The CHANGI BULLET

Chapter 1 - A New Virus

It had been a good year for the people of Batavia, Indonesia. No typhoons had come out of the South China Sea, no financial worries had struck, crime was virtually non-existent, and the troubles with belligerent China had ceased since that country had been allowed to annex Japan.

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Actually, the year was 973. It would start again, as always, when they reached the year 1000. Yes, 973 had been a good year for all Indonesians, not just for the residents of the capital region of Batavia. They were the world's dominant superpower, and they lived happily on their more than seventeen thousand islands. The only thing that worried them, that worried the entire planet, was the virus. Countless animal species had already succumbed to it, without any hope of a vaccine. How long before humans were infected next, everyone wondered? There was the urban fantasy of relocating to another planet, one day soon. But the people got on with their normal lives; they loved and married, they worshipped and they shopped.

As the capital of the world, Batavia was home to fifteen million people, many from around the globe. Westerners were a very common sight, from nearby England, or from gigantic Russia (often Greek Russians or Belgian Russians), from France, even from New Spain, that wasteland between Canada and Mexico, although those people were viewed warily and only tended to do the manual jobs.

One such Englishman was Wesley Joe Allbones. He exited a taxi cab outside the main shopping mall in central Batavia. He tipped the New Spaniard driver generously before strolling inside. He wore a white cotton shirt and jeans, and was relaxed, looking about him in the massive atrium – suspended in the air, there was a gigantic snorting bull made of glass mosaic tiles. Allbones appreciated the efforts of the unknown artist, before moving on.

Allbones was in his early thirties and regarded by many as handsome, with the strong build of an athlete, and he moved with self-confidence. He discreetly checked out a couple of pretty local girls in passing, and perused the shop fronts.

Allbones continued on through the crowds, not in any great rush. Many languages passed by his ears. An elderly Indonesian man slipped while walking through an area of floor which was being cleaned, so he helped the man to his feet. He moved on again, amused to hear the old man berate the careless cleaning person in fast Bahasa Indonesian. Girls were walking along while on their phones, which was a typical mall scene.

Allbones entered one of the massive, octagonal food courts, where it was very loud with happy, chattering diners. He stood and considered his mouthwatering options: Indian, French, traditional Javan, Scottish. He decided to get ikan bakar parape, a grilled fish dish, one of his favourites, and sat himself down at a table. He continued to people-watch while enjoying his lunch. Half the women wore the hijab headdress, in a multitude of beautiful and bright colours, while half had flowing jet-black hair. All the men, Asian or Westerner, were smartly dressed. The children were well behaved. The staff were all in a dark blue uniform and he saw broad smiles as they interacted with the public.

He finished his meal, wiped his mouth with the napkin and put his bamboo plate in the nearby waste bin. He let his food digest for a moment while he looked around him. Then, very deliberately, he started to unbutton his shirt and take it off. This revealed the short handle of a machete which was stuffed down his left trouser leg. He drew this weapon and slashed at the face of the Asian businessman sitting at the next table. This went unnoticed by everyone, even the man's howls of distress as he collapsed to the floor were drowned out in the general hubbub. Allbones started to walk across the food court. A Westerner man crossed his path, so he stabbed him in the stomach. This was seen by people nearby and brought on the first screams and panicked moves away from the scene. Allbones left the man where he slumped, and approached the French food outlet. Three young faces stared at him, more so at first because he was topless, than carrying anything. He ignored the female and slashed at the two male assistants. Pandemonium erupted in the busy dining area, people fleeing for their lives. Allbones turned towards a man from the mall staff, who looked at him with terror before spinning on his heals to flee. Allbones gave chase and hacked at the man's legs, bringing him down with a deep scream and a sudden pool of blood spilling across the mosaic floor.

Mall security arrived quickly on the scene, now rapidly emptying. Two guards approached Allbones with their weapons drawn. They didn't mess about in Batavia, there were no shouts to surrender, no hesitation, both men opened fire and five laser bullets struck Allbones in the chest, killing him instantaneously.

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