17

It was six in the afternoon when Aiden came back to Liam’s penthouse, having packed what little he had back in his apartment, and having ensured that the route they used when they were kids was still accessible.

Liam was slightly bothered by the fact that they to go through the sewer system to leave the light zone undetected, for it was seriously strange for a person of Liam’s status to ever leave the light zone unaccompanied by at least a convoy of security teams. As Aiden quickly moved his luggage up to the guest bedroom which he was staying in, Liam heard a knock at the door. He wasn’t expecting anyone other than Aiden who had already arrived, and was thus confused. When he pulled up the live video from the security feed, he saw 4 security operatives fully armed in exo-suites.

“Mr. Raycevick, it’s a nice door that you have here, would be a shame to break it!” The man who seemed to be the fire team leader said, staring in the cameral. “We will give you 10 seconds!”

Liam jumped up and ran to Aiden’s room to update him on the sudden change in their situation. Then, Liam heard a loud explosion.

“Breaching charges,” Aiden said quietly.

Liam opened House Security on his watch and saw that the door was severely damaged, but not breached. However, Liam knew that they had little time. He had customized the entire apartment himself in the scenario that assassins from rival corporations were sent to kill him, but he never expected that these defenses would be used against Bureogis personnel. He told Aiden to grab what he absolutely needed and to meet in the reading room. Aiden looked confused but trusted Liam.

Liam himself ran to his own room and initiated the self-destruct sequence on all data. He also changed the AI’s security level from code orange which occurred form the door blast, or code red, which allowed the AI to use lethal weapons against unidentified personnel. He grabbed his laptop and all his wearable electronics including his com-specs and ran to the reading room, the status on his watch reminding him that the door was almost breached, and would be open with another explosive charge.

As expected, Aiden was already waiting for him in the reading room. Liam saw they his brother brought only his tablet and all his wearable electronics as valuables, and for a moment appreciated how much he had in common with his brother. The AI told him that the door was breached, and Liam initiated the safe room sequence on a concealed electronic surface as he removed the wooden top of his reading desk. Liam typed in commands furiously and was relieved when a concealed cupboard on his bookshelf popped open. Liam approaches the cupboard and grabbed a little black cylindrical device with a single red button on it. Liam heard footsteps outside and turned around just as he saw the four operatives wearing exo-suites kicked the door open and busted into the room with their guns pointed.

It looked as if the leader was about to speak, but before he even got the chance Liam pressed the red button. For a second the four suits crackled and the lights on the entire floor went out. Then, explosions occurred inside each of the helmets as a little light flashed. However, the suits themselves didn’t fall but instead stood still as blood started flowing freely. From the neck connection. Liam turned around and saw that Aiden looked both surprised and horrified.

“EMP,” Liam explained “when the main connections in the suits fried, the suit thinks that it is being hacked, and begins a self-destruct sequence. I designed these suits, so I know.”

Aiden simply nodded, and Liam opened the bottom-most cupboard under his desk and took out an emergency fire torch. He popped on the flashlight and started exiting the room. Aiden followed, and the two walked silently down the stairs, as the elevators were not operating from the EMP burst.

“So, what’s the plan?” Aiden asked after a while, still seemingly processing the fact that after what happened, he and his brother are now probably fugitives of the BSF. Liam knew that his brother saw and accepted the risk of what they were doing, but also understood that things can be a little overwhelming once they got going.

“We stick to the original plan. Bureogis will now be sending more people once they knew what happened. My own security force will be made aware and will probably turn against me, but they won’t have time. We are going to go down to the garage and take the weapons we need, as well as a tactical bag so we can free up our hands. Then we sneak out of the city and go meet Ristenel. If things go well, then Ristenel can offer us a flight to France with her connections in basically half of the dark zone. After we see the professor, we will figure something out, if he is even willing to help us. If things don’t work well, then I guess we are fucked. We don’t have a place to return to.” Liam stopped, turned, and held his brother by the shoulders “But you knew the risks, and accepted them. We are going to do this, no matter what.”

Aiden affirmed Liam quietly but confident, with a firm voice. “No matter what.”

