Cynetic Wolf
HITTING THE DECK

After eating, I went to the infirmary. The door opened to a state of the art medical ward complete with propped beds, IV racks, and a freckled nurse at a spotless desk in the far corner, beady brown eyes eyeing me. “What can I do for you?”

She listened and led me past an inverted imaging array into another room. “He’s in there.”

Sure enough, Fitz was asleep on a gurney, wireless sensors hooked to his arms, chest and forehead. “Is he okay?” He looked horrible.

She nodded and checked her band. “Sorry. Another patient, allergies…” She hurried off, leaving us alone.

He wasn’t moving and that worried me. How was he still asleep? It had been fifteen hours. He should be awake by now. I should wake him up, right?

Another group raced in carrying a red-faced woman as I closed the door. Everything fell silent. I leaned over him. “Fitz? Fitz.” Nothing.

After a series of hard slaps didn’t help, I grabbed a small cup from the dispenser, filled it in the sink and dumped it on him.

He rocketed upward, eyes wide, sensors squawking.

“No!” he screamed. “Not again!”

Our eyes met and horror crept into his gaunt face as he paled, recoiling. His biomarkers skyrocketed, beeping. “Not him, not Raek! I won’t fall for this again. I don’t know where they are.” He touched his ruined ear.

Jeez. “Fitz, it’s me. It’s Raek.”

He launched himself at me, massive shoulder slamming my face and sending us flying into the wall. We fell, hard, and he sprang on top of me, using his weight to pin my arms.

“Fitz!” I shouted. “What are you doing? It’s me! This isn’t a sim, this isn’t virtual.”

He pounded me, fists raining down. “Where did we meet that night?”

What was he talking about? Shit.

“Where?” he roared, eyes half-mad. “The night you disappeared.”

Um… “Behind our house.” What did that have to do with anything?

His voice weakened and the punches slowed. “And where did we hide in the school when the DNS came?”

“In the basement, but we went to your room.” That’s what he was doing. “We barricaded ourselves behind desks and used micro mats as blast absorbers. Is that good enough? There were officers inside my house that night, three of ’em. Waiting for me. You saved my life. Fitz?”

He collapsed, sobbing onto the floor, an inhuman gasping laugh escaping his shivering lips. Jeez.

“Raek, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. I thought, I thought I might never get out of there.” He looked me dead in the eyes, a serious expression on his face. “You have no idea how bad the food is.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the Fitz I know. It isn’t much better here, but there’s food.”

He didn’t want to talk about it and I couldn’t blame him. It was bad enough for me, and he was under twice as long.

“You’re right, I’m starving. But where are we?” he gestured around us. “And are you okay? What happened?”

Heck if I know. I told him everything, including my simulated torture and escape. He listened, focused, never once interrupting.

“So, this is the new rebel headquarters,” he remarked when I finished. “Must mean we’re near Caen. Right under their noses.” The beginnings of a smile. “You mentioned food?”

“I’ll show you around. Let’s replace Zedda.” We exited the medical ward with little more than a look of shock and a few quick exams from the nurse.

After that, the day passed in a blur. At eight p.m., we found our way back to bed and I passed out the moment I hit the mat.

When I awoke, my SmartCore told me it was 6:00 a.m. Ugh… The lack of windows and natural light was unnerving.

There were a decent number of early risers when I swung my door open and weights smashed above. Might be just what I needed.

Jogging upstairs, people stirred, the occasional early morning romp.

Halfway down the hall, a figure emerged. Bending to clear the low doorway, out stepped a tall, athletic beauty. She wore simple crimson and blue fitted pants, her skin an ornate golden brown pattern. She was intoxicating.

“Hey,” I said, unable to help myself. My pulse ramped. What was it about pretty girls?

She gave me a funny look, warm eyes inspecting me. “You’re new here, aren’t you? You must be Raek.”

I nodded, confused and on edge, despite her good looks. “You know my name?”

