The Takers
by D.
T. Peterson
Description
Holograms, guns,
celebrity status, a penchant for theft, and red warpaint tattoos.
This is the arsenal
of the Takers, a gang of Robin Hood-like thieves terrorizing the rich in
Chicago during the year 2067. Enthralled with their reputation and the chance
to support her fellow lower-class citizens, a young woman named Lash gleefully
becomes their newest member. Her quick-thinking and eagerness to learn earns
her acceptance and an invitation to the gang's most important heist yet. But as
Lash learns more about the Takers' history and intentions, she begins to
realize there's more to the gang than meets the eye.
Excerpt
Lashira
Grey wiped away the blood on her cheek as she looked in the mirror.
“Looks
good, Lash,” Zeke said, standing beside her.
With her
fingers, she followed the three bright red streaks freshly tattooed on her
dark-skinned face. One was above her left eye, one was below, and the third ran
diagonal across her left cheek. It was the infamous mark of a Taker.
Lash
turned around to look at the others with her in the tattoo parlor, all of them
Takers as well. Their gang operated as a modern Robin Hood in the city of
Chicago, stealing what they could from the rich and powerful and using it to
help the poor and oppressed. At least, that was what they claimed. For the most
part, stealing from the rich was what they put into practice. But this was
enough for Lash. She idolized them, as did many of the poor in Chicago. They
represented a form of class warfare the public could stomach: theft, not
bloodshed.
The trio
of red stripes on each Taker’s face represented war paint and was a symbol of
courage and life-long dedication to their cause, a symbol each member could
proudly display in public. They were mini-celebrities in Chicago, respected as
heroes by many. While the infamy made them targets of police suspicion,
questioning, and surveillance, a red tattoo was never enough for an arrest. The
three streak symbol was usually the only identifier left behind at crime
scenes, whether graffitied on walls or visible on conveniently-corrupted camera
footage.
And now,
Lash was one of them. It had been hard, contacting them and earning their
trust. But after making an impression on Zeke, she was soon accepted. The
tattoo had been the final step in her initiation.
“So, when
do we get started?” Lash asked.
“Tonight,”
Penelope said, the current de facto leader of the Takers. She was sometimes
referred to as Penny, and the nickname was an accurate summary of her wealth
before she joined the Takers, though the bronze coin was no longer a part of US
currency and her current economic situation was dramatically different. Unknown
to the public, the Takers did not give away everything they took.
“What are
we going to do?” Lash asked.
Penelope
smiled and said, “What we do best. Take.”
That
evening, the Takers parked along the street of a particularly wealthy
neighborhood. In fact, one of the mayor’s houses sat one block away, though the
Takers weren’t stupid enough to provoke the man in charge of the city’s police
force. Their target that night was the mansion of a wealthy executive, who was
currently enjoying a vacation in South America. The exquisite home was
surrounded by a line of trees intended for privacy, something the Takers were
happy to use to their advantage.
“Ok, so
we just go in and take whatever we can find?” Lash asked.
“No. We’d
be here all night if we wanted to just take anything that looked pretty. To
make this count, we have to grab only what’s important,” Zeke explained.
“And
what’s important?”
“Anything
high-tech. Mini-computers, holographic projectors, anything that’s lightweight
like that. This stuff is easy to take, easy to sell, and easy to miss. We want
them to know we hit them. We want this to hurt. And, if we’re lucky, sometimes
we can use the computers to access their bank accounts. They’re tough to steal
from, but it sure is fun to buy them all kinds of crap they don’t want. Tons of
toilet paper, random furniture, weird sex dolls… One time we used a guy’s
account to order three-hundred thousand custom pens, all engraved with ‘You’re
an asshole.’ Good times.”
“Wow.
What did that guy do?” Lash asked.
“Huh?”
“The guy
with all the pens. Why’d you go after him?”
Zeke
frowned. “I dunno. He was rich. He gets to sit in his castle eating caviar
while others are on the streets eating a few dry noodles. Therefore, he’s an
asshole and fair game for us. It’s not that complicated, Lash.”
