A few red tracer rounds punched laser-like lines across the opening, cracking above the hole.
The small girl screamed, and Olivia grabbed her roughly by the shirt before she could bolt, and with one arm heaved the tiny body up to the grasping hand. A moment later the arm came down, and Olivia passed up Sara, carefully passing the box attached by the umbilical.
“What the fuck is this?” the man paused mid lift.
She looked at it as it hung in the man’s hand. The metal looked worn and pockmarked. Old and used, but no writing.
“No idea, but it's not a bomb. It’s attached to the girl, though. Keep them together if you want to get paid. I think it's keeping her alive.”
Both the girl and the leashed box were extracted quickly.
It felt like an eternity, but finally, the arm came down and rescued her from the dark tomb of the hidden chamber.
Once over the edge she grabbed her body armor. Staying low, Olivia swung it back on, fastening it back into place.
The man who had lifted her out of the hole pushed past the two little girls corralled in the corner to rejoin the fight. Scrambling to her feet, Olivia pushed her shoulder against the edge of the standing tub, sending it crashing down over the hole. The metallic clang made the little girl scream and curl up in a ball.
Picking up the sleeping Sara, Olivia laid her down inside the tub before lifting the other girl in as well. The girl was relegated to dealing with the noise and chaos by covering her ears and closing her eyes, alternating periods of silence with screaming a high-pitched terrifying whine. Sara made sure both girls were lying inside the metal tub before getting back on the radio. “We need a back door! We’re ready to leave.”
Stepping out around the corner, Olivia could see men down the hallway, throwing lead out toward the attackers.
On seeing Olivia raise her weapon to take his place in the firefight, the heavy man with the door cutter turned from his position and picked up the device. For a bulky man, he moved fluidly to the back room.
Between bursts of rounds, Olivia could see Jay drag the hogtied Yakuza to the side as the burly man lifted the cutter. He faced the far wall, stepped back, and after a moment of fiddling, a six-foot red circle projected onto the wall.
“Look away!” he yelled.
Olivia pulled back from the fight and brought her arm up, scrunching her eyelids together. The familiar flash of white light flicked for a microsecond, and once the white light abated, another six-foot hole in the exterior wall had disintegrated. The alley where they had been standing earlier was devoid of attackers.
The building groaned, and the ceiling sagged.
“Back door is open!” the large man bellowed out into the hallway.
Olivia keyed her radio. “Let's go! Everyone out the back! Scout, you’re good to clear out now.”
Turning back to the tub, Olivia picked up Sara and the attached machine in her left arm, and the other girl leaped up into her right, wrapping her arms tightly around her neck. Olivia was surprised at how strong the little arms were. “Close your eyes, sweetie. Hold on tight.” It felt as though she was carrying an extra hundred pounds.
Olivia stepped through the wall and out into the moonlight as the men peeled back from the firefight.
“Frag out,” came over the radio, and Olivia stepped farther out, around the protection of the wall before a dull thud near the front of the house reduced the number of their attackers. Feeling exposed with no weapon in her hands, she shifted tighter to the wall. Sweat was pouring down her back, and the little girl clung to her as though trying to choke her.
The large man ran past her, and she turned to follow, holding her precious cargo.
“Team two, we are going to be using the primary extraction point,” Jay said. “No change. We have gone loud and are currently en route to you and taking fire.”
Olivia didn’t hear the confirmation over the radio as she focused on the cracking noises from inaccurate automatic gunfire blasting by them. Occasionally a red tracer round would punch through the night and careen wildly.
They began jogging down the maze of alleys and small streets that criss-crossed the shantytown. The silent darkness was reassuring. Angry yells a block away confirmed that the team had at least evaded the larger group of their pursuers.
Crossing from the darkness on one side of the street to the other, they popped into an alleyway and down some stairs. Each of them had turned off their headlamps, and the footing was slow and careful. Olivia’s legs burned with the extra weight.
Soon they were crouched, looking across the road at an unused baseball diamond.
One of the masked men fingered the mic. “ETA?”
