by Rien Reigns
On the floor was the Maelstrom Dewhurst had been holding. I went to pick it up. Dewhurst being dead it’d be safe. But then a sound caught my attention further inside the suite. Instead of retrieving the bigger weapon, being confined in close quarters and not quite ready to die in that blaze of glory and gun smoke, I removed my Glock and held it at the ready. I slowly moved further in. It sounded like someone was groaning inside the office.
I positioned myself just on the other side of the door, took a deep breath, and then moved to stand inside the doorway, gun pointed at whoever was on the other side.
It was Shepard Cook, leaning against the desk. He was swaying back and forth a little, almost like he was about to collapse. He didn’t seem to notice I was there. He was looking at the floor. More focused on remaining standing than anything else.
The panic room door was open.
“Stay right there, Cook,” I said, holding the gun pointed at his midsection.
Cook looked up at me for half a second, but then his head slumped back down, as if it were too heavy to keep erect. He mumbled something, but I couldn’t make out what it was.
‹“Kali, can you analyze what he said?”›
‹It would seem he said your name.›
Shouts echoed in from outside the suite, indicating the Horsemen were no longer delayed.
“Where’d he go?” I heard War ask.
Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed the woozy man, and with some considerable effort, pulled him into the panic room.
Cook lost his footing and fell to the floor as soon as we were inside.
I heard someone approaching the office. I shut the door, sealing the two of us in rather than making sure Cook was all right.
He groaned and mumbled something.
I knelt down next to him. “What did you say?”
“I just got out of here,” he said with a slur.
“Are you saying you never left the hotel?”
“What?’ he said.
Had Lillian lied, or simply been mistaken?
“Never mind. You said you just got out of here? How long were you in?”
He pushed himself into a sitting position. I helped. He was starting to become a little more lucid.
“Last thing I remember was talking to you and our friend Kody.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a friend.”
“People are either your friends, or they’re your enemies. Trust me, it’s not wise to put too many people into the enemy category.”
“Simply calling them a friend doesn’t make it so. Friendship takes some reciprocation.”
“True, but if you don’t reach out with an olive branch, how can they ever take hold of it?”
“Fuck this, we’re getting off topic. What the hell happened to you? How’d you end up in here?”
“Wish I knew. I said goodbye to you two and as soon as the door closed, I felt a pinch in my neck. Woke up in here after that. Feels like I was drugged,” he said, and shook his head. “I’m still a little groggy. It took me awhile to figure out how the hell to get out. When I finally did, you showed up and pulled me back in.”
My thoughts tried to form a picture of what had happened.
A pinch, or a prick in the neck. And he was drugged. Just like Beit. But why hadn’t they killed him like they had Beit? Why leave him alive. It’s obvious they decided to frame him. Maybe they weren’t finished. I’d probably interrupted them. Dewhurst probably pretended to be Cook to fool Lillian.
A beeping sound started coming from the wall.
“Enki?” Sam’s voice asked from an intercom. “Are you in there?”
Cook looked at the intercom.
“Damn,” he said. “Didn’t see that there. Probably would have helped.”
I exhaled. “I don’t think it would have mattered. Security systems were down until just a few minutes ago.”
“Oh,” he said. I had an overwhelming feeling that he wasn’t responsible for anything and was more in the dark than I was.
Noble and Dewhurst hijacked the system, killed Beit, and then tried to pin it on Cook, but why? Weren’t they trying to frame me? Maybe they realized I alibied out on Beit’s murder, so they found another fall guy, Cook? That had to be it.
“Enki?” Sam said again. “For fuck’s sake, Travis, can you hear me?”
“I was about to ask who the hell Enki is,” Cook said, “But now it seems she’s calling you. Going to answer that?”
“I’m Enki,” I said. Highly irritated.
He started to say something, but I raised my hand to silence him.
“It’s another of my names, don’t ask, and to answer your question, I’m not sure I should. I don’t know who’s on my side anymore.”
“I got two words for ya. Olive. Branch.”
I shook my head. “I sure hope you’re right, otherwise, we both might end up dead.”
I got up and pushed the intercom button. “Hey Sam, I’m here.”
“Thank the gods. I was beginning to think they’d killed you.”
“I take it then you can see what’s been going on?”
“Not inside Cook’s suite. Most of the cameras on that floor have been physically destroyed, but I’ve still got some functioning. We just got the feeds back up a few minutes ago. I’ve got enough visuals out in the hall. I saw you go in the suite, and then I saw two of the Horsemen follow you. I thought for sure you were a goner, but then I got a notification that the panic room had been activated. The Horsemen are all back in the hallway now. They seem to be splitting up in order to look for you. Lillian and I have Noble in custody.”
“Great. And oh, you can stop looking for Cook, he’s here with me.”
“He’s with you?”
“That’s what I said. I think Noble and Dewhurst decided to try and frame him. It wasn’t Cook that Lillian saw fleeing. I’m guessing it was Dewhurst pretending to be him. The reason why the Rangers have so far been unsuccessful is because he’s been locked in here the whole time. No one knew because of them hijacking the system.”
