Part II. An Epitaph for the Wisteria
The apartment was built on a rotating axis that allowed the building to follow the sun as it moved throughout the sky. From the mountains, it looked like a sunflower in constant motion against the still outline of a city. It generated power for those living within who’d come to call the building Follower, or Flower. Inside, mirrors directed light from one end of the building to the other. It was a constant bright that bombarded the halls. Only the drawing of shades would drive it out.
Lillian sat, huddled under a blanket and her arms folded on the table, as she watched Walker prepare breakfast. He pulled two red pills from their wrapping and held them in his hands. Suppression Pills. With a quick peek out the window, he removed a small black box from the back of the cabinet, opened the top and placed both pills inside. He closed the lid and waited. The air around the 31st floor of the building was cold, but his back sweat in the reflections of the sun .
Lillian eyed the box. “You know they make better Skips now, right? That don’t take as long.”
Walker turned back towards her, lifting his shoulders. “They're still too big.”
"Then why don’t you make a smaller one yourself?"
“Oh, they’ve long surpassed my original design. They'll get smaller with time.”
Both of their skulls vibrated, the corner of their retinas burned with sight of the hall beyond their door.
“Should only be a few more seconds until the pills are done. I’ll let them in,” Walker said as he pushed his way past her and out of the cramped kitchen.
A wry scowl greeted him beyond the door. “ You think they’d teach you about punctuality in all that goddamn Guard training. How’ve you been?”
“We’re just about ready to execute th—”
A ringing from the kitchen. Lillian pulled the top off of the black box and removed the blue pills.
“—the plan.”
Lillian walked in and passed a cup and the pill to Walker, then welcomed Hadleigh and Wynn.
Hadleigh stared. “You still using that old Skip?”
“Waiting for a smaller one.” Walker said.
Lillian led the group through a closet into a small passage away from the large windows that covered the exterior of Flower. She pulled a key from her long coat and opened a door leading to the raven room. Maps hung from the concrete walls. Firearms lay scattered along a wooden bench. Walker's Crimson Guard armour adorned a mannequin in the corner, still shining from a recent polishing.
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Lillian pulled out the ID from her shirt pocket as she approached the guard.
"Birthday?"
"18th of December 3052."
"Reason for your visit?" He probed.
"Suppression check."
The guard moved aside. "Head on through."
Stolen novel; please report.
The inside of the building was sterile cleanser. White walls with red stripes pointed in various directions to lead the unfamiliar around, though very few were unfamiliar with the layout. Most of the offices were built as images of the first. She made her way to the back of the suppression check line.
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The Central Novissimus Flos Suppression Office was a squat concrete shard with massive windows and pillars that loomed like shadows of birds. Crimson Guards lined the exterior walls. Armaments in hand they stood watch, unmoving, as an inordinate number of people entered and exited the building.
Wynn fired a burst in the distance. Hadleigh watched the pandemonium crowds. In the commotion, she put a hole through the Crimson Guard at the entrance and hauled the gored husk of muscle into the shadows. Walker, encased in the shell of his old Crimson uniform, posted by the door before anyone could noticed what had happened. Within minutes, the area calmed and the line moved forward anew.
After an act of inspection, he allowed Lillian entry into the office. Hadley and Wynn pulled away from the building.
“You ready?” Wynn asked Hadleigh.
She replied and placed the helmet over her head, her voice emitting through each of their radios in a static haze. “A3 and A4 in position, A1?”
Lillian looked to the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with the office's mass-congregation. “A1 ready, A2?”
Walker looked in the direction of Hadleigh and Wynn and nodded. “A2 set. Go.”
From roofs afar, Hadleigh and Wynn fired blindly toward the building. Walker ran in their direction and ordered the other guards away from the office and towards them. Civilians fell for the linoleum refuge.
Lillian took the opportunity to run behind the counter, grab one of the receptionists and force him to a door at the back of the building to scan his ID, opening it. A flash of her pistol, a ring in the ear, and he dropped. She stepped over his corpse and into the database. The whisper of servomechs isolated her from the gunshots outside.
She pulled open her jacket and removed several flat objects. Carefully, she placed them by the servers around the room.
"A1 reporting in. Explosives placed."
"Roger that A1. Get out of there."
"On my w—" Static.
A civilian grabbed hold of her ankle and pulled her down. The trigger fell from her hand and hit the floor.
Walker’s face contorted within the mask as he caught the explosion. Glass shrapnel pierced his joints. The birds fell from the sky. In a breath, ash.
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He awoke to a familiar stone-crested ceiling.
"Good morning."
"Shit." He attempted to move his head but the chains restrained him.
"That's no way to speak to your Captain."
He spat. "Former Captain."
"Well, you never resigned. Although now that we've got the armour back, I guess the process is formally complete."
He shook his constrained wrists. "What do you want?"
"Casualties are over two hundred. More are still coming in as they succumb to their injuries. I want to know why.”
"Why?" He smiled. "That's it? Tell me where—"
"They're dead. Lillian, Wynn, and Hadleigh. It's just you now."
His eyes welled.
"How dare you!" The Captain howled. "Two hundred innocents dead and you cry for three terrorists!" She lifted her hand to strike, then pulled back. "Why." She demanded.
"I don't trust those fucking pills."
"The pills that brought an end to the age of disease? You were smart, once. One of us. How could you have clouded so thoroughly? Are there any other Anti-Suppression Cells?"
He laughed and bit down into his tooth. His body shook.
The Captain slammed her fist against the wall.
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Part III. Black Sand Wonderland
Six Hours Prior to the C-NF-SO Bombing
“C076, confirm presence.”
“C076, confirmed.”
“C077, confirm presence.”
“C077, confirmed.”
In white, they stood silent. The floor fallen ash, though footfall left no trace. Ahead of them, one other. He who called directives.
“C078, confirm presence.”
“C078, confirmed.”
“C081, confirm presence.”
“C081, confirmed.”
"C082, confirm presence.”
“C082, confirmed.”
“C084, confirm presence.”
“C084, confirmed.”
“All confirmations acquired. Stand for orders.”
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Thirteen Minutes After the C-NF-SO Bombing
They loaded the last body into the back of the van and stepped into the vehicle. The leader, sitting at the wheel, received a message just as he began to pull the away from the site.
“Captain of the Crimson Guard,” the static voice reported. “This drop is to be discreet. Three separate locations, no official statements.”
“Confirmed.”
He relayed the information to C076 in the seat next to him, who called the first facility.
“Initium Vitae Columbae.” The old man on the other end was tired.
"We’ve arranged a truck for corpse transportation. Body contains the payment."
"Job'll done by nightfall."
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