Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder)

by Scott Rhine

  Meanwhile, a member of the west team climbed a dead tree and a branch snapped under his weight. Zeiss had alerted the medical crews before the west team even realized what had happened. When they found out that the helicopter was heated and had soup, two more members of the north team opted out so they could ride along.

  By dusk, Red came out of her funk and chatted with the others. She cringed when she saw Toby remove the sock from his hand and check it by firelight. “You’ve got freezer burn,” she exclaimed, opening the emergency channel.

  “It’s called frostbite,” said the biologist.

  “You’ve got to get help!” Red exclaimed.

  Rogers’ voice came over the line. “Say again; is this a request to drop?”

  “Negative,” Toby said firmly into his microphone. Off the air, he explained, “I only have to outlast one more person, Red. I can do it.”

  “You could lose fingers and then you’d be off the team for medical reasons.”

  Toby shook his head. “My call.”

  Over the radio, she declared the symptoms and long-term effects of frostbite. They went to sleep early in an effort to get out of the piercing wind. By the morning of day three, one more member of the ill-fated north team dropped. Only one member from that group remained: a pretty-boy by the name of Captain Llewellyn. If it weren’t for the scar on his upper lip, he could’ve been a movie star.

  “And that’s a wrap,” said Rogers. “Everybody come in from the cold.”

  ****

  On the plane ride back to civilization, Rogers rode with the students. “Congratulations, one and all. You know that you have what it takes to survive hell. I have a special thanks this trip, to the best assistant the devil ever had, the Z-man.”

  Everyone cheered. The former Seal handed out cigars. Red gave hers to the Tibetan on the condition that she never see the fox killer again.

  Red sat next to Llewellyn because he was cute; she stayed because he was a pilot. A quick mental peek at him tasted like chocolate-covered caramels. “Call me Lou,” he insisted. She tried to flirt like Risa, asking him questions and gushing to keep him talking. In the top three of his class in flight school, he loved rock climbing, motorcycles, and anything dangerous. “I’d planned to spend my holiday partying with my teammates. But that didn’t work out.”

  “You should meet my team,” she suggested. Pointing across the aisle, Red said, “The one with the gauze mitten is our biology guy, Toby.”

  Tapping Herkemer on the shoulder, she began, “This is . . .”

  “We’ve met,” rumbled Herk.

  “Be nice,” she warned. The Teddy Bear had hackles.

  “Don’t drink from his flask,” warned the Polish team member. “You might end up on a hotel bed with no memory of how you got there.”

  “Hey, Zdenka drank from a lot of flasks that night,” Lou said with a throaty chuckle. Herk glowered. “Besides, Red isn’t like a girl.”

  The comment froze all objections in her throat.

  “I hear she can fly, shoot, and hunt better than me.”

  When her throat thawed, she wanted to cry. Her voice only cracked a little. “Then we’d better not introduce you to my roommate. She can assemble the grill she cooks on. Where’s Zeiss?”

  “Ask the man in winter camo,” Herk said, still steamed.

  She was grateful for the chance to leave the seat. Rogers told her, “Z rode to Sydney with the washouts. He wanted to visit a friend at the hospital there.”

  Her insides felt colder than the night in Mongolia. “Who?”

  “The artist who scored Horvath. I hear he was the victim of some hate crime; they beat him pretty badly. He might be out of the program.”

  “Where do we refuel?” demanded Red.

  Rogers held up a hand. “Just a minute, young lady—”

  “Never mind, I’ll upload directly from the nav computer,” she said, flipping her goggles into override mode.

  Her entire team, minus the Tibetan, wanted to go with her to the hospital. As they ran to catch the next jet on the tarmac, Herkemer spotted their club’s adviser, “Z! You dog.” The Polish tech grabbed him in a bear hug.

  Zeiss explained, “I had them hold the plane for you when I heard you were following me.”

  “How’d you do that?” Risa asked, curious.

  Rather than cite his newfound clearance, Zeiss muttered something about, “People are always willing to help out hero astronauts.”

