Strangers and Lies

by P. S. Power

  They had someone to kill after all.

  The Magicians and experts, since, as it turned out, not all of them were in the same field of endeavor at all, focused on a way to keep the gate closed. That would take a lot of energy, which they didn't really have time to collect properly. Debussey was doing it through fear and human sacrifice. They couldn't even use that last one in time, it was decided. No one had wanted to go there anyway it was clear, but it just wouldn't work.

  They were stumped for a while then.

  Gwen shrugged.

  "So get on the telesar and do a massive ceremony thing. Like Ferdinand did, only more focused. We'll need translators and to get it out worldwide, but..." Everyone looked at her as if she were a moron.

  At least Doctor Grainger explained, looking tired suddenly. That or worried they were all going to die.

  "That... won't work dear. We simply don't have enough time and it's too hard to get that many people working together. It worked for a few moments to steal energy before, but it was an emotional victory at best. If we cost Erin more than a few weeks of hardship I'd be surprised. No, the real value there was in making her afraid, but she'll be ready for those tactics now. We must simply do something else."

  The whole room went silent then. It was clear that they just couldn't think of anything at all.

  "We need to keep that gate shut. If it's a real thing I mean. Is it? I've never been too certain about that. I mean, is there any proof that these elder gods or Old Ones, whatever you call them, exist?"

  That got her another look that kind of spoke to a low idea of her overall intelligence, but a kindly looking Asian man explained that indeed, there was ample proof that what was being done might work very well. It was also thought not to be survivable. That Debussey and her people believed they could was either insane or meant they had something no one knew about up their sleeve.

  "Fine, can we take the area out, using the Westmorlands? Will rifting stop this?"

  That got more silence.

  Grainger, clearing his throat, straightened the front of his nice burgundy vest under his black suit jacket.

  "Most likely. It should be a last resort of course, this is in a populated area and that much death might just fuel the magical process. We don't know that it would be a deterrent to the Old Ones, should they choose to come here."

  That really left only one thing to try then. Taking them all out before the process could be finished.

  One way or the other. It wasn't a fun thing to think about, but it was something to do, if nothing else. She went to Grainger's office in the back, pulling her sheet full of armor with her. It made some noise but no one bothered to stare at her overly, scrambling as they were to think of some miracle solution in a few minutes that no one had come up with for hours. It took a few minutes to get ready, and she came out with her lance in hand, not setting it down. They needed to get into place as fast as possible and as soon as things were ready they were going to leave for the Marduk Empire. The strike force was going to be made up of pretty much everyone in the Special Service, plus any Westmorland that had combat training. That was all they could transport and really, it was an impressive idea at that.

  Gwen had a suspicion that something very horrible was being done to some people to force them to retrain all those radiatives that fast.

  It meant going back to Central, since they were staging there, but on the good side she got to meet up with Heather and Beth. The rest of the Special Service group was ready to go, and depressingly only had about two hundred members in armor.

  Adam Westmorland, looking more than a little crotchety, gestured at them and shook his head.

  "The rest are all occupied and can't make it in time. It doesn't really matter. This should be sufficient." He was speaking to Heather, since she was the one in charge it seemed. At least of them. "The special cohort will be... There they are now. Try not to let them be killed if you can help it. Miss Farris, you have command of them. The code is 'For the Western Kingdom, I so command it'. That will set each of them to rifting. You won't have a large time period to leave the area, if you use that phrase, about five minutes."

  The people that were lined up were dressed like every Westmorland she'd ever met during their work day. They wore dark blue tops and pants, and polished black leather shoes. That was about the only thing they had in common. There were three of them, one an ancient looking man with white hair and at least fifty extra pounds on him. The other two were younger, and both female. One was a real shock to her however, since it was Erica.

  "But..." it was a real shock. Bethany had assured her that the Westmorlands that could explode weren't just allowed to run around. It seemed that wasn't exactly the truth, was it? "She's too young."

  On the good side she didn't have to point to which woman she meant at all, Adam making a face and, for once, agreeing with her.

  "She volunteered. I agree with you however, so do try to bring her back if you can. All of them. They're brave people, but they'll be just as brave alive, don't you think?" There was a sadness to his words as if he really didn't think they'd be coming back.

  "Yeah. Well, make sure they're all armed. If we can we won't be using that option at all." That got a strange look from everyone, even as Adam gestured to someone that Gwen didn't know, a strong and fit looking man that came over with a collection of Crins for the 'cohort'. She didn't get why people were staring at all, but Heather patted her on the back, metal glove against armor.

  "No one has ever let one of the volunteer crews go into battle armed. It's always been thought that they might choose to fight at the last moment, instead of rift, if they had the choice." She didn't have to explain that she meant they might fight against whoever was going to give the command for them to die, not the enemy. It sort of made sense, except for the fact that they were, as she'd just been told, volunteers.

