Face Behind the Mask

by Leo King

  Kyle! NO!

  The concussive force blew her back. A moment later, she hit the water and blacked out.

  “Sam! Come in! Come in, Sam!”

  Sam awoke, face up in the water, to the sound of gunfire and explosions. Almost instinctively, she checked for the container with the silver pen. It was still in her cargo pants. Her headset crackled badly, but she could still hear Dixie. Tapping the “to speak” button, she groaned, “I’m here.”

  “Thank God,” Dixie exhaled. “Listen, Meyer’s helicopter went down, but he, Hakim, and Alexia survived and disabled the missiles. Both Kyle’s and Tania’s went down, and we don’t know if they’re alive. Ouellette and the police copters left and should be at your location soon. Sam, you’ve got to meet up with Alexia and continue the operation.”

  By then, Sam was swimming to the side of the rig. It was weather-worn but not yet rusted. Locating a ladder, she started climbing up. With her strength, she should have been able to go quickly, but she couldn’t. Her heart ached too much at the thought of Aucoin possibly being dead.

  “So why didn’t we know they’d have a damn missile launcher?” she asked through gnashed teeth.

  “Veronica just found out. It’s Caroline. She has hefty black-market contacts. It appears that Tania’s visit the other night stirred her up more than we thought.”

  “Damn it!” Sam climbed even faster. With every rung, the ache in her heart changed into boiling rage toward the Knight Priory. “Veronica should have dug deeper.”

  “We can worry about that later. Just remember that the Knight Priory employs a private army. Your orders to take prisoners don’t extend to them. Kill anyone who tries to stop you.”

  As she reached the top of the rig, she took out her twin pistols. The feeling of righteous indignation within her peaked. “Good. That’s what I was hoping you’d say. Fuck these damn insects!”

  Rushing forward, she came across the remains of the helicopter. It was still smoking, flames coming out the cockpit. Keenan, the Jamaican gunner, was leaning out of the side, his eyes still open and blood dripping out of his mouth. He was grinning.

  She closed his eyes. “Damn. Sorry, Keenan.” At least she had finally learned his name.

  Then she heard someone coming. Hiding against the tail of the helicopter, she waited. A few seconds later, two guards came into view. Immediately, she focused her power and side-kicked one of them in the gut. He folded in half with a sickening crack. Then she pointed a gun at the other guard’s head. “Bang.”

  She pulled the trigger, and a moment later, he fell back with a hole in his head. Then she glared at his body. Ya’ll picked the wrong night to piss me off.

  Holstering her guns, she ran toward the center of the rig. There, she saw Meyer, Hakim, and Alexia pinned down against the Gauntlet by over a dozen guards. Most were firing upon them, but some were creeping around to get a better shot. She got as close as she dared and signaled for Meyer’s attention. When he noticed her, he seemed relieved.

  Knowing that she didn’t have much time, she pointed out the guards approaching from the side and then pointed to him. He apparently understood, because he nodded and spoke to Hakim and Alexia. Sam didn’t need to hear what he said. He was ex-Special Forces and understood the battlefield. So, taking her guns back out, she dashed into the open, hollering like a lunatic.

  “Crazy blond bitch here! Shoot me if you can!”

  Not surprisingly, the guards fired upon her, a few bullets grazing her arms and legs, slicing the tissue. But that wasn’t anything new. Focusing until time around her slowed, she jumped into the air and started firing. Within seconds, she had killed eight of the guards and was landing by two more, one of them quite big. As time sped back up, she unsheathed her knife, sliced one across the throat, and then stabbed at the big guy. He blocked her attack.

  “You aren’t so tough,” he said with a laugh.

  Taken aback by his strength, which seemed to be at the pinnacle of human conditioning, she continued pushing forward. With a roar, he grappled her with both hands, forcing her to drop the knife. “Looks like you’re done here, little girl.”

  His arrogance only made her angrier. Deciding she was done with him, she focused until her arms bulged. “No, you are!”

  With a quick move, she snapped both of his wrists like twigs.

