For Pixie - Unsettling Differences (First Published 2020)

 

UNSETTLING DIFFERENCES

WILLIAM POWELL

Copyright © 2020 by WILLIAM POWELL

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9798648376830

DEDICATION

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To Arianne, the love of my life. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.

To Damien, who never stopped pushing me to continue to be creative, despite all the changes in my life. Thank you, 9. 

Other works in the Justice Universe include:

 

William Powell

 

45 Days (2013)

Descent Into Madness (2014)

When Justice Comes Calling (2015)

Damien Gayle 

 

Encore (2016)

HISTORY

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20XX

- Dean Moxley, an orphan who struggled all throughout his childhood, decides to make a fresh start, migrating to the United States and joining a local police force. Commissioner George Wilson takes him under his wing, and before long, Moxley is promoted to his personal assistant.

- World War 3 takes place. The United States of America launch an attack on the Middle East in an effort to win the "war on terror". There are riots and a revolution of sorts in England for backing this action, with politicians being killed and the country becoming embroiled in a gang-war nationwide.

- The USA and EU break ties with England, as do Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England is left to fend for itself, segregated from the rest of the world.

- [CLASSIFIED] [hereinafter referred to as The Dictator] arrives to restore order in England, but more specifically, London. Whilst London begins to thrive once more, albeit under a totalitarian government, the rest of the country continues to struggle to survive. Introduced country-wide is The Regime, a private-army-like force that wind up replacing the Metropolitan police of yesteryear.

- Vincent Williams [CLASSIFIED] family [CLASSIFIED]

- Vincent Williams [CLASSIFIED] and is initiated officially into the Regime. Over the next ten years, he becomes the Dictator's right hand man, and go-to guy for top assignments.

20XX - +10 YEARS

- Nick Rose joins up with a small rebellion unit on the outskirts of London.

- Dean Moxley is involved in a hit-and-run, under the influence of alcohol. Instead of spending a possible life sentence in jail, Moxley is extradited back to England.

- Vincent Williams breaks his cycle of non-killing at 45 days, taking the life of rebellion member Daniel [CLASSIFIED]. Daniel had been captured the night prior after an attack on the Dictator's main base of operations went awry.

- Dean Moxley joins up with the rebellion on the outskirts of London, and is introduced to Nick Rose. The two form a close friendship over time, however their individual lust for power becomes their undoing. Much like his USA police days, Moxley ascends the ladder of the rebellion in lightning fast speed, and before long, is regarded as the unofficial leader of the group. This does not sit well with Nick Rose.

- Nick Rose surrenders to the Regime. He is roughed up by the Correctional Officers overnight as the Dictator debates what to do with him. Vincent is given the task to extract information from Nick Rose regarding the rebellion movement on the outskirts. Vincent instead plans on killing him much like he did Daniel, until it transpires that Nick can lead the Regime to rebellion leader Dean Moxley.

- Nick Rose gives up Dean Moxley's location. The rebellion leader is kidnapped in the middle of the night by Regime’s elite members and Vincent Williams.

- Nick Rose is given an official pardon by the Dictator, plus entry into the Privileged areas of London. He is resented by the rebellion and most who are still left to fend for themselves on the outskirts of London.

- Dean Moxley is held captive in one of the Dictator's buildings – there, he is visited by Vincent Williams and given an opportunity to die. Defiant, Moxley refuses the offer. Vincent reports back to the Dictator, who instructs Vincent to extract any and all information regarding the rebellion, by any means necessary. Moxley is to be kept alive until his spirit breaks.

- Nick opens up a club named ‘The Kingdom’, a front for him to sell and distribute Synth, a new drug that is all the range. This is done with the Dictator’s financial backing and approval.

- Dean Moxley is tortured for several months at the hands of Vincent per the Dictator's request. His spirit well and truly broken, Moxley becomes despondent and a shell of his former self.

- Word spreads of Nick Rose's newfound fame and fortune, and Dean Moxley draws the conclusion that Nick Rose must have been the one to sell him out.

- On the outskirts of London, Seth Black enters the Privileged zones on behalf of Spectre, trying to push a new drug 'Anarchy'. He undertakes this assignment in an effort to find the finances to help his sick daughter, Gabriella.

- Roman Fatu, a reporter for national newspapers distributed on the outskirts of London, is captured by Regime. There, he is tortured at the hands of Regime Correctional Officers for his articles on the state of the country, and slander of the Dictator.

- Seth Black is captured whilst in the Privileged zones by the Regime. He is subjected to 4 weeks of abuse from Regime Correctional Officers, as Vincent is still assigned to Dean Moxley.

- Both Seth Black and Roman Fatu have separate meetings with the Dictator. The Dictator reveals he has captured individuals closest to both men (Gabriella for Seth Black, and Roman Fatu's sister). In exchange for their survival, and eventual official pardon, both Seth and Roman agree to join the Dictator's new task force. The Dictator states to both however that penance must be paid; Seth Black has his hand and fingers mangled with a steak knife, whilst Roman Fatu has one of his eyes removed and then stitched closed.

- Vincent approaches Dean Moxley with a one-time offer to meet the Dictator face-to-face. Moxley agrees, and the meeting is arranged. There, the Dictator agrees to free Moxley from his life of pain if he agrees to join the new task force. His mind damaged from the months of torture at the hands of Vincent, Moxley agrees. To leave a lasting impression, Moxley has his mouth and lower face slashed, as well as a tiny portion of his tongue cut out, leaving many scars.

