Speaker 1: Chapter nineteen. Manny he knew where they were taking him
Speaker 1: as soon as the transport exited Highway seventy five. It
Speaker 1: took Exit forty B White Avenue, McKinney. He visited the
Speaker 1: town a few times as a kid, before things in
Speaker 1: this part of d f W had gone entirely to ship.
Speaker 1: Manny thought of the satellite photos Reggie had shown them.
Speaker 1: He thought about that Tesla plant and what strange mysteries
Speaker 1: it must hide. Somewhere in that plant was the answer
Speaker 1: to how the martyrs had so thoroughly befucked the stf's
Speaker 1: defense network. Manny hadn't exactly planned to find an answer
Speaker 1: to that question on this trip. Now it seemed like
Speaker 1: he wouldn't have a choice in the matter. His escorts,
Speaker 1: Alexander's men, hadn't said much. They directed him to the
Speaker 1: proper transport and told him to keep his mouth shut
Speaker 1: when he asked for an explanation. Manny did as they asked,
Speaker 1: because he half expected them to gun him down if
Speaker 1: he made a real fuss. Roland's bound to find me.
Speaker 1: He can find any fucking one. I just need to
Speaker 1: stay alive long enough for him to get here. Once
Speaker 1: upon a time, the Tesla factory had been an immaculate
Speaker 1: sign of what some commenters called the Texan Renaissance. After
Speaker 1: the fall of the old United States, the Republic of
Speaker 1: Texas had been one of the first functional states to
Speaker 1: arise in the southwest. Dallas had been wrecked by the
Speaker 1: Lakewood Blast, but the rest of the state still had
Speaker 1: tens of millions of people and abundant natural resources. For
Speaker 1: a while, the hardcore libertarian policies of the Republic had
Speaker 1: created a minor economic miracle. Tesla had gotten this factory
Speaker 1: going about three years before that boom went bust. The
Speaker 1: first room they were taken to had clearly been some
Speaker 1: sort of reception area and probably a showroom at one point.
Speaker 1: There were three large, oval shaped plinths that had once
Speaker 1: held cars, and a handful of metal desks bolted hard
Speaker 1: into the ground. There were also several benches stripped of
Speaker 1: whatever they had once been upholstered with, and a few
Speaker 1: dozen folding chairs that were clearly recent additions. Many could
Speaker 1: see signs that the walls had been attacked at several
Speaker 1: places in an attempt to strip them of wires. The
Speaker 1: damage was obvious, but not as extensive as he'd expected.
Speaker 1: Bessierda de MARTA's standards. This building was in good shape.
Speaker 1: A dozen martyrs occupied the room. They wore quality, non
Speaker 1: powered body armor and toted rifles that must have been
Speaker 1: looted new from their republic's armories. One of the desks
Speaker 1: was manned by a haired looking young man in an
Speaker 1: off white suit. He wore no sign of rank, but
Speaker 1: did have a white cross arm band around his left
Speaker 1: bicep and a golden cross pin on his lapel. He
Speaker 1: was balding, baby faced, and the deep bags under his
Speaker 1: eyes spoke of severe exhaustion. His face lit up when
Speaker 1: he saw Manny another. My prayers have been answered, as
Speaker 1: the Lord wills it, one of Manny's escorts replied. They
Speaker 1: brought him to the desk, and the besuited man looked
Speaker 1: up at him. He had a hungry look in his eyes.
Speaker 1: He'd started to sweat a little too. You may call
Speaker 1: me Isaac. What's your name, young man? Me Emmanuel Emmanuel Sanchez.
Speaker 1: The little man jotted that down on a piece of
Speaker 1: paper and then continued asking questions. What's your date of birth?
Speaker 1: Do you have any family history of allergies or illnesses?
Speaker 1: Have you ever undergone surgery? Before, what biomodifications, if any,
Speaker 1: are currently active in your system, do you have any
Speaker 1: inactive modifications? And so on. After about ten minutes of questioning,
Speaker 1: the little Man told Manny to stand up and follow
Speaker 1: him into an examination room. His tone was cordial, even warm,
Speaker 1: but Manny tasted doom behind it. He smelled death in
Speaker 1: this place, and his soul cried out against heading further
Speaker 1: into its bowels. But there was nothing to do but follow.
Speaker 1: Alexander's men left after dropping him off, but there were
Speaker 1: plenty of guards on the front room. Two of them
Speaker 1: followed Manny and the young man backed through the double
Speaker 1: doors and into the heart of the facility. They walked
Speaker 1: through what had once been an open floor office. There
Speaker 1: were a few overturned desks and chairs, but mostly the
Speaker 1: place was barren and half cannibalized for scrap. It was
Speaker 1: ill lit and derelict. What are we doing here, Manny asked.
Speaker 1: Isaac put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. We're
Speaker 1: doing God's work, he said, the same as everywhere in
Speaker 1: this blessed kingdom. I know that, Manny said, in a slow,
Speaker 1: careful tone, but I don't understand why I was pulled
Speaker 1: out of training or why I was removed from my unit?
