*** Prologue ***

Wheel of the People.

Story by KUTEESA FRANK

PROLOGUE

The police siren sounded startling Absalom from a deep sleep! He spent the night asleep in a hair but how and what exactly! He sat facing a high glass window with an early morning glow of day light. The window’s curtains were half-drawn revealing down-flow of raindrops outside the glass and moisture on the inside. Not far on his right, there was a curved office table. Everything around him was fuzzy and wavy. His head was humming and hurting. Why he was not seeing clearly and feeling unusual caused him panic!

When struggled to balance on his limp legs but staggered off! Fortunately, there was an office table. He crushed into it and knocking over something brittle! It was a glass of juice taken half way down! It crushed to the floor into several pieces! However, its sound did not scare him better than the sound made by the approaching police siren outside the hospital. He looked confused! He questioned himself how long he must have been out! 

It took him some seconds to recall, that he has been on the run for the last forty-eight hours. He glanced around quickly trying to take in his surroundings. Everything was familiar. There was a man on his right. The man’s face was fuzzy and unclear at first sight! Absalom squinted with his head cocked a bit.  

It was Dr. Serunjoji Timothy, chairperson of Kyagulanyi Hospital and this was his office. Did he spend the whole night in the doctor’s office? This is when he remembered what happened! He looked up at the clock. It was 5:15am! This when he realized he’d slept too long!

“Wait a min. You drugged me… fool!” Absalom uttered just when the police siren sounded again, this time even louder and closer than before outside the hospital! His heart pounded heavily! Meanwhile outside, military vehicles were arriving and cutting off every entry and exit point into the hospital’s perimeters! 

Well, when he woke up just a minute ago, he had a cloth covering him in the chair. Sadly, he never noticed it fall. As he staggered to where to the curved office table, the cloth tangled up his feet. Still, he did not realize!

 Now when the police siren sounds from the hospital parking, he hurriedly made an impossible step towards the window. His foot was stuck! The next thing, he was stumbling to the floor with a heavy thud! His specs fell off. He quickly reached for them, there after crawled up to the window.

Reaching the window, he peered out and what he saw silenced him! The hospital was under siege by triple the usual number of police officers. As if it wasn’t enough, these were fully armed military men. They positioned themselves and their heavy armory vehicle in an arc -from one end of the hospital’s front to the other leaving close no escape even for something as simple as a street lizard! Absalom’s heart pounded even faster than before.

Absalom let the curtain go keeping the rest of his body behind the wall. His blood rush and his body heated in a matter of seconds! He angrily looked up at the hospital’s CEO. He could not believe this man just sold him and his son out!

“I am so sorry…,” the doctor spoke before Absalom could utter anything.

Anger gripped at Absalom’s throat. His face twitched as he stood up! He recalls they arrived here two hours past midnight, dropped off by a truck driver. It was raining cuts and dogs outside. He carried his unconscious son in his arms! Why? His son had something metallic attached to the back of his neck. He could not explain to the doctors how his son got the thing attached to his neck but wanted their assistance removing it. The doctors tried their best until something accidental happened almost killing two doctors!

There was a black out following the operation accident leaving lots of question. Two doctors were dying from a paramount electric shock and Dr. Absalom had no clear explanation! The CEO was angry! Absalom remembers following the doctor up into his office while trying to explain but no matter his innocence, the damage was brutal and irreversible! All the same, he came here for professional assistance and so thought the doctor would understand. After all, they had talked and Absalom had revealed all his challenges to their arrival point. What more did the doctor require to understand!

Nothing more because this was the meaning of; -it is over! Check mate! His fingers grew tingly! He felt a rush of coldness up his nerves followed by a few shivers!

“Damn you!” He cursed while rushing forwards at the CEO but a doctor and the hospital’s security guard hold him back! Fearfully, the doctor steps back to hide behind his desk lest the enraged fugitive tore at him! Absalom fiercely struggles against their obstruction but they pushed him back. He was a sure very sober by now! “We had an agreement…!”

“Yes Sir...” The doctor spoke with regret in his voice. “However, your son’s problem didn’t require medical attention alone. And you knew that. Didn’t you? 