  Everyone expressed their thanks, except Red. “What happened?”

  At the urging of the stewardess, they all took seats. The TA sat beside Red in first class. He held a finger to his lips. “Not in front of the civilians.”

  Her glare could’ve melted steel. When the man beside them left for the bathroom, Zeiss said, “They were able to reattach Sojiro’s ring finger. They couldn’t locate the index finger; Horvath combed the whole flight deck.”

  “Who?” she demanded. When he kept reading his pad, she fumed, “Damn your rules.”

  His normal shell slipped. She could feel that he was just as concerned and angry as she was. Underneath it all was a ragged torrent of guilt that he couldn’t talk about. The intensity shocked her into downshifting. “What’s so important on your pad?”

  “Email from Sojiro. It’s . . . personal.”

  Something on the screen was causing him pain, like a thorn in his paw. He hadn’t bathed or shaved in days. This was a completely new side to him. “May I?” she asked.

  Zeiss handed the device over.

  Z,

  The island will be closed for the next two weeks. Trina will have to tell you why. She’s amazing once you get to know her, a shining light. The badge you gave me brought her just in time.

  I told Trina how to access your computer so you wouldn’t have to wait. The results are enclosed. I hear this is going to be as famous as Einstein’s light bending experiment once you write it up.

  Love,

  Sojiro

  “Why is this bad?” she asked, confused. “It sounds like you’ve made your career.”

  “Read between the lines. There’s been an unprecedented security lockdown. Someone waited until we were gone to attack our friend. Why?” When she shrugged, he added, “I was assigned to find some very bad people. Because I spent time on my own pet project and dinner parties, I didn’t catch them in time.”

  She shook her head. “Your rules saved his life. You’ve done everything you could to help all of us.”

  “Can I get that in writing?” he joked.

  Meekly, she admitted, “Z, you’re the solution, not the problem.”

  “My relationship to him put him in danger.”

  Red bit her lip. “It’s a little deeper than that. Only one special sort of person would ever look at Professor Horvath and call her a shining light.”

  “He’s Active?” Zeiss guessed. “Why?”

  “They use the Collective Unconscious page to teach people how to guard very important secrets, even under torture. They’ll train Sojiro to enter deep theta state at will,” Red explained. The other passenger returned and she clammed up for the rest of the trip.

  Chapter 18 – Come to Jesus Meeting

  Trina was sitting in Sojiro’s hospital room. Everything was stark white and he had four different monitors blinking at different rates. Before the girl even entered the room, Trina said, “Hi, Red.”

  Sojiro sat up, excited. “You came! Oh, Red, your colors are gorgeous. You’re like an itty bitty rainbow.”

  Even with the bandages hiding much of his face, she could see the swelling. This was the baby fox all over again.

  “Drugs,” mouthed Trina. “How did you get her here so soon?”

  Zeiss grumbled, “I pretended it was a secret and made it a race.”

  Red wanted to object, but everyone else was laughing. Trina’s hug took some of the sting away. Her aunt whispered, “I’m glad you’re safe.” To Zeiss, she said, “According to Rogers, you earned that bonus.”

&
nbsp; “Keep your damn money, I want to know who did this to one of our own.”

  “Easy,” the professor said with stern compassion. “I’m not the enemy, and there are little ears around.”

  Red leaned back. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you swear.”

  “I’m sorry. That was unprofessional. But I haven’t had decent food, sleep, or hygiene in three days.”

  “Don’t apologize; I like it. It proves you’re human for once,” Red said with a smile.

  Herk whispered, “It’s Christmas week. Stop with busting balls. I will watch the comic book hero. The three of you talk, argue, or spank someone; I don’t care which. But this is place of quiet healing, yes?”

  Red opened her mouth to suggest something but quashed it when Risa gave her the ‘Mom’ look. Sighing, Red followed her aunt and TA down the hall.

  Meanwhile, Risa pulled out a deck of cards. “Why don’t I teach you boys a new card game? It’s called Cara.”