  "Screw that." The language got everyone's attention then, the entire field of armor turned slightly to face her, their identical blank faces directed her way at least. "This isn't some petty squabble or land dispute that should be worked out with a bit of diplomacy and a few hugs. I wish it were. We have to stop these people today. No matter what else happens. If we use this final option... We can't let these people go, you understand? We all fight, and if we can't win in time, we all die. There has to be total commitment here. I understand if people are scared, I... Think we should only take volunteers."

  It was an alien concept to most of them though. The only 'volunteers' were the ones that were going to die for certain and that was a courtesy in general, most of them figured that they were just going to die anyway, ordered into battle on the whim of someone that would never even know they were there, at least past being numbers on a sheet of paper.

  That being the case everyone just got ready to go, ready to activate their Teletransport spheres on Heather's command. It was a thing they'd practiced, since they had to go in and move forward instantly, the next people coming into the same space three seconds later. There was enough room for three people in armor to go in at the same time, side by side.

  Heather was going in the first wave. That meant that Gwen moved in alongside of her, with Darrick on her other side, making a wall of metal. Directly behind her stood Beth, Billy and some guy or tall woman in armor that she didn't recognize. That wasn't hard to do, since they hadn't spoken at all. About ten places back the special crew was set, ready to go. It would get them in early, in case it was needed, but keep them safe, behind a wall of armored bodies.

  Heather called out the orders again, just to make certain there would be no mistakes.

  "On my mark we go. Three second intervals. Ready, set..." She held up the sphere, which matched her armor in color and made ready to tap the button on the top against her force lance.

  "Mark!"

  They all slapped the buttons at the same time, the world shifting around them, going dark for just an instant when she was forced to blink. It always happened, but she could
n't really tell why. It didn't hurt, but it was still strange to her, the image inside her mask changing like it did. She ran forward, using the mental control system that she'd developed, aiming her weapon and firing instantly, before she even understood why she was doing it. No one else was, but the move probably saved them, hitting the line of creatures in front of them hard enough to slow the rush they were making.

  "Ambush!" She yelled it loud, not knowing if she should even bother. It was clear that everyone was going to get the idea soon enough.

  The things in front of them were... strange. They were so bizarre that for a bit her mind refused to make sense of them. They looked to have legs that ended in feet like an ape, with similar bodies, along with squat heads that set into their shoulders with long eye stalks coming out of them, the bulb of the things on the end being very human looking. That part was what really disturbed her. They didn't look human at all, otherwise, but they were, at the same time. They also had tentacles instead of arms.

  "I hate tentacles" She said, her voice a bit panicked sounding as she moved toward the thing, rushing them, firing constantly. She wasn't even missing, since the laser sight showed where she was aiming pretty well.

  There were a lot of them too. More than they could beat alone.

  Behind her the next wave came through, but then there was a brilliant flash of light and a familiar voice, calling out from the back of the giant space they were in. It was a cavern, or close enough that she wasn't going to question it for the time being. If it was something else, she wasn't getting it at all.

  "Welcome! I see that you all came exactly on time. Excellent." Erin Debussey was wearing a white robe of heavy material. There was more to it than that, but Gwen kept fighting, so wasn't able to really examine her too closely yet. "Please, come in. Sorry about the shield there, I'm afraid we only have room for so many here. Who all do we have?" The bitch sounded like she was a town mayor trying to seem like they weren't a politician. It wasn't working.

  The creatures went down under the lance, but it took a lot of hits first, and after about a minute everyone was surrounded by the things, their pink flesh, really more of a salmon color, holding them all in place, weapons stripped away. Oddly enough it was Billy that was having the best luck fighting still, punching and kicking in a way that Gwen knew she just wouldn't be able to match. She tried anyway, but eventually ended up wrapped in tight fleshy tentacles, holding her in place. They all were. It felt highly strange, like her own muscles were doing the work, betraying her somehow.

  Crap.

  Erin moved through the crowd, all of the things avoiding her as if she had a disease or something.

  "Where were we now? Oh, yes... Whom do we have the pleasure of entertaining now?" There was an evil grin on her face. It wasn't a pleasant thing at all. She made a gesture, which got the armor to be stripped away, it wasn't well done either, the restraining straps being broken as often as not, which injured the people inside the suits. There were sounds from Heather, and the man she didn't know in the second wave that sounded like something was being broken. Bones, Gwen guessed.

  She got off easy that way, but couldn't stop it from happening. The things almost pulled her head off, to get the helmet away from her, even as she grabbed it, trying to hold on, but after a few minutes she was standing there with nothing metal left on her person at all. None of them had anything left. Not even a knife, though that probably wouldn't have helped much anyway.

  Doctor Debussey nodded, staring at Bethany, actually pushing her way through the monsters to get to her.

  "You. I should have known you couldn't resist coming to me. My arch nemesis, the evil Westmorland Detective, Bethany. Here to stop the age of enlightenment and peace. We, as you can see, prepared for that. We've prepared for everything you can throw at us and more." She waved around the space, pointing to the glowing bulb at the ceiling, which had a sickly green color to it. "That nifty piece of magic prevents anyone from Teletransporting into, or out of, this space. To think, the others thought I was being overly cautious. I know you though, Detective. The only person alive that can match my mind." She glanced at the others, but didn't seem to care much about who they might be. Until she got to Gwen at least.