Liam nodded and the two continue to rush down the dark stairs with the flashlight. When they reached the garage, Liam went to the security mag-mobiles that his team usually used, punched in his override, and the doors opened. Liam knew that they can’t take the mag-mobiles due to the easy tracking which the vehicles enabled for Bureogis. However, inside the car, there were stashes of weapons which he and his brother needed. First Liam pulled out two sets of concealed body armor, various side arms, concealed knives which he and his brother would use. Then, Liam used a tactical bag to protect his laptop as well as his brother’s tablet and carried it over his shoulder. As Liam struggled to wear all the side arms which he chooses in correct positions, Aiden took his time choosing and modifying the tactical rifles available in the car. In the end, he settled on the Curator S&A3, which was an advanced rifle being able to be used both as a sniper and as an assault rifle. Aiden also added night vision and electronic viewfinder modifications which he thought he might need.

Just as the brothers finished packing, Liam heard footsteps in the stairway, took out his gun, pointed his torch, and found his own security team with their hands up. Liam knew that the team kept their weapons either in the mag-mobile or at Bureogis as the apartment did not allow firearms.

“You don’t have to do this boss,” Jamie said, calmly. “Just hand yourself in, it will be fine.”

Liam ignored the advice and simply responded “Don’t follow us.” While pointing his gun at Jamie. He saw his security chief standing in place shaking his head as he and Aiden moved out of the dark garage. Once outside, the pair broke into a run towards an abandoned metro station around three kilometers away from Liam’s apartment. They bumped into many on the streets and were subject to many strange glances. Once Liam thought he saw his face on a large electronic billboard in an arrest order when he and Aiden passed a squared. However, they eventually made it to the metro station. Liam was panting hard and was surprised to see that Aiden was barely winded. They entered the entrance which shows the station was called “Grand Terminal Central” From an age where governments offered public transportation.

It was dark inside the terminal and Liam opened his flashlight. He did not remember the exact place which led to the sewage system, but Aiden, having checked the spot out earlier, lead him there. Once underground, Liam took out his laptop asked Aiden to connect all his equipment to Liam’s signal. Liam quickly installed the same software that he had on his equipment to prevent tracking and packed away his laptop. Aiden led the way with the flashlight and Liam followed. They walked on the sidewalk along murky waters, and for a moment, both of them allowed themselves to contemplate the danger that they were in, and to be excited by the things to come.

After around half an hour of walking, Liam and Aiden reached the first checkpoint under the sewers. However, unlike the checkpoints on the ground which were guarded by security forces from major corporations in exo-suites, this checkpoint was guarded by a man and women in plain clothes. The purpose of the checkpoint wasn’t necessary to keep people out of the light zone as the checkpoints above ground were, instead, these checkpoints were installed by the HLF to receive early warnings if corporate police forces ever decided to take action.

When Aiden first saw the pair he almost pulled his gun out not sure if they were a threat, but Liam held his arm down and told him about the HLF’s security protocols. As they approached the two guards, Aiden could see them tensing up and moving their hands towards their pistols. However, Liam held out his specs to the woman as she looked like she was in charge. Whatever Liam sent the women, she was clearly relaxed and decided to cause them no more trouble. After twenty minutes more of walking, Aiden saw that there was a light ahead and turned off his flashlight as he saw an entire underground community in front of him. Liam looked equally surprised but explained to Aiden that Ristenel has informed him that the sewers have changed a lot in the past few years, as the HLF expanded many of their operations underground for security reasons. However, it looked like that Liam himself did not expect the change to be so dramatic.

Walking through the community, Aiden felt that the people here, although having suffered much at the hands of the social-economic system, seem to use their shared victimhood as a source of unity. Unlike the neighborhood which Aiden passed though freezing, the community here had a shared sense of purpose and unity, and once again Aiden realized that the HLF, while perhaps being the terrorist organization that the media portrayed it as, was also so much more. As they kept walking, Aiden saw many small acts of humanity which were simply unimaginable on the cold unforgiving eastern surface of the dark zone. People here actually help each other, and instead of being divided because they each had so little, they shared so that they each had a lot more. Aiden knew logically, that the people were doing so simply for survival, but also realized that the eastern side of the dark zone, where the HLF has no influenced so far, was a place of crime and terror. He wondered if the western surface of the dark zone, controlled by the HLF, was a place like this underground community that he passed through. Aiden and Liam kept walking and were constantly amazed at the ways which structures and buildings occupied the large sewer for efficiency and the abundance of resource which seems to be around. The people here were not starving during the winter as was typical in the dark zone. Although they did not have such an abundance to match the light zone, they had enough to live on.

