Emiko breathed. “Well, yeah.”
“It’s possible that Rafe didn’t even mean for Jan to get taken by the Supremacy. Their sudden decision to seize Jan from CSD custody would have been difficult to engineer. Regardless, I am now confident it was Rafe who sent both Jan and Fatima spoofed texts five years ago, leading to Jan’s arrest. Those fake texts lured them both to the Star’s Landing starport.”
“Really?” Emiko asked.
“The CSD arrested Fatima, and the Supremacy took Jan. Fatima spent six months in a CSD prison before she was released. Jan spent five years in orbit, and would have spent forty without Fatima’s help, because he embarrassed the Supremacy.”
“So how do you know all this?”
“Fatima confided in me a year ago. At the time, I was as surprised as you are now, but it would seem that Mastermind ... or Rafe, as we now know ... convinced Fatima our families would be in jeopardy if she ever told us what happened. Even after Ceto threw off the Supremacy occupation, Fatima was entirely alone in her quest to free Jan from Tantalus prison.”
Emiko leaned close, then squeezed Kinsley’s hand. “So you’ve known about Mastermind and Fatima for a year? That’s what you wouldn’t tell us earlier, when Jan said Fatima betrayed him?”
“Yes.”
Emiko slapped Kinsley as hard as she possibly could. “How could you lie to us like that?”
Kinsley sputtered and scrambled out of reach. “We did not know who Mastermind was! We could not know when we were being surveilled, or who was listening!”
“Rafe doesn’t have the attention span to surveil Fatima for five minutes, let alone five years!”
“Well, we know that!” Kinsley said. “Now. How were we to know the mysterious hacker who claimed he could track our every move was, well, Rafe? We dared not violate Mastermind’s edict until we were all together and Jan was free. We had to get everyone out of danger first.”
“So what have you been doing for Fatima, anyway?”
“Tech support. I set up a cloaked, drone-based holo-projection system that allowed Fatima to project a perfect replica from the air, so she could contact Bharat while remaining invisible to the archiver in his PBA. I also hacked into Bharat’s PBA, at his behest, and suppressed his memories of their plan. I even came up with turkey chlorine diction.”
Emiko blinked in the darkness. “What?”
“Yet none of us planned for Tarack to inflict those torture nanos upon Jan, or on Truthers capturing Bharat before Fatima could find him and restore his memories.”
“Kinsley, seriously, what the fuck?”
“Bharat could not know of his involvement in our plot until he was here on Ceto, because Senator Tarack would have detected it. Similarly, I could not reveal our plot to Jan where Mastermind might overhear. As we’ve just now learned, Rafe put a tracking device on Jan, and that device could record audio. It would seem I made a wise decision.”
Emiko’s head was really starting to hurt. “People can delete their own memories?”
“With a properly configured Personal Brain Assistant, yes. Fatima and Bharat’s plan was ambitious, but it worked. Jan is free, Rafe is exposed, and we are all now safe from Mastermind.”
“Well, I don’t feel safe.” Emiko gingerly rubbed her shin with one hand. “I feel like I broke my shin and almost got eaten by giant lizards. And Jan’s ... what, now? Kidnapped?”
“Temporarily inconvenienced would be more accurate, given it’s, well, Rafe.”
“He didn’t seem incompetent when he blew us off the scow. He also had an extra engine ready to go.”
Kinsley sighed. “I will admit Rafe surprised me on both counts. I will not underestimate him again. If we don’t find Jan immediately, I’m sure he’ll get free on his own.
“So, what?” Emiko asked. “So the CSD can arrest him? So Elena Ryke can torture him to death? So Senator Tarack can wipe him out with an orbital strike? Seems like it doesn’t matter if we catch up with Rafe at this point. Jan remains colossally fucked no matter what we do.”
“One problem at a time,” Kinsley said.
Emiko could finally make out the barest details of Kinsley’s face. Light grew in the tunnel. Emiko looked ahead and spotted a bright headlamp in the distance, bobbing as it approached.
Marquis was running toward them. Pollen and others were running toward them, and it looked like Kinsley had been right after all. Jan’s whole crew was together at last.
The problem, of course, was Jan wasn’t.
