The Rise of Io

by Wesley Chu

At first, Shura had thought the intel she had bought was bad. The Prophus did not infiltrate the facility at any of the five points she had projected. Instead, they had gone in through the loading dock at the far north end of the site. It was only through sheer luck that one of the patrols had stumbled across the unconscious driver, and then another found bodies in the sewer pipes once they raised the alert.

  Shura had to order the entire facility to stand down and let the Prophus reach their target unimpeded. Rurik had overcompensated and taken the majority of their forces to the east side of the slum. At the time, she hadn’t wanted to raise his suspicions by asking him to leave more men behind.

  Now, there wasn’t enough remaining military left to secure the perimeter as well as root the Prophus out to the open space where they could use the construction grounds to their advantage. The grounds were just too expansive, with too many hiding places for the soldiers she had on hand to deal with Cameron and his people.

  She had devised an alternate and more elegant solution. Instead of playing cat-and-mouse with an elite military unit, she intended to lure the Prophus to a confined space where they had little room to maneuver and capture them there. The jail holding the prisoners was perfect.

  Shura squinted at the screen again. One of her scouts had come across the Prophus as they headed south from the docks and had been tailing them from a distance. They had moved into a blind spot in the shadow of the Bio Comm Array building for a few minutes and then headed directly toward the jail.

  Just like the union boss had said.

  Mogg had approached her yesterday offering to sell information on an attack to the site. Coincidently, her offer came on the heels of a local fence offering to lead Rurik to the Prophus. She had doubts about the reliability of the fence’s information. The two pieces of intel conflicted, so Shura had kept the union boss’s offer to herself as Rurik pursued Cameron at the east end of the slum.

  In Shura’s mind, splitting to follow both leads was the prudent thing to do in this situation. It seemed her gamble had paid off. In any case, the die was cast. Whoever had the better intel would have the chance to capture Cameron Tan, and then it would be a race to China to giftwrap for Weston. At stake was control of India as well as the Bio Comm Array project.

  She checked the other screen floating in the air from the scout still tailing the Prophus team. “I only see three. We lost two of the Prophus when they came out of the shadows. Where are they?”

  “I don’t have visual, Adonis,” the scout said. “Want me to look for them?”

  She shook her head. “Stay on the primary mark. Have the team on the ground move in the minute they head inside and apprehend them.”

  Will ten soldiers be enough?

  “Against three? Even with an Adonis? Hmm, I better send backup.”

  “What about the two missing Prophus?” Kloos asked.

  Shura was tempted to ignore them. Capturing Cameron Tan was the priority. However, even though she was pursuing him for personal standing, she still served the Genjix first and foremost. The security and secrecy of the Bio Comm Array facility was just as important, if not more so, than capturing Cameron.

  I give you a lot of latitude to seize standing, but Genjix priorities must take precedence. Tao is only one Quasing, no matter how badly Zoras wants him. The Prophus must not be allowed to gather intel on the actual facility.

  Shura nodded. “Kloos, take all of our remaining men save five and do a floor-by-floor sweep of the entire facility.”

  “And the Adonis?”

  “I’ll take the other five and take care of him myself.”

  Is that wise?

  “Tabs, the team on the ground already has ten. Add these five and me. If the sixteen of us can’t capture three Prophus agents, then we all deserve whatever punishment we get.”

  “The team at the jail will be in position in two minutes. Do you want them to hold until you arrive?” Kloos asked.

  Shura considered her options, and shook her head. “No, send them in right away. I’ll follow shortly.”

  She gestured to the men nearby and hurried out of the administration building. The ten men there should be enough to contain the three Prophus agents inside the building. “Should” being the operative word – even against the likes of an Adonis vessel. They were still human.

  However, Cameron had a reputation among even the other Adonis vessels as an exceptional warrior, one that most would have a difficult time fighting in single combat. While Shura was considered good by Adonis standards, she had no delusions about matching skills with him. She had no intention of doing either. At least not on even terms.

