Babylon and Utopia Ch. 2

Between Babylon and Utopia Chapter 2

By: George Chijioke

 

The following day, I was woken up by the agonizing sound of my alarm clock. It was seven o’clock in the morning. I got up, dressed out of my boxers, wrapped a towel around my waist, and went to the shower. By the time I was done, my dad was awake. As I had finished drying myself, I wrapped the towel around my waist and opened the door. I bumped into him as I was walking out; he was in his work uniform. It startled me a bit because I was hoping I could avoid him before he left. He usually left for work before I woke up.

            “Good mornin’ Dad,” I said.

            He gives me a military salute, I give him one back.

            “Mornin’ son,” He replied.

That was how citizens were expected to greet each other, with military-style salutes. Though neither of us was in the military, it was expected that any citizen, at anytime, could be drafted and sent either to war or boot camp, so we were all soldiers. In addition, after graduation, every college student is expected to serve in the military for a year; after the mandatory one-year of service, you have a choice of either staying in the military or joining the workforce. He turns on the TV; there is an advertisement for the military on the screen.

“I hope you’re ready for that son,” my Dad says. “The military is no joke. The Leader wants only the best, and you’re all I’ve got.”

He continues, “Even if you want to be a doctor, the warzone is where you’re gonna get a lot of experience.”

Over my dead body. There wasn’t any way in hell that I would join the military after I graduate. Of course, I couldn’t express this around my Dad because, well you know, the whole “I’d-rather-not-disappear” thing. So I said what any smart person would say.

“I’m ready to do whatever my country asks of me.”

“That’s what I want to hear.”

“I can’t wait to go kill me some traitors and help take back the West.”

“Hell yea Dave!” He shouted, pride and laughter in his voice. “That’s what I’m talking about. I just wish I was young enough to serve, but you kids are lucky to have the regime be in power while you’re so young.”

I sounded like a complete idiot. Imagine if Emma or Freddie had heard me saying that s**t. Speaking of them, I was beginning to understand why Emma couldn’t trust me: because of my crazy dad. From this point on, I would do my best to keep my association with Liberty Underground a secret. I would be more cautious about my outings. Luckily my Dad trusted me, he pretty much just expected me to go out to school and come back. As long as I came straight home after school, everything was cool, well, so I thought.

“Alright son,” he said, “I’m off to work. Have a good day at school, alright?”

“Sure thing,” I replied.

I saluted him, he saluted back. He opened the door and walked out. I could hear the noise of the F-150 starting outside. I looked through the window and saw the truck back out of the driveway and leave. I went back upstairs to get ready for class. My father repaired armored vehicles for the military. Most jobs were provided by the Regime. Hospitals, schools, banks, were all owned by the Regime. Since our society revolved around the military, most jobs, even casual professions like secretaries, were just support jobs for the military.

Military officers themselves had guaranteed free healthcare and housing. Children of military officers had guaranteed admission to any college of their choice. They were the most privileged members of our society. There was a policy of full employment for all citizens. Every student had a job guaranteed after they went through military service. However, the best jobs were secured by people who had connections within the Regime. So most people who aren’t able to make the necessary connections while in the service, or if they don’t have those connections already, got s****y service jobs (janitors, landscapers, trash collectors, sewage workers, all that), these people were called civil-servants.

It was an extremely unequal system in which only a small class of military officers, their family members, and their cronies were able to advance in society. At this point, I had no guaranteed job after I graduated unless I joined the military. My Dad was a civil-servant himself so he could not help me secure a good job. I wanted to be a doctor, which is why I’m studying biology.

 

Once I finished getting ready, I went to the kitchen and ate cereal. Afterwards, I walked to my car and drove to school. On the drive to school, I encountered another checkpoint. These officers were a lot nicer, they were the same ones I encountered every morning.

As I approached them, I stopped. One of them was stocky and baldheaded, and the other was a tall man with a Caesar cut and a moustache. The baldheaded one approached me first, as he did every morning. We had come to know each other by now.

“How’s it goin’ Dave?” He asked.

