Last Exit for Evermore

A kaleidoscope of blood and water sparkles at his feet as Jack slips his arms into the incredible body armor. The potential of superhuman power brings a wry grin to his face. But the lump on his head makes it hard to focus—hard to remember what the hell he is doing here. He’s just a street hacker for focks sake. His knees tremble as the building shudders once again. Smoke rolls in from the overhead ventilators. Fire licks at the ornate door. Both MPs are dead. The salon is in ruins. Tana lies naked—pristinely beautiful but unmoving. The entire city seems poised on the brink of a riotous catastrophe.
Jack wasn’t the hero type. He didn’t sign up for this. But—like it or not—war was at hand and he had had his fill of beatings, gang fights and meaningless incarceration. If he can hack the armor and unleash the exotic energy weapons within, he might finally be free of the waking nightmare called life.
Even with Jett—his surprisingly well-connected militaristic partner—at his side, it was going to be a long road before either of them saw the light of day. After more than a half century of “natural” disasters and resource wars, four billion have died. Mankind had few options left. With its massive outer defenses, the herculean domed city was one of the last to survive. A solid block of haphazard architecture, it is stuffed to the breaking point with the motley remnants of humanity. Protected by a lethal network of incendiary security devices, Metro Pacific Civil Authority—the meatpackers—rule from the highest floors with an iron fist.
As the bodies stack up and ever greater forces are brought to bear against them, Jett’s extended network of allies slowly reveal themselves. But their ultimate goal is still a mystery. Jack is forced to face some uncomfortable truths about the history that lead man to this explosive point. It’s not the history he was taught. It’s not even a history that makes sense to him. Worse yet, battling through miles and miles of urban jungle to the outermost reaches of the dome may not solve anything. Were there truly any good guys?
At the heart of man’s demise lies a powerful secret greater than any other. It’s a secret wrapped in mystery and deception and misdirection that has driven the machinations of modern society since the dawn of the oil age. It may be that the secret is beyond the petty thieves who seek it. It may even be that no man is mature enough to know the answer. But Jack can’t go on killing without knowing. If the salvation of mankind has fallen to him, he must do the right thing no matter what the cost.
But the layers of mystery only deepen—the more he learns the dumber he feels. The diabolical history of the meatpackers is rivaled only by their mindboggling technological achievements. Jack’s life is on the line but he’s clearly out of his element. Who can he trust? Who can he believe? It would take someone with elite Met Pac ties to discover the truth. It would take a brilliant and tenacious bull dog to root through centuries of data. It would take a very disgruntled—even disturbed—person to leave the luxury of the upper class behind in order to aid the rebellion. If that same person was a gorgeous armored brunette with an ax to grind, Jack would have his hands full. If he couldn't decipher the secrets of the universe, maybe he could get a girlfriend before the end came.