“I know,
I know.” Some part of her still wasn’t content, but the light pain on her face
from her tattoo reminded her that the time for second guessing was long gone.
“Ok
everyone, let’s get started. Lash, you’re going to go in first with Zeke. Clear
the place, then the rest of us will come in. Got it?” Penelope asked.
“What
happens if there’s a security system?” Lash asked.
“There
will be one. Zeke will show you what to do.”
“Let’s
go,” Zeke said, pulling open the door of their van and stepping outside.
Lash
followed and looked around. The only vehicles on the road were the three vans
the Takers had arrived in. It was dark, and Lash hoped the black clothes they
all wore would be enough to conceal their actions from any neighbors. She was
surprised by Zeke’s nonchalant stride across the road. He was entirely
unconcerned that anyone would see them.
As they
neared the mansion’s front lawn, Zeke stretched out a hand to stop Lash. He
pointed to the corners of the front lawn and said, “Sensors.”
They
walked along the sidewalk until they reached the corner of the property. As
Zeke had predicted, hidden in the grass was a small, green object.
“What is
it?” Lash asked.
“Motion
sensor. Nothing impressive, though I’m sure whatever it’s linked to is. If we
step on the lawn, the whole neighborhood will know we’re here.”
“Can you
turn it off?”
Zeke
shook his head. “Not from here. We have to do that inside.”
“So,
we’re stuck?”
Zeke
chuckled. “Not at all. How these things work is they only go off when large
objects pass by. Otherwise, the cops would be here everyday because of
bunnies.”
“Bunnies?”
“Yeah,
and squirrels or whatever. Animals are always running around people’s lawns, so
the system won’t go off if it only picks up small objects.”
“How does
that help us?”
“We hide
behind the bunnies,” Zeke said with a smile.
Lash gave
him an incredulous look.
Zeke
pulled out a small metal stick and extended it to nearly three feet. Then, he
pushed it into the ground right at the edge of the mansion’s front lawn. He
pulled out his palm-sized mini-computer and put in a command. The stick began
to project a holographic, two-dimensional bunny on the lawn.
“You’ve
got to be kidding,” Lash blurted out.
“Check it
out,” Zeke said, pointing to the sensor. There was now a tiny yellow light on
its side.
“What
does that mean?”
“The
sensor has picked up something, but it’s not big enough to set off the alarm.
Now if we just…” Zeke then put in another command on his computer. The stick
now projected a long line of hologram bunnies, running in a constant stream
across the lawn. They were abnormally large, yet the sensor light remained
yellow. “Now, all we have to do is crawl to the door. As long as we stay behind
them, the sensor won’t be able to tell that we are a large enough object to set
off the alarm.”
“That’s
amazing.”
Zeke
smiled. “This job certainly has its perks.” He then walked over to the other
side of the lawn and set up another stick along with another line of bunnies.
When he returned, he said, “Ok, let’s go.”
“How will
we know if this works?”
“The
light on the sensor will turn red, there will be loud noises, and people in
uniforms will show up. Trust me, we’ll know if it doesn’t.”
“Seems
like overkill. What if we were just some kid picking up a ball that rolled
away?”
“At
night? Still, you’re right. The police probably won’t respond right away. But
we don’t want to take that chance.”
“Fair
enough,” Lash agreed.
“Ok,
follow me,” Zeke said. He got on his stomach and crawled between the two rows
of holographic bunnies running on the lawn. Half a minute later, he arrived at
the door and stood up against the wall. Lash checked the sensor. The light had
not turned red.
Zeke
impatiently beckoned for Lash to hurry up. She got on her stomach and began to
crawl. It was a surreal experience as she passed the white bunny holograms on
the lawn of some stranger’s house. When she reached the house, she stood up
against the wall as Zeke had done and brushed off the grass from her clothes.
Zeke then touched his computer and the bunnies disappeared.
They kept
against the exterior wall of the house as Zeke tried to open the front door. It
was locked, as expected. Zeke pulled out a small laser cutter from his pocket
and cut the door in a half-circle around the door knob. Now unattached to the
electronic lock, the door swung open.
