by Justin Sloan
“Thank the—”
“No time for that,” he interrupted, motioning back to the door. “Get out of here.”
“You’re coming with us,” Alice protested.
He looked at her, hard features in contrast with moist eyes. “Not after what they just did.”
“Ah, damn,” Scorpio said, panic in his voice. “Not…?”
Intrepid nodded. “I told Mike to stay away. Son of a bitch didn’t listen. But it wasn’t his fault, it’s theirs.”
Mike… Intrepid’s brother. Alice had only heard about him in rare opening up sessions over a station-made hard drink. The two were close, and this stunk. If Alice’s sister were up here instead of down on Earth trying to make a name for herself in the FBI, she wasn’t sure she’d even be able to continue the fight. The risk of her sister being hurt because of her would be too much. And now Intrepid was going through that, likely blaming himself.
She got it, but dammit, she needed her team.
“Fighting them here, like this… you know it’s not the way.”
“That’s not your call.” Intrepid picked up one of the rifles and spun at the sound of footsteps and shouting.
“I’m telling you, it’s not going to end well for you if you stay here.”
“She’s right,” Scorpio said. “Big guy, it’s not just the soldiers… it’s her.”
Intrepid’s sorrow and anger melted away with a look of excitement mixed with fear. “Nightshade? Here?”
“We saw her,” Alice confirmed.
That gave him reason to pause. Lights appeared around the bend ahead, and then several shots pinged off nearby walls. Intrepid fired back two quick bursts.
“Not like this,” Alice pleaded, and Intrepid hesitated.
A form appeared past the lights of the enemy—dark, with those purple, glowing lines. Nightshade.
With a sigh, Intrepid turned and shouted, “Go!” He shot as he stepped back with them, and Alice pulled him into the passage, slamming the door shut behind them.
Intrepid turned to her with wild eyes, then nodded. He started moving, but stopped when he saw the teens.
“Mike’s friends,” he said, more of a statement than a question. “Get out of here, now.”
They ran off, but Alice and her team didn’t move.
“What is it?” Alice asked, anxiously.
“Retreating like that… we’ve given away this passage. They’ll find the pattern, maybe unearth more like this. Dammit, what’ve we done?”
“Gotten you to safety, for one,” Alice replied. “Relative safety, anyway. Now it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge, so we can live to fight another day.”
Shots sounded from outside, then shouting. Closer now. The door would be hidden from view, but they’d seen where the group had been. It would only be a matter of time.
Moving now, Alice and her two companions held their guns at the ready. Again, Alice found her mind wandering back to Earth, to the sister she had left behind—Shrina. Her training was probably over at this point. How long since they had actually spoken? Too long… before Alice had become Alice, anyway. Her old identity had died, and Shrina had likely mourned her, thought she was gone forever.
Maybe she was, maybe she wasn’t. When Alice had gotten her answers, she intended to return to Earth, somehow. No more crime, no more of this politics and espionage.
No, when those days came it would just be about the family she still had. While Marick was gone, Shrina wasn’t. Their grandparents were still around, even if they had lost their parents in the war. Alice had been old enough to remember her parents, but Shrina had practically been raised by their grandparents. And they had another sister now, too—adopted. A neighbor kid who had lost all her family to the war.
Hold on, Shrina, Alice thought as they turned down another passage, working their way back. Someday soon, I’ll find you. Someday.
A blinding light brought her to the present and she stopped suddenly, Intrepid colliding with her while Scorpio threw himself to the ground. A moment later—KA-BOOM! The wall in front of them blew in, breached, and two soldiers appeared.
Intrepid pulled Alice back and she turned with him, scrambling out as shots rang out. More lights and sounds, then one of the teens from earlier appeared, gesturing them over to a hole in the floor.
Alice tried to push Intrepid toward it first, but he wasn’t having it. Taking cover behind the corner of the corridor, he returned fire and said, “I’ll be right behind you.”
