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CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN - REBELLION


Sammy carefully tugged his shirt back over his head, the fabric sticking slightly to his damp skin. He could feel his skin trembling still and feel the rasping breaths deep in his throat. His eyes gazed up at Heather as she ran slender fingers through her long hair and he couldn’t stop his lips from curving in a slight smile. He slowly stood up and wrapped his arms about her waist.

“What happens now?” he asked softly. His hands massaged her gently and sadly. He couldn’t dispel the lump of guilt that had stuck forcefully inside of his chest. He had never used anyone before in any way and now his heart was being flooded with waves of wretched gurgles.

Heather turned her head slightly and he saw the smile that ran across her lips. “Sorry, but I can’t give you the keys to get out.”

“Damn,” Sammy replied playfully. At the same moment he let a hand slide down to the pocket of his jeans where he could just feel the rectangular shape of the keycard he had managed to discretely snatch before she’d reached for her uniform. “I guessed as much. Maybe you could do me a small favour though.”

“Your brother?” Heather asked softly.

Sammy nodded slightly and lowered his head. He felt his hand gripping Heather more tightly, desperate for some kind of human contact. “I just want to know if he’s okay.”

Heather slowly turned around and allowed her blue eyes to gaze into his own. “Marlowe will not harm him. The scientist has a soft spot for B and will not allow him to be killed. He was always against killing the boy. I think he originally wanted to keep the boy for himself when he was younger.”

Sammy felt a flicker of jealousy inside of him and a rush of clam relief filled him. He remembered carrying B from the base when the boy had been five and he felt slightly sick as he imagined what could have happened if he had not found him. B could have been raised as a Gerai. He could have been raised by the very people he feared the most…

“What is Marlowe doing to him?” From what Sammy had seen, Marlowe’s ‘soft spot’ for B did not run very deep. B had been suffering when Sammy had seen him, he had sensed his pain.

“Experiments. He’s trying to create a vaccine for the virus. We thought it prudent to create one before we actually tried to use it,” Heather replied. She looked away from his eyes and he saw a hint of shame glimmering there. She was torn. Everything she believed in was crashing in with an inconvenient attraction.

“Will he let B go afterwards?” Sammy closed his eyes slightly. B was too old now to be kept as somebody else’s son. He still needed looking after but he needed Sammy, Brian and his friends to do that. He would never accept anybody else.

“I don’t know.”

Sammy looked away from her. Why did it have to B? B was the most precious thing in Sammy’s life and everything he tried to do to protect him all came to nothing in the end. Anything else the Gerai had wanted and Sammy would probably have given in, but B was something he would fight to the death for. He didn’t belong to Marlowe and Marlowe had no right to even think about keeping him after what he had done.

He glanced back up as Heather leaned against him slightly. He could easily feel what she was feelings, a mixture of confused emotions and forbidden feelings. A part of him was surprised that Heather had let things come this far between them and at the same time he felt a strange connection for the Gerai. For once he finally saw that the Gerai were human and most of them were probably like Heather and had been raised in this life without knowing any difference. For a moment he had been allowed a glimpse into the enemy’s side.

“Heather,” Sammy said slowly as he clasped her hands. “What is this?” He stared at her and tilted her face up to stare at his.

“What?” she asked, her forehead creasing in slight confusion.

Sammy sighed before gently leaning forward and pressing his lips lightly against hers. He had always imagined Gerai women as being fearsome and manly. Heather may have been fierce, but Sammy had begun to see other sides to her. He had not dared to question her about the Gerai’s principal about murdering people in case she did turn out to be a monster, but beyond that there was still something attractive. He doubted if it could ever be love, but there was still something.

For a moment she did not reply and her eyes flickered away. He could see her fighting with her professional desire to remain cool and collected, but at the same time he knew she felt the attraction. He remembered the look he had seen in her eyes during their intercourse and he had a terrible suspicion that her icy exterior was beginning to melt when faced with him. He did not even want to think about what it meant.

“I don’t know,” she replied eventually.

Sammy nodded slowly. Things always seemed so easy and simple before something like this happened, but how did they deal with it now? Sammy knew that he ahs used her and she would soon realise this.