  The Panamanian girl didn’t mention the fact that each word in the game that they had to call out was a Spanish term of endearment or flattery. She often let Herk win the hand so he’d have to say the words.

  ****

  Trina found a spare room and ordered her bodyguard to keep eavesdroppers away. She turned on the faucet in the bathroom and motioned the other two to step in. They obeyed, but the room was tiny. Zeiss stood in the tub, and Red sat on the toilet.

  The professor ordered Red, “Set your media blocker to maximum.”

  The girl tapped her goggles and released some blocker dust under the door.

  “Who did it?” the young people asked at the same time.

  “Merrick was the one we’re supposed to blame.”

  “That prick,” growled Red. “He won’t get away with it. He’s a Rex. That’s automatic forced Ethics formatting.”

  “No one will testify and there were no cameras,” Trina explained. “There have to be at least two witnesses. Besides, I’m convinced Merrick was manipulated.”

  “That’s bullshit!” the girl railed.

  Zeiss blinked. “You didn’t get the whole ring. You want the muscle to lead you to the other members.”

  “They were good,” Trina admitted. “The cell wall snapped the trail off clean. But nobody’s perfect.”

  “Cell?” asked Red.

  “We found an active terrorist cell at the Academy, and they weren’t afraid of me,” Trina explained. That got the girl’s attention. “However, Z here terrified them. The cell leader met with him every week and had a journal of notes about him. He said if Z ever devoted his full resources to the security effort, he’d crush them like a bug.”

  “Mein Gott,” Zeiss muttered, sliding back against the white tile. “Solomon?”

  “See, Red. He just needs a one-word hint and he knows. Does that worry you?”

  “Shut up,” begged the girl.

  “How will we protect the boy?” asked Zeiss.

  The professor smiled at the wording. “He’s only a year younger than you. But we’ve laid the groundwork for traumatic amnesia.” When Red scoffed, her aunt added, “Seriously, he had a reaction to the morphine. During the evac, he had brain swelling.”

  “How did they infiltrate?” Zeiss demanded.

  “We recruited Solomon for his mind and his publications, but we didn’t have his fingerprints before he accepted. Most innocent people who haven’t been hired by a bank don’t have a print record, or didn’t before drivers’ licenses required them in the US. But in Ethiopia, a man who didn’t drive . . .”

  “Photos?”

  “We found a few from graduate school, but between plastic surgery and online document replacement, we never suspected. We were looking for a hacker.”

  “And Solomon never turned on his computer,” said Zeiss.

  “From forensics on his bones and teeth, we traced his true origins to Somalia.”

  “They hate our guts,” Red noted.

  “Total economic collapse will do that,” Trina countered, staring at the girl.

  The women glared at each other, each daring the other to broach another secret.

  Zeiss covered his face with his hands. “I played Go with the man every week.”

  “He obsessed over you. They had people following you, trying to find dirt. Not only did they bug your office, but they had my security footage of every minute of your public time on the island.”

  “Holy shit,” whispered Red.

  “What did I say?” the TA said, agonizing, going over every conversation in his head. “What did he hear that made them attack Sojiro?”

  “Nothing,” Trina said. He collapsed inward with relief. “Solomon called you a machine. Every time you met, he was afraid you knew his secret and were just toying with him. Even their talents couldn’t read you. There were only two slips and they weren’t yours.”

  “Talents?” asked Red. “More than one? Who?”

  “We don’t know,” Trina repeated. “That’s why we need Merrick free. And because Z gets that, we need him working this case. We think Solomon was right. If he ever concentrated his efforts, our boy here could crack it.”

  Red shook her head. “He just made the biggest break-through of his career, and I need him for the Sirius Project.”

  “You need him?” Professor Horvath asked angrily. “Who do you think made those two slips I was talking about?” The girl paled as her aunt said, “We’ve picked up traffic from our enemies desperately researching two terms: project eighteen and whale-level security.”

