The Zoya Chronicles Boxed Set

by Kate Sander

  Senka was suddenly confused. “What message?”

  “I signed my research,” Tomo said. She went beet red and said quietly, “I did terrible things, Sen.” She hung her head. Senka saw a tear form and drop to the concrete floor.

  “One step at a time. How did you sign your research?” Senka asked. Her heart went cold, her hands shook. The tingling, the bad feelings about the mission. It all started to make sense. She didn’t want to believe it.

  “C.B.Penn,” Tomo answered, “my name, or most of it. It’s how I always signed stuff in university.” Senka took a full step back in shock. Tomo was confused. “Wait, that’s not why you’re here?”

  “Carter, you didn’t show anyone else?” Senka asked icily. She was staring at Tomo so coldly that it was her turn to take a step back.

  “No,” Carter said. She could hear the hurt in his voice. Senka’s world was crashing around her. Leo sensed it and hopped to his feet, rushing to lick her hand. Trying desperately to help her find her center.

  “Find Amanda!” Carter barked to someone else in the room.

  Senka’s heart slowed. It all seemed like slow motion. She had guessed there was a traitor but she didn’t want to believe that it was Amanda. Amanda was her friend, her confidant. Her trainer. She was her idol, her role model. Senka loved her. She shook her head slowly, trying to make sense of it.

  “Senka, what’s wrong?” Tomo asked her.

  “It seems your wife offered up a trade,” Senka said quietly, venomously.

  Shock crossed Tomo’s face. “No,” she said quietly, “no, Amanda wouldn’t do that.”

  Senka was looking at Tomo with such hurt in her eyes that Tomo didn’t know what to do.

  “No,” Tomo said forcefully. “Amanda wouldn’t do that. Senka it has to be a mistake.”

  The world was rushing around her. Everyone had betrayed her. Her sheer exhilaration of seeing Tomo alive was wiped away with the pain of the betrayal. She shook her head, trying to clear it, but it didn’t work. She shouldn’t be surprised. Senka for Tomo. It made sense. She shook her head again but it didn’t work.

  “Senka!” Carter said loud enough to snap her out of it.

  Senka looked at Tomo so coldly that Tomo took another step back.

  “We can’t find her,” Carter said. “She’s not in her office.”

  “Let’s get you out of here,” she said to Tomo coldly. “Your wife is waiting.”

  Senka jogged ahead, leaving Tomo behind her in a stunned silence. Leo nudged Tomo’s hand. She gathered herself and chased after her old partner. Senka allowed her to catch up and they ran in silence, each trapped in their own heads.

  They came to another T and Senka could hear them coming from one of the hallways.

  “There are lots of them,” Senka said to Tomo. “Take Leo,” she said, gesturing to the German Shepard sitting loyally beside her. “There are some kids being kept here. I need you to find them. Take Leo and get out.”

  “No.” Both Tomo and Carter at the same time.

  “I already found them. They were headed towards the kitchens when I left them,” Tomo said. “And yes, before you ask, Carter’s son is alive. They have the same eyes. I figured it out pretty quickly.” Realization crossed her face, “That’s why you came?”

  Senka heard a sigh of relief from Carter. Her eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you go with them?” completely avoiding the last question. “They are sitting ducks!”

  Tomo shook her head. “I was making a distraction,” she said. She averted her eyes and lowered her gaze. “I figured they would chase them harder if they knew I was with them.”

  That single look and blatant lie diffused all of Senka’s anger. Tomo was proud. She had been an Empress of a country six times larger than Langundo in The Other Place. She averted her eyes to nothing. The humility rocked her to her core.

  “You didn’t want to make it out of here,” Senka said softly.

  Senka crouched to look Leo in the eyes. “Get out of here bud. Find a way out.” Leo looked at her sadly and nudged her hand, whining. She gave him a good ear rub. “You’re a good boy. The best. You did your job.” Leo whined again and lay down, looking at her sadly. Big brown eyes staring with pure devotion.

  She stood. She could hear the men running down the hallway. Tomo looked at her and nodded. They left the rest unspoken. Carter didn’t need to know.