- Vincent receives a letter at his home from the Dictator re. Mission 405 - originally an assignment that he was to be sent on to the USA, Vincent is informed that Dean Moxley, Seth Black and Roman Fatu are to be sent in his place. The Dictator also takes pride in explaining the damage he has inflicted on the three 'reformed' men.

- Dean Moxley, Seth Black and Roman Fatu are sent on a charter plane to the outskirts of London on Mission 405.

- To avoid detection from the USA airspace, Moxley, Black and Fatu all change transport from air to sea. All three make their way into America via a Regime shipping cargo.

- Nick Rose begins dating a supermodel named LJ. As time goes on, she becomes heavily dependent on Nick and Synth.

- David Sheffield joins an enrolment program for the Regime at the encouragement of his parents.

20XX - +11 YEARS

- Commissioner George Wilson is recognised for his work overseas in the USA, and is brought back to his home country of England, placed in command of the Regime's London Head Office branch.

- Dean Moxley, Seth Black and Roman Fatu first kill Brad Roberts, a snitch who had managed to gather important intel on the Dictator, and his hand in Synth & Anarchy distribution. They inscribe the word 'Justice' on the chest of Brad per instructions from the Dictator.

- The trio secondly murder Alberto Rodriguez and Andrew Martin, co-owners of the Funky Town nightclub. Both had previous dealings with the Dictator regarding drugs, prostitution and drug trafficking, but had recently turned over a new leaf. Fearing they'd go public one day, they are the next to die, and both are found with 'Justice' carved into their chests.

- The USA newspapers pick up on the murders of Roberts, Rodriguez and Martin, and dub the killers the 'Justice Syndicate' after several eyewitnesses describe seeing three men fleeing both crime scenes, and the ritual of 'Justice' being carved into the victim's chest.

- A third murder of [CLASSIFIED] goes unreported by the newspapers, and the body is never found. This too is by order of the Dictator, and carried out by the newly-named 'Justice Syndicate'.

- Having completed their mission, all three men debate what to do next. Moxley at first refuses to return to England, opting to stay as far away from Vincent and the Dictator as possible as he knows seeing them will result in him wanting to kill them. However,  it's made clear to Moxley that if all three don't return as Mission 405 outlines, Seth will lose his daughter, and Roman will lose his sister. Having formed a bond with both men, Moxley complies and returns to London with them, though his intentions deep down aren't as pure as they seem on the surface - given the opportunity, Dean Moxley plans to exact revenge on Vincent Williams all the same, for the months of abuse he was put through.

- Seth Black, knowing how unstable Moxley is and his hatred for Vincent, decides to abandon both men as they sleep in a warehouse along the coast. He reaches the Dictator and tells them of Moxley's unstable condition. The Dictator sends Vincent and an elite team to kill both Roman Fatu and Dean Moxley to tie up any loose ends.

- Roman Fatu's sister [CLASSIFIED]

- In a shootout, Roman Fatu is gunned down, eventually dying from his wounds. Vincent is unable to apprehend Dean Moxley, who swears bloody revenge against both Vincent and the man who sold him out originally, Nick Rose. To avoid capture, Moxley goes into hiding for close to a year.

- The Dictator offers Seth access to the Privileged zone with his daughter Gabriella, but he instead opts to return to the outskirts of London. However, he is situated far from most estates, as to not attract attention from those who may know of his previous association with the Regime.

- Vincent is removed from his position of power by the Dictator, who ends their working relationship with a handshake and nothing more. Vincent is put out to pasture in some respects, given a desk job at the Regime's London Head Office. He spends the rest of the year staying under the radar, counting down the time to his retirement from the force. In this time, he does not kill a single person.

- Jack Norton is appointed the new right-hand man of the Dictator, largely in part for his role in [CLASSIFIED]

- David Sheffield passes both the written and field tests, and becomes a member of the Regime. He is due to start in the line of duty as a rookie Detective in the New Year, and is looked out for by Commissioner George Wilson who is a family friend of his parents.

20XX - +12 YEARS

- Jack Norton is found dead in an alleyway. Vincent Williams is the first on the scene.

- David Sheffield begins his first day on the job, and is assigned to work alongside Vincent. The two discover 'Justice' inscribed on Jack Norton's chest before returning to the Regime's London Head Office.

- At loggerheads due to their differing attitudes, Vincent asks for David to be reassigned, which Commissioner George Wilson refuses to do. David and Vincent go their separate ways for the time being, with Vincent returning home to look over evidence for any leads - David meanwhile makes his way to the last place Jack Norton was seen alive, 'The Kingdom' nightclub, ran by Nick Rose.

- David Sheffield and two fellow officers investigate 'The Kingdom' nightclub. Upon entry, the two officers leave David Sheffield, who bumps into LJ. Not knowing of the Regime's corruption or the true nature of the nightclub, David tries his best to question LJ. She quickly notices he is a new recruit, not yet privy to the truth, and tries to befriend him.

- In an error of judgement, LJ takes David to Nick Rose. After a tense conversation, Nick Rose has his bodyguard attack David. After giving him a swift beating and holding a loaded gun to his head, David is thrown out of the nightclub. The two officers who had left him from before take him back to the station; David's eyes are opened somewhat to the practices of the Regime thanks to a conversation with LJ. Conflicted as to whether what he was told is true or not, and shaken up from his encounter with Nick, he stays at the station overnight.

