THE GATE KEEPER (16 page)

The
airmobile was no longer moving. Some sort of familiar siren was loud on and
water was pissing down from the ceiling. My head was buried in the cushion
airbags. My driver deflates it, turns his back on me, kicks the door open and
grabs me out for safety.

Unaware
where I was I had to rely on him. Worse of all my left legs was swollen and in
agony. I take a brief look at the door on my side while he presses a button
inside the vehicle which raises a secret compartment at the back seat. He had
laid me to rest with the torn front of the airmobile. The water from the
ceiling had extinguished the fire from the gravitational engine which was
smashed and dented. Patiently I limp while I notice drips of blood on the other
side of my face.
A second cut from my face.

My
driver comes out of the back of the vehicle with what appears to be a mask in
one hand and an antiseptic tube in the other. He quickly hands over the mask to
me. Without question I take it. Under mute appeal he squeezes the tube on one
of his finger.

He
turns the side of his face which had a bleeding gash towards me and says, ‘It
shall heal our wounds.’

He
exerts it in his gash. His face demonstrates agony. He takes it in and swallows
the pain. Miraculously the blood stops flowing and the gash close. My driver
and saviour squeezes for more.

‘Now
yours need to heal as we’ve got a long way to go,’ he assured me as he removes
a small knife from his coat and cut through my jeans. He exposes my swollen
thigh, exerts the antiseptic cream on it and the cuts on my face. Then he
carries on, ‘It shall heal the outside but not the fractured bones if you do
have one. Still it shall help to minimise the swollen and block the pain.’

There
was an instance burning sensation on the cuts on my face and my swollen leg as
I feel the antiseptic’s reaction. He was right it seems my left leg was broken.
The swollen diminish but the inside was on fire each time I lay my feet to
rest.

He
went for the back of the airmobile and was back with a pair of old running
shoe. He noticed how I couldn’t stand properly. He quickly examined each side
of my feet. Then he cleared it of any visible protruding and foreign particles.
‘You’re lucky that I keep my old running shoe in the back.’ He said as he feed
my leg through it.

In
agony and exhaustion I remained mute.

He
hands over the mask and says, ‘wear it you’ll need to hide your identity for
now.’

My
saviour helps me to wear it.

He
also hand me his black coat, ‘wear this one as well.’

My
saviour grabs me by the arm pit which rest on his shoulder and help me to move
on, while I limp. I noticed that our vehicle had gone through a close mall and came
to a halt at a concrete wall. We went across pieces of broken glass and debris
of busted concrete wall and construction metal.  We move through a fire
exit door.

The
katana lady had searched for the suspects in every angle which were visible to where
she was. She had focused her search on every dark corner of the streets near
the accident. She had used the air-bike’s main beam of light to hunt beyond the
pitch black.

She
assessed every angle of the damage done. Their survival probabilities as it
stand. Careful attention was taken into consideration as she urgently
investigates deeply. The violent impact of collision had made her felt
confident and at ease to rule out death.

On
the other hand she felt compel to find proof of facts. She had no intention to
jeopardise her job. Put her reliability for the task into the light of the
hierarchy. She wasn’t prepared to allow their escapade to turn her into a
mockery. Factual assurance was her insurance that she felt could only satisfy
and justify her inner ego.

In
the end her instinct had predicted that they must be trapped.  Maybe
crushed inside the vehicle by the rubbles of the crumbly building. If they were
wounded and on the move they may naturally be draggy.

Pain
is a natural killer of the survival instinct.

They
couldn’t have survived it…nobody can…Impossible
, she
persuaded herself.

Before
she attempts to make her move sceptical memories of booby trap brought in
hesitation. She put her hands on the water proof screen in front of her on the
air-bike. It comes to life as yellow circle appears under each finger.

‘Welcome
Agent Taylor. What can I do for you?’ the computer aboard asked.

‘Access
to all the indoor and outdoor footage of the accident into the building ahead,’
agent Taylor inquired.

‘May
I ask? What is your clearance?’ the computer aboard demanded.

‘Priority
for mission genesis… important suspects I need to trace…Start from the moment
their vehicle crash into the building.’

‘A
moment, I shall send your details to the headquarters and they shall authorise
permission of the data captured on the cameras to be release,’ the computer
responded.

The
screen went blank and the speaker turns mute. Agent Taylor inspects the
unlawful entry. Part of the wall was smash to the ground. Massive window which
once served as a way to influence passer’s by to enter the retail shop was
shattered. Danger of irregular sharp pieces of glass and other debris remain a
threat for her soft Japanese shoes. She stays intact on her air-bike.

Then
the screen comes back to life.

‘Authenticity
passed. Authorisation accepted.’ The computer assured agent Taylor of her
request. Then it carry on, ‘Warning, danger of broken pieces of glass, metal
and other sharp objects scattered at a radius of fifty metres. The place is
also a hazard to electricity. Extreme Caution is needed when approaching the
building as it may collapse or explode.’

         
An eagle landing on a star appears on the screen as it rotates. Underneath it
the word GATE KEEPER appears. Agent Taylor touches the screen and manipulates
the image to her advantage. She watches the crash through the building. She
takes a different approach and angle from different cameras. In each camera
file she would watch it, slows it down and play it again.

At
a touch of the file relating to the camera outside the retail shop, she could
see the accident over and over. The airmobile would spin wildly and hit an
oncoming car. She carefully watch as an oncoming vehicle fly off the road and
into the camera. The file went blank.