“Zedda told me. I’m Lilia.” She offered a manicured hand, a stark contrast to her powerful grip. “Pleased to meet you, Raek.”

I shook it, not too hard I hoped. “Pleasure’s all mine.”

“How do you like it here? Are you getting settled?” She seemed genuine.

“I am. It’s good, a bit overwhelming, but good. You talked to Zedda about me?”

“For our meeting tonight. I’m on the Council,” she added. “Going to train?”

I nodded, grinning like a fool. Get it together, Raek.

She checked her band. “It was nice to meet you, but I need to run.” She hurried in the other direction as I continued down the hall, unable to get her out of my head.

The hallway ended in a big metal door with a Do or die! sign on it. Intense bunch. But in war, it was do or die. I guess it made sense to practice with a similar intensity.

The door opened to pounding music—Metallica 2pointAI, banned now—and a familiar sweaty blast. I downregulated my nose—something I’d learned by accident in a weird dream—and after a second, could breathe again.

Ashlo and Henk were sparring in the far corner and I headed over.

On the way were hulking guys and gals squatting heavy weights, athletes on rings and bars, and a small girl with sim goggles blasting imaginary targets. They’d pulled out all the stops.

When I reached the brothers, Ashlo and Henk were locked in a heated struggle, a small crowd gathered around, grimacing in excitement.

Ashlo—the bigger of the two—had his brother pinned to the floor, massive arm tight around Henk’s bulging throat. “Tap, come on.” His face contorted in a panting smile as he applied more pressure but Henk kept fighting.

Henk’s eyes were closing when he sprang into motion, blasting off the red mat and flipping forward. The crowd gasped, going silent.

Ashlo’s face smashed the mat and Henk twisted from the choke, spinning his brother into an armbar, legs squeezing Ashlo’s vulnerable shoulder.

It hurt to watch.

“Tap, Ashlo. Don’t make me break it.”

“Screw you, Henk! I’m not tapping.” Ashlo gritted his teeth. “I don’t tap...”

“Cut it out, the both of you!” came a loud, commanding voice. “The fight’s over! We have more important issues. Henk, your brother’s arm, now!”

Paer strode over. “You idiots aren’t going to break another arm or leg. You’re too damn important. Get off that mat and get yourselves dressed. Lilia was looking for you.”

“Yes, ma’am!” they snapped, jumping from the mat and jogging to the showers, tails between their legs.

Wow. Paer was a powerhouse. She headed toward me. “They’ll want to talk to you downstairs as well. We have a meeting at 10:00 every Monday, you need to be there.”

“Thanks for the heads up.”

“Want to spar?” She gave me a funny look, challenging yet playful.

“Me? Spar with you?” I took a step back.

“What, am I too old to spar?” Her eyes flashed.

“No, no, I meant—”

“Good, let’s spar.”

We suited up in protective headgear and light gloves, and stepped onto the soft circular mat.

“For rules, anything goes except the eyes and groin.” She gave me a look, sizing me up, or mocking me, I wasn’t sure.

Everyone was watching. Damn it. Talk about a first impression, kicking some old lady’s butt. How’d she talk me into this?

We squared up, circling. Her footwork was outstanding. Mine wasn’t half bad—Mom made us have lessons when we were younger—but Paer moved with impossible grace and precision.

“You know I have cybernetics?” I asked. “I don’t want to hurt you—”

“Kid,” she said with a smirk. “If you hurt me, I’ll bake you cookies.” The crowd roared and I flushed. I was trying to be nice, lady.

Moving inward, I threw a few feeler jabs but she dodged them with a smile.

As I lined up a combo, she faked and her right fist sledgehammered my stomach before I realized what happened.

Ugh… Dropping my arm to cover my body, her left clobbered my face. I stumbled, struggling to stay upright. My reaction time had to be twice as fast as hers, yet she was crushing me. What was going on? I’d underestimated her. “Well played.”