“I’m a resistance member,” Sammy said. “You’re hurting my brother and I can’t stand aside or back down. I can’t join the Gerai nor ever truly help you unless you’re blackmailing me. And at some point, I’ll have to fight back.”

She looked down at their clasped hands and nodded. “I know that and if that happens, then I’ll have to try and stop you. Nothing personal.” She pulled him closer for a moment. “Still, for an inferior resistance member, you’re pretty sexy.”

Sammy smiled again and then leaned forward to kiss her, allowing himself to reveal some of his passion in a long kiss.

“I suppose I had better get you back to your cell,” Heather murmured finally. She took a step back from him, seemingly determined to let him go.

Sammy tilted his head and gulped to try and clear his suddenly blocked throat. He weakly tried to smile, wanting to lighten the dark air before they left. “Pity you can’t keep me in your room huh?”

She smiled in reply and looked up into his eyes again. “If you don’t escape then maybe I can arrange that.” There was a sparkle in her eyes, but it was something she knew he would never accept.

“Tempting offer,” Sammy mused, but they both knew he meant it as a joke. His eyes softened slightly and he leaned forward and kissed her again. “Shame,” he whispered barely audible. Such a shame she was a Gerai. He laughed inwardly. Even if she wasn’t he knew there was no certainty that this would ever work. She was still such a cold person, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if she had been raised on the opposite side. He kissed her once more, knowing that he would never do it again. He was closer to escaping than Heather knew.

Heather slowly and reluctantly released his hands and then retrieved her gun from the opposite side of the deserted office. “Let’s go,” she said calmly.

“Yes ma’am,” Sammy replied. For a moment their eyes locked and read each other, but then Sammy turned and let himself walk away. He could hear her footsteps close behind him, but he refused to turn back. He couldn’t let this become any more emotional than it already had been.

He thought of the card in his pocket and his eyes flickered slightly in guilt again. He wondered if she even suspected that his friendliness towards her had been fuelled by ulterior motives.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *


A guard was waiting for them back in the cell room. Sammy noticed the crude smile that flitted across his face and guessed that Heather’s attraction had been noticed and no doubt sneered at by some of the other Gerai.

He wordlessly stood up and pulled his own keycard from his pocket to slide it into the cell door. Sammy noticed Kevin’s and the others curious gazes watching him but he refused to look at them just yet.

He avoided Heather’s gaze as well as he was pushed back inside of his cell, his stomach feeling heavier than usual. He gulped and took a deep breath as the door was closed. He probably wouldn’t see her again unless she became involved in the break out attempt.

“What the hell happened? Are you all right?” Kevin asked anxiously. “Did they try and get information out of you?” He was peering at Sammy intently and looking for signs of ill treatment upon him. “There’s a bruise on your neck. Did they hit you?”

“Uh.” Sammy immediately placed a hand on his neck to cover up the red mark there. “Not exactly.” His eyes watched as Heather and the guard left the room talking in hushed voices. He saw her eyes linger upon him for a brief moment before she stepped out of view. He closed his eyes again and felt his chest heave slightly as he sucked in a deep breath.

Harvey, Cal and Paul were also looking him over in concern. “Did they make you do more hacking?” Cal asked. “How far are you away from completing it?”

Even Paul seemed quite oblivious to what Sammy had actually been doing. He sighed as he moved his hand from his neck. “I’m all right,” He assured them.

“I’m all right Kev,” he assured him.

“I can blow out the system again,” Paul began. “I could - ”

Sammy rolled his eyes and suddenly pulled out the keycard from his pocket. He held it out for Paul to take and watched as the older man’s eyes widened in surprise.

Kevin stared up at Sammy, his mouth slightly open. “How did you get that?” he asked.

“How do you think?” Sammy said softly. He stared at Kevin and watched as comprehension swept over his dark eyes. “Oh,” he replied quietly. His eyes rolled up towards the mark on Sammy’s neck again. “Oh,” he repeated.

“You dog!” Paul cried as he snatched the card eagerly from Sammy’s hands. “You dog, you actually did it! Was she good?”

