Absolute Power (Book 1): Origins (3 page)

Two men in One uniforms entered the apartment unannounced.  There was no need to guess; these were men from SHT.

“Mister and Misses Florian,” The man with the Corporal's insignia spoke up.

The mix of fear and silence was thick enough to stop time.  Lieutenant Green watched from the kitchen, invisible to their perception.  It felt like minutes had passed, but it was only the span of heartbeats.

“Yes,” Petr's voice came from the bedroom.  It was hesitant and scared.

“My name is Corporal Wilson,” the man said.  “Why don't you come out here and talk to me?”

There was no telling what either of the SHT men’s abilities was.  For all the Lieutenant knew, they could tell he was in the room and were waiting for him to play his hand.  The Private was shifting uncomfortably and scratching at his uniform.  The job must have been new for him.  The wool uniform took some time to get used to.  They had probably pulled him straight from the trenches.

The Lieutenant was still feeling them out when Petr emerged from the bedroom holding a bundle.  He stood in the doorway as if he could stop the men from taking his family.

“My wife can't get up at the moment,” Petr told them.

“Yes, we know,” Corporal Wilson said.  “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“It's a gun,” Petr said gently and pointed a pistol.

The SHT men put their hands up, but it was clear the Private was itching for a fight.

“Mister Florian,” Corporal Wilson said calmly.  “We just want to get your wife to the base to have her checked out by our doctors.”

“You want to take my family away,” Petr said.

The Lieutenant saw the options closing in front of him.  He moved around the SHT men then to Petr's side.

“Don't do anything stupid,” Green whispered.  He was impressed that Petr didn't flinch at his voice.  In fact, he didn't seem to acknowledge it at all.

“We won't be slaves,” Petr said.  “Even if we have to run for the rest of our lives.”

“My job is to bring you in,” Corporal Wilson told him, “not talk you down, convince you or negotiate.  But I'll give you a choice between the violent and non-violent solution.”

“I know now that I can't protect my family forever,” Petr went on.  “Not even God can, but I know...”  The gun trembled in Petr's hand.  Corporal Wilson casually stepped to the side to give the Private an open angle of attack.  “I know how best to serve my family.  All I have to do is believe that my void will be filled.  That the friends I made, were truly good friends.”

It was obvious to Lieutenant Green that Petr was talking to him.  He wanted to argue, to help fight off the SHT or drag his friend out of there.  Petr was right though; he didn't have the skill to keep his family hidden.  Eventually, the Florians would be caught.  His only solution was to find a way to ensure his family’s wellbeing.  The guarantee came in the form of Lieutenant Phillip Green.

“I have a bomb,” Petr said, “It will go off in sixty seconds, and we will stand here peacefully and wait.”

While Petr used his powers to keep the SHT calm and at bay, Phillip went into the bedroom.  The midwife was crouched in the corner clutching the newborn.  Alongside her, Elena was working to stop her own bleeding.  Phillip opened the window and checked the fire escape.  The One was over confident about the SHT’s abilities.  There was no sign of backup.  He let his perception filters drop, and Elena spotted him.  Usually, it took a moment for people's brains to put things together.  Before the midwife could scream, Elena slapped her hand over the woman’s mouth.  Then Elena grabbed the baby, and Phillip grabbed Elena.

“Can you run?”  Phillip asked.

Elena pulled her baby close and said, “I can do whatever it takes.”

“Then let's not make your husband’s sacrifice pointless.”

The woman who had just given birth, who was afraid for the life of herself and her baby, who knew that her husband would be dead in a minute, clenched her jaw and stepped out into the cold.  Phillip followed, closing the window behind them.

As they climbed down, they heard the SHT man say, “I don't think you have a bomb.  I think you're stalling.”

Petr said something when a gun went off.  A strange sound followed and then a second gun returned fire.

