chicken.”

“She’ll get it all right.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. He’s a spiteful little son-of-a-bitch and you did steal his woman from him.”

Krone pondered Vic’s comment, as Crystal approached the doorway Neither he nor Vic noticed her. She stopped by the entrance and listened to their conversation.

“I see what you’re getting at, Vic. He’s becoming a rather sizeable problem.” said Krone.

“More like a downright threat, I’d say.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right. I suppose we’ll have to deal with him as soon as he comes across.”

Crystal closed the door. Krone turned on his heels.

“Well, my dear, did you get the formula?”

“Who were you talking about just now? Was it Jake?”

Krone walked over to her and took her hands. “No, no. It’s not important. Affairs of state. If you can believe it, there are some people who are unhappy about this change of leadership. Did you get the formula?”

“I will.”

“You see, Vic. I told you our little Crystal would come through for us.”

“He’ll take us to the place where he stashed it tomorrow. It’s a long journey into the Deadlands.”

Krone walked Crystal to the doorway of the bedroom and ushered her inside. He kissed her gently and closed the door behind him then walked back into the study. He sat down on the window sill beside Vic.

“I think it would be better for all concerned if Mr. Sloane did not return from the Deadlands tomorrow.”  Krone said.

“I concur.”

“Equip yourself accordingly.” 

Krone walked to the bedroom door.

~ 20 ~

Jake lay sleeping in his room. He started to toss and turn violently. Suddenly, he snapped into consciousness. His eyes stared straight ahead but his mind was somewhere else, examining his nightmare. He took a deep breath and fell to the pillow once again.

The next day Jake was flying alone in his copter. Behind him, in a larger Grey Raven, were Vic Lomax, Krone, and Crystal. The two copters landed on the mesa. Everybody got out. Jake stared at the sky for a moment to get his bearings, then walked over to the large boulder. In his hand, he carried a small spade. At his side, the sheathed dagger hung. Jake started to dig down into the dry dirt. He uncovered the tin box and opened it up, pulling out the plastic bag containing the discs. He turned around to get up and felt the barrel of Lomax’s Cold 45 at his temple.

“Nice and easy, Mr. Sloane. Just give over the goodies.”

Jake dropped the bag at Vic’s feet. Instinctively, he bent over to pick it up. Jake slammed the spade blade down onto his arm. Lomax howled as the gun skittered away toward Krone. In an instant, Jake drew the knife and ran it up through Lomax’s chest. He dropped to the ground, instantly dead. Krone started to move toward the gun. Jake arrived first. He picked it up and tossed it off the mesa. He pulled himself up to his full height and then relaxed himself into a fighting stance. 

Krone backed off, drawing his own blade out of fear. Crystal started to scream. She made a run for Jake and began to pelt him with punches. Jake took a step back and pushed her out of the way, causing her to lose her balance. She fell to the ground and hit her head on the edge of a large rock, losing consciousness. Jake picked up the bag containing the discs. He tossed it toward Krone.

“Here you are Krone. You get the same deal as Hogarth got.”

“You’re insane.”

“That may very well be. But you’re a lowlife scum! A brown rice bullshit guru! You’re no different from Hogarth other than that stupid Yankees uniform.”

Jake began to taunt Krone with his blade. Krone leaned back against the copter.

“You know I don’t stand a chance against you.”

“At this point, I don’t really care.”

“But the people. If you kill me, they’ll have no one to lead them! No one!” 

“Who said they ever really needed anyone? They’ll figure it out. Might even decide on Democracy. You remember that. Power to the people and other lies they were told back in the day.” 

Jake reached out and nicked Krone’s cheek. Krone remained frozen to the side of the copter.

“How are you supposed to run a whole fucking empire, when you can’t even defend yourself! Come on!”

Crystal regained consciousness and sat up. As she did, Krone’s anger and fear erupted together. Breathing laboured, he lashed out at Jake. Jake nimbly jumped back. Krone took the offensive, but before he got three steps, he stopped and clutched his chest with both hands. Off balance, he tripped forward. The knife blade pushed up and through his chest and out his back as he hit the ground. Crystal screamed and lost consciousness. Jake went over to her, cradling her head in his lap. A few moments later, Crystal opened her eyes and looked up at Jake.

“Jake, Jake...what’s happening  to me?”

“You’re just comin’ back, Crystal. His death broke whatever it was he was holding you with.”

Jake picked Crystal up and led her to the passenger seat of his copter. He closed the door. He then they stuffed the bodies of Krone and Lomax in the other copter and climbed in. He started the other copter up and jumped out as it lifted off, and moved off the mesa, high over the desert. Jake climbed back into the cockpit of his copter. The plastic bag was on his lap. He stared out into the desert. Out on the flat barren landscape, he and Crystal watched as the other copter crashed. A small ball of flame erupted and the smoke drifted away from the wreckage toward the hazy sun.

“So what’s the plan, Stan?” Crystal asked

“Well, David and your dad have the formula. They can run things here. I’m thinking Australia, Africa, Eurasia, Europa and back home.”

Crystal just smiled and said “Sounds like a pretty good plan.”

“But what about the baby…Little Krone?” Jake asked as they left the mesa.

“There’s no baby, Jake. It’s called birth control. Another pre-war concept. David Sample designed it for me when I came of age.”

About thirty klicks from the mesa Jake spotted a clearing. He set the copter down in the middle of it. They sat in silence for several minutes. 

“What’s going on, Jake?”

“Just give me a few more tics.” he said. 

Shortly after that, Jonathan White Eagle appeared from the brush. He walked over to the copter. 

“Hello Jake.” he said.

“Jonathan White Eagle, this is my lady, Crystal Franklin.”

Jonathan nodded “A pleasure, madame.”

Jake reached into the back and pulled out a large bag of UV grown weed. “I brought you a gift, Jon.” 

He put the bag on the ground.

“I take it the tyranny is at an end.” Jonathan said.

“Let’s hope so.” Jake said and reached back into the copter. He pulled out the second blade and laid it on top of the bag of weed. “Good hunting, my friend.”

Jake climbed back into the copter and started it up They took off back in the direction of New Los Angeles. “Shadow on the sun…what a crock of shit.” Jake said. “But there’s a mini-series in there somewhere.”

F I N