Variant

by T. C. Edge

  I glanced into his eyes, and knew he was reading me. That keen gaze was adept at it. He didn't miss much. "Something wrong, Paige?" he asked, peering in.

  I shook my head and frowned, trying to cover myself. "No, I was just wondering...how long have you been training others? I mean, you've mentioned a few recruits before, but you're only twenty years old. Something...well, something doesn't quite add up."

  "Yes, I can see where you'd be confused," he said sagely. "I guess you could just say that I have a knack for it. I take to combat techniques and soldiering like you take to tech and design. It's in my blood, just like invention is in yours. I had my first recruit when I was fourteen, and have been doing it ever since."

  My eyes widened. "Fourteen!" I said, not fully believing it. "But...you were just a kid. How did you know all this back then? How could you train people at such a young age?"

  "Like I've told you before, I've been a part of the VLA all my life, and it's become a part of me. It's kind of expected of me to be like this, being my father's son. And anyway, most recruits are usually quite young, so the age gap was never so pronounced as it might seem. Sometimes people doubted me at first, but when they saw would I could do, they became a little more convinced."

  "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. It kinda makes sense, actually. You've always seemed so experienced to me, like you've done this a hundred times before." I shrugged. "I guess you probably have."

  He nodded. "Something like that. I don't tend to keep count. But, however many there have been, there are few who have taken to it all as quickly as you, Paige."

  I waved a hand across my face. "Please. I'll get a big head if you carry on like this."

  "Well, we wouldn't want to interfere with that precious brain of yours." He smiled. "Seriously, Paige, your breakthrough with the T-Chip...it's going to make a world of difference for us. Harkin will be delighted. And just in time as well."

  I frowned, needing clarification. "Just in time?" I asked. "You mean, for the mission?"

  He dipped his chin. "It seems that the deal between Mantis and Ursula will be going ahead soon. I haven't been told of the exact location yet, but wherever it is, security's going to be tight. Wide-range ill-tech scanners will likely be covering the area to make sure there isn't a breach. With your tech, our weapons will get past them. We can sneak in and take Mantis down when he's least expecting it."

  "So, I'm guessing you want me to start stockpiling chips then?" I asked.

  He nodded. "It you wouldn't mind. And they'll be fixable to any piece of tech to make it untraceable?"

  "Yeah. Just add the chip, and you'll be good to go. I did it with my V-Sig today and it worked perfectly. Any weapon or device will get past the scanners with it."

  "And if they update their scanning technology?" Ford asked. "Will the T-Chip still work?"

  "In its current form, it's designed to get past the current systems in place. If they make upgrades, I will have to do the same. It's all about keeping one step ahead. But we should be good for a while."

  He looked at me, smiling and yet shaking his head. "Genius," he whispered. "We are very lucky you came on board, Paige. You wanted to make a difference? Well, you already have."

  "Thanks, Ford. And I'd like to keep doing so, if I can," I said, my voice turning a little coy from the praise. "If there's something else you want me to work on, I'll get started. Has Harkin made any requests?"

  He shook his head. "Not that I know of. Making our tech untraceable was the priority. I'd say, play around a bit, I guess. You have the workshop. So...make whatever you want. You can upgrade your own gear and weapons. I think you've earned that."

  "I...I guess I can do that," I said, my mind already turning to what I might do. "I've had a few ideas, actually. Some things that will work well against anyone with bionic enhancements, like the Reapers, or Mantis and his Bugs." I drew a breath. "I want to be ready," I finished. "I want to be ready for when it happens."

  Ford's expression shifted, a frown drawing down over his eyes like curtains at the end of a show. It wasn't a hard face to read. I stared and him, and knew.

  "I'm not going to be allowed to come, am I?" I asked. I looked around the foyer. "Even with all this training? Even after what I've done?"

  "It's...not my choice," he told me, his voice lacking its usual vitality. "I don't make those sorts of decisions."

  "And if you did?" I asked directly. "Would you want me there too?"

  He delayed slightly in his answer, choosing his words carefully. "It's not really a matter of wanting, Paige," he said. "You've been doing well here. Really well, as I've told you. But, you have no experience. You have never really been in a combat situation. You don't know what it's like to kill." He drew a breath. "You must see that you're not suitable for this mission. At least, not yet."

  A battle was going on inside my head as I listened to his words. It was something we all knew, the conflict between emotion and logic. My logical side was agreeing with everything he said, and yet my emotional side grew indignant at the snub.

  I began to nod, however, not wishing to appear irrational. "I do see that, Ford," I told him. "I guess I'm just a little disappointed."

  It wasn't really that I expected to fight, more that I wanted to be there to observe. To witness Mantis being taken down. Or, at least, get to see him afterwards, tied up in chains, interrogated for what he knew. And punished for what he'd done.

  Perhaps I was being naive to think I'd get such an opportunity.

  "I know you are," Ford said consolingly, "but trust me, there's nothing glamorous about all this. You don't want to be there, Paige. This is a high end mission and we're dealing with some extremely dangerous people. Only our most experienced soldiers will be involved, and you've already done more than enough."

