by Nick Cook
He got into the passenger seat and handed me the hat. ‘A disguise.’
I pulled it down over my ears and relief swept through me as I spotted the keys in the ignition. ‘You think we might actually pull this off?’
‘Oh, we’ve got a long way to go yet.’
As if in answer, the SUV with Alvarez driving, Cristina in the back, roared out of the smoke and screeched to a stop in front of the truck.
I glanced in my rear-view mirror. An Overseers soldier was running along the side of the truck, waving his arms. ‘Quick, get down, Jack,’ I whispered. ‘Someone’s coming.’
He ducked down into the footwell as I gripped my LRS. Just one bullet left. The soldier banged on the door and with my heart hammering, pistol ready, I lowered the window.
‘We’re moving out before we get caught in another guerilla attack,’ the soldier said.
Without catching his eye, I nodded and turned the ignition. The truck roared into life and two other Overseers leapt up on to the back on the truck, carbines in hand. The guy who had spoken to me ran back to one of the other SUVs parked behind us.
Alvarez drove off.
I selected first gear and the truck rattled as we followed Alvarez’s SUV, the other vehicles behind us in convoy.
‘So much for stealing the truck and making a rapid getaway,’ I said. ‘Any suggestions, Jack?’
‘You mean you’re actually interested in what I think?’
‘What do you mean? I ask you your opinion all the time.’
‘Do you?’
I glanced down at him. ‘What’s that meant to mean?’
‘It means a good leader is also a good listener. I could have told you that rescuing Cristina wasn’t a viable option from the get-go. If we’d done it my way, we could have made a clean getaway.’
‘If that’s what you thought, you should have bloody well said something.’
‘Maybe, but you should have asked, Lauren. Being in charge isn’t about being an autocrat.’
‘Have I really been as bad as that?’
‘On a few occasions. But I’ll cut you some slack – you’ve also had to make some tough calls.’
I picked over his words as I drove, replaying the last few days. I’d been so busy thinking on my feet about what to do, I may not have asked for the opinions of Jack and Mike enough. And maybe if I had, a different course of events might have taken place. Maybe Mike would still be alive.
A lump filled my throat and I swallowed it down. This wasn’t the moment for losing the plot.
I pulled myself together. ‘OK, you may have a point. Seems I have a lot to learn in my new role.’
Jack’s face softened as he saw my expression. ‘Sorry, that came out more harsh than I intended. Lack of sleep, getting shot at and almost blown up several times has that sort of effect on me. And coming off my meds at the same time is just the icing on the friggin’ cake.’
I smiled as I grabbed on to his lifeline of humour. ‘Tell me about it.’ I peered down at him as he hid in the footwell. ‘So what do you suggest we do?’
‘Just trust me.’
‘Jack, I’d trust you with my life and frequently have.’
‘Then hang on to that thought and maybe your ass too. I suggest you ram Alvarez’s SUV and drive him off the road. It’s the only way – he’s between us and our escape route.’
‘What about Cristina in the back?’
‘Just pray the vehicle’s crumple zones do their job.’
‘But, Jack…’
‘Remember that “trust me” bit.’
I slowly nodded. ‘Yeah, OK…’ I pushed the accelerator down hard. The engine roared as the truck sped forward. With a sickening crunch, we smashed into the back of the SUV, sending the soldiers in the back of our truck sprawling. Alvarez’s SUV spun sideways with a squeal of tyres and toppled on to its roof into a ditch.
There was no time to check the fate of the occupants as shouts and cries came from the soldiers behind us as they hauled themselves to their feet.
‘And now brake hard!’ Jack shouted, pulling himself up into the seat.
I stamped my foot on the brake and the truck skidded to a stop. With a crunch of flesh into metal, the two mercs slammed into the back of the cab. The SUV behind us smashed into the rear of the truck and smoke billowed from beneath its bonnet as the mercs inside staggered out of the vehicle.
I didn’t need to wait for Jack to tell me what to do next.
I pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor. One of the mercs on the back tipped over the side and tumbled away. But the other soldier, blood streaming from his broken nose, hung on to one of the straps tying the micro mind to the flatbed. To make matters worse, the remaining SUVs had scraped past the other totalled vehicle and were catching us up again.
In my mirror, I saw our hitchhiker raising his carbine. ‘Fuck!’
Jack lifted his Glock and fired through the rear window. I ducked instinctively as glass showered down in the cab.
‘All clear,’ Jack said.
I sat up and glanced backwards to see the soldier was gone.
My attention snapped to the road ahead. It was widening out as it ran along the edge of a sheer cliff.
The SUV behind us grabbed its opportunity and accelerated alongside us. An Uzi barrel appeared in the car’s open window and flashed with fire. We both ducked as bullets sprayed the side of the truck.
Jack leant across me and fired his carbine over me at the vehicle, bullets sparking off the vehicle’s roof. Then he clicked on empty.
‘I’m out!’ he shouted.
‘Oh, let me deal with these bastards,’ I said.
I hauled the wheel hard over and swerved our truck into the SUV. With a bang of metal on metal, the SUV’s wheels tipped over the edge of the cliff. Almost in slow motion, it toppled into the abyss, the soldiers inside screaming as they disappeared from view.
Automatic fire raked the back of the truck, snapping my attention back. A soldier was hanging out of the window of the last remaining SUV.
‘Grab the wheel, Jack.’
All credit to the guy, he didn’t even ask me what I was going to do as he took control.
I leant out and fired my LRS at the SUV, forcing it to brake hard to avoid being hit.
‘Lauren!’ Jack shouted.
I turned back round to see a tight left-hand bend coming up. I grabbed the wheel from Jack and braked. With a sickening screech of tyres, the truck started to slide sideways. The flatbed holding the micro mind hung out over the edge of the cliff for a nausea-inducing second. But then the tyres grabbed purchase again and we shot forward along the road and into a steep-sided narrow ravine.
In that split second I had a new plan.
I braked again and we slewed to a dead stop.
‘Lauren, what the hell?’ Jack said.
‘Your turn to trust me.’ I slammed the truck into reverse and we gathered speed as we shot back to the entrance of the ravine. The final SUV came skidding round the bend. I saw the driver’s eyes widen in horror as he saw the large truck barrelling towards him in reverse. Unable to stop in time, his SUV slammed hard into our truck, making us lurch against our seat belts.
‘Hang on!’ I shouted. I gunned our engine and more automatic fire peppered the back of the cab. Dust kicked up from our tyres as the truck began pushing the SUV out of the ravine towards the cliff edge. At the final moment the soldiers inside jumped clear of their vehicle as it tipped over the edge and tumbled away down the side of the mountain.
I didn’t wait for the pretty fireball. With a graunch of gears, I selected first and we surged forward. I glanced in my mirror to see the Overseers soldiers haul themselves to their feet, hands on their heads as they watched us speed away.
‘Nicely done, Lauren.’
‘Sorry I didn’t consult you on my plan, but there wasn’t exactly a lot of time.’
He held up his hands. ‘We’re all good, trust me.’
‘So now let’s get as
much distance as we can between us and Alvarez. I don’t think we’re out of the woods by a long way yet. Can you take the wheel again? There’s something else I need to do.’
‘Sure.’ He leant across and took hold of it.
I fished the Empyrean Key out of my rucksack and struck it with the tuning fork. The circular icon with concentric lines radiating out hovered over it.
‘Exactly what we suspected,’ I said. ‘Cristina managed to turn off the self-repair mode and shut the micro mind back down.’
‘Will that be a problem to sort out?’
‘It should be as easy as this…’ I selected the icon and four arrows pointing inwards appeared as it turned red. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a faint blue light glowing within the crystal again. ‘Self-repair mode re-engaged.’
He grinned at me. ‘Way to go. Now let’s get off this damned mountain. I’m sick to death of it already.’
‘You and me both,’ I said. I grabbed control of the wheel back from Jack, pressed the accelerator and we raced away down the road.
