Dark Rivals: Age of Expansion - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Uprise Saga Book 4)

by Amy DuBoff

“The alarm must have spooked him,” Ava replied. “Must have tripped and hit his head. We found him on the floor like this.”

  The woman’s face dropped. “The elevators are locked down. Can you get him down the stairs?”

  “I’ve got him, don’t worry,” Edwin said. The warrior took Dave’s full weight, slinging his legs over one arm and cradling his shoulders with the other.

  “I’m sure a medic will respond to the alarm,” Ava said to the group of Protheon workers.

  “Go on ahead,” a man in the group said, gesturing Ava’s team toward the stairwell.

  “Thanks.” Ava ran ahead to prop the door open while Edwin carried Dave through.

  She exchanged glances with Samantha while she passed through the open doorway with Nick.

  >>I know how she feels,<< Ruby said. >>Someone could realize we don’t work here at any moment.<<

  Our forged credentials have gotten us this far. Besides, we don’t have any other options. A roof extraction was a no-go, and it’s not like there’s a backdoor we could take. Going out the front is our only play.

  >>But having more people see us?<<

  Sometimes it’s easier to hide in plain sight, Ava replied.

  They descended the staircase from their current position on the sixth floor. The Protheon facility was like any of the private industry structures Ava had ventured into over her career with the FDG, with sophisticated common areas and emergency stairwells cast in plain concrete with steel stairs. She could have been anywhere, for all the distinguishing features of the stairwell. In some ways, that was a poetic expression of her covert ops activities—same mission, different bad guys, different place.

  Despite Edwin carrying Dave, the group made fast time on the descent. The Protheon employees were only a few steps behind, so Ava elected to remain silent.

  When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, Samantha opened the doorway and ushered Edwin through, followed by Ava and Nick.

  Ava scanned the lobby, looking for the right place to deposit Dave.

  Employees were pouring out of other stairwells into the lobby, and the bank of elevators had a red ‘X’ above each door. Half a dozen employees dressed in orange vests were shouting instructions for people to head outside.

  That’s as good a target as any. Ava bobbed her head toward one of the orange-vested women nearest their stairwell, and she broke into a light jog, headed in that direction.

  Edwin followed her lead.

  “He just collapsed!” Ava exclaimed as she approached the target woman with Edwin.

  The warrior set Dave on the floor.

  “Did you see what happened?” the woman asked, concern clouding her face and she looked over Dave’s unconscious form.

  “No, but we thought we should get him out of there when we heard the alarm,” Ava said. “I’ll see if I can find a medic. Check over there,” she said to Edwin, nodding toward the corner of the lobby opposite their current position.

  “Stay with him,” Edwin told the woman.

  The Protheon worker knelt over Dave while Ava and Edwin disappeared into the crowd.

  Ava lost sight of her team in an attempt to blend in with the flow of traffic heading outside.

  Shit, we weren’t supposed to get separated, she said to Ruby.

  >>Everyone knows the rendezvous. Just get us there.<<

  The throng of people flooding from the fourteen-story building directed Ava out through the lobby doors into a well-landscaped pavilion. A fountain filled the center of a circular drive, which led to the main roadway, a kilometer to the east.

  She blinked in the sudden midday sun—a harsher light there on Darcar than she was used to in her home system.

  People gravitated toward a grassy field to the left of the entry driveway, presumably a predetermined evacuation site.

  Ava, however, headed toward the left as inconspicuously as she could, toward a pathway that led through an opening between two low hills to the employee parking lot. There was no cover available between Protheon’s entry and the path, but she walked with purpose.

  Ten meters ahead of her, she spotted Nick and Samantha hustling in the same direction.

  “You can’t head home. We need to do a roll call!” a man shouted behind Ava.

  Is he talking to us?

  >>Pretend you don’t hear him,<< Ruby suggested.

  Ava picked up her pace.

  “Hey!”

  Stars, he’s persistent! Ava hazarded a glance behind her.

