The Eye Project, Part 24

_{Photo: AV Photography}

Under the cut, I will leave a small memo on the characters for those who read in oning.

For new readers, inside there are links to previous chapters 1 to 24 , combined into one file, in formats for readers.

Links to previous parts and an appeal to those who see the publication of the Eye for the first time:

Eye is my personal literary project, the work on which I started in May of this 2015. From a small sketch, he grew into a science fiction work, the chapters of which I spread, as I write, on GT.

Previous parts:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 18 Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23

For those who have not read the Eye before, opening the spoiler below is highly discouraged.

All previous chapters, from the first to the twenty-fourth, in formats for readers:

mobi, epub, fb2.

---

Tommy was afraid to leave the building. After the raid on the Ghetto, the former leader of the local gang licked his wounds and tried not to leave his shelter without unnecessary need.

- Chef, how are you? - Eric, his new assistant, one of the few who managed to get out of the ruins through the old sewer, entered the room.

“Fine,” Tommy got up from his seat to stretch his sore muscles.

After the raid, he began to drink, and drink a lot. Almost two weeks of unbridled drunkenness, it seemed, almost brought him to the grave, but Thomas managed to pull himself together.

And now he longed for only one thing - revenge.

Several night raids on military bases and they managed to acquire enough explosives to level half the city. But, the saddest thing is that Joe never returned and no news came from either Commander Matthew or the head camp.

“Better tell me,” Tommy asked Eric, “is everything ready?”

The fighter froze. As soon as Tommy got out of the binge, he made it clear that the escape from the Ghetto was only a delay in their death, and not a miraculous salvation. The only question is how they all die. Some left immediately, a couple more people in a few days. Tommy did not hold anyone, because he could not make his people die for his ideas.

“Ready, done, only strange things are happening.”

- What do you mean? Asked Tommy.

“They whispered to me that a couple of weeks ago someone brutally killed Melkiy,” Eric answered, “they tied to the wall and hit half of the bones with a blow to the back. If I didn’t know that you, boss, have been here all this time, I would have thought that it was you who had finished off this rat. Whoever it was, he was damn strong. And angry.

- Yes? Right half the bones?

“It feels like they put a sledgehammer on his neck,” Eric answered, “Yes, and his bastards were killed without exception, in the Ghetto there’s another redistribution of power.”

Thomas sat back at the table.

“There is a bastard and a way,” he said at last, “without such as Petty this world will become a little cleaner, although I don’t believe that at least something can save him.”

He wanted a drink. Again immerse yourself in the sweet dope of alcohol, where the border between reality and hope is blurred. Where they are not destroyed by telepaths, where are his friends, and most importantly - Joe is still with him.

He clapped his hands on his knees, got up and, waving Eric's hand to follow him, and went to the room, which they called the armory.

On the tables piled up from old plywood and boxes, the explosives prepared by his people lay neatly: stacks of charges with remote detonators and two dozen suicide bombers. A little distance away, against the wall, stood stolen weapons and combat suits. Surprisingly, they even managed to get a prototype, which climbed on their giant commander, the latter was extremely pleased.

Eric froze behind the chef, awaiting his verdict, but Tommy was silent.

- What do we have today? Friday? “Tommy finally broke the silence,” gather the guys in the dining room, we need to discuss our plan again. And say goodbye.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was assembled. Toddler Tommy looked around the room, took a deep breath and began.

- Guys, I think that for almost all those present, this will be the last day. If someone is not ready to die, he believes that everything will work out and he will be able to find a place in this city - I do not hold anyone and do not blame anyone.

Tommy fell silent, expecting at least some reaction. Nobody even moved - everyone who wanted to leave had already left. Only those remained who lost everything during the Ghetto assault: families, loved ones and, most importantly, hope.

“Good,” the giant once again looked around the room, “then we will assume that you are all ready.” Guys - do not meddle in trouble. Let our attack be suicidal and we have one goal - to wreak havoc and destruction, remember: the longer you stay alive, the more you can do. Has everyone already paired up?

The fighters in the room buzzed according to.

- Okay, then let's get ready. Time is running out, there are only five hours left to curfew.

**

Deimos and Adikia walked slowly along the streets of the Capital.

- See this one? Deimos jabbed a finger at one of the speakers on the street post.

