Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (37 page)

“Well now,
Charisa, this little ‘standing up to me’ act is just adorable. And just because
you won’t be back doesn’t mean that we can’t have a memorable goodbye.” Mace
moved closer to her as he spoke.

“Back off,
Magner!” she yelled. “You will never have me. In fact, after today, I will
never have to look at your disgusting face again.”

Mace was
fuming at her lack of respect and grabbed her wrist. He drew his hand back to
slap her, but she ducked, revealing a security camera on her desk, recording
the entire exchange. He released her arm and she looked up, realizing he’d seen
the device. Charisa backed away from Mace.

“See, Major,
I’m not afraid of you. And do you know why?
Because I am
smarter than you.
I’ve programmed that video feed to download directly
to General Pike’s computer.”

Mace was
turning red and through gritted teeth, he said, “You and I are not finished.
And you will pay for this, just wait. You have to go home sometime.”

“You’re
right, Major, there is one more thing.” Charisa held out a computer memory
stick and said, “You’ll need to take this to the ‘other’ programmer. It’s the
culmination of the programming for the archives. If our combined work is not
completely synchronized before it is shut down, then it can be easily hacked.
I’m sure you wouldn’t want anyone in Tyrine to be able to see what we’ve done
here.”

“Are you
threatening me now?” Mace laughed. “Don’t play games that you don’t know the
rules to, little girl. Just because you rigged a camera, doesn’t mean you have
any power. I know where you live and I know
who
you
love. Don’t you dare cross me!
”

“No games,
and no threats,” she answered. “Just finishing my job.”

Mace
snatched the memory stick from her and stormed out.

“We’ll meet
again soon, Charisa. I promise you that!” he called back over his shoulder.

Charisa
collapsed in her chair when he was gone. She couldn’t believe that he didn’t
notice her hands or knees shaking the whole time he was there. She had lied
about the camera on her desk and the synchronization. Her real motive was to
get one final message to Luke before she left. Mace was just too stupid to know
any better. The thought of him being intimidated by her, if only for a moment,
was extremely gratifying. Charisa grabbed a box and swept all of her and Luke’s
personal belongings, including the camera, into it. She had no idea what the
future held for her now. If Andreas had to leave her for the shuttle mission,
she’d have to move where Mace couldn’t find her. She’d insulted him and his
obsession and pride would drive him to hurt her. It was the one thing she could
count on.

Half an hour
later, Luke was startled when Mace walked through his door. It had been two
days and he was sure he’d been forgotten. Mace set some hot food and the small
computer device he’d collected from Charisa on his desk. Then Mace told him to
be ready for transfers tonight. They were planning to start earlier and work
faster. The Major left abruptly, and Luke, being so starved for company, was
actually disappointed he didn’t stay for coffee.

Luke was
happy to eat a hot meal. Having been supplied with packaged meals and the means
to heat them up, he hadn’t gone hungry, but it wasn’t the same as fresh
cooking. He jumped on his computer right away to look for a hidden message from
Charisa. When he found it, his heart sped up and his palms started to sweat. It
said, “Get
yourself
out by any means necessary.
Loyalty is over. Do it tonight. Come to my house.”

That night,
Charisa was frantically watching out the window for Luke to arrive and arguing
with Andreas at the same time.

“I have to
go Charisa. It’s a shuttle mission.”

“But, don’t
you think the reason you were chosen by Magner was to get you away from me?”

“What makes
you think he got to choose? Can’t it be because I’m a good soldier?”

“Don’t be
naïve, Andreas. We could get away from all this. We’ll go far, they’ll never
find us.”

“And what,
live our lives on the run? Look, I care about you a lot, but please realize
that this is a great opportunity for me. You said it yourself; the biomachine
program is shut down. This giant military threat is over. Can’t we just forget
it and move on with our lives and our careers?”

“The threat
isn’t over. We’ll be at war with Tyrine with or without the biomachines, and
what about Luke? I bet he knows something, and when he gets here…”

“Stop
dreaming, Charisa. He’s not coming. Even if he wanted to, there is no breaking
out of that place.”

Tears welled
in Charisa’s eyes.

“You don’t
know Luke,” she said softly. Andreas sighed and walked to her.

“I don’t
want to fight with you anymore. This may be our last night together for a long
time. Why don’t we try to enjoy the rest of it?” he said. Charisa nodded and
wiped her eyes, then followed him to the porch where they sat looking at the
sky for a while.

