The Midnight Stand (The Elysia Saga Book 1) (9 page)

The men sat with their gear on as the truck rode
along on its predetermined course. They were silent, their eyes cast down
looking at their feet, thinking private thoughts.

The truck was guided by GPS and powered by the
road it was riding on, much like a trolley car. The road was made of hundreds
of individual segments that locked together, which allowed for easy replacement
and repair. It moved the truck through magnetic force, each segment pushing it
one after the other. This was possible only in the City Centre and the
immediate surrounding areas. The outskirts hadn’t been upgraded yet. When the
truck reached those areas it would switch over to the reserve battery power
instead.  

Bruce was sitting next to Maxon in the front of
the control cab, watching as the illuminated road moved past them. The control
cab is where the first and second in command sit. Despite Maxon’s protests,
Bruce was still the second most senior member of the crew, so he warranted a
spot next to him in the cab and Bruce made sure he sat there.

Bruce had been suspiciously cooperative with
Maxon since the incident in the common room. He didn’t answer back when given
orders and even accepted Maxon’s request that he stay outside the house and act
as watch during the proceedings, a position that Bruce would normally never
take on. A watch post meant no storming into the house with weapons out, no
man-handling occupants, no door or window breaking. Essentially, for Bruce, it
meant no fun. Sure, there were occasional instances of civil disturbances
outside that needed to be taken care of, sometimes with force, but those hardly
happened anymore and the odds of Bruce seeing any outside action in that part
of town tonight was slim to none anyway. Maxon was fairly confident of that.

They sat in silence for a bit and then Bruce
spoke up. “Nice night, isn’t it?”

Maxon wasn’t in the mood for small talk, but he
went along, if only to keep Bruce on his good side. “It is.”

“Good night to be out,” Bruce mused. He had a
far off dreamy look in his eyes, like he was remembering some luxurious memory.
“Not like my first night on a wreck. Did I ever tell you about that?”

Maxon shook his head. Their conversations
together never got deep into past histories and Maxon never was inclined to
inquire. Everything he needed to know about Bruce was from reviewing his
performance record and that was enough.

Bruce continued: “I remember it was freezing,
middle of winter. My suit’s heating device malfunctioned and I was shaking the
whole ride there. I was only eighteen, and scared out of my mind. You know all
the things they tell you in training, what to expect, all the worst case
scenarios. I didn’t know if we were going to get there and a group of angry
people would attack us, you know?”

Maxon nodded his head to indicate he did. He
stared ahead into the night.

“So the whole time I’m just thinking to myself
there’s a good chance I may not make it back. When we got there though it was
quiet. Dead quiet. No mob, no angry homeowners, not even a barking dog. It was
eerie. When we went in the house the couple, a man and woman, was just sitting
there on the couch watching TV, like nothing was happening. They didn’t even
turn their heads to look at us.” He scratched at the stubble on his chin. It
sounded like sandpaper under his nails. “The Lead on that wreck was Vacasco I
think. When he told them to stand up and leave the house, they didn’t move,
just continued to sit there, like they were deaf. Finally, Vacasco had enough.
He said if they weren’t going to cooperate we were going to drag them out by
their necks. He was always a little hotheaded.”

Maxon saw a smile creep across Bruce’s face, no
doubt at the thought of a wild Vacasco dragging an old couple out by the hair
and throwing them on the curb like discarded trash. They had never worked together,
but Maxon knew of Vacasco’s ways. He was sanctioned several times and
eventually had to be removed as Lead Wreck after too many incidents occurred on
his watch. What Vacasco never admitted was that he was the cause of all those
incidents. He’s been on special assignment ever since.

When Maxon became Lead, a few of Vacasco’s guys
were assigned under him and he heard all the stories. He wasn’t surprised to
hear that Bruce was Vacasco’s protégé, someone he wanted to groom in his image.

“So they still didn’t move,” Bruce said.
“Vacasco then grabs the guy by his shirt and hauls him up off the chair and
down on the floor. The woman, now we have her attention mind you, gets up and
starts screaming. One of the others grabbed her. Vacasco then gives the wife a
choice; should he break her husband’s arm or leg. If she doesn’t choose, he’s
going to break his neck.”

Bruce held up his forefinger to Maxon to
emphasize his next point. “Now remember, this is my very first wreck and I
never got any training on what to do when your lead tells a wife to decide
which appendage he should break on her husband. So this is all new to me and
I’m just trying not to look like a dumb rook, but you know what the funny part
was. No one seemed to care that this was going on. They all acted like this was
normal procedure. You see I was the only rookie on Vacasco’s crew that day, so
for all of them it
was
normal. And you know what?”

“What?” Maxon said. Bruce looked him in the eyes
before answering.

“For me, it felt normal too. That’s when I knew
I was born to do this.”