“That makes sense. Look, we need to talk. There’s an emergency security elevator between his suite and the actual elevators. It’s hidden behind an art-screen. The Horseman with the red armor is still in the hallway, but I think you can get to it before he’ll catch you.”
“You’re kidding right? For one, there’s no ‘emergency security elevator’ according to my blueprints. Two, he’s augmented. Three, Cook is no condition to run.”
“Well, smart ass, it’s not on your blueprints because only my team knows about it. It’s a special precaution we added in order to extract high priority officials in case of a major emergency. Leave Cook, we can extract him later. You can make it.”
“She’s right friend.” Cook said. “Forget about me. Save yourself.”
I looked over at him. “Friends don’t leave each other behind.” I said. “Besides, I need you.”
“I’m not leaving Cook,” I told Sam through the intercom. “Where I go, he goes. He’s one of the few witnesses I got in my favor.”
“Okay. Give me a minute.” A moment of silence. “All right, Lillian is going to lead him away from you. When I give the word, you two make a break for it as fast as you can.”
“No offense, but Lillian doesn’t stand a chance. Why would she, or you, risk everything for me?”
Lillian came across the transmission instead of Sam. “Don’t worry about me, little man. I can hold my own.”
“You must have a death wish,” I replied.
Sam returned. “I believe red signifies War. So don’t you mean, she has a war wish?”
I had to admit. I missed her lip. Both of them. Among other things.
“You didn’t answer my last question,” I said.
“Just get your little ass down here and I’ll explain everything.”
“You never said where I was going.”
“The elevator will take you straight to me.”
“And where might
that be?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“I am an Inquisitor, it comes with the job.”
“I’m in a bunker beneath the golf course.”
“Another thing not in the blueprints.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know.”
“And I suppose you got answers to all my questions?”
“Go! Now! To the elevator.”
I shook my head in frustration and helped Cook to his feet. “She could have gave us a better heads up.”
I opened the door and the two of us ran out of the panic room, into the office, through the entertaining room, the foyer, and out into the hallway. No one was in sight, but gunshots could be heard somewhere off in the distance.
We raced down the hall towards the elevators.
“Shit,” I said, realizing something. “She never told us where exactly this elevator is located.”
Two meters ahead, off to our right, a digital painting slid to the left, revealing what we’d been looking for.
“Ask, and you shall receive,” Cook said with a smile.
As we got closer, I realized the painting was Lightning Strikes. I smiled.
We got into the elevator and the painting slid back into position.
The ride was unpleasant, especially when it reached the bottom and suddenly went sideways. I nearly threw-up. Cook had to help me remain standing.
When the door opened, Sam and Nora were waiting for us.
25: Upgrade
Nora ran and hugged Cook. “I knew you wouldn’t betray us,” she said.
Betray us? I wondered.
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“Well my darlings, it would seem someone drugged me and tossed my ass in the panic room in my suite.”
“You up for sharing?” Sam asked him.
“Ready when you are my dear.”
Sam motioned Cook to a chair in front of a desk. She took the one behind it, across from him. When they were both seated she said, “Okay, go.”
I hadn’t thought to ask for his memories of what happened, but then I’d been too busy just trying to stay alive and un-imprisoned.
Since Nora didn’t seem to be busy while Sam was reviewing Cook’s memories, I went over and sat next to her on the couch.
“So, you and Ranger Stevenson, you two know each other, don’t you?” I said.
“What makes you say that?” she said, coyly.
“You’re a key suspect in the mysterious murder of your husband. We went to interrogate you, yet it turned into more of a visit with an aunt you haven’t seen in a few years. The whole thing was a sham. I was there in the banquet hall when your husband said he was going to take a nap. It seemed suspicious. From my understanding, he isn’t one who normally takes a nap.”
“What are you implying?” she said.
“I thought your husband was meeting someone, and he wanted it to be a secret, but then he acted like he was willing to blow it off to be with you. You on the other hand, you blew him off. To take a walk in the gardens. There was a vibe I picked up between you and Kody. Thought you might have been visiting him while taking your walk.”
There was a look in her eyes. A look which indicated I’d just backed a badger into a corner.
I was saved when Sam shouted, “Damn!”
“What?” Nora and I asked at the same time.
“Shep didn’t see or hear anything. I thought there would have been something useful.”
“So what?” I said. “You have Noble in custody. He’s the one responsible. He and Dewhurst are the ones who disabled your security systems, and I’m fairly certain they were the ones who killed Beit.”
“Lillian knocked him out. We can’t extract his memories when he’s unconscious. And without either the footage, or his memories, we don’t have a case. ”
“Someone want to clue me in on what’s going on?” I asked.
“I’m afraid this is all our fault.” Sam said.
“Want to be a bit more specific?”
“I killed my husband,” Nora said, catching me completely off guard. She put her head in her hands and sobbed.
