Aliomenti Saga 6: Stark Cataclysm (13 page)

“Brilliant plan, sir!” Troy’s voice was crisp and oily all at once. She tried without success to avoiding wincing. “I’d like to volunteer to push our target to his fate.” He glanced around the room; as the senior member of the team, no one would deny him his request or his choice of partner.

Troy’s eyes fell on her. “I’ll take Swann. The two of us will approach from above.”

“Very good. The rest of you should congregate on the third floor. Troy, Sarah… head up to thirteen and be prepared to move. We’ll raise the alert when the meeting ends.” Their leader assigned other roles… those who’d discourage him from using the elevator by forming long lines, those who’d come at him from below to assure he knew he was being watched, to force him to panic, and to help him realize his best chance to escape was down.

The meeting adjourned. Sarah kept her face stony, all business, and she checked the working condition of her weapon before joining Troy on the elevator trip to the thirteenth floor.

“Nervous, Swann?”

“Against one unarmed man?” She snorted. “Should I be?”

Troy shrugged. “Most of our work to date has been rather dull. This should spice things up.”

Sarah nodded. “It will be a day we won’t soon forget, that’s for sure.”

She focused on her mental shield. Troy was a member of the Aliomenti, and she suspected he’d been watching and assessing her for recruitment to the group. That would be disastrous. She let a few random thoughts through—Troy was convinced she was desperately in love with him by now—but held tight to her knowledge of his secret. She didn’t know how she could help Fil, but suspected that going with Troy was her best bet. He was the biggest threat to Fil. She didn’t move her hand, but focused her attention on the small disk taped to the inside of her calf. She needed to get that disk on Troy. When in contact with the skin of an Energy user, the disk would dissolve, seep into the skin, and Damper the Energy of the target. She had to be careful, both to shield her thoughts and to mask her actions.

The others carried guns. That was a distinct concern as well. Fil could be shot and killed. His abilities made it unlikely. He could sense the intent to fire, hear the trigger pulled, smell the gunpowder. And he could teleport away or phase to immateriality. But there were no guarantees he’d notice in a stressful situation, no guarantee he’d move in time. Nor was there any guarantee that the pain of being shot wouldn’t trigger an explosion of his own.

She’d stop any efforts to shoot him. Even if it meant being shot herself.

Should she activate the earpiece and implanted microphone that would connect her to other Aeterni, including Gena Adams? She decided against it. Having a telepathic member of the Aliomenti next to her couldn’t be conducive to whispered updates and lapses in focus as she received messages. She’d go it alone.

The signal came moments later. The suspect was in the stairwell. They opened the door, letting it slam closed behind them, and started slowly down the stairs, making no effort to silence their footfalls. Troy cocked his weapon, the sound echoing down the stairwell. That should alert the suspect to their presence and nefarious intent. He’d not want to move toward them, would instead move toward the lower levels and parking garage.

But the suspect understood his predicament and their intent. The surprise on Troy’s face was evident. One of the guards below continued heading up the stairwell, intending to overtake the suspect, get above him, chase him down the stairs until the inventor emerged in the apparent safety of the garage. But the inventor used his device, a heavy metal container shaped like a beer keg, to disarm the guard.

Troy glanced at her. “Stay here. I’m going to subdue the suspect. He’s caught on and won’t attempt to flee down the stairs.” He spoke in a whisper.

Sarah plastered her face with every look of concern for her “dream man,” Troy. “But he just took out Sullivan! What if he’s able to hurt you as well?” She spoke in a whisper as well, then sat down on the stairs, grasping her legs toward her, a seated fetal position. She glanced up at him. “I’m worried about you.”

He looked away from her, down the steps, trying to appear the mighty warrior focused upon his foe. As he glanced away, she shifted slightly, enough to grab the small disk hidden under her pant leg. She slipped it between her fingers.

He turned back to her, then moved closer and sat next to her. “It’s my job and my duty. You heard the boss. He’s a threat. I need to make the effort.”

She reached over to squeeze his shoulder in a show of support and left the disk behind. “Be safe,” she whispered.

Troy nodded, rose, and moved to engage Fil Trask.

She heard the screams a moment later and smiled. Between his deflating Energy levels and Fil’s surprising levels of strength, he’d never had a chance. She felt no sympathy for the man, not even when his wrist snapped, sending the sound of shattering bone echoing through the staircase. She tapped the side of her head to activate her subvocal microphone embedded there, summoned a flying craft to the northern side of the building, and deactivated the microphone.

“
Trevor, Troy is down, as is Sullivan. Suspect has rendered both unconscious. Move to engage immediately. Swann, hold your position.
”

That meant Trevor would get hurt as well, attacking a man who’d already leveled two security team members. The only way to prevent major injury…

She found the simple mask in her pack. The mask worked as a simple air filter, providing temporary protection against noxious gases. She pulled it on. Fil would recognize her, wouldn’t he? She couldn’t take that chance, not until they were free of the trap.

She needed to get to Fil and get him down on the ground to distract Trevor before she knocked her security team member out. Fil, attacked for a third time, might lose control. Better to do so with her as the victim than an innocent.

She moved, allowing her training and instincts to take over. She was at the bottom of the steps. Fil finally lost his patience and reached an arm around the corner, and she pounced, throwing him to the stairs, climbing atop him, and pressing her forearm to his neck to force him to focus on escaping her, rather than the second approaching guard.

When Trevor arrived, he was startled to see that she’d already subdued their target. He moved to help her, intending to bind and gag the suspect.

She turned and punched Trevor in the side of the head, watched him crumble to the ground as he lost consciousness. Her hand throbbed in agony, and she watched as the man’s unconscious form slammed into the concrete.

