Artificial Absolutes (Jane Colt Book 1) (22 page)

Devin whipped out his gun. As he destroyed that repair bot, another emerged. And then another from a different conduit. And then another. Every time he hit one, it seemed two took its place, all sticking out of different conduits above him and firing relentlessly. Fortunately for him, the robots used small caliber lasers that did little more than pierce the shaft’s metal walls. They had terrible aim.

Devin shifted his position and fired back.
Why would anyone send them? They’re not exactly attack drones.
Repair bots had visual sensors designed for myopic close-up work, making them useless for targeting anything more than a yard away.
Must be because nothing else would fit in the conduits.
Their presence seemed to confirm that No Name had infiltrated the float’s central computer, and that Madam Wrath had nothing to do with what was going on.

It wouldn’t be long before his luck ran out—or a missed shot hit one of the kids. He looked behind him at the fast-moving cable.

Jane must have had the same idea as he did. Before he could say anything, she jumped off the ladder and grabbed the black cord.

“
Jane
!” Devin watched in alarm as she zoomed up the shaft. For several tense seconds, there was no reply.

“I’m up here!” Jane’s voice sounded small and faraway, barely audible over the blasting and the whooshing of the transports.

Adam stared up the shaft. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

Devin shot another robot. “Go!”

“You go first—you’re the one they’re after!”

Devin would’ve told the kid to
move it
but was forced to jump when a blast broke the rung he held. He caught the cable with one hand, which burned from the friction as he flew upward. He couldn’t hear anything over the roaring of air.

The top of the shaft rapidly approached. He pushed off the cable and caught one of the rungs.

“Devin!” Jane’s head stuck out of a conduit two levels above him. “Where’s Adam?”

“He’s coming.” Devin pressed himself against the ladder as a transport nearly clipped him, then climbed into a conduit. He looked back.

Adam flew up on the cable, expression terrified. He passed Devin and was almost at the top of the shaft when he let go and grabbed the ladder. Adam’s grip on the rung slipped, and he fell.

Fuck!
Devin heard Jane scream as he reached out and caught Adam’s arm.
That was too close.

Adam grabbed the nearest rung. “Thanks.” He sounded shaky.

Jane exhaled and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were still filled with horror.

Adam looked up at her. “I’m all right, Jane. That was… fun.”

Whoever controlled the machines must have decided it wasn’t worth firing upward, for the shooting had stopped.

On the conduit’s ceiling, the number twenty-six gleamed in painted white numbers.
Nine levels above the Stargazer.

“Jane,” Devin said. “We overshot. Come down to this level.”

Jane climbed into the conduit behind him, then turned back. “Adam, c’mon.”

Adam reluctantly released his grip on the rung. He started climbing in, then abruptly stopped and grabbed his wrist. “Sorry… Those drugs… I keep feeling like…”

“Like what?” Jane asked.

“Like I should attack your brother,” he finished apologetically.

Devin wondered what the hell kind of drug No Name used on the kid. He knew firsthand how powerful mind-altering drugs could be, and he had to give Adam credit for his willpower.

But if he succumbs and attacks me, it’d be easy enough to knock him out.

As Devin approached an intersection, a robotic arm fired at him. The blast missed and punctured the ceiling. He shot back, pulling the trigger repeatedly to destroy the machine.

Jane reached around him and picked up a piece of burnt metal. “Safer than the stairs, you said.”

A mechanical hum. Devin whipped to the side and shot another armed bot. “We should get out of here.”

Jane flicked the metal at him. “You
think
?”

He approached a vent in the conduit’s floor. Below him lay a richly decorated lounge covered in luxurious tapestries embroidered with flame-like patterns. The place appeared deserted. He aimed his gun at the vent’s corner and fired around its edges until it fell onto the black carpet. Hearing nothing from below, he stuffed his gun into his bag and jumped down.

The fall was further than he’d expected. The impact rippled up his body like a shockwave. He straightened.

The lavishly adorned room glowed red from the light of scarlet chandeliers. Sculptures of vicious creatures stood in the corners. Large black chairs ringed a circular table. A tall black shelf displayed holographic heads, each with a name and date emblazoned underneath—portraits of memorable adversaries Madam Wrath had eliminated. The room must have been her private lounge in some club.

Damn. I should’ve known.

At least that meant no security cameras would give away his position.

Jane looked down with a doubtful expression, as though asking if she was really expected to jump the distance.

Devin glanced at the shelf. “Wait there.”

He approached it, aiming to grab it so she could use it as a ladder. Someone sat in a chair whose back had faced him. He pulled out his gun with a start.

“What is it?” Jane asked.

Devin kept his weapon raised as he walked toward the occupied chair. To his surprise, he found Madam Wrath lying there, limp but breathing. Two barely discernible injection sites dotted her neck.

“It’s Madam Wrath.” Devin prodded her with his weapon. She didn’t react, so he prodded her harder.
Still nothing.
“She’s out cold.”

“
The
Madam Wrath?” Jane sounded surprised. “Then who the hell is ordering everyone to hunt you?”

“Must be No Name.” Devin shoved the shelf toward the hole in the ceiling.

“Those guys keep getting scarier and scarier.” Jane climbed down.

Meanwhile, he kept a watchful eye on Madam Wrath.

“
Jane
!” Adam cried.

Devin turned in time to see his sister land on her back. He rushed over and knelt beside her.

Jane sat up. “I’m fine.” She drooped forward.

Devin dropped his gun and caught her by the shoulders. “Hey, Pony, look at me.” He was alarmed when she didn’t immediately retort.

Adam climbed down. “Jane, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Jane looked up at Devin. “And don’t call me Pony.” Her smile was a weary imitation of her usual cocky smirk.

Devin let go of her. “What happened?”

