The Glorious Becoming (27 page)

Great.

Antipov motioned to the next dossier. Turning to it, Scott’s attention focused on the next picture.

Marshall, Logan Bradley

Marshall looked like a pit fighter. Shaved head, facial scars, chiseled features. Scott read on.

Enrollment: 12.1.0008

Station: Atlanta

He’d come in at the same time as Rockwell. Both had been stationed at
Atlanta
. They might even have had a shared unit history. Perhaps they’d come to
Cairo
together, as Scott was doing with his comrades now. If so, that meant there’d be camaraderie between Rockwell and him. Scott stopped reading as something at the page’s bottom caught his eye.

Recipient of Knockout Award

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Antipov smirked. “I think I know what you just read.”

The Knockout Award. It was the most sought-after award in
Philadelphia
Academy—and for a good reason. Laughing under his breath, Scott set the document down. “This guy knocked out Captain Williams?”

Auric and Boris’s eyes widened like plates.

Nodding, Antipov answered, “That is correct. Marshall has been a lieutenant for as long as Rockwell has been a commander. They were part of the same Academy class, stationed in the same unit in
Atlanta
.” He stood upright. “I show you his dossier for one reason primarily. In the event that something occurs that reveals you for who you are, you must be prepared to deal with Marshall. He is a dangerous man—and this is coming from the chief of the eidola.”

Antipov’s focus turned to Auric. “I understand that your inclusion in this operation is primarily due to your ability to speak German, the language H`laar attempted to communicate with.” Auric listened attentively. “However, you are to consider your primary task
assisting
Remington in his endeavors. You are also there to back him up should bad things happen.” Shifting to Scott, Antipov said, “You were told you could bring up to four additional operatives. Are you sure there is no fourth operative you wish to include? You must remember—these men will serve as your reinforcements.”

“There’s no one else,” Scott said. “I wanted to go with a ‘less is more’ approach. The more pairs of feet, the more likely one of them is to stumble. That could give us away.” There was another reason no one else was coming along: he didn’t want to take too many operatives away from the Fourteenth. The Fourteenth would be without some of their strongest assets. They didn’t need to be handicapped any more than they already would be should a mission arise.

Antipov nodded. “As you wish. Then let me address Mister Evteev before we move on to Brooking.” He faced the technician. “Our initial concept was to transfer you to
Cairo
under the pretense of a new custodian. Custodial roles are nondescript, and frankly, custodians can get places many other operatives cannot. Even the most secure environments must be cleaned.”

Boris the custodian. Something about that made Scott chuckle on the inside.

“However, due to the small number of operatives on this mission, I will be forced to include you with Remington and Broll in the Caracals. That will only make your role slightly more difficult.”

Extra difficulty in any capacity was the last thing Boris needed. Ever. For anything.

“In addition to serving as added reinforcements for the operation, you will have the task of tapping into
Cairo
’s security mainframe.” As soon as Antipov said it, Boris’s eyes widened. Antipov noted it and waved it away. “Do not be alarmed. We will be providing you with a technician’s kit specifically designed for hacking into computer systems. To all but the most trained, it will appear similar to any standard technical kit.

“Once you are inside
Cairo
’s mainframe, you should be able to access any number of command functions for the base. I should not need to explain why this could be useful.”

Boris looked as confident as a rookie on a hot-drop. “So I am going in as a combat tech, not a custodian?”

“That is correct. You must use your off-duty time to hack into
Cairo
’s systems. Will this be a problem?” Antipov asked. Boris indicated there wouldn’t be. “Good. Now, let’s discuss the most important asset in this operation. Calliope.” At the mention of her alias, Esther sat more erect. Antipov motioned to the folder. “On your third and final dossier, you will see Mister Giro Holmes, the chief of the Xenobiology department. This is the man Brooking must make contact with
as
Calliope.”

Judging by his picture, Giro looked to be in his fifties. He was definitely of Indian descent, despite the English surname. Spectacles rested above a pointed nose and a genuine smile, but visuals aside, nothing about the man’s profile seemed particularly interesting. Then again, Scott was more in-tune with soldiers, not white-collars.