As they resurfaced from the sewers, the cold winds of November once again hit Aiden in the face, but at least this body was protected by his thick jacket. Liam opened up navigation on his specs, and lead the way. Once again, Aiden could not believe that he was walking through a “dark zone” as it was clear that many houses next to him had some sort of lighting, and more importantly, he could see that even at night, many people were freely wandering the streets, which would never occur on the east side. In addition, Aiden saw that the HLF seem to also be providing a sort of policing service, as he walked by armed man and women every few minutes.

Moreover, the people here looked at them with friendly eyes, although with light curiosity as well. That curiosity was probably due to the fact that both Aiden and Liam were wearing clothes taken from Liam’s closet, which included their highly expensive designer jackets. Aiden knew that friendly looks and basic safety was something that people ought to take for granted, and was natural in the light zone. However, he could help to be amazed that the dark zone, or at least a portion of it, can achieve such a level of prosperity and human flourishing, which it hasn’t seen for decades.

Just as Aiden had to continually remind himself that he was in part of the dark zone, instead of a light zone neighborhood, Liam signaled a stop. They stood in front of a big, well-lit house protected by several armed guards in exo-suites. Liam stepped forward and showed the man who looked like the leader his specs. After a while, the leader clicks on the side of his head, seemingly sending a message, and told Liam and Aiden to wait. A few seconds later, the guard received confirmation and the brothers were allowed entry. They were then passed through various security checks while in the lobby and were finally allowed to enter what seems to be a dining-room-turned-meeting-room on the first floor.

Rosa Ristenel, founder and representative of Humanity Liberation Front New York, stood up and greeted them with a warm smile.

“Hello, gentleman. Would you boys prefer anything to drink?”

Aiden immediately felt the strength and confidence in her voice. Although Ristenel is not what most would traditionally describe as attracted, she exerted an aura of assurance through her speech and actions and had a poise which made her someone that one would always want to listen to and respect. Aiden snapped out of his thoughts and realized that Ristenel was still waiting for his response while Liam has already ordered water.

“I'll have water too,” Aiden said, awkwardly.

Ristenel laughed and told him that there was no need to be nervous. She gestured the brothers to sit down at the end of the table nearest to the door, and along with another man who looked like her assistant or secretary, took a seat at the opposite end. Aiden realized that for the whole time he as so mesmerized by the HLF leader that he didn’t take a good look of the room, which was extraordinarily well decorated. The room itself was large, rectangular, with the door and the window on the longer sides. However, on the other ends of the room hang two large paintings, which Aiden found very interesting.

The first painting, on the right side of the room, depicted a half-naked woman with a rifle on her left hand and a flag of red, white, and blue on her right. She seems to be leading a charge of some sorts, and her followers could be seen behind her, walking over the many dead bodies on the floor. The whole composition was gory, and yet also conveyed a sense of brilliance. The men and women in the painting looked like a righteous army triumphing over the evils of the world, while the dead bodies of their comrades serve as the reminder of the price of their victory. Aiden then looked left and saw the second painting which was less gruesome but appeared to carry the same type of grandeur. The depicted subject was a group of man who seems to have gathered in an indoor court of some sorts. In the center of the canvas was a man holding a document in one hand, with his other raised high. The man around him seem to be celebrating, or rather praising the man in the middle.

Aiden turned around and realized that his attention had been slipping. Liam and Ristenel seem to have been appreciating the paintings with him, but Aiden realized that they only did so because he was looking at the paintings himself. He apologized, and Ristenel responded that was no need. Then Liam spoke up.

“Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix and The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques-Louis David. How on earth did you get your hands on these.” Liam commented.

Ristenel was clearly surprised that her guests recognized her collection, but looked rather embarrassed when she admitted that the paintings were replicas.

“They may not be the originals, but they do carry much the same weight, don’t you agree? The purpose of such art was never to be locked up in the room of one, but rather be spread and duplicated so that their spirit flourishes.”

