The shades were drawn tight. The sting of a pebble against the glass startled him. The sound grew the second and third time. She must be launching larger rocks.
Soft curtains fluttered as he swished them aside. Outside, they waited. Codey watched Wren wipe her palms against her pants before poking his head out.
The older man appeared tired and sad.
Their eyes met, and anger replaced the other emotions. "I told you not to come back," he craned his neck to better view Wren outside the window. His voice sounded robotic, dead of any cadence, even to his ears.
"I want to help," she said.
"There's nothing you can do. Go away. There's nothing anyone can do." He began to slam the window closed.
"Wait!" Wren's words rang loud in the quiet of the neighborhood.
"Quiet," Codey warned her. "Do you want to get us arrested as well?"
"I brought my father. He's a leader and a good man. He can help."
Codey moaned. "Just my luck. The first stranger I meet and invite inside is a rebel princess."
"I'm not a princess."
"Close enough," Codey spat.
"Are you going to invite us in or do you want to come outside?" Rafe asked, words pleasant and controlled.
"Fine." Defeat highlighted Codey's features. "They took my mom. What else can they do to me?"
"You don't want the answer to that question," Rafe said, moving out of the shadows.
"I'm sure I don't." Codey drew his head back from the window. "Hold tight. I'll be right there." He disappeared into the room. A light flicked on in the interior.
The door opened, and Wren and Rafe entered the housing pod. "I'm Rafe, Wren's dad. I'm guessing you're acquainted with Wren better than I'd like."
Codey sputtered. "She showed up here."
Wren interrupted. "He let us in his house. Don't start interrogating him now."
"Sorry." Rafe pointed to a couch. "Can we sit?"
"I guess." Codex made a sweeping gesture with his hands toward the white furniture.
"We want to help," Rafe said.
"Your daughter did more than enough." Codey's gaze lingered on the floor.
"Listen to my dad," Wren begged.
"Fine." Codey sat on a chair only to stand up seconds later.
Wren sank deeper into the cushions next to her father. "Tell my dad what happened to your parents."
"I had limited intel about what they were doing or why they were arrested." The wretched shrug of his shoulders highlighted his sadness. "When my dad returned, he told me they traced my mother's clothing to the raid. They have sensors for dry cleaning. POOC tracked them into the desert before the sensors were depleted. I never thought of that when I gave them to you."
Wren's nails dug into her palm. "I'm sorry. Go on."
"My mom texted me about dinner, and I was finishing up a virtual reality game when I got an urgent alert from her via CHIP. She said the police were in the house with an arrest warrant for her and my dad. It was so stupid of me. I didn't even read the alert at the time because I was so involved in the game. I didn't want to lose points or die in the game. I ignored the message. Maybe if I hadn't, I could have done more."
"I'm sure you did everything possible," Rafe said.
"The warrant for their arrest claimed they had planned the attack on the archives and taken information with the intent to use it to murder the people of New State and bring down the government."
"Would your mom's ever do something like that?" Wren's dad asked.
"No." Codey rose from his seat and began pacing through the living room. "My mom just wanted to get people more engaged in the world around them. She wanted to do something good and show people it was important to rely less on technology 24/7. She also wanted to end the Phantom Program. She and my dad had recently come across some information on the program, and she told me that Phantoms were an aberration. She didn't really explain anything in detail."
"She's right about the Phantoms," Rafe said. "And she was also right to not tell you. If she had, you would have been arrested as well. She was protecting you," Wren's dad stood and patted Codey on the arm reassuringly. "What about your dad?"
"My dad loves my mom, but he wasn't a radical. He liked his job well enough and liked to use technology. He was a productive member of society and did whatever was asked of him by the New State. He'd never steal information, and that's why he returned when she didn't."
"Where is he now?"
"Work. Trying to get reinstated."
"What if I said I could help you get your mom back?" Wren's dad appraised Codey's reaction.
"I wouldn't believe you. They taught us about rebels at school. Our Internet lessons showed all the crimes against the state you committed."
"You believe everything you read on the Internet?"
"No, but I gave Wren Mom's clothes."
A sudden knock on the door interrupted their conversation. "New State, open up!"
"This can't happen," Codey whispered.
"Is there a back entrance?" Rafe grabbed Wren's arm, hauling her up and pushing Codey with his other.
With a quick nod, Codey led the way to the back of the house. The knocking against the door became more violent and soon turned into banging. The blows of a weighty sledgehammer began.
"We have about a minute," Wren's dad said as they got to the back door. "They'll believe you're hooked up for the night. Most likely, they are sending your address to the Central Command Center. That way, they can shut your CHIP system and wake you up. I need you both to move."
The back door clanked open, and Wren and Codey ran into the murky night. Her dad followed close behind. By the time the three of them stopped, hidden in a dark alley, Codey was gasping for breath.
"Are you okay?" Wren asked.
Codey couldn't reply but nodded. Doubling over, he started coughing.
Wren's dad surveyed the landscape. "Not much farther to the barricade. We might have outrun the police for now. Codey, you're going to have to keep up the best you can."
Codey nodded, his coughing quieted.
They ran. The clicks and whirls of a Phantom overhead joined them.
"I'll handle this," Wren's dad said, attempting to push them behind him.
"Dad, I've been trained for this. I'm not your little girl out here."
"Stand down, Wren. I've been training for years. Long before you were born." He forced her aside and stepped to the center of the street, reaching for a weapon.
Wren hauled out her own knife and joined him. Rafe didn't expect the sudden jolt when she bumped hips with him, sending him stumbling a couple of steps.
"You've lost your edge. Back away, old man."
Rafe took a step back, pulling out the baton that had rested in his belt loop. When he shook it, a deadly blade spiked at each end. The Phantom, unperturbed, fluttered above them like a hornet ready to sting. It recorded and transmitted their facial features and movements. New State would have them on record.
The Phantom dove on them like a hungry hawk on a squirrel. Humanity had been stripped from the creature. Most cyborgs remained dark shadows outside the window or in the sky, a silhouette of glistening metal and large wings. Tonight was different. The monstrosity sneered at Codey, pulling back cracked, blackened lips to reveal pincer-like teeth. Realizing he was no challenge, it twisted and spiraled at Wren.
She jumped out of the way, but the creature's wings glanced her cheek. The smell of metal and blood filled the air. A nasty bruise bloomed behind the blood that dripped from the gash. The Phantom sniffed and smiled, eyes malice-filled.
The cyborg cocked its head and turned away from Wren, ramming into an unsuspecting Codey, sending him sprawling into the ground. It croaked a laugh as a painful cry left his mouth.
Wren charged the Phantom, but it jumped into the air and hovered above them. It took a moment to survey the advantage it had, and spiraled, metal-bladed fingertips were exposed. Wren sliced at them with her blade.
It flew back into the night, leaving behind a hellish scream.
Rafe voice rose over the ruckus. "It's toying with us. We have to kill it now or others will come. We can't fight more of them, and we won't make it to the gate with Codey."
"Take Codey and go," Wren watched the sky, but the Phantom was lost in the darkness. "I'm fine. I'll catch up."
"I'm not leaving you."
Wren hauled Codey up and shoved him into her father's arms. "Go. Now." As a raider, she'd met and defeated these creatures before.
Rafe grabbed Codey and loped across the grass, dragging the boy along. Wren faced the winged demon.