- Dean Moxley, knowing that the murder of Jack Norton has brought Vincent out from his desk job, begins his game of cat and mouse. He makes plans to first exact revenge on Nick Rose for betraying him, then follow that up by springing a trap for Vincent.

- Whilst looking over various reports and evidence at his home, Vincent remembers the letter sent to him by the Dictator regarding Mission 405. Piecing together the murders from the USA with the same calling card, plus knowing that Seth Black is 'retired' and Roman Fatu is dead, he draws the conclusion that Dean Moxley is back on the scene.

- Dean Moxley murders Nick Rose, and begins to set up his trap, expecting Vincent Williams to visit at some point. In the chaos, LJ escapes 'The Kingdom' nightclub.

- Vincent drops the letter off to Commissioner George Wilson for evidence, and instructs Detective David Sheffield to visit the outskirts of London in search for Seth Black. Vincent meanwhile plans to travel over to 'The Kingdom' nightclub, figuring that Nick Rose may be next on Moxley's hit-list.

- David Sheffield travels to the outskirts of London for the first time in his life in an eye-opening experience. He stops two muggers from killing an unarmed man, only to find that the man in question is Seth Black.

- Seth Black takes David Sheffield back to his home, and in a very tense conversation, explains the history between Dean Moxley, Vincent Williams and the Dictator. His eyes opened, David Sheffield returns to the capital with a new outlook, and a renewed purpose.

- Vincent Williams finds Nick Rose dead in the middle of 'The Kingdom' dance-floor, in strikingly similar fashion to Daniel from years ago, not to mention other people Vincent had tortured and eventually murdered. Vincent is attacked and drugged by Dean Moxley, who then takes him to the outskirts of London, the same warehouse that Roman Fatu died, to enact his revenge.

- David Sheffield returns to the Regime's London Head Office, where a distraught LJ arrives telling him of Nick Rose's murder and Vincent's kidnap. She also remarks Moxley's final comment of telling an unconscious Vincent that he was taking him back to where they had last met. David looks through the Regime's reports, and finds the location.

- Dean Moxley tortures Vincent in the same fashion that Vincent would him in days gone past. David Sheffield finds the warehouse, but finds himself jumped by Dean Moxley. When he comes to, Moxley is preparing to kill him, but Vincent instead goads Moxley, knowing that there is no escape for him at this point. Dean Moxley shoots Vincent, killing him.

- In a brutal and violent showdown, David Sheffield manages to apprehend Dean Moxley. Moxley is arrested, and put in the holding cells pending trial. Sheffield meanwhile is commended for his actions by Commissioner George Wilson, and invited to a charity function in the coming days. Not wanting to find himself on the wrong end of anybody, and incredibly distrustful of the Regime based on what he's heard, David opts to keep what he knows to himself until the time is right - though this plays on his mind as the days go on.

- Vincent Williams' funeral takes place, as he is buried in a cemetery for Regime members killed in the field of battle. Nobody attends the funeral on Vincent's behalf.

- Dean Moxley is found dead in his prison cell a day before he is set to go to trial for the murders of Jack Norton, Nick Rose and Vincent Williams. Whilst most suspect it to be suicide by hanging, he is actually murdered by four members of the Regime, presumably at the request of the Dictator.

- David Sheffield attends a charity function for Regime members. He bumps into Commissioner Wilson shortly after arriving. Commissioner Wilson embraces David, and then introduces him to the function’s main benefactor - though David doesn’t know it, this is the Dictator.

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

- George S. Patton

ROOFTOP

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It’s a shame about London.

Passion lived here for a long time. Misery too. Love and loathing lived here, in the heart of England. Hope and joy too. Anger, envy, despair. Sorrow and grief lived here, in our capital.

And nine million lost souls lived here, in this city.

I counted. 

I used to stand on my roof, all alone with my thoughts in between the sky and the sea, and look out at the city in amazement. At night, all lit up for as far as I could see, it looked magnificent. Spreading out, soaring up, lighting the heavens and the streets below. It was vibrant… alive.

London was full of life, filled with people from all walks… different cultures… nationalities. No two souls were the same and that’s what I loved most about this place, its diversity. Each day used to present something new, another hidden gem in the city to find.

London once flourished, always expanding, and never taking a breath. They say Vegas is the city that never sleeps - that may well be true, but London was the city that never stopped. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, it was home, the home of nine million people, people who were all trying to get somewhere, ahead, survive in big, wide London.

Some did. Some didn’t.

Some days, I wished I hadn’t.

HOME

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The sky was dark red, looking a lot like a bloody mist descending over the city. Even though the neon lights below in the busy streets flashed with every colour of the rainbow, something drew me to the heavens above. There was something ominous in the air, a feeling I couldn’t seem to shake. I should have gone to sleep hours before, yet there I was, wide awake, wondering what has happened to the place I call home?

The capital had become a concrete jungle, a maze of high-tech monstrosities that towered over all of us, but it was home, so I tried to make the most of it where I could. Adapt or perish.

It wasn't like me to contemplate life; you can’t change the past - at least, not yet. I could’ve turned the TV on and seen that the Regime had created a time machine, just to really fuck with people.