“Yes, of course,” the girl replied, “they inform them of the beginning of the curfew or of any restrictions.”

“Yeah,” Deimos thought, “so now we are going to the location of the garrison.”

The closer it was to the center, the more soldiers they met on the way. Deimos allowed Adikia to rest and averted their eyes on his own and without any effort. As if two ghosts, not seen by anyone, they passed through the checkpoint and moved to the headquarters building.

“What have we forgotten here at all?” - Asked Adikia, although she herself had guessed.

- The control panel of the city warning system, of course. How do you feel about riots?

Adikia shivered.

“There will be a lot of blood, the soldiers will simply crush the rebels.”

“They will not fail if they are left to their own devices,” Deimos answered and closed his eyes a little.

Adikia saw how the soldiers of the guard froze, and after a few seconds, holding bayonet-knives in their hands, they opened their veins. The sight was so creepy that the girl just bowed her head and continued to move after Deimos.

They walked along the corridors and stairs, covered in blood, and finally found themselves in the control room.

Deimos threw the corpse of the officer on the floor and sat in an armchair in a businesslike way. A few movements and a lamp was lit above his head, indicating that the microphone was turned on.

“Hello, residents of our beautiful Capital,” he spoke loudly, clearly and confidently, “I appeal to all of you, and first of all, to those who live outside the Ring of Life.” Today is a night of miracles, friends. And I urge you, everyone who values ​​their freedom and the lives of their children and relatives, to go to the nearest checkpoint. Kill the soldiers, residents of the capital! Kill the bastards who live on your mountain, living in the skyscrapers of the center! Do not be afraid of anything! The headquarters of the capital's garrison is destroyed, no one will come to the aid of this garbage, calling itself your defenders.

Kill looters and other rabble! I give you the opportunity to make this city cleaner and better, I give you the opportunity to achieve justice for yourself and your family.

How many of your friends, acquaintances, relatives have rotted in the cells? How many wives were raped with impunity and killed by scum in uniform?

I know your discontent has been ripening for a long time and today you have a chance to take revenge! Get up, go out into the streets, take clubs, pipe trunks, make Molotov cocktails! Disassemble the walls and turn their fragments into a formidable weapon! The army is not a divine pantheon, they are only people! And the blood of an army rabble is as red as the blood of each of you!

I am not a resistance. I am not a provocateur. I am one of you, deceived and trampled by the current regime!

I am waiting for you at the Council building, in the very center of this anthill, which is proudly called the capital! Come tonight and together we will proclaim a new order!

He finished his speech and muted the microphone. There was silence in the room - Adikia did not dare to speak. She expected something like that, but she always believed that they would cope with Deimos together, to the elbow in the blood, but together. Now he was trying to turn this multimillion-dollar city into a blazing hell.

“You think,” she finally said, “will it work?”

“I will say more - I'm sure it will work,” Deimos got up from his chair and went to the girl, “one of the nights there, in our shelter, while you were sleeping, I touched the mind of the people around.” And you know what I saw? I saw pain, hatred, fear.

He went out into the corridor, but stopped and spoke again:

“And this gives a chance.” It gives them a chance to stop feeling like a victim, to take revenge. We will have many guests in the square in front of the council building.

Deimos put his hand in his pocket and took out two syringes from the EP-22. The maximum non-lethal dose that will drive him crazy by morning.

He looked at the poison in his hands, took off the caps and, sticking the needles directly through his leg in his leg, and slowly began to lower the pistons.

“That's all,” he smiled fervently at Adikia, “we have three or four hours, maybe five.” And then God help you, dear.

Without waiting for an answer, he simply went down the corridor to the exit.

“Yes, help won't hurt me,” thought Adikia.

**

Oliver saw Matt and Melissa open the doors of the body and had already decided to run toward them, but noticed how his comrades were slowly kneeling. He was already thinking of shouting them out to distract the attackers and give Matt a chance as the shot rang out.

Oliver saw Melissa collapse on her side and slowly, as if in slow motion, falls to the ground.

There was no time for reflection. Oliver jerked up the railgun, in the store of which there were still a few blanks, and began to sew the body at about the place where, as he thought, the enemy could be.

At one point, Matt twitched, suddenly got to his feet and lifted his machine gun. Apparently, Oliver got someone.

