Still clutching her arm, the maintenance worker shied away from Alice and eyed her warily while mumbling her reply.
"You can't even try to help people these days; they're all too suspicious. Last time I try to help you, that's for sure. I can't even feel my arm now. Can't move my fingers... Probably have to go medical... My Sergeant is gonna be pissed..."
Alice thought about turning and walking away from the mumbling, injured woman. However, her better nature told her that she didn't need any ill will directed at her from the station staff.
"Your arm will be fine. I just hit a nerve cluster, and the effects are temporary. It's just like your arm falling asleep. You'll be able to work again in a few minutes, I promise."
The look of fear in the maintenance woman's eyes slowly softened as Alice spoke. The woman stopped rubbing her elbow and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Never mind. What are you doing here? Do you have permission to be down here?"
"We need to move, Alice," Idi informed her. "We do not have time for pointless delays."
Alice quickly scanned the woman's biometric signature and learned that she was Justine Orem, Maintenance Technician, Second Class.
"Justine, the nature of what I'm doing is way above your paygrade," Alice stated with authority. Then, she transmitted her Origin Council credentials to the young woman.
As Justine received the signal, her eyes lit up with fear. Then, she snapped to attention, gave a salute, and licked her lips. "Don't worry about me, Ma'am. Let me know if I can help you in any way. May I go now?"
Satisfied at the resolution of the situation, Alice nodded, and the woman saluted again, licked her lips again, then spun and began to walk away.
Alice wasted no time watching her go. Instead, she turned and proceeded down the corridor, quickening her pace to a run make up for the lost time.
As she ran, Idi's voice sounded in her mind. "Alice, I have the results of the simulations you asked for, shall I display a summary of them now?"
"Yes, Idi."
As the information from the simulations poured into Alice's mind, she quickly noticed some key strategic points that seemed to be consistent. The easiest way to disable a fusion interference reactor would be to shield herself with her atmospheric defense implant. Then, she could locate the reactor, and shut it down.
The best way to retrieve Leo safely would be to make use of her bio-projectile system. She could load it with tranquilizer darts and use them on anyone who offered resistance. If her adversaries were using energy or metallic projectile weapons, her magnetic field defense implant would shield her.
"Good, Idi," Alice stated approvingly.
Alice couldn't help but marvel at what the Council had done to her. The technology within her seemed to make her nearly invincible, at least according to her simulations. Idi, in particular, gave her the advantage of having a supercomputer in her mind. She had spent a lot of time doubting herself, but How could she fail with so much technology on her side?
With a renewed sense of certainty and confidence, Alice began to run faster.
Chapter 15
Thrall glared at the fat idiot speaking to him. He wanted to kill the man. He wanted to hurt him in ways he had never imagined and laugh as he watched the light leave his eyes.
A knife would make the worm regret all the inconveniences, and all the bullshit he had put Thrall through, but Thrall didn't have a knife on him. He did have a pair of pliers, though, and they were in his left pocket. He could reach in slowly, whip the pliers out, and rip the moron's throat out with four, maybe five pulls.
Actually, the rat fuck had a very thick neck, so maybe six.
Rather than spending his time torturing Leo, he had had to listen to the pompous moron explain the reasons why he needed to be denied that pleasure.
Thrall's thoughts were a feast of murder and bloodshed, but he controlled his powerful emotions and purged them from his voice.
"If I remember correctly, sir, we had a deal. You run things up there, and I run things down here. Well, we're down here now, aren't we? So, aren't I allowed to run things?"
Mr. Seven raised his hands to his face and wiped the sweat from it. "Yes, Thrall. That was the deal, and yes, we are 'down here,' but you were 'up there' when you decided to shoot up a bar because the barkeep called you on your bullshit. Then, because ruining one bar wasn't enough pain in the ass for me, you had to gas a couple of hundred people in another."
Thrall seethed in silence. Seven was one of the dumbest people he had ever met.
Mr. Seven tightened his shoulders, then jabbed his index finger into Thrall's chest. "You broke the rules! You broke our deal, and so I tell you now, our deal is off! I may give you the chance to renegotiate if you beg and plead enough, but for now, you do as I say, or you die!"
Mr. Seven took both of his hands and placed them on Thrall's shoulders, then moved his face very close until their noses were almost touching. The putrid odor of the fat moron was nearly too much to bear. Thrall had to work hard to avoid vomiting as Mr. Seven's hot breath entered his nostrils.
"Give him to me now!" Seven roared.
Thrall barely managed to avoid recoiling from the disgusting pig of a man and tempered his rage by remembering that with one move, he could end the pathetic worm's existence. If he did that, it would feel good, oh so good, but it wasn't time. He wasn't ready...
Thrall gritted his teeth as he replied. "He's mine. I caught him fair and square. He cut off my fucking hand, sir."
With a loud sigh, Mr. Seven removed his hands from Thrall's shoulders, then turned faced the opposite wall.
"The situation has gotten out of hand! An operative of the Council is here, and guess what? The man you're holding? She wants him too. And let me tell you what happens when she arrives here in, I dunno, ten minutes."