Andreas was
right. Luke was not coming, at least not on this night. He worked silently
beside General Pike and Major Magner, transferring biomachines to their secret
hiding place faster than they ever had. In their previous transfers, the most
they’d ever managed in a night was four, but at the rate they were going, they
were likely to move six or seven. Luke, wanting to escape, could see no painless
way out of his situation with the General and the Major, but he trusted Charisa
and her message was dire. He’d have to kill them both. Best to do it when they
were in the mazes of the weaponry unit. He knew his way out of the building
from down there.

Luke tried
three separate times to muster up the courage to do it that night. After all,
he was in control of indestructible and precise weapons. But by morning, he was
once again, sitting alone in his room after his captors left, and listening to
the sound of his door being locked from the outside.

Bearden
Leitner woke up in his hotel room early in the afternoon. He looked at the
clock and realized he’d slept for thirteen hours straight. He sat up in the bed
and stretched, glad to be awake and away from the series of nightmares he was
having. They were all about Dana and Lee. In one, Dana was drowning. In
another, she was lying on the floor, dead, with blood all around her, while he
was sitting on top of Lee, choking the life out of him. And in another, he was
standing in an operating room with a saw in his hand. Dana and Lee were lying
on silver tables with their body cavities open and their organs carelessly
strung around a dirty floor.

Bearden made
his way to the bathroom and took a shower. He kept thinking of the access card
he’d given Major Magner and what his action had meant for Lee and Dana. If they
were dead, he’d never forgive himself. He’d convinced himself, before he even
gave the major the access card, that Lee was too important to be killed and he
shouldn’t worry about that. But Dana…she was wanted for murder, and was
completely unprotected. Maybe the major had done nothing with the access card.
There was a small chance of that. He hated himself for always doing exactly
what he was told by authority figures. Look where it got him, jobless, on the
run, his life threatened, and he’d hurt the people he cared about. Bearden
dried off, dressed, and made up his mind. Today, He would go to Tripple
Laboratories and face whatever horror awaited him there.

He walked
into the main lab and found it completely empty. No biomer wombs on the tables,
no piles of notes, nothing. He felt his stomach clench and thought the worst.
Then, he heard Dana’s footsteps coming down the hall from the back.

“Oh Dana.
I’m so glad you are all right. I was fired and once I realized what I did to
you here, I thought the worst and I couldn’t come and couldn’t contact you.”

“Why
couldn’t you come? Was breaking and entering not part of your mission here?
What about murder and vandalism?”

“When I
thought about what could have happened…I’ve been going out of my mind.”

“Are you
really going to come in here pretending like you didn’t know what was going to
happen…like it wasn’t your fault entirely?”

“What? I…”

“Yeah, I
figured out your genius plan, Bearden,” Dana said with sarcasm. “Stealing
Camden’s access codes and giving them to those madmen, so they could come and…”
Bearden cut her off.

“I didn’t
know. I swear to you!” he said.

Dana pushed
him hard in the chest with two hands.

“What the
hell did you think they were going to do? Bring us candy
?!
Lee trusted you! I trusted you!”

Tears
started welling up in her eyes and her voice lowered.

“I thought…”
She dropped her head and right away Bearden put his hand on the side of her
face and gently stroked her cheek. He moved his hand under her chin to lift her
gaze up to meet his and Dana closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep
breath.

“I
thought…you cared about me.”

Bearden
grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a strong embrace.

“Dana, I
never meant for this to happen, I had no idea it was going to happen. All I
truly care about in all of this
is
you. You have to believe me.”

“Believe
you?” Dana wriggled out of his arms. “Who can believe you ever, Bearden? You’re
a goddamn spy…and maybe you always were. Aughh! I’m such a fool; I should have
never let you get close to me. This is my fault.” She shook her head and looked
away from him.

“I’m just a
botanist who got caught in a bad situation. I never wanted to spy for anyone.
That’s not who I am…you know that. And, do you know how many times in the last
several months I’ve had
my
life
threatened?”

“So,
what…that makes risking my life okay? Damn it, Bearden, I was shot! If Lee
hadn’t come when he did, I’d be dead.”

“Dana, I’m
sorry.”

