Absolute Power (Book 1): Origins (2 page)

“I’ll show you a trick,” the Lieutenant smiled.  He went around grabbing the chair Porter was tied to.  Tilting it back on two legs the Lieutenant dragged him to the exit.

It was day, the sun high overhead and the light blinding.  A fine powdery snow lay fresh on the ground.  The Lieutenant knew exactly where he was going, dragging Porter to a large open area.  Anger was snapping off his skin in bolts of electricity.  Then the Lieutenant shot out a stream of power, melting the snow and then the ice below.  With one motion, he turned Porter around and threw him head first into the frigid water.  Porter’s instinctive reaction was to gasp, but he held it.  His face went numb, and his eyes were starting to freeze.  There was a sense of panic building inside him as he ran out of oxygen.  Porter’s muscles stiffened and ached.  Thoughts began to slow and misfire.  Suddenly the plan his subconscious had been developing became apparent.

The Lieutenant took a perverse pleasure melting the hair off of Porter’s head.  It was the only part of him that had any vulnerability.  The idea that he was as smooth as a baby made Porter laugh.  His laughter became hysterical.

“Where is your battalion?” The Boneman asked after Porter quieted down.

“Coming here.  For you,” Porter answered.

With a smile, the Lieutenant jabbed his thumbs into Porter’s eyes.  The electricity shot down his optical nerves and into his brain.  The Boneman gave the signal to stop.  He waited for Porter, who was mumbling gibberish.

“I can give you...” Porter tried, and his words came out as a whisper.  “I can give you intelligence.”

“Oh yes,” The Boneman sounded skeptical.  He nodded to the Lieutenant who was ready to shock Porter into submission.

Porter remembered the acrid smell of the room when they first brought him in.  He remembered the way the room echoed when the music was blasting and had a good guess as to the size and layout.  When he was in the throes of pain, the light from the electricity showed him something.  He’d seen barrels.  Then when he was dragged outside he saw a caution sign on the side of the building.  Maybe part of him had thought that no one would be that stupid, but the evidence was there.  Porter looked The Boneman in the eye and said, “You shouldn’t use open current near gasoline.”  Then he leaned forward catching the Lieutenant’s hand in his mouth and bit down.

The Lieutenant screeched and let off a blast of energy.

“Stop you idiot,” The Boneman shouted.

But it was too late; Porter used what little leverage he had and threw himself into the Lieutenant.  Bolts of electricity spit off in every direction as they tumbled to the ground.  The Boneman did his best to run.

When the blast cleared, Porter brushed off the debris and ash.  He found The Boneman lying in a pile of rubble; most of the man’s skin was blistered and burnt.

Standing over the broken man, Porter said, “To answer your question, my battalion will be here by the end of the day.  And this entire base will be overrun.”

The Boneman couldn't respond, only continued to gasp for air.

Leaving him there, Porter made his way to the radio tower killing anyone who got in his way.

It was snowing again.  It seemed like it was always snowing in Russia.  Petr Florian was used to it, having lived his entire life in the country.  That didn't mean he had to like it.

He closed the window to his small apartment.  Petr's soft brown hair was a mess as usual.  Out of nervous habit he scratched his head making it worse.  He'd been cooped up in a small one bedroom apartment for almost a month.

It was a good enough place.  The floor boards were intact.  The windows were clean and unbroken. It even looked like they had freshly painted the walls.  This was supposed to be his reward for his work with The One Intelligence Department; a vacation and a nice apartment.

Petr didn't mean to be greedy, but he expected more.  In fact, he thought that they would have flown him to the United States by now.  It was the least they could do since he had spent the war undercover as a Red Iron diplomat.  He had almost missed the birth of his child.

Using the poker, Petr stoked the fire and glanced into the bedroom.  Elena was asleep in bed, and he could just make out the bulge of her belly.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Petr rushed to answer it before it woke his wife.  In the hallway was the nondescript face of Lieutenant Phillip Green, Petr's handler.  The man was neither thin nor fat.  He wasn't particularly handsome, but he wasn't ugly either.  Of course, that's just what Petr saw.  Lieutenant Green had the ability to alter people's perception of himself.  In essence people saw what he wanted or didn’t see him at all

“Morning, Petr,” Lieutenant Green said.

Petr left his longtime friend at the entrance and ran to close the bedroom door.  The Lieutenant wiped his feet and let himself in the rest of the way.  He hadn't been by to visit the Florian's since the Red Iron had surrendered.  Petr was integral in persuading the Red Iron forces that a Super-Human war would eventually destroy the motherland.  He was so convincing that more than half of the soldiers went as far as to defect and aid in the assault on Moscow.  Lieutenant Green had to break contact with Petr or give away The One’s subversive plan to end the war.  So, Petr had been on his own for the last year.  At the same time, Lieutenant Green had work of his own.  While The One and the United Nations were satisfied with Russia's surrender, he needed it personally verified.

He made his way to the fireplace to warm his hands.  “How much longer?”  Green asked after Elena.

“Soon, the doctors say,” Petr answered.

“Do you have everything you need?  Diapers, crib?” Green inquired.

“Yes, The One has made sure we have everything,” Petr paused.  “Except what we agreed on.”

Lieutenant Green turned to look at Petr and raised his eyebrow slightly.  After a moment he said, “Well you know the new amendments to The One Charter are making things difficult.”

“I don't know what you're talking about, Phillip,” Petr tried not to panic.

“The new amendments The One is rolling out over the rest of the year?”  Green tried.  “Where have you been?”

“Here,” Petr said, his voice was getting louder.  “On vacation in my new home you gave me.”