Speaker 1: What is this place? Isaac didn't answer. Instead, he walked
Speaker 1: Mannie to a door in the back of the empty
Speaker 1: office and opened it to reveal a small, well lit,
Speaker 1: white room with a bench, a weight scale, and a
Speaker 1: computer terminal built into the wall above a rolling cabinet.
Speaker 1: Isaac weighed him, marked down his height, and then pulled
Speaker 1: a strange measuring device out of the cabinet. It looked
Speaker 1: like a cross between a protractor and a pin vice.
Speaker 1: This is a craniometer, Isaac explained, once he saw the
Speaker 1: confusion on Manny's face. It's for measuring the size of
Speaker 1: your skull. Isaac set right to work. He fit the
Speaker 1: strange device around Manny's head and tightened it until the
Speaker 1: vice grip bit into Manny's scalp. Isaac jotted down some
Speaker 1: more numbers on his notepad and removed the craniometer. He looked,
Speaker 1: pleased that alone was enough to turn Manny's stomach. Can
Speaker 1: you please tell me what this is all about? Isaac's
Speaker 1: eyes darted up from his paper For just a moment.
Speaker 1: He gave Manny an insincere, distracted smile. Everything will be
Speaker 1: explained soon. Enough, young man, right now, which should be
Speaker 1: enough to know you're doing the Lord's work. Manny was very,
Speaker 1: very tired of that response. Isaac finished his notes and
Speaker 1: led Manny out a back door in the room and
Speaker 1: into what Manny had to assume was the final step
Speaker 1: in their journey. The scent of blood in the air
Speaker 1: was too heavy for anything else to be the case.
Speaker 1: Manny felt hair stand up on the back of his neck,
Speaker 1: his shoulders went tinse, and a moment later he felt
Speaker 1: the strong hands of his guards on either bicep. This
Speaker 1: new room was part mechanic shop, part abattoir. It had
Speaker 1: once been the main factory floor, and it was filled
Speaker 1: with the half looted carcasses of robotic auto workers. Several
Speaker 1: of those machines had been restored to some level of
Speaker 1: functional capacity. Manny could see twentyish new vehicles and various
Speaker 1: states of construction across the vast space. Instead of sleek,
Speaker 1: consumer gray electronic cars, most of these vehicles seemed to
Speaker 1: be very old and warns sedans and trucks. A handful
Speaker 1: of them were outdated and ni obsolete. Military drones palettes
Speaker 1: of plastic explosives sat outside several of the vehicles. Many
Speaker 1: could see human workers packing blocks of it into a
Speaker 1: battered off white Kia a few dozen feet in front
Speaker 1: of him. None of this was particularly shocking. Vehicle based
Speaker 1: improvised explosive devices had been de rigueur for terrorists insurrections
Speaker 1: for the last seventy years. Two things about this factory
Speaker 1: struck Manny as strange. The first is that none of
Speaker 1: the vehicles in construction had any armor added to them.
Speaker 1: Most V B I E d S would be covered
Speaker 1: in thick slabs of concrete and welded scrap metal to
Speaker 1: ensure they made it safely to their target. The vehicles
Speaker 1: here seemed like they would look normal when they finally
Speaker 1: rolled off the reassembly line. The second odd thing was
Speaker 1: the dozens of surgical tables and the rather significant amount
Speaker 1: of red blood coating the floor underneath them. Five of
Speaker 1: the beds were occupied with bodies covered by blood speckled
Speaker 1: white sheets. The men under them appeared dead. Oh God,
Speaker 1: Manny forgot his cover in the dawning horror of the moment.
Speaker 1: What the hell is this place? What's your mouth? Young man?
Speaker 1: Isaac snapped, This is a temple of the Lord where
Speaker 1: young heroes delivered themselves into the waiting arms of Eternity.
Speaker 1: A tall man in a lab coat made his way
Speaker 1: over to them. He had gray hair and warm brown
Speaker 1: eyes behind horn rimmed spectacles. He gave Manny a warm
Speaker 1: smile and extended out a hand in greeting the Lord
Speaker 1: be with you, Emmanuel. I'm doctor Ernest. I'm sure you
Speaker 1: must be full of questions right now, gentlemen. He glanced
Speaker 1: towards the guards, who still had their hands on Manny.
