by T. C. Edge
“Maybe,” agreed Ragan, trying to stay positive. “Mikel knew I was a CID agent, and he would have known the protocol I’d follow after taking you in. He was probably lying in wait, preparing for us to arrive. But…for him to sneak in like that, get inside. Yeah, it’s quite possible he had help.”
“Any ideas on who, then?”
Ragan thought for a moment, looking up towards the blue sky.
“Off the top of my head, no. We kept things really tight at the CID, Chloe. Very few people were aware of what was going on. Very few even knew about the data in your nanites. Whatever the case, you can be sure that the CID are investigating it right now.”
“And what about your commander?” Chloe asked.
“Wexley?”
“Yeah, him. Could he betray the CID?”
Ragan’s face drew together in denial, his head shaking.
“No, Richard Wexley is an honourable man. And, why would he have Mikel go through all that? He could have quite easily taken the disc for himself and left.”
“To keep his cover,” said Chloe, shrugging. “If you can be a spy in their midst for so long, why can’t he? It would be easier for the head of the CID…”
“Chloe, no. Your mind’s getting ahead of itself here. Rampant speculation will do us no good.”
“Doesn’t seem as though we have much else to go on. I’m still wary of old Slattery up there,” she added, glancing up the side of the building. The Colonel remained at the window, staring out over his base. “He was with the WSA army, wasn’t he.”
“Yes, but you could say the same about lots of people here. We’re all from somewhere. But much as Slattery can get under my skin, I trust him.”
“I suppose that’s my problem,” murmured Chloe. “I have a habit of questioning people. I guess I’m…tainted in that sense.”
“A questioning mind is good,” Ragan reassured her. “But right now we need a little more than that. We just have to hope that your father included some nasty traps and tricky codes in the data. If whoever has it cracks it open quickly, then everything we’ve been doing here will be lost.”
“Not…everything,” suggested Chloe, trying to stave off the rising feeling of guilt for her involvement.
It was odd, really, for her to feel that way. Yet by some strange twist, she almost felt some culpability for what had happened, guilty just for being alive. If she was dead, then the data would be dead too, and all these people could sleep easy.
“You know, Ragan,” she went on, “my dad was a genius, sure, but someone else would be bound to figure out what he did eventually. All this,” she said, looking out over the soldiers. “Isn’t it just…delaying the inevitable? Isn’t the future immutable? Whatever you do here, eventually the world will move on regardless. The river will always correct its course, Ragan, no matter how many rocks you throw in to stem the flow.”
Ragan listened to her speak, a smile dawning on his face.
“That’s always the counter argument,” he nodded. “No, you can’t stop the river by piling rocks. But, what if you build a dam? What if you can divert it, control it? That’s what we’re trying to do here, Chloe. We’re trying to hold back that flood for as long as we can, particularly until the science-race ends, and the war does too. This is it, right here. This data is the crux of it, the hinge on which the world will turn, one way or the other. So, let me ask you again - are you in, or are you out?” He turned his eyes to the distant parts of the compound, to the forested mountains beyond its walls. “You know, out there you may never be safe, Chloe. But here with us…with me, you can at least belong.”
He let the words hang in the air. Chloe heard them once, then two, three, four times as they echoed through her mind. They were words that went beyond the fight against the coming future, the future where humanity would lose its soul. They were personal words that were just for her. The sort of words that, for years now, she’d so longed to hear.
Here, you can belong…
She smiled, and Ragan’s lips struggled not to do the same, to stay shut at this serious moment. He gazed at her with a firm, questioning look, unwilling to break until she spoke.
And then, when she did, he finally relented, his mouth splitting into a gorgeous grin.
“I’m in,” she said. “As I told you in the jet, I want to be a hunter for once. I’ve had enough of being the prey.”
“I never doubted you for a second,” grinned Ragan, turning Chloe to look upon the soldiers. “Now come on, we have work to do…”
3
“Ragan Hunt, you old dog!”