“Nothin’ much,” I replied. “Biology’s kicking my a*s as usual.”

“How’s that GPA looking?”

“Still have a 3.5,” I replied. “Hopefully it can stay that way.”

“Mhmm,” he replied. I could tell he was going into job mode.

“Need to see a driver’s license,” the tall one said.

“Ok,” I said.

I pulled it out and showed it to him. Both of them studied it and gave it back to me.

“Alright kid,” the baldheaded one said, “Stay out of trouble.”

I nodded my head and went on my way. Once I got to the university, I parked my car in the lot. I went straight to the College of Science and Technology, which is where I usually study. I hadn’t read the chapter I was supposed to read because I had gone to the meeting, so I decided to read it. As I was reading the book, I feel something fall on my lap. Someone had dropped a piece of paper on my lap. I turned around: it was Freddie; I was able to catch a glimpse of his face as he continued walking.

I quickly put the paper in my pocket. I wasn’t dumb enough to read it out in the open, knowing that there were cameras everywhere. I continued to read until it was time to go to class. Once it was time, I put my books back in my bag and headed for class. Our classes were picked for us. We took anywhere between 12-15 credits every semester. If you failed even one class, you simply repeated the semester. There was a three-strike rule though. If you failed three times you were simply expelled and sent to the military to do your compulsory one-year service, after which you were given a civil-service job. So obviously, failure wasn’t an option.

 

I walked in about two minutes before class time. The teacher walked in about a few minutes before class time. Every class starts off with two pledges of allegiance: the first was to The Leader, the second was to the flag. Once we were done with the pledges, the class began. The class in particular was Biology 120, which was an introductory course.

As the teacher began her lecture, I began to think about what was in the note Freddie had given me. Taking it out and reading it in the middle of class was, both literally and figuratively, a death sentence. The curiosity had made it hard to pay attention during the lecture. I found myself zoning out several times during the class. Then, finally, the class ended.

Now, it was time for the Daily National Message. Every day, around noon, The Leader releases a message to all of the students. It was usually propaganda and bullshit about us being the “future generation of America”, which of course meant the new lambs that will eventually replace the old sheep. This was mandatory. Every student had to go, and no other class was held from noon to 1 PM. There were meeting places in every building in campus, and if you happened to be outside when the Message was about to begin, you had armed guards redirect you into the closest building.

I went straight to the auditorium. The entire place was packed and I had trouble finding a seat. I heard someone calling me.

“Hey yo,” it said. “Dave!”

I turned around, it was Freddie. He signaled me to come over to where he was. I walked over to him. He didn’t say anything; he looked at me and motioned his head towards the empty seat that was next to him. I looked at him, put my bag on the floor, and sat down. The entire room turned pitch dark and a loud, booming voice came over the loudspeaker.

“All rise for the national anthem.”

Everyone in the room stood up and put their hand over their heart. The national anthem began to play. When it finished, we were instructed to have our seats. You’re not supposed to talk during these things, so neither I, nor Freddie, said anything to each other for a while. The Leader appeared on the screen. He looked presentable, for his age at least. He had piercing brown eyes and spoke in a passionate tone, like he did during most of his speeches. He began to give his message.

“Young men and women,” he said. “You have come here to find your place in this glorious nation. The questions you have about your life, your future, and your society will all be answered here.”

Freddie tapped me on my thigh. I looked at him. He signaled me to come closer, as if he wanted to whisper something in my ear.

“The note will explain everything once you read it,” he said. “But basically we have a meeting tonight. Same spot.”

“Okay,” I replied, whispering back in his ear.

He looked back at the screen in disgust.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Whatever he wanted to say, it’s good that he didn’t say it. There’s no telling who could’ve heard him. I could also tell that he was still trying to figure me out. For all he knew, I could really have been a spy who slipped through the cracks. I tried to bring down his defenses since, I figured, we were going to be comrades and all.

“What’s your major?” I asked him.

“I’ll tell you when you’re ready bro,” he said, laughing.

“No problem,”�"I laughed�"“I completely understand.”

