Paying the Price (Book 5 of The Empire of Bones Saga) (35 page)

Once he was sure he understood the setup, he insinuated his control tool into the software interface. There. He saw the normal floors and a “basement” destination. That would be where the tube was. The secret control worked by pressing the first and third floors, letting them release, and pressing the first floor again.

“Everyone in?” he asked. “Here we go.”

He closed the panel and pressed the buttons in the correct sequence. The doors slid shut and the lift sank into the ground. It went down a fair bit and opened onto a small tunnel platform. There was no car.

The marines spread out, but there were no threats. There wasn’t even a camera. Only a call station.

Carl saw at once that it was significantly more secure than the lift. It was a biometric lock that required an authorized retinal pattern.

He smiled. “I think this is going to be easier than we’d hoped.”

At the bottom of his bag, he found one of his sophisticated hacking tools. “I can use this to provide the pattern,” he said.

“How?” Angela asked. “You don’t have the empress’s retinal pattern. She might not even be on the access list anymore.”

Carl grinned at her. “No, but I have Princess Kelsey’s. I bet she’s on the approved list, even if she doesn’t know about the secret tunnel. We can try it once and see. If it doesn’t work, I’ll tear the lock apart and figure something out.”

He activated Kelsey’s pattern and put the eye-shaped projector against the reader. The light on the control turned green.

“I can feel air movement in the tunnel,” one of the marines said after a minute.

A small pneumatic car slid into the station. It had two seats facing one another. A third person could stand between the seated riders. Four in a pinch.

“Okay, the senator and I go first,” Angela said. “Carl will stand between us with the ring gear. We’ll send the car back for the three of you shortly. It will take two more trips to get the equipment and you.”

The senator and Angela sat inside with the bags of equipment on the floor. Carl stood between them and looked at the controls. “This is a simple go button. Press it and you’ll move to the other station. We’ll wait there for you.”

He pressed the button and the doors slid shut. The car took off at a significant speed, tossing Carl into Angela’s lap.

“This is so transparent, Owlet,” she said with a laugh.

“Yes, but more comfortable than it looks.” He settled into her lap and tried to control his blush. The heat of her body was doing things to him that weren’t appropriate for a covert assault mission.

She put her lips beside his ear and whispered. “Maybe we should try a date when this is all over. You
are
kind of cute, in a nerdy way.”

“Don’t torture me.”

“That depends on how well the date goes.”

The car pulled into the station and Carl was out the moment the doors opened. It was identical to the station on the other end of the line.

Angela and the senator climbed out with the gear. Carl pressed the button on the console and sent the car back for the rest of the team. Fifteen minutes and two trips later, everyone was there.

The lift was smaller on this end, so they needed two trips to get everyone into the emperor’s suite. The designers had stashed the exit behind a bookcase in the library. Carl supposed that made it useful when the empress wanted to fool the emperor.

Being in his liege’s home made him feel awkward. It seemed as though the man might just walk through the door at any moment.

The marines put on unpowered armor while Carl assembled the smaller ring. Angela looked over his shoulder. “So, tell me again why this one doesn’t need power?”

“The connection between the two ends serves to power them both. What’s the plan?”

“I’ll go with Princess Elise and the senator. I’ll take the men. That leaves you here alone to bring the rest of the marines in. If something goes wrong, you should be safe here.”

“What if I don’t want to be safe?”

“Deal with it. I get to be the hero this time.”

He smiled at her. “And a hero needs something special. I can’t pass the hammer on to you, but I did bring you something.”

Carl dug into a bag and pulled out an arm brace that looked familiar to her. It was the portable shield he’d been working on.

“Strap this on and activate it with this code.” He sent her a string of code through her implants. “There are two settings. Round and tall. Pick which works best and try not to get shot this time.”

Angela took it with a grin. “This will come in handy. Thanks.”

She raised her voice. “Okay, listen up, people. We’ll head directly to the medical center. We might get lucky and not hit a checkpoint. Or we might get into a shootout. Stun only and protect the civilians. Let’s go.”