“Excuse me?” Sammy asked, his head jerking up in surprise at the question.

“Just kidding,” Paul said as he held his hands up in defeat. He stood up and approached the cell door, an evil smile playing across his face.

“We can’t use it now!” Kevin hissed.

“Why not? There’s no guard here so that’s one less obstacle. We can get weapons from the closet there.” He pointed to a cupboard by the main control desk. “And then we can get into the other cell blocks. We’ll be locked in the work room before they even realise what’s going on.”

“We have to go soon,” Sammy agreed. “It won’t be long before Heather realises that I’ve got it and she knows we’ll try to escape. She’s not stupid or innocent enough to believe that I’ll be a good boy and stay slaving away for the Gerai for the rest of my life.” He realised also that she may have used him as well. He had hinted that he was going to try and escape and she would have to alert her superiors. If they were going to act, it would have to be quickly.

“The sooner the better,” Cal agreed from the other side of the cell. “We’ve planned this for days and now we have to go for it.”

Kevin still looked a little uncertain. He shook his head. “We need to find out more about the guards. There could be lots in the corridors.”

“There’s not,” Sammy argued. “I think Heather might have ‘arranged’ for quiet security so she could get me out with as few questions as possible. This is a perfect time to act and if she finds her card gone then she’ll guess it was me. Kev, we have to go now!” He paused for a moment. “And I’m worried about B.” He knew that Heather would probably try to arrange for him to see B, but Marlowe sounded a little protective of his patient and there was no telling that she would succeed. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to get B out as soon as possible. There was no telling what state he was in.

Kevin hesitated for a moment and then slowly he nodded. “We have to be careful. We can’t screw this up,” he said.

“We won’t,” Paul assured him as he crossed to the cell door and peered out carefully. “I can’t see anyone.” He went silent and all of them listened intently.

Sammy felt his heart thudding deeply inside of him. This was it. Finally he wouldn’t feel so futile every moment he thought about B. ‘Hang on I’m coming.’

Paul pressed his face against the bars and then reached over and slid the card into the card slot located at the side. He waited and Sammy bit his lip as he watched the little red light flicker slightly… and then it turned green.

Paul grinned slightly as he pushed the door open. “Let’s go,” he whispered.

Sammy exchanged a look with Kevin and he noted the nervous agitation that played darkly across the older man’s face. Slowly Kevin drew himself up and followed Paul out.

Paul was already opening the closet and pulling out the guns that were there. “There’s four,” he whispered. “There’s three low power and one high blaster.”

“You take the strongest one,” Sammy said certainly. “You know your way better than any of us. You can lead and take out the Gerai that we run into.”

“Sure thing,” Paul replied with a nod. “What do we want to do? Shall we split up and have some go to clear out the work room while I fetch the other prisoners? Or do you want to stay together?”

“Stay together,” Kevin replied instantly. “We don’t wanna get separated.”

“On the plus side,” Harvey said. “Some of us could already have the work room and the surrounding corridors secured for when Paul gets the others out. It would be a clear run for them.”

“That sounds good,” Cal agreed.

Sammy watched Kevin’s face. It was easy to see that he was unsure about their escape plan. However Kevin remained quiet and only Sammy heard his muttered comment. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Okay,” Paul said as he handed Sammy a laser. “Harvey and I will go and find the other prisoners. You and Kevin and Cal get to the work room and secure it. I know you can hack that computer system. Try and seal off this entire floor for us.”

Sammy nodded as he checked the laser was loaded and ready. He was familiar with the computer system the Gerai used and he had seen B do a similar thing once. He may not have been quite as quick or efficient as his little brother but he was pretty sure he could pull off what Paul was asking.

Sammy watched as Paul sucked in a deep breath through his mouth and he loaded his gun ready. He handed Kevin a gun and watched as the older man wordlessly took it.

“Are you with us Kev?” Sammy asked softly.

Kevin nodded slightly as he stared down at the weapon in his hands. “Now or never,” he declared as he loaded it.

Paul smiled weakly at him and then turned to Cal. “You okay going weaponless? I’m sure we can grab you something on the way if needs be.”