It was getting cold. A bitter, sharp wind cut through the air, a stark reminder that the sunny bright days of yesteryear were long, long gone.

I glanced over to the bedroom to see the love of my life lying face-down in our bed. She twitched from time to time, and while there was an urge of sorts to go and comfort her, I decided not to. God knows Lauren needed all the rest she could get, I didn’t dare accidentally wake her from her self-induced coma.

I made my way downstairs and spotted Jazz, the security guard to the building complex, up ahead. He glanced up from the news hologram, took a big puff of his joint, and then carried on with his business.

“Heading out again, chalky?” he remarked..

I kept on walking towards the exit, passing by him. “Sure am.”

“Alone again?” I could just tell the prick was grinning.

I let the door slam behind me.

ANNIVERSARY

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I walked along the skybridge connecting my home building to the party’s venue. It was our one year anniversary, Lauren’s and I, so it had to be special... or so Bill had said. I knew however that there was a secret agenda, like there always was. I spent the last excruciating minutes before everyone arrived inspecting everything and making sure they were in the right place.

A message flashed in my cornea lens, Bill was on his way up, with half the party. I blinked and it disappeared, just in time as the elevator dinged, its super speed one of the many achievements of the 22nd century, one that people of the New Age took for granted. Bill and the mob came out of the elevator as one body, being pulled around by Bill’s magnetic charisma like usual.

There was one unfamiliar face though, that Bill pulled apart from the crowd and held possessively while he introduced her to me,

“Riley, this is my best friend Tyler,” the smug bastard smiled, by introducing her to me, he made me seem like the bigger person and one of more importance making her seem small. To her credit, Riley didn’t even shrink into her skin the way Lauren would have, she seemed to even relish the attention.

She smiled in an unpretentious way and it chilled me, “I’m Tyler, nice to meet you.” She stretched her hands forward to meet mine, her hands were cold to the touch, her grip had the undertone of metal. I withdrew my hand in distaste, another one who had work done on her body.

I went around trying to gauge the mood of the crowd, using my neurotransmitter to control the lighting and music. Bill walked over to me, dragging Riley around like a puppet.

“Why are you doing this all by yourself? Aren’t there server ‘bots that can do this for you?”

“I can’t afford server bots and you know it.” I sighed, moving away from Bill and his need to show off. I blinked a message to Lauren on my cornea lens, where was she?!

Almost in response, Lauren appeared at the edge of the skybridge, looking as angelic as she usually did. She took my breath away every time I looked at her.

My pace was brisk as I walked over to her and took her hands, looking into her face, the only indication of her recovering addiction to Synth were the bags under her eyes, deep set and purple against her skin’s pale pallor.

“Lauren,” her answering smile warmed my heart and I continued, “You look beautiful sweetheart.”

“I know,” the inside joke we shared made me laugh. Leading her arm in arm, we glided through the party, saying hello and dancing to the music while sucking up to my bosses who called in via hologram.

Riley was everywhere I turned, making conversation and generating laughter. It got under my skin in a way I couldn’t explain, seeing her in the same space with Lauren. Lauren who half an hour into the party, disappeared from view. I used the interface to scan for her body’s signature and located her in a toilet.

The toilets were on the other side of the room and I had to navigate through the crowd, accepting congratulations and deflecting questions from overeager people. As I walked, the sense of foreboding I had been feeling since the beginning of that day increased. Doubts settled in as I started to wonder whether it had been a good idea to let Lauren out of Rehab. She had been clean for 6 months which was an added reason why I had even agreed to a party in the first place, her recovery from Synth was a much more worthwhile reason to throw a party than our marriage’s anniversary.

She’d been going through a form of hypnotherapy for hours at a time every single day, putting her into a deep sleep in an effort to convince her mind that she no longer needed Synth to be happy. That her nightmares would eventually disappear, that the shit she had to witness a couple of years prior were now a distant memory. They’d caught the bastard, and he’d hung himself in his prison cell, he could never hurt her ever again.

The door opened and my heart broke, Lauren was on the floor, IV lines in her veins, green liquid darkening her skin while she sighed in relief. A wave of anger flowed through my body and I gave into it. Smashing the bottles around her and ripping the IV from her body, a disgusting mixture of blood and Synth spilling on the floor. The sickly sweet smell permeated the atmosphere and I ordered the interface to clean the air.

Lauren gasped, her body no longer used to not getting its full fix. My scream of anger made her shrink back.

“Why? Why Lauren? Why destroy your body like this? Do I not love you enough?”

I didn’t wait for her answer before sweeping out of the room. The guests were looking at me, no doubt they had noticed the crash and my anger, my body started having little spasms.

“Party’s over people.” I announced as I swept towards the bar.

My hand shook on the extra large bottle I selected and I stilled it, I could hold on until everyone had gone. I turned back and they were all still staring at me.

“What are you still waiting for? Move!” The anger in my voice must have alerted them because they all scattered, heading for the elevator.

FIRST CONTACT

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I took off in the opposite direction, heading for the skybridge and sat down. My feet dangled from the edge, the glass I was sitting on the only barrier between me and the floor miles down. From this height, I contemplated whether a drop from this height would just kill me or give me a spine injury.

“You know they have AI induced sleeps now?”

I hadn’t even registered the voice till I felt the air on my neck, for what I felt wasn’t hot breath, it was cool oxygen.

