James pondered the idea. “Doesn’t change anything. I feel the same way I did before. My parents sacrificed their lives for me. So did Father Thomas. I’m not gonna waste the life they gave me to make Aiyn Noraz Hal feel better about herself. I don’t give a shit about the Vax, so I’m not gonna let her lay that on me.”
“So you’re not gonna let her mindfuck you?” Shay raised an eyebrow, a questioning look on her face.
“No fucking way. She’s screwed with us for far too long. The only reason she got away with it was that we couldn’t find her, and now she’s saving us the trouble.” James’ hand tightened on the wheel. “I don’t know about this Nine Systems Alliance, and I don’t give a shit. It’s not my responsibility to even keep every fucker on Earth in check, let alone Oriceran, and I don’t even know where this Nine Systems Alliance is.” He gritted his teeth. “You know what’s not fucking simple? Bullshit about other planets. I try to stay away from Oriceran for the same reason, and now these aliens are bringing their fucking baggage to me on Earth.”
Shay smiled. “Good. I’m glad to hear it, but if you do end up getting yourself killed, I’m gonna find some way to chase you into the afterlife and kill you again for being so stupid.”
“How does that shit work? What happens if you kill me in the afterlife?”
“I don’t know. You probably end in Laramie after that.” She shrugged.
James chuckled.
“Hey, can you still hear me?” Heather sent over James’ earpiece. Not going in with Shay didn’t mean not taking advantage of other available assets.
Shay perked up. She also had an earpiece and could hear the conversation.
“Yeah, I can hear you,” James replied. “What’s up?”
“Two minutes ago, all our drone feeds from the area cut out. Peyton got a satellite image of the area, and there are some weird lighting artifacts. I can’t connect to any cameras in the area, either.”
“So she’s there,” James rumbled. “The bait worked.”
Shay’s expression darkened.
“That’s what we figure,” Heather offered. “Trying to send a few drones through again. We do know it’s not an EMP. One of our drone feeds came back a minute after we lost it, but the drone was on a course away from the hospital.”
James smiled. “Good. I was worried she might not show up. You guys did a good job of luring her out here. This shit might have dragged on a long time without you, especially since she let months go by before she tried shit.”
“Thanks, James, that means a lot, but you need to realize this also means we can’t give you any active support. To be clear, whatever she’s doing this time isn’t just jamming signals. She’s somehow blocking our ability to see into the interference zone from outside. It’s not like it’s dark or something, it’s more like active camera spoofing. I don’t even know how she’s doing it since the drones haven’t been compromised, so I can’t even begin to set up a defense.”
“Doesn’t matter. I won’t need help. Whatever happens tonight, this shit isn’t gonna be hide and seek. She wants me dead, and that means she’s gonna come at me.” James slowed his truck. “How far out is the interference zone?”
“A few hundred yards from the hospital.”
“I’m gonna park before that.” James looked around. “I want Shay to stay in contact with you.”
The neighborhood was rundown, with many boarded-up shops and condemned buildings. A few gang members lingered on the corners, conversing with prostitutes who didn’t look like they were scoring many high-quality customers.
James wasn’t worried about his truck. Shay would be there to keep people away from it, but avoiding parking his shiny well-maintained truck on the street wouldn’t be the worst idea. Not planning on dying meant he would need his F-350 when the battle was over.
James spotted an alley sandwiched between an empty barbershop for rent and a closed Mongolian grill. The thought of grilled meat summoned a rather unexpected thought into his head.
Huh. After this shit is over, we should make a Jessie Rae’s run. I’ll deserve it.
James turned the truck into the alley and looked at Shay. “You’re not gonna sneak out after me or some shit, are you?”
Shay rolled her eyes. “I promised, so I’ll let you and Whispy do your thing. But if that bitch kills you, I’m not promising I’m letting her leave even if it gets me killed. I’ll track her to whatever planet she slinks off to and kill her slowly and fucking painfully. She thinks the Vax are scary? Welcome to dealing with Shay Carson.”
