by SW Matthews
Sebastian looked away, and Piper could see she wasn’t getting through to him. He was determined to exact his revenge.
Piper calmed herself, then decided to change the subject. “Your… scars. Are they a result of that final mission?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yes. I’m told it was a miracle I survived. When the helijet crashed, my tail gunner canopy was smashed into the desert floor and I was dragged through the shattered glass and sand. My body was shredded, my arms crushed.” He started to remove his gloves. “I was also subjected to some… experimental procedures… which I suppose were successful.” He lifted his now gloveless hands, which were shiny metal.
Piper gasped.
“They’re actually quite useful.” Bash turned his hands in the air, displaying them to Piper. “Titanium alloy and carbon fiber, up to the elbow on both arms. Very strong and durable, and my grip is now unparalleled.”
Piper’s eyes were wide as she stared at the robotic extremities. “That is amazing. Cybernetic arms! You have full control?”
Bash smiled. “Oh, yes. They’re just like my own hands, but better in many ways, worse in others.”
Piper reached out to feel the prosthesis, tentatively touching Bash’s exposed forearm. He extended his arm to allow her inspection.
“Truly amazing. I had no idea that robotic prosthetics were so advanced.”
“I found out that I was injected with tiny robots also,” Bash said.
Piper stopped and looked at him. “Nanites?”
“That’s right. They said it was to help me heal better. I have noticed that I do heal quickly.” He slid his gloves back on.
“You’re a walking miracle, Sebastian. This technology… it’s revolutionary. Don’t you see how fortunate you are?”
“Fortunate?” His friendly tone turned cold once more. “I have flashbacks of rooms full of injured soldiers, of people yelling and moaning in agony. I can assure you that none of us felt ‘fortunate.’ Especially those of us who were there because of a self-righteous sinner’s arrogance and poor judgment.”
Piper sat back in her seat. “So now we’re going back to Lakeland, to torture me in front of Andy, is that it? To seek your… vengeance?”
Sebastian eyed her thoughtfully. “We shall see, Piper Matteo. We shall see.”
Chapter 32
Andy awoke with a start. He was on his back, on his bed. The sun was streaming in through the window, along with the sounds of the boats on the lake outside. He reached up, felt his neck, and rubbed away the crusted blood. It hadn’t been a dream! He jumped up and ran through the cabin.
“Piper!” he yelled.
Nothing was out of place, but she wasn’t there. He bolted through the door and sprinted down the hill toward the office, completely ignoring the throbbing pain in his ankle.
He flew through the door. “Piper!” he yelled again, but the office was dark and empty.
He turned and ran back up the hill, this time to Tuck’s cabin. He paused as he approached the isolated building. The dog, Chief, was lying motionless beside the small porch, partially hidden by the tall grass.
“Chief?” he called.
The animal didn’t move.
Andy threw caution to the wind and burst through the door of the cabin.
“Tuck!” he shouted. “Tuck, where are you?” He ran out behind the house to inspect the garden and the smokehouse. Everywhere he looked was the same. Nothing had been disturbed, but no one was there.
Bash. Bash had Piper and Tuck. Bash, one of the most dangerous men he had ever met, wanted him to suffer. He was a master hunter and trapper, and he believed—rightly—that Andy was responsible for the death of his fiancée and the destruction of his promising life.
Andy needed help.
He raced back to his own cabin, dressed, then returned to the office. He tried calling Doc’s cabin, but there was no answer. He stopped and thought. Who else did he know who could help him? The Pallucca brothers? No, they made wine and sausage, and drank wine, and ate sausage. Besides, neither had any military experience, and they were an hour away. Stock had some military experience—Air Force—but it had been a technical job, and he was pushing seventy. Probably not a lot of help. Markus? He was a bit of a tough guy, but Andy had no idea how to get in touch with him. Jimmer?
“Jimmer!” Andy said to himself.
Jimmer Skinner had been a navy pilot. He was older than Andy, but not by too many years. He wasn’t in great shape, but he could probably still put up a good fight.
Andy called Skinner’s office. No answer, but there was an answering machine. “Jimmer! It’s Andy. I need your help. Piper and Tuck have been taken! We need to find them. Please, come over as soon as you can! Thanks, buddy!”
Andy hoped his friend would get the message soon, but he couldn’t wait around to find out. He jogged to the helijet and was soon airborne, headed back toward Hourglass Lake.
***
William Braxton sat at his desk in his private office, on a call with Admiral Becquerel, the officer in charge of the Space Corps branch of the UNA Air Force.
“The launch station on Star Mountain has really increased our ability to make deliveries to the LEO stations,” Becquerel was saying. “The last of the needed equipment arrived at Station Three this morning. The lunar space station will be completed within the month.”
“Excellent. How long for the construction of the elevator and docking stations?”
“We should be able to have the lunar elevator completed in less than a year, along with the initial four docking stations. We can then begin construction of the gravity research lab and scientist living quarters.”
“And then the dome to begin evacuation?”
“Yes. The most recent update shows we could move up to two hundred and fifty thousand people from Earth to the lunar dome within thirty years.”
