Assassination Anxiety (The McKenzie Files)

by Barry K. Nelson

  Everton gave the major a swift salute, then turned and walked out of the locker room. It was clear that Lawson’s mind was made up. Colin was still wondering what to do next as he and Diane and Kelly went into the corridor to join Everton.

  “That went well.” Diane’s sarcasm came through loud and clear. “So, okay, Sarge, what’s our next move?”

  “I want to hear this plan myself,” said Kelly. “Even with our powers, taking on an entire army will be over our heads.”

  “You mean you guys aren’t strong enough to take on the Brelac?” Everton asked, sounding surprised.

  “We’re not immortal,” Colin replied. “This fight really is over our heads. Especially with this line of death that Lawson mentioned.”

  As the group walked through the corridor to reach the steps, they passed an unarmed, male trooper. He kept his helmeted head down and said nothing as he headed for the locker room. Colin would have not given this man a second thought, if not for the fact that he had long red hair growing from under his helmet and down past his shoulders. He was probably too busy fighting to get a haircut, was Colin’s theory.

  As they ascended the steps, Colin shared one possible chance to reach the Chimera. “The subway tunnels. That might be our best option.”

  “The subway?” challenged Everton. “You heard Lawson. It’s blocked off. Unless you plan on blasting your way through.”

  The corridor suddenly filled with the sounds of agonized screams. Everyone turned and looked back to see a bright red light radiating from the locker room door, followed by a loud boom of an explosion and an accompanying large burst of fire shooting out from the doorway. Then the screams stopped. The light faded.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Everton cried. He started to head back down the steps.

  Colin recalled the details about the red light that he heard from Captain Carter and General Larkin. He grabbed Everton’s arm. “No. Don’t go down there.”

  “Let go!” Everton demanded. “Lawson and his people are down there.”

  “They’re gone!” Colin snapped back. “There’s nothing you can do. We’ve seen this before. That’s why we’re here.”

  Everton looked back down at the flames and black smoke shooting out from the locker room doorway. He turned back and pulled his arm free from Colin’s grip. “What the hell did this? If you know, you’d better tell me right now.”

  Colin gazed at the flames. The smell of smoke now reached his nostrils. He remembered the faces of the people still in the room. “We’re not quite sure. All we know is that whatever it is it was part of the attack on the President’s rally. And that it’s like us. Possibly having the same type of powers.” Then he recalled a face that he did not quite see. “Did you notice that trooper who passed us a minute ago? I’m guessing he’s behind this.”

  “If he torched Lawson,” Diane growled, “then he’s toast!”

  “I doubt that,” Colin’s grim reply.

  There was the sound of footsteps approaching from the outside. Everyone turned to see a young male trooper running down the corridor. “What’s going on?” he cried. “I was talking to Corporal Lacey on my communicator when I heard her scream. Then everything went dead.”

  Everton walked up the steps toward the trooper. “Corporal Lacey is gone, trooper. She’s dead. Along with Major Lawson and Captains Pinnard and Chen.”

  “Dead?” the now wide eyed trooper shrieked. “How?”

  “It was a covert attack. I need you to go find the next officer in charge and inform him about Major Lawson’s death – and that we’re about to be hit by a massive Brelac assault.”

  The trooper remained still. His watery eyes staring back at Everton.

  “I gave you an order, trooper! Now move your ass!” Everton shouted in anger.

  The trooper’s lips parted. He stuttered. Then explained in a shaking voice, “The next officer in charge? That would be you, sir.”

  “What?”

  “You’re the only officer alive in this entire base. You’re in charge now.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Everton exclaimed in disbelief. “We’re screwed. Not only did we loose our chain of command, but the equipment in the command center. Our sensor tracking and communications are gone. Now we’re flying blind.”

  “But we haven’t lost our entire chain of command. We still have you,” Colin reminded him.

  Everton looked at the fire, then back at Colin. “Okay. So now I’m in charge. But the odds are still against us. I can’t work miracles.”