“I just can’t sit here and watch this�"“

He cut himself off. He was visibly angry; he didn’t want to get too loud. I didn’t know what his story was, his beef with the Regime, and I still don’t know. I could just tell that he hated the Regime as much as I did. The Leader was finishing his message.

“So, my youth,” he said. “Ask yourself, ‘What can I contribute to the nation? How can I become an effective citizen of this great nation we call America?’ You are all valuable to us, and as such, we want you to leave this institution as intelligent and disciplined as possible.”

He continued, “Thank you. As you learn the skills necessary to make this nation great, you must remember that you will always have a place in it.”

The screen went off. The lights came back on. There was applause, chants of “Long live the leader!” and “We are the future!” Of course, The Leader forgot to mention that most of the people he calls his “future” were living in ghettos working service jobs for very little pay. Only the children of his buddies, and their buddies, got any of the good jobs. He also forgets the mention the thousands of people who have disappeared for simply criticizing his leadership. The Leader was, for all intents and purposes, God. His word was the ultimate law of the land. One word and he can make anyone in the world disappear. This is the reason why he must be stopped.

We were then dismissed. I tried to have a conversation with Freddie as we walked.

“Hey,” I said, “I understand you guys are trying to play it safe and all, but I’m good. You have nothing to worry about with me.”

“I probably don’t Dave,” he replied. “I want to believe you. If you are with them, I don’t know and that’s for Emma to find out.”

He continued, “Look, I saw you that night. You looked depressed, tired, weighed down. I think you’re legit because that’s how I felt when I joined, but I’m letting you know right now, if you are working with them….”

He looked me dead in the eyes. He made a pretend gun with his right thumb and index fingers. He pointed it to his temple, and pressed his thumb down on his index finger. I got the message.

He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a head nod, I nodded back. Freddie was cool. He was really down-to-earth, even for the leader of a sleeper cell. He was capable of thinking for himself. I could tell that he still somewhat trusted me, but he could never know anything until my background check was finished.

 

At the end of my school day, I went back to my car. As soon as I came to my car, I locked the doors, and pulled out the note Freddie had given me. Cars were the only places in Regime-held America that were safe from surveillance. The security forces weren’t about to go through the trouble of cameras in people’s cars. I opened the note. It was basically him telling me about the meeting, in which the next mission will be discussed. He also included a side note telling me not to worry about Emma, that she was just doing her job.

At the end of the note I was instructed to immediately destroy it. I ripped it up into pieces and threw it in the trash can outside. I got back in my car and I started fiending for some weed. Everything that had been going in the past couple of days was taking a toll on my head. I needed something to help me unwind. I had $35. A gram of weed was $30, so that’s what I decided to get. Weed was really expensive. Since the regime had such a no-nonsense drug policy, drugs were extremely hard to get. I called my dealer.

“Hey,” he said, “How’s it goin?”

“You good?” I asked. This was a code, asking him if he had any weed. Being that the regime had phones tapped, you didn’t want to say anything that they could use against you in their court.

“Yea man,” he replied, “What you need?”

“Thirty.”

“Deal,” he said, “Just come down to my place.”

“Alright.”

I drove down to his house. He lived in an apartment complex about five minutes from where my house was. Luckily I didn’t run into any checkpoints on the way there. As soon as I got there, I parked in front of his building and texted him.

“I’m here,” the message I sent to him said.

About five minutes later, he came out. He was a tall man in his late twenties with a knit cap, acne all over his face, and a scruffy beard. He had a potato chip bag in his right hand, which is usually how he delivered weed to me. He was smart. I unlocked my passenger door for him and he entered.

“Here’s your chips,” he said.

“Thanks bro,” I told him. I gave him the $30

“No prob,” he replied. “Be safe out here.”

“Alright.”

He went back into his building. I backed out and drove to the mini mart in order to pick up some Backwoods to roll a blunt with. I pulled up to the parking lot. Before I went in I checked to make sure there was a bag of weed in there. There was, I mean he wouldn’t ever rip me off, he was cool, but sometimes you had to be sure. I went inside the store. The proprietor, Pedro, greeted me. Let’s just say I did this very often.