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, you still will pretend not to but that thing on the back of his neck is an issue beyond our profession. It is a matter of security concern!” the doctor spoke pointing a finger hard onto his table. There was a moment of silence. Absalom shook his head in disbelief.

“You should have said so in the first place…” Absalom uttered.

“I trusted you.” The doctor blatantly uttered quickly with quick gasps for air. “After all he was only a child. Just seventeen years of age?” 

Absalom listened as the doctor’s voice rose with bitterness. “But you lied! You lied that you didn’t know what it is… be it what it was capable of!” 

“I did not lie…” Absalom replied calmly.

“I bet you did!” the doctor interrupted quickly shutting him up. “Because that thing, it contains the power of seven power transformers. And you boldly claim you knew nothing of how or where exactly he got it…”

Following this was another moment of silence.

“Well! -so now?” Absalom repeated shaking his head in disbelief.

“And right now, this morning, two of my best doctors, good men each has a family and children. Both are on oxygen and who knows if they will survive.” The doctor went on calming down a bit with his final words.

“Then you should have sent us off at once instead of this bullshit…!” Absalom sneered at the doctor trying to attack him again.

“Sent you off to?” the doctor interrupted. “-the next hospital…? That would have been another of my greatest regrets by now. Would have been no different placing two or more other medical personnel lives at risk!” The doctor uttered critically adding.

“So you drugged me…? Screw you!” Absalom spoke with such disappointment. 

“I could have found you desperate and innocent of everything else you said… but you still are topping the union’s most wanted list! … Well, why the hell are you running if you are innocent?” The doctor said. “Unless there’s something else to this sir. Oh hell, there is…”

“You don’t know what you are talking about…!”

“Your son and that thing?” Came the doctor confidently. “Whatever it is, how and where that thing found your son, you gotta explain to them before anyone else including yourself gets hurt.”

Absalom was in a loss of words. Just then he heard his name announced from outside.

“Dr. Absalom, this is where it end. Surrender and step out at once…” The doctor did not move. He wore the look someone wears to mean _I did only what he though was right. Absalom rushed to the window again! He peeped only to realize the military had not entered the building yet. However, Nezumi surveillance drone levitated about the building’s windows purposefully scanning faces of those they could on the inside. One of Nezumi’s drones passed by the window and Absalom lowered the curtain quickly.

“My son. Pray he is fine…!” Absalom spat!

He reached for a doctor’s musk on a table behind him. He wore it quickly and started out. There were drones in the hospital. He rushed down the stairs, through the nurses and doctors into the main surgery section. He saw his son still lying back with parts of his limbs still connected machines. Good enough the drones had not recognized him through the surgical musk he wore!

His father tried disconnecting the syringes and other stuff from him when the hospital guard and two other doctors tried to stop him! He spun on them so swiftly taking the pistol out from the guards’ hands and pinning it to his forehead! The man froze shutting his eyes hard and fearfully wetting into his pants. No one was going to split the man in rugs from his son. 

“Don’t you dare touch me?” He ordered the guard. There after helped his son up off the bed. As they headed for the surgery room’s exit, he quickly grabbed the Head surgeon hostage. Unfortunately, the surgeon was Dr. Serunjoji’s wife! 

“The rest of you, make way…!” Absalom barked at the men and women.

The moment they stepped out, people in the reception drew back yelling with worry. Half of the Nezumi Surveillance drones spun to focus on him. When they detected a weapon in his hands, they sent out a signal. They zoomed in on his face as well as the doctor! There and then razor beams came on from all direction!

Doctors and nurses rushed to the balcony facing the reception point, opposite the main entrance and peered down. The Hospital’s Chairperson came last only to find his wife the hostage! Absalom glanced back at the balcony and landed eyes with Dr. Serunjoji who looked puzzled to see his wife tangled into this mess. 

“Father!” His son stammered at seeing the tension all around them. “Did they find us?”

“I slept off Erick. I am sorry…”Absalom replied as a few of the clients recognized him as the criminal on the run. These started throwing insults, banana peelings and other stuff at him from directions he wasn’t seeing. Absalom pressed the pistol harder on the nurse’s head.