Ouch. Perhaps it would have been best to let Fil take care of him.

“
Swann, what are you doing? Why are you wearing that mask? Where’s Trevor?
”

She reached her hand out to Fil. “Let’s go. We have to get you out of here.” She pulled him to his feet and urged him up the stairs.

“
Swann, what’s wrong with you? This is cause for termination. Swann, stop this instant!
”

She flashed quick thoughts to Fil, her only way of proving she was friend rather than foe, and urged him up the stairs. He complied.

“
All personnel, head to the northwest stairwell immediately. Reach the top floor of the building as quickly as possible by whatever means necessary. Swann is to be considered in league with the target. Your orders: shoot to kill. Repeat: shoot to kill. Swann, I don’t know what you’re doing, but you won’t escape.
”

She ignored the threats, ignored the radio traffic of the swelling numbers headed after them. When they reached the door at the top of the stairwell, she pushed him through before locking the door to give them the time they needed to escape without observation.

“
Swann’s gone suicidal. Let her jump.
”

She tore the earpiece out, shed the equipment provided by her former employer, and glanced back as the door rattled.

She jumped.

~~~~~

Angel was free of Sarah’s memories once more. The room felt cool, jarring her back to the present, to the look of concern on the face of the woman she now understood better than she’d ever understood someone. The memories were real, powerful, and telling.

Angel wiped her sleeve across her face to remove the tears. “I was wrong about you.”

Sarah handed her a tissue. “I hope they can fix your makeup.”

Angel laughed through the tears. “Easily fixed.” She paused, took a deep breath, and held out her hand. “I’m sorry. I hope I’m forgiven for my terrible attitude. Fil’s lucky beyond measure to have you. There’s nobody—nobody—that could possibly be a better match for him.” When Sarah moved to accept the handshake, Angel pushed her hand aside and pulled the bride-to-be into a tight embrace. “Welcome to the family.”

Sarah pulled back, her face beaming. “Thanks for the welcome.” She paused. “By the way, did I tell you about the toast you need to deliver later?”

Angel grinned. The bond was strong, powerful, and genuine.

And nothing but death itself could sever that bond with her new sister.

VIII

Spy

2065 A.D.

The clear blue waters of the Atlantic rolled silently along thousands of feet below. The sphere, invisible to human senses and non-human detection equipment, sped toward the island in the distance. The clear beaches and docile waves made it a popular tourist spot for those aware of the island’s existence.

The massive black marble building loomed into view. The exterior, polished to a brilliant shine, blinded her. Gena left the craft on autopilot, not trusting herself to complete the landing process with her eyes watering from the glare. The craft flashed noiselessly past the monolithic structure, past the giant entertainment complex housing the casino where Will Stark—her twin brother—had engaged the Hunters on their home turf decades earlier, and moved toward the opposite side of the island. There, thick, old growth forests covered the land, undisturbed. It seemed out of character for the Aliomenti to leave natural magnificence undisturbed. Perhaps they’d simply run out of ideas for things to build.

The monorail connecting the primary Aliomenti facilities to the human settlements snaked along the interior of the island, terminating outside a village of small cottages near the untamed wilderness. Many human workers performed menial, day-to-day chores, most often against their will, most unaware of that fact. The mental slavery allowed the Aliomenti to live as monarchs upon their island paradise with complacent subjects at their command. Gena shook her head in disgust before focusing upon her mission. They needed information. She would obtain that information.

Spies on the Aliomenti island paradise were essential to ensuring continued safety for the Alliance. For men and women accustomed to living centuries in perfect health and relative comfort, engaging in activity with a high capture rate and risk of death, lacked appeal. No one had volunteered to replace Clint as a semi-permanent resident in Aliomenti prison, aided by technology that enabled the random escapes of other prisoners. How many remained in that prison even now? Perhaps she’d have the opportunity to free them one day. That day would not be today.

She turned and gazed upon her reflection in the mirror affixed to the wall of the craft. The face was not her own, but that of the human woman she’d impersonate to infiltrate Aliomenti Headquarters. She’d performed the facial manipulation during her journey, and nodded her approval at the results.

Her transformation was not yet complete. She rummaged through a travel bag and found a canister of specialized nanos. After removing her clothing, she sprayed the mist over every inch of her body. The nanos were coated with scutarium, and would act as a second skin and secondary Shield. Accidental releases of Energy by a supposed human inside the black marble building would prove problematic. After dressing, she found an Energy Eater, a device releasing nanos which “ate” loose Energy in an enclosed space. Adam—she smiled at the thought of him—had used such a device to mask their presence in her apartment decades ago. She needed all Energy in the craft exterminated before she exited. As a newly-minted human, she couldn’t exit the craft via teleportation; her human exit could release Energy floating around inside the craft. It was questionable if it would happen, the amount of Energy in question was minor. She was on Porthos’ home island, though. Any Energy emission could bring the Hunters her way in an instant.

The final preparatory step involved swallowing a chip that would transmit her location to the craft. In an emergency, the craft would move to her location, shortening teleportation hops or other evacuation actions. The chip would dissolve inside her within twenty-four hours. She expected to be back in the Cavern long before that deadline.

With preparations complete, she picked up the slender disk near the craft’s navigation console. An upward swiping gesture “unlocked” the craft. For a craft built of intelligent nanos, “unlocking” meant that she could pass through the exoskeleton as though walking through water. The craft wouldn’t lose its shape or structural integrity. Once outside, she swiped down, “locking” the craft. No human, Aliomenti, or other creature would penetrate the craft during her absence. A swirling gesture moved the craft fifty feet off the ground, ensuring no terrestrial creatures of moderate sentient ability crashed into the invisible structure while strolling among the trees.