“Dave,” he said, smiling. “How are you?”

“Everything’s cool,” I replied. “Just trying to focus on school, you know how it is.”

“Haha,” he laughed. “Always school with you! You’ll be great doctor one day!”

“Thanks Pedro,” I replied.

“No problem.”

He grabbed the Backwoods from the back shelf and handed them to me. Since I came in there so much, Pedro was always able to assume what I wanted. He knew that I was of age so he didn’t ask me for ID either. I gave him $3 and went on my way.

“Thank you Dave,” he said. “Good luck with your studies my friend.”

“Thanks.”

I walked out and went to my car. I drove down to my neighborhood, past my house, and towards the woods at the end of the street. I parked at the curb. I pulled my bag of weed out and my pack of Backwoods. I soon as I peeled the cigar open, you could smell the sweet aroma of the tobacco. I then opened the bag and took a big whiff.

“Sour Diesel,” I thought to myself.

I licked the wrap to make it sticky. Afterwards, I put the weed on top, rolled it all up, licked the top, and sealed it shut.

With the circumstances that we lived under, it was rare to find any good marijuana. Though the Regime criminalized marijuana in general, the security forces had more important things to worry about than smokers, and they usually just took it from you and let you off with a warning if they caught you with it; however they were really tough on the smugglers and growers. If you were caught producing and/or selling weed, or any other narcotic, on an industrial scale, you faced thirty years hard labor �" which is basically a life sentence.

Since they were so tough on the growers, most of the time, my dealer would have to get his stuff from a local, small-time grower �" and it was usually reggie, meaning not the best stuff. My dealer had Sour Diesel today, which is rare in Regime-held America. The good stuff was usually imported from the other side by sleeper cells. In fact, growing and smuggling marijuana into Regime-held America, according to Traitor Watch, was one of the ways LU funded themselves. They also hoped that the Regime’s tough drug laws would inspire internal discontent within the country.

Anyway, I went deep in the woods. I saw the pine tree that I usually smoke at. I stood in front of it to block the lighter flame from the wind. As I lit the blunt I sat down on the ground and laid my head back on the tree. Pure bliss flowed through my body like an ocean’s tide, becoming more intense with each hit. My heart began to race, my head began to pulse, my eyes became faint, and my muscles relaxed.

I began to think again, but this time in a more racy fashion. Liberty Underground crossed my mind. I was beginning to have my doubts about them. Their paranoia and constant suspicion of anyone and anything, which, of course, was understandable, was beginning to irk me. I was worried that if they were to take over after the regime was overthrown, that they would be just as oppressive as the regime.

This thought in particular bummed me out a bit. It’s happened all throughout history: one oppressive government is overthrown in a revolution and the revolutionaries become the oppressors. I can’t say that I was pessimistic. I believed in Liberty Underground, I believed in what they were trying to do. It was just one of those “what if”, stoner-philosopher moments I was having.

I mean, as much as I believed in LU, I really didn’t have the slightest idea of what life was like on the other side. The only person that I knew who had ever been over there, Emma, won’t tell me. For all I knew, it could have been like “Babylon”, an oppressive, hellish regime, or it could have been a peaceful, serene utopia. I guess I was going to have to find out some day. Until then, I was going to fight to defeat the Regime and bring whatever is over there, here.

 

 I got done with the blunt. I dusted the ash off of my clothes, and began heading towards my car, trying to collect myself. As soon as I got to my car, I pulled a can of deodorant spray out of my glove compartment. I sprayed myself up real nice and drove back down to my house. Luckily my Dad wasn’t home yet, so it gave me time to go home and change my clothes. I went downstairs to watch TV, the news was on. They were talking about the “threat” posed by Liberty Underground’s sleeper cells within the country. The “news” agencies were all controlled by the Regime. There was no free press, and any journalist who wrote or said anything critical of the regime faced very serious consequences.

