The Outer Dark (Central Series Book 4)

by Zachary Rawlins

  “It happened, just not to him. I had to put him somewhere, you know, and Alex felt bad for his real family. Very bad,” Eerie explained, shrugging uncomfortably. “He felt guilty for living when his family died. It would have eaten him up, trying to live with that, even after he forgot all about it. It wasn’t my idea. Alex insisted on it.”

  “Survivor’s guilt,” Vivik said. “He wanted to do penance, I guess.”

  “I don’t really get it.”

  “Hell of a thing to do to someone,” Katya said. “You know how bad jail is?”

  “Not then,” Eerie admitted. “Now I do. But it wasn’t jail! It was, you know, for kids, so I thought it would be…”

  “Those places are even worse! I can’t believe you did that.”

  “You still don’t understand,” Eerie wailed. “Alex did it to himself! Not me. I just helped him create the identity. I wanted him somewhere safe and boring, just till everyone forgot and we grew up.”

  “Where did you want to send him, Eerie?” Vivik asked. “Central?”

  “No way! Newfoundland. I saw a documentary,” Eerie explained. “There’s nothing there but fish and trees, and they have a cool accent!”

  “You are so weird,” Katya said. “Newfoundland? Where…is that in Canada?”

  “Or maybe Japan?” Eerie was lost in reverie. “Alex might have liked that too much, though. All those girls, like in the cartoons.”

  Vivik coughed loudly.

  “Eerie, there are no girls in Japan, because no one has any children. Alex could have never learned to speak Japanese, in any case, no matter what sort of reality warping powers you have.” Katya sighed. “He can barely even speak English. Can he still speak Russian?”

  “Nope!” Eerie said proudly. “That’s all gone. Well…not gone. But he can’t get to it.”

  “He was in there for…what, two years? Three? That’s a hell of a lot of time for a kid to spend locked up. Do you even know what happened to him during that time?”

  “I visited!”

  “Yeah, but, you know, in between visits?”

  “Not really,” Eerie admitted. “It’s okay, though! I thought of that, so I made sure he was nearly always in his own little room, all by himself. Totally safe.”

  “Wow. That’s so fucked up that I…I don’t know what to say.” Katya looked aghast. “You really don’t understand people at all, do you, Eerie?”

  “No,” Eerie said earnestly, sparks swimming in her gimlet eyes. “Not even a little.”

  Nine.

  The night was turning into a pain in the ass. Alice Gallow waited in the back of the kebab restaurant, sitting sideways on the plastic bench at the cleanest table, watching the sparse crowd move quickly through the cold Belgian night.

  “This is a waste of time,” Alice grumbled. “We should be somewhere else.”

  Michael glanced up from behind his newspaper – a fascinatingly anachronist daily ritual he insisted upon – but seemed unflustered.

  “You doubt the information you extracted from Jin?”

  Alice winced and studied the grease-flecked orange walls, enigmatically decorated with framed photos of Paris.

  “No. That’s not it.”

  “The archive, then? That box we took out of Korea?”

  “Doesn’t bother me much,” Alice said, poking disinterestedly at her kebob. “In confidence, the Academy’s best can’t make heads or tails of the thing. They’re gonna move it over to Processing, some wunderkind Becca’s been talking up – Adel something – they think maybe can make some progress with it. I dunno. That whole deal might have been a waste of time.”

  “Not if we stopped it from getting out,” Michael said. “Can you image if that sort of weapon became Anathema general issue? We’d be doomed.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I do. You do, too, whether you wanna admit it or not. You read the reports of what happened to the Hegemonic Council…”

  “Sure, but that was them. This is us, you know? A few words. A spooky forbidden language, or some shit. No big deal.”

  Michael went back to reading.

  “If you’re so confident, then what’s eating you? You’ve been antsy for days.”

  “It’s not the info.” Alice leaned her elbows on the table, nearly upsetting her untouched soda. “It’s the importance. I feel like we’re stomping bugs in the basement while the roof is on fire, you know?”

  “What does Analytics have to say?”

