Vs Reality (19 page)
Authors: Blake Northcott
Tags: #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Fantasy, #Paranormal & Urban, #Superheroes, #Superhero
New York City
August 26, 2011
6:28 am, Eastern Daylight Time
Paige takes a few steps towards Heinreich, hands just inches from his forehead. The glow of purple electricity is reflecting in the whites of his eyes, which are growing wide and panicked. “All right,” she says with a hint of forced enthusiasm, “Here we go. Let’s tear back the curtain and see who’s pulling the levers.”
She presses her fingertips into the giant’s temples. Her pupils dilate, then vanish. Her eyes fade to milky-white opals, staring blankly into nothingness.
A ghostly calmness takes hold of Heinreich, stiffening his body yet simultaneously relaxing his features; the tightness disappears from his strained face and his eyelids are once again heavy with sedation. He’s almost welcoming Paige to extract pictures and sound from the deepest realms of his consciousness.
She makes contact with his memory. She’s inside.
Her mind falls from the edge of an endless cliff, tumbling into an ocean of infinite possibilities. Heinreich struggles inwardly, a futile effort to stave off her influence, but his mental thrashing is pointless. Like a drowning victim trapped beneath a sheet of ice who succumbs to the frozen water filling his lungs, he eventually lets go and gives in to the inevitable.
Her eyes become Heinreich’s eyes, his heartbeat becomes hers. She traces his steps through the dark recesses of The Basement.
She sees the people they’ve collected trapped in containment cells; transparent cubes stacked one atop the other, piled impossibly high. She can hear their screams, feel the pain etched in their strained voices. Heinreich is apathetic, striding past without more than a casual sidelong glance.
He steps to a small panel on the wall and taps a touch screen, like he’s deleting files from a desktop trash bin. It’s what Govinda had instructed, and he’d obeyed without question. The command is carried out and the screams are silenced. With some bizarre, terrifying technology that the world won’t see for centuries, every prisoner disappears into a cloud of blue mist, leaving only their clothes and shoes behind. They’d been erased.
His memory jumps forward, leaping to a clandestine New World Council meeting that was held in the endless desert expanse of The Backyard.
Shielded from the sun by a canopy is a stately dining table, covered with an immaculate white tablecloth. Seated around are a dozen foreign dignitaries, some of whom Paige recognizes from newscasts; the Prime Minister of Canada, The Princess of Monaco, The King of Thailand, the Emperor of Japan, and others she couldn’t quite place. Solid gold place settings have been prepared for each guest, and courses of chicken and beef are being served to each leader by an attentive wait staff, but no one so much as touches a utensil. They’re here for business and nothing else; the food is being served merely as a formality.
At one end of the table sits Govinda, flanked by his two most senior Collectors: Goto and Heinreich.
At the opposite end sits New York City Mayor James J. Kerrigan, and an imposing five-star General representing the United States.
The General is clad in his full military uniform, including a green jacket that’s barely visible beneath the dozens of pins and medals he’s earned over his last thirty-five years of service. His clean-shaven face reveals a detailed history of battle scars, including one particularly sinister groove that starts at the center of his forehead, and arcs down through his eyebrow.
“You’ve done a serviceable job so far,” The General says without even a trace of emotion. “You’ve been able to retrieve every potential with minimal blowback, but as you’re well aware, the drug continues to spread.”
“I’ve narrowed my search to New York City,” Govinda replies, “so I can assure you we’re getting closer.”
“Which is why I’m here today,” Kerrigan interjects. “Now that you’re gonna be operating on American soil, we need to get a couple of things clear.”
The General turns to Kerrigan and raises his hand, pardoning his interruption before addressing Govinda himself. “Mister Mayor, if I may. We do this by the book. I don’t want a civilian body count, I don’t want stories leaking to the press about torture, and I sure as
hell
can’t afford to have another incident like we had in China. Do you know how many people had to disappear after they saw the wall melting? The New World Council is built on a foundation of faith, Mister Govinda; faith that the government can actually improve people’s lives and keep them safe in the long-term. If we lose that, we lose the Council. And I don’t have to remind all of you what was happening before the Council was formed. Things were spiraling out of control, and we were on the brink of a third world war. I’ve seen enough bloodshed to last ten lifetimes, and I’m not going to let us reach that point once again.”
“Understood,” Govinda nods, quick to respond. His deep baritone voice seems compliant – almost submissive.
“I’m glad we have an understanding. And remember the primary objective: once you take down the group that is responsible for this ‘Muse’ drug, we’ll need the vaccine ready for distribution immediately.” The General glances around the table, addressing the leaders from every continent. “We’re all in agreement that it goes directly in to the water supply, starting in North America. Then we move onto South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim. By this time next month there won’t be a single manifestation, and peace will be restored.”
“And the funds?” Govinda asks.