Speaker 1: You can let him go now. This young man is
Speaker 1: a hero and he should be treated as such. The
Speaker 1: hands loosened. Manny heard the men step back. He flashed
Speaker 1: a nervous smile back at the doctor. Keep him talking,
Speaker 1: Manny thought, The longer you drag this out, the more
Speaker 1: time Roland will have. What is going on here? These
Speaker 1: ah He grappled for the correct terminology. These martyrdom devices
Speaker 1: seem different. And I don't know what's going on with
Speaker 1: with with all the medical equipment and the bodies. Doctor
Speaker 1: Ernst finished his question without so much a break in
Speaker 1: his warm smile. Yes, God bless him, but diplomacy is
Speaker 1: not Isaac's strong suit. He gets rather focused on the
Speaker 1: task at hand. Many noticed that the odd little man
Speaker 1: had already wandered off towards a rolling tray of medical
Speaker 1: equipment near one of the surgical beds. That set Manny's
Speaker 1: heart beating even faster. Follow me, said doctor Ernst, and
Speaker 1: I'll explain everything. The doctor led him to one of
Speaker 1: the shrouded bodies and pulled its covering down, revealing the
Speaker 1: dead man's face. Manny wasn't exactly surprised to see that
Speaker 1: it was Jonathan, the young man from Atlanta he'd met
Speaker 1: just a few days before. Jonathan was, of course quite dead.
Speaker 1: A bloody red line ran across his skull, just above
Speaker 1: his ears. His eyes were closed, and his lips were
Speaker 1: turned up in a beatific smile. You know this man, yes,
Speaker 1: doctor Ernst asked gently. Yes, of course you do. The
Speaker 1: doctor chuckled. You're both colored men and the heavenly kingdom.
Speaker 1: I'd be surprised if you hadn't developed a connection. It's
Speaker 1: only natural to gravitate towards your own kind. Many fought
Speaker 1: down the urge to slap Doctor Ernst. Jonathan here started
Speaker 1: his journey to martyrdom just a few hours ago. I
Speaker 1: know he appears dead, but as it was with our
Speaker 1: Lord and savior appearances. Quanby quite deceiving. His brain is
Speaker 1: still quite alive and alert. It's just been moved. Doctor
Speaker 1: Arn't gestured over to the Kia. Many saw that another
Speaker 1: lab coated worker was now carrying a peculiar metal box
Speaker 1: over to the v B I e ed. The box
Speaker 1: was about head sized and covered with sockets and plugs.
Speaker 1: A single green light flickered on one side. See they're
Speaker 1: loading him into his chariot now, and soon he'll pilot
Speaker 1: this anointed engine of heavenly will to the ruin of
Speaker 1: our enemies, many thought, backed that last day before the invasion,
Speaker 1: to Reggie's questions about that mysterious checkpoint bombing, This must
Speaker 1: be how they did it. He realized the STFs checkpoints
Speaker 1: were perfectly capable of reading the itinerary of any autonomous
Speaker 1: vehicle that drove towards them. They'd shoot anything that didn't
Speaker 1: broadcast to its destination. But the Kingdom had found a
Speaker 1: way to hide a human driver capable of taking over
Speaker 1: once the car was past the checkpoint. His eyes drifted
Speaker 1: over to a combat drone lying half disassembled on the
Speaker 1: table a few yards to his left. It was a
Speaker 1: hefty beetle black monster with a heavy underslung machine gun.
Speaker 1: It reminded Manny terribly of the drone that had almost
Speaker 1: killed him in Reggie a few days earlier. This explains
Speaker 1: why the STF drone jammers didn't work. The Heavenly Kingdom
Speaker 1: wasn't really using drones. Manny realized with downing horror that
Speaker 1: the drone's open cavity was likely the intended resting place
Speaker 1: of his brain. Ah. Doctor Ernst smiled, I see you've
Speaker 1: already spotted your chariot. Yes, Emmanuel, you are quite fortunate.
Speaker 1: Martyre Ditmar noted your intelligence and suggested you be implanted
Speaker 1: into a drone. I assure you it's a high honor,
Speaker 1: even in this sacred place. Manny's heart thudded like the
Speaker 1: tolling of a church bell. For a while, he couldn't
Speaker 1: hear anything else. He felt himself gripped by a sudden,
Speaker 1: clustrophobic arr were. The worst thing wasn't even the thought
Speaker 1: of being cut open, torn apart. It was the thought
Speaker 1: of being trapped inside that little metal box, forced to
Speaker 1: kill and die in the name of a cause he abhorred.
Speaker 1: Many knew he'd started to shake, but there was nothing
Speaker 1: he could do to quell the terror. Doctor Ernst to
Speaker 1: put a hand on his shoulder. Many assumed it was
Speaker 1: meant to reassure him. It did not have that effect. Immanuel,
Speaker 1: I know this is quite a lot to take in,
Speaker 1: but all you really need to know is that you've
Speaker 1: been blessed, truly blessed with the chance to play a
Speaker 1: real role in making the Heavenly Kingdom a reality. The
Speaker 1: Storming Battalion are God's elite, the holiest of our martyrs.
Speaker 1: I'm sure once the shock wears off, you'll realize what
Speaker 1: a privilege this is. Many heard footsteps. He didn't need
Speaker 1: to look to know his guards were stepping back up
Speaker 1: behind him. He felt the noose titan and his hope
Speaker 1: slip ever farther away, Where the hell is Rowland? I
Speaker 1: am um, he stuttered, Can I have some time to
Speaker 1: h to prey on this? Of course, emmanual. Doctor Ernst
Speaker 1: smile ever looked false or forced. He put a hand
Speaker 1: on Manny's shoulder. It will be a few minutes before
Speaker 1: we're ready to begin the operation. I commend you devotion.