The first thing that Steel General saw when he approached the car was Melissa's corpse. He still reassured himself with the hope that she was just wounded, but he perfectly understood that she, like him and Matt, was in battle armor and the only place where she could be injured was her head.

At the bullet exit point, the woman’s skull was turned around and there was no hope that she could survive.

Next to her, a man was lying on the ground, not lightly dressed for the weather, but some girl was hoarse in the body itself, choking on her own blood. The railgun blank passed through the chest, another one almost torn off the arm and the fact that it was still conscious and clinging to life was a miracle.

“Tell me at least one reason not to shoot you right now, you piece of shit,” Matt said through his teeth to the man lying on the ground.

Apparently, he was more fortunate than his companion, and remained intact.

The girl in the back convulsively jerked for the last time and fell silent.

“My name is Richard O'Connell,” the man began to rise slowly, holding his arms as high as possible so as not to provoke Matt and Oliver.

- How how? - Matt asked in surprise, - Richard O'Connell? Colonel Richard O'Connell?

“Yes,” he answered, puzzled / It seemed that this old man knew him, but Richard could not understand where he came from.

- Do you know him? Asked Oliver.

“Heard,” Matt answered quietly, “James told me about him before shooting himself.” Mellie him ... - The commander stopped short, - was his subordinate.

O'Connell understood less and less what was happening.

- Mellie? Melissa? - asked Richard.

Matt only nodded grimly at the corpse next to him.

The colonel was blown up, nearly falling over his sore leg, and rushed to the corpse. When he turned the body upside down, Richard realized that it was her. His Melissa.

He quietly pressed the woman's body to her chest, not making a sound.

“Slave?” Not sure, Oliver thought.

“Mellie, honey,” O'Connell threw a strand of reddish hair and looked into the woman's dead, glassy eyes.

- We do not have time for parting. Colonel, we need to leave, come with us — Matt took Richard by the arm and gently lifted him to his feet, forcing Melissa to release his body — this is war, he continued, “soldiers die in the war, and she was just a soldier.” Come along.

Richard almost pulled himself together and followed Matt. The old commander nodded to Oliver at the corpse in the car, hinting that he, too, needed to be unloaded.

“Oliver, you’ll ride in the back, cover it.” There, some movement began on the base, it’s necessary to bring down, ”he added aloud.

The steel general nodded in agreement, went to the car and, grabbing Astrea's body by the legs, as if a bag had pulled him to the ground, laying him next to the body of Melissa.

“Was she a telepath?” Like Mellie? - Asked Oliver from O'Connell.

- Yes, probably one of the strongest.

“I see,” said Matt. Now he finally understood what happened a couple of minutes ago. - Okay, load and bring down.

Rising into the body, Oliver nearly slipped in a pool of blood, but stood on his feet. Matt and Richard threw the corpses of the driver and soldier from the cab and settled in their places. Matt was already starting the engine when Steel General knocked on the cockpit with his fist.

- I have few shells, and the batteries are low! He shouted to Matt.

“So take care of the ammo!” This trunk is still useful to us! - Matt shouted back and began to turn around the truck, - so you're a colonel of counterintelligence, right? - He calmly turned to Richard, who was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, lost in his own thoughts.

“Yes,” he answered Matt.

“James Harris advised me to find you,” Matt decided not to advertise the fact that the adviser was his brother.

“And who are you anyway?”

Matt was silent for a second. He finally turned the car around and they began to pick up speed. They drove away only fifty meters, as from behind, at the site of the ambush, an explosion thundered.

- And what is this ?! - Shouted to Oliver Matt.

- I do not know! - I heard from the body, - but on the road clean.

- Well, to hell with him! - answered the commander, - make sure that there is no chase!

- Got it!

Richard silently watched these talks. The fact that the collar of Astrea worked, he decided not to spread.

“So who are you?” - The colonel repeated his question.

- My name is Matthew, I am the commander of the resistance forces, and there, in the back, Oliver Steel.

- Steel General? - Richard was surprised, - I heard that he left the partisans.

“Yes, I tried,” Matt replied, “but I found him and tried to get him back.” True, there is nowhere to return.

- In terms of?

“Melissa once told us that the army had a full-scale operation.” The ghettos and our camps in the north were destroyed.

“I didn’t hear anything about it, but I heard that you, Matthew, were missing.”

- Oh, do we have traitors? - asked Matt.