“Ah, it was stupid… lost my grip.” She closed her eyes and put a hand on her head. “Just got the wind knocked outta me… Gimme a sec… Okay, I’m good.”

She opened her eyes and slowly got up. Devin picked up his gun as he stood. Jane swayed, and both he and Adam rushed to support her.

She shook them off. “I told you I’m
fine
. C’mon. Let’s go before the queen bitch wakes up.” She marched toward the lounge door.

Had they been anywhere else, Devin would have insisted she stop and rest, but they didn’t have much time before No Name figured out where they were.

She reached for the door’s controls.

“Wait,” Devin said. Jane drew her hand back. “We can’t go out into the club. Madam Wrath’s known for being private. There should be a second exit.”

He lifted one of the tapestries and felt along the wall in case he missed something with his eyes.

“Over here!” Adam called. He held up a tapestry, revealing a rectangular door.

Devin approached. Knowing the door would be locked, he blasted around its edges. He kicked the center, and it fell back.

The dark, deserted corridor ahead didn’t look familiar. The alarms sounded distant, as though coming from a different level.

Jane stepped out of Madam Wrath’s room. Devin held out a hand to stop her. He approached the perpendicular corridor, which was illuminated by dim yellowish lights, and checked the ceiling for internal defense guns.

Nothing. And no one. “C’mon.”

Most of the float’s levels had the same layout. Devin tried to recall where the stairs would be.

The club was right by the transport shaft, directly above the storage sector… Shit. Shouldn’t have made that turn.

He pivoted and went back. “We’re going the wrong way.”

Jane walked beside him. “How do you know this place so well, anyway?”

“You’re not going to tell me off?”

“Of course I am. You’re slipping up, bro! Whatever happened to those super mercenary skills of yours?”

Jane had no way of knowing how close her joke was to the truth, but the mention nevertheless made Devin uneasy.

“Mercenary?” Adam asked.

Devin turned into the dark corridor. “She’s kidding. The staircase should be just up ahead. Once we—”

He stopped. Someone was approaching.

No, not someone.

Devin spun and fired a rapid succession of shots before the giant guard bot could raise its weapon. Although damaged, it continued trundling toward him on its short, thick legs. It clumsily expelled blasts as he repeatedly hit its weapon. That model must have been built to withstand lasers.

“
Run
!” he shouted.

Jane grabbed Adam’s wrist and sprinted down the corridor. Devin pulled the trigger again and again. After what must have been a thousand shots, he wore down the robot’s weapon. It kept moving forward, but having rendered it harmless, he left it and ran into the staircase.

He couldn’t see Jane or Adam—they were probably a few levels below him. He raced down the steps and leaped down half-flights of stairs, hoping any Wrath Guards who may have been alerted to his whereabouts would take time to catch up.

No such luck.

Jane whirled when she heard the gunfire, which was muffled by the thick dullness that had filled her ears since she’d fallen in Madam Wrath’s room. Devin was a level above her, firing up the stairs at someone she couldn’t see.

Each blast seemed to pierce her skull. The pain was so intense it was all she could do to keep from screaming. Her vision faded in and out as thick black dots filled in from the edges and then retreated.
She felt as though she might pass out with every move she made.
Ugh. Why am I so damn weak?

“
Go
!” Devin called as he exchanged fire with the unseen someone.

More blasts rang out as another someone joined the firefight. Jane pulled out the handgun in her pocket. She switched off the safety and ran toward him.

“I said
go
!” Devin yelled.

“I can help!” Jane continued up the stairs. Someone grabbed her shoulder. Startled, she stopped. She saw it was Adam and relaxed.

“Jane, don’t,” he said. “He’ll be better off if he’s not worrying about you.”

Jane wanted to object, but he was right. She reluctantly went back down the stairs. She’d barely made it down one more level when an explosion boomed above her. She looked back with a start.

Devin ran toward her. “What part of
go
didn’t you get?”

“What the hell was that?” Jane demanded.

“Bastards tossed a grenade at me. I threw it back before it went off.”

It’s like he’s done this before.

A blast came from above. She ducked. “Don’t these assholes have anything better to do?”

Devin fired back. “
Go
! I mean it!”

Jane stood too quickly. Black brimmed her eyesight. Her legs melted beneath her. She tried to move forward, and her heel caught the edge of the step. She tumbled down the stairs. The handgun flew from her grip.

“
Jane
!”

Adam called her name, but she couldn’t answer. She crashed into the wall on one of the landings.

She opened her eyes as wide as she could. All she saw were pale blurs between black splotches. Her head whirled. She struggled to figure out which limb should go where. Confusion overwhelmed her as wordless shouting and meaningless commotion droned through the buzzing in her ears.

Her vision cleared. The barrel of a laser gun pointed right at her, held by a skinhead thug with a nasty grin. Somewhere behind the terror and the fog of noises, she knew she should run or something, but she couldn’t even figure out how to scream.

Bang.

She shut her eyes. Hot liquid splashed onto her face and chest. For a moment, she wondered why she felt no pain. She opened her eyes. It was the thug who’d been shot. He fell sideways. Blood poured from a hole above his lifeless eyes.

Behind him, Adam stood with the gun in his hands, his expression unexpectedly calm and merciless as heat.

His face filled with concern as he rushed to her side. Jane couldn’t make out his words as he knelt beside her.

“I’m…” She didn’t get a chance to finish, for the thick black dots returned at a vengeful pace. The warmth drained from her body.

Devin shot the nearest Wrath Guard through the chest. He ducked back into the stairwell, resisting the impulse to run into the corridor and blast away the other three. Good thing he did—seconds later, the internal defenses unleashed a volley of shots that finished off the thugs even though they’d probably been aiming for him.

He repeated the axiom he’d learned seven years back:
No faces, no pasts—just targets.