  The man was jogging in her direction. “Meeting area is back this way,” he called.

  Nick and Samantha were almost to the pass between the hills. Once inside, they’d be able to disappear.

  Ava spotted Edwin twelve meters to her right, following the edge of the circular drive. She didn’t notice anyone watching him at the moment, so the best bet was to allow him to make a clean escape.

  She stopped. “I already checked in with my floor marshal,” she stated without turning around.

  “We need a headcount,” he insisted.

  Except I’d be an extra. Ava took a slow breath, noting that Edwin was about to pass into the pathway between the hills. “My dog is in my car. I need to walk her,” she said.

  “Wha…?”

  Ruby, how do you feel about trying out my new super-speed?

  >>We haven’t practiced enough. This isn’t an advisable time to experiment.<<

  It’s the perfect time.

  Ava bolted for the pathway. Her perception shifted so every footstep seemed like it was in slow motion relative to her surroundings. She looked back over her shoulder and saw the man raising his hands in frustrated protest, but the movement was barely perceptible.

  She returned her focus ahead and ran. Though the world around her didn’t seem to move, each of her steps was at a normal running pace from her vantage. In what seemed like six seconds, she caught up to Edwin, just as he was rounding the bend in the pathway between the hills where he would be hidden from the pursuer.

  Ava returned to normal speed. Her heart pounded in her ears—not from exertion, but from exhilaration.

  Edwin did a double-take when she appeared next to him. “How did you get here so fast?”

  “Putting my new abilities to use. Come on, we need to hurry.” She continued running alongside him at a brisk, human speed.

  Nick and Samantha were waiting at the entrance to the employee parking lot, which spanned an acre.

  “We’ll be all over the security footage,” Nick muttered as soon as Ava was within earshot.

  “And they won’t be able to connect us to anything, aside from the mock profiles behind our forged credentials. That’s precisely why we had visitor badges,” she replied.

  “I’m going to vote against future ops where we have to dress like this,” Samantha said with a downward glance of distaste at her attire.

  “Agreed.” Edwin flexed in his business suit. “We’re supposed to be covert ops, not playing dress-up and impersonating people.”

  Ava sighed. “It’s not like this was the first time we’ve done this.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess I got used to being shot at,” Samantha replied. “And getting to shoot back.”

  “That’s definitely more fun,” Edwin agreed.

  “Well, that is precisely what’s going to happen if you keep standing here and complaining. Move!” Ava shooed them toward the back of the parking lot, where their stealthed pod was waiting for them.

  As they approached the pod, Nick made entries on his wrist controls to drop the back hatch open. They piled inside, and Nick and Samantha went to the cockpit, while Ava and Edwin strapped into the back.

  “So things didn’t go quite as we planned, but we got what we came for,” Ava commented.

  “Glad it’s your job to explain that to Widmore,” Samantha said while she powered up the pod.

  “It won’t be an issue,” Ava assured her team. At least, I hope not.

  >>It could have gone better,<< Ruby interjected. >
>You took some unnecessary risks.<<

  Maybe they’re right—I’ve gotten used to the firefights, too.

  >>We need to work on your appetite for drama.<<

  Except, Ava wasn’t sure she wanted it to go away.

  She decided to keep that notion to herself.

  The pod lifted off from the ground, and its gravitic engines launched it toward space.

  Stealthed in orbit, the Raven was awaiting their return. The pod slipped into its berth in the belly of the larger ship.

  “Good work, team,” Ava said while disembarking the pod. “I’ll see you after my debrief with Major Widmore.”

  “I’m telling you, he’s going to be pissed,” Samantha said with a slow shake of her head.

  Ava shrugged. “Maybe, but I doubt it.”

  “Here’s the drive.” Nick handed their bounty to her. “Hope it goes well.”

  “Thanks. See you in a few.”

  Ava jogged toward the ladder that led up from the bay to the middle level of the ship, which housed the galley, living quarters, and Widmore’s office.