Sam immediately came over to us. She knelt down in front of Nora. “You did no such thing, and I won’t hear any more of that kind of talk.”
Nora lifted her head. “But if I hadn’t infected him, he’d still be alive.”
“You did what you thought was right, and if you hadn’t, either you or someone else would probably be dead right now. Either way, you aren’t responsible for what happened. You didn’t kill Julius.”
“Hold on,” I said. “You’re making things worse. Did she, or did she not, kill her husband?”
“No!” Sam said. She looked at Nora rather than me in order to drive her point home.
“Then why does she seem to think she did?” I asked.
“Samii,” Cook cut in. “Maybe we should talk in private about this.”
He’d gotten up from his chair. He seemed completely back to normal now. Not that I really knew what normal was for him. I’d forgotten just how imposing he was. When he’d been dazed he’d hunched and hadn’t seemed quite so intimidating.
Sam stood and looked at him. “Travis needs to know what’s going on. We can’t keep him in the dark any longer.”
She turned to me. “I’m sorry, Travis, but this is all my fault.”
Cook interjected, “You’re walking a fine line, Samii. We can’t afford for anyone else to end up like Julius.”
“I know that Shep.” Sam said, and then turned her attention back to me.
“I’m sorry, Enki, I’m afraid I’m the cause of all this mess.”
I was beginning to want to rip my hair out or strangle her, probably both. “Just tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I can’t,” she said, looking upset and then turned away.
I felt my anger rise a couple of degrees above simmering. “In case you haven’t heard, not only am I being charged with theft by the Rangers for a crime I didn’t commit, apparently I’m also now wanted by ChronoGen for being E3. You say you’re responsible somehow and that you have answers, but that you can’t tell me anything. I might as well just end my life now and save myself the grief.”
She turned and faced me again, shaking her head. “Now you’re just being overdramatic.”
“Am I? Please do tell, how should I be reacting?”
“There is a way to get the answers you want, but you won’t like it.”
“Yeah, and what would that be?”
“I can’t tell you, you’ll just have to trust me.”
“So there’s nothing you can tell me.”
“Only that there are answers.”
“Was Julius E3?” I asked. “Do you know that answer?”
“No.”
“That was two questions. Which one?”
“No.”
“Whatever. Do you know an Annabel Li Kwan?”
“Yes.”
“Is she E3?”
“No.”
“Are you?”
“No.”
“Samii,” Cook said, giving her a look to keep her mouth shut.
I smiled. “Well, would you look at that, you just answered my questions.”
“Only because you asked the wrong ones.”
“Let me guess, you know the right ones, but you can’t tell me.”
“Correct, at the moment.”
“Did Noble kill Beit?”
“No.”
This surprised me. She could be lying, but why would she?
“Then it was Dewhurst who did the deed.”
“No.”
Now I was confused.
“Do you know who did?”
“You’re asking the wrong interrogative.”
“What?”
“That’s a start.”
“Gods be damned, Sam, you’re worse now than when we were married.”
“I’ll give you all the answers you could ever want and more, but first you’l
l have to do something which you won’t like. It’s also irreversible once it’s done.”
“Samii!” Cook said, and grabbed her by the arm.
I stepped forward to assist, but it was unnecessary. Sam gave Cook a stern look and he quickly let go.
Sam turned back to me, but I was sick of all this roundabout bullshit.
“Fuck this and whatever mysterious magical answer key you got,” I said. “I have enough answers to go on. I now know that Beit, and whoever Mrs. Kwan is, aren’t Corruptors. If you’re telling the truth, that is. It shouldn’t be too hard to prove their innocence, thus proving my own.”
I turned away from them all. “How the hell do I get back to the resort?”
“Travis,” Sam said with a detectable hint of pleading. I knew she was concerned and being serious by the fact she used my preferred name.
I turned back towards Sam. “What?”
She came to me and placed her hands on my face. I wanted to push her away and pull her closer at the same time. “Don’t walk out that door. Don’t make the same mistake I did,” she said.
She seemed to be on the verge of tears. I felt my own eyes begin to mist.
“Then what am I supposed to do?” I asked.
“Trust me. You can’t do this alone. I, we, can help you. I can give you an upgrade to Huginn & Muninn, and if you do all that I’m asking, you’ll get the answers you need.”
An upgrade? There was already an upgrade when it hadn’t even been released publically yet?
I sighed. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
“I hope not,” she said, and stroked my cheek.
For a second I thought Sam was going to kiss me, but she didn’t.
“Follow me,” she said.
“You the white rabbit now? You gonna take me to Wonderland?” I asked.
Sam let out a little laugh.
Gods, I missed that laugh.
Sam pulled Cook and Nora aside for a second. The three of them had a whispered, yet heated conversation. When it was done Cook didn’t look too happy with whatever Sam had said. It seemed like she’d ordered him to do something. Nora looked concerned and like she wanted to speak with Sam separately, but she didn’t.