Episodes 95-99 of Lando Cruz and The Coup Conspiracy (dystopian thr...

Lando discovers the secret identity of the Raven and Freebeard makes unwelcome moves on his sister.

The United States is in slow-motion economic collapse. The Three Strikes Act funnels the unemployed masses into a national network of work camps for the most trivial of infractions.

Lando Cruz is a scrappy rebel who risks his final strike on the streets of Philadelphia by trading illegal currencies under cover of a burrito stand. He spends his days bribing dirty cops, fending off undercover federal agents and shepherding his little sister through adolescence.

Lando is getting by until beat cops seize his savings and kidnap his sister for ransom. He has thirty days to raise the hard cash he needs to free her before she is sold into sex slavery. His only chance is a lucrative job offer from the black market rebellion's paramilitary startup, the Core. He risks both his life and his principles to get his sister back before time runs out.

Episode 95: Freebeard

“Two tickets to Chicago,” Lando said to the machine. He unfolded the cash and dropped it into the slot.

“What are we doing here, Lando?” Mariana asked in a whisper. She pouted and squeezed his arm. “I don’t have a bag packed or anything. I need —”

“It’s better that way.” The machine spit out the two tickets. Lando looked at his watch. 7:13 AM. He looked at the screen. “The bus boards in fifteen minutes. We’ve got some time to kill. Let’s —“

She pulled him into a corner. “What about Dad? We can’t leave him behind!” she said in a low voice. “And I absolutely have to get some good food, some makeup, moisturizer and new clothes. I feel nasty.”

Lando frowned in resignation. “I got all the money I could. I even dipped into my customers’ silver reserves. It was only enough for you. You need to be patient.”

She looked away.

“We’re going to need what’s left to get ourselves to Colombia and get set up there.” If it lasts that long. Lando examined his wallet.

“Colombia!” she yelled. She slapped a hand to her mouth and looked around. A couple of sleepy heads looked in their direction.

“We still have family —“ started Lando.

“Do you know what it’s like there? The violence, the drugs.” She looked as if she were about to cry. “I can’t go there.”

Lando scowled. “Chill out already. It’s not that bad. Dad will get deported there. We’ll pick him up, regroup and figure something out. Dad and I will figure something out.”

Mariana leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. She exhaled through her mouth and buried her head in her knees. “And your silver? You’re just leaving that here?”

Lando shrugged. “It’s safe.”

“I’m so tired,” Mariana whispered. “I’m just going to take a quick nap.” She let her eyelids flop shut.

Lando grabbed her arm and pulled. “We’ve got to get something first. You can sleep on the bus.”

“But I’m so tired. And why Chicago? Shouldn’t we be going to Texas?” Mariana asked.

Lando pursed his lips. “That’s what they’ll expect. We’ll get off somewhere between here and there and grab another means of transportation. We have to throw them off of our trail.” He pulled her deeper into the bus station.

“Who are ‘they’?” she asked.

He found the storefront and stepped inside. A teenager with a crewcut sat in a high chair against the wall. He was asleep.

Lando tapped the metal counter. The teenager opened an eye. “I want to talk to Freebeard.”

He stood up, his eyes only half open. “No Freebeard here. Want a tat?”

Lando leaned over the counter. “Freebeard, the fake ID artist. Remember now?”

The teenager put a tough look on his face. “Alright, keep it down,” he said. He snuck his hand under the counter, then motioned for them to follow him.

Episode 96: I am the Raven

“Leaving town, huh?” Freebeard worked away behind a large computer screen in a tiny back office.

Lando nodded.

“Girlfriend?” he asked, pointing at Mariana with his hand.

Lando scowled and looked down at him. “Please. Don’t.”

“Alright, alright. You want your IDs and you want them fast, am I right?”

Lando nodded his head. He took out his tablet and started typing. “I’m going to drop you the details I want on the documents.”

Freebeard accepted the data transmission. “Hello, Eduardo Dante.” He typed and moved his mouse.

Lando sighed and leaned back in the chair. Mariana closed her eyes. He studied the wall behind Freebeard. “Is that an original of the Thorsmitersaw poster?”

Freebeard stopped and turned around to admire the poster. “Agorism: Agora, Anarchy, Action,” it said below three people with their fists raised and a black flag. “The old yellow and green one. Yep. It’s number forty-three of the first run back in 2009. My dad gave it to me. I’ve had a lot of offers for it, but that one’s a keeper.” He turned back to the computer, then leaned forward and studied Lando. “So, you’re an agorist.”

“Yes,” said Lando.

Mariana opened her eyes. “He’s a huge agorist. He’s dedicated his life to it.”

“Something must have gone really wrong for you to be abandoning your network here,” said Freebeard.

“Can we — ?“ started Lando.

“Wait. I’ve seen you around.” Freebeard smiled.

Lando’s shoulders sagged.