“Is it
always this easy?” Lash asked.
“No, but
usually it is,” Zeke answered.
They
stepped into the dark foyer of the mansion. A grand staircase greeted them,
along with all manner of expensive decor. Zeke checked for cameras, but saw
none.
“Wow,”
Lash whispered. She had never seen anything quite like it. Some of the
paintings on the walls were worth more money than she had seen in her entire
life, though that wasn’t saying much. She was 24 and the only job she had ever
taken was at a grocery store, which went out of business only two years later.
It was the golden age of automation and the result was rampant unemployment.
Why hire a person when a computer can do the same thing?
Zeke
moved over to a small monitor on the wall near the front door. He pressed a
single button and the sensors outside deactivated. Turning back to Lash, he
said “Now to make sure there’s…”
A faint
buzzing noise came from further in the house. Zeke grabbed Lash and threw them
both to the floor. He looked at her, put a finger to his lips, and motioned for
them to crawl to the adjacent room.
They
quietly scrambled over into the mansion’s dining room. There was a luxurious
set of wood chairs and a table which they moved behind. Zeke eyed the foyer.
Lash followed his gaze and nearly gasped. Floating directly above where they
had been standing seconds ago was a silver sphere, only a few inches in
diameter.
They
waited behind the table and chairs for a full minute until the buzzing sphere
retreated back to another room. Zeke exhaled in relief.
“What was
that?” Lash asked.
“It’s a
little camera robot. A Securi-Drone, it’s called. It scans each room for
intruders. They’re incredibly expensive, so we usually don’t see them in homes.
I guess this guy is a bit more paranoid than most.”
“What do
we do? Can we turn it off, or do we have to use the bunnies again?”
“Ha, no.
Even bunnies would set that thing off. For now, we just have to avoid it. They
always have a local computer that controls them, but unless we can access that,
there’s nothing we can do.”
Penelope
spoke through their headsets, which both wore on one ear. “How’s it going in
there?”
“They have
a Securi-Drone,” Zeke answered.
“Damn.
Alright, get out of there.”
“We can
handle it.”
“I know you
can, but this is Lash’s first time. It’s too risky.”
“She’ll
be fine.”
“No,
she…”
“I can do
this,” Lash said.
There was
a brief pause, then Penelope replied, “Alright. But if anything goes wrong…”
“It’s on
me,” Zeke finished for her.
“I was
going to say ‘get the hell out of there,’ but yeah, that works too.”
“We’ll
let you know what we find,” Zeke said, ending the conversation. He turned to
Lash and said, “Let’s find this guy’s office. Hopefully there’s a computer
there.”
They
stood up from behind the table and crept into the next room. It was a massive
kitchen, with long counters, a plethora of cabinets, and three refrigerators.
“Three
fridges? What the hell do you need three of them for?” Zeke commented in a
hushed tone. He opened one of them to find it full of a wide variety of
beverages. He pulled out a beer and offered it to Lash. She shook her head.
Zeke shrugged, popped open the can, and chugged half of its contents. He then
poured the rest into the sink and crushed the can. As he went to put it in his
pocket, Lash gave him a look.
“What are
you doing?” she whispered.
“Well,
clearly we don’t want to leave any DNA.”
They
proceeded out of the kitchen and found themselves in the living room. This room
alone was six times the size of Lash’s apartment. She was beginning to
understand why the Takers hated these people, regardless of whether they truly
deserved it.
There was
a hallway on the opposite side of the room. They made their way to it, keeping
alert for the buzzing sound of the Securi-Drone. Halfway across, they heard it.
The two
of them dove behind one of the couches. They could hear the drone flying nearly
overhead, but neither of them dared move to see it. As it drew closer, Zeke
crawled under the couch, followed by Lash. There was just barely enough room
for the two of them.
They
waited for a few minutes as the buzzing continued around the room. When the noise
finally faded, they climbed out from under the couch and checked the room to
make sure the drone was gone.
“Why
can’t we just destroy it?” Lash asked.
