Free The Harvester by Sean A. Murtaugh

warmed over. You need to get some sleep, man.”
    “I’ve only slept an hour here, an hour there. Ever since Anastasia’s murder.”
    I speed down the freeway, and it only takes me about fifteen minutes to get to Naes’s home. I pull up curbside and stop in front of his moderate, yet quaint home. Kids play football in the middle of the road.
    “Get some sleep, okay. Even the badass Harvey needs rest.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll have plenty of sleep when I’m dead.”
    Naes laughs at my joke. “Good one. When you’re dead.”
    “See ya’ in the morning.”
    “Yup.”

B ack at my apartment, I open the door. I look like some sort of zombie. I lock the numerous locks on my door, drop all my gear on the table, and plop onto the couch. My wall of screens is now fixed on several places within the Agency, especially on Vega. I’m so exhausted I didn’t even view any of them. You would think that being already dead, you wouldn’t get tired, but you do. If I did, I would’ve seen something very important live, but I don’t view the footage until the next morning.
    I sit in front of my wall of screens, and the first footage I view is that of two Harvester Guards in a surveillance room. One is about to nod off, and the other is busy doing a crossword puzzle.
    “How’s our favorite Underworlder doing?” he asks and the sleepy Harvester Guard jolts awake.
    “Huh? Oh. Uh . . .” He views Vega’s cell monitor while letting out a loud, long yawn. “He’s still sleeping.”
    “Damn, he sleeps a lot.”
    “Well, I guess being the leader of the Underworld must be tiring at times.”
    They laugh.
    “Must be.”
    One of my monitors is fixed on Mr. Herald’s office.
    The reason: I have learned a lot in my many years, and one thing I learned is to keep tabs on everyone. Mr. Herald quietly enters, looks behind him to see if anyone is following him, and then shuts the door. He heads over to his computer, inserts a flash drive, and waits for a few seconds. It beeps once, and he grabs it and quietly exits the office. This makes me suspicious.
    He walks down a hallway and appears semilost.
    A representative passes him. “Good evening, Mr. Herald.”
    “Huh? Oh, yes, good evening. Listen, it has been a long week. Which is the quickest way to get out of here again?”
    The rep scowls with suspicion, and so do I once again. He points down the second hallway. “Uh, that way.”
    “Thanks, buddy.” Mr. Herald disappears down the second hallway.
    The rep waves over a Harvester heading toward him, and he tells him what just transpired. The Harvester calls it in on his headset CB radio.
    Back at Vega’s cell, the four Harvesters there hear the report. They nod at each other and quickly draw their guns.
    One unlocks his cell and two enter and two stand guard. The first one shakes Vega to wake him up, but he does not. He shakes him harder, and Vega’s fake head rolls off the bed and lands on the tile floor. I spring to my feet in shock.
    The second Harvester Guard calls it in as the third one outside the cell hits the alarm on the wall beside him.
    On the main exit monitor to the Agency, I view Mr. Herald heading toward the exit. Two Harvesters sprint his direction, but he is too fast for them. He grabs one by the head and snaps his neck with ease, killing him instantly.
    He karate kicks the second one in the stomach so hard, he flies backward through the air and slams into the wall and drops to the tile unconscious. A third Harvester catches up to him and puts Mr. Herald into a tight chokehold. He thrashes around to get free and in the midst of the commotion the Harvester inadvertently slices a portion of Mr. Herald’s face off, revealing Vega’s face underneath it. The Harvester is absolutely dumbfounded.
    More Harvesters quickly approach as the five-foot-thick security door is activated and lowers. Vega flips free of the Harvester’s grip and rockets toward the exit.
    Only a foot or so from shutting and trapping Vega