Thrall recoiled as terrible thoughts raced through his mind. An operative? There? Ten Minutes? Searching for Leo? Of all the fucking lousy luck in the world...
"I'll tell you what happens," Mr. Seven continued. "She finds out where you are, easily. Gets inside here, very, very easily. You try to shoot her, stab her, electrocute her, melt her, and poison her, and you are very, very surprised to find that it doesn't hurt her in the slightest. Then, she kills you, kills all your silly devotees, and takes her prize out of here like it was no more effort to her than scratching her tits."
A wave of rage grew within Thrall as he listened to Mr. Seven. It was bullshit, and he wouldn't let it happen. He could handle one stupid bitch if the fat moron would just let him. Hadn't he proven enough to the asshole over the years?
All the shipments, all the sales, and all the murders... Thrall had done it all. Their entire operation was his doing. The shiploads of drugs that fat piece of shit got to enjoy every month were his doing, and only his.
Seven was so stupid... Even after years of dealing with one another, the stupid rat had no idea who Thrall really was. Seven had no idea that most of the people he ordered around every day would gladly cut his head off with just one simple signal.
It was almost time, Thrall thought hungrily. It was almost time to take what was rightfully his. After years of sneaking, years of licking, years of tasting his way through worker after worker, officer after officer...
It was almost time...
"I can handle it. Let me handle it..." Thrall begged as he reached his hand into his left pocket.
"Sorry, no can do," Mr. Seven casually replied. Then, he faced Thrall, plugged his ears with his fingers, and closed his eyes..
Confused at the bizarre gesture, Thrall hesitated. Then, flashes of light and loud booms erupted in the room. Thrall was blinded and deafened as he pulled out his pliers and blindly jabbed around, trying desperately to find any fleshy target.
After his fourth maniacal jab, something struck him in hard in the back of the head, and his murderous desires were instantly extinguished.
Chapter 16
"Proceed 100 meters ahead, then turn ri
ght at corridor 3-1-256-S," Idi ordered Alice. "The last recorded location of the tracking beacons is at the terminus of that corridor. I have activated your integrated projectile system and am now loading it with tranquilizer darts. Your magnetic and biological defense systems have also been activated."
"Yes, Idi," Alice replied.
As a red targeting reticle overlayed Alice's vision, she looked down at her right forearm. She had allowed the Council to turn her into a weapon. She hoped dearly she was a weapon for good, and not evil.
When she reached corridor 3-1-256-S, she turned right, just as Idi had instructed her.
The pale yellow lights that lit the corridor seemed to need the attention of a maintenance worker, as many of them were out altogether, and long stretches were without light at all. Alice relied on her ocular implant to adjust for the dark areas, and she was able to navigate them without any danger.
As she neared the end of the corridor, Alice saw a shabby door emerge from the darkness. "Idi, show me the station blueprints for this area."
As the requested data popped into her vision, she saw that the door was supposed to lead to a backup water recycling system.
"I've detected a radiation interference barrier. Its perimeter is five meters ahead!" Idi suddenly informed her. "It is directly in front of the door and extends along a 100-meter radius."
Alice frowned as she looked over Idi's readings. The radiation was very strong. In spite of her atmospheric defense capabilities, some of her implants could still be damaged by the radiation. Still, there was no other way but forward. She needed to find Leo, and she couldn't wait any longer.
As she mentally prepared herself to walk through the radiation, Alice was startled by a series of small explosions detected by her acoustic sensors.
Idi immediately informed her of the cause. "According to my readings, the explosions occurred thirty meters from your current position. Their signature is identical to standard-issue stun grenades.
Alice paused and reassessed her situation. Should she delay her breach to allow the situation inside to develop fully, or should she act quickly and use whatever was happening inside as a distraction?
As she pondered her options, Idi suddenly gave her welcome news. "The radiation levels are decreasing. You must go in now, Alice."
"Yes, Idi."
Immediately, the data displayed in her vision changed from radiation and acoustic readings to thermal levels, weapons detection, life-sign detection, and proximity alert readings.
Alice detected no immediate threats, so she cautiously approached the door. She intended to scan it to determine how to open it, but instead, she had to jump back as the door abruptly opened.
Bright light spilled out from the doorway, and a short, thick man stepped through it.
"Idi. I'm glad you're here."
With a jolt of surprise, Alice recognized the man. It was Director Sullivan, the same man who had so obstinately welcomed her to the station a few hours before. By whatever knowledge or means he had come to be there, Alice didn't know. But, if his people had done her dirty work for her, she wasn't going to complain. The only thing that mattered was that Leo was there and that he was alive.
"Why are you here, Sullivan?" Alice demanded.
Sullivan crossed his arms and kept his tone polite, though he did stammer a bit. "We took down a gang base a few minutes ago. We've secured it and apprehended quite a few gang-members too. Quite the little drug operation they were running down here... It's amazing they were able to get away with it for so long without me finding out, but I always find out in the end. The sun always shines on the dark places in my station..."
Alice shook her head. She had no time for Sullivan's narcissistic theatrics. "Nevermind that, were they holding anyone prisoner? Did they have hostages?"