Speaker 1: This is an ideal time to pray for guidance. A
Speaker 1: few minutes his heart pounded so hard, he thought it
Speaker 1: might beat its way free from his chest. He was
Speaker 1: sure doctor Ernest must have heard it, but if he did,
Speaker 1: he said nothing about it. Instead, the doctor led Manny
Speaker 1: over to a small carpeted area that looked to have
Speaker 1: been set aside as a prayer room for the soon
Speaker 1: to be martyred members of this battalion. It consisted of
Speaker 1: a half dozen shares, at least they're padded, a three
Speaker 1: foot tall white stone statue of Christ on a cross,
Speaker 1: and two small inn tables, each with a couple of
Speaker 1: dog eared bibles. Manny sat down, bereft of any better idea,
Speaker 1: he grabbed a Bible and flipped it open to a
Speaker 1: random page. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty
Speaker 1: cubits high and six cubits wide. Manny rolled his eyes
Speaker 1: the flaming ale as a cubit. He skimmed the next
Speaker 1: few verses until he realized which story he'd stumbled upon.
Speaker 1: His religious school hadn't been intense, but he had gone
Speaker 1: to church most Sundays for the better part of a decade.
Speaker 1: He'd listened to enough sermons and attended enough Sunday school
Speaker 1: classes to know the story of Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego,
Speaker 1: three stupid assholes who'd wandered into a furnace and trusted
Speaker 1: in Deus ex deos to save them. If we are
Speaker 1: thrown into the blazing furnace, the god we serve is
Speaker 1: able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver
Speaker 1: us from your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not,
Speaker 1: we want you to know, your Majesty, that we will
Speaker 1: not serve your gods or worship the image of gold
Speaker 1: you have set up. It struck Manny that his current
Speaker 1: predicament had more than a little in common with these
Speaker 1: ancient men, if they'd ever existed in the first place.
Speaker 1: The chief difference was that, of course, Manny wasn't praying
Speaker 1: for the help of a god. He was, however, strongly
Speaker 1: hoping for rescue from a godlike being that felt close
Speaker 1: enough to give him a sense of kinship towards the
Speaker 1: men and the story. The king's command was so urgent
Speaker 1: and the furnace so hot, that the flames of the
Speaker 1: fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego,
Speaker 1: and these three men firmly tied fell into burning furnace.
Speaker 1: He hadn't remembered that bit from Sunday School, the part
Speaker 1: where the king's soldiers were burnt alive by the heat
Speaker 1: of his fire. Many wondered what kind of soldiers would
Speaker 1: so willingly step into a pointless death at some mad
Speaker 1: king's command. And then he remembered where he was. He
Speaker 1: looked up from the Bible at the twenty or so
Speaker 1: armed men stationed around the factory. I really, really hope
Speaker 1: someone comes along to burn them to death. Many heard
Speaker 1: footsteps behind him. He looked back this time and saw
Speaker 1: Doctor Arnst advancing with two guards in Isaac. The bald
Speaker 1: little man was visibly excited. An obscene smile played across
Speaker 1: his features. He held an almost comically large needle in
Speaker 1: his hands. Many looked over from him to the doctor Immanuel.
Speaker 1: Doctor Arnist said it's time. Many stood. His mind raced
Speaker 1: for some sort of delaying tactic. I need to uh
Speaker 1: pray more, I need more pray. Time confused, jan passed
Speaker 1: over all the men's faces. Time is of the essence here.
Speaker 1: Doctor Ernst insisted, don't delay this important work because you're scared.
Speaker 1: Trust in the Lord, open your heart to his will.
Speaker 1: See I have I I totally have, Manny stammered, and
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure he's actually not down with us. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think he wants me to be a soldier, a
Speaker 1: regular soldier with a gun, not a brain in a drone.
Speaker 1: Doctor Ernst glanced back at the two guards flanking him.
Speaker 1: He nodded, and they advanced. One man had a kalashnikov
Speaker 1: on his back, the other had a holstered side arm.
Speaker 1: Both men were much larger and more muscular than Manny.
Speaker 1: He glanced around for a weapon, as if anything left
Speaker 1: around would be useful against two firearms. There was still
Speaker 1: a bible in his hands that probably would have been
Speaker 1: enough for Roland. Manny had no doubt the posthuman could
Speaker 1: kill a dozen men with a book, more if it
Speaker 1: was hardcover. Emmanuel, the doctor's voice was low, soft and
Speaker 1: as comforting as a lullaby. I know this is a
Speaker 1: frightening thing, but you must trust me, You must trust
Speaker 1: all of us. The heavenly Kingdom not spend your life
Speaker 1: this way if we were not certain your sacrifice would
Speaker 1: further the will of our Lord. That is why you
Speaker 1: came here, Emmanuel. I know if you listen to God,
Speaker 1: you'll see what's right. Manny closed his eyes. He listened
Speaker 1: not for the voice of God, but for the sound
Speaker 1: of footsteps. After a few seconds pause, he heard the
Speaker 1: guards move towards him again. He gripped hard on the
Speaker 1: Bible in his hand, and he tried not to think
Speaker 1: too much about what he had already decided he had
Speaker 1: to do. The footsteps grew closer until Manny could almost
Speaker 1: feel the heat coming off the other men's bodies. Very good, Emmanuel,
Speaker 1: doctor Ernst cood, God loves you. Manny opened his eyes.