“We can’t leave Scorpio!” Alice shouted, reaching for her pistol. She was prepared to run back after him, but a glance around the corner showed that he was being dragged out through the hole in the wall, more soldiers moving in toward them.
A shot fired and she ducked, feeling the air break nearby as the bullet nearly grazed her.
“Stay with me,” she called out to Intrepid as she made for the hole. “That’s an order!”
He grunted, then followed her to the opening as the teen started to close the hatch. But then Intrepid stopped, clenched his jaw, and said, “Sorry, I have to draw them off of you.”
“And if I can’t find you, later? What then?”
“I’ll figure it out.” He slammed the hatch shut, leaving them in darkness. Shots sounded above as Alice reached up, but the teen grabbed her hand.
“He’s resourceful, he’ll find a way.”
She glared at the boy, barely able to make out his outline, then grunted and turned to get out of there. Dammit, if she lost Intrepid and Scorpio, she would take down this whole space station to get them back.
They dropped into a narrower tunnel, all manner of wires hanging loose about them, and ran in a crouch to avoid hitting their heads.
For the moment, it seemed, they were clear. Alice should have been relieved, but all she could think about was Scorpio, and now she had to put Intrepid back on the list of people to worry about. She’d reunite with him shortly, she told herself. Then they were going to have to find a way to get into PD quarters and rescue Scorpio, or die trying.
7
Stealth: Lower Chambers
Charging into a fight brought a rush of excitement and familiarity back to Stealth. This was where he belonged, in the heat of it. Tropical led the way, the heavy sound of armor pounding down the chamber in front of him, echoing through the passageways.
When they emerged into a cargo hold to the sounds of shots and soldiers shouting, Tropical turned and gave him a thumbs-up, then said, “Time to see you in action, boy.”
“You can stop calling me boy,” Stealth replied, readying his DD4 rifle.
“Sure, sure.” Tropical gestured to two soldiers against the far wall, each of them taking turns firing into what looked like a drop-off just past them. “Watch yourself down there.”
Stealth was about to ask what he meant, when one of the soldiers turned to them and said, “About time. This the newb?”
Tropical chuckled, nodded, and turned to the other three across the room, two of them working to bandage up the third.
“Take Stealth with you. I’ll see to this one and get the debrief going.”
“Roger that,” one soldier said, still kneeling with bandages in his hands. Both wore their black and green body armor and helmets with the partial faceplates. Although fogged, the faceplates allowed him enough of a view to see that one of the men had a beard—a practice that had never been allowed in the Marines, but that nobody seemed to care about here in this privatized military.
“This is Pete.” The soldier quickly tucked in the edge of the bandage, then stood as he gestured to the one with the beard. “I go by Bloodhound.”
Pete leaned back as more shots rang out in their direction. He shook Stealth’s hand, then returned a four-round burst.
“Pete, huh?” Stealth asked, moving up behind them and against the wall. “You and that Trish woman… not into the call signs?”
“You met my sister?” Pete glanced back, then nodded. “People try to call me stupid nam
es like Kill and Redsight, but yeah, I’m not into that.” He popped off a few more rounds, then nodded to Bloodhound. “Let’s move.”
“Stay close, pretty boy,” Bloodhound said, then led the way by hopping down into the lower level, launching off a frag grenade before running for the other side. He provided cover fire for Pete, then the two advanced as Stealth joined them.
They moved quickly, passing by one of the attackers who had been shot down, and Stealth paused to stare. This was a damn kid! A teen, certainly no older than sixteen. For all he knew, this boy could’ve been one of the many he passed every day on his way to the mess hall, some working, others begging.
As profitable as New Origins was, not everyone up here benefited equally. To let it get to this extent though, where the boys were fighting elites like Nightshade’s group? It was incomprehensible.
“Move it!” Bloodhound called back at him, snapping Stealth from his stupor.
