The Lightcap (27 page)

“Oh, what do you know?” LaMont spat.  “You’re just an ivory-tower philosopher geek.  I live in the real world.  The fuck-or-be-fucked world.”  Stabbing his finger at the two men, he said, “If you’re not taking advantage of someone then someone is taking advantage of you, or at the very least you’ve not maximized your efficiency.  The world needs people like me, otherwise there would be no competition.”

“So that’s what it’s about, Roman?  A competition to amass the most before you go?” Pavel asked dispassionately.

“Sounds about right.  Who cares about sustainability, being fair, or ethics?  ‘Screw you, I got mine.’ That’s been the rallying cry of humanity since the first grunter found a cave that was bigger and more dry than the other guy’s, or went out and killed himself a lion and brought it back only to be surrounded by moochers.  Go kill your own!  You try to paint me as this unspeakable villain, but all I’m doing is what a billion other schlubs have done since the dawn of time, and that’s look out for me and mine.  Competition is what makes us better as a species.”  LaMont rested his hands in front of him as if he had just argued a case in court and won.

Adam moved his hand toward his left pocket, not enough to register movement, just a bending of the fingers, in the hope the old man would give the command to hit the button.      

Pavel shook his head slowly, then said, “No, Roman.  You are worse than any normal man.  You have far more than enough, and it’s anything but to you.  You could have all the power in the world and still want more.  I don’t believe we need people like you to survive.  In fact, people like you are making it worse.  We’d be better off without you.  You poison everything.  Look at these men here,” Pavel added, indicating the Blues.  “Are they better off, Roman?”

LaMont leaned forward, shrugged, and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  “Such dramatic language,” he said.  “You’re just mad because I had the smarts to muscle my way into the top spot while you hid in the shadows.”  LaMont paused, then seemed to appraise Pavel anew. “Any way I can convince you to come back?  You’d be under armed guard of course, but you’d be comfortable.  You’d have to do whatever work I send your way, and if you tried to escape you’d be shot without hesitation, but if you say no I’ll order these beneficiaries of my largesse to do that anyway.”  LaMont motioned to the Blues before turning to Adam and continuing, “Same offer goes to you, son.  Better think fast, because I might change my mind and choke you myself.”  LaMont looked at his fingernails absently, relaxed.

Adam knew this was what Pavel had been waiting for.  He did his best to put on a hopeful look and asked LaMont, “Is there any way I can just wear the Lightcap all the time?  Maybe get a few days off here and there?  But I have to know, what are you having them do?  The coding, I mean.”

LaMont looked at Adam shrewdly and said, “You know what they say about curiosity.  It’s probably not in your best interest to get too involved if you want to come back into the fold.  But let’s just say we’ve found a way to port some of the Lightcap features to v5.  The v6 will have full Lightcap control tech built in to every unit.  You never know, Adam.  It’s a busy world.  Right, Pavel?”  LaMont winked at the old man.

Though he felt sick, Adam tried his best to keep a calm face.  He was fairly certain LaMont was bluffing, that there was no way he was getting out alive at this point anyway.  Adam looked LaMont straight in the eye and said, “You can take your offer and go fu—”

“We accept.”  Pavel shouted, throwing both hands in the air.  Adam noticed Pavel’s left hand came back to the armrest with three fingers facing downward.  The old man continued, “But only if we shake on it, money man.”  A finger flicked up on the last word.  Two left.

“What did you say?” LaMont asked, his eyes wide.

“I accept your offer, but only if you shake my hand,” Pavel said.  “You know, to seal the deal.”  Another finger up.  One left.

“But you . . . you called me . . . ” LaMont trailed off, as though unsure he wanted to continue before he went on, “Never mind.  Yes, let’s shake on it.  I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.  I never really wanted to kill you to begin with.  You can make me ridiculous amounts of money.  You are on a short list of people whose lives are too profitable to end.  Your buddy here is questionable, but I’m in a generous mood.  Take those fucking zappers off first, though.  I don’t need that kind of headache today.”