Speaker 1: The guards were right in front of him, now reaching
Speaker 1: for him. Manny swung the Bible up underhanded into the
Speaker 1: kalashnikov man's chin. Then he dove to the right and
Speaker 1: slammed his head into the other man's crotch with all
Speaker 1: the force his five foot ten inch frame could bring
Speaker 1: to bear. The man howled. Manny half fell, caught himself,
Speaker 1: and dropped into a dead run, aimed straight for Isaac.
Speaker 1: Both the bald headed needleman and doctor Ernst stared at
Speaker 1: him in astonishment. Belatedly, Isaac raised his arms up in defense.
Speaker 1: The gesture did nothing to stop Manny from plowing into
Speaker 1: him and knocking him to the ground. He punched the
Speaker 1: other man in the face hard, and then scrambled back
Speaker 1: to his feet too. He felt the pain of the
Speaker 1: gunshot before he heard it, or rather, he didn't register
Speaker 1: the sound of the gunshot as a gunshot until the
Speaker 1: pain made it clear he'd been shot. And then Manny
Speaker 1: was on the ground. His world shrunk to the space
Speaker 1: below his belly button, which now pulsed with spurts of
Speaker 1: deep red blood. His hands covered the wound, pressing back
Speaker 1: against it in an instinctive attempt to protect himself. He
Speaker 1: stared in fascination at the spreading red. He watched as
Speaker 1: his blood turned chunky and thick. The spurting faded away
Speaker 1: to a slow ooze. The pain caught up to him now,
Speaker 1: and Manny's vision went black for a moment. The world
Speaker 1: faded into view after a while. Doctor Ernst Isaac and
Speaker 1: both guards were standing above him. The guard with the
Speaker 1: handgun had a drawn a wisp of smoke trailed up
Speaker 1: from the barrel. Manny watched, enthralled as it curled up
Speaker 1: to the sky and gradually disappeared into the air around them.
Speaker 1: You've made a grievous error, my boy, Doctor Ernst's voice
Speaker 1: was grave, now devoid of all compassion. You was so
Speaker 1: close to paradise it almost brings me to tears. The
Speaker 1: doctor was only a few feet away, but his voice
Speaker 1: sounded distant and muffled. I'm dying, aren't I? Manny thought, no,
Speaker 1: if that was a kill shot, i'd be dead by now.
Speaker 1: The bleeding's already stopped. The thought did little to calm
Speaker 1: his nerves. He'd thoroughly blown his cover. Even if they
Speaker 1: never guessed his true purpose in coming to the Heavenly Kingdom,
Speaker 1: he'd be executed for trying to flee. This is going
Speaker 1: to put us even further behind schedule. That was Isaac.
Speaker 1: His nose was bleeding, but it didn't look broken. I
Speaker 1: wish I was better at punching. Take ab outside, Doctor
Speaker 1: Arnest said to the guards, and make it quick. There's
Speaker 1: no sense in stringing him up in public for simple cowardice.
Speaker 1: So this is how it's going to end. Manny was
Speaker 1: confused by how it peace. He felt with that some
Speaker 1: of it was gil Alajandra was dead, Amide was dead,
Speaker 1: Oscar was dead, mister Perrone was dead. This was nothing
Speaker 1: more than he deserved. He was pleasantly surprised to find
Speaker 1: that as the little robots in his blood, flooded his
Speaker 1: system with happy drugs. That sense of guilt began to fade.
Speaker 1: He felt wonderfully detached from the world. He wondered if
Speaker 1: this was how Roland felt all the time, disconnected and
Speaker 1: pleasant in a vague, indefinable way. The guards bent down.
Speaker 1: Many felt their hands on his arms. He felt them
Speaker 1: lift him up. He felt a terrible, shifting pain in
Speaker 1: his gut as another rush of clotting blood poured out
Speaker 1: of him. Many thought of mister Perrone. He could almost
Speaker 1: see his face. Maybe the Christians were right about the
Speaker 1: after life. That was a nice thought. Actually, he thought
Speaker 1: mister Perrone would be proud of him. I tried to
Speaker 1: do something, Sir, I really did. Many didn't see the
Speaker 1: source of the noise. It sounded like something heavy falling
Speaker 1: from a high height onto something soft and squishy, some
Speaker 1: one soft and squishy. He realized the guards dropped him.