“So, one hundred and fifty thousand between all of the space stations, and two hundred and fifty thousand on the moon…”
“And another two hundred and fifty thousand after the second dome is completed, about five years after the first one.”
“Right, right… so six hundred and fifty thousand within thirty-five years. A good start.”
“Of course, this is all dependent on being able to build successful replicators for the food supply.”
“I’m working on that, Bec.”
“And the water supply is critical. It will take a few years to tap the moon’s water table.”
“The plan is to have one replicator devoted to water, and we’ll fill a few cisterns before we even move anyone to the surface.”
“Great, great. I know I’m going over things we’ve already talked about, but we’re getting really close now, and I haven’t been able to sit down and talk to you for months.”
“It’s fine, Bec. I understand. I’m getting anxious also. I’m looking forward to going to the moon myself. Listen, we’ll get together soon and go over every detail. I want you to come see my new place outside Calgary.”
“The place in Banff? I’d love to.” The admiral paused, then continued in a more serious tone. “You know this is the most important endeavor ever undertaken by mankind, don’t you? We’re lucky to have someone of your drive and foresight in charge of it.”
Braxton smiled. “Thank you, my friend. It couldn’t be done without all of your hard work. You are beginning to make me think I was too lenient on the deadlines.”
“We have beat every one so far, and I’ll strive to keep doing so, but you have to get me those final specs for the gravity lab. That and the replicators are the only sticking points I see for the near future.”
“Soon. Very soon, I promise. Possibly even within the month. We can meet in Banff and go over them.”
The call ended, and Braxton placed another one. It took a few moments for Admiral Sullivan to answer. He stared out at the ocean while he waited. It was another beautiful day.
The secretary came on the line. “Hello, Will.”
> “Sully. Where is the drone?”
Sullivan paused, then said, “Entering Chinese airspace now.”
“When it drops to three thousand feet I want you to knock it out of the sky.”
Sullivan was silent.
“Did you hear me?” Braxton asked.
“You want me to shoot down our own drone? In Chinese airspace?”
“That’s right. But wait until it’s at around three thousand feet. I want to make sure some people see it happen.”
“You know it’s about two o’clock in the morning there, right?”
“That’s okay. I’ve got some eyes and cameras waiting. Someone will see it.”
“What is this about, Will? Who’s on that drone?”
“I don’t know who’s on board, Sully, and I don’t care. It’s not important. What is important is that the drone is taken out and that it’s on video.”
“When people find out…”
“Don’t worry about that—just do your job. I already have a press release ready, from the offices of the secretary of state and the president. Now what’s the status of the subs?”
“They’ll be in position tonight.”
“Perfect. I knew you could do it.”
“It wasn’t easy.”
“That’s why I told Porter that you were the right man for the position of secretary of defense, Sully. You can make the impossible possible. Notify me as soon as you have confirmation that the drone is down.”
“Yes, sir.” Sullivan ended the call.
Braxton turned to his right. Roni was reclined on a sofa several feet away.
“Instruct your office and staff to not participate in any communication with China,” he said.
She nodded. As Braxton turned back to the communicator, she asked, “Who are you calling now?”
“The governor of Colorado.”
***
Tuck stayed in the shadows as he traveled. He hadn’t found any clothes yet, and he thought parading around in the sunlight wearing only his boxer shorts might draw too much attention even in Denver. Luckily, he didn’t seem to be in a busy part of the city. Most of the buildings were empty, and the drivers on the road didn’t pay any attention to him.
He soon decided that the only way he was going to find the hospital was by getting up on a rooftop. Darting around half-naked through unfamiliar streets was just getting him lost. He picked out the closest tall building with an external fire escape. The building covered an entire block and was close to twenty stories high. Not the tallest around, but it would do.
He climbed almost to the top without incident. But just as he was nearing the roof, a shadow passed above him, and he froze. He waited a few seconds, then peered over the edge of the roof.
A single person was walking around the perimeter—a guard of some kind. He was dressed in gray and blue, with a gleaming black helmet and boots, and carried a sniper rifle.
For a brief moment, Tuck considered asking the man for help—but only for a moment. It was unlikely the man would believe him. He would probably report him, or haul him in himself. And there wasn’t time for that. Andy and Piper were in danger.
So Tuck ducked back down on the ladder and waited.
When the shadow came around again, Tuck sprang to the roof and knocked the guard down with a combination tackle and elbow to the neck. The man was unconscious before he hit the deck.
Tuck inspected him more closely. “A police sniper?” he said. “What are you doing up here?”
Tuck stripped the officer down and put on the man’s clothes. He had to cuff the pant legs three times and roll up the sleeves on the shirt, but at least the boots fit. He bound and gagged the officer and placed him on a fire escape platform in the shade, then returned to the roof.
He walked the perimeter himself until he spotted the hospital—about two miles away, to the north. He climbed back down and started his trek, still staying in the shadows and alleyways.