“Let's just say it was all rumored,” O'Connell answered evasively. He did not want to say that he had his scammers in the camp of resistance.

“Counselor Harris said we should find you.” You can help reconcile resistance and government.

Richard just smiled.

- In order to reconcile these two camps, it will be necessary to send at least half of all officials and leaders to the other world. Although, he remarked, Deimos copes with this very well.

- Deimos?

- Do you know each other?

“Yes,” Matt answered slowly, “we met at Mike Ivor Research Center.” There they patched Oliver, a couple of weeks ago he was seriously wounded by tramps.

“Here it is,” Richard pondered what he heard, “and when did he leave?”

- About a week ago, after that we were immediately taken into custody, only today they fled.

Richard looked carefully at Matt. He had not yet decided whether to trust this couple. But if they really Commander Matthew and Oliver Steele - will have to.

“So, what has Deimos done already?” - Trying not to be distracted from the road, asked Matt.

“He broke into a closed army command party in one of the central casinos,” O'Connell replied.

- So what?

- I scored two dozen people with a telescopic baton.

- One?

- Well, I'm with his abilities, I'm even surprised that he resorted to such rude methods.

- And who is he at all? Asked Matt another question.

“Before he got to the table with Ivor, he served in the army, was a captain,” Richard answered.

- Wow.

- Yes.

The car made the last turn and left the forest belt, behind which the Capital appeared. At first, neither Matt nor Richard understood what was wrong, but looking closely, they noticed that the city was engulfed in fires.

**
Tommy and his fighters have already scattered to different parts of the city and, hiding explosives in their bags, and weapons under their clothes, each aimed at their checkpoint.

The soldiers were relaxed - who dare attack them?

But Little Tommy was out of luck. It was at his point that a young lieutenant stood, apparently right after the academy. He had not yet been fed up with sleepy shifts and drove the fighters so that they would not relax too much.

“Damn,” Tommy hissed under his breath, “he managed to.”

The curfew was about to begin, and he did not have time to change position.

Their plan was extremely simple: everyone simultaneously launched an attack on seven roadblocks in the south and southeast of the Ring of Life. Tommy and two more mini-detachments led by Eric divert attention by imitating a breakthrough to the center, while the rest are distributed along the Ring and lay shells under key buildings and skyscrapers that they can reach. The suicide belts were, as the technician called them, "the last argument." Filled with a stable plastid, they could easily withstand both exposure to fire and direct contact - they detonated exclusively from electric discharge.

One of the speakers on a pole near the checkpoint hissed softly, now there will be an announcement of the curfew in five minutes. The giant was already reaching for the machine gun hidden under his jacket, ready to attack.

But instead of the usual words, Tommy heard someone faintly like an army announcer or automatic recording.

- Hello, residents of our beautiful Capital, I appeal to all of you, and first of all, to those who live outside the "Ring of Life". Today is a night of miracles, friends ...

The longer Tommy listened to the voice rushing from the speakers throughout the city, the more he could not believe what was happening.

"Who is it? What the hell is going on? ”It was

felt that this inspirational speech of the unknown would end soon, and Tommy knew either now or never.

He took out a grenade, pulled out a check and threw it towards the checkpoint. In the meantime, she was in flight, Tommy pulled out a machine gun and gave the line to the soldiers, who at that time froze, mouths open, and listened to the speech of the unknown.

Tommy cut off two at once - the costumes were used mainly for raids and sorties of special forces, and the soldiers of the capital's garrison wore ordinary body armor. In addition to the young lieutenant - all commanders have already switched to a new type of equipment.

Without thinking twice, he rushed to the checkpoint, reducing the distance between himself and the enemy.

The soldiers did not have a single chance. By himself, strong and huge, like a bison, and even in battle armor, Tommy could deal with them with almost bare hands. A minute later, after counting the corpses and changing the store, the former ghetto leader Ghetto realized that the lieutenant had taken refuge from him somewhere. He found him in a small booth at the checkpoint, in which the young man locked himself. Not too ceremonious with the lock, Tommy simply knocked the door out with one blow of his foot, and, covering his head with his elbow from pistol bullets, until the lieutenant had run out of ammunition, he went to the guy and knocked out a weapon from his hands.

- Who are you? - The lieutenant was hysterical, - you are executed, creature! Got it ?! Executed!