Jan Sabato had come awake with many hangovers. This was worse. He felt like he’d been run over by a truck, not once, but repeatedly, and then kicked down several flights of stairs, after having his balls trampled by a circus.
Jan’s world remained a dull white blur, and it took effort to keep his eyes open. Yet he was alive. He was not burning alive inside a furnace, and it was difficult to remember what it was like to not be burned alive. Was he dead now? Perhaps his nerve endings had burned out from the raw, unending pain?
No. He was far too sore to be dead. Also, he could smell wet biocrete, old mold, and a ration pack: chicken surprise, if his churning stomach remembered. The surprise, of course, was that it was not real chicken.
“He’s coming around,” a male voice said, one Jan didn’t recognize. “Looks like the cocktail is starting to kick in.”
“Guh,” Jan agreed.
“Sssh.” The strange man had a kind voice. “Don’t try to talk yet. You’ve recently endured over ten minutes of torture nanos. That does a number on your nervous system. You’re safe here, and we’ve disabled the nanos, so just breathe.”
Disabled ... the nanos? That didn’t seem possible. Bharat had been quite clear that only he could disable the nanos.
“Hey, mate,” a soft, familiar voice said. “It’s me, Rafe.”
Jan frowned and focused. Rafe had been taken by the Truthers, or the CSD, or ... someone. Rafe was here, on his other side. Rafe had always loved chicken surprise.
“So yeah, I did it!” Rafe continued. “Nanos disabled permanently. Told you I could. You’re free and clear!” Loud smacking followed, not-chicken shoved into face.
So far as Jan could recall, Rafe knew exactly jack shit about nanomachine technology. So why was he lying? And more importantly, what had happened to Jan’s torture nanos?
“I’ll leave you two to catch up while Mr. Sabato recovers,” the unidentified voice said. “Come to the command pit when you’re ready. Now that you’ve brought us a genuine insurrection hero, the Commander will want to speak to you both.”
“Right, sure,” Rafe said. “The Commander. Wouldn’t miss it, mate. We’ll get right on that, soon as Jan can walk!”
The rustle of clothing marked someone standing up, and the padding of slippers against hard floor marked someone walking away. At least Jan could hear, though his vision remained a mess. The pink and flesh-colored blur sitting to his right must be Rafe. No one else smacked their food that loudly.
“Water?” Jan managed, throat raw.
“Sure,” Rafe said, “hold on.” His blur shifted as he set something down, probably his half-finished surprise.
The Rafe blur crossed in front of Jan’s bed, followed by the sound of running water. The blur returned and leaned over. A plastic cup tipped to Jan’s lips. Jan drank, spit up, and drank again. Each swallow hurt, but water was worth it.
“Easy now, mate, don’t want to piss yourself.”
Judging from his disturbingly damp underwear, Jan suspected he already had. “More.” Had they even changed his clothes?
“Not yet, okay?” Rafe sat back down. “Make sure you can keep that down first. Don’t want to throw it all up at once.”
“Will ... not.” Speaking was tolerable.
“We’ll give it five minutes,” Rafe said. He sat back down and picked up his ration packet. Smacking resumed.
Jan relaxed in what he now assumed was a hospital bed and gathered his thoughts. What hospital was he in now, and why had th
e CSD not come to arrest him? This place did not smell like a hospital. It smelled like an abandoned dentist’s office.
“Where?” he managed.
“Oh, right,” Rafe said. “So after I disabled your torture nanos, I, uh ... we had to get you off the grid. CSD’s hunting you, right? Had to take you somewhere those assholes couldn’t find you. We’re in a private hospital, with friends.”
“Friends?” Jan rasped.
“They’re Patriots of Ceto,” Rafe said after a moment. “Former. I mean, they’re still Patriots, but after the Supremacy pulled out, that kind of all stopped meaning so much, you know?”
Jan felt a growing sense of dread. “Patriots?” He swallowed a knife of pain. “Or Truthers?”
Rafe was quiet for a long moment. “They’re True Sons of Ceto. Truther’s right derogatory, mate.”
Jan managed one long, disgusted, “Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.”
“Now hold on!” Rafe protested. “They’re not all bad.”