Ragan had barely led Chloe halfway towards the nearest grouping of soldiers when one called out with a beaming smile, and began marching their way. He had golden hair, highlighted by the sun, eyes of sparkling green, a clean shaven, chiselled jaw that announced his low percentage of body fat, and a general sparkle to his expression that suggested a roguish charm.
Stepping from the throng, he was of a similar height to Ragan, if an inch or so shorter, and athletic of build by the looks of his frame. Unlike most of the soldiers in the yard, he wasn’t dressed in training fatigues, but a black combat suit, similar to that which Ragan adopted, suggesting he was ready to spring to action as soon as the call came.
As he worked towards them, Ragan’s own face turned to a generous grin. The two men approached one another, equally handsome if in slightly different ways, both looking of roughly similar age too.
“Tanner,” said Ragan, reaching out a hand. “How have you been?”
“Misbehaving as always,” said Tanner, hurling his hand into Ragan’s. They gripped firmly and shook once, before Tanner’s eyes worked swiftly for Chloe. “My my, the famous Chloe Phantom.” His hand pulled from Ragan’s and reached for hers, lifting the back of her palm quickly to his lips. He kissed gently without ever taking his eyes away from hers.
Chloe blushed and glanced away, though couldn’t help but smile coyly. Ragan, in the meantime, merely rolled his eyes and quickly stepped in to break the two apart.
“You’ll have to excuse him, Chloe. He’s got a…reputation,” Ragan said.
Tanner pulled back, aghast.
“Are you questioning my virtue, Hunt?”
“Oh, of course not, Tanner,” said Ragan with a simmering smile. “You’d need to have some virtue to begin with.”
The two men entered into a mini staring contest, before breaking out into a short bout of laughter. Ragan turned to Chloe to make the introductions.
“Chloe, let me introduce you to Clifton Tanner, one of our best soldiers here.”
“Best? Really? How nice of you to admit it,” grinned Tanner, sneaking another glance at Chloe for effect.
“One of,” repeated Ragan.
“Ah, there it is.” Tanner turned fully to Chloe. “I play second fiddle to Agent Hunt here, Miss Phantom,” he said sarcastically. “After all, he did bring you in, not me. So, fair’s fair, I suppose…”
“You…were after me too?” queried Chloe.
Tanner opened his palms up in feigned apology.
“Guilty as charged, I’m afraid. I never had quite as good intel as Hunt here, in my defence.”
“Your defence? Defence for not catching me?”
“Yes, as strange as that sounds, and as this conversation is,” smirked Tanner. “But, you’re here, and you’re now free as a bird as I understand it?”
“I guess. Sort of,” said Chloe.
“She’s free of the data,” came Ragan’s voice. “Aside from that, free as she can be.”
“Of course,” nodded Tanner. “I’ve heard all about what happened over in New York this morning. Awful shame to lose the data to that nano-vamp,” said Tanner, in a manner to suggest he wasn’t overly disappointed by it. “But, great to have set you free, Chloe. A beauty like you didn’t deserve to be hunted so relentlessly…”
“Hunted by you?” said Chloe, side-stepping the compliment, though doing so with a little grin.
“Me, him,�
� said Tanner looking at Ragan. “And many more besides. But, that’s all over now, right? We have a new hunt on our hands.”
“That we do,” said Ragan quickly, “and Chloe’s promised to be a part of that now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Sure, why not,” said Chloe, still under Tanner’s charming gaze. “I don’t really have anywhere else to go. I’d hardly be welcomed back to the NDSA now, and the other nations will want me for the various crimes I’ve committed…”
“Crimes? Nonsense,” announced Tanner. “I assume you’re talking about how you’ve dealt with being chased about all these years? That’s just self defence, isn’t it?”
“Not sure anyone else sees it that way. I’m wanted everywhere, data or no data. So I think I’ll stick around for a little bit at least, see what happens.”
“Well, Chloe,” said Tanner, taking her hand again and lifting it to his lips. “I for one am delighted to hear that you’ll be staying.” He kissed her hand gently once more.
“All right, enough of that,” said Ragan, pulling Tanner back. “Your ways won’t work on her, Cliff.”
Tanner dropped a wink, forcing Chloe’s skin to glow a little brighter once more.