  Diane gave Everton a smile. “Don’t worry. Working miracles is our department.”

  For a moment, Everton stood silent. Then he issued his orders to the trooper. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I want a guard detail posted at the shield generators and the anti-air defenders. If anything even looks out of place, shoot to kill. And tell everyone to be on the lookout for a trooper with long red hair. Then I want to set up a defensive line outside the north and south shield walls. We’re expecting an attack on both sides, so we’ll need to put as many guns outside as we can. We have to try and hold the enemy back until we can find a way to call for some kind of help or transport out of here.”

  “How are we going to do that?” Kelly asked. “The communications equipment has been fried.”

  Everton grinned as he looked at them. “I guess that’s another good reason for us to reach the Chimera. We can use the ship’s communications system to radio Central Command up north and see if they can send help. I hope you guys are as good as you say you are, because we’re going on a field trip.”

  back to top

  Chapter 7

  Accompanied by Lieutenant Everton and two trooper technicians, Colin, Diane, and Kelly had little difficulty slipping out of the stadium with the support of cover fire from a squad of troopers. Keeping their heads down and moving fast, they reached the entrance to the subway tunnels located just twenty feet away from the east shield wall. Wide concrete steps led down to the city’s high-speed magnetic levitation system. A silvery metal strip running along the center of the tunnel’s floor once provided the magnetic propulsion for the subway train. The generation source for the magnetism was now still.

  The group walked warily through the huge dark tunnel, avoiding chunks of debris that had fallen from the tunnel ceiling and walls. Everton held his laser rifle in his right hand while carrying a small light rod in his left. The bright glow cut a wide swath through the darkness. The two troopers, their rifles slung across their shoulders, carried silvery briefcase repair kits. One brandished a light rod, and the other held a small, flat scanning device whose screen gave off a yellow glow.

  “So,” Colin said, breaking the silence. “I’m wondering if the Brelac are aware that we can reach the Chimera through this tunnel.”

  “Probably,” replied Everton. “But if the tunnel’s blocked off, let’s hope they have little interest in it and keep focusing their attention on their siege against the command center. Still, a bunch of those freaks could still break through the cover fire that we’ve got near the entrance and come after us.”

  Colin grimaced. A comforting thought.

  The trooper holding the scanner glanced back at Colin. “At least this tunnel will place us right under the Chimera. The problem will be how we are going to get to it through several feet of solid concrete and heavy metal support beams.”

  “Sounds like a challenge,” replied Colin. “We’ll think of something when we get there.”

  They traveled through the tunnel for several more yards, hearing the thundering of explosions above and getting showered by streams of dust and small rocks falling away from the ceiling. Soon they reached the first obstacle to their quest – two huge metal beams lying across a mound stone debris and dirt six feet wide blocked the tunnel.

  “How in the hell are we going to get past this?” the trooper holding the scanner asked. “Our target is just a few feet on the other side.”

  The other trooper raise
d his light rod to illuminate their problem, and the glow exposed the dark form of a large, eight legged creature clinging to the ceiling. The group got just a second’s view of the thing before it skittered away so fast that it seemed to just vanish.

  “What the hell was that?” yelled Everton, moving his light back and forth along the ceiling.

  Kelly looked up, then turned his head back to the dark tunnel behind them. “It looked like a spider,” he said, the fear strong in his trembling voice. “A really big spider.”

  “Or maybe a seddrax,” Colin commented grimly.

  “What?” asked Everton.

  The rapid patter of footsteps – nonhuman – filled the tunnel. Everton and the trooper shined their light rods back down the tunnel but revealed nothing.

  “Something is definitely down here with us,” Kelly said, stepping closer to the debris mound.

  “We’d better work fast,” Colin urged.

  Everton and the trooper shined their light rods at the mound of debris as Colin, Diane, and Kelly climbed on top. Diane peered under one of the huge metal beams. “I think I can see through to the other side,” she reported. “We just have to get one of these beams out of the way. I can handle that.”

