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“And the long-time status of skateboarders as an
oppressed ethnic group means that by now all of them are escape artists of
some degree.”
Y.T., Snow Crash
Malcolm’s head bumped Victor’s as the truck went over
another pothole. The jostling caused Malcolm’s eyes to open just a tiny
bit. In the low light of the van, all he knew was that he was in an amazing
amount of pain. His right shin was killing him, as well as his entire face.
He had had his nose broken enough times to know what it felt like, so he
was at least sure of that. He couldn’t feel his foot, but that was the
least of his worries.
The van had six other men in it, three sitting on
both of the benches that lined walls. At the far end, the metal doors
clanked as the truck moved. Malcolm looked at the six men, but they were
all fairly incoherent as they sat, their eyes staring aimlessly at nothing.
Malcolm looked back down at Victor as the
black-skinned boy sat next to him. Huddled over, Victor was hanging by his
handcuffed hands that were chained around a buffer piece of metal at the
base of the truck’s bottom.
Malcolm closed his eyes, relying on his fingertips to
see for him. The handcuffs had been put on him by someone arrogant, that
much he could tell. They were barely closed. He tried to time the turns of
the truck, gauging when to move. Inch by inch, he moved the handcuffs
around his palm, then along his thumb. Inch by painful, skin-scraping inch,
he moved the handcuff farther down his hand.
“The World Alliance has been a real hassle,” Phillip
said, as he sat in the forward facing seat of the limousine. Facing the
handcuffed Marilyn, the leader of the Hand of the Brotherhood of the Sun
watched her with angry eyes. “We decided awhile ago to completely destroy
you. And it all would have worked with the white slavery ring, if it hadn’t
been for the knights getting involved.”
“We’re that important?” Marilyn asked, fighting to
control her tears of fear. “You were that scared of us?”
“Scared, no,” Phillip chuckled, his face bruised as
he grimaced every time his back was jostled against the leather seat of the
limo. “Don’t flatter yourself, Ms. Johnston.” He looked out the tinted
window, at the passing world outside the dark limousine. “You were a loose
end that we could not afford to let hang. You were a possible nuisance,
nothing more.”
“Well, you went to a lot of trouble to get us,” she
returned, her courage growing as she held her chin up.
“You were simply a useful tool to use in our efforts,”
Phillip countered with a smile. “You never posed a threat. You were just
convenient to use. That’s all.”
“Then you’re not afraid of us?” Marilyn asked,
looking more timid.
“No,” Phillip answered clearly, with an arrogant
chuckle.
“Then why am I handcuffed?”
The truck came to a stop just inside the metal gates
of the Solaritec building. Led by the limousine and flanked by three black
vans, the caravan of vehicles came to a momentary pause.
Inside the truck, Malcolm lunged forward with the
truck’s stop as the other six men moved with the motion. The leader of the
World Alliance glanced down at Victor, checking to see if his wishes had
been answered. They hadn’t been. Victor was still unconscious.
“What’s the hold up?” Phillip said into his phone as
he stared up through the tinted glass into the driver’s seat.
“The gate’s broken, sir,” came a voice from the
phone, one that even Marilyn could hear. “They’re having to unlock it and
open it manually.”
“Is it that complicated of a process?” Phillip
demanded with heavy annoyance.
“I’m afraid so sir,” came the apologetic voice.
Malcolm waited. He took a deep breath, looking up.
The men were looking out the windows on the side of the truck. They weren’t
paying attention. That was his only hope.
There was another sudden jar as the truck went into
motion. Now was his chance.
Standing up with his legs already poised, Malcolm
leapt towards the back of the truck. He landed on his left foot, already
halfway to the door. He could feel the men around him just barely aware of
his movement. He could feel them noticing his absence, not where he was.
That was his only chance.
With a fast leap, Malcolm pulled both his feet up
under him, moving back as the truck moved forward. The motions were with
him. He just had to time it right.
Thrusting his legs forward with all his might,
Malcolm slammed his feet into the steel doors at the base of the truck. The
steel groaned and roared in agony like a wounded beast as the truck began
to gain speed.
The doors burst open, light splashing into the
darkness as the Solaritec stronghold loomed in background. The doors of the
truck fell back onto the front of the following van, shattering the glass
of the windshield, giving Malcolm something to land on.
Landing on the doors as they shattered the glass,
Malcolm propelled himself up onto the top of the van, landing in a run.
Three steps and he leapt with all his hopes into the air, swinging his arms
wide in the vain hope that he could make just a few more inches.
A loud thud and Malcolm landed again, this time on
the second-to-last van. The vehicle came to a sudden stop, shaking
Malcolm’s footing, but he knelt down, his balance remaining.
The doors of the van opened, but Malcolm was already
moving. He slid off the side of the van and ran across its course towards
the bushes just outside the Solaritec fence. The guards at the gatehouse
rushed after him, but the Hand agents cluttered the path as they got out of
the van. The diversion was perfect. By the time they could get anywhere,
Malcolm had already disappeared into the bushes.
“Your friend’s resourceful,” Phillip said, as he
watched from the window of the limousine. He looked back at Marilyn, a
bored look on his face. “Doesn’t matter, really. We have you and we have
your boyfriend.”
“What makes you think he won’t tell the knights?”
Marilyn tried in vain.
“Oh, I hope he does,” Phillip chuckled. “The knights
are antiquated and out-dated. I think we’d be doing the world a public
service if we got rid of them.” He laughed now, looking at Marilyn. “But I
guess you aren’t going to be around long enough to find out, now are you?”
Malcolm hugged himself to the ground. He clinched the
dirt, shaking in fear. He could hear the voices. He could feel the eyes. He
could imagine the presence. He knew the Hand of the Brotherhood was in the
small, corporate forest with him.
He risked looking up to see the dark forest around
him. Sheets of dusty light filtered through the thick trees, the light
ambient illumination from the distant Solaritec corporate headquarters. But
in the ravine, Malcolm waited in silence. He was crouching underneath a
holly bush, hoping the sharp thorns that almost deterred him would more
thoroughly deter his pursuers.
He listened in the darkness of the night, listening
as the footsteps came closer. He listened as the voices loomed just feet
from him. He listened as the people came. And he listened as they went.
Silence was fleeting, but the intervals were longer and longer. Slowly, he
opened his eyes to look through the holly leaves.
The forest was empty.
Malcolm took a silent, deep breath and rustled the
bushes just a little bit. He waited. With held breath, he waited. With an
anxious mind, he waited. But there was no sign. He took another breath and
moved. Sticking his hand out of the bush, he nearly spasmed, he was shaking
so hard. But there was no response.
With a thrust of courage and muscle, Malcolm threw
himself past the holly leaves. He stood up suddenly in the darkness of the
forest, but there was no one around. He turned around, looking in the
darkness as his eyes struggled to get accustomed to the domain. But he
could see no one.
Malcolm looked in the opposite direction from the
Solaritec offices. The hills rose up, slopping to a sudden flatness. A
highway. “That must be the road,” he whispered to himself. He looked
around, trying to see the sky, to see the stars and the moon. He looked
back down, at the lights of the Solaritec buildings. “Marilyn,” he
whispered. “Victor. Guys, I’ll be back. I promise.”
With the silent words uttered, he turned from the
corporate office and got a running start. With a fast push, he shoved
himself up into the twilight world of the highway. The dark pavement was a
welcome sight, but he didn’t linger. Malcolm quickly got his bearings and
turned to his left, away from Solaritec. With a slow, laborious effort, he
started running, heading along the dark highway towards the next
conceivable location.
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