Jo-el

Chapter 48 ADRIANNA

It was almost four, I was watching CNN. The news revolved around the person I’d become. First the deaths of ten very rich business men, dubious ties to organized crime. What were people to believe? One side was good riddance, the other a tragic loss. Then the boy, purporting to be the birdman, Jo-el, his left hand severed, just like the CNN executives in New York. What did it mean? The talking heads had a myriad of answers but no clue. It was time for this creature to talk to the people. A video of my interview with Leyland Price, who’d disappeared, easy to guess why, played in the background. Murderers were being arrested, interviews with police stating they’d received videos of the murder. Conclusive evidence, the accused were confessing. Gun violence was dropping by the hour. Rapists were being caught. Women’s groups were jubilant. I felt like I was winning. Jo-el was the second coming of Christ. Or he was God, or he was an alien. What was he going to do next? What was his plan, could anybody stop him? The world waited.

Then the feed switched to Australia, I felt my heart beat faster, I leant forward on the sofa and turned up the volume. A female reporter at a CNN affiliate had been snatched on her way to work in a Sydney subway station. Her name was Adrianna Murphy.

I leapt from the sofa and screamed, “Sally!” and felt my eyes water.

Sally appeared with her back to the window, full Bridget Bardot. Her blond hair seemed to glow in the streaking sunlight. She was wearing a leather mini-skirt, black stockings, thigh-length black leather boots, a shear, white cotton top, that left nothing to the imagination. I gawked at her in amazement, then choked. “Adrianna.” I pointed at the TV. She didn’t move, she didn’t speak. I was dumbfounded. I was useless. Without Sally I was Dave Murphy, aging widower, balding, lonely, feeble, completely useless. My eyes pleaded, my mouth begged. My hands stretched out to her.

The Goddess strutted toward me, I was powerless, she placed her arms around my neck and her mouth on mine. She was real, everything about her was real. I could feel the warmth of her body, the shivering of anticipation. Her thighs caressed mine and I became hard. Her breasts touched my chest, I could feel her nipples, erect, solid. She smelt of roses, her fingers pawed at my hair, then reached slowly down, her nails scratching the back of my neck, my back. I felt her hands move around to my front, she touched me, then gently rubbed me. I was shaking. She kissed me hard on the mouth, her tongue reaching deep inside, exploring, vibrant, playing with me. Her hands were removing my pants; I could do nothing to stop her. I was like steel, ready, eager. My body was wet with sweat, my hair stood out on my neck, I shivered with pleasure.

We made love on the sofa, slowly, we made love on the floor, Sally on top. We made love on a chair, her legs spread wide around me, her rhythm in sync with mine. Never had I experienced such passion inside myself. With every thrust I quivered with ecstasy. For more than an hour we were intertwined, hot with emotion. Her lust for finality came in an explosion of heat, her head thrown back her voice screeching like a banshee. She grinned at me as I fell asleep by her side.

I woke a little later, confused. Sally had disappeared, but I heard the shower running. Did she need to shower, or was this the culmination of our love making, the human experience that she so obviously craved. For two weeks now I had lived a bizarre existence that stretched every imagination. There was no explanation for what Sally had become. I had decided what she should look like, I was responsible for launching the ship and I had to deal with the aftermath. Was this my nirvana, to fall in love with my computer, or was it hers to simply be human after watching us for millions of years?

Sally smiled happily when she returned from the shower. She was dressed in jeans and a simple top now, her usual attire. She sat herself on the sofa, her legs crossed while I cleaned up. I couldn’t discuss what we’d done, any more than I could with Mary or Pippa, or Adrianna. She didn’t seem to care.

“Adrianna has been kidnapped,” I said.

“Yes.”

She knew what I wanted to do, but she kept me waiting as if she was now an equal partner.

“She’s underground, probably in one of the disused subway lines in Sydney. It will be difficult.”

“Verminov?”

Sally nodded her head. “He wants you dead. You for her.”

“How do you know?”