***
The seatbelt pulled at Leef as he struggled to see out of the small window on the side of the drone. He pulled down the collar of his large puffy coat and managed a glimpse of the world outside.
“We’re getting low,” he told his brothers. “I can see the mountains.”
As Leef admired the view, Gill and Pol were deep in discussion. “But if I was designed to travel in space, why do I need to be able to breathe underwater?” Gill was saying.
“You and Leef were not designed specifically for space travel. He was just experimenting. Trying to make you better than me,” Pol explained.
“So you were designed for space travel?” asked Leef, settling back into his seat.
“Yes, but my growth rate was too slow, so he just used what he learned from me to create the serum for the real astronauts.”
“But it didn’t work,” said Gill. “The other scientists had to fix it.”
“That’s right. And now soldiers have it and they’re going to attack China, which is why we’re going on this trip. To try and stop it.”
“But I could travel to space, right?” Gill said. “I mean, there’s no reason why I can’t?”
“I suppose.”
“You want to go to space?” Leef asked.
Suddenly an alarm sounded.
“What’s going on?” Gill asked.
The three boys examined the console.
“What does ‘proximity alert’ mean?” asked Leef.
Chapter 33
Kat had returned to her room, her brother at her side, and was preparing to exit the med exo-suit when a news alert came on the television.
“Breaking news. A UNA aircraft en route to China has been shot down. Again, a UNA aircraft has been shot down. For more on the breaking story we turn to our foreign affairs news chief in Calgary, Tom Kincaid. What’s the story, Tom?”
“Doug, we have learned from the offices of the secretary of state and President Porter that a secret summit was to take place at an undisclosed location in China, which was apparently a desperate, last-ditch effort by the UNA administration to try and salvage relations with the increasingly hostile country. However, the aircraft carrying the ambassador was shot down close to Lhasa, the Chinese capital, just moments ago.”
“That’s terrible. Any news on who was in the aircraft?”
“No, we only know that it was a drone, so no pilot involved, only the ambassador.”
“And we’re certain it was shot down? It was not a crash or drone malfunction?”
“Our eyes on the ground in China have reported seeing the explosion, and sources in the administration have confirmed that the drone was at roughly three thousand feet when it suffered a direct hit from an explosive projectile, most likely a missile. Three thousand feet is easily within the range of China’s surface-to-air missile defense system.”
“Any word from the Chinese government?”
“Total silence from them so far, Doug, but we have had some unofficial reports of co-conspirators already being sought out in Denver. We’ll have more on that as it develops.”
Kat turned to Doc. “It’s got to be Dad,” she said. “China wouldn’t shoot them down.”
“But how did he know?”
“I think we have to assume from now on that he knows everything.”
Two soldiers appeared in the doorway, both carrying rifles. “Katherine Hoff and William Braxton, you need to come with us,” said the one closest to them.
Kat looked at Doc, then stepped in front of him to face the soldiers. “What is the meaning of this?”
Doc found himself looking directly at the controls on the back of the exo-suit, with Kat between him and the soldiers, and he realized what she was doing. He began adjusting the controls.
“You are to come with us now,” reiterated the soldier.
“We don’t have to go anywhere with you. We are citizens of the UNA, and we haven’t done anything wrong,” she said.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we have orders to bring you in.”
Kat reached down and grasped the side of her hospital bed with the mechanical glove.
The soldier must have thought she was leaning against the bed for support. “Mrs. Hoff, ma’am, are you okay?”
“My name is Braxton!” she said. She threw the bed at him with such force that not only did it mow down both soldiers, it crashed right through the doorframe and out into the hallway.
Kat looked down at the soldiers, who lay on the floor, unconscious. Then she looked over at her brother. “Whoa.”
“I turned off the safety switch,” Doc said.
“No kidding. I see now why they had to have one installed.”
They stepped out into the hallway. “Let’s go, we need to find Rosie,” Doc said. “She was going to watch surgery with Charlie.”
Two more soldiers appeared at the entryway to the SICU. “Stop!” one yelled as they ran toward Kat and Doc.
Kat grabbed a chair and flung it, knocking one of the men to the ground. Then with two quick, large strides she was upon the other. A single backhand sent him flying.
She stopped and looked down at her suited hands.
Doc came up beside her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I just… I’ve never been so fast, or strong.”
The two of them looked back down the hall. The doorway to her room was destroyed, her bed was smashed against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, and two soldiers lay unconscious. Patients were cautiously peeking out of other rooms, and medical personnel were crouched behind the nurses’ station.
Carmen, the physical therapist, poked her head out of one of the rooms, a look of amazement on her face. She scanned the wreckage, then gave Kat a thumbs-up. “Strong work,” she said.
Kat smiled at her, then turned to Doc. “Where’s surgery?”
“This way,” he said.
***
The man on the operating table was in his mid-fifties. A clear plastic mask, connected to a ventilator, covered his nose and mouth, and the rest of his body was covered in a one-inch-thick, clear, gel-like cocoon. Skorz and Rosie watched as Eddie, the anesthesiologist, attached a number of cables and tubes to the gel covering. Jaq stood off to one side.