The “news” was talking about how there were sleeper cells operating within the city, launching terrorist attacks, killing police officers, “committing crime”, etc. They had the minister of defense on the show, and he was telling everyone to be “vigilant” and “watchful.” I was already starting to get tired of hearing it and I turned it off. Finally, my Dad came home. His uniform was dirty and his hands were black from a long day at work.

“Hey Dad,” I said.

He placed his bag down and sat down.

“Hey Dave,” he said. “How was school?”

“School was fine,” I said.

“That’s good,” he said. “What’s there to eat? I’m starvin’.”

He went into the kitchen and began cooking. As soon as he did that, I grabbed my book bag and went upstairs to my room.

“Hey Dave?”

I stopped.

“Yea,” I replied.

“I’m makin’ steak,” he said, “Did you want any?”

“Sure.”

“Ok,” he said.

I continued on upstairs to my room. I dropped my book bag on the floor, pulled out my books and started doing my homework. I knew the meeting was at night, so I started my work early so I could be done with it once it was time to go to the meeting.

 

By the time I was finished, it was time to go. I walked out to use the bathroom, and once I was done, I came out to see my Dad heading into his room.

“Your steak is downstairs of you still want it,” he said.

“Ok,” I said, “Thanks.”

“Hey Dave,” he said, “Everything alright?”

“Yea,” I said. “Everything’s fine, why?”

“I don’t know,” he said, “You’ve been acting strange since I came back. You’re not hiding anything from me, are you?”

“Acting strange?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” he said, “You went upstairs as soon as I came back. And you never came down to eat your steak.”

“Yea, I’m sorry,” I replied, “I’ve been really busy with school.”

He gave me a weird look, I was scared to death. I didn’t know what was about to happen. Just then, he continued to his room.

“Don’t scare me kid,” he said, yawning. “Good night.”

“Good night,” I responded.

I closed his door for him and continued to my room. Once I got to my room, I locked it. I pulled out my fire escape and set it up outside my window. I climbed out of the window and went to my car. I saw that the light in my Dad’s room was still on, so I hid in the bushes until it went off.

About eight minutes passed before he eventually went to bed. That’s when I went to my car. I still remembered the address to the meeting place from before. So I got in my car and began heading down there. I tried to find a route that avoided checkpoints; I cut through back streets, but I still ended up running into them. I stopped, and two guards came up to my car.

“Let me see some ID kid,” one of the guards said.

I handed him my driver’s license. He studied it carefully and handed it back to me.

“Alright,” he said, “Drive safely and stay out of trouble.”

I nodded at him and rolled my window up and continued on my way. I continued driving until I got to the restaurant. I went in and it was the same routine as before, except the “busboy” was different this time. It was a young woman, probably in her late teens. She was eyeballing me as I was walking in, as if she knew I was coming.

“Can I help you with anything tonight?” She asked.

“I’d like to see the man in charge,” I said.

“Ah,” she said. “He’s waiting for you. Follow me.”

“He’s waiting for me?” I thought to myself. “What does that mean?”

She took me to the back of the restaurant, down to the door with the coded lock on it. She put in the code and pointed down the stairs.

“He’s right down there,” she said. “Have a good night sir!”

“Thank you.”

I went downstairs and opened the door. It wasn’t the usual set up chairs. The chairs were set in a circle. Freddie, Emma, Paul, and two other agents were seated. They were all eyeballing me hard, as if I had committed some sort of crime.

“Dave,” Freddie said, “Thanks for coming. Have a seat.”

“Where?” I asked.

“Chairs all around,” he said. “Sit anywhere you want.”

So I sat down. Emma, of course, was eyeballing me the hardest.

“So, Dave,” Freddie said. “Everything is official, you’re in.”

“Ok,” I said.

“But you’re also on probation,” Emma said. “If we notice anything funny, there are gonna be serious problems.”

I was beginning to not like her. I didn’t understand what her deal was. She always had something to say. Always so cold too. I thought she had issues.

“But you just said�"“

“You are in Dee-ave,” Paul said, “But she right mon. We still got our eyes on you. Nuttin wrong wit dat, we all went trew it.”