“Ha! You’re
sorry? Sorry that you stole security codes, so that men could come and kill me,
or sorry that they didn’t get the job done? And are you the least bit sorry
about what you did to Lee?”

“Dana, I…”
Bearden looked helpless, but Dana cut him off.

“Don’t even
answer that. I wouldn’t believe you no matter what you say.”

“Please,
let’s just talk about this,” Bearden said and reached out to try and take her
hand. Dana tensed up and crossed her arms. She turned away from him.

”I have
nothing more to say to you. As far as you’re concerned, I
am
dead. Now get out of here, I can’t look at your backstabbing
face anymore.”

“No, I need
you to at least hear me out.”

“GO!” Dana
yelled and lunged toward him, pushing him again with all her strength.

Bearden put
his hands up in defeat. Dana looked as though she would catch on fire from rage
if he tried to push her any further. Bearden turned away from her, took two
steps toward the door and stopped. Without looking back at her he said,

“I love
you.”

Then he
walked away. As soon as Dana heard the door close behind him she burst into
tears.

Without a
job, Bearden knew that he couldn’t keep hiding from Major Magner in a hotel. He
couldn’t afford it. And now, his hope of maybe staying in Tripple Laboratories,
like Dana, had just been crushed. He decided to go to Ganesh for help. He was
Bearden’s last potential ally.

It wasn’t
difficult for Bearden to track down a home address for Colonel Ganesh. He
arrived around six in the evening and knocked on the door, well rehearsed as to
what he would say. But when the door opened it wasn’t Colonel Ganesh standing
there, it was his wife.

“Can I help
you?” she asked.

“Hello,
ma’am. My name is Sergeant Bearden Leitner. I’ve come to see the colonel. Is he
home?”

“Sergeant
Leitner?” she asked with a bit of surprise. “For goodness sake, come in, come
in.” She grabbed Bearden by his arm and pulled him inside, then poked her head
out the door and looked up and down the road. Bearden was taken aback. Was he
being followed and hadn’t noticed?

“I’m Natty
Ganesh. Samuel isn’t home yet, but I expect him anytime,” she said and walked
through the front part of her house to her kitchen. Bearden followed her.

“I’m sorry
ma’am, but were you expecting me?”

“Well, yes,
kind of. At least we hoped you’d come here. Now come in here and sit down.
You’ve had my husband quite worried, you know.” She stood beside her kitchen
table and put her hands on her hips.

“Really? I
can’t tell you what a relief that is because to be honest with you, I am out of
options. I have nowhere else to go,” Bearden said.

“No
parents?” she asked.

“No, ma’am.
My mom died when I was twelve and I lost my dad just two years ago. They
weren’t young when they had me.”

“I see.
Well, I’m sure you and my husband will have a lot to discuss when he gets home.
In the mean time, let me make you something to eat,” Natty replied with a
sympathetic smile.

“Thank you.
That would be great,” Bearden said.

Bearden
started to relax in the comfort of Ganesh’s home. The kitchen was clean and
comfortable. There were colorful vegetable baskets sitting on the shelves, and
fresh cut flowers filled three large vases, decorating the room, one on the
table and two on the countertop. Large windows along the far wall gave a clear
view to a lush flower garden outside. It seemed like a happy and peaceful place
to come home to everyday. Sitting there, listening to Natty chitchat about
nothing in particular while she fixed him something to eat, Bearden felt the
admiration he’d once had for Ganesh return. He certainly did not expect this
warm reception. Bearden thought that maybe he’d been wrong to have ever been
angry with Colonel Ganesh. It wasn’t his fault that he’d made a deal with Major
Magner, and if he’d never read that first letter, he might be going about his
normal business right now.

Ganesh
wasn’t on his way home yet. He was still at the unit, watching Camden, again,
attempt to have a conversation with Rhys Krell; a futile task in his opinion,
but Cam had not yet given up. Rhys had been calm enough, since his attack on
Quinn so that he was once again allowed out of his restraints a few times a
day. It was apparent, however, that he was feeling more and more confined in
his small room. Sometimes he pulled at the door handle or stared out the
window, and at least once a day he would pace the room pushing against the
walls. Since Camden insisted on keeping him here longer, Rita decided to appeal
to Ganesh’s sensibility.

“He needs a
chance to move around a bit. We don’t have to let him outside, although that
would be the best, but he needs to look at some new walls,” Rita said.

