Charles grinned and nodded as he also shook our hands. The guy’s palm enveloped my own like I was a little kid. I was grateful he was on our side at least for the time being.
Since X and I figured out the Commander’s secret, a feeling of unease was beginning to grow in the pit of my stomach.
“Is everything prepared?” Commander Shaw asked Eric. “Are we still on track to make our move tomorrow night?”
“Affirmative,” Eric answered while Charles nodded emphatically. “Rest tonight, plan and prepare tomorrow, then as soon as night falls again, it’s go time.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The garage was attached to something that looked more like a penthouse than a safe house. Luxurious rooms, with a massive kitchen stocked with food and beds so soft I swear I sank in a good three inches, welcomed us.
That night, we ate like kings and slept like babies. Maybe I shouldn’t have slept so well with a deadly mission staring me in the face the next day, but I couldn’t help it.
I gave my body as much rest as it needed, not even getting out of bed until noon. Showers and more food saw me ready and eager early in the afternoon.
Something had been itching at the back of my mind since we touched down in Elysium. It was a thought I couldn’t shake, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I was in the same city where Amber had died. The bridge Echo had ambushed her on shouldn’t be more than a few minutes’ drive.
“X,” I asked as I looked out one of the small windows the building had to offer. “The bridge in Echo’s memory where he killed Amber, can you locate it here in the city? Do you know where it is?”
“I do,” X said after a long silence. “Daniel, when is enough, enough? You saw her die, you forced yourself to live through that again. Do you need to go to the physical site too? Do you need to put yourself through that again?”
“I don’t know if I have to, but I feel like I owe her that much for not being there when she needed me the most,” I said, as shocked as X must have been at the revelation, not used to talking to anyone about the maelstrom of feelings boiling inside of me. I had to take a moment to pause. I didn’t even know I felt that way. I didn’t realize how much guilt I carried with me for Amber’s death.
“Daniel,” X said quietly.
“I wasn’t there when she needed me the most,” I said. “Where was I, X? Where was I that was more important than by her side? I should have been with her.”
“Blaming yourself for the actions of others is a fast road to insanity,” X answered. “You can’t be everywhere at once. We both know that if you had the inkling of an idea that Amber was in trouble, you would have been right there with her. If you need to go visit the bridge, I’ll tell you where it is.”
I nodded, still looking out the window in front of me to the street beyond. Only a few vehicles rolled by on the street. Another few took to the air, not by necessity, but rather, leisure.
“It’s walking distance,” X said, overlapping my field of vision with a small map that popped up in the corner. “Just a kilometer and a half away.”
“Thank you,” I told her.
I made my way from the room toward the garage where Commander Shaw and Eric were talking.
“I have to do something,” I told them. “It won’t take long. I’ll be back in an hour, two at the most.”
Eric looked at the commander with uncertainty in his eyes. He didn’t voice his objection, but it was clear to see on his face.
Commander Shaw remained silent for half a beat.
“Daniel, I trust you, what you did for Monica, recapturing Echo and meeting the dropship on time just like you said you would from Cecile, all leads me to believe I made the right decision,” Commander Shaw said with hard eyes. “If you need an hour or two on your own to visit a bridge, I completely understand.”
I had forgotten that while I was in Echo’s memory, the projectors the scientist wheeled in made the events available for everyone in the room to see. Commander Shaw and Monica knew of the bridge in Elysium where Amber had died.
“Yes, thank you,” I said.
“Sir?” Eric looked confused. “Do you think it’s wise for one of our members to leave a few hours—”
“It’s okay, Eric,” Commander Shaw waved me off. “He has to do something. He’ll be back.”
I left the garage through an exterior door as Commander Shaw explained to Eric what I would be doing. I didn’t mind that story was being told. It didn’t really matter now.
I walked through the business district of Elysium. I passed very few people on the streets. The flow of traffic was sparse but consistent. A vehicle on the road or in the air would pass me every few seconds.
I followed the route X set out for me with the broken lines charting my course. The lines came over my path in that same golden yellow light I was used to seeing when I activated my night-vision mode.
I passed gorgeous store fronts, clean white and cream buildings, and luxury vehicles the likes of which I had only ever heard about. Mars was truly a refuge for the wealthy.
When we finally reached the bridge, I had to steel my nerves to actually walk over it. I replayed the events in my mind’s eye over and over as I crossed the hard path on the right side of the bridge where Amber had died.
I saw Echo ambush her and send her over the edge to her watery grave. I remembered the fire in her eyes. I grinned as I recalled her send her knife into the side of Echo’s neck even after being thrown from her vehicle and receiving a barrage of rounds.
The woman had possessed an unquenchable spirit. I imagined that was one of the many reasons I had fallen in love with her.
I finally reached the portion of the bridge where she had been thrown off attached to a thick section of the stone railing.
The railing and any indication of the altercation had been repaired. There wasn’t so much as a scratch to remember the event by. That was probably what the inhabitants of Elysium wanted. No stains of the past to muddy their perfect days.
My hands rested on the hard stone railing of the bridge as I stared into the still water of the lake. Not so much as a ripple disturbed the water. If there were fish in the lake, I didn’t see any.