Speaker 1: Men started to yell gunshot, gunshot gunshot. Manny thought, and
Speaker 1: he giggled a little bit. The sounds of chaos and
Speaker 1: violence that had erupted inside the factory could only be
Speaker 1: Roland's doing. Manny lifted up his head with considerable effort
Speaker 1: and looked over towards the waiting area, where most of
Speaker 1: the guards had sat idle. It was a mess now.
Speaker 1: Several of the chairs in one of the big tables
Speaker 1: were mashed together with a chunky red paste that resembled
Speaker 1: good salsa. People salsa, he thought, and then giggled again.
Speaker 1: Manny caught a glimpse of Rowland as the chrombed man
Speaker 1: rocketed across the factory floor and into a trio of guards.
Speaker 1: The men didn't even have the chance to fire their weapons.
Speaker 1: The first guard burst like a balloon full of jelly.
Speaker 1: It was hard to tell exactly what happened next, as
Speaker 1: it occurred under a red cloud of human viscera. Manny
Speaker 1: slipped in his own blood and fell back onto the floor.
Speaker 1: He stared up at the ceiling for a little while
Speaker 1: and just focused on trying to keep his breath steady.
Speaker 1: There was nothing else he could do here anyway. Immanuel Sasha,
Speaker 1: he thought, Ula he said, it's okay. He held her
Speaker 1: warm hand on his forehead. Don't talk. You've been shot,
Speaker 1: but you're probably not going to die. Probably, he had
Speaker 1: to admire her fundamental honesty. I'm going to try to
Speaker 1: drag you out of here. If you can walk, that
Speaker 1: would be really helpful. She grabbed Manny under the armpits
Speaker 1: and tried to pull him up. He let out a
Speaker 1: coughing cry at the pain of being moved again, but
Speaker 1: he also realized late in the game that he still
Speaker 1: had some control over his legs. He pushed up, and,
Speaker 1: with Sasha's help, fought gravity well enough that he soon
Speaker 1: stood under mostly his own power. Sasha wrapped one of
Speaker 1: his arms around her shoulder and took some of the
Speaker 1: weight off his weakened limbs, and then together they hobbled
Speaker 1: free of the Chinel factory that had almost been his tomb.
Speaker 1: An hour later, Manny sat with Roland and Sasha on
Speaker 1: the roof of an old Bank of America and watched
Speaker 1: as the Tesla factory burned in the distance. Manny had
Speaker 1: passed out almost as soon as Sasha had got him
Speaker 1: out the door. He recalled waking up a few times
Speaker 1: during the run away from the factory. At some point
Speaker 1: Roland had met up with them and started carrying him.
Speaker 1: He'd come to on the roof of the old bank
Speaker 1: building just in time to see Roland dribble a trail
Speaker 1: of weirdess blood into his gunshot wound. He'd felt a
Speaker 1: little revulsion at the act, but it had passed once
Speaker 1: his pain dissolved. I should really find a way to
Speaker 1: bottle that stuff, he thought. What happened, Manny asked. Once
Speaker 1: reality had solidified a little more, Roland found me, Sasha said,
Speaker 1: just after they took you. I told him that Alexander
Speaker 1: had mentioned a factory, and then well he seemed to
Speaker 1: know this must be the factory they'd been talking about.
Speaker 1: Thanks for that, Reggie, he told me he was going
Speaker 1: to She coughed a little and her cheeks reddened an embarrassment,
Speaker 1: feed them their own dicks, and that I should wait
Speaker 1: until they were engaged to run in and drag you out.
Speaker 1: A large explosion echoed across the city. Escape and the
Speaker 1: Trio watched a small orange mushroom cloud light up the
Speaker 1: sky where the Tesla factory had been. It's about damn time,
Speaker 1: Roland grumbled. The detonators those fuckers stole from the Republic
Speaker 1: were garbage. Hey, He looked over to Manny. The hell
Speaker 1: was that place anyway? Yes, Sasha added, and how exactly
Speaker 1: did you wind up getting shot there? Manny related the
Speaker 1: whole story as best he could, Sasha's face went pale
Speaker 1: white with outrage and disgust when he explained exactly how
Speaker 1: the Heavenly Kingdom had managed to get its suicide vehicles
Speaker 1: past the sd f's checkpoints. Oh god, she moaned, Oh
Speaker 1: God above, no, no, no. Roland just laughed. That's as
Speaker 1: clever as a two headed crow. I'll give him that,
Speaker 1: He clapped Sasha on the shoulder. Come on, lady, you
Speaker 1: can't still be surprised by how funk the Kingdom is.
Speaker 1: How many people did you watch them? Hang? Sasha didn't respond.