  As he let out a shriek, she threw him to the ground and stomped on his shin. It also broke. Next came his collarbone.

  “Oh, God!” the man cried. “You’re a monster!”

  “Shut up,” she said, and she shot him in the head.

  She panted as she looked down at his body. Suddenly, she felt sick.

  Then the sounds of shouting caught her attention. Meyer, Hakim, and Alexia had pushed back the guards that were sneaking up on them. Alexia had disarmed two of them and was engaging them in close combat. Meyer was trading gunfire with the others while Hakim chanted and rubbed his ruby ring. Suddenly, a fountain of flame blossomed from it, and a creature made of fire and molten rock arose.

  “What is your bidding, Master?” it asked.

  Hakim pointed at the guards Meyer had pinned down. With a roar, the creature rushed at them. Moments later, they were reduced to ash.

  Sam could only gape as the beast returned to the ring. Holy hand grenade.

  “Repent!” Alexia said, doing a split in mid-air and stabbing both guards in the chest. They convulsed and then fell to the ground, dead. She got up and cleaned off her blades, regarding both men with regret.

  “It looks like you guys didn’t need me after all,” Sam said.

  “This one wouldn’t say that,” Hakim said. “He is just glad to see that Lady Castille will be joining us.”

  Sam said, “Good thing you have that fire beast going on. Meyer’s powers are useless against pure humans.”

  Meyer glared at her. “No bantering during a mission, Sam,” he said. As she stuck her tongue out, he tapped his headset. “Dixie, we’ve disabled the surface-to-air missile launcher. Ouellette and his people will still have to contend with the machine guns. Requesting permission to do a sweep of each of the towers.”

  “Negative.” Dixie’s voice was crackling badly. Sam tapped her ear piece to try and clear it up. “Go to the southwest door and rendezvous with Veronica. Then proceed directly to your objective. The Knight Priory is gathered, but they won’t stay there when they learn about the fighting.”

  Veronica. Sam had a few things to say to her.

  “Affirmative. Over and out.” Meyer reloaded his rifle. “Ready, Hakim?”

  Hakim bowed slightly. “Na’am.”

  They headed off together.

  Sam hurried over to Alexia. “Hey, you ready?”

  Alexia was still staring at the men she’d killed. “This is my first time… ya know, murdering someone. Even in self-defense, it’s not right.”

  They didn’t have time for this. Sam was just about to say something when Alexia sighed. “It hurts, Sam, but I can’t focus on it right now. We have to go. I’ll pray on it later.”

  Sam began to understand what the others meant about Alexia’s will being something amazing. She said, “All right, then. Did you hear what Dixie said?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You ready to do this? It’s going to be hell.”

  Alexia radiated confidence. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

  As they ran toward the southwest door, machine-gun fire started up again. In the distance, Sam saw sixteen New Orleans police helicopters heading toward them, two from each precinct. They started firing on the machine-gun nests in the towers. Well, I may hate Ouellette, but we need the police.

  At the doorway to the southwest tower, they met up with Veronica dressed as a member of the Knight Priory. Once inside a metal hallway, she pulled them into a small room. “OK, listen up. I’ve already sent Meyer and Hakim on. The only one I haven’t confirmed is the Oracle, but he’s likely in the meeting—”

  Sam grabbed her collar and slammed her against
the wall. The rage had returned. “You listen up, you worthless insect! You didn’t do your job right, and because of that, Kyle, Victor, Tania, and the others are likely dead!”

  “Sam, what the heck?” Alexia yelled.

  “You deserve to die for what you did!” Sam screamed at Veronica.

  Yet Veronica remained calm. “Yes, Sam, I screwed up big. I should have been more thorough, and I wasn’t. If they’re dead, it’s on me.” Then she grabbed Sam’s hands and slid them to her neck. “You want to kill me over this? Go ahead. I can’t fight you. You’re a god. I’m nothing. Like you said, I’m an insect.” She locked eyes with Sam, her expression firm. “And what are you? Are you a monster?”