“Well, that’ll be for her to decide,” he said softly.
Chloe couldn’t miss the slight ripple of jealousy spread across Ragan’s face. Tanner was clearly a man of forthright behaviour when it came to women, something that Ragan appeared to lack. Despite his rugged good looks, he seemed to have an unexpected dearth of confidence with those of the opposite sex.
Or, with Chloe at least.
“Anyway, I just saw you up in Colonel Slattery’s office,” went on Tanner, easing through the awkward pause effortlessly. “I presume he gave you a firm talking to for what you did?”
“A talking to, sure,” said Ragan, his voice stiffening. “Not much else he can do right now. We need to focus on finding Mikel and tracking the data.”
“Sure, nothing else really matters, I guess. I hear we’re gathering leads, though nothing’s been coming in yet.”
“That’s what I hear too,” said Ragan. “I’ll be in charge of any strike team heading out when something does come in. So, I want you ready, Tanner.”
Tanner raised his eyes. A very minor, though noticeable, tension briefly lifted between the two of them.
“You want me ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Ragan bluntly, asserting his authority. “I’ve been assigned task leader on this one, Cliff.”
Tanner’s eyes moved off for a moment, as if giving him a few seconds to consider it. Then he nodded, and his smile returned.
“Well, I guess that makes sense, given all that’s gone on. And you, Miss Phantom? Are you part of this team up?”
“Er…” she shrugged, looking to Ragan for clarification. “I guess so?”
“Like I said before, Chloe, it’s up to you. But…we could certainly use you.”
“Well, if it’s Mikel you’re after, then I’m game. And frankly, I don’t much like the idea of being on this base without you. You know me…trust issues and all that.”
“Aw, you two,” mused Tanner with a smile. “Aren’t you just adorable.”
“Cliff,” said Ragan with a glare. “Is now really the time for your wise-assery?”
“When isn’t the time?” questioned Tanner in response. Ragan’s scowl didn’t relent, so Tanner was forced to. “Fine, maybe you’re right. Anyway, who else you got in mind for the team?”
Ragan’s eyes worked to the yard for a few moments, scanning the occupants.
“Nadia Grey,” he said. “She’ll finish things off nicely.”
“Good call,” said Tanner approvingly. He looked to Chloe. “Nadia’s a badass. She’s kinda like you. Reckon you’ll get along. I’ll go fetch her.”
As Tanner rushed off, Chloe looked towards Ragan, feeling as if she’d been caught up in a whirlwind. Things were rushing faster than she’d anticipated, and she wasn’t being given much chance to consider her decisions.
“So, we’re forming a team then?” she asked, somewhat doubtfully. “I sort of thought it would be just, you know, me and you going after Mikel. How long do you think we’ll be back here?”
She worked her gaze uncomfortably around the compound. Its unattractive military aesthetic wasn’t particularly homely or welcoming, and Chloe had developed a serious aversion to the sight of military personnel over the years.
“I’d say a team of four is better than two, right?” said Ragan. “Tanner is the best marksman in the business, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better pilot. Nadia’s a weapons and tech genius, and as Tanner said, a badass to boot. They’ll be hugely useful if we get wind of anything, and need a small team to infiltrate. And as for how long we’ll be here? Hard to say. Soon as we get any lead, we need to be off. This isn’t something we can wait on.”
“Yeah, I get that,” said Chloe. “But, what if Mikel’s taken the data to the heart of the WSA or something? I’m not sure four people are going to make a difference. We’d need an army.”
“One we don’t have, and never will. We work to destabilise, sabotage, and strike like a pin to the heart, Chloe. That’s our primary MO here. You’d be amazed at what a small, skilled group can accomplish. They can often deal far more damage than a force of thousands.”
“In this case, I hope you’re right.”
As they spoke, Tanner re-emerged from around the side of a building ahead, hurrying along with a fairly young girl by his side, perhaps in her early twenties like the others. She wasn’t tall, no taller than Chloe, in fact, but had a robust quality that marked her as a strong physical specimen. She marched forwards with a bit of a swagger, her hair short and brown, her eyes looking to carry the exact same hue. Her lips were curled into a lopsided grin at the sight of Ragan, her eyebrows lifting as she arrived before him.