She gave an innocent smile before she swept my leg and pounced, elbow crashing into my jaw as she landed. Her knee slammed my abdomen, knocking the wind out of me.

Struggling to defend myself, I remembered something Mom said once, “Wolves don’t attack, baby, they kill.”

Spinning my hips, I knocked her off and launched upward, creating space. As I landed, I put all my force into an uppercut, impaling her jaw. She dropped like a rock, out cold before she hit the floor.

Stunned silence, no one said a word.

Someone clapped. Others joined in. Soon I was swept up in high fives. I did it, I’d won, somehow... Next time I might not be so lucky.

Paer blinked, bleary-eyed. “Wh—where are we? What happened?”

Offering a hand, I helped her to her feet, her pupils dilating at last. “You’re an amazing fighter, Paer. You knew what I’d do and how I’d react before I did.”

“I want a rematch one of these days,” she said through gritted teeth.

“How about one better?” I asked. She’d be the perfect tutor and Fitz hadn’t taught me much yet. “Would you teach me?”

“Too busy, kid. Can’t.” She shook her head, face set in a hard line. Dang... “But thanks for asking, makes an old lady feel appreciated.”

Someone called her over and she disappeared as Zedda came over to congratulate me. I tried to downplay it but she’d have none of it.

“I’ve never seen her lose, not once. Rumor is it’s been years, some tigerish guy, I think. You’ll have to ask Ashlo or Henk. They’re more interested in that stuff.”

Tigerish, mhm? No way…

“I’ll see you at the meeting.” She smiled. “First, I need to get some climbing in.” She headed for the rock wall in the far corner. Chimpish, I laughed to myself. Our little animalish tendencies.

After showering, I went looking for Fitz.

When I got to his room, he was chatting with an older brunette I hadn’t met. She had kind eyes, a warm posture, and petite hands that kept up with her whirlwind mouth. Fitz waved me over. “Raek, this is Fenni. She was sharing all the good gossip, you wouldn’t believe some of the things... Fenni, meet Raek.”

She smiled and after a quick hello, continued, “Like I was saying, sounds like the raids were successful. There’s a meeting tonight, 18:00. Sounds like a big deal. Targets were high profile government buildings, I think.”

“Really? “I didn’t see anything on the web or forums. The elite web either.”

She nodded. “That’s normal. Our successful missions usually get swept under the rug.” She wagged a finger. “Command and control 101. Never let the enemy appear strong, successful or human. It goes something like this: we attack some GDR building or assassinate a corrupt leader and it’s either not reported, or labeled an accident: gas leak, bad heart, car accident… you get the picture.”

She paused, basking in the attention. “But anytime we fail or something goes wrong, it’s everywhere.” She rolled her eyes. “Terrorist plot to blow up a hospital, thwarted. Rebels kill four innocent kids before being gunned down by heroic DNS officers....” Another eye roll. “It’s always something like that. And no, we don’t target hospitals, children, or innocents.”

Fitz said, “It’s true. Been like this for years.”

“We always kind of thought so, at least our family… But you never know.” I paused. “Guess that’s the point. But don’t people post footage? Shouldn’t there be hundreds or thousands of videos and holos and articles?” The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

She chuckled, Fitz too. “You ain’t seen the data centers have you, honey? Who do you think employs the best developers and hackers, even some simple AI? The GDR spends the bulk of its monitoring budget on cyber, I’d bet.”

Talk turned to the day’s plans, and I told Fitz about the meeting. “We’ve got an hour to kill but—”

A funny, knowing grin on his face stopped me. “What? What is it?”

“It’s nothing. I’m surprised, that’s all,” he mused. “Lilia, haven’t heard that name in years.”

“You know her? How?” Was she that old? Darn.

“Long story. We ran in similar crowds.”