  Colin looked up at the wide cracks in the stone ceiling where the beams were protruding and shielded his face from the small chunks of stone that dropped down. “We’d better take it easy. Disturbing these beams might cause the rest of the ceiling to cave in on us. Let me have a look.”

  Diane moved aside as Colin moved closer to the beams. He reached out his right hand and applied his ability to manipulate electrically conductive matter. With a faint hissing sound, a small hole formed on the beam’s metal surface at the touch of his hand. The hole grew until it was large enough to crawl through.

  “We’ve got a door,” said Colin, looking down at Everton and the troopers.

  The troopers were silent as they looked up in amazement at Colin. Everton stepped up to the mound. “You heard what the man said. We’ve got a door. Let’s use it before we run into whatever’s lurking in this tunnel.”

  Colin waited for Everton to climb up the mound and lead the way with his light rod. He ducked down and crawled on his hands and knees through the hole in the beam. Colin crawled through next, with Diane, Kelly, and the two troopers following close behind.

  On the other side of the blockage Colin saw that the tunnel was clear for a distance of twenty feet. Then up ahead he saw that the tunnel was blocked by a huge beam that was lying diagonally under another mound of stone rubble. There was a small space between the top of the mound and the broken ceiling. “Great. The tunnel’s blocked again.” he grumbled as he climbed down from the mound.

  The trooper with the scanner held it up toward the blockage. “According to my readings, the Chimera is just under that blocked-off area. We’ll be right under its aft section.”

  The group proceeded down the tunnel and stopped at the second blockage. Colin eyed the wide hole in the ceiling with streams of dust and small stone fragments falling off. With his light rod in hand, Everton led the way, climbing past the fallen beam and up the mound of debris to reach the small space at the top. The space was only four feet high, so everyone was forced to crawl on their hands and knees over the loose stone rubble. Staying behind Everton, Colin crawled forward while keeping his eyes on the long cracks running along the ceiling, fearing huge chunks of concrete could fall away without warning and crush them in an instant.

  The group continued crawling for a few more feet until they were under a wide, jagged hole in the ceiling. Everton shined his light up into the hole, and Colin saw a dark metallic surface. “This is it,” Colin confirmed. “I can see a section of the hull.”

  “So how are we going to get through?” asked Everton. “The hull’s thermium alloy has to be at least two feet thick.”

  “I’ll take care of that. If it’s metal and conducts electricity, there’s no problem. I’ll need to borrow your light.”

  Colin took Everton’s light rod and reached up into the hole to establish firm hand holds so that he could begin his precarious climb. He had to be careful not to grab a loose rock and have it fall on top of Everton, who was right below him. As he proceeded, he kept his sight focused on the dark surface of the ship’s hull, estimating he would have a twenty-foot climb to reach it.

  With his feet supporting his weight on the rocks below him, Colin’s climb was now easier. Still taking care not to loosen any rocks and have them fall on his friends below, he quickened his pace until he was inches away from the hull. He stopped and shined his light on it, then looked down at Everton. “I’ve reached the hull. You guys okay down there?”

  “We’re not going anywhere,” was Everton’s reply.

  “Except up,” Colin added. “Let’s hope this isn’t the end of a wasted trip. Get ready.”

  Colin reached up and placed his hand onto the hull. At his touch, a small depression formed on the metal surface. With another faint hissing sound, the depression expanded until it became a wide circular hole. A draft of air with the odor of burning plastic blew down from the hole and into Colin’s face. It was accompanied by a faint humming sound.

  “The hull’s open,” Colin shouted down to the others.

  Looking up into the hole while shining the light, he could see a dark metal beam and several black cables bundled together a foot away, stretching across the hole. He saw a long silvery metal plate above the beam a few feet away and was grateful for the location of the beam. He was able to reach up and grab hold of it to pull himself up higher. He reached the plate and placed his hand on it. With another burning hiss, a wide round hole developed in the plate.

