Survival Gene. Science Fiction Novel

“Do you have a plan how to release my father?” Emily asked.

Andrew knew now that what Emily had told him about the Earth’s crisis had been true. Now he had to fulfill his promise to help her release her father; besides, her father would be valuable if they had any chance of survival. He knew that Eddy Housman was in the pretrial prison built a few years before in what used to be a parking lot in the center of Miami.

“Yes, I have a plan. First, I’ll enter the prison.”

“Do you have a permit?”

“No, but I’ve been there many times. I know the location.”

“Will you try to get my father by force?”

Andrew imagined Captain Palmer. He would knock out the captain with pleasure by hitting his chin with a good blow with right fist. But what to do to the others? To those Andrew had been working with all these years? They had helped him more than once in times of need – some of them by saying kind words, others by covering him with fire.

I can’t hurt those people.

“No. There must be another way.”

“What then?”

Andrew didn’t have a solution. He needed some time to think it over.

Suddenly he felt a chill in his feet. The feeling strengthened quickly. Shivers ran up his legs, spine, neck… In his mind’s eye, the picture flashed up: a dozen cops were standing before the elevator doors, weapons at the ready. The safety was released, forefingers touching the trigger…

Barkov grabbed his holster, but pulled his arm away at once. I will not shoot at my colleagues.

The elevator stopped and the doors moved apart.

“Don’t move!” one of the police shouted. “Hands up!”

Emily uttered a loud scream and jerked up both hands. Andrew froze looking over the policemen. He knew three of them: two worked in headquarters, one in the southwest department. Captain Palmer showed himself from behind a policeman’s back.

Barkov was glad to see him again – the second time in his life.

“Captain, it’s me! Order them to lower their guns!”

“I can decide myself what to order, lieutenant,” Palmer replied. “Come out over the elevator. You are under arrest!”

Guess it was too early to be glad.

“What for?”

“We’ve got orders from above. I’ve always known you can’t be trusted! Where’s the third terrorist?”

Barkov guessed the problem. The White House Secret Service technologies had proved to be much more sophisticated than Lorenzetti had believed. The virtual sergeant saw not only the hacker who was inside the 3D image, but also the detached onlookers.

“We’re not the terrorists! And there are only two of us,” Andrew answered.

“Come out of the elevator!” the policeman standing before Palmer ordered.

Barkov had never been in the position of a criminal before. The feeling was very unpleasant.

Maybe it’s all for the best. According to protocol, they must take us to the pretrial prison. I’ll be able to find Housman there.

“I can close the doors, and we’ll return to the penthouse,” Emily whispered.

“No,” Andrew answered in a quiet voice.

He raised his hands slowly and stepped out of the elevator.

“Turn around!” the same cop commanded.

Barkov turned round.

The cop ran up to him, put Andrew’s hands behind his back, and slapped on electronic bracelets that clenched automatically. Then he pulled Andrew’s pistol out of the holster.

“Now you, lady! Come out of the elevator!”

Emily fulfilled his order without uttering a word. The policeman put handcuffs on her wrists, too.

“Guys, listen to me,” Andrew said. “We are not terrorists. We just know too much. In two hours, the President of the World will be on e-vision and announce evacuation to green zones. But what he will not say that it’ll be impossible to survive even in the green zones if the earth stops rotating completely. I have an idea how we can save our lives!”

“Stop talking crap!” Captain Palmer snapped out. “You were going to blow up this building, confess to it!”

“What?”

“You’ve had your eye on my position all these years. So you decided creating a fake terrorist attack that would get me ousted, proving I couldn’t prevent crimes in my area!”

“Captain, you are paranoiac. Consult a doctor!”

Palmer came up to Andrew. Having checked if the bracelets held Barkov’s wrists tightly, he took the arrestee by his shoulders and turned him round. Andrew saw that the captain’s face twitched with emotion.

“At last, I can do what I’ve been dreaming of for so long!”

“What’s that?” Barkov inquired, knowing the answer already, his senses showing action and reaction.

The captain clenched his fist and threw his arm upward aiming at Andrew’s chin. Barkov moved aside letting the fist fly past him, and struck the captain’s groin with his shin. Palmer moaned, clutched his groin and folded up.

At the very same second Andrew realized that had been unwise. He shouldn’t have resisted. On the contrary, he should have feigned fear and dejection. And even to gratify Palmer’s wish – let him strike him once. In the pretrial prison, meek inmates were allowed to the common canteen and gym where he could see Housman!

Too late, his mistake caused blows to rain on him from all quarters. Andrew tried to evade the most dangerous of them. The cops knocked him down, kicking his back, stomach and head. Green spots danced in his eyes.

“Stop it!” Emily screamed. “You’ll kill him!”

The blows stopped and two of the cops hurried into the elevator, ready to retrieve the third terrorist.

“Captain, the elevator won’t go,” a policeman said. “It requires us to deposit our weapons!”

Palmer replied, “Don’t deposit anything! Six of you, climb the stairs, penetrate through the roof, the sewage system, whatever, and get the third member of the gang for me! Meanwhile, we’ll take these two to the prison. Detectives, take them to the car!”