“I wonder if they fished her body out?” I asked out loud.
“Public records state they have,” X answered. “There’s a grave for her under a different name here on Elysium. They buried her under one of her aliases. Would you like me to tell you where?”
“Thanks, but no,” I said, staring into the water one last time. “You were right, X.”
“About what?”
“About not living in the past only to die in the future,” I answered. “I’ll never forget her, but right now, it’s time to get a handle on these emotions and memories and put them into action. Fuel for the fire.”
“Hmmm,” X said. “Daniel, I’m not sure that’s the healthiest way to deal with this.”
“Maybe not, but it’s what I have to give at the moment,” I said. “The anger inside of me needs an outlet.”
“You know I’m with you,” X said in a soft quiet voice. I swore I could feel a light pressure on my right shoulder as if she were reaching out to extend a hand of comfort.
“I know, X,” I said, turning away from the bridge and back down the way we had come. “Thank you. It’s time to make good on a promise now. First we rescue Professor Warden and then we make Immortal Corp bleed for their sins.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I knew my time frame for talking to the commander about his true age was closing. If I was going to do it, I needed to do it now before we prepared and left to go save Monica’s father.
Monica and the brothers were in the garage going over supplies and gear needed for the rescue. Commander Shaw was in the living room with a datapad on his lap. A schematic of the building we were about to breach shone, as a hologram, from the piece of tech.
“Commander,” I said, seizing the opportunity. “I want you to know that what I’m about to ask you doe
sn’t change how I feel about this mission. I’m still committed to getting Monica’s father back. I just need to know something before we go in.”
“You want to know how old I am,” Commander Shaw said without looking up from his datapad. “Or rather, how I can be so old without looking like it. Is that right?”
I took a step back, narrowing my brow. He was right on the money of course, but how did he know?
“It wasn’t that difficult. A matter of time before you knew really,” Commander Shaw said, placing the datapad on the glass table in front of him. He leaned back in his seat and skewered me with a pensive stare. “You’re not like the others, Daniel. You know that already. Was it that AI that helped tip you off?” he asked. “She’s state-of-the-art tech. You’re lucky to have her.”
“It was X,” I answered. “She’s helped me out more than a few times.”
Commander Shaw nodded slowly. He stared at me for a moment longer as if he were deciding how much he was going to allow himself to say.
“I am much older than I appear,” Commander Shaw said after a brief pause. “I’m old enough to have seen the Earth fall, the exodus of mankind to the stars, and now the destabilization of freedom as we know it.”
“How?” I asked, already coming to terms with how old this guy really was. “That serum you drink?”
“The serum is just to help my body adjust to the aging process or lack of the aging process, more precisely,” Commander Shaw said. “When Phoenix was first established, we knew we needed a leader who would stay the course. The war we fight has been going on for a very long time. To ensure Phoenix never lost sight of that, we decided to rotate our leaders into a hyper-induced state of sleep. When we were needed the most, one of us would be woken to take the reins and ensure Phoenix prevailed.”
“How many of the Phoenix leaders are in this hypersleep?” I asked. “When were you awoken?”
“I can’t answer your first question,” Commander Shaw answered. “I’m willing to make this relationship work but swore an oath to keep the identity and number of the sleeping founders hidden. If our enemies knew what was going on they’d hunt down the other sleeping founders and kill them, thus cutting the head from Phoenix. I can answer your second question however. I was woken when my predecessor went to rest. I took the reins on the super seed project.”
“So you’re it?” I asked. “All that having to check with your superiors back at the Vault was just for show. You’re in charge of Phoenix.”
“That’s right.” Commander Shaw nodded. “For now, at least. If anything happens to me, another leader will be awoken. If I can pull us out of this mess, then eventually, I’ll go back to sleep successful and another leader will take the reins when his or her time comes.” Commander Shaw looked thoughtful. He shook his head slowly, looking not at me, but the wall in front of him. “That hypersleep is not what you think. It drags on and on and on for what seems like forever. I don’t envy those who are trapped in its cold embrace now.”
I gave him a minute before moving on with the list of questions I had for him.
“You saw the Earth fall, you said? That was over a thousand years ago.” I did some quick math on the history I had come to know about Earth. “You saw the moon and Mars colonized?”
“I was there when the Order pushed the Earth over the brink and into desperation.” Commander Shaw nodded. “I was put into hypersleep then awoken one more time in an hour of great need. Then I was put back into hypersleep and reactivated for the time I lead now.”
“That’s telling me a lot without really giving me any details,” I said.
“I know,” Commander Shaw said with a sly smile. “In time, once I feel I can fully trust you, there will be the opportunity for more knowledge. Alternately, if you decide to fight for Phoenix after we save Doctor Warden and make a lasting commitment, I’ll be able to divulge more information.”
“So what’s your mission now?” I asked. “I mean, why were you awoken? To see the super seed project to fruition? To re-terraform the Earth?”