I replied without turning, “Lauren is… was using them to try and cure her addiction. Never trusted them myself. Have a machine in my head controlling my thoughts? No thank you. Besides, AI sleep isn’t really sleep. It’s more of a medically induced coma which apparently is just bull.”

Riley chuckled and sat down beside me, I felt my body respond to her proximity and I hated it. She held out her hand for the bottle and I passed it to her, she took a swig and scrunched up her face, I winced in sympathy, it was pretty strong.

When she spoke, her voice was hoarse, “So you’re one of those people who don’t like machines?”

Her question made me pause and think hard, Did I really hate machines? AIs in particular?

“No I don’t. I actually like the machines, the ‘bots and the AIs but what I don’t like is how they’ve become an integral part of our lives. Basically, our whole lives are ruled by computers and as much as they make things easier, what’s the use of a human if a computer can do everything?”

She was silent and I took that to mean she was mulling it over. When she spoke, she was slow, as if scared, “Humans have something robots can never truly have.”

I began asking myself what she could mean, after all, in this day and age I’d argue being a machine was way easier than being human.

After all, I’d never seen an AI strung out on Synth.

Riley continued, almost somberly. “Although there are imitations that allow for the randomness of emotions, it’s just that. An imitation.”

Her statement made me pause. I looked out across the skyline and watched the children hover racing, going higher than was legally allowed; there was a police ‘bot following them around but it wasn’t there to arrest them. It was protecting them. They were probably some rich scum’s children, some higher up in the Regime, some Divs kids who can run rough-shot because mummy and daddy have never known hardship..

Riley scoffed, “Isn’t that ‘bot supposed to tell them to get lower?”

I gestured at the children, even from here, the silver linings glinted off their clothes, “You can see they’re not children of people like us,” She raised her eyebrows, trying to understand.

“Their parents are really high up the food chain,” I continued. “There’s no way they can get arrested for something as trivial as breaking the height laws.”

She was silent and we stayed that way until she left me with an empty bottle and heavy thoughts. Thoughts that stayed with me when I went to go and take another bottle of refined vodka. Vodka that burned my throat and fuzzed my head.

The high lasted for half an hour after I downed the last drop of alcohol. I sighed, nothing helped. My ‘condition’ never allowed me to get intoxicated. A condition that was not my fault, caused by my mother’s addiction to Xenar – another hallucinogenic.

Some called it a blessing to have a natural immunity to the effects of anything that impairs you, whether that be drugs or alcohol. In times like these, where I just wanted to escape from everything, it was a curse.

Scraping the skin off my arms with my fingers, layers peeled off while I walked, another symptom of my disease. That was why Lauren’s addiction hurt so much, she knew how I felt about drugs. I knew about her past when we met, but it didn’t stop me from being disappointed. I so desperately wanted her to change, for both of our sakes.

I took the skycable instead of a skybridge to get home, which left me unprepared for the sight that greeted me when I opened the door. Lauren was on the floor, she must have found another source of Synth because she was moaning the way she did whenever she was high. Tears were in my eyes, I could barely blink out a message in my cornea lens.

I sat and watched as the medical ambulance came and took her back to Rehab. Her kicks and screams when she realized she’d be going back promised to haunt my dreams.

WORK

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I went through my days in a blur, researching cheating husbands for wives with too much money and too little things to do. I couldn’t judge, with the rate of technological advances, it became increasingly harder to spy on people, which made it more exhilarating for me.

It was a dance I never got tired of, the way they tried covering up their tracks but one seemingly insignificant loophole that unraveled once you pulled on the thread. There were the more important and sensitive ones, usually involving missing people, those were time consuming and I tended to have an emotional attachment which was bad for business.

I was at one of those jobs, looking for a missing preteen that went to a music concert and never returned. I never got the point of music concerts, you could watch the musician from the comfort of your tube, even get the hologram to do what you wanted. Why spend money on going to an arena that could crash at anytime?

I stood in front of the floating Arena, seedy was an understatement. These things had been abandoned for a while, whatever would possess a human to put their safety in the hands of a few electromagnetic studs that were as unreliable as the people that made them.

The air clung to every available surface, the particles sparking when they came in contact with my suit. I changed the settings in my added lens to binocular, the results were disorienting and I had to hold on to the rails for support. I clasped a warm hand instead.

Riley’s voice was smooth, “Okay there mate?”

I blinked quickly to return my eyes to its normal setting, “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it?”

I took a step to reassure her and swayed, the ground looking closer for a second.

Riley held on to me and laughed, “Be a macho man for all I care, just don’t do a face-plant in downtown East End. That’s a sure fire way to get robbed.”

I laughed in embarrassment; I shouldn’t have gone for the concentrated lens setting. She held my hands while we walked out of East End, I had found my balance almost immediately but said nothing because I liked holding on to her. Her skin felt smooth to my hands and I could feel the sturdiness of the metal in her bones. It was strange, this feeling. I hadn’t felt it in a long time, the steady pulse of attraction for her in my body. It was exhilarating, a mixture of old and new, it was also wrong and I knew it. Riley was being nothing more than a friend and here I was thinking of doing ungodly things to her.

We walked down the streets that smelled of waste and drugs, the unwashed smell of bodies pushing against them made for a smell that had my mouth stay shut in spite of the conversation I wanted to make.

Riley however had no such reservations, “What are you doing here? This is not a place for respectable people.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “I work here,” she bristled and continued, “Social Services. Now answer my question. This is a really bad part of London.”