Ristenel obviously appreciated the comment, smiled, and laughed lightly.

“I never knew you were such a philosopher Liam,” Ristenel said jokingly.

Liam gave a light laugh as well, and then they decided to move on to business. At first, Ristenel was unconvinced of Liam’s plan, and her face was impossible to read when Liam said that he would be requesting air transport to Paris.

“Under normal circumstances, I would not accept such a risky plan. Not to offend you boys, but what you are suggesting here seems borderline insanity. However, seeing that fact that Ms. Medugis and her crew were arrested earlier today. I see no other choice but to help you out, so…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Aiden interjected.

“Wait, what? Elizabeth was arrested?” Aiden knew that he was being disrespectful. However, if Ristenel was offended, she did not show. She simply explained that from her inside sources it seemed that a Captain named Benjamin Fish talked. Aiden cursed under his breath, and used his hands to cover his face and leaned onto the table. Meanwhile, Ristenel winked at Liam who was sitting straight up tense and nervous at the possibility of his brother knowing about what he did. When he saw that Ristenel winked at him, his heart pounded and he knew that she knew. When Aiden got up and asked what are the possible things that would be done to the colonel, Ristenel simply said that depending on the mood of CEO Pros, anything can happen.

Aiden did not look relieved, but after sulking at the entire world for a while, he realized that he had a job to do and decided to man up and listened to Ristenel as she outlined the resources that she had available to them, as well as the fact that Aiden’s old fire team would apparently be leaving for Paris a day earlier, meaning that Liam and Aiden had to leave for the professor’s house on Tuesday afternoon.

Ristenel also explained that although she can give all the material resources to Aiden and Liam, she and her HLF friends in Paris could not send any of their own operatives in. The reason Ristenel said, was because if the HLF’s internal politics. Ristenel knew that Liam and Aiden’s plan was viable, but she could show public support in her organization to a plan which actively wanted to preserve the AIs. However, Ristenel argued that if Liam and Aiden were successful in convincing the TAC IIs to change their decennial plans, then Ristenel may use that as evidence that the creator may co-exist with the created. Liam seemed to understand everything that Ristenel said, but Aiden wanted to protest. He simply could not understand why Ristenel cannot simply show the people that it was to their best benefit that they support the operation. However, he knew better to speak his thoughts directly.

Then, they moved onto the details of their plan, and Liam brought out Aiden’s laptop which had Aiden’s copy of his team’s plan. At first, things seemed simple, as they could simply somehow convince the professor that he is in danger, bring the professor to a safe location, and then the problem is solved. However, Ristenel quickly suggested that such an action would raise suspicions in Bureogis headquarters and might cause security to be raised. According to Ristenel, the TAC IIs are under minimum security due to the fact that Pros has just arrested most of his officers with no replacements. In addition, Pros was at his most confident right now, and so was the ensure security department after what was conceived to be a victory. Moreover, Ristenel explained that Pros still thinks Liam has left his job because he stole some piece of software or something and that Aiden was just another officer who got fired.

Aiden was baffled, as to the number of spies that Ristenel had in Bureogis to receive such detailed information from inside the organization, and he now questioned if any of his friends of fellow officers may have been spies for the HLF. Aiden could see Ristenel’s line of logic, that if the professor was tipped off then sooner or later lines would connect in the department of counter-intelligence and someone would link all events together and security would be tightened. Then, Aiden would lose the element of surprise when he tried to infiltrate the TAC IIs. Thus, so as to not raise any suspicions, Aiden and Liam would pretend to be security officers for professor Ohwn whom Aiden’s intelligence team has not noticed, and would stop Aiden’s old squad form their mission. The plan was simple and sensible. For it was common that some of Aiden’s assigned targets would carry personal security that the intel team didn’t know about, and if there was an assassination attempt, it was natural for the target to move to a more secure location.

The details of the plan were surprisingly simple and elegant. Aiden and Liam would grapple to the roof of the building and wait there prior to the arrival of Aiden’s old team. When the fire team did arrive, Aiden and Liam can open fire on them as they scale the wall, which would render the fire team defenseless. Like the plan to assassinate the professor, there was nothing which could go wrong.

