Existence Denied

CHAPTER 6

Coyo jolted out of his seat as he confronted the angry woman. "What the hell do you mean what have I done to him? If you're looking for someone to blame for hurting him, look in the mirror." He raised a bushy eyebrow as he pointed an accusing finger at Lorraine. "You wanted Jared to quit the NP, so you set him up, trying to get him fired. Instead, you unleash a mess I gotta clean up!"

"You do talk some shite, Coyo!" Lorraine's eyes shot daggers at the old man. "You're trying to get me all hepped up about something I didn't do. Yes, I wanted Jared to quit because whether he works in the Life or Death group, eventually he'll discover it's all a fecking lie! He believes in what he does, and knowing the truth would destroy him."

"Don't you ever swear at me, girl!" snapped Coyo. "You will respect me in my house."

She whirled around and snorted in disgust. "Oh, that's wick. Respect the man that set up my husband, my asthore? He would have given the codes to you, Coyo. For shame that he trusted you and you do him dirty."

"Who's the one trying to help him? Me. Don't play stupid with me, girl." Coyo tossed a small white box to Lorraine who instantly caught it. "And speaking of playing, I saw what you stuck on my boy's collar. I ain't stupid, Lorraine."

Lorraine opened the box and saw the mini microphone she had attached to Jared's collar. "No, you're not stupid, Coyo. Only ugly. Your soul is ugly," she muttered before beginning to pace in the small space. "Why are we fighting? We're on the same side. We both know the bleeding system is broken. It's not the population-controlling, environment-saving institution that Jared thinks it is. Like anything created and maintained by man, it started good, but it's gone corrupt."

Coyo sighed and sat down. "You're right about that. It started out as something perfect when we had overpopulation, depleted resources, and deadly pollution problems. Man was two steps from extinction, like the dinosaurs. Hell, in those days, they had to ration air by areas. If it wasn't your day, you went into stasis. Regulating life and death fixed a majority of the problems—"

"But we've gotten smarter and better at taking care of ourselves and our planet," said Lorraine. "We don't need the fecking NP babysitting us anymore."

Coyo began to laugh in a shrill, broken manner. "Now, that's rich coming from you! A covert Enforcer for the Ireland NP, who hunted innocent people down, making sure folks terminated on time—"

Lorraine's hand slid into her boot to retrieve a derringer, the small-sized handgun she kept for emergencies. It took seconds to recover the firearm and point it at the older man...

...who already had a fully automatic Atchisson assault shotgun pointed at her chest.

"Former Enforcer." Lorraine's tone was mild. "And when did you find that out?"

Not how, but when.

"About a year ago."

"I was part of the Gardaí, what you'd call the police, for three years before those fecking NP gobshites recruited me." Lorraine's tone—and gun—never wavered as she spoke. "I went on two bleeding training missions before I realized the truth. They were murderers. The NP says you're to die on Thursday, and most die on Thursday. But a teeny tiny faction decided they weren't going to die on Thursday just because the bleeding system said they will."

Coyo said nothing and kept his gun pointed at Lorraine's head, waiting for her to continue.

"Two women, Coyo, not even thirty. Young and full of life, one nursing an innocent babe. Some Inquisitor forecasted death, but the lasses had everything to live for. Each ran, tryna hide, but me and partner number one found the first girl. They talked, she begged, but still, he raised his gun to stun her, then inject her with a serum to stop her heart." Lorraine paused and lowered her gun. "All very humane and part of the protocol."