by P. T. Hylton
Alex found George standing on a balcony that overlooked a garden near the center of Agartha. She’d gotten a tip from one of the technicians that George often came there to be alone and think, especially when he was worried about something. Twenty minutes and four wrong turns later, she’d finally found the garden. Its only occupant was the director of engineering. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice her until she spoke.
“Any radio contact from Jaden?” she asked.
He didn’t look startled to find her by his side. She got the sense that maybe he was so used to being lost in his own thoughts that someone catching him unaware no longer bothered him.
“No, but I wouldn’t worry. He frequently makes trips to Denver, and he usually doesn’t check in. He’s not exactly the ‘checking in’ sort.”
“Yeah, I kinda got that,” Alex said dryly.
George chuckled, his eyes still fixed on the greenery below, fed by artificial light. “It is a little odd, though. He’s usually back by now.”
Alex frowned. “What time did you expect him?”
George thought about that. “The trip to Denver should have taken about two hours. Say an hour to load up and another two hours’ travel time back here. They should have been back about an hour ago.”
“Huh.” An hour late was no reason to panic. A thousand things could have set them back. An obstacle in the road. Trouble loading the ship. Any number of things. Still, dawn was closing in fast. “How often does Jaden spend the day in the city?”
George looked at her sharply. “The city? What do you mean?”
“I mean, if he doesn’t make it back to Agartha before daybreak and has to hole up somewhere else. Does that happen often?”
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t think it's ever happened. At least not in my lifetime.”
“Damn.”
George’s expression softened. “I wouldn’t worry. They’ll make it back. Jaden’s very disciplined. So are his vampires. Once he gets the ship here, we can start work on it.” He gave her a look. “Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
She sighed. “I’m surprised I got any sleep at all. With everything that’s happening on New Haven…”
She paused, not sure how to continue. George had spent his life in Agartha. They were used to depending on the vampires to keep them alive. On New Haven, humans didn’t have that luxury. They had to be more proactive. It would be difficult to get George to understand that mindset, but she was going to have to try.
“My team and I are going to prep for travel,” she told him. “Just in case.”
He blinked hard. “In case of what?”
“In case your vampires don’t make it back by sunrise. I know you’re not worried, but we have to play this safe.”
George scratched his head. “You mean you’re going to go to Denver? Shouldn’t we just wait to hear from Jaden? I’m sure he has things under control.”
She sighed. The subtle approach hadn’t worked, so she was going to have to put this bluntly. “George, you don’t know me well, but there’s one thing you have to understand about the GMT. We don’t wait around for others to do the hard work. We actually get our hands dirty ourselves.”
“Honestly, Alex, that’s a pretty condescending thing to say. Especially to the guy who risked his life to come rescue you and your team last night.”
Shame washed over Alex. “God, George, I’m sorry. It’s been a hell of a couple days. And stupid stuff comes out of my mouth all the time, even when I’m not stressed. I shouldn't have said that."
George looked back at the garden. "It's okay. Come on, I'll help you get some gear together and pick out a vehicle for your team to use. Just in case."
The two of them made their way through the city toward the garage, George leading the way. Alex hung back a bit, sometimes falling behind as she marveled at the city around her. It was nearly empty; the only beings they encountered were the occasional vampire. But what really astounded Alex was the darkness.
New Haven was always washed in daylight. The personal quarters didn't have windows, but nearly everywhere else, the exterior walls were transparent to allow for maximum light.
Agartha seemed to have been designed with the opposite approach. Passageways were dim and shadows were plentiful.
Seeing such a large area with only a few man-made lights illuminating it seemed odd, but she supposed it made sense. New Haven had been designed to keep vampires out while Agartha had been built to allow vampires to stay in.
They soon reached the garage and Alex sent for Owl. They spent the rest of the time until sunrise selecting a vehicle and then preparing it for a potential journey. They needed it to cover ground quickly, but also to be rugged enough to handle the obstacles they knew lay between Agartha and the city.
Before long, the rest of the team had joined them and was helping load the batteries and components onto the truck they'd be using. The hope was that they'd be able to use these parts to repair the away ship where it sat.
"One thing's for sure," Owl said with a grin. "It'll be better than driving the rover in a race against sundown."
Patrick put his hands on his hips. "That's not exactly a high bar to clear. If it can top twenty miles an hour, it'll beat the rover."
George walked up, a haggard look on his face.
"No luck?" Alex asked.
He shook his head. He'd been trying to contact Jaden's team on the radio for an hour, but there had been no response.
"How long until sunrise?" Chuck asked.
George glanced at his watch. "Twenty minutes."
"We want to be ready to leave at first light," Alex said.
George sighed. "I know Jaden wouldn't approve of this. He'd want us to stay in the city and let the vampires handle things."
"George, we can't just sit here and—"
He held up a hand, cutting her off. "Let me finish. I know Jaden wouldn't leave us stranded out there, and I don't intend to leave him, regardless of what he'd want. I'll lend you this vehicle and let you go on one condition."
"What's that?"
"I want to come with you."
Alex looked at him for a long moment, surprised.
