"I don't want to hear about it again. Leaving your day-job is a terrible idea." Diana said bitterly.
Keith stood up from the table and walked into the living room.
"So your plan is to become a criminal." Diana said.
"No, you don't understand Dee!" He felt irritable now.
Keith was right. The government had stripped away citizens' rights bit by bit. All media outlets were closely monitored and heavily edited. Phone calls and MultiNet traffic were being tracked by government officials. People raising concerns were silenced until a group of programmers formed ShadowGroup. Their operation was the first significant step against the government's tactics. The team was working endlessly to hack into their networks to destroy them from the inside. Their aim was to uncover sensitive information to overthrow the government before the elections. However, the group needed more members desperately, yet they had to be cautious in recruiting people without exposing the organisation. Keith went through numerous background checks and programming tests before he was chosen to be a temporary ShadowGroup member. The induction which awaited him was a ceremony where he would be granted full access to the surveillance base and a layered MultiNet outlet which renders his work to be untraceable.
Keith put his mug down and walked back to the kitchen. He had a mix of enthusiasm and fear building up in him.
"All I want to do is make my work count." Keith kissed his wife, put on his tweed jacket, and left the house.
Walking to the bus stop he was considering his options to avoid suspicion after the induction. I will work part-time in the textile factory and spend the rest of my time on ShadowGroup tasks, he thought.
A spotless silver Galaxy 3000 ground car sparkled in the morning sun as it approached. With its pointy fenders and bubble dome, it seemed like a gentle beetle, ready to whoosh into the distance any moment. The autonomous system tracked Keith's position and came to a stop next to him.
Keith immediately recognized the deep voice of Roberts through the lifting roof, he was his referee for ShadowGroup. Keith opened the door and got in the back seat. Facing him on the opposite side sat his acquaintance and a stranger.
"They won't get us. We are three steps ahead of them as my software gets more and more refined. Once we have enough data collected off their internal feed, we can publish it on numerous MultiNet sites. By the time they block one we'll have four duplicates across the network. People will see the information, the lies, the political prisoners, the missing people. They will rise up and the government will be done forever." Keith said with confidence.
"The gentleman here is Mr. Johnson." Roberts said while reaching for his pocket. Keith nodded while Mr. Johnson kept studying him from behind his thick rimmed glasses.
"Are you a programmer too?" Keith said.
"No, I'm not, but I have a good understanding of your progress so far." Johnson said.
Keith gazed out the window and grew uneasy as the car was riding in the outskirts of town, leaving the city skyscrapers behind.
"You see Mr Lucas, I'm a ShadowGroup founder. Roberts, myself and a few other gentlemen started the whole thing." said Johnson.
"Does this urgent meeting means we have to go through something before the induction?" Keith said.
"Me? What are you talking about?" Keith looked puzzled.
"Roberts, grab him!" Johnson shouted in panic.
Roberts pulled out his thermal pistol, slid beside Keith and buried the gun in Keith's side.
"What is happening?" Keith clenched his fist.
"Don't you dare move." Roberts said with a voice full of aggression.
"Should we get rid of him right now? There's nothing to wait for!" he said nervously to Johnson.
Keith looked out. The vehicle was on an abandoned road surrounded by wilderness. The engines were whirring as the car approached top speed. Keith's heart was pounding so hard he thought it could burst any minute. He was shaking with fear. He wanted to call Diana to ask for help or at least to say goodbye. But there was nothing to be done, he was cornered.
"I'll tell you what's going to happen." Roberts said. "We're approaching the ShadowGroup HQ where you will have a mind scan for our records, then get a complete erase of your memories. We cannot let spies jeopardize ShadowGroup.
Keith grew ill as he tried to comprehend the absurd accusations he was hearing.
"I am Keith Lucas. A programmer, a hacker. I put my life on the line to take down the government. I belong to ShadowGroup." he said with conviction.
Roberts tilted his chin up and his lean posture tightened as he spoke slowly and with purpose.
"You wouldn't remember what had happened because of your short term memory wipe. Our colleague from interior security however, has provided us with accurate information.
"No, this is wrong!" Keith's face went white.