  “That’s the worst part. They agree. We’re running in circles.”

  “Then why are we here, Chief Auditor?”

  “This is all I got!” Alice smacked her palms against the sticky table in frustration. “We hit the Anathema too hard, after the invasion. Figured that was it – war, the real thing – and pulled out all the stops. They didn’t come at us very hard, though. The raid on Central, and then on the Far Shores – and that’s as far as it went. We burned everything to the ground we could find, after that. Every Anathema holding, ally, and sympathizer.”

  “An inquisition, in other words.”

  “That’s what the Director requested,” Alice said defensively. “I agreed at the time, figured for every Anathema or rogue cartel we put down, another dozen would take their place. Didn’t happen, though. Last few months, they’ve pulled back, as far as we can tell. Other than the occasional raid or ambush, it’s been quiet. That archive was supposed to make it all worth it, but the encryption has kept us out of everything…”

  “You need intel,” Michael noted, turning the page. “Assets. Was the purge really so thorough?”

  “Oh yeah. You know me. Very thorough.”

  “What about your interrogations? You learned nothing else?”

  “This is it. The last of the defections, or so Jin claimed. I’m inclined to believe him, if only because we’ve drilled down so far on every remaining cartel, there isn’t much room left for renegade sympathies.”

  “Tyranny is efficient,” Michael said, agreeing with something she wasn’t entirely sure she said. “There is that.”

  “Don’t be a dick, okay?”

  “I’m not. I’m just saying…”

  “You do your job, I’ll do mine, remember?”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “You still look pissed.”

  “I just don’t understand how you do it. The field is one thing, but torture?”

  “What’s with the full court press, Mikey? I’m supposed to be the Chief Auditor, remember?”

  “I remember,” Michael said mildly. “I’m just surprised. The cruelty – it’s unlike you, I suppose. That’s all.”

  “Eh, no. It’s so fucking like me.”

  They sat there briefly, each waiting for the other to say something.

  Chief Auditor?

  Alice looked annoyed at the interruption, but inside, she was secretly grateful.

  Whatcha got, Hayley?

  I, uh…I think I need help, Ms. Gallow! A lot of help!

  Okay, Hayley, slow down. Just tell me what you have.

  I have Anathema, Ms. Gallow, and the whole of Claes-Dubois Cartel.

  Okay, that’s good, that’s what we expected…

  I don’t know, Ms. Gallow. I have more Anathema than anticipated. A few I recognize from the dossiers.

  The download was as immediate and painful as a poke in the sinus. Three faces tagged with certainty, another two were speculatively associated. Alice sent the impressions on to Analytics and returned to the task at hand.

  Okay, I’m gonna send Chike to your position…

  One more thing, Ms. Gallow. There is no delay in telepathic communication, which made Hayley’s pause more evident. Alistair is here.

  Alice swore loudly and toppled her soda, attracting the eyes of the kebab shop’s few customers. Only quick action on the part of Michael – along with sacrifice of his newspaper – prevented him from being drenched by the spilled drink.

  Give me a fix on your location, Hayley, Alice commanded, pus
hing through the doors of the kebab store on to the Rue Terre Nueve. I’m coming to you.

  The locational download was even more unpleasant. Alice felt blood dribble from her nose with the same intensity that she felt Hayley’s transmitted panic. Michael hurried after Alice, but she was in no mood for his company. Tapping into the telepathic network Karim maintained between the Auditors, Alice issued instructions for Chike to pick Michael up and follow after her.

  Alice stepped into her shadow with relief.

  ***

  There had been a thing between Becca and Hayley. Alice was apparently not privy to it, which annoyed and concerned her in equal measure. No one told her anything, but she could sense the emotional aftermath.

  Something to worry about later.

  She found the young Auditor on the steel roof of a bland industrial building near one of the canals in Anderlecht, crouched behind a defunct chimney, with the labored look on her face that meant that she was in two places at once. Alice stepped out of Hayley’s shadow and seized her wrists to avoid any misunderstandings involving the Austrian submachine gun slung over shoulder.