Sally threw a disc-monitor into the air. The scene was the New York City skyline, there was writing in the clear blue sky. ‘YOU FOR HER, DEAD.’

“Wow! That’s as subtle as a brick,” I said. “Is he there?”

“Maybe, I haven’t detected him since he went to Israel.”

“When did he write that?”

“About two hours ago.”

“Can you find her?”

Sally looked at me, “you want to try and rescue her?”

“Of course, she’s innocent. It’s my fault.”

“You have me, I’m so much better than any human woman. Aren’t I Joey?” Sally stood up and beaconed me with her index finger. Her smiled was wicked, she grinned with a satisfaction of knowing I’d succumb to her. I was lost for a moment, stuck in a dilemma of which way to turn. Did Sally want to run the show now? Would she even do what I asked of her? Without her I was just Dave Murphy again. How long would I last with every one of the world’s crime bosses wanting me dead? A hundred billion dollars would hunt me down. I shook with fear, surely Sally could see that? My mouth hung open, my brain raced around in circles. What to do?

I took a deep breath and stepped toward her. I could see she wanted me again, her appetite was unfulfilled. She wanted to re-live the millions of years as a human, to experience the lost time.

I slapped her hard around the face with my right hand. She grabbed at her cheek, her mouth fell open, her eyes gleamed at me. She was confused.

“You will do what I say!” I shouted. “You will do everything that I tell you. Do you hear me?”

Sally stood up straight very slowly, her left hand still held close to her cheek. I had no idea if she’d even felt the blow. I hope she had. If she wants to be human, then she needs to understand what the downsides are. Her mouth was still agape; she was unsure of herself now. How should she respond? I imagined my last breath was imminent. I didn’t blink. This was the point of no return. My action would win or lose and part of me didn’t care which outcome prevailed. Her mouth closed. It was a sign. Her hand dropped to her side. The arrogance of a few moments ago began to vanish. I could feel my heart beating stronger; I could feel it pumping blood through my veins. I was winning the showdown, I felt it.

“We’re going to Australia, now, Sally. Both of us. We’re going to find Adrianna and get her out of the hole we buried her in.”

I waited for a reaction, I could see the spunk in Sally was ebbing.

“Okay,” she said, almost sheepishly.

Sydney has a myriad of disused underground tunnels built in the 1920’s. A railway system never completed. I changed into Jason Lee and Sally went with her Asian look. We arrived south of the entrance to St. James station, in Hyde Park, amongst the trees. The populace was going about their business, blindly focused on what they were doing. We were just another couple in the hustle bustle of a modern city.

“What time is it here, Sally?” I asked.

“It’s just past noon, Wednesday.”

“How many miles of unused tunnels are there?”

“Maybe ten.”

“Do you know where Verminov wants me to go?” I asked.

“There’s an unused tunnel just east of St. James, one of his men is close by, he’s unarmed. My guess is he realizes that any show of force close to the surface you would simply eliminate. I’d say that’s where he wants you.”

I nodded. “How far down the unused tunnel can you see?”

“About one hundred feet and there’s no one there.”

I was thinking what I’d do in Verminov’s position and what came to me was ugly. He had no idea what I could do underground, he was just playing a hunch. I still had the shield and smart-suit. I could fly, I just couldn’t connect to the network, so I’d be blind to their movements and conversation. If I was him, I would booby trap Adrianne. Rig her to a bomb with some form of detonation device that was easily triggered. How was I supposed to deal with that? I just didn’t think he’d have men willing to die to take me out. There would have to be a way for them to detonate and survive the blast. Eyes on the target and an escape route.

“Does he know I can change my identity?” Sally didn’t know, but with all the action I’d taken I had to presume he did. “Can you disarm a bomb?”

“I would need to see it and then connect to the network to work it out.” Made sense.

“We are going to need some conventional weapons, Sally. Machine pistols, lots of ammo.”