She started for the door, paused, and turned around. “I want you to hold onto something for me,” she said to Carl.

Angela grabbed him, pulled him into a hug, and kissed him thoroughly. She grinned when he swayed a bit after she let him go. “See you soon, nerd boy.”

* * * * *

Elise followed the marines into the corridor. No guards. They probably considered the sophisticated alarm and lock system good enough inside the Palace.

The medical center was close to the emperor’s suite, for obvious reasons. They were fine until they neared the target. Angela checked the corridor with a device that peered around the corner.

“I see at least three guards outside the medical center,” she said softly. “The angle is bad to see the whole area. The curve in the hallway obscures too much.”

“That’s my cue,” Elise said. “Senator, you’re with me. If things go bad, Major, come right on in.”

“Wait.” Angela handed her the device Carl had given her. “Strap this on and here’s the code. Keep it round, I think. This should keep you from being hit.”

She took it, but frowned. “This is to keep you safe.”

“I’m not the one running the risks right now. Just do it. If things go bad, both of you haul butt back here.”

Elise let the senator precede her and stayed to the right. She had her neural disruptor held behind her back. She’d only get one shot, even on wide beam. The sleeve of her jacket concealed the shield.

Their caution proved warranted when they saw an additional two guards just around the bend. They were all the way up at the other end of the hall, talking as they came toward the medical center.

The men in front of the entrance straightened as they saw her and the senator. “Halt! Identify yourselves,” one of them called as they all raised their weapons.

Breckenridge raised his hands a little. “I’m Imperial Senator Nathaniel Breckenridge. The Imperial Senate sent me to get an update on the emperor’s health. Didn’t the gate tell you I was here?”

That allayed their fear enough for them to lower their weapons slightly. They must’ve recognized him. Just as Elise had hoped.

She pushed the neural disruptor past Breckenridge and fired. The three men just in front of the entrance to the medical center dropped. The other two did, too, but only so they could bring their weapons to bear from the floor. They were out of stunning range.

That’s where the plan went a little awry. Senator Breckenridge ran back the way they’d come, but Elise took advantage of the guard’s momentary shock to race forward.

She activated the shield just in time. The bullets struck the invisible field and ricocheted into the walls. She threw herself into the medical center just as they opened fire.

A bullet smashed into her lower leg at the last moment, making her stumble, but she managed to slap the emergency lock on the door. It slid closed and sealed. Now only someone inside could open the door.

The medical people stared at her in shock. The emperor’s personal physician stormed up. “What’s the meaning of this?”

She deactivated the shield and gestured for him to step back with her neural disruptor. “I’m not here to hurt the emperor. I’m here to save him. Doctor Stone sent me.”

“I can’t use anything she sent,” the man said as he backed up. “The heir gave orders not to trust anyone that might be compromised.”

“Small wonder, since he poisoned him to begin with. Well, I’m going to save him and you can’t stop me. Everyone, against the wall. How is he, Doctor?”

The man shook his head. “Worse than I’d hoped. He’ll be gone soon.”

“So, you really have nothing to lose. Why not give this a try?”

He gave her a lopsided smile. “Who am I to argue with the woman with a gun?”

Elise hobbled over to the emperor’s bed. He was so pale. He almost looked dead already.

She brought out the vial and found an injector. Stone had trained her how to use one, so it was simple enough to slip the antidote into place and empty it into the man’s arm.

There. It was done. Now all they could do was wait. She sent a signal to Major Ellis that she’d accomplished the primary mission.

“If I might be so bold,” the doctor said. “You’re bleeding on my floor. Let me examine your wound.”

Elise sat heavily in a handy chair and raised her leg. “Why not? Don’t try anything funny or I can’t tell you about what we just gave the emperor.”

He gathered some instruments and supplies. “You have my word.”

* * * * *

Angela ran forward when Senator Breckenridge dove back toward them. She expected Princess Elise to follow, but the crazy woman ran for the medical center. She made it.