Owl shrugged. "It would be really helpful having his help with repairing the ship."
Alex nodded toward Wesley. "See if one of the vampires can help us find some gear for George. It looks like the GMT just got a new temporary member."
CB, Brian, and Jessica pressed onward through the tunnels.
"How much further?" Brian asked.
"There's not a direct route," Jessica answered. "Plus, we're going to have to wait for the shift change if we want to have any chance of—"
"Hang on," CB interrupted. He didn't like the sound of their voices. Raising his headlamp, he inspected them in the light, confirming his suspicions. "Listen, I want to apologize to you two."
"What? Why?" Brian sounded annoyed. "If you're going to say you’re sorry for bringing us into this fight against Fleming, you can shut up right now. We've been over it, and we knew what we were getting into."
"It's not that. I've been pushing you like you're GMT members."
"So?" Jessica asked. "We need to push if we want to carry out our plan."
"Yeah, but we also need rest. The truth is, you don't have GMT training. That's not a knock against you. I mean, each of you have skills no GMT member has. But pushing through the pain, carrying out a mission for days on end without sleep and still being able to physically dominate an opponent when needed, those things take practice. It's no different than…" he waved at Brian vaguely, "programming a daylight to fry vampires."
"That analogy doesn't even make sense. You don't program a light."
"My point is you two are wiped. I can see if in your faces. You need rest. And I wouldn't mind a little break myself." He thought a moment. "Jessica, we're near Sparrow's Ridge, right?"
She nodded slowly. "Damn near right under it."
"Good. I know a place.
Just get us to Hanger's Point. You know it?"
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly the best part of town."
"That's kinda the point."
Five minutes later, Jessica led them up from the maintenance tunnel onto a street in the worst part of Sparrow's Ridge.
Brian looked concerned. "This place makes Tankards look like a restaurant in the Hub."
"You ain't seen nothing yet," CB said with a grin. "Follow me."
He led them to a dilapidated building at the end of the street, then down a set of stairs to the basement. From there, he took them to a door at the end of the hall. He crouched down and picked the lock in a matter of moments.
Then he led them inside.
"Oh God, please tell me no one lives here," Jessica said.
They were in a filthy studio apartment. A small kitchenet sat at one end of the room next to a toilet with a sheet hanging around it. A small bed sat at the other end. There were no photos on the wall, and only a few items that marked the place as occupied.
Jessica bent down and picked something up off the floor. Holding it up to the light, they could see it was a small model of the GMT's away ship.
"Wait," Brian asked. "CB, is this your hookup pad? Do you bring girls here?"
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "I too would like to hear the answer to those questions."
CB felt his face flush. "No! This is Wesley's place."
The others stared at him blankly.
"Wesley?" Brian asked. "Are you sure you don't mean Patrick? Or Ed?"
"Yeah, Wesley seems like more of a Hub type of guy," Jessica agreed.
"What can I say? The man likes the simple life."
Jessica nudged the bed with her toe. "I guess so."
"The point is it's a safe place to get some sleep."
"Tight space for three," Brian pointed out.
"We only need space for two. You both get some rest. I'm going to get us the help we need to pull this off."
It was a testament to how tired Brian and Jessica were that they barely argued.
As the other two settled in, CB took a moment to check his gunshot wound. He winced as he removed the bandage, not liking the looks of what he saw underneath. It looked like it might be infected. There was nothing to do about that now. If their plan worked, he could deal with it then. If not, it wouldn't much matter. A corpse didn’t care about an arm infection.
Next, he dug through the dresser in the corner, looking for something to help disguise him. He tried on one of Wesley's hooded sweatshirts, but it didn't come close to fitting his much broader frame. Finally, he settled on a hat and sunglasses. He grabbed a bit of food from Wesley's refrigerator and headed out the door.
CB made his way through the streets of Sparrow's Ridge, sticking to the infrequent shadows when possible. He reached his destination and stepped inside.
Thankfully, Tankards wasn't too busy that time of night. There were a dozen or so customers, but none of them seemed to notice CB. The bartender stared at him a moment too long, but thankfully he just continued pouring drinks, careful not to look at CB once he'd identified him.
CB quickly made his way through the bar and into the backroom.
The overweight, white-haired man behind the desk didn't look up when CB entered. "Employees only. Restroom's the next door over."
"I'm not here for the restroom. I'm here for a little help from an old friend."
The man looked up, his eyes widening. "Holy shit, CB. What are you doing here? Have you seen what Fleming's been saying about you?"
"It hasn't escaped my attention."
The man got up from his desk and shuffled to the door, making sure it was shut.
"Fleming had his lackey try to shoot me," CB continued, "and then he called me a traitor. How's that for irony? You've known me since we were kids, Billy. You ever seen me be disloyal?"
Billy grinned. "If anything, you're too loyal. Plenty of guys you probably should have stabbed in the back. Remember that Sylvester kid?"
CB chuckled. "Ugh, don't remind me."
Billy's expression grew serious. "I know what you've done for this city. You and your whole team. You guys are the ones that keep this bird in the sky. Hell, I remember when you lost your first team. You reformed the GMT out of sheer doggedness. Calling you a traitor is beyond low. Makes me want to punch that bastard in the face."