“They are lying to you. I was Framed and they…!” He tried to speak but this was like to himself. He pressed on towards the main entrance.

“Everyone hates us father… why don’t we just surrender and talk to the police? Are you going to run forever?”

“Surrender? No! Not to them Erick…” Absalom came in. “-they are the bad guy. Not we…!”

“What if they can help us get this thing off of me… I don’t like it.” Erick confessed as they reached the main entrance.

“I know but… everything is complicated Erick.” Absalom spoke adding. “I don’t know what and how to tell you but that thing there controls something very powerful…”

“What…?” Came Erick in total surprise.

“It controls a weapon of mass destruction called RAT. We got no time right now for a good explanation but…” His father spoke with heavy breaths. Why they weren’t firing at them yet like yesterday, God knows! “-but everything happening around us. The bombing, the riots causing this entire national rampage and insecurity, the bitterness of the heads of state as it has been shown on the news for the last two days not to forget your mother’s death seventeen years ago. They all are connected and come down to an international crave to control RAT.”

“My mother’s murder too…!” Came Erick. 

“Yes Erick.” Absalom replied this time pushing the door open and a gust of cold wind blowing into the hospital. 

“When did you find out…?”

“It’s a long story …” Absalom replied.

“So this controls the weapon RAT!” Came Erick confusedly. “What then am I to do with it? Let them take it. -those that want it and stop chasing after us like this!”

“Paramount freedom and peace. They aren’t assets for trade child! They are a rare package. Together, they are byproducts of struggle, bloodshed and the revelation of truth...” His father uttered while bits of sweat mixed with droplets of rain went flowing down his face into the hostage’s hair. “In other words we cannot survive by merely giving it up…”

“But I don’t want to lose you too…!” Erick uttered meekly.

“You won’t. At least not like this…” Absalom spoke stepping out into the rain.

“What then are we doing?” Erick asked.

 “We have a hostage and they’ll give us one of the cars…?” Absalom lamented in tone. 

“You will let us pass if you need the doctor alive…!” Absalom yelled to the police while dragging the hostage to the nearest car in the parking. He asked Erick to open the front door but it was locked. 

“Break the window… hit it hard with your right elbow. Hurry now!” Absalom spoke hurriedly. His son looked confused now. At first Erick hit the window with his elbow once but not that hard…!”

“Do it hard!” Absalom pressured him. As his son prepared to hit the window again, a bullet hit the car tyre. It burst startling Erick back.

“Come… this way!” Absalom started across for another car but its shot too flattening it’s tyre before he could even take four steps towards it. There was a sniper and all Car lights focused their direction blinding them. Absalom looked puzzled.

“It ends here sir. Surrender the hostage because you are under-“

“Let’s just give it to them father… I don’t care what it does or…” Erick spoke finally walking out from his cover and lifting his hand in surrender. “Tits the only way we can stay alive…” 

“Don’t you dare disrespect me...” his father panicked and barked at him with a hoarse voice. His son was stepping away and shaking his head unwillingly! 

“No Erick. Please. That thing there…” his father now pleaded. “It contain unimaginable power capable of changing the balance of power though out the East African union. Whoever has it, can rule not Uganda alone but the whole continent. And they wish paramount power over everyone. The death of thousands and you don’t want give it up to them. Not them at least. Please!” Absalom spoke convincingly. Erick felt him.

“Who then can I give it to. I do not want it. Have it! You know best what and how it can help us… and everyone.” Erick reached up to take it from his neck but it stung when he touched it.

“Don’t tamper with it.” His father interrupted. “It could kill you…”

“You take it off me here…”

“Stop it now!” his father responded strongly. Erick looked up at him confusedly. Before he could utter another word, Absalom came fast. “I can’t. Well, I could have helped earlier but… but it found you first. And trying to change that has already cost the hospital two lives…” 

Erick’s mouth dropped. He looked scared now. He shivered ad his father knew why he had to remain calm. 