  I nodded, eyes down. "And...after?" I asked. "Once you've got him?" I looked up at him. "Please tell me I'll be included then, at least. I want to see him, Ford. I want to look into his eyes when he breaks."

  His face was ambiguous and, this time, much harder to read. I was posing questions that, perhaps, he couldn't answer. "I'll...see what I can do," he said. "But again, I just don't know." He blew out a sigh. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but I don't want to get your hopes up. I feel I probably have already, with all this stuff with Mantis. I'm sorry about that, but I'll try, OK. I'll speak with Harkin and we'll see."

  It was the best he could give me, and something I had to accept. I hadn't even met Harkin yet, or anyone else in the VLA besides Ford and Lenny. I remained on the periphery, yet was helping them a great deal. And that, I suppose, was where my chagrin lay.

  A part of me felt like I was being purposely excluded.

  I accepted it, however, for Ford's benefit, convincing him that it was all OK. I posed no further questions as I turned my mind to training, using the next few hours to silently vent. We began with some physical combat drills, giving me a cathartic release. In everything we did that night - speed training, weapons drills, knife fighting techniques - I pushed myself harder than ever.

  And bit by bit, my tension began to ease.

  I noticed Ford checking his surveillance device more often that evening, doing so during each break. I asked him if there was anything wrong on several occasions, but he seemed perfectly relaxed.

  "Just being dutiful," he said. "There were a few extra custodians around tonight in the Bends. Just making sure none of them have ventured this way."

  "And?"

  "Nothing." He smiled. "All good."

  Still, his attention on the camera feeds in the abandoned neighbourhood made me slightly suspicious. We trained for a little longer, moving into another round of speed drills that had me rushing between cover while evading his fire. At the end of the drill he glanced again at his surveillance device. We then moved immediately into another round.

  I ended the drill panting, and feeling the need for a hit of Rest-Less. I knew it wasn't necessarily sensible to think like that, knowing how addi
ction worked. It was one thing using it to supercharge my days, give me time to design and train outside of normal working hours. It was another entirely to grow reliant on it, to forget how to exist without it.

  I wasn't there yet, of course, but the temptation was already nipping at my heels. The temptation to extend my days as much as possible, allowing me to design and train each night. It was a great frustration to me, knowing that the only compulsory function I had was filling ration boxes in the warehouse. In order to fully engage in my far more interesting extra-curricular activities, I had to take Rest-Less to operate properly.

  And that, I knew, was a mildly concerning thought.

  I committed, however, to abstaining for that night. No more Rest-Less. No extra work in the safe-house when I returned home. Just a full, natural sleep. It was a balance I needed to strike.

  Such thoughts came as the training exercises for the evening ended, and I moved into my stretching routine to finish off the night. It was sensible to do so after any session, Ford always said, to avoid injury and keep my body lithe and flexible.

  I sat on the ground, doing some work on my legs.

  And when I looked up next, Ford was nowhere to be seen.

  22

  My first thought was that he'd taken a comfort break, slipping off while I stretched.

  I performed a quick scan, but didn't think much of it. He would often take short breaks during our sessions. It didn't seem to be a big deal.

  I returned to my stretching for another minute or so, working through each major muscle group in the sequence Ford had taught me. Another minute passed, and I glanced again to the doors. Still, he hadn't returned. And now I was growing mildly concerned.

  "Ford?" I called out. "Ford, you out there?"

  No answer was forthcoming. I wondered if he'd gone to one of the old bathrooms instead. There were many here, as you'd expect, though most were in a questionable state of cleanliness and repair. Usually, he'd just head outside, depending on the type of 'relief' he was after.

  I grew a little more tense now, as I called one more time, shouting out into the foyer. Still, I heard nothing back but my echoing voice. Thinking something might have happened, I prepared to move out of the main doors and check if he was out there.

  Before I could take a pace, however, I heard footsteps approaching from the front of the building. I instinctively knew it wasn't Ford. The reason was simple - there were three of them.

  Three sets of footsteps.

  Three men in their black chrome armour.

  Three custodians on patrol, guiding their eyes around the sprawling hall as they entered.

  I fell immediately into a defensive pose as the trio of custodians stepped towards me. I had no time to run or hide before being spotted, my presence conspicuous here in the heart of the hall. They paced quickly on, the two on the flanks looking around the hall, the one at the front staring right at me.

  Inside those helmets, they had a form of facial recognition technology that, from my studies, worked quite effectively. My stealth suit helped interfere with that when I went to the Bends or out on a mission, but I wasn't wearing it that night. I tended to train in more comfortable garments. Right now, I was regretting that massively.

  I dipped my head immediately, flicking my hair down to help cover my eyes. The tech had its limitations and I knew how to get around it. It was much more effective at close range and in better lighting than we had now. I made the logical assumption that, so far, the system would still be scanning to find out who I was.

  I backtracked, moving away from them, my hair now dangling over the font of my eyes. Immediately, the two at the flanks raised their pistols, most likely set to stun.

  "Stop," one called out, in his modulated voice. "Stop right now or we will fire on you."