She
turns at the angle where she thought the camera must have been located. On a
metal poll behind her there was evidence of the accident. A quarter of the poll
bends with the effect of the blow. She notices that the poll was force
rearward. She looks up across to where the bending poll was facing. She traces
the evidence to a new whole in the building’s window at its third floor.

She
manipulates another camera’s file which deals with her suspects. She watches it
cautiously but most went blank after the crash. She grins as she impatiently
tap into a different file hoping that she would be successful in finding an
answer. Somehow she found one that still plays. She forwards it until there was
movement from the crash site.

Not
one but two of them. She brings the moving pictures closer. She monitors their
every transaction with precision. After absorbing their every move she rides
the air-bike in a small alley in between two buildings.

At
the main road where the accident occurred, droid barricade and control the air
access route. On its side the word POLICE was engraved. Attached on each edges
of its oval shape were blades which rotate to the direction it moves. Above and
below it, were two small cameras which produced live footage at angles coverage
of three hundred and sixty degrees.

We
were outside and my saviour says, ‘We’re safe for now. We’re in the back road.
Across is the underground.’

Siren
of police airmobile hovers over us as they patrol the dark sky. We stand still
and move across as they clutter away. My saviour leads me into a group of
people who were literally across, minding their own business, moving up and
down. In between the busy crowd straight ahead lays an escalator which leads us
into the underground.

Along
the queue of the normal citizens we managed to camouflage ourselves with the
moving crowd. We courteously descend deep as if best friends with me leaning
for support. Overhead I assumed that the camera in the ceiling within the
tinted semi-circle was taking shots of us. Big brother was watching and I could
see them in every corner of the ceiling.

Vulnerable
targets we had become though we were in a crowded urban area. The camera could
easily pick me leaning on him at every floundering step I made.
Suspicious
target can easily be seen through a crowd
, I thought.

We
walk on a futuristic platform which had a train waiting for passengers. It was
quite big. Nearby there were other platforms and other trains. Cluttering
passengers moving in and out of the train made the underground look crowded.

‘Just
on time for our train but we must make it inside or else we’re doom,’ he warned
me.

Behind
I heard a low motoring sound. It gets louder as we head for the train. I wanted
to see what it was. I quickly glance at it.

‘Do
not think of it?’ My saviour said nervously as he holds and squeezes me tight
at his side.

‘Of what?’
I asked
innocently. 

‘What’s
behind us…? If you turn it shall take pictures of your face, analyse and send
more of them after us.’

Memories
of what I had seen at a glance came at a flash. Amazing machine tinted by black
and dark military green. Underneath its smooth oval shape I had seen an open
sort of portal. It had released some sort of insects which I believe to be
dragonfly. The head and rear of the machine seems to harvest rotating blades.
Its length was approximately half my height. Then the sound of the monitoring
droid perishes as it head farther away from us.   

‘What
are they?’ Like a child I foolishly enquired.

‘Droid
which fight and collect data for the police but the gate keepers can intercept
it. If we’re found we’re dead within twelve hours.’

We
walk in and he carefully put me in a passenger’s sit. I laid my head to rest
with the window and close my eyes.

 
Out of
the alley way the katana lady reach behind the retail shop. She quickly
manipulates the screen and reaches out of the file from a passing droid. The
timing under the moving pictures displays that the machine had been in the same
spot a few minutes ago. She fast forward and the camera on the droid had gone
underground.

On
the platform there were two men familiar to the two she was after. Agent Taylor
rewinds and replays the parts. One of them had turn to glance at the camera.
She rewinds that part and freezes it in time. She smirks as she patiently
studies the lines and shadows on his face. Their dress matches with the first
two she had seen on the footage trying to disguise themselves in the retail
shop.

Ahead
she could see the fire exit which she believes they had used to escape.
Immediately she rides towards it and stop. Across it she could see the
underground route they both took. She tardily rides with the flow of the
crowds.

At
the escalator her bike automatically sounds the police siren once. The red and
blue emergency lights flickers and remain on. Her air-bike comes to a halt.
 The crowd promptly step aside. She scanned her surroundings before she
heads for it. With her katana in one hand, she jump off, slides in the middle
of the two escalators which work in the opposite direction. Quickly she reaches
the platform on one knee with one hand resting on the floor for support. The
other arm stretched out straight, firmly holding and securing the
katana
.

Cluttering
within the underground air space were the droids. The silent predators
stealthily flew around in search of vulnerable preys. Faces of the criminals of
the States were encrypted within their software. As it moves over the crowd of
passengers its motion sensor send and picked up high definition photos.

Inside
the Artificial Intelligent match and reject the photos. It examined each faces
and postures of hidden faces. Suspicious suspects become priorities. Data which
does not match with its encryption are simply recognised as the law abiding
citizen.

Underneath
the droid near its camera, a portal had been opened and releasing swarm of
robotic insects. Half a finger size with large wings they spread away. Apart
and behaving solely, the robotic dragonfly dispersed within the crowd. Too
small to be spotted, each gathers their intelligent under extreme cautious and
diving speed.

Their
target has been registered as Phil Smith. On one side of their screen was the
photo of the teenager taken while he descended inside for the platform. Each
dragonfly navigates furiously within the crowd as it tried to match the
animated faces against the still photo shot.