“I guess,” I said. “So what’s next? Freddie, you said something about a mission.”

“Glad you asked,” Freddie said. “I was just about to get into that. We have a mission. We plan on planting a bomb in the police station downtown. You haven’t been trained yet so I’m not going to make you do any of the hard work. We just need a driver.”

“I’m guessing I’m the driver?” I asked.

“Yea,” he said. “I’m going to plant the bomb. Paul here is going to detonate it, Emma will scope things out for us, and these two gentlemen here will be our snipers.”

“Snipers?” I asked.

“Yea,” Paul said. “Case any ting go wrong, we need people to cover our escape.”

“Ok,” I said. “Makes sense.”

I paused, for a few seconds. I became a little uneasy. I felt that I was being put on my first mission too soon.

“When are we gonna do this?”

“Tonight,” Emma said.

One of the two men who were supposed to be our snipers spoke up.

“You sure you ready man?” He asked.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course not,” Freddie said, chuckling. “Now that we have that settled, is everyone ready?”

Everyone nodded their heads.

“Good,” Freddie said. “Paul, Dave, the rest of you, grab those boxes over there. Emma, come with me.”

The boxes were labeled “Black Flag Foods”. That’s what the “restaurant” was called. Smart moves, I was impressed. We both headed over to where the boxes were. Emma and Freddie went upstairs.

“Ey youth-man,” Paul said, lifting a box. “Ready for ya first mission?”

“I don’t know,” I replied.

I honestly didn’t know. The truth was that I was scared as s**t. I didn’t know what was going to happen. Was I going to die at some point? Can I actually trust any of these people? I’d only been in Liberty Underground for a day and I was already being put on my first mission. I mean, I was ready for some action, but so soon?

“You don’t know?” He asked. “How you don’t know?”

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” I said. “That’s all.”

I grabbed a box, the other two guys grabbed a box, and we began headed upstairs. Paul continued talking to me.

“All ya doin is drivin,” he said. “It’s what ya do every day. Just falla da instructions and you be fine.”

“Yea kid,” one of the snipers said, “You’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.”

We got upstairs. The restaurant was still open. We went through a secret back door and went outside where Freddie and Emma were with the van. They were both standing outside. Freddie had a duffle bag in his hand; this of course was the bomb. We loaded all the boxes into the van and Paul closed the trunk. Then Freddie called us into the van. Luckily, there weren’t any guards around.

“Alright everyone,” Freddie said, “Listen up. Here’s the plan.”

He looked around at all of us for a second, I guess to make sure everyone was present.

“Dave,” he said, “As you’ve been told, you’re going to be the driver. Paul, you’re going to be my escort. You’re going to grab one of the guns in those boxes and follow me near the police station, where I’m going to plant the bomb.”

“Alright,” Paul said.

“Got it,” I said.

“You two,” he said, talking to the snipers. “You’re going to camp out in two buildings. If the security forces catch us, take ‘em out.”

They both nodded their heads.

“Emma,” he continued, “You’re going to stay here in the intelligence office and help us.”

“Do you really need to tell me?” She asked. “I already know the drill.”

“Here are earpieces,” he said. “This is how we’re going to communicate.”

We all grabbed our earpieces, and then, something troubled me.

“Wait,” I said, “Can’t the Regime tap these?”

“No,” Emma said, “They’re completely encrypted.”

“Does that answer your question?”

“I guess.”

“Then it’s settled,” he replied. “Good luck everyone.”

 

Emma went back into the restaurant. The two snipers grabbed two boxes, which actually, of course, had their sniper rifles in them. They went inside the van.

“Wait,” I said. “What about my car?”

Freddie and Paul looked at me strangely. They both smiled.

“I completely forgot about that,” Freddie said.

He put his earpiece in his ear to page Emma.

“Emma,” he said. “I need you to send someone out to drive Dave’s car back to the nearest safe house.”

“Roger that,” she said back over the receiver.

Someone came out a little while later. It was one of the “workers”, a young kid in his mid-teens. I gave him my keys.