“Good to know.” James shifted the car into Park and looked around. No one in the alley, a promising beginning to a not-so-fun-filled evening of ass-kicking.
Shay loaded a magazine into her gun from a box in the back. “Peyton, you’ve been quiet. You there?”
“Yes, I’m here,” he replied through the earpiece. “I was just running some filtering algorithms to see if I can get through her weird area cloaking or spoofing or whatever the hell it is. It’s pissing me off.”
“Fine. Let me know the minute any of that drops.”
James stared at her. “So you can charge in because you think I’m dead?”
“Yeah, basically. Understood, Peyton? I’d like Heather to do it, but I can’t threaten to kill someone with a kid.”
Heather snickered.
Peyton groaned. “You don’t have to threaten me to get me to do it, you know.”
“It’s just a joke, though a little extra motivation never hurt anyone,” Shay replied. “James, I know it’s a huge longshot, but maybe because you’ll be talking to her face to face, she’ll buy a clue. She’s coming after you at this hospital because she’s worried about casualties, so no matter how nuts she is, maybe she’s still reachable.”
James reached underneath his shirt toward his amulet and rested his hand on the metal spacer. “Don’t fucking care at this point. She hurt Trey, Victoria, and the cops. She needs to go down.”
“Just saying, if you can get her to stall for a while, like a few weeks or a month, she might not last. She said she was on borrowed time.”
“Doesn’t matter, because she’s not gonna last the next hour.” James pulled his hand out of his shirt. No, not yet. It wasn’t time, but the amulet reminded him he wanted to ensure Shay was well-protected in case a horde of gang members bum-rushed his truck.
He refused to hand over the engagement ring. There was no fucking way he was going to propose to her right before a fight. That didn’t seem epic; it felt like pure desperation. It was the shit he saw in movies where some guy pulled out a picture of “his girl” right before he did a landing on a D-Day beach and got his head blown off. Best not to tempt fate.
James pulled the companion jade pendant out of his pocket and held it out in his hand. “It’s a shield pendant—something I got from the Professor. Better than your rings. I guarantee it.”
Shay slowly picked it up, a frown growing on her face. “When did you get this?”
“A while back. Just kind of wasn’t ever the right time to give it to you. Shit kept coming up.” James picked up his phone and scrolled through his messages until he found the phonetic pronunciation and samples for the Old Mandarin activation passphrase. He forwarded the message to Shay.
He considered explaining about how it needed moonlight to fully recharge but telling her that right now felt like tempting fate again.
Not gonna make her sit here while I’m fighting a battle she can’t see after making her think I’m marching off to die. Not fair to her, even though I’m going to kick Aiyn’s ass back to space.
Shay slipped the pendant over her neck and leaned toward James to give him a deep kiss. She smiled softly as she pulled away. “Just remember, James, the only woman allowed to kill you is me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. But don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. She won’t.” James threw open the door and hopped to the ground, then slammed the door and reached under his shirt.
It was time
to become the bogeyman Aiyn feared so much.
James yanked the spacer off. Familiar pain shot through his chest as the amulet spread its technorganic tendrils through him.
Initiation, Whispy sent. Waves of excitement radiated from the amulet.
So you know what we’re about to do?
Kill strong enemy. High adaptation potential.
Yeah, that’s the long and short of it.
James jogged out of the alley and down the street toward the hospital. He could just make out the gray outline of the five-story building in the distance.
A few gang members emerged from a dilapidated apartment building.
“So that’s when I said, ‘Yeah, bitch, that’s my gun. What are you gonna fucking do about it’?” one of the gang members explained.
The others all laughed and looked at James, curious smirks on their faces. Their eyes widened.
“Oh, fuck. Is that James Brownstone? Which of you dumbass bitches got a bounty?”
The gang members scrambled back into the apartment building.
Not today, assholes. Don’t have the time, and don’t give a fuck. Even our new hires could beat your asses.
