The Vagabonds (The Code of War Book 4)

by Jim Roberts

  Everything was happening so quickly.

  Vorena shook her head, “No, Tiberius has too many allies among Olympus. Killing him would make him a martyr, as well as force his men against you. You need to shore up your strength—prove to Olympus you are the one to lead them.”

  “How?”

  “Follow the Imperator’s final command. Force Joe Braddock to override the Code of War failsafe and activate the Viral AI.” Vorena’s eyes were shaded, as her mind worked over the many issues facing them, “Once that’s done, use Orion to execute Braddock.”

  “What? Why Orion?”

  “Think about it. Our most powerful soldier erases the Honorius bloodline forever in a place where all can see. What better way to show you have the willpower to lead Olympus.”

  Titus went over everything he’d heard. It all felt like madness.

  This is your chance…you are the Imperator now. Act soon, or fail forever.

  “Yes,” he said at length, “Find Cicero and tell him to meet us in the Stream Core. I think it’s time I meet this man Braddock face to face…before I end him like the dog he is.”

  Chapter 33

  Tyranny of Evil Men

  Onboard the Titan, October 7th

  SIMILAR TO the bridge, the Stream Core was a true technological marvel. Located one deck below the command level, the Core spread out in a concave-like design. Resembling something out of a cold-war era spy novel, the Core was a dark pit of highly advanced monitoring equipment. Supercomputer mainframes surrounded the space on all sides, wherein the center, a massive viewscreen showed a LED layout of the entire world in high definition. Thousands of tiny red blips speckled the map. Beside it, a computerized readout fed a continuous flow of digital binary coding, nonsense to any not trained to read it. Dozens of technicians and computer analysts labored intently at the various workstations spread throughout the Core.

  To Joe Braddock, this was the true center of Olympus.

  He and Jade had been hustled into the Core by their Centurion captors. All the while, Joe had kept his eyes out for any possible opportunity for escape, but none had presented itself. Now, they were both placed off to the side of the Stream Core—on their knees—waiting for the Imperator to return.

  Jade leaned over and asked, “What the hell is this place, Joe?”

  “Well,” Joe replied, glancing about the room, “if I have only the name to go by, I’d guess this is where they control the Stream. The Centurions and other Olympus troops connected to it must be monitored here.”

  Joe locked eyes on a strange set of devices near the viewscreen—twin pedestals that were connected to a slew of arterial wires and cables. Beside the pedestals was a rather ominous looking cylindrical machine with several small needles jutting inwardly. Joe had no earthly clue what that could be.

  Looking back at the first pedestal, Joe noticed a socket on top of it. Inside sat a familiar looking object.

  The first Code of War disc.

  A group of techs clustered around the pedestals and began unpacking the Zero Halliburton case. Removing the second disc, they looked like they were preparing to connect it into the dock on the opposite base.

  Once both are activated, the Viral A.I. would go online.

  Joe spoke to Jade, quietly, “We have to find a way to disable that thing.”

  “I’m not seeing many options here, Joe.”

  “Maybe we can distract the guards. Maybe give us enough time to—”

  One of the Centurions smacked Joe hard on the side of the face. “Quiet!”

  They sat in silence. After a few minutes, Jade dared to lean in, whispering, “What are they going to do?”

  Joe whispered back, “They need my blood to override the Code of War failsafe. Once that’s done, the Viral A.I. will go online.”

  “What? Why yours?”

  “Uh…it’s a long story I’ll have to tell you later. But it begins with my blood being the key to unlocking the failsafe. Once done, they can activate the Viral A.I.”

  “And then what?”

  “We’re both dead.”

  Jade let out a halting breath, “Fantastic.”

  “I’m sorry, ladybird, I didn’t mean for you to get mixed up in this.”

  Jade shook her head, “I got myself mixed up in this, Joe. They almost killed me back at the bridge.”

  “Why didn’t they?”

  Jade swallowed, “I…they decided I was valuable. Their leader recognized me.”

  Joe frowned, “How?”

