Pops and snaps of Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride" broke through the breaks in speaker static. The sound bounced around through the corridors, the halls and all the rooms in the crumbling apartment building. The chopchopchop of helicopter blades overhead provided a thudding cadence for the music.

Devin sat in the corner, propped against the cracked wall, the rough texture digging into his skin through his shirt. He nursed his broken, bloody legs.

It was only a matter of time, he knew.

The Enforcers were there.

He could hear the crackle of their radios over the buzzing speakers. He could hear the self-entitled sounds of their voices as they searched for the Unplugged.

That was him.

He saw the shadows approaching, falling long against the walls. He gripped his thighs and groaned against the wash of pain. His knees against an Enforcer's nightstick really posed no contest.

The long shadows of the Enforcers grew shorter, which told Devin his time grew short.

He swallowed hard.

Matthew Wilder's high-pitched voice broke through the speaker static, but cut out as the Enforcers' radios interfered with the signal. Black-clad officers stormed into the room where Devin leaned against the wall, surrounded by his blood and pain.

"Do you realize what you're doing?" Devin screamed.

The Sergeant, marked with a white band around his white arm, spoke. His voice cracked through the radio that passed his words through his faceplate. "You removed your earpiece. All subjects are required to stay plugged in."

"Just put me out of my misery," Devin urged.

"One last chance," the Sergeant said. "The earpiece is required by law. Plug in now or be terminated for non-compliance."

"The earpiece, it's maddening," Devin cried. "Just finish me. I've heard my last ad."

The Sergeant lifted his gun and fired a single shot, point blank into Devin's forehead. "Alright, Enforcers. Let's move out."

Devin's body slumped and fell down next to his earpiece, where it sat on the floor.

His chest heaved, and as his brain shut down, he heard one last crackle from his earpiece.

"Remember, subjects, wearing your earpiece provides advertising revenue for your country. Be a patriot. Wear your earpiece."