Electronic Gags Read online

  “Just be a good girl and follow me.” He looked at his watch. “Assuming the cops are travelling at the same speed as we did, they will be entering the refuge in the next forty minutes.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Shut up and follow me, woman!” he said, increasing his pace.

  Jennifer looked at him for seconds before she followed him through the wet ground that was covered with flowers and grass. She was beginning to respect him. He wasn’t weak after all.

  They passed by a solitary musk ox peacefully feasting on Alaskan flowers and grass. The bull looked like a brown stone boulder on the green, flowery plain. Throughout her whole life, Jennifer had never seen so many animals and birds. They saw the wild Alaskan sheep, the beautiful willow ptarmigan, owls hunting for lemmings, coyotes, and foxes before they came across a pack of gray wolves.

  Jennifer’s admiration of Freddie rose when the wolves charged at them.

  “Something is wrong here,” Freddie said calmly. “Wolves don’t normally attack people. They have been taught to fear humans by hunters who kill them for sport and farmers who kill them to protect their livestock.”

  The wolves moved closer, growing in confidence.

  “They are going to kill us,” she said with hysteria.

  “Calm down,” Freddie said, lifting his tranquillizer gun. “There are less than ten known fatal wolf attacks on humans in this region for the past hundred years.”

  Jennifer watched with horror as the wolves advanced, growling and gnashing their teeth. Freddie aimed his tranquilizer gun at the leading wolf and fired, hitting the animal’s flank. The canine wobbled for four seconds before it collapsed. The other wolves fled and Freddie went to the fallen wolf.

  “I hate to kill animals but I am afraid I have to kill this wolf,” he said, taking out the hunting knife.

  “Why?” Jennifer asked, surprising herself by feeling sorry for the animal. Somehow, the wolf reminded her of the dog she had when she was a little girl.

  “We have to let the other wolves know that we are deadly. After watching us kill their kin, they won’t get anywhere near us again. This is the jungle… survival of the fittest. We have to show them we are fitter.”

  The drugged wolf was breathing heavily. Freddie dug the knife into its neck and found the jugular. Blood gushed out of the animal, forming a puddle round its head.

  “Let’s get going,” Freddie said, looking at his watch. “The police will be entering the refuge any minute from now.”

  The supreme leader’s phone rang and he lazily answered it. “Yes.”

  “I’m waiting for your call to set the police after the fugitives,” the police commissioner said from the other end of the line.

  The clock on the wall read 10:59:48. Brandon Ward waited for the clock to strike eleven before he ordered the commissioner to set the cops after the fugitives.

  “The chase is on,” he told his brother.

  Christopher Ward maximized his Skype window and watched the live stream of the squad chasing his team. Brandon Ward maximized his Skype window and watched the squad chasing Freddie and Jennifer. After seconds the brothers switched to live streams of the squads chasing the opposing teams.

  “They both look like good squads,” Christopher remarked.

  “Yah,” agreed Brandon. “The fugitives’ survival skills will determine the outcome of game.”

  They returned to NASP and monitored the fugitives.

  Freddie led Jennifer through hills and across several streams. He was tired but the fear of death spurred him on. Even Jennifer was beginning to tire. She has lost her fitness sitting idle in prison. Panting, Freddie opened his satchel and took out the roll of aluminum foil. He wound the foil round his neck, covering his electronic gag.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m trying to block GPS satellite signals from reaching our trackers,” he explained.

  “Do you think this is a movie?”

  “I’m not sure, but I think it might help. Unlike cellular waves, waves from GPS space satellites come from thousands of kilometers away. They are weak when they reach the Earth, and they find it difficult to penetrate barriers.” He gave her the aluminum foil. “Cover your NAST with the foil. You never know... it might make the difference between life and death. Put two layers like I did.”

  Jennifer took the foil and Freddie helped her wind it round her neck, completely covering her electronic gag.