Sullivan wiped the sweat from his face and forehead, then wiped his hands on his pants. "Sorry. Of course, that's why you're here. I've been tracking your movements, and I know you're looking for someone of particular importance. I think you'll be delighted when you see that I've found him for you, and he is safe and sound."
"Thank you," Alice replied, but she guarded herself with suspicion.
Sullivan's demeanor had changed drastically, and she could think of no logical reason that he would go from being so obnoxious and unhelpful, to now so seemingly happy and cooperative. Maybe he was just pleased to have executed a successful raid against a particularly troublesome Osiris gang, but there could also be some ulterior motive for his abrupt change in character.
"Take me to him, if you would be so willing, Director Sullivan," Alice politely requested. Though she had her suspicions, she would reveal nothing of the sort until she had a better idea of what was going on.
"Of course," Sullivan replied. "This way, Ma'am."
As Sullivan stepped through the doorway, Alice kept her guard up. After taking a deep breath and rechecking her readings, she followed him inside.
The door opened into a large, brightly lit room with dingy metal walls. Several dirty couches and chairs sat haphazardly across the floor, and open doors hung on each of its four walls. Sullivan quickly beckoned Alice across the room to the opposite door, but Alice was careful to look through the other two as she strolled past.
When she turned to the right, she detected at least twenty life signs. She peeked through the door as she walked past and made eye contact with a man. He was bound with his hands behind his back and a gag across his mouth. He weakly tried to worm his way through the door, but then another man, clothed in the military gear of the station security forces, appeared in the doorway and roughly kicked the man in the head. Then the security officer dragged him back out of view.
Alice paused as noises of struggling and fighting erupted from within the room.
"Ignore them. It's all under control," Sullivan stated, snapping Alice's attention back to him.
He gestured for her to follow him, and she reluctantly did so after scanning the left room and finding nothing other than several elevated, and several lowered life signs.
Alice cautiously followed Sullivan through the next room. It was filled with bunk beds and was in the process of being searched by security staff. Blankets, bowls, and other contraband flew through the air around them as they walked through.
The third room was bare, except for a table in the middle, and two chairs.
After entering, Sullivan turned towards a door on the right, which was flanked by two more security officers, then turned and spoke.
"The man you're looking for is in the next room. They tortured him a bit, but he's not too much worse for the wear. They took one of his teeth out and broke his jaw, but didn't get much further once we showed up."
Alice nodded appreciatively. "Okay. Once I secure him, I'll be sure to inform the Council of the good work you've done here, Director. I think a commendation of some type may be in order."
Sullivan breathed a deep sigh, nodded, and closed his eyes. His noticeable relief intrigued Alice, but it wasn't important enough to delay her mission.
Then, Idi spoke in her mind. "Alice, based on the character profile I have generated for our target, I have created a template by which you must organize your communication strategies. Based on my simulations, our target will be extremely susceptible to emotional manipulation. I would also recommend that you surrender vocal control to be for the next several minutes so that I may more effectively manip..."
Suddenly, Alice felt anger well up within her.
"Shut up, Idi!" Alice ordered inside her mind, and the A.I. immediately fell silent.
The fire of rage washed over her as her thoughts roiled in an emotional tumult. What was she doing? She should be the last person to follow the Council's orders. And yet, there she was, with their weapons in her body, and their A.I. In her head, doing their bidding.
With a quick thought, Alice deactivated her tactical implants. She needed to clear her head, and the vast amount of data in her vision wasn't helping.
&n
bsp; The goddamned Council, she thought angrily. They had convinced her to follow their orders by dangling their decency in front of her. Then, at the critical moment, they had revealed their true nature. What if they were manipulating her? What if they had generated a character profile for her and used the best "communication strategies" on her? What if they were lying to her? Now, Idi wanted control of her voice?
"Goddamnit..." Alice sighed quietly to herself.
"What?" Sullivan asked as he looked at her curiously.
Alice was shocked back into reality by his voice. "I said, 'goddamnit.' Lots of stuff going through my head right now, you know? Lots of Council bullshit I have to figure out."
Sullivan looked around nervously. "Well, I guess... Um, let me know if I can help in any way, Ma'am..."
Alice shook her head. One way or another, she had taken the mission. Even though she doubted the Council's methods, she had to assume that they were telling the truth. Still, she was not about to let Idi take control of her voice.
"Screw it... Let's go!" Alice snarled. Then, she followed Sullivan into the next room.
Chapter 17
Leo searched doggedly within his mind for several minutes. Unfortunately, there was only silence. It seemed the Void couldn't be bothered to save him twice in one night.
After trying and failing to rip free from his bonds, Leo slowly accepted the grim realization that he wouldn't be able to escape.
As the hopelessness of his situation set in, his thoughts wandered. He thought of his life, and all that he wished he could do with it before Thrall would inevitably torture him to death. When the fatal blow finally fell, would anyone remember him? Would anyone miss him?
Deep despair grew within Leo as he thought of the people he had met during his long life. Most wouldn't remember him, but a few would. The monks on Titan would. They had seemed to enjoy his company, and he had enjoyed theirs. During his time there, he had felt like he belonged. It had given him hope that he could someday live a normal life.
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