Aiden, however, was not thrilled at the prospect of fighting his old squad mates. They had all gone on many missions together and had all saved each other’s lives. Although Aiden was sure that some of them were hungry for his position as captain, he was also sure that in battle, none of them would let him down over petty personal relations. If anything, in battle all personal relation became the same, for a team can only be truly effective if all the members are willing to lay their lives down for those next to them, and have perfect confidence that those next to them would do the same. As it is often said, the blood of the covenant of thicker than the water of the womb, and Aiden unquestionably agreed.

Thus, Aiden insisted that they would be using non-lethal for he did not want to hurt his old teammates. Ristenel tried to convince him that for the greater good, it was necessary to sometimes sacrifice the few and Aiden was suddenly enraged.

“Ms. Ristenel, if our actions are founded on the principle that we help those who cannot help themselves, that we help the humans who are victims of others, then let it be perfectly clear that my team had little choice in participating in what they are doing. All of the members of my fire team grew up in the dark zone before the HLF, and I am sure you know what that was like. They are killers, yes, but inside they are as human as the rest of us. When this is all over, I would like to go back to them as a friend which I still very much am, and I cannot do that if I am dead. Furthermore, asking me to murder those who are effectively defenseless as they scale the wall, is perhaps the most shameful thing that I or any human being can do. I am sorry, but I simply will not agree to the use of lethal weapons, unless absolutely necessary, which it is not.”

The speech was effective, silenced the room for around a minute, and did make Ristenel reconsider. Eventually, she sighed, leaned back in her chair, and raised her arms in a sign of surrender.

“OK, change of plan, we don’t shoot your team when they are scaling the walls. What then do you suggest that we do Aiden.”

Aiden thought for a second and came up with a viable alternative. “Ma’am, I suggest that we try to take them hostage or knock them out. Provide me and my brother with some non-lethal dart rounds, gas, flash, and stun grenades, and hopefully, this can end with no one dying. There might be a few bruises here and there for them, but things should be fine.”

“Hopefully,” Ristenel repeated, in a very questioning tone.

“Hopefully,” Aiden affirmed, in a much stronger manner.

After they finished discussing final details and specifics of their plan, which was always the longest and most intense portion, Ristenel stated that their guest rooms were prepared and that they should be on their way. Aiden checked his watch was saw that it was early morning and that they had been in meeting for five hours. Moreover, he was feeling mentally exhausted from the discussion although physically he wanted to go for a five-kilometer run before actually showering and going to sleep. However, Ristenel insisted that they should rest and Aiden grudgingly agreed. Then Ristenel asked Liam to stay for a few minutes, and Aiden decided to head for the door first. Ristenel’s personal assistant, whom Aiden assumed was named Hank since that was what Ristenel called him, led him to the third floor where the guest bedrooms were.

On their way, Aiden had a short chat with Hank. His assumptions on the people’s attitude towards the HLF was confirmed. Hank told him that most people love Ristenel and the leader really brought hope to all of their hearts as well as improve their material well-being. Hank left Aiden at the bedroom door and asked him if he needed anything other than his equipment for the mission which would be brought tomorrow morning for his inspection anyways. Aiden thought for a second but said that he was fine.

As he took a steaming hot shower Aiden could not help but be impressed that the abundance of electricity was available, or maybe it was just because he was in the leader’s residence. However, as he finished showering and looked out on the lighted streets, Aiden had to conclude that most households around must be connected to some sort of power generation, and he would not be surprised if all of them had hot water. Aiden was genuinely impressed once again, for even him, who lived in a part of the dark zone near the edge of the light zone, had to take freezing cold showers even during the winter half the time when electricity wasn’t readily available. Now he was deep in the eastern dark zone, and yet he might as well be living inside the light zone.

Aiden climbed onto his bed and was mildly surprised when he saw Liam entering.

“Just checking in on my little brother and saying good night,” Liam said.

Liam’s face looked a bit strange as if something was wrong. Aiden wanted to ask but then decided against it.

“Well, good night to you too brother. Rest early, we got a big day tomorrow.” Aiden responded.”

“Indeed,” Liam said and left the room.

Aiden could not help but get the feeling that his brother wanted to say something else, but then decided against it. It would have been interesting to hear what Liam wanted to say, but Aiden was too mentally tired for a talk. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.