  “Adonis,” Kloos buzzed in her ear. “Adonis Rurik has just reported he is returning empty-handed. Minister Kapoor has also called in, demanding to know why I recalled men from the perimeter.”

  You had better hurry. The minister may try to stop you.

  “We should be long gone by the time he returns.”

  “Kloos, order the minister to stay at the gates,” she said. “Prep the helicopter. I want to be up in the air the moment we take the Prophus.”

  “Your will, Adonis.”

  The jail came into view a moment later. They were joined by the ten soldiers who took position around the front of the building. With two sides of the building surrounded by water, the Prophus were effectively trapped inside.

  “Commander,” Shura said. “Take your men through the rear doors. I’ll take my five through the front. Capture the Adonis alive. Kill him and I will slit your throat. The rest I don’t care about. When I engage him, do not get involved. He is mine.”

  “Yes, Adonis,” her men replied.

  Shura watched as the ten men disappeared around the corner. She motioned for the five with her to move up to the front entrance.

  “We hold here,” she said.

  “Shouldn’t we go in, Adonis?” one of her men asked.

  She shook her head. “We go only on my order.”

  What are you planning, Shura?

  “Cameron Tan is the Prophus’s only Adonis vessel. He’s unique, like a black rhino. I want to take him down personally, but I’m not foolish enough to fight him while he’s at full strength. I’m sending those ten men in first to soften him up.”

  Not very sporting of you. You are playing with your prey again.

  Shura shrugged. “I want to deliver him to Weston after I personally break him, but not at the risk of getting hurt. I’m not stupid.”

  She checked her time. “Three on ten are difficult odds to beat as it is, but let’s give him a few minutes and see how he does.”

  * * *

  Cameron, Nabin, and Lam entered the squat building. Cameron found a working light switch and flipped it. The interior resembled an unfinished warehouse, still only studs, except for three large rectangular holes spaced out in the center of the room, each with a set of closed double-doors at the far end.

  “What is this?” Cameron asked.

  This looks like a boathouse. They just have not dug to the water’s edge yet.

  Lam walked to the edge of one of the holes and looked down. “Commander, you have to see this.”

  Cameron walked to the edge of the hole and followed her gaze. Huddled in the near corner was a person, hands and legs tied, wearing a hood over their head. Jax checked the next hole, and the last as well. There were people in all three holes. Lam jumped down into the first hole and pulled the hood off. The woman looked dazed and her mouth was bound. She cut off the rag.

  “Are these our people?” Cameron asked.

  Lam cupped the woman’s face in her hands. She snapped a finger. “Can you hear me?”

  The woman blinked and looked at her. She coughed. “Who are you?”

  “Prophus. We’re here to get you out. What’s your name?”

  She looked suspicious. “He… he who hunts two hares.”

  “What?”

  “He who hunts two hares,” the woman repeated more insistently.

 
It is an outdated hostage protocol.

  Cameron relayed the message.

  Lam snapped her fingers a few times. “Oh yeah. Leaves one and loses the other.”

  The woman sobbed with relief. “Navah Weinberg. Recon Team Zeta under Captain Kim Kim Lee.”

  “I found K2 here,” Jax called out from the second hole.

  Cameron hurried to the third hole and found an older man tied up. He was malnourished and beaten. Old and new bruises dotted his body. The man blinked when he saw Cameron. “It can’t be… Cameron Tan?”

  “Careful. I’m here to get you out. What’s your name?”

  “Bijan Baraghani. Field Scout First Class Middle East division.”

  Cameron smiled. “We’re going to get you out of here, Bijan. There’s a girl out there worried sick over you.” He switched over to Ella’s channel. “Ella, we found what we’re looking for. There’s someone here you’ll be happy to see.”

  This is taking way too long. Get moving. Time for pleasantries later.

  Bijan was too weak to climb out of the hole by himself. Cameron had to push him up. Fortunately, he was the only one. K2 and Navah were able to walk on their own.