  To prod the girl, Zeiss said, “Red’s team is convinced eighteen is the minimum number of talents needed for an expedition. I could tell that from the simulations, but she never trusted me with the rest.”

  “Talk,” Trina ordered her. “Why eighteen?”

  “The artifact expects pages to be missing,” whispered the girl. “It has a built-in redundancy. You can get by with only two out of three. The UN was preventing us from reaching the goal, so I worked around them. I found a loophole for half-sized trainers.”

  “You pulled PJ, our head of development, into a half-baked scheme that could spark a world war?” Trina said, barely controlling her rage. She leaned over to the girl’s ear and whispered, “Give me one reason I shouldn’t bounce you out of the program right now.”

  The TA intervened. “It’s my fault, sir. I was assigned the club, and I didn’t push them enough. I should’ve . . .”

  Trina told him to shut up in German, using a tone that was normally followed by a bullet.

  “I have to go to the artifact,” Red said, tears streaming down her face.

  “No!” Trina bellowed. “That fragile, young artist has to learn how to cope with nightmares, the possibility of kidnap, the loss of one finger, and diminished capacity in the other. Your other friends have to learn techniques to keep them from being tortured for the meanings of those phrases.”

  Red was sobbing and shaking. “I’m not making it up. The artifact told me. I have to go or we can’t claim the inheritance. If I don’t go, it flies back where it came from, unopened.” They could barely understand her through the sniffles. Zeiss unrolled some toilet paper and handed it to her. Trina looked Tasered.

  “You were infected,” the professor guessed. The girl nodded. “We have to get you back to the island immediately.”

  “Is anybody going to tell me what infected means?” asked Zeiss.

  “No,” both women said at once.

  “Then I’m not hunting your spy,” he asserted. “I work for Mr. Fortune, no one else.”

  Both women smiled. Red said, “Z, they work as one. Call him.”

  Zeiss hit speed dial. Daniel picked up on the first ring. “Everybody’s back safe. Professor Horvath wants—”

  “Do it,” said the billionaire.

  “But—”

  “Conrad, we’re one.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll be back soon,” said the TA, hanging up. “I’ll have to call my family and make excuse
s. The airline tickets and presents . . .” He stopped, deciding that his behavior was unprofessional.

  Trina put a hand on his arm, “We consider you family now, Conrad. Know that.” Her blue eyes locked onto his and he felt her sincerity. “I have to stay here till Sojiro’s stable enough to return. He needs the company of our kind if he’s going to adapt to being Active. I’m sorry you won’t be able to visit with your mother this holiday. She’s getting the best treatment Fortune Pharmaceutical can provide, the same drugs we synthesized for Daniel and me.”

  “You have the symptoms, too?” asked Red, concerned.

  “You know the syndrome can be transmitted by link-bond. When it kills him, I won’t be far behind.”

  The girl almost tackled her with a forceful hug. “You can’t leave me!”

  Zeiss crept out into the hall, closing the doors behind him.

  Trina stroked Red’s filthy hair. “The universe doesn’t bow to your will, child. You may bend people around you like a black hole bends light, but even you do not decide this.” Her Dutch accent was back.

  “Who’s going to teach me about boys? About everything?”

  “Ask.”

  “He doesn’t even know I’m a girl.”

  “No one could be so blind. Tell him how you feel.”

  “Even if he’s older?”

  “Your father was much older than your mother.”

  “I don’t know if he’ll agree to settle for being co-pilot.”

  Trina reared back a little. “Pardon?”

  “I have to be the pilot. He’ll need to be backup and sensors. Not every guy can take orders from a woman. Mom got lucky. And some of my team doesn’t like him.”

  Trina frowned. “Who are we talking about?”

  “Llewellyn. He makes me feel all gooey inside. He tastes so good. How do you convince a man to like you?”

  The professor squeezed her lips tight to avoid a smile. “I had to get advice from my sisters on that. I’ve only ever dated Daniel.”

  “What? You’re a goddess.”