Antipov continued. “Calliope will be visiting
Cairo
as a civilian contractor on behalf of the base in Sydney, Australia.”

“Is
Cairo
expecting her?” Scott asked.

“Unfortunately, no. We cannot go back in time to schedule an appointment. If we could, we would need only send Brooking in as Calliope. The only way to ensure that Brooking could enter the facility at all was to include her in the transfer. It will be up to her to use her abilities and instincts to play a dual role in order to gain access to Xenobiology. In fact, one of
your
first goals is going to be to convince Captain Rockwell that scouts follow their own training schedules,” Antipov said. “This will free up Brooking to become Calliope and do her infiltration while the Caracals train. We have already provided her with an EDEN civilian I.D. card, as we are able to forge those ourselves. The rest is up to her.

“Running covert operations at other facilities is not something we specialize in. I cannot say that we have ever attempted something of this magnitude. I wish I had better news to give you, but this will be an extremely difficult mission, even for the most experienced of eidola.

“Always be aware of your surroundings and situation. Your means of going to
Cairo
was via unit transfer, and you must play that role as if it is legitimate. But you are there to extract a Ceratopian. We will help you coordinate extraction when that time comes, but you must always be prepared for emergencies should they arise.”

Raising his hand, Scott asked, “How is Esther going to play both roles? What if Rockwell or Marshall see her dressed like the contractor? Or what if Holmes sees her in EDEN uniform?”

Smiling faintly, Antipov made eye contact with Esther and nodded his head. The others watched as Esther stood up, picked up her handbag, and produced a brown ponytail extension. Removing her glasses, she rose from the table and walked to Scott’s sink. As soon as she turned on the tap, she crouched down and dipped her head back until water saturated her scalp. Whisking it damp with Scott’s towel, she slicked it back. Dampening the ponytail extension, she snapped it in place. When she looked at the others again, she seemed a totally different person.

“And that,” Antipov said, “is how you have two identities.” Without a word, Esther retook her seat with her ponytailed look.

Scott had to admit—that was impressive.

“Any other questions?”

Nothing came to Scott’s mind. Then again, this wasn’t his style of operation. Outside of questions so obvious they were silly, he didn’t know enough to know what to ask.

“What do we do if we get discovered?” asked Auric.

Antipov nodded. “Your first priority upon discovery is to notify the other members of your party. Obviously, you do not want to comm them up and say, ‘I just blew our cover.’ That would not be so well for the person on the other end of the line.”

Ha. Good point.

“Instead, get on the comm and say that you just got locked out of your room. This is harmless and it will give the listener on the other end—which should be Remington—an excuse to leave whatever present company he may be around to presumably assist the locked-out party.” He looked at Scott. “
Your
first priority at that point will be to contact NovCom, and we will prepare for your immediate extraction.”

Wait a second.
“You mean we have to wait until a transport flies all the way from
Novosibirsk
? What if there’s an active firefight?”

“Though you will indeed be forced to wait for evacuation, you will not be without assistance. I have arranged for a small strike team of slayers to stay in downtown Cairo in an apartment near the base. They should be able to reach you within fifteen minutes.”

That sounded anything but assuring. “Yeah, but you’re talking about strike teams.
Cairo
is a full-fledged base.”

Antipov held up his palm. “Do not confuse
Cairo
with The Machine.
Cairo
is a Class-2 facility. We are a Class-4. You will find them less than intimidating, and far inferior to your skill.” Smirking, he said, “When one becomes accustomed to the elite, it can make the adequate seem quite harmless.”

The eidolon’s expression returned stoic. “Unfortunately,
Cairo
is not accepting pilots at this time, making the transfer of a pilot impossible. One of the Nightmen staying at the apartments, however, will be Vulture certified. Whether your cover is blown or not, he will be your primary source of extraction. You should coordinate with him as soon as an extraction plan is finalized—his comm information will be provided.” Leaning forward, he said, “Keep comm contact with him at a minimal. Though our traffic should not be traceable, it is better safe than sorry.” His posture relaxed. “Upon extraction, a squadron will be dispatched from
Novosibirsk
to
Cairo
to provide safe escort back to The Machine, in the event that EDEN pursues you.”