Two quick shots from her neural disruptor took those men down, but others popped up both ahead of them and behind. They had her pinned down.

She dragged Breckenridge back against the wall and let her men cover ahead of them while she fired at the guards behind them.

Kick it, Carl. They know we’re here.

Bullets struck all around her and some bounced off her armor as they edged toward the medical center. A round grazed the back of her left hand. It hurt like the devil.

They stunned enough of the guards to make it to the medical center doors. She signaled the princess to let them in.

A moment later, just as enemy reinforcements arrived, the doors slid open. They tumbled inside as a frightened nurse rapidly backed away. Angela found the manual lock and sealed the doors. Now the guards would have to cut it open. They wouldn’t dare risk explosives.

One of the marines had a minor wound, but the senator had taken a shot to the side of his abdomen. “I need a medic over here!”

She leaned over Breckenridge. “Good timing, getting shot outside a medical center with a handy trauma team.”

He grinned through his obvious pain. “I’ve always been lucky. Now I’m a wounded hero. What politician couldn’t use that kind of thing? Did the princess save the emperor?”

“She gave him the shot. Now we wait to see if it works. We’ve done all we can.”

The doctor left what he was doing to Elise to a nurse and took charge of getting the senator onto an operating table.

She set the marines to watching the door and walked over to the princess. “That was stupid. You could’ve been killed.”

“I’m pretty sure that it’s a requirement to do something crazy to be part of this club. Do I get a card and a secret handshake?”

Princess Elise pulled the shield off her forearm and handed it to Angela. “That came in handy. Too bad I turned it at the last moment or I might have gotten off without a scratch.”

“Let that be a lesson, then. Leave this kind of thing to the professionals.”

The princess gasped as the nurse dug into the wound with some kind of long pliers and pulled out the slug. She dropped the bloody lump of metal onto the tray and started cleaning out the wound.

Angela smiled. “You deserve a medal after all that.” She found something to stop the bleeding on her hand. Her marine implants would know the moment other marines made it into the Palace.

“Come on, Carl,” she said softly. “Don’t blow it now.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Talbot stood in the university fusion plant work area, watching Professor Bedford and a group of technicians examined the power connections.

“Professor, this isn’t the time for something to go wrong.”

“Give me a moment,” the old man said testily. “One of the connections must be loose.”

“We don’t have a moment. This isn’t your latest lab experiment. Lives are on the line. Make the magic happen.”

“Found it,” one of the techs said triumphantly. “One second… Try the power again.”

Someone threw a switch and the surface of the panel across the opening turned silver.

“Go! Go! Go!” Talbot shouted at the waiting marines. Their power-armored forms ducked through the reflective surface with their weapons at the ready.

“Keep this open until we get back or I personally tell you to shut it down,” Talbot said. “Clear?”

The scientist nodded. “Good luck, Major.”

Talbot awkwardly locked his helmet into place. He’d be the next best thing to useless with this broken arm, but he was in armor like his men. He was going for Kelsey and he had no pity for anyone who tried to stop him.

He was the last one through the ring. Armored men filled the Imperial suite, getting ready to make a push for the cells under the old security wing.

Carl stood off to the side. “They got the medicine to the emperor. They’re holed up in the medical center. Only one seriously injured. The senator.

“Well, I’ll be double damned,” Talbot said. “I suppose he was serious after all. I’ll detail a few men to stay with you.”

The young man held up the hammer. “I’m good. Go save Kelsey and the admiral.”

“I can afford a few men to secure our way out. If you need to, go back through the ring. I’m serious. Don’t get shot trying to hold this position. Leave that to us.”

He sent orders to his men to execute the plan. They fit through the doors with only minor damage. The lead team headed right for the security wing to block any response from the men there. The second team, led by Talbot, headed for the detention center.

The rest fanned out as they moved. He detached a squad to guard the emperor’s suite. The last team headed for the medical center. They’d make certain no one harmed the emperor or Angela’s people.