  For one moment, Alice thought that Hayley might scream.

  Alice remembered that a significant portion of Hayley’s consciousness was currently located a few blocks away, observing their targets from the point of view of a stray cat, and reluctantly cut her slack. Alice released her grip, and waited for Hayley to pull herself together.

  “Chief Auditor!” Hayley put one hand to her armored chest. The new jackets were nice – waist length and trim, with flexible inserts slotted to handle ballistic duties – but the support staff couldn’t seem to get the tailoring on Hayley’s right. Her sleeves engulfed her hands to the base of her fingers, and the hem settled around mid-thigh, giving her an absurd and childish look that Alice found infuriating. “I didn’t realize you were here. I’m sorry! Is that what I’m supposed to say? Am I supposed to report?”

  Cursing the accelerated training table that dumped candidates for Audits directly into the field, Alice shrugged impatiently.

  “Let’s try a report, Auditor.” Alice took field glasses from a bag at her hip and used them to study the quiet cluster of buildings nearby. “What’s happening over there?”

  “I think this is the defection you briefed us about. The Anathema apport was obvious, then there was a bunch of talking. Everyone went inside the main building thirty minutes ago. They went in the offices, but I think they’ve moved, since.” Hayley’s voice became monotone as she exercised her protocol, confirming her words via the Etheric Network. “They posted a few guards, to the north and east, near both entrances to the auditorium, so that’s probably where they are. Makes sense. There are a lot of people.”

  “A lot is fucking bullshit, Hayley. Give me a number.”

  “Fifty?” Hayley looked hurt, and maybe a little affronted. For her sake, Alice pretended not to see that. “I don’t know, Ms. Gallow. I didn’t think to count.”

  “What exactly did Hegemony field operations teach you, girl?”

  Hayley did not offer a response.

  “I saw the faces you matched, including Alistair,” Alice added. “Can I at least assume that the IDs were good?”

  “Oh, they were!” Hayley looked indignant. “I confirmed each of them over the Network.”

  “Without triggering anything on their end? This area must be live as all hell, with active telepaths and what have you…”

  Hayley shook her head like it was nothing. The young Auditor was a telepathic ninja, Alice thought, and that was no big deal to her. Millennials were terrifying.

  “That’s not bad work, kid.” Alice unslung her Saiga-12 shotgun, ejecting a more maneuverable five-round magazine, and replacing it with a bulkier ten-round box. “You think that stray cat of yours could look inside, maybe figure out what’s going on in there?”

  “I’m trying.” Hayley covered her eyes with her hands. “I’ve got him up on the roof. If there’s a vent or something, then maybe…”

  The sound of the gunshot startled them all.

  “Fuck,” Alice said, tapping the side of her holographic site until it powered on. “Was that…?”

  Hayley nodded, looking motion-sick and traumatized.

  “The cat,” she said, wiping her brow. “Who would do something like that?”

  “Alistair, probably. We don’t have much time, if he’s already that jumpy.”

  “Maybe he’s not jumpy. Maybe he’s a dickhead who shoots innocent cats for no reason.”

  “Well, he was always sort of a dick.” Alice scratched her head. “I don’t really remember him shooting cats before, but...”

  “I think I’d like to kill him,” Hayley said quietly. “If that’s okay, Ms. Gallow.”

  “Listen, Hayley, if you see Alistair in the field, I want you to stay well the fuck away from him, okay?” Alice studied Hayley for signs that she was taking her seriously. “Whatever you might think, you wouldn’t stand a chance against him alone. Alistair is a born and bred killer, a F-Class telepath, and a total fucking bastard. Stay away. Clear?”

  “Clear, Ms. Gallow.”

  Chike Okoro materialized not far from them with the rest of the Auditors, making the complicated apport look easy. Xia and Min-jun stood next to him, alert and waiting for orders. Michael folded his arms and glared at her as defiantly as he dared. Alice almost sighed aloud, thinking about the fight they would have later, though she had already forgotten the reason for it.