  “I’m not sure. But right now, there’s something you need to know…something I should have told you back in Maryland—”

  At that moment, the entrance into the Core opened and a small group of people entered. The first was a tall, well-built man wearing a terrifying obsidian facemask. He was followed by a stunningly beautiful blonde woman. Behind her stepped an ancient looking man with slicked white hair and circles under his eyes.

  Great. Who the hell are these clowns?

  Joe could feel Jade tense beside him.

  The mask-wearing bigwig strode across the room until he stood directly in front of Joe. The Centurions hauled the two Peacemakers to their feet.

  “Joe Braddock,” the man’s voice spoke through some sort of filter. Joe could vaguely make out the man’s eyes behind the mask. Deep and cold, they made him shudder.

  “Yeah, who are you?”

  The man punched Joe square across the face, dropping him back to the ground. The Centurions pulled him to his feet. Jade moved to help her man but was roughly shoved away by the guard.

  Shaking his bruised hand, the masked man said, “That was for Octavia.”

  Blood pouring from his nose, Joe tried to shake out the cobwebs, “I’m sorry, have we met?”

  “You knew the woman I loved. Back in Sadoma City, you shot her to death. She was unarmed and you executed her like a common criminal!”

  Joe had no clue what this man was talking about. “I’m sorry, but I’m really not following.”

  “I have no time for lies, Braddock.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Joe repeated.

  “I am Titus, Imperator of Olympus. These others with me are Vorena and Cicero—my fellow Lords in the Olympia Brotherhood. We haven’t met, so you may not remember my face…”

  The man reached up and removed the obsidian mask he wore. Both Peacemakers blanched at the sight underneath.

  Titus spoke with barely contained rage, “I was in charge of the Olympus force back in Zimbala. I was but a Tribune then. Now, I am Imperator of the Olympus PMC.”

  Braddock exchanged confused looks with Jade. “Imperator?” he repeated the word, “What about the old basket-case that was just here?”

  Joe could detect a moment of uncertainty in the scarred man’s eyes. Titus quickly replaced the mask over his face. “There’s been an…incident. I have assumed command of the Olympus private military.”

  Several technicians around the room turned to look at them. The man named Cicero scowled noticeably but maintained his disciplined composure.

  Joe realized something wasn’t right.

  Titus pointed at a man Joe guessed was some sort of communications officer. “You! I wish to address the ship. Put me on speaker!”

  The tech seemed to hesitate at the order, but a cold look from the blonde woman made him snap to. He passed Titus a small device, which the new Imperator held up to his mask.

  “Attention, all hands of the Titan.” The voice was echoed through the ship’s intercom for all to hear. “This is Titus, formerly your Secondus. There has been a…terrible accident. A man we believed to be one of our greatest commanders has attempted a coup against our great Imperator.”

  Joe and Jade exchanged glances, astounded by what was happening.

  Titus continued, “It is my sad duty to announce that Legate Tiberius has been placed under arrest, pending an investigation into the apparent murder of our beloved leader, Augustus.”

  There were sounds of shocked ga
sps and murmurs from the crewmembers around the Core.

  Titus clicked the mic again and said, “I, as your true Secondus and heir to the Olympia Brotherhood, take on the mantle my Father gave to me. I am your new Imperator.”

  A pin dropping on the moon would make more noise than the room’s occupants right now.

  “To honor the legacy of my great father, I shall proceed with his final wish—the activation of the Stream Viral A.I.”

  Hanging up the mic, Titus marched over to the pedestals. Pushing the technicians aside, he clasped the second code disc and placed it onto its dock.

  “A new Empire will rise from what happens this day. It all starts right now.”

  He pressed the disc down into the dock. If there was supposed to be a reaction, Joe didn’t notice any.

  Titus turned back to Joe. “So…this is where you fulfill the turgid destiny of your bloodline, Joe Braddock.” Titus gestured to the Centurions, “Take him.”

  The Centurions grasped Joe.

  “Leave him alone!” Jade yelled out. It was for naught. She received a violent backhand from one of the Centurions, dropping her to the ground.

  Anger boiled over inside of Joe, “Goddamn you sons of bitches, you hurt her again, I swear I’ll fucking kill you all!”