  “What the fuck was that alarm about?” Widmore demanded as soon as Ava’s head cleared the floor of the ladder shaft.

  She gulped. Okay, so maybe this won’t be as easy a conversation as I thought.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Hello, sir.” Ava finished scaling the ladder and rose to her feet on the deck, clasping her hands behind her back.

  “My office. Now.” Major Widmore stormed down the hall.

  I know we deviated a little, but isn’t he overreacting? Ava asked Ruby.

  >>I’m sure you’ll know his exact thinking at any moment.<<

  Ava wasn’t particularly eager to find out.

  She followed the major into his office and closed the door.

  Widmore stood behind his desk, resting his hands on the top and leaning forward. “Please explain to me how and why you evacuated the entire facility that you were supposed to be in and out of without causing any disturbance?”

  Ava took a slow breath and met his gaze. “Well, sir, we had to abandon the original plan as soon as we got inside. Our badges got us through the front door just fine, but when we reached the communications room, it was occupied.”

  “Dealing with one individual should be well within your skillset.”

  “Yes, sir.” She nodded. “He was belligerent, but we easily subdued him. I glanced at his mind and quickly determined he didn’t know anything pertinent to our mission, so we bound and gagged him. Samantha and Nick proceeded to retrieve the information.”

  “What about the alarm?” Widmore prompted.

  “We got some unexpected additional company, so I improvised.”

  The major wiped his hand down his face. “Lieutenant, going from one bound individual to triggering an evaluation alarm for a whole building isn’t just improvising, it’s changing the whole fucking plan.”

  “The more people who came to question us, the more quickly our cover would have fallen apart. The quickest and fastest way to get out was to be among the many other people who were leaving.”

  “Except you were seen parting ways from the group of evacuees. Plus, we had very intentional reasons for sending you in the way we did. This disturbance upset plans beyond this one operation.”

  Ava looked down. “You didn’t inform me about those other activities, sir.”

  He glared at her. “I shouldn’t have to. If you had followed orders, it wouldn’t have been relevant.”

  “With all due respect, sir, plans need to change on the fly more often than not. If there were critical activities tangential to this op, then telling me would have allowed me to make a more informed decision.”

  Widmore sighed. “Ava, I know this has been a difficult month and a half for you, but your new abilities don’t entitle you to break the rules. We have a chain of command and mission orders for a reason. Consider this your official warning.”

  Is he serious? Threatening to bench me because we pulled the fire alarm?

  >>Ava, don’t talk back. Nod and smile,<< Ruby cautioned.

  This is absurd, right? He—

  >>Now is not the time or place. You’re still on an endorphin high. Nod and smile. You can have a conversation with him when you’ve mellowed out.<<

  Ava took a deep breath. “Yes, sir. Understood.”

  “I expect your full written report in four hours. Dismissed.” Widmore sat down in his chair with a huff.

  Why don’t we keep the details of this meeting between us for now, Ava suggested to Ruby.

  >>Works for me.<<

  She exited the major’s office and then headed for the washroom. The only thing worse than getting reprimanded by her superior officer was having it happen while she was out of uniform. Getting back into her shipsuit was top priority.

  Just as she was reaching toward the washroom door’s handle, the hallway lights flickered.

  “The fuck…?” Ava froze.

  >>Power fluctuation,<< Ruby reported. >>No apparent cause in the ship’s real-time performance report.<<

  Maybe it was a glitch.

  The lights flickered again. This isn’t normal.

  >>Ava, I recommend you get into your shipsuit immediately, in case we lose life support.<<

  I was just thinking the same thing. Ava quickly opened the door and raced into the washroom.

  The three members of her team were drying off in the showers.

  “Don’t suppose you saw the lights flicker?” Nick asked.

  “It was doing it in the hall, too,” Ava confirmed. “Power fluctuations shipwide.”