  They went to leave and Leo sprang up, ready to follow. “Stay!” Senka said quietly. He huffed at her and sat on his butt. He let out a low cry.

  “Why are you leaving Leo?” Carter asked.

  “There’s too many. He won’t be of much use,” Senka lied. She had one full clip and one in the chamber. Eleven bullets. Then the Tantos would be used. Tomo had kept Makaze unsheathed.

  They nodded to each other, each lost in her own thoughts. Each had her own reasons to die. They turned and ran full speed down the hall to the T. The men were waiting to ambush on both sides. Senka couldn’t count them all, they were wall to wall.

  She fired all eleven shots as fast as she could as Tomo leapt into the middle of the fray, Makaze flashing. Blood spurted high in the air. Eight of the men dropped with head shots. She hit three in the chest. Tomo went high, Senka went low and they dove over each other. Senka dropped her gun and pulled her Tantos out mid roll. She came up swinging. She was enjoying it, being back with her partner. They moved in tandem, like the year gap had never happened.

  Blood was spurting. Bodies were falling. Senka turned quickly and saw a guard raising his gun to Tomo’s back, who was busy attacking three guards at once.

  “Tomo!” she yelled and she pushed Tomo out of the way as the shot rang out.

  Senka’s left hand went dead. The Tanto dropped to the floor with a bang. Blood started pouring from a bullet hole in her bicep. She felt the warm sticky fluid flow down her arm and it started dripping off her hand. She saw the blood, then the pain exploded in her arm.

  Tomo kept her feet after Senka pushed her. She spun quickly and caught the guard at the wrist. His hand was cut clear from his body. It fell, gun still in its grasp and clattered to the floor. The guard barely had time to register the shock at losing the limb. Tomo spun the other direction and cut his head off.

  She looked at Senka worried. Senka saw her gaze shift to behind her and her look of surprise. Then Senka felt the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of her skull.

  “Well, Dr. Penner, I think you know what we want you to do.” A woman’s voice behind her.

  Tomo looked at Senka and smiled. She whispered something inaudible to Makaze and sheathed her, blood still on the blade.

  “No! Tomo!’ Senka said sharply. Nails dug into the bullet hole in her arm. Pain exploded and radiated upwards. She didn’t scream, though she could have. Her knees went weak and she dropped to them. The gun stayed directly against her skull.

  “No! You need to go see Amanda,” Senka gasped. “You need to live happily ever after! You two deserve that.”

  The claws dug into her arm again. Senka almost blacked out with the pain and listed slightly to the left.

  Tomo smiled sadly at Senka and held Makaze out in front of her. “We don’t deserve happily ever after,” she said quietly and dropped Makaze with a bang. “We haven’t earned it.” She raised her arms and two men approached and grabbed them. They wrenched them hard behind her back. Tomo was staring at Senka, eyes never leaving her face.

  “I love you Amanda,” Tomo said to the camera on Senka’s chest. “I always have.”

  “How touching,” the woman behind Senka said, bored. Senka felt the muzzle of the gun removed from the back of her head. Suddenly pain exploded in her head as the woman pistol whipped her skull. Stars erupted. She fell heavily to her right and landed on the cold concrete ground. She tried to keep conscious but the darkness drew her down. The last thing she saw was Tomo’s concerned face as she struggled against the guards. Senka’s head fell to the ground with a thump and darkness took hold.

  31


  Senka

  October 31, 2023, 04:42

  Location: Dorfen, Germany.

  Senka blinked herself awake but stayed motionless. Her head was killing her. She was laying on her side on a soft and comfortable red carpet. Her hands were tied behind her. Not shocking. She had no weapons. Also not shocking. As she focused she noticed two things that did surprise her.

  The first thing was that Tomo was awake and alive and tied to a chair by her hands and ankles. Tomo hadn’t noticed that she was awake. She was staring straight ahead, looking at something behind Senka.

  The second was that, under the desk located in the corner of the office, two bright brown eyes stared at her.

  Fucking dog never listens, she thought to herself. She wanted to be mad at him for disobeying her but she was so glad to see him. She had no idea how Leo had gotten into the room without being seen. Frankly she didn’t care. Leo was here. That was all that mattered.