  “What are you two doing?” Alexia seemed completely shocked.

  With her hands around Veronica’s neck, Sam imagined squeezing. Veronica would gurgle, her eyes would bulge, and in seconds, she’d be dead.

  But even as she stood there, she remembered the big guard from earlier. She could have let him live, but she’d chosen not to. He was just a soldier, and she’d chosen to kill him in cold blood, even after she’d rendered him helpless. She had one foot in her own damnation.

  No. I am not going to do this.

  Letting go and turning away, Sam leaned against the wall, her bangs covering her face. I’ve almost become Vincent. That realization made her tremble. She had come an inch away from losing herself.

  From the side, Alexia looked back and forth from her to Veronica, her eyes wide.

  Then Veronica straightened up. “Seems there’s some part of you that’s still human. Try to keep it that way.” Putting on her mask, she slipped out the door.

  Alexia gently touched Sam’s arm. “Um, are you gonna be OK?”

  Nodding ever so slightly, Sam said, “Yeah. I’ll be OK.” She had stopped herself from turning, from becoming another Vincent.

  She smiled at Alexia. “I’ll be OK.”

  Chapter 46

  Knight Priory of Saint Madonna

  Date: Sunday, June 15, 1997

  Time: 9:52 p.m.

  Location: Deepwater Olympus

  Somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico

  With Amelie next to her, Tania pressed against the cool metal wall. Chase and Noelle were a few feet away.

  “Damn, I am so lucky to be alive,” Chase said, wringing out his clothing.

  Noelle sniffed disdainfully. “You smell like a wet dog.”

  “Hush, you two!” Tania exclaimed. While they all had been lucky to survive the crash, they were now considerably behind. And being somewhere in the lower maintenance levels of Deepwater didn’t exactly fill her with confidence about catching up. Even worse, they had all lost their headsets, so they couldn’t contact the base.

  “What do you think?” Amelie asked, nervously twirling her knives.

  Tania hummed. “Well, people, any ideas?”

  “Yes,” Noelle said. “We find a radio room and contact Dixie.”

  “Then I get some dry clothes,” Chase said with a growl.

  Tania said, “Good idea. The radio, I mean.”

  As she started down the hallway, Amelie tapped her arm. “Hey, T,” she said, using the nickname she had given Tania years ago, “are you sure those two will keep it together?”

  Noelle and Chase were quietly arguing over which silenced pistol was whose.

  Tania grunted. “This is no time for a discussion. Let’s contact the base and then go from there.” But still, she was nervous. Despite believing in her abilities as well as in GEIST, she was starting to get nervous. Things had not gone according to plan.

  By the time they found the radio room, located in one of the sub-levels, the rig had gone completely quiet. Tania stood before the door with Amelie beside her. Noelle and Chase leaned on either side of it.

  Sister, what do you sense?

  “There are two guards in the room and a third coming this way. That’s all.”

  Tania cleared her throat, then pointed to the door and held up two fingers. Both Chase and Noelle nodded.

  Then she whispered, “Amelie. Someone is turning that corner any moment.”

  Amelie nodded.

  “Do we kill or not?” Noelle asked quietly.

  While Chase grinned, Amelie sternly shook her head. Tania frowned.

  I’m the operative, so it’s my call.

  “Yes, well, make a decision now, Sister.”

  Sucking in her breath, Tania whispered, “We don’t have time to fight. We kill. Sorry, Amelie.”

  “Very well.” She seemed less than pleased.

  “You’d think a former CIA assassin wouldn’t have trouble with that.”

  Some people join GEIST to escape their past.

  Raising her hand, Tania counted to three and then dropped it. Noelle and Chase kicked down the door and rushed inside, where two guards were engrossed in a card game. They didn’t even have a chance to blink before they were both shot in the head. Amelie knelt down, took aim, and threw a knife the moment the third guard ran around the corner. It embedded in his throat.

  “I apologize,” she said.