  Then she chided herself for being pessimistic. There was a decent chance that at least one of them would die before they had the opportunity.

  “I don’t know how you do it, Chike,” Alice said, clapping his shoulder with a smile and a shake of her head. “Don’t you ever get tired?”

  “God has blessed me with stamina,” Chike offered, with his toothy grin. “My boss is also frightening.”

  They both laughed uproariously, but Alice suspected he was not entirely joking.

  “Seriously, though, Chike – are you gonna be up for several more hops?”

  Alice’s concern was well-founded. Chike Okoro was a gifted apport technician, but he was not an M-Class Operator like Alice, and therefore was susceptible to exhausting his abilities. Worse, Chike was a point-to-point apport technician, meaning that he returned to Central between each of his jumps, always departing from and returning to the Auditor’s apport chamber at the Far Shores.

  It was a lot to ask of anyone, but Chike handled it with a humble grace that Alice had come to grudgingly admire.

  “I will be fine, Chief Auditor. I assure you.”

  She nodded and let go of his arm, and then checked in on her sniper.

  Karim, you have us all looped in?

  Everyone is listening, boss.

  Good. What do Analytics have for us?

  Not much. They are still running scenarios, but they do think a defection event is most likely. They’ll have an Operation plan in a few minutes…

  We don’t have time for that. Keep the channel open and update me as it develops. I’ll want suppressing fire to the west of the compound, in the event of runners, mainly in that clear area by the parking lot. Are you in position to oblige?

  Another pause that seemed long, because they were so foreign to the telepathic experience.

  Current position is workable. Not ideal. The building is going to obstruct some shots, unless I can change position.

  Okay. Hang tight.

  Alice glanced at her assembled Auditors.

  Not terrible, she thought. Not great, but this didn’t feel like suicide.

  Not yet, anyway. Nobody but Hayley had yet laid eyes on Alistair.

  “Here’s the plan,” Alice said, chambering a round in her Saiga. “I’m taking Min-Jun and jumping in there. If they aren’t wise, I’ll hang back and observe. If they are – or if departure seems imminent, I’ll move on the high value targets.”

  “Why are you taking Min-jun?” Michael asked, glowering. “I wo
uld think for close combat…”

  “No questions,” Alice said coolly, not bothering to look in his direction. “I’m taking Min-jun, incidentally, because I plan on having Xia set the place on fire. Chike – I want you to get Karim’s position and then help him relocate. After that I want you back here so you can position the rest.”

  Alice prompted Karim, and a satellite photo of the compound appeared in their minds, accurate to the last known detail and interactive to a degree that Silicon Valley would have envied.

  Background unspooled into short-term memory, dossiers provided by Analytics, optimized memetic content for better retention. The compound was technically a private college, an adult school with a nominal focus in engineering and IT. In reality, the enrollment and graduation numbers had fallen by half five years ago, when Analytics claimed the Claes-Dubois Cartel had started using the location as a secure location to transfer materials to the Anathema.

  “Hayley, you’re on security. Monitor from a safe distance, and look to counter their telepaths – no offensive activities. Don’t engage, just respond. On my signal, Xia, I want you here, to the north,” Alice said, indicating a point on the photo in a manner that she could not clearly articulate, but one that was instantly and universally understood. “If – when – I give the word, I want you to start burning everything on your side. Force ‘em out. They can’t go east – the highway embankment practically abuts the building on that side. Michael, I want you to the south. It’s partially obstructed, so you’ll try and channel ‘em to the west, for Karim to sort.”

  Michael looked uncomfortable.

  “What level of force am I supposed to use?”

  “Lethal,” Alice said, darkly amused. “Unless you have something worse.”

  “They’ve got their families with them, presumably?” Michael asked, tempting fate and her temper. “How would you have me slaughter their children, Chief Auditor?”

  “If you can tell child from Anathema, then be my guest.” Alice grinned, but inside she felt nothing but fury. “Karim will do his best to sort ‘em accordingly, but this is war, Mikey. If you want out…”

  “I don’t,” he said firmly, in a tough guy display that convinced no one.