He snapped his fingers. “I can’t quite —“ He pointed at Lando. “You run the currency exchange and make those great burritos. My friend raves about your food.” He sat back and sipped from a plastic cup. “He says you are the fairest dealer in the agorist financial sector.”

Lando looked away. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything to distract you. I really just want to get out of here. We’ve got a bus to catch in ten minutes.”

Mariana leaned forward and looked Lando in the face. She crossed her arms. “I’d like to know why we’re leaving too, you know.” She leaned back. “I don’t know. Might be helpful!” She stuck out her tongue at him.

“Neither the place nor the time, M—“ Lando caught himself before saying her real name. He growled.

Freebeard looked at Lando out of the corner of his eye. He banged some text out on his keyboard.

“I don’t want to go!” she whispered. “My school, my friends. How am I going to get into the University of Chicago from Colombia?” She begged him with her eyes.

She wrapped her arm around him and organized his hair. “Maybe Chicago is far enough?” she whispered.

“Lando,” said a familiar voice from behind him.

Lando whipped around. He stood up and offered his hand. “What are you do— ?“ He looked at Freebeard and frowned. “I’m putting this on your agoranet profile. ‘Lacks discretion. Blabs to all his friends.’”

Freebeard laughed.

Lando turned back to the newcomer. “You get a haircut or something? You’re all cleaned up,” Lando said. “It’s Henry, right? This is a good customer, right here,” Lando said to Freebeard.

Henry nodded his head. “I’m going to be straight with you, Lando. Freebeard told me you’re in trouble. Now, I don’t lack discretion,” he laughed, “but I do care about my fellow agorists. I want to help you.”

Lando clapped him on the shoulder. “I appreciate it but I’m in deep in this one and I refuse to drag anyone else down with me. My family has already been affected. It’s enough.” Lando held his hands up in front of him. “Pushing back from the table and all of that.”

“Lando —“ started Henry.

Lando turned to look at Freebeard. “I’ve got five minutes to my bus. You almost done?”

Freebeard looked at Henry. He rolled his head to one side. “Almost.”

Henry pulled up a chair and sat in it backwards. Lando and Mariana turned their chairs around and sat down. Lando looked at Mariana.

“What? This concerns me, too,” she said.

“I heard you got mixed up in something violent,” Henry said.

Lando sighed. “There is a grain of truth in that but —“

Mariana smacked Lando on the back and gave him a look of shock.

“Ease up, okay?” said Lando. He took a deep breath and slouched down.

“You were saying,” said Henry.

“It was a job — an agorist job. An agorist intelligence agency, founded by —“

“— ‘the leading agorist entrepreneurs.’ I heard about that. So they offered you a job?” asked Henry.

“As an analyst. I was clear about that. They said we would mainly be doing corporate intelligence gathering. So we could compete better as a whole with the state sector. But it’s turned into something completely different now.”

“There was a group?” asked Henry.

“Yes, a whole bunch of us.” Lando leaned forward. “In fact, the leader is the Raven himself.”

Henry frowned. “Hold on. The Raven? The one who publishes Raven.agora? The one and only Raven? Is that what you said?”

“Yes.”

Henry raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He tilted his head to one side and frowned. “The Raven.”

“Yes, the Raven. I’m actually disgusted with the whole thing. I expected more from him,” said Lando.

“As you should be,” said Henry, “because, whoever he is, he’s not the Raven.”

Lando cocked his head.

“How do you know that?” asked Mariana.

“Because I am the Raven,” said Henry.

Episode 97: Air Brakes

“They look really good,” said Mariana to Freebeard. “You have real talent.”

Freebeard stepped up next to her and looked her in the eye. “Well, thank you. I’m glad you like my work.” He touched her arm.

“Easy, Freebeard. She’s a minor,” said Lando. He stepped between them and looked at his watch. “We’re out of here. Thanks and good luck guys.”

Mariana skipped over to Freebeard and touched her tablet to his. “Call me sometime,” she said.

Lando walked out of the storefront and towards gate number nineteen.

Mariana stepped in front of him. She grabbed his hands in hers. “Are we really leaving? Are you really sure about this?”

“Yes.” Lando walked around her.

She ran and got in front of him again. “I’m not moving from this spot! I’m not going!”

He walked around her again. “I don’t believe you!”

Mariana crossed her arms and sat down.

Lando got to the gate. He saw the bus. He looked at his watch.

The bus ejected air from its brakes. “Final boarding call for bus seven-sixteen to Chicago at gate nineteen. Final call for seven-sixteen to Chicago.”

Lando tapped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms. He started to turn his head and stopped. He growled in frustration. She will appear any second now. Lando closed his eyes and waited.

Something hard knocked him to the side. He turned, smiling. His smile fell. It was a fat, old lady with a wheeled suitcase. She rolled it into the bus’s cargo area. The bay doors closed and she climbed the steps to the passenger compartment.