  “Let’s get going,” Freddie said, looking at his watch. “I think the police are now in the wildlife refuge.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked with exasperation.

  “We are running for our lives, remember?”

  “But why in this particular direction?”

  “Let’s talk as we walk,” Freddie said.

  “If you don’t tell me why you want me to go there, I won’t go with you,” she declared.

  “Okay girl, I will explain as we walk.”

  She walked at his side. “Tell me now,” she demanded when he remained silent for more than two minutes.

  “You see that rabbit,” he tried to change the subject of the conversation. “It’s called an Alaskan rabbit but it actually originates from German. It wa―”

  “Stop the rabbit talk,” Jennifer snarled. “I’m not a tourist. Tell me why you are taking me where you are taking me.”

  “I promise I will tell you in thirty minutes. Let’s pick up our pace.”

  He increased his pace and she had no choice but to follow him. The police squad chasing them would call for reinforcements if they separated. They walked past two hills and entered a forest of tall trees. There they saw moose, a lynx and some weasels. Song-birds sang merrily in the treetops. The trees provided good cover, making Jennifer feel safer.

  She looked at her watch. Although the time was now twelve minutes past five, the sun didn’t look like it was going set. She had heard that here there were days when the sun didn’t set and she hoped today was not such a day. She needed night’s darkness to protect her from the police. A growing swarm of mosquitoes hovered round them, threatening to enter their eyes. Jennifer had never seen such large mosquitoes. The insects looked like they had just come out of a horror movie.

  “Oh I had forgotten about my mosquito repellent.” Freddie took out the repellent from his satchel and rubbed it on his face and hands. “This forest is a mixture of birch, spruce and aspen trees. Aspen trees serve as natural compasses.” He pointed at an aspen tree. “Their trunk―”

  “I told you… I am not your tourist and you are not my tour guide,” Jennifer said, rubbing herself with mosquito repellent. “I don’t need this lecture about your park’s wonderful plants and animals. I need to know why you took me here.”

  Freddie cleared his throat. “The government uses GPS surveillance and cell multilateration to track us. For them to track you by GPS, the GPS receiver in your NAST need a direct line of sight to at least four GPS satellites.” He cleared his throat again. “When that happens, the GPS receiver calculates the distance between it and each of the GPS satellites it sees. The receiver then calculates its geographical position using these distances. Obstructions such as trees and buildings can significantly reduce GPS accuracy.”

  “So that’s why we are in this forest?” she asked.

  “Partly yes,” he said. “Let’s increase our speed. I will explain everything to you soon. Let’s walk a little more.”

  Sulking, she followed him. In spite of herself, she liked the way he patronized her. When he refused to answer her questions, it made him look tough and mysterious, characteristics she liked in a man.

  “Now I can explain everything to you, my dear,” he said at last.

  “I’m not your dear,” she snapped.

  “Okay D5573. After calculating their geographical position, the NASTs send the information to the CIB headquarters. As I said before, the government also uses cell tracking. GPS doesn’t work indoors and when people go indoo
rs the tracker resorts to cell tower multilateration to determine its location.”

  “Where is this lecture going? Am I on an information technology course?”

  “There is no cell network in this part of the refuge,” Freddie said. “Without cell network the government can only track us using GPS.” He smiled. “If GPS fails, the government won’t be able to track us.”

  “How do you know that there is no cell network here?” she asked skeptically.

  “I worked in this wildlife refuge for five years,” he said with authority. “Check the balance of your NAST if you doubt me.”

  She pulled out the keypad and display panel of her electronic gag and dialed *100#. “You are right,” she said with admiration. “I got an error message. There is no network coverage here.”

  “Assuming that the aluminum foil didn’t work, which I doubt very much, we can beat GPS tracking by staying indoors or in a cave, and I happen to know a secret cave three kilometers away from here. I couldn’t tell you earlier because I feared they would hear us.”