Tommy didn't really like hysterics, especially if they were male tantrums. He grabbed the lieutenant by the head and in one sharp movement broke his neck.

- So, what is next? “Tommy answered the corpse already,” you died earlier.

When he went outside, a small crowd of men of all ages had already gathered around the checkpoint.

“If you want to follow the advice of a voice from the speakers,” shouted Tommy, “then take weapons and ammunition and go!” Follow me!

He did not even turn around, turned around and went forward - deep into the city, towards the center.

Already at the turn of the street, he noticed how people at the checkpoint removed body armor, boots, weapons from the soldiers and moved after him.

Really a night of miracles, Tommy thought.

** The

noise in the head of Deimos grew - EP-22 began to act.

Ivor tried to dissuade him from this venture, but Deimos needed to squeeze out everything that was possible from his brain - he did not set himself the goal of survival.

“Let's get a car somewhere,” he said to Adikia, “save time.”

The girl nodded in agreement.

Three blocks later, they were still lucky: they ran into another patrol, which slowly traveled around the area in an open army jeep.

“Hold them, then I myself,” said Deimos and moved towards the car, which had already begun to slow down and, as a result, stopped in the middle of the intersection.

Deimos went to the car, pulled a soldier sitting in the front seat from the holster, a pistol and a sign asked Adikia to take them out onto the road.

As soon as the four soldiers stepped on the pavement, Deimos put a bullet in the head of each and sat in the front seat.

- Should I tell you? - Asked approached Adikia.

“Yes, sit down,” said Deimos, “something in the head is buzzing.”

“Maybe he injected too soon?” - An alarm was heard in the girl's voice.

- Yes, like no, just right. The drug must work.

Adikia only nodded silently and sat in the driver's seat.

- Where to? To the Council building?

- Yes, just fast.

- Good.

The car sharply turned towards the center and they rushed along the deserted streets of the Capital.

In some places they met soldiers, past whom they rushed at high speed, somewhere they saw skirmishes between residents and patrols. At some point, somewhere in the north, an explosion rang out after which street lights blinked for a second: someone blew up one of the power plants.

“Almost arrived,” said Adikia to Deimos and, not waiting for an answer, tried to look at her companion.

But her body did not obey her. Adikia understood that the car was tipping to one side, but Deimos - and so he could only take control of her - simply did not pay attention to what was happening.

“RELEASE! LET ME GO! WE WILL BREAK! ”Adikia cried out in her mind, hoping that Deimos would hear her.

- What? - he asked.

“I couldn't even twitch!” You scared the hell out of me! - answered Adikia.

“So EP-22 is starting to act even faster than I thought,” the man replied. “I hear them, Adikia.” The voices of thousands of people around me, I hear them. And you know, this is very difficult.

The girl looked apprehensively at Deimos.

“Hold on,” she said, and took his hand, “we almost arrived.”

She was right: in a few minutes the government sector checkpoint appeared before them. Adikia saw trunks directed in their direction and thought to turn onto another street so as not to fall under a hail of bullets, but Deimos squeezed her hand and said:

“Do not turn, I’ll figure it out.”

When four hundred meters remained before the checkpoint, and they were about to open fire, Deimos concentrated on the soldiers.

Some dropped their weapons and rushed away, someone fell dead, others hid in hysteria and as if the children lay on the asphalt with their knees bent under them.

Adikia did not even want to know what happened to them. She had enough of what she felt in her own skin. In any case, they drove this one of the last obstacles without any problems.

In less than five minutes, telepaths saw the Council building. Illuminated by searchlights, guarded along the fence, it looked more like an impregnable fortress than an administrative building.

- What now? - Asked Adikia Deimosa.

“Just drive straight,” sounded right in her head. Deimos was losing control of his abilities more and more - it was much easier to communicate with the girl mentally than trying to protect her mind from intrusion - “I will arrange everything.”

---

In order to keep readers up to date with the pace of work, and just chat without fear of being hit by a banhammer on GT, or if you do not have an active account, in the vastness of VK I created a group dedicated to the Eye project . We are already one and a half thousand people!

Welcome.

A meeting with readers from Moscow is also planned in the group , as the author is selected from his Minsk to the capital. Details in VK.

Criticism, ratings, discussions, and other feedback in the comments, as always, are most welcome.