“Don’t mess up my car,” I told him.

“She’s in good hands!” the boy said, smiling.

We went in the van. I opened the driver’s side door, sat down, adjusted the seat, and tried to get a feel of the steering wheel. I was a nervous wreck. Anything could have happened. Anything. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

“Don’t worry,” Freddie said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

I nodded my head. Paul handed me the keys and I started the engine. Eh-eh-eh-vroom! I put the gear in reverse and started backing out. I turned around, put it in drive and headed towards the exit.

“Hold on,” Freddie said, “Let me turn on the GPS.”

He turned it on, set it for the address.

“Please follow the highlighted route,” the voice on the navigator said. The navigator was specially programmed by Liberty Underground to avoid checkpoints. However, this meant for a long drive because you had to take side streets. The police station was downtown, which was about three miles from where we were.

I followed it as it spoke to me, at the same time, I gripped the steering wheel for dear life. I’d been driving since I was sixteen, I was twenty-one. I knew what I was doing; at least I was trying to assure myself that I did. I was shaking behind the wheel. Even though I was wearing deodorant, my armpits felt like the Chesapeake Bay.

There was a beep on the earpieces. It was Emma.

“How’s everyone doing?” She asked.

“Just trying to keep the stress levels down,” I said.

“Aww,” she said, laughing. “You’ll be alright.”

“Yea,” Freddie said. “Dave’s doing a great job.”

That was weird. She was being nice to me again. All of a sudden, she was being nice to me. She went from being a sweetheart when we first met, to being a complete b***h, to finally being a sweetheart again.

“I’m trying,” I replied.

“Well,” she said. “Just be careful. Keep in mind this is a police station. You’re striking the Regime right in the heart. Be prepared for anything.”

“We’re well aware of that,” Freddie said.

“I’m just saying,” Emma replied, “We’ve lost enough people.”

The thought of us possibly dying made me even more uneasy. I began to panic. I tried to hide it from the others, but I couldn’t. I started to disassociate, I zoned out. We were approaching a stop light, there was a car stopped in front of me.

“S**t!” Freddie shouted. “Look out!”

I snapped out and slammed the brakes. SKIRRRR!!! All three of us jolted. Luckily I had my seat belt on, or else my face would have smacked the steering wheel.

“What are you trying to kill us?” He asked, shouting. “And we’re carrying an explosive!”

“Bumbaclaat!” Paul shouted. “Gotta pay betta attention youth-man!” Paul said.

“I’m sorry!” I said, freaking out. “I panicked a little.”

“You need one of us to drive?” Freddie asked.

“No,” I replied, “I’m fine.”

The light turned green, I continued on the route, making a left on a side street. Then another side street until we finally got near the police station.

“Emma we’re near the police station,” he said.

“Alright,” she said, “Godspeed.”

I slowed down a bit. It was a large building. There were officers everywhere. They were brandishing long rifles.

“Pull over right here,” Freddie said.

I pulled over, shifted the gear to park, engaged the emergency brake, and turned the engine off. Alright, this one’s gonna be a little tricky.

“Snipers,” Freddie said over the earpiece, “Are you two in position?”

“Yep,” one said.

“Roger,” the other said.

“Alright,” Freddie said. “We’ve arrived at the station.”

“Roger that,” they both collectively said.

Freddie carefully picked up the duffle bag that contained the bomb and put it on his lap.

“Dave,” he said, “See if there is anyone in the back. I’m trying to find a more discreet place.”

I started the van again and did a U-Turn. I then drove around the building trying to find a spot to plant the bomb.

“Right here,” Freddie said, “Perfect.”

It was a small little alley around the side of the station. We were still close enough to the snipers to where they could still cover us. So it wasn’t too bad. Freddie grabbed the duffle bag from his lap. Freddie grabbed three masks from his jacket.

“We’re going to have to put these on,” he said.

Freddie put his own on, and gave the other two to Paul and I. Paul cocked his pistol and headed out. Freddie, with the duffle bag in his hand, walked out of the van and headed towards the alley.