That sent a chill down Maxon’s spine. He always
knew Bruce was a trouble maker and bully, but he never thought that he could be
borderline psychopathic. How was this not picked up during the mental
examination or did his connections help cover up the results of the exam, if
there was even an exam at all? It made Maxon question the entire system if
someone like this could get through the ranks.

He didn’t want to engage Bruce anymore in this,
but he went ahead and asked his question anyway. “What happened to the
husband?”

Bruce began to chuckle to himself. “The woman
just pleaded with Vacasco to stop. He must have felt pity on her because he
just ended up dislocating the man’s shoulder and we dragged them both out and
went to work. He always said to make sure they knew you were in charge. It’s
not wrong, is it? It’s just that some people need a little more pushing than
others. But in the end, they all comply, don’t they?”

Maxon knew that to be true. Compliance wasn’t an
option, it was compulsory and sometimes they did have to get physical, but it
wasn’t something he enjoyed. It was his job and an aspect of his job he hated. The
Director position was something he desired, even though he never admitted as
much to Erica. It meant he wouldn’t have to go out anymore and could make
decisions sitting behind a desk instead of covered in gear.

It also meant his position within the department
would be solidified. He would be deemed essential to all operations, something
that would make Erica very happy. His conversation with her earlier in the
night was still on his mind. It worried him how the Council would react to the
unplanned pregnancy and how it could affect his standing with them. A part of
him hoped that a complication would be discovered early on. It was heartless,
he knew, and Erica would be crushed, but he didn’t see any other way.

The truck was making its way through the
outskirts now. The roads weren’t new here and there was meager illumination to
see their way, so the truck’s high beams were turned on. Bruce had lowered
himself into his seat and appeared to be drowsing.

The onboard navigation system showed that they
were five minutes from their destination. It was 11:55. They would be right on
time, as always. He nudged Bruce awake on the shoulder. Bruce looked up and out
the window into near darkness.

“We there?”

“Nearly. Another few minutes.” Maxon got on the
intercom and spoke to the crew in back. “We’ll be commencing in exactly four
minutes. Begin to prepare yourselves.”

There was stirring from behind them as the crew
began to fix up their suits and arrange their gear. Bruce was also getting
himself ready. He was fully alert now and seemed to be anxious with
anticipation.

“I always get excited right before we’re ready
to disembark,” he said. “It’s like a rush of adrenaline. You get that?”

“No, not really.” In fact, Maxon would describe
what he felt to be more like trepidation. Right before he disembarked a knot
would form in his stomach and he felt like he had to evacuate his bowels. One
time the pain was so strong he almost did.

“That’s too bad,” Lennox said. “A good shot of
adrenaline keeps us on our toes, ready for anything. It must be like how a lion
feels right before it makes its kill.”

The image of a den of lions tearing into the
flesh of an antelope popped into Maxon’s head. It wasn’t one that put him at
ease.

The navigation system beeped twice and began to
flash on the mapped screen, indicating their destination was approaching. They
were a block away from it. Maxon had never been this far out before at night.
During the day it seemed desolate and quiet, but at night it took on an even
eerier feeling, like you were alone in the world. Most of the houses in this
sector were either already abandoned or earmarked for wrecking, so there were
very few people inhabiting this sector. The heavy knot in the pit of Maxon’s
stomach began to say hello.

They were now only a few yards away and Maxon
could see the house they needed to wreck. It was darkened but he still
recognized it from the report photos and specs he had studied earlier.

“That’s it?” Bruce said with a tone of
disappointment, clearly hoping for a larger house for him to destroy. “It doesn’t
even look like anyone lives there.”

The house was what can be described by current
standards as dilapidated. Maxon was surprised it was able to stand this long.
Seeing the place dark gave him a swell of encouragement. Maybe the owners
decided to up and leave before the truck arrived. Perhaps this was going to be
a quick and easy night after all. This hopeful notion was just starting to lay
seeds in his head when he saw something move on the porch. No, not something,
someone.

“There’s someone on the porch.”

Bruce squinted and moved his head closer to the
windshield. “Where? I don’t see anybody.”

Maxon hoped it was just a trick of light and
shadow, but he saw movement again. This time the form was clearer. “Right
there,” he pointed out to Bruce.

“Oh yeah, I see him. Maybe this won’t be so
routine after all. What’s that he’s holding?”

Maxon saw it too and knew almost immediately
from the shape of it what it was. The knot in his stomach rose to his throat.
“It’s a shotgun.”

“Oh shit. Got ourselves a last stand here,”
Bruce said gleefully. Maxon could almost hear him salivating. Bruce turned and
yelled to the crew in back. “We’re gonna have some fun tonight after all, boys.”

He hit the horn button and the truck screamed
into the night, its siren blazing as it pushed towards its final destination.

