Tap-Dancing the Minefields

by Lyn Gala

  “Holy cow.” Major Sadler breathed the words softly and reverently.

  “What?” Tank asked.

  “It’s a directional program reader we cobbled together,” Lev said. “We’re getting some of the wireless program commands from the alien running that avatar. We have tons of code fragments, but now we’re picking up whole strings.”

  Tank knew something about figuring out codes, and they would need more than random signals. They needed the avatar to do stuff so they could see how the alien used code to create actions in the avatar. “I could go engage him,” Tank offered.

  Sadler’s face pinched together as though she’d bitten a lemon and she was considering taking it out on Tank, but he held up a hand to hold off her fury. “I’ve talked to that one before. If I play the demon-hunter part, he’s going to keep playing by the same rules. That means demons never do things in public, and a spelled silver knife will make them retreat.” Tank pulled his demon knife out of his belt. While he knew it didn’t exactly work the way Mrs. Peterson had promised, it still gave him a sense of security to carry it.

  “It’s too dangerous.” Lev reached out and grabbed Tank’s knee, but Major Sadler had a more thoughtful expression.

  “It’s no more dangerous than anything I’ve done since I was fifteen years old,” Tank pointed out. “Maybe fourteen. It sort of blurs, but my point is that prepuberty, I was ninety pounds of nothing, and I survived. Give me some credit here, and let me help you capture some useful code.”

  “It would be useful to see the code while the avatar has to respond to unexpected stimulus,” Sadler said. Then she pointed a finger at Tank. “Soldier, if you do anything other than talk to him and then return directly to this SUV, you’d better hope the aliens capture you, because what I’ll do will make them seem like puppy dogs. Got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You can’t be serious!” Lev shouted.

  “It’s the job, Lev. He has backup, and I’ll call John to watch from the building—but this is my call, and I’m saying it’s a go.” She nodded at Tank.

  “Thank you,” he said before he pulled away from Lev’s touch and jumped out of the SUV. The demon hadn’t spotted him yet, so Tank circled around and came up from the street side. The second the demon saw him, he gave a slow, evil smile. Tank had always thought he could see hell in the smile, but now he didn’t know what he was looking at.

  Tank followed his demon training and showed the edge of his silver knife with the runes. “What are you doing here?”

  “Little human. I haven’t seen you for a while.” He sounded so damn amused by it all.

  “Where’s Zhu?”

  The demon turned his back. “He’s not your concern. He belongs to us, little one. Now run along.”

  Tank walked around to the front of the demon. “He will never be yours. Where is he?”

  The demon gave another honeyed smile and then said mysteriously, “He’s coming. Don’t worry.”

  “You leave him alone.” Tank stepped right into the demon’s personal space.

  The demon reached up and ran a finger over Tank’s face. In response, Tank pressed the point of his knife against the demon’s stomach. Tank found it almost impossible to remember that this was an alien avatar, especially when the demon hissed and stepped back away from the knife.

  “This isn’t your business,” the demon said. “The little brother is ours.”

  “He’s not your brother at all. He would never choose evil, and that’s what you are.” Tank could feel his frustration and anger reach a boiling point, and he stepped into the demon’s personal space again. “You’re evil. You play with people’s lives. You kill. You think everyone is a toy you can manipulate, and you don’t care who gets hurt. You don’t care that Ellie was a kind woman who could have grown up to do great things. She wanted to be a doctor and work with Doctors Without Borders. She could have saved thousands of lives. She could have made the world better, but you played your sick game and encouraged Roger to slit her throat. You fucking sick bastards. Do you care that one of the kids who died from those demonic spiders had overcome cancer? Do you care that the woman who died from the sleeping-sickness spell had two kids? Kids. They never did anything to hurt you.”

  The demon leaned forward. “That’s just it. I’m evil. I enjoy hurting people who don’t deserve it.”

  Tank didn’t even think about it; he sank his knife deep into the demon’s guts. Demons never bled as much as a real person, which made sense since they were really machines. Still, Tank could feel the warm blood on his hand as he twisted the knife.