“Yes. Only you weren’t awake yet to see it…” Absalom added calmly. Still Erick was silent. He did know what to do about it!

“Am I going to die then?”

“No one is going to die if only you can listen to my instructions… now get back here.” Absalom spoke concluding in a commanding tone. Erick started back quickly. Once he was back behind him, Absalom spoke again.

“One thing I know for sure is -RAT is capable of protecting you against them whatsoever!”

“…you don’t mean that I know!” Erick stammered under tension while stepping out from behind his father.

 “I do. -even if this fails… trust help will come!” Absalom spoke.

***

Inside one of the tracking military vehicles, the commander of this operations sat seeping at his coffee. They had a set of live screens in an arc on one side of the interior showing live footage of the situation starting from the hospital’s reception area.

“What’s wrong with the sound system? I need to hear what they are discussing…”

“I cannot pick up any sound waves… Something is obstructing the radars.”

“Who is the boy even…?”

“That’s his son Erick…” Tumwine Darlington replied just when he saw the teen’s uneasiness out in the rain. Absalom was in a disagreement with his son but their conversation was cracking every now and then. The boy was surrendering but urgueing with his father! After about a minute, the son reached something glowing on the back of his neck.

“There… what was that…?” 

They paused the video and zoomed the image in to the thing on the back of Erick’s neck.  Nevertheless, the moment the son touched the glowing thing, a sharp pain in his head started. This alone caused a high-peached sound on the surveillance system hurting their ears! The two thrust their headsets a side hurriedly holding their ears there after! The images on the screens got fuzzy as well.

“Whatever that is… we shall need the boy as well.” Tumwine spoke impatiently exiting the truck. The trucking track was parked at the center of the whole blockade. The truck had several mini-signal capturing dishes here and there on its outside unlike those used by the police. 

Besides that, the police officer was still doing his best to convince the fugitive to surrender but all in vain. Commander Tumwine spread out his umbrella and over to where Hamasaki Takao, the Japanese mercenary stood facing the hospital.

Walked out from his car impatiently. He spread out his umbrella and walked over to where Hamasaki Takao stood. They both looked out at the hospital through a haze of grey but nothing was as clear through the unceasing drizzle.

“I suggest you send the men in at once…”

“We both know there is something extra-ordinarily powerful here, -in there, and we got to not act irrational sending these men in for what we know not very well yet and placing these lives at risk.” The Japanese ex-military mercenary replied lifting his binoculars to his eyes.

“His son has got something strange on the back of his neck.” Tumwine replied. The Japanese soldier glanced side at him with surprise. “And the hospital black out report… our trucking system failure and all that must have their root back to that thing.”

“How do you know?”

Tumwine didn’t respond immediately. “Because I have never seen a glint of fear in your face until… -until now.”

“Me?” Hamasaki Takao replied glancing aside at Salim Savimbi’s son Tumwine. “Afraid?” He gave Tumwine an obviously fake smile. His check starting from the side of his lips were twitching signifying fear but he tried to conceal them by focusing further out into the grey through the binoculars. Tumwine Darlington saw but kept his compliment.

 “Whatever just make sure he doesn’t get through your finger this time again… and I need him alive…” Tumwine Darlington replied. 

Just then the fugitives exited the front door. They had a hostage and in the back, Dr. Serunjoji came following. He feared for his wife’s sake and needed to send a signal for the military not to shoot. The hostage herself looked terrified at the number of guns pointed their direction. Rain drenched down their clothes to the skin.

“You give me a car, let us through unfollowed, the doctor lives!” His father spoke out to the military. Erick still wore the surgical attire with just an underwear underneath. Below that, he was barefooted. The strange metal attached to the back of his neck glowed golden.

“You can no longer escape sir.” The voice cam again. “So drop your weapon and surrender because you are under arrest!”  

This announcement was made all in vain, because Absalom was not ready to give in yet! He walked closer to the center of the parking and looked out at the line government soldiers. They were ready for any form of instruction from Tumwine Darlington who delayed to give the order the moment he saw Absalom. They went to the same school back in high school and were once good friends. 