The police car stopped in front of Ancil’s
driveway along with two other cars. One of them was Daniel’s. The siren was
killed and Sheriff Bailey stepped out, hiking up his rather large seated pants.
He had Officer Anderson with him, the one Ancil remembered from his time in the
county jail. Right behind him was Daniel. He was red faced and looked ready to
explode. The third car carried two people Ancil didn’t recognize, but he did
recognize the insignia on the side of the car door - CyberTronix.

So he came with a posse
, Ancil
thought to himself. He always knew Daniel was a vindictive bastard but he
didn’t think he would go to this length.   

He watched by the window as the five of them walked
up to his door, trespassing as far as he saw it. He told Harley to stay in the
bedroom and not come out till he said so. He saw the fear in his grandson’s
eyes, but to Harley’s credit he didn’t cry. He sucked up his fear and listened.

A knock came at the door. It was firm but not
aggressive. Sheriff Bailey’s voice spoke from the other side of it. “Ancil,
it’s the Sheriff’s department. We’d like to talk to you. Open up.”

Ancil stood by the door, unmoving. He could feel
the bodies on the other side. He took his shotgun in his hand and double
checked that both barrels were loaded.

Another series of knocks, louder this time.
“Come on, Ancil. We know you’re home. Your truck’s in the driveway. Open the
door. Don’t make us have to go through the effort of knocking it in, it’s too
damn hot for that.”

He put his hand on the deadbolt and unlocked it.
He slowly opened the door and looked at Sheriff Bailey through the glass of the
storm door. He made sure his shotgun was visible in his hand.

“There’s no need for that Ancil. We all just
want to talk,” Sheriff Bailey said as he eyed the shotgun.

“The way I see it Sheriff, you all are
trespassing on private property and I’m within my constitutional rights to hold
this gun.” Ancil didn’t let his eyes leave the Sheriff’s.

Sheriff Bailey pulled up his pants and rested
both hands on his belt, close to his weapon. “Now Ancil, you know if we have
reasonable cause we can come in and search your home. All I’m trying to do is
bypass any ugliness that can arise outta this.”

“What reasonable cause do you have, Sheriff?”
Ancil asked.

 “Mr. Trager believes that you’re holding his young
son at the moment.”

“He kidnapped my boy. I know it. The old bastard
was always crazy and dangerous. Arrest him now and get my son,” Daniel blurted
out. He had his finger raised at Ancil and was being held back by the two men
from CyberTronix.

“Keep him calm, will ya,” Sheriff Bailey said to
the two men. They wore matching white jumpers that had their names sewn in it;
Conway and Balor. Underneath their names were the words Elysia Project. To
Ancil they looked like cult members in an insane asylum.

Ancil pointed to the two men in white jumpers.
“Why are they here?”

“They’re here to take my family and me to our
new home,” Daniel said.

“That’s no home they’re taking you to. It’s a prison
and Harley will not be raised in it.”

The two men looked at each other and nodded, as
if giving one another a secret signal.

“I want my son, old man. I know you took him and
that you have him in there.”

“The boy came to me. He was crying and scared.
Scared about you, about them.” He pointed to the two men standing behind
Daniel. They had their arms crossed and were glaring back at Ancil.

“You’re lying. He never mentioned anything to me
about not wanting to go.”

“Maybe if you stopped to actually listen to him
you would have heard. Instead you’re too busy letting these people decide your
future for you.”

“I’ll decide my family’s future, not you. This
is what I chose. This is the right future for them. It’s the only future.”

“It won’t be Harley’s.”

Daniel became furious. He moved to charge the door
and all four men had to hold him back as he screamed. “Harley! Harley, it’s
your father! Get out here!”

“He doesn’t want to go with you anywhere,” Ancil
said. He was able to stay calm despite the commotion.

Daniel turned to the Sheriff, “Bailey, what are
you waiting for, knock the damn door down.”

Sheriff Bailey wiped sweat from his round red
face. This wasn’t how he envisioned his afternoon going. “Ancil, if you are
holding Harley in there then we are within our rights to come in, with or
without your consent.”

Ancil brought his shotgun up to his waist.
Sheriff Bailey and Officer Anderson both went for their side arms, bringing
them up to meet Ancil. Daniel retreated behind the men in white.

“No one will be stepping foot inside my home
without my say so.”

“I told you he’s crazy,” Daniel said, “just
blast him.”

“If you don’t want this to end in bloodshed I
suggest you turn around and get back in your cars and drive off. The boy is
with me. He’s safe. There’s no reason for you to be here.”

“I’m giving you to the count of three,” Sheriff
Bailey said. “If you don’t move aside and let us in, we’re gonna bust on in,
you understand that.” Ancil didn’t move from the door. “One, two-”

Before the Sheriff got to three Ancil dodged out
of the way and slammed the door shut. He just got away in time when the door
exploded. The shock from the blast threw Ancil to the floor. The world turned
white after that.