“Ten seconds.”
Olivia tried to listen for the sound when the smell of ozone wafted over them. A gentle wind carried a high-pitched whine, almost unperceivable. In the dark, a large mass appeared.
An old Black Hawk helicopter hung motionless in the air for a moment before slowly settling its wheels soundlessly onto the overgrown grass.
The side door slid open, and in the moonlight Olivia could see a man step off to wave them forward.
Olivia looked at the rotor as she instinctively ducked. A ten-foot gravity disk sat in its place, stationary and unmoving.
She passed the girls up into the helicopter and hopped into a seat. In the dark six weapons pointed outward, defending their transportation.
It was an agonizing delay before the scout appeared at the edge of the field. Guns raised, but the lone, unarmed man, dressed in a dirty shirt and shorts, just waved and smiled before running to close the distance.
As soon as he was on, the doors slid closed, and the gut-wrenching motion of a rapid takeoff filled her abdomen.
Olivia buckled the little girls into the middle of the bench. She checked Sara. She was still breathing; unconscious, but still breathing.
She looked over the wiring harness that was stuck in Sara’s head.
“Take us to St. Joseph’s Hospital,” Olivia called up to the pilot. “We need to get the kids looked at. They have her hooked up to some machine.”
“You sure you don’t want the general hospital?” the pilot called back. “Joseph’s will take us over the dark zone.”
“General is fine,” Olivia answered.
Jay pulled off his balaclava. His wild, curly hair seemed to fit his boyish, snaggle-toothed smile. “That was awesome!”
“Is everyone okay?” Olivia asked.
“Dan’s got a graze, but other than that we’re good,” Jay replied.
“You guys were great.” She reached forward and shook the man’s hand. “Well worth the money.”
“Speaking of money, do we get a bonus for the extra cargo?”
Olivia nodded. “If there’s a reward, I’ll make sure I give you guys your share.”
“If?”
“Not everyone’s parents can afford my fees for finding their kids. We give her back. Straight up. No need to be the bad guys.” Olivia raised an eyebrow.
Jay nodded, still smiling. Olivia knew him well; he loved getting paid, and he was relatively trustworthy. Expensive, but trustworthy.
“What is that?” Jay asked, flicking a hand to the little girl.
“No clue. It was plugged into her down in the spider hole. Not sure what these guys were doing.”
Jay shrugged, leaning back.
“I’ve got to give someone the good news,” Olivia said, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket.
AN HOUR LATER, THE modified Black Hawk banked smoothly as it circled the hospital's rooftop. Olivia could see the helipad with its well lit ‘H.' The gentle orbit continued as they waited for landing clearance.
She reflected for a moment on how beautiful the city was from here with its towers of bright glass looming over the moving lights on the highways. Each of the reestablished urban areas were growing. She was surprised to see that many of the neighborhoods next to the lightless Quarantine Zone had been reclaimed so quickly. For th
e last ten years, no one wanted to live anywhere near the outside of the wall. She couldn't blame anyone for not wanting to live there. Inside the thirty-meter thick concrete wall was a graveyard of abandoned collapsing buildings and contamination.
The copilot called out from the front, "Final approach." Olivia checked on the two girls. Janie was wrapped around Sara tightly; both had their eyes closed. They were breathing almost in sync. It would have been a natural sight except for the haphazardly wrapped wires protruding from Sara's head.
Jay leaned forward toward her, extending his hand. "Here's the memory card from my helmet cam. It should be enough to scrape some images of the ‘suit' we found."
"Thanks, Jay. I really appreciate your help on this. Usually, I can manage these things on my own."
"No worries." He nodded, leaning back. "Want us to stick around? You still got enough hours on the contract to give you a lift across town. You already rented the ride."
The wheels of the Black Hawk touched down with a slight shimmy of the airframe.
She shook her head. "Thanks, but this is my stop. Have to close the loop on the delivery. Job’s not done till I make sure the parents take custody."
