by Wesley Chu
The worst part was the team wasn’t even supposed to be here. They were supposed to be on vacation, sitting on the beach in Whitehaven sipping Mai Tais and being obnoxious tourists. Cameron took out his phone and read the message:
URGENT. EMILY GONE. GREECE MYSTERY SOLVED. JUSTICE FOR SETH.
Attached to the message were coded rendezvous coordinates, and now they were here. Cameron had read that message a hundred times and analyzed it a thousand ways. His team had just completed an extended operation stabilizing Tanzania, and this was the first opportunity he could find to come. Unfortunately, Dana had caught wind of it and the rest of the team followed.
Now Dubs was gone.
Cameron took out a worn photo from his wallet and studied the faded image. This had become a ritual for him every time he lost someone under his command. It was a photo of a bunch of college kids posing in front of the Parthenon in Athens on a perfect summer day. He was the lanky one on the left end. There was Emily with the guy she was dating at the time – what’s his name – in the center. Next to her were Negin, Annelie, Marilyn, Surrett, Yang, and then Seth. Cameron’s gaze lingered on the Chinese kid and then over to Seth. Emily and Seth were his best friends during university. The three of them, all children of Prophus operatives, had enrolled in a summer program in Greece the summer before the war had started.
And then the war had started.
That picture was taken the day before the first volleys. The next day, Greece declared for the Genjix. The three of them and the rest of their class suddenly found themselves behind enemy lines. Cameron was ordered to leave his friends behind and smuggle a Prophus operative with important intel out of the country. Cameron had taken it upon himself to lead his friends and several of the other students to safety as well. In the end, Seth and Yang hadn’t made it. Those were the first two people to die under his command.
How many times do I have to tell you? It is not your fault. We were betrayed. One of the other students was a Genjix, or at least a sympathizer.
“I should have been able to get them all out.”
The odds were stacked against you. You did your best.
Somehow, the Genjix were able to hound them every step of the way. At the time, Cameron was convinced it was Yang, the son of a powerful businessman in China with Genjix ties. He believed Yang was betraying them right up until Yang died saving his life. Cameron closed his eyes and replayed those scenes in his head.
Yang and Seth.
“I was suspicious of the guy who saved my life.”
I thought it was Yang as well.
“That doesn’t make me feel any less guilty.”
One of these days, I am going to wipe those memories from your head.
“Can you actually do that?”
If I cannot, then I will make you drink a jug of tequila while you are asleep.
Cameron’s gag reflex kicked in, remembering Emily’s twentieth birthday. He brushed his finger along her face in the picture. It had been over five years since he had last seen Emily. The war had separated them by an ocean. The incidents in Greece had hit her hard. She had become a Prophus operative, she said, because she wanted to make a difference. Cameron knew it was also because it was her way of coming to terms with Seth’s death. He wondered if she had ever found that peace.
Enough wallowing in the past. It is time for answers.
Cameron looked over at the sleeping Ella, and then stood up and tested his body. A little stiff here and there and definitely a busted rib, but nothing too serious. His range of motion was going to be limited for the next few weeks. That was his own fault anyway, freezing up like that when he saw Alex. What a rookie move.
You think?
“I don’t need a lecture right now.”
It has been far too long since your last one.
“What are you talking about? You harped at me for half an hour last month when I lost track of the supply convoy.”
Like I said, far too long.
Cameron knelt down next to Ella and waited. Her eyes opened. “Cameron or Tao?”
“It’s Cameron. Io?”
Io nodded. “Outside.” She tried to stand. Cameron grabbed her arm to support her and together they tiptoed out of the room. Io’s control over Ella’s body wasn’t great. She looked as if she might tip over a few times. He wasn’t sure if that was because Io hadn’t gotten used to her new body yet or if the Quasing just wasn’t very good at controlling unconscious humans. In either case, walking up the stairs to the roof proved too much of a challenge, so Cameron just picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. Dana waved from her little perch as they walked onto the roof.
“I’ll take over,” he said to her as they joined her in the shade.
Dana frowned. “Sure, Cameron? I only started about fifteen minutes ago.”
Cameron shrugged.
“Suit yourself.” Dana gave him a nod and went inside.
Io sat down awkwardly on a cracked plastic chair while Cameron leaned against the railing. He scanned the expanse of Crate Town. “I’m sorry about Emily. You lost her and her father pretty close together. That must have been hard.”
“Until the Eternal Sea,” Io said. “She was a dear friend to you as well.”
Until the Eternal Sea.
“What happened?” Cameron asked. “What was she doing here in India? I followed up on her assignment before I arrived. She’s supposed to be in Thailand, but she went rogue.”
“She found a lead, Cameron. They killed her for it.”
“What lead?”
“Emily came across a financial statement from an Indonesian law firm while tracking Malaysian separatists. The Genjix were using the firm to funnel funds for political campaigns. She came across a small-time Indian politician that they were throwing their support behind.” Io took out her phone and pulled up an article. She handed the phone to him.