  The demon snarled, his face almost rippling as though the demon inside was trying to escape. Then the demon shoved Tank. He fell back, still holding his knife, which he quickly tucked under the bottom of his shirt before some pedestrian could see it and scream for the police. With one last snarl, the demon turned and ran off, his steps properly unsteady for a demon that had been cut with a blessed weapon. Tank stood there and watched the thing run off.

  He was still standing there when John appeared at his side. “Wish I could have done that,” he said. Tank had the knife under his shirt, and he could feel the blood drying against his skin.

  “It didn’t do any good.”

  “Sometimes you gut an enemy, sometimes you wear him down by sticking a toothpick in him over and over until he stops moving,” John said.

  Tank turned, and Colonel Aldrich was standing close to the terminal entrance, watching. Since he didn’t seem to want to get involved, Tank followed Sadler’s orders and headed back to the SUV. “Does a knife do enough damage for those things to care?” Tank asked softly as John followed.

  “A little. Not much. If it’s all you have, make slashing wounds. Bleeding them out works, even if it takes time. Beheading is best, but they have dense spines that make it hard.”

  “Marie can behead them.” Tank reached the SUV, and for a second he stood holding the handle.

  “I can too.” John turned and leaned against the SUV, watching the people walking past.

  After taking a deep breath, Tank opened the SUV and got inside. He scooted over for John to get in, but John closed the door from outside and wandered back toward the terminal.

  When Tank turned to look at Lev, Lev punched him in the arm. “What the hell was that?”

  Tank pulled the sticky knife out from under his shirt. “Me getting the avatar to react.”

  “Lev, look at these readings.” Sadler was excited, so hopefully Tank had done well.

  “I don’t care about the readings.” Lev punched Tank again. “You stabbed an avatar.”

  That brought Major Sadler’s head up. “Oh, yeah. Let me get a collection bag.” She dug around a little and came up with a thick plastic bag with a zippered top. “Drop that in here.”

  “It’s my favorite knife,” Tank objected.

  “Private,” she said, her voice a warning.

  He dropped the knife in the bag handle first, and she smiled at him.

  “I’ll return it after the medical corps analyzes the blood.”

  That made sense, and Tank was a little embarrassed about the fuss he’d made; however, Lev punched him again, which distracted him. “I was following orders and doing my job.”

  “She said to talk to him, not stab him.”

  “I said I would interact with him like I always did. Trust me, I always stabbed them when I got the chance.”

  “You’re an idiot.” This time when Lev tried to punch Tank, Tank caught his wrist.

  “I so want to say something,” Sadler said from up front, “but I’ll resist. Lev, yell at him later. Right now, help me scan for another avatar.”

  “Something is going on if they’re sending avatars,” Tank said. Lev gave him one more dirty look and then pulled his hand back.

  “Have we located Zhu Chow yet?”

  “No,” Sadler said. “The team has covered most of the perimeter, and we have the colonel and John inside, so I don’t think
he’s here.”

  “He could have crossed over to Governors Island,” Tank said.

  “The drone race was canceled at the last minute, and we have drones in the air checking the island. Nothing yet,” Sadler said. “Dr. Reed will call us if he gets a hit.”

  Lev held up a tablet computer and slowly turned it to scan the area, so Tank bit down on his fears and all the stupid words that wanted to fall out of his mouth. These were professionals, and he couldn’t afford to distract them.

  “Anything?” Sadler asked.

  “Lots of surveillance, no responsive coding.”

  A long silence was broken by a taxi driving up onto the sidewalk and nearly hitting several pedestrians, who screamed and scattered. Zhu jumped out of the driver’s seat, his blessed katana out as he ran toward the ferry building. Sadler was on her radio before a second had passed. “Zhu, armed and inbound. Aggressive. Repeat, aggressive.”

  Tank jumped out of the SUV with Lev right behind him. “Stay here,” Tank said.

  Lev snorted. “Fat chance. My teammates are in there. Now move.”

  Tank looked toward the SUV, but Sadler was already out, her sidearm drawn. Displaying her ID with her left hand, she started shouting at people, “Police business. Evacuate. Evacuate the area.” Most people were taking her at her word, running for their lives. However, Tank spotted a heavy older woman standing too near the scene.