As we continued to carve along the switchback road, I kept glancing back towards the top of the mountain. Fires from the crashed SUVs blazed like beacons on the slopes in the growing dawn like funeral pyres. And from the top of the peak a column of smoke drifted up that had to be coming from the wreckage of the Black Hawks.
Jack glanced up at them too. ‘Quite the night’s work.’
‘It will certainly put up the Overseers’ insurance premiums.’ I peered over my shoulder at the large crystal on the back of our truck. The light within was growing stronger. ‘Hopefully not long now until the micro mind finishes rebooting.’
‘But what happens then? Do you think Lucy will put in a house call?’
‘That’s what I’m praying for,’ I replied. ‘At the very least this is another piece of the puzzle in the missing parts of her memory. It’ll hopefully help her to remember what her mission was.’
‘And specifically how we can neutralise the threat from the Kimprak, as ultimately that’s what’s driving everything we’re doing right now. And of course you’ll get to see Lucy again.’
I raised my eyebrows a fraction. ‘And?’
Jack glanced across at me and smiled. ‘Oh, come on, Lauren, tell me you’re not dying to see her?’
‘Of course I am. She may not have been my biological parent, but in every other sense she was my mum, a mentor and also my best friend. I’ve missed her every single day since she died.’
‘Even if you’re talking to an AI facsimile?’
‘Even then. I guess it’s a bit like looking back through an old photo album.’
‘An album that can talk back to you,’ Jack said.
‘Pretty much. And anything that helps to fill the hole in my soul, even a fraction, I’ll welcome with both arms.’
‘Now that I understand.’ He fell silent and looked ahead at the road, lost in his own thoughts for a moment.
Of course he understood. He’d lost his wife after all… There was still so much that we both skated over with each other, memories too painful to keep pulling out into the light of day. Maybe he would open up to me one day. I hoped so.
Ahead of us the valley opened out as we left the mountain behind. With every passing minute, I felt my adrenaline ebb away, replaced by a bottomless pit of exhaustion.
Jack looked at his Sky Wire and frowned. ‘Still no damned reception.’
‘Just how big do you think the Overseers’ jamming zone is?’
‘Big enough to give us a serious issue. But from memory there’s just one more bend to go and then it’s a straight run all the way back to Cachora. We can hide out there and, if our Sky Wires still aren’t working, use a landline to call Niki.’
‘Sounds good. I’ll need a big brew of tea the moment we get to town.’
‘You Brits and your tea,’ Jack said.
‘Hey, I’m agnostic. Coffee is great and everything, but sometimes only tea will hit the spot.’
‘Especially when you’ve almost been killed countless times over the last two days.’
‘Now you’re really starting to understand me, Jack.’
He snorted. ‘I’m trying.’
I caught a glint of light from the corner of my eye. I turned and I saw a point of light through the shattered window – growing bigger fast.
‘No fucking way – they just fired another bloody missile at us.’
‘But you said they wouldn’t risk destroying the micro mind.’
‘I was obviously wrong.’ I slammed the brakes on, a fresh plan already in my mind. ‘We’ve no other choice. We need to get out now.’
Jack nodded, opened his door and leapt from the truck. As soon as he was clear, I slammed my foot down on the accelerator.
He spun round. ‘Goddammit!’ He sprinted alongside the truck as I began to accelerate away. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing, Lauren?’
‘What I have to, to protect the micro mind and you,’ I called back. I selected second gear and the truck surged forward.
In the wing mirror, I saw Jack running, but already falling away. More pressingly, the missile was gathering speed fast and streaking towards me like a bat out of hell. I ground the accelerator into the floor of the truck.
I had a sketch of a plan, a last desperate roll of the dice, quite possibly downright stupid. But what other choice did I have if these were my last few seconds alive?
I turned the truck towards the steep embankment on the right of the road, fighting every instinct to veer away from it.
The suspension lurched as tarmac turned to rocky ground. I braced myself as the truck raced towards the edge. Through the right-hand window, I saw the point of light growing fast as it hurtled straight for the truck.