“Ragan, how are you doin’, been busy as I hear it,” she said, her voice carrying a southern, Texan twang. Before Ragan answered, she turned her eyes to Chloe. “Hey, Chloe, great to meet you, girl.”
She took a firm hold of Chloe and drew her into an abbreviated hug, before thrusting her back out again.
“We’re overloaded with testosterone around here,” Nadia went on. “Be good to have you around.”
“Thanks,” smiled Chloe.
“So, you want me on the team huh?” asked Nadia, turning to Ragan again. “I feel honoured. Looks like we got almost all bases covered here.” She looked at Ragan, then Chloe, then Tanner, speaking as she did. “You two are from the NDSA, we got Cliff here from the Western States. And you can probably tell from my accent where I’m from,” she finished, coiling a corner of her mouth up in Chloe’s direction.
“You’re from the Southern Republic,” remarked Chloe. “I heard this place was full of outcasts…”
“Outcasts,” laughed Nadia. “Nice way of putting it, Phantom. Guess that’s what we are.”
“I didn’t mean it to be rude,” backtracked Chloe.
“Not at all,” said Nadia breezily, brushing Chloe’s words aside. “You know, you’re the biggest outcast of us all.” She laughed again, her face affable and friendly, her manner relaxed.
Chloe liked her immediately.
“Outcasts, the lot of us,” said Tanner, smiling abundantly with a set of white teeth that looked rather nice against his golden brown complexion. “We just need a teammate from the Mid-States and we’ll complete the set, hey Hunt.”
Tanner and Nadia laughed. Ragan managed a smile and no more. Chloe watched on, almost overawed by the charisma of these two new allies. Ragan had shown himself to be quite serious, and for good reason given the stakes. These two looked like they enjoyed a bit of back and forward, sharing in some common banter to lighten the mood.
It was rare for Chloe, given her years of isolation, but she was quickly drawn into the little team dynamic, playing the ‘fish out of water’ role among this collection of nanotech enhanced super-soldiers.
She stood there and smiled, forgetting her natural inclination to escape such settings. She didn’t much like groups, and never really had. Even before everything happened, she wasn’t the most gregarious of souls.
But this she was enjoying. Tanner and Nadia were quick to put her at ease.
Ragan, on the other hand, looked more keen on getting down to business. He had that look on his face that suggested playtime was over. As if he knew he had a lot of making up to do.
“This will do for now,” he said, cutting through the laughter. “I want all of us ready for action at the drop of a hat, understood?”
Tanner saluted.
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Nadia stifled a giggle.
“Am I making a mistake putting you together?” asked Ragan, frowning at the two of them. “You are aware of just how serious this is, aren’t you?”
Tanner looked like he was about to shrug. He really didn’t have the look of a man who took anything too seriously.
“Sure, Ragan, you’re right,” he admitted. “I’m ready to go whenever called upon. You know me, never happier than when in a fight.”
“And you, Nadia?” asked Ragan.
“I’m all yours,” she said. “Ready for action whenever it comes.”
Ragan nodded.
“Good. Then let’s get to it…”
As Ragan spoke, clearly set to call a close to the brief and somewhat impromptu meeting, the sound of clip-clopping feet came from one side. The group turned, and discovered the culprit to be a pair of high heels, pattering against the concrete at the base of the frame of Councillor Martha Mitchell.
Chloe’s eyes swam with gratitude at the sight of her, dressed in a luxurious blue coat as she moved through the cool, mountain air. She swept towards them, her red lips curling into an elegant smile, and addressed them all.
“You look thick as thieves, you lot,” hummed her voice with a rumble of humour. “So, this is the team is it, Ragan?”
“Best the Crimson Corps has to offer,” nodded Ragan proudly.
Martha’s gaze moved to Chloe, who stood with large eyes, just staring at the older woman as if wishing the expression was enough to show her endless thanks, seeing as she appeared unable to form the words.