Lando watched the bus roll away. “Damnit!” he whispered. He turned around and walked back to Mariana. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. “Come on.”

Mariana smiled. “I knew you’d change your mind. We can —“

Lando wagged his finger at her. “You can’t go anywhere without me. But I can go to prison. We’re buying tickets for the next bus, Mari.” Lando stopped and put his face into hers. “We can’t stay here because I used a loan shark to get you out and the only way I can earn enough money to keep him from killing both of us is by doing something illegal and unethical. It makes me sick just thinking about it and, in the end, it will get us all killed, too.”

Mariana’s jaw fell and her eyes got big.

Episode 98: Inalienable

The ticket dispenser flashed, “CANCELED.”

"What the —“ said Lando in a low voice.

"Relax, big brother," said Mariana with a giggle. “It’s just your fat fingers. Try it again." She leaned against the wall next to the dispenser and watched the people move around the bus terminal.

“I didn’t even touch it!” Lando spoke the ticket order again. The "CANCELED" message appeared once more. He switched to the machine at his right and wiped drops of sweat from his forehead.

Mariana's eyes got big. She reached out to tap his shoulder but only got air. "Lando. Lando!" She ran over to him and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Not right now, Mari."

"Lando." She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "Look."

Lando turned and looked at the bus terminal. Police poured in from three sides. Overhead, on the big screen, every bus trip flashed "CANCELED."

A voice came over the loudspeaker. "Please remain calm and stay where you are. The police are now performing a search. Remain calm and do not move."

A police officer on a bullhorn yelled, "This is the Philadelphia Police. We are serving a search warrant on these premises and everyone in them. Sit down where you are and we will get you moving again as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation."

A female cop came up to Lando and Mariana. "Take a seat! Take a seat!” she yelled.

Lando and Mariana looked at each other as they sat down. The woman turned her back on them and moved on.

"Follow me," Lando said. He crawled around the corner and into the shopping area. He stood up and turned around to wait for Mariana.

A hand clapped Lando's shoulder. He turned back around. It was a cop.

"Sir, have a seat while we execute a search warrant."

Lando pulled his hat down over his eyes. "Is it related to terrorism?”

"Don't worry, sir. We're not expecting the suspect to carry out an attack here."

Mariana came around the corner. Lando motioned for her to sit next to him. She looked at the cop out of the tops of her eyes and then glared at Lando. "You left me!" she whispered between her teeth.

"Quiet, please," said the cop.

Are they looking for me? Lando took a deep breath. He looked at Mariana.

"Do something," she mouthed.

“It's probably random,” he whispered to her. “Just calm down.”

Another cop walked up to the first. "Check your tab. They just got a sketch of the guy."

The first cop pulled out his tablet and brought up the image. "This the guy?" he asked.

Lando caught a glimpse of the image. Every muscle in his body went taut. It was a picture of him. He heard a noise around the corner. The cop went running.

"You can't do this, you know! You can't search me without probable cause. I have rights! Inalienable rights!“ a man yelled.

"Stop resisting!" said three cops.

"Now," said Lando. He grabbed Mariana's hand and they ran towards the tattoo shop. "Don't look back!" he whispered. They made it to the back. No one was there.

Gunshots sounded. "They're going to kill that guy."

Episode 99: Interrogation

Do you think they'll search back here?" Mariana asked.

"They're cops. They'll bring in a wrecking ball and demolish this place if they can get overtime,” Lando said.

"Where did they go? Where are your friends?" asked Mariana.

The floor moved. Freebeard popped his head up. "You guys alone?"

Lando smiled. "Brilliant. I love being an agorist. We come up with the greatest stuff. Yes, we're alone."

"Come on down." Freebeard waved them in. “It’s a ladder.”

Mariana and Lando tiptoed down the thin ladder and Freebeard replaced the piece of floor above them.

He turned on a flashlight and led them down a dark tunnel. Freebeard stopped. He thumped a heavy door. "Smile for the camera," he said. He pointed up and to the right of the door.

Lando looked up and smiled. “I can't believe we got out of that.” He looked at her and grinned.

The door opened. Three rifles aimed at Lando's head. He took a step back. "Hey!"

"Come on in and have a seat, Lando." Henry stood behind the gunmen.

"Can you lower your weapons, first. We're all friends here. Aren't we?"

Freebeard grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room. Mariana followed. The door creaked shut behind them.

The gunmen took up positions in front of Lando and at his corners. Freebeard led him to a chair and pushed him down. Henry turned on a bright lamp and pointed it into Lando's face. Mariana stood next to him.

"Really, guys, a bright light in my face? What's next? Waterboarding?” He folded his arms and slouched in his seat. "And how about a chair for my sister?”

"She's not the one being interrogated right now," said Henry.

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Episodes 95-99 of Lando Cruz and The Coup Conspiracy (dystopian thriller novel)