  The captain gave him a broken smile. Half of his teeth had been shattered. “Damn good to see your ugly face again, Cameron.”

  “Look who’s talking,” Cameron replied. “We’ll have plenty of time for a reunion later.” He clicked over to Dana. “Dana, head toward extraction–”

  The three double-doors at the end of the room swung open, and soldiers flooded the room. Nabin and Lam reached for their rifles, but were surrounded too quickly to get shots off. Cameron, helping Bijan walk, didn’t even get the chance to reach for his gun.

  “Damn it!”

  Cameron motioned to the others to stand down. They were disarmed and separated. Rough hands grabbed and pushed him to the wall and bent his arm behind his back. Cameron glanced to both sides. Ten against three were awful odds. However, now that the soldiers no longer had them bunched up, he had a chance. He tensed his wrists and waited for an opening.

  All right, soldier just past arm’s length is a little loose with his rifle while speaking with the one tying your hands. He is also giving orders to the other soldiers. On the go, take him out. Nabin and the three prisoners are to your right, six meters with six soldiers. Lam is to your left with two. The grouping to the right is too unpredictable with no clear shot. Take Lam’s soldiers out first. Her arms are already tied, so she will be limited. Watch for the holes near your feet. Ready? Go!

  Just as Cameron felt his wrists pulled together to be bound, he twisted violently, hitting the soldier behind him with an upward elbow while at the same time stepping into and trapping the other soldier’s rifle close to his body. There was an accidental trigger pull, and Cameron followed up with a knuckle to the man’s throat.

  Three focused on you.

  As the soldier fell backward, Cameron yanked the rifle toward himself and spun, aiming it at the two holding Lam. The strap around the man’s shoulder pulled his body toward Cameron, covering his back. Waist height was an awkward way to shoot, so he went for the safe shot at the man further away from Lam. He felt several hard thumps as the soldiers on the other side opened fire and hit their superior officer.

  You do not have a clear shot.

  Cameron glanced back for a split second and then charged forward.

  Nabin and K2 have jumped their guys as well. Navah rammed her guy and they both fell into the hole. They are outnumbered five to two and Nabin’s wrists are tied.

  It bought him a few seconds. Cameron slammed into the guard holding Lam’s wrists behind her back. He got hold of an arm, swung a foot behind the man’s heel, and yanked downward. The man fell onto his back, and Cameron dropped a knee onto his face. He turned toward the large melee at the other end, took a breath, and squeezed the trigger, hitting two of his marks.

  Risky. You almost hit K2 that time. Get to cover!

  Cameron grabbed Lam and shoved her into the hole. He dove in the other direction as a spray of bullets pelted where he had been. He rolled to his feet, danced to the side to avoid gunfire, and charged. Ten meters was a lot of ground to cover when facing the muzzle of a rifle. Fortunately, K2 was clawing at the man trying to shoot Cameron, and Nabin was causing his own brand of chaos even with his arms tied behind his back, throwing his body at anyone close.

  A bullet grazed Cameron’s shoulder, searing his flesh, and another punched his chest. Fortunately, his armor distributed most of the damage, but it still hurt like hell. He grunted, but his forward momentum let him slip past the rifle barrel.

  A high feint and a low punch to the gut stunned the man K2 was struggling with, turning the tables on that melee. Cameron continued onto the two beating up Nabin and watched, horrified, as one of them pulled out a pistol and shot him point-blank in the chest. The bullet went through his armor and out the other side of his body. He staggered and fell.

  With a roar, Cameron kneed one in the face, dodged what might as well have been slow-motion punches from the second, and swept the guy’s leg. He turned to face the first again just as the man stuck him with the barrel, clocking him on the chin with the butt of his rifle. Another blow came from the other side and hit him square in the nose. Cameron crumpled to the ground.

  Your nose is broken. Your lung is bruised. Take slow, deep breaths. Roll left, roll left!