  Looking up through this new hole, Colin saw a row of white lights several feet away. He pulled himself up and found that he was in a tubular corridor within the ship. The ceiling was low, less than two feet away from his head, with a long row of round lights running along its length. To his left, he saw two six-foot-tall open panels in the metallic blue wall, exposing dozens of black and red cables that emitted black smoke. Two long, curved sections of paneling rested on the deck plate at Colin’s feet. This explains the burning plastic smell.

  “There’s nobody here,” Colin said as he reached to grab Everton’s hand to pull him up. That was when he heard footsteps tramping on the metal floor. He turned to his left and saw a female trooper walking down the corridor. She had a laser rifle slung over her shoulder while carrying a black tool box.

  “Who the hell are you?” the trooper shouted in an angry voice. She dropped the tool box and drew her rifle. “Don’t move!”

  Colin raised his hands and backed away from the hole as Everton climbed up. “Take it easy. We’re friends,” Colin tried to assure her.

  “I said don’t move,” the trooper warned. She slowly approached Colin and Everton, then raised her left arm and spoke into a communicator strapped to her wrist. “Verne, get down here now. I’ve got intruders in corridor C.”

  “Stand down trooper,” was Everton’s stern command. “It’s like he said; we’re friends. We’re from the stadium base. We’re here to help.”

  Diane popped her head up from the hole. “What the hell’s going on?”

  The trooper pointed her rifle down at Diane. “There’s more of you? How did you get here?”

  Colin lowered his hands. “It’s a long story, and we really don’t have the time.”

  “You’ll just have to trust us, trooper. You’ve got no choice,” Everton told her. “Who’s in command here?”

  With reluctance, the trooper lowered her weapon. “Captain West. You’ll find him in what’s left of the bridge.”

  There was the sound of running footsteps in the corridor behind the trooper. She turned. A male trooper came running with his laser rifle pointed forward. “What’s going on? Who are these people?” he demanded.

  “They say they’re from the stadium,” the female trooper explained.

  Diane climbed out of the hole
and stood in the corridor, with Kelly and the two tech troopers quickly following.

  Everton stepped closer to the female trooper. “I’m Lieutenant Paul Everton with the Thirty-first Combat Brigade. I just arrived on this planet. My friends here are with the CID. They’re doing an investigation. What’s your situation here?”

  “What’s our situation?” the female trooper repeated. “Bad evolving into worse. The Brelac have been hitting us hard, non-stop for the past four hours. The guys in engineering have somehow managed to jury rig something to divert power from two of our four main engines to keep our shields up and running. The other two engines are disabled, so we don’t have the power to fly. Our shields are holding for now, but the constant attacks are wearing them down. On top of that, our bridge communications system is down, so we can’t call for help.”

  Taking this information in, Everton gave a nod. “We’re brought two technicians from the stadium to try to help you with repairs. But in the meantime, I’d like for you to help my friends here with their investigation.”

  “We’re here to speak with anybody who knew a Lieutenant John Mertz,” Colin explained. “He was a pilot assigned to this ship.”

  The male trooper chuckled. “Yeah. Until he went AWOL.”

  “Well now he’s dead,” Colin informed him. “That’s why we’re here. What can you tell us about him?”

  “There’s not much to tell. He was the quiet type. Kept to himself most of the time. But he was pretty much a hard-ass with the grunts. A by-the-book discipline type. To be honest, I’m glad he’s gone.”

  The female trooper laughed. “You got that right. He definitely wasn’t friendly with the crew. But a few times I did see him hanging around one person here.”

  “Who?” Colin asked.

  “Lieutenant Garbo. She’s the officer in charge of engineering. She’s the one who kept the shields going under the attacks. You’ll find her in the engineering section.”

  “Nice to hear that this trip won’t be a complete waste of time,” Diane said.