"I appreciate that."
Billy squinted at him. "You didn't come here to see what side I'm on, did you?"
CB couldn't help but grin. "Notice I haven't asked."
"Good. I would have been insulted if you had. So why are you here? You said something about a favor?"
CB hesitated. "It's risky."
Billy let out a boisterous laugh. "I spend every day of my life serving booze to the roughest crowd in the city. I may not be running around the surface fighting vampires, but I've been knocked on my ass a few times. It'll take more than a politician to scare me out of helping an old friend. What is it going to take to get the city running on track again?”
"Thanks, man. Listen, I intend to either fix this city or die trying. Either way, it's going to be over soon."
"Sounds good so far. What's my part?"
"I’m involved in a bit of a cat-and-mouse game with Fleming. I need some help keeping him off balance. If you can get a bunch of people from the Ridge to call in reports of me being spotted all over the city, it should buy me some time."
Billy chuckled. "Shit, I'd do that for fun. Give me a real challenge."
CB looked his old friend in the eyes. "Fleming's not playing. If he figures out the reports are false, he's not going to be happy. If he starts pushing too hard, just let it go. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."
"You're from the Ridge," Billy replied. "We've got your back. We'll shovel some major confusion Fleming's way. But if you think this whole thing's going to end without anyone else getting hurt, I'm afraid you're as delusional as Fleming."
CB looked away, but he knew his old friend was right.
14
A few minutes after sunrise, the doors to Agartha opened and a lightly armored truck rolled out. The vehicle had been designed to carry thirty passengers, but today it carried only seven. The supplies took up much of the space, but the truck was nowhere near capacity, and it sped along the tightly packed snow on the road at a good clip.
Owl glanced back over her shoulder at George. “Thanks for letting me drive.”
“No problem. I saw how you handled that rover the night before last. If there’s trouble, I want the best driver we have in control of the truck.”
Alex grinned. “Besides, I told him you get cranky if you go too long without having your hands on the wheel of some vehicle or other.”
Owl didn’t bother denying it.
Alex was in the passenger seat, and George was seated right behind them. The rest of the team was a little further back, but sound carried in the vehicle and Alex could easily hear all their conversations. She turned to George and Owl. “You two think you can get the ship up and running before sunset?”
“I certainly hope so,” George said. “Hopefully with plenty of time to spare. I need to get the truck back to Agartha tonight.”
Owl nodded her agreement. “The batteries will be easy. As long as you’re as good as we keep hearing, George, we’ll be fine. I wouldn’t think the repairs would take more than a few hours.”
None of them mentioned the other task on their plates. Jaden and his vampires hadn’t come home. That had to mean they’d run into trouble. Best-case scenario, they were holed up somewhere. But if they needed help, Alex didn’t even know where to begin searching for them. Jaden had saved her and her team from Ferals twice now. If she had the chance to help him and his team, she had to take it.
And what if it came to a choice? Board the away ship and save New Haven or try to find Jaden? She didn’t know the answer to that question. Probably because there was no good answer.
“Hey,” Owl said. “You tak
ing in this view?”
The truck was driving along a ridge that gave Alex a clear view of the landscape below the mountain. The sun glinted off the snow on the trees below. The ground was a field of glittering white, broken only by a smattering of giant rocks. The unexpected beauty took her breath away.
Owl spoke in a low voice that only Alex could hear. “I know there’s a lot weighing on you. There has been for a while now. You take it all to heart, too. Always have since your first day on the job. That’s part of what makes you a good leader.”
Alex frowned, startled by the truth of those words.
“We have a hard job,” Owl continued. “A deadly job. I mean, Simmons. Drew. Beth. We’ve lost some of the best friends I’ve ever had. It’s easy to forget this job has its perks, too.” She gestured out the windshield. “I mean, come on. How many people in New Haven have ever seen a view like that? Or how many in Agartha, for that matter?”
Alex stared at the snowy valley beyond the ridge and felt a sense of peace she hadn’t known in a while. She tried to relish the moment, to just get out of her head and enjoy it.
Then another thought crept in. There were Ferals buried under that snow, just waiting for sundown. Every one of them had been a person once, and every one of them would thoughtlessly tear any human they got their hands on to shreds.
The thought almost made her laugh. Even on this beautiful vista she couldn’t help but see the dangers and feel the closeness of death. But she appreciated what Owl was trying to do. “Thanks. You always know what to say to help me keep my head straight.”
Alex glanced back at George. He was staring out the windshield too, but he didn’t seem to be enjoying the view. His expression was drawn and he was rapidly tapping his foot, sending a ratta-tat-tat echoing through the vehicle.
Ed tapped him on the shoulder. “You all right, big guy?”
George looked surprised at the question. “What? Yes, of course.” After a brief pause, he resumed tapping his foot.
Ed touched his shoulder again. “No offense, man, but the foot thing is driving me nuts.”
George’s face reddened. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I guess I’m a little edgy. I’ve never been this far from Agartha.”