“Stay here,” he told me.

I nodded my head. The two of them headed towards the alley. Freddie looked around, to make sure no one was looking. He carefully placed the bag in the alley. As he was doing that, an officer was walking in their direction and saw him.

“Hey you,” the officer said, brandishing his rifle. “Put your hands where I can see them!”

There were three gunshots. Before I could even blink, the officer was on the ground. Freddie and Paul began to run. Suddenly about three more officers came. They started shooting. Paul started shooting, the snipers started shooting. POP! POP! POP!  Paul got one of them, I saw it. Paul was shot in his shoulder. Freddie made it in safely.

“Come on man!” Freddie shouted out of the window. “Hurry up!”

Paul ran in and I sped off. It was the scariest moment of my life, at that point in my life at least. I didn’t know what the hell was going to happen. There were police cars everywhere.

“Emma do it now!” Freddie shouted over the earpiece.

BOOM!!!!

The entire ground shook. It was loud, so loud my eardrums were ringing for a week.

“Bumbaclaat!” Paul cried. “I’m hit!”

“F**k!” I shouted. “Where am I going?”

“Everybody calm down!” Freddie shouted. “I’m setting the navigator for the nearest safe house. Dave try to lose the cops. Paul it’s just your arm, you’ll be fine.”

I followed the route, dodging checkpoints, cutting through side streets. Freddie stared to looked back to see if anyone was following us, Paul was in the back, bleeding, seething in pain, and holding his arm. There were police sirens everywhere. Helicopters were buzzing ahead, trying to find us.

“Great work guys,” Freddie said. “Dave you included, you did great.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“You are now our new driver,” Freddie said. “Congratulations.”

“Ok…” I said. “Thanks…”

I was shocked that he just gave me the job that soon. I must’ve been a damn good driver for him to just give me the job like that.

 

We finally got back to the safe house. The same one my car was taken to.

“Great job everyone,” Freddie said. “Snipers, status.”

“I’m fine,” one of them said. “Emma called in reinforcements to come get me out, got into a little gun fight with the cops.”

“Y’all see-aved ah rasses back dere!” Paul said, laughing.

“Yea,” Freddie said. “You guys did great.”

“Only thing is,” the sniper said, sighing. “I lost my wingman.”

There was a brief moment of silence.

“Oh my God,” Freddie said.

“Damn!” Paul said. “The rassclats got him!”

We lost someone. I could tell that they lost people all the time. Their reaction was very lax. Nobody was really crying, we were just kind of hurt that we lost someone.

“It’s a damn shame,” Emma said. “But at least the rest of you are okay. How about the kid?”

She was thinking about me, I was so touched.

“I’m fine,” I said, coldly.

“Dave you did a really great job,” she said. “I’m still watching you, but you did a really good job tonight. Keep this up, ok?”

“Thanks Emma,” I said. “At least you can say that about me.”

She’s still watching me. I did a great job, but she was still watching me. This woman, I didn’t know whether to like her or dislike her. I mean, she was gorgeous, but she was weird. It was as if she couldn’t make up her mind about me. It’s exactly like I said, one minute she’s nice, the next minute, not so much.

“We’ll discuss this more at the next meeting,” she said. “Good night everyone, Emma out.”

The earpieces went off.

“Good s**t,” Freddie said. “Good work team.”

We got back to the safe house. We still had our masks on. Freddie got out and helped Paul into the safe house.

“You should probably gwaan home youth-man,” Paul said, holding his arm. He began to laugh, “Ya got school in da mornin!”

            All three of us laughed.

            “You guys don’t need my help?” I asked.

            “No,” Freddie said. “We’ll be fine. Good night Dave, and you did a really great job tonight.”

            “Thanks,” I said smiling.

            Two men with masks came out of the house and helped Paul in. I gave Freddie my ear piece back. I went to my car and headed home. On my way home it dawned on me what I was committing to. I was ready for it. With everything that happened tonight, the loss of the sniper, the bomb explosion. It was only my first night on the job, and I had already seen so much s**t. I was officially a “traitor” now.