  “I told you it wasn’t the steam messing with the overhead fixture!” Samantha ran toward her locker.

  “Get dressed,” Ava encouraged her team. “It might be nothing, but if we have an issue, we need to be prepared.”

  “Fucking great.” Edwin ran for his own locker.

  Nick followed suit.

  “How’d it go with Widmore?” Samantha asked while she dressed.

  “Fine,” Ava replied, pulling her own shipsuit from her locker. “We’ll get in our mission reports and explain what happened.”

  Samantha eyed her. “He was pissed, wasn’t he?”

  Ava kept her gaze focused inside her locker. “We accomplished our mission.”

  “Yep, thought so.” Samantha finished securing her shipsuit and closed her locker door. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up if the ship is rapidly decompressing.”

  “I’ll join you,” Edwin said, following her from the washroom.

  Nick hung back and waited for the door to close behind their two comrades.

  “Are you okay, Ava?”

  She finished securing her shipsuit and then slumped against her locker. “I messed up again. That’s two major fuck-ups in two months, since this fucking Hochste thing.”

  “You’re being too hard on yourself,” her friend responded. “Not to sound like a dick, but you were far from perfect before.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” She scoffed and shook her head.

  “I mean that you’re hyper-aware of everything now,” he continued. “All of us have made plenty of mistakes and wrong calls on ops over the years, but now you’re scrutinizing every action because you’ve undergone this change. Are you honestly saying that Widmore never gave any reprimands before this transformation?”

  Ava thought for a moment. “I guess he did.”

  >>You had four ‘harshly worded’ performance reviews prior to my pairing with you,<< Ruby stated.

  And you still elected to join me?

  >>You were too fascinating a case for me to pass up,<< the AI replied. >>Plus, I knew I’d be getting involved with someone a little out there when you agreed to our pairing without an interview. I was able to go over your records, but you didn’t know a thing about me beforehand.<<

  Widmore and Kurtz recommended you; that was enough.

  Ruby was silent for a moment. >>If Major Widmore’s opinion carries so much weight that you
’d allow him to select an AI for you, no wonder you take his criticism of your performance to heart.<<

  Yeah, I guess I do, Ava realized.

  She returned her attention to Nick. “You’re right. I’ve always been worried about letting my team down, but I worry about it more now. While I’m figuring out this new self, I have to hold myself to a higher standard.”

  “There’s being cautious, and then there’s crippling yourself with self-doubt,” Nick replied. “After you showed the Dyons who was boss, you seemed so confident.”

  “And then I remembered that cockiness gets people killed, so I adjusted my attitude.” Ava crossed her arms. “But maybe I swung too far in the other direction.”

  “No one is perfect, Ava.” Nick stepped over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Hochste or not, you’re still human. No one expects you to always be right.”

  “But I’m expected to not pull alarms in buildings where we’re not supposed to be, apparently,” Ava muttered.

  “Hey, it got us out of there. I thought it was—”

  The lights cut out.

  “Shit!” Ava groped in the dark for the emergency kit next to the lockers. Even with her new enhanced vision, there wasn’t enough light for her to see anything.

  “Why aren’t they coming back on?” Nick asked. His question was followed by a bang on the locker doors, as his hand found them for spatial reference.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Ava’s fingers finally located the latch to the emergency kit, and she opened it. Inside, she felt around for the cool, metal cylinder of a flashlight.

  “Watch your eyes,” she warned, then clicked on the device.

  Red light flooded the washroom.

  “We still have gravity,” Nick observed. “What might—”

  The main lights flickered on again.

  Ava blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted. “This whole being-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-on-a-malfunctioning-spaceship thing isn’t working for me.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “Attention,” Rod, the Raven’s captain, announced over the central comm system. “You’ve no doubt noticed the power fluctuations over the past five minutes. We have reset the central command modules, and all systems appear to be functioning properly. We will alert you if we detect any anomalous activity. In the meantime, please proceed as normal. Thank you.”