  The Centurions pushed him across the Core toward the pedestals. The old man called Cicero was configuring the ominous looking cylindrical device. Getting a better look at it, it reminded Joe of a sort of giant Chinese finger trap—but for a limb instead of a digit. Joe quickly guessed its purpose—to draw his blood and test his stress levels so deactivation of the failsafe could occur.

  Cicero directed the Centurions to release Joe’s restraints and hold out his right arm. He fought back violently, thrashing against his captors like a madman. After a minute of resistance, Cicero gave up. He said to Titus, “It won’t work if his stress levels are aggravated. He needs to be calm!”

  Titus grimaced. He marched over and grabbed Jade by the arm.

  Joe saw this and shouted a warning, “Don’t touch her!”

  “I don’t have all day, Braddock,” Titus said, marching Jade up to stand opposite Joe. Grasping her tight by the neck, he said, “You have exactly one minute to calm the fuck down, put your arm in that machine and deactivate the failsafe. If you don’t, I will cut this bitch’s throat in front of you.”

  Joe gritted his teeth. He looked into Jade’s eyes—those beautiful green eyes he loved so much. It hurt him beyond reasoning to see her in pain. She wasn’t panicking—but there was a fear in her eyes he’d never seen before.

  Titus withdrew a combat knife from his belt and held it to Jade’s throat.

  “Do it, Braddock! Or she dies…”

  The eyes behind the helmet flashed with hate.

  “…and your child dies with her.”

  Joe blinked, not comprehending.

  Child?

  What?

  Titus cocked his head to the side, “Oh…he didn’t know.”

  Joe met Jade’s eyes, searching for the truth. Titus had to be lying…a trick of some sort to force him to comply.

  But there was no lie in Jade’s emerald eyes. She spoke, her voice trembling, “I…I’m so sorry, Joe, I tried to tell you—”

  Titus put a hand over her mouth, cutting off her next words.

  “This is it, Braddock. Do what I say, or she’s dead!”

  Joe eyed his surroundings, searching for an escape.

  Nothing.

  The world had caved in around him. He wasn’t sure what was real anymore.

  If Olympus activated the Viral A.I., countless lives will be altered or ended. The future of war itself would be under their control. Joe couldn’t sacrifice those lives just to save one…

  ...One he loved more than anything, who now carried his unborn child.

  Joe shook his head, “I…I can’t.”

  Titus’s eyes darkened inside the mask. When he spoke, his voice was dangerously calm. “I’ll count to three. By then, it’ll either be your blood deactivating the failsafe or her blood spraying across your fucking face.”

  Jade closed her eyes, sweat pouring from her forehead.

  Joe Braddock glared at Titus.

  I can’t…

  “One.”

  I can’t trade her life, my unborn child’s life for thousands…millions…

  “Two.”

  Mother of God help me!

  What the hell do I do?

  “Three…”

  My child.

  My love.

  Forgive me.

  “Alright,” Braddock said, his voice weak with defeat, “Alright for fucksakes. I’ll do it!”

  “Joe, don’t…” Jade’s words were halted by Titus’s iron-like grip.

  The new Imperator lowered the knife, “Good. Now put your arm in, Joe. The machine will only accept your DNA if your stress levels are below a certain point. I suggest you calm down—and pray that this works…”

  Joe stood up, taking a long cleansing breath. “Before all of this is over, I’m going to kill you.”

  He could swear Titus was smiling behind the mask.

  The old man Cicero said, “Hold out your arm, Braddock. Calm yourself. We only have one try at this. You’d best get it right.”

  Joe did as he was told. Placing his arm within the cylindrical device, he closed his eyes. As an Army Ranger, he’d been taught multiple ways to reduce battle stress. Regulating his breathing, Joe forced his mind to relax. He pushed out the worry for Jade’s life; pushed away the fear of death. After a few seconds, he’d managed to bring himself into a serene, zen-like position of apathy toward the world. He felt his heartbeat slow, his adrenaline ebbing away.

  He was as ready as he’d ever me.

  “Do it,” Joe said to Cicero.

  The Olympus Elder activated the machine. The needles jabbed forward, biting deep into Braddock’s arm. Joe winced from the pain but maintained his calm.