  "So, Katherine come forward now." She gestured at Gwen's face, focusing, but not making a line to mesmerize her. No, whatever she was doing was directed at the girl hiding in her mind. "Tell me, what else do they have planned?"

  It was a strange thing for her to ask, one that was almost insane sounding, right up until Gwen felt her mouth start to work, the words coming out without her meaning them to. Of course. Now, with the Doctor's orders in the air, the girl suddenly had the strength to take control. Brilliant.

  "Pretty much what you said they would, the whole time. They couldn't think of anything else, so they had some Westmorlands ready to come in and tear the world apart. None of those three came through, of course. They were about ten places back. Other than that, they have nothing. I don't think they can stop us now at all." The words were in a different accent than the one she used, so Gwen got it.

  It had all been a set-up, the entire time. Well... Darn.

  She wanted to howl, but she couldn't make it happen. Katherine was in charge suddenly... And probably could have been the whole time, if Debussey had ordered it done. It made sense, it really was her body and mind, but Gwen had been so certain that she was the one that was stronger. Probably because she was a moron. She started to feel a little angry, but for some reason even that wouldn't come. After a moment she worked it out. She wasn't hooked up to the body at all at the moment. That meant she didn't get the normal flow of emotions, since those were a chemical process. She could still think, but that was about all. She tried to fight, to take over again, but it didn't work. Katherine didn't even seem to notice her.

  "Do we have everything ready?" There was a hint of excitement in the words now, Katherine looking down at the tentacles that held her. She didn't ask to be let go, but Debussey waved the creatures holding her away, which worked really well. Whatever they were, the things were intelligent, and obedient. There was no way to ask about it however. It seemed strange that they were so perfect, as far as frightening Gwen. Almost as if they'd been pulled from her own mind.

  "We do. This is the day that the new world starts, love. The others are in the main chamber, ready to open the portal. I'm sure they can't wait to see you again, you were always so popular with everyone. Shall we? It won't take but a few moments now. The sacrifices stand ready, and all we need to do is trigger the system in place. We have enough energy already, I think, but a bit extra never hurts." She chortled a little, which got Darrick to look at her with contempt.

  "You do realize that if you do this, you'll die as well, don't you? You can't control the Old Ones. It's so obvious that's the case that not even the insane try anymore." He stopped talking, but it was too late, since Erin had already been challenged. It was a bad thing to do with a homicidal narcissist.

  Gwen really expected her to kill the man, but she just nodded, a tiny smile on her lips as she looked at the man.

  "Ah, I remember you. You sought to question me once. I escaped. Do you think you can do the same now? It will be interesting to see. It won't help you however. As to your question, the answer is simple. Other people failed to control the Old Ones, because they weren't me. I've worked my whole life to work out how to do this, do you honestly think I'd leave that to chance?" She moved over to Gwen, kissing her gently on the lips. "I left nothing to chance. Nothing."

  They were moved then, into the other room. The others were moved. Gwen just walked, feeling almost like she was floating. It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all. How could she have let herself be pushed aside so easily? It made some sense of course, if the whole thing had been a set up... But... Faking a murder and body theft? Wasn't that a little over the top? Why bother at all? Yes, it had gotten Katherine into place to spy on the Westmorlands, and some others, but...

  Gwen couldn't w
ork it out and no one told her why exactly it had happened. So much for Debussey getting the role as a Bond villain. Then, those guys never told the flunkies like her what was really going on anyway, did they? If Bethany was the hero, the explanation would be directed at her.

  There had to be a way to break through this though. Even if Katherine had an edge, Gwen had been in charge for long enough to give her a real fight, hadn't she? Maybe if she picked something small and not important enough for Katherine to worry about and resist? Could she gain a foothold that way?

  There were some fifty men and women in white robes, most of them having hoods, which had to just be for show, standing around the six people in the middle of a very large circle. One of them was Ferdinand, and of course the other world leaders had to be in the mix, leaving two people on either side that didn't belong.

  On the far side was a small blonde girl that couldn't have been more than six years old. She wasn't even tied down, just laying flat, probably paralyzed. On the other side was a man. One she knew, if from a dream.

  Jeffery.

  The driver of the lorrie that she'd been taken away in. He was likely the one that had mesmerized her. She didn't get it at all... Wasn't he one of them? Katherine seemed to think so and took a step in that direction, holding her left hand out.

  "Jeffery..." The words were shocked at least.

  Erin nodded.

  "Oh, that, yes. Traitor, if you can believe it. He tried to strengthen that puppet we put in place, Farris. It was a good thing that she was found as quickly as she was, or we might well have lost you forever. Apparently he was against us the whole time. He never even loved you, you know. He admitted that under questioning. Too bad, he's a brilliant man in his own way. Still, a little extra energy never hurts as I mentioned earlier, and he'll help balance little Stephanie's female energy."