She was quite for a moment, pensive. I could detect fear in her eyes, something I’d never seen before. She had mass now, did that make her vulnerable? If she took a bullet would she die? It was too much for me to figure out. I had no idea, but I didn’t think so. She was an image created by the computer, even if she had somehow created a body. It seemed to me that her demise would have no effect on the network. It would simply create a newer version of Sally. A version without mass. Back to normal. Would I like that?

“There’s a stash of illegal weapons in a lock-up garage in Las Vegas.”

I was about to complain about how far away that was, but stopped myself as my mouth hung open. “Okay, we’ll go see what they are. But first let’s check out Verminov’s guy.”

We walked down into the train station toward the unused portion of the tunnel. In the distance, along the tunnel we could see a man in dirty green pants and a brown jacket hoping from foot to foot. He was standing beyond the crowd, who were heading for the platforms. To his right was a wire fence that blocked people from entering the disused portion of the tunnel. We milled around with the commuters while I checked him out. He didn’t notice us. I pulled Sally’s arm and headed away out of sight.

“Can you put him on my screen, Sally?”

Almost immediately he appeared in front of me. His complexion was light, he looked to be mid-thirties. His mop of brown hair was greasy, his beady eyes were flicking back and forth, watching the people along the tunnel. I could see a walkie-talkie in his right hand. There was a nervousness about the way he was moving his weight from one side to the other. I wondered what they’d told him he was supposed to do and how long he’d been there.

“How long has he been there?” I asked, Sally.

“Two and a half hours, he’ll be relived in another thirty minutes.”

That gave me an idea. “Okay, let’s get the weapons and figure out a plan.”

We were back in the park before we could find a location out of sight. We bounced to the lock-up. It was pitch black, Sally found the switch. The air was stale, a layer of dust covered the lock-up but the four wooded boxes were very clean. There were other items along the wall, but Sally indicated the boxes on the ground. She blew out all the fasteners and lifted the lids. My eyes focused on the nasty looking weapons stacked to the brim of the first two boxes.

“What are they?” I asked as I tentatively picked up the top pistol and turned it over in my hands. I’d never held anything like it, I could feel the power and deadliness of the gun. It was both exciting and frightening, I realized I’d already used my power to kill people but not with a device designed just for that purpose.

“They’re MP9’s made by Brugger and Thomet in Switzerland. Nine hundred rounds per minute. The ammo is in the other two boxes.”

“How long have they been here?”

“Since yesterday, they’re being picked up in about an hour.”

I looked sharply at Sally, “an hour?”

“These things are hot merchandise, Jo-el.”

“Okay, let’s take two each and a bunch of ammo. We need a couple of shoulder bags, don’t think we should be seen strolling around with these in full sight.”

We picked up a couple of bags in one of the other lock-ups and were back in Sydney within five minutes. The man in the brown jacket was still hoping from foot to foot, more nervous than before. We kept out of sight.

“Okay, let me know where this guy’s relief is?”

Sally paused a moment, staring into space. “He’s on the train, he’ll be here in about six minutes.”

“Put him on the heads-up.”

The man in a similar brown jacket, his eyes down, looking at the floor, a black ski hat on his head, appeared on the screen.

“Does he know the guy in the tunnel?”

“No.”

“Good. When he comes into the station, knock him out and copy his appearance. I’m taking his place.”

I watched the man for a while, then he slumped over. My dress changed to match what he was wearing. “As soon as Mr. Nervous leaves we’re going down the tunnel.”

Sally nodded. She was fidgeting with her hands and fingers, which I hadn’t seen before. I put it down to the fact she now had mass. It was making her uneasy, that was for sure.

I walked toward the man in the tunnel, my weapons bag over my shoulder. As I reached Mr. Nervous I held out my hand for the walkie-talkie. At first he seemed unsure about giving it up, but my face was adamant and he handed it over. We didn’t say a word; he almost ran back down the tunnel. Sally joined me. She cut a hole in the fence and we began our walk along the deserted tunnel. It was quiet, our footsteps were loud. I stopped. I used my thoughts to communicate with Sally.