  Tank grabbed Lev and pulled him closer as they ran for the terminal.

  “Take cover!” someone shouted. Lev angled off toward a half wall, pulling Tank with him. They skidded to a stop behind it.

  “Demon up front. Fifties, salt-and-pepper hair, heavy,” Tank said. Lev nodded and radioed that on, but Tank was more interested in what he could see in the opening where ferries pulled up.

  Someone had cut the draping chain barrier that kept the crowds back from the water, and Zhu stood there with his weapon drawn. And standing close to the water with his arm around Marie’s neck was Mr. Chow.

  “Zhu, retreat!” Colonel Aldrich ordered, but that wasn’t going to work. Zhu didn’t know or trust the colonel, and he believed he was facing off against his father. Knowing he was going to land in the stockade for it, Tank broke cover and ran into the shadowed tunnel where the two Chow men faced off.

  “Zhu!” Tank called.

  “Get out of here!” Zhu called without taking his focus off Mr. Chow and Marie.

  “Both of you get out of here!” Marie ordered them. She stomped down on Mr. Chow’s foot with no effect. “You bastard.” She tried to wrench herself free, but even superhuman strength couldn’t save her when she didn’t have the leverage to pull free. However, Tank hoped the truth might. Everyone said these guys packed up and went home when exposed.

  “He’s not your father,” Tank said loud enough for everyone to hear. Mr. Chow’s gaze finally moved to Tank. “That’s an alien machine, and the asshole running it is sitting somewhere else. Hell, he might be in a ship up there.” Tank pointed at the ceiling.

  “Tank, not now,” Zhu said, his voice dark with fury.

  But Tank focused his words on Mr. Chow. “It’s all an experiment. They’re fucking with us like lab rats, seeing how we react to things. This is one more experiment—and if we fail, they’ll kill us. We’re disposable.”

  Mr. Chow looked at Zhu. “You are my son. You carry my blood and my strength. I don’t want this one. Come with me willingly and I’ll let her go. Say the words. Surrender.”

  “Zhu, no!” Marie screamed.

  Tank moved between the two Chows and addressed the elder. “He doesn’t carry your blood. You genetically modified him the way you modify the humans you kidnap for your sick gladiator games.” Tank could feel the danger skittering over his skin like spiders.

  “Private, retreat to the rear” came the perfectly calm voice of Colonel Aldrich. Tank had the feeling the colonel was close to shooting him.

  “If you’re going to take my friends, I’m going to stand in the middle and try to stop you. I know the truth. You’re a monster—but you’re not some demon who doesn’t have a choice. You’re a scientist pulling the wings off butterflies.”

  Marie had gone utterly still, but Tank sensed movement at his back as Zhu closed the distance between them.

  “I don’t care what he is. He’s my father and my problem. Let her go.” Zhu stepped in front of Tank, so now the two Chow men were only feet apart.

  “Give me the words,” Mr. Chow said.

  “I surrender.” Zhu dropped his sword, letting it rattle against the concrete floor. “You want my soul, you have it.” And that was when all hell broke loose.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  A POWERBOAT roared into the ferry landing, and two men with automatic weapons sprayed the area. Tank threw himself to the ground and grabbed the only weapon he could, Zhu’s katana. Gunfire and screams echoed through the stone building. The two gunmen dove for the sides of the ferry dock, hiding behind support beams.

  “Marie!” Tank called as he threw the katana at Chow. He wasn’t surprised when he missed, but the blade fell nearby, so Marie might have a chance at making a grab for it.

  “Let her go!” Zhu yelled. He took a step forward, and Tank moved with him, confident that Chow’s gunmen wouldn’t risk killing Zhu.

  “We know the truth!” Tank yelled. “Pack up and go the fuck home.” One of Chow’s gunmen shot at someone behind them, and one or more of the IF members returned fire—several short barks of heavy guns. One shot hit an enemy gunman, and he fell back. Marie chose that moment to act. After she planted an elbow in Chow’s side hard enough to make him let go, she grabbed the katana. Zhu dived left, and Tank proved how he’d earned his nickname by plowing straight ahead. Chow took a step back from Tank’s attack. Then Marie was there, swinging the blade in a wide arc.