“A wire transfer directly into your Cayman Islands account, just as you’ve requested. As soon as the vaccine takes effect you’ll have the full amount deposited. After that, your entire criminal record will be expunged, but your technology stays with us,” The General says gravely. “We can’t afford to have international terrorists with access to teleportation devices, cerebral dampeners and the type of containment units you’ve created.”
The General stands, palms flat on the table. He leans forward with an authority that commands everyone in attendance to pay strict attention. “I’ll have eyes on you anywhere and everywhere you choose to go, Mister Govinda. If you try to reproduce and sell any of your tech, you’ll be dealt with swiftly…and there won’t be a Basement deep or dark enough for you to hide in. I’ve authorized the destruction of entire countries to keep democracy intact, so believe me when I tell you that if you try and stand against the Council or the United States of America, I will have no qualms about unleashing the full power of our forces in order to bring you to justice.”
Govinda stares into The General’s piercing grey eyes and Paige can almost see the wheels turning in his head. He’s trying to mask his concern but a dark realization is setting in: this man would tear apart the world to find him, and Govinda would be powerless to retaliate. She gets the feeling that ‘powerless’ is an emotion that someone of his stature is not accustomed to experiencing.
The General nods to the leaders of the Council, giving them tacit approval to conclude their meeting. He straightens his jacket and turns to leave.
As everyone gathers their belongings and prepares to exit The Backyard, Govinda stands, but feels a hand on the back of his shoulder; a powerful, constricting grip like an iron vise. He spins around and comes face-to-face with The General.
“One last thing, Mister Govinda: I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that I want Dia returned to me, unharmed. We can’t go forward with the next phase of our plan without her. Everyone else is expendable.”
“Yes sir,” Govinda replies, an almost imperceptible tremor of fear quaking his words. “I’ll have her delivered to you directly, General Davenport.”
Paris, France
August 27, 2011
9:07 pm, Central European Time
Paige takes a long, deep breath and gazes back out the window before letting her eyelids fall shut. “I’m going to have to tell Dia that dad is looking for her.”
Thank you so much for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the first part of the Vs. Reality series. Please leave a quick star rating and a review
on the Vs. Reality Amazon page
if you liked it – I would really, really appreciate it, and every single review means the world to me.
And if you didn’t enjoy it, just feel free to keep that information to yourself. This is the internet, after all – it’s not some place where curmudgeons go to complain about things :)
Thanks again, and please come say hi on the social medias. I’d love to meet you!
Super-sized hugs,
Blake xx
Books by Blake Northcott
Vs. Reality
Relapse (Vs. Reality Volume 2)
Legacy (Vs. Reality Volume 3)
THE ARENA MODE SAGA
Arena Mode
Assault or Attrition (Arena Mode Book 2)
Final Empire (Arena Mode Book 3)
NOVELLAS
The Manticore Ascension
About the Author
Blake Northcott is an author, Twitter-er, and Slayer of Vampires (only the ones that sparkle).
She enjoys comic books, novels, movies, travel, and the occasional rum & Coke. Turn-offs include Wheel of Fortune and Ke$ha.
Blake lives just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with her family.
If you want to know more about Blake, visit her on one of those social media thingies. Or her website ... she has one of those too.
BlakeNorthcott.com
facebook.com/BlakeNorthcott
twitter.com/ComicBookGrrl
★★★★
★
Mind-blowing
"Blake Northcott is making nerd dreams come true; action, suspense and comics all at once?! Try not to fall in love – I dare you!"
-
Regina Carpinelli
, CEO and Founder of Stan Lee's Comikaze
★★★★
★
Simply awesome
“A fun, mind-bending adventure that moves at a blistering pace. If you love superheroes you need to read Vs. Reality.”
-
Mark McKenna
, Artist, DC Comics and ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’
★★★★
★
Exceptional
“A thought-provoking, white knuckle page-turner of the first degree.”
-
Billy Tucci
, Creator of ‘Shi’ and Founder of Crusade Comics
★★★★
★
A must read for any action/adventure fan
“Fast-paced and exciting, risky, and has wicked awesome characters! Complete with a twist at the end that leaves you totally wishing for the next book!”
-
The Bookish Brunette
, Book Reviewer
★★★★
★
Kick-Ass on steroids
“If you enjoyed that movie, you'll love this book. It's like tossing comic books and action novels into a blender.”
-
John Corwin
, Author, ‘No Darker Fate’
★★★★
★
An adrenaline rush
“Blends the aesthetic of a comic book movie with the mind-f#@& of a Chuck Palahniuk novel. It's an adrenaline rush. It's a commentary on addiction. It's the source material for a future summer Blockbuster.”
-
Amy Leigh Strickland
, Author, ‘Olympia Heights’
Vs. Reality
Book 1 in the Vs. Reality Series
Kindle Version 2.2 / 06.30.2015
Vs. Reality is Copyright © and Trademark 2011-2015
Blake Northcott, Digital Vanguard Inc. and Noösphere Publishing
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher or author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.