  She waited to hear the crackle of Carter’s voice in her ear but there was nothing. She moved slightly, announcing her consciousness. Her arm throbbed and she could feel the cool wet of blood as it dribbled slowly from the bullet hole.

  “Ah! Our second guest has woken!” a man’s voice said silkily from behind her. He had a distinct German accent. Senka guessed who it was. There was complete silence in her head and she realized that they must have taken her earpiece. She was on her own.

  Not alone. She had been alone for the last year. Tomo was alive and Leo was here. She had all the help in the world.

  She felt hands grab her roughly and pull her to her knees. Her arm screamed in protest and her head spun.

  “Be nice to our guest, Alejandra,” the man said behind them. “We don’t want her to feel unwelcome.”

  The hands held her upright as she adjusted and let the world settle back into position. She felt nauseous. The back of her head was cool and she realized she must be bleeding from there as well. She was a mess.

  Once she caught her bearings and was stable on her knees the hands let go. She was facing Tomo. Their eyes locked. Unspoken apologies were made.

  “Now,” the man said. He walked from behind Senka approaching Tomo. It was Freudman, red beard and all. A woman followed, dressed in a tailored suit. Senka was more than a little disappointed that she had gotten herself into a situation where a woman in a power suit and heels had pistol whipped her. Something to laugh about later, she thought.

  “Let us have a discussion,” Freudman continued.

  “Get on with this,” Senka said.

  “We don’t have all day,” Tomo added.

  Freudman looked surprised, “Somewhere better to be?” he stuttered slightly. Senka smiled. They had already thrown him off of his game.

  “Should be a decent movie out,” Senka offered.

  “I was thinking coffee,” Tomo said. “Been a while since my last Pumpkin Spice Latte.”

  “You and your Pumpkin Spice,” Senka said.

  “Better than drinking coffee black, you psychopath.”

  “Enough!” Freudman said loudly. This time Tomo smiled at Senka. They had gotten under his skin. Senka took the time to do a quick aura check. His was the darkest purple she had ever seen. So dark it looked almost like black ink. The woman’s was red. “If you don’t shut up, I will shut you up myself,” Freudman continued.

  “As long as you shut up with us,” Senka muttered.

  Alejandra stepped forward and stuck her thumb in the bullet hole in Senka’s arm. She gritted her teeth as pain exploded up her arm again. It had almost clotted closed, but this had ripped it open again and blood poured over Alejandra’s hand and down Senka’s arm. Senka’s head swam.

  “Bitch!” Tomo yelled.

  Senka was trying hard to keep conscious. She clenched her jaw and tried to breathe through her nose. Finally, after ages, Alejandra let her go. Senka nearly fell over but she kept to her knees. The world spun again and blood was flowing freely, dark red falling to the red carpet.

  Alejandra stood and Freudman held out the handkerchief from his front pocket. She wiped her hands on it. Senka was impressed. Not a speck of blood had gotten on her suit.

  “Now,” Freudman said, “may we have our discussion?”

  “Why?” Tomo asked, “We don’t really care to be honest. We aren’t making it out of here, you’re smarter than us, blah blah blah. We have heard it all before and honestly it gets boring. Just do what you’re going to do and let us get on with our day.”

  Freudman put his head back and laughed. “You will not get out of here to enjoy your day,” he said. “I know you are used to escaping, but that stops here.”

  “Why is she here?” Senka asked suddenly. She needed some information and she hoped that by switching tactics she would catch him off guard. She still had the camera on, she could see it attached to her t-shirt, basically invisible to the naked eye. She also still had the microphone that was attached by a sticker to her neck. Carter should be able to see and hear everything even if he couldn’t speak with her.

  “What do you mean?” Freudman asked.

  “Well I know that Amanda made a deal,” Senka said. Tomo blanched and shook her head, but Senka continued. “My life for hers. Why is she still here?” Senka was buying time. She could tell by the feel on her wrists that they had bound her hands with zip-ties. She shifted her weight and did a quick assessment of her clothes. No guns or swords, but she felt the bulge of the pills in her right pocket and the small knife she kept tucked in the back of her jeans. She smiled to herself. The bitch in the power suit hadn’t done her job.