Speaker 1: She just sat there, eyes red and watery, and stared
Speaker 1: out at the burning factory. Manny felt like he should
Speaker 1: have said something, but his mind was still catching up
Speaker 1: to his body after the events of the last couple
Speaker 1: of hours. Staring straight ahead represented the extent of his
Speaker 1: abilities right now, Sorry, Roland sudden response to the silence
Speaker 1: not for get you kids aren't used to this sort
Speaker 1: of ship. I'll tell you it gets easier. What almost dying,
Speaker 1: asked Manny. We're being betrayed by the only thing you
Speaker 1: ever believed in, asked Sasha. Roland shrugged. Both I guess,
Speaker 1: I mean neither is much fun. But hey, y'all pop
Speaker 1: some cherries today, so it's got to mean nothing but
Speaker 1: downhill from here on out. Neither of them responded, but
Speaker 1: Roland plowed right along. I meant downhill and like the
Speaker 1: positive sense of the word, you know, sledding like that
Speaker 1: or something more. Silence Roland's side and took a loud
Speaker 1: gulp from a piece of sheet metal he'd been into
Speaker 1: a makeshift cup. The beverage inside smelled like another batch
Speaker 1: of his gut liquor. It burned Manny's nose from three
Speaker 1: feet away. A minute went by, and then another Without
Speaker 1: a word. They listened as emergency sirens sounded and drew
Speaker 1: closer to the side of the blast. So what the
Speaker 1: fund do we do now, Manny asked. Roland grunted and
Speaker 1: then belched, Well, we've probably gotta roll back into town,
Speaker 1: break those ladies out of jail, and then I don't know,
Speaker 1: we should probably leave right Many rolled his eyes. The
Speaker 1: casual recklessness of Roland's confidence had been fun and reassuring
Speaker 1: when he wasn't recovering from a gunshot wound. The events
Speaker 1: at the testa Plant had proved to Manny that the
Speaker 1: post human's protection wasn't enough to guarantee his safety or Sasha's.
Speaker 1: He was the deadliest thing Manny had ever seen, but
Speaker 1: he couldn't be everywhere at once. Wait, who are you
Speaker 1: breaking out of jail, Sasha asked? Those three negotiators, Manny said,
Speaker 1: from the City of Wheels, the woman you examined, and
Speaker 1: their mail companion. Sasha gave Manny a look he couldn't
Speaker 1: quite parse out what he asked. Is that why you
Speaker 1: started talking to me, she asked, Because you knew I
Speaker 1: was working with those women, and you thought I might
Speaker 1: be able to get you into the jail. No, started Manny.
Speaker 1: I mean sort of right, finished Roland. That was sure,
Speaker 1: as she had a big BLUs. Many glared at the
Speaker 1: post human Rowland had all attacked and diplomacy of a chainsaw.
Speaker 1: That's why I'm here in the first place, he reminded himself. Look,
Speaker 1: Roland continued, there's no point in dressing any of this up. Sasha,
Speaker 1: you fled your home to join a militant terrorist organization
Speaker 1: that butcher civilians. Manny, you kind of manipulated her in
Speaker 1: the hope of getting information. I just beat like twenty
Speaker 1: people to death, plus I fed Martyr Ditmar his own
Speaker 1: hand and I feel genuinely bad about that. Roland shook
Speaker 1: his head. I'm really trying not to fall completely off
Speaker 1: the murder wagon here, guys. But when I get angry
Speaker 1: and the battle drug start flowing, he shivered, I get ugly.
Speaker 1: Once again. Roland's words were met with stunned silence, and
Speaker 1: once again he plowed forward. Nonetheless, what I'm saying is
Speaker 1: this whole situation as ugly as fun and none of
Speaker 1: us as a hero. But we're probably the least shitty
Speaker 1: people in the city with any kind of power. So
Speaker 1: let's all forgive each other's trespasses and use that power
Speaker 1: to try to save a couple of nice people from
Speaker 1: being crucified or whatever it is Christians due to the
Speaker 1: people who piss them off. Is it just hanging I
Speaker 1: Sasha started to respond, then shook her head and exasperation.
Speaker 1: Probably not, she said. Instead, all right, Roland clapped and
Speaker 1: put on a bright smile. So how do we get
Speaker 1: in there? I mean, I can just sort of balls
Speaker 1: my way through the front door or the ceiling, but
Speaker 1: since this is an actual jail, it's probably reinforced. There's
Speaker 1: a good chance they'll kill the hostages. Before I punched
Speaker 1: my way into the cells. Manny could almost hear the
Speaker 1: wheels turn and Sasha's head as she caught her thoughts
Speaker 1: up with what was now apparently her reality. To her credit,
Speaker 1: she responded in short order, that's probably the case, she nodded.
Speaker 1: There are armed guards outside of each cell, and there's
Speaker 1: a real disgust for those captives among the martyrs. They
Speaker 1: probably would shoot those women rather than let them escape.
Speaker 1: And what about the guy? I never saw him? I
Speaker 1: dealt with the women, Marigolden. Oh, what was her name? Tully?
Speaker 1: But I assume he was in the same jail. Is
Speaker 1: Roland confirmed, or at least he was last time I
Speaker 1: sniffed around there. Manny's mind finally spun up to full speed.