I was about to respond but thought better of it. Fenni was eyeing both of us and seemed loose-lipped. “I’m gonna grab some coffee from the mess, want some?”

“I could use some caffeine. Give me a sec.” We said our goodbyes, and, after Fenni left, I gave Fitz a questioning look. “Later,” he murmured.

We made it to the mess and fresh brewed coffee and savory biscuits hit me. Fitz perked up and I used this as the perfect excuse to ask about Lilia. “So, you know Lilia?”

“I do. Another life.”

“Were you guys, well, lovers?” I fought to keep my face a mask.

“What? No.” His brow furrowed. “What makes you say that?”

“You’re avoiding the topic,” I said, not wanting him to realize I was jealous.

He told me they’d been early members of the Resistance together, gone on a fair number of missions...

“But why’d you leave?” I asked.

“Differences of opinion,” he said without elaborating.

I was sick of the guessing games and narrowed my eyes.

“To be honest,” he said. “I’d had enough. I was tired of fighting, tired of trying to break the system. I wanted to build a better future for animotes, for all of us. That’s why I became a teacher, I wasn’t lying when I said that. Education is the key to opportunity. It’s the thing I never had. I wanted to change that,” he said at last.

Someone yelled my name.

It was Jame, the guy who drove the bus with Zedda and saved us.

“Hey, Jame!” I said over the noise. “Space for two more?”

“For a mixed-breed magic man... Move over, Bret, Othie.”

I looked down, uncomfortable with the special treatment. The two scooted to make space which made me feel even worse.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said.

“I didn’t have to.” Jame smiled. “I wanted to. Bret and Othie are great, but they’re a bit dull,” he whispered. “Besides, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

You have? I introduced him to Fitz. “So, what’s up?”

“Wanted to make sure you were getting the hang of things, feeling at home. Stuff like that.”

“Yeah. Everyone’s been super welcoming. Are they always so friendly?” Seemed out of character for an underground movement.

“Well, you are a living legend!” Jame exclaimed. “An animote-cynetic hybrid, that’s never happened, like ever! You’re a symbol of hope, man.”

“What are you talking about? I’m a kid, an ordinary guy.”

“Tell that to them.” Jame pointed two tables over.

Sure enough, they all looked away. They’d been talking about me...

“I’m not some hero, I’m not a savior!” My voice rose, breaking the din. “I don’t know what I am.” Other than a freak. “I’m an outcast I guess…”

“Not anymore, buddy.” Jame clapped my arm, a big grin on his boyish face. “They got big plans for you, the Council that is.” They do?

I didn’t like this much attention. Not. At. All.

“You’re all anyone’s talking about.” He snapped his fingers. “By the way, is it true you knocked out the old lady, you beat Paer?”

I shrugged. “Lucky punch. She should have won the fight.”

Fitz raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“I knew it.” Jame signaled one of the guys at the other table. “Hey, Drue, get over here!”

A tall muscular guy headed over, long golden curls and a thick, blond beard covering his cheeks and chin. “I heard, Jame. I know. Congrats, Raek.” He tapped his silver band twice. “Twenty creds?”

Jame nodded, tapping his smartband. He held it to Drue’s with a grin as continuous biometrics verified their identities to make the process fast and secure. Wow, twenty, Mom would kill me if I gambled away so much. My stomach panged. I missed her. Were they okay?

Jame beamed. “I told you. Never bet against my friend Raek.” He patted me on the back.

“Look at that!” Fitz exclaimed. “I lost track of time. It was nice meeting you two, but we have to run.”

We hustled to the entranceway and were lucky Zedda found us because I had no idea where to go.

“There you two are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Come on.” She hurried along the far side which was all new to me. “Offices and meeting rooms are on this side of the building,” she explained.

We reached a large official-looking door. Rather than a fabbed cubicle, these rooms appeared permanent, built when the building was, and adapted to the layout today.

She knocked twice and opened the door. I took a deep breath, no idea what to expect.