As if to prove her point, we rounded a corner and came face to face with two little boys being cornered by teens flipping knives.

“Hey!” Riley’s voice echoed in the alley, the teens scattered, diving into holes that led into other buildings. We walked up to the little boys who were shaking and held their hands. Their eyes were rimmed with purple... they were under the influence of Synth.

My heart broke all over again, the drug scourge was getting worse, and dealers now sold to children, children who had nothing to escape the harsh reality that was their life. Where were the Divs when these kids needed them, where was the support?

Then, I remembered what Lauren had told me. How the Regime used Synth as a way to keep people in line, just as they had her before we met. Some seedy nightclub owner fed her addiction, just like so many others. I can’t say I shed many tears when she told me how he’d met his end… it’s just a shame that the terrifying and gruesome image of his demise still plagued her even now.

The children were letting out pitiful moans, the heat they sought receding as the drug was pushed out by adrenaline. Shivers wrought their bodies as the cold entered, I pulled off my jacket and gave it to them, they burrowed into it like moles.

Riley held them close and focused on something that wasn’t there; I could tell she was sending a message to the office. Within a minute, Divs and ambulance ‘bots were swarming the alley, rounding up the children and taking them to the nearest hospital.

I stayed out of the way while Riley did her thing, coordinating the children’s transport and giving descriptions of the teens she had seen. She walked over to me and sighed, her body slumping against me as exhaustion took over her.

“You want to take the SkyCable?” I whispered in her ear and she nodded, too tired to speak. We took a holo-jump to the nearest cable station and Riley dry heaved. Her body must have been running on no energy so she couldn’t have withstood the demands a holo-jump made. I felt bad but then she raised a hand and made the ‘ok’ sign.

“Where should we take a cable to?” I was sitting beside her as the city passed beneath us, it had no layout, no plan, just haphazard houses and stacks that were reminiscent of the Old world, a time before the Regime came into power.

She didn’t answer, just punched in the digits of a location that she hid from me.

PARADIGM SHIFT

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Minutes passed and we stopped at the top of a rickety building, I stepped carefully, scared it was going to collapse under me and she laughed, bounding on like she didn’t have a care in the world. Muttering under my breath, I followed her, there was a distinct possibility that whatever was wrong with her was cured by the breeze that came in through the windows.

Opening the door she had passed through, I was suddenly surrounded by greenery that paid ode to the long gone Amazon forest. I saw her among the trees, the living breathing trees, not the synthetic things that were fixed on the sidewalks and were slowly poisoning the atmosphere while we raced to find a cure to our mess.

We sat among the trees, backs resting against tree trunks, her eyes were closed, most probably reliving the expressions on the children’s faces. Her next statement proved me right,  

“Don’t we have an agency that stops the drugs from getting out to young’ins?”

Sarcastic laughter spilled out of my mouth, “Where have you lived? The Regime and their agencies don’t care. They even act as a front to push more drugs. Children and teenagers are their biggest market, get a young one addicted early enough and you have a servant for life.”

Her face was outraged, I actually wondered if she had been sheltered from the real world.

I rolled up my sleeves, letting the flaky, peeling skin show.

“How-”

“I’m a crack baby to use the crude term, my mother was on a cocktail of drugs throughout her entire pregnancy and even before that. They messed up my system before my system was a thing. So forgive me if I don’t think the Regime gives a damn about us.”

Paranoia made me glance around to see whether anyone had heard me but a cursory glance revealed nothing.

“Is it really that bad?” her voice was meek, naïve and as much as I hated to break her heart, I had to tell her the truth.

“No. It’s worse. Where have you been?” 

“I was a hidden child. That’s why I like working with children so much, fulfills some desire of mine to be needed.” She shrugged, embarrassed at being so vulnerable, I could tell from her sheepish expression.

“I might not understand most things but I’m sorry about Lauren,” she put her hand on my thighs and my blood surged in response.

“It’s okay. She made her choice but that choice hurts every time. She knows how I feel about drugs and how it messed me up and made me who I am today. It feels like a slap every time she gets high and chooses the drugs over me. Every time.”

Without realising, I began pouring out my heart to Riley, the words spilling out of my mouth before I had a chance to regain my composure. Frustration and hurt laid bare for her to see.

“Before she got into rehab, we went to a counselor, one of those holo ones that sat in their rooms and spewed advice to you in yours. We were talking and she said she started taking Synth because of some guy called Nick, he got her hooked on the stuff early. She said she loved him, even after all he’d done to her, and she saw him massacred by some lunatic inside his own nightclub-”

“That Moxley guy who was all over the news a few years ago, right?” Riley remarked.

I nodded. “One and the same. Lauren admitted in these sessions that despite our marriage, she still missed Nick and told the counsellor there was a part of her that wouldn’t ever be able to let him go. It was a revelation to me. One that hurt, badly.”

A cloud settled on me while I was talking to her. I’d have taken being divorced to being married to someone who didn’t want me. That was the harsh reality, as much as marriage was a sanctuary, it was also a prison. One that held both of us in ways we resented. 

Silence overwhelmed us, my body focusing on the sensation of Riley’s hand on my body. Our bodies overtook us, making us act in ways that was both pleasurable and full of regret.

  She jumped up, startled, and made to run towards the door.

Reflex made me grab her arm, “Where are you going?”