  Freudman laughed again. “My, my, you have already figured out my big reveal! Yes, Mrs. Nguyen traded your life for hers. But as you’ve killed many of my men, I believe our deal will be retracted.”

  Tomo paled even more.

  “You basically let me in. You had to know I’d kill people when you made the deal. It was too easy. I knew it was a trap.”

  “Well maybe I changed my mind,” Freudman said.

  “So you’re a liar,” Senka said. She spat on the rich carpet. Freudman turned to her angrily. “Never trust a German,” she said, staring him angrily in the eyes.

  “I did not lie!” he exploded. “I had every intention of freeing her once we had you captured. But my employer wants both of you. I cannot deny my employer.”

  This caught Senka off guard. All the information they had gathered had pointed to Freudman as being the mastermind. Relief crossed Tomo’s face.

  “Don’t get too cocky, my dear Zoya,” he said to Senka. “You don’t actually know much of what’s going on here.”

  “Well then,” Tomo piped up, finding her voice, “why don’t you tell us?”

  “What?” Freudman said to her. “No more plans for a Pumpkin Spice Latte?”

  “We’ve rescheduled,” Tomo said curtly.

  “I think I would rather show her what you did,” Freudman said looking at Tomo. This time Tomo paled from fear. Pure fear.

  Senka was caught off guard. Tomo wasn’t afraid of anything.

  “How long has Amanda been in your pocket?” Senka asked. She had to know before they got too far off topic.

  “Not long,” Freudman said waving his hand. He walked towards his desk and grabbed something from the top. He didn’t notice Leo lying patiently underneath, flattening himself as much as possible. “She approached me around a week ago offering the trade. Of course I took her offer. I had everything I needed from our dear Dr. Penner and I thought that my employer would enjoy your company.” The way he said it made Senka’s stomach roil but she felt a little better. Amanda hadn’t been selling her out for long. A week. That’s all. And after she discovered her wife was alive. It was a move of desperation, not malice. But Senka was still pissed off.

  “I’m sorry,” Tomo said to Senka.

  “Not your fault,” Senka said to her. “You didn’t know about it. She’s your wife, of course she’s going to trade me for you.”

  “No,” Tomo said.
Senka could see that she was terrified and that scared her. They didn’t deal in fear, but Tomo was showing it all over her face. “Not that,” Tomo continued. “I’m sorry for everything else.”

  “What are you talking about?” Senka asked, confused.

  “Oh do I sense dissention in the troops?” Freudman asked. “See this is why I love discussions. Before I tell you anything more I need you to answer a few questions.”

  Alejandra took a few steps toward Senka.

  “No, not her,” Freudman said. “She’s been tortured before. She won’t say anything.” Alejandra nodded and made her way towards Tomo.

  Senka was surprised. Her experiences in The Other Place were classified to the ZTF. And Amanda wouldn’t have given that information out to anyone, even if she was a traitor.

  “Probably won’t be necessary,” Senka spat. “I was set-up, remember? My boss traded me for that bitch. I’m feeling generous with my information at the moment.” She must lie with everything she had.

  Freudman nodded, “We will see how much information you’re willing to give,” he said. “Alejandra will be ready just in case. Now, tell me, how did you find our compound?”

  “Broke into that asshole Viktor’s compound a couple weeks back,” Senka said. She didn’t need to lie about that. “I hacked your servers.”

  Freudman nodded but he looked angry. “Funny, did Viktor ever tell you there was a break-in at his compound?” he asked Alejandra. She shook her head.

  Senka smiled grimly. Turn these fuckers on each other.

  “Why did you come to this compound?” Freudman asked.

  “Tracked a couple of kids from Toronto,” Senka said. “You don’t come on to our turf and steal our kids. Not allowed.”

  Freudman shrugged. “People steal children all of the time. You caught me, but thousands of others are stolen and removed or subjected to worse in their own country.”

  Senka gritted her teeth, “Anyway, it got you caught.”

  “What about any other hidden folders on that server?” Freudman asked, “Did you gain access to those?”