Outside he could see mountains with lush vegetation. The base was close now. He knew what was coming to him. They would make sure he would stay quiet for the rest of his life.
Roberts held his gun and Johnson was ready to use force should Keith resist, he had no chance.
"Here we go." Roberts said as the car came to a stop. It was in the middle of a forest where an opening between the pine trees hid a tiny cabin. Keith suspected that a massive structure underneath awaited him. Two armed guards approached the vehicle.
"Wait Roberts," Keith said desperately. "I'm going to prove I'm innocent. Give me some time! Roberts if you wipe out my existence you're no better what we are fighting against." He said with damp eyes.
The guards waited outside the car. Maybe Keith wasn't rushed to his fate if they lived in another time. The government's methods made everyone suspicious, and as for ShadowGroup, one single infiltrator could bring down everything.
He was going to be neutralized because they did not want to look for evidence and the group was desperate and acting in haste.
Keith clenched his jaw as he looked from the corner of his eye at Roberts. He tried to accept the fact that the fellow who recruited him many months ago is going to destroy his life based on suspicion and without any evidence.
There was no point condemning Roberts but Keith needed to prove his innocence.
Keith's mind raced and he needed to act. How could he escape? In a second he would be in the underground building locked in a cell, waiting for a brain reset.
Johnson opened the door and climbed out, and gestured towards the guards with his hand to signal that Keith was successfully in custody.
Keith took a deep breath. The moment came. He jerked his head violently to the side breaking Roberts' nose in the process. In the confusion Keith grabbed Robert's thermal gun and held it to Robert's temple.
"Let me go or I'll kill him!" Keith's voice echoed through the clearing. Johnson and the guards looked dumbfounded.
"Go, go!" Keith yelled as the autopilot closed the door and the car took off.
Keith looked back and caught a glimpse of three figures running into the cabin.
Roberts instructed the autopilot and articulated the coordinates clearly.
Keith slid across the opposite seat and held the pistol at Roberts. With his other hand he used the car phone to call Diana.
Keith let out a huge breath as he heard Diana's voice.
"Good, don't talk to anyone, just leave the house!" He hung up the phone and then the two examined each other silently.
The car came to a sudden halt at an abandoned hangar.
They walked down the stairs and entered an enormous hall where dozens of people worked on computers. On the screens were street camera feeds and tables of data. In the back rose an endless row of server machines and the constant buzz of fans.
The floor was covered with thick dust and piles of computer packaging.
Roberts walked towards the desks, Keith followed close behind him. The technicians were dazed seeing a stranger pointing a gun at Roberts.
"Do as he says and don't ask questions!" Roberts said nervously.
"Shut up, Roberts!" Keith hissed through his teeth.
The operator looked at Roberts, perspiration rolling down on his forehead. Roberts nodded.
Keith tapped his feet rapidly as the technician searched for the storage tape.
A nearby monitor flickered and a live feed from above ground showed Johnson and two guards outside the hangar. They were on the way down. As soon as Keith saw them entering the hall he put down his gun. "Before you do anything Johnson, look at the evidence here. The camera history. Look!" Keith waved frantically with his hands.
Johnson narrowed his eyes and lowered his weapon as the operator put up the footage on the large screens in the center. They were staring at them as the footage was fast forwarded showing multiple locations including Keith's house.
On one monitor Keith left home early morning. Another one showed him in a coffee shop and then him walking in the park in the afternoon. Other operators combed through data from nearby locations which was running on the smaller screens. Audio transcripts, still photos and names darted on the displays.
"Nothing of interest." Robert sighed and looked around.
"You were right all along." Roberts said.
"I never talked to them. Your source just wanted to get me in trouble." Keith said.
The screens continued to follow Keith's day as he was going through his weekend routine. From his walk he was heading home.
"I don't know what to say." Keith let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Wait!" The operator pointed at the screen. Plaza Street. 17:14 PM. Sunday. Keith walked on the footpath when a black van stopped next to him and two officers pushed him in violently. The van disappeared.
A rumble interrupted them. It grew into a loud roar. The security screens turned automatically to the above ground feed.
Roberts looked at the screen. "They were tracking you all along." He stared blankly as an army of police vehicles were rushing towards the bunker.