Jay reached forward from his position and slid the door open wide. The early-morning wind atop the tower brought a clean smell. Olivia's hands worked quickly to unbuckle the girls.
"Are we home?" Janie asked.
"Almost," Olivia stated, picking up sleeping Sara and her umbilical box. Stepping down onto the tarmac, she handed the little girl off to the medical staff. Crisp gowns fluttered in the gentle, quiet breeze. A rolling bed was presented, and Olivia placed her cargo on top.
"This is Sara. We called ahead. Her parents should be waiting downstairs," Olivia conveyed.
"What's this?" a nurse asked, pointing to the box. "What is she hooked to that for?"
Olivia shook her head and shrugged. "That's how I found her when we rescued her. I think they were experimenting on her or something. Beyond that, you’re the experts."
A small hug at the bottom of her leg reminded her of Janie’s presence. Looking down, she addressed her clingy passenger. "Janie, you need to go with these people. They will take you to find your mom and dad." Her gloved hand touched the top of the tiny head. The arms unfurled as a nurse bent down to introduce herself, only be to latched on to as well.
"Remember when trust came that easy?" said a heavyset man in a worn suit jacket. His dark skin was dusted with a salt and pepper stubble.
Olivia smiled. "Hey, Gabe! Didn't expect to see you."
Gabriel shrugged. "Was working the night shift when I got a call saying that some mercs were dropping off a kid at the hospital. They red-flagged it. Thought that it might be you."
"Hey, Olivia!" Jay yelled at her from his seat on the Black Hawk. "We need our gear. We gotta go.” She could see that he had recognized the badge hanging on the chain around the detective's neck.
Olivia stepped back to the aircraft and pulled off a small backpack. Quickly taking off the borrowed radio and helmet, she placed them at Jay’s feet. Olivia double-checked that her borrowed rifle was still safely stowed in the rack between the seats before peeling the Velcro at the bottom of her ballistic vest.
Even before she finished pulling it over her head, she felt naked and exposed. Cool air flooded over the sweat-soaked black T-shirt underneath as she handed it back to Jay.
Stepping back to a safe distance, she gave him the thumbs up. The rest of the team raised tentative hands to wave back before the door slid shut.
Ozone snapped and crackled quietly, and the five tons of technology lifted gracefully away into the night.
Turning to Gabriel and unbuckling the bottom of her thigh holster, she said, "You were saying?"
"I scare off your friends?" he asked. "Who were they?"
"Sorry, Gabe, a girl’s gotta have her secrets. They were the good guys, though." She bent to reach into the backpack for her other holster, slinging it over her damp shirt. The pistol on her thigh was drawn, mag ejected, and the round unchambered into her hand, all in one fluid motion. Olivia slid the weapon back into the second holster hanging under her armpit. A thumb snapped the round back into place in the mag.
"You have your license on you for that?" Gabriel asked, watching her finish removing the thigh holster.
Olivia rolled her eyes, pulled out her wallet, and handed it to him. "Look for yourself. It's all up to date." She peeled off her gloves and stowed them away in the bag with the rest of her gear.
"Easy there," he cautioned, "just doing my job." He picked through the almost empty wallet, and his eyes peered at the expiry date for the private security license. “When I started my career it used to be illegal for people to conceal carry, let alone tote around fully automatic weapons.”
“Were there dinosaurs roaming the Earth?”
“Think you’re funny. Huh?”
"It was a serious question.” Olivia looked at him and smiled wide.
Gabriel handed her back the wallet, holding it for a moment when she grabbed it. “It used to never be like this. People were relatively safe. There weren’t death cults, mercenaries, and plagues. There was once a time when all I had to deal with was pimps, drug dealers, and meth addicts.”
“Is this going to be another one of those pre-Quarantine Zone stories?”
“I remember when they started paying people like you to do what we should be doing.”
“Well, by ‘people like me’ do you mean private investigators or hired mercenaries?”
“You kind of balance between, don’t you?”
Olivia’s voice became cold and defensive. “I have a private security license and a private investigator license. I worked hard for those. I’ve paid my dues to get them, and I keep my paperwork and certifications up to date. It’s not my fault most of the guys you work with are on the take.”