  What Freddie didn’t realize was that they didn’t have to worry about GPS tracking system at the moment. Even if the GPS trackers in their electronic gags got unobstructed lines of sight to GPS satellites, the modems of their gags still needed cell network to send their location to the CIB headquarters. As long as they stayed in the area without cell network, the government couldn’t track them with NASP.

  “A cave!” she squealed with joy. “You are a genius.”

  “I can’t believe my ears. Did you praise me?”

  “What are we waiting for?” She scampered away.

  “Hey, wait for me,” Freddie complained. “Can’t you see I have a satchel on my back?”

  “My team disappeared,” Brandon Ward said with excitement. “I lost contact with my team!”

  Christopher took off his headphones. “What?”

  “My team disappeared.” He put his index finger on the monitor. “I last saw them here.”

  Christopher looked at Brandon’s screen. “The cops have stopped. They don’t know what to do.”

  “I will confirm with Professor Reed, but I suspect there is no cell network in that part of the wildlife refuge.” The supreme leader winked at his brother. “It looks like my team will outlive yours.”

  “It’s D5574,” Christopher said. “He worked in the wildlife refuge and he knew there is no network in that part of the wilderness. I thought there was cell network throughout the Ten Districts.”

  “Me too.”

  “D5574 knew better.” Christopher looked at his screen. “The cops are closing in on my team,” he said sadly. “It will take a miracle for me to win this game.”

  “The cops have the upper hand in the car race,” Brandon said. “Whilst your team has to jostle for a way through the traffic, the cops just switch on their sirens and the road is cleared for them.”

  “Yes Brandon,” conceded Christopher. “The cops have the upper hand.” He maximized his Skype window and watched the live stream of the cops chasing his team. The cameraman and the reporter were in the back of one of the police cars. Christopher put on his headphones and switched on his microphone. “Reporter, tell us what’s happening.”

  “It’s an exciting race, Honorable Senior Minister,” the reporter replied. “We are now less than ninety kilometers from the fugitives. The cops are very confident and they said they will to catch the fugitives today.”

  “Thank you, reporter.” Christopher switched off his microphone and switched to the audio from the electronic gags on the necks of the cops in the leading police car.

  “This is fun!” enthused one of the cops.

  “At this rate, we will catch them in the three hours,” his colleague said.

  “Shit!” Christopher gasped. “This doesn’t look good.”

  “You betted for the wrong horse, Christopher.” Brandon maximized his Skype window to watch the live stream of the cops chasing his team. “This game is mine.”

  Christopher also switched to the live stream of the hunt for Freddie and Jennifer. The cops were standing in confusion, looking at their laptop. All of them were waving their hands to chase mosquitoes away.

  “How could this happen!” the officer in charge lamented. “We were closing in on them.”

  “Maybe they tampered with their NASTs,” suggested one cop.

  “It’s impossible,” the officer in charge said. “If they tamper with their NASTs the devices will explode and kill them. Where were they when we last saw them?”

  “Let me check their trajectory, sir,” said the young cop with the laptop. “They were here and we are here, about fifteen kilometers away.”

  “Let’s follow their trajectory to the point where they disappeared.”

  “Wait!” the young cop exclaimed.

  “What?” growled the officer in charge.

  “Maybe the fugitives modified their NASTs and the devices exploded and killed them.”

  “If that’s the case, we will find their bodies at the point where they vanished from NASP.”

  “Your Excellence President Ward and Senior Minister Christopher Ward, I hope you are listening,” the excited reporter shouted. “The chase is heating up. There are many possibilities here. Maybe prisoners D5573 and D5574 tampered with their NASTs and died in the process. We shall soon find out whether...”

  “Maybe your team is dead!” Christopher Ward shouted. “Maybe I won the game.”

  “Let’s wait until the cops reach the point where my team vanished,” Brandon Ward said, nervously rubbing his hands.

  Assistant Police Commissioner Evans couldn’t help smiling as he watched the game. This was his best day at work.