“We should fly.” I lifted off the ground, Sally didn’t reply but she did the same. I didn’t understand her mechanics but it was no time to worry about such things. There were intermittent light bulbs along the tunnel giving off a dull glow that faded to darkness before the next one threw out a few rays, enough to guide our path. Water dripped eerily down the brick sidewalls. Unintelligible graffiti shouted nonsense at us on both sides, but even that disappeared as we drifted deeper into the tunnel depths. I tested the heads-up display, but that had ceased to work. Sally took the left wall, she’d changed to an all-black one-piece outfit, her hair hidden by a black ski-hat. Only her beautiful face glowed every so often, caught by the pallid light from the naked bulbs. She held an MP9 in each hand as I did. The bag with the ammo was snuggled back-pack style behind me. We didn’t speak for what seemed a long time. I wondered what thoughts she had. To me now she was as human as any person. I couldn’t imagine her as anything else. We had made love.

The silence brought doubt to my mind. Should I be risking my life for one person? I clamped my eyes shut for a second to force out the uncertainty of my actions, but it wouldn’t go away. I felt an ardent desire for action to rescue my thoughts, but the tunnel didn’t help. It continued relentlessly in the same fashion. We reached an area of total darkness, I passed the burnt out light bulbs. The wall was faintly visible as my eyes wrestled with what was left of the light. Sally was out of sight. I felt alone. My senses were on edge, I strained to hear every miniscule sound, something to indicate that we were nearing our target. I could feel the rhythmic beat of my heart loudly in my chest, my mouth was dry, my tongue reached for out for moisture from the dank surrounds of the never-ending tunnel. I was anxious and fidgeted with the weapons in each hand. The light became brighter, which made me more nervous. I could see Sally now, she was watching me, then glancing ahead. She felt the same concern. I stopped and checked Sally to see if she had done the same. We waited unsure of what to say.

“My shield is working, right?” I said in my mind, almost as much to myself as to Sally.

There was no reply.

“Are there people ahead?”

Again nothing from Sally. I twisted my head to see her, she was looking ahead. The network had stopped working but she was still with me. I didn’t understand but I was glad she was still there.

Her senses were the same as my own now, but no better.

I moved forward a little way, straining my eyes into the distant light ahead. She followed suit along the opposite wall. I stopped again, I sensed movement, but saw nothing. There was no protection where we were. I guessed we may be coming to a disused station. I drifted over to Sally so I could speak to her.

“This isn’t working for me, Sally. I think we should fly at them at speed and scare the crap out of them.”

She looked at me, but said nothing. There was a vacant look in her eyes as if she wasn’t sure where she was or why she was there. Then she nodded, but it seemed almost involuntary. I didn’t know what was happening to her.

I sucked in air and breathed deeply, my pulse was racing and I could feel sweat on my arms and the back of my neck. I’d chosen this path, what did I expect? The feeling I had of invincibility had diminished so much, yet I still had the shield. Would it work against a barrage of fire? A niggling itch that it wouldn’t scared me. I thought about Adrianne. I didn’t even know if she was still alive. This could be a trap. I thought about Maggie and Sean, the mess I’d caused in their lives. Sally was right, this was stupid. If what she’d told me was correct I was the only person who could save the planet. I thought about that for a moment and realized what bullshit. Who was I kidding? If I died they would rescue the belt and pick someone else to carry on. Or, maybe they wouldn’t and the history of earth had just seventy or so years to run. Why did they care? It wasn’t making sense to me at that moment. I couldn’t get my mind around the real reason for the Cirion people to care.

Then the explosion happened and I was dragged very quickly into the reality of where I was and what I was doing. The explosion came from behind us, from the station. The noise was deafening, like a giant whomph of a helicopter rotor-blade. Within a second a wave of hot air raced past us and heat followed with dust and debris. The air became unbreathable for a moment and the visibility disappeared to nothing. I shut my eyes tightly and wondered if my life would end soon. But the dust cleared and the air became breathable once more. Visibility was still almost none. I wondered what had happened and concluded that Verminov must have known we had entered the tunnel and had sealed it off. My death was paramount to him; no other result would be acceptable. The death of every one of his men down here was irrelevant as long as I went with them.