  Vision blurry, he saw the faint outline of a rifle pointing directly at his face, and then K2 appeared, grabbing the man by the shirt and pulling him off his feet. Cameron gathered his wits and stood just in time to dodge another slow punch from the second soldier. He grabbed the slow puncher by the collar, shifted his weight and threw him into the nearby pit. He turned and managed to catch a kick as it nailed him in the gut. He shattered the man’s knee with his forearm and then helped K2 finish the last soldier.

  Chest heaving, Cameron fell onto a knee and studied his handiwork. There were a lot of bodies lying on the ground, unmoving. Shockingly, none of the casualties were his people. A sharp pain shot up his back and he stiffened.

  “Are you all right, Cameron?” K2 asked.

  “Give me a second to catch my breath.” Cameron clutched his chest. “Argh, getting shot is the worst.”

  That is why most people try to avoid it. You, on the other hand…

  “Ten guys in a minute will do that to a man. Your legend grows.”

  Cameron harrumphed and staggered to Nabin. “You all right there, buddy?”

  Nabin grimaced and sat up. He was breathing heavily and bleeding all over the place.

  “This could be the first time I’ve ever been glad for being short. An inch taller and it would’ve gone right through my heart.”

  “What did I tell you? Short people live longer.”

  Nabin grunted in response.

  Cameron looked to the other end of the room and called out, “Lam, you all right?”

  “You threw me into the pit, Cameron, you jerk. I broke my arm.”

  “I was saving you from getting shot.”

  “You still broke my arm.”

  Everyone is a critic.

  “No kidding, right?”

  Cameron helped Bijan to his feet. “Well, that’s all of them. Let’s get out of here before more show up.”

  He gathered his sad little flock, and together, they limped their way to the exit. Fortunately, all of them could walk on their own, to varying degrees. However, Lam and Nabin had two good arms between them, and the three former prisoners were so weak they couldn’t move too fast. Cameron had taken a beating and a couple of bullets, so he only had a little left in the tank. He opened the door and nearly walked into someone.

  Shura smirked and punched him in the face.

  Forty-Three

  Trap

  While Colin lay dying, his daughter Emily visited me. Imagine my surprise when she asked to become my next host. I accepted, and in hindsight, regretted that decision every day. Whereas Colin relucta
ntly obeyed my orders, Emily willfully disobeyed.

  The young woman was on a mission to become a Prophus agent and to make a difference. No matter how much I tried to dissuade her, she wanted to avenge the death of her friend, Seth, and to fight the Genjix on the front line. She had the fire I once had, all those hundreds of years ago. The unfortunate thing about humans and their short life spans is that they can only fail a few times.

  * * *

  Ella had the protest in her binoculars’ sights and frankly was getting bored. It was still going on, but nothing much was happening. Men were shouting and marching and waving their arms. On the other side of the fence, the guards just stood around with their big guns. They weren’t even pointing them at anyone. The whole thing had been entertaining for a little while, but now it was just monotonous. All that yelling and stomping wasn’t getting anyone anywhere, other than creating a diversion for Cameron and his team. That was the deal with Mogg’s people. Still, this was the worst television ever.

  You think this is bad? Wait until you work for the Prophus. It is a snoozefest.

  “Isn’t being a secret agent supposed to be fun, or at least exciting?”

  Are you excited or having fun? The Prophus have a way of removing the joy from things. Trust me, I have had to put up with it for eons.

  “As opposed to the Genjix, who have a way of just removing the life from things?”

  She trained her focus on the soldiers and police watching over Mogg’s people. Those guys looked like they were just lounging around. She scanned the crowd. Some of the police were smoking with Mogg’s people. What was going on?

  Then she saw Mogg, who, with her hands on her hips, was having an animated discussion with Minister Kapoor and one of the police. It was times like this that Ella wished she had a gun. Just put one of those tiny little ones in her hand and bang. “Pow,” she murmured. “Compliments of Burglar Alarm.”

  You are over three hundred meters away. I would be impressed if you could even hit the side of a building, let alone Surrett.