Cal nodded, his eyes blazing with nervous excitement. Sammy could feel the same feeling bubbling in the air. There was no need to act like mindless drones anymore. Sammy slowly unclenched his fingers and tried to ease some of the tension away from his shoulder blades. Even though he was light headed with thoughts of escaping, there was still the matter of B to attend to. Even if they managed to secure the work room, Sammy still would not be reunited with his brother.

‘Please don’t let anything happen to him,’ he thought desperately. He squeezed his eyes closed in a silent prayer.

“Let’s go,” Paul’s voice said determinedly as it invaded Sammy’s quiet realm of prayer.

Sammy jerked himself back into the dangerous, present situation and nodded. He noticed Kevin watching him carefully and he avoided his gaze. Kevin had always been able to read him clearly. He could not let himself be weighed down with worry though. Anything but a focused mind could ruin the entire mission.

Paul stepped out into the corridor closely followed by Harvey. Sammy checked his weapon once more to familiarise himself with the controls and then followed. He swept his eyes about the corridor as he tried to remember the correct way to the work room. His brow furrowed slightly. Every corridor seemed to look the same.

“Don’t worry,” Paul said as he caught the younger man’s expression. “Cal knows the way.”

Sammy nodded. He looked at Paul and suddenly he realised how precarious the situation was. This could be the last time he ever saw Paul or Harvey if everything went disastrously wrong.

“Thanks Paul,” he whispered as he reached out and grabbed Paul’s arm for a moment.

Paul raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled. “No, thank you. You’re the one who got the keycard and gave us this opportunity. I’ve waited for weeks for this. Let’s hope we make it.” His eyes darted about the corridor. “Harvey and I have to go left. You go straight on.”

Sammy gulped slightly. “Right,” he whispered, his voice suddenly turning dry.

Paul held his gaze for a moment and then looked over to Kevin and Cal. “Take care guys and watch out for Gerai. It might be quiet, but don’t get careless. We’ll meet you there as soon as we can.” He nodded once more and then he and Harvey were disappearing down the corridor, walking quietly and stealthily.

“Okay,” Kevin said grimly. He looked across at Cal and Sammy. “Let’s move it. I’ll lead the way. Cal, you go in the middle and Sammy, you bring up the rear.”

Sammy clutched his weapon tighter and his eyes swept over the corridor nervously. He remembered that there had been few Gerai in the corridors when he had been with Heather, but one Gerai could ruin everything. If they sounded the alarm then they could be swarmed and overpowered within a few, short minutes.

Kevin slowly began to move forwards, keeping to the walls as much as possible. Sammy found his ears straining to hear any sound but it was difficult to determine hostile sounds from the constant hiss of the air conditioning and the groan of various computer panels that had been set into the walls.

Uneasily they crept up the corridor and Sammy found himself thinking to what Heather had told him about B’s foiled escape attempt. Sammy vowed that nothing would stop him next time. Sammy would be there to help him and he would make sure B got out alive even if it cost him his own life.

As they approached the first turning, Kevin hurried forward a few steps and carefully peered out from the protective barrier of the wall. He glanced back at them both and nodded to signal the all clear.

Sammy’s heart drummed hard and fast as nervousness tingled through every part of him. He could hardly believe that less than an hour ago his mind and body had almost forgotten the situation he was in.

He followed Cal and Kevin as they turned into the next corridor and Sammy was aware of how agonisingly slowly they were moving. Usually it seemed to only take a few minutes to reach the work room but tonight he had an ominous feeling that it would take much longer.

Suddenly he froze and spun around, weapon already raised. He could hear something other than the hums of artificial sounds. He could hear the slow thud of footsteps.

“What’s up?” Cal whispered softly.

“Someone coming,” Sammy muttered. He crept a few steps back the way they had come and stared intently at the corner. His hands, though trembling slightly, held the gun steady and he bit down on his lip slightly as he aimed at the approximate height a person’s chest would be.

There was a slight mutter from the corner and Sammy took another step closer until he was certain that he could hear the quiet mumble of voices. He waited, his heart sounding so loud in his ears that he almost lost concentration.

Two Gerai turned the corner, heads bowed as they held a conversation. They did not even see Sammy pressed against the wall as he fired a double shot at them.