  I halted, just to give myself a second to think. I would be on their systems, I was sure of that. The Controller liked to know what was going on in his streets, after all.

  I quickly ran through the infractions I was committing. Being out of my unit after curfew was one, even if curfew wasn't being actively enforced tonight. I had my multi-function pistol with me, as well as a few other weapons Ford had brought along for practice. They were over to one side, currently out of sight, but would quickly be discovered. All were ill-tech and hadn't yet been given the T-Chip to make them untraceable and, technically, legal.

  They wouldn't be able to scan me as a Variant now, but those infractions were enough to torpedo my whole damn world. One way or another, I couldn't let them find out who I was. It was flight or fight.

  And where the hell was Ford?!

  "Don't move," called out one of the custodians again, in that weird, machine-like voice they all had. "Not one step. I'm warning you..."

  I had no choice now. Another step or two and the lead custodian might be close enough to get a positive match. I had to make a move right now.

  "We know who you are, Miss Adler..."

  My heart almost stopped. They already knew.

  "Don't move an inch. You are in contravention of code 13. Hold still for processing. Hold your hands above your head and stay where you are."

  I could see the two custodians on the flanks fanning out now, widening the net around me as they closed in. Ahead, the lead custodian reached to his hip and drew out a para-band, ready to put me under.

  I held my form right there, and stood up straight, the hair covering my eyes now falling away and fully revealing my face. I stared at the lead guard as the others kept their firearms on me, spreading out to my left and right. Very slowly, I began to raise my hands.

  My heart continued to pulse hard, as I waited for the lead custodian to approach. He did so carefully, giving me further orders as he came.

  "Now hold your hands behind your head, and turn around," he said. "Do it slowly. Any sudden movement and you will be fired upon."

  My eyes flicked left and then right. This was my playground they were entering, a place I now knew like the back of my hand. I slowly began to turn, the lead custodian now several paces away. I lost sight of them all, but that didn't matter anymore. I could hear him behind me, hear those heavy boots hitting the stone floor. I could feel his body nearing, reaching out with the para-band, preparing to place it on my forehead and render me immobile.

  I wasn't going to let that happen.

  I waited a second longer. Ford had taught me to be aware of my surroundings, to hear the slightest movements, detect subtle changes in the air. I had no enhanced senses, but had been learning to master what I had. And in the silence of the foyer, I could hear their movement. I knew just where they were positioning themselves.

  I flew into action, reaching back and grabbing the custodian's hand as it neared with the para-band. I jerked him forward, pulling hard with my augmented speed, and quickly twisted up and onto his back, fixing an arm around his neck.

  He was a man of reasonable size, and much stronger than me, but my position and training gave me an advantage. He quickly began struggling in my grip, trying to dislodge me. The others hesitated, unsure of whether to fire.

  "Shoot...her," called the custodian through my choke-hold. "Fire!"

  His words confirmed my suspicion - their weapons were set to stun. If they weren't there's no way he'd give such a command.

  Their hesitation was cast away as they began to fire, sparking rounds of paralysing electricity coming our way. I quickly thrust sideways at speed, turning the custodian around so he took the brunt of it. The electric charges connected with his black armour, dancing for a moment like golden lightning on a black sky, before fading off without impact. It was something I was aware of. That armour of theirs was resistant to most stun-weaponry.

  But not all.

  I glanced to one side, where my own multi-function pistol was stashed, along with my stun-knife. The former wouldn't be of great use right now, not against that armour. The latter, however, if used with enough force, could be stabbed through the armour to deliver a charge to
the man underneath. I needed to get to it.

  Now.

  The other custodians continued to fire, circling around us to try to get a better shot. I continued to thrust left and right, using bursts of my Variant speed to pull him in the way of the incoming charges. I couldn't go on like this forever, and if even one of those charges hit me, it would be game over. With the custodian in my grip beginning to weaken from lack of air, I took my opportunity to take him down.

  In a move learned from Ford, and honed over the last week, I released my grip, gave myself a little bit of room, and struck out with my hand at the custodian's neck. His armour weakened there, where it connected with his helmet and mask, giving me an opening that Ford had taught me to target in such situations.

  With my fingers straightened out and hand firmed, I chopped diagonally down towards the side of his neck with all the power I could muster. My arm whipped at otherworldly pace, connecting just where I'd aimed, and hitting him where I knew the carotid artery to be. The resulting disruption of the blood flow to his brain was meant to render him unconscious, if hit with sufficient power.

  Thankfully, I did.

  The man collapsed to the ground, gathering into a heap of black-clad limbs on the floor. With my human shield gone, the two others continued to fire at me, chasing me as I darted suddenly for cover. It was a game I'd played with Ford multiple times now, and one I'd grown adept at. Glancing from behind my position, I searched for a route towards my weapons, stashed off to one side.

  I moved quickly, stopping only occasionally, as the two custodians continued to fire at me. Within a few moments only, I was bearing down on the weapons stash and grabbing my multi-function pistol - which was largely based on the design of the custodians' firearms - as well as my stun knife. I slipped the knife into its sheath and began firing at the two men from behind an overturned table, forcing them to take cover themselves.