Relief spread over the men’s faces when James continued past the apartment building.
“We’re still trying to see if we can break through her interference somehow,” Heather reported. “You sure about this, James? It’s not too late to come up with a different plan.”
“Damn fucking sure.”
“Uh, I’ve got you on drone. You’re not even wearing your coat, and I don’t see a gun or any knives on you.”
James grunted. “Don’t need them. This isn’t the kind of fight I’m going to win using that kind of gear, and no reason to waste a coat. She’d just shred it anyway. Even if I buy them in bulk, it’s still wasting money.”
“And you’re sure about not calling AET? Or I don’t know, the National Guard?”
“Yeah.” James slowed. He’d likely be hitting the interference zone soon. “Gotta admit, when we finally told you the truth, I didn’t know how you’d react. I half-wondered if you’d be freaked.”
“In a world with elves, how weird are aliens, really? You make more sense to me in a lot of ways than crap like the Eyes.”
“I’m weird enough.” James grunted. “But you don’t give a shit about any of this Vax Forerunner stuff? The truth is, from what I remember and what Aiyn said, I’m a living WMD when I’m paired with Whispy.”
“So are a lot of Oricerans.” Heather let out a quiet sigh. “Look, James, if you were going to turn evil, I think you would have done it a long time ago. I don’t know anything about how things work outside of Earth and Oriceran, but both planets have plenty of races that tend toward pissing people off, but still have plenty of individuals who aren’t total flaming dicks. You helped give me my life back, James. The least I can do is believe in you in return.”
“Thanks, Heather.”
“No pro—”
James frowned. “Heather?”
There was no response.
James looked over his shoulder. The shimmer in the air was slight. If he hadn’t been specifically looking for something like it, he wasn’t sure he would have noticed.
Whispy’s excitement intensified.
Amulet aside, the next few minutes passed with no encounters.
Not a single person even close to the hospital? I doubt they’re that scared of ghosts.
That made him wonder if Aiyn had some way of forcing people out of an area with her technology.
Whispy, can you tell if there is any sort of mental field being projected?
No significant link errors detected.
That would have to do.
James squinted. The continuing retreat of the sun made it hard to make out details on the hospital grounds, other than the piles of trash near the street lights.
Adjust my eyes for night vision, James ordered.
Minor decrease in defensive capability required. Maximum efficiency will be gained through minor adjustments in light collection and minor adjustments in light processing.
Just do it.
James gritted his teeth as burning pain shot through the back of his eyeballs for a second, but when the unpleasant sensation faded, near-daytime light levels had returned.
He’d expected the eerie green of night-vision goggles, but instead, it was as if someone painted glowing paint on all the surfaces. There was something surreal about the whole tableau. For now, it’d work. Even though it’d take some time to fully get used to, he could see everything he needed to in detail.
The trip to the hospital continued, and James arrived at the street right across from the site. Multiple gang tags covered the faded words NORTHWEST PACIFIC HOSPITAL at the entrance to the parking lot.
How many of those bastards have actually kept this as a territory?
James jogged across the street, surveying the area for any sign of his enemy. The sprawling parking lot filled with trash and piles of rock and broken concrete and wood from the hospital gave the alien plenty of places to hide. Aiyn could be anywhere.
I thought this shit wasn’t going to be hide and seek?
James let out a low growl, his annoyance building.
Yes, increase power for advanced transformation.
“I’m here,” James shouted. “Fucking James Brownstone, Vax Forerunner. The Bogeyman of the Nine Systems Alliance. Come on, Silver Ghost. Come on, Aiyn. I thought you wanted to fucking kill me, and now I have to chase your ass down? Are you too scared to face your monster in the end?”
James ran toward the hospital. Maybe she intended to ambush him inside. Something moved above him, and he skidded to a halt and looked up.
The silver-skinned alien jumped from the fifth floor and hurtled to the ground feet first.