  Tank ducked behind her and started looking for cover. He had forgotten how quickly she could move—she did a spin kick and then leaped over a barrier and neatly decapitated one of Chow’s backup demons. It left Tank exposed, but luckily there was only one wounded gunman left. When that one stuck his head up, a dozen shots exploded and he went off the dock and into the water.

  Mr. Chow turned to Zhu. “You have betrayed your word.”

  “Give up the father act,” Tank yelled.

  “Yeah, give it up,” Marie seconded. “I’m going to kick your ass back to wherever you came from, and right now, I don’t care if that’s a hell dimension or E.T.’s home planet.”

  She slashed with her sword again, while Zhu threw something. A bottle exploded, setting Mr. Chow’s pants on fire. However, as quick as the Molotov cocktail had started the fire, a wave of Mr. Chow’s hand put it out.

  “You will both pay,” he threatened as he looked from Zhu to Marie. Tank guessed he’d been dismissed as fight irrelevant. Tough shit, because he was the person closest to the dead guy’s automatic weapon. Tank slid under the barrier and dropped down onto the lower section of the dock where the body had fallen.

  “Ew.” The headless body had started to liquefy. Demons didn’t disappear quickly or cleanly, but they sort of melted, which conveniently didn’t leave much evidence behind—just clothing and some rotted gunk that looked and smelled like spoiled food.

  Tank turned back to the fight, his newly claimed weapon in hand. Now that he was behind everyone, he had a better view of the action. Marie leaped over Zhu, covering his retreat, and then circled Mr. Chow with that predator’s gait she’d get when angry. Colonel Aldrich had his weapon aimed at the two of them, as did John, but neither of them were firing. Tank understood. He couldn’t fire either, with Marie and Mr. Chow being so close. Lev was a few steps behind John, with his gun out but aimed at the floor. Aldrich seemed to be cursing into his radio, his mouth moving furiously.

  Mr. Chow said loudly, “I offer you a truce. If you fight me, I will destroy both of you.”

  “If you had the power to do that, you already would have. I mean, it’s not like my father didn’t spend
a good five years trying,” Marie answered, Zhu’s katana still up as she circled. She darted in again, opening another red line along Mr. Chow’s back, but the wound barely bled.

  “You will discover how merciless I can become if you continue this obduracy.”

  “Oh, big word. Zhu, did your father just insult me?”

  “He called you stubborn.”

  “Oh, well, then he’s right.” She leaped forward, the katana flashing so quickly that Tank couldn’t see her movements. She was a blur, the katana a streak as she attacked furiously. However, Mr. Chow had activated some sort of force field that deflected the blade over and over. While the sword couldn’t get through, Marie’s attack did force Mr. Chow to retreat.

  Just when Tank thought they had won and Mr. Chow was going to tumble off the dock into the river, Mr. Chow raised both hands. Marie cried out and dropped the katana.

  “I find this boring,” Mr. Chow announced grandly. “Zhu, since you will not honor your word, I will take your female.”

  Zhu shot out from behind the pillar where he’d taken cover. “No. I’ll go with you!”

  Tank used the opportunity to open fire on Mr. Chow’s back, angling his shots so that if they ricocheted, they would go out over the water. Hopefully everyone had been warned away. The weapon bucked in Tank’s hands, and the shield around Mr. Chow glowed a faint orange color as if heating up, but Mr. Chow stepped back to the edge of the water, and Marie was dragged along by some invisible rope.

  Zhu ran forward and tried to throw his arms around her, but the shield held him out. Tank could only keep his finger on the trigger until he finally ran out of ammunition and his gun fell silent.

  “Claim your own power, Zhu,” Mr. Chow said. Then he stepped backward into the dirty water. Marie cried out as she slid over the edge of the ferry dock, dragged by the force field. Zhu screamed and would have gone over with her, but Tank threw himself over Zhu’s legs. With Zhu’s upper body dangling off the dock, Tank dug his toes into the dock edging and held on to Zhu for dear life.