Phillip had parked his car several blocks away.  He looked back at Elena, who was trailing along.  She was wearing a nightgown, thin as silk and covered in blood.  Without stopping Phillip took off his coat and handed it to her.  Elena didn't put it on but wrapped it around the baby.  She said nothing, not even about the cold or her bare feet.

Their way out had been blown.  Phillip was reasonably confident SHT didn't know he was involved, but they would certainly be looking for Elena.  That meant the roads, trains and airports were being watched.  He needed a way out of the country.  Something fast and something that wouldn’t be connected to the Florians.

They got into the car, and Phillip started driving.  He had a favor to ask.  As well as a risk that was too big to calculate.

Phillip pulled his car up to an old building.  It was well-maintained with beautiful architecture.  The One had commandeered it after they seized Moscow.  Now it was being used to house officers and VIPs.  The street was lined with cars emblazoned with The One logo.  Directly in front of the entrance a large truck sat with its motor running.  Several soldiers were coming in and out of the building carrying boxes.

Lieutenant Green found it funny how often hiding in plain sight worked.  Probably something that security should have solved a long time ago.

“How far are you willing to trust me?”  He asked Elena.

“If you're asking, do I think you will turn me in? No,” Elena said to him.  “If you're asking, do I think this is a good idea?  Then I would tell you I do not have much of a choice.”

“Fine, as long as we're clear about things,” Phillip smirked to himself.  “You'll have to give me the baby.  I can conceal something that small.”

He said the words but didn't exactly understand the concept.  It took Elena putting the baby in his hands for him to realize just how tiny it was.  The way it shifted in his arms gave him a feeling of holding the most fragile thing in the world.  His instincts roared; be careful, don't let it break.  Phillip figured out how best to hold the child and then had Elena put on his coat to hide her blood stained clothes.  Her golden hair was tousled and slick with sweat.  Using the rearview mirror, she did her best to pull it back and used a strip of torn cloth to tie it.

The two of them got out of the car.

“I’ll follow you in,” Phillip told her.  “If someone looks at you look back and smile.  Don't look around.  Keep your eyes forward.  And if they start to look down say something to them.  Last thing we want is them to notice your feet.”

Taking a deep breath they made their way into the building.  Elena went straight for the front door.  Phillip noticed a few of the soldiers watching her, but who wouldn't stare at a beautiful woman.  The double door was propped open, so they went in and took the elevator up to the third floor.

They were alone, and Phillip used the opportunity to speak.  “There's going to be more of those soldiers up here.  Pretend you belong.  Like you've been here a hundred times.  And when the big guy barks at you don't back down.  Tell him you have a message.  We need him alone.”

The elevator stopped, and they went down the hallway.  As they walked, more soldiers passed them carrying boxes.  They reach the source of the commotion and Phillip went in following Elena.

The apartment was elegant, spacious and nearly empty.  A stack of boxes had been placed near the front, and they pushed past them.

“Who are you,” A voice snapped.

Phillip spun around fast.  He saw Elena stop in her tracks.  A big man lumbered out of the far bedroom.  It had been a while since he'd talked to the man, but Porter looked mostly the same.

“I asked you a question?”  Porter growled.

Elena turned to face him, and Porter was caught off-guard.  She was pretty and unassuming, but what Porter saw was Phillip’s coat.  Porter's eyes narrowed as he waited for her to speak.

“I have a message for you,” she said to him, not even a tremble in her voice.

Porter made a noise in his throat then looked around.  He gestured to the kitchen and led the way.  It had been one of the first rooms to be packed, so there was no reason for anyone to enter.  Leaning against the stove Porter folded his arms and waited.  When the door closed all the way, Phillip showed himself.

“Lieutenant Green,” Porter stared at him for a while then said, “I don't even want to know what you've gotten yourself into.”

“You will want to know,” Phillip said to him.  “And you will want to help us because you're a good man, even if you are narrow minded.”