  Cicero moved to stand by a small monitoring station. “Hold it…the DNA sequencer is checking now…”

  Joe held his breath, fighting back the pain. After a few horrible seconds, a synthetic voice spoke from the station, “Honorius DNA match confirmed. Viral A.I. failsafe deactivated.”

  The needles retracted. Joe slumped down, feeling weak. He had no idea how much blood the thing had drained from him.

  Cicero looked up from the monitoring station, a smile on his aged face. He said to Titus, “My lord, the Viral A.I. is ready to be activated. The Stream satellites require a retasking before the Code of War can be initiated.

  “What is the ETA on the retask?” Titus asked the tech.

  “Exactly thirty minutes.”

  “Good.” Titus sounded pleased.

  The Centurions hefted Joe back to his feet.

  Titus passed Jade over to the small blonde woman. Vorena unholstered a handgun to keep guard on the female Peacemaker.

  The new Imperator stepped in front of Joe, his eyes gleaming inside the mask.

  “Thank you, Braddock. You’ll never know what you’ve allowed Olympus to accomplish. A new world starts right now.”

  “Fuck yourself.”

  Titus laughed, “Really. I thought you’d be happy. Well, it doesn’t matter now.” Reaching over to where he’d left it, he picked up the microphone. Activating it, he made an announcement over the Titan’s intercom.

  “To all Olympus personnel—this is your Imperator. We have begun the activation procedure of the Code of War Stream Viral A.I. In a half hour, the Fog of War shall be raised for Olympus. War shall no longer be a chaotic beast driven by power-mad politicians. Olympus will guide the world toward a new age—a new order.”

  He paused, turning to look Joe in the eyes. All Braddock could detect was a seething hatred burning in their centers.

  Titus keyed the mic, continuing his rant, “In the meantime, it is my duty to see traitors and terrorists dealt with. I shall activate our newest weapon—code-named Orion—to eliminate the
son of the traitor Leo Lennox. Joseph Braddock, along with the assassin Agrippina, shall die at the hands of our greatest soldier—one who shall lead Olympus forward in the new order we have initiated this day.” Titus became even more magnanimous, “You shall all bath in our success this day. We are Olympus! Fraternitas bellatorum, qui inhonorem!”

  There were scattered cheers around the Core, but Joe could see it was a rather muted reaction compared to what Titus was expecting. The new Imperator threw the microphone to a nearby tech, then turned back to the Peacemaker.

  “Nice speech,” Joe said, sarcastically.

  A punch to the stomach from Titus doubled Braddock over.

  “How’s that for an encore?” the new Imperator said. The Centurions on either side of Joe hoisted him back to his feet. Titus said, “Stick him with a shot of epinephrine, then take him to the Proving ground. I want him pliable when he is executed by our new hunter killer.”

  Vorena spoke, holding Jade tight in her grasp, “What about this bitch?”

  “Take her with us,” Titus replied, “She can watch her man be turned into a smear on the floor.” Looking to Cicero, he said, “Stay here, Elder. I want there to be no mistakes with the Viral A.I. activation.”

  Reluctantly, Cicero nodded, “Yes, my Imperator.”

  The Centurions hoisted Joe out from the Stream Core. His mind was a confused mess, still trying to grapple with ramifications of what he’d just set in motion. He saw the woman Vorena leading Jade out in front of him.

  Their eyes met. Joe felt a love unlike anything in his life for this woman.

  No matter what, he would never stop fighting.

  Somehow, he would cancel the Viral A.I.

  Whatever the cost.

  * * *

  AS THE new Imperator made his mad proclamation over the PA system of the Titan, Orchid—wedged inside the air ducts of Deck B1—listened carefully. Whoever this Titus was, he’d just made a play for the entire show and it was all going down soon. She relayed the information immediately to Headcase back at the Harbinger. The Vagabond/Peacemaker strike force was on its way, but they were still a ways off. After hearing the news that the Viral A.I. would be activated in thirty minutes, Brick had told Orchid to step up the timetable and commence the plan to bring the ship to the surface.