Match (4)

Redmond was inside her Forzini with her bodyguards–Lucas and others. She left Rudolf to control her group's operation in her stead.

She wore the clothes she also wore during her last meeting with Phantom at Ceres District–the capelet coat, gloves, and blouse. She had left her cloche and her muffler. There was no big reason but to make sure that her face was seen by others.

She had left with a big entourage–six cars full of personnel. Her destination was Pavlov territory, which borders her own.

Of all the places in Podzemgrad, it was the most suspicious in her eyes.

In light of the new information regarding a possible secret facility, she had brought herself to handle it. It was very close to her place.

It was still a conjecture, but somehow Pavlov had been involved in a deal with the technocrats. It was not without reason that the android targeted them. Probably he was also one of the products that went berserk against them. She would never know, but the relationship between the facility and what she faced at that moment was related. At least, she believed so.

She was rarely wrong about such things.

If they were involved–and Redmond was sure they were–either Pavlov or the bees would try to guard the place. A place with a lot of their presence was a likely candidate for this mysterious secret facility, which Redmond thought was a prison.

The idea alone had left an awful feeling inside her.

Only several places fit the criteria. Almost all of them were exposed to danger, except one. The place where she wanted to go.

There was no Bezopasnosti presence in the territory, and the number of Pavlov's men left was not too great. However, they could play on the fact that Redmond's men guaranteed the region's security if they could read her mind–which she believed to be the case or at least a chance of it.

She would not deny herself if it turned out to be a false assumption. However, there was no harm in guessing and trying. She was not going to pull a gun for it. Just a simple probe and observation.

The risk was too significant if she ended up on the wrong side of the coin.

There were some concerns if she ended up correct as well. Firstly, about the fact that Pavlov's men might turn hostile. Second, the bees might end up looking for her as well.

She could still bargain with them, but this was not an ordinary matter. It might be easy to deal with Pavlov, but not the bees–and the technocrats for that matter. Even then, she had decided that this had to be the way.

Just to make sure everything was safe.

Redmond never stopped thinking about it as her Forzini moved through Pavlov's territory. They were welcomed at the border, and her arrival was informed to all of Pavlov's men.

The journey was relatively peaceful. For thirty minutes, she had a smooth drive. After a long time of monitoring her territory's situation a few hours ago, the comfort of her travel had made her tiredness grow and almost made her sleep.

For a moment, she let the fatigue consume her.

Suddenly she found herself standing in the middle of a park. Alone, basking in the bright light of the sun–something she had not seen for forty years. Somehow, her skin had turned smooth and radiant again as well. Everything was familiar to her.

It was Utah before the Great Quake.

She walked here during her early teen years. The park was one of her favourite places. There were many kids her age there too.

Her father was not around then. He was often abroad working in Krasinski Corp. An intelligent and influential man. She was raised by his uncle in his stead since his mother had died early. Gregory was his name. He had loved her like his own daughter since she was young. Understandable because he had lost her wife and her own daughters because of World War 4.

He was kind enough to take care of her until she entered university. However, somehow he disappeared from her life completely. She could not remember what had happened. Strange. She should know it.

Not this again, she thought. Again, again. She thought about all of these things in the past, she lamented. Everything had changed.

Everything had changed.

She repeated that multiple times in her head.

All of a sudden, she found herself in the middle of her workroom. Her skin's youth had gone. She did not have to see it. She knew about it.

She had experienced all of these. Many, many times.

Rudolf was near the holotable, again. Lucas stood near the closed front door, looking at the lamp above–again.

There were no other men in the room other than those two, and it would be only three of them inside it forever. At least, until the dream faded away.

She waited for several seconds, and both of them looked at her and bowed with submissive eyes–as she had expected. She did not give a reply. Instead she looked at her left hand and raised it up. There was a glove on it. It felt like she was compelled as she moved her other hand to pull the glove open, even though she knew a hand made of cybernetics would come out from it.

She raised her eyebrows.

It was a hand made of bone and flesh, covered with leathery skin.

It was the first time for her.

Yet, it was all a lie. She convinced herself as she smiled. She had lost it. There was no way it could happen.

It was a dream anyway. It would be nice to have it, but she had stopped caring about dreams. She had become "Madam Redmond." Respected and feared, as she made her empire from a poor slum into a giant syndicate. Yet, she viewed herself above those scums who thought of nothing but money, power, and pleasure. Those who saw everything as a matter of chance and fortune above the despair of others.

The beauty of Ceres, Pallas, then other districts, she made them all. This wretched city was never a place of hope, but she could make a heaven of its own. A beacon of liberty and saviour of those wrongfully and unfairly being put into this abominable cesspool of what was named "Podzemgrad."

Then all of a sudden there was a loud smack coming from the front door as it cracked before the doors flew towards both Redmond's side in great force.

A masked figure with a black trench coat and a gun emerged from the frame door. She was familiar with it. A Spitfire submachine gun–like that man always used.

The Phantom.

Lucas and Rudolf both shouted almost simultaneously as they tried to draw their weapons against him. However, their body suddenly stopped moving, and Phantom just finished them off with his Spitfire. One bullet went through their heads, and they quickly dropped to the ground.

He turned and walked towards her, but Redmond did not attempt to fight or run away. She stood there, watching it all unfold like a film. Then, he could hear him faintly whispering.

That is what you want to believe.

Redmond did not reply. The man whispered again. At first, she could not hear what he said–not until he came closer.

A hope built upon a sea of lies.

Gun raised towards her face.

Almost instantly, shouts from her bodyguards pulled Redmond back to her Forzini. There were sounds of something being damaged in the car. The front windshield was smashed, and through it came an explosion sound. Gunshots echoed from every direction.

Everything was too quick even for her to understand.

"-We're being ambushed!!"

"Rado, get us to a safer place!" Lucas shouted towards the driver.

"Yes, sir! Trying!"

Redmond finally could muster all her consciousness. "What the hell is-"

But not for long.

Redmond felt her body strangely light for a moment before her head crashed onto the top of the Forzini as it rolled into the air with a powerful force.

Then darkness consumed her sights.

The next time she opened her eyes, she was dragged down the road. Her eyes could not focus on what was ahead of her--blurry. Her head was hurt and pulsing. She could feel the cold, metallic grip of a figure who dragged her two feet on the asphalt, and she knew it was not human.

She looked around her. There were several figures which looked like the one who dragged her.

"...Lucas…" A weak voice came out of her mouth, but there were no answers.

Then she realised there were no gunshots anymore, although she could hear crackling flames coming from many different directions.

She felt she was dying.

Then she thought about the man she had seen not long ago in her dream. What the hell happened?

She asked herself inside her mind as she closed her eyes.