  Inside the room, Chase worked quickly on the radio. “OK, I’ve cross-checked their frequencies to the ones GEIST is using. This channel should be secure.”

  “Thanks,” Tania said, grateful for his expertise. Removing her mask, she spoke into the mic. “Tania to Dixie. Come in.”

  Dixie came through clearly. “Tania? Thank God you’re all right. Who’s with you?”

  “Amelie, Noelle, and Chase. The rest are gone. What’s the status?”

  “Kyle and Victor’s helicopter crashed on the side of the rig. We don’t know if anyone survived. Sam, Meyer, Hakim, and Alexia have rendezvoused with Veronica and are heading to the main meeting hall in the center of the compound. Patty is guiding Sebastian and Sheree through the rig to get to the boring device.”

  “OK,” Tania said. “So, any deviation to the plan?”

  “None. Ouellette and the police just finished dispatching the machine-gun nests and are setting up a perimeter as well as seizing control of the yachts at the dock of the rig. You are to proceed to the meeting hall and complete your missions before the Knight Priory scatters.”

  “All right. Over and out.”

  As she spun the tuning dials to hide the GEIST frequency, Chase asked, “So, question: When Noelle and I grab the mayor, do we take him topside for a copter ride?”

  “No,” Tania said. “Once you secure the mayor, take him to the docks and requisition one of the yachts for transport.”

  “Hell, yeah,” he said, slapping Noelle on the ass. “Party time with tequila and lime.”

  Noelle punched him in the mouth.

  Heading up the rig was slower than Tania had anticipated, thanks to the many guards interspersed between the twisting corridors and small rooms. Moving two-by-two, they successfully took out every one of them without alerting the others. Even Amelie, who always apologized whenever she killed, admitted they didn’t have the time or manpower to subdue that many people.

  When they reached the floor containing the main meeting hall, the tight corridors and rooms were replaced by more spacious ones. With soft carpet and wood-paneled walls, it was obvious the floor plan was designed solely for comfort.

  Chase, whose busted lip was no longer puffy, said, “Think they redecorated this place just for the Knight Priory?”

  With a snort, Noelle said, “Obviously. How narcissistic of them, just like the elite.”

  Tuning out their banter, Tania focused on the area before her. There were about eight guards, some moving around and others standing idly. Beyond them was a set of double doors leading to the meeting hall, with two more guards on either side of it. And off to the side, in an alcove, was a smaller door marked “Balcony.”

  “Amelie, can you sneak onto the balcony with me?”

  “Of course,” she said. “We’ll need a distraction for all those guards, though.”

  “Hmmm.” Tania motioned to Chase and No
elle. “Any ideas, you two?”

  Noelle’s brow wrinkled. “It would be hard to distract them without raising such an alarm that Chase and I can’t get to the mayor before he—”

  “We can rig the water valves in the kitchen to flood!” Chase exclaimed.

  Everyone stared at him.

  “Think about it. A fire alarm will clear the rig, and if any of us blow our cover now, we may lose a chance to get our targets. But some broken pipes? That should get almost everyone on this floor concerned.”

  Tania had to admit that was a pretty good idea. “OK, you two. Go for it.”

  “This will all end in tears,” Noelle muttered as she and Chase snuck off.

  “What is her problem, T?” Amelie asked.

  Frowning, Tania said, “Noelle’s never been good at expressing her feelings, but I think she actually fancies Chase.”

  Amelie cocked an eyebrow at her. “Seriously?”

  With a shrug, Tania said, “Despite everything, she always volunteers to partner up with him.” That said, Tania turned her attention inward. You’ve been awfully quiet, Sister.

  “I’m worried about Sam.”

  What do you mean?

  “I don’t know. I have a feeling. A bad feeling.”

  Sister, you’re a ghost. You are nothing but bad feelings.

  “I’m being serious, dummy! I’m honestly scared that something awful is about to happen.”

  Before Tania could reply, someone shouted, “Busted water pipe in the kitchen!” With the exception of the two guards in front of the double doors, everyone else rushed out of the room.