Gabriel sighed and shoved his hands back into his pockets.
She could see that her quick words had hurt him, and guilt washed over her. “I’m sorry, Gabe. It's been a long night. I don’t want to argue.”
He nodded understandingly.
Olivia’s face softened. “Just glad it's you. Most of the time everyone shakes me down for a few bucks." She stowed the thigh rig into the bag before pulling out a hoodie.
Gabriel shrugged again, handing it back to her. "I'm not without my own faults, but I just still recognize the good guys from the bad guys. Keep that in mind."
"Is that a compliment, Gabriel?" Olivia asked, smiling, shoving her wiry, muscular arms into the hoodie before zipping it up.
"As much as you’re going to get today," he said, chuckling.
She smiled and picked up her bag, slinging it before walking toward the elevator. Save for the neck and hand tattoos, the transformation to a semirespectable citizen was complete.
Pressing the elevator button, Olivia dug into her pants pocket to retrieve an item. "I have a gift for you."
Her thin fingers extended the memory card to the detective.
"What’s that?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"We bumped into a Yakuza."
"That's not odd. There are a few groups in the States. Some might have come across the border," he said, taking it.
"The weird part was that he was sitting in a gang house in the middle of the slums with two kidnapped girls and cartel gang members."
"Which gang?"
"Cráneos," she said. "They're a bit like oil and water. I was surprised to see that they were working together. Two different food chains."
"A little lowbrow for the Yakuza, isn't it? Kidnapping for ransom."
Olivia shook her head. "It wasn't a ransom. Did you see the little girl with the cable sticking out of her head? They were experimenting on her. The cartels do kidnapping for a reason, to either make a statement or to get money. The math doesn't add up."
"Sounds like something is in play we haven't picked up on." Gabriel stroked his greying goatee.
"It's
all on the video. The main thing is that box. I have no idea what it is or why some gangbangers might hook it up to her."
"Any idea who the second one is?"
The elevator dinged open, and the chaos of the emergency room revealed itself with noise and color. Olivia had to steady herself as the smell of human suffering wafted over her.
"I'm just a concerned citizen hired to return someone else's property. Pulling the second kid out of there was just me doing the right thing. Not my problem now."
Gabriel was quiet.
"Sorry," she said, "just tired. Haven't slept for a while..." Her voice trailed off.
The detective nodded in understanding.
Olivia shouldered her bag. "I'm going to talk to the parents and wrap this contract up. Want to tag along? See what this thing attached to the girl is?"
"Sounds intriguing. I'm curious."
After a few moments speaking with the front desk, they were waved past the security doors separating the waiting area and patient care.
The semicircular room had beds along the outer wall in an arc, each watched over by the nursing station at the center. Some of the curtains hung closed for privacy, but at present one was occupied by two concerned parents. The mother was a shorter, curly-haired blonde wearing far too much makeup for three in the morning. The father wore an expensive button shirt and well-pressed slacks. He was the same height as Olivia. As she approached, they both turned.
She could feel the mix of joy and worry in the room. Olivia could see that his eyes were red and puffy.
"Evening, Mr. and Mrs. Ornell." She checked her watch. "Or good morning, I guess."
The tall man stepped forward and embraced her tightly, crushing the air out of her lungs. She felt the grown man sob, trying unsuccessfully to get words out. Gabriel looked at her and smiled. Olivia rolled her eyes.
Forcing her hands between them, she pushed him back gently. "Take a moment to get your thoughts together, Mr. Ornell."
The man stood for a full minute, taking deep breaths and wiping his face with his hands.
His blue eyes were craters of sleep-deprivation and worry.
A woman sitting next to the hospital bed spoke up. "My husband and I want you to know how much we appreciate what you have done. Thank you so much for bringing Sara back to us. We don't know how to thank you." The mother's hand was gripped tightly around the little girl's.
Dark Crypto (Thorne Inc. Book 1) Page 2