This was going to be close.
I caught a blur of movement behind me. In the pre-dawn gloom, the silhouette of a motorbike was closing in on the truck and then its rider threw a small object on the road.
What?
My thought was swept away as the truck crashed through a low stone wall and flew out into open air. It started to tip towards the trees lining the steep slope beneath.
In the next second everything seemed to happen at once: the truck slammed into the tops of the pine trees, throwing me forward; my ribs cracked sharply against the wheel; the branches slammed past the cab as a pulse of fear rose up in my throat.
Real time rushed back in with a bone-jarring crash as the truck’s nose crashed into the ground. With a grinding of metal, the vehicle tipped forward and the flatbed holding the micro mind came to rest against the broad trunk of a tree. Just for a moment I hung at a crazy angle. Then, with a lurch and a splintering of branches, the truck toppled sideways. The windscreen exploded as the vehicle landed hard on its tyres at a steep angle across the slope.
Sudden white light blazed from the road above me. A split second later it was followed by a much brighter flash that lit up the mountain. The thunder of an explosion shook the truck and rolled away across the valley.
There was the sound of expanding metal creaking and then flames burst from beneath the twisted bonnet.
I took a breath and registered the agonising pain coming from my stomach. I glanced down to see a long shard of windscreen glass sticking out of my abdomen. I stared at it in disbelief as icy numbness quickly spread through me.
The motorbike rider was now racing down the impossible slope and skidded to a stop next to the cab. He jumped off and sprinted towards me.
I stared at the man’s face as he yanked the driver’s door open.
Mike looked in at me, his face pale.
‘You’re alive…’ I whispered.
Mike didn’t answer. He was staring at the blood bubbling up round the slab of glass buried in my stomach.
With a shout, Jack came skidding down the embankment. As Mike stepped aside, I caught the look of confusion in Jack’s face to see his friend alive. Then his eyes locked on to my wound and something flickered throu
gh his expression. A look of utter dread.
He ripped his jacket off and pressed it round the glass projectile. ‘It’s going to be OK, Lauren.’
But I could hear the lie behind his words and see the fear building in Mike’s expression.
I groaned. ‘We both know there’ll be no happy ending for me this time. You and Mike have to get away while you can.’
Jack just stared at me. ‘Lauren, I can’t lose you too.’
Too? The thought evaporated as I looked into his shining eyes. ‘It’s already too late for that. Seems that Lady Luck has turned her back on me.’
Blue light began to flare around me. Was this my end? The fabled tunnel of light? But no, it was coming from the flatbed.
I saw Mike staring at the source of the light, and his eyes widened. He grabbed my rucksack and fished out the Empyrean Key.
‘You need to try to contact Lucy.’
I tried to focus on his face that had started to blur. ‘But she’s not here.’
‘If this micro mind has restored enough of its functions, you may be able to transport us over to E8 and Lucy might be able to help.’
A chill ran through my body, rapidly icy cold. I felt the weight of the Empyrean Key as Mike pressed it gently into my hand.
Jack leant in, looming over me. ‘Please, Lauren, you have to try.’
Their faces blurred further as Mike struck the tuning fork against the orb. A point of fuzzy light flared into existence above and I tried to focus on it. But I couldn’t make it out. Darkness was creeping into my mind.
‘Lauren, keep your eyes open,’ Jack said from a very long way away.
With every last scrap of energy, I rolled my wrist forward. Then the world went dark.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A complete and utter darkness closed in around me. It felt like ice had encased my body. The rational part of my brain, the part that wasn’t freaking out, was trying to process what was happening.
This is probably just my mind shutting down as I slide towards death.
But then the darkness became tinged with grey. Slowly, so slowly, the grey started to turn to a dark, pulsating red. And then sounds began to reach me: the bleeping of electronic equipment and muffled voices. I tried to grasp them with my mind, like a swimmer hanging on to driftwood in a vast ocean of numbness. One of the voices became louder…