Whatever happened, none of the two could explain! Nevertheless, family, power and dreams set them apart down two opposite paths at the end of which they were to clash like strangers. Moreover, here they were today. One hunting for the other like a wild beast 

Nevertheless, where did this split, the gap begin? The Japanese ex-military mercenary watched. Moving his gave along the line of soldiers ready to fire, Absalom to saw Hamasaki Takao. He stood beside the commander in chief of the East African Union’s Joint forces, Tumwine Darlington. 

He grinded his teeth with total hatred at the sight of this man! Commander Tumwine Darlington stepped forward dressed in a long coat, a round cap, and his umbrella. He stopped twenty feet away from them and spoke.

“It end here old friend Absalom. I request you to lower your gun as the only option to survive this…”

“Friend?” Absalom uttered back loudly. He laughed a bit. 

“Every road has an end; every race has a finish line. Anything you do any moment from now will determine the fate of your son… and you don’t want to live him a hopeless orphan in such a hopeless world the likes your father left you and your brother to.”

Absalom felt angry from what Tumwine just said. Unreasonably, he shot a bullet into the air quickly by merely tilting his wrist above the nurse’s head. He was not a murderor. He was just a doctor. He wanted to cry. Not for himself but what he had his son into that he knew not how to get him out from! It hurt so bad he broke down for a second but controlled himself.

“I thought you would change…” Absalom spoke. “But how absurd…!”

There was a moment of silence. Commander Tumwine heard him very well but when he broke down, he too was confused for what to say next.

“Well, let’s leave the past to the past and get over with this…”

“My son…” Absalom began. “He has nothing to do with all this! You let him go unhurt, I will surrender!”

“Unfortunately, we need the both of you…”

“He is innocent and you know this-…” Absalom spat out bitterly pressing the gun harder against the doctor’s head.

“Oh yes… except for what he’s become of recent. That, we must agree to agree that is a matter of national security Bbaale…” The commander spoke confidently stepping closer. It took Absalom by surprise that they must have found out! The commander continued. “…and we need not urge about this here.”

“I am the one you want…!” Absalom sneered.

Tumwine Darlington did not respond right away. He took a deep breath and one other step forwards. He glanced to his right. A six floor stored building stood five yards away and in that direction, a sniper had Absalom in target.

“Come-on! Am I the only one who sees that you are outnumbered?” Tumwine stated. “-just let that innocent woman go and save both yours and our time!”

Darlington Tumwine concluded with due confidence. Absalom looked at the front line. There were about forty fully armed men with bulletproof jackets. Others had bulletproof glass shields as though they were here to stomp on a riot.

“My son goes free first…”

*** 

Six miles away from Kyagulanyi hospital, the USA Interpol moved in a military convoy. Half a mile away, there was a high way headed heading north. They were driving along a ragged muddy road with potholes hardly seeing two yards ahead in the rain.

It would take them about half an hour to get to the main road but well and good, they had RAT under their custody except for its control piece. A few minutes back, they had received news that government of Uganda had its boarders shut down for national security purposes. 

“-all county boarder exits have been shut down in the last two hours. So we…” Came Yayoi cooper, the only female soldier they had on the team.

“-then try locating the nearest air field…” Washington Cooper, head of the Interpol team spoke the depth of the lead. He was busy fidgeting with button here and there, searching for any available signals capable of showing them the location of RAT’s control piece. Nevertheless, his endeavors were proving fruitless.

Someone else was driving the vehicle he was in. when things show3ed no sign of working, he slumped back into a seat at the center and bend, burying his face in one of his hands while the other held onto the walkie-talkie. 

The US Interpol had three heavy armored USA military tracks labeled Interpol – RAT. They designed these tracks with highly sophisticated technology capable of accommodating specifically RAT as a weapon when found. Wallace was driving the very first of the three trucks and Yayoi Cooper sat in the other front seat trying to understand their location off some special intelligence gadget.

They’d spent close the three nights without sleep and his head hurt. He breathed a sigh of relief and took out a little bottle of pain killer drugs. He took one of the tablets. He shut the bottle, threw it in one of his open bag and started back to the front seat.

“Hei Washington. Are you there? Over!”