Adam took off the knuckles and dropped them.  They hit the wood floor with a clatter.  LaMont looked at Pavel expectantly, and the old man brought down his hand in a closed fist to push off against the armrest.  Zero.  Adam pushed against the armrest with his right hand, slid his left hand into his pocket, and flicked open Dej’s device.  Then he thrust his thumb against the button.

The Blues surrounding them immediately seized, then ran about in panic.  LaMont looked completely shocked.  As soon as his eyes left Pavel the old man drew the pistol from his pocket, raised it quickly, and fired.  The noise bounced roughly off the walls and floor, final and ominous.  LaMont looked down at his chest, a mix of pain and surprise painted on his face.  There was no blood.  He was wearing a ballistic vest.

Adam didn’t understand why LaMont and Sera didn’t seem to be affected by Dej’s device.  Pavel then drew the gun tucked in his waistband, the one he had taken from the Blue in the hallway, and pulled the trigger with a hollow click.  He tried again with the same result.

LaMont laughed so hard his entire chest heaved, then caught his breath and said, “Biometric trigger.  Gotta love ‘em.  Did you only bring one shot in your own?  How quaint.  Then again, I know ammo isn’t easy to come by.  Fuck, that hurt.  I wasn’t expecting it to hurt that much.  I’ve never actually had to use this thing.”

The armed guards still ran without purpose around the room, bumping into each other and everything else.  Adam had to dodge one bouncing off the side of the desk, then pushed him back toward the wall.  He turned back to LaMont and asked, “Why aren’t you like them?  Why didn’t Dej’s device work on your Lightcap?”

The CEO spat at the sound of Dej’s name.  “Little brown piece of shit.  I should have known.”  LaMont opened a drawer, pulled out a small golden pistol, and pointed it at Adam before he continued.  “I should shoot you right now for doing this to our men.  We’ll get it fixed though.  The lady and I are fine because ours operate on a separate, dedicated frequency and use a different set of command functions.  That’s the case for all Metra Corp execs.  Your team helped build it, in fact.  Shame you don’t remember, probably would have been useful information.”  He clucked his tongue.

“Now it’s what’s going to get you killed,” LaMont said.  “You, Adam Redmon, are going to witness just how powerful Lightcap technology is.  Sera.”  He turned toward the woman seated to his right.  She looked at him.  “I want you to kill Doctor Troyka.”

Sera Velim said nothing but reached into a bag slung over the back of her chair.  She withdrew her hand, firmly wrapped around the handle of a knife, and looked to the floor as she stood.  She started to walk behind LaMont.

“Sera, you don’t have to do this!” Adam shouted.  She continued, then rounded the corner of the desk toward Pavel. 

Pavel stood tall and looked Sera in the eye as she drew within striking distance.  Her hand swung back, the knife blade pointed forward, and Doctor Troyka said gently, “Sera, you have a choice.”

Adam’s eyes darted to LaMont, who seemed completely engrossed in what his puppet was about to do to the old man, neglecting both his attention and his aim.  Without thinking, Adam dropped to the ground and grabbed the electrodusters, slipping them over the knuckles of his right hand again. 

A Blue ran by.  Adam sprung up to grab the panicked officer by the uniform and turned him wide to LaMont, using him as a shield.  Adam heard at least three shots but felt nothing.  He steered the struggling Blue into position, then tossed the man’s body aside and threw himself across the desk.  Adam is still not entirely sure how he did it to this day, but his right hand connected with LaMont’s dimpled chin. 

The punch alone would have left an impression, but the added boost of the electrodusters caused LaMont’s head to pop back violently.  The dusters’ loud crack preceded the bumps and thuds of LaMont hitting the floor.  The gun also fell and slid away from him, coming to rest a few feet away on the polished floor.

Adam rushed to Pavel, who lay at Sera’s feet.  She held a knife dripping blood, dark and arterial, her expression blank.  “Pavel!” Adam cried, sliding to a stop next to the old man.  “Are you all right?” Velim did not appear to notice Adam’s presence.  She had stabbed the doctor in the armpit.  Blood coated Pavel’s shirt, the vest underneath, and the floor.

