pirated stuff

"Kovacs?"

"Yes, I can't give you my real name right now. They might be listening in this very second," the voice on the radio implored.

"Whose 'they'? What are you talking about?"

"I don't know who they are, but they are a shadow organization in control of Arcadia. The Interceptors, the people who were chasing you, are just the face of the organization. It seems that you were on their radar, given how you were able to pierce their lie."

A brief look of panic once again shaded the young woman, but after a quick deep breath, she steeled herself once again.

"I tried to warn you earlier, Tanya, but in the end, I was too late."

She shook her head. "Why are you helping me?"

The radio crackled, and a static voice sighed, "Because I was once like you, but I found out the truth. My life had been nothing but a lie."

The woman looked amused. "Well, I guess it's a bit too late for anything now."

"Don't be so sure. Let's just say I have a helping hand."

Not a second later, a police officer walked in, keys jangling as if he were in an old-west stereotype. "Tanya Degraff, I've com—"

Before the officer could finish, the woman leaped through her cell, her arms piercing the cell bars. With a sense of resolve, she clasped her hands behind the officer's head and heaved it toward the cell bars. With a resounding clang, the officer slumped forward, the loose keys easily coming into the young woman's possession and with them, the woman's freedom as well.

The radio crackled with screams, "WHAT THE— Ahem What I meant to say to Tanya was that he was our man on the inside."

The young woman briefly diverted her search for supplies from the officer's gear to check his pulse. "He's breathing. He probably has a concussion, but he will recover. There, I got it." Stopping her scavenging expedition, the woman produced a small portable transmitter radio. "I'm tuning it toward your frequency now."

"Good. First, let's get you out of the police department. Clackity clack clack. There, I disabled the security cameras in the building and put them on a looped feed. Once you're out of the perimeter, head toward the train station. It's the closest option to getting you out of the city."

"Understood, Kovacs."

Interviewer: Ms. Angela, can you please describe your relationship with the organization, Breakout?

Angela Solana: Patsy.

Interviewer: Can you be more specific?

Angela Solana: Breakout needed someone expendable to do the grunt work during their pilot on Escape from Arcadia.

Interviewer: And for the record, you are no longer affiliated with Breakout.

Angela Solana: Let's just say I handed in my membership card the second I found out that they were a front group for Walton Media.

Interviewer: Yes, the hypothetical relationship between Walton Media and Breakout.

Angela Solana: Hypothetical?! I swear, sometimes I don't know why we even bothered to release a documentary. I spent more than half an hour proving their connection, so why don't you watch that if you want a detailed explanation? I don't care how often Walton denies it.

Interviewer: But why would Walton Media employ a group that is ostensibly against their interests?

Angela Solana: As conniving and evil as Walton Media is, I do have to hand it to them—they are pretty smart. In a word, it was controlled opposition. Breakout was perfect for funneling anyone with sympathies toward Arcadia residents.

Interviewer: Such as yourself?

Angela Solana: Yes. It was brilliant. As soon as you signed up for the cause, you already lost. It also kept the Black Hats and other nefarious actors off of Walton Media. Breakout was their prey, and they were a jealous hunter. Unfortunately for Walton, my little exposé revealed the hunter to be little more than a paper cutout. Walton may have successfully suppressed the truth from the public for now, but the underground knows.

Interviewer: Were you involved with the cyber-attack on American Arcadia systems on November 11, 2024?

Angela Solana: No. I'm a filmmaker. I have enough technical skills to edit a film, but no further. Whoever did it, though, I'd kiss them.

Interviewer: Circling back to your time in Breakout, why did they put you in charge of Trevor's escape?

Angela Solana: It was decided that having two independent human factors would make the event more "exciting." However, they realized that having two human factors was too unpredictable and decided to put my operations more "in-house."

"Listen, Tanya, you need to get an access badge to get through the train station checkpoint."

The young lady scoffed, confidently striding through the station. "Already procured one from our friend."

"Right. Well, that at least simplifies things."

The young lady continued her stride as if she were still a young woman on business instead of a fugitive. Humming along with the song piped through the loudspeakers. "You think you know what's inside my head, But there's a thousand things that you never read."

"Huh, you know, it's funny. I never really had a reason to be here before now."

Her radio crackled slightly, "Really?"

"Yeah. I'll say this about INAC—they never sent me out on long out-of-town business trips. The commute was great, great amenities, and world-class restaurants."

The gait shifted slightly, growing less sure, less brisk.

"Sigh I had it all figured out too. Put in 20 more years, retire next to Little Fiji, and read with all the chocolate and coffee I wanted. Ugh."

"Tanya, is something wrong?"

"Nothing, Kovacs. Just a slight migraine."

Closer and closer, the young woman shuffled toward the security checkpoint. The train was just visible in the distance. The lady rubbed her forehead, blinking through the pain.

"Tanya. What's happening down there? The security feed is showing... like your death walking."

The young woman hissed, "I've Had Worse."

Finally, after an excruciating, eternal minute, the young woman dragged herself over to the checkpoint. Although slow and cumbersome, the young woman presented the pilfered ID to the concerned security worker.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

"Yes, I Am Fine," she said, speaking as if every word crushed her to escape between her teeth.

The security guard, after an agonizingly long time, eventually waved the young woman through.

The young woman tried to board the train, inching her way toward freedom, then collapsed on one knee. Struggling to her feet, the young woman hacked, nearly puking up blood. The floor was only saved by her hand over her mouth.

"Tanya! Something is wrong. You need to retreat for now."

"I'll Make It!"

Before the woman could weakly grasp the train's door, the doors slammed shut, and a shoulder pulled her back.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid we can't let you board the train."

The young woman twisted and howled, "Open The Doors!"

"No, I can't. I'm calling someone over."

Before the security worker could reach his phone, a fist rapidly shot into his solar plexus. This time, the floor was not spared. Unfortunately for the young woman, her reprieve was not to be.

"It's the fugitive," the masked interceptor spoke imperiously.

"Tanya, get out of there."

The young woman ran, rapidly gaining strength away from the train.

"What the hell was that?"

"It can't be." The radio clacked again with the sounds of a keyboard. "They actually did it."

"Stop! You can't escape, fugitive."

The young woman burst out of the building, leaping over a surprised cab.

"What is it that they did?"

The radio hesitated, "It's called the Jingle. It's a noise that the organization uses to control the people of Arcadia. Every citizen of Arcadia is conditioned by the Jingle."

An interceptor came from in front of the young woman to cut her off.

"Fugitive, it's time to stop resisting. What on earth?"

The interceptor stopped in his tracks, staring at the visage of the young woman.

"No. No." The interceptor shook.

"Unit 74B, adhere to official interceptor procedure," barked an interceptor chasing the young woman.

"Tanya," the radio crackled, breaking through the young woman's haze as she pushed through an interceptor trying to flank her. "We need to regroup. There's a manhole only a block ahead. Use it to shake off the interceptors. It'll take you to the outskirts of Arcadia. We should be able to meet there."

The young woman's teeth clenched. "Yes, it's time we meet."