“I am listening… over?” Washington replied sitting up holding the walkie-talkie closer.

“The nearest air field is in Kasana Town fifteen kilometers north if we are to remain off the high way undetected.” Yayoi replied through the walkie-talkie while zooming in on the road they were following, footage direct from CAT the satellite.

“RAT’s control piece is in this region but we cannot locate it in time before the National Guard locates us again. “

“True cause Nezumi already has about two thirds of the seventy seven RAT code. It won’t belong before they breech CAT’s umbrella shield, there after locating us...”

“Thank you, secondly… RAT cannot respond to its control piece commands if the two are seventy-seven miles apart. Leaving us with just one chance to get RAT seventy seven miles away from here.” Washington spoke and they all agreed apart from Wallace.

“Using the high way. I agree but…”

*** 

Absalom looked up into the sky. There was a moment of silence. The truth is, he could run nowhere. He slowly released the hostage who ran to her husband as fast as she could but still horrified. The drones drew back. Absalom turned to his son and said.

“I am sorry but don’t you give it up to them. Not them at least…” Doctor Absalom spoke throwing the gun forwards lifting his hands in surrender.

Erick knew when his father meant his word.

“I won’t…” He replied quickly reaching out to hug his father. In the midst of this tension, Hamasaki’s phone rung breaking the silence! He took it.

 “Yes father?” A moment of silence followed this response. Commander Tumwine glanced a side when he heard Hamasaki Takao’s phone and quick responses “Yes I can! However, (everything he said after here was in Japanese which sounded fishy.) -there is a situation. I just do not know how exactly I am to do this in the face of the National Guard… Oh! Okay!”

As the drones drew back, the National Guard closed in on the two. Absalom requested his son to let him go now. At this juncture, in the blink of an eye, Hamasaki Takao took out his gun and fired!

There was a blast in the air! Absalom was shot! The bullet’s force hit him back into his son. Erick saw blood as his father fell back. He hurried and took him midair. Together they fell splashing down into a puddle of water.

“Father!”

Erick’s heart pounded very fast, he lunged forwards saw his father. They fell splashing into a puddle of water on the pavement. Erick saw the wound on his father’s chest… his father was dying! He wasn’t responding! He felt his blood boil! He could not contain this shock! His emotional stress became a trigger that would finally awaken RAT for the very first time since its creation in 1943.

His cry reached up into the heavens. CAT the satellite turned its panels from thousands of miles above the East African region, and then zoomed in casting its umbrella shield over the parking lot! At that moment, even the unceasing drizzle stopped followed by the National Guard confusedly!

*** 

The moment the satellite’s umbrella shield landed, the USA Interpol machines warned in red. Washington sprung up and returned to the trucking section of the van. Unfortunately, RAT’s control piece was far. It was just a two miles west from where they were. He pressed a few buttons to zoom in satellite footage. 

Hardly had the satellite footage reached seven hundred feet above the Kyagulanyi hospital when the three special transit track’s security simulation system warned a malfunction. The first Interpol RAT transit track’s wheels stopped all of a sudden.

They had finally connected onto the highway and the convoy was quickly picking up speed when the satellite signals found RAT’s control piece location. It took them by surprise! The first of the three trucks’ breaks went on automatically! The driver panicked! The truck’s wheels squelched under with sparks of fire rising from the friction! The second truck behind drove right into the back of the first brutalizing the accident! The first truck was heavy. Due to the hit in the back, it over turned twice -missing Washington’s vehicle which driver was zigzagging this and that way.

The second truck fell over once while the third came to a halt a few inches away, facing in the sides! Air bags popped out from Yayoi and Wallace’s car. They struggled out to find out what just happened. All of a sudden, there was pounding and the bending of the trucks’ three-inches-thick metallic walls as if they were made of aluminum metal! Whatever was trying to break out, God knows! The best we can say it was extremely powerful and red heated! 

Washington Cooper and his men got into formation with their guns ready! They could feel the heated metal thirty feet away! This was RAT and retrieving it was their primary mission here. Nevertheless, what exactly they were up against none of them had an idea.