“I
understand your concern, Rita, but look what happened the last time we took him
out.” Ganesh nodded his head in the direction of Quinn, who was still wearing a
small bandage on his neck.

“Terri and I
can handle him together, and we’d keep him restrained. There’s got to be
somewhere we can go, even if it’s just for an hour a day.”

Ganesh
thought a moment.

“Actually, I
think there is a place. There is an entire wing of this building that is
completely empty. It’s where interrogations were held before this floor was
built. I think it’s just a bunch of empty rooms, and maybe some old files
stored there,” Ganesh said.

“Sounds
perfect. We can let him walk around and he won’t come in contact with anyone.”

“Let me draw
you a map of how to get there. The building can be tricky. Also, I’d advise
going in the evenings, just to lessen your chances of an incident,” Ganesh
said.

While Ganesh
worked on his map of the building, Rhys was mumbling under his breath. He
seemed to acknowledge Camden’s presence today, but he was trying to ignore his
questions. They had been in the room for over an hour, and so far, had gotten
nothing out of him. Camden finally sat back in his chair, ran his fingers
through his hair, and sighed.

“Let’s go,”
he said, “This is useless today.” Rhys watched Camden stand up and walk to the
door. He locked his eyes on him and pointed.

“You’re the
killer,” he whispered.

“Yeah, yeah,
I know,”
Camden
said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rhys.”

“Actually,
Camden,” Rita offered. “Thanks to Ganesh, we are going to take a walk around an
empty part of the building in a few hours. You are welcome to join us. I think
getting him out of this room for a while will be good for him. You might get
something more out of him.”

“Great, I’ll
be here,”
Camden
said. Behind Rita, Terri was staring
at his book, smiling to himself and shaking his head, amused at the wasted
optimism that Rita and Camden shared.

Ganesh said
goodnight to the group, but instead of leaving the unit to go home, he took an
elevator down to the atrium, a place he hadn’t been in weeks. He hoped to find
someone down there that might know of Bearden’s whereabouts since his
dismissal. He must surely have some scientist friends here who spent time with
him after work. When the doors opened to the atrium, Ganesh walked into an
unusually dark lab. The place looked empty, and not just void of scientists,
but of everything.
 
The active
biomer was gone from the workbenches and the place had been wiped clean. Ganesh
walked slowly around the room; his shoes echoed in the vast open space. It was
very late in the day so Ganesh didn’t expect to find a bustling lab, but he
certainly didn’t expect to find this. He scanned the atrium from top to bottom
with his eyes. He saw something large and square sitting one floor up, outside
of one of the biomer storage rooms
;
close to the room
where he had acquired the sample that was now in Tripple Laboratories.

Ganesh
stepped onto the moving walkway, rode it up to the next floor, and walked over
to the object. It was a shuttle storage container from the Myris mining
missions, and it was packed full. The storage room it was sitting next to was
wide open and all of the shelves had been emptied. He continued walking the
perimeter of the atrium and saw several more storage containers, some full,
some empty. After he’d made his way all the way around and back, he got back on
the moving walkway to return to the lab floor when he heard the elevator doors
open. The voices of Colonel Talper and Colonel Cline filled the open space. One
of them turned the lights on in the atrium and they saw Ganesh walking toward
them.

“Ahh,
Colonel Ganesh. Good evening,” Talper said. “I guess you heard. It’s a damn
shame isn’t it?”

“Hello
Gentlemen. It is a shame. I had to come see for myself,” Ganesh said,
pretending he knew what Talper was talking about.

“Ganesh, I
was meaning to speak with you today, but I just ran out of time,” Cline said.
“I guess it’s good I ran into you. So, it seems you have already heard, the
whole biomer program is being shut down and I’ve been assigned to oversee the
process.”

“It’s such a
shame,” Talper said again. “The medical team was starting to make such
promising discoveries.”

This was all
news to Ganesh, though it seemed to be no secret. Not wanting to reveal his
true reason for being down here, he continued to play along.

“Is there
something I can do to help, Colonel Cline?”

“All of this
biomer must go back to Myris.
 
Orders came straight from Director Fitzhugh,” Cline said. Talper shook
his head. “It would be great to have you help oversee the process.”

“I see,”
said Ganesh, “And since I’m heading the unit’s space travel division, can I
assume that you want me to arrange for a shuttle.”