Using his full height, Porter looked down at Phillip.  He wasn't making a winning argument.  That was until he revealed the baby.  Now Porter shifted and took a protective posture.  It was because Porter was a good man.  Because when something as innocent as a child needed help, he couldn't ignore it.

“This is Petr Florian's wife and his new baby,” Phillip explained.

“The diplomat?” Porter had heard of the man.  “You were running him through OID this whole time?  So then Red Iron sympathizers are looking for them?”

Phillip grimaced.  He knew the next part wasn't going to go over very well.  “SHT,” he told Porter whose eyes flared.  “They just want to be a normal family.  Now they’re being told they have to go from conscription into the Red Iron to conscription into The One.”

“It's not the same thing,” Porter's tone said he was yelling but he spoke in a whisper.  “The One is a globally sanctioned entity.  The laws that were created are there to protect Norms and Super-Humans.  We might not like them, but it's for the best.”

“We might not like them?”  Phillip repeated Porter's words and that only annoyed him.

“I have my opinions on how things should be run,” Porter said.  “But there's a right way and a wrong way to change things.  Breaking laws only proves to people that you can't control yourself, and you're not to be trusted.  No one listens to a mad man screaming in the street.”

“And sometimes no one listens unless you scream,” Phillip said.  “And what are you going to do, bide your time till Rodgers quits and then take his place?”  The two men had unconsciously crossed the room to shout in each other's face.  Phillip checked himself, looked around and took a step back.  “I don't even know what I'm arguing about.  Up until thirty minutes ago I was towing the company line, ready to protect and serve.  Then I saw my friend Petr die...”

“Then use the story to explain why these amendments are wrong,” Porter said.  “If you run off and hide, no one will know.”

“A line has been crossed, John,” Phillip said.  “By everyone.”

“It’s not too late to change things,” Porter tried, but the words only spurred Phillip on.

“Exactly.”

Porter rubbed his face and scratched his hair.  It was a sign that he was giving in; all Phillip had to do was give him room to think.

“What about your friend?” Porter asked.  Phillip didn't catch his meaning, so he clarified, “The one with that Board.”

“I was going to use him stateside,” Phillip explained.  “But as of now I have no way to get there.”

Porter laughed and shook his head as he guessed the plan.  “You really want to hide in my luggage, all the way to New York?” He asked Elena.

An abnormal fog was pushing in from the ocean.  It made it difficult for Porter to find the warehouse in the dark.  As he drove the small sedan down the docks, he swore.  Sometimes it would be nice if coincidences stayed coincidences.  The odds that a fog would come in at the same time this meeting was scheduled were slim.  What it said to Porter was that there were a lot of Super-Humans out there running under the radar.  He was a little embarrassed that the idea hadn't occurred to him before.  Now that the Free Flight laws made it illegal to be an unregistered Super-Human, this underground organization would gather more recruits.

Porter pulled up to a building marked nine and got out of his car.  He found the door unlocked and slipped inside.  For anyone else, showing up to a secret location without backup was stupid.  At least Porter knew he wouldn't die, but there were worst things.  He hoped that the people Phillip trusted were actually trustworthy.

Near the front of the warehouse, Porter found a crowbar and took it with him.  His belongings, along with Phillip and Misses Florian were being stored here.  Phillip spent the better part of twenty-four hours remodeling the container; air vents, sound baffling, and a way to discard waste.  Porter didn't envy the two of them with a baby, having to spend a week in a six by six box.  It was smaller than the cell they'd be put in if they got caught.

He walked along rows and rows of wood crates.  His boots echoed off the concrete ground.  The container he was looking for was on his right and at the bottom of a large stack.  Luckily they weren't literally boxed in.  Porter knocked seven times on the wood boards.  Five knocks came back from the inside and Porter returned the code with three more.  He jammed the crowbar in between the boards of the crate and pulled.  The wood splintered, then came free.  One corner of the box opened and Porter went around doing the other.  After that, gravity and Phillip finished the rest.