Chapter 289: Curfew
Alexander drove through the silent streets, keeping one hand on the wheel. He had over one hundred and ten million dollars secured in the car, having lost five million to bureaucratic bribes and fines during the two days he stayed away.
The city was dead, the streets empty under a dark hush. He pulled up to Jessica’s house and stepped out. Before he could even knock, the door swung wide open.
"Alexander!" Jessica cried, throwing her arms around his neck with desperate strength.
"Easy, I’m back," said Alexander.
"Where the hell did you go? I haven’t heard a word since the shooting!" Jessica said, her eyes bright with tears. "I thought you were dead! I called dozens of times and your terminal was dead!"
"I had to leave the city on a emergency, and my line was locked down," said Alexander, closing the door behind him. "But I’m here. Now tell me, what the hell is going on out there? Why is the city a ghost town?"
"The government declared a strict martial law curfew last night," Jessica whispered, her face pale. "TMC and Big Black are locked in a shadow conflict, and the military has sealed the borders. They are searching every block for someone who breached the northern grid two nights ago. Anyone caught outside is shot on sight."
Alexander frowned, his mind working as he processed her words. If the military has sealed the borders and the curfew is that strict, why did I manage to drive into the city without a checkpoint stopping me?
Before he could voice the thought to Jessica, a heavy, synchronized knock echoed against the front door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Jessica gasped, her eyes widening in pure terror as she clutched Alexander’s arm.
"Stay back," said Alexander, gently pushing her behind him.
He walked to the entryway, his hand resting near his waist out of habit, though he was still unarmed. He pulled the door open just an inch. Standing under the porch light was a tall man in a pristine, dark tactical trench coat with a federal government badge pinned to the lapel. Two armed military operatives stood behind him, their assault rifles held across their chests.
"Alexander?" the investigator asked, his voice flat, professional, and devoid of emotion.
"Yeah. Who’s asking?" said Alexander.
"Federal Intelligence Division, Investigator" the man said, showing a warrant on a terminal. "Your personal vehicle, a silver Lamborghini Temerario, was flagged crossing the automated grids entering the sector ten minutes ago. Given the current martial law curfew, you are in direct violation of transit restrictions."
The investigator stepped forward, his sharp eyes cutting past Alexander to scan the interior of the house before locking back onto his face.
"More importantly, our network shows your vehicle crossed the northern bridge two nights ago, before the containment perimeter was breached," the investigator continued, a cold smile touching his lips. "We need to have a very thorough, private interrogation regarding your activities outside the city grid. Step out to the vehicle, please."
Alexander glanced back at Jessica, giving her a brief, reassuring nod before stepping out onto the porch and pulling the door shut behind him. The cold night air nipped at his neck as he walked down the steps, flanked by the two armed military operatives.
They led him to a black federal transport vehicle parked down the block, its engine idling with a heavy thud. The investigator opened the heavy rear door, gesturing for Alexander to climb inside the dark, isolated cabin.
Alexander slid onto the metal bench, and the investigator sat opposite him, placing the glowing digital terminal on the small metal table between them. The door slammed shut, sealing them in total silence.
"Let’s skip the pleasantries," the investigator said, tapping the screen to bring up a satellite capture of Alexander’s silver Lamborghini tearing through the northern checkpoint. "You ran a Big Black blockade two nights ago. Shortly after, a massive energy anomaly was recorded in the northern ridges. Now you reappear after forty-eight hours with a clean bank draft from a ruined casino across the state line. What was your business in the mountains, Alexander?"
"I was running an escort contract for TMC," Alexander said, his voice flat and relaxed. "A job to clear a kid outside the grid. Big Black tried to muscle into my sector and intercept the asset. I don’t take orders from street thugs, so I broke their line."
"And the anomaly?" the investigator pressed, his eyes narrowing as he leaned forward. "The energy signature matches non-human technology. The assets you were carrying vanished from our radar."
"I don’t know anything about an anomaly," said Alexander, looking the man dead in the eye. "The moment I cleared the bridge, the clients panicked and jumped out of the vehicle in the dark. I wasn’t about to get killed for a low-paying contract, so I turned around, drove across the border to blow off some steam at the casinos, and just got back. If you want to know where they went, go ask Big Black. They’re the ones who were hunting them."
The investigator stared at him, analyzing his micro-expressions for any sign of a lie, unaware that Alexander’s TMC training made his vitals unreadable.
"You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Alexander," the investigator said, tapping the screen to close the file. "Or a very dangerous one. For now, your TMC clearance and your casino alibi hold up. But the government is watching your vehicle. Don’t leave this sector again."
The investigator gave a tight, warning nod, signaling the operatives to unlock the transport doors.
Alexander climbed out of the vehicle and walked back toward the house, his expression calm until he reached the porch. The moment he stepped under the shadow of the overhang, his secure terminal vibrated against his thigh.
He pulled the device from his pocket. A dark red, full-screen notification was pulsing across the display, bypassing all his custom encryption walls. It was a direct transmission from the central TMC core network.
[OPERATIONAL DIRECTIVE: MANDATORY COMPLIANCE]
LOCATION TARGET: TMC Hotel.
TIME WINDOW: IMMEDIATELY
STATUS: OVERRIDING AUTHORITY LEVEL 5. CRITICAL MANDATE. NO DELAYS. FAILURE TO REPORT WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE CLASSIFICATION AS OSTRACIZED AND TERMINATION ASSET.
Alexander stared at the glowing text, his jaw tightening. The timing was too perfect. He had just cleared the government interrogation, only for the system itself to drop a lock-step command that left him zero room to maneuver.
"Damn it," Alexander muttered, deleting the log trail as he pushed the front door open to face whatever was waiting next.