Speaker 1: The pain in his guts had subsided, as had the
Speaker 1: light headed, bloodless feeling he'd woken up with. He felt
Speaker 1: comforted by the mere fact of having a simple problem
Speaker 1: to solve. At the core, this question was a logistical one,
Speaker 1: just like the problems he faced every day as a fixer.
Speaker 1: He needed to deliver his team to a certain location
Speaker 1: the jail in a amitted time frame, So Manny's first
Speaker 1: job was to figure out what connections he'd need to
Speaker 1: make in order for that to be possible. Sasha, he asked,
Speaker 1: who can help us get inside that jail? Do you
Speaker 1: know anyone who has the authority to come and go
Speaker 1: from there with impunity? Doctor Brandt, She replied. He's a
Speaker 1: good man, I think, but he's committed. He's not going
Speaker 1: to work with us to betray the Kingdom. He doesn't
Speaker 1: need to. Manny assured her. I'm going to guess he's
Speaker 1: a smart guy, right. He has to be somewhat worldly
Speaker 1: to be an actual doctor. Sasha nodded, He's not a
Speaker 1: mindless zealot, if that's what you're asking most of us,
Speaker 1: aren't you know there was a reasonable case for supporting
Speaker 1: the Heavenly Kingdom at just She trailed off, and Many
Speaker 1: put his hands out in a placating gesture. No, No,
Speaker 1: that's not not what I'm getting at. I want to
Speaker 1: make sure this guy has a sober, realistic understanding of
Speaker 1: what someone like Roland can do. Sasha's eyes went cloudy,
Speaker 1: but she nodded. He talked about them with me a little,
Speaker 1: She said. I would say he has a healthy respect
Speaker 1: for post humans, good Manny said it. So we find
Speaker 1: him and we make him an offer either Roland tears
Speaker 1: the heart out of the kingdom or doctor Brandt helps
Speaker 1: us get those captives out of the jail. If he's
Speaker 1: a sensible man, who'll have to see the reason in that.
Speaker 1: Sasha didn't look so sure about that, but after some consideration,
Speaker 1: she nodded and agreed that it was at least possible. Okay,
Speaker 1: so we find this doctor Brandt, we use him to
Speaker 1: get inside the jail, Roland does Roland things, and then
Speaker 1: we beat feet to get out of Seda Demuerta. Roland
Speaker 1: shrugged and took another deep pull from his gut beverage.
Speaker 1: He seemed on board. Sasha raised another question, though, Okay,
Speaker 1: so who are you two supposed to be? Then, every
Speaker 1: time doctor Brandon I visited the jail, we had a
Speaker 1: driver in an armed guard. But you two don't exactly
Speaker 1: look like you fit the bill. Right now, you, she
Speaker 1: appointed to Manny, clearly just took a bullet, and you,
Speaker 1: she jabbed a finger at Roland, look like you just
Speaker 1: murdered dozens of people, which I guess you did, right,
Speaker 1: Manny clapped his hands. That's easy enough to fix. It's
Speaker 1: what five am. Now the city is starting to wake up.
Speaker 1: Do you know what shift doctor Brandt's expected to work today, Sasha.
Speaker 1: Lately he's been doing seven to seven and Rowland. Manny continued,
Speaker 1: do you know where the vehicle pool is? The big
Speaker 1: man nodded, Oh yeah, I drag that downer in my
Speaker 1: first reconde. It's about thirty minutes away on foot for
Speaker 1: you guys five minutes from me. We'll go slow, said Manny. Sasha,
Speaker 1: you let us know when you recognize doctor Brandt's cheep
Speaker 1: and driver will stop them, relieve them of their uniforms,
Speaker 1: and drive on to the doctor's house. Roland, you think
Speaker 1: you can take out two men without bloodying up their uniforms?
Speaker 1: He gave another shrug. Fifty fifty all right? Manny nodded.
Speaker 1: That's plan A, then, and what's Plan B? Sasha asked,
Speaker 1: Close your eyes and hide behind Rowland. Hey, I'm Robert Evans.
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope you enjoyed
Speaker 1: the chapters to come. You can find the free e
Speaker 1: pub of every chapter and eventually the whole book at
Speaker 1: a t r book dot com, complete with illustrations. If
Speaker 1: you want to support me in writing the sequel, you
Speaker 1: can crowdfund me at after the Revolution the Sequel at
Speaker 1: go fund me. Just type and go fund me After
Speaker 1: the Revolution the Sequel. Um. I'd like my books to
Speaker 1: always be free, so I'm just going to try to
Speaker 1: crowdfund the next one and see how that works. So
Speaker 1: After the Revolution the Sequel on go fund me. You
Speaker 1: can also find the community of fans of this book
Speaker 1: online at our slash after the Revolution on Reddit. So
Speaker 1: after the Revolution the Sequel on go fund me, and
Speaker 1: our slash after the Revolution on Reddit. A t r
Speaker 1: book dot com for the whole book. Thanks