Cameron read it aloud. “In a surprise to most pundits, the dark horse candidate won a landslide victory over incumbent Harrauj Bandi, making him the youngest ever to occupy the office in this region’s history. The son of a Bollywood actress…”
His voice trailed off when he scrolled down to the picture of the deputy minister. Cameron took out the photo from his wallet and placed it next to the one on the phone. He looked older and had lost his awkward boyish grin, but it was the same man. There was no mistaking it. Cameron was staring at Surrett Kapoor, his childhood friend, now a Genjix-backed politician.
If that is not a smoking gun, then it is a hell of a coincidence.
He looked at Io, who nodded. “You and your friends were betrayed by a Genjix operative, which is what led to Seth’s death.”
Emily found Seth’s killer. It had been Surrett all along.
“He was responsible for Yang’s as well. I never found out who it was.” Cameron’s voice broke.
“That is why she went rogue,” said Io. “She was tracking Surrett when we were attacked by the Genjix.”
Cameron clenched his fists. “That bastard is going to pay for this. Pay for everything.”
I understand your need to find justice for both Emily and Seth, but you have a more pressing problem. Alex is here as well. That is not a coincidence.
Tao was probably right. They had lost most of their supplies at the factory. They didn’t have a real base of operations to work out of. They didn’t even have a clear Prophus objective. His team was supposed to be enjoying three weeks of R&R in Australia before heading back to Tanzania to search and destroy a Genjix-backed arms manufacturing ring. Instead, he had led his people here on a personal vendetta.
“I’m a bad leader. I’m sucking them into my private crap.”
Your team will follow you to hell, even to Florida.
Cameron turned to Io. “How is Alex involved in all this? It’s been fifteen years since I last saw her. I can’t believe she just happens to be here while I drop in.”
Io shrugged. “I do not know anything about that. To be honest, I am surp
rised your paths did not cross earlier. You are arguably two of the top operatives in either organization. It is as if you have been avoiding each other.”
“Hardly.” His tone was harsher than he had intended. Cameron drummed the railing with his hands. “Let me get this straight. Emily tracks Surrett and uncovers a massive base under construction in western India that has been cloaked from satellite surveillance. The Genjix find and kill her, but not before she sends a warning off to the Prophus. Command sends two separate units to investigate, both are missing and presumed dead.”
What does Io hope to accomplish here with a new host? She should have left as soon as Emily died, especially in a country as dangerous as India.
Cameron stopped drumming the railing. “What are you still doing here, Io? You had no actionable items once Emily passed.”
“Is it not obvious? I am here to finish what she started. I owe that much to her. On top of that, the Genjix are building something big there. I gathered as much intel as I could with a new host and limited resources, and then once I could not proceed further, I sent for you.”
“All off-book? Command says they’ve been trying to recall you for weeks.”
“Command does not view revenge as a legitimate operational objective. Besides, the girl does not want to leave.”
Cameron nodded. “I can see that. Ella comes across as stubborn. She’s a little firecracker. How are things going between you two?”
“She is headstrong, untrained, and difficult.” There was a pause. “Her loyalties are easily bought.”
Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
That is not my read on her as well.
“She is a conwoman and a thief. She is unreliable.”
Either I am mistaken or she is more skilled at her game than I give her credit for.
“I’ll be careful around her then,” said Cameron.
Io nodded. “All right. We had better head inside. I can feel my host rousing. Remember, Cameron, watch what you say around the girl. Ella Patel cannot be trusted.”
Thirty-Four
Uneasy Truce
Shortly after reaching Florida, my host died of dysentery. I ended up inhabiting the alligator that ate him. To be honest, I did not mind. In the five centuries since I had first inhabited Torgeir or Torgo or whatever his name was, changing hosts had become a regular occurrence. While other Quasing grieved over their lost hosts, I had become numb to the transfer.
I hid in the Florida swamps for the next several decades, content to once again live within the animals while history passed me by.
* * *
Io waited until Cameron settled in to take over Dana’s watch before leaving. She went back downstairs to their room and checked who was still asleep; everyone was accounted for except for Dana. Io continued past the kitchen entrance and saw her eating breakfast at the corner. The woman gave her a lazy wave. Io waved back stiffly and noticed Dana frown quizzically and then focus again on her ragi idli.
Now was Io’s chance. Moving as fast as she could in Ella’s body, she walked to the front of the bath house and found Wiry Madras at the counter getting ready to open for business.
The old woman looked at Ella’s awkward gait. “What’s wrong with your leg, Black Cat? Are you hurt?”
“I need a tub, a private one.”
Madras’s eyes narrowed. “This early in the morning? Don’t be up to no good in my place of business, girl. I don’t allow–” Io plopped a stack of rupees on the counter. The money disappeared so quickly she didn’t even see Madras move. “First two are being drained and cleaned. Take the third on the right.”