Lieutenant Green did his best to explain calmly, “Last month The One said they would be implementing three new amendments to the charter, to prevent another war.  The first is, no Super-Human can participate in local or international government.”

“So,” Petr said confused.

“It effectively fired every Super-Human from government positions,” Green said.  “Including diplomats turned spies.”  He saw the realization hit Petr.  “You have no grounds for asylum.”

“But you said you would keep us safe and get my family to America,” Petr cried.

“Don't worry, the entire Red Iron force has been absolved of all actions,” Green assured him.  “The papers are even starting to call this The War of Absolution.  It's the other amendments you have to worry about.  They haven't revealed them yet, but I have my sources.  The One is strategically setting itself up as the governing power of all Super-Humans.”

“What do you mean?” Petr asked.

“The first step was throwing all the Super-Humans out in the open,” Green told him. “The second amendment will state that all Super-Humans are required to join The One or be arrested.  The third amendment will then say no one in The One can kill, but they're holding it till last in case there’s resistance to the second amendment.”

Petr fell back into a nearby chair.

“Forced conscription,” he muttered.  “I worked with The One so I could be free.  Now they'll make me a soldier.  I'm a diplomat, a people person; I talk not shoot.”

There wasn't much Lieutenant Green could do for his friend.  A lot of what was happening involved political red tape.  He was good at stealing information but not so much at filling out paperwork.  Green crouched down in front of Petr.  Things were serious, and he believed that it was best to know the truth even if you didn't like it.  Otherwise, how could you find a real solution?

“Petr,” Green said.  “There are a lot of things up in the air right now.  Some people want this war buried and forgotten.  Others want to continue with the militarization of The One.  You're my friend, and I'll help you, but you have to make the decision of what you want to do.  For now, you still have some options.”  Lieutenant Green stood.  “Talk it over with your wife.  But do you really want to be on the run with a baby?  And maybe if you stick with The One you can get transferred to the States in a couple of years.”

Petr sat in the chair stunned.  “Yes, my friend, thank you,” he said.

He didn't show Lieutenant Green out, but when the front door closed, he put his face in his hands and started sobbing.  There was so much he had given up.  Uncountable risks he'd taken so that he could make a better life for his family.  For a man whose ability could sooth the angriest voice or saddest heart, there was nothing he could do for himself at the moment.

“Petr,” Elena's voice came to him softly.  “Petr, why are you crying?”  She came to him and knelt at his feet.  Her gentle fingers pried Petr's hands from his face, and she wiped away the tears.  “What has happened, my love?  Was that the Lieutenant who left?”

“I have failed you, Elena,” Petr said.  “We're to be turned into killers like the Red Iron had wanted, and our child will never know freedom.”

It took some time for Petr to get a hold of himself and explain things to his wife.  Elena sat quietly until he finished.  Then she stood and paced.

“You are right,” she said finally.  “The One is making the same mistake as the Red Iron.  They may have the best intentions.  To help people and save lives, but you don't carry a gun and not use it when times get bad.  This is not what we want for our lives.”

“Then we run?”  Petr asked.

“As soon as the baby comes,” Elena answered.  “The Lieutenant will help us escape to America.  We'll have new names and get jobs.”

“And eat hamburgers,” Petr continued.  “And take our daughter shopping.”

“Take our son to play baseball,” Elena corrected.

Petr kissed her; his heart was pounding from the fear and exhilaration.

On the night that Elena's contractions started, Petr called Lieutenant Green.

“It's time,” was all Petr said and hung up.

That was the signal for the Lieutenant to set things into motion.  He already had their new identities arranged.  It was just a matter of getting them out of the apartment and onto a train undetected.

For the hundredth time Petr checked the suitcases, one for each of them, and only the essentials.  Elena was in the bedroom screaming horribly while the midwife coached her.  They couldn’t risk taking her to a hospital, especially since they were known Super-Humans.

Only two days ago The One passed the second amendment.  They had created a new division called Super-Human Tracking.  The American newspapers were having a field day making jokes of the acronym.  Still, SHT was a force to be reckoned with.  They had begun monitoring medical facilities, keeping track of births, deaths and injuries that looked suspicious.  If they knew Elena was giving birth, they'd be there to see if the baby were Super-Human.

Elena screamed again.

It was loud enough that the entire apartment building already knew what was happening.

Petr fidgeted and went to the window to see if Lieutenant Green was coming.  Then he thought he might look suspicious, so he pulled the shutters closed.  It would take fifteen minutes for the Lieutenant to get to the Florian’s apartment.  Petr checked his watch.  Ten minutes had passed since he called.  He sat knowing that he was near total panic.  Taking a few deep breaths his heart began to slow.  Then there was a knock and his heart hammered in his chest.

“Yes,” he said nervously before opening the door.

“It's Phillip.”

Petr opened the door and was relieved to see the Lieutenant.  He let him in and then checked the hallway to make sure it was clear.

“I have...,” Lieutenant Green started when the sound of a crying baby interrupted.

Without a thought, Petr pushed past him and into the bedroom.  Lieutenant Green waited politely in the living room to give the family a moment.  They had maybe three minutes before they risked being found out.  Lately, The One had a curious knack for finding Super-Humans.  It wasn't SHT's crack detective work either.  There was something amiss, but so far Lieutenant Green's contacts couldn’t find anything.  He was afraid that the Super-Human community had turned to informing on each other.

As he waited and stared at the suitcases, Lieutenant Green rethought his earlier calculations of time.  The sooner they left, the better, though he had his doubts about Elena getting on her feet.  He grabbed the luggage and made for the door.  The door knob was already turning.  He had no time to warn Petr.  The Lieutenant dropped the cases and moved out of the pathway.