“That was one of the main goals,” Commander Shaw said, pursing his lips. “And I think I may have a solution to that problem. Everyone wants the knowledge to bring life back to Earth, maybe even the moon and Mars. They’re kidnapping, extorting, and willing to kill for it. So why not just give it to them?”
“You lost me,” I said. “I’m sure there’s an answer in there somewhere, but you just want to give away the information?”
“That’s right,” Commander Shaw said with a shrug. “We’ll upload it and make the information accessible to everyone. We’re not trying to monetize the super seed, so what do we care? If the information is everywhere, there’ll be no reason for Immortal Corp, the Order, and whoever else is out there to try and control it. Who knows, maybe some young up and coming billionaire will figure out a way to replicate and manufacture the super seed on a global scale.”
I nodded slowly, understanding his plan.
“They can’t steal from everyone,” I said, scratching the back of my head and thinking of the fallout. “It sounds good in theory.”
“I’m sure Earth will be revisited by a new wave of colonists and business owners trying to be the first to market, but that’s better than a few shadow organizations killing each other for it,” Commander Shaw said. “As far as my age and the fact that I need to hypersleep, I’d like to keep that between you and me. There are only a handful of Phoenix members who know.”
“I have no desire to rain on your parade,” I told him. “I just needed to clear the air between us before I followed you into the belly of the beast.”
“I can respect that,” the commander said.
Just then, the door to the garage opened. Monica, Eric, and Charles walked in. The talkative brother was going on about something that had to do with an exotic animal on Mars.
“Really, you’ve never seen a genetically enhanced Martian dog?” Eric was asking her as if she were from another planet. “They’re all the rage here on Mars these days. Genetically altered cats that change colors. Dogs that don’t even look like dogs anymore.”
“Nope,” Monica said with a shrug. “Haven’t heard of anything like that. We’ve been trying to stay alive and focusing on bringing life back to Earth and all.”
Charles smiled and nudged his brother.
“Oh, right,” Eric said. “Just that kind of stuff.”
“I’m glad you all came in,” Commander Shaw said, touching a few buttons on his smart pad. A blue holographic image appeared in the air above the tablet. It was the same building I had seen in Echo’s memory, the one he took his orders from when he was given Amber’s kill order. “This is an image of the building we’ll be infiltrating tonight.”
Commander Shaw maneuvered around the structure, turning it this way and that with his hands so we could get a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view.
“We can expect heavy resistance with as many as eight Immortal Corp soldiers inside,” Commander Shaw explained. “We’ll have Monica in the vehicle monitoring the local Galactic Government channel while the four of us act as an extraction team.”
“With all due respect, sir,” Monica said. “It’s my father we’re going after. I should be going in to help rescue him.”
“You lack the required skills needed for a job like this,” Commander Shaw told her. “You’re a doctor, not an operator. Let us do what we do best. You can still help. We’ll need a quick exit and someone to tell us if the Galactic Government has gotten wind of what we’re doing here.”
Monica buttoned up, but I could tell she wasn’t happy.
“We’ll act in teams of two,” Commander Shaw continued with the explanation of the infiltration. “Eric and Charles, you’ll breach the door and secure our exit point. Daniel and I will go into the lab where we anticipate Professor Warden is being held.”
It was a simple plan, solid but simple. I didn’t see any flaws. The hard truth was the flaws in the plan wouldn’t be clear un
til we were already in it. We’d have to adapt to survive.
“Eric, Charles?” Commander Shaw asked, looking at the brothers. “You two have been monitoring the building since we learned this is where they’re keeping the professor. Anything to add?”
“Speed will be our greatest asset here,” Eric said, pointing to the side door. “They’ll know we’re coming as soon as we enter the alley. I can set the charges in eight seconds and blow the door for you to come in right after us. By the time they see us coming and realize what’s happening, we should be inside.”
Charles used a thick finger to point to the side door and inside the structure. He lifted six fingers and then made a zero shape with his right hand.
“Charles thinks we can be in and out in sixty seconds,” Eric translated for his brother. “Any longer and we’re risking Immortal Corp calling for reinforcements or the local Galactic Government presence getting reports in and routing a patrol in our direction.”
“Sixty seconds from breach to grabbing the professor is going to be tight,” I said. “We’ll have to be running the entire time. When something goes wrong, we’ll have to adjust on the fly and keep moving.”
Everyone in the room, even Monica, nodded.
“All right,” Commander Shaw broke the silence. “We have our plan. Any gear you need will be in the garage. Let’s go free Professor Warden.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I decided to stick with my roots when it came to weaponry. Unlike the battle in Cecile, we needed to move quickly in and out. My MK II would be enough fire power for the job.
I did, however, add a knife and hatchet to my arsenal. I tucked the weapons in my belt. Armor consisted of a heavy metal chest piece of flat black. We were given masks that concealed our entire faces. Strangely enough, we could see through them from our side and breathing was manageable.
My mind went back to the Cyber Hunter I had run into twice, the woman who wore this same kind of mask with the red cross like symbol on her forehead. It seemed like we all had our secrets today, from hypersleep to late-night conversations with the enemy.
Absolution: A Near Future Thriller (Forsaken Mercenary Book 2) Page 16