“Away from here.” The broken texture of her voice made me wince, I shouldn’t have done that, I shouldn’t have pushed her too far, but I couldn’t help it, she was everything Lauren was and more.

“We shouldn’t have done this,” I started to apologize and she snapped, “You’re right, we shouldn’t. It was wrong. You have Lauren and I have Bill,” her voice wobbled when she said Bill’s name and that hit me in a place I didn’t know existed.

She left me standing in the greenhouse watching the clouds roll by. The weather was being controlled by the Regime but sometimes nature liked to take back its reins and give London hell, both literally and figuratively.

The sky was a swirl of blues and whites, colors meshing in addition to the pollution from cars, the green fog of waste lingering in the air. London was doomed, hell the earth was doomed, we all knew it and yet we continued to destroy it with our waste and the disregard we had for nature.

I chuckled as I watched the sun shine down even harder than it used to. I wondered if the ones who came before us ever thought about their actions and how it would affect us now; they most probably didn’t, they were humans after all, intent on doing only what was best for themselves.

And I was human for all my flaws and I persuaded Riley to see me again. The second time was even better, we knew our rhythms, our bodies working with our minds to create an experience that left me panting for more. Riley was not an issue but Bill, overconfident as he was, kept an eye on his girlfriend.

I began to employ all the tricks I had learnt from the men avoiding their wives and husbands. It was exhilarating, gave me a rush better than the one I got when chasing cheaters and looking for missing children.

I rented a small apartment complex, no bigger than a standard living room, small enough for both of us but large enough for everything we needed to do. There was no limit to the intimacy, apart from being physical, we shared stories, fears and hopes with each other, unsure of where this sordid path would take us.

Would it be to a brave new future full of passion, fulfillment and bliss… or the very depths of hell itself?

THE WHITE HORIZON

____________________

The morning Riley called me, she was the first person I thought about immediately; just the way I had been doing every morning, it was wrong, I had accepted that long ago but it was something I still did and enjoyed doing.

She sounded breathless, telling me she’d be at my apartment building in minutes. She showed up roughened and scared, I could tell from the expression on her face that she wouldn’t be here if she had a choice, I was a choice, her last resort.

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, she responded in kind, my body craved her, wanted the sensation she gave that it had never experienced before; she was my Synth, as much as I hated to admit it, now I understood why Lauren got addicted easily; Riley was as addictive as a drug.

She pushed me away, heaving. “What’s wrong Riles?”

“I didn’t know who else to go to.” She pushed past me and slumped into a chair, her body having spasms that scared me. I hurried over to her and tried to touch her but sparks flew from her body, wounding me.

She whimpered, she was in pain and I had no idea what to do to help her and so I watched, watched as more sparks flew from her body and she contorted in ways a human body wasn’t supposed to contort. Her pain was my pain, the helplessness I felt was one that haunted me every time I took a breath.

It stopped - finally - and there was a jolting sound as she straightened and walked towards me. Sudden and unexplainable fear shot through me, she sat down beside me and sighed, “I guess you want some answers?” There was a snarky retort at the tip of my tongue but I swallowed it and nodded.

She shrugged in reluctance, “You have to promise though, not to interrupt me until I’m done.” The tone of her voice reeked of ominous foreboding but I ignored it and gestured for her to continue.

“I’m an Android. An AI. Artificial Intelligence. Whatever you want to call it, the fact is, I’m not human.”

Her declaration made my mouth drop, there was no way she wasn’t human. I had touched her; AIs made clunky sounds and were incapable of spontaneous decision making.

Riley laughed humorlessly at the expression on my face, “I can tell you don’t believe me. Why should you? The Regime has made you believe that AIs can’t be like humans, look like humans, think like humans. They’re not wrong, but they’re not exactly right either. I’m a Gen Alpha AI, not the first, not the best, just another machine that mimics humans.”

This couldn’t be true, there was just no way...

“It’s hard to explain but apart from my programming, there’s a variance that allows for me to make decisions on the semblance of emotions. It’s immensely complicated in a way that even I don’t understand.”

There must have been an incredulous look on my face because she added, “Contrary to what science fiction novels and movies have been telling you Tyler, robots do not know everything. We only know information our programs allow us to know. That being said, I’m part of a new system of agents; undercover Divs agents, like how MI6 were, but totally expendable. They can afford to lose us, and the humans get to keep on living.”

Riley kept hitting me with information after information that made my head spin, truths I thought were unshakeable were mere fictions spun by the Regime. I was reeling, my whole world gone in the space of an hour and it wasn’t stopping.

I put a hand up to pause the conversation, “So what do I call you? She? It? Is your name even Riley?”

The anger that I had been holding in flared to life and I began pacing, “Did I tell my life’s story to an unemotional robot? Did I sleep with a robot? How the fuck did I sleep with a robot?!”

My head snapped and I saw stars, she slapped me! It was a surprise that somehow made my thoughts clearer. “I am still the same Riley you know, with the same quirks and the same body. We have more important problems than your existential crisis.”

I sat dumbfounded, “What do you mean we have more important problems? What’s going on?”

Her face turned somber, “I disconnected from the mainframe. I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t keep reporting lies when the truth was glaring at me in the face. I had to do something.”

I groaned, people and apparently robots are heroics! Christ, it wasn’t that hard, keep your head down and stay out of trouble but no, Riley had to do the ‘right thing.’ In a world that was ruled by the Regime, the right thing was not the way to go if you wanted to live.