“Nice work,” Cal whispered as both Gerai slunk to the ground.

Sammy breathed again, his chest filling deeply with breath once more. He glanced behind him to Kevin. “Let’s keep going,” he said grimly.

He refused to look back at the burnt bodies of the two Gerai. A part of him shuddered and reviled at what he had just done. He had killed before. This was a war stricken time and there was really no choice or room for morality with the enemy. He had always tried not to think about his actions and instead concentrated on getting his tasks done. However his experience with Heather had led a new part of his mind to open up. How many of the Gerai could be perfectly ordinary people if they had been brought up differently?

He shook the thoughts away. He was becoming too distracted tonight. He could not afford to let his mind wander away now though, not when they were so close to their rebellion.

He was aware that Kevin’s shoulders had tensed even more and his steps had slowed down. He watched as the older man craned his head for any sounds. Finally they reached a door on the right and all of them froze.

“I’ll go first,” Kevin muttered as he loaded his weapon. He took a deep breath and then pressed his hand upon the panel in the doorframe. There was a slight whine and the door whisked open. Kevin leapt through and immediately he was firing his laser. Sammy felt his heart jerk as it leapt inside of him and he exchanged a nervous glance with Cal.

Quickly Sammy jumped through the doorway, but as soon as he did the weapons fire ceased. He glanced about him and sighed in relief as he saw Kevin standing in the centre of the new corridor. Surrounding him were the bodies of three Gerai.

“Guards,” he grunted as he caught sight of Sammy. “None of them sounded the alarm.”

“Good,” Sammy said. He looked back at the door. “Cal, it’s all right. We’re safe.”

Cal nervously peeked about the door and glanced about the corridor. His eyes alighted upon the dead Gerai and he breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close.”

“We’re almost there now,” Kevin said as he charged his weapon again.

Sammy’s gut churned, even though he did not allow his eyes to stare at the desecrated bodies of the fallen Gerai. “Good. I’ll feel better when we’re holed up.” He had to force the lie through his lips. He knew the others would feel better once they were in the work room, but he still had thoughts of his brother plaguing his mind and eating into his skin. He could only pray that Heather was right when she said that Marlowe would not allow B to be killed. The jealousy and furious anger he had always held towards the scientist had now unwillingly turned into something resembling relief. If he was going to stop them from murdering B then, for now at least, Sammy would stop cursing him.

Kevin began to lead the way again down the last corridor with Sammy and Cal following as close as they could. They were almost there. They had almost succeeded.

Sammy gulped, wondering how Paul was faring. He didn’t even know how many other prisoners there was.

“Last door,” Kevin breathed as they reached the final double doors that led to the work room.

“I’ll go first,” Sammy said determinedly as he charged his laser.

Kevin shook his head. “No, we need you to hack the computer. We can’t let anything happen to you. I’ll go.” He did not even give Sammy the opportunity to argue. He had already placed his palm upon the panel and the door was opening. Again, Kevin was firing immediately.

Sammy moved forward to try and help him, but Cal placed a hand out to stop him and then wordlessly took the weapon from his hands. “Paul needs you. B needs you,” he hissed quickly before he was jumping in after Kevin.

Sammy awkwardly waited outside, suddenly knowing how Cal had felt a few minutes before. With no weapon though, he could never even hope to help them. He leaned against the wall and silently counted to ten in his head while the whines of laser shots continued screech from the open the doorway. Finally when he had reached nine, everything fell silent. Sammy leaned his head back and remained silent, not wanting to draw attention to himself in case the worst had happened. He slowly licked his dry lips.

“Sammy?” Kevin’s voice called. “It’s all right. We got all five of them.”

Sammy smiled in relief before leaning about the door to see the familiar sight of the room he was forced to be a slave in. The room where he had been cruelly being blackmailed in betraying his friends. That was over now.

He quickly entered the room and closed the door behind him. He hesitated a moment before keying in a code upon the small panel beside it. “I’m locking the door. When Paul comes he can speak into the intercom on the other side so that we know exactly who it is,” he said.

“Good idea,” Cal called in reply.