So in the end, this was a smash-and-grab after all.
Formulate an extraction plan, coordinate with the pilot, return to The Machine.
Apparently Thoor wasn’t too concerned with being the world’s most hated after blatantly breaking a prisoner out of another EDEN base. Scott wasn’t surprised.

“Any other questions?” Antipov asked. No one spoke. “Very well. Captain Remington, I will leave those dossiers with you in case you wish to review them tonight.” Pausing, he rested his palms against the table and leaned amid the group. “This is an important assignment you have been tasked with. It is the first of its kind. Never before has the general issued an order to infiltrate another EDEN facility for a purpose such as this.”

For a purpose such as this, eh?
Scott couldn’t help but wonder how many EDEN facilities Thoor had infiltrated for
other
purposes.

Tone growing graver, Antipov said, “This is real. If the possibility of a conspiracy was not a legitimate one, this would not be happening. The Citadel thanks you for bringing this to our attention. The difficulty and danger of this operation cannot be denied, but we stand ready to assist you if need be.” He stood upright. “Get enough sleep tonight. I will see you at the hangar tomorrow at 0715.”

Never before had 0715 seemed so early in the morning. On any regular day, it would have been a late start. But on a day when his entire job description—not to mention his scenery—was going to change, 0715 seemed like the crack of dawn.
Sveta’s coming over at 0630. Looks like an 0550 wakeup for secret agent Scott Remington.
Scott glanced at the clock. It was 2135. Bedtime was approaching quickly.

As Antipov made his departure, Esther, Auric, and Boris remained seated. Once they were alone, Scott sighed and propped his elbows on the table. “Does everyone get this so far?”

“What’s there not to get?” asked Esther sarcastically.

Scott glared despite his best effort not to.

Raising his hand, Boris asked, “So, are we using code names?”

“Code names? What do you mean?”

“You know, like code names. Names for people that are not their real names, that we can use to talk about them.” The technician smiled sheepishly. “I would like to nominate
Venus
as the code name for Captain Rockwell.”

Esther’s eyes rolled. “Are you serious?”

Rubbing his face with his hand, Scott groaned. “Boris...”

“What?” Boris asked. “It would be a good code name for her, no?”

“On that note,” said Esther, “might we be dismissed?”

Making eye contact with Auric briefly, Scott determined that there was nothing the German wished to bring up. “All right. Like Antipov said, everyone needs to rest tonight. Get to bed ASAP. Esther, hang around for a minute.”

About-facing sourly halfway to the door, Esther cocked a hand on her hips. Auric and Boris swapped a weary glance, then shuffled past her to make their exit. Moments later, Scott and Esther were alone.

“Listen,” Scott said, his tone as conciliatory as was possible. Despite the bad feelings he’d harbored toward her all day, the climax of his emotions had come and gone. Alone time and reflection had a way of doing that. Svetlana helped, too. “I’m just gonna be honest with you, Ess.”

“Esther.”

“What?”

She stayed fixed on him. “I am
Esther
to you.”

Defeated, he sighed. “Fine. Esther. Look—for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“Grand. All is forgiven.”

“Come on, I’m being serious. This isn’t beyond our mutual under standing.”

Eyes narrowing, she asked, “How do you mean, exactly?”

Time for honesty again. “For as upset as I am with you, for your attitude this morning, for what you pulled with Nicole’s photo, I know you’re upset with me, too. And for what it’s worth, I’m genuinely sorry. I should have approached you in a better way last night.”

“Here’s the thing,” she said, pointing her finger at him as she approached. “You didn’t even give me a chance. You didn’t even try to look at me in any other way than your little battlefield toy, despite the obvious efforts I made time and time again to get close to you—to get to know you.”