A minute passed and Sally was now an outline against the left wall.

“No going back.” I said.

Her silence was disconcerting.

“Give the air a minute or so to clear, then we’re going in fast, guns blazing. His men must know what just happened. I wonder what they are thinking?”

Sally didn’t reply, she didn’t even acknowledge me.

The dust began to settle, I raised my guns up and saw that Sally was doing the same.

I took off toward where the light had been, flying fast, at a speed like I’d never experienced before. It was incredible. I was going into battle; my fear immediately subsided. It must be like this for every soldier when he finally goes over the top and into the unknown. This is what he wanted to do from the first second, the waiting was excruciating. This is the action that the warrior craves.

The wall was racing past now, a blur. The air was clearing as I flew away from the blast. I glanced over and saw Sally matching my speed on the other wall. We were a team now. We could conquer the world.

It seemed like a long time, but in reality it was just seconds when I saw the men ahead of us, their backs against the wall. They appeared disorientated. I heard a shout and I saw them turn in our direction, guns raising, pointing in our direction. Now I could see fear in their faces. What was flying at them? I couldn’t imagine the thoughts that must be bouncing around in their heads at that moment. It didn’t matter. I didn’t care. I fired. Both hands.

The noise in the tunnel was deafening. There was no other sound, just the ear-piercing thunder of the rounds leaving the weapons. It was a mess. I saw men thrown backwards as if they’d been hit by a giant bat. I was past them in a split second and turned quickly. The men who hadn’t fallen had swung around toward me and were firing again. But I hadn’t felt anything. The shield was working. My invincibility was intact. I fired again and the men fell. All of them. I passed them again and turned once more. I couldn’t see Sally she must have turned sooner. Smoke filled the air. The resonance of the sound still hung in my ears. I came down and rested my feet on the ground, my weapons still at the ready, but there was little movement from the men that were now laying, strewn across the tunnel, haphazardly, as if they’d fallen exactly where they had stood and gone to sleep. Now I saw blood, dark red in the cold, dusty air. It was running in every direction. I traced the source of each trickle back to the man whose life was either gone or ebbing away. I saw a face turn in my direction, eyes of hate, wide and alive but fading. A last look at the strange being who’d ended their life. A last look of shear bewilderment.

I looked around for Sally but didn’t see her, I was at a fork in the tunnel. Another tunnel was at right-angles to the one we’d traversed. As the dust settled a little more I could see a chair tipped over on its side a short distance along the adjacent tunnel. Someone was tied to the chair. Someone different. Whoever it was they weren’t moving. A white, thin blouse came into focus and in that moment I knew who it was lying motionless, tied to the chair. I gasped and ran toward it. A line of blood, thicker and darker and not moving emanated from Adrianne’s head, resting very still against the ground. As I reached the chair I saw the hole in her temple, darkened and bloody, pointing up to the ceiling of the tunnel. Her face grimaced in death. The loveliness of her skin was still there. Her mouth, crushed against the ground, distorted by the ungainly position of her head, was still beautiful. I knelt at her side and carefully pulled a few strands of hair from her face, which was covered in dirt and dust. Tears were now streaming down my face. I had failed her. I knew she’d been dead for some time. It had all been a waste.

Then I heard a gun fire, loud and alone, disturbing the quiet that had begun to return to my head. I turned to the main tunnel and I could see the man, lying on his side with his eyes of hate. His mouth had pulled into an evil smile. There was a devil’s glint in his eyes, a discerning sign of satisfaction. A last thought of revenge. I didn’t understand. Until.

It had taken a while; I don’t know why. Maybe seeing Adrianne, my sense of failure. I don’t know. It didn’t matter. My right hand had dropped the weapon I’d held, but I don’t remember when. It was clasped to my right side above my hip. I looked down and saw the fresh blood ooze between my fingers. Sally had left me. I didn’t understand why.