Io hastened to the assigned room and closed the metal door behind her. She slid the lock over with a solid click, and then listened. Except for the dull gurgle of water in the pipes and Wiry Madras’s sharp voice penetrating through the walls, she couldn’t hear much else. Io moved to the tub, turned the water on halfway and waited, as the pipes rattled and the spout spit, until a small steady stream poured out.
Io took out her phone, dialed a number, and waited. Usually, Surrett picked up her calls in two rings. This time, it rang for ten minutes. That should have been her first inkling that something was wrong. The person that answered was definitely not her contact.
“Io.” It was a man with a thick Slavic accent.
“I need to speak with the minister.”
“You need only speak with me.”
“And you are?”
“What happened at the ambush site?”
“That was an unforeseen complication with my host. However, I fulfilled my part of the bargain to Shura. My cover is at risk. I need to come in.”
“Your vessel has inconvenienced me greatly. She allowed the Adonis and his people to escape.”
“I can fix this. I am with them right now. I can lead you right to them.”
“Are you still in Surat?”
One of the pipes began to rattle again, crescendoing until it sounded like someone was banging a hammer on it.
Ella’s body jerked and then the phone fell out of her hand. She reached down to pick it up and then suddenly lost control.
“Huh,” Ella yawned. “What’s going on? What am I doing here?”
She looked down and saw the phone, and froze. Slowly, she picked it up and brought it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Io,” a man said. “Can you hear me? Io? Repeat the location of the Adonis.”
“Who is this?” Ella asked.
“What do you mean… I see. I am speaking with the vessel now.”
Ella, tell the person on the other line you are at Wiry Madras’s Bath House. Just do it. I will explain everything later.
“You’re the Genjix,” she said softly. “Io was about to give away our location.”
“Listen, girl,” the voice said. “All you have to do is give me Cameron Tan and I will make you wealthier than you can possibly imagine. What do you say? Work with the Genjix and I will make all your dreams come true.”
“You know what I want?” asked Ella.
“Of course. You desire what every other human in this world wants. You want to escape the slum, to never worry about going hungry or cold ever again. You desire power and riches? I can give all that to you.”
Ella pulled the phone away and stared. Finally, she spoke. “I want my amma back, you son of a bitch.”
No!
She put both hands on the phone, gritted her teeth and strained until it bent. A crack appeared down the middle and then it snapped in two. She threw the two pieces into the bath.
“Can you give me that?” she spat as the two pieces sank to the bottom of the tub.
What have you done?
Ella was about to storm out of the room when she saw the steam rise from the water and the locked door. She sniffed herself and decided she might as well take advantage of this. She swung a leg at a time inside and slowly sank into the near scalding water until only her head was above the water’s surface.
“What I did, Io, is prevent you from betraying the Prophus anymore. Let me ask you: have you always been full of crap or is this a recent development?”
Why do you care what side I am on?
“Because my amma died. Because you lied to me. Because I actually like the Prophus people.”
The Genjix can offer you wealth and stability and power. Would you give all that up just because you like them? You hardly know them.
“Why do you want to be Genjix then?” Ella shot back.
There was a long silence before Io finally spoke. They are offering me something that has eluded me ever since I came to this planet.
“What’s that?”
To do something important, to be someone important again. I used to be a highly respected Quasing, admired for my position and knowledge. Ever since we came to this wretched planet, I have been marginalized, made inconsequential while others of lesser skill prospered.
The Genjix offer me a chance to reclaim my position. They are creating something b
ig, important, something that needs my knowledge. They need me to succeed. It will change the world. I will finally leave my mark and save my people like I was supposed to when we crashed.
“What is it? What are you supposed to do?”
I will not tell you unless you join the Genjix.
“OK, I’ll join the Genjix. What is it?”
You cannot lie to me, Ella. I will know when you are actually ready. Until then, I will do everything in my power to support them.
“Wait, let me get this straight.” Ella spoke aloud as she organized her thoughts. “You are unhappy with the Prophus and with Earth because you’re not very good at anything anyone cares about on this planet?”
Well, not in so many words.
“And because of this, you think defecting to your enemy is going to make a difference? That it’s worth killing other Prophus? Did you kill Emily on purpose?”
That was unintentional. I had already defected by the time Emily came to India. She was tracking someone she believed responsible for her friend’s death almost ten years ago. The trail led her here. I tried to dissuade her from coming, but she would not listen. The two situations were unrelated originally.
“Originally?”
Like I said, things got complicated.
Ella waved her hands. “Did she want to join the Genjix? Was she complicit in switching sides so you could feel good about yourself?”
No, she was not.
“Then what do you think was going to happen once she found out what you planned to do? You didn’t care if she died, did you? She was your friend and you signed her death warrant, you awful, terrible, disgusting monster!” Ella emphasized her words by raising a fist in the air and smashing it down on the water’s surface, making a mess of the room.
Something in Io snapped. What little patience she had left evaporated, and her desperation blended with her frustration and anger. Whatever emotional concoction it produced was only exacerbated by the pressure of the defection and by the fact she had been so close to her goals so many times, only to have fallen short by some unforeseen circumstance.