Sammy keyed in the final digit and then turned to dash over to where Kevin and Cal were standing. He frowned slightly as he saw that Kevin was clutching his arm strangely. “Kev, are you okay?” His eyes widened as he saw the blood trickling across Kevin’s skin.

“I’m all right,” Kevin grunted as he followed Sammy’s horror struck eyes. “I got hit by a blast, but I’m all right. You need to get the floor locked down so the Gerai can’t get anybody else down here. It won’t be long before they figure out what’s happening.”

Sammy peered down at the mark on Kevin’s arm, but the older man was right. It was only an arm wound and was not life threatening. The only problem would be the blood loss. “Cal, there’s a med kit over on that wall. Stop the bleeding for Kevin and then wait by the door for when Paul comes,” he ordered. “I’ll sort this out.” He carefully pulled up a seat in front of the nearest console. All of the computers in the room were already brightly lit and Sammy assumed that the Gerai had been working on something before Cal and Kevin burst in upon them. He flexed his fingers over the keyboard and thought for a moment before choosing where to begin.

This computer did not have as many restrictions as the other one he had been working upon and so there were no error messages when he tried to access the files he needed. He smiled slightly as he stared at the computer jargon before him. “Okay,” he whispered. “I can do this.” He carefully began to type in the file pathways he needed and then he swore as a jumble of code appeared on the screen. “The main computer is encoded!” he cried in frustration to Kevin and Cal. “This is going to take a while!”

“Sammy, you have to hurry!” Kevin replied. “If they get men down here then we are in trouble!”

“I’m trying!” Sammy madly tapped on the keys, wishing that B could have been here. B had learned his way around a computer at the age of seven and it had taken only a few short years after that for him to understand everything better than Sammy did. He felt sweat beading on his forehead as he hurriedly tried to decode everything before him so that he could reach the main controls of the base.

There was a sudden bleeping from the main door. Sammy’s head snapped up and for a moment he felt ice sliding down the skin of his back before he pushed the paranoid thoughts away. It was probably Paul. He hoped it was Paul.

“Cal, there’s a screen on that door so you can see who’s outside. Check it,” he called while his eyes remained fixed on the screen. His fingers had turned clammy and he was constantly pressing the wrong keys in his haste to complete the task. If only he had a virus with him then he could re-write the computer in seconds…

“It’s Paul and Harvey!” Cal cried and Sammy could hear the grin spreading across their companion’s face. “And he has the others with him!”

Sammy smiled faintly, but most of his energy was going into the job in front of him. The code was poorly designed but it still took time to crack. “Let them in!” he said without even looking at Cal.

He heard the whoops of various prisoners the moment Cal opened the door, but above them was Paul’s frantic and worried voice. “We had a fight with some Gerai and one of them managed to send an alarm signal. Sammy, is this place locked down?” In seemingly a second, Paul was standing behind Sammy with his hands upon the back of the chair.

“I’m trying!” Sammy snapped, irritation and anxiety forcing their way into his voice. “I’m nearly there. Just hold on!”

What would B do if he had access to a computer? He always managed to do things much quicker, but he always used his own viral programs to wipe out the code first. Sammy had nothing but his own experience to rely on. He gulped as he neared the end of the strings of code.

He gasped slightly. “I’m in! I’m locking the place down and there is no more Gerai on this floor!” He peered intently at the screen map he had pulled up and saw that a team of Gerai seemed to be gathering on the floor above them. They were getting ready to come down and fight. Sammy watched the screen and then smiled as the lock down process was completely. “Done!” he announced proudly. He breathed and then grinned. “And now I’m going to re-encode their computer so they can’t gain control again.” He happily began to tap at the keys again. Making codes was much easier than breaking them.

Paul patted him on the shoulder. “Well done!”

Sammy turned his head and saw that Kevin had made his way over to them as well. “Whew, I thought we were dead then.”

Sammy ran a hand over his forehead to wipe away the beads of sweat. He looked at the crowds of prisoners behind them, at least fifty. “We might just make it yet,” he whispered. He thought of B and a smile played across his tired lips. It was only a matter of time before they were reunited again.



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