Given the chief activity of Truthers was abducting, torturing, and executing innocent Advanced civilians in hopes of starting another shooting war with the Supremacy, Jan could think of exactly zero ways in which Truthers weren’t all bad. Still, he could barely move, let alone talk, and he’d never been so foolish as to take a principled stand. Until he knew where he was, and how to escape, acting like he loved Truthers was best.
“You’re right,” Jan managed, after a hard swallow. “I’m glad someone is standing up for Ceto.”
“Yeah!” Rafe said. “That’s what they do, right? They stand up for the little guys. And gals!”
Jan swallowed a few more times, gauging the pain that came with each. That pain was receding. Kinsley had said the torture nanos wouldn’t do any permanent damage. What he was feeling now must be the aftereffects of screaming his lungs out for ... had it really only been ten minutes?
Jan’s last coherent memory was of Emiko tackling him and rubbing her knockout gloss on his lips. Despite his pain, he was here now, alive, and he had her to thank for thwarting his attempted suicide. The pain had been horrific, but now that he was still alive, Jan realized just how glad he was to be alive.
Just as when Elena Ryke had captured him, Emiko had saved him. So could he save her? If Truthers did have them, and they had any idea that Jan, Emiko, Kinsley, and Pollen had recently killed six of their number, they wouldn’t be in a very welcoming mood.
“Others?” Jan asked.
“Hmm?” Rafe was hedging.
“Where are the others?” Jan managed.
“Oh,” Rafe said. “They, uh ... they left.”
“Where did they go?”
“The Hole. Soon as they knew I’d saved you, they headed off to make sure Ryke didn’t come after us.”
So first Rafe had brought him to a nest of Truthers, and now Rafe was lying to him about Emiko and Kinsley. This was bad, but Jan had to make it appear as if nothing was wrong.
“Well,” Jan said, with a heavy sigh, “that’s good.”
Rafe perked up. “Yeah?”
“I’m glad they’re safe,” Jan said. “Thank you.”
“No problem, mate.” Rafe sounded almost disappointed Jan believed him. He went back to munching chicken surprise.
Having now acquired all the information he could reasonably acquire about his current fucked-up situation, Jan lapsed into silence. He could not know for certain that Senator Tarack’s nanos were finally disabled, but he did know he no longer hurt. He could not know for certain that Kinsley and Emiko weren’t here, captive, but he could still find out.
Most importantly, he did not know why Rafe was lying to him, but he was fairly confident that Rafe did not know Jan knew Rafe was lying to him. So Jan would keep things that way as long as possible. Rafe’s babble would certainly reveal more.
“More water?” Jan asked. Talking was getting easier.
“Sure,” Rafe said. “Just a little.”
After a half glass and a little more rest, Jan decided he was ready to get up out of this bed. His vision had firmed up in the interim, and he recognized his room now as a makeshift infirmary in what looked to be a recently built underground room. The walls and floor were plain biocrete, the ceiling covered in cheap plastic tiles. Someone had maintained it well.
Jan remembered the name his blurry nurse had mentioned. “The Commander” wanted to see him now that they had a genuine insurrection hero in their base. Which Jan was, apparently. He had absolutely no idea why he was a hero, but he’d roll with whatever got him out of here and back with his crew.
After all, with the torture nanos gone, Jan now had all the time in the world to find out the truth about Fatima’s betrayal, or whatever she and Kinsley believed had happened five years ago. Jan realized now, after preparing for death and not dying, after missing the crew he’d lost and getting them all back finally, that all he’d really wanted was an explanation. Not revenge. Just some sense of why he’d ended up in orbit.
An explanation wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
Jan sat up and waited for the room to cease spinning. He was feeling better by the moment. Rafe watched him, fidgeting.
Jan realized he still wore the same clothes Bharat had purchased for him more than three days ago now: cargo pants, a loose shirt, and a pocketed vest. They smelled undeniably funky. Smelly clothes were as good an excuse as any to start his escape.
“Is there anywhere I can get changed?” Jan asked. “These clothes have become most foul.”
“Right!” Rafe said. “Wouldn’t want to meet the Commander smelling like a pile of piss.”
“We most certainly would not.”
“Let’s see what we can rustle up.” Rafe stood, then winced in what was probably empathy. “You okay to walk?”