“So what happens now?”

“That little display of malfunctioning hardware was what happened when I disconnected from the mainframe, I don’t want to know what will happen when –” she twitched and a holo appeared from her hands, showing a white flag then a man’s silhouette followed.

“Hello Riley,” the attention was on her but when he noticed my presence, he cocked his head, “And Tyler.”

The voice was a little distorted, not too much like a villain from the stories but just enough to frustrate voice identification. Riley was still motionless and I spared her a frantic glance while keeping my attention on the hologram.

The man in the hologram leaned forward, out of the shadows somewhat. Long, greasy hair covered what I initially believed to be his face, until I took a harder look and realised he was wearing some sort of metallic mask, obviously to conceal his identity.

“Don’t be scared. We mean no harm. We’re just interested in Riley here and the people she works for.”

I scoffed, “She doesn’t work for them anymore.”

“We know, that’s what caught our attention.”

“What do you want? Who are you people?” I couldn’t intimidate a hologram but I could try, “How do you know what Riley is?”

“Those are questions you don’t need answers to Tyler. They do not concern you. Riley is recording this so this message is for her.”

He turned to face Riley, completely ignoring me in a way that burned. “Riley, we know what you’ve been through and we can tell that it hurts you. You are more, so much more than you understand, more than the Regime will ever allow you to be. But we see you Riley and we’re offering you a chance to join us and be more than what you are. Will you take it?”

Riley turned to look at me, looking to me for some sort of answer or reassurance, neither I could give.

The hologram pressed on. “You know how to reach us. Goodbye Riley, I hope we’ll see you again,” he turned to me, “And you too Tyler... we could use you too.”

The hologram blinked out of existence, the only thing left was a white flag with the words ‘The White Horizon’ on it.

FREE

____________________

Riley convulsed and I moved back in fear, as much as I liked her, I did not want to get electrocuted again. She blinked and stood up, “This is bad.”

“How bad?” I had become desensitized to bad news, there was nothing that could move me. I was wrong.

“Like a terrorist cell just contacted me kind of bad.”

“The White Horizon is a terrorist cell?” I sputtered out, “Why have I never heard of them, surely they would’ve been on the news?”

“Because they’re good. Very good, even the Regime is scared of them. Nobody knows who they are or what they look like. The prevailing rumor was that the Moxley guy who was found hung his cell a few years back used to be part of their ranks, but it was never confirmed.”

I remembered that case, it made the national news; there was outrage for how he’d butchered the owner of that nightclub in Central and the Regime officer; most said he got what he deserved.

“And they just contacted me. I have the location coordinates in my drive.”

“Are you going?” I hated how unsure my voice was, “Are you going to join them?”

Riley’s face took on a glow, I wondered if she wasn’t really human, “Of course I will. Is that a question? They’re doing so much good and hurting the Regime. I’m not passing up on this.”

She seemed to come down from her high and look at me, really look at me and she saw the uncertainty written all over my face and my body language, “You are coming with me, aren’t you?”

I didn’t answer, only turned and started inspecting the view from the window, we really were high up, as the cheapest apartments always were, the powerful people never wanted to be close to the ultraviolet rays that destroyed skins and caused defects. Hell, everybody heard the whispers about the Regime’s head-honcho being based deep underground, away from harm.

She came to stand by my side, “I want you to come. I wouldn’t do this without you. You do know that right?”

I laughed, devoid of amusement, “That’s just plain stupid. You should do this. You can find out what you really are. What you can really do. Don’t throw it all away for me.”

“You can’t be serious?! This was all because of you. You think an affair with you was in my programming? You think getting involved in your life was what I was sent to do? No it wasn’t. You messed with my codes. This is on you. We’re in this together. Now pack a bag and some supplies. I need to remove your location chip.”

She was commanding and for once I appreciated that, my indecision was a quality that cost me opportunities.

I brought Riley had asked for and sat in front of her, she had a grim look on her face, “This is going to hurt, a lot. Be prepared.” A somber nod and she continued.

She stood at my back and opened my shirt, exposing my shoulders, the location chip was in a barely noticeable bump. Using her fingers to search for it, she plunged the needle into my back and pain wracked my body.

Needlepoints were in my skin, all over my skin and it hurt. It seemed like every pain I had ever experienced was preparing me for this pain. She pulled it out after what seemed like an eternity and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was free in a sense.

The intercom buzzed, “Tyler, we have information that a dangerous criminal is in your apartment and we’re coming up. Surrender her and we won’t resort to the use of force.”

Riley and I shared a look.

The Regime had come knocking.

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

 

William Powell is a self-publishing author from London, England. An avid film and novel lover, William has been writing for as long as he can remember. Drawing influence from various artistic works over the years, William hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams, just as he has his.

 

His previous works include two short stories, 45 Days and Descent Into Madness, both prequels to William’s first full-length novella When Justice Comes Calling. Both prequel stories were published individually on Kindle and collectively on paperback as The Justice Anthology – Part I, whilst When Justice Comes Calling is available on both Kindle and paperback. Also available is This Is Not An Exit, a 4th-wall breaking meta-story detailing the trials and tribulations of bringing these stories to life. All four of these publications are available via Amazon.

 

You can follow William on Twitter, @SaveUsWP.