“If the
computer that controls it stops receiving data from the drone, an alert will go
out, whether to a security agency, cops, or the guy who owns this place.
Probably all of them.”
“So we
need to find that computer.”
Zeke
nodded.
They
reached the hallway and could now see that it split into two different
directions. Neither seemed more promising than the other.
“Let’s
split up,” Lash suggested.
“I don’t
think so. It’s my ass if anything happens to you…”
“I can
take care of myself. This way we can find his office in half the time.”
“We
aren’t even sure it’s on this floor,” Zeke protested.
“Exactly.”
Zeke sighed.
“Alright. Keep in touch.”
“Don’t do
anything stupid, Lash,” Penelope said through their headsets.
“I
won’t,” Lash answered.
She moved
down one of the hallways and began opening doors to check the rooms. Within a
minute, Zeke was out of sight. She was amazed by how big the house was. Doors
opened to a bathroom, a bar room, a billiard room, a second living room, and
another bathroom. She reached the final room attached to the hallway and opened
the door to find a lone desk surrounded by towering bookshelves along the
walls. She walked over to the desk. There was nothing there. She started to
leave, but then decided to check the drawers. She walked behind the mahogany
desk and opened the first one. Inside sat a mini-computer.
“I found
the office and a mini-comp,” she said into the headset.
“Nice
work,” Penelope answered.
“Where
are you?” Zeke asked.
“Farthest
room down the hallway.”
“I’ll be
right there.”
Lash eyed
the computer. Its holographic monitor displayed a small message: “Securi-Drone:
Active.” She couldn’t access anything more without passing voice recognition or
a fingerprint scan. She was surprised the security system was linked to a
mini-comp, but few things those days used anything larger or less mobile.
Perhaps the owner felt the security feed was something he would someday need to
take with him to the bathroom. One of his many, Lash thought.
“Hey,
Zeke. Do you think it would work if I…” she began to say, but was interrupted
by Zeke.
“Lash!”
he called. Not only could she hear his voice in her headset, but also echoing
from the hallway.
She ran
out to the hallway and saw him running towards her. Out of the corner of her
eye, she saw the drone approaching. He pulled her back into the office and shut
the door.
“Did it
see you?” she anxiously asked.
“I don’t
know, but I think it’s coming this…”
The door of the office automatically
swung open as the drone floated inside. The two Takers pressed themselves
against the wall next to the door. The drone was only two feet away, but its
camera was aimed at the rest of the office. For a moment it was motionless.
Then it began to turn.
Review
By Lynda Dickson
This is an exciting
and original story set in the year 2067. The Takers
tells the story of Lashira Grey, or Lash, a newly initiated Taker. Marked by red
facial tattoos, the Takers are modern day Robin Hoods operating in Chicago with
the help of some imaginative high-tech gadgets. There's something for everyone
here. My favorite gadget was the Securi-Drone, a flying camera robot used to
detect intruders.
We follow Lash and
her fellow Takers during her first year on the job, culminating in the most
dangerous heist of their lives. Will they get caught this time or make it through
unscathed yet again?
Things start to look
grim when Lash realizes that her idols are not quite who she thought they were.
Lash's future is left up in the air. I just hope we get to meet her again.
The Takers is one of three short prequels to the novel Darkness on a Pale Blue
Stone, set five years
later. The others are Lights Out
and Automation.
These three prequels can also be found combined in Before
the Darkness, which also includes an additional prologue and epilogue.
About the Author
D.T. Peterson is a 21-year-old storyteller and for most of those years he
has been living that out through writing. He loves grappling with complex
issues, uncovering exotic mysteries, and attempting to understand the darker
parts of human psyches, all of which come through in his writing. If something
is simple and straightforward, it's probably not something he's all that
interested in. He loves challenging, complex stories with equally complex
characters and settings. His writing journey has a long way to go and, for him,
that's what makes it so enjoyable.
D.T. Peterson currently lives in Chambersburg, PA. His future plans
involve thoroughly earning the title of "Author", learning to cook
something more than eggs, and living long enough to own a self-driving car.
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