It’d be too much to ask for her to die that way.
Unlikely tactical scenario, Whispy sent.
Yeah, I get that. James chuckled. I wasn’t really asking.
Aiyn hit the ground in a crouch about ten yards away. She stood, her face as featureless as the police and the other bounty hunters had described.
James threw his arms to the sides. “So here you finally fucking are. All your complicated-ass little schemes. Mercenaries. Nanoform Wendigos. Hiring my fucking girlfriend to get the weapon you were gonna use to kill me.” He laughed. “That one’s gotta hurt. Spent all that time and money, and she ended up using it to kill that asshole Durand. You might have fancy Nine Systems Alliance nanite shit, but you’re not an alien goddess who can predict our every move, are you?”
Kill the enemy, Whispy chanted. Achieve primary directive.
Aiyn pointed at him. “I don’t know why I feel like telling you, Vax, of all people, but when I was assigned to Earth, I was disappointed.”
“Disappointed?”
Maybe this is a good thing. I can get in her head.
Kill the enemy, Whispy complained.
“Yes. The whole point of being a Shepherd is to protect lesser races from dangerous influences or outright invasion.” Aiyn lowered her hand. “But Earth and Oriceran…the Alliance knows of no other worlds like them. The magic goes beyond even the rare psionic powers found among some races. Previous Shepherds suspected magic existed on Earth, but they couldn’t prove it until the gates opened.”
James frowned. “I don’t get it. Why does that shit disappoint you?”
“How was I supposed to protect a world with magic? Oricerans and even wizards and witches on this planet can use gates, direct connections in time and space—something we’ve only seen the Vax do.” Aiyn’s fingers curled into fists. “But the Vax aren’t magic. We know that. We’ve fought them enough times. Just powerful, and more advanced in a few key areas. I thought I would waste my time on a dangerous planet where if an enemy came, even the Vax, they’d be easily repelled. I thought the Vax adaptation ability would be useless against magic, but when I found out about you, my superiors refused to act; refused to belie
ve the danger. You’re a Forerunner who has adapted to magic.” She let out an uneven laugh. “How could we stand a chance against something like that? The Alliance has no magical beings.”
“Tell me why I should give even the smallest fuck about the Nine Systems Alliance, or that you’re not satisfied with your career choice?”
“Of course you wouldn’t care, Vax. Your kind has spent a lot of time killing our people and destroying our cities, just like you will eventually. You are a Forerunner. You’ll summon more, and they will lay waste to this planet, or Earth and Oriceran will be forced to destroy large chunks of their own planets to defend them. Millions, if not billions, will die.”
James slapped a hand on his chest right over his amulet. “I don’t give a fuck what the other Vax did. You don’t get to come to Earth and fuck with me over shit someone else did. I don’t give a fuck who you are or what happened to you. Right now, you’re nothing more than a psycho vigilante running around killing people and threatening my friends, so fuck you.”
Aiyn stood there in silence for a long moment. “You confound me, Vax, because you shouldn’t exist, not as you are. I’ll admit certain things about that trouble me, but I’ve got a solution.” She pointed at him again, this time at his chest. “I can see it on you now, you know. The nanites have enhanced my vision. I can see all the energy radiating off the symbiont. Give it up, James Brownstone. That’s the only way to prove you’re not truly a Vax Forerunner. If you don’t, it’ll consume your soul and mind eventually anyway. This is your only chance for survival.”
“If I didn’t have Whispy, I wouldn’t have been able to kick a lot of ass. It’s not like your Nine Systems Alliance was there when the Council was fucking people up.”
“They don’t believe in interference on primitive worlds, even ones as exotic as yours. You can’t honestly believe you’re that important?”
James shook his head. “Fuck off. Not giving him up. Here’s how this shit’s gonna go down. You get your own choice. You can go to the little spaceship I’m sure you’ve gotten hidden in some fucking lake somewhere and fly back to whatever planet you came from, or you can stay and die right here and now.”
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