Jan slid his feet out of bed and let his legs dangle. He rose carefully, ready to catch himself on the bed if he wobbled. His legs were stiff, sore, and entirely capable of supporting him. Whatever drug cocktail that nurse had pumped into him was good stuff. He hoped he wouldn’t pay for it later.
“I can walk,” Jan announced.
“Great!” Rafe said. He didn’t walk.
Jan motioned curtly. “Shall we get new clothes?”
Rafe blinked. “We?”
“You don’t plan to present yourself to the commander of this base in stained pink pajama pants, do you?” Jan smiled. “That would be, as you say, disrespectful.”
“Oh, right.” Rafe walked off. “This way, I guess.”
Jan followed Rafe out a narrow doorway with no door. They emerged into a hall of more moldy biocrete. Dripping pipes ran its length, condensation making it obvious the Truthers had a whole plumbing system down here. As they walked, they passed more makeshift hospital rooms like the one Jan had just exited.
This place seemed a bit too big for a hideout. It seemed a lot more like a home base. Which, if it was the Truthers’ home base, meant it was even more vital Jan find his friends and escape before the Truthers learned what he truly thought of them. If they had even the slightest suspicion Jan wasn’t fully on board with their cause, they’d probably incinerate him.
A tall man in a pale white jumpsuit intercepted them once they turned a corner. He had dark brown hair and a handsome chin. “The command pit’s the other way.” His voice marked him as the same nurse who had helped Jan earlier.
“Right, I know.” Rafe winced. “Jan, uh, he ...”
“I smell terrible,” Jan said, making himself look appropriately embarrassed. “I’ve been wearing these clothes for days.” The tag on the man’s right breast read “Hanson,” and that tag was definitely military. “In the grips of those horrific torture nanos, I may have ... soiled myself.”
“Oh!” Hanson the dark-haired nurse blinked. “That’s ... I’m sorry.”
Time to lay it on thick. “Please don’t think I’m so foolish that I don’t know to whom I owe my life.” Jan smiled as warmly as he could. “And please don’t assume I don’t know who you are.”
&
nbsp; Hanson’s stance stiffened.
“You True Sons have done more for Ceto than every last self-serving official in our so-called government,” Jan said, letting his disgust for the Truther cause flavor his words. “I’ve only been back on Ceto a few days, but I’ve been here long enough to see how much things have changed since we ran off the Supremacy.”
Hanson watched him cautiously. “And what’s changed?”
“They have forgotten what we bled for.” Jan visibly clenched his fists. “They have forgotten what those vatborn assholes did to us for ten years. When I first heard that Ceto had finally thrown off the oppressor’s yoke, I was overjoyed by the revelation. At last, we were free!”
Jan focused on how pissed off he’d been about Fatima’s betrayal. “Soon after I returned, I learned the truth. No trials. No war crime tribunals. No reparations, and not one fucking vatborn politician held responsible.” He stepped forward. “Our whole puppet government just decided to let it all slide.”
Hanson’s breathing quickened. “It’s not right.”
“It’s unforgivable.” Jan took Hanson’s pale hand in both of his own, rubbing Hanson’s hand with his thumb. “You must know that the CSD, puppets of the traitor government, hunt me even now. Yet you took me in and helped me despite the danger.”
“Yeah,” Hanson breathed. “We did do that.”
“Your brave actions are all I need to know who my true allies are in this new world. I am but a simple smuggler, but if there is anything I can do for those to whom I owe my life, for the True Sons of Ceto, you have but to name it.”
“Oh?” Hanson was positively blushing now. “Well, I, uh ... I mean, I’m just a nurse ...”
“And very good at nursing,” Jan assured him.
“But I’m sure the Commander will have some ideas,” Hanson added, smiling far too widely.
“I do hope that’s true,” Jan said. He squeezed Hanson’s hand before releasing it. “If you can direct me to somewhere where Rafe and I can get fresh clothes, I’ll be off to thank him myself. I could not bear to face the Commander in soiled clothes. I would never disrespect a great man in such a way.”
Supremacy's Outlaw: A Space Opera Thriller Series (Insurgency Saga Book 3) Page 19