“Adam,” Pavel gasped, “You have to take Sera and go.  Don’t try to order her to leave.  There may be some kind of latent command that will make her attack you.  Just take off her Lightcap and get out of here.  I’ll be fine; don’t worry about me.”  As he spoke, his breath came in small starts.  He applied pressure on the wound.

Adam knew he was supposed to be brave, to say he wasn’t going to leave Pavel behind, but the man was bleeding on the floor and couldn’t be moved.  Adam knew he had to leave, then or never.  He stood up and said, “Goodbye, Pavel.  Thank you.  Keep an eye on that knocked out bastard.” 

LaMont lay slumped on the floor behind his desk.  Adam went over, bent down and picked up the gun, then walked back and gave it to Pavel.  Adam moved behind Velim and removed her Lightcap.  She started to drop, but he caught her under the arms and transferred her to his right shoulder. 

“I’ll shoot him if he moves,” the old man said with a pained laugh.  Pavel had taken his backpack off and was using it to support himself.  He had also trained the gun on the unconscious executive.  The Blues in the room continued to run aimlessly.  One of them tripped over the doctor and fell into a thrashing mess on the floor.  Pavel winced.

Adam nodded in agreement.  The last time he saw Pavel was from behind, the man’s bald spot slowly bobbing up and down as his arm rested on his bent leg, gun in hand, aimed at Roman LaMont.

Adam carried Sera from LaMont’s office, the hallway somehow seeming longer and uphill, until he reached the turn to the right leading back to the stairwell.  He had taken exactly eight steps when a lone Blue rounded the corner, coming from the direction Adam was heading. 

At first, Adam thought he might be one of the Blues confounded by Dej’s device, but his movements were too precise, too sure.  The guard removed all doubts by drawing his weapon and commanding, “Put her down.  Get on the ground,” in an authoritative voice.  The Blue wasn’t wearing a Lightcap. 
This must be one of the mercenaries working for LaMont
, Adam thought, men with murderous talent and not even a shred of conscience.  Unsure of what else to do, Adam slowly lowered Sera’s limp form to the ground.  After he had gently sloughed her off his shoulder, the Blue yelled, “Now down on the ground.”  Adam complied, turning his view to the left as he spread his arms and legs out on the floor, face down. 

Adam could hear the man’s heavy boots moving closer.  Adam held his breath and waited for a gunshot, the final sound of his existence.  He heard a muffled pop from LaMont’s office, then another.  Pavel.  LaMont’s gun.  He heard the Blue say, “What the . . . ?” but his question ended with a sudden crunch and a wet choking noise. 

Adam looked up to see a blade stuck through the Blue’s neck.  Beyond these Adam saw Aria’s set face, her jaw clenched and hand wrapped in a death grip around the grip of the katana.  “Hi.  You took too long, and there was no one left for me to kill.  Let’s go.  The chopper’s running and Dej is awake,” she said, unable to stop herself from smiling.

They lifted Sera, who seemed unaware her existence had just been threatened, and made their way down the hall around the corner, to arrive at the stairwell door.  “Thanks for saving us,” Adam said.  “Pavel didn’t make it.  Did you have any trouble getting back to the chopper?”

Aria peered around Velim’s sagging head and gave Adam an incredulous look, but she said nothing in response.  They made their way up the stairs to the hangar in silence.  She kicked the next door open to reveal ten dead Blues strewn around the landing pad.  The JMR’s rotors idled, cutting through the air with a low
swoop
sound.  Angry grey clouds hung silent over the open roof.  Adam was thankful to notice the rain and hail had stopped.

Dej sat in the passenger section of the chopper.  He gave them a weak smile and a thumbs-up sign as they approached.  Aria hopped through the open door and hoisted Sera up, then Adam.  She put Sera in a seat and quickly buckled her in.

Aria pulled Adam close and said, “We have to go.  Come on.”  She dragged him toward the cockpit.  She slid into the pilot seat on the left as Adam took the co-pilot seat on the right.  Aria pointed to the headphones above his head, and he put them on.  “We don’t have much time,” she yelled into her mic, the loudness of her voice from the speaker painful against his ears.  “We’re under fire.”