  Freddie suddenly turned right. They walked through dense bushes and Freddie crawled into a cave. She hesitantly followed him into the cave. The cave’s mouth was so small that they could only enter on all fours.

  “I would never dare to enter this cave if it had a large mouth.” Fred said, switching his torch. “The cave’s mouth is too small for bears. There is nothing as dangerous as entering a bear’s cave.”

  He switched on the torch and Jennifer looked at the bats hanging on the cave’s walls. Without realizing it, she held Freddie’s hand. The bats sent shivers through her.

  “Do bats really suck blood?” she asked nervously.

  “You are scared!” He laughed. “Tough girl is scared of bats.”

  “Answer me,” she said, clinging to him. “Do they suck blood?”

  He noted how cute she looked when she showed her vulnerability. “Of course not,” he said softly. “They feed on insects. Come on, let’s explore our lodgings.”

  She followed him, his confidence easing her fear. “Cheer up, girl,” he said. “We will live to see tomorrow. It will soon be dark. I think the cops will leave us alone for today. Mosquitoes will slow them down if they have no mosquito repellent.” He pointed at Stone Age rock paintings on the cave’s walls. “Look, baby, our new home even has paintings. When the death games are over, I will take you on a tour of the wildlife refuge.”

  “Let’s stay here, near the cave’s mouth,” she said, holding his hand, nervously looking at the bats.

  “Here radio waves from GPS satellites may reach us. Let’s go further inside. There are so many twists and turns ahead that I’m sure GPS signals won’t reach us.”

  “How come you know so much about NASTs?” she asked with admiration.

  “The manuals of the NASTs clearly state that the devices use GPS and cell tracking. After reading my manual, I did some research on GPS and cell tracking.”

  “You are a genius, you know that?”

  “You praised me again today.” He laughed. “At this rate, I will get laid tonight.”

  She laughed and was suddenly a beautiful girl, but to his disappointment, she quickly assumed her tough girl demeanor.

  “D5573, I can’t get off the feeling that I saw you somewhere before I got into prison.”

  “
Cut the crap,” she said.

  “It’s true. I never forget a face. I think I saw you on TV, or in the press. Are you a celebrity?”

  “Ok... I was on TV once when I won a shooting competition.”

  “Bingo! Can I get an autograph?”

  The beautiful girl briefly came out when she smiled.

  “Now I remember. You won The President’s Sharpshooter Competition. You were a cop, from the Police Special Branch.”

  She nodded.

  “How did a beautiful girl like you end up in the special branch?”

  “When I finished school, I went to the police academy and from there I was drafted into the PSB.”

  “And how did you end up on death row.”

  “The CIB accused me of insulting the supreme leader.”

  “That makes two of us.” He dropped his satchel. “This is where we sit, D5573. From here, the cave forks into two. The left side is the ladies room and the right side is the gents if you want to... you know.”

  “Jennifer... that’s my name,” she said.

  “I’m Freddie.”

  They sat down and drank some water.

  “I’m going to serve you cornflakes, my special,” he said, opening his satchel.

  Jennifer watched him take out bowls, spoons, a packet of cornflakes and two bottles of milk. She was beginning to like this man. In fact she was falling in love with him. She tried to tell herself that she was drawn to him by the common danger they faced. She didn’t like him, she reasoned. She was just grateful to him for increasing her life expectancy. He was not her type. She wouldn’t have looked at him twice in the street. Though he wasn’t ugly, he was fat, a big sin in Jennifer’s eyes. She was a fitness enthusiast and believed obesity was a sign of weakness. But several times today he had been tough when he had to and gentle when he had to. He was tougher than all the men she knew and unlike most self-styled tough guys, he wasn’t arrogant or rude.

  “This game is taking longer than I expected,” Brandon Ward said, rising from his seat. “The police commissioner will phone us when the police kill the fugitives. I’m going to my office. I have a country to run.”