But this was different. Softer. More subtle. His consciousness tickling the edges of my mind, pliable and open.
"Sleep!" I told him, my mind pushing out the command as much as my voice.
He collapsed against me, and I grabbed his e-Glass and replaced the one I got from the other Officer. I let the man fall to the ground, then used his e-Glass synch to unlock the Bruiser.
Inside, the vehicle was high-tech with controls and buttons I didn't understand yet. But there was also a computer built into the dash, with multiple screens.
I knew if I could hack into the city's surveillance system I could access all the cameras and see what was going on anywhere in New York.
But that was easier said than done. The U.F.I. had the strongest firewalls in the world, designed specifically to keep out people like me.
Well, maybe not people exactly like me, I thought with a grin.
It took longer than I would have liked, but I got in. I pumped my fist in the air and then furiously typed as I zoomed in on the cameras I needed.
I could see the rebels helping the Shadow into their white van. They drove off, and with a click I accessed their street. Which was already blocked off.
I clicked the e-Glass I got from the dead rebel. "They were ready for you," I told whoever was listening.
"Who is this?" A guy asked.
"Someone trying to help. The road ahead is blocked off. You have to take a right."
He swore under his breath. "Right into the Inquisition's hands, no doubt. I'm not falling for your lies."
"If you don't listen to me, then you're all dead." I checked the cameras. "A squad of Officers is about to cut you off from the left. They're using thrusters."
"How on earth do you know—" His voice cut off and on the camera I could see the squad position itself in front of the van. Black clad rebels stuck their heads out of the windows, guns first, and shot down the Officers before they ever had a chance to counter maneuver.
My e-Glass came to life. "Crap. She was right," said the guy.
A new voice, female, spoke. "Listen, whoever this is. Where's the next squad coming from?"
"Left again," I told her, checking the cameras.
I could hear gunfire through the e-Glass and see it on the screen as the rebels shot down the squad as soon as it came out of the alley.
"Thanks," the woman said.
"Why are you helping us?" asked the first guy.
Why? Was it because I was now Zenith, with some unnamed power that made me different? Or because my parents disagreed with the Inquisition? Or was it because of that woman, that wife and mother, gunned down in front of her husband and child as they pulled her lifeless body away from the carnage? Or maybe it was the voice of my father in my head telling me to trust what was in my heart.
"She can tell us later," the woman said, and a light bulb went off in my head.
"You're the Shadow of Rome," I said.
"Call me Trix… the grump you've been talking to is T.R. What should I call you?"
I couldn't give my real name. And I didn't want to use my dad's nickname for me. So I used the first thing that came to mind. "N."
"N. Alright. What's next, N?"
I checked my monitors. "You have to go right. It's the only path open."
"How could they have mobilized so quickly?" asked T.R.
"They're doing the same thing they did in Boston when they captured me," said Trix. "They knew you'd show up. They're trying to end us once and for all."
T.R. swore under his breath again.
Trix spoke through the e-Glass. "Alright. N, I trust you. More like, I have to trust you." She paused, and I heard movement in the background. "We're going right."
On my screens the van turned the corner. I switched cameras to view the other streets around them and saw a Bruiser headed their way. Crap.
I set my Bruiser's GPS to that intersection and pressed the button to activate the e-Driver. "Preparing to travel to East 48th street and Second Avenue," the GPS said. "Assessing traffic and road blocks. Estimated time of arrival, two minutes."
The Bruiser began to move, and I spoke into the e-Glass. "Keep turning right," I told them as my fingers flew over the keyboard.
"That'll take us in a circle," said T.R.
"They're tracking your movements the same way I am," I told him. "The best you can do is confuse them."
"Let's do it," said Trix.
They turned, then turned again… making a loop around the block. The Bruiser on their heels adjusted for their change in routes and was about to come out in front of them. Before it could, I overrode the e-Driver, took control of the wheel, and crashed into the other Bruiser from the side, sending it slamming into a nearby building, and sending my head slamming against the seat, knocking me a bit senseless. I took a deep breath, a wave of intense… hunger? Or thirst? I couldn't be sure, a gnawing ache in my gut overcame me. But I had to ignore it and focus. The Bruiser's GPS blinked at me, the voice now scratchy, likely rattled from the crash. "We have sustained damage. Please pull over to the nearest—"
I turned off the GPS and its annoying voice. I had enough voices in my head right now.
The rebel van drove by.
"I'm assuming that was you," said Trix over the e-Glass.
"Yes. Now, head for the outskirts."
"They keep cutting us off," said T. R. "Time for plan B."