When they were all together again, moving around a dark corner in the silence that followed another kill, Stealth had to ask.
“What the hell’s going on here?”
A glance back, and Pete growled. “You think because they’re younger, they won’t kill us? Kill innocents?”
“I… dammit, I don’t know. But it’s not right.”
Pete gestured at the corner, around the hallways. “Walk out there, wave your hands and say that to them. Let’s see if you come back with a head or not.”
“Watch me,” Stealth said in a moment he knew he’d likely regret later. He took a step to do exactly that, when Bloodhound pinned him against the wall, face close enough that his narrowed eyes were visible inches from Stealth’s.
“You have a death wish, do it on someone else’s watch.”
“Let him,” Pete said. “Who gives a rat’s nut?”
“My watch, my ass,” Bloodhound replied. He pushed Stealth against the wall again, then turned with a finger in Pete’s face. “Listen here, dummy. Nightshade’s on the other side, and right here, I’m in charge. You want her coming after you, do something stupid on your own time. But don’t go getting soldiers killed under my watch.” He turned back to Stealth, finger in his face now. “And you, do what the hell I say, or get your scrawny self back to the other side. We don’t need little chickees in the Taipans, you got that?”
His first mission and he was already messing it up. If he wanted to be one of the elites, this was the way. But at what expense? Still, he’d already decided he wanted answers, and this only confirmed it.
Would he get those answers if he flunked out? If he was sent packing?
Hell no. The only choice was to put on his warrior face, ignore the gnawing at his gut, and step up.
“Let’s get ‘em, boss,” he said.
Bloodhound considered him with a sneer, then released him and stepped back. “At this rate, we’ve probably lost them. For your sake, Fish, let’s hope not.”
“Fish?” Pete asked.
“He’s as fresh as they get,” Bloodhound replied with a sneer. “Stealth died today. In his place, we got Fish here. Welcome to the team, Fish. Now get out there and kill the rest of those little pups.”
Stealth licked his lips, not liking the direction this was going one bit. There was nothing he could do about it, though, not right now. He’d just gone negative in the political capital jar, and had to swim back out.
“Got a problem with that, Fish?” Bloodhound asked.
Stealth shook his head and replied through gritted teeth, “Shouldn’t we be moving on?”
“Damn right, you don’t have a problem.”
Silence filled the air, then far off shooting. It sounded from two directions, so was likely two groups, one of them their own. Pete cleared his throat, snapping Bloodhound back to the moment, and they took the corner, ensuring it was clear before moving on.
Stealth took a moment to pull himself together, and then went after them. His hesitation and their short conversation had been what allowed the enemy to escape. But it also gave him time to think as they ran along the dark corridors with their flickering lights, ducking through what had been hidden passages but were now opened or only poorly hidden as the other side made their retreat.
Nightshade was here, or nearby anyway. The legend herself. She was quick to punish those who stood against her, not so quick to show mercy or forget when people let her down. Dammit, he needed to get on these guys’ good side, show them he was the soldier someone must’ve thought he was, if they had brought him on the team.
Pushing ahead, he found his enhanced strength and speed carrying him past the other two, in spite of the fact that they had supposedly also been given advanced enhancements.
“Who is this guy?” one of them said—likely Pete, since he wasn’t so anti-Stealth at the moment.
No response, but Stealth was fine with that. He wasn’t trying to win friends, exactly. Just impress them enough for them to want him on their team. Sometimes who went on a mission was determined by how much the others wanted you on that mission. Not being wanted was bad.
He reached a corner and came skidding around, coming up behind three teens and a woman.
A shot hit the floor, and he had his rifle up and firing before the realization hit that the shot had come from somewhere else—from more of the Taipans, on the other side of this group. The teens and the woman were trapped between the two, falling as they tried to find cover and shoot at both sides.
“We want her alive,” Pete said, talking into his comms so the other side could hear too. “Dammit, stop shooting. She’s there!”
“Mind filling me in this time?” Stealth asked, pissed that there seemed to be more information he hadn’t been made aware of.
“We didn’t think we’d find her,” Bloodhound replied, moving up to the edge of the wall and glancing out to get a view of the situation. He pulled his head back as a shot rang out. “That’s her all right.”
Stealth lowered his rifle, swiveling his helmet from Pete to Bloodhound and back.
“She’s what this is all about,” Pete finally replied, glancing at Bloodhound to be sure he wasn’t overstepping here. “We got one of the team already, but rumor is she’s the leader of some group that calls themselves The Looking Glass. Something about a mirror on the corporations, I imagine.”
“Right, with a white rabbit and all that,” Stealth replied with a laugh.
“How the hell do you know that?” Bloodhound asked, turning on him with disbelief. “You ain’t been briefed on the group yet.”
“A memory, actually,” Stealth replied, trying to recall where it came from. The memory was foggy, distant. A woman’s voice popped into his head, telling him about her favorite book as a child. He remembered it now, in fragments—him laughing and asking if she was serious, asking if people really still read books.
“It wasn’t in an actual book, God no,” the woman’s voice said in his head, as if she were there with him, even now. “But I remember my mom reading it on her wrist tablet, when I was a girl. It’s stuck with me, ever since. Go into the hole, that’s always been my philosophy. Otherwise, you’ll never know where the white rabbit went or what happened to him. You’ll always wonder.”
The next memory was something else, a feeling of arousal. Then it blurred out, and he was back with the other two soldiers, both staring at him.
“Whatever Fish’s issues are,” Bloodhound said to Pete, “we gotta move. Take out the rest, then get her out of here. Copy?”
Pete nodded, but Stealth said, “What do you mean, my issues?”
“You were out of it for a few seconds there, big guy,” Pete explained. “Don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but you do that when we’re in the thick of it, we’re going to have troubles.”
He’d blacked out during the memories? That worried him, enough to make him want to overcompensate.
“I’ll lead,” he said.
The other two arched their eyebrows, but Bloodhound nodded.
; Stepping up to the corner, Stealth heard Pete say into the comms that they were about to make their move, to be ready, and not to harm the woman.
“On you,” Bloodhound said. “Don’t let us down.”
Stealth nodded, held his rifle up so that he could clear the corner with his barrel at the same time as his sight, and then moved.
BRR-ATTTT! The rounds did their job, taking down a shooter who was about to fire at him. Then he was charging forward, shooting at the next one. He worked his way from the outside, taking down those farthest from the woman first. Rifles went off behind him and another enemy dropped, then he saw movement from the other side. They were coming in to capture the woman, this leader of the hacker group. Only, this was Stealth’s chance. He had to take it.
He slid, kicking out the remaining boy’s legs and slamming him in the head with the butt end of the rifle. Then he was up and had the rifle aimed in at the woman’s face.
He froze, all of his previous training leaving him as the woman’s voice returned, the one who had told him to chase the white rabbit, her face now becoming clear… that same face he could see before him in the present.
8
Alice: Lower Chambers - The Unknown Rooms
Alice wasn’t sure what was happening, but this PD soldier’s mask was focused on her, unmoving.
Two more were charging up behind him. This was it. Her rescuers were all down, shot or unconscious, like the one this man had hit with his rifle. She hoped Intrepid was doing better above.
She risked one more glance at him, processing the way his eyes held hers, quivering. For a moment, she felt a connection. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time, almost as if the universe were drawing them together. More than anything, she wanted to pull his helmet off and see who was there, staring back at her. But then the others were within reach, and she had to act.
To her relief, she realized she wasn’t as alone as she’d thought, as the teen on the ground woke up in time to kick the legs out from one of the charging soldiers. Alice turned to run, moving for the doorway they had been trying to reach